404 not found 128 thank you to our reviewers the jsaa editorial executive wishes to thank the peer reviewers of volume 5 of the journal of student affairs in africa for their time and expertise in evaluating and helping to select and improve the submissions received: lucy alexander mumthaz banoobhai lisa bardill moscaritolo kasturi behari-leak jaco brink kat callahan graham dampier arona diso alten du plessis ronel du preez adnan farah james garraway natheem hendricks mpho jama moyra keane brenda leibowitz hennie lotter arno louw henry mason kibbie naidoo najwa noordien-fataar femi otulaja vino paideya sue pather moragh paxton adriana perez encinas roshini pillay vianna renaud birgit schreiber rob shea liesl smith jenni underhill andré van zyl chris winberg 114 latest publications by african minds the goal of the book perspectives on student affairs in south africa is to generate interest in student affairs in south africa. the chapters contained herein are based on best practice, local experience and well-researched international and local theories. the chapters deal with matters pertaining to international and national trends in student affairs: academic development, access and retention, counselling, and material support for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. they are linked to national and international developments, as described in the first two chapters. this publication will assist both young and experienced practitioners as they grow into their task of developing the students entrusted to them. all contributors are south africans with a great deal of experience in student affairs, and all are committed to the advancement of student affairs in south africa. the editors are former heads of student affairs portfolios at two leading south african universities. perspectives on student affairs in south africa is edited by m. speckman and m. mandew and was published in may 2014 by african minds. it is available in print from the publisher’s website www.africanminds.org.za at r150. the full pdf can be downloaded free of charge from the same site. knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education edited by nico cloete, peter maassen & tracy bailey, 2015. “this volume brings together excellent scholarship and innovative policy discussion to demonstrate the essential role of higher education in the development of africa and of the world at large. based on deep knowledge of the university system in several african countries, this book will reshape the debate on development in the global information economy for years to come. it should be mandatory reading for academics, policy-makers and concerned citizens, in africa and elsewhere.” – manuel castells, professor emeritus, university of california at berkeley. it is available in print from the publisher’s website www.africanminds.org.za at r200. the full pdf can be downloaded free of charge from the same site. 105 publications by african sun media postgraduate supervision: future foci for the knowledge society by m. fourie-malherbe, r. albertyn, c. aitchison & e. bitzer (eds.) (2016) the 24 chapters in this book move from deliberations on challenges for postgraduate supervision at macro level (such as the pressure to increase postgraduate output and the implications of increasingly managerialist institutions) to meso level matters (the form and function of postgraduate education in specific countries) to the micro level (rich case studies of individual institutions, programmes and supervisors). the publication provides very useful insights into multiple aspects of supervision and serves as a rich source in identifying future research possibilities and agendas in gearing up postgraduate education and supervision for the knowledge society. isbn 978-1-928357-21-6 r400 450 pages isbn 978-1-928357-22-3 r320 (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781928357223 postgraduate study in south africa: surviving and succeeding by l. frick, p. motshoane, c. mcmaster & c. murphy (eds.) (2016) the book explores concerns about the lack of higher education transformation around issues of equity, curriculum reform, language and race, and how students navigate higher education complexities. students’ self-reflective abilities, creativity and pragmatic approaches to surviving and succeeding are indicators that postgraduate student success is as much internally as externally determined. each of the 20 chapters speaks from a uniquely south african perspective. the editors have tried to remain true to the voice of each contributor, while simultaneously providing a coherent body of scholarly work. isbn 978-1-928357-23-0 r350 259 pages isbn 978-1-928357-24-7 r280 (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781928357247 african sun media is an integrated content manager and specialist supplier of publishing and printing services for the higher education market and the private sector. we publish under the imprints sun press, sun media, rapid access publishers (rap) and conference-rap. most of our publications are available in electronic and print format at: www.sun-e-shop.co.za africansunmedia.snapplify.com (e-books) www.africansunmedia.co.za https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com/product/9781928357223 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928357223 https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com/product/9781928357247 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928357247 http://www.sun-e-shop.co.za https://www.africansunmedia.snapplify.com http://www.africansunmedia.co.za journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 117–119 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3314 117 www.jsaa.ac.za campus report safsas summit 2018: looking back, looking forward: understanding our space in and role in the new normal saloschini pillay, birgit schreiber* & sibusiso chalufu * dr birgit schreiber (saassap executive) is senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, south africa. she is the book review editor and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za the southern african federation for student affairs and services (safsas) held its bi-annual southern african summit in durban, kwazulu-natal, from 26–27 november 2018. the safsas summit 2018 provided a platform where key role players discussed the latest developments in student support and services, student life and the student experience. the summit provided theoretical papers, keynote address by prof. yunis ballim, vicechancellor and principal: sol plaatje university, and a presentation by ms thandi lewin of the department of higher education and training (dhet). the organising committee, which comprised dr saloschini pillay, dr sibusiso chalufu, mr doc nhassengo, ms nobuntu rabaza, dr matome mashiapata, dr birgit schreiber and ms suzanne stokes, explored a new format for this summit where each session had a theoretical paper, a position paper and invited responses, which then were discussed and themes extracted. overall, the importance of data and evidence-based decision making, especially around mental health, became apparent. in addition, notions of decoloniality and their implications for the entire domain of student affairs and services were debated and the need for further engagement identified in order to ensure relevance and impact. ms thandi lewin (dhet) opened the event and prof. yunis ballim, vice-chancellor of sol plaatje university, provided the keynote address on the first day. both reminded the audience of the enormous task ahead of higher education, not only in terms of supporting the widening base of nsfas beneficiaries, but also in terms of offering this support in decolonialised contexts, which generate mature graduates who take responsibility for their learning and contribute towards the reconciliation within the social and cultural fabric of south africa. the first session was on “professionalization and decoloniality” where mr thabo shingange from the south african union of students (saus) and dr matete madiba (university of pretoria) were the panellists. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3314 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 117–119 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3314 dr birgit schreiber opened the next session with a detailed analysis of data that informs our approach to mental health care provision in higher education. mr jerome september and ms laetitia permall offered responses. overall, mental health is not a new issue, but our vocal and empowered students are putting this on the map and want to be part of the solution – indeed as vocal and empowered adults. together as institutions, mental health care providers and student leaders we need to learn from the data (for instance the ‘caring universities project’ that spans southern african higher education institutions) and focus interventions where effective. our students, too, have their role to play as does our south african public health care system. the third session was opened by mr luthando jack, who addressed the #hashtag era and inter alia posed the question of how we as student affairs and services practitioners reinvent ourselves for “post-normal” times where we have to deal with complexity, chaos and contradictions. we welcomed contributions from mr garth van rooyen (university of the western cape) and mr tshegofatso mogaladi (university of south africa), who were the panellists for this session. the second day was opened by mr lukhona mnguni, a phd candidate and political analyst from the maurice webb race relations unit, who, amongst others, challenged student affairs and services practitioners on dealing constructively with disruptive forms of engagements. the final session of the summit, which was facilitated by dr sibusiso chalufu, focused on redefining our engagement with students. apart from engaging in critical reflection on the role of student leaders in the current higher education challenges, this session also looked at the issue of meaningful engagement with student leaders and the need for a student governance model for higher education institutions in southern africa. the panellists for this session were ms nompendulo mkhatshwa, an activist and former src president from the university of the witwatersrand, mr lwandile mtsolo, the secretarygeneral of saus, and prof. lumkile lalendle, the executive director: student life at the north-west university. the southern african federation for student affairs and services (safsas) was established on 25 october 2012 in mangaung, bloemfontein. the formation of this body was initiated by the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) in september  2007 to establish a single higher education student services practitioners’ body and a common understanding on quality student development and support for southern africa. the affiliated associations are college and university housing officers international southern african chapter (acuho-i-sac), national association of student development practitioners (nasdev), southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe), south african association of campus health services (saachs), south african association for senior student affairs professionals (saassap), financial aid practitioners of south africa (fapsa), and higher and further education disability services association (hedsa). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3314 s. pillay, b. schreiber & s. chalufu: safsas summit 2018: looking back, looking forward … 119 the 2018 summit highlighted the importance of recognising the differentiation within and across student affairs and higher education. the safsas executive committed to continued collaboration across the associations and will strengthen its work with the dhet to increase reach and impact on student success. for more information on safsas, see: http://safsas.ukzn.ac.za how to cite: pillay, s., schreiber, b. & chalufu, s. (2018). safsas summit 2018: looking back, looking forward: understanding our space in and role in the new normal. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 117–119. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3314 http://safsas.ukzn.ac.za https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3314 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 113–115 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3072 113 www.jsaa.ac.za book review macfarlane, b. (2017). freedom to learn: the threat to student academic freedom and why it needs to be reclaimed. london: routledge taylor and francis. reviewed by rejoice nsibande* * dr rejoice nsibande is head of evaluation services – centre for learning, teaching and development, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. email: rejoice.nsibande@wits.ac.za in this book, macfarlane engages with the notion of students’ freedom to learn which he defines as personal freedom to live the way they want to live their lives, political freedom in that students contribute to decision-making processes without domesticating their voice, and the right to learn as they decide what to learn, when to learn and how. he argues, as adult learners, students should have autonomy over choices and decisions such as these. he views this autonomy as crucial to providing students an opportunity to better understand their world and control what they want to do with their lives. macfarlane argues, “if students are to be able to develop their own capabilities as independent learners and thinkers, they need to be provided with the choices, opportunities, encouragement and conducive environment in which to do so” (p. 26). he bemoans that university practices aimed at supporting student engagement, though well intentioned, ultimately fail to support an environment where students are trusted as adults responsible for making decisions on what they want to do. in his view, university policies and practices fail to acknowledge students’ individual differences and preferences, consequently alienating them in the process. strategically combining theory and practice (vignettes of students’ experiences of policy and practices), the author develops and sustains his argument that university policies are impacting negatively on students’ private lives. he draws his examples from higher education institutions across the u.k., u.s.a., asia and sub-saharan africa to show first, that policies demonstrate a lack of trust and respect for students as adults; and second, the extent to which the adoption of managerialism and performative culture has led to universities putting themselves at the centre, rather than the students. he says students are involved in academic activities as ‘clients’ rather than scholars capable of making decisions about what they want to do, decisions on university governance processes and the ability to direct their own learning. in essence, macfarlane argues, to expect students to conform to standards, suppresses individual preferences and autonomy. in chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7, macfarlane provides detailed examples of what he terms “performative demands” on students to demonstrate his point. he categorises “performative demands” as follows: “participative performativity” that forces students to participate in activities that are supposed to engage them in the learning http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3072 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:rejoice.nsibande%40wits.ac.za?subject= 114 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2017, 113–115 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3072 process and prepare them for the workplace, while excessively auditing learning through assessment; “emotional performativity” through forced reflections seen as a form of selfsurveillance and invasion of privacy; and “bodily performativity” through forced class attendance. macfarlane is not arguing against student engagement as a critical element for student development. however, he is challenging universities to think about the importance of enriching educational experiences. he contends that such experiences can only occur when students participate in activities voluntarily in an environment that is inviting and where they are trusted to make appropriate decisions. students as legitimate citizens in universities should have a voice and they should contribute to decisions on which activities are worthwhile. this should be done as part of genuine recognition of students as adults with freedom and the right to learn. student engagement (inand outside of class activities) is gaining focus in most universities globally, with the more recent literature indicating how engagement supports retention, learning and personal development (tinto,  2012). macfarlane, however, shows how practices associated with student engagement are infringing on students’ freedom and rights, and how the practices support institutions to achieve set goals and account for daily operations to funders in line with the culture of “performativity”. the book challenges institutions to think about how student engagement activities encourage deep participation and opportunities for capacity building. deep thinking is required to rethink how these activities are constructed, with students as co-constructors, since students’ involvement in determining and shaping their activities is crucial to their enjoyment of freedom and rights to learn. macfarlane concludes by calling for efforts to reclaim the rogerian principles of student centredness to restore students’ rights to learn. he is advocating for processes and practices that foreground a participatory model in a climate of trust and transparency, and unconditional respect for students as autonomous adults. in his view, reclaiming student centredness is critical and possible, focusing on the right to non-indoctrination, the right to reticence, the right to choose how to learn and the right to be trusted as adults. although the book is well written, the author assumes that, since students voluntarily choose to participate in higher education, they are equally capable and should be given the opportunity to make choices and manage their learning. literature (mann, 2001) indicates that the majority of students participating in higher education do so as part of a process, rather than as a result of calculated decisions. hence, the assumed students’ agency and capacity to make choices, and the ability to control their learning, may not hold at all times and for everyone. the book presents an opportunity for institutions to reflect on current practices and the extent to which they align with opportunities for students to exercise their freedom and right to learn. macfarlane’s views seem to be in line with students’ call globally, through protests, to be heard and recognised not as clients but as legitimate citizens with the capability to contribute as scholars. the book is valuable for leaders of institutions, academics, student affairs and staff tasked with student development. practitioners are to reflect on the nature of student engagement practices to ensure that students’ freedom and http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3072 rejoice nsibande: freedom to learn: the threat to student academic freedom and why it needs to be reclaimed 115 their right to learn are protected through opportunities for their involvement in decisions on which activities are worthwhile for their learning. references mann, s. (2001). alternative perspective on the student experience: alienation and engagement. studies in higher education, 26(1), 7–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070020030689 tinto, v. (2012). completing college. rethinking institutional action. chicago: university of chicago press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226804545.001.0001 how to cite: nsibande, r. (2018). review on macfarlane, b. freedom to learn: the threat to student academic freedom and why it needs to be reclaimed. london: routledge taylor and francis. (2017). journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 113–115. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3072 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070020030689 https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226804545.001.0001 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3072 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial tutoring and mentoring for student development thierry m. luescher,* birgit schreiber** & teboho moja*** * prof. thierry luescher is research director in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council, cape town, and affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. he is the jsaa journal manager. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com ** dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbsoch university, south africa. she is the book review editor and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za *** prof. teboho moja is professor and program director, higher education program, new york university, u.s.a., visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, and extraordinary professor in the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. this guest-edited issue of jsaa focuses on tutoring and mentoring and draws in parts on papers that were presented at the 2016 joint conference of the international consortium for educational development (iced) and the higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa). well-planned and implemented tutoring and mentoring programmes provide an effective means to support students to successfully navigate their academic, coand extra-curricular lives. in the higher education context, tutoring can be defined as curricular and supplemental assistance provided to students by more senior students, academic development practitioners and other learning facilitators, to gain proficiency in basic and more advanced academic skills as well as learning support in relation to specific discipline-related learning materials and learning and assessment tasks. it typically involves breaking up large classes into smaller groups, which enhances the potential of effective participation of students, closer peer relations and staff-student relations, deep learning and student engagement. mentoring, in turn, traditionally involves a one-to-one relationship, but it may also take place within a group context, or within cohort mentoring situations, between a more senior mentor and a younger student mentee, whereby the role of the mentor is to provide individualised guidance and support, even if this occurs within a group or cohort setting. scholarly literature on tutoring and mentoring indicates the various cognitive and affective benefits that tutoring and mentoring have particularly for students from academically disadvantaged backgrounds (powell, 1997). thus, the methodologies of tutoring and mentoring are not only important programmatic interventions into students’ academic, personal and social development; they also provide successful models for student development even in the core functions of student affairs. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 mentoring programmes are part of core functions of student affairs and the diversity of models and varity of programmes are linked to the kind of outcomes and goals set for the context. mentoring is a staple and core function of student affairs, and has recently been used in a more non-traditional way, for instance as a framework for cohort supervision, for student leadership support as well as for advancing excellence, thus expanding notions of mentoring. tutoring and mentoring literature and research has not yet adequately explored some of the concerns around tutoring and mentoring approaches being premised on the maintenance and reproduction of culture and status quo. when seniors induct juniors into a context, explicitly or implicitly held assumptions, attitudes and practices are reproduced, often without critique or examination. these are some of the areas that require further exploration and deeper research and some of the articles in this guest-edited issue explore these critical issues – either by presenting original research into tutoring and mentoring, or by way of critically reflecting on their practice thereof. in addition to the guest-edited articles on tutoring and mentoring, this issue of jsaa includes an article by henry mason that discusses results from a qualitative study on stress and coping. his study reveals surprising results on students’ understanding of stress and it shows that students consider stress as part of their “journey to and through higher education”. furthermore, we publish elisa brewis’ review of the book fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice (2013, edited by meyer, st. john, chankseliani and uribe). the book presents a unique collection of chapters that discuss access to higher education in a range of contexts and higher education systems. collectively, the chapters propose an alternative approach to higher education access; an approach that offers sustainable and enabling pathways to he. for 2018, we are planning that volume 6 of the journal will focus on three main themes: student communities and residence life; the first-year student experience; and the politics of space, language and identity in african higher education. in addition, there is a proposal for a guest-edited issue on diversity and polarisation on campuses, which is highly topical in our context as well as globally. notwithstanding this thematic orientation, open submissions on any topic are always well received, and will be vetted, reviewed and if possible accepted and published as soon as they are ready, even if they do not fall within the theme of a specific issue. in this respect, it is also important to note that in the course of 2016/17 we have received an increasing number of manuscripts, including manuscripts that do not strictly fall within the scope of the journal. we have therefore decided to focus more on ‘student affairs proper’. we also plead with authors to adhere to the basic author guidelines for manuscript submission, and understand that a journal that is only published twice a year will have a lead time from submission to publication of up to six months, of which at least three months are typically taken up by ‘quality control processes’ such as vetting, peer reviews, and resubmission, and another three to four months by the publishing process per se, involving professional proof-reading, layout and type-setting, and eventually uploading and indexing on our various e-platforms and printing. finally, we would like to thank an outstanding scholar and higher education leader, prof. akilagba sawyerr, for his service to the journal. prof. sawyerr has served for almost http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 thierry m. luescher, birgit schreiber & teboho moja: tutoring and mentoring for student development vii two years on the jsaa editorial executive and has recently tendered his resignation from the executive. his expertise is, however, not entirely lost to the journal. prof. sawyerr will continue on the jsaa international advisory board to provide advice on the general direction and development of the journal, and as peer reviewer for articles that fall within his area of expertise. reference powell, m.a. (1997). academic tutoring and mentoring: a literature review. sacramento, c.a.: california research bureau. how to cite: luescher, t.m., schreiber, b. & moja, t. (2017). tutoring and mentoring for student development. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), v–vii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 86 call for submission of papers for the special edition of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) the jsaa (which is currently under review for accreditation) plans to publish a special edition which creates a platform for debate and engagement on the tutorial and mentoring support provided to higher education students in south africa, within and linked to the academic and disciplinary domain. the jsaa is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and reflective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in africa. authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. submission process and important dates manuscripts due: 13 february 2017 review process: 1 march to 7 may 2017 (including return to author/s for amendments or adjustments) final re-submission date for accepted and reworked articles: 17 july 2017 envisaged publication date: 1 november 2017 for further information, contact: lucy alexander, alexan054@gmail.com this special issue is made possible with the support of funding from the department of higher education national collaborative teaching development grant: the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats. overview of the jsaa special edition – tutoring and mentoring – key strategies for tertiary educational development in south africa student support through tutoring and mentoring as understood in the academic mainstream, as well as in the student affairs domain, are demonstrations of an ethics of care in higher education. such strategies, integrated or embedded in mainstream teaching and learning practices, have been supported by the department of higher education and training through teaching development grants to facilitate a more effective transition for students into academe, to achieve better learning, retention, as well as increased academic success rates. through this special issue, we hope to promote a broader exploration and interrogation of these strategies within teaching and learning at universities, thereby 87 contributing to strengthened scholarship and debate, which might lead to further research, insights and questions, and ultimately the strengthening of practice. published research on these topics from south africa and africa have contributed to engaging scholarly approaches to educational development: however, as an emergent field of research and scholarship, educational support and development, requires evaluative, descriptive and analytic research approaches to share best practices, theorise the field and consider the role of contextual factors unique to the south african context. the diverse roles played by different forms of educational support, as well as terminology variations contribute to challenges around the coherence of research on tutoring and mentoring in south africa, and comparative analysis. frameworks, implementation, theory and practices for tutoring and mentoring strategies also vary across the diverse disciplines in any one institution. interesting debates are being held across institutions, in faculties, in student affairs, and teaching and learning units, regarding discipline specific versus generic approaches; also under debate is who best plays these support roles, as well as issues of embedding or differentiating such support strategies. more theorising is required to understand and conceptualise these issues towards more effective practice. papers are invited which move beyond the specifics of programme application and outcome evaluations to exploring factors which could form the basis of student support theory and practice, without losing the specificities of discipline and context, so critical to making sense of an intervention. the issues of social justice and transformation underpinning such interventions are also pertinent, as are specific manifestations of these values. we invite papers that engage critically with questions such as these or introduce additional questions for the 5th volume (november 2017) of the journal for student affairs in africa. papers can be conceptual or empirical but must address the concerns of the special issue clearly. papers on the following topics are invited: • tutoring and mentoring as strategies for transforming higher education: ‒ key educational development and transformation strategies for equity in higher education ‒ the policy and funding landscape in he influencing tutoring and mentoring ‒ is responsibility for student educational support optimally distributed? ‒ institutional-systemic versus programme support strategies ‒ tensions around remediation and development ‒ social justice and the ethics of care in higher education support strategies ‒ educational development strategies for retention and integration of students ‒ alignment of academic and personal social engagement ‒ attaining graduate attributes within and outside the classroom through tutoring and mentoring ‒ the role of formal and informal student groups in supporting each other towards social justice and equity goals. 88 • tutoring and mentoring theory and development in higher education in sa: ‒ theoretical underpinnings in tutoring and mentoring for south african higher education ‒ the implications of context for tutoring and mentoring ‒ articulation of support and development with mainstream curriculum ‒ generic versus disciplinary tutoring models ‒ capacity development and professionalisation of staff with reference to a wider conceptualisation of support and development ‒ training and development, and valued attributes of mentors and tutors. • successful models of tutoring and mentoring: ‒ systemic reviews and meta-analysis of theory and practice of tutoring and mentoring in south africa ‒ evidence of strategies which bring success in tutoring and mentoring in higher education ‒ educational support via supplemental media, multimedia/curriculum pathways/ frameworks. jsaa: submission preparation checklist authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided to the editor). 2. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 3. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 4. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 5. the journal uses the apa author–date referencing system. 6. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind review must have been followed. 7. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call or a notice, or a comment/ critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. 8. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 9. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); reflective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 10. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial excecutive. please submit manuscripts by email to lucy alexander, email: alexan054@gmail.com with cc to email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 95 jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 96 jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 97 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 81–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2485 81 www.jsaa.ac.za * dr munita dunn-coetzee is the director of the centre for student counselling and development, division of student affairs, at stellenbosch university, south africa. email: mdunn@sun.ac.za book review roberts, dennis c. & komives, susan r. (eds.) (2016). enhancing student learning and development in crossborder higher education. san francisco: jossey-bass. reviewed by munita dunn-coetzee* enhancing student learning and development in cross-border higher education, edited by dennis c. roberts and susan r. komives, is a book that resulted from a short-term study-abroad experience between the universities of maryland and san diego with the qatar foundation’s education city in doha in 2010. this partnership challenged the way in which higher education internalisation was viewed – in such a way that the visit was replicated in 2012 and this book was authored. the book aims to address the opportunities and challenges in developing programmes and strategies for student learning and development that are culturally appropriate – specifically from a student affairs, student development and student services perspective. however, although the majority of the book focuses on western higher education, the book aims to highlight the merit of learning from other international constituencies to enhance the student experience. in essence, how can we benefit our own practices by learning from others within the global realm? the book’s chapters are organised into three sections. part one, consisting of two chapters, elaborates on the consideration of cross-border applications. chapter one provides an overview of the expansion and internationalisation of higher education, as well as providing strategies and frameworks for optimising the student experience and student success. the chapter highlights that institutions make four choices when applying best practices across borders and contexts – relating to transferring of best practices, programme adaption, the hedging of an initiative and the possible avoidance of the partnership. the importance of the integration of students’ experience in both the classroom and beyond is emphasised and key principles for internationalising student affairs and student services conclude the chapter. chapter two builds on chapter one by exploring the underlying motivations that institutions use in their specific international context by applying a lens of five diffusion models – learning, imitation, competition, normative and coercion. this chapter aims to guide understanding of the rationale institutions and practitioners use to decide on practices for internationalisation. the chapter emphasises that although shared practices can be motivated, the diversity in terms of offerings – on institutional and cultural levels – must be carefully considered to ensure the best choices are made. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mdunn%40sun.ac.za?subject= 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 81–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2485 part two, consisting of four chapters, portrays a more practical approach to internationalisation – providing examples from south africa, china, the united kingdom and mexico. chapter three shares a perspective on first-year adjustment within the south african region. a model, known as the first-year-village, has been piloted and the aim of the model is to provide support to first-years in a communal environment – this might be understood as the south african example of establishing living communities. the context of student support as well as the fact that the goal of all student support is student success, form the two basic principles of the chapter. chapter four explains how one private university in china promoted resilience for students coming from single-child families. a series of workshops were embedded in the orientation calendar focusing on independent self-management. in order to integrate curricular and co-curricular learning, the university also adopted a curricular approach to ‘whole person education’, experiential learning by nature. more studies on the outcome of the success of these interventions are recommended. chapter five brings a perspective from the united kingdom to the fore – exploring what is necessary to foster retention and success for students who were at great risk, specifically in this context, care leavers – youth receiving care outside or beyond the family. since 2007, the university of sheffield set out its intentions to support looked-after children and care leavers within the higher education realm. this programme has since expanded vastly and further initiatives to create a holistic support system for these students’ journey have been developed. chapter six, the last chapter in this section, elaborates on the challenging situations mexico faces and how opportunities for change are provided for students by leadership and citizenship education to strengthen democracy. a leadership development model focusing on four pillars is explained by the universidad de monterrey (udem). this holistic model is yielding successful results. this section helps the reader to reflect on how internationalisation can be practically positioned within institutions. the last section of the book – part three – consists of five chapters and discusses foundations and strategies that are broadly applicable across all educational, cultural and national contexts. chapter seven provides a social justice perspective on research and student development theories – emphasising that development and learning are complex processes across a holistic spectrum. the important message of the integration between learning and development within context is elaborated upon in the chapter and raises awareness about a variety of factors that advance student learning and development in ways that promote social justice. students interacting in their environments, with the influence of culture in student learning and development, is discussed in chapter eight. bronfenbrenner’s social-ecological model is used as contextual framework within the chapter and a practical example of an educational system in singapore illustrates this ecological systems view – providing the opportunity to pose questions regarding curricular and co-curricular design. chapter nine aims to highlight international best practices and resources used in adopting assessment, evaluation and educational research. the history of the assessment movement, specifically in the united states and other countries, indicates that higher munita dunn-coetzee: enhancing student learning and development in cross-border higher education 83 education institutions still tend to be more reactive – rather than pro-active – regarding assessment and evaluation practices. this chapter challenges practitioners to take initiative and to advance these practices in a pro-active manner. chapter ten explains the findings of a study on the engagement of educators in student affairs on an international level – looking at the state of student affairs and services in terms of educational pathways and professional development. it is emphasised that the building of capacity needs to be prioritised – identifying what internationalisation means for the specific institution, what it consists of as well as appropriate training for staff, specifically looking at attaining cultural competence. the last chapter of this section, chapter eleven, aims to summarise the journey in terms of internationalisation embarked on in this book by exploring the value of partnerships in international higher education. it is advocated that authentic partnerships ensuring mutual benefit will enhance the impact and effectiveness of these endeavors. the readers are encouraged to start the conversation at their own institutions. enhancing student learning and development in cross-border higher education elaborates on a very important discourse regarding internationalisation within higher education, particularly for academic and student affairs staff, as well as staff working with internationalisation at institutions. overall, this is a very interesting book that not only significantly contributes to the dialogue on internationalisation in higher education, but also aims to turn questions into action. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2014, 93–95 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.95 www.jsaa.ac.za the south african national resource centre (sanrc) for the first-year experience and students in transition conference 2015 annsilla nyar* campus dialogue * ms annsilla nyar is the director of the south african national resource centre (sanrc) for the first year experience (fye) and students in transition. email: anyar@uj.ac.za. over the past two decades, the south african higher education community has introduced many diverse and innovative programmes to improve the first-year experience (fye) for students, such as orientation, peer learning, supplemental instruction, academic support services, and different curriculum initiatives. however, such initiatives have tended to be institutionally based and without the benefit of coordination and integration. south africa is yet to conduct a system-wide conversation about its collective goals for first-year students at south africa’s universities and the most effective methods to attain such goals. as such, south africa’s higher education system remains continually plagued by the matter of student success and throughput. increasing pressure is brought to bear upon universities to recruit, retain and, ultimately, graduate those students who become lost to the system in the first year of study. it is to this end that the south african national resource centre (sanrc) for the first-year experience and students in transition, in collaboration with the national resource center (nrc) for the first-year experience and students in transition based at the university of south carolina (usc) in the united states, has been set up for the dual purpose of integrating fye initiatives and providing national resources aimed at improving student transitions and success. the sanrc was established through a collaborative teaching development grant (tdg) from the department of higher education and training (dhet). a key event for the sanrc is the annual convening of the sanrc first-year experience (fye) and students in transition conference. the conference is broadly intended to serve as an opportunity for university leaders, educators, and academic and professional staff who work with first-year students to exchange both scholarly and practical information about student success and transitions. the inaugural sanrc fye and students in transition conference took place from 19 to 21 may 2015 in johannesburg. the conference was preceded by a workshop comprising a number of intensive, thematically-based ‘research incubator’ sessions. these 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2014, 93–95 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.95 pre-conference sessions were led and facilitated by leading scholars and experts in the fye field. dr nelia frade and dr jenni underhill from the university of johannesburg (uj) addressed the role of senior students in enhancing and transforming the first-year experience for students. dr merridy wilson-strydom from the university of the free state (ufs) led a session on the pre-university experience and the extent to which it informs the first year of study for students. a critical perspective on the concept of student success was jointly shared by dr danny fontaine from the university of cape town (uct) and ms soraya motsabi from uj. a dedicated research incubator writing session was led by prof. brenda leibowitz from uj and prof. chris winberg and prof. james garraway from the cape peninsula university technikon (cput). dr jennifer winstead from nelson mandela metropolitan university (nmmu) led a session on the learning outcomes of out-of-the-classroom involvement, including those found within fye programmes at nmmu. all of the sessions garnered huge interest and support from delegates and clearly indicated the ‘appetite’ which exists among fye scholars and practitioners for sustained critical engagement with one another. the conference began in earnest with keynote presentations by the nrc’s dr jennifer keup, director of the nrc (20 may 2015) and dr dallin george-young, assistant director for research grants and assessments at the nrc (21 may 2015). the work of the nrc was highlighted in both presentations. dr keup spoke of the conceptual foundations of the fye ‘movement’, at both a national and international level, and the key role played by the nrc in grounding and consolidating this fye constituency through its core commitments to thought leadership, scholarly research, the nexus between research and practice, and collaborations and networking. dr keup placed particular emphasis on the mutuality aspect of the partnership between the sanrc and the nrc, highlighting shared aspirations and strategies as well as the intention to commit to a dual transfer of learning between the two institutions. the keynote presentation by dr dallin george-young focused on key findings from the sanrc 2014 south african survey of peer leaders. this survey is based on the international survey of peer leaders conducted by the nrc. it was conducted for the sanrc by dr nelia frade, who is based at the academic development centre (adc) at uj. dr young’s contention that the student peer group is the single-most important source of influence on the growth and development of students allowed many delegates to reflect critically on their respective institutional experiences with peer leaders. the sanrc is currently working on writing up the completed findings of the 2014 south african survey of peer leaders. in addition to conference presentations, an fye summit was held on the last day of the conference. a selected group of higher education stakeholders were invited to the fye summit in order to help the sanrc clarify and define its research agenda based on the multiple, varied needs of the south african fye constituency. several interesting strands of thinking about the fye experience emerged from the summit. one strand of thinking focused on the basket of multiple issues, often socio-economic in nature, which affect student retention in the first year, including financial problems, annsilla nyar: the sanrc for the first-year experience and students in transition conference 2015 95 stressful home environments, accommodation, food insecurity, etc. the discussion also focused on issues at the institutional level, such as curriculum design, admission procedures, and career guidance. the summit recognised that such issues related to retention are highly complex and often beyond institutional control. as such, it was agreed that they require a systemic and multipronged approach. another strand of thinking related to the matter of funding. the question was posed: to what extent does the allocation of funding influence student retention? a tentative proposal emerged that national funding sources for fye programmes should be explored in a collaborative context. the sanrc was requested to consider exploring possibilities with the dhet and the nsfas (national student financial aid scheme) for a differentiated model of funding which takes into account the different needs of students. the sanrc was asked if it might possibly support the nsfas in thinking critically about the existing nsfas funding model. a final aspect of the thinking at the fye summit was that of key interventions at an institutional level which would make a tangible difference to the fye experience for students. it was argued that the first year can be seen as the time to prepare students academically and to develop the behaviours required for persistence beyond the first year into undergraduate and postgraduate transitions. in terms of the matter of persistence in higher education, certain ‘change-behaviour models’ could be deployed in order to change student behaviours and attitudes in respect of the first year. the sanrc fye and students in transition conference provided a rich source of insights and information around which the sanrc is now designing its research agenda. a forthcoming edition of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) will also feature a range of articles and papers from the conference. more information about the sanrc fye conference 2015, including the sanrc 2014 south african survey of peer leaders, can be obtained from the sanrc website: http://sanrc.co.za. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, ix–xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 ix www.jsaa.ac.za guest editorial tutoring and mentoring nelia frade* * dr nelia frade is senior coordinator: unit for tutor development, centre for academic staff development, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: neliaf@uj.ac.za south african institutions of higher education (he) have increasingly come under pressure to broaden access to historically under-represented groups who are often underprepared for tertiary education as a result of apartheid-era secondary schooling (white paper, 2013). this has resulted in student enrolments becoming increasingly diverse with respect to racial, cultural, socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds (underhill & mcdonald, 2010). in an attempt to address these issues and promote increased throughput rates, institutions of he have increasingly begun to introduce tutoring, including supplemental instruction (si) and peer-assisted learning (pal) and mentoring programmes. in so doing, they have begun to recognise that tutoring and mentoring are not just nice to haves but can provide significant opportunities for engaged teaching and learning, and access to the epistemological discourse of the academy. however, the value of tutoring and mentoring programmes lies in how effectively they are planned and implemented. well-developed programmes provide the ideal opportunity for students to actively engage with study content, build relationships within a supportive peer-led environment, and become socially inducted into the institution (kuh & pike, 2005). stakeholders involved with these programmes should have a general understanding of the goals, establishment and maintenance of these programmes in order to maximise their effectiveness (clarence, 2016). in light of this, tutoring and mentoring programmes require ongoing collaboration between academic staff, tutors/mentors and staff development professionals, in order to create and sustain effective teaching and learning environments for students (clarence, 2016). furthermore, students who serve in these positions must receive the necessary training and support to fulfil these roles effectively. training is critical for developing the capabilities and skills required for peer-led activities (keup, 2012). intentional and ongoing training is a prerequisite for any successful tutorial and mentoring programme (latino & ashcraft, 2012). lastly, opportunities should be created for stakeholders to evaluate, reflect and improve practice on an ongoing basis to ensure that these programmes remain effective and responsive to student needs (underhill, clarence-fincham & petersen, 2014). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:neliaf@uj.ac.za x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, ix–xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 this special issue of the journal of student affairs in africa ( jsaa) has encouraged contributors to rethink and re-imagine the pedagogies that underpin tutoring and mentoring practices within the south african he landscape. the issue offers an exciting diversity of approaches to tutoring and mentoring. some articles focus on the role of tutoring (including si and pal) to promote student engagement, multilingualism, collaborative and cooperative learning, to enhance student learning and to promote quality assessment. other articles offer a systematic review of student support programmes to highlight effective support practices and guidelines for implementing programmes that promote social integration. then, at the other end of the continuum, there are articles focusing on online mentoring to promote critical and reflexive thinking and the perceived impact of mentoring programmes on student performance. lastly, this jsaa issue ends with an article that provides an initial national snapshot of the development and experiences of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education. the wide variety of topics should offer something of interest to all who have been involved in tutoring and mentoring programmes, and allow organisers and facilitators to share ideas. acknowledgements this special issue of jsaa is published with the support of funding from the department of higher education and training (dhet) national collaborative teaching development grant (tdg): “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats.” the project was centred at the fundani centre for higher education, cape peninsula university of technology (cput), conceptualised by james garraway and coordinated by lucy alexander. the project proposal was endorsed at the outset by the higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa). this jsaa issue, which was driven and guest edited by nelia frade, assisted by najwa norodien-fataar, is intended as a vehicle to focus attention on tutoring and mentoring in south african higher education institutions. as part of the tdg grant project, it provides a forum for publishing some of the resulting research as well as that of participants involved in tutoring and mentoring from the wider academic community. some of the research in this issue benefited from association with and debate at the joint conference of the international consortium for educational development (iced) and heltasa in november 2016. it is hoped that the contributions to this issue serve to strengthen debate and exploration of this important component of the higher education landscape. references clarence, s. (2016). peer tutors as learning and teaching partners: a cumulative approach to building peer tutoring capacity in higher education. critical studies in teaching and learning, 4(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.14426/cristal.v4i1.69 department of education. (2013). white paper for post-school education and training. building an expanded, effective and integrated post-school system. pretoria, south africa: department of higher education and training. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 https://doi.org/10.14426/cristal.v4i1.69 nelia frade: tutoring and mentoring xi keup, j.r. (2012). new directions in higher education: peer leadership in higher education (p. 157). san francisco, c.a.: jossey-bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20001 kuh, g.d. & pike, g.r. (2005). a typology of student engagement for american colleges and universities. research in higher education, 46(2), 185–209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-0041599-0 latino, j.a. & ashcraft, m.l. (2012). using peers in the classroom. columbia, s.c.: national resource center for the first-year experience, and students in transition, university of south carolina. underhill, j., clarence-fincham, j. & petersen, n. (2014). developing a mentorship programme for junior lecturers working with student tutors at a south african university: emerging shifts in pedagogy and identity. education as change, 18(supp.), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206 .2014.926828 underhill, j. & mcdonald, j. (2010). collaborative tutor development: enabling a transformative paradigm in a south african university. mentoring & tutoring: partnership in learning, 18(2), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 how to cite: frade, n. (2017). tutoring and mentoring. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), ix–xi. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20001 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1599-0 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1599-0 https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206.2014.926828 https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206.2014.926828 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, vii-x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.140 www.jsaa.ac.za the first-year experience, student transitions and institutional transformation birgit schreiber*, thierry m. luescher** and teboho moja*** editorial * executive director of student affairs, university of stellenbosch ** senior researcher and assistant director: institutional research, university of the free state. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com *** clinical professor for higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university notions of foundation support for students have been critiqued as focusing on an othered, separated and identified group of underprepared students. traditional approaches to firstyear and foundation support frequently leave the mainstream status quo unchallenged and thus reproduce and reaffirm the very exclusionary structures and systems that foundation programmes aim to challenge. in south africa, as early as 1986 (vilakazi), 1988 (nzimande), and 1995 (ndebele), academic support was critiqued as focusing on students rather than challenging the institutional practices that require transformation. more recently, akoojee and nkomo (2007) have argued that higher education requires a focus on the system in order to achieve transformation goals. kioko (2010) cautions against support premised on notions of assimilation and argues that student persistence and institutional success depends on the transformation of broad educational structures. the emerging notion that the first-year experience is crucial to academic success in higher education has given rise to a focus in student affairs and higher education on the first-year experience (fye). conceptualisations of the fye are located in at least three theoretical fields. firstly, within adjustment frameworks of student retention and persistence the focus is mainly on students’ adjustment in terms of behaviours, cognition and personal function, and attitudinal change, in order to adjust to the new demands of the higher education context (tinto, 1997, 1998, 2014). secondly, fye may be conceptualised within stage models of student progression in which the fye forms one stage through which students need to progress in order to engage with the undergraduate studies and to transition to work or postgraduate studies (schlossberg, 2006). the third conceptualisation of fye focuses on epistemological access to higher education. this is more than adjusting and potentially assimilating to the demands of higher education, and it is different from the normative changes expected at this developmental juncture. epistemological access viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, vii-x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.140 and epistemological engagement (harper & quay, 2009) as key aims of an fye, focus on enabling equitable participation in undergraduate studies. these frameworks, models and critiques present the background for many of the papers in this special fye edition of the journal for student affairs in africa. • andré van zyl explores layers of students’ socio-economic status and other variables and highlights the challenges and strengths within heterogeneous groups, arguing for nuanced institution-wide responses, and cautioning against a one-size-fits-all approach. • dallin young’s article argues for an institutional approach and makes valuable recommendations for horizontal and vertical integration in higher education so as to impact student persistence and success rates. • the third research article by jennifer keup is based on a meta-analysis of american research on peer support and peer leadership. she concludes that engaging peers is a high-impact practice. • continuing the theme of engaging fellow students, tracey mackay demonstrates that recruitment strategies and training are crucial for the impact that tutors make on student performance. • jaffer and garraway highlight the disjuncture between student and staff perceptions and expectations and how the difference between what staff mean and expect and what students understand and demonstrate contributes towards the barriers to shifting towards increased persistence rates. • jacobs and pretorius focus on a discrete skill within the range of maths competencies and explore how their focused work impacts on overall student performance rates. • gugu khanye concludes this edition of the journal with in-depth interviews with brenda leibowitz and john gardner on the fye and how to ensure that our focus shifts from deficit frameworks to systems changes. this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa thus continues, in greater depth, our engagement with a key theme at the intersection of student affairs and academic affairs. in this regard, previous issues of the journal have published case studies on academic development, such as thembeka shange’s (2015) research article on the perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners to academic development classes (vol. 3, issue 2), and we focused in a special issue on the work of vincent tinto (2014) on student persistence (vol. 2, issue 2). in addition, there have been a number of book reviews published by the jsaa on epistemological access. in this issue, we publish two book reviews: birgit schreiber’s review of strong starts, supported transitions and student success (cambridge scholars publishing, 2014) edited by andrew funston, miguel gil and gwen gilmore directly deals with the fye theme. she finds that “through critical reflection, scholarship, research and insightful narrative, the editors and authors illuminate the profound challenges in employing transformative strategies to truly transform higher education”, and concludes that “overall, the book is an extremely valuable resource for anyone in higher education who is committed to the complex tasks of realising the ideals of higher education as an equaliser”. birgit schreiber, thierry m. luescher and teboho moj: the f irst-year experience ix annsilla nyar reviews a ‘classic’ in south african higher education studies: the 2009 book higher education in south africa: a scholarly look behind the scenes (stellenbosch, sun press) edited by eli bitzer. she starts her review by explaining why it is important to review the book, specifically in this issue of the jsaa on the fye. on the one hand, nyar shows the strengths of the book with its particular angle, broad range of topics and diversity of contributors. on the other hand, taking a closer look at the book from the fye angle, nyar points out that some key issues in the field of higher education are clearly underplayed, particularly matters of student access and success, affordable education, graduateness and, more generally, transformation. her reasoned assessment leads her to conclude that “the relative absence of important areas of analysis in the collection of contributions divests the book of a contemporary feel in terms of the broader contexts and concerns in which it places itself and perhaps even speaks to some blind spots within the academy itself ”. nyar’s measured review of bitzer’s book is a welcome critique of a book that remains widely used – including as prescribed reading in the syllabi of a number of professional qualifications in higher education in south africa – but clearly needs revision in order to regain currency for the changing higher education context. in our last issue of jsaa (vol. 3 issue 2), we dealt at some length with equity and social justice in higher education, identifying them as key concerns underpinning the ongoing student struggles in south africa and giving direction for the road ahead in the development of higher education in africa and the role that student affairs will be called to play. neither in student affairs nor, more broadly, in the academy can we afford to have blind spots in these areas. finally, we would like to thank one of the supporters of the establishment of the journal of student affairs in africa for her three-year service: the first patroness of the journal, emeritus professor lullu tshiwula, formerly deputy vice-chancellor of student affairs at the university of the western cape (uwc). among her many achievements during her office as dvc at uwc is that prof. tshiwula established the first doctoral programme in student affairs in south africa as an international collaboration between uwc and california state university, fullerton. prof. tshiwula’s support for the professionalisation of student affairs in africa – which is also signified by her patronage of the jsaa – has been unwavering. for the jsaa editorial executive, birgit schreiber, thierry luescher and teboho moja references akoojee, s. & nkomo, m. (2007). access and quality in south african higher education: the twin challenges of transformation. south african journal of higher education, 21(3), 385–399. bitzer, e. (2009). higher education in south africa: a scholarly look behind the scenes. stellenbosch: sun. harper, s. & quay, s. (2009). beyond sameness, with engagement and outcomes for all. in s. harper & s. quay (eds), student engagement in higher education, pp. 1–15. london: routledge. kioko, j. (2010). foundation provision in south african higher education: a social justice perspective. in c. hutchings and j. garraway (eds), beyond the university gates: provision of extended curriculum programmes in south africa, pp. 76–96. proceedings of the january 2009 rhodes university foundation seminar. x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, vii-x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.140 kift, s., nelson, k. & clark, j. (2010). transition pedagogy: a third generation approach to fye – a case study of policy and practice for the higher education sector. the international journal of the first year in higher education, 1(1), 1–20. doi:10.5204/intjfyhe.vlil.13. ndebele, n. (1995). maintaining domination through language. academic development, 1(1), 3–5. nzimande, b. (1988). from disadvantage to deinstitutionalisation: disaggregating liberal universities and some implications for academic support programmes. paper presented at the asp conference, university of cape town, december 1988. schlossberg, n. (2006). “moving in, moving through, moving out”: nancy k. schlossberg’s transition theory. process of adult development (27), research paper: student development theorist. retrieved january 1, 2016, from http://www.victoriaestrella.com/wp-content/ uploads/2008/02/web-site-4.2-schlossberg-transition-theory.pdf. shange, t.g.c. (2015). perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners about academic development classes at a university of technology. journal of student affairs in africa, 3(2), 33-44. doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134. tinto, v. (1997). classrooms as communities: exploring the educational character of student persistence. journal of higher education, 68(6), 599–623. tinto, v. (1998). taking research on student persistence seriously. review of higher education, 21(2), 167–177. tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south africa lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5-28. doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 vilakazi, h. (1986). the need for a revolution in education. proceedings of the aspects 7 asp conference, university of natal, pietermaritzburg. 105 author biographies dr jeremiah adetoro dr jeremiah adetoro is a senior lecturer in the department of educational administration, faculty of education, university of lagos, nigeria. he specialises in educational planning, policy analysis and statistics. he has over 15 years of experience of successful teaching and research in the university and associated institutions, teaching especially research and quantitative analysis, educational administration, planning and policy courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. dr adetoro’s research focuses on institutional planning and policy analysis. he has aslo published widely in these areas in local and international journals. dr lisa bardill moscaritolo dr lisa bardill moscaritolo is associate vice-president and dean of students at pace university, westchester campuses, in new york (usa). as avp/dean of students, she provides overall leadership and direction for the student affairs division. she has a masters in higher education and college student personnel from florida state university, an education specialists degree in mental health counselling and a doctorate in leadership from barry university. dr bardill moscaritolo is an advocate for international education and globalising student affairs/service practice and research. she is a founding member and general secretary of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). she was a co-author of a chapter, ‘semester at sea & shipboard education’, in osfield’s book, the internationalization of student affairs and services in higher education: emerging global perspective. she also wrote about the ‘semester at sea’ in the 2009 unesco book, the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing, and assessing student affairs programmes and services. ms claudia frittelli ms claudia frittelli is program officer, higher education & research in africa, international program, at the carnegie corporation of new york. she develops the programme’s higher education research, policy and governance initiatives in order to sustain higher education reform through external regulatory bodies and non-profit advocacy organisations. as part of the corporation’s investment in strengthening african universities and developing the next generation of academics as a means to national development in tanzania, uganda, south africa, and ghana, her work has included supporting university strategic priorities in research and graduate studies, staff development, information and communications technology (ict) and e-learning, gender mainstreaming and community engagement. prior to joining the foundation, she held management positions in the global telecommunications and private internet sector in paris and new york and served as an advisor to international not-for-profit agencies. ms frittelli holds an mba from the 106 american graduate school of international management, thunderbird, and an ma in linguistic studies from syracuse university, usa. mr james otieno jowi mr james otieno jowi teaches comparative and international education in the school of education, moi university, kenya. he is also currently a phd candidate at the centre for higher education policy studies (cheps) at the university of twente, the netherlands, and has been a student leader at the university of oslo, norway, and at moi university, kenya. mr jowi is the founding executive director and secretary general of the african network for internationalisation of education (anie). he has published on the internationalisation of higher education in africa, as well as on matters of student leadership, management and governance in higher education. he is also a co-editor of student politics in africa: representation and activism (african minds, 2015). mr lucky kgosithebe mr lucky kgosithebe graduated with a bachelors in animal science from botswana college of agriculture in 2008. upon graduation, he worked for the tertiary education council (tec) of botswana as an intern and, later, as a junior researcher by virtue of his former role as student leader that saw him represent tertiary students on the tec board. in 2010, he was admitted to the higher education masters in africa programme, that is a noma masters programme in higher education studies offered jointly by the universities of oslo (norway) and western cape (south africa). despite embarking on a totally new field, at least in terms of his undergraduate studies, mr kgosithebe comfortably completed his graduate studies, an experience which he speaks fondly of. he has developed an interest in research on student affairs, such as student activism, representation and leadership with a particular interest in the contribution of higher education to democracy. currently, he works for the human resource development council (hrdc) of botswana. dr manja klemenčič dr manja klemenčič is a fellow and lecturer in sociology of higher education in the department of sociology, faculty of arts and sciences, harvard university. she researches, teaches, advises and consults in the area of international and comparative higher education, with a particular interest in the implications of contemporary higher education reforms for students. she has also researched questions relating to institutional research, internationalisation, the academic profession and student representation. her publications include guest-editing two special issues on student governance in western europe in the european journal of higher education 2012 and on a global perspective in studies in higher education (2014). she has also co-edited books on student engagement in europe: society, higher education and student governance and student politics in africa: representation and activism. moreover, she is the editor of the european journal of higher education, associate editor of the international encyclopaedia of higher education systems and institutions, co-editor of the book series understanding student experience in higher education with bloomsbury, and serves on 107 the governing board of the consortium of higher education researchers (cher). she received her phd in international studies at the university of cambridge and from 1998 to 2001 served as secretary general of the european students’ union. dr thierry m. luescher dr thierry m. luescher (dr thierry luescher-mamashela) is assistant director of institutional research at the university of the free state, south africa. prior to this, he was senior lecturer in higher education studies and political studies at the university of the western cape and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. he researches, teaches and consults on matters of international and comparative higher education, with a particular interest in the nexus of higher education with politics in africa, higher education policy and governance, student politics, the student experience, and higher education development. he has published in local and international scholarly journals, including studies in higher education, tertiary education and management and perspectives in education, as well as authored chapters in books. he is journal manager and an editor of the journal of student affairs in africa and the editor of the book student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and j. otieno jowi). his publication list can be viewed at: https://ufs.academia.edu/thierryluescher. mr mwangi j. macharia mr mwangi j. macharia is a lecturer in the department of philosophy, history and religion at egerton university, kenya. he is a member of the council for the development of social science research in africa (codesria), the association of african historians (aah), the association of kenyan historians (akh), the philosophical society of kenya (psk) and the red cross. he has published extensively on youth identity and popular culture, on the mungiki in kenya, on the mau mau and land issue in kenya, on the mau mau and reparation, among others. he is currently researching the internationalisation of university education in kenya under the auspices of codesria’s comparative research network on internationalisation of university education in sub-saharan africa and the experiences of muslim students in kenyan universities. his other interests are: the co-existence of multiple faith groups among university students in kenya, youth and security in the horn of africa in the era of radicalisation, al-shabaab, and terrorism. dr blessing makunike dr blessing makunike is director of quality assurance at the university of zimbabwe, harare. prior to this appointment, he was senior assistant registrar for academic affairs at the university of zimbabwe. he obtained his phd in africa studies from the university of the free state in south africa. his research focuses on land reform, indigenous knowledge systems, and poverty alleviation. he is an emerging researcher on issues concerning management theory and practice in higher education. 108 mr allen m. mcfarlane mr allen m. mcfarlane is assistant vice-president for outreach and engagement at new york university. with more than 30 years of engagement in higher education, he presently conducts outreach and assessment in respect of incoming new york university undergraduate international first-year students and transfer students. the goal of this strategic initiative is to gather information and knowledge that will foster innovation and intentionality in support of international student transition. he advises the senior vicepresident for student affairs, university colleagues and faculty in support of international student transition and campus community-building for all students. additionally, allen serves as co-facilitator for english conversational groups for international graduate students. he has amassed a notable list of accomplishments and has championed innovation for award-winning student affairs units in the areas of student diversity and student development. he conceived, co-developed with dr candace collins and co-taught a course entitled black diversity contributions to america. the course examines how differences in the choice of career, religion, politics and dissent in the black community shape individual and societal identity. he holds three degrees from new york university and is a veteran of the united states air force. mr taabo mugume mr taabo mugume is a researcher in the monitoring and institutional research unit of the directorate for institutional research and academic planning, university of the free state, south africa. he previously worked as research assistant on the herana student experience and democracy project at makerere university, uganda, and in the political studies department at the university of the western cape and the sustainable livelihoods foundation, cape town. he has a masters in political science from the university of the western cape. he has co-authored publications for studies in higher education and the books knowledge production & contradictory functions in african higher education (edited by n. cloete, p. maassen & t. bailey, 2015) and student politics in africa: representation and activism (edited by t.m. luescher, m. klemenčič and j.otieno jowi, forthcoming). ms annsilla nyar ms annsilla nyar is the newly appointed director of the south african national resource centre (sanrc) for the first year experience (fye) and students in transition. prior to joining the sanrc she held the post of manager: research and policy analysis at higher education south africa (hesa). she is a researcher and academic with expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. she holds a masters in political science from the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn) and is currently completing a doctorate through the university of the witwatersrand (wits). 109 dr adesoji oni dr adesoji oni, a fulbright scholar, is a senior lecturer in the department of educational foundations, faculty of education, university of lagos, nigeria. he specialises in the sociology of education. his research focus includes: social problems in education, social change in education, social deviances/social disorganisations in education, with a particular focus on students’ secret cults in nigeria. he has published widely in these areas in the form of chapters in books and articles in scholarly journals. he also edits a number of national and international scholarly journals. he is the associate editor of the national association of sociologists of education’s nigerian journal of sociology of education, and managing editor of the journal of educational review and the journal of sociology and education in africa, among others. dr birgit schreiber dr birgit schreiber is director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape in cape town, south africa. she holds a phd from the same university. she has worked within student affairs, with a focus on student development and support, for the past 18 years at various higher education institutions. she has published in national and international academic journals on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynote addresses at national and international conferences, and has given lectures at the university of california, berkley, the university of leuven in the netherlands, and the university of oslo (norway). she was a visiting scholar at the university of california, berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. birgit schreiber has also been involved with various quality-assurance panels reviewing student affairs at south african universities and has taken part in the national review of the south african student engagement tool (sasse). she has been a member of the national executive of various national professional organisations, including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap). she currently serves on the executive of the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas) and is the africa regional coordinator of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). she has published in several local and international journals and books on student affairs, including a chapter in the book perspectives on student affairs in south africa (african minds, 2014). she is a founding member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 99–103 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 99 www.jsaa.ac.za interviews and dialogue understanding the uj institutional student success initiative (issi) annsilla nyar* & celine meyers** * dr annsilla nyar is director: south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), university of johannesburg, south africa. email: anyar@uj.ac.za ** celine meyers is a student research assistant at the sanrc, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: celinem@uj.ac.za dr andré van zyl has a master’s degree in strategic management and a phd in higher education. his main research focus is in the area of student success with specific focus on first-year students. he has spoken at various national and international conferences. dr van zyl was responsible for initiating the first-year experience initiative at uj and he has spearheaded the setting up a national resource centre for the fye in south africa. the sanrc is now fully functional and housed on the apb campuses of uj. he has been working at uj since 2004 and has worked as a learning development facilitator, fye coordinator and since late 2012 as the director of the academic development centre at uj. introduction celine meyers from the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) recently spent time with dr andré van zyl, director of the academic development centre at the university of johannesburg (uj), in order to learn more about uj’s recently-implemented student success initiative. dr van zyl has been involved in this important new initiative since its inception. the interview with dr van zyl highlights important components of the uj institutional student success initiative (issi) and outlines some of the thinking behind the institution’s key efforts to successfully transition students all the way to the graduation stage and beyond. meyers: please give us some background about the uj issi and how it fits into the broader strategic objectives of the institution. van zyl: the university of johannesburg has taken the matter of student success seriously for a long time. taking it seriously means looking at student success more broadly and holistically. we started the first-year experience (fye), the senior student experience (sse) and even the south african national resource centre for the firstyear experience and students in transition (sanrc) with the help from the department and colleagues overseas. uj has over time developed an atmosphere where student success http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:celinem%40uj.ac.za%20?subject= 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 99–103 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 and the professionalisation of teaching and learning have both become central to what we do as an academic endeavour. uj is target-driven in this regard. we have looked at the undergraduate success rate and the minimum time plus one completion rate. it is not the minimum time per se, because students often need a little bit more time to complete their studies. ideally speaking, we want to plan for an extra year ahead. this is my personal point of view of course! we focus on a minimum time plus one, because there’s an element of realism in what we do. minimum time plus one is more attainable. little pockets of activity related to this initiative have existed for a long time, but it’s only been ‘pockets’. things were done in a way that wasn’t fully institutionalised. therefore uj moved towards institutional action by creating the first-year experience committee for a much more focused institutional student success. this initiative was the next logical step. in late 2017, uj looked to the adc for leadership. i worked with a few of my colleagues, along with prof. rory ryan, executive director: academic development and support at uj, on this. we came up with a plan which served at the top management of the institution. they were happy with the proposal. that plan has been refined and structures have been put in place. now we are in the first phase of implementation. these initiatives feed into a number of the institutional strategic objectives, for example: (1) academic success and excellence and (2) the living and learning experience of the institution. uj has for the past few years spoken of ‘affordable excellence’. this initiative feeds directly into this objective. on a personal level, it is very much institution-facing so that it can influence student success and experiences. it is focused firstly on the institution. meyers: when will the uj issi be formally introduced? what is the structure like? will there be someone who leads the initiative? please explain your own involvement with the uj issi. van zyl: immediately after october 2017 we set up the plan and had it approved. part of the plan was to put institutional structures in place that haven’t always existed before. for example, we created a new institutional committee called the student success committee. this committee is chaired by prof. ryan. the vice deans for teaching and learning of all eight faculties sit on this committee. the committee focuses exclusively on student success. it met for the first time in november 2017. between the beginning of october and the end of november 2017, we identified all the priority modules, communicated these and the plans were already set up in november 2017. it was an incredibly fast start. the actual implementation started in february 2018 when classes began. we met with lecturers and looked into the relevant interventions. fyi, a priority module is a module where we are losing the greatest number of ‘funded credits’ (this is a technical term). it basically means ‘where are most students getting stuck in terms of numbers?’ if you have a large module that has 3 000 students, regardless of high success rates, you could still be on the high priority index. this index lists the top 20% of modules institutionally where students are failing. we then select the top 5 by faculty. the exception was the college of business and economics, because it is a quarter of the institution. given this, we selected modules in consultation with the vice dean of teaching and learning. we set up certain http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 annsilla nyar & celine meyers: interview with andré van zyl: understanding the uj institutional student success initiative 101 teams, internal structures, and a student success committee. from january 2018, we set up appointments with the lecturers as well as workshops for students in priority modules. the official university structure is as follows: we have a senate teaching and learning committee (stlc) which reports to senate, the highest organisational structure at uj. the student success committee falls under the teaching and learning committee. it is led by prof. ryan and the dvc for teaching and learning, but they are not directly involved in it. there are many people working on this initiative, but the main implementation is done by myself and my team. meyers: what is uj hoping to achieve with the uj issi? van zyl: firstly, we are trying to push up the minimum time completion plus one and secondly, we want to address the issue of module completion rates. while we do not expect immediate results, we are hoping to see slight improvements in the module success rate. this initiative feeds into the professionalisation of teaching and learning at uj. it immediately starts treating academics like professional teachers. this initiative has also helped to re-invigorate the adc. we have become real agents of change within the institution. this has helped to strengthen the existing positive atmosphere for teaching and learning at uj. meyers: student success is a multi-faceted concept. how does uj define student success? van zyl: at uj, we believe that student success has to be defined at least as the minimum time plus one completion. if you complete in the end, it is still some sort of success, but the ideal success and what we would hope to see happen, is at least minimum time plus one. that is what we define as student success. meyers: is there a theoretical underpinning behind the uj issi? van zyl: yes there are many. it depends on what interventions and theories we use. the ideas of theorists like vincent tinto play a grounding role in giving us language to work with. it is very fashionable to criticise tinto these days, but nobody is currently putting a better framework on the table. it is still by far the best broad sociological framework we have by which to understand matters of student success. at uj we also believe in william purkey and betty siegel’s theory of ‘invitational education’, i.e. we have to be intentionally inviting of success for our students. we are now asking ourselves “how do we become more intentionally inviting to student success?” meyers: how will this initiative differ from uj’s current suite of diverse student success initiatives? van zyl: this initiative will often replicate the content of other things and in some instances it will develop new content. it will differ in the sense that we are slightly more intrusive. let us rather use the term “intentionally collaborative”. we are saying to our fellow uj colleagues “student success is part of your responsibility. let us work together on purpose and in a data-informed focused way, let us test what we do and if it does not work, let’s do something else next year”. these are all aspects that are new to uj. we have always wanted to work along these lines, but we have previously never had this kind of 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 99–103 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 institutional momentum and top-management support to do so. also, stronger institutional structures, which are less dependent on particular individuals, are now being put in place. meyers: what kind of data will be used to support the initiative? van zyl: the data we are using comes from uj’s institutional database. our colleagues from the division of institutional planning for evaluation and monitoring are responsible for overseeing this database. meyers: how will monitoring take place? van zyl: two things can be monitored, i.e. activity and impact. regarding activity, we have documented all our activities on dropbox. it has also become part of the job description and performance management agreements of relevant adc staff who are working on this initiative. measuring impact is much more difficult as the module success rate is a highly complex issue. how can we, for example, say that the impact is truly related to this initiative? while we do not expect improvement in all modules, we are hoping to see an average improvement in the 41 priority modules. we have to be careful in how we claim impact. meyers: the blackboard predict (bbp) students analytic system is used by uj to identify students who are at risk. would you say that bbp is used evenly and consistently across the institution? is there sufficient knowledge by staff of how to use bbp data and the best approach therein toward students? van zyl: the answer to both of your questions is unfortunately no. this is in part because it is a very complex system and we have only rolled it out to one faculty. we are planning to roll out a part of it to another faculty only in second semester. it will take us at least three years to get this up and running across the institution. blackboard predict is not central to the issi. it is running parallel to it and thus far, the response to it from both students and staff has been immensely positive. they are finding it very useful, because it tracks you over time and gives individual feedback. it warns you about your students. we are careful about the term ‘at-risk’. we do not call our students at-risk, even when they are failing, given that it labels students in a negative way. of course, it is not an incorrect term technically, but the highest part about the blackboard predict is communication. for example, we do not tell lecturers they teach poorly and the same goes for our students. blackboard predict is there to identify ‘at-risk’, but most importantly, it is there to activate success. finally, i would like to emphasise that this is not the same as issi and a number of workshops have been rolled out to the faculty of law to ensure sufficient knowledge of how to use the bbp and this has been implemented. however, it will probably take us a decade to get bbp properly embedded across the institution. meyers: is there anything else you would like to add about the initiative? van zyl: implementation of such an initiative requires institutional buy-in as well as patience. without patience, prior work and proper institutional structures, this cannot be accomplished. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 annsilla nyar & celine meyers: interview with andré van zyl: understanding the uj institutional student success initiative 103 it is clear that uj’s student success initiative is characterised by strong leadership and vision as well as an underlying ethos of ‘invitational education’. the initiative is still in the early phases of implementation and south africa’s higher education sector will be watching developments at uj with a view to learning more and understanding how different universities can adopt similar approaches. how to cite: nyar, a. & meyers, c. (2018). interview with andré van zyl: understanding the uj institutional student success initiative (issi) [24 april 2018]. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 99–103. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3069 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 131–136 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 131 www.jsaa.ac.za book review jansen, j. (2017). as by fire: the end of the south african university. pretoria, south africa: tafelberg. reviewed by vicki trowler* * dr vicki trowler is postdoctoral researcher, higher education, school of applied sciences, university of huddersfield, united kingdom. email: v.trowler@hud.ac.uk. this book review was previously published on litnet. jacob zuma chose to mark the day of reconciliation by reaching out to protesting students and promising free higher education, an unsurprising but contentious move. that act spurred me to finish reading as by fire, jonathan jansen’s analysis of the responses of south african university vice-chancellors to the #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall (and associated) movements. by pure chance, i happened to be on the uct campus on 9 march 2015, the day chumani maxwele decided to douse the statue of cecil john rhodes in excrement, kicking off a protest movement that called not only for the removal of the offensive statue, but for a removal of the hostile organisational climate that many black students felt permeated uct and other historically white universities (hwus). #rmf was not the first to call for this at uct – similar calls had been made for as long as i can remember, with organisational climate surveys, research projects and outbreaks of protest underlining the need for what we then called “transformation” – but things were different this time: firstly, a mere month (to the day) after the initial protest action, the statue was removed. this concrete response, while limited, was nonetheless symbolic, and signalled a difference from previous responses, which were usually to appoint task teams to frame new policies, to investigate renaming a few venues, or to review systems and procedures to speed up recruitment and retention of black students and staff. secondly, the movement spread like wildfire. luister, a documentary about the oppressive experiences of black students at stellenbosch university and elsenburg agricultural college spawned #openstellies, which was soon joined by #witssowhite, #rhodessowhite and similar movements at other hwus, as well as splinter movements abroad such as #rhodesmustfalloxford. months later, fresh impetus came with the beginnings of #feesmustfall at wits university, spreading beyond hwus to historically black campuses and institutions, where longstanding protests about fees and resources became part of a national uprising. jansen notes that, while many seemed surprised at the outbreak and extent of the protests, university leaders were not: they had for some time been warning of the “perfect storm” brought about by “massification” on the one hand, and cuts to resourcing on the other. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:v.trowler%40hud.ac.uk?subject= 132 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 131–136 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 many news reports, blogs and scholarly articles have been written about “the hashtag movements”, but as by fire is the first comprehensive, systematic attempt at analysing the reflections on the movements from the perspectives of the leaders of those universities most closely involved. jonathan jansen is well-placed to undertake the task – the “servantleader” of the university of the free state at the time, himself no stranger to institutional climates hostile to black staff and students – and puts his privileged access to good use, soliciting accounts from his peers that are both frank and unguarded. interviews with 11 vice-chancellors, and his own views as a 12th, form the bulk of the data around which the analysis is constructed. for this alone, this book is worth a read. the revelations go way beyond the carefully chosen responses which appear in newspaper reports, on institutional websites or in press releases. there is no attempt to balance these views with “student voice” – that is not the intention of the book, nor would such an attempt to provide “representative” views of a “leaderless” movement be feasible, as is underscored by accounts from several of the university leaders of constantly changing negotiating teams, priorities and positions, experiences which frustrated the university leaders but which reflect the dynamic nature of the protest movements. jansen locates the movements within the border political climate in the country, noting how the developments mirrored others happening within the ruling anc, and traces the ideological trajectory within the movements from one initially apparently aligned with the anc, to subsequent alignment with the eff, pan-africanism and black consciousness. noting that protest was neither sudden nor new to hbus, which had experienced protests more or less consistently throughout, jansen remarks that it was only when the hwus experienced protest that the media, and the state, began to pay attention. indeed, it is hwus that draw the bulk of the focus in as by fire, although hbus such as uwc and nwu and merged institutions such as cput feature alongside. these very different histories imply very different trajectories, and these differences are drawn out together with similarities in the accounts and the analyses. for those whose exposure to the movements has been largely, or entirely, through the media, experiences on the ground from universities enjoying less media attention than uct or wits add nuance and texture. i was interested in jansen’s choice to discuss first the financial “roots of the crisis” – the impetus for #feesmustfall – before considering the cultural “roots of the crisis” (that gave rise to #rmf and associated movements), not only because chronologically #rmf preceded #fmf, but because i had noted a shift in sentiment in the reception of the movements when the focus moved from the symbolic to the material. nancy fraser (2013, p. 176) distinguishes between “injustices of distribution and injustices of recognition”, stressing that while the latter are not reducible to the former, they are also not “merely cultural”, and that both need to enjoy attention if social justice is to prevail. observing the responses to the movements, i wondered if public sentiment as reflected in the social/ media had been willing to countenance the need for greater inclusivity in the climates on campuses – after all, i do not know a single person who felt any affinity for rhodes, despite the childhood thrill of climbing onto the backs of the lions at his memorial – but when it came to questions about the public vs the private good of higher education and, thus, who https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 vicki trowler: as of fire: the end of the south african university 133 should carry the costs, well, that was another matter. polarising debates predicated on the need for social justice versus “affordability” (also characterised as “prioritisation” – assuming that the money could be found – were there not far more urgent needs, such as health care, early-years development for children, or investment in basic education?) gnawed away at the earlier support for the movement/s, and was matched by a progressive shift in the movement/s’ rhetoric from the earlier intersectionality to a more africanist, or as jansen terms it, “nativist”, position. “nativism” is not a term in common parlance in south africa, although the sentiments are not unknown: more commonly referenced as “xenophobia”, it is usually directed at amakwerekwere, who are constructed as “foreigners” from elsewhere in africa. the term is seldom applied to foreigners from europe,1 the americas or australasia, for example, and has clear racial and class connotations. choosing to use this term, which is most commonly associated with u.s. politics, jansen appears to have in mind an american audience – backed up by his choices of u.s. comparisons when the more obvious ones might be found in the u.k. (where #rhodesmustfall had a splinter movement at oxford, while the national union of students enthusiastically supported campaigns such as “why is my curriculum white?”, and fees protests dominated the headlines a few years ago) and elsewhere in europe (for example, nieuwe universitiet in the netherlands staged sympathy protests with #rmf; fees protests in germany led to free higher education) or elsewhere in the “developing world” (student protests in chile leading to fee-free higher education). it may be that, having worked in the u.s., jansen is more familiar with that context, but given the very great differences between the u.s. higher education system and that in south africa, it appears counter-intuitive to non-u.s. readers, and leaps out as a sop to publishers to lend an “international appeal” to the work. jansen’s views on decolonisation are no secret – the discussion at http://www. litnet.co.za/problem-decolonisation-jonathan-jansen-seminar/ provides a good primer – so it is unsurprising that he dedicates a chapter of this book to outlining his scepticism towards the decolonial thrust of the movements. while he criticises the appropriateness of “decolonisation” in a political context that, he argues, saw off colonialism more than a century ago, his main concern stems from the targeting of the university curriculum – which he positions as a convenient scapegoat, reducing student concerns around curriculum to “flag waving” and institutional responses to review curriculum in the light of such concerns to “regrettable bowing and scraping”. anyone who has taught in a university knows that curriculum is not sacrosanct – while some disciplines do claim a “canon”, this is seldom universal and is always open to contestation. while students – by definition, novices to a discipline – may perhaps not be the best arbiters of the fitness of curriculum, dismissing such concerns out of hand – and the sincere efforts to consider these – risks smacking of reactionary high-handedness. 1 francis nyamnjoh’s #rhodesmustfall: nibbling at resilient colonialism in south africa takes the unusual position of situating rhodes as makwerekwere. http://www.litnet.co.za/problem-decolonisation-jonathan-jansen-seminar/ http://www.litnet.co.za/problem-decolonisation-jonathan-jansen-seminar/ 134 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 131–136 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 in a chapter discussing “shackville” and the “welfare university”, jansen presents as a new phenomenon the expectation of a generation of students that “the university” (as a proxy for “the state”) will take care of their needs, not just their education. this argument is premised on “born frees” having grown up with access to social grants, a new phenomenon unknown by previous generations. yet, this argument reads a little disingenuously – those of us who studied on bursaries or scholarships in the “old days”, before “massification”, did indeed have our living expenses taken care of through such bursaries or scholarships at the more generous end. for others, student loans from banks were a possibility – working parents could sign surety against assets such as future paycheques or property, an option not available to many of the poorer students trying to make ends meet today. is it unreasonable that today’s students expect the same package that previous generations had access to – especially when discourse around making universities accessible to poor students neglects to spell out the limitations of resourcing not only in terms of numbers of beneficiaries but also in terms of what will, and will not, be covered by provision such as nsfas? in the past, too, many students were able to secure part-time (or even full-time) work to support themselves while studying. in a massified context, a smaller proportion of the student body has access to such opportunities, and in a climate of heightened unemployment, that reduces still further. these are system-level problems, and students who experience them are right to raise them as such. if the system cannot accommodate the absolutely poor, but only the relatively poor, it should be honest about doing so and not mislead students for whom the wherewithal to feed themselves, travel to lectures or take care of their personal hygiene is simply not there. on a related note, the “black tax” – particularly the practice of sending remittances home to support the extended family – provides another example of the system’s lack of comprehension of the requirements of what in international terms are referred to as “non-traditional students”. it is slowly being accepted that, if access and participation are to be truly widened to “non-traditional” students, these students cannot simply be expected to adapt to the system, but the system reciprocally needs to adapt too. if the system does not adapt to the differing needs of a changing student population, the failings of the system become privatised and projected onto the individual students, who become pathologised as deficient – an argument that jansen appears to be falling into in his discussion of the “welfare university”. it was while reading jansen’s chapter on the “anti-social media” that i struggled to continue reading. i began to wonder whether we had witnessed the same movements, whether we inhabited the same universe, never mind the same universities. jansen laments the attributes of social media that shaped the movements in management-hostile manner – from the use of hashtags and whatsapp groups to organise protest action speedily, to the university leaders’ loss of control over the narrative though the spread of “fake news” through edited video clips shot on mobile phones. personally, i do not see social media as bad, nor the democratisation of information authoring. the “higher” aspect of higher education, i would argue, involves engaging students critically, socio-culturally and politically – the latter requiring them to assume an authorial voice themselves instead of https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 vicki trowler: as of fire: the end of the south african university 135 merely commenting critically on others’ authorship. while technology may have made containing the protests more difficult, as it most certainly did, it also provided tools for the university leaders and their own teams. jansen’s own descriptions of receiving late-night messages from a whatsapp group of university managers show that this was used to some extent, while comments he cites of other vice-chancellors illustrate how the bureaucracy of university management was ill-suited to capitalise on the immediacy offered by social media in terms of constructing their own narrative. decrying the tools because one lacks mastery demonstrates a lack of creativity in analysis, in my view. jansen really comes into his own with his discussion of the personal costs of leadership (by which he means university leaders; the personal costs of leadership amongst students can be surmised from allusions on social media and elsewhere, but have to my knowledge yet to be systematically analysed in the same way). he lists the high turnover rate amongst his sample – though, as his sample contains only vice-chancellors, the true extent is lost, since some universities are set to experience an almost entire turnover at senior leadership level. this focus on vice-chancellors only is both a strength and a limitation. in focusing on the individuals carrying the can, a nuanced picture of individuals, the people behind the statements, emerges. this, though, sets up a “hero” narrative – and there are indeed anecdotes where the vc is presented almost as a “saviour”, stepping in to finance individual students’ dire emergencies, for example – and raises questions about the role of the senior leadership team, and how this may have differed from institution to institution. one interviewee alludes to “disappointment” that his staff did not support the decision to securitise the campus, raising tantalising questions about the process and accountability for that decision, and the extent to which it was shared across the senior leadership team. having watched over the years how differently different incumbents inhabited the role of vice-chancellor in a single university, i cannot help but wonder how differently the different vcs in jansen’s sample inhabited their roles, and the extent to which some leaders acted as lone rangers while others led as a team – and how this may or may not have affected both the handling of the crises on their campuses and their personal responses and costs to self. jansen closes his text by considering, when does a university cease to exist? he argues that underfunding, interference and instability have doomed sa universities, before offering the “ray of hope” that ordinary citizens recognise the value of the university and fight for its survival. yet, jansen’s argument is predicated on recognising only a single valid model for criticality, for scholarship, for knowledge. i would argue that the university ceases to exist when it cannot conceive of possibilities outside of its current form, outside of the current body of knowledge and current limits of imagination. universities should foster creativity as well as technical knowledge, and in the process of confronting their own limitations new possibilities emerge. i do not share jansen’s pessimism – universities have survived since the middle ages through far worse than student protests – but rather see the fallist movements as providing opportunities for honest, thoroughgoing reflection in south african universities to consider how best to fulfil their mission, in their context, at this time. 136 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 131–136 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 references fraser, n. (2013). fortunes of feminism: from state-managed capitalism to neo-liberal crisis. london: verso. nyamnjoh, f.b. (2016). #rhodesmustfall: nibbling at resilient colonialism in south africa. oxford, u.k.: african books collective. how to cite: trowler, v. (2018). review on jansen, j. as by fire: the end of the south african university. pretoria, south africa: tafelberg. (2017). journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 131–136. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v6i2.3316 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 111 call for papers vol 4 2016 open call submissions are invited from student affairs practitioners and researchers in student affairs and higher education studies. the journal of student affairs in africa is seeking contributions for its volume 4 issues (2016). the editorial executive of the jsaa welcomes theoretical, practice-relevant, and professional-reflective contributions from across the scholarly field and professional domains of student affairs and services that are relevant to the african higher education context. details of the scope and focus and editorial policies of the journal can be found under ‘jsaa about’ on the journal’s website www.jsaa.ac.za. particularly welcome are: • case studies of innovative practices and interventions in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. in career development, citizenship development, community engagement and volunteering, counselling, leadership development, residence management, student sport, teaching and learning, student engagement, student governance and politics, as well as all aspects of student life); • conceptual discussions of student affairs and development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa; • high-level reflective practitioner accounts of an empirical, normative or conceptual nature. by this, we mean to both critical-reflective accounts of practices as well as personal reflections which can provide the building blocks for future case studies and grounded theory approaches; • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond; and • syntheses and explorations of authoritative literature, theories, and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. the journal also publishes relevant book reviews and professional and conference reports and notices from scholarly associations and institutions. please email the journal manager, dr thierry luescher-mamashela, with any queries or suggestions for contributions (email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com). to send us a manuscript 112 for consideration, please register as an author and consult the submission guidelines on the journal’s website (www.jsaa.ac.za). manuscripts can be submitted directly to the journal manager via email. the jsaa is a peer-reviewed publication and adheres to the assaf guidelines for best practice in scholarly publishing. the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. the closing date for receiving papers to be considered for volume 4 issues is 31 january 2016 (issue 1). please note: there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. 129 publications by african sun media engaging students: using evidence to promote student success by francois strydom, george kuh & sonja loots (eds.) (2017) “[it] is the first comprehensive manuscript on research into student engagement in south african higher education. each of the chapters has a clear, distinguishable focus and makes an original contribution in and of itself, while retaining the central focus on student engagement. the book provides a rich, informative picture of the current state of student engagement evaluation, while also highlighting challenges and opportunities for future advances. a particular strength of this publication is its emphasis on the importance of taking evidence-based decisions, and showing how the south african survey of student engagement (sasse) can provide the evidence for well-informed changes in policy and practice in order to enhance student success.” – professor magda fourie-malherbe, stellenbosch university, south africa isbn 978-1-928424-08-6 r335 260 pages isbn 978-1-928424-09-3 r265 (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781928424093 focus on first-year success: perspectives emerging from south africa and beyond by brenda leibowitz, antoinette van der merwe & susan van schalkwyk (eds.) [revised ed.] (2012) “the importance of the first-year experience is now well recognised. this collection of papers makes a fascinating and important contribution to our understanding of students’ transition to higher education. this is a scholarly, engaging and illuminating text that is relevant not only in the context of south africa but for anyone interested in student learning in the first year of university education.” – professor david gosling, plymouth university, u.s.a. isbn 978-1-920338-12-1 r365 285 pages isbn 978-1-920338-22-0 free (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781920338220 african sun media is an integrated content manager and specialist supplier of publishing and printing services for the higher education market and the private sector. we publish under the imprints sun press, sun media, rapid access publishers (rap) and conference-rap. most of our publications are available in electronic and print format at: orders@africansunmedia.co.za www.sun-e-shop.co.za africansunmedia.snapplify.com (e-books) www.africansunmedia.co.za https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com/product/9781928424093 https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com/product/53d1383d83277 mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= http://www.sun-e-shop.co.za https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com http://www.africansunmedia.co.za 93 author biographies dr lisa bardill moscaritolo serves as associate vice president & dean for students at pace university, new york, usa. she also serves as the chief student affairs officer for her campus and provides overall leadership and direction to the student affairs division. lisa has a masters in higher education and college student personnel from florida state university, an education specialists degree in mental health counseling and a doctorate in leadership from barry university. she is an advocate for increasing the knowledge, research and practices of student affairs and services around the world and is a founding member and general secretary for the international student affairs and student services (iasas) organisation, which was chartered in brussels, belgium in july 2013. she has been involved in naspa’s (student affairs professionals in higher education) international education knowledge community since 1994 and served as chair of the knowledge community in 2003-2004. lisa was awarded a sabbatical from pace university during the spring 2015 semester to serve as dean of student life for a semester at sea voyage. she is one of four editors of a new naspa/iasas publication, titled supporting students globally in higher education: trends and perspectives for student affairs and services. prof. arega bazezew is a livelihood and food security specialist at bahir dar university, ethiopia. he has long experience in teaching and administration at high school and university levels exceeding three decades. in addition, he has served as head of department of geography and environmental studies for four years. currently he is a phd coordinator in the department of geography and environmental studies. he is also a chairperson for the serve ethiopia development association (seda). he has extensive experience in software applications such as the statistical package for social scientists (spss) and the geographic information system (gis). berlie arega has published many peer-reviewed articles in relation to education, development and food security. he has also written teaching materials on fundamentals of economic geography and basic concepts of statistics in geography and environmental studies. he presented scientific works for international conferences such as usaid and sida in relation to climate change, food security and agriculture. dr kathleen callahan serves as a lecturer for leadership studies at christopher newport university, newport news, usa. she received her phd in higher education administration from florida state university in 2015 and her masters in college student affairs from the university of south florida in 2007. she has worked in the field of higher education for over 10 years and her research interests include the history of higher education and student affairs, the internationalisation of higher education, and leadership education. additionally, she is an adjunct professor for william and mary’s higher education programme, as well as adjunct for the leadership certificate programme at florida state university. she has leadership roles in naspa, student affairs administrators in higher education and the international leadership association (ila). 94 dr kevin colaner currently serves california state polytechnic university, pomona, usa, as associate vice president for student services where he oversees student health and counseling services, the career center, the disability resource center, orientation services, the veterans resource center, and student support and equity programs.  in addition, he is an adjunct associate professor for the rossier school of education at the university of southern california. his service to the profession includes leadership both regionally and nationally in the national association of student personnel administrators. as a result of his outgoing and collaborative management style, he has been profiled in the g quotient: why gay executives are excelling as leaders … and what all managers need to know, released by jossey-bass publishing. he is a contributing author in the recently published identity and leadership: informing our lives, informing our practice. his commitment to diversity and inclusion was recognised by the cal poly pomona community as he was selected as a 2014 diversity champion. he earned his doctorate in education from the university of southern california and a master of science in college student personnel services from miami university after graduating cum laude from the university of north carolina, wilmington, with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. karen davis is associate director, student academic services (retention, achievement and equity) at victoria university of wellington, new zealand. in this role, she leads a team of staff who deliver academic and equity-focused student services, including student learning, mentoring and holistic support for maori and pasifika students, disability services, and careers and employment services. karen is vice president (new zealand) of the australia and new zealand students’ association (anzssa). she completed an ma (hons) at the university of auckland and, following this, was a member of a research team, supported by a grant from the marsden fund for a three-year project that investigated the use of, and attitudes to, the four main pasifika languages in manukau in new zealand, with the intention of contributing to language maintenance. karen is particularly interested in students’ transition into tertiary study and participation and achievement of students from diverse backgrounds. danie de klerk is a lecturer and success coordinator at the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa, whose research interests span teaching and learning in higher education, undergraduate student success and support, at-risk programmes, and data analytics. he holds a master’s degree in english literature and is currently completing a two-year professional postgraduate diploma in higher education studies. danie has been working in the higher education sector for more than 10 years, has assumed instructional and administrative roles at multiple south african universities, and has extensive experience in the area of holistic student success and support in the current tertiary climate. his expertise includes academic advising and student guidance, language instruction and assessment, curriculum planning and course design, course coordination, and academic administration. 95 dr munita dunn-coetzee is currently the director at the centre for student counselling and development (cscd), stellenbosch university, south africa. she is a registered counselling psychologist and obtained her master’s degree in counselling psychology cum laude at stellenbosch university during december 2001. she has completed her doctoral degree, ddiac in play therapy, in 2004 at the university of south africa. she was employed at huguenot college until 2010 where she was involved in psychology and play therapy, lecturing pre-graduate students in psychology and supervising postgraduate students in play therapy. as she is fond of research and studying, she obtained an mphil in higher education cum laude during 2013 – the focus being social change within higher education. she has published nationally and internationally, and has presented at several national and international conferences. she served as the deputy director of the centre of student communities at stellenbosch university until october 2014, which involved managing activities regarding co-curricular development, student leadership, transformation and integration of different cultures on one campus. in her current role as the director of the cscd she focuses on providing a student-centred approach in terms of therapeutic interventions, crisis management, guidance with academic and career development, assisting students with special needs, as well as dealing with issues regarding discrimination, victimisation and harassment. dr yuanyuan fang is associate professor of the school of foreign languages, hefei university of technology, china. she earned a master’s degree in applied linguistics from the university of science and technology of china, and a doctor’s degree in science communication also from the university of science and technology of china. her research interests include multicultural communication and translation. prof. magda fourie-malherbe is professor of higher education studies in the centre for higher and adult education, faculty of education, stellenbosch university, south africa. she is an alumna of the university of the free state, and has worked at various public higher education institutions in south africa as a researcher, lecturer, supervisor and higher education manager for almost 30 years. her research includes work on higher education governance, leadership and management, teaching and learning, and academic development. currently 15 postgraduate students are doing research under her supervision, mainly on factors that enhance or inhibit student success. she has presented more than 50 papers at international and national conferences and has authored and co-authored 40 contributions to scholarly journals, books and research reports. recently she co-edited a volume: postgraduate supervision: future foci for the knowledge society, published by african sunmedia. she is a member of a number of professional associations, including the consortium for higher education researchers and the european association for institutional research. she regularly reviews articles for both national and international scholarly journals. 96 jennifer a. hamilton is the executive director of the canadian association of college and university student services (cacuss). she has served in this senior leadership role of canada’s national student affairs association since january 2011. prior to joining cacuss, she worked as a student affairs professional for 15 years in the areas of student leadership development and student life, career services, academic advising, orientation/ transition programmes and international student services. her roles included developing and managing a new department at ocad university, and serving in staff roles at the university of toronto and portland state university. jennifer has an honours b.a. from the university of guelph and a m.s. in student affairs in higher education from colorado state university. she is a current phd student at oise, university of toronto, and her research focuses on how student affairs staff develop professional competence. andrew jones is assistant dean: undergraduate in the faculty of commerce, law and management of the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa, as well as a co-grant holder for the road to success programme. his research interests span teaching and learning in higher education, undergraduate student success and assessment and curriculum design within professional qualifications. he holds a master’s degree in commerce and is currently completing a two-year professional postgraduate diploma in higher education studies. andrew has been working in the higher education sector for more than 20 years, and has extensive experience in the area of holistic student success and support in the current tertiary climate. his expertise includes academic advising and student guidance, lecturing and coordinating courses in accountancy and taxation, curriculum planning and course design, course coordination, as well as academic administration. dr yongshan li is the deputy director of department of educational administration and dean of humanistic quality education center, hefei university of technology, hefei, anhui, china. he is responsible for strategic planning and advancement of general education of the college students. he earned a doctor of management degree in management science and engineering from hefei university of technology. his research interests include student affairs administration in higher education from an international perspective, and comparative study of general education in universities worldwide. he is dedicated to promoting professionalisation of student affairs practitioners in china. in 2015, his study was supported by the “ideological and political education young talents support program” sponsored by ministry of education of the people’s republic of china. dr thierry m. luescher (luescher-mamashela) is research director: higher education and development in africa, in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, south africa. before that he was assistant director of institutional research at the university of the free state, and senior lecturer in higher education studies, extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he obtained his phd in political 97 studies from the university of cape town. he researches, teaches and consults on matters of international and comparative higher education, with particular interest in the nexus of higher education with politics in africa, higher education policy and governance, student politics, the student experience, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he has published in local and international scholarly journals, including studies in higher education, european journal of higher education, journal of higher education in africa, south african journal of higher education, tertiary education and management, politikon: south african journal of political studies and perspectives in education, along with several chapters in internationally edited books. he is an editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the book student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and j.o. jowi, 2016, which is available open access). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www.thierryluescher.net. tshepiso maleswena is a researcher and coordinator in the faculty of commerce, law, and management of the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. her work is based on the various aspects of the faculty’s teaching and learning and her responsibilities include facilitating student success and support, student mentorship and research of various learning and teaching methods.  prior to wits university tshepiso worked extensively in the corporate sector in the field of marketing and communications where she held various marketing role in insurance, risk as well as in the information technology space. tshepiso holds an undergraduate degree in communications, a master’s degree in political science and is currently in her first year of a two-year postgraduate diploma in higher education. her research interests extend to student social experiences at tertiary institutions, decolonisation of the university curriculum and nuanced approaches to course design and assessment practices. outside of her work at wits, tshepiso is also a gender and social justice activist and frequently works with organisations such as sonke gender justice and soul city to raise awareness around gender-based violence. dr maria l. martinez currently serves california state polytechnic university, pomona, usa, as university registrar. starting from august 2017, she will be associate vice president at san francisco state university. in 2017, she earned the endorsement of  the american association of collegiate registrars and admission officers as an enrollment professional and is included in the organisation’s national registry. in collaboration with various campus partners, she is responsible for providing student-centred enrollment services to former and current students, faculty, and staff. she oversees critical university functions, including registration, evaluation of records, graduation and academic records maintenance and is a primary contributor to university initiatives to boost student success and graduation. in recognition of her excellent leadership skills, cpp’s vice president of student affairs awarded dr martinez the leadership award in 2011. dr martinez earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from fordham university with a cum laude designation, 98 a master’s in public administration from california state university, fullerton, and a doctor of philosophy in education  degree from chapman university.  her research interests revolve around the intersection of culture, education and leadership. her passion is in increasing institutional understanding of the unique needs of students from abroad and aligning student services with these needs. chinedu mba is currently an english as a second language/english for academic purposes professor at algonquin college, ontario, canada, where she also serves as a student advisor and sits on the college academic advising steering committee. chinedu is an academic coach and works with learners of all ages. she received her ba in mass communication from the university of nigeria, nsukka (unn) in 1987, a postgraduate diploma in education from the university of calabar, calabar, nigeria in 2000, a certificate in teaching english as a second language from humber college, toronto in 2002, an ma in applied linguistics from york university, ontario, canada in 2005, an ma in educational studies, specialising in leadership in post-secondary institutions from the university of alberta in edmonton, alberta, canada in 2014. chinedu mba’s experience as faculty in several canadian community colleges and the university of guelph as well as her roles as a program coordinator and associate dean, respectively, at norquest college in edmonton, alberta, canada have driven her passionate interest and involvement in matters related to student affairs and advocacy, particularly in the area of the academic success of international students, internationally educated professionals (iep), refugees and various classes of immigrants. she has served as chairperson, board of executive directors, st. albert district further education, st. albert in alberta, canada. currently, she is a member of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), the learning strategists association of canada (lsac), international centre for academic integrity (icai), and teachers of english as a second language association of ontario (tesl ontario). prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university, usa. her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education transformation (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco international institute for educational planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995–1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post-1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy 99 processes, and impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor-in-chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. prof. mulugeta neka is assistant professor of geography and environmental studies at bahir dar university in ethiopia. he taught in high schools before he joined bahir dar university. now, he is teaching postgraduate students of geo-information, and geography and environmental studies. currently, he is also involved in training bahir dar university teachers for the higher diploma in teaching. mulugeta has held various positions at bahir dar university. he was head of the department of geography and environmental studies for several years, has served as registrar of bahir dar teachers’ college (the current bahir dar university), and was also the dean of the faculty of social science at the university. he co-authored articles on livestock husbandry and economic sustainability, and detection of olea europaea subsp. cuspidata and juniperus procera in the dry afromontane forest. he also co-authored a book entitled soil conservation practices and has written teaching material on “basic concepts and methods of teaching geography”. barbra m. pansiri is the director, student welfare, university of botswana, a job that entails directing the overall management of student life: halls of residence, general welfare of students, student development and alignment of these services to university goals. her job specifically focuses on: new students’ orientation, student accommodation, student welfare, student leadership development, student life programmes, and student discipline. she has worked in tertiary institutions for 22 years, of which 19 were in student administration. her qualification highlights are: a bachelor’s degree (public administration) from the university of botswana, a master’s degree (business management) from australia with a focus on organisational development, a certificate in higher education management in southern africa from wits university, south africa, and she trained with the james grinn national housing training institute (nhti) in georgia, usa. she also completed a six-month attachment in student affairs at the university of missouri, columbia, usa, in 2014. she is very passionate about student development and her achievements have mainly been in this area, particularly in revamping student services under her jurisdiction, facilitating as well as introducing student life and development programmes, one of the key programmes being the living & learning community (llc). she has made a couple of presentations in student development in botswana, south africa, zimbabwe and the usa. she has facilitated the first regional (southern africa) llc annual seminar, which has now been incorporated into acuho-i-sac, an initiative she considers not only great, but a welcome development as that’s where the llc belongs. dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbsoch university, south africa. prior to that she was the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town, south africa. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national 100 and international conferences and given lectures at the uc berkley, the university of leuven (netherlands), and the university of oslo (norway). she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has also been involved in various quality assurance panels reviewing student affairs at south african universities and has taken part in the national review of the south african student engagement tool (sasse). she has been a member of the national executive of various national professional organisations including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and currently serves on the executive of the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). she is also the africa regional coordinator of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) and is a founding member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. refilwe precious sinkamba, bsw, msw, is a senior lecturer in the department of social work at the university of botswana. she is coordinator for the first-year learning experience course. in addition she is a warden and assists students with living and learning activities under the department of student welfare. she has earned her a bachelor’s degree in social work from the university of botswana and a master’s degree in social work – mental health and substance abuse emphasis from the university of utah, usa. she has published in several peer-reviewed journals and presented in several international and national conferences. her research interests are alcohol and substance abuse, mental health, male abuse, children and youth, student affairs, social security, disability as well as hiv and aids. linda spark is a senior tutor and programme grant holder at the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. she has been lecturing in information systems for more than 20 years, and prior to that worked in the it industry. she has extensive experience with student advice and support, lecturing and course co-ordination, curriculum and course development, various academic, administrative and citizenship roles, including the portfolio of assistant dean in teaching and learning for the faculty. her research interests include the use of technology in education, technology and ethics, and student support and success. _goback _goback editorial team editor-in-chief prof. teboho moja, new york university guest editor dr nelia frade, university of johannesburg editorial executive dr birgit schreiber, stellenbosch university (book review editor) prof. thierry m. luescher, human sciences research council (journal manager) prof. teboho moja, new york university dr martin mandew, durban university of technology dr w.p. wahl, university of the free state international editorial advisory board dr lisa bardill moscaritolo, pace university prof. cecile bodibe, empowaworx dr john butler-adam, sa journal of science prof. ronelle carolissen, stellenbosch university prof. jon dalton, emeritus, florida state university dr tom ellett, new york university prof. magda fourie-malherbe, stellenbosch university dr ransford e.v. gyampo, university of ghana dr manja klemenčič, harvard university prof. patrício langa, universidade eduardo mondlane prof. christina lunceford, bowling green state university dr llewelyn macmaster, stellenbosch university dr ibrahim ogachi oanda, codesria dr adesoji oni, university of lagos prof. dawn person, california state university fullerton prof. akilagpa sawyerr, ghana academy of arts and sciences prof. juma shabani, university of burundi distinguished prof. john schuh, emeritus, iowa state university distinguished prof. vincent tinto, emeritus, syracuse university prof. nan yeld, university of cape town publishing and website ms mimi seyffert-wirth, stellenbosch university mr wikus van zyl, african sun media contents editorial tutoring and mentoring for student development thierry m. luescher, birgit schreiber & teboho moja v guest editorial tutoring and mentoring nelia frade ix research articles considering the role of tutoring in student engagement: reflections from a south african university brendon duran faroa 1 peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects at the mechanical engineering department at walter sisulu university qonda makala 17 from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment: exploring the value of supplemental instruction in a large first-year class mianda erasmus 33 academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal: a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles, 2010–2015 vino paideya & annah bengesai 55 paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones 75 the messiness of meaning making: examining the affordances of the digital space as a mentoring and tutoring space for the acquisition of academic literacy moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo 89 international survey of peer leadership (ispl): an emerging snapshot of the status of peer leadership in south africa nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone 113 stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university: a qualitative study henry d. mason 131 reflective practice facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state theuns du buisson 151 an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme on student performance langutani mary masehela & memory mabika 163 book review meyer, h.-d., st. john, e.p., chankseliani, m. & uribe, l. (eds.). (2013). fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice. rotterdam: sense publishers reviewed by elisa brewis 183 author biographies 187 call for submission of papers 194 publications by african sun media 196 publications by african minds 197 submissions 198 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial tutoring and mentoring for student development thierry m. luescher,* birgit schreiber** & teboho moja*** * prof. thierry luescher is research director in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council, cape town, and affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. he is the jsaa journal manager. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com ** dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbsoch university, south africa. she is the book review editor and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za *** prof. teboho moja is professor and program director, higher education program, new york university, u.s.a., visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, and extraordinary professor in the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. this guest-edited issue of jsaa focuses on tutoring and mentoring and draws in parts on papers that were presented at the 2016 joint conference of the international consortium for educational development (iced) and the higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa). well-planned and implemented tutoring and mentoring programmes provide an effective means to support students to successfully navigate their academic, coand extra-curricular lives. in the higher education context, tutoring can be defined as curricular and supplemental assistance provided to students by more senior students, academic development practitioners and other learning facilitators, to gain proficiency in basic and more advanced academic skills as well as learning support in relation to specific discipline-related learning materials and learning and assessment tasks. it typically involves breaking up large classes into smaller groups, which enhances the potential of effective participation of students, closer peer relations and staff-student relations, deep learning and student engagement. mentoring, in turn, traditionally involves a one-to-one relationship, but it may also take place within a group context, or within cohort mentoring situations, between a more senior mentor and a younger student mentee, whereby the role of the mentor is to provide individualised guidance and support, even if this occurs within a group or cohort setting. scholarly literature on tutoring and mentoring indicates the various cognitive and affective benefits that tutoring and mentoring have particularly for students from academically disadvantaged backgrounds (powell, 1997). thus, the methodologies of tutoring and mentoring are not only important programmatic interventions into students’ academic, personal and social development; they also provide successful models for student development even in the core functions of student affairs. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 mentoring programmes are part of core functions of student affairs and the diversity of models and varity of programmes are linked to the kind of outcomes and goals set for the context. mentoring is a staple and core function of student affairs, and has recently been used in a more non-traditional way, for instance as a framework for cohort supervision, for student leadership support as well as for advancing excellence, thus expanding notions of mentoring. tutoring and mentoring literature and research has not yet adequately explored some of the concerns around tutoring and mentoring approaches being premised on the maintenance and reproduction of culture and status quo. when seniors induct juniors into a context, explicitly or implicitly held assumptions, attitudes and practices are reproduced, often without critique or examination. these are some of the areas that require further exploration and deeper research and some of the articles in this guest-edited issue explore these critical issues – either by presenting original research into tutoring and mentoring, or by way of critically reflecting on their practice thereof. in addition to the guest-edited articles on tutoring and mentoring, this issue of jsaa includes an article by henry mason that discusses results from a qualitative study on stress and coping. his study reveals surprising results on students’ understanding of stress and it shows that students consider stress as part of their “journey to and through higher education”. furthermore, we publish elisa brewis’ review of the book fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice (2013, edited by meyer, st. john, chankseliani and uribe). the book presents a unique collection of chapters that discuss access to higher education in a range of contexts and higher education systems. collectively, the chapters propose an alternative approach to higher education access; an approach that offers sustainable and enabling pathways to he. for 2018, we are planning that volume 6 of the journal will focus on three main themes: student communities and residence life; the first-year student experience; and the politics of space, language and identity in african higher education. in addition, there is a proposal for a guest-edited issue on diversity and polarisation on campuses, which is highly topical in our context as well as globally. notwithstanding this thematic orientation, open submissions on any topic are always well received, and will be vetted, reviewed and if possible accepted and published as soon as they are ready, even if they do not fall within the theme of a specific issue. in this respect, it is also important to note that in the course of 2016/17 we have received an increasing number of manuscripts, including manuscripts that do not strictly fall within the scope of the journal. we have therefore decided to focus more on ‘student affairs proper’. we also plead with authors to adhere to the basic author guidelines for manuscript submission, and understand that a journal that is only published twice a year will have a lead time from submission to publication of up to six months, of which at least three months are typically taken up by ‘quality control processes’ such as vetting, peer reviews, and resubmission, and another three to four months by the publishing process per se, involving professional proof-reading, layout and type-setting, and eventually uploading and indexing on our various e-platforms and printing. finally, we would like to thank an outstanding scholar and higher education leader, prof. akilagba sawyerr, for his service to the journal. prof. sawyerr has served for almost http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 thierry m. luescher, birgit schreiber & teboho moja: tutoring and mentoring for student development vii two years on the jsaa editorial executive and has recently tendered his resignation from the executive. his expertise is, however, not entirely lost to the journal. prof. sawyerr will continue on the jsaa international advisory board to provide advice on the general direction and development of the journal, and as peer reviewer for articles that fall within his area of expertise. reference powell, m.a. (1997). academic tutoring and mentoring: a literature review. sacramento, c.a.: california research bureau. how to cite: luescher, t.m., schreiber, b. & moja, t. (2017). tutoring and mentoring for student development. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), v–vii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2697 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, ix–xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 ix www.jsaa.ac.za guest editorial tutoring and mentoring nelia frade* * dr nelia frade is senior coordinator: unit for tutor development, centre for academic staff development, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: neliaf@uj.ac.za south african institutions of higher education (he) have increasingly come under pressure to broaden access to historically under-represented groups who are often underprepared for tertiary education as a result of apartheid-era secondary schooling (white paper, 2013). this has resulted in student enrolments becoming increasingly diverse with respect to racial, cultural, socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds (underhill & mcdonald, 2010). in an attempt to address these issues and promote increased throughput rates, institutions of he have increasingly begun to introduce tutoring, including supplemental instruction (si) and peer-assisted learning (pal) and mentoring programmes. in so doing, they have begun to recognise that tutoring and mentoring are not just nice to haves but can provide significant opportunities for engaged teaching and learning, and access to the epistemological discourse of the academy. however, the value of tutoring and mentoring programmes lies in how effectively they are planned and implemented. well-developed programmes provide the ideal opportunity for students to actively engage with study content, build relationships within a supportive peer-led environment, and become socially inducted into the institution (kuh & pike, 2005). stakeholders involved with these programmes should have a general understanding of the goals, establishment and maintenance of these programmes in order to maximise their effectiveness (clarence, 2016). in light of this, tutoring and mentoring programmes require ongoing collaboration between academic staff, tutors/mentors and staff development professionals, in order to create and sustain effective teaching and learning environments for students (clarence, 2016). furthermore, students who serve in these positions must receive the necessary training and support to fulfil these roles effectively. training is critical for developing the capabilities and skills required for peer-led activities (keup, 2012). intentional and ongoing training is a prerequisite for any successful tutorial and mentoring programme (latino & ashcraft, 2012). lastly, opportunities should be created for stakeholders to evaluate, reflect and improve practice on an ongoing basis to ensure that these programmes remain effective and responsive to student needs (underhill, clarence-fincham & petersen, 2014). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:neliaf@uj.ac.za x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, ix–xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 this special issue of the journal of student affairs in africa ( jsaa) has encouraged contributors to rethink and re-imagine the pedagogies that underpin tutoring and mentoring practices within the south african he landscape. the issue offers an exciting diversity of approaches to tutoring and mentoring. some articles focus on the role of tutoring (including si and pal) to promote student engagement, multilingualism, collaborative and cooperative learning, to enhance student learning and to promote quality assessment. other articles offer a systematic review of student support programmes to highlight effective support practices and guidelines for implementing programmes that promote social integration. then, at the other end of the continuum, there are articles focusing on online mentoring to promote critical and reflexive thinking and the perceived impact of mentoring programmes on student performance. lastly, this jsaa issue ends with an article that provides an initial national snapshot of the development and experiences of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education. the wide variety of topics should offer something of interest to all who have been involved in tutoring and mentoring programmes, and allow organisers and facilitators to share ideas. acknowledgements this special issue of jsaa is published with the support of funding from the department of higher education and training (dhet) national collaborative teaching development grant (tdg): “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats.” the project was centred at the fundani centre for higher education, cape peninsula university of technology (cput), conceptualised by james garraway and coordinated by lucy alexander. the project proposal was endorsed at the outset by the higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa). this jsaa issue, which was driven and guest edited by nelia frade, assisted by najwa norodien-fataar, is intended as a vehicle to focus attention on tutoring and mentoring in south african higher education institutions. as part of the tdg grant project, it provides a forum for publishing some of the resulting research as well as that of participants involved in tutoring and mentoring from the wider academic community. some of the research in this issue benefited from association with and debate at the joint conference of the international consortium for educational development (iced) and heltasa in november 2016. it is hoped that the contributions to this issue serve to strengthen debate and exploration of this important component of the higher education landscape. references clarence, s. (2016). peer tutors as learning and teaching partners: a cumulative approach to building peer tutoring capacity in higher education. critical studies in teaching and learning, 4(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.14426/cristal.v4i1.69 department of education. (2013). white paper for post-school education and training. building an expanded, effective and integrated post-school system. pretoria, south africa: department of higher education and training. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 https://doi.org/10.14426/cristal.v4i1.69 nelia frade: tutoring and mentoring xi keup, j.r. (2012). new directions in higher education: peer leadership in higher education (p. 157). san francisco, c.a.: jossey-bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20001 kuh, g.d. & pike, g.r. (2005). a typology of student engagement for american colleges and universities. research in higher education, 46(2), 185–209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-0041599-0 latino, j.a. & ashcraft, m.l. (2012). using peers in the classroom. columbia, s.c.: national resource center for the first-year experience, and students in transition, university of south carolina. underhill, j., clarence-fincham, j. & petersen, n. (2014). developing a mentorship programme for junior lecturers working with student tutors at a south african university: emerging shifts in pedagogy and identity. education as change, 18(supp.), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206 .2014.926828 underhill, j. & mcdonald, j. (2010). collaborative tutor development: enabling a transformative paradigm in a south african university. mentoring & tutoring: partnership in learning, 18(2), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 how to cite: frade, n. (2017). tutoring and mentoring. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), ix–xi. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20001 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1599-0 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1599-0 https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206.2014.926828 https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206.2014.926828 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2698 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article considering the role of tutoring in student engagement: reflections from a south african university brendon duran faroa* * brendon duran faroa is associate lecturer, department of psychology, university of the western cape, south africa. email: bfaroa@uwc.ac.za abstract student engagement has been defined as the extent to which students are engaged in activities that higher education research has shown to be linked with high-quality learning outcomes. the ubiquitous influence of the term ‘student engagement’ has been felt throughout the higher education landscape. this is especially true for south african higher education where student success has been poor. south african universities have been tasked to improve the student learning experience as a component of improving success. some of the innovative teaching and learning practices often highlighted by research which are thought to improve student engagement include: having students adopt teaching roles such as peer assessment, tutoring and mentoring. these practices are thought to promote student engagement, leading to greater student academic success. tutoring can therefore be seen as one of the key strategies to facilitate student engagement in order to achieve academic success. the following paper considers the role of tutoring in student engagement while reflecting on strategies used at a south african university to address the challenges associated with student success. keywords student engagement; tutoring; tutor; higher education; reflections; key strategies; south african universities background south african higher education faces a number of challenges. these include: low pass rates, very high first year dropout rates, low participation rates from previously excluded groups as well as low degree completion rates (strydom & mentz, 2010; wilson-strydom, 2010; scott, 2009). in the year 2000, 30% of first year students dropped out in their first year of study while only 22% of first years eventually went on to graduate (council on higher education, 2010). thus, the preceding decade of south african higher education already demonstrated a number of significant challenges which hamper student success. an impactful and relevant response is therefore needed to address these challenges. any response to the challenges of student success needs to be based on a student development model that is culturally sensitive, promotes social justice and which recognises the needs of all students (bourne-bowie, 2000). the response to the challenges of student success in south africa has therefore been focused on empirically sound approaches such as student http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:bfaroa@uwc.ac.za 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 engagement (strydom & mentz, 2010). engagement is uniquely poised to address such challenges, especially given its association with achievement, retention as well as social and psychological well-being (markes, 2000; crick & goldspink, 2014). the role of tutoring and tutors in higher education in south africa, as well as other countries such as the united states and canada, postgraduate student tutors are given important roles to play in facilitating student engagement and learning in higher education (clarence, 2016). among their duties, assisting in assessment or evaluation of student work, such as assignments or tests, is included as well as consulting with students outside of tutorials. despite the valuable role tutors play in higher education, there is disparity in the kinds of professional or educational support, training and development offered to them by their universities or the lecturers in whose courses they tutor (clarence, 2016). furthermore, the use of tutoring as a strategy to achieve and/or maximise engagement for the purpose of student development and success is hardly a new topic (topping, 1996; hock et al., 2001; de smet et al., 2010). in higher education, particularly at universities, tutoring has long been a historical model for enhancing students’ engagement based on a close student-teacher relationship (lee, hong & choi, 2016). tutoring programmes form an important part of academic institutions yet are but one way of facilitating student engagement. tutoring forms an integral part of a university’s teaching-learning process and can be characterised as a basic strategy for improving students’ academic success and professional goals (morillas & garrido, 2014). there is also agreement that high-quality tutoring enhances retention and facilitates advancement throughout the higher education pipeline, whilst positively impacting all students who attend (girves, zepeda & gwathmey, 2005). the importance of tutoring in higher education can also be seen in its value for students who are at risk of dropping out, and for gender equality and the integration of minorities and/or previously excluded groups (girves, zepeda & gwathmey, 2005; burrell, 2013). by promoting equal opportunities to learn, equal access to educational resources and social cohesion tutoring has a role to play in redressing inequalities. tutoring can therefore serve as a vehicle through which to tackle complex social problems. according to betts and burrell (2014) complex social problems such as social inclusion should be tackled by processes and strategies which already exist in higher education. one such strategy may therefore be tutoring as a tool for engagement. thus, the role of tutoring is multifaceted and implicit in teaching and learning, thereby fulfilling an invaluable role in student, graduate and professional development as well as in promoting student engagement. student engagement, student success and tutoring there is little agreement on a definition of student engagement, although there is strong evidence to support the benefits of student engagement in student success. while a definition of student engagement remains difficult to articulate, it may nevertheless be necessary. for the purpose of this discussion more than one definition may prove useful to consider. hu and kuh (2001) defined engagement as the quality of effort that students themselves devote to educationally purposeful activities that contribute directly to desired http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 3 educational outcomes. furthermore, engagement has also been described as “a broad construct intended to encompass salient academic as well as certain non-academic aspects of the student experience” (coates, 2007, p. 122). these aspects, coates (2007) held, are: active and collaborative learning; participation in challenging academic activities; formative communication with academic staff; involvement in enriching educational experiences; feeling legitimated and supported by university learning communities. finally, and more popularly, student engagement has been defined as both the time and effort that students devote to activities that are empirically linked to desired outcomes of college and what institutions do to induce students to participate in these activities (kuh, 2009, p. 683). for the purpose of kuh’s (2009) definition, students’ involvement in curricular and co-curricular activities may translate into involvement in their own learning. in addition, students’ participation in their institutions may assist them to actively engage in peer learning with faculty staff which may drive student success (axelson & flick, 2011; van dijk, 2013). student engagement therefore plays a central role in student success. globally, a large body of literature supports the hypothesis that high levels of student engagement yield positive outcomes for the characteristics that promote student success (astin, 1984, 1993; chickering & gamson, 1987; pascarella & terenzini, 1991, 2005; goodsell, maher & tinto, 1992; berger & milem, 1999; kuh, 1995; kuh & vesper, 1997; kuh, kinzie, schuh & whitt, 2005; kuh, 2013; lodge, 2012). these characteristics include: student development, academic achievement as well as social engagement. student engagement is a critical component needed to ensure student success (webber, bauer, krylow & zhang, 2013). the overarching conclusion seems to be that students who are most engaged at both a curricular and co-curricular level will achieve better student success. the case of the university of the western cape the university of the western cape (uwc) is a public university situated in the northern suburbs of the western cape province of south africa. it has a student enrolment of approximately 20 000 students. it was established in 1959 by an act of parliament as an ethnic college. the university opened its doors in 1960 and has since been home to very diverse student populations. since then, it has transformed itself from a small apartheid educational institution to an internationally recognised university with a reputation for excellence in teaching, learning and research (uwc corporate guidelines, 2010). it is ranked 7th in africa and 5th in the country (times higher education, 2015). uwc, much like other south african universities, has tutoring as part of almost all its curricula. my role at uwc has, among others, been that of tutorial coordinator in the department of psychology, which forms part of uwc’s faculty of community and health sciences (fchs). student engagement is not new to the university. various interventions have been used to achieve and pursue ongoing student success. in fchs, the student success project has been a notable vehicle used to investigate and address challenges associated with engagement. results from the south african survey on student engagement (sasse, 2015) revealed that on average uwc firstand senior-year students measured markedly similar to their peers (in the sasse comparison group) on the majority of the engagement indicators. recent research conducted on student engagement at the uwc has also 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 highlighted a number of factors which play a role in student engagement. schreiber and yu’s (2016) study examining student engagement at the university of the western cape (uwc) found that engagement patterns are different across race and gender while highly correlated to academic performance. the authors were able to generalise these results onto the south african higher education system (schreiber & yu, 2016). like other south african universities, uwc has also struggled with student retention and throughput. tutoring has been identified as one of the key strategies to facilitate student engagement and promote student success. keeping these attempts to measure engagement in mind, as well as considering their results, provides uwc with opportunities to capitalise on engagement in order to improve student success. tutoring therefore presents as an already present tool and strategy that can be used to improve student success. psychology tutorials this study is located in the department of psychology at the uwc. psychology tutorials in the department are conducted with the following aims and objectives in mind: • to practically address the lack of academic support beyond the traditional lecture setting; • to increase pass and retention rates of modules which include but are not limited to high-impact modules; • to contribute towards dropout prevention; • to motivate students to learn; and • to promote student engagement, thereby increasing student success. the psychology department has the largest tutorial classes in the community and health sciences faculty. tutorials are tracked (using registers) and evaluated at the end of each semester. in addition, under the guidance of lecturers, tutors have consultations with students. tutors are also required to attend compulsory training, consultation with lecturers and support meetings with the tutorial programme coordinator. tutors fulfil various roles which, broadly speaking, includes; face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, as well as assisting with tutorial, assignment and test administration. tutorials are conducted across psychology undergraduate year levels. through tutorials, students are able to access more knowledgeable peers, and share diverse solutions to shared challenges. this allows students to build knowledge commons where student engagement is promoted. as part of pursuing student success, the department, with its large undergraduate student numbers, has employed a number of strategies to improve the quality of tutorials while promoting student engagement. strategies employed include: 1. the use of postgraduate tutor teams; 2. conducting pedagogically driven content and student-centred tutorials; 3. continuous-simultaneous training and evaluation; and 4. the use of information communication tools (icts). these will be discussed in more detail and in relation to relevant literature, below. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 5 postgraduate tutor teams and their role in pedagogically driven content, student-centred tutorials the department of psychology at uwc serves large undergraduate classes. tutorial attendance varies from 10 to 120 students per tutorial. tutor teams are utilised to facilitate large groups, and senior tutors (typically masters students who have had previous experience as a tutor), assist first-time and less experienced tutors. only psychology honours, posthonours, masters and phd students are eligible for tutoring positions. senior tutors serve as valuable support resources to novice tutors and are available for consultations as well as offering assistance during tutorials and training. tutorials follow lectures on a week-by-week basis to ensure close alignment of content with the course curriculum. exercises and group activities are included in course materials as well as content from lectures which together make up formal tutorial content. additionally, lecturers and tutors collaborate to deliver quizzes and audio-visual materials. lecturers guide tutorial content based on the perceived needs of students. the tutorial coordinator presents the results of student evaluations to tutors, who then reflect on these to tailor the format of tutorials. in the face of challenges such as increasingly large class sizes, recent research points to the need for new pedagogical strategies such as those involving faculty tutor teams (bond, czernkowski & wells, 2012; crowe, ceresola & silva, 2014). postgraduate psychology tutors in the department are paired with lecturers who teach the respective modules that they will tutor. according to gucciardi, mach and mo (2016) this kind of collaborative approach, while new, holds benefits for lecturers, tutors and students including a much more integrated approach to learning. while the approach perpetuated in the literature closely resembles that used in the psychology department at uwc, there are slight deviations. one such deviation is that of in-class feedback which in the literature is obtained directly from students (cook-sather, 2013; troisi, 2014; crowe, ceresola & silva, 2014; gucciardi, mach & mo, 2016). in the psychology department at uwc, feedback is obtained from both student evaluations as well as from the literature which informs tutor training. while the programme’s overall structure aligns quite closely to that described in recent literature, at its core, it seems to lack a guiding theoretical framework. though it may not be wise to rely on a single guiding theoretical framework, a framework remains necessary. the literature on peer tutoring in higher learning seems to recognise vygotsky’s (1962, 1986) social constructivism as a popular guiding pedagogical framework (asghar, 2010; stigmar, 2016). using asghar’s (as cited in gucciardi, mach & mo, 2016) logic, identifying a guiding framework/s might not be as simple as it sounds; “the interaction between peers allows students to enter the zone of proximal development where a less able peer is able to enter a new area of potential development through problem-solving with someone more able” (p. 406). in other words while one might hold a predisposition toward a particular theory for tutorials, another might emerge in practice. simply put, even in the absence of a guiding theory, psychology lecturers, students and tutors create knowledge and meaning from their interactions, thereby constructing new knowledge. this, after all, is at the very core of social constructivism. 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 tutorials require consistent monitoring as a means of ensuring that quality teaching and learning take place. without a lens (guiding pedagogical framework) through which to monitor tutorials, the very act of monitoring might become futile, especially in the context of academia. the department would therefore need to make clear its guiding theory/ theories to avoid redundancy. however, both the former and the latter points remain debatable in light of the core tenets of social constructivism. tutors, training and evaluation the different roles that tutors are required to fulfil in the psychology department mean that continuous and, at times, simultaneous training and evaluation is required. it is for these reasons that training is conducted throughout the academic terms. training topics include: contextual issues, academic skills such as writing, psychosocial topics such diversity, social and personal well-being, train the trainer (which includes tutor and student learning strategies) and e-tools (ict training). training occurs in-house (the academic department) as well as at faculty and, recently, at institutional level (university-wide). this, while both time-consuming and labour-intensive, might still not be enough to ensure high-quality tutors who facilitate high-quality student engagement. tutors, on the other hand, seem to exhibit a generally positive attitude toward training as well as recognise the need for training. the 2016 tutor cohort, when asked whether they would recommend tutor training to a colleague or peer, provided the following comments: participant 1:“yes, i think training is important for tutors to receive standardised training.” participant 3: “yes, it puts you at ease.” participant 7: “yes, it is very helpful especially for the fact that there was time to ask questions.” participant 4: “it is something we can learn from to become better students.” continuous training and support of tutors is an important strategy geared toward assisting tutors to develop more holistically (underhill & mcdonald, 2010; layton, 2013). while the literature on training and support of tutors highlight that there has been improvement in the recognition and development of tutors, it also makes clear that more research-driven approaches may contribute to this end. by implication, these shortcomings illustrate that disciplinary knowledge is not enough to ensure high-quality tutoring, nor does it maximise or promote student engagement. much like gucciardi, mach & mo (2016), clarence (2016) makes a strong case for tutors as teaching and learning partners which may be a starting point for building tutoring capacity in higher education. in this way, tutors will share in evaluation feedback, and be more involved in scheduling learning activities and clarifying procedural rules such as registration, deadlines and course requirements (haggers & donald, 2013). at uwc, this is already a reality, given the extent of the training provided to tutors, especially considering the way in which evaluations are being optimally used to inform tutoring. furthermore, clarence (2016) identifies the following strategies which can be used to create and sustain teaching and learning environments that are better able to facilitate student engagement through tutorials. these include: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 7 (a) providing tutors with opportunities to develop both their contextual and/or disciplinary knowledge; (b) endorsing facilitation, assessment and feedback-giving practices that are relevant to their kind and level of tutoring work; (c) providing guidance and ongoing contact with the lecturers to create a responsive learning environment; (d) critically re-examining academic departments’ support, training and development of tutor capacity; and (e) re-imagining tutor development and support in structured, research-led and cumulative rather than ad hoc ways. the latter two strategies seem to be more applicable to tutoring in the psychology department. at uwc, however, strategy (d) might also be extended to include the broader institution. this means that critically re-examining academic departments’ support, training and development of tutor capacity ought to be an institutional endeavour rather than a departmental one. finally, and perhaps more importantly, is strategy (e) which seems to directly address the psychology department’s lack of compulsory tutorials. this lack of integration of psychology tutorials into the curriculum of undergraduate students means that these essential tools/spaces for engagement remain under-utilised and run the risk of taking away rather than adding to student success. perhaps opening up tutorials for more than continuous and simultaneous training and evaluation, and pursuing more research endeavours in these spaces will yield better engagement, thereby doubling up on student success. with this in mind, research endeavours ought therefore to not only be limited to inform training material. research conducted in tutorial spaces might also serve to legitimise the need and relevance for tutorials as tools for student engagement within its relevant context. information communication tools (icts) the activities that tutors undertake in order to deliver content in the uwc psychology department are perhaps evidence of their changing role in higher education. in addition to traditional roles, tutors have recently taken on a more organisational role which has come to include scheduling learning activities and tasks and clarifying procedural rules such as, registration, deadlines and course requirements (haggers & donald, 2013). this role of tutors as organisers of educational content and activities has become more apparent in the face of a higher education landscape which relies heavily on ict infrastructure. online learning has become increasingly common throughout higher education (lee, hong & choi, 2016). with this reality, tutors have been compelled to take on a more technical support role in addition to their more traditional roles. at the psychology department at uwc, the university’s institutional online learning platform is used for online tutorials, thereby facilitating online engagement. tutors and students form online discussion groups where content is broken down into chunks, queries are addressed and course-related issues are discussed. in conjunction with lecturers, tutors also include: weekly videos, podcasts, 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 small-group activities, debates and mini panel discussions. electronic content such as videos and podcasts are vetted by lecturers. the strategies employed by tutors receive overwhelmingly positive responses from students. from this it is apparent that tutors use creative ways to deliver content to students. the timing of these interactive tutorials is also key as most took place shortly before assessment preparation was due to start. it is also during these sessions that attendance spikes dramatically. students seem to respond well to audio-visual tools. icts do therefore have a role to play in engagement. the nature of higher education institutions has necessitated technology-based learning environments which demand immediate technical support and which are critical in order to maintain student interest and the flow of learning (wade, hodgkinson, smith & arfield, 2013; lee, hong & choi, 2016). the use of icts in the psychology department has therefore expanded student engagement beyond the traditional tutorial space. icts such as institutional learning platforms breach traditional barriers, thereby enabling student engagement across vast distances. even though it may be hard to deny the need for icts, its mastery by academics may pose an issue as it includes supporting students by providing technical guidance, direction and feedback on technical problems and ensuring that students harness technical systems to stimulate interactive learning and promote engagement (denis, watland, pirotte & verday, 2004; wade, hodgkinson, smith & arfield, 2013; lee, hong & choi, 2016). icts therefore necessitate greater commitment from tutors and staff. in addition, icts do not come without logistical challenges. the use of icts for tutoring in the psychology department has been plagued by the problem of access. while the online learning environment holds tremendous promise for student engagement, students are often unable to access online platforms. this is largely the result of the large numbers of students enrolled but, perhaps more problematic, is access to the technical resources. the large numbers enrolled far exceeds what the department’s and university’s computer labs can consistently accommodate. this presents numerous issues and slows the pace at which online learning environments for engagement can be accessed. in the psychology department this has triggered low online attendance rates for e-tutorials. the logistical challenges of itcs coupled with the changes to the role of tutors have resulted in lecturers having to adopt additional roles. this places additional pressure on lecturers since they are responsible for guiding tutors as far as module content and assessment-related preparation is concerned. added to this is that tutorials in the psychology department are not compulsory, yet a clear need for this kind of support exists. the lack of compulsory tutorials means that not all students feel compelled to attend sessions, which results in lecturers having to repeat lecture content during individual student consultations, especially with struggling students. here, institutions have a broader role to play. commitment from the institution toward tutorial programmes is critical for student engagement, social integration and ultimately student success (braxton, hirschy & mccledon, 2004). institutions of higher learning must take decisive steps to ensure both human resources as well as infrastructure are available and sufficiently suited to accommodate staff, students and tutors. the role of the higher education institutions in student engagement has been discussed at length across the literature on tutoring. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 9 van  dijk  (2013) maintains that higher education institutions should focus on how they shape their students’ academic, interpersonal and curricular activities to promote or enhance student engagement. at uwc, this would entail a greater devotion to ensuring structured, well-funded, and adequately human-resourced tutorial programmes which operate within equally accommodating ict infrastructure. considerations from the literature developing tutorials and tutors as a response to student disengagement from the literature, it appears that tutoring has a well-defined role to play in student success, especially in the south african context. thus, a primary consideration may be to develop tutorials and train tutors in order to address disengagement and achieve and maximise student success. several theorists (hart, 1992; hughes, zhang & hill, 2006; ritter & covic, 2006) suggest that one way in which to promote student engagement is through appropriate and empathic responses to students as individuals. martinez and munday’s (1998) study of student drop-out rates found that two of the factors for success were students’ awareness of their own learning process as well as lecturers’ responses to the varied learning needs of the group. any successful tutorial programmes would therefore need to incorporate careful consideration of the factors highlighted by martinez and munday’s (1998) study. this awareness suggests that students need to become metacognitively aware of their learning (gijselaers, 1996). this could lead to greater levels of intrinsically motivated learners rather than mere passive learners (dube, kane & lear, 2012; lucariello et al., 2016; brunner, 1990). for the psychology department this may mean that approaches to tutoring need to emphasise learning as an active, constructive as well as integrated process which occurs in the context of relevant social and contextual factors. a social-constructivist guiding pedagogy therefore seems particularly well suited for tutoring in this department. however, it may also be true that an array of different tutoring approaches and practices exist which could possibly foster student engagement. strategies such as assignment-assisted tutoring, strategic tutoring, one-on-one tutoring, training-related academic tutoring and peer tutoring, have all been shown to foster student engagement (topping, 1996; hock et al., 2001; de smet et al., 2010). in addition to the strategies mentioned above, the literature on tutoring identifies more coordinated and structured guidelines to achieve student success in tutoring. these include: (a) tutors must receive training instructional (teaching) strategies; (b) a tutoring programme should be specifically tailored for each students’ needs by making use of a developmental template; (c) the students’ progress should be tracked by the tutor to adjust the strategies and for the improvement of tutoring sessions; (d) tutors need to work in collaboration with the students’ lecturers to improve effectiveness; and (e) principles of learning should guide tutoring programmes (gordon, 2009; gordon et al., 2004). 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 given the support throughout the literature, it may be useful to consider how or if the guidelines above can be utilised to improve tutoring and/or thereby maximise engagement within the psychology department. the use of evaluations to inform tutoring as well as the extensive training conducted by the psychology department seem to find agreement in the literature. the concept of tutors as teaching and learning partners and student faculty teams aligns with a number of strategies discussed throughout the literature on effective tutorial programmes and tutoring. this strategy holds a lot of promise for practitioners in and beyond the department of psychology at uwc. maton (2015) argues that to better facilitate student engagement through tutorials the following is needed: support and development programmes that are coherent, guided and underpinned by contextually relevant theory and research which may over time adequately build tutors’ knowledge and skills in relation to tutoring. these considerations are especially valuable for the psychology department’s tutoring programme. firstly, maton’s (2015) argument asserts the importance of pedagogy and its role in tutoring practice. the recommendations discussed above also allow for the creation of a criterion of tutor competency and best practice. secondly, research focusing on student needs can guide tutor development to ensure relevant tutor competencies, skills and attributes. conclusion the literature on student engagement and tutoring provides a number of key strategies which can be used to address the challenges faced in higher education globally and in south africa. tutoring is a key strategy which promotes and can drive engagement in both traditional classroom settings and online learning environments. strengthening tutorial programmes and the capacity of staff can serve higher education institutions well, especially when improvements and development efforts are based on research and rooted in context. maximising and promoting student engagement through tutorials is crucial if south african universities are to responsively address the challenges of high dropout rates and student success. additionally, icts can be viewed as useful in engaging students in meaningful ways and responding to students’ needs and interests. finally, within the scope of this paper and the literature discussed, the uwc department of psychology’s tutorial programme has some valuable contributions to offer. references asghar, a. 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(2017). considering the role of tutoring in student engagement: reflections from a south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 1–15. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v5i2.2699 https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.532565 https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.532565 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 17 www.jsaa.ac.za research article peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects at the mechanical engineering department at walter sisulu university qonda makala* * qonda makala is teaching development specialist, centre for learning and teaching development at walter sisulu university, south africa. email: qmakala@wsu.ac.za abstract the majority of the students who enroll at the walter sisulu university (wsu) in south africa are not equipped with the necessary academic/learning skills to cope with the university environment, especially in mechanical engineering. the department of higher education and training (2013, p. 17), further states that “students’ support is crucial to ensure that students adapt to the demands of college life and that they can meet the demands of college programmes”. particularly in south africa, the school environment might also contribute to poor student performance as a result of insufficient student support, and a lack of facilities and resources. in order to address this gap, a peer-assisted learning (pal) programme was implemented to provide support targeting high-risk subjects for at-risk students in mechanical engineering at wsu. the programme therefore is pro-active and student-driven in that senior students assist junior students with their academic work and learning processes. the programme is designed to encourage collaborative and cooperative learning approaches during group sessions and active student engagement to support student learning (laal & laal, 2012). the programme requires substantial resources and time commitments. it is important from an operational, learning, and student perspective to understand in what ways the pal programme assists students (if at all). eliciting the experiences of students also helps the department to design interventions from a student-centred perspective using the lens of learning theories. this qualitative case study explores the student experience of the peer-assisted learning (pal) programme. open-ended questionnaires/survey from 20 first-year students elicited their perceptions and experiences of the pal programme. responses were analysed thematically. findings indicated that the students had useful insights that may contribute to revising the programme. aspects mentioned were improved study skills, improved time management, and improved communication, problem-solving and presentation skills. the study suggests that the pal programme also creates a safe (where students of the same age come together to discuss concepts of the subject under the guidance of the senior student as an experienced student), comfortable and conducive environment for first-year students’ learning. however, the gender dynamics within the programme point to revisions needed in the programme to address the gap on the gender balance as only six out of the twenty participants in this study were female. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:qmakala%40wsu.ac.za?subject= 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 the study contributes to our understanding of aspects of pal for first-year mechanical engineering students at wsu, as it affords students the opportunity to interpret, integrate and apply information/knowledge acquired during lectures and to interact effectively in small-group sessions. keywords peer-assisted learning; peer-assisted learning leaders; at-risk students; mechanical engineering; university of technology introduction arising from the transformation of higher education (he) in south africa and the diverse groups of students enrolling at walter sisulu university (wsu), the institution had to find and adopt diverse means to accommodate first-year mechanical engineering students, particularly those from educationally disadvantaged groups. according to horsthemke (2009, p. 3), “there has been a strong drive towards democratising education at all levels: primary, secondary and tertiary, following the first democratic election in south africa in 1994”. after 1994, the education system should have been revised in democratising education for all students in all levels as noted above, to ensure that student learning programmes accommodated underprepared students for he. seven years later horsthemke (2009) points out that the strong drive towards democratising education is still ongoing in the universities. many first-year students are under-prepared for he and thus innovative learning and peer-to-peer intervention strategies are needed for these students to succeed (brownlee, walker, lennox, exley & pearce, 2009; jamelske 2009; kuh, 2001; morosanu, handley & o’donovan, 2010; pike & kuh, 2005; schrader & brown, 2008, cited by ginty & harding, 2014). it is important that institutions note the issue of underpreparedness of first-generation students. in institutions where many first-year students are under-prepared, intervention measures are needed, and student academic support such as pal programmes have been found to promote success in australia (devine & jolly, 2011, p. 219). the extent to which our pal programme meets students’ needs is yet unknown. the focus at wsu is on learning policies and programmes which enhance learning, based on a philosophy that all learners can learn (eiselen & geyser, 2003). it is important to note that all students can engage in increased learning when learning systems are in place. learning is enhanced when learners have supportive learning programmes, feel a sense of ownership, have control over their learning processes, and are able to learn from each other in a safe and trusting learning environment (glynn, macfarlane, kelly, cantillon & murphy 2006). in light of this, the mechanical engineering department at wsu has identified first-year high-risk courses with low pass rates every semester/year. for high-risk courses, the centre for learning and teaching development (cltd) unit has introduced a pal programme to foster cross-year support between students on the same course. the pal programme, based on work done by capstick and fleming (2004) encourages students to support each other and to learn cooperatively under the guidance of trained senior students, called pal leaders (palls). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 19 context of the pal programme at wsu as the former pal coordinator and the observer of the research presented here, the context of the programme at wsu and some of the structural hurdles that have been reported in the pal departmental contact persons’ meetings, which were usually hosted three to four times a year, will now be discussed. the aim was for the departments (chosen lecturer/s as pal departmental contact person/s) to report on how they perceived the underprepared student problem.1 if one subject or course was identified as “high risk”, its students were enrolled for a pal intervention. a high-risk subject/course was identified when, over a three-year period, that subject had an average pass rate below the institutional and departmental percentage (centre for learning and teaching development, 2010, p. i). in light of this, all the students in that particular course are then regarded as at-risk and the pal programme is then compulsory for these students. some of the difficulties of running the programme extend to staff and management and are mentioned below to situate the context of the study. researcher observations during pal operation lecturers themselves feel threatened when their subjects are identified for pal intervention. they sometimes oppose their second year students’ (palls) involvement in assisting, facilitating learning and mentoring on the course. heads of departments (hods) do not understand why there is a need for pal interventions even if they see that performance in some subjects is not satisfactory. some lecturers are not keen on helping their pal leaders with the information (learning materials) required for the programme before the pal leader conducts the pal session. in these instances, hods have to insist that their staff members cooperate in the programme; however some hods instead “protect” their staff members from giving time to the programme. this is in spite of the wsu pal procedure manual that subject lecturers should support their pal leaders as it is part of their role as subject lecturers. this suggests that more departmental awareness of the pal programme is imperative. in the following section i discuss the meanings of “at-risk students”; explore reports of various peer-assisted learning programmes; and show how three learning theories inform the pal programme at wsu. literature review at-risk students in higher education institutions although pal is meant for high-risk subjects/courses at wsu, it is noticeable that all firstyear students are at-risk because of these high-risk subjects and, of course, at-risk students need to be considered for the pal programme to retain them in higher education as part of the retention strategy of the university. at wsu at-risk students are not stigmatised by identifying them specifically, as they are told that all students with high-risk subjects should attend pal programme sessions. 1 a number of these issues are also mentioned in the data collected in this case study. 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 according to southwest educational development laboratory (sedl) (2001, cited by eiselen & geyser, 2003, p. 118), at-risk students are described as those who, “because of limited english proficiency, poverty, race, geographic location, or economic disadvantage, face a greater risk of low educational achievement”. students are more likely to drop out during the first two years of study, with the highest percentage dropping out during the first year. mcgrath and braunstein (1997, cited by eiselen & geyser, 2003) note that attrition during the first year of study remains a problem despite extensive research having been conducted and intervention programmes implemented. students who are disadvantaged educationally, socially and financially are at greater risk of failure and withdrawal. institutions of he have a responsibility to provide the necessary learning environment for the engagement of all students including those deemed “at-risk” (coates, 2005, cited by pearson & naug, 2013). pearson and naug (2013) further declare that these students are in need of extra assistance and guidance to succeed in he. according to bitzer (2005, p. 172), “for many years in south african higher education it was believed that only those who ‘fit’ higher education would eventually be successful”. “at-risk” students are more likely to blame outside sources (circumstances, people or things), for example, parental interference in choice of study direction, as reasons why they and other students like them are unsuccessful. these students, therefore, need special attention, and higher education institutions should accommodate “at-risk” students (pearson & naug, 2013). findings of this study will assist in identifying aspects of the programme that are effective and those that require attention as pal is seen as one of the potentially important intervention strategies for student academic support at the tertiary level (van der meer & scott, 2009; kieran & o’neill, 2009; allen & court, 2009; cheng & walters, 2009; couchman, 2009, in devine & jolly, 2011). intervention: peer-assisted learning programme according to topping and ehly (1998, p. 1, cited by wadoodi & crosby, 2002, p. 241), pal is defined as “the acquisition of knowledge and skill through active help and support among status equals or matched companions”. pal essentially is about peer learning and individual development. glynn, macfarlane, kelly, cantillon and murphy (2006, p. 2) claim that “pairing junior and senior undergraduate students provides psychological support and aids professional and personal development”. this enhances knowledge and skills of individuals during pal sessions. capstick, fleming and hurne (2004, p. 3) from bournemouth university (u.k.) “confirm that pal sessions are intended to offer a safe, friendly place to help students adjust to university life faster, improve their study habits, acquire a clear view of course direction and clear expectations, and enhance their understandings of the subject matter of their course through group discussion and interaction”. capstick et al. (2004) posit that pal may be defined as a scheme for learning support and enhancement that enables students to work cooperatively under the guidance of senior students in their second year. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 21 the environment in the wsu pal sessions looks conducive for all students in the programme as capstick et al. (2004) describe above. most usually, second-year students, called peer-assisted learning leaders (palls), facilitate weekly study support sessions for groups of first-year students after undergoing training. dymoke and harrison (2008, p. 11) concretise the idea of pal sessions when they assert: “much informal learning takes place outside the formal educational setting”. in most of these studies the notion of learning is used generically; in this study learning is explored through a combination of learning theories. pal is conducted in an informal education setting which is linked to the understanding that pal sessions consist of active, collaborative and cooperative learning. an additional advantage of pal is alluded to by speirs (2013), that during pal many senior students exchange learning habits and strategies while working with junior students. in the next section, i synthesise the key features across three relevant learning theories in relation to the pal programme. theories and relations guiding peer-assisted learning (pal) figure 1 illustrates how the pal programme design draws on three compatible learning theories for the benefit of integrated learning. active, collaborative and cooperative learning are discussed further below. active learning: 1. group work 2. participation 3. self-learning/instruction 4. present ideas cooperative: 1. depend on each other 2. discuss 3. responsiblity 4. reflect on group work collaborative: 1. interdependence 2. peer interaction 3. accountability 4. interpersonal skills 5. group skills 6. verify information figure 1: learning theories active learning in pal, students are engaged in active learning. active learning is defined as any instructional method that engages students in the learning process (pinheiro & simoes, 2012). according to gunga and ricketts (2007, cited by ceza, 2012), students construct 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 their knowledge and solve problems as they view topics from multiple perspectives. learners become autonomous managers of their learning and in the process even work out questions for which they will seek answers from other sources and the internet. pundak, herscovitz, shacham, and wiser-biton (2009) mention domains of active learning perceptions that should be addressed by teacher training developers. these are; (i) investigate various ways to activate students in a large class, particularly by means of group work; (ii) encourage student participation in classes in order to ensure that they understand the study material and are successful in the course; (iii) give students the opportunity to learn by themselves topics from the syllabus, following proper guidelines given by the instructor; and (iv) involve students in assignments that encourage them to present ideas, new critical arguments and ideas by themselves. these recommendations were used in the design of the pal programme. collaborative learning (cl) the second box in figure 1, collaborative learning (cl), links very well with active learning and is the second key pedagogical aspect of the programme. in pal, the intention is for students to “collaborate to supply missing information or attempt solutions to problems as they help each other and thinking skills and knowledge and understanding of course subject matter may develop within the cooperative environment of the pal session” (congos & schoeps, 1998, p. 5, cited by capstick & fleming, 2004, pp. 2–3). in this regard, cl is an educational approach that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product (laal & laal, 2011). laal and laal (2011) further assert that cl occurs when small groups of students help each other to learn. in our programme these groups consisted of senior students and junior students, where they discuss the subject matter after the lecture outside of lecture time. arendale (2016) supports these opinions, stating that cl refers to a wide range of formal and informal activities that include any form of peer-student interaction. cl adheres to these principles: (i) positive interdependence is established in the group through adoption of different roles that support the group moving to complete a goal; (ii) peers interact with one another; (iii) activities are structured to establish individual accountability and personal responsibility; (iv) development of interpersonal and small-group skills; and (v) group processing of small-group activities through verification of verify information accuracy (cuseo, 2002; johnson, johnson, holubec & roy, 1984, cited by arendale, 2016, p. 4). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 23 cooperative learning the third approach guiding the programme is cooperative learning, where students work together as a group to achieve the same learning goal, such as mastering and assimilating the same learning content. donelan (1999, cited by capstick & fleming, 2004) presents some research evidence to suggest that pal is able to effect positive outcomes through the consolidation of knowledge through participation; cooperative, informal learning through discussion; and enabling social integration of students. lundeberg and moch (1995, cited by capstick & fleming, 2004) also suggest that the personal, cooperative approach of pal influences the cognition of students in positive ways, including enhancing the ability to apply abstract ideas. according to johnson and johnson (1989, cited by chapstick & fleming, 2004), cooperative learning consistently produces higher achievement than either competitive or individual effort. johnson and johnson (1994, cited by killen, 2010, p. 215) mention five basic elements that need to be present in small-group work to be considered cooperative, namely: (i) students must depend on one another by working together to achieve a specific goal, which means interdependence (as per figure 1); (ii) there must be continuous, direct interactions where students have discussions and exchange ideas on tasks. they are aware that each member of the group is responsible and that they will only be successful if their partners are successful: this leads to accountability towards each other (see figure 1); (iii) each member of the group is responsible for a part of the learning and accountable for the success of each member of the group, and is thus responsible for their learning; (iv) every member of the group must apply interpersonal skills such as listening to other members, asking questions to eliminate uncertainties, discussing, negotiating and constructively solving problems and differences: this means collaboration is fostered (see figure 1); and (v) groups must reflect on the outcomes and how they function as a group, to digest information learnt and reflect on information and understanding of the subject. it is interesting to note the common features of each of the three frameworks. figure 1 has been organised to highlight these overlaps. for example in point 1: “group work; depend on each other; interdependence” all point to a collegial rather than competitive/individual way of working. background: pal at walter sisulu university pal has been introduced at wsu as an academic intervention programme to contribute to the throughput rate of the university. senior students called pal leaders (palls) are tasked with helping first-year students with their academic work. the features of pal include: the training of pal leaders by the pal coordinator in study techniques, group management and facilitation skills, as well as how to conduct the pal sessions. training runs for a period 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 of two full days. pal leaders are shown different ways to manage a pal session. they are also expected to demostrate what they have learnt (skills) during the last hours of the second day of training. pal departmental contact persons are involved in the training to introduce/share their departmental expectations. sessions on customer care and pastoral care are included as they will deal with diverse groups of students. during the training, we demonstrate how pal sessions should be conducted: ideally, the group session must be made up of at least 45–50 students per pal leader. this is as per the general pal procedure manual of the university. for mechanical engineering, only 40 students registered and 20 participated as per this study, with the following gender ratio: 14 (70%) males and 6 (30%) females (see table 2). sessions consist of students meeting with the palls for two hours each day throughout the week, as per the wsu student employment policy, which states that undergraduate student assistants should only work 10 hours per week (cltd, 2008, p. 8). pal leader/lecturer relationship pal leaders and lecturers meet for one hour every week for pal session preparation, which is essential as pal leaders are also students and not subject specialists or experts. lecturers have to equip them with their learning materials and topics to cover during pal sessions. the material/topics should have been covered first by the lecturer during his/her lecture; the pal leader addresses the gaps in understanding which students might have. the lecturer and pal leader provide weekly feedback to each other regarding student cooperation in the session, performance during the lecture and performance on the task/ tests and assignment writing. the lecturer is expected to encourage the pal leader and reflect on his/her performance/conduct when required by the pal office. pal leaders’ role at wsu: to facilitate two-hour daily of pal sessions; circulate attendance register per session; report to pal coordinator weekly/monthly; and meet with the subject lecturer one hour per week (centre for learning and teaching development, pal procedure manual 2010). intended benefits of the pal to students: access to more student academic support; help on assignment writing; and study skills techniques. benefits of pal to pal leaders: pal leaders are paid an hourly rate for 40 hours of work done per month; get opportunities to meet and converse with the subject lecturer; are recognised by the entire department based on their performances and are often employed as junior lecturers within the institution. they sometimes deviate from their intended field/ discipline and move into the academic field because of their experience as pal leaders. pal session attendance: pal sessions are compulsory; all students taking high-risk modules are expected to attend pal sessions; and the coordinator observes the pal sessions daily. pal coordinator’s role: to supervise the pal sessions daily; oversee pal programme activities including administrative work; update the pal manual and procedure manual yearly; and evaluate the pal programme’s progress quarterly/annually. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 25 wsu models its pal programme on the peer-led team learning (pltl) process developed at the city university of new york (cuny) (arendale, 2016, pp. 9–10) with a few differences elaborated on below. wsu also conducts weekly pal sessions, two hours per day, where pal leaders meet with their pal students for pal sessions. guiding principles for pltl at city university of new york include the following: (i) the programme is integral to the course, and two hours of workshop time is required weekly. at wsu two hours of session time per day (centre for learning and teaching development, student employment policy, 2008:8); (ii) peer leaders are trained in group leadership and course content; activities and materials are challenging yet accessible. in addition, at wsu, plls are trained in study skills, customer service (taking care of assisted peers during and after sessions) and leadership; (iii) academic staff members are deeply involved in the programme. at wsu, the academic participant is called the pal contact person or liaising person and lecturer (centre for learning and teaching development, 2010:3); (iv) physical space and environments are conducive to discussion and learning. at wsu, space (venue) is a problem; and (v) the programme has strong support from the institution (arendale, 2016:39). at wsu we are still in the process of getting buy-in from some resistant faculties, although the majority of faculties do support the programme. methods this paper is part of a larger study. for this aspect, a qualitative research methodology was applied. the following research questions were investigated: 1. what constitutes an effective pal programme for mechanical engineering students? 2. what are first-year mechanical engineering students’ perceptions regarding the existing pal programme? the researcher administered a qualitative survey to 20 of the 40 first-year students (pal students) in the mechanical engineering department. purposeful sampling was used because i wanted to use participants who were deeply involved in the pal programme. i assumed that these participants would provide rich information about students’ perceptions. students chosen were those who most frequently attended pal sessions. as much as the pal programme is compulsory, the gender of participants was not intentional, as the sample was drawn on the basis of participants who had participated in the pal programme. however, as engaged students, they were able to provide useful insights into the pal which will inform future interventions. it must be acknowledged that more negative perceptions, or different perceptions could have emerged from those who did not attend many sessions. this may be an important aspect for further investigation. 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 data collected from the questionnaires were analysed and themes identified. openended questionnaires were used to collect data from first-year students in order to elicit their perceptions and experiences of the programme. these questionnaires were administered in a lecture venue as distributed hard copies, and the researcher was present to guide the process. the questionnaires consisted of 22 questions. findings the survey was administered to 20 first-year students in the pal programme. their biographical data were collected in order to establish the demographic profile of the participants, such as their age, gender and level of study, as part of section a in the questionnaire. the demographic background of the participants is provided in tables  1 and 2 below. table 1: age of the students in the pal programme (n = 20) age 16-18 19-22 23-25 total pal students 2 (10%) 17 (85%) 1 (5%) 20 (100%) seventeen (85%) of the respondents were between the ages of 19-22 years, two respondents (10%) between the ages of 16-18 and one respondent (5%) was in the 23-25 age group. this indicates that the majority of the participants were between 19 and 22 years of age for the first-year students. the gender/sex of the respondents in the pal programme is shown in table 2. table 2: gender of the students in the pal programme gender males females total pal students 14 (70%) 6 (30%) 20 (100%) table 2 indicates that 14 participants (70%) were male and 6 participants (30%) were female. yet in the whole class the student gender consisted of ±25 males and ±15 females, which is probably related to the perception that females do not take engineering courses in numbers and continue to be under-represented in the engineering profession (kaspura, 2012). all the palls were male. when advertisements were placed for female palls to apply, no female students applied to become palls. this gender bias requires further investigation and remediation. in the course of analysis, the following themes pertaining to programme effectiveness emerged. these themes were also covered in the literature review. identified themes: (a) safe and friendly space (b) adjust to unversity life (c) study habits (d) venues problematic (e) institutional support needed figure 2: themes on programme effectiveness http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 27 the themes identified are understood as follows: (a) safe and friendly space arises as illustrated in these participants’ responses: “i feel safe and comfortable during pal sessions because our pal leaders treat us like brothers and sisters.” “even if you have questions about their methods, they only shed light and do not take it personal like some lecturers i know.” “this pal session is like you are with your family where you feel safe and free and my mind is peaceful when in pal sessions.” “i feel safe because during pal sessions we are all students.” “even if you have questions about their methods, they only shed light and do not take it personal like some lecturers i know.” these responses suggest that the environment during pal sessions is safe, friendly and comfortable for them to learn, as compared to that of their lecture/class time. (b) adjusting to university life: eighteen of the 20 respondents agreed that pal had played a big role in their adjusting quicker to university life. “if it was not for pal i would not be doing s2 by now.” “when it comes to academic records of any individual of this university the help was a lot.” “they did the most important thing to me.” the adjustment to university life would contribute to first-year students adjusting academically in the university. (c) study habits: “my study skills have improved ever since i attended pal sessions and before i was just studying as a high school leaner, but now i got skills.” (this is confirmed by keenan (2014: 3), as one of the aims of pal viz. “to develop independent learning and study skills to meet the requirements of higher education”.) “pal helped me to practise before i write the test.” “they make the assignment easier for us.” “they taught me of preparedness for test.” (d) venues problematic: lack of venues was a serious problem for these students. as indicated, lack of venues may have caused them to miss some pal sessions because it was difficult to get venues. there was a feeling that if the pal sessions could have specific venues allocated for them, it would mean more regular attendance of the pal programme. timetabling of pal sessions was also a problem as it was not possible to timetable the sessions when venues were limited. lack of venues may have contributed to the poor timetabling of pal sessions. “i think they should draft timetable so that we all [are] aware about our pal sessions.” “there’s a lack of venues.” 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 (e) institutional support needed: “i think they should draft timetable so that we all [are] aware about our pal sessions.” more issues were highlighted that are detrimental to the pal sessions such as the lack of venues, poor time management by pal students, and pal sessions not being timetabled; these issues were highlighted as aspects least liked of the pal programme. discussion the aim of the research was to establish how students experienced the pal programme by analysing a sample of students’ perceptions. their perceptions contribute to understanding features of an effective programme. hence the second research question states: “what are first-year mechanical engineering students’ perceptions regarding the existing pal programme?” the perceptions of the students who attended the pal programme were obtained by means of several questions asked about the skills they gained, how they benefited from attending the pal programme, their opinions about the pal leaders, and what they liked most and least about pal. the results indicated that pal students benefited from the pal programme, that it helped them with course direction and expectations, and that it also helped them with their assignments and tests. improved performance in the assignments and tests further helped them to pass almost all their subjects. the general sentiment is that the first-year students involved are satisfied with the pal programme in their department. learning skills gained by the pal students were indicated as improved study skills and problem-solving skills, the ability to cope with assignments, tests and the course as a subject/module, improved selfesteem and confidence gained by first-year students. pal students indicated improvement in their understanding of the subject matter and improved academic performance from attending pal sessions. they also gained confidence on how to ask and answer questions during pal, which they did not have during lectures. the purpose of learning became clearer. they also learnt the importance of managing time for their studies. conclusion the data suggests that pal benefited the students. however, issues were also identified such as lack of allocated venues and the need for timetabling specific slots for pal sessions. nevertheless, pal has helped at-risk students academically and socially, as respondents indicated that they had managed to pass tests and complete assignments, and that they adjusted more easily to university life. they claimed that their study habits improved, as some managed to proceed to the next level because of the assistance in pal sessions. the pal sessions were viewed as safe, friendly, comfortable and informal and at-risk students received sufficient help from pal leaders. it seems that the deliberately designed structure using active, collaborative, and cooperative learning is a beneficial pedagogical approach for such pal support programmes. glynn, macfarlane, kelly, cantillon and murphy (2006, p. 2) claim that “pairing junior and senior undergraduate students provides psychological support and aids professional and personal development”. eiselen and geyser (2003) further declare that at-risk/first-year students feel more insecure, and t h a t they http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 29 have a greater need for personal attention, assistance and guidance than other students. the results of this study seem to confirm these findings for our group of underprepared south african students. limitations in the study it was noticed that some students did not attend the pal sessions regularly. therefore, acknowledgement of more negative perceptions, or different perceptions could have emerged from those who did not attend many sessions. this may be an important aspect for further investigation. in addition, when advertisements were placed for female palls to apply, no female students applied to become palls. this gender bias requires further investigation and remediation. recommendations suggested to address the concerns • sufficient venues for pal sessions must be allocated by the university; • an academic staff member must coordinate pal session activities in the department; • a timetable for pal sessions should be drafted without delay when venues have been secured; and • subject lecturers to take note of the imperative to be approachable to their students in class. while these recommendations may not seem far-reaching, they do point to the need for structure and institutional support for such programmes. the beneficial aspects of relationship, collegiality and peer mentoring are confirmed. acknowledgements • mentor: dr moyra keane (phd) – university of the witwatersrand • ms lucy alexander (mphil in adult education, uct) – academic coordinator, tdg-heltasa tutoring and mentoring project this paper was developed with the support of funding from the dhet nctdg project: “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats.” references abdal-haqq, i. 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(2017). peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects at the mechanical engineering department at walter sisulu university. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 17–31. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.091 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903390786 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903390786 http://wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/publications/files/qualitative_research.pdf) http://wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/publications/files/qualitative_research.pdf) http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/bitstream/10144/84230/1/qualitative rese https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v4i1.152 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.11.046 http://www.docs.hss.ed.ac.uk/iad/learning_teaching/academic_pastoral/peer_support_toolkit/options/pals/peer_assisted_learning.pdf http://www.docs.hss.ed.ac.uk/iad/learning_teaching/academic_pastoral/peer_support_toolkit/options/pals/peer_assisted_learning.pdf https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590220134060 http://10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 33 www.jsaa.ac.za research article from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment: exploring the value of supplemental instruction in a large first-year class mianda erasmus* * mianda erasmus is a lecturer in the department of psychology at north west university, south africa. email: mianda.erasmus@nwu.ac.za abstract large classes are a reality in many tertiary programmes in the south african context and this involves several challenges. one of these is the assessment process, including the provision of meaningful feedback and implementing strategies to support struggling students. due to large student numbers, multiplechoice questions (mcqs) are often used in tests, even though researchers have found possible negative consequences of using mcqs. giving appropriate feedback has been identified as a strategy to remedy some of these negative consequences. this paper reports on action research in which an intervention strategy was implemented in a large first year psychology class where supplemental instructors (sis) were used to give detailed feedback to students after assessments. the lecturer first modelled how to give feedback by discussing the mcqs in detail with the sis and identifying possible errors in their reasoning and meta-cognitive processes. the sis subsequently repeated this feedback process in their small-group sessions. after each assessment, students who performed poorly were advised to attend a certain number of si sessions before the next test, and their attendance, even though voluntary, was monitored to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. students’ performance in subsequent tests was compared and the results seem to indicate that attending si sessions was mostly associated with improved test results. this strategy also appears to encourage attendance of si sessions. in addition, students’ responses in a feedback survey indicate an overall positive perception of this practice. these results can inform other lecturers teaching large classes and contribute to quality enhancement in assessment and better support for students. keywords supplemental instruction; assessment; mcqs; feedback; modelling introduction tertiary education plays an important role in the development of south africa (dhet, 2013). the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) aims to improve quality in universities, and the white paper for post-school education and training published in 2013 indicated the envisaged increase of enrolment numbers from 17.3% to 25% (dhet, 2013). however, at the same time, funding is reduced, leading to http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mianda.erasmus%40nwu.ac.za?subject= 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 an increase in the number of large classes, possibly negatively influencing the quality of education (hornsby, osman & de matos-ala, 2013; hornsby & osman, 2014). what constitutes a large class depends on the discipline and the learning environment, but large classes are a reality in many tertiary programmes in the south african context and this involves several challenges, especially in terms of the quality of education (hornsby, osman & de matos-ala, 2013). one of the challenges is the assessment process, including the provision of meaningful feedback and implementing strategies to support struggling students (mulryan-kyne, 2010). due to large student numbers, multiple-choice questions (mcqs) are often used in tests. although researchers have found possible negative consequences of using mcqs, giving appropriate feedback has been identified as a strategy to remedy some of these negative consequences (butler & roediger, 2008). supplemental instruction (si) is a model focusing on high-risk courses, designed to support and assist students academically by using collaborative learning in peer-facilitated sessions (arendale, 1994). a lot of research has been undertaken on the use of supplemental instruction to support students both globally (blanc, debuhr & martin, 1983; congos & schoeps, 1998; etter, burmeister & elder, 2001; hensen & shelley, 2003; huang, roche, kennedy & brocato, 2017; kochenour, jolley, kaup & patrick, 1997; lindsay, boaz, carlsen-landy & marshall, 2017; martin & arendale, 1992; mccarthy, smuts & cosser, 1997; ning & downing, 2010; summers, acee & ryser, 2015) and in south africa (harding, engelbrecht & verwey, 2011; harding, 2012; paideya & sookrajh, 2010; paideya & sookrajh, 2014; zerger, clark‐unite & smith, 2006; zulu, 2003) and these studies clearly show the value of si on different levels and its effectiveness in terms of improved student performance. however, fewer studies have explored the specific role that si can play in the assessment process, or more specifically, in the feedback after assessment, using a quantitative methodology. the value of this study therefore lies in this niche area. this paper reports on the first cycle of an action research project in which i implemented an intervention strategy in my large first year psychology class. i write this paper as lecturer, who identified a problem, but also as researcher who subsequently looked for a solution to this problem and assessed the effectiveness of the intervention. the feedback strategy involved supplemental instruction leaders (sis) and the use of modelling. using si principles such as integrating skills and content, metacognition of learning, cooperative learning and modelling (arendale, 1993, 1994) i modelled to the sis how to give detailed feedback to students after assessments, how to facilitate these sessions in order to help students to identify the errors they made, to understand the work better and to prepare for the following assessment. sis subsequently repeated this process in their si sessions. students who performed poorly in tests were tracked to determine if the intervention helped them to improve their marks. by using a t-test, their marks before and after the intervention were compared. students also shared their perceptions of si and the intervention in an online survey. the main purpose of this article is to explore the value of si in improving the assessment process in a large class. the outline of this article will follow the process as the action research unfolded, namely: identification of the problem, planning to act, action, evaluation, reflection and http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 35 finally improvement for the next cycle. firstly, the specific context of this research will be described, then the challenge that was experienced in this teaching and learning environment will be explained, followed by a short literature review that helped to inform the intervention strategy. the next section will explain what the intervention strategy entailed and how it was implemented. this will lead to the research questions in terms of evaluating the intervention, the research that was conducted, the results and discussion, and a reflective section on the limitations and what will be considered for the second cycle. background context of the study the context of this research is a first year psychology class of about 600 students taught by one lecturer (me). as a result of venue size restrictions, the students are divided into two groups. the first semester module is ‘introduction to psychology’, which covers a broad span of topics, including a lot of new concepts and theories which students often find quite overwhelming and challenging. in the second semester the module is ‘social and community psychology’. since these students are first years, the academic programme is structured in such a way as to assist them in the adaptation from high school. many different assessment opportunities are provided to encourage students to study the material in small chunks. to check their understanding, there is an online mcq quiz after every chapter. they also write four class tests, a semester test, have a group assignment and some other activities before they write the exam. due to the large numbers and limited resources, multiple choice questions (mcqs) are used – both in the continuous assessment in the form of online quizzes, as well as in the more formal class and semester tests. preparing high-quality mcqs which are at the correct cognitive level and consisting of a good question (stem) and plausible choices (distractors) (tarrant, ware & mohammed, 2009) allows me to assess knowledge and understanding of the theories, as well as include application-type questions by using scenarios. this method makes it possible to give prompt feedback with the marks available either immediately (in the case of online quizzes) or within a few hours after a test has been written. each context has its own challenges and it is important to keep the student profiles in mind (scott, 2015; van rooy & coetzee-van rooy, 2015). many of the students in this particular context are first-generation students and most of them do not have english as a mother tongue, but as second or even third language. they often come from poor backgrounds and dysfunctional secondary schools, making them underprepared for university and putting them at a disadvantage, especially as far as academic literacy skills in english are concerned (cross & carpentier, 2009; krugel & fourie, 2014; mhlongo, 2014). since a mcq consists of a stem (the question or scenario/case study) and then at least four distractors (the possible answers) (jennings, 2012), this type of test often involves a lot of reading, which can be challenging for some of these students (bharuthram, 2012; paxton, 2007, 2009). especially with the use of scenarios in order to include application questions, a 50-question test can easily be between eight and ten pages long. it also requires careful 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 reading in order to identify the correct response, and if english is not a first language, this might prove to be quite difficult (butler & van dyk, 2004; scott, 2015; van wyk, 2014). at our institution, modules with large classes are considered high-risk modules and therefore support is made available in the form of supplemental instruction (si). the si leaders are senior students who did well in the module and who i select through an interview process. there are usually between six and eight sis per semester. they attend my classes, meet with me weekly and each one conducts two to three sessions (with a maximum of 25 students) per week. the si sessions are voluntary and open to any student to attend. challenge as part of the feedback after a test, i used to make the test memo available for students on the learning management system (lms). this allowed students to reflect on their test and identify the mistakes they made. or rather, that was the aim with making the memo available. however, in repeating some questions in subsequent tests, i realised that students tended to study the questions by heart from the memo, without deeper understanding of the content. in repeating the question, the options would be placed in a different order, but there was a trend that students would repeat whatever happened to have been the correct response in the previous test (b for example), instead of reading and understanding the question before choosing the appropriate answer. this had an influence on their performance and contributed to a lower pass rate. research shows that more detailed, quality feedback can remedy this situation (guo, palmer-brown, lee & cai, 2014; iahad, dafoulas, kalaitzakis & macaulay, 2004; malauaduli & zimitat, 2012). due to the heavy work load, it is impossible to use class time to go through the test in order to give detailed feedback and explanations of how to approach the questions. as outlined in the context above, the limited resources do not allow for the possibility of using different types of assessment instead of mcqs. so the complex dilemma is: what can be done to improve the assessment process? how can quality feedback be provided to students in the current situation? how can students be assisted to develop testtaking skills and improve their reasoning patterns when it comes to answering a mcq, but also understand the content better? how can we replace the “inky, pinky, ponky” strategy when doing mcqs with a true understanding of a, b and c? how can the pass rate be improved without lowering the standard? a literature review was subsequently done to explore and determine possible interventions that could be developed. literature review large classes quality education is a key element in developing countries and plays a vital role in economic growth (hornsby, osman & de matos-ala, 2013). having said this, with the enrolment numbers increasing, and limited resources, classes are increasingly becoming http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 37 larger (ehrenberg, brewer, gamoran & willms, 2001). this is often associated with lower student performance (hornsby & osman, 2014). however, student learning is not necessarily determined by the class size, but rather by the skills and expertise of the lecturer as well as by the use of the appropriate teaching approaches and active participation of students (mulryan-kyne, 2010). it is therefore important that large classes are not given to the most junior lecturer with the least experience, but rather that senior, experienced academics take this responsibility and mentor junior staff in the process (jawitz, 2013). although large classes can pose a number of challenges, with innovative teaching methods it is possible to overcome these challenges and literature on large class pedagogy in higher education is increasing (hornsby & osman, 2014). large classes are not necessarily “bad”, since the diversity and energy can be used to incorporate interactive class activities and offer a high-quality learning experience, as long as the strengths and limitations are well understood (jawitz, 2013). assessment assessment can be particularly challenging in large classes, especially if resources are limited and there is not extra help with marking available. assessment can have a feed-out function, indicating performance, or it can have a feedback function, aimed at providing information that will assist in continuous learning (knight, 2002). in addition, it is crucial that the assessment aligns directly with the module outcomes. different assessment strategies should be used in order to cater for the different student learning styles (brady, 2005). assessment should allow students to receive feedback on their learning and also give guidance to further learning (carless, salter, yang & lam, 2011; knight, 2002) and here mcq assessments can be valuable. multiple-choice questions and feedback there are numerous advantages to using mcqs, for example, that they are more objective, more time-efficient in terms of writing and marking, and they offer the possibility to cover a wider range of the work (higgins & shelley, 2003). however, there are also several limitations and potential disadvantages linked to the use of mcqs. one of the biggest questions is whether mcqs allow for higher-order cognitive skills assessment or simply factual recall, especially since critical thinking is important in higher education (brady, 2005; jennings, 2012). mcqs are often seen as “easy” and as testing superficial, factual knowledge only (palmer & devitt, 2007). however, this depends greatly on how the question is asked and whether functional, plausible distractors are given (tarrant et al., 2009). a mcq can be structured in such a way as to assess the higher cognitive levels of comprehension or application and therefore be versatile if designed appropriately (brady, 2005; yonker, 2011). in an application question, for example, a case study can be used, requiring comprehension and application skills and much more than factual, surface knowledge. in their study, leung, mok and wong (2008) found that some students placed 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 more emphasis on understanding in preparation for a mcq assessment and that scenariobased mcqs were perceived to help them in developing critical thinking skills. another problem concerns the fact that students can potentially guess the right answer (delaere & everaert, 2011). students might joke saying that if in doubt with a mcq, you can always resort to a rhyme like “inky, pinky, ponky” or “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” to help you make a choice. although it is possible to guess, there are also ways in which guessing can be discouraged, like negative marking (scharf & baldwin, 2007). brady (2005) postulates that there are many disadvantages if mcqs are poorly designed and these can cause under-performance or over-performance which are not related to the students’ ability. for example, if the distracters are not plausible, it’s easier to eliminate them, even without much knowledge (tarrant et al., 2009). on the other hand, if the distracters are not well written, they can confuse students, even though they know the theory. since mcqs allow for assessing detail, obscure knowledge is sometimes asked instead of sticking to the module outcomes (brady, 2005). setting and designing efficient, objective and high quality mcqs on the appropriate level is a skill, is time-consuming and requires commitment (jennings, 2012). so although time is saved in the marking process, a lot of effort goes into compiling these assessments. research has shown that effective, quality feedback is very important in enhancing students’ understanding of the questions (lizzio & wilson, 2008; nicol, 2009). however, students should receive more than simply the correct answer. it is vital that they understand why they chose the wrong answer and not only where they made the wrong choice. students need to understand and be able to explain the reason behind their choice and where they faulted in their reasoning. however, writing this type of feedback for every distracter of every question can be very time consuming. feedback is a pedagogical practice that supports learning, but quality feedback is often not readily available for undergraduate students (taras, 2006). due to the nature and format of the mcq, students are exposed to correct and incorrect information, which could lead to confusion and negative effects. in their study, butler and roediger (2008) found that giving feedback after a multiple-choice test improved performance on subsequent tests, probably due to the fact that it allows the student to correct previous mistakes. they focused specifically on mcq assessments and explored the role of feedback in increasing the positive effects and decreasing the negative effects of mcqs. by comparing different groups, either having no feedback, immediate feedback or delayed feedback, they concluded that giving students’ feedback after the test is vital and that it also allowed them to have more clarity on what they knew and what they did not know (butler & roediger, 2008). these findings are echoed by a more recent study by guo et al. (2014) where feedback on mcq assessments was given online by means of analysing the students’ responses with the help of the snap-drift neural network approach. tinto (2014) also recommends the use of technology and predictive analytics in the feedback process, which can help to reduce the workload. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 39 supplemental instruction model the si model was founded in the early 70s at the university of missouri in kansas city where there was a very high dropout rate (arendale, 1993). it was decided to move away from the traditional medical model approach of supporting students who had been identified as having a problem or being at risk, and rather implementing a non-traditional approach where the focus was on difficult or high-risk modules and where assistance was available for everyone from the start of the module (martin & arendale, 1992). supporting this principle, research has also found that si sessions are beneficial to all students, regardless of their performance, although it has more impact on struggling students (wilson, waggenspack, steele & gegenheimer, 2016). the purpose of the si programme is to increase academic performance and retention by providing opportunities for students to be involved in collaborative learning in peer-facilitated sessions. sessions are open to all students and attendance is voluntary (arendale, 1994). prospective sis are expected to meet certain criteria before being considered as a possible candidate. they are students who have completed the module before, preferably with the same lecturer, and who have performed well. the sis act as “model” students by showing the students how successful students think about the module and process the module content. after they have been selected, they receive training in collaborative learning techniques which assist the students in knowing “how” to learn (transferable academic skills), as well as “what” to learn (content) (arendale, 1994; mcguire, 2006). the theoretical framework in which the si model is embedded, includes a wide variety of important learning theories including piaget’s constructivism, vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, tinto’s model of student retention, weinstein’s metacognition, collaborative learning (dewey and bruner), keimig’s hierarchy of learning and improvement programs and dale’s cone of experience (arendale, 1993). social learning theory and the concept of modelling also play an important role, especially in the intervention discussed in this paper. it is of vital importance to train sis well in the theories underpinning the si model so that they can implement it successfully in the sessions (jacobs, hurley & unite, 2008). there have been many studies focusing on the effectiveness of si (coletti et al., 2014; fayowski & macmillan, 2008; kilpatrick, savage & wilburn, 2013; latino & unite, 2012; malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2012; okun, berlin, hanrahan, lewis & johnson, 2015; summers et al., 2015; terrion & daoust, 2011). in a systematic review of the relevant literature between 2001 and 2010, dawson, van der meer, skalicky and cowley (2014) found that si participation is correlated with improved performance as well as lower failure and withdrawal rates. these studies did not only look at effectiveness from an academic performance perspective, but also included overall graduation rates, the impact on the development of academic skills as well as the effect on general well-being, social relationships and engagement. 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 these results are also reflected in more recent studies (malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2015; paloyo, rogan & siminski, 2016; ribera, brckalorenz & ribera, 2012; wilson & rossig, 2014). si improves students’ long-term retention of the module content (price, lumpkin, seemann & bell, 2012), helps them to be more engaged in their learning while getting a deep understanding of the work (paideya & sookrajh, 2010, 2014) and also contributes to their sense of belonging (summers et al., 2015). with the influence of technology, a recent study (hizer, schultz & bray, 2017) explored the effectiveness of offering si sessions online and found that it had similar effects to the face-to-face model. methodology the intervention the intervention that was implemented is a discipline-specific strategy that took place within the first year psychology modules, with a very close collaboration between the sis and the lecturer of these modules. as i have already indicated, research has emphasised the importance of effective, quality feedback in enhancing students’ understanding of questions in a mcq assessment. although feedback can be given in a written format, students might still not fully understand or might not take the time to read it. the fact that the si model is based on, among other things, modelling by senior students and the development of skills (not only a focus on content), prompted me to take this modelling a step further. the intervention is based on allowing the students to get quality feedback on the tests, in small groups, via the sis. however, it was important to ensure that the sis were empowered with the necessary skills to be able to give this feedback. instead of making the test memos available to the students on the lms, i made it available through the sis. after every test, the sis were required to attend a meeting with me to which each one had to bring a memo for the test that they had worked out themselves. this ensured that they went through the test thoroughly and had a similar experience to the students in considering all the options in the process of deciding which option they considered the correct answer. during the meeting, i modelled the feedback process, illustrating how the feedback should be given to allow for better understanding and deeper learning. based on what the si leaders chose as answers, each question and distracter was discussed in detail, allowing me to identify possible errors in the sis’ reasoning and understanding while illustrating how to address these errors. with the correct memo, the sis subsequently took this discussion to the small-group sessions where they repeated the feedback process with the students. the fact that this was the only way students got access to the memo aimed to encourage students to attend these sessions. after each assessment students who performed poorly were advised to attend a certain number of si sessions before the next test. this number differed, depending on the available time before the next test. attending si sessions remained voluntary, but in order to determine the effectiveness of the intervention, students’ attendance was monitored. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 41 it is important to emphasise that the sessions were still open to everyone and that the attendees consisted of good, average and struggling students. in line with the si design, this is not a remedial programme and the sessions are not focused on or exclusively for students who performed poorly. in addition, it is often the interaction between fellow students that promotes a conducive learning environment. assessing the intervention in assessing the effectiveness of the intervention as well as the value of si from the students’ point of view, the following questions guided the enquiry: 1. what are students’ perceptions of the value of si, in particular in assessment? 2. what effect does the intervention have in improving students’ performance? action research in this study, action research was used as it allowed me to focus on a practical problem in the teaching and learning environment and enabled me to look for a practical solution in my specific context. action research is cyclical in nature (maree, 2007). the current paper reports on the first cycle of this research. as previously explained, certain aspects of my teaching practices needed attention, and action, in the form of an intervention, to improve practice. after identifying the challenge, a scan of literature informed the planning and implementation of the intervention. assessment of the intervention had to be done to determine whether practice was indeed improved (mcniff, 2013). the final step was to reflect and amend or improve the practice for the second cycle (laycock & long, 2009). the reflection also allowed for my professional development, as the lecturer (kayaoglu, 2015; ryan, 2013), for practices to change (kemmis, 2009) and for enhancement of the scholarly approach to teaching and learning. action research is often a multi-method approach, using a holistic perspective to solve the problem at hand (maree, 2007). in this study, in addition to the reflection and literature review to develop the intervention strategy, a survey was used to acquire students’ feedback on the strategy and students’ marks were monitored to determine whether the strategy improved their academic performance. data collected in the feedback survey, students were asked questions about si in general (whether they attended, the value of si sessions) and also more specifically about the intervention strategy (whether it encouraged them to attend si sessions and whether it helped them to improve academically). a likert scale was used for most of the questions in collecting quantitative data. the last question was an open-ended question where students could give feedback in their own words regarding the role si played in their journey as first years. the students who underperformed in a test were tracked after the test and in subsequent tests. pre-intervention and post-intervention test performance scores were used for students who were part of the intervention strategy, to determine whether their performance improved. 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 population the population in this study constituted 219 of the approximately 600 first-year psychology students at the mafikeng campus of the north-west university. participation in the study and being part of the intervention strategy was voluntary. for ethical reasons, students completed the feedback survey anonymously and no names were used at any point. a total of 219 students completed the feedback survey electronically. the number of students who attended the si sessions where the intervention strategy was put in place, varied from test to test. results in what follows, the results of the first stage of the action research will be given. these results were obtained from the feedback survey that was done electronically on efundi (a  sakai lms) at the end of the semester, as well as from the students’ performance, for which the t-test results will be given. 1. what are students’ perceptions of the value of si, in particular in assessment? with the aim of validating the responses received in the survey, the students who completed the online survey were asked whether they actually attended si sessions and how often. only 15% of the students who responded in this survey had never attended si sessions. a total of 85% of the respondents did attend the sessions, even though some attended more often than others. it can therefore be concluded that the results from this survey reflect students’ perceptions accurately. in gauging the students’ perceptions of si, they were asked to indicate to what extent they think they would make use of the si services in the future. their responses are shown in the chart that follows. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree 56% 31% 8% 2%3% use si again? figure 1: future use of si service http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 43 their experience of si as first years encouraged 87% of the respondents to indicate that they will continue to make use of this service. in order to get a better idea of how the students were helped by attending si sessions, they were given a list of possible areas and could select as many options as they thought applicable in terms of their personal experience. the following shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 the si sessions helped me to ... 70 80 90 54% 36%work with other students 43%network with other students learn from other students 54%improve my test writing skills 61%get new ideas on how to study 73%understand test questions better 79%improve my marks 80%understand the work better figure 2: the value of si sessions as perceived by students this graph gives a clear picture of the variety of areas in which students feel they were assisted by attending si sessions. in terms of the specific feedback strategy under investigation in this study, it is evident that the test feedback made a difference. students indicated that the si sessions helped them to improve their test writing skills (54%), their understanding of test questions (73%) and their overall understanding of the work (80%) which also resulted in better performance (79%). these results concur with previous research that found that quality feedback can have a positive influence (butler & roediger, 2008; lizzio & wilson, 2008). it also indicated that the use of sis in providing feedback in the assessment process, helped students move away from the random guessing associated with mcqs (inky, pinky or ponky?) to understanding the questions and the different possibilities (a, b and c) as they developed test-taking skills. the survey also included two separate questions that dealt with this particular feedback intervention. after every test, i posted a list of student numbers of the students in need, who were advised to attend si sessions before the next test. students were asked to indicate whether this practice encouraged them to attend sessions and whether attendance helped them to improve their marks. the graph below shows the results. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree perception of feedback strategy 4 7 15 24 50 3 6 12 28 51 list encouraged to attend marks improved figure 3: students’ perceptions of feedback strategy being in a position of need after a test and receiving the directive and advice to attend sessions did encourage students and helped them to consequently improve their marks. the last question in the online survey asked students to give feedback on how the si sessions helped them in their journey as first year students. the themes that emerged from these responses support the results of the preceding questions, and also give some more insight and possible avenues to explore in future research. in terms of the specific intervention which is the focus in this article, the following themes were identified: • improvement in test-writing skills • better performance in tests • enhanced understanding of content and questions • increased confidence in approaching mcq tests to illustrate the perception that the si assistance was valuable in assessment and in improving marks, here are a few quotes from students: “my si always made it easy and normal for us to participate in sessions without being ashamed. my marks improved drastically, i went from 46% to 48% then from 48% to 64% and then i  got a distinction on my last test 88%.” “the si helped me to improve from zero to hero.” “si sessions are very informative and guide you on test writing skills and what to actually look at when preparing for tests and exams.” “the si helped on how to tackle the multiple-choice questions, how to prepare for the test and also to be able to understand the questions on the test.” “it helped me understand how to interpret questions and understand them to choose correct answers during my tests.” http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 45 “si helped me to have better understanding about this module. at first i failed, and again i failed second test. after that i was advised and convinced to attend the si. since i started attending si i was doing well with my tests and i started to love psychology. thematic analysis of the students’ responses on the question: ‘how did si sessions help you in your journey as first year or doing first year psychology?’ yielded the following additional themes. some quotes are given to illustrate these themes. themes possibility to use own language / mother tongue opportunity to ask ques�ons cope be�er with workload and pace in class feel cared for encourage study outside the class / sessions provide prac�cal, relevant examples improve self-esteem, believe in self transferral of skills correct reasoning improve study methods “it encouraged me to be posi ve and to believe in myself.” “it helped to correct the mistakes and wrong interpreta on of concepts.” “she also helped me to apply her advices on other modules, so that i can perform well.” “the si session has helped me to relax and enjoy varsity life in a good manner, every one say varsity life is difficult and people fail and that no one cares whether you pass or not but that’s not true, people are caring here.” “allowing everyone to ask ques ons and in some moments we used our own language.” “at first i didn’t hear the lecturer because i had problems with english. some si made it easy for me to understand and gave me the skills to apply in class for understanding.” figure 4: value of si: themes 2. what effect does the intervention have in improving students’ performance? by using a dependent t-test with paired samples, the pre-intervention and post-intervention test performance scores were compared to determine whether their performance improved as part of the intervention strategy. since attendance was voluntary, some students attended whilst others did not. comparing these two groups enabled me to link the difference to the intervention strategy implemented. since non-random sampling was used and attendance was voluntary, statistical inference about the population cannot be drawn. therefore effect sizes, more specifically cohen’s d, was calculated to indicate the practical significance of any differences found. according to ellis and steyn (2003), a small effect would be d=0.2, a medium effect d=0.5 and a large effect d=0.8. this could also be indicated as practically non-significant, practically visible and practically significant. 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 table 1: results of t-test si session assessment mean standard deviation effect size attended early detection quiz 44.51 11.034 1.18 test 1 57.53 10.451 not attended early detection quiz 43.95 10.815 0.91 test 1 53.74 12.488 attended test 1 41.16 6.36 1.08 test 2 48.00 11.49 not attended test 1 40.19 5.98 0.42 test 2 42.69 10.08 attended test 2 40.24 6.371 1.37 semester test 48.94 8.771 not attended test 2 39.53 6.511 0.69 semester test 44.03 8.848 based on the effect size of 1.18, 1.08 and 1.37, the difference in the test scores of the students attending the si sessions is practically significant, improving in performance for the following assessment (44.51 to 57.53; 41.16 to 48.00; and 40.24 to 48.94). the test scores of the students not attending the si sessions improved much less, as indicated by the smaller effect sizes of 0.91, 0.42 and 0.69. thus one can conclude that the intervention did have the desired effect. 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 did not attend attended semester 1 1.4 1.6 semester 2 semester 3 figure 5: effect sizes indicating practical significance this graph portrays the influence of the si sessions and in particular the intervention in the form of the feedback strategy that was offered during the sessions. there is a notable http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 47 difference in terms of performance between the group that attended si and the group that did not attend. these results give some indication that this type of intervention can play a valuable role in assisting students in understanding the assessment process and improving their performance and concurs with other research that si can be effective in improving students’ performance (kilpatrick et al., 2013; malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2015; paloyo, rogan & siminski, 2016; summers et al., 2015). discussion in a feedback survey, students were asked questions about si in general, and also about the specific intervention strategy. responses in the feedback survey indicated an overall positive perception of this practice. students were asked how often they attended si sessions and they were also asked to indicate how the sessions helped them. the responses that were chosen by the highest percentage of students are linked to the feedback intervention, indicating that the strategy had positive influences. the sessions are also believed to allow students to work and network with other students and to learn from them, as is the purpose with the collaborative learning si model (arendale, 1994). the fact that students who are struggling are specifically reminded about the availability of si sessions and advised to attend, also appears to encourage attendance of si sessions. from the findings in the open-ended question, it is clear that the si sessions played a big role in assisting the students in understanding assessment, which confirms findings in other studies (malm et al., 2012; ribera et al., 2012). in addition, from this data interesting new themes emerged that would allow for further exploration in the next cycle. keeping the student profile in mind, language seems to play an important role and the fact that some sis are able to communicate in the students’ mother tongue, might play a vital role in the success of this strategy. students’ performance in subsequent tests was compared and the results seem to indicate that attending si sessions was mostly associated with improved test results. these results can therefore inform other lecturers teaching large classes and contribute to quality enhancement in assessment. reflection: limitations of the study it is vital to be aware of any limitations in a study. in the action research process, it is also important to reflect on every action in a cycle and determine how practice can be improved and what else can be done. this has been an exciting learning process for me as the lecturer. there are several limitations, both in terms of the methodology and research, as well as the intervention itself. one limitation of this study is that it was conducted on a small scale, within one class in one specific context. this means that one cannot generalise or assume that it would have similar results in a different context. however, as part of a teaching approach, these principles might be deemed valuable to lecturers in similar situations, experiencing similar problems. as far as the t-test results are concerned, this study only followed the students that were struggling and did not consider the impact of 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 the intervention on the other students, whether average or good. this could be addressed in the second cycle. in terms of the intervention, is has to be mentioned that it is rather time consuming and requires dedication. the time spent with the sis after every test to model the feedback process is considerable. however, it is still much less time consuming than giving the feedback in a large class or drafting detailed individualised written feedback on all the questions in every test. the added value of this process for both the sis and the students should also be taken into account when considering this option. the advantage of having done this with the first group of students, is that sis for the next year will already have experience of this process (having been in the sessions) and have been exposed to different models (the different sis they attended sessions with) before they start modelling the behaviour in sessions to the next group of first years. this prior experience also makes my modelling easier and quicker, since they are already familiar with the process. having experienced this effect, i do believe that it can be a sustainable process that can help students develop. second cycle of the study the focus in this research was on the students in need. in subsequent cycles, the other students could also be included to see whether si feedback helped to improve their testtaking skills and enhance their overall performance in the module. another approach that could be considered is to start the feedback process by giving students detailed written feedback for the online quizzes while still continuing with the modelling through the sis after the tests. in terms of assessing students’ as well as sis’ experience of the process, more qualitative data will be collected in the next cycle. this could be done by having focus group interviews with some of the students, but also with the sis in order to determine what the sis themselves gained from being involved in this process. did they also develop skills that helped them in their own studies? investigating the transferability of these skills to other modules will also add to understanding the value of this practice, by asking students if the intervention helped them in other modules as well. exploring the development of meta-cognitive skills as well as other possible influences (like the role of language) will further extend our understanding of the role and value of this intervention. in the second cycle, the results of first cycle will be displayed to the new group of first year students as motivation for them to attend si sessions since goldstein, sauer and o’donnell (2014) found that students’ perceptions of the value of si sessions can influence their motivation and increase their attendance. based on the work of quinton and smallbone (2010) and supported by the findings of boud and molloy (2013), i can also consider asking students to reflect on the feedback with the purpose of helping them to apply their learning in a feed forward into the next assessment and developing self-regulation in the process. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 49 conclusion in this paper, i discussed an approach to giving valuable feedback in the context of a large class by using supplemental instruction and modelling. the results of this study showed that the intervention seems to improve students’ performance, and that students had a positive perception of the process. si can play a valuable role in the assessment process in a large class, especially in giving quality feedback on assessment that allows students to learn test-writing skills and develop their reasoning, but also to understand the content better. instead of using “inky, pinky, ponky” strategies to answer mcqs, students were empowered to understand the different options given in a, b and c and make the appropriate choice. these results can inform other lecturers’ practice in teaching large classes, and contribute to quality enhancement in assessment and better support for students. even though it was done in a very specific context and within a psychology module, this strategy could also be used in other contexts and disciplines. acknowledgements this paper was developed with the support of funding from the dhet nctdg project: “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreat.” a word of thanks goes to elda lyster, my mentor in this project, for the help and guidance in writing this article. references arendale, d. 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(2017). from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment: exploring the value of supplemental instruction in a large first-year class. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 33–53. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2015.1030516 https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930500353038 https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-9-40 https://doi.org/10.2190/cs.13.3.c https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2015.1012691 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2014.08.005 https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2010.481041 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 55 www.jsaa.ac.za research article academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal: a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles, 2010–2015 vino paideya* & annah bengesai** * dr vino paideya is a lecturer in the college of agriculture, science and engineering, school of chemistry and physics, university of kwazulu-natal. email: paideya@ukzn.ac.za ** dr annah bengesai is the head: teaching & learning unit, college of law and management studies, university of kwazulu-natal. email: bengesai@ukzn.ac.za abstract the aim of this systematic review was to examine research studies which focus on effective student support practices and show evidence of credible assessment. to identify effective student support practices, and also to provide a contemporary picture of effective support practices at the university of kwazulunatal, 24 studies which met the inclusion criteria were reviewed and analysed in terms of: (i) aims, (ii) main participants, (iii) methodology used and (iv) the main outcomes emerging. the findings from the review indicate that there is a diversity of available evidence, ranging from assessment of peer support programmes, alternative access programmes to curriculum-based interventions. however, most of these studies are cross-sectional qualitative studies, which also draw from relatively small samples. this suggests that more large-scale studies are needed in the field in order to provide greater insight into effective student support practices. in addition, research which examines academic support programmes over long periods of time while also controlling for programme effects is recommended. keywords student support; academic monitoring and support; systematic review introduction retention and throughput in higher education is a global problem. in the south african context, the literature available (see cloete, 2016; scott, yeld & hendry, 2007) indicates that high attrition rates are severe for the “previously disadvantaged” students. whilst access to higher education has improved for these students, it is widely believed that in terms of progression, students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds continue to lag behind their counterparts from the more advantaged contexts (fisher & scott, 2011; scott et al., 2007). at the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), such concerns have led to the establishment of the academic monitoring and support (ams) policy framework which was implemented in 2006 with the principal aim of enhancing the quality of teaching and http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:paideya%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= mailto:bengesai%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 learning. from this broad policy, all four colleges1 at the university of kwazulu-natal have since 2009 developed innovative strategies for implementation of interventions for academic success, funded to a large extent through the teaching development grant from the department of higher education and training (dhet) (university of kwazulu-natal quality enhancement project report 2015). the 2010 academic monitoring and support (ams) report revealed that academic support interventions were compulsory for all students at the ukzn and most colleges made extensive use of the academic development officer (ados) in their monitoring and support activities. however, of concern was the relative “instability” of the support system because it was primarily staffed by ados on short-term contracts. it was also found that despite the substantial investment and the institutional support for academic monitoring and support, the graduation rate had continued to decline from 20% in 2006 to 17% in 2009 with some academic programmes experiencing higher dropout and exclusion rates than graduations. in 2011, the quality promotions and assurance (qpa) office together with external evaluators conducted an audit of the ams programmes at the university. the report highlighted several functional systems and practices in place in the four colleges. these included the positive attitude, dedication and commitment of the staff involved in the ams programmes, every college having some form of mentorship system and the contribution of senior academic staff to the ams programme at both school and college level. however, substantial variations were also reported with respect to practices, and the conceptualisation of some of the roles and responsibilities of ams personnel. according to hammond, thorogood, jenkins and faaiuas (2013), supporting and enhancing the diversity of our students requires that all of our institutional aspects – philosophies, strategies and structures, policies, processes and practices, and particularly our learning and teaching approaches and related support delivery – are integrated, coordinated and intentional in aid of student learning, engagement and success. however, the evidence that supports and informs student support interventions and innovations remains largely theoretical (boughey, 2010), while the available empirical evidence is dispersed across several fields. thus, it is unclear which of these approaches to student support may have efficacy or impact (mann, gordon & macleod, 2009). to address these concerns, this study aimed at identifying and bringing together evidence of academic support practices in the four colleges at ukzn that show promise of good practice, credible assessment and have a positive impact on student success. it is anticipated that the results of this review will inform the development of a more coherent institutional academic support programme where colleges can adapt to/adopt other learning contexts or colleges’ support structures while maintaining their autonomy and flexibility. the specific question that this review sought to answer is: what are the credible and effective student support practices at ukzn that have inculcated assessment into support practice/programmes? 1 there are four colleges at the university of kwazulu-natal. these are the college of agriculture, engineering and science (aes); law and management studies (lms); health sciences (hs) and humanities. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 57 systematic review as conceptual and methodological framework denyer and tranfield (2006) state that the need for research synthesis can only be appreciated when one understands that for gains in scholarship to be cumulative, there must be a link between past and future research. this is what this study sought to accomplish by bringing together research on academic support in an effort to better understand, and also provide a link between past and future research. a systematic literature review can be defined as a method of critically appraising, summarising and attempting to reconcile existing research on an issue of concern (hallinger, 2013). hence it is a “secondary research activity which reviews primary and secondary research in attempt to take stock of what is known in a particular field,” (andrews, 2005a, p. 207). literature reviews have been used in research for many years and have formed part of every sound research project (berg, 2007). however, what distinguishes a systematic literature review is that it is a review of the evidence from clearly formulated questions that uses systematic and overt methods to identify, select and critically appraise relevant primary research in a way that is explicit, transparent, replicable, and accountable (andrews, 2005a, 2005b). a more general literature review on the other hand, uses selective, less systematic approaches to identify relevant sources and to extract and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review (andrews, 2005b). research reviews play a crucial role in the advancement of knowledge by highlighting milestones of progress along particular lines of inquiry (hallinger, 2013). it is argued that well-crafted reviews identify blind spots, blank spots and intellectual “dry wells” in the landscape of theory and empirical research (see andrews & harlen, 2006; hallinger & heck, 1996; bridges, 1982). in summary, research reviews enhance the quality of theoretical and empirical efforts of scholars to contribute to knowledge production (degeest & schmidt, 2010; shemilt, mugford, vale, marsh, donaldson & drummond, 2010; gough, 2007). need for undertaking the review boughey (2010) notes that although great strides have been made in academic development over the past 25 years, there has been a tendency to rely on common sense rather than theory and evidence when it comes to forms of support available. this is mainly because academic support/development is an under-researched field which is often located on the periphery of institutional life. in other words, academic support is a shadow world in higher education which often goes unnoticed, yet, the findings from this research have potential benefits for student retention and success. boughey (2010) further notes that the field has been highly contested and continues to evolve in line with the changing nature of higher education. the four ams colloquia conducted at ukzn since 2013 have also revealed that there is fragmentation in roles and responsibilities of ams staff as well as in the ams activities. this fragmentation is worsened by the fact that there have not been rigorous evaluations of the ams activities, a situation which has limited the impact of support interventions to contribute to the improvement of the teaching and learning context. moreover, there are concerns that many students do not in fact graduate, either dropping out, or being excluded due to finances or exceeding the limit of enrolment for 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 their programme (pocock, 2012). this makes it all the more urgent to initiate a study which consolidates all the studies in the field in order to identify the gaps in the field. in essence, this study is accordingly an attempt to provide an authoritative synthesis of research that can be used to inform academic support. selection of interventions a defining feature of a systematic review is that it uses transparent procedures to locate and appraise research. the parameters and procedures must be clearly defined beforehand to ensure that they can be replicated. in this way, systematic reviews have the potential to minimise bias (bearman & phillip 2013; petticrew & roberts, 2006). the studies included in the review are screened for quality, so that the findings of many studies can be combined. for this review, we defined “academic support” as interventions by staff categorised as ams staff, or by mainstream academics meant to improve students’ academic performance. we assessed academic support research in terms of: • what kinds of support are being provided? • where is the support provisioning happening (location, discipline)? • who is receiving the support? • how is the efficacy of the support being assessed? • how is the support positioned in relation to the curriculum? data was extracted from peer-reviewed journal articles written between 2010 and 2016. in scanning the literature on credible support practices, the following were taken into consideration: • efficacy/reliability of the programme. • clarification of good practices at institutional level/college level. this was considered in terms of how institutionaland college-level practices compare. the following databases were utilised in scanning literature on student support: sabinet, ebsco host, jstor. the key words for database search were: “ukzn and student support”, “ukzn and academic support”, and “ukzn and academic support and student support and student success”. a general principle in a systematic review is to set criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of studies. this helps to define the parameters of the research, thereby avoiding straying into areas that are off-centre and closing other areas that might have been relevant (andrews, 2005a). accordingly, the following eligibility criteria (for selection of literature) were exploited in searches: • english • peer-reviewed journal • ukzn based • 2010–2016 • both quantitative and qualitative studies • ukzn undergraduate and postgraduate students http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 59 both authors of this paper also reviewed and checked the journal articles. to avoid bias, a third reviewer was engaged to review articles that were written by the authors. the third reviewer also acted as a moderator in cases where there was disagreement in the interpretation of the findings of the studies. we anticipated gaining knowledge with respect to support practices at ukzn, particularly in regard to gaps and areas of over-subscription in the provision of support, new types of practices and/or development of assessment capabilities. we also expected that this systematic review of literature would reveal the most likely points of integration in developing a coherent student support programme at ukzn. results and discussion search results our initial search using the keywords located 269 studies. after reading the abstracts, 220 studies were excluded because they were either not located at ukzn, or did not fit the strict definition of support as adopted in this study. hence, 49 articles remained after abstracts were screened. the next step was to read the methodology and results sections of the studies. this led to a further exclusion of 25 studies which were either theoretical papers, did not focus on an intervention, or simply provided a descriptive analysis of students’ performance. thus, the final sample of included studies was 24 as shown in table 1. overview of studies table 1 provides a summary of the interventions available in the four colleges at the ukzn. the analysis is organised into five components. • study population • description of the interventions • methodological aspects • positioning of interventions in relation to the curriculum • evidence of strengths and limitations study population the included studies reported interventions for students at different levels of study as well as academic performance. some focused on ‘at-risk students’, postgraduate students or undergraduate students taking different modules in specific academic programmes. only a few of the studies (seven) did not mention the number of subjects sampled. what kind of support is being offered? the studies reviewed demonstrate that academic support programmes have been used extensively in all the four colleges at ukzn. specific interventions include: (i) peer learning-based interventions (ii) alternative access interventions 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 (iii) curriculum-based interventions (iv) professional discipline (i) peer learning-based interventions the key support programme in the college of agriculture, engineering and science is the supplemental instruction (si) “which is a peer facilitated academic support programme that targets historically difficult courses so as to improve student performance and retention by offering regularly scheduled out of class review sessions,” (umkc si homepage). a  modified version of the programme – peer teaching/learning experience programme (ptlep) – has also been introduced in the school of life sciences, college of aes. both the si and ptlep programmes have been extensively evaluated through journal publications (five articles). most of the evaluations have focused on students’ perceptions and experiences of si (bengesai, 2011; paideya, 2011), si as a social learning space (paideya, 2011; paideya & sookraj, 2011), as well as the efficacy of the intervention as measured by pass rates and students’ perceptions (hakizimana & jurgens, 2013). attendance patterns have also been explored (bengesai, 2011). taken together, this research has shown that peer-based learning encourages collaborative learning and provides a conducive and non-threatening space for student engagement. (ii) alternative access programmes the alternative access programmes cater for students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds whose matriculation points or maths and english grades are slightly lower than the entry requirements (maphosa, 2014). these programmes have been necessitated by the changing nature of higher education which has seen non-traditional students gaining access to higher education. there are different forms of access programmes such as ‘bridging or foundation programmes; add on or augmented programmes’ (maphosa, 2014; boughey, 2010). in the augmented programmes, students are admitted into the first-year bachelor’s programme which is spread over two years. hence, they register for both the mainstream programme and additional (augmented) modules, but the duration of the programme is made longer because of additional academic interventions (zikhali & bokana, 2013). thereafter, students carry the normal load for their degrees. in other words, students will take a minimum of four years to complete a three-year bachelor’s degree. the foundation or bridging programme aims to provide a foundation for students with lower matric points. the aim is to facilitate access to tertiary education for motivated learners who have the will and potential to succeed (national plan for higher education, department of education, 2001, p. 23). unlike the augmented programmes, foundation programmes are adjunct, pre-first year and separate from the mainstream programme (maphosa, 2014). the curriculum content is preparatory to the regular first year level courses in the mainstream and students take modules which assist in the development of academic literacy, as well as other skills required in subsequent first year level modules. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 61 in the papers reviewed, four (4) alternative access programmes were investigated. these are the bachelor of science (bsc) foundation programme (kirby & dempster, 2011); bachelor of science augmented programme (chetty, 2013), the bachelor of commerce (bcom) augmented programme (zikhali & bokana, 2013; wildsmith-cromarty & steinke, 2014). govender (2014) investigated successful students who started their university education through different access programmes at the university of kwazulunatal, including the humanities access programme. the focus of two (2) of the studies which investigated alternative access programmes has been on specific interventions within the curriculum – problem-based learning, (pbl) in bsc augmented physics (chetty, 2013), and evaluation of a teaching methodology in the bsc foundation biology (kirby & dempster, 2011). zikhali and bokana’s study compared the performance of bcom augmented students with mainstream students and concluded that their performance was not significantly different from the mainstream students. the focus of wildsmith-cromarty and steinke’s study was on the efficacy of an academic literacy intervention in improving students’ reading abilities. (iii) curriculum-based interventions academic support has always been on the margins of institutional life with support being provided by practitioners who are not mainstream academic staff (boughey, 2010). this has created historical divisions between mainstream academics and academic support staff. while academic support has provided greater access, there have been concerns that this has not translated into greater success for students. consequently, there have been calls for a shift away from academic support as marginal to the curriculum to interventions that are embedded in the curriculum (maphosa, 2014) since the curriculum is situated within a discipline which determines the socio-cultural, cognitive, and disciplinary norms and values. at the university of kwazulu-natal, curriculum-based interventions have been supported through the university’s teaching and learning office’s (utlo) competitive research grant (ukzn qep survey, 2015) which has seen mainstream staff designing innovative strategies to improve teaching and learning. further, the launch of the university teaching and learning conference in 2006 has resulted in the development of the scholarship of teaching and learning within the university, and encouraged academics to conduct research on their teaching. curriculum-based interventions have been investigated in management studies (arbee & samuels, 2015; tang, 2011; ranjeeth et al., 2011); engineering (jairos et al., 2013); physics (chetty, 2013) and humanities (govender & dhunpath, 2011; de lange et al., 2011). in engineering and physics the focus has been curriculum re-design to meet students’ and industry needs, while in management studies, arbee and michaels’ study focused on the impact of the writing centre on students’ academic writing. tang (2011) and ranjeeth et al. (2011) both adopted innovative teaching methods in existing curricula to help students better understand the curriculum. two studies focused on postgraduate support, (de lange et al., 2011; govender & dhunpath, 2011). both these studies investigated the effect of the 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 cohort model of supervision on developing scholarship and reflective practice among phd candidates in the college of humanities. innovative teaching methods have also been implemented in the college of health sciences and evaluated through peer-reviewed research. the interventions that have been researched include the use of isizulu videos (diab et al., 2016) and tutorial groups in a problem-based learning (pbl) environment (singaram et al., 2010). diab et al. investigated medical students’ perceptions of simulated isizulu videos in the development of communicative competence in isizulu. in the medical field, communication between patients and medical professionals is imperative and hence practitioners should be proficient in the language understood by the patient (diab et al., 2016). apart from language acquisition, diab et al. found that the simulated videos also led to cultural awareness, which is also important in patient-doctor relationships. the study by singaram et al. found that while pbl had the potential to facilitate collaborative learning, it also presented a challenge to some students who struggled to cope with the diversity in the groups. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 63 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 1. n . c h et ty (2 01 4) a u gm en te d/ a dd o n pr og ra m m e c o lle ge o f a e s 70 b sc a u gm en te d st u de n ts • p as s ra te s • e va lu at io n o f pr og ra m m e • p re -t es t, po st -t es t • l o n gi tu di n al • q u an ti ta ti ve in tr acu rr ic u la r • id en ti fi ca ti o n o f pr o bl em ar ea s fo r st u de n ts • im pl em en ta ti o n o f m ea su re s to a dd re ss t h es e pr o bl em s • im pr ov ed p er fo rm an ce o f st u de n ts 2. s. h ak iz im an a & a . j ü rg en s (2 01 3) p ee r t ea ch in g/ l ea rn in g e xp er ie n ce p ro gr am m e (p t l e p ) c o lle ge o f a e s 2 69 8 (r ep ea t en ro lm en ts ) • p as s ra te s • a tt en da n ce • su rv ey • c la ss ro o m o bs er va ti o n s • l o n gi tu di n al • q u an ti ta ti ve c o -c u rr ic u la r p ee r te ac h in g/ le ar n in g im pr ov es a tt en da n ce pa tt er n s, en co u ra ge s st u de n t pa rt ic ip at io n , m o ti va te s st u de n ts , a n d im pr ov es pa ss r at es . 3. s. b . h ig gi n so pi tz & m . t u ft s (2 01 4) e ar ly id en ti fi ca ti o n o f at -r is k st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h s 21 4 st u de n ts p ro fi lin g ba ck gr o u n d fa ct o rs i m pa ct in g o n a ca de m ic pe rf o rm an ce • p re -t es t, po st -t es t • su rv ey • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al • q u an ti ta ti ve in tr acu rr ic u la r st u de n t pe rf o rm an ce i n t h e fi rs tcl as s te st i s a va lu ab le to o l to i de n ti fy s tr u gg lin g st u de n ts a n d sh o u ld b e h el d as e ar ly a s po ss ib le . 4. m . j ai ro s, d . s tr et ch & c . m cl eo d (2 01 3) c u rr ic u lu m re de si gn c o lle ge o f a e s st u de n ts t ak in g th e c iv il e n gi n ee ri n g d es ig n p ro je ct m o du le m o di fi ca ti o n o f cu rr ic u lu m t o m ee t in du st ry n ee ds a n d co m pl y w it h re gu la to ry b o dy • d es ig n • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al in tr acu rr ic u la r e xp o si n g e n gi n ee ri n g gr ad u at es t o a d ee pe r co n ce pt u al a pp ro ac h to e n gi n ee ri n g de si gn ad dr es si n g so ci al , e th ic al a n d en vi ro n m en ta l co n ce rn s. 5. v . p ai de ya (2 01 1) su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n c o lle ge o f a e s f ir st -y ea r st u de n ts at te n di n g c h em is tr y 15  s i  se ss io n s h ow d o es si  l ea de r in te rv en ti o n en h an ce f ir st ye ar e n gi n ee ri n g st u de n ts ’ “ cr it ic al th in ki n g sk ill s” in c h em is tr y le ar n in g • d es ig n re se ar ch m et h o do lo gy • o bs er va ti o n s c o -c u rr ic u la r si e n co u ra ge s co lla bo ra ti ve le ar n in g en ga ge m en t, en co u ra ge d st u de n ts t o re fle ct o n c o n ce pt s le ar n t an d cr ea te s so ci al s pa ce s w h ic h a re c o n du ci ve f o r le ar n in g 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 6. a . b en ge sa i (2 01 1) su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n c o lle ge o f a e s 15  e n gi n ee ri n g st u de n ts e n gi n ee ri n g st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s o f su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n • q u al it at iv e • in te rv ie w s • a tt en da n ce re gi st er s c o -c u rr ic u la r si c an p o te n ti al ly p ro vi de po si ti ve s o ci al l ea rn in g sp ac es , e n co u ra ge co lla bo ra ti ve l ea rn in g an d en ab le s tu de n ts t o e ff ec ti ve ly en ga ge w it h c o n te n t. t h e pr og ra m m e al so h as t h e po te n ti al t o c re at e ov er re lia n ce o n s u pp o rt . 7. v . p ai de ya & r . s o o kr aj (2 01 1) su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n c o lle ge o f a e s f ir st -y ea r st u de n ts at te n di n g c h em is tr y 15  s i se ss io n s st u de n t en ga ge m en t in si  s es si o n s • d es ig n re se ar ch m et h o do lo gy • o bs er va ti o n s c o -c u rr ic u la r si c re at es s o ci al l ea rn in g sp ac es w h ic h e n co u ra ge st u de n ts t o a sk q u es ti o n s, an d se ek e xp la n at io n s an d co n ce pt u al u n de rs ta n di n g. it a ls o e n ab le s re fle ct iv e th in ki n g. 8. s. p ill ay & a . m ah ar aj (2 01 1) c o lla bo ra ti ve le ar n in g c o lle ge o f a e s f o u n da ti o n st u de n ts st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al • in te rv ie w s in tr acu rr ic u la r t h ro u gh c o lla bo ra ti ve le ar n in g, s tu de n ts d ev el o p so ci al a n d te am l ea rn in g sk ill s. f u rt h er , t h e in te rv en ti o n i s lin ke d to im pr ov em en t in s tu de n t pe rf o rm an ce i n m at h s. 9. d . s ib an da & k . j aw ah ar (2 01 2) c la ss ro o m ba se d m en to ri n g c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 16 3  in -s er vi ce te ac h er s t h e im pa ct o f th e sc h o o l vi si t m en to ri n g su pp o rt • q u es ti o n n ai re , w ri tt en su bm is si o n s • c la ss ro o m o bs er va ti o n s c o -c u rr ic u la r t h e sc h o o l vi si t m en to ri n g pr og ra m m e en h an ce d in -s er vi ce t ea ch er s’ te ac h in g sk ill s in m st s u bj ec ts . 10 . j. z ik h al i & k . b o ka n a (2 01 3) a u gm en te d/ a dd -o n pr og ra m m e c o lle ge o f l m s 95 b c o m a u gm en te d st u de n ts p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n • se co n da ry an al ys is o f pa ss ra te d at a • l o n gi tu di n al p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n t h e pe rf o rm an ce o f st u de n ts w h o c am e in to u n iv er si ty th ro u gh t h e a u gm en te d/ al te rn at iv e ac ce ss p ro gr am m e is n o t si gn if ic an tl y di ff er en t fr o m t h o se w h o e n ro lle d in th e m ai n st re am p ro gr am m e. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 65 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 11 . z . b u lb u lia & j. w as se rm an n (2 01 5) u se fu ln es s o f t w it te r in h ig h er ed u ca ti o n c o lle ge o f l m s 21 s tu de n ts u se fu ln es s o f t w it te r in h ig h er e du ca ti o n • d es ig n -b as ed re se ar ch . c o -c u rr ic u la r t h er e w as a l ow u pt ak e o f t w it te r as a n a lt er n at iv e m et h o d o f ac ad em ic s u pp o rt , su gg es ti n g st u de n ts p re fe r m o re t ra di ti o n al f ac eto -f ac e fo rm s o f ac ad em ic s u pp o rt . 12 . m .j . s av ag e, m .g . a br ah a, n .c . m oy o & n . b ab ik ir (2 01 4) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g m et h o ds c o lle ge o f a e s 63 s tu de n ts t o e n h an ce te ac h in g an d le ar n in g in ag ro m et eo ro lo gy an d al lie d di sc ip lin es , a w eb -b as ed d at a an d in fo rm at io n sy st em w as de ve lo pe d • a n o pe n en de d qu es ti o n n ai re in tr acu rr ic u la r w eb -b as ed t ea ch in g en co u ra ge s st u de n ts t o le ar n m o re q u ic kl y, im pr ov es v is u al l it er ac y, an d im pr ov es t h ei r ab ili ty to m an ip u la te d at a. 13 . a . a rb ee & m .a . s am u el s (2 01 5) w ri ti n g ce n tr e a ca de m ic lit er ac y c o lle ge o f l m s 36 8 st u de n ts m ea su ri n g th e im pa ct o f w ri ti n g pl ac e su pp o rt o n s tu de n t pe rf o rm an ce l o n gi tu di n al q u an ti ta ti ve p as s m ar ks a tt en da n ce re gi st er s in tr acu rr ic u la r w p u se rs p er fo rm ed be tt er o n a ve ra ge t h an w p n o n -u se rs . 14 . c .r . k al en ga & s. m n go m ez u lu (2 01 5) a tri sk st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 10 7 st u de n ts p sy ch o -s o ci al ch al le n ge s fa ce d by s tu de n ts a t ri sk o f ac ad em ic fa ilu re c ro ss se ct io n al q u al it at iv e in te rv ie w s c o -c u rr ic u la r p sy ch o so ci al p ro bl em s ar e as so ci at ed w it h s tu de n ts ’ at -r is k st at u s. h ow ev er , w it h p ra ct ic al i n te rv en ti o n st ra te gi es , t h es e st u de n ts ca n i m pr ov e th ei r ac ad em ic pe rf o rm an ce . 15 . s. m n go m ez u lu & l . r am ra th an (2 01 5) a tri sk st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 12 s tu de n ts ‘a tri sk ’ st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s o f ac ad em ic su pp o rt • c ro ss se ct io n al • q u al it at iv e • in te rv ie w s c o -c u rr ic u la r b ei n g n o ti fi ed o f ri sk s ta tu s ca u se s a flu rr y o f em o ti o n al an d ps yc h o lo gi ca l re ac ti o n s in s tu de n ts s u ch a s sh o ck , di sb el ie f, de m o ti va ti o n , an d  an ge r. 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 16 . s. g ov en de r (2 01 4) a cc es s pr og ra m m es u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu n at al 16 s tu de n ts su cc es sf u l st u de n ts w h o st ar te d in a cc es s pr og ra m m es • c ro ss se ct io n al • q u al it at iv e • in te rv ie w s p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n k n ow le dg e an d sk ill s th ey h ad l ea rn t du ri n g th e ac ce ss pr og ra m m e h ad e n h an ce d th ei r re ce pt io n o f th e m ai n st re am m o du le s. 17 . n .f . k ir by & e .r . d em ps te r (2 01 1) b sc f o u n da ti o n pr og ra m m e c o lle ge o f a e s b sc f o u n da ti o n st u de n ts p h ilo so ph ic al an d pe da go gi ca l ap pr o ac h es i n f o u n da ti o n pr og ra m m e • t h eo re ti ca l st u dy p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n c u rr ic u lu m d ev el o pm en t in t h e f o u n da ti o n pr og ra m m e sh o u ld t ak e o n a m o re r ef le xi ve ap pr o ac h , w h ic h t ak es i n to co n si de ra ti o n f ee db ac k fr o m al l st ak eh o ld er s, in cl u di n g st u de n ts . 18 . n . d e l an ge , g . p ill a & v . c h ik o ko (2 01 1) su pp o rt f o r po st gr ad u at e st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 35 s tu de n ts c o h o rt m o de l o f su pe rv is io n • l o n gi tu di n al • q u al it at iv e • p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n fo rm s in tr acu rr ic u la r t h e co h o rt m o de l is a su pp o rt iv e pr ac ti ce w h ic h e n co u ra ge s ac ti ve pa rt ic ip at io n a n d re la ti o n sh ip bu ild in g, d ev el o ps r ef le ct iv e sk ill s an d be lo n gs t o a co m m u n it y o f pr ac ti ce . 19 . v . t an g (2 01 1) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g c o lle ge o f l m s 20 5 st u de n ts e ff ec ti ve n es s o f a co gn it iv eco n st ru ct iv is t ap pr o ac h to t ea ch in g an d le ar n in g ec o n o m ic co n ce pt s • l o n gi tu di n al • q u an ti ta ti ve • c la ss o bs er va ti o n s • e xa m in at io n re su lt s an d qu es ti o n s • su rv ey in tr acu rr ic u la r t h e ap pr o ac h r es u lt ed i n m o re s tu de n t en ga ge m en t an d al so i m pr ov ed t h ei r an al yt ic a n d cr ea ti ve s ki lls . 20 . s. r an je et h , a . m ar im u th u & m . m ah ar aj (2 01 3) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g l m s 13 5 st u de n ts p ed ag og ic al im pl ic at io n s o f u si n g th e ag ile ap pr o ac h a s pa rt o f an a ca de m ic pr og ra m m e • c ro ss se ct io n al • su rv ey • q u an ti ta ti ve st u de n ts ’ ev al u at io n o r te ac h in g m et h o d t h er e w as h ig h a cc ep ta n ce o f th e pe da go gi ca l as pe ct s o f th e te ac h in g m et h o d am o n g st u de n ts . http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 67 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 21 . p. d ia b, m . m at th ew s & r . g o ko o l (2 01 6) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g h s f in al -y ea r st u de n ts i n th ei r f am ily m ed ic in e ro ta ti o n t o e xp lo re st u de n ts ’ vi ew s o n t h e u se o f vi de o s o f si m u la te d cl in ic al s ce n ar io s fo r is iz u lu co m m u n ic at io n an d la n gu ag e te ac h in g, a n d th e de ve lo pm en t o f cu lt u ra l aw ar en es s • c ro ss se ct io n al • v id eo s • st u de n ts ’ co m m en ts in tr acu rr ic u la r t ea ch in g w it h s im u la te d vi de o s n o t o n ly i m pr ov ed m ed ic al s tu de n ts ’ co m m u n ic at iv e co m pe te n ce , it a ls o h ad t h e ad de d be n ef it o f h el pi n g th em d ev el o p cu lt u ra l aw ar en es s. 22 . v .s . s in ga ra m , c .p .m . v an de r v le u te n , f. . s te ve n & d . d o lm an s (2 01 0) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g m et h o ds h s 31 ( 11  t u to rs an d 20  s tu de n ts ) st u de n ts ’ pe rc ep ti o n s o f pr o bl em -b as ed le ar n in g • f o cu s gr o u p in te rv ie w s • q u al it at iv e in tr acu rr ic u la r w h ile c o lla bo ra ti ve l ea rn in g en h an ce s st u de n t in te ra ct io n , th e h et er og en ei ty m ak es so m e st u de n ts f ai l to c o pe w it h t h o se d if fe re n t fr o m th em . 23 . k . g ov en de r & r . d h u n pa th (2 01 1) su pp o rt f o r po st gr ad u at e st u de n ts h u m an it ie s 12 s tu de n ts st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s o f th e p h d c o h o rt m o de l • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al • se m in ar se ss io n s • q u es ti o n n ai re re sp o n se s • f o cu s gr o u p di sc u ss io n s p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n c o h o rt p ro vi de d o pp o rt u n it ie s fo r de ep re se ar ch l ea rn in g, su pe rs ed in g th o se p ro vi de d by t h e tr ad it io n al m o de l al o n e. s tu de n ts e xp er ie n ce po w er d yn am ic s be tw ee n su pe rv is o rs i n t h e co h o rt . 24 . r . w ild sm it h c ro m ar ty & k . s te in ke (2 01 4) a l i n a n ac ce ss pr og ra m m e h u m an it ie s 10 s tu de n ts e ff ic ac y o f r 2l a pp ro ac h in a n a cc es s pr og ra m m e • p re -t es t, po st -t es t in tr acu rr ic u la r r 2l c an m ak e a di ff er en ce to t h e ac ad em ic l it er ac y le ve ls o f st u de n ts a t te rt ia ry le ve l. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 (iv) professional discipline most of the academic support programme interventions reviewed through research are in the college of agriculture engineering and science. nine of the twenty-four papers reviewed reported interventions in engineering (4); physics (1); agrometeorology (1); life sciences (2); and mathematics (1). three of the studies were located in the college of health science, five in management studies and six in humanities. only one study focused on a university-wide intervention (govender, 2014). methodological quality of the studies study aims although all the studies reviewed stated their aims, some were stated quite broadly (for example, to revisit the philosophical and pedagogical perspectives upon which a curriculum is based, e.g. kirby & dempster, 2011; or to broaden the conceptual approach to engineering design, jairos et al., 2013). some of the studies, however, provided specific objectives and research questions, for instance: the use/non-use of the writing centre is linked to students’ grades on an assessment task (arbee & michael, 2015); to evaluate whether the initiative improved the attendance (hakizimana & jürgens, 2013). it is also important to note that most of the studies located their work within a conceptual or theoretical framework, primarily drawing upon principles such as collaborative/peer learning, curriculum design, and reflective practice. study design of the 24 papers reviewed, six (6) were longitudinal studies and 18 cross-sectional studies. two (2) employed a pre-testpost-test design, four (4) a design-based design, while the rest used qualitative interviews, questionnaires, or classroom observations. data collection methods methods to evaluate academic support programmes included questionnaires to assess attitudi nal and cognitive change, classroom observations, and archival data such as attendance registers and test/exam scores, as well as interviews. questionnaires (6) were the most popular method of data collection, although this was used in conjunction with other methods. this was followed by interviews (used in six studies). four studies included classroom observations. however, in most of the studies, the response rates or samples were too low to provide generalisable findings. positioning of interventions in relation to the curriculum another way of evaluating academic support programmes is to consider their positioning in relation to the curriculum. in this study, we have identified two categories of academic support programmes, i.e. those which are intra-curricular – located in the curriculum, or co-curricular – defined by their separation from academic courses. out of the 24 studies reviewed, eight (8), (mngomezulu & ramrathan, 2015; kalenga & mngomezulu, 2015; bulbulia & wassermann, 2015; hakizimana & jürgens, 2013; sibanda & jawahar,  2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 69 paideya, 2011; bengesai, 2011; paideya & sookraj, 2011) were classified as co-curricular as they focused on interventions such as supplemental instruction, peer-based learning and academic and psycho-social support for ‘at-risk’ students. twelve (12) of the studies (diab et al., 2016; arbee & samuel, 2015; savage et al., 2014; wildsmith-cromarty & steinke, 2014; wildsmith-cromarty & steinke, 2014; higgins & jurgens, 2013; chetty, 2013; jairos et al., 2013; ranjeeth et al., 2013; tang, 2011; de lange et al., 2011; pillay & maharaj, 2011; singaram et al., 2010) can be classified as intra-curricular as the interventions focused on redesigning the curriculum, use of innovative teaching methods or profiling students within the curriculum. the high number of studies classified as intra-curricular can be attributed to ukzn’s teaching and learning office’s focus on the development of academics as teachers and researchers (qep ukzn report, 2015). the establishment of the teaching and learning as a cross-cutting executive portfolio, elevates teaching as a key and central pillar of the university on par with research (qep ukzn report, 2015, p. 7). there were also studies that could neither be described as co-curricular nor intracurricular. these studies focused on evaluating a programme (govender, 2014; zikhali & bokana, 2013; kirby & dempster, 2011; govender & dhunpath, 2011). two of the studies evaluated access programmes in science (govender, and kirby & dempster) and law and management studies (zikhali & bokana). govender and dhunpath’s study focused on the cohort programme for the phd programme in the college of humanities while govender’s study examined the extent to which access programmes were preparing students for mainstream studies. table 2: summary of evidence of impact on student success and engagement impact on student success strengths studies are practical and applied. studies are exploratory, practical and applied. promising evidence limited evidence based on pass marks and small numbers. limited evidence limited evidence based on students’ perceptions of their own performance. more needed more research is needed to understand the impact of academia on student success. there are vast amounts of data that are often collected in ams programmes such as attendance data which can be supplemented with institutional data available through institutional systems. impact on student engagement strengths si/peer learning provides a social learning space where students can engage with and gain better understanding of concepts. studies are exploratory, practical and applied. promising evidence ams programmes (such as star programme, si, ados) provide a space for students to interact with their peers. limited evidence determinants of student participation in ams. more needed rigorous evaluation of programmes to look at diverse factors impacting on student engagement, e.g. self-selection, and more quantitative analyses. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 table 2 maps the evidence derived from this review under two broad categories: (i) impact on student success, and (ii) impact on student engagement. strengths of the study the strength of findings was rated using the following specific anchors: clear conclusions stated and can be drawn from the findings, methods are clear and the sample is representative. looking at the available evidence (table 1 and 2), the following strengths can be identified. 1. there is a diversity of studies that have evaluated academic support programmes at the university of kwazulu-natal since the inception of the ams policy. this diversity of studies from the four colleges provides a methodological and research focus foundation from which future research can improve. 2. there is adequate evidence of the efficacy of peer-based interventions in supporting student learning, although the evidence base has been mainly qualitative. 3. there is evidence of programme evaluation from which other academic support programmes in the university can learn. the available evidence focuses mainly on the alternative access programmes. 4. most of the research reviewed is applied and practical. hence, the studies provide tangible measures of the impact of the interventions on students’ success. limitations of the study the present study made use of secondary data in the form of journal articles. although the authors endeavoured to locate all articles on academic support published during the time frame given, there is a possibility that some articles that did not have the keywords used in the search criteria were omitted. moreover, the studies included were written between 2010 and 2016. therefore, studies on academic support published prior to this period were omitted. another limitation in this study relates to the small sample size (24 journal articles). this small sample makes it difficult to sufficiently identify trends in academic support research. hence there is need for more research that will include other forms of publication such as conference proceedings, theses and dissertations, and college-based reports. the limitations are as follows: 1. most of the studies are small scale and focus on individual interventions with small groups of students. ten out of the 24 studies had samples of less than 100 students, with some as low as 10 students, while in seven of the studies the sample is not mentioned. 2. while there is diversity in study focus, this is counterbalanced by the fact that most of the studies use the same methods (interviews or questionnaires). 3. most of the studies are cross-sectional studies, which makes it difficult to measure the impact of the programmes over a long period. 4. the available evidence highlights the effects of the programmes and not the changes resulting from the intervention. this is largely because there are no baseline measures (such as pre-tests, only two studies had baseline measures) from which to explore. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 71 5. most of the available support focuses on learning, and there is silence on teaching. 6. there is little evidence regarding the wider factors influencing students’ uptake of academic support or the success of an academic support programme. future research • the capstone academic support programmes at the ukzn are the ado initiative and peer learning (qep report 2015). there is a need for research that investigates the former, examining the effect of academic counselling on student support. • research needs to move away from snapshot measures of efficacy to more longitudinal assessments of support. • there are vast amounts of data produced through the institution’s information systems which can be used to complement data gathered through academic support programmes. through these data, the efficacy of ams can be examined to provide university-wide measures of what works. conclusion the purpose of this review was to examine research studies which showed evidence of credible assessment of academic support programmes at ukzn. the sample was taken from studies conducted between 2010 and 2016. the findings show that there is a diversity of available evidence, ranging from assessment of peer-support programmes, alternative-access programmes to curriculum-based interventions. however, most of these interventions are located in one college. the assessment is also largely based on small cross-sectional studies with no evidence of baseline measures (except for two studies). there is need for research which focuses on examining programmes over a long period of time while also controlling for programme effects. references andrews, r. 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(2017). academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal: a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles, 2010–2015. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 55–74. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 https://doi.org/10.5785/30-1-570 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 75 www.jsaa.ac.za research article paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach linda spark,* danie de klerk,** tshepiso maleswena*** & andrew jones**** * linda spark is a senior tutor and grant holder: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: linda.spark@wits.ac.za ** danie de klerk is coordinator and lecturer: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: danie.deklerk@wits.ac.za *** tshepiso maleswena is coordinator and associate lecturer: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: tshepiso. maleswena@wits.ac.za **** andrew jones is a grant holder: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: asjfs.co.za abstract the exponential growth of higher education enrolment in south africa has resulted in increased diversity of the student body, leading to a proliferation of factors that affect student performance and success. various initiatives have been adopted by tertiary institutions to mitigate the negative impact these factors may have on student success, and it is suggested that interventions that include aspects of social integration are the most successful. this paper outlines an approach called success tutoring (a non-academic tutorial approach used as part of a student success and support programme in the faculty of commerce, law, and management at the university of the witwatersrand), which is underscored by empirical evidence drawn from evaluation data collected during success tutor symposia. the authors draw conclusions and make recommendations based on a thematic analysis of the dataset, and ultimately provide readers with a framework for implementing success tutoring at their tertiary institutions. keywords higher education; non-academic support; student success; student support; tutorial approach; tutorial framework http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:linda.spark%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:danie.deklerk%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:tshepiso.maleswena%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:tshepiso.maleswena%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:asjfs.co.za?subject= 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 introduction the massification of higher education both locally and abroad (bai, 2006; hornsby & osman, 2014; luckett & sutherland, 2000) has led to an influx of diverse, non-traditional1 student populations (e.g. minorities and those whose access has been hampered by socioeconomic circumstances in the past) to universities. many of them are underprepared (maitland & lemmer, 2011; loots, 2009) first-generation students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (rendon, 1994; jacklin & robinson, 2007; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). their expectations of university are frequently determined by their experience at school (hill, 1995; jacklin & robinson, 2007), which usually sees them underestimate the demands and workload of university studies (loots, 2009). consequently students have high expectations for themselves based on their perceived academic competence in grade 12 (loots, 2009). they may thus enter university with a false sense of security and ability that makes them vulnerable to the pressures and expectations of university studies. for this reason, those passionate about the student success agenda often aim to establish structures, interventions, and/or programmes to enhance student success (engelbrecht, harding & potgieter, 2014; hatch, 2016; perez & ceja, 2010). this article proposes a framework for an approach called success tutoring and could be read in conjunction with a preceding article (de klerk, spark, jones & maleswena, 2017), which outlines the student success programme the approach emanates from. for purposes of this study, student success in the south african context is defined as a university student’s ability to: cope with the transition from high school to university (mcghie & du preez, 2015); progress through the first year of study (andrews & osman, 2015; manik, 2015); graduate from their degree of choice (andrews & osman, 2015; mcghie & du preez, 2015) within five years of first registration (scott, yeld & hendry, 2007); manage the psychosocial, socio-economic, cultural (mcghie & du preez, 2015), and academic demands (potgieter, harding, kritzinger, somo & engelbrecht, 2015) posed by university studies; and access relevant academic and non-academic support structures on university campuses (mcghie & du preez, 2015). as an additional point of clarification, this study focuses on the provision of non-academic support by concentrating on the non-academic factors that may influence a student’s academic performance and success, and excludes any form of academic tutoring. non-academic factors may include (but are not limited to) excellence skills, psychosocial factors, mental health challenges, and emotional well-being. what follows is an overview of prominent dimensions linked to tutorial approaches, as outlined in the literature. 1 moscati (2004) and jacklin and robinson (2007) highlight changes in higher education student demographics over the last twenty years, speaking of a shift from “… more traditional student cohorts […] to a more diverse student body …” (moscati, 2004, p. 380). here diversity denotes things like experience, student background and education, age, and motivation for studying, to name a few (moscati, 2004; jacklin & robinson, 2007). as such, increased diversity means the student body we have today is different from what it was in the past (i.e. the tradition has changed). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 77 literature and context while intelligence and motivation may have been the major predictors of student success in the past, the diversity of present-day student populations brings into play a far greater number of factors. these include, but are not limited to, students’ personal, social and academic circumstances, as well as the university staff and processes that determine whether students perform and progress at university (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009; karp, 2011; maitland & lemmer, 2011). while some consider it the responsibility of the student to adapt, others believe universities have an obligation to accommodate students (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009; rendon, 1994; jacklin & robinson, 2007; loots, 2009), particularly those who are unable to integrate into university independently and require active intervention by lecturers, tutors, and/or other university staff to help them participate in activities and ultimately succeed (karp, 2011; rendon, 1994). this may be particularly true for non-traditional university students whose family and friends are at times sceptical of them attending university or may even discourage it (rendon, 1994). despite many support interventions at universities to prevent student failure, dropout rates remain high (karp, 2011; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009) and may be attributed to: interventions that are only academic in nature (e.g. academic support tutorials or extended degree programmes); passive interventions (e.g. referral by a lecturer to a non-academic unit for advice or guidance) when students need someone to actively provide assistance (karp, 2011; rendon, 1994); and/or failure to meet the needs of students (karp, 2011). as a result various other initiatives have been introduced, such as financial workshops, student support groups, “big brothers/sisters”, academic advisers or advising programmes, counselling facilities, staff-student mentoring, and peer tutoring (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). regardless of what it may be, it is suggested that initiatives that provide holistic support, including social, psycho-emotional, and academic help, are the most successful (maitland & lemmer, 2011). moreover, non-academic support initiatives are often geared towards addressing students’ academic success and may focus on a number of non-academic issues and challenges faced by university students (karp, 2011). one of the most important factors in student success is social integration. students who feel isolated or lack the requisite social support may drop out (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), with first-generation students and those studying at tertiary institutions far from home most likely to fall into this trap (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). the literature shows that learning is a social activity (maitland & lemmer, 2011; wilmer, 2008) and, despite poor academic performance, many students persevere because they have managed to realise successful social integration at their tertiary institution (karp, 2011; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). correspondingly, students’ interaction with someone who shows concern or takes an interest in them (particularly in the first year of study) is of great significance (hill, 1995; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994). the literature shows that informal (i.e. non-academic) contact between a student and lecturer outside the classroom positively affects the student’s personal development, academic performance, social integration into the university, and satisfaction with the university experience (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994; karp, 2011), which aligns with jacklin 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 and robinson’s (2007) assertion that (inter)personal support is the most important type of assistance for university students. however, the literature shows that students remain reluctant to speak to lecturers (cleland, arnold & chesser, 2005; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), as they often consider them unapproachable, unfriendly, or unavailable (rendon, 1994; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). correspondingly, lecturers may feel they do not have the time (owing to large student numbers) nor the ability (they lack formal training) to address and/or diagnose student problems (hill, 1995; tait & entwistle, 1996; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). as such, lecturers may either be unwilling to provide non-academic support, unaware of non-academic support services on campus, or may not consider it their responsibility to refer students to those qualified to assist (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). still others may feel students should have the skills to cope, as they managed to gain admission to university (cleland, arnold & chesser, 2005; karp, 2011; tait & entwistle, 1996). whatever the case may be, it is vital that students are treated with the necessary sensitivity and helped where possible. this may simply require a lecturer to listen or refer appropriately (hill, 1995), rather than blaming students for their shortcomings, which is often the case (loots, 2009; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). of importance then is a need to take cognisance of students’ preference to talk to tutors (i.e. senior students). the term ‘tutor’ has several connotations that are predominantly scholarly or relate to academia (schmidt & moust, 1995), denoting a person who typically gives academic guidance and instruction to a small group of people or an individual (barrows, 2002). barrows (2002) emphasises the auxiliary nature of a tutor’s teaching responsibilities (i.e. supplementary to the lecturer in a tertiary institution), while maitland and lemmer (2011) underscore how holistic student support by tutors consistently yields far better outcomes for students. consequently, students tend to gravitate to tutors because they are likely to possess the following attributes: approachability, relatability with a marginal age difference (maitland & lemmer, 2011), contextual insight and understanding, an awareness of what it means to be in the student’s shoes (loots, 2009; maitland & lemmer, 2011; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), experience succeeding at university (maitland & lemmer, 2011), and an appreciation for the value of student support (loots, 2009). subsequently, students can establish meaningful supportive relationships with individuals who influence them positively (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; maitland & lemmer, 2011), while tutors can offer solutions to the challenges students face based on personal experience, help with academic work, and assist with finding help for both academic and non-academic concerns (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). the supportive role played by the tutor is particularly significant, as students are usually reluctant to admit to having personal, physical, mental health and/or financial problems (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), which they feel are private, may have negative consequences when shared, or show weakness or an inability to cope. by forming a meaningful relationship with a tutor, students are more likely to speak out about their challenges and concerns, thus addressing cleland, arnold and chesser’s (2005) findings about students not knowing who to talk to regarding personal problems, or not feeling comfortable speaking http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 79 about matters of this nature. tutors are also likely to adequately refer students to relevant counselling and support services, which makes students less likely to withdraw from their studies and has a positive effect on student achievement and retention (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). besides a lack of social support and integration, other factors that cause students to fail or drop out are a lack of time management, inadequate study or exam-writing skills, no/unrealistic goals, family/financial/workload pressures, and/or a fear of failure (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; loots, 2009). not surprisingly then, programmes that bring students together help create social and learning groups where these students are taught to cope with and address these challenges. additionally, in instances where mentoring and support are included in the support programme, student motivation, selfconfidence, and engagement are improved and increased (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994). similarly, fulk and king (2001) have found that class-wide peer-topeer tutoring techniques make it possible to actively involve all students in the learning process, which has the added advantage of improving self-esteem and social skills among participants. subsequently, a flexible peer-mediated strategy where students serve as tutors and tutees known as ‘peer tutoring’ (hott, walker & sahni, 2012) allows an older or higher performing student to be paired with students in need of support, to work on academic and/or behavioural concepts they find challenging. peer tutoring (hott, walker & sahni, 2012) is common in institutions of higher learning and most syllabi are dependent on peer tutors to supplement contact time (clarence, 2016; hobson, 2002). the technique has a strong evidence base (hott, walker & sahni, 2012; vasquez & slocum, 2012) and is said to aid in four ways, outlined in table 1 below. table 1: merits of peer tutoring 1. creates social connections students can get information, form study groups, become part of a community where they feel welcome and are supported, know who and where to go to, receive advice, are motivated, are helped to acclimatise, and form relationships (karp, 2011; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). 2. increases commitment and clarifies goals students may not know why university is important or understand why they are learning. guidance by senior students is a positive interaction that suggests the relevance of the degree, provides concrete reasoning, and allows the student to visualise their future selves (karp, 2011; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). 3. develops know-how students learn what they are expected to know and do, learn about context and culture, how to navigate the system, when and where to ask for help, how to make use of services, how to manage time and participate in class, and how to study and write tests (karp, 2011; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). 4. makes life feasible students learn how to deal with other day-to-day challenges such as transport, accommodation, and food (karp, 2011; wilmer, 2008). 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 consequently, holistic experiences that assist with psychosocial problems and that are run by well-trained, enthusiastic, and committed tutors (maitland & lemmer, 2011) will lead to satisfied students. if students are satisfied with a support programme it will create goodwill for future implementation (maitland & lemmer, 2011) and assist students by “… mak[ing] life more manageable [which] can improve student outcomes” (karp, 2011, p. 19). similarly, students who are involved in one intervention will likely participate in others (loots, 2009), thus increasing their chances of succeeding at university. what follows is a framework for implementing success tutoring – an approach conceptualised and adopted by the road to success programme (rsp), a non-academic student success and support programme (see de klerk et al., 2017) in the faculty of commerce, law, and management (clm) at the university of the witwatersrand. success tutoring in 2014 teaching development grant funding was applied for by clm, as part of a university-wide grant application to the department of higher education and training (dhet). funding was awarded for four projects, one of which had to focus on supporting students at risk (a term used by dhet). however, the rsp (de klerk et al., 2017) wanted to move away from the at-risk label and adopted a more positive, success-orientated approach for the programme. the initial target groups were first-year students and particular cohorts of struggling students, which have since grown to include all of the approximately 5 500 undergraduate students in the faculty. the initial premise for employing between 20 and 30 non-academic tutors as part of the programme was to ensure requisite capacity to service the needs of all the students who could engage with its support initiatives. but in time rsp grant holders and coordinators (see de klerk et al., 2017) learned the value (through research and practice) of involving the student experience and voice in a programme that serves the needs of students. as a result, an approach called success tutoring was conceptualised and adopted. the concept of success tutoring refers to the support, help, and guidance provided to a student by a success tutor. success tutoring excludes any form of academic tutoring and does not relate to any one subject in particular. the emphasis here is on the non-academic factors that may influence a student’s academic performance and success. focus areas include, but are not limited to, excellence skills (e.g. time management, study skills for university, note taking, and reflective practice), strategic planning, advice and guidance on matters pertaining to personal and university life, and referral to relevant campus support services. in turn, a success tutor is a student tutor who has been trained to occupy this position. the success tutor serves as a link between the student and the university. (s)he provides advice, support, and guidance to students in relation to particular focus areas (see definition of success tutoring), drawing on personal experience and training. accordingly, success tutors have a variety of roles and responsibilities. firstly, they interact with undergraduate students in group and one-on-one settings to address excellence skills. secondly, success tutors engage with students around personal, social, and emotional challenges, usually on a one-on-one basis. here tutors may draw on http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 81 personal experience and what they were taught during training, or they could refer the case to one of the rsp coordinators (de klerk et al., 2017), should it go beyond the scope of what they are able to assist with. finally, success tutors get involved in rsp symposia, orientation week activities, the faculty’s pre-university school, awareness drives, pay-itforward campaigns, and a number of other rsp initiatives (see de klerk et al., 2017). consequently, a success tutor is an individual who should be able to provide non-academic support (that supplements and complements students’ academic success) to undergraduate students. these tutors play an integral role in improving and evolving the rsp, thus ensuring relevance, nuance, and an element of student voice in the programme. recruitment recruitment starts towards the end of an academic year with the submission of applications by senior students (i.e. third and fourth years) in response to a call for tutors. candidates have to be willing to: assist undergraduates with a variety of personal, social, and emotional challenges; guide undergraduates on the path to personal growth and academic success; motivate undergraduates to unlock and realise their potential; and provide undergraduates with emotional and social support. interviews are geared at identifying individuals who possess attributes and characteristics that align with the rsp’s mandate (see de klerk et al., 2017) and occur early in the new academic year to allow adequate time for tutor training prior to the commencement of the academic year. although success tutors do not have to possess an exceptional academic record, they should at least be averaging in the 60s, as the programme would not want to put its own tutors at risk of not succeeding. once all interviews have been conducted, the team deliberates and then informs new success tutors of their appointment and training dates. training as success tutors provide non-academic support, their training needs are different. recruitment is followed by a two-day tutor training programme, where day one focuses on rsp in-house training and day two on student in distress training (conducted by the university’s counselling unit). on day one newly appointed success tutors are orientated, gain a sense of their role and responsibility, and explore the mandate of the programme. day two focuses solely on the process of assisting students in distress, counselling, and referring students if and when necessary. the two-day training session serves to ensure that success tutors gain insight into the student success and support agenda, know what is expected of them, understand when to refer cases, and know whom to refer students to. support the rsp recognises the need to adequately support success tutors, to ensure they are able to fulfil their mandate. this is achieved through clear and consistent tutorial briefs for running success tutorials, opportunities to reflect and debrief, library literacy workshops, copyright and plagiarism workshops, regular engagements with the rsp team, and an annual team82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 building event. also worth mentioning is the role played by success tutors who have been part of the programme for more than one year, as they are involved in tutor training sessions and regularly share their experience and insight with new tutors. methodology the evaluation of success tutoring has proven critical in terms of programme enhancement and draws on the input of success tutors through their role as students and members of the rsp team. nygaard and belluigi (2011) emphasise how some methods of evaluation do not address student learning (and to some extent student needs), which is why the rsp considers contributions by success tutors (i.e. the student voice) imperative. one method of evaluation used annually since the programme’s inauguration in 2015 is the rsp success tutor symposium, which provides success tutors the opportunity to share innovations and address both internal and external factors they feel could enhance the programme as a whole and/or impact on its growth or success. during this symposium each tutor has the opportunity to conduct a five-minute presentation on a key topic (usually quite broad to allow room for personal interpretation and nuance). these topics are predetermined by rsp coordinator and sent to success tutors a few weeks before the symposium (there are usually between three and five topics). the purpose is to observe the programme through a different lens (i.e. that of the student tutor), as they engage with students and experience interventions differently from staff who occupy administrative or academic positions in the university. consequently, this approach to evaluation has proven beneficial to the rsp, while at the same time providing success tutors the opportunity to contribute to the evaluation of the programme. for the purpose of this study the authors analysed their 2015 and 2016 symposia notes (11 out of 25 success tutors participated in the former, while 17 out of 24 participated in the latter), using the principles and processes of thematic analysis proposed by braun and clarke (2006). this involved individuals familiarising themselves with their datasets (i.e. the different sets of symposia notes), identifying codes and themes, comparing themes across datasets, refining themes, and naming themes. the results of this analysis yielded four main themes, one of which has five sub-themes. theme one was identified as the social aspect of the rsp, which is broken down into the sub-themes of relationship, integration/ know-how, commitments/clarify goals, community, and why tutors (vs lectures). support given, other (non-academic) initiatives, and expectations of students new to the university emerges as themes two, three, and four respectively. these themes and sub-themes were used to explicate the value of success tutoring as an approach for addressing student success needs in the faculty, which the authors believe also apply to the greater south african higher education context. findings and discussion social aspect the overriding theme that arose from the thematic analysis was that of social aspect in relation to the rsp and the idea that “learning is a social activity”. this confirms the work http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 83 of maitland and lemmer (2011). within this theme the responses from success tutors were broken down into five sub-themes, which are explored in more detail below. relationships the analysis showed that success tutors believed it was important to interact with someone you had a connection with, which was critical for relationship building (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; maitland & lemmer, 2011). they felt that students wanted to belong and needed emotional support. in tutorials success tutors would often suggest that students create buddies, both with other students (particularly those in that tutorial group), as well as with the tutors. the tutors also believed that it was important for themselves to have relationships with the other success tutors, as well as with student councils and industry partners. the suggestion that relationships are important for students confirms the findings of lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004), and maitland and lemmer (2011), who say that students can establish relationships with tutors that can influence them positively, but also help with the challenges of university. students are less likely to withdraw if they are assisted or referred to a unit where they can be helped, or even simply have someone to talk to or who takes an interest in them (hill, 1995; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994). integration/know-how what also emerged from the analysis is that students want to belong and feel the need to fit in. a student may think that it is just her/him who is left out, while others appear to fit in and/or have friends, which is usually not the case. the success tutors suggest that students want to become part of a society that talks to success and that they need to know how and where to ask for help. tutors would ask students if they have any friends to gauge possible feelings of isolation, which then gives the success tutor an opportunity to facilitate connections with other students. walsh, larsen and parry (2009) found that students who feel isolated are more likely to drop out of university, so being part of a group within the rsp is likely to guard against this. in addition, lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004), and karp (2011) suggest that students who have successfully integrated socially into university are more likely to persevere. moreover, the success tutors’ emphasis on the importance of knowing who and where to ask for assistance for both academic and non-academic issues substantiates the findings of wilmer (2008), loots (2009), and lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004). commitments/clarify goals another point that arose from the analysis was success tutors’ perceived responsibility to help develop the individual and create a culture of not wasting potential. as such, they assist students with setting goals and discuss how to realise these goals. success tutors also engage with students, not just to assist with difficulties, but to speak to them about how to succeed. they act as motivators and believe they have a responsibility to help with the growth of the 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 students they interact with. this need for tutors to guide students in terms of their future selves is reiterated by karp (2011), loots (2009) and wilmer (2008). the rsp success tutors see this as a positive duty, so that students can understand why they are at university, and where it will lead them. additionally, success tutors see themselves as benefiting from this process, as by assisting others and interacting with other success tutors, they can also grow and succeed (loots, 2009). community this sub-theme relates to success tutors’ beliefs that they have a voice as a community within the rsp. they see the rsp as having created a culture of help and support that builds students’ self-esteem, as well as that of the tutors themselves. as senior students, success tutors feel they can pass down guidelines through their interactions and communications within their tutorial groups, which will support the students they engage with. here the success tutors and their idea of the rsp community as a support mechanism to make students feel part of a wider group serve to substantiate the work of karp (2011), loots (2009) and wilmer (2008). by involving students in the learning that takes place in tutorials, success tutors believe they are building their and the students’ self-esteem, which can be related to the findings of fulk and king (2001). why tutors (vs lecturers) the analysis shows that success tutors believe they are in the extraordinary position of being able to make university a better place for students. due to their age and experiences, they consider themselves more likely to: relate to students’ issues; understand students’ positions; and/or refer students when necessary. the tutors say we have been there. they understand that personality attributes like empathy, being encouraging, and being open and positive are vital, while also encouraging the students to gain these attributes. success tutors also feel they can draw on their own experiences (not just from an academic point of view) and provide practical solutions to particular challenges. what is more, as a big brother/sister they also get informal anecdotal feedback from students, which in turn helps them improve their own practice. the work of maitland and lemmer (2011), loots (2009), and walsh, larsen and parry (2009) are supported by the success tutors’ experiences. the tutors find that students in rsp tutorial groups are more likely to talk to them owing to their closer age, and because the success tutors are more easily able to relate to the challenges students face, which they may have experienced themselves. support given the second theme to emerge from the thematic analysis relates to the type of support provided to students. success tutors emphasised that students require support that does not focus on academics alone. moreover, they make it clear that not only underprepared students gain from engaging with success tutors. therefore the support provided by success tutors through the rsp addresses the fact that students’ support needs are not necessarily http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 85 linked to academics. consequently, success tutors provide interpersonal support geared at emotional, personal, and social challenges. this addresses karp’s (2011) comments about the failure to meet the needs of students and corroborates the findings of lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004) about the use of both academic and non-academic support interventions. it also links to the work of maitland and lemmer (2011), who emphasise the need for support structures that are not only academic in nature. other (non-academic) initiatives the third theme revolves around other (non-academic) initiatives to support students and address student success needs. success tutors are involved in initiatives of this nature through the rsp (i.e. awareness drives and soup/hot beverage stations). however, they also expressed a need to influence undergraduate schools within the faculty to provide additional support that blends tutoring of both an academic and non-academic nature. here the work of lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004) about the value of academic and non-academic support initiatives rings true once more. additionally, maitland and lemmer’s (2011) suggestion that those who provide support that covers social, psychoemotional, and academic help are the most successful, cannot be discounted. expectations of students new to the university the final theme to emerge from the analysis of symposia data relates to the expectations of students who are new to the university. success tutors highlighted that different students have different needs. students entering the system may therefore be underprepared firstgeneration students who are far from home and vulnerable/overwhelmed. additionally, success tutors often engage with introverted students who may not realise they need help coping with the demands of university. as a result, the success tutors emphasise the value of word-of-mouth to aid students in realising they need help, particularly when it seems that others are coping and they are not. the fact that students are willing to engage with success tutors regarding matters of a personal nature addresses walsh, larsen and parry’s (2009) findings about student reluctance to discuss matters of this nature. moreover, success tutors’ observations about first-generation students who live far from home reiterates lotkowski, robbins and noeth’s (2004) findings, in addition to corroborating what loots (2009) says about managing student expectations in light of success tutors having been there. what is reassuring then is that rsp success tutors are engaging with students new to the university, which walsh, larsen and parry (2009) claim has a positive effect on student achievement and retention. conclusion south african higher education has seen an exponential growth in student numbers, placing severe pressure on the resources of universities and directly impacting on student success. the subsequent necessity for student support initiatives that supplement and complement the academic and non-academic student experience have become non-negotiable. in this 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 paper the authors shared a framework for implementing success tutoring, a tutorial approach that forms part of the student success and support programme they run. those looking to implement success tutoring should remember that the recruitment and adequate training of suitable candidates to occupy success tutor positions is imperative to providing students with the support they feel they need and to assist with their socialisation at university. this requires individuals who are passionate about student success and support, motivated, driven, and who understand the challenges faced by south african students. senior undergraduate or honours-level students are most likely to fit this profile, as students are likely to find them approachable and relate to them better. the approach also captures the student voice, which is essential for addressing student needs and to evaluate and enhance the student success and support programme the success tutors are affiliated with (if any). ultimately, success tutors perform an intermediate function between academic support (which is discipline and/or subject specific) and non-academic support (which is geared at factors influencing academic success). success tutors are therefore knowledgeable about the content of their specific fields of study, can provide insight on excellence skills that are tailored to supplement academic activities, and also play a non-academic role in terms of being empathetic/sympathetic by providing support for students who are struggling with a range of issues that can adversely affect student success.2 references andrews, d. & osman, r. 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(2009). student involvement and retention in higher education: the case for academic peer-tutoring programmes for first-years. education as change, 13(1), 211–235. https://doi. org/10.1080/16823200902945077 lotkowski, v., robbins, s. & noeth, r. (2004). the role of academic and non-academic factors in improving college retention. act policy report. luckett, k. & sutherland, l. (2000). assessment practices that improve teaching and learning. in: s.  makoni (ed.), improving teaching and learning in higher education (pp.  98–129). johannesburg: witwatersrand university press. maitland, i. & lemmer, e. (2011). meeting the social and emotional needs to first-year mathematics students through peer-tutoring. acta academica, 43(4), 127–151. manik, s. (2015). ‘as a person you need help every now and then’: accessing students’ support needs in a higher education environment: part 1. south african journal of higher education, 29(3), 101–117. mcghie, v. & du preez, m. (2015). addressing the learning needs of at-risk students at the university of the western cape: part 1. south african journal of higher education, 29(1), 164–180. moscati, r. (2004). editorial. european journal of education, 39(4), 380–382. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1465-3435.2004.00191.x nygaard, c. & belluigi, d.z. (2011). a proposed methodology for contextualised evaluation in higher education. assessment & evaluation in higher education, 36(6), 657–671. https://doi. org/10.1080/02602931003650037 perez, p.a. & ceja, m. 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(1996). identifying students at risk through ineffective study strategies. higher education, 31, 97–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00129109 vasquez, e. & slocum, t.a. (2012). evaluation of synchronous online tutoring for students at risk of reading failure. exceptional children, 78(2), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440291207800205 walsh, c., larsen, c. & parry, d. (2009). academic tutors at the frontline of student support in a cohort of students succeeding in higher education. educational studies, 35(4), 405–424. https:// doi.org/10.1080/03055690902876438 wilmer, e. (2008). student support services for the underprepared student. the journal of the virginia community colleges, 13(1), 5–19. how to cite: spark, l., de klerk, d., maleswena, t. & jones, a. (2017). paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 75–88. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01191156 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01191156 https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199508000-00015 https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199508000-00015 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00129109 https://doi.org/10.1177/001440291207800205 https://doi.org/10.1080/03055690902876438 https://doi.org/10.1080/03055690902876438 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 89 www.jsaa.ac.za research article the messiness of meaning making: examining the affordances of the digital space as a mentoring and tutoring space for the acquisition of academic literacy moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo* * the authors are part of the language development group, academic development programme, centre for higher educational development, university of cape town, south africa. the paper was written together, and all authors are acknowledged as ‘first authors’. emails: moeain.arend@uct.ac.za; aditi.hunma@uct.ac.za; catherine.hutchings@uct.ac.za; gideon.nomdo@uct.ac.za abstract having incorporated a digital aspect to our academic literacy course, and having monitored this over the last three years, we have come to believe that online mentoring can serve as an essential form of tutoring and mentoring. our study is located in the field of new literacy studies and examines the affordances of a digital space in a first year academic literacy course in the humanities. we focus on students’ acquisition of academic literacy, as well as critical thinking and reflexivity around a core social science concept; identity. here, we refer to the ability to think critically and reflexively, as the ‘analytical mode’, a key driver in shaping the pedagogy of the course. in this paper, we explore the online participation of two students and how they engage with the theme of identity, not only as an academic concept but also as one intrinsically linked with how they see themselves in a diverse post-apartheid south african context. we argue that the digital space promotes a particular form of the ‘analytical mode’ as students grapple with texts and concepts on the academic literacy course. using a qualitative case study methodology, our analysis of students’ online interaction revealed that the digital space allowed students to express themselves with a level of depth and sophistication, and to share dissident views that could not be expressed in the traditional classroom space. furthermore, we argue that the digital space can suspend students’ urgency to agree or disagree with the arguments of authors they read. by holding students between the two positions of agreement and disagreement, we propose that the digital space becomes a space of reflexive1 discomfort which captures various moments in students’ drafting processes as they operate within the analytical mode. therefore, we argue that the digital space, if harnessed with a particular type of mentoring philosophy and pedagogy that activates the analytical mode, can free up the traditional forms of academic mentoring and tutoring within the academy. this allows students the freedom to live with the messiness of their texts and to grapple with their conceptual understanding, and in doing so, develop their ‘authorial self’ (clark & ivanič, 1997). 1 see d’cruz’s (2007) analysis of the dynamic and innovative ways in which the concept of reflexivity is used. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:moeain.arend%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:aditi.hunma%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:catherine.hutchings%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:gideon.nomdo%40uct.ac.za?subject= 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 keywords affordances; digital space; identity; authorial voice; academic literacy; analytical mode introduction currently it is unusual for an article on digital spaces to be included in a collection intended to make a contribution to tutoring and mentoring. however, we would like to argue that the online space can be harnessed as a mentoring or tutoring space, or what guittierez (2008) terms as a ‘third space’. therefore, it has the potential to contribute richly and in novel ways to the tutoring and mentoring aspect of higher educational pedagogies. in this paper we offer some evidence of this potential. this study is situated in post-apartheid south africa where, despite positive changes in the education system, the remnants of the notorious bantu education system can still be felt, especially in the rural areas.2 as such, the dispensation of education remains quite divided, and only a small proportion of ‘historically disadvantaged’ students make it to university.3 our tertiary institution has thus designed a series of cross-faculty interventions to give students social and epistemic access to the ways of knowing that will facilitate their integration into academia. such interventions are offered under the banner of transformation and social redress and are subsidised by government funding in an attempt to achieve the state’s broader transformation goals. in this paper, we analyse one such intervention which we all teach on: an academic literacy introductory course (henceforth referred to as ‘aclit’) for first year humanities students on a four-year (extended degree) programme.4 we use a blended approach – face-to-face and online interaction – as part of our pedagogy to teach academic writing to small groups of students. the students who take the course are often those who come from historically ‘disadvantaged’ backgrounds and have scored low on the academic literacy component of the national benchmark tests (nbts).5 these students are seen as having 2 see the 2005 report by hsrc; and also holborn’s (2013) article. 3 the unesco (2010) measure of gross enrolment rate reflects that the overall percentage of south african students who are participating in higher education in the country is about 16%, of which 60% are white and only 12% are african and coloured. it is estimated that less than 5% of black south african students are able to gain access to the higher education sector. see also the che (2013) report, and scott, yeld and hendry (2007) for more insight into how racially skewed student participation rates are in south african higher education. 4 ‘in the faculty of humanities, the four year degree takes the form of a bachelor of arts (ba) or bachelor of social science (bsocsc) degree taken over four years (as opposed to three years). students on the four year degree have access to augmented courses, foundation courses and workshops, mentorship and extended periods of registration’ (http://www.humanities.uct.ac.za/hum/apply/undergraduate/edu). 5 ‘the national benchmark tests’ (nbts) were commissioned by universities south africa with the task of assessing academic readiness of first year university students as a supplement to secondary school reports on learning achieved in content-specific courses. the nbts assess the ability to combine aspects of prior learning in competency areas – academic literacy (al), quantitative literacy (ql) and mathematics (mat) – that directly impact on success of first year university students. al and ql are combined in the aql test and written in a three-hour morning session; the mat is written in a three-hour afternoon session. both are administered under standardised testing conditions at sites across south africa on designated ‘national test dates.’ for more information see http://www.nbt.ac.za/ http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 http://www.nbt.ac.za/ moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 91 the potential to succeed in the academy if provided with the appropriate curriculum interventions. it is, however, important to point out that the concept of ‘disadvantaged’ in the context of this intervention is shifting, and that the students entering the programme come from very diverse socio-economic and schooling backgrounds. the main aim of our aclit course is to teach students ways of reading, writing and argumentation in the humanities context, using the themes of language, identity, culture, gender and race to ground the academic discussions. these themes are still very topical in the post-apartheid higher education context, given the fact that the memory and experience of racial prejudice and discrimination during apartheid continues to act as a stimulus for articulating ideas and expressions around identity and transformation. the recent decolonising the curriculum and rhodes must fall student protest movements are testimony to the types of changes that students are demanding with respect to legitimising their presence on south african higher education campuses.6 within the above context, the classroom can thus be seen as a space of discomfort, not only because it broaches on current issues, but because it situates itself during the transitional phase between the high school context and university, a phase that ivanič (1998) would refer to as a ‘critical event’. the latter refers to the significant encounters that individuals experience during crucial periods of change in their lives.7 students therefore not only learn about topical themes but learn to interrogate them. students’ experiences during this critical event are coupled with the need to operate within what we have come to call ‘the analytical mode’ on the aclit course. we see the analytical mode as a pedagogical imperative that attempts to encourage students to critically engage with academic texts and concepts while holding off on taking a definitive position in an academic debate and in their initial essay drafts. one of the aims of this pedagogical imperative – the analytical mode – is to disrupt and challenge students’ preconceived and commonplace notions of race, gender and culture, and get them out of their comfort zones to interrogate what they may have taken for granted. this is important, since much of the teaching practices that occur in our public schooling system is geared towards the delivery and memorisation of knowledge, and not the questioning and interrogation thereof. the past two years in particular have brought to the fore the need to open up further spaces for students to express themselves, given the extent of student protests on campuses alluded to above. at the same time, our approach as staff on the aclits course is that these spaces should also enable students to exercise individual thought so that they will be in a position to interrogate, and not simply be swayed by the majority view or binary thinking. we have attempted to foster this type of learning environment by developing and embedding a digital literacies component into the aclits course. this comprises an online website where students have the opportunity to both rehearse their engagement with texts 6 see kamanzi’s (2015) article for useful background information on this. 7 ivanič’s understanding of the term ‘critical event’ is derived from the concept of ‘critical experience’ which is drawn from a more psycho-social analysis of lifespan identity theory. critical events and experiences therefore concern ‘moments of flux … between … [individual’s sense of their] different selves’ (ivanič, 1998, p. 16). 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 and concepts introduced in the course, and to reflect on these critically. it also provides new opportunities for online mentoring and tutoring pedagogic engagements and exchanges. in this paper, we explore the extent to which this aclits online space promotes our pedagogical imperative – the analytical mode – to nurture a particular voice in writing, notably the ‘authorial self ’ (clark & ivanič, 1997), through such online mentoring and tutoring engagements. the ‘authorial self ’ refers to a sense of the writer’s presence in their text and the ownership of ideas in their writing. this voice is discussed shortly in more detail. digital spaces and literacies the digital space and its plethora of literacies have come under the spotlight in recent literacy research. studies focusing on harnessing the digital space in the academy have examined its affordances for the acquisition of academic literacies (see goodfellow & lea, 2013). of particular interest to us is how the digital space can be utilised to promote the analytical mode and in doing so, shape the acquisition of academic literacies and the development of an ‘authorial self ’ (clark & ivanič, 1997). in this paper, the digital space has been construed as an alternative site of learning, or in the words of gutiérrez (2008, p. 152), as a ‘third space’ where the ‘formal and informal intersect’, promoting new forms of knowing and being in the academy, and transforming the limited views of teaching as delivery. her description of the ‘third space’ fits aptly in our understanding of the digital space, when she states that this space creates ‘the potential for authentic interaction, a shift in the social organisation of learning and what counts as knowledge’. her view echoes our view of the digital space as a nurturing space for authentic learning. through its multimodal design, the aim is to activate the different modes in which students learn and bridge the divide between the realm of ideas and that of lived experiences through tangible examples. gutiérrez’s (2008) understanding of ‘third spaces’ would resemble canagarajah’s (1997) ‘safe house’, where dissenting voices can be heard. this said, we do not adopt a technicist approach towards the digital space, nor do we view it as the panacea for the acquisition of academic literacies. online mentoring in this regard becomes an invaluable tool for helping students to grapple with the application of theory to their own lives, so as to allow them to move beyond the abstractions that so often undermine meaningful learning. the understanding of digital literacy pursued in this paper is aligned to that proposed by proponents of the new literacy studies movement, where digital literacies are viewed as a set of social practices promoted on the online learning sites. mckenna and hughes (in goodfellow & lea, 2013) make this evident when they state, ‘throughout, we are informed by an academic literacies paradigm, a theoretical framework which views writing as a social practice (lea & street, 1998).’ they use the academic literacies approach as it surfaces the tensions between power, context and identity within digital spaces. therefore digital spaces and their literacies are not neutral forms of writing, as street (1984) would point out, but are as ideological as any other space and the literacies it promotes. when designed to promote academic reading and writing in the social sciences, the digital space operates in quite a distinct way, making those very modes visible for the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 93 educator and learners, and in some ways altering the genre in which ideas get expressed. presently, students are immersed in different social networking sites and blogging course sites, where they can share their views and comments without feeling the need to be grammatically correct or articulate. leveraging the openness of such spaces as rehearsal spaces, the aclits course site was designed on the wordpress (blogging) site. according to mckenna and hughes, ‘social networking spaces (e.g. twitter, wordpress, flickr) are giving rise to alternative ways of articulating and responding to academic knowledge’ (in goodfellow & lea, 2013, p. 22). they comment further that this new genre of writing leads to texts that are open and intertextual, with a heightened awareness of audience (mckenna and hughes, in goodfellow & lea, 2013). in our case, this audience, mostly comprised of peers, is not passive, as they can engage with one another’s thoughts in a collaborative spirit. these begin to redefine what we understand as ‘academic writing’. for lea and stierer (2009), the everyday writing texts do not simply reflect academic practices but are ‘central to them’. as a result of our engagements with literature and our observations of our students’ engagements, we are interested in how the digital space and its writing modalities can activate in-depth engagement with texts and concepts introduced on the course. in other words, we are interested in how the digital space can enhance engagement in the analytical mode.8 these intersecting engagements have also forced us to reflect more critically on our own roles as instructors and facilitators of learning within the digital space, and the extent to which such roles are able to complement practices within the traditional teaching space, so that the analytical mode can be upheld. the analytical mode we understand the analytical mode as a particular disposition which encourages students to suspend judgment and remain in a productive discursive space. for us, the analytical mode represents an integrated form of engagement with course materials and academic literacy, which highlights the complexity and messiness of scholarship, which we accept as a normal part of the writing process (and is the reason why we focus on the process rather than the product of learning in our course – as will be explained shortly). the analytical mode can also be understood as a space of discomfort for students (zembylas & boler, 2002), as lecturers are encouraged to create moments of tension during the course where students are asked to confront and engage with questions that relate to their notions of identity – the core theme of the course. this is particularly important in a country like south africa, where notions such as ‘the rainbow nation’ have come under fire for not adequately addressing real issues of transformation,9 thus leaving the country and its citizens to grapple with the challenge of forging a new identity after the demise of apartheid. 8 we are grateful to john trimbur from emerson for coining this concept in discussion with us. 9 see naylor’s article (2009); see also habib’s (1996), and sichone’s (2008). 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 bearing the above context in mind, we attempted to create opportunities for students to engage critically and reflexively with issues of identity as a social construct10 so as to develop students’ authorial identity in their academic writing. in the past, lecturers on our course would create space in their face-to-face interactions with their students to assist them with producing short pieces of written texts on the topic of identity. these short pieces of writing would be a form of ‘inkshedding’ (see hunt, 2005), which is a social practice that involves writing down one’s initial ideas on a particular topic (prior to a general class discussion on that topic) and then immediately passing them on to someone else to read, with the aim of getting feedback on the content of the writing only (i.e. the writing is not evaluated in any way). this type of writing is meant to be low stakes (students do not have to adhere to the conventions of academic writing), and developmental, and would ultimately form the building blocks for a final essay that centres on identity. during these inkshedding sessions, students were expected to draw on their life histories as a means to make sense of the notion that identity is a social construct. however, these inkshedding exercises that are by and large facilitated by lecturers and which have characterised the faceto-face interactions of the classroom, have now given way to online writing exercises in the aclits course. our online mentoring roles in this respect involve a level of feedback that is not judgemental or evaluative, but which responds simply to what is being stated. in the disciplines, generally the discoursal and authorial selves are valued over and above students’ brought along resources and capital. however, on the aclits course, the online writing tasks draw on students’ autobiographies as a legitimate way of inserting themselves in the process of engaging with theoretical concepts. within this processdriven approach to academic writing (see maybin, 1996), the autobiographical self and the discoursal self are recruited to develop an authorial identity in academic texts. the way in which these different selves are harnessed in writing can index how students engage in the analytical mode. part of our online mentoring roles is geared towards facilitating these to and fro movements between the various selves, encountered by students. the online language module of the aclits course as a tutoring and mentoring space through the writing exercises, the digital space captures the moments when students shuttle between different selves and make visible the hidden components of the analytical mode. further, we discuss how the digital space operates and showcases the analytical mode when learning is scaffolded through authentic tasks. the online language module course site is an online writing-intensive, collaborative space for the last teaching day of a four-day aclit teaching week; it takes the place of a conventional tutorial session. it also departs from the tutorial space in that the content is activated through various modes for an enriched learning experience, and students’ views are captured in writing, available for peer viewing and comments. this is where students’ understanding of texts and concepts that they were introduced to during the first three days 10 for insight into identity as a social construction, see terre blanche and durrheim (1999); and shotter (1993). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 95 of the week (that is, in the traditional classroom setting), are consolidated through reflective and application tasks that are completed online in the computer lab, in the presence of ourselves. during these sessions, we play more of the role of mentors and facilitators who prompt and respond to discussion and engagement, both in the physical lab space and online, rather than in the role of lecturers who provide knowledge content and assess the students’ work. similar to tutorials, built into the online module are design principles such as alignment to course content, flexibility and responsiveness to students’ emerging needs. as such, the online sessions are developed week by week, based on our assessment of students’ orientation to texts and concepts in the face-to-face classroom. in other words, as part of our roles as mentors and facilitators in the online space, we are both responders and designers in this pedagogic endeavour. the weekly online tasks enable students to grasp the application of theoretical ideas introduced on the course with vivid examples and case studies. the course site serves as a rehearsal space where students experiment with different writerly voices. thus, the tasks are not formally assessed, but build toward major assignments on the course. students have the option of completing the online tasks at a later stage, up until sunday of that week, and lecturers often notice high frequency of students on the site over the weekend. this is perhaps a sign that students are keeping up with the content in the course covered during the week. as online mentors, we also respond to students’ online tasks collectively rather than individually, summarising core issues and providing prompts and questions that allow students to take their discussions and interrogation of texts further. these online responses are built into the following week’s face-to-face formal teaching, where we shift from our roles as online mentors and facilitators and assume our roles as lecturers, and use students’ online understanding of concepts as entry points for our formal teaching. and, in fact, this type of online facilitation has meant that we as online mentors also had to master the ‘analytical mode’ ourselves. of course it is significant here that the successful transition from the online space into the formal face-to-face teaching space is undertaken by the same people, viz, aclits staff, who signify an important element of continuity to the type of blended learning that occurs. this online course site served a pedagogical function of encouraging students’ expression and sharing of their views and responses to course readings and online content. being an informal writing space of expression, it made allowance for the messiness of meaning making in process. thus, it encouraged the development of the authorial identity by encouraging students to interact in an analytical mode. methodology the online site also yielded data for research in the form of informal meaning making and pauses and dilemmas in this development. to analyse students’ engagement with texts and concepts on the online course site, a qualitative case study methodology was employed. the case study methodology enables researchers to acquire in-depth and detailed insights into particular phenomena. in case study methodology, it is also crucial to 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 delineate what the case is. the case is defined by miles and huberman (1994, p. 25) as ‘a phenomenon of some sort occurring in a bounded context’. the case is, ‘in effect, your unit of analysis’. in this study, the case was students’ critical engagement with the concept of identity in the digital space. the case study adopted here was an exploratory one (yin, 2003), as we did not enter the research with clear presuppositions about the outcomes of the study. we allowed the data that emanates from students’ online engagement to speak for itself. at the same time, our theoretical positioning, as mentioned earlier, was very much informed by our socio-cultural approach to literacy as proposed by scholars in the new literacy studies field. we were thus able to track the written work of our 120 students across different course sites (the on-line space and traditional teaching space). we obtained permissions from the students to use their online entries and submitted assignments as data for our research purposes. our purpose here was directed at assessing a particular outcome: the main course essay, so as to gauge whether, and in what capacity, the online space impacted students’ conceptual development and understanding of the concept of identity. in other words, how did the essays reflect that students were operating within an analytical mode? through the analytical mode, how did students develop a particular authorial identity? heuristic: the clover model of writer identities to analyse students’ critical engagement with texts and concepts in the digital space, we pay close attention firstly to the way they enact voice in writing. this may offer insights as to how the online tasks could promote an analytical mode of engagement. voice in writing is a nebulous concept; for analytical purposes, we will refer to it in terms of the representation of writer identities through means such as tone, opinion and style. in his manual on writing, fulwiler (2002), like ivanič and camps (2001), explains that ultimately in our written communications, the style, content and arrangement of our writing combine to represent us. he explains that the writer’s voice is something that develops almost unconsciously, and largely apart from more conscious techniques that are focused on in learning to write: in writing, we can’t, of course, hear the timbre of the voice or see the expressions on the face. instead, we hear the voice through our reading, perhaps gleaning our first clues about the writer from the particular combination of words, punctuation, sentences, and paragraphs that we call style. (fulwiler, 2002, p. 199) clark and ivanič (1998) analyse voice using the clover model of writer identity, which is subdivided into the autobiographical, discoursal and authorial selves. the notions of ‘autobiographical self ’ and ‘discoursal self ’ allow for a clearer sense of locating and separating our research participants’ constructions of their life-histories from the ‘values, beliefs and power relations’ that inform the discourses out of which those life-histories emerge. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 97 the autobiographical self is that part of an individual’s identity which is presented in a text to reveal the individual’s sense of origin, their ‘life-history’. the autobiographical self is a dynamic self, always in the process of being constructed so as to reflect the changing lifehistory of the individual. as such, the individual’s sense of being is comprised of a dynamic interplay between events that occur and the manner in which the individual experiences and represents these events. ivanič (1998) relates the autobiographical self to goffman’s notion of ‘writer-as-performer’. it is the latter that constructs the text and ‘produces a self-portrait.’ the ‘discoursal self ’ is the ‘impression’ of oneself that the writer wishes to convey to the reader, and contains aspects of the socially constructed ‘values, beliefs and power relations’ of the context in which the text is embedded. ivanič (1998) argues that this impression of self can be ‘multiple’ and even ‘contradictory’. she relates the discoursal self to goffman’s identification of the ‘writer-as-character’, which goffman argues is ‘the identity which the writer-as-performer portrays’. of prime concern here is how the writer uses her ‘voice’ in order to sound or come across to the reader in a particular way. paxton (2006, p. 86) explains bakhtin’s (1986) analysis of how writers create a voice for themselves through ‘assimilating, reworking and reaccentuating’ other voices. finally, the authorial self is defined as the extent to which writers ‘express their own ideas and beliefs in their writing’ and ‘their presence in the text’. the ‘authorial self ’ would hence be reflected in the type of content the author chooses to present and the manner in which she aligns herself with that content in a way that marks her presence or absence. drawing on giddens’ (1991) notion of the ‘reflexive project of the self ’; that which is sustained through the constant revision of ‘biographical narratives’, ivanič (1998) shows how the authorial voice is constantly being reworked as individuals reflexively make sense of their identities with new developments in their lives. alongside ivanič, hyland (2002) also offers interesting insights into the complexities surrounding the development of an authorial identity in student writing. hyland’s (2002) work with english second language speakers shows that students were fluent in strategies of ‘author invisibility’. our contention in the aclits course is that some students (many of whom are english second language speakers) doing extended degrees may also have been indoctrinated along similar lines. a post from the blog, theeaparchivist (2012), commenting on hyland’s views on english for academic purposes (eap) courses (in his article, ‘authority and invisibility: authorial identity in academic writing’), states: it seems that by adhering to the formulae of genres and ‘accepted’ discourse we are encouraging students to produce simulacra of academic writing. a replica with no soul. what worries me is that in doing so the power is retained within the echelons of western academia. if writers “gain credibility by projecting an identity invested with individual authority” (p. 1091) and individual authority is consistently dissuaded then we do not afford students the credibility they deserve. 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 in this paper, the clover model of writer identity is appropriated to analyse the shifts in writing made by students in the digital space and how these may signal particular ways of engaging with the analytical mode. what follows by way of illustration are extracts through the chronology of the course, from two case studies in our data analysis, describing and reflecting on how the students, ‘thembi’ and ‘sandra’, engaged with texts and concepts on the course. data analysis week 1: orientation experience extract in the first week of lectures, we gave students an online exercise which required them to write a reflective piece on their experiences on transitioning from school to university. in the comments box provided below, write a reflective piece sharing your experiences at uct so far, based on the reading on transitions in your course reader and the video. in thembi’s response she provides a partially constructed narrative of her identity. she notes that her transition from school to university brought with it ‘anxiety’, ‘fear for failure’, ‘lack of confidence to participate’ and a shyness to engage with people who did not speak isixhosa. here she sees language, specifically english, as a barrier for her when it comes to engaging with her peers and lecturers. this is captured in the following words: ‘i  am developing hatred for english because it seems to be a barrier to my comfort zone so that i can be able to perform to the maximum of my ability when chances are available.’ although she views english as a barrier to her learning she is able to articulate quite clearly, ‘i have a potential inside me’ and ‘i know that i also have an answer’. for thembi, however, the performative nature of speaking in class does not always reflect the potential that she believes she has, because when speaking there is ‘no chance to edit’. here, the online environment is seen as a safer space than the traditional tutorial because students have a chance to think through their responses. very often, the traditional tutorial interactions require immediate verbal responses, which in turn require immediate evaluation by both tutor and student. sandra, on the other hand, has mixed feelings, excitement, anxiety, and a number of questions about whether she will succeed and make her family proud, ‘will i succeed? what if i become very mediocre? will i fail my family?’ like thembi and many other first year students trying to adjust to the new university environment, sandra initially feels overwhelmed, but soon this sentiment morphs into excitement, particularly when ‘meeting new people and encountering diversity in its rawest form’. we can infer from her statement that she comes from a homogeneous schooling background. this diversity for her is an eye-opening experience. she then reflects on her goals and where she would like to see herself academically and as a person: ‘i look forward to keep on carrying on in this journey […] to see how i grow academically, how i grow as a person, and to finally find my feet and know who i am and where i want to be in this world and how i can contribute in making this university, country and world into a better place!’ http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 99 as we can see, sandra’s sense of personhood is tied with her ability to make or drive social changes. her phrase, ‘how i grow as a person’ suggests that she sees identity as fluid and constantly evolving. the online task enables sandra to project herself into the future and set goals to contribute nationally but also globally. at this point, we do not know much about sandra’s socio-academic background and how that informs her perceptions of self, her context and her aspirations. week 2: reflection on english in week 2, students were given the online exercises below. that week they had been introduced to ngugi wa thiong’o (1986) and george makubalo’s (2007) writings.11 the questions required them to apply their understanding of these two readings to authentic cases and their own experiences. 1. in light of the above statements [from ngugi’s (1986) chapter], how would you interpret his statement that the english language and literature ‘takes us further and further from our selves to other selves, from our world to other worlds’? (write a paragraph in the comment box provided below.) 2. makubalo (2007) argues that english is a ‘commodity in great demand’ (p. 21 of course reader). however, from the two graphs, it is evident that english is not the most spoken language both globally and locally. in your opinion, what then accounts for its dominance? secondly, how would makubalo respond to ngugi’s statement that the english language is taking one away from one’s ethno linguistic identity? provide a response to the two questions in the comment box below. 3. activity: in makubalo’s article, we are introduced to four learners: thabo, teboho, anna and sello. they each position themselves differently in terms of their language practices. which one of these learners do you closely associate with and why? what would makubalo’s response be to the way you construct your identity? please write a paragraph in the comment box provided below. you can also comment on your peers’ comments. thembi’s response to the questions is interesting as it differs from her construction of her identity as disadvantaged in week 1’s exercise. in this exercise thembi foregrounds, asserts and celebrates her xhosa identity with the statement, ‘i am xhosa and proud to be’. although the metaphor of english as an enabler endures in her response when she states, ‘it will help me in things that it will help me in’, it is tempered with a protective discourse of her ‘xhosa identity’ in the words, ‘if a person values his culture he should not allow the advantages of english to colonize his mind’. here thembi views english, like ngugi does, as possessing the ability to colonise the second-language speaker’s mind but also as a vehicle for success in contexts where english is dominant and a marker of success. judging 11 ngugi’s (1986) chapter ‘the language of african literature’ presents an ethnolinguistic view of identity as something that is fixed and determined by the community in which one is born, in his case, the gikuyu community in kenya. he argues that the dominance of english takes him away from his gikuyu language, sense of self and community. on the other hand, makubalo (2007), a poststructuralist south african researcher, argues that identities are socially constructed, fluid, multiple and contradictory. his article presents four individual stories of black south african learners and their stated attitudes and language practices. 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 from her assertion of her xhosa identity, coupled with her recognition of the dominance of english in a post-apartheid south africa, it comes as no surprise that she identifies with sello, a learner in makubalo’s paper, who values code-switching between languages. thembi also shows an awareness of the contradictions of supporting ngugi’s critical views on english in a university where english offers certain affordances – something that she is acutely aware of. in an attempt to resolve these contradictions, she states that ‘we are different people of different cultures, and surely there is a need for us to communicate with each other, and here is english enabling us but we abuse it’. she uses the word ‘abuse’ to speak about the use of english (it is likely she meant ‘overuse’) as if she acts on the english language, but she goes on to refer to how english destroys local languages. although her response does present the reader with some binaries, namely that of the isixhosa speaker versus english speakers, we start seeing a move towards a more complex and nuanced understanding of identity. in sandra’s response, she views the english language not only as a dominant language, but also as a product of the west. she links everything that is westernised with what is modernised, and sees english as a language that gives one access to status and prestige, which she refers to as a place of ‘high value’. her choice of words implies that the use of language, in this case english, is linked to one’s self-worth, or that ascribed by others in society. she elaborates by explaining that english has such currency and power because it is a universal language. in that way, she suggests that while english may have emerged from the west, it has been appropriated by the rest. she goes on to make a comparison between makubalo and ngugi’s views on the english language, and explains that while the former believes that languages can be appropriated, the latter sees english ‘taking away from african-ness’. her use of ‘africanness’ suggests firstly that she has taken the liberty to coin a new word to capture the essence of what it is to be african, and by the same token, the inverted commas suggest that she is challenging the assumption that there is a single way of being african, or at least that she is wrestling with the idea. at this point though, she does not openly state her own position. it is only in the next task that she uses her personal history to explain why english does not destroy one’s ‘african-ness’ and that it is ‘up to us to decide whether or not it will’. in this instance, we see a strong assertion of agency when she writes her own personal reflection with respect to the english language, using english, and despite english. like thembi, she describes herself as an ‘isixhosa girl’. she views a xhosa identity as not being restricted to an ability to speak isixhosa, but also encompassing a way of life. then, she begins to share the contradictions, ‘born in transkei but grew up in the suburbs speaking english’. she claims that she cannot speak isixhosa; however, she notes that fluency in the language is not an essential marker of being an ‘isixhosa girl’. in this way, she can reconcile the fact that she self-identifies as an isixhosa girl who speaks english. she does admit that she speaks isixhosa to her mother. she goes on to share the socio-economic situation in the household, ‘living with my mother who was a domestic worker and my white guardians’, but is quick to add that, ‘from an early age i knew that i belonged to a different culture than the ‘white people’. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 101 like thembi, she is positioning herself strongly with those who are xhosa, even though she comes from a household where she benefits from her guardians’ financial support and speaks both languages. this is sandra’s way of challenging the traditional markers of language and class to define her xhosa identity. in the next paragraph, while she starts off saying that english has not influenced her identity, she goes on to contradict herself by acknowledging that, ‘maybe english has shaped only minor things in my identity’. at this point, we find her hedging with the use of adverbs such as ‘maybe’, and vague terms such as ‘things’ which she does not qualify. nonetheless, she still sees culture as something that one is ‘born into’ versus ‘born with’, to suggest that culture is a product of the earliest phases of socialisation. however, this view is also contradicted when she states that her xhosa culture is ‘embedded in my dna’. she ends off on a philosophic note with ‘english has given me a step up in the world, but my isixhosa roots have given me a step up in this life’. once again, she makes the distinction between the upward social mobility enabled through knowledge of english, and the inner growth enabled through her xhosa identity. like thembi, she presents these influences as being distinct and mutually exclusive. when asked which of makubalo’s research participants she would most relate to, she chooses anna purely because both share the same ‘origin and background’. like anna, we find that sandra is romanticising her ‘xhosa’ roots but goes on to state that, unlike anna, she does not experience the same ‘sense of loss’ when speaking english. even as she recalls her schooling, she firmly asserts that the other languages, ‘including english’, moulded her sense of self. what is significant here is that at the end of her reflection, when she sees herself through makubalo’s theoretical lens, she begins to see ‘one big contradiction of culture and identity’. week 3: reflective component in week 3, we designed an exercise to track shifts in conceptual understanding of identity as shown below. students were expected to engage with the concept of identity reflexively, by writing in the online space about their autobiographical self in relation to new ways of understanding identity, as influenced by course readings and classroom discussions. task: reflect on your notion of language and identity. write a paragraph using the following phrases: 1. before i came to uct, i used to think of identity as … 2. then i read ngugi who defines identity as … 3. i also read makubalo who argues that identity is … 4. now, i think of identity as … because … or i still think of identity as … because … 5. i have the following questions which i would like to ask ngugi and/or makubalo and the class … (note: your paragraph should be in continuous prose without the numbers 1–5.) 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 the week 3 task can be seen as a pivotal moment, when students get to revisit their views on identity in light of ngugi and makubalo’s ideas around language and identity. here they are asked to look back on their understanding of identity before they came to study at the institution, and revisit their views on identity in light of ngugi and makubalo’s ideas around language and identity. the task offers students the option to resist, challenge or acknowledge and agree with the authors’ positions. this becomes a critical moment for aclit lecturers to track how students’ views on identity, often essentialist ones like in the case of thembi and sandra, have been transformed based on their understandings of theorists who hold post-structuralist views on identity. in thembi’s response, we see that although she still agrees with ngugi, she starts to understand identity as constructed and fluid. this is a view held by makubalo who draws on post-structuralism to theorise identity and its construction. her words, ‘i still think of identity as the way you do things’ (referring to ‘xhosa culture’), coupled with ‘i can not say that identity is fixed’, reflect an understanding of identity as constructed out of past experiences that can endure across contexts, and identity construction as a continual process. therefore there is a recognition that identity is also influenced by social contexts, because she states that ‘as time goes on my surroundings change of which i can not be able to socialize with them if i don’t want to adapt to change’. by juxtaposing the two authors, we see that she agrees with aspects of ngugi and makubalo’s arguments. for us, her response reflects a complex and nuanced understanding of identity and also signals a shift in her conceptual understanding of identity when compared to her responses in week 1. sandra’s response to this exercise shows similar shifts in her understanding of identity. in her response she notes that before she came to the academy she defined her identity along racial lines and identified herself as ‘black’. this comes as no surprise as the racial categories of the apartheid era, which drew on essentialist notions, still have currency in contemporary south africa. while one would expect sandra to align herself with ngugi, based on her responses in week 1 and 2, she actually introduces the notion of choice. she states, ‘now i think of identity as your characteristics and how you define yourself as a person, things like race, culture and language help form your identity but i think it all boils down to your beliefs, dreams and who you want to be in life. i don’t believe you are defined by your ethnicity but by who you define to be.’ she still sees ethnicity as playing a significant part in her self-definition, but she emphasises that she decides how these characteristics will be used to define her. in a sense then, she begins to understand that individuals have agency in the way their identities are constructed and therefore we might find that she will even reconsider her previous statement that culture is an inescapable part of her dna. so, while our roles as online mentors and facilitators in the computer lab seek to guide and promote students agency in terms of developing their critical and analytical thinking and writing skills, our roles as lecturers is to discern the extent to which students’ understanding and conceptualising of the identity construction theory, taught in the faceto-face space, is developing and being employed in their online writing. it is in this sense that the continued interaction between our online mentoring roles and our lecturer roles contributes towards creating a holistic learning context. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 103 week 4 essay in week 4, students submitted an essay in response to the following essay question: ngugi (1986) argues that the dominance of english takes us “further and further from our selves to other selves, from our world to other worlds”. drawing on the readings, argue for or against this statement. here is thembi’s introduction to the essay, i am a young girl who can write infinite scriptures if i can be asked about how my identity has been built, because there are many bricks that i and my surroundings have utilized to construct it. in addition to that, as i am still growing i cannot position myself in a fixed spot or environment because i am continuously reconstructing it. for me the fact that we are different means that we have to live in different ways in order to be united or socialise with others. this is to say that i strongly disagree with ngugi’s argument that english alters our ethnic identity into other identities and relocates us from our region to other regions, as we cannot have unwavering identity. beliefs and actions will continue influence our creation of identity as long we live also our surroundings will always influence our actions. bear in mind that language is one of the bricks used in identity construction because language is the carrier of culture and culture also froms up your identity. in thembi’s introduction to the essay we see a significant shift in how she views identity conceptually and how she views herself as compared to her initial responses in the extracts discussed above. in week 2, for example, she not only expressed a loyalty to her ‘xhosaness’ when she stated, ‘i am xhosa and proud to be’, she also made it clear that english can colonize the minds of those who do not have english as a home language. however, in her introduction above she states, ‘i am a young girl who can write infinite scriptures if i can be asked about how my identity has been built, because there are many bricks that i and my surroundings have utilized to construct it.’ this sentence is significant as it suggests that she has shifted from an essentialist notion of identity to one where identity is understood as fluid and continuously under construction. we also see this conceptual shift when she writes, ‘i am still growing i cannot position myself in a fixed spot or environment because i am continuously reconstructing it [referring to her identity].’ unlike in previous exercises where she agreed with ngugi’s views, we now see that she states, ‘i strongly disagree with ngugi’s argument.’ for us, this emphatic statement in her introduction, signals a clear shift from an essentialist, towards a post-structuralist view on identity. her introduction also shows that she now understands that social contexts and others have a direct impact on identity construction when she writes, ‘as long we live also our surroundings will always influence our actions’. in her essay, it is apparent that she now views identity as multifaceted and that speaking a second language such as english is not the main marker of her identity or any person’s identity. however, she does articulate the idea that she has an ‘original’ identity or core identity which underscores the identities forged when she moves from one context to the next. furthermore, she constructs her identity as someone who is ‘striving to discover’ herself, which suggests a fluidity in her conceptual understanding of her identity. again, this is a marked shift from her conceptual 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 understanding of identity in week 1 of the course (before they had read the ngugi and makubalo texts). it is our contention that the freedom of expression created by the online space, coupled with online mentoring prompts and feedback, has made such conceptual shifts much more visible and has not only added to the students’ understanding of their own experiences, but also our understanding as mentors and lecturers of our students. in sandra’s essay, she puts forward an understanding of identity similar to that of thembi. she reinforces the point that she constructs and re-constructs her identity, hence steering away from the essentialist notions she expressed in the first two weeks. she states, ‘i adapt in different environments as makubalo (2007) would say, i construct and reconstruct my identity.’ in this way, she perceives herself as the author of her personal narrative, rather than a passive filter through which the environment encodes meaning onto her. like thembi, who made mention of an original identity, sandra adds a new element in her understanding of identity, namely that of a ‘core identity’. she explains, ‘i believe that as i grow i add on to my core identity. my world experiences change how i think and see things.’ this ‘core identity’ perhaps refers to the values and beliefs she mentions in the week 3 task. it seems to be a bedrock onto which she adds new layers of self-definition and self-expression. one of those layers is her use of english, as she mentions, ‘learning other languages and cultures is part of that long endless journey of identity. english is the key to all of this.’ as such, she begins to see identity construction as a fluid and evolving process, rather than a product. surprisingly, she now finds english to be ‘key’ to her self-definition, a statement which is in stark contrast with her previous views that she is a ‘xhosa girl’ and that english does not define her but only gives her ‘a step up in the world’. to support her argument, she refers to makubalo who ‘argues that there is no such thing as a fixed identity’. her strategic foregrounding of makubalo over ngugi again signals a shift in her position and her alignment with a constructionist view of identity. in addition, she begins to distance herself from the view that language is the only aspect defining identity. this contrasts with her previous work, where she not only saw language as a determinant of identity, but also conflated language, identity and racial belonging. at this point, we see her disentangling the different aspects of identity construction in order to take more agency in appropriating the aspects that are congruent with her personal narrative. affordances of the online language module as a mentoring or tutoring space as mentioned, we understand the analytical mode to be a mode of thinking where students can grapple critically with texts and concepts in a low-stakes collaborative safe space. this collaboration between online student engagement, online mentoring and face-to-face teaching serves as an important vehicle for making sense of what and how students learn. it is an example of good innovative teaching and learning practice, as echoed by sheridan (1992, p. 90) who defines this type of collaboration as ‘an overarching framework … a conceptual umbrella’ that acknowledges alternative ways for the realisation of educational goals. as we analysed thembi and sandra’s responses, it is evident that through the reflective tasks, the online space is activating different modalities of thought and being. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 105 expressing the inexpressible: ‘i know that i have an answer’ in traditional face-to-face teaching environments such as tutorials, there is limited time and scope to hear each and every student’s views on the theme under discussion. students remain silent for various reasons, including their perception of a lack of fluency in english. thembi, for instance, in week 1, views english as a ‘disabler’, a barrier to communication, seeing herself as being more fluent in isixhosa. yet she admits that, ‘i have potential inside me’, and ‘i know that i also have an answer’. due to the self ’s uneasy location in an unfamiliar academic setting, many ideas remain hidden in the deep recesses of one’s intellectual black box (pinker, 1995, p. 137), unless articulated through words. this poses a problem if we seek to identify shifts in the ‘authorial self ’ (clark & ivanič, 1998) in the classroom setting. assuming that voice is a measure of one’s critical thinking, and that it becomes manifest through speech or writing, how does one tap into the thoughts evoked in the silent moments? can critical thinking be present in the moments of silence? the first time we hear thembi’s views about the disjuncture between her perceived competence and her performance in the classroom, is in the online space where we take on the roles of mentors and tutors, and where she is asked to share her orientation experience. this is when she steps back or steps out of the confines of the formal lecturer-led classroom to reflect critically on where she situates herself as she navigates through the institutional spaces. the online space hence takes the shape of a confessional where students can silently share ideas for which they will not be held accountable. in the same vein, the online space is seen to open up possibilities for the articulation of deep-seated emotions and autobiographical aspects of one’s identity, rare to find in a physical tutorial. students can share feelings of anxiety, fear of failure, lack of confidence, which are common to both thembi and sandra as they encounter the overwhelming aspects of the university environment. the fact that ‘everyday talk’ is permissible on online spaces such as this one, allows for a more personal engagement with the academic theories and concepts, which in turn allows students to reflect on what the knowledge means to them, how it relates to, or jars with their lived reality. our roles as mentors and tutors allow for a different type of interaction with students, and it is through these roles that we enable students to articulate their thoughts in a more relaxed mode of writing. it is not surprising that lea and stierer (2009) therefore see ‘everyday talk’ as encouraged by social networking sites, as central to academic activities. in sandra’s case, she also uses the online task to project herself in the future, and share her aspirations of making a contribution locally and globally. the online space allows students to look back, but also transcend the frontiers of time to project themselves forward. these autobiographical strands are seldom acknowledged in academia, for they get misread as bias. even in academic essays, students’ authorial self often takes precedence over their lived experiences. however, through these online tutoring exercises, students on the course are able to use themselves as case studies and track their shifting sense of self over time to make powerful arguments about the fluidity of the very subject matter under examination. 106 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 here, we note a strong overlap between students’ autobiographical selves and their authorial selves (clark & ivanič, 1998), where the autobiographical elements get recruited to assert a strong authorial presence. sharing dissident views while students are able to try out new subjectivities, we note that over time it provides them with a subject position to articulate their stance towards the texts and concepts introduced in class. as such, they begin to operate at a metacognitive level, sharing their comfort or discomfort vis-a-vis the knowledge being shared, and how it may challenge their preconceived views on identity and other themes covered on the course (zembylas & boler, 2002). for instance, thembi and sandra feel the urge to express their deep-rooted ‘core’ xhosa identity, even as they encounter new ways of defining their emerging identity and acknowledging its fluidity. by the same token, they also express their views about the language through which knowledge gets exchanged in the academic space, namely english. both thembi and sandra start off by stating that english can be an enabler but can also ‘colonise minds’, that it is a western product, but also one that enables upward mobility. thembi warns against ‘abusing’ english, in other words, overusing it in ways that begin to erode one’s self-definition. on the other hand, sandra is able to reconcile the contradictions of being a ‘xhosa girl’, while speaking english, by extending the definition of xhosa-ness beyond its linguistic attributes. even so, both seem to romanticise a xhosa culture that they are ‘born with’ or is in their dna. at that point, it is noteworthy that lecturers on the course do not intervene on the site to weed out the contradictions, but allow them to be juxtaposed in students’ messy attempts at meaning making. even in week 3, when students are asked to present their previous understandings of identity and their current one, they are offered two routes into the exercise: ‘now i think of identity as …’, which would signal a shift in their conceptual understanding of identity, and ‘i still think of identity as …’, which would allow them to resist the influence of readings that often offer a constructionist view of identity. in that way, the online task demonstrates that the course is not trying to brainwash students into shedding their essentialist notions of identity, but rather to interrogate them in light of new perspectives. at that point, the lecturers turn into facilitators or mentors, prodding students with questions, rather than formally teaching content. these strategies of questioning versus overt didactic strategies of imparting knowledge verily form part of the pedagogy of discomfort, which the course privileges in order to enable students on the extended degree programme to embark on their own trajectories of meaning making. in this, it moves away from the discourse of ‘difference as deficit’ to that of ‘difference as a resource’ (canagarajah, 1997), to acknowledge students’ brought-along experiences as a valuable aspect of learning and knowledge-making. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 107 slowing time down spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity. william wordsworth (1800) from the data analysed on the online course site, it is evident that one never reaches a point of finality. rather, time slows down to postpone one’s commitment to ideas, and the giving of reasons. each week, students are editing and conceptually reworking their ideas. as such, the online space seems to be a site where one is not held captive by one’s thoughts. it is a space where the present can be paused, where the fear of the unknown, the silencing effects of the english language can be suspended, to express the inexpressible. this is the case when thembi and sandra express their angst, fears and insecurities at the start of their academic year. as mentors and tutors in this space, and through a process of trial and error, we came to the realisation that the online space required a very different type of facilitation and participation on our part, in order to accommodate the type of conceptual and analytical learning required by the slowing down of time. in this third space, we also find students revisiting their definitions of self and alignment to concepts. thembi begins by defining herself as disadvantaged, then as a xhosa girl, and finally as a young girl who can write infinite scriptures. it would appear that she explores the reach of these descriptions to present a particular aspect of her identity based on what she perceives will be valued in that instance. over time, she also revisits her view of identity as fixed to one that can be shaped by one’s ‘surroundings’ and through the choices one makes. it is possible that her transition to the university was a ‘critical event’ or turning point, making her re-assess the role of the environment on one’s identity. we are quite certain that even this moment of stillness or certainty is a temporary one and will be revisited. conceptually, the online space is one where fleeting thoughts can be captured and reflected upon to trigger new alterations. in derrida’s (1994) words, it is a moment of stasis, an ‘aporia of suspension’, where commitment to ideas is not required, and where contradictions are permissible. thembi and sandra contradict themselves week after week. thembi’s hatred for english gradually gives way to the strategic use of the language to express her dissenting views and to re-shape her personal narrative in a way that is compatible with her core beliefs and the shifts in context. the online space is therefore a space where ‘one can stop and smell the roses’, take cognisance of what is happening to one’s ideas, how one’s thoughts are shaping without being interrupted by other voices. the ability of not interrupting students’ voices in the online space while simultaneously creating opportunities and possibilities for intellectual and personal growth through our mentoring interactions with them, are therefore some of the most valuable tools that are needed to promote individual agency and ownership of the learning process. our roles as facilitators and guides in the online space have led to the realisation that a certain amount of awareness, sensitivity, empathy, openness to other ways of being and acknowledgement of the capital that students bring along with them, is needed on our part, in order to create the 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 necessary scaffolding needed for deep and meaningful analytical engagement. it is therefore important to recognise that learning and becoming are part of an organic and processgenerated activity that develops over time. it’s how we set up and facilitate the structures for these processes that takes centre stage. as such, one could think of the online space as a suspension bridge, a site of incoherence where one can see oscillations of the self. students’ location on that bridge reflects the complex mode of shifting understandings of self and of the concept of identity. this incoherence is precisely what allows for the emergence of a coherent narrative of self over time. the learner’s grappling with her identity through these online academic activities begins to call into question traditional learning contexts, what counts as knowledge, what counts as knowing, and the thin line between knowing and being. therefore, as mentioned, gutiérrez (2008) might describe the online space as a ‘third space’ for this very reason in that it opens doors for new modes of engagement and critique, like thembi’s use of the space in which she seeks to reconcile her problematic relationship with english, and in the process inserts herself more boldly in the knowledge-making project. narratives such as these seek to inform mentors’, tutors’, lecturers’ and institutions’ understandings of the lived contexts and struggles faced by students. in saying that, we need to acknowledge that we learn as much from our students as they learn from us. it is this type of learning ethos that can develop and grow out of the type of online intervention and facilitation that we have presented in this paper. conclusion the questions posed in this paper revolve around the affordances of the online space as a tutoring space to promote the analytical mode. using an academic literacies approach, the paper delved into the writing practices of first year students on the online course site over a semester. in place of the traditional tutoring and mentoring pedagogy, the course site had the functionalities of a blogging website used to scaffold learning, and what spurred the research were the types of engagement enabled online. using a case study method, we sought to analyse whether specific types of writer identities were promoted online or not, and more importantly, how our two participants thembi and sandra critically engaged with the authentic tasks online. part of this process also required that we reflect on our own roles and responsibilities as online mentors and facilitators in the online space, and the extent to which this related to our roles as lecturers in the face-to-face space. it emerged that the online tasks contributed to fostering an analytical ethos, an ‘analytical mode’ among students which led to a more nuanced understanding of course content, and a stronger developing sense of self. the sharing of autobiographical information between students became a stimulus for entering and engaging in the analytical mode, and for inserting themselves in the act of knowing. as a result of the conceptual development, students have been able to hone a more confident authorial voice. the online space allowed students to express the inexpressible, to share dissident views and slow down learning to trigger deeper grappling with concepts, ideas and generate metacognitive reflections on the links between self and knowing. in the process, it stretched our understanding of the analytical mode itself, to mean not only critical thinking, but a http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 109 critical reflection of one’s position in relation to the knowledge imparted, with possibilities to imbibe, appropriate or challenge what gets taught. it also made us reassess the traditional roles of those who impart knowledge, especially in light of the new ways of ‘being’ required by those who facilitate and those who participate online become embedded in the online 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(2017). the messiness of meaning making: examining the affordances of the digital space as a mentoring and tutoring space for the acquisition of academic literacy. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 89–111. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v5i2.2704 https://theeaparchivist.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/can-students-be-afforded-authority/ https://theeaparchivist.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/can-students-be-afforded-authority/ https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849666275 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 113 www.jsaa.ac.za research article international survey of peer leadership (ispl): an emerging snapshot of the status of peer leadership in south africa nelia frade* & gugu wendy tiroyabone** * dr nelia frade is senior coordinator: tutor development in the centre for academic staff development at the university of johannesburg, south africa. email: neliaf@uj.ac.za ** gugu wendy tiroyabone is chief officer for academic advising at the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state, south africa. email: tiroyabonegw@ufs.ac.za abstract the power and importance of peer influence in educational settings has been well documented (cuseo, 2010; ender & kay, 2001; keup, 2010). in south africa, research supports international trends that student involvement in peer-led activities contributes to student success and ultimate throughput (layton & mckenna, 2015; loots, 2009; underhill & mcdonald, 2010). a plethora of research exists attesting to the benefits for students who are the recipients of peer-led activities. in south africa, however, knowledge gaps exist pertaining to a national perspective on the experiences and, to some extent, on the benefits of peer leadership activities for peer leaders themselves. the purpose of this study is to provide an initial national snapshot of the development and experiences of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education, using the international survey of peer leaders (ispl). the research design adopted was a non-probability purposive sampling technique, with a sample size of n=466. data were analysed using descriptive analyses. findings validate previous findings and provide a more comprehensive picture of the types of peer leadership positions held, the training and support peer leaders receive, levels of engagement, and the benefits of being involved in peer-led activities. keywords peer leadership; higher education; student engagement; student involvement; peer leader development; peer leader gains; trends introduction globally, institutions of higher education have increasingly begun to utilise undergraduate and postgraduate peers in student support and service delivery (cuseo, 2010; keup, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). these students, known as peer leaders, are chosen to use their influence to assist undergraduate students in a way that is more accessible and less intimidating than when delivered by teaching staff, professors, or administrative staff (cuseo, 2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:neliaf%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:tiroyabonegw%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 114 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 current international research also indicates that peer leader positions are beneficial to both the students serving in the leadership role and the students they support. with regards to the benefits reported by peer leaders, harmon (2006), for example, found that peer mentors for first-year students reported increases in their ability to manage groups, empathise with students, and facilitate learning. peer leaders across america also continue to report improvements in their communication and leadership skills; increased knowledge of campus resources; more interaction with teaching staff, professors and peers; greater engagement in critical thinking and diverse problem solving, and refined interpersonal skills (astin, 1993; ender & kay, 2001; shook & keup, 2012). these aforementioned studies, conducted at various institutions in america, also provide insight into the selection, training and compensation models for peer leaders. in addition, they further attest to the development and positive experience gained, and position peer leadership as an emergent high-impact practice (hip) (keup & young, 2014). hips are defined as “teaching and learning practices (that) have been widely tested and have shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds (and represent) practices that educational research suggests increases rates of retention and student engagement” (kuh, 2008, p. 9). specifically, hips are characterised as practices that include an investment of time and energy, substantive interaction with faculty and peers, high expectations, feedback, exposure to diverse perspectives, reflection and applied learning, and accountability (keup, 2016). historically, research in south africa has predominantly focused on particular types of peer-led activities ranging across academic as well as co-curricular lines. (layton & mckenna, 2015; loots, 2009; zerger, clark-unite & smith, 2006). this has resulted in localised studies and has failed to provide a national picture of the development and experiences of peer leaders. this study explored the development and experience of south african peer leaders using the international survey of peer leaders (ispl). the ispl is an expansion and adaptation of the 2013 american national survey of peer leaders which was used to gather national data by the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. the ispl instrument was standardised to be responsive to the south african context. during 2014 and 2015, data were collected at six representative south african institutions of higher education. this study provides insights on an initial rollout of the ispl as a pilot study and begins to foreground peer leadership as an emergent hip. in addition, this study calls attention to the diverse ways in which peer leadership has historically been implemented in south africa and offers opportunities for internal comparisons between institutions which can inform best practice around peer leadership. looking ahead, this study provides prospects for international comparisons, which can help south african institutions of higher education to align themselves with international trends around peer leadership. literature review educationalists define peer leaders as students who have been selected, trained, and designated by a campus authority to offer educational services to their peers. these services http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 115 are intentionally designed to assist peers to cope with the demands of tertiary education (newton & ender, 2010). peer leaders are then chosen to provide support, as they are perceived as more approachable and less judgemental than an authority figure (cuseo, 2010). in addition, both students and their peer leaders are at proximal stages of cognitive and social development, which facilitates student identification with and comprehension of the peer leader (vygotsky, 1978; cuseo, 2010). the significant role that peers assume in human development has been widely documented within educational contexts (cuseo, 2010; ender & kay, 2001; keup, 2016; newton & ender, 2010). in fact, most theories on student development highlight the significant influence that peers have on intellectual development, academic engagement, moral development, clarification of political and social values, formation of self-concept, and interpersonal skills (greenfield, keup & gardner, 2013). peers not only influence developmental processes, but are also instrumental in interacting with and encouraging other students to become involved on their campus. scholars such as astin (1993), alexander, wogelgesang, ikeda and yee (2000) suggest that academic involvement and interaction with faculty and fellow students increases the time and physical and psychological energy that students devote to the academic experience. astin (1993, p. 398) concluded, “the student’s peer group is the single most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years”. in the light of this perspective, there has been a proliferation in the use of peer leaders in almost every area of academic and student support (hilsdon, 2013; keup & skipper, 2016; newton & ender, 2010). keup (2012) suggests that training is critical for developing the capabilities and skills required for peer leadership. furthermore, training differentiates the peer leader role from informal peer-to-peer interactions (keup, 2016). ender and kay’s (2001, p. 1) definition of peer leaders as “students who have been selected and trained to offer educational services to their peers” reinforces this view. this definition supports the notion that peer leaders must be trained to undertake their respective roles within the institution. according to latino and ashcraft (2012), intentional and ongoing training is a prerequisite for any successful peer leadership programme and further state that training should be intentionally designed to adequately prepare peer leaders for their roles and responsibilities. globally, peer leadership has come under scrutiny in an attempt to better understand the practice as well as its benefits. in the the kingdom of bahrain, a localised study was conducted in the basic medical science department at qatar university (kassab, abu-hijlek, al-shboul & hamdy, 2005), to investigate the experiences of students engaged in problem-based learning (pbl) and the development of peer leaders. peer leaders reported development in the following areas: interpersonal communication, teamwork, leadership, evaluation, and feedback skills. in australia, research traditionally focused on particular types of peer led activities, for example, tutoring. researchers have concluded that tutors play a crucial role in university teaching in australia as tutoring supports student engagement with discipline-specific curricula (bell & mladeniovic, 2014). given that a significant percentage of australian 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 tutors aim to transition into academic careers, tutoring has been identified as a useful practice for “growing one’s own timber” (bell & mladeniovic, 2014). in the higher education sector in portugal, peer leadership is a widespread practice. unfortunately, as in many other countries, limited research into the peer leader experience exists. a study conducted with peer tutors involved in project-led education (ple), found that tutors expressed satisfaction with the programme and experienced a sense of personal fulfilment (simao, flores, fernandes & figueira, 2008). american researchers colvin and ashman (2010) investigated the roles, risks, and benefits of peer-mentoring relationships in higher education. their research findings have confirmed that the most common areas that involve students helping other students are peer tutoring and peer mentoring. in addition, they found that successful peer mentoring and peer tutoring does not happen within a vacuum, but is the result of relationships among students, mentors, and instructors. furthermore, wawrzynski, loconte and straker (2011) conducted a national peer educator study (npes) to evaluate the national peer education programme and the experiences of peer educators at american colleges and universities. results from this evaluation, yielded parallel findings to the work of astin (1993) and pascarella and terenzini (2005), which indicated that peers have the most significant influence on one another’s growth and development in college and that peer educators applied the information that they presented to their peers to their own student lives. additional studies conducted in america, focusing on the benefits associated with being a peer leader, have shown that students who serve as peer leaders also experienced gains in social and emotional development, such as improved social skills, self-confidence, self-esteem, sense of purpose and personal identity (shook & keup, 2012; cuseo, 2010; harmon, 2006; ender & kay, 2001). in addition, peer leaders reported a greater sense of belonging at their institution, gained a deeper understanding of institutional processes and governance, built stronger relationships with faculty and staff, became more responsible, increased their appreciation of diversity, and gained awareness of professional and ethical standards (keup & skipper, 2016; latino & ashcraft, 2012). furthermore, it was evident that peer leaders were also more likely to experience integrative and applied learning in their educational experience (shook & keup, 2012), which could positively affect employability and the development of career-relevant leadership skills (cuseo, 2010). in 2009 and 2013, the american national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition (nrc) conducted a national survey. the purpose of the national survey of peer leaders (nsp) was to gather student and institutional data to examine the ways in which peer leader programmes were structured and administered and their impact on the students who served as peer leaders. responses from 4 932 students in peer-leader roles at 49 institutions of higher education in the united states of america provided insights into the experiences and outcomes of these positions (keup, 2014; keup & skipper, 2016). peer leaders were asked to rate their growth in four outcome areas, namely: skills development; undergraduate experiences; employability; and academic performance. they reported that their involvement and experience in peer leader positions had resulted in positive gains, specifically in skills development, undergraduate experiences http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 117 and employability outcome areas (keup, 2014). interestingly, despite the fact that a high number of survey respondents were engaged in academic peer-leader roles, the academic performance outcome area was the least affected. qualitative results revealed that this was due to an over-involvement in activities, poor time management and the stress associated with the peer leader role (shook & keup, 2012). research in south africa has predominantly focused on particular types of peer-led activities within individual institutions of higher education, for example, tutors, mentors and supplemental instruction leaders (layton & mckenna, 2015; loots, 2009; zerger, clarkunite & smith, 2006). south african research supports international trends suggesting that the recipients and providers of peer-led activities benefit academically, which can make a difference to student success and, ultimately, throughput (underhill & mcdonald, 2010). this is evident from research conducted by loots (2009), who found that involvement in an academic peer-mentoring programme enhanced student performance, resulting in both academic and social integration for the mentor and mentee. additional studies focusing exclusively on the experiences of mentors (norodien-fataar, 2012) found that mentors created links between their technological usage, engagement, and their learning. further studies focusing on the experiences of supplemental instruction leaders show that they developed leadership skills and pursued careers in academia (zerger, clark-unite & smith, 2006). it is clear that involvement in peer-led activities provide benefits to the students who receive the service and the peer leaders themselves. methodology research design this study formed part of a collaborative international research project led by the national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (nrc) in the united state of america. the said project was conducted in five english-speaking countries across the globe, namely, the u.k., canada, australia, new zealand and south africa. the 2013 american spl was used as a point of departure to develop the ispl in an iterative and interactive way with inputs from all stakeholders. the purpose of the ispl was to provide a deeper understanding of the development and experiences of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education. given this, the ispl had to be standardised for the south african situation to ensure its validity for the south african higher education context. this task was entrusted to representatives of the university of johannesburg (uj) and the south african national resource centre (sanrc) who were identified by the nrc as the south african representatives to coordinate the ispl. the standardisation of the ispl was a collaborative process involving staff and students, who selected changes. finally, the completed instrument was piloted with a small group of peer leaders. the following changes were unique to the south african version of the ispl: (a) the spl survey only included undergraduate respondents, but for the sa context, postgraduate students were also included; (b) south african peer leaders were requested to indicate if they were degree or diploma students. 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 participants the representatives responsible for coordinating the south african ispl were tasked with identifying and recruiting potential participants. six south african institutions of higher education were selected to participate in this survey, namely the university of johannesburg (uj), the stellenbosch university (su), the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), the university of the free state (ufs), the nelson mandela metropolitan university (nmmu), and the central university of technology (cut). these institutions were selected because of the historically high numbers of student peer leaders employed by each of these institutions to increase student learning and engagement in higher education. in addition, these institutions represent the three institutional types in south africa, namely traditional, comprehensive and universities of technology, allowing for generalisation and nuanced inter-institutional-type comparisons.1 ethical clearance for this study was obtained from each participating institution. sampling this study adopted a non-probability, purposive sampling technique. sampling occurred on two levels, the first being that institutions were representative of the three types of institutions of higher education in south africa; the second institutional sampling dimension was their consistent use of peer leadership. institutional sampling of peer leaders varied as illustrated in figure 1; 466 respondents participated in the survey. in each of the six institutions, the entire population of peer leaders for that year were included. the sample size, although consisting of representatives from all participating institutions, comprised a significant number of respondents from the university of johannesburg (n=278). the reason for this was that uj was the primary location of the study, which meant that the national representatives had direct access to the peer leaders. furthermore, this may be because the sampled institutions were represented by only a sample of their peer leaders and not the entire population of peer leaders for the year. 1 universities in south africa are divided into three types, namely, traditional universities, which offer theoretically-orientated university degrees; universities of technology, which offer vocationally orientated diplomas and degrees; and comprehensive universities, which offer a combination of both types of qualifications (https://e.m.wikipedia.org). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 119 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 participating institutions 42 37 278 60 44 5 university of the free state university of kwazulu-natal university of johannesburg stellenbosch university nelson mandela metropolitan university central university of technology figure 1: frequency distribution of survey respondents per institution instrument the ispl contained questions in three main areas: demographics, structural features of the peer-leader experience and outcomes of the peer-leadership experience. peer leaders were asked to provide demographic information including the number of years attended at university, residency, gender, and race/ethnicity. the section on structural features contained questions that focused on the number of peer leader experiences at university, the quantity of time spent performing duties per week, the amount of training received, and the types of and locations of the experiences (e.g. peer tutor, residence assistant, and orientation leader). the outcomes section included questions that focused on how the peer-leadership experience contributed to gains in relation to the institution, the development of skills, the development of workforce readiness, and overall academic success. the ispl consisted of quantitative and narrative measures to capture respondents’ varied experiences. each response category was coded as a dichotomous variable for analyses. the outcome variables were worded as self-reported gains, thereby representing perceived measures of change rather than direct gauges of development. respondents were asked to indicate their self-rated change on an eight-point scale – “greatly decreased”, “decreased’, “slightly decreased”, “no change”, “slightly increased”, “increased”, “greatly increased’ and “unable to judge”. these self-rated measures limit the scope to draw conclusions about true impact but do provide descriptive analyses of perceived peer-leader experiences (keup, 2016). data collection data collection was carried out via web technology in that each participating institution received a unique url link. this link was sent to coordinators in each of the participating institutions who in turn made it available to the various peer leaders in their institutions. this web link allowed peer leaders to voluntarily and anonymously access the ispl, which was completed between october 2014 and march 2015. the web link took students to 120 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 an online data-collection platform where students could respond to the survey. on this webpage, students were informed of their rights as participants in this research and were given the opportunity to opt out with no penalty. data analysis analyses of the data were undertaken using quantitative methods. the data were analysed with ibm statistics spss 22. descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was used to investigate the experiences of peer leaders in terms of the variables being measured in the ispl instrument (questions 1–69). frequency tables were also drawn to help describe and summarise the experiences of peer leaders in a more meaningful manner. another level at which the data were analysed involved calculating cross-tabulations to better depict the number of times certain variable combinations occur as a result of another variable in the sample data. findings and discussion the discussion below is based on the responses of 466 students in peer-leader positions at six universities across south africa. these results were compared to some of the results from the american 2013 national survey of peer leaders as conducted by the nrc. two unique data point adaptations to the south african version of the ispl yielded the following results: (a)  the majority of respondents were enrolled for a degree (86%) and only 14% were enrolled for a diploma; and (b)  64% were undergraduate as opposed to 36% postgraduate students. typically, south african peer leaders were found to be senior or postgraduate students in their third to fifth years of study. this is congruent with the literature, which states that postgraduate and senior students are viewed as having developed a greater sense of interpersonal and intellectual competence, and are therefore better able to inspire and motivate undergraduate students (astin, 1993; colvin, 2007). further analysis of the south african demographic frequencies indicated that the largest age group participating in peer-led activities was within the age group 21–25 (52%). in south africa, half of the respondents were female (50%) in contrast to 71% females in america and 53% were black south africans in contrast to 72% being white in america; the racial mix is representative of each country’s demographic composition. in addition, 55% of the south african peer leaders resided off campus compared to 43.7% in america; furthermore 52% of peer leaders in south africa studied in the same province that they resided in; in america, a larger proportion, 76%, were in-state students. the majority of south african and american respondents reported having held between one and two peer-leader positions concurrently. south african peer leaders, however, reported spending between one and 10 hours per week performing their peer-leader responsibilities, whilst their american counterparts spent more time, namely between six and 15 hours per week. the most common use of peer leaders across the sampled south african institutions was for academic purposes (71%), followed by 17% for co-curricular (i.e. student clubs, student governance and student housing) peer-led activities and 12% for programmes that facilitate http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 121 student transitions and support (i.e. orientation and first year experience (fye)). this is in sharp contrast to the american sampled institutions as peer leaders were most commonly used for co-curricular activities, followed by programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (i.e. orientation and fye) and lastly for academic purposes (keup, 2014). the use of peer leaders in south africa for academic purposes highlights the gap that exists between the demands of higher education and the preparedness of school leavers for academic study and in turn the way the peer leader role is conceptualised. institutions of higher education in south africa are increasingly utilising peer leaders in order to deal with the learning needs of students who were previously disadvantaged as a result of apartheid-era secondary schooling (white paper, 2013). the american nrc study revealed that 86% of the respondents reported having being trained which is comparable to the south african ispl respondents who reported that 84% of them had received training (keup, 2014). table 1 depicts the length of initial formal training that the south african and american peer leaders reported receiving in preparation for their peer leadership roles. this clearly shows that a number of peer leaders in south african and america were generally trained for half a day or less. this suggests an emergent model of best practice for peer leadership training that represents sustained development via initial training and ongoing support and supervision. from the research findings, it is evident that south african peer leaders spend between 1–10 hours per week fulfilling their roles. in order for students to gain the maximum benefit from interacting for this substantial amount of time with peer leaders, training should be intentionally designed and sufficient to provide the necessary support to students. training should also differentiate between levels of experience, as peer leaders are often reappointed year on year. thus, irrespective of the peer-leader position held, peer leaders must be sufficiently trained for all the positions they hold (keup, 2012, latino & ashcraft, 2012). table 1: duration of the initial formal training for all peer-leadership positions held training length of formal training south africa america half a day or less 28% 23% one day 16% 19% two days 17% 18% three days 14% 11% four days 4% 6% a week 8% 17% two weeks 1% 21% three weeks 2% 7% enrolled in class 5% 19% other 1.3% 7% 122 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 just more than half (54%) of south african respondents reported receiving additional ongoing training after their initial training, while in the 2013 nrc study, 68% of the respondents indicated having received additional ongoing training. table 2 indicates the type of additional training that was offered to peer leaders in both south africa and america. in south africa, additional ongoing training predominantly took the form of regular meetings specifically dedicated to training (46%), whilst in america the preferred type of additional ongoing training (61%) occurred during staff meetings (keup, 2014). table 2: types of additional ongoing training for all peer leadership positions held ongoing additional training type south africa america retreat 4% 39% staff meetings 6% 61% meeting with supervisor 11% 48% workshops 46% 7% in order to gain a deeper understanding of the data, cross-tabulations of the south african data were calculated to examine the relationships between specific sets of data (e.g. ongoing additional training and three broad categories of peer-leader positions). despite the fact that 84% of the ispl respondents reported receiving training, the researchers felt that the important role that training plays in preparing and sustaining quality peer leadership needed to be further explored. in south africa, only 63.3% of the academic peer leaders reported having received initial training. peer leaders employed in programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (orientation and fye) reported that 61.9% had received training for these positions. lastly, respondents participating in co-curricular peer-led activities reported that only 59.4% had received training. with regard to sustained support and development, only 63.4% of the academic peer leaders, 58.4% of peer leaders employed in co-curricular activities, and 61.9% of peer leaders employed in programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (orientation and fye) reported having receiving ongoing additional training. this highlights the fact that many south african peer leaders are placed in positions for which they receive no training. this lack of training can hinder the quality of peer-mediated interventions and adversely affect student engagement in peer-led activities (shook & keup, 2012, newton & ender, 2012). peer leaders who are not trained cannot sufficiently assist students, and may not even be fully aware of their roles and responsibilities, which are highlighted during training. in addition, peer leaders need to receive ongoing support and development as this creates opportunities for them to form support networks with fellow peer leaders and with staff who are responsible for peer-led initiatives (keup, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). these support networks allow peer leaders to identify with the institution and to feel a sense of belonging at the institution and the campus community (astin, 1993). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 123 further analysis of the results shows that almost all the south african respondents rated their involvement in peer-leadership roles as satisfying (91%). this finding is comparable with results from the nrc study (95%) (keup, 2014). in order to ascertain the benefits of peer-leadership activities on peer leaders themselves, respondents were requested to report their growth in four outcome areas, namely, the development of skills, the undergraduate experience, employability outcomes and academic performance. concerning these four outcome areas, the majority of the south african respondents reported positive gains. table 3 depicts the gains reported by south african and american peer leaders in relation to the development of skills. the top three identified skills for both the south african and american respondents, as depicted by the numerical value assigned in brackets ranging from 1–3, were interpersonal communication (90% and 87.3%, respectively), leadership (91% and 82.5%, respectively), and teamwork (90% and 77.5%, respectively). this table clearly shows that more south african respondents reported increases in skills development than did their american counterparts. this suggests that many peer-leadership opportunities in south africa may be contributing to some of the learning and personal development outcomes that significantly impact on the development of career-relevant leadership skills (cuseo, 2010). table 3: self-rated skills development gains skills development peer leaders who reported increased skills % difference south africa america leadership 90 (2) 87.3 (1) 2.7 interpersonal communication 91 (1) 82.5 (2) 8.5 teamwork 90 (3) 77.5 (3) 12.5 time management 86 73.6 12.4 project management 81 72.9 8.1 organization 86 71.5 14.5 presentation 87 67.5 19.5 critical thinking 93 65.8 27.2 written communication 80 53.4 26.6 key: the ratings in brackets (1-3) indicate which skill gained through peer leadership was rated most important. peer leaders were asked to rate how peer leadership affected selected university experiences. table 4 highlights the ways in which involvement in peer leadership positions enhanced the south african and american respondents’ undergraduate and postgraduate experiences. amongst south african respondents, the top three rated undergraduate and postgraduate experiences were: being provided with opportunities for meaningful interactions with their peers (94%), interacting with and understanding people from diverse backgrounds (92%; 93%, respectively) and interacting with staff members (92%). the american respondents 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 reported that their peer-leadership positions had affected their undergraduate experiences in that they had provided opportunities for increased knowledge of campus resources (83.6%), meaningful interaction with peers (81.2%) and promoted a sense of belonging at the institution (76.6%). more south african respondents once again reported experiencing greater increases in positive experiences than their american counterparts did. as kuh (2007) notes, students who are engaged with staff members and peers, and feel part of the campus community, are likely to be more motivated to perform at higher levels and more likely to persist, suggesting further positive effects on peer leaders’ persistence. south african institutions of higher education are increasingly under pressure to improve access, success and throughput rates (white paper, 2013). in order to meet these demands, practices like the use of peer leaders to promote academic and personal growth and to intentionally engage student, hold potential. table 4: self-rated undergraduate and postgraduate experience gains undergraduate and postgraduate experience peer leaders who reported increased positive experiences % difference south africa america knowledge of campus resources 89 83.6 (1) 5.4 meaningful interaction with peers 94 (1) 81.2 (2) 12.8 feeling of belonging at institution 84 76.6 (3) 7.4 meaningful interaction with staff members 92 (3) 75.9 16.1 interaction with people from different backgrounds 92 (3) 75.6 16.4 meaningful interaction with faculty 85 73.3 11.7 understanding people from different backgrounds 93 (2) 72.9 20.1 desire to engage in continuous learning 90 71.8 18.2 desire to persist at institution 77 68.9 8.1 table 5 illustrates findings with respect to respondents’ perceptions of their gains regarding skills that may enhance their employability. the top identified employability skill for both the south african and american respondents was their ability to build professional interpersonal relationships (93% and 77,9%, respectively). the secondand third-highest gains as reported by the south african respondents were being able to analyse problems from a new perspective (92%) and creating innovative approaches to a task (91%). in contrast, the american respondents reported their secondand third-highest gains to be: applying knowledge to real life settings (72.7%) and integrating knowledge from different places (71.2%). the difference in reported increases between the south african and american respondents ranges between 15 and 35%. in terms of employability outcomes, far more south african respondents reported increases than american respondents. the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 125 findings show that involvement in peer-leadership activities provides the opportunity for peer leaders to develop the knowledge, skills, competencies and values (graduate attributes) that are required for them to function effectively, creatively and ethically in the world of work (white paper, 2013). table 5: peer leaders’ self-rated employability outcome gains employability outcomes peer leaders’ increased sense of their own employability % difference south africa america building professional interpersonal relationships 93 (1) 77.9 (1) 15.1 applying knowledge to real life settings 88 72.7 (2) 15.3 integrating knowledge from different places 90 71.2 (3) 18.8 providing direction through persuasion 89 67.8 21.2 analysing problems from a new perspective 92 (2) 65.8 26.2 expecting to find a job after graduation 83 65.5 17.5 creating innovative approaches to a task 91 (3) 65.4 25.6 engaging in ethical decision-making 87 64.5 22.5 sharing ideas with others in writing 82 46.2 35.8 given that the most common use of peer leaders across the sampled south african institutions was for academic purposes, it is interesting to note that gains in academic skills were the lowest. qualitative analysis of the ispl results suggest that this less positive outcome can be linked to the peer leaders’ inability to balance their roles and responsibilities with their own academic activities, which resulted in less time spent studying. table  6 shows that only 57% of the south african and 23.9% of the american peer leaders reported that their peer-leadership experience had a positive effect on their overall academic performance. in addition, 53% and 19% of the south african and american respondents, respectively, reported a positive effect on their average mark. this is less positive than all the other reported self-rated changes and is in sharp contrast to findings by astin and sax (1998) and kuh and pike (2005) who suggest that participating in service during the undergraduate years substantially enhanced the students’ academic development and had a positive correlation with retention and academic performance. despite this less positive outcome, at least 57% of the south african peer leaders reported that involvement in peer-leadership activities had a positive impact on their academic performance. this is particularly significant given that south african institutions of he have increasingly come under pressure to broaden access to historically under-represented groups who are often underprepared for tertiary education (underhill & mcdonald, 2010). from a south african perspective, involvement in peer leadership activities has the potential to provide access to the epistemological discourse of the academy. 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 table 6: self-rated academic performance gains academic performance perceptions of improved academic results amongst peer leaders % difference south africa america overall academic performance 57 23.9 33.1 grade point average 53 19.0 34.0 number of modules completed each per term/ semester 34 15.1 18.9 facilitate timely graduation 24 1.8 22.2 the findings of this study validate research findings mentioned in the literature (astin, 1993; shook & keup, 2012; cuseo, 2010; keup & skipper, 2016; latino & ashcraft, 2012; newton & ender, 2010; keup, 2014, 2012; harmon, 2006). this research has confirmed that peer leadership provides benefits to the students who receive the service and to the peer leaders themselves. in particular, it appears that peer leaders in less developed countries, like south africa, gain substantially from being involved in peer-leadership programmes. it further calls on the custodians of peer-led activities to design training programmes that are intentional and that will equip peer leaders with the necessary skills to provide effective support to students. in addition, it highlights the need for sustained training and development so that peer leaders can be further supported and developed, and have opportunities to establish support networks with their fellow peer leaders. it further positions peer leadership as a hip in that it requires time and effort, facilitates experiential learning, results in positive gains, promotes meaningful interactions with faculty and students, encourages interaction with diverse individuals and provides regular feedback (kuh, 2008). conclusion this study confirms that peer leaders regard the role they play as significant in their own development, a phenomenon which has been widely documented, particularly within educational contexts (cuseo, 2010; shook & keup, 2016, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). given the powerful and global quality of peer leader influence, higher education has begun to utilise peers in student support and service delivery because they have the potential to be positive role models and promote academic and social accountability (keup, 2012). as confirmed by this pilot study, peer influence can also lead to positive outcomes for the peer leaders performing their roles. this study, although a pilot, provides a better understanding of the development and experience of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education. findings show that peer-leader positions in south africa are primarily for academic support (71%), followed by co-curricular support (17%), and then lastly for programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (i.e. orientation and fye) (12%). in addition, this study http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 127 shows that parallels exist between graduate attributes (depicted by employability outcomes) and the gains made by peer leaders. it further highlights the need for peer leaders to be more extensively trained, developed and supported. on a national level, institutions of higher education should begin to re-evaluate the peer leadership programmes they have in place to ensure that peer leaders are receiving the necessary training and support to effectively fulfil their roles. in addition, institutions should be encouraged to form communities of practice around peer leadership in order to share best practice and potentially work towards the accreditation of peer leadership positions. furthermore, institutions of he should begin to harness the power of peer leadership programmes in supporting underprepared students, addressing retention and throughput rates and promoting epistemological access to their disciplines. acknowledgements this paper was developed with the support of funding from the dhet nctdg project: “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats.” a word of thanks goes to dr andré van zyl, our mentor in this project, for all his support and guidance in writing this article. references alexander, w., wogelgesang, l.j., ikeda, e.k. & yee, j.a. 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(2012). the benefits of peer leader programs: an overview from the literature. in: j.r. keup (ed.), new directions in higher education: peer leadership in higher education, 157, 5–16. san francisco, c.a.: jossey-bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20002 underhill, j. & mcdonald, j. (2010). collaborative tutor development: enabling a transformative paradigm in a south african university. mentoring & tutoring: partnership in learning, 18(2), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 vygotsky, l.s. (1987). thinking and speech. new york: plenum. wawrzynski, m.r., loconte, c.l. & straker, e.j. (2011). learning outcomes for peer educators: the national survey on peer education. new directions for student services, 133, 17–27. https://doi. org/10.1002/ss.381 zerger, s., clark-unite, c. & smith, l. 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(2017). international survey of peer leadership (ispl): an emerging snapshot of the status of peer leadership in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 113–129. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20002 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.381 https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.381 https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.234 https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.234 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 131 www.jsaa.ac.za research article stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university: a qualitative study henry d. mason* * dr henry d. mason is a registered research psychologist and a social science researcher at the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. email: masonh@tut.ac.za abstract this article reports on a qualitative study that explored the use of coping strategies among first-year students in managing academic-related stressors. qualitative data were collected using a non-probability and purposive sample. a total of 225 first-year students who were registered at a south african university participated in the study by writing naïve sketches. a narrative framework was adopted and data were analysed using thematic analysis. six categories of stressors emerged from the data and were categorised as financial, spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and institutional. the qualitative findings also pointed to three prominent coping strategies, namely problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and meaning-making. the reported outcomes of employing coping strategies included both positive and negative aspects. an overarching theme, entitled ‘hanging in there’ was interpreted from the data and points to an innate sense of hope that assists participants in managing stressors. implications for student affairs practitioners and areas for further study are discussed. keywords academic stress; coping; meaning; psychological stress; qualitative research introduction higher education plays a crucial role in stimulating a country’s economy and empowering young people with the skills, knowledge and attitudes required for the 21st-century workplace (che, 2013). however, numerous factors can negatively affect a university student’s pursuit of a tertiary qualification (cilliers, 2014). these factors include, but are not limited to, financial constraints, interpersonal and intrapersonal challenges, academic underpreparedness and difficulties in balancing academic and personal life (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; nelson & low, 2011; van zyl, 2016). the concept of academic stress emerges as a prominent theme when considering factors that enhance low retention, high dropout and poor performance (bojuwoye, 2002; cotton, dollard & de jonge, 2002; kausar, 2010). academic stress refers to demands placed on students, and others, within the academic environment (van heerden-pieterse, 2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:masonh%40tut.ac.za?subject= 132 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 a rich body of research indicates that university students are exposed to various stressors on a daily basis (bojuwoye, 2002; burge, 2009; kim, newton, downey & benton, 2010; mudhovozi, 2011). amongst other things, university students are under pressure to perform academically, adapt to the higher education environment, and manage finances (letseka, breier & visser 2009; nelson & low, 2011). data suggest that university students often view stress as a negative experience, tend to adopt ineffective coping strategies, and struggle to access resources that could assist them in managing challenges (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; mudhovozi, 2011; nelson & low, 2011). when stress is perceived negatively, and the required coping strategies and supportive resources are lacking, students may become impaired (kausar, 2010). the impaired student is at a heightened risk for the development of, amongst other things, psychological disorders and academic attrition (seligman, 2011; van zyl & rothman, 2012). the latter could ultimately result in low quality of life among university students (van zyl & rothman, 2012). within the university context, student affairs practitioners are required to assist students in developing the strategies required to cope with stressors and establish academic-personal life balance, amongst other things (van lingen & de jager, 2011; van heerden-pieterse, 2015). ample international evidence exists about the experience of stress and coping among university students in international contexts (bowers & lopez, 2010; burge, 2009; kim et al., 2010). however, stress and coping among undergraduate students within a south african context deserves more attention (govender, mkhabela, hlongwane, jalim & jetha, 2015; naidoo, van wyk, higgins-opitz & moodley, 2014). moreover, research explicitly focused on the role that student affairs practitioners can play in addressing academic stress is needed. the south african literature on the topic of stress among university students has relied primarily on quantitative research designs (mudhovozi, 2011; wilson, warton & louw, 1998). whereas quantitative data offers certain statistical advantages, it fails to explore and interrogate the meaning of participants’ unique experiences and conceptions on a specific topic (creswell, 2007). qualitative studies could, therefore, add a novel perspective by giving voice to participants’ unique experiences and conceptions of coping with academic stressors (radcliffe & lester, 2003). it is against the above-mentioned backdrop that this article reports on a qualitative study that explored students’ use of coping strategies in managing academic-related stressors. the study was guided by the following three research questions: (1) what are the prominent stressors that first-year students encounter? (2) what coping strategies do firstyear students use to manage stressors? and (3) how effective are students’ reported coping strategies in dealing with stressors? the article is organised as follows: first, a review of the literature is provided, and then the research methodology is presented. next, the findings from the qualitative study are discussed. in conclusion, the key findings are summarised, limitations are discussed and avenues for further study are suggested. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 133 stress and coping: theoretical conceptualisation in this review of the literature, theoretical aspects relevant to the qualitative study being reported on are discussed. first, an overview of the stress within the academic context is provided. then, the concept of coping is discussed. lastly, the concept of meaning-making is examined. stress in the academic context “one of the oldest laws in psychology holds that, beyond a moderate level, increases in anxiety and worry erode mental abilities” (ramesar, koortzen & oosthuizen, 2009, p. 43). a growing body of research indicates that students in higher education are exposed to evergreater levels of stress (kausar, 2010; nelson & low, 2011; van zyl, 2016). data furthermore indicate that increases in stress levels could negatively impinge on students’ academic performance and levels of well-being (moseki & schulze, 2010; mudhovozi, 2011; van zyl & rothman, 2012). the causes of stress among university students are numerous and include aspects such as difficulties in adjusting to the university culture and context, socioeconomic challenges, poor interpersonal relationships, intrapersonal problems and limited institutional support (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; van zyl, gravett & de bruin, 2012). govender et al. (2015) point to three categories of stressors reported in the literature, namely personal, academic and university-related stressors. in a study among a sample of australian students, burge (2009) identified additional normative categories of stressors. these categories of stressors include academic, time and balance, work, intrapersonal, relationships, interpersonal, family and quality of teaching challenges. however, it is not clear whether the categories identified by burge (2009) would necessarily apply to a south african context, specifically in light of the socio-economic disparities between the two countries. in addition to normative categories, students enrolled at south african universities are also exposed to context-specific stressors. these context-specific stressors include, but are not limited to, being first-generation students, socio-economic challenges, high incidence of traumatic stress and, in some instances, a school system that does not adequately prepare them for the challenges of higher education (suliman et al., 2009; van heerden-pieterse, 2015). a study among south african medical students identified the academic curriculum, workload issues, personal problems, communication and language difficulties, and financial challenges as prominent stressors (naidoo et al., 2014). data also suggest that a variety of factors outside of the university context could impede students’ well-being (van heerdenpieterse, 2015). students should, therefore, be assisted in developing appropriate coping strategies to deal with stress in constructive ways (nelson & low, 2011). coping the concept of coping refers to cognitive and behavioural strategies persons use to manage situations that they perceive could potentially exceed their personal resources (lazarus & folkman, 1984). coping has two main functions, namely, to regulate emotions (emotion134 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 focused coping) and to direct behaviour in addressing the problem (problem-focused coping) (ramesar et al., 2009). emotion-focused coping is directed towards internal states, rather than external situations, that may have triggered a stress reaction and are more likely to be initiated when individuals appraise situations as harmful, threatening and potentially overwhelming. examples of emotion-focused coping strategies are wishful thinking, minimising, and avoidance (lazarus & folkman, 1984). problem-focused coping is directed towards altering, addressing or managing external stressors and it includes aspects such as drawing on social support and initiating problemsolving behaviours. problem-focused coping may be most appropriate when dealing with a stressor that is changeable (lazarus & folkman, 1984). in addition to employing coping strategies, recent literature suggests that stress may also have a positive or motivating effect on persons. amongst others, dweck (2010) and mcgonigal (2015) argue that adopting a growth mindset could assist people in viewing stress as a challenge, instead of harmful. seligman (2006) adds that adopting an optimistic, versus pessimistic, perspective when encountering stress, could help persons to reinterpret stressors as opportunities for growth and personal development. thus, stress could, depending on a person’s explanatory style, be viewed as either overpowering or motivational (dweck, 2006; mcgonigal, 2015; seligman, 2006). contemporary areas of investigation have also pointed to the importance of, amongst other things, mindfulness, meditation, cognitive behavioural strategies and healthy living through exercise, nutrition and sleep as relevant coping strategies (brown & gerberg, 2010; cuddy, 2015; robertson, 2010). an in-depth discussion of these, and other, coping strategies falls mostly beyond the scope of this article. the interested reader is referred to brown and gerberg (2010), cuddy (2015), haidt (2006), robertson (2010) and mcgonigal (2015). meaning-making the concept of meaning-making refers to the capacity to recognise order, coherence and purpose in life, as well as to set, pursue and attain goals that could result in a sense of fulfilment (steger, 2009). literature indicates that actively engaging in meaning-making when encountering stressors could lead to psychological and spiritual growth and serve as a protective factor against the negative consequences associated with stress (manning-jones, de terte & stephens, 2015; park, 2010; steger, 2009). a qualitative study by mason (2017) involving a sample of first-year south african nursing students identified four conceptions of meaning as critical buffers against stressors, namely stress as an avenue to meaning, compassion satisfaction, relational meaning, and meaning through spirituality. mason (2017) argues that actively searching for meaning could assist students in coping more effectively with stressors. various sources of meaning, such as religious orientation, social relationships, work, and academic studies appear to play a role in supporting students in pursuing and realising important life outcomes (nell, 2014). thus, the process of active meaning-making may http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 135 serve as an important coping strategy (nell, 2014; manning-jones et al., 2015; mason, 2017). meaning-making processes could result in numerous meanings that are derived following stressful experiences. examples of such meaning are identifying positive aspects and altered optimistic global beliefs about life experiences (park & george, 2013). research method research design a qualitative design was adopted to conduct the study (creswell, 2007). in adopting a qualitative design, the study was positioned within a narrative framework (creswell, 2007). narrative inquiry is an approach to gathering, studying and analysing participants’ depictions of experiences and events (riessman, 2002). in narrative inquiry, people are considered as embodiments of lived stories. consequently, a narrative approach aims to uncover the multiple layers of participants’ experiences and qualitative meanings that are expressed as stories. the basic tenets of narrative inquiry rendered this approach complementary to the goal of the study being reported on, namely to explore and gain an understanding of university students’ use of coping strategies in dealing with academic stressors (riessman, 2002). research context the study was conducted at a large south african residential university where the researcher is employed as a social science researcher. the specific university has a population of approximately 60 000 enrolled students. the student population is diverse and accurately resembles the broader south african demographics (statistics south africa, 2016). a large proportion of students at this university falls into the categories described by the department of higher education and training as the ‘missing middle’ and ‘low income.’ thus, in addition to the expected stressors of university life, many of the students are also confronted with socio-economic challenges (ray, 2016). for practical purposes, such as logistical constraints, access to students and limited research funding, data were only collected from one of the specific university’s nine campuses. sample a nonprobability convenient, purposive and voluntary sample of 225 first-year south african students participated in the qualitative study (creswell, 2014). criteria for inclusion were that participants had to be enrolled in a particular academic programme at a specific campus of the mentioned south african university and be 18 years of age or older. an open invitation to participate in the study was sent to all students who fulfilled the mentioned criteria (n = 452). a total of 225 students (female = 139, male = 86, age range 18–25), who complied with the criteria for inclusion voluntarily agreed to participate and wrote naïve sketches about their experiences. 136 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 data collection and procedure data were collected using naïve sketches. giorgi (1985) describes naïve sketches as documents written by participants to depict their stories and perspectives about the theme in question. in the study, participants were first instructed to write about their experiences of stress, the coping strategies they used to manage stressors and how these coping strategies affected academic-personal life balance. then, they were requested to draw a picture or provide a paper cut-out of a picture that depicted the process of coping for them. lastly, participants were invited to write an essay about the picture or image that they provided. more specifically, they were asked to explain what the picture or image represented and how effective the depicted coping strategy was for them in dealing with academic-related stressors. participants were requested to include personal examples to offer depth to their answers. the 225 naïve sketches varied in length from four to 13 pages. according to terre blanche, durrheim, and painter (2006), saturation is reached in an exploratory study featuring a homogeneous sample, such as the study being reported on here, after 6–8 sampling units are collected or when the new material does not add new insights to the qualitative interpretation. it became apparent that data saturation was reached after studying approximately 180 naïve sketches, since an adequate number of sampling units were collected and no new insights emerged from the analysis. however, since 225 naïve sketches were received, all were included in the data analysis process. data analysis the software programme atlas.ti, version 7 was used to manage the qualitative data analysis process. a narrative thematic approach was adopted in analysing the qualitative data (henning, van rensburg & smit, 2011; riessman, 2002). the narrative approach to qualitative analysis assisted in illuminating participants’ underlying assumptions, beliefs and meanings that shaped and informed the specific application of coping strategies to manage academic stressors. thematic analysis, consisting of five interrelated steps, namely (1) familiarisation, (2) inducing themes, (3) coding, (4) elaboration, and (5) interpretation and checking, served as a guide to analyse the naïve sketches qualitatively within a narrative framework (henning et al., 2011; riessman, 2002). trustworthiness lincoln and guba’s (1985) guidelines for qualitative research were adopted to enhance the trustworthiness of the findings. the following measures were implemented to enhance the trustworthiness: using an independent coder who had extensive experience in the field of qualitative research to verify the credibility of the analysis and interpretation; collecting rich data through narrative sketches; participant verification; using an audit trail; fully describing the research method and procedure; and ongoing reflective practice. research ethics the university where data were collected granted permission to conduct the study (ref. #: 2014/07/004). all identifying information (e.g. surnames, names and student numbers) http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 137 was treated confidentially and removed before the data analysis. no course credit or financial benefits were offered for participation. all participants gave individual written informed consent. findings and discussion one major theme emerged following the qualitative analysis and was labelled ‘hanging in there’. this major theme was then organised into three themes, namely the types of stressors, coping strategies and outcomes associated with coping efforts. each theme was further discussed in terms of relevant sub-themes. figure 1 serves as a graphical representation of the three themes with the overarching theme. hanging in there types of stressors coping strategies outcome figure 1: the three themes with the overarching theme table 1 serves as a summative index of the themes and the sub-themes. the frequency of participants’ references to the particular themes and sub-themes is also displayed in table 1. table 1: themes, sub-themes and frequencies of responses hanging in there themes sub-themes females n (% of n) males (% of n) total n (%) types of stressors financial 137 (61.43%) 86 (38.56%) 223 (99.11%) spiritual 132 (64.71%) 72 (35.29%) 204 (90.67%) physical 135 (66.18%) 69 (33.82%) 204 (90.67%) emotional 131 (64.53%) 72 (35.47%) 203 (90.22%) mental 130 (65.00%) 70 (35.00%) 200 (88.89%) institutional 128 (64.65%) 70 (35.35% 198 (88.00%) coping strategies problem-focused 115 (58.97%) 80 (41.02%) 195 (86.67%) emotion-focused 122 (63.21%) 71 (36.79%) 193 (85.78%) meaning-making 118 (68.21%) 55 (31.79%) 173 (76.89%) outcome positive 135 (61.64%) 84 (38.36%) 219 (97.33%) negative 71 (62.83%) 43 (37.38%) 113 (38.10%) acknowledgement 128 (56.89%) 82 (36.44%) 210 (93.33%) taking action 132 (58.67%) 79 (35.11%) 211 (93.78%) taking stock and moving forward 119 (52.89%) 73 (32.44%) 192 (85.33%) note: ‘% of n’ means gender percentage of the row frequency of responses. 138 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 in the next section, the three qualitative themes are discussed. then, the three themes are integrated and discussed in relation to the major theme, ‘hanging in there’. due to space limitations, only selected verbatim quotes are included to substantiate the interpretations. the ellipsis (…) at the beginning or end of particular quotes is meant to indicate that participants included additional information in the naïve sketches before and after the verbatim quotations that are included. the frequency of responses to a specific theme is indicated. for example, 90/225 indicates that 40% of participants referred to a specific thematic idea. the referencing system in parenthesis denotes participant number (e.g. p#1 for participant 1), gender and age. theme 1: types of stressors six prominent types of stressors emerged following the data analysis, namely financial, spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and institutional stressors. these six stressors are now discussed. against a backdrop of growing socio-economic inequality, scores of young south africans have come to view access to higher education as a way to a better life. in fact, the south african department of higher education and training describes higher education as an avenue to an empowered life (dhet, 2013). however, high tuition fees, amongst other things, constitute a significant source of stress for students enrolled at south african higher education institutions (ray, 2016). the majority of participants in this study (99.11%) indicated that financial stressors were of particular concern. one participant, a 19-year-old female, described her experience as follows: “financial problems are my major stressor … i know how important my education is and how many doors it will open for me in the future, but it is not easy to overcome the hurdle of paying class fees, paying for residence … i think this is the biggest obstacle that most students face.” (p#82) financial stressors appear to be both a national and an international phenomenon (goldrick-rab, 2016). while alternative funding strategies are being investigated (wild, 2016), the reality at the grassroots level is that students are experiencing significant stress due to financial concerns (van zyl, 2016). participant 175, a 21-year-old male, narrated the challenge as follows: “surviving from day to day is a never-ending difficulty … i try to focus on creating a bright future, but some days it is tough to remain positive when i do not know how i am going to fund my studies or pay back my debt.” previous research has also indicated that students who were struggling financially and had accrued debt during their education performed less well academically compared to other students (ross, cleland & macleod, 2006). in addition to financial challenges, a large section of the sample (204/225) indicated that spirituality served as a source of stress in their lives. amongst other things, participants reported that they struggled to straddle the tension between modern-day living or secular values and spiritual values. one participant described the challenge as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 139 “for me, living in this age, it is difficult … the bible says one thing, but in our lives, we do different things. an example is caring for the less fortunate. the bible says we must give to the less fortunate, but ignore them on the streets.” (p#144, male, 19) according to frankl (2010), young adults living in the modern world are confronted by spiritual questions that were, in past decades, reserved for later developmental stages. consequently, younger adults are confronted with existential issues related to ethical living, religious belief and the finiteness of life (nell, 2014; yalom, 1980). thus, in addition to everyday materialistic stressors, such as financial difficulties, participants also reported experiencing spiritual stressors. furthermore, participants stated that they experienced physical (90.67%), emotional (90.22%) and mental (88.89%) stressors. a total of 198 participants (88%) also described institutional stressors as a concern. in this regard, participants pointed to curriculum concerns (“… it is important that the curriculum addresses aspects that are of concern to people living in an african context …” p#37, female, 18), academic challenges (“a major stress for me is studying and preparing for exams …” p#123, female, 19) and protest action that forced the university to close (“we never know when there will be a strike. you just arrive here in the morning to find the gates closed” p#145, male, 23). institutional stressors, such as curriculum reform, providing academic support services to students and the negative impact of protest action on the management of universities are areas of particular concern and have been identified in previous research (che, 2013; lewin & mawoyo, 2014; naidoo et al., 2014). for student affairs practitioners, the resultant impact of these stressors on students is of specific relevance. student affairs services should remain vigilant in assisting students to develop the required coping strategies to manage stressors resulting from institutionally related challenges effectively. amongst other things, student affairs practitioners could develop and empirically evaluate training programmes focused on equipping students with the requisite skills for effectively addressing practical concerns linked to stressful experiences (cilliers, 2014; naidoo et al., 2014). theme 2: coping strategies utilised to manage stressors the majority of participants (86.67%) indicated that they adopt problem-focused strategies to deal with stressors, e.g. “i try to remain analytical when dealing with stress … will try to define the problem … come up with possible solutions … try to use the best option.” (p#170, male, 20) however, a large section of the sample (85.78%) also indicated that they employ emotionfocused coping in dealing with stressors, e.g. “i will do things that i enjoy, like going to a movie or dancing.” (p#69, female, 19) research suggests that, compared to emotion-focused strategies, problem-focused coping tends to assist people in dealing with stressors in more constructive ways (penley, tomaka & wiebe, 2002). however, in real-life circumstances, people are inclined to use a combination of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies (govender et al., 2015; ramesar et al., 2009). 140 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 a concerning trend identified in the data was that (78.22%) of participants also reported making use of avoidance as a coping strategy. the following quote substantiates this finding: “sometimes i just act as if the problem does not exist … some students numb their problems away with alcohol.” (p#117, female, 18) there is literature to suggest that maladaptive coping, such as using non-prescribed medication and alcohol, and avoidance could negatively impinge on academic performance, self-esteem and well-being (govender et al., 2015; penley et al., 2002). a significant proportion of participants (173/225) pointed to meaning-making as a coping strategy. one participant, a 23-year-old female, stated, “i believe that there is a higher power guiding me … life will also be challenging, but through the challenges, i learn new lessons that can make me stronger in the long term.” (p#89) frankl (2010) hypothesises that stressors could serve to awaken people’s spiritual aspirations in their search for growth and meaning against the backdrop of a stressful reality. however, this would not just necessitate the application of adequate coping strategies but would require a meaning-centred transformation (yalom, 1980). hence, through meaningmaking, people reframe stressors as opportunities for personal growth and development (mason, 2017; mason & nel, 2015). in this regard, seligman (2011) calls on humans to search for personally meaningful goals that can guide their behaviour during, amongst other things, stressful times. student affairs practitioners have a significant role to play in supporting students to search for, uncover and reframe stressful challenges in meaningful terms (de villiers, 2014). theme 3: outcome of coping efforts a total of 219 participants (97.33%) reported that using coping strategies resulted in positive outcomes. these reported positive results included strong interpersonal relationships (“by sharing my problems with friends, we tended to become closer and more trusting” p#138, female, 19), enhanced self-esteem (“after solving my problems i began to see myself in a more positive light … began to believe in myself” p#44, female, 20) and improved academic performance (“learning how to deal with stress has helped me perform better in my studies … stress can eat away at you and cause you to lose motivation and even fail” p#194, male, 19). this finding is consistent with the extant literature and points to the importance of establishing a context that supports students in developing adequate coping strategies (bojuwoye, 2002; de villiers, 2014; ramesar et al., 2009). a proportion of participants (38.10%) also suggested that inappropriate coping strategies resulted in negative outcomes. participant 176, a 19-year-old male, mused that “poor coping strategies has caused me to fall behind in my academic studies. i tried just to ignore my financial problems, but it got the better of me. looking back i realise that i should have looked for help to cope better. it was a hard lesson to learn. now i can say that one must not be afraid to ask for help.” the majority of participants who reported negative outcomes cited avoidance strategies (“… i just pretend that my problems don’t exist and hope they will be gone in the morning” p#37, female, 18), being ashamed to http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 141 seek help (“… it’s embarrassing to ask for help … makes me feel like a loser to admit that i am not coping” p#167, male, 19) and limited insight into the stressors they were facing (“… once education becomes free, there wouldn’t be any worries about finances anymore …” p#155, male, 18). the preceding set of quotes suggests that a subset of participants expressed attributes (in the stated examples: personal dispositions, limited financial resources, and poor commitment) that may have had an adverse effect on the integration of academic and social experiences. these negative experiences could have been exacerbated by limited interaction with, amongst other things, student affairs services, as one participant explained: “looking back i realise that i should have made use of the referral to the student counselling unit. perhaps that could have helped to cope better and get better marks” p#183, male, 21). student affairs practitioners ought to remain mindful of the fact that the mere availability of services may not necessarily be adequate. instead, students may have difficulty in approaching specific services such as counselling or psychotherapy (egan, 2009; gladding, 2014). often psychological illiteracy and a failure to acknowledge the benefits of counselling could act as deterrents, and those who make use of these services could feel stigmatised and perceive the services to be culturally unsuitable, inappropriate, or lacking in their confidential handling of matters (egan, 2009; gladding, 2014). discussion: ‘hanging in there’ in the preceding discussions, three qualitative themes were discussed. first, prominent stressors that participants experienced were highlighted. the six prominent stressors that participants narrated were financial, spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and institutional. additionally, three prominent coping strategies were discussed, namely problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and meaning-making. lastly, it was indicated that participants who employed problem-focused coping strategies and meaning-making were more likely to report positive outcomes. a prominent narrative that serves to integrate the three qualitative themes, namely ‘hanging in there’, was interpreted from the data. ‘hanging in there’ was a term used by some participants to explain how they managed to cope with academic stressors and what the outcome of these coping processes entailed. thus, the theme ‘hanging in there’, serves as a higher level of conceptualisation and integrates the three themes (types of stressors, coping strategies and outcome) into a coherent whole. this theme is graphically represented in figure 2. 142 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 phase 1: acknowledgement phase 2: taking action phase 3: taking stock and moving forward figure 2: graphical representation: ‘hanging in there’ in figure 2, the three phases of the theme ‘hanging in there’ are presented as interlocking gears. this illustration suggests that the three phases are iterative and that the coping process, as described by participants, is dynamic. more specifically, the three phases flow into each other, and the end of one phase gives rise to the next. the first phase of the ‘hanging in there’ theme relates to the acknowledgement of a specific stressor and attempting to make sense of it within a person’s specific set of life circumstances. literature suggests that stressors affect individuals in proportion to their life circumstances, available resources and psychological make-up (egan, 2009). a significant proportion of participants (93.33%) indicated that the acknowledgement of stressors is an important component in initiating a healthy coping response. one participant explained the acknowledgment phase as follows: “financial problems are enormous in my life. i must make a plan to deal with study fees, accommodation, and the likes. education is like winning the lottery; it changes everything for you. but education also has a cost.” (p#195, male, 18) another participant suggested that acknowledgement entails accepting reality as it is and then making a plan: “one must remember to be honest in your dealings … life is hard but you must accept it and then move ahead … make the best of things” (p#188, male, 21) the second phase of the coping process entitled ‘hanging in there’ is labelled ‘taking action.’ participants agreed (93.78%) that people need to take constructive action when confronted by stressors. therefore, ‘hanging in there’ does not denote a passive process. to the contrary, it refers to a process of actively engaging with, amongst other things, stressors to identify and act upon a solution. crisis theory suggests that humans are motivated to restore the sense of disequilibrium brought about by stressful experiences (herman, 1992). in working towards re-establishing equilibrium in one’s life, people are advised to adopt an optimistic view of the future http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 143 (seligman, 2006, 2011). that is, a better future is imagined. in this regard, participants suggested that ‘hanging in there’ is founded upon hope for a better future. one participant, a 22-year-old female, described her experience as follows: “for me hope is always alive. i hope for a better tomorrow. a brighter tomorrow is what inspires and motivates me today to deal with difficult times” (p#29) according to snyder (2002), the construct of hope is based on two key concepts, namely pathways thinking and agency. the term ‘pathways thinking’ refers to the capacity of identifying avenues, and in the case of stressors, alternative avenues towards achieving goals. agency points to the motivation and personal inclination to pursue the pathways that were identified (snyder, 2002). from the data, it became apparent that hope – pathways thinking and agency – are crucial components of coping with academic stressors, as discussed in the following sections. the final phase of ‘hanging in there’ is entitled ‘taking stock and moving forward’. the data revealed that participants (85.33%) regarded stressors as normal occurrences during the academic process. amongst other things, participants’ narrative accounts suggested that stress should not necessarily be viewed as antagonistic. rather, stress was regarded as a constant companion on the journey to and through higher education. thus, stress could be likened to a character that forms part of students’ lives within the higher education context. a 22-year-old male described it as follows: “stress is a constant companion at university. i experience stress when i sit for exams. there is stress when i do group work and must explain things in front of a class.” (p#189) participants indicated that there were valuable lessons to be learned from stressful experiences as a ‘constant companion’. a rich body of literature has also attested to the potentially growth-enhancing qualities that could be gleaned from dealing with stress in constructive ways (dweck, 2006; herman, 1992; manning-jones et al., 2015; mcgonigal, 2015). a 21-year-old female participant explained as follows: “i try to learn from my past experiences. sometimes stress is difficult at the moment, but things get better, and life goes on. one of my most difficult challenges was when i fell pregnant. in my mind, i became a stronger person because of that difficulty.” (p#49) snyder and colleagues suggest that high hope students tend to draw on past experiences, regardless of whether goals were achieved or not, as diagnostic feedback to inform subsequent actions and plans (snyder et al., 1996). in contrast, low hope students tend to adopt pessimistic attitudes that negatively affect subsequent activities (snyder et al., 1996). research by duckworth (2016) also indicates that the concept of grit, which refers to the passion, perseverance and sustained self-control to pursue personally relevant and long-term goals, is related to the concept of hope. the qualitative analysis suggested that participants displayed characteristics of high hope and grit, such as goal-directedness (“i have specific goals outlined for my life …” p#77, female, 19), optimistic inclinations (“my belief is that people should try to find positive things even when their lives are stressful” p#82, female, 19) and selfefficacy (“what i have learned is to work hard for success … must set your mind on a goal and then go for it” p#156, male, 20). conceptually, the notion of taking stock and moving forward appears to be related to the concept of hope. participant 65, a 20-year-old female described such 144 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 a relationship as follows: “the future always brings new beginnings … must trust that good things will come your way … that helps to keep me focused.” additionally, participant 47, a 24-year-old female, included the following image that depicts the journey of dealing with stress (figure 3): figure 3: dealing with stress (participant 47) participant 47 narrated her experience, as depicted in figure 3, as follows: “when life begins you are always happy. when you become older things become stressful. you must learn how to deal with difficult times. at the end of your life, hopefully, you can look back and be proud of what you achieved. you will see the meaning at the end of the journey. for now, i just keep believing.” (female, 24) conclusion this article reports on a qualitative study that explored university students’ use of coping strategies to manage academic-related stressors. the qualitative data revealed that even though participants experienced a number of stressors, they engaged in a variety of coping http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 145 strategies to manage challenges. it also became evident that problem-focused coping strategies and meaning-making were more likely to bring about positive outcomes. the theme ‘hanging in there’ served as a conceptual lens to develop a more holistic understanding of the qualitative results. participants revealed that acknowledging stressors was an essential first step in dealing with challenges. next, the data suggested that taking action with a hopeful future in mind was an important consideration. lastly, the idea of taking stock and moving forward suggested that participants understood that they could learn valuable lessons from past experiences, which can inform future coping efforts. the qualitative findings raise awareness of the stressful challenges that students encounter in the higher education sphere. furthermore, the data revealed that students are not passive agents, but tend to act in proactive ways to cope with stressors. however, the data also serve as a call for student affairs practitioners to remain active in assisting students, amongst others, to deal with stress constructively. student affairs practitioners could offer the following specific interventions to students: • workshops that provide information on the nature of stress and teach practical coping skills (de villiers, 2014; van heerden-pieterse, 2015); • developmental programmes focusing on the role that meaning can play in managing stressors (mason & nel, 2015); and • awareness campaigns focused on demystifying and destigmatising the role that student affairs services, with a specific emphasis on counselling and psychotherapeutic services, can fulfil in assisting students to deal with stress (egan, 2009; gladding, 2014). the study was not without limitations. first, the concepts of stress and coping are dynamic. a plethora of literature has addressed, amongst other things, differing classification systems of coping strategies. offering an in-depth discussion of these various classification systems was deemed to fall mostly outside the scope of this article. hence, different classification systems could have offered different insights into participants’ conceptions and use of coping strategies. additionally, the findings only offer a glimpse of participants’ perspectives from a single university’s perspectives on stress and coping. moreover, data were collected at the start of the second academic semester in 2015. it could be speculated that a different qualitative picture may have emerged if data were collected at a different point in time, for example during the height of #feesmustfall protests or while students were sitting for annual examinations. a second limitation is that data were collected using only naïve sketches. therefore, participants had limited opportunity to revise and reflect on statements as would have been the case if qualitative interviews had been conducted. a third limitation is that participants (225 out of 452 invited to participate) may have been particularly motivated to provide data. a more holistic qualitative picture could have emerged if a more representative sample had been included in the study. additionally, identifying the reasons why a subsection of the population who were invited to participate declined to do so could have offered greater insight into the qualitative findings. 146 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 notwithstanding the above-mentioned limitations, this study offered insight into the stressful experiences and coping efforts among first-year university students. moreover, the study paves the way for further research that could focus on, amongst other things, developing strategies and interventions to assist students in coping with academic-related stressors. student affairs practitioners should take the lead on developing and empirically evaluating such initiatives. research should also explore the stressors that students experience in the post #feesmustfall period. further studies could delve into the role that cultural differences and grit play in coping with stress. lastly, students’ decisions of not making use of student affairs services and the impact of this on the experience of stress and subsequent coping behaviours should be considered. stress is a ubiquitous factor in student life. as student affairs practitioners we have a responsibility to not only empirically explore students’ perspectives on stress. rather, practical application of lessons learned should guide the way forward as we assist students in developing the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to flourish in the 21st century. references bojuwoye, o. 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(2017). stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university: a qualitative study. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 131–149. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v5i2.2744 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.06.006 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.06.006 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://journals.co.za/content/high/26/5 https://journals.co.za/content/high/26/5 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2012.10820573 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2012.10820573 http://www.nature.com/news/south-african-academics-warn-of-universities-on-the-brink-1.20492 http://www.nature.com/news/south-african-academics-warn-of-universities-on-the-brink-1.20492 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2016.20492 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2016.20492 https://doi.org/10.1080/16826108.1998.9632343 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 151 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state theuns du buisson* * theuns du buisson is academic facilitator in the philosophy department, university of the free state, south africa. email: dubuissonth@ufs.ac.za abstract conducting undergraduate studies in the english language, while only a small minority of students speak english at home, poses many problems to learning in the south african context. this article explores how restrictive language policies may influence proper learning and impact negatively on the self-understanding of students. it also explores how multilingualism could help to reduce the continued reliance on english, without doing away with english in its entirety. this is especially relevant in light of english and other colonial languages still being perceived as “languages of power” (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 403). therefore, attention is given to the link between language and power, especially in light of languages often being used to implement, display and preserve power. language use in the classroom, especially with regard to codeswitching (also called translanguaging), is discussed. finally, it explores the success that was achieved during multilingual tutorial sessions. in the tutorials, students were encouraged to explore the course work in their native languages, thereby internalising it and getting a better understanding thereof. keywords tutoring; multilingualism; higher education; codeswitching introduction in 2016, with the language policy committee reviewing the university of the free state’s language policy, some of us in the philosophy department decided to conduct the tutorials for philosophy by means of a multilingual approach. this was done in preparation for what seemed to be the future language policy. our expectations were realised in the new language policy (university of the free state, 2016). rather than having separate tutorials for english and afrikaans language speakers as in the past, we brought all students together in one class. they were then allowed to form smaller groups, according to their mother tongues, or language preferences. the motivation was that we were of the opinion that a high proportion of learning problems stem from students’ lack of english comprehension and usage. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:dubuissonth%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 152 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 the aim of this article, therefore, is to assess the impact of language policies on students’ learning experiences. special attention is given to multilingual policies. challenges to such policies are discussed, in conjunction with the challenges faced by second-language students. finally, the multilingual tutorials themselves are discussed in a reflective manner. discussion multilingualism in language policies across the world and in south africa even though the european union and the council of europe are encouraging multilingualism, it is rarely seen in official language policies. in austria, for example, slovene is neglected in favour of german. this is because having everyone speak german is thought to be good for social cohesion (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, p. 554). in portugal, a similar situation occurs, with the difference being that second-language speakers are usually immigrants (faneca, sa & melo-pfeifer, 2016, p. 45). as part of nation building, many countries opt for a monolingual policy, aiming towards single-language societies. this frequently alienates speakers of minority languages from influential positions. even if national languages are local, they still put students who are speakers of other languages at a disadvantage (tupas, 2015, p. 114). bilingualism and multilingualism are often seen as enemies of national unity. they are therefore portrayed in purely negative terms. according to skutnabb-kangas and garcia (1995, p. 223) it is especially common for people in the united states of america to view bilingualism and multilingualism as factors leading to “ghettoization”, “ethnic unrest” or “separatism”. bilingualism then stands in stark contrast to nation-building and assimilation (asfaha, 2015, p. 138; skutnabb-kangas & garcia, 1995, p. 223). nation building is not the only political consideration that plagues multilingualism. many developmental agencies, such as the association of south-east asian nations opt for single-language policies in order to integrate geographical economic communities. english is generally the choice of such organisations, as it opens trade between the region and the rest of the world (tupas, 2015, p. 113). many arabic countries opt for purely arabic policies to ensure that the dominant group retains its position of power (bahous, bachab & nabhani, 2014, p. 355). national governments use language as a means to attain and expand power in both economic and political domains. according to van der walt and wolhuter (2016, p. 1024), a language becomes a language of power, when those in favour of it also wield economic, political and military power. the question with regard to policy is usually in terms of the role of other languages in relation to english. english language proficiency then becomes a gatekeeper in deciding who has access to university and who does not (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 404). in india, many universities decided to teach in the majority language of the region, with english as a supplementary language. this simultaneously prevents language from becoming a gatekeeper, but also ensures that everything does not succumb to the english melting-pot (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 408). this can easily be the case, as english is seen as a language of power. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 153 in south africa, power also played a decisive role in developing language policies. this was often the case when white people formed policies in such a way that their interests were advanced, often at the cost of black people and their indigenous languages. today, universities are expected to aid students by providing assistance and lectures in african languages, as the majority of students are not proficient in english or afrikaans (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 39). later in this text, however, it becomes clear that this is seldom done. even though in 1994, south africa was in the position to implement fully multilingual policies in higher education, this did not happen. there was hope for a fully inclusive policy that would have put african languages at the same level as english, making south africa a leader in the advancement of african language interests. because no decisive action was taken, meaning that language policies were almost in a state of non-existence, proponents of african language instruction have been disappointed overall. the result is that most universities became monolingual english institutions (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 407). despite some universities, mainly previously afrikaans universities, becoming bilingual (by including english) and officially mentioning african languages in their policies, we are yet to see real advances being made with regard to african languages as languages of teaching and learning (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 407). although african languages are mentioned in policies, it seems clear that none of the universities plan to use them as a medium of instruction soon. african languages should not be seen as having an inferior vocabulary. when afrikaans was first used, it did not have an extended vocabulary either, but consisted of words used by its “agrarian original speakers” (king & chetty, 2014, pp. 46–47). afrikaans did, however, become a fully-fledged language of commerce, science and education (king & chetty, 2014, pp. 46–47). for a language to be regarded as a language of power, it is a prerequisite that it be used in these fields, as afrikaans came to do. therefore, using a lack of vocabulary as a reason to exclude african languages is illogical, as languages develop through use, and should be used “in their current form as primary or auxiliary media of instruction” (madiba, 2013, p. 387). the university of limpopo also opted for teaching in english only. despite their expectation of students being proficient in english, this was seldom the case. the majority of students have only the most basic grasp of english, meaning that they struggle to finish their degrees within the required time (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 409). with a graduation rate of 15%, which is mostly ascribed to english deficiency, it is almost unfathomable that english is still the only language of teaching and learning at ul. this “gravitation towards unilingualism” threatens other languages and the cultural value that they carry within them (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 411). the council for higher education (che) lists several reasons for the poor academic performance of undergraduate students. these include, but are not limited to, material and socio-economic factors related to the inequalities that stem from apartheid, the lack of academic support and underpreparedness for university studies (che, 2013, pp. 54–57). according to the che-report, this underpreparedness, or insufficient academic literacy, is mainly linguistic in nature. almost all of the requirements for being academically literate, as listed in the report, have to do with reading and writing (che, 2013, p. 58). “the academic 154 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 problems are familiar – a severe articulation gap, difficulties with the medium of instruction for the majority of students for whom english is a second, third or sometimes fourth language, and mainstream curricula that have not adjusted to these realities …” (che, 2013, p. 83). by providing students with the opportunity to have academic discourses in their mother tongues, we aim to take steps in order to adjust to this reality. by following resource-based, rather than rights-based approaches, the academic registers of many languages could be built up simultaneously. what this would entail is that actual resources are spent on the development of different languages. in most current language policies, language diversity is displayed by means of having building names in multiple languages or handing out pamphlets in multiple languages. a resource-based approach, rather than a rights-based approach, would mean that actual work is being done in terms of developing different languages (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 399). this could then bridge the gaps between african and western knowledge systems. in this way, a higher education system in which only about 5% of the population succeeds can be radically transformed (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 403). transformation, however, seldom refers to language when it is used in university policies, visions and goal statements. with the emphasis on a vague thing called “transformation,” many students may feel that they are “already transformed”. the obvious next step is then to learn the so-called “languages of power”, meaning that english is the only language option that makes sense (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 403). not only do restrictive language policies lead to low academic achievement in the short term, but also to a negative self-perception in the long term (fredricks & warriner, 2016, p. 319). it is, of course, not just students who must transform. a joint effort by students and faculty staff should be undertaken to ensure transformation from superficial language rights, to the actual granting thereof. even though english is currently the language of “business and trade,” languages and their roles are not static. the role of the english language could easily be taken over by other languages in the future (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 411). one country that realises this in its policy-making is eritrea. even though it went through a lot of political turmoil, with each regime favouring their chosen languages, primary education is currently offered in nine languages. english enjoys a prominent position, without infringing on the grounds of other languages (asfaha, 2015, pp. 137–138). it is well known that people learn to read better when taught in a language that they already know and speak (trudell & schroeder, 2007, p. 165). therefore, access to the languages of power, or the languages of those in power, can only be granted once people are literate. like in the case of eritrea, mother tongue-based multilingual education is the best way to attain that. language, power, culture and identity language policies can have vast impacts on the behaviour of people in certain settings, in response to their own language use. the state of arizona implemented an “english only” policy in their public schools. this has led to people policing themselves and others, and even making people reflect negatively on their own languages. languages other than english are often portrayed in the vilest ways imaginable (fredricks & warriner, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 155 p. 309). people in general also associate english with modernity, while vernacular languages are seen as backward. this is especially the case in many societies that were previously colonised (tupas, 2015, p. 120). one should be wary of alienating particular cultures in favour of an anglocentric model. just because english is used, the language need not control the culture of discourses (dafouz & smith, 2016, pp. 405–406). often, if attention is only given to the language of teaching and learning, heritage languages are stripped of their power. they become associated with inferiority (faneca et al., 2016, p. 49). one of the ultimate contradictions in such a scenario is that native speakers of minority languages are discouraged from speaking it. non-native speakers, on the other hand, are encouraged to learn minority languages (fredricks & warriner, 2016, p. 312). a school usually has language hierarchies that are closely linked to power relations (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, pp. 557–558). inequalities and unequal power structures that are shaped by language use can only be uprooted by confronting them, by means of mother tongue-based multilingual education. unfortunately, many ideological misconceptions hinder such policies from being embraced (tupas, 2015, pp. 115–117). often, socio-economic factors can be aligned with language and the prestige of the relevant languages. if speakers of a certain language are generally poor, they may associate certain other languages with power and progress. this makes them hesitant when they are expected to choose their own language as a subject, or receive instruction in it (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 41). this is one of the reasons why using african languages in education is often criticised, even though such criticism runs contrary to most theories of education, which state that mother tongue-based education is by far the most effective. other possible reasons may be the argument that the apartheid government advocated teaching in african languages, to keep black people out of the “languages of power”. (king & chetty, 2014, p. 47). english, and to some extent afrikaans, is still regarded as such today, even though many people, including native speakers thereof, are wary of afrikaans, due to its connotation with apartheid (king & chetty, 2014, p. 47). some governments may have a vested interest in keeping certain groups, and their languages from attaining power. as there is a proven link between thought, culture and language, oppressing a certain language may prevent the speakers thereof from uplifting themselves by means of autonomous thought. the best, if not the only, way to prevent this lack of autonomy, and encourage free thought, is by means of instruction in the first language of those being taught (van der walt & wolhuter, 2016, p. 1027). different dialects could also be deemed as belonging to different power positions. ferguson (1959), as cited by (bahous et al., 2014, p. 356) identifies “diglossic” languages as different dialects that are used in the same region. this refers to a “higher” variation that is mostly used in education and official documentation, and a “lower” register that is used in colloquial settings. codeswitching and diglossia are both often used as means to establish and show off power. studies in the philippines show that this also happens when external “power languages” are acquired. even though most people in the philippines choose to be schooled in english, inequality is so great that poor students end up learning a type of english that is “deemed undesirable by society” (tupas, 2015, p. 119). 156 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 when learning languages in order to escape certain socio-economic conditions, one must remember that the languages of power are not stagnant. just as languages can lose value, they can also gain value through seemingly unrelated causes. as political instability in lebanon came to be the norm, english and french achieved an even higher status. it became a way out, through which students could further their studies overseas (bahous et al., 2014, p. 355). languages are not spoken in isolation, but often form part of many other social functions. therefore, languages also have certain values or prestige attached to them. usually, languages of learning and higher orders have “overt prestige”, while vernacular languages have “covert prestige”. this means that they are valued, but not as much in public as in private (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 40). it is therefore of the utmost importance to understand students’ relationships with their heritage languages. as language and culture are often intertwined, one must be cognisant of the “real or imaginary language practices in the various contexts in which they move” (faneca et al., 2016, pp. 49–50). even though language may not be a defining cultural marker for everyone, as with religion, class or ethnicity for some people, it always contributes. users of language may feel different affinities to the languages that they know. some languages may be simply a tool, while others may be at the heart of their being (van der walt, 2013, pp. 164–165). teaching and learning subject language if students cannot cope with the language in which they are learning, they are set back for as long as it takes to become proficient in the language (gibbons, 1995, p. 104). one of the prominent parts of learning a particular subject is the technical language terms thereof, as each field of study comes with words that are endemic to it. for students who are still learning the language of teaching and learning, this poses many problems (gablasova, 2015, p. 62). second-language students often use a blend of technical english and common english, which is not suited to their particular fields (winberg, van der geest, lehman & nduna, 2010, p. 299). even though more south african students claim english as their first language, compared to in the past, it is clear that the type of english that they refer to is often far removed from the english required for university studies. this is being addressed by means of academic literacy programmes, in which students are taught how to write in the academic style and register (che, 2013, p. 71). our tutorial programme also aims to serve as a partial remedy. students’ reference to english as a home language may also be mistaken, as many of their homes are bilingual or multilingual. such students seldom come into contact with academic registers in any context (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 398). native speakers often have trouble with new words, or subject-specific words. while non-native speakers would then guess at wrong meanings, native speakers would guess at correct, but incomplete meanings for such words. if other words in a sentence are unknown to a student, the chances are slim that they would understand the technical terms (gablasova, 2015, p. 69). such learning not only concerns learning new concepts, but also erroneous information that is often included in mental definitions of words (gablasova, 2015, p. 70). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 157 studying the acquisition of technical terms for non-native speakers is difficult as they often do not distinguish between new words that are known to native speakers and actual technical words. non-native learners are often able to grasp technical concepts, but with a much narrower scope of the meaning thereof (gablasova, 2015, p. 69). where words exist in students’ native languages, the translation could provide a reference point from which understanding can follow. simply appplying a label to a concept could be meaningless if the student has no way of recognising it in his/her own frame of reference (king & chetty, 2014, p. 46). students who write in their own languages tend to grasp their audience better, as compared to when they write in english. certain fields are seen to “belong” to english, and therefore, in the students’ view, the focus, when writing, should fall on how it is presented, rather than on explaining content (winberg et al., 2010, p. 302). plagiarism often occurs, because students struggle to integrate different sources. melles (2015), quoted by winberg et al. (2010, p. 301) coined the term “plagiphrasing” which refers to students who “plagiarise entire phrases as a compensatory strategy”. language use within the classroom even though mother-tongue learning is by far the best type of instruction, it must be acknowledged that learners are not only confined by language. their languages form but part of one of many systems that help them to either exert control, or to be controlled by others (tupas, 2015, p. 121). students who are not proficient in the english language usually come from schools where they also faced other challenges. it would be an oversimplification to only refer to “english-medium teaching” in the same way across countries, as not all have the same language demography. in multilingual settings, multilingual students and lecturers work together to construct knowledge, by means of their respective linguistic backgrounds and resources (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 400). second-language learners not only differ in their competency of the language of learning, but they also differ in the richness of the language that they bring with them. this is often undervalued, with minor exceptions when it comes to common second languages. if students’ home languages are to be used in a productive way, they cannot be placed into strict confines like “languages of origin”, pitted against the “target language” (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, pp. 555–556). students who only understand english on a very basic level when being accepted to study at english-medium universities, is not only a south african problem. during a lebanese study, many lecturers complained that students were using a mix of arabic and english in class. this is probably due to them being at the “minimum level required” to be accepted to university (bahous et al., 2014, p. 354). one should take into account that very few languages are homogenous throughout. in most cases, the language spoken at home is a completely different dialect than that spoken in academia. therefore, insisting on the use of pure standardised languages, even mother-tongue, would be just as foreign to students as the current english-only approach (madiba, 2013, p. 390). one way to address this is by making use of, often subconscious, codeswitching. 158 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 king & chetty (2014, p. 40) “loosely” define codeswitching as “the use of two or more languages, varieties, or even dialects within a single language turn”. this is in no way confined to classrooms. codeswitching often happens because students are not competent enough in the target language. many studies, specifically around language learning, have found that using the local pidgin forms of the language could be helpful in learning the “proper” form thereof (bahous et al., 2014, p. 357). codeswitching is often used to shift power from the teacher to students. in this way, a question may seem less intimidating when asked in the student’s native language, rather than in english, which carries its own imperatives (king & chetty, 2014, p. 43). students often code-switch to clarify meaning or to confirm their understanding of certain concepts. the majority agree that they form a better understanding when teachers use both english and their native languages (aziakpano & bekker, 2010, p. 47; bahous et al., 2014, p. 360; stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 400). codeswitching often occurs so as to ensure that students understand the english concepts that they are being taught (king & chetty, 2014, p. 41). because it may be seen as a failure of adapting to the university setup, many students and teachers deny ever codeswitching in a classroom situation. this may be because they act in contravention of the language policy, or because it would be a confession to not being fully proficient in english (bahous et al., 2014, p. 631). another possible reason, especially in the south african context, for not affirming the use of codeswitching, could be the internalised links between language and racial or ethnic purity (king & chetty, 2014, p. 44). studies of english-medium education in multilingual settings are not only concerned with the language that is spoken in class, but also with how english is used elsewhere. it is not only the language of teaching and learning, but also the common language between professions and trade (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 399). facilitating tutorials research has shown that peer tutoring helps students to better understand academic work, while also improving the throughput thereof (bowman-perry, burke, zhang & zaini, 2014, p. 261). reciprocal peer tutoring motivates students to constantly monitor their own understanding of the work that they are studying (de backer et al., 2015, p. 482). in this model of tutoring, students constantly switch from being tutors to students, and vice versa, within their groups. academic achievement leads to more academic engagement (bowman-perry et al., 2014). because peer tutoring increases both, it could start a positive cycle, resulting in greater academic gains. increasing student numbers, compared to relatively low increases in teaching staff, constantly forces universities to rethink the ways in which they encourage and support students. one such way is reciprocal peer tutoring (de backer et al., 2015, pp. 484–485). one major advantage of having tutors is that individual feedback can be received from students, without increasing the workload of the instructor (lee, hong & choi, 2017, p. 43). students often report that they are scared or shy to ask questions, or to actively take part in tutorials. this is usually the result of their poor language skills in english. for this http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 159 reason, many students requested that isixhosa tutorials be offered as an option during the first academic year at rhodes university (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 47). similarly, this request has been made in our department at the university of the free state for sesotho and isizulu tutorials. academic staff, especially tutors, should use classroom interactions to measure proficiency in academic discourse. these discourses generate new meaning, by means of students and lecturers engaging their respective cultures in these discourses. the english language is merely the lingua franca, a tool through which these discourses happen (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 407). some of the tutors’ roles have to do with facilitating discussions and having discussions with students. this is an important tool that should be used to measure how students are progressing (lee et al., 2017, p. 154). students have shown that they are more inclined to take ownership of their learning when they are allowed to converse about coursework in the languages of their choice (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, p. 558). monitoring of academic progress could then happen when feedback is given, or through actively listening to student discussions. these discussions are not just for monitoring student progress, but also so that guidance can be given when students are struggling. reflection on philosophy tutorials at the university of the free state tutorials were held once a week to supplement the weekly lectures. both were two hours in duration. students were required to read a philosophical text in preparation for the weekly lectures and tutorials. during lectures, a member or the instructional staff explained the week’s reading fully. i, as facilitator, was tasked with supplementing these lectures by means of tutorials. during these tutorials, the aim was not merely to repeat the lecture in a different format, but to equip students with the necessary skills to interpret such lectures by themselves. i usually split up the two-hour tutorial session into two parts. during the first part, i conducted an informal discussion with the class. this part usually lasted a maximum of 45 minutes. during this time, i went through some key words and phrases in order to ensure that everybody shared certain levels of understanding. this process reinforced the acquisition of subject-specific terms. students were often asked to paraphrase certain important passages from the text. they were given a specific amount of time to finish this. afterwards, students were requested to send their anonymously written answers to me in the front of the class. i then read some of these aloud to the whole class, asking them to locate where improvements could be made. not only did this help to attain academic literacy, but by doing such exercises, i hoped to equip students with the skills needed for them to act as peer-tutors for each other. this served as a basis from which the second part of the tutorial followed. during the second part of the tutorial, students were asked to divide themselves into groups of no more than five students per group, according to their native languages, or the languages which they prefer. in this particular class, students tended to form english, afrikaans, sesotho and isizulu groups. 160 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 some questions were then displayed on the screen, which students were required to discuss within their groups. students were then encouraged to speak the languages that they were most comfortable with in discussing the questions. the questions were displayed in english, afrikaans, isizulu and sesotho. thereafter, students gave feedback to the class in the english language. at first, some students were hesitant to practise academic discourses in their native languages. many students thought that they simply would not have the vocabulary in their languages to express philosophy as it is usually done by means of the english and afrikaans languages. these fears were quickly replaced with confidence as students realised that questions on the screen made no use of words borrowed from other languages. students were even more surprised to find that they knew many of these words already. even though african languages are not regarded as languages of power, students were implicitly made aware that this lack of power stems from past politics. they could then come to the conclusion that languages are not innately inferior when they are not used as languages of instruction. from about the second week of the course, it became apparent that students were prepared to get actively involved in the process. what was probably the most empowering was when they realised that their understanding really improved as they were able to internalise the concepts before conveying them in the english language again. as the module was concerned with the contribution of the founding fathers of the christian church to philosophy, it became apparent, especially to students of the catholic faith, that they were more familiar with the vocabulary. catholicism is a widely practised religion in south africa, and especially lesotho, where many of our students are from. this enabled most of the group members to function with a remarkable grasp of the content knowledge. as mentioned earlier, many students were initially reluctant to speak in the class because they were scared of demonstrating their lack of english proficiency. by enabling dialogues in multiple languages in the course, this fear was quickly overcome such that when students were asked to give feedback in english, they were much less reluctant than before. conclusion the use of language is an important part of learning. many problems that students experience, when it comes to learning, emanate from their limited language capabilities. even though language policies that support second-language learners should be implemented, this has not yet been done sufficiently. by offering multilingual tutorials, within an english language-centred coursework, lecturers and tutors can offer relevant support to students without stepping outside the institution’s language policy. the increase in confidence, paired with much better student engagement, serves to prove how effective multilingual subject learning could be. it empowers students to dig deeper into their personal experiences, which are seldom formed in the english language, in order to better enrich their understanding of content knowledge. should it become possible to offer course materials in students’ mother tongue, the expectation is that students will become even more involved with their own learning. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 161 references asfaha, y.m. 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(2016). eerste taal as onderrigmedium in hoër onderwys: ’n internasionale perspektief. tydskryf vir geesteswetenskappe, 56(4), 1016–1033. winberg, c., van der geest, t., lehman, b. & nduna, j. (2010). teaching technical writing in multilingual contexts: a meta-analysis. southern african linguistics and applied language studies, 28(3), 299–308. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2010.545032 how to cite: du buisson,t. (2017). facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 151–162. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/lds/melles/cfm http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/lds/melles/cfm https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-011-9255-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2013.09.003 https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199803)26 https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199803)26 https://doi.org/10.2167/lcc333.0 https://doi.org/10.2167/lcc333.0 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2014.977295 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2014.977295 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/default-source/policy-institutional-documents/language-policy.pdf?sfvrsn=0 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/default-source/policy-institutional-documents/language-policy.pdf?sfvrsn=0 https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2010.545032 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 163 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme on student performance langutani mary masehela* & memory mabika** * dr langutani mary masehela is a senior educational development practitioner in the centre for higher education teaching and learning, university of venda, south africa. email: mary.masehela@univen.ac.za ** dr memory mabika is senior lecturer in the department of communication and applied language studies, university of venda, south africa. email: memory.mabika@univen.ac.za abstract the university of venda introduced an academic mentoring programme in 2012. the introduction of the programme was in response to the results of a national study that was conducted by scott, yeld and hendry (2007). the study was replicated at institutional level and it yielded similar results that indicated that at least 30% of undergraduate students drop out at the end of their first year. using margaret archer’s morphogenetic framework, this paper seeks to assess the impact of the programme on students’ performance. the key question asked in this study is: ‘what impact has the mentoring programme made on the academic performance of students in the department of communication and applied language studies?’ this department formed part of this study because the module lecturer was among the first few who exercised her agency by consciously volunteering to join the programme with the hope that it would improve pass rate. the pass rate improved from 80% to 92% the first time the programme was implemented and it has been high ever since, while the students in that department have continued to embrace the programme. both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted for this study. qualitative data consisted of an open-ended questionnaire which was used to collect data from forty-five mentees. interviews were also conducted with ten mentees, three student mentors, the media studies (mst 1541) lecturer and the educational development practitioner (edp). from the forty-five questionnaire respondents, only ten mentees were also interviewed to confirm responses that were given in questionnaires before the researcher had reached saturation point. quantitative data were collected through a comparison of module results for 2012 and 2013. the mst 1541 classes in 2012 and 2013 were taught by the same lecturer, who confirmed minimal changes in terms of content and teaching methods which could have influenced the improved pass rate in 2013. the study concludes that the mentoring programme contributed to improving student success. however, the study only focused on one causal mechanism, namely mentoring. it is therefore recommended that a broader study be conducted to evaluate the impact of additional causal mechanisms. furthermore, the researchers recommend improved monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to curb the inconsistencies and irregularities reported by the mentors, mentees, lecturer and educational development practitioner. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://mary.masehela@univen.ac.za mailto:memory.mabika%40univen.ac.za?subject= 164 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 keywords critical realism; mentoring; retention; social realism; success; student performance; student support introduction this paper seeks to assess the impact of a student mentoring programme on student performance among first-level students at the university of venda (univen). the study explores departmental conditions and the student success rates before and after the introduction of the mentoring programme in the department of communication and applied language studies (cals). univen is a rural-based, previously disadvantaged institution, which mainly caters for the formerly marginalised black population in the limpopo province of south africa (mabika, 2015). the university of venda’s centre for higher education teaching and learning (chetl) reported that at least 53% of the students who wrote the 2011 examinations would be repeating a module or two of their first-year modules the following year (masehela & ndebele, 2016, p. 117). the institution attracts mostly first-generation students who come from disadvantaged schooling backgrounds from peri-urban and rural communities. these students face financial challenges, underpreparedness, a lack of exposure to various technologies, poverty and a range of emotional burdens which can significantly affect their academic participation and performance (krause, 2005). however, in its effort to deal with some of these challenges, univen introduced an institution-wide academic mentoring programme in the second half of 2012. this programme was accepted by some lecturers and rejected by others who felt it added more work to their already heavy workloads (masehela, ndebele, sikhwari & maphosa, 2014). this paper aims to share the experiences of a lecturer who was a member of the department before the introduction of the programme and who later became one of the first academics to participate in the programme when it was eventually introduced. the paper also shares the experiences of an educational development practitioner (edp) who participated in the programme since its inception and worked directly with the lecturer concerned in implementing the programme in cals. students who also participated in this programme during its inception completed a questionnaire for this study. using archer’s morphogenetic framework, the paper seeks to establish if mentoring was one of the causal mechanisms that impacted on the performance of students in cals. archer’s non-conflationary framework adopts the analytical dualism approach to analyse data that contributes to the success or non-success of the mentoring programme. thus, the structure, culture and agency are analysed separately to explore the status quo of student performance in the department. the question posed for this study was: ‘what impact does the mentoring programme have on the academic performance of students in the department of communication and applied language studies?’ data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, the edp, the module lecturer and module results. quantitative data which were comparatively analysed were collected from the lecturer’s 2012 and 2013 records in the department of cals. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 165 this paper provides a brief background of the need for support programmes in higher education in the recent past both globally and in the south african higher education landscape. the paper further introduces the theoretical framework that underpins this research, namely social realism which is rooted in the critical realism philosophy of life, and discusses the reasons for choosing this framework. this is followed by the methodology used to analyse the data. background habley (2004) found that students’ interactions with faculty, staff, advisors, peers and administrators directly influenced undergraduate retention. to this end, tinto (2004) suggests that, to improve undergraduate retention, all institutions of higher education must offer easily accessible academic, personal and social support services. this perspective is not only relevant to the experiences of the global north. norodine-fataar (2011) found that the mentoring programme offered at the fundani centre of the cape peninsular university of technology served a dual focus, that is, academic and social. du preez, steenkamp and baard’s (2013) study also confirms that the promotion of active interaction amongst students, faculty, staff, advisors, peers and administrators which is further enhanced through the introduction of mentoring programmes can impact positively on student retention. the growing body of literature on high impact practices (hips) clearly supports student mentoring, stating that there is a link between engaged learning and successful degree completion (kuh, 2008; brownell & swaner, 2009; kuh & o’donnell, 2013; wellman & brusi, 2013). hips are defined as undergraduate opportunities that have a positive association with student learning and retention which further share several traits: they demand considerable time and effort, facilitate learning outside of the classroom, require meaningful interactions with faculty and students, encourage collaboration with diverse others, and provide frequent and substantive feedback (keup, 2015). the theoretical framework: a critical realist ontology this study explores margaret archer’s (1995, 2003) theory of social realism, which is grounded in roy bhaskar’s (1979) philosophy of science known as critical realism. bhaskar argues for a stratified ontology that takes account of an ultimate reality that exists independently of human action and thought. bhaskar (1979) argues against a flat monistic view of reality by advocating for three levels of reality, namely the real, the actual and the empirical. the level of the real is where structures and mechanisms are placed and it is at the bottom stratum. this is the level where planning takes place. after that, events emerge at the level of the actual. the impact of the planning that took place at the bottom of the ladder is realised at this second level. however, agents who participate in the event experience the effects of the event differently, either positively or negatively, at the level of the empirical. critical realists attempt to recognise the subjective nature of knowledge and argue for the presence of underlying deep mechanisms and enduring structures within a social world. this philosophy of science sees reality through neither the positivist lens nor the 166 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 constructivist lens (sayer, 2007, p. 2). we now turn to explain why social realism was used in this study. why social realist methodology or ontology? first, social realism draws on bhaskar’s notion of a stratified view of reality, outlined above. bhaskar’s critical realism asserts that the world is composed of three strata or layers, that is discourses, structures, powers and tendencies at the level of the real; events at the level of the actual; and experiences and impressions at the level of the empirical (bhaskar, 1979; patomaki & wight, 2000; sayer, 2007). therefore, for the purposes of this study, the researchers were interested in unearthing the tendencies at the level of the real which contributed to the outcome of an improved academic performance at the level of the empirical. secondly, social realism allows for an exploration of the way change occurs, or does not occur, over time. it does this through the use of archer’s (1995) morphogenetic framework, which allows social researchers to analyse the interplay between ‘the people’ (i.e. human agency) and ‘the parts’ (i.e. structure and culture) in any social milieu. in the case of this study, we used archer’s framework to explore what could have led to the improvement or non-improvement of student performance after the introduction of a mentoring programme in the department of cals. in this study we examine student performance before the introduction of the mentoring programme, using 2012 results and analysing departmental practices at that time. this is then followed by a comparison of the mst 1541 2012 and 2013 results and an examination of the departmental practices after the introduction of the mentoring programme. thirdly, social realism requires us to adopt analytical dualism, which involves the artificial separation, for the purposes of analysis, of ‘the parts’ (structure and culture) and ‘the people’ (agency). the rationale behind the separate analysis of the parts is so that each domain has its own unique emergent, autonomous and efficacious properties and powers that can or cannot bring about change. social realism avoids the epiphenomenal character prevalent in other social theories, for instance empirical and linguistic realism, where “… either the ‘parts’ or the ‘people’ are held to be the ultimate constituents of social reality to which the other could be reduced” (archer, 2000, p. 5). therefore, in this study, archer’s framework adopts the analytical dualism approach to analyse data and to explore the parts and the people’s contribution to the success or non-success of the high-impact practice programme with specific reference to the mentoring programme in cals. this approach to exploring conditions allows researchers to dig deep down to the root cause of the situation. the context of study: cals at univen cals is housed in the school of human and social sciences at univen in limpopo province of south africa. univen is a historically disadvantaged institution, which draws most of its learners from the lowly rated rural and township high schools around http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 167 vhembe district and surrounding areas (mabika, 2015). ‘lowly rated schools’ refers to poorly funded public schools which normally draw learners from the poor black rural and high-density townships. this is confirmed in the report of the ministerial committee for the review of the funding of universities (department of higher education, 2013, p. 14). the higher education system in south africa shifted after the attainment of democracy in 1994, opening up access to all. this resulted in burgeoning enrolments in the underprepared institutions. it is reported that the university of venda in 2002, boasted an enrolment figure of a total headcount of 7 783 students (department of education, 2004, p. 41), while the same institution boasted a total headcount of 14 147 students in 2015 (university of venda annual report, 2015, p. 43). yet infrastructure and staff complement did not match the growth. the year 2017 shows further growth of enrolment in this institution. in addition to this, the study that was conducted by scott, yeld, and hendry (2007) on behalf of the council on higher education (che) identified poor throughput rate as a national challenge which requires the higher education system to work together as a collective to address the challenge; this was done through the introduction of the quality enhancement project (qep) (che, 2014, p. ii). statistics for the poor national throughput rate in higher education are shared by schoeman (2014) as follows: only 15% of sa university students graduate, only 25% of students in “contact institutions” graduate in the required time, only 35% of the total intake and 48% of contact students graduate within five years. in light of these poor throughput rates, this study also acknowledges the following as key conditions in exacerbating poor performance and attrition of students: academic under-preparedness of academic staff and students; transition or adjustment problems; career choice uncertainties in students and inadequate financial support. wadesango and machingambi (2012, p. 118) add that academic achievement is closely tied to socioeconomic status, and that being raised in a low-income family often means having fewer educational resources. they further point out that, in spite of resilience and the will to be successful, low-income families face additional challenges such as limited access to health care and nutrition, which could contribute to lower academic performance. in addition, students’ lack of what bourdieu (1977) calls “cultural capital”, aggravates a student’s underpreparedness for higher education. cultural capital is the assumption that children from working-class families do not have the privilege of acquiring the skills and knowledge that they would require at university from their parents because they are first-generation students. therefore, student mentors can act as role models for junior students who might not have academic roles models. there are also fears that digital illiteracy is rife among students from poor rural communities in south africa due to lack of access to digital technologies. poley, cotton and mcalpin (2000, p. 1) argue that there is “a growing problem of the digital millennium with increasing polarization between the information haves and have nots”. they further argue that, as technology continues to develop, the gap between the information haves and have nots continues to widen. wadesango and machingambi (2011) further note classroom absenteeism as another major contributor to poor performance in higher education. 168 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 with the intake of the above-mentioned student body in the department of cals at univen, the challenge is aggravated by the nature of the discipline and the staff component of the department. the department is multi-disciplinary; it was originally the department of linguistics but later incorporated media studies and became the department of cals. most students who enrol at the school of humanities register for the media studies programme. however, the greatest challenge for this very popular degree programme is the lecturer to student ratio. lecturers in the media studies programme are overwhelmed by the large numbers of students. the lecturer/student ratio is approximately 1:120. the department has six full-time lecturers, including the head of department, one part-time lecturer for media studies and one for linguistics. the significance of the study given the context of univen, it is clear that there is not only a need for student support and development programmes in this institution, but there is also a critical need to critique these programmes at close range to ascertain their relevance in this context. although student mentors at univen are selected on merit and undergo training the researchers saw the need to give a critique of how the mentoring programme was unfolding in the department of cals. while the research questions in this study will assist the researchers to unearth the impact that the mentoring programme might or might not have made on student performance, the study will also serve as a reflective tool for the lecturer in the study and other lecturers, as well as the development practitioner and other practitioners. since student support initiatives at univen are relatively new measures, reflective and reflexive practices are critical in order to move towards innovative practices that speak directly to the context instead of being influenced by pragmatic practices that have worked in other institutions. according to barry stierer (2008) reflective practice is the act of scrutinising and critiquing one’s teaching habits. stierer argues that the philosophy of personal effectiveness in teaching is a very important component in professional development. teaching in higher education could even go beyond reflection to reflexivity. luckett (2001) argues for an epistemologically diverse curriculum which encourages reflexive competence, that is, knowing how one knows that which one knows, and how one got to know it. therefore, it is important for one to put forward one’s role as a teacher rather than simply acknowledge one’s command of the content only. tinto (2012) argues that student success is strengthened by assessing performance of both academics and students in ways that allow them to change their behaviour, in order to keep improving success rates. in their quest to professionalise their teaching practices, it is important for academics at univen to base their practices on research-based evidence as advocated by stierer (2008). hence, this study selected archer’s social realist ontology to serve as a lens through which to critique the interplay between students, academics, academic developers and the structures that the institution has put in place to improve student performance. following is a section that shares literature on peer mentoring, what it entails and the impact it has on student performance in higher education. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 169 literature review peer mentoring mentoring is interpreted differently in different contexts. du preez et al. (2013) define peer mentoring within the academic context (module mentoring) as a process whereby reciprocity and equal status abide, and both the mentor and the mentee exchange knowledge, ideas, support and interest to the benefit of both parties. these authors advance the importance of reciprocity and equality between the mentor and mentees since in this context they both occupy the same position, that of student. in that sense, they both stand a chance of learning something from each other or from the interaction itself. langhout, rhodes and osborne (2004) propose four styles of mentoring: (1) moderate mentors (conditional support and moderate levels of structure and activities); (2) unconditionally supportive mentors (highest level of support with moderate levels of structure and activity); (3) active mentors (highest level of activity combined with the lowest degree of structure); and (4) low-key mentors (highest support and lowest activity). leidenfrost, strassing, schabmann, carbon and spiel (2011) add three more peer-mentoring styles, namely the motivating master mentoring, informatory standard mentoring and negative minimalist mentoring. the motivating master mentor performs well academically, is committed to mentoring sessions, and provides informational and motivational mentoring, while avoiding negative mentoring. informational mentors focus on providing information without being asked for it, while negative minimalist mentors are ignorant of the content and fail to answer any questions. for further research at univen around mentorship, it would be beneficial to investigate the kind of mentors who are likely to be recruited in this institution. in addition, the university of venda pays its mentors a stipend, which adds to their motivation to do the task. the question could be: what kind of mentors will the institution recruit when there is no stipend attached? more on the kind of mentors at cals is shared in the data analysis section. the authors of this paper examine the impact of mentoring in a rural historically disadvantaged university in south africa. given the history of the country and its academic support practices, the first phase of the academic development movement, as noted by pavlich and orkin (1993, cited in boughey, 2010, p. 4), emerged as a result of historically white liberal universities admitting small numbers of black students in the early 1980s due to “relaxed state apartheid policies”. other than that, academic student support practices in higher education institutions were not common except for student counselling services. as a result, current academics know and understand very little about student support practices, especially those that are regarded as high-impact practices. what is academic mentoring? landolt (2012) and masehela et al. (2014, p. 369) define mentoring as an informal face-to face communication process, over a predetermined and sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the 170 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 mentor) and a person who is perceived to be less knowledgeable (mentee). in addition, a mentor is knowledgeable in a specific academic area of expertise and should share that knowledge and skills with their mentees (landolt, 2012). it is further argued that effective mentoring is more than a question-and-answer session, but involves various informal methods of sharing information through dialogue, and the development of an ongoing relationship of open learning where the mentor and the mentee face and resolve challenges as a team. however, eby, rhodes and allen (2007) see the end result of mentoring as key to defining mentoring. they define mentoring as a way to help reduce school dropout rates, increase academic achievement, promote self-identity and a positive self-image, reduce risky behaviours, and facilitate career development. these views are also shared by academic developers at univen. they see mentoring as more than just improving academic performance of students, but also as concerned with assisting mentees to cope with their psychological and social challenges. mentors, in this institution, are also trained in life skills in order to be able to provide lay counselling to their mentees. however, these mentors are encouraged to refer their mentees to professional student counsellors as soon as they detect serious psychological issues in their mentees. research methodology to address the research problem, which seeks to assess the issue of change/nonchange after the introduction of the mentoring programme at univen, the study adopted qualitative and quantitative approaches. quantitative data comprise of two subsequent mst 1541 classes (2012 and 2013), while qualitative data were collected using in-depth interviews with ten student mentees. seventy mentees were given questionnaires and, of those seventy, forty-five were completed and returned. furthermore, student mentors and the lecturer of the selected module, as well as the edp, were interviewed. the morphogenetic approach was used to evaluate the change that occurred (or lack of change) as the department transitioned from a period before and after the introduction of the mentoring programme. population and purposive sampling the study used purposive sampling. ashley crossman (2017) defines a purposive sample as a non-probability sample that is selected based on characteristics of a population and the objective of the study. the choice of participants in this study was selective as per crossman’s description of purposive sampling. the module lecturer taught this module prior to and after the implementation of the mentoring programme. the mentors were in the pilot programme in 2013 and at the time of data collection they were honours students in the department. the mentees were in their third year of study when data was collected. the study focused only on 2013 mentees and mentors. the lecturer, who has been teaching this cohort of students since 2010, is still teaching the module, while the edp is still facilitating this programme in chetl. when the study was conducted, six of the eleven mentors from cals, who were first trained in 2013, were still at univen http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 171 completing their honours degrees, while seventy of the 2013 mentees were doing their third and final year of study in the department of cals. some of the mentees are now mentors in the department, which has made data collection for this study possible. out of the six mentors who were still at univen, only three mentors agreed to participate in this study. the other three declined to participate because they were finalising their honours mini-dissertations at the time of data collection. however, all seventy mentees agreed to participate in the study. forty-five completed and returned the questionnaire. ten of the mentees were interviewed. the mst 1541 lecturer and the edp were both interviewed. data collection qualitative data collection interviews: this study adopted in-depth interviewing for data collection from the various population groups selected for this study. in-depth interviewing is a qualitative technique of data collection which uses open-ended questions and probing to solicit details from the information-rich selected population. interviews are labour-intensive and produce a lot of information, which makes it difficult to collect data from a large sample (crouch & mckenzie, 2006). interviews rely on a small sample, sometimes as small as one, and because of that the results cannot be generalised beyond the selected sample for the study (masehela et al., 2014). participants who were interviewed consisted of the edp, the lecturer, three mentors (who comprised of two males and one female) and ten mentees (consisting of five males and five females). all the interviews were conducted in english and audio recorded. questionnaire: an open-ended questionnaire was handed to a total of seventy students who were mentees in this module in 2013. forty-five questionnaires in total were returned and analysed for this study. quantitative data collection quantitative data were collected through a comparison (by percentage) of mst 1541 module results for 2012 and 2013. data analysis: results and discussion analysis of qualitative data: interview and questionnaire data using analytical dualism – the temporary separation of structure, culture and agency as proposed by archer (1995, 2000) – interview data of the three mentors were analysed using the critical discourse analysis approach of norman fairclough (1989). as discourses are analysed, the culture of the department in question is understood. discourses were extracted from the data. in the next section, the discourses that were uncovered from the data, including the analysis of these discourses, are provided. the culture and manner in which agency was exercised by the mentors, mentees and lecturer is unearthed in the following analysis. 172 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 • the discourse of responsibility: why do you think mentoring was helpful to your mentees? “mentees became more involved and their marks also improved.” (mentor c) mentors a and b conceded that their mentees become more confident and active in their sessions. agentially, the programme taught mentees to take responsibility for their learning. the programme strengthened their agency. archer (2000) argues that human beings have the power to exercise agency in any context irrespective of the challenges of the time. all the mentees who were interviewed in this study agreed with this assertion. most of the mentees pointed out that their mentors advised them to prepare for their main lectures beforehand because that would make it easier for them to actively participate during class discussions with their lecturer. the culture of low pass rates (80%) gave way to that of high pass rates (93%) as revealed by the differences between the 2012 results, before adoption of mentoring, and the 2013 results, after the introduction of the mentoring programme. young (2015) reported a similar outcome in a study conducted in a south african university where students had to explain ‘why peer leadership works’. • the discourse of ‘proximity’: how was your relationship with your mentor helpful to you? “… it was even easier for me to ask questions when i did not understand …” (mentee a) “interacting with the mentors was a means of understanding [sic] the given module on a more generational level, it facilitated understanding.” (mentee f) the discourse of proximity re-emerges in the mentees’ data. culturally, students are freer working with their peers than with their lecturers. they find peers more approachable. students feel more comfortable communicating with mentors compared to the power differentials that exist between students and lecturer. mentee m10, during the interview session, also alluded to the same view when s/he said: “i gained more from my mentor than i did from my lecturer and i also learned how to participate in class because i got the opportunity to be open between my peers.” these mentees’ responses from the questionnaires and interviews confirm the mentors’ claims that student-to-student relationships make the learning process less intimidating. various scholars assert that mentoring success depends largely on the proximity of the members involved (mccuaig, hare & monsen 2014; sambunjak & marušić, 2009; frazier, 2007). proximity means that students feel more comfortable and motivated when they work with their peers during a learning process. one respondent in young’s (2015) study showed appreciation for ‘proximity’, stating the following: ‘i have had difficulties in my first year without guidance, i felt the need for an african child to be assisted is highly in demand if not imperative. making change in the black (race) community, as i run most of my sessions in isizulu.’ in the interview with the module lecturer, she confirmed that, since she deals with large classes, the mentoring programme creates an opportunity for a much more effective interaction with her students: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 173 “some of the students require individual attention but this was difficult as the numbers continued to increase each year. this in a way resulted in me failing to effectively utilise the various assessment methods, particularly formative assessment. prior to the introduction of mentoring, i mainly focused on summative assessment only. this later improved when mentors were introduced. i used the small groups to introduce formative assessment. i would give my students an assignment in class. they would submit their first draft to the mentor who would go through it using a marking memo which i would have prepared and give as much feedback as possible on the scripts and during their sessions. students would now go and rework the assignment before submitting it to me. i would now assess and give them a mark which would be recorded. thus we merged mentoring and lecturing together in order to achieve better results.” (lecturer) the mentoring programme also impacted positively on the assessment practices by the lecturer. • the discourse of freedom: what was your relationship with your mentees? “i am free to express my views without fear because i am confident of my capabilities because my lecturer and the edp have fully prepared us for the task.” a culture of free-spiritedness was inculcated during mentoring sessions. mentors felt free, mentor b avers, and this claim is in line with cuseo’s (1991) observation that peer leaders are empowered to exert influence in a less intimidating way than staff or faculty. this is similar to the claim made in the discourse discussed above. mentees m4 and m9 also asserted that they felt more relaxed and less intimidated to participate in their discussion with their mentors since they were fewer and the mentor was a student like them. mentee m6 said he felt more secure making a mistake in these small groups than in a large class full of people. • the discourse of reflectivity: what was the best part of being a mentor? “it helped me to reflect on what i have learnt in my first year. i also learned new things through our discussions with my mentees.” the mentoring programme brought another learning perspective to the mentors which might not have transpired had they not been involved in the mentoring programme. joseph joubert (1994) argues that “to teach is to learn twice”. furthermore, mentoring sessions allowed both mentors and mentees to be themselves and to operate in an informal environment, while mentoring also made mentors feel good because they were being given an opportunity of becoming motivating master mentors as alluded to by leidenfrost et al., (2011): “… it gave me a chance to impart knowledge to juniors.” mentors also see themselves as carriers of knowledge, a feeling that builds self-esteem and self-confidence. • the discourse of lack of commitment: what is the downside of being a mentor? “attendance was sometimes poor and this was discouraging. they usually attend when they are facing an imminent challenge. e.g. tests.” (mentor b) 174 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 the nature of mentoring, that of being a flexible, non-compulsory activity for students, makes it open to abuse. mentees do not feel obliged to attend sessions. tinto (2012) argues that there is nothing optional for students if the institution is serious about student success. archer (1995) rightly argues that institutional structures condition human action. therefore, if the institutional structures do not make student support programmes compulsory, not all students will be equally committed to the programmes. in this instance, the interplay between structure and culture is seen to be influencing agency. the mentees here are seen to be taking the programme for granted. • the discourse of mentor commitment: were you able to commit to mentoring duties at all times? “the mentees need us all the time, which was not possible at times since we were also students who would be busy at times.” (mentor a) mentors raised an important structural matter in this study. mentor a argues that there is a need to revisit the method used to select mentors, because some of the mentors were not dedicated in their work as mentors and even their performance as mentors was not satisfactory. an important suggestion by the mentors is advanced here. this point tallies with what the authors have raised above concerning future research on mentoring at univen. mentors also suggest that mentoring sessions should be included in the main timetable slot so that mentees can take it seriously. however, it is interesting to note that, despite this challenge, student performance improved in 2013 from 80% to 92% (see details of analysis in the next section). • the discourse of ‘epistemological access’: what benefits did you obtain from attending the mentoring sessions? “i managed to understand how to tackle questions during the exams and express myself.” students understood concepts and themes better. mentee m2, pointed out that: “… attending mentoring sessions where we revised a number of past tests and examinations helped me to understand how things were done in varsity. it helped me understand how test questions were set and how to answer them.” the epistemological access discourse confirms the claim made by different scholars that epistemological access does not come naturally to students: they have to be inducted into this academic literacy (boughey, 2010; boughey & niven, 2012). this implies that students from both poor schooling backgrounds and well-resourced backgrounds need to be inducted into the academic culture. the difference could be that those from wellresourced schools and families might possess in them greater cultural capital as expounded by bourdieu (1977). • the discourse of excellent relationship: what was your relationship with the mentor? mentors and mentees had relationships that were relaxed and friendly: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 175 “she was patient, she treated us like we were her little brothers and sisters. we were a family, an academic family …” this approach proved appropriate for students. however, the approach itself might pose risks such as encouraging intimate relationships between mentor and mentees, abuse of power by mostly mentors, losing focus during session by turning session into an informal chat session. these risks are shared during mentor training with the mentors in order to enable them to avoid the risk of turning the relationship into something beyond the mentor–mentee relationship. • the discourse of building self-esteem: how did you benefit from mentoring others? mentoring boosts an individual’s self esteem: “it helped me gain confidence in steering my views.” mentee m7 stated that the open discussions during the mentoring sessions allowed the shy students to come out of their shells which also boosted their confidence to participate in class discussions. hobson, ashby, malderez and tomlinson’s (2009) study revealed that mentoring is helpful in boosting the confidence of mentees because in its nature it is able to provide emotional and psychological support. • the discourse of student support for senior students: do you think the mentoring programme for first year learners is sufficient? most of the students see the importance of student support and feel that they would have done better in second and third year if they had received similar support. “my second year … marks were not satisfactory at all and i believe that if i had been mentored i could have done better.” “we have a lot of content which we do not understand. we seek mentoring especially in the 3rd year.” however, some students are against the idea of attending mentoring sessions at senior level, arguing that first-year mentoring is enough to prepare them for senior phases. “i gained enough confidence and studying skills which have sustained me in my 2nd and 3rd level hence i think mentoring should be limited to 1st years,” opines interviewee m8. the discourses shared above (a to j) are indicative of the potential positive changes that mentoring can bring to an institution. however, there are also challenges associated with the implementation of such a programme. the following discourses indicate that for the programme to improve some issues need to addressed. • the discourse of incentivising: do you think mentors should be given stipends for their services? in addition, mentors in cals propose that the incentive for mentors should be increased as currently it is not worth the effort required. (at univen, mentors are paid r1 000 per month.) the module lecturer is also in support of this view: 176 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 “in addition, the incentives are too little considering the important service the mentors are offering.” (lecturer) this view is supported by the result of a study conducted by du preez, steenkamp and baard (2013, p. 1232) at stellenbosch university in south africa. this study found that mentors felt that the incentives linked to mentoring were not worth the effort. however, some mentors realised that it was not just about the money but that it also benefited them and helped them to relearn the basics in their subjects. this is in support of joubert’s (1994) notion that “to teach is to learn twice”. • the discourse of time management: what other distinct benefits did you gain from the mentoring programme? “i learned to be punctual.” mentees confirmed that they took responsibility for their learning through the mentoring programme. they learned to manage their time better and to take the initiative instead of waiting for someone to motivate them. mentee m5, during interviews, said the following: “juggling time between class activities, mentoring and other personal social activities made me realise i have to come up with a logical and systematic time management plan.” this quote confirms that, in the process of engaging with mentoring sessions, mentees saw the necessity of managing their time effectively. jackson (2009, p. 434) outlines key steps for successful time management as follows: (1) set realistic goals; (2) get organised; (3) delegate; (4) relax and recharge; and (5) stop feeling guilty. these are some of the aspects covered during mentor training. similarly, these are covered during time management workshops offered to first years at univen. • discourses of challenges: what were some of the weaknesses of the mentoring programme? although there are discourses that may discourage students from committing themselves to the programme, they are not strong enough to dissuade the students and lecturers from partaking in these programmes. both mentors and mentees feel that there are not enough resources to support the programme. this frustration is also shared by the module lecturer: “there is a lack of venues for mentoring sessions.” it is unfortunate that the institution was not designed to accommodate co-curricular programmes from the beginning. as a result, students are encouraged to hold mentoring sessions under trees or anywhere else on campus grounds due to a lack of venues. “the mentors should get more materials, study materials and prepare a lot.” “… it shouldn’t be a one-way process. provide venues to build a support structure for the mentoring programme.” (lecturer) interviewee m6 also bemoaned the lack of space as affecting their participation in mentoring sessions. they said: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 177 “having no fixed venue affected my attendance sometimes; if my battery is flat i am not able to communicate with my mentor or other mentee in my group hence sometimes i missed my meeting because i could not locate my group on time.” another challenge raised by mentors was that some mentees showed commitment only during assessment periods. “most of us took mentoring for granted since it was still a new thing to them and did not show up most of the time but when there was a test they showed up in numbers.” a similar finding was noted in a similar study of the same context by masehela et al. (2014). it was established that mentees were irregular in their attendance of mentoring sessions. however, in an interview, mentee m3 owned up, saying: “… i only realised mentoring sessions were equally important after failing our first test which most students who took mentoring seriously from the beginning passed.” analysis of quantitative data data analysis for quantitative data which is basically a comparison of the 2012 and 2013 results for mst 1541: 70% 2012 80% pass rate 80% 90% 100% 2013 92% 2012 and 2013 mst 1541 pass rates figure 1: pass rates for 2012 and 2013 in mst 1541 between 2012 and 2013, the mst 1541 class was taught by the lecturer who participated in this study. the lecturer revealed that she utilised similar course content and used almost the same teaching methods for both years. however, in 2013 she implemented the newly introduced student mentoring programme as an additional teaching method. the study revealed that, although mentoring is still facing various challenges, it can contribute to improved student performance at univen. this is supported by the pass rates of firstyear students in cals. the pass rate increased from 80% in 2012, prior to the introduction of the mentoring programme, to 92% in 2013, after the introduction of the programme. the mentors, mentees and even the lecturer involved attributed this to the significant role that mentoring played in changing the pass rate of the under-prepared first-year students at univen. 178 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 recommendations lecturer recommendations the selection process of appointing mentors has to be tightened so that only the committed and most dedicated mentors are drawn into the programme. there is a need for the academic development unit to develop a feedback form for mentors and the mentees to complete at the end of each term. this will help the lecturer and the unit to improve this service. furthermore, there is need for office space for student support and development work. analysis of edp data in the edp’s role, a lot goes on at the level of the real (archer, 1995) to constantly improve the programme. the mentoring programme at univen was developed according to supplemental instruction principles. supplemental instruction is an attitude to learning in which learners are self-driven by curiosity and their willingness to exchange thoughts and ideas with other students (malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2011). therefore, the univen mentoring programme encourages the mentor-mentee relationship to be driven by exchange of thoughts, ideas and self-drive. the principles of the social integration theory in tinto (1975) also guided the shaping of this programme. for senior students to become mentors, they have to undergo training which includes the topics of basic understanding of mentoring in an academic context, and teaching strategies. these two topics are dealt with in a one-day session. there is a follow-up session on life skills provided by the student counselling unit from chetl. after students have undergone these two training sessions, they then qualify to receive a certificate. nonetheless, there are challenges that edps continue to face. the matter of monitoring and evaluating mentoring sessions is still difficult to do. however, lecturers are encouraged to take responsibility for this since they are the owners of the modules. two interns have since been employed to take responsibility of monitoring and evaluation of the programme, and they make sporadic visits to the sessions. each mentor is required to submit a personal mentoring timetable to the monitors. ethical issues students participated in this survey willingly. they were all asked to sign a written consent form. there was no form of punitive measure taken against those students who chose not to participate in the study or those who changed their mind after signing the consent form. conclusion this study examined the impact of the mentoring programme in the department of cals at univen with the following research question: ‘what impact has the mentoring programme made on the academic performance of students in the department of communication and applied language studies?’ it emerged from the study that mentoring http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 179 is a required and highly appreciated programme by mentees at univen. it is contributing positively towards imparting academic and cultural capital to students involved in this programme. however, the current structure of a non-compulsory mentoring programme is not proving completely successful as students fail to attend until they realise its value in their learning. there is an urgent need to convert the newly created temporary staff positions for monitoring and evaluation into permanent ones. given the positive reaction by both students and lecturers, and the results of this study regarding the effectiveness of the programme, permanent positions for monitors and evaluators of the programme should be created. lastly, this study, although limited in analysing one causal factor, does suggest that a mentoring programme can impact student performance. however, a broader study should be conducted to compare the impact of this factor in conjunction with others to confirm whether pass rate improvement can be attributed to mentoring only or a combination of factors. references archer, m.s. 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(2015). exploring the (high) impact of peer leadership experiences: findings from the 2014 south african survey of peer leaders. paper presented during the south african national first year experience and students in transition conference at the university of johannesburg, south africa, 21 may. how to cite: masehela, l.m. & mabika, m. (2017). an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme on student performance. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 163–182. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v5i2.2707 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 http://10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 http://10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 183–185 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 183 www.jsaa.ac.za book review meyer, h.-d., st. john, e.p., chankseliani, m. & uribe, l. (eds.). (2013). fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice. rotterdam: sense publishers. reviewed by elisa brewis* * elisa brewis is at the ucl institute of education, london, u.k. email: linda.brewis.14@ucl.ac.uk fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice is an edited volume that aims to address the central question of how and why we can promote policies for fair access to higher education (he). it takes a fairly common view of equity, exploring fair access in terms of racial, socio-economic and rural/urban background. the chapters on china and georgia also consider fairness in the context of political favouritism and nepotism. the book’s primary focus is on access to he, in other words, academic preparation, selection of students and affordability of he. to a lesser extent, the book also explores the question of how to sustain participation in and completion of he among disadvantaged groups. from the outset, the editors make it very clear that the purpose of the book is to counter a neoliberal narrative. they wish to open up a space among he researchers and practitioners to learn about and consider alternative models for he. the book aims to do this by giving us a systems-level perspective on he policy, comparing post-wwii systems with current ones, and comparing systems across continents and political contexts. it does not, for instance, examine fair access policies via institutional behaviour or particular intervention programmes. the resultant ‘bird’s-eye view’ of he systems provides us a comprehensive and empirically rich entry point to a discussion on fair access to he, with an attempt to include some non-oecd (organisation for economic co-operation and development) experiences as well. although the book is pitched as a critique of the neoliberal model of he, it nonetheless adopts a consistently pragmatic tone. this is evident in the way the discussion on fairness (justice) is framed alongside the policymaking concerns of improving quality vis à vis global competition (excellence) and funding constraints (efficiency). before launching into the country case studies, the book first addresses theoretical understandings of justice in he. in line with the approach described above, this discussion is anchored in concrete notions of justice. for example, heinz-dieter meyer’s chapter argues for an institutional-comparative approach (sen, 2009) to reasoning about fair access to he, as it “focuses our attention on the manifest and remediable injustices in a particular setting …” (p. 16). the context of race, class and he participation in the u.s.a. provide a http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:linda.brewis.14%40ucl.ac.uk?subject= 184 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 183–185 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 backdrop for the next two chapters. lesley jacobs presents a case for the use of affirmative action policies, based on the ideological argument that diversity in he is a positive, societal “plus”. edward st. john, in turn, highlights a historical precedent for fair access policies even in the libertarian political climate of the u.s.a. he uses ample statistical data to demonstrate that equitable access to and full completion of he were only achieved with serious political commitment and state funding, most notably via the gi bill of 1944 and the pell grants introduced in 1972. having established that fair access policies are both justifiable and historically precedented, even within neoliberal traditions, the second part of the book moves on to illustrate the successes and failures of national equity policies through a survey of nine country case studies – finland, china, colombia, korea, germany, georgia, south africa, brazil and australia. the central theme that emerges is the tension between concentrating limited state resources into pockets of excellence (for instance, the chinese or korean solutions), or spreading the resources thin for the sake of regional equality (for instance the finnish or german models). another recurring theme is the need for political commitment as an important precursor to adequate state funding. the case of finland illustrates this very clearly. as marja jalava points out, an equitable distribution of access to he across the heavily polarised urban/rural nation was only possible thanks to significant political support. the agrarian league political alliance was able to lobby the interests of the non-elite metropole, while the strong leftist movement advocated against a vocationalisation or proletarianisation of he. the result was the establishment of new research-based universities across several provinces. it is laudable that the book also includes a third section dedicated to the student voice in countering neoliberal he policies – even if the conclusions drawn are rather gloomy. oscar espinoza and luis eduardo gonzales recount the mass social support for student protests in chile. this support stemmed from the high burden placed on families to cover he costs (79.2% of total expenditure on he in comparison to 14.4% from the state, p. 243). even with such a broad support base, it was still very difficult for the student movement to challenge the neoliberal status quo. in the american he context, anna schwenck reveals how a discourse on “excellence” has drowned out demands for a just and equitable society. it appears that even in california, the home of the clerk kerr he “masterplan” to promote social mobility, funding cuts have altered policy discourse and forced a wedge between students and he management. the final section of the book (part 4) ends on some concrete policy recommendations. in the first chapter, the editors conclude that we urgently need evidence to counter the neoliberal model. they argue that current funding mechanisms rely more on “ideological arguments” than on an “evidence-based discourse about fairness” (p. 284). this book can be seen as one such concerted effort to make an evidence-based case for fairness. in the final chapter, edward st. john and heinz-dieter meyer propose a 10-point list of what a fair access policy might involve. they concede that, if market models and loans are to be used, we need to at least temper their most serious ramifications for disadvantaged groups, such as using loans only as a last resort and making repayment terms lenient. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 elisa brewis: fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective ... 185 reflecting on the ‘call to arms’ in this book to collect more data on equity issues, it is promising that there are on-going attempts to do just that. for example, the global equity index project is attempting to chart a global map on inequality in access to he (atherton, dumangane & whitty, 2016). an example of a country-level initiative is the siyaphumelela project in south africa, which strives to use data analytics to improve student outcomes. the conclusion of the book is perhaps somewhat disheartening, however, as it focuses on ‘what can be done within a neoliberal funding model’ rather than returning to the initial discussion on ideological arguments in favour of fair access policies. for example, it would be helpful to explore the way in which the social justice dimension of he is often explicitly linked to national development plans in low-middle income contexts, and its potential to fuel fair access policies. nevertheless, fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective is a timely book that makes an important contribution to the field of he studies by offering an empirically rich exploration of fair access policies. references atherton, g., dumangane, c. & whitty, g. (2016). charting equity in higher education: drawing the global access map. london, u.k.: pearson. sen, a. (2009). the idea of justice. massachusetts, u.s.a.: harvard university press. how to cite: brewis, e., (2017). review on h.-d. meyer, e.p. st. john, m. chankseliani & l. uribe (eds.). fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice. rotterdam: sense publishers. (2013). journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 183–185. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 187 author biographies dr moeain arend is a lecturer in the centre for higher education development at the university of cape town, south africa. he teaches on a first-year academic literacy course designed for humanities students and has also taught on similar courses in other faculties. his research interest centres on literacy in situated contexts with a specific focus on the effects literacy and texts have on social relations as they travel across various social contexts. dr annah bengesai is the head of teaching and learning in the college of law and management studies of the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), south africa. she has also worked as an academic development coordinator supporting students at risk of academic failure in the ukzn school of engineering. dr bengesai holds qualifications in english language, education and population studies, including a master’s degree in population studies (demography) and phd from ukzn. her research interests are in institutional research and data analytics, educational development, student retention and throughput, as well as population level determinants of educational outcomes. dr bengesai has published several articles in both local and international peer-reviewed journals, including the african journal of research in mathematics, science and technology education, journal of biosocial science and south african journal of higher education. elisa brewis is a phd researcher in education policy at the ucl institute of education, where she is conducting her doctoral thesis on the impact of accountability reforms on equity and teaching and learning quality in the indonesian higher education system. she completed a ba in history and indonesian (2008) and an ma in south east asian studies (2009) at soas university of london. since 2010, ms brewis has worked as a language instructor and academic skills tutor in the uk and indonesia, as well as running staff development workshops. she has conducted research on inclusive development, social justice and pedagogical accountability in southeast asia and sub-saharan africa. danie de klerk is a lecturer and coordinator for the road to success programme in the faculty of commerce, law, and management at the university of the witwatersrand. his research interests span student success and support, student advising and advising practices, teaching and learning in higher education, academic literacy, and the use of data analytics to understand these areas. he holds a master’s degree in english literature and is currently completing a two-year professional postgraduate diploma in higher education studies. danie has been working in the higher education sector for more than 10 years, has assumed instructional and administrative roles at multiple south african universities, and has extensive experience of student support and advising in the current tertiary climate. theuns du buisson is an academic facilitator at the philosophy department of the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. this entails academic support to students in their first year of study, by means of tutorials and individual progress monitoring. 188 he holds a bachelor of arts honours degree in philosophy from the university of the free state, which was awarded cum laude. he is currently completing a master’s degree in philosophy at the same university. his research interests include the philosophy of economics, as well as student development and support. mianda erasmus is currently a lecturer in the psychology programme at the mafikeng campus of the north west university, south africa. mianda has completed several degrees in music (a bachelors and honours), french (honours) and psychology (honours and master’s) at the university of the free state before spending two years in france. upon returning to south africa, she also completed a master’s degree in teaching french as a foreign language through the university of cape town. she started lecturing psychology full time at the mafikeng campus of the north west university in 2012 and has also been the coordinator for the undergraduate psychology programme at the mafikeng campus since 2013. she has a passion for teaching and learning (she received several teaching excellence awards) and most of her current research is in the field of scholarship of teaching and learning, linked to her special interest in social psychology, community psychology, developing graduate attributes, teaching large classes, supplemental instruction, the use of technology, excellent teaching on tertiary level and communities of practice for lecturers. brendon d. faroa is an associate lecturer in the department of psychology at the university of the western cape (uwc), cape town, south africa. mr faroa’s research focuses on developmental and health psychology related issues. he is interested in the developmental trajectories of antisocial offending behaviours. he also serves as the psychology tutorial coordinator and is part of the student success project in the faculty of community and health sciences of uwc, where he takes part in research contributing to the scholarship of teaching and learning. his previous experience includes working as a facilitator in the uwc centre of student support services (csss) where he served as an intern programme coordinator for the university’s peer mentoring programme. mr faroa teaches undergraduate developmental health modules as well as introductory psychology modules. dr nelia frade is the senior coordinator of the unit for tutor development at the university of johannesburg, south africa. her main focus is working with tutors and staff to promote integrated tutoring programmes. dr frade’s research interests include: the role of tutors in promoting student success, integrating tutorials into the curriculum, blended learning environments, student development theories, student engagement and involvement theories. dr frade is currently the co-convenor for the heltasa special interest group on mentoring and tutoring. she is also the south african representative for the international survey of peer leadership (ispl). this international study on the experiences of “peer leaders” is in collaboration with the american national resource centre for the first year experience and students in transition and the south african national resource centre (sanrc). 189 dr aditi hunma is a lecturer in the language development group (ched) at the university of cape town, south africa. she has a specialisation in education, in the applied language and literacy studies stream. she teaches academic literacy at the undergraduate level, and facilitates research writing workshops at the postgraduate level.  in line with her phd which explored performative spaces to teach english as an additional language and nurture students’ authorial identity, she is presently exploring language pedagogies that could be promoted on online or in blended environments. dr catherine hutchings is based in ched at the university of cape town, south africa. she teaches on the first year academic literacy course for humanities students and for students in the performing arts. she has taught on a similar course in commerce and has run various interventions in health sciences. she also facilitates postgraduate workshops and research writing interventions across the university. her current research interests are in the areas of student development and identity and transformation, as well as the development of pedagogies making use of online and blended methods. andrew jones was a co-grant holder for the road to success programme in the faculty of commerce, law and management of the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa until june 2017. his interest in education has seen him expand into primary and tertiary education, with a particular focus on remediation and holistic academic support for students from grades r through matric. corresponding, andrew owns and runs the kip mcgrath centre in edenvale, johannesburg, south africa. his research interests span teaching and learning in higher education, undergraduate student success and assessment, and curriculum design within professional qualifications. he holds a master’s degree in commerce and is currently completing a two-year professional postgraduate diploma in higher education studies. andrew worked in the higher education sector for more than 20 years, and has extensive experience in the area of holistic student success and support in the current tertiary climate. his expertise includes academic advising and student guidance, lecturing and coordinating courses in accountancy and taxation, curriculum planning and course design, course coordination, as well as academic administration. prof. thierry m. luescher is a research director in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and an affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. before that, he was assistant director for institutional research at the university of the free state, a senior lecturer in higher education studies and extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. he researches, teaches and consults on matters of international and comparative higher education, with particular interest in the nexus of higher education with politics in africa, higher education policy and governance, student politics, the student experience, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he has published 190 in local and international scholarly journals, including studies in higher education, european journal of higher education, journal of higher education in africa, south african journal of higher education, tertiary education and management, politikon: south african journal of political studies and perspectives in education, along with several chapters in internationally edited books. he is an editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the book student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and j.o. jowi, 2016, which is available open access). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www. thierryluescher.net. dr memory mabika is a senior lecturer in the department of communication and applied language studies at the university of venda, south africa. she obtained her phd of social science in communication from the university of fort hare, south africa in 2014. in addition, dr mabika acquired a postgraduate diploma in higher education teaching and learning from stellenbosch university, south africa, in december 2015. her exposure to higher education extended her research interest to include communication, media/journalism and student development. qonda makala is currently working as a teaching development specialist in the centre for learning and teaching development of walter sisulu university, butterworth, south africa. previously he worked as a coordinator/supervisor for supplemental instruction and in 2009 became a coordinator for the peer assisted learning programme in the same centre. mr makala’s career in higher education began in 2007 at the walter sisulu university where he was appointed as a laboratory assistant, life skill lecturer, public resource management part-time lecturer and a peer assisted learning coordinator. he obtained a national diploma in public management and a btech in public management at the eastern cape technikon (now known as the walter sisulu university) between 1997 and 2004. he obtained a master’s degree in higher education studies from the university of free state, south africa, in 2015. the course included modules such as student learning and development, programme planning and development, design of study material, higher education systems, transformation and policy analysis, learning facilitation and assessment/ evaluation, and management/leadership and governance, and it concluded with his minidissertation entitled “peer-assisted learning as an academic support for at-risk mechanical engineering students”. tshepiso maleswena is an associate lecturer and coordinator in the faculty of commerce, law, and management of the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. her work is based on the various aspects of the faculty’s teaching and learning and her responsibilities include facilitating student success and support, student mentorship and research of various learning and teaching methods. prior to wits university, tshepiso worked extensively in the corporate sector in the field of marketing and communications 191 where she held various marketing roles in insurance, risk, as well as in the information technology space. tshepiso holds an undergraduate degree in communications, a master’s degree in political science and is currently in her first year of a two-year postgraduate diploma in higher education. her research interests extend to students’ social experiences at tertiary institutions, decolonisation of the university curriculum and nuanced approaches to course design and assessment practices. outside of her work at wits, tshepiso is also a gender and social justice activist and frequently works with organisations such as sonke gender justice and soul city to raise awareness around gender-based violence. dr langutani mary masehela is a senior educational development practitioner in the centre for higher education teaching and learning at the university of venda, south africa. she is the institutional coordinator of the mentoring and tutoring programme. langutani holds a phd degree in higher education studies from rhodes university. her ma in applied linguistics from the university of johannesburg paved the way to her new career path of academic development. other than mentoring and tutoring, her research interests are on issues around the assurance of quality in teaching and learning in higher education, access and success. before becoming an academic developer, langutani taught linguistics and media studies at the university of venda for a period of 10 years and english language at the university of south africa for a period of over five years. she is currently an executive member of the higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa) and a heltasa representative in the annual national che-heltasa teaching awards. dr henry d. mason is a social science researcher at the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. he is registered as a research psychologist with the health professions council of south africa, holds a y-rating from the national research foundation and is a former president of the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe). currently, henry serves in the capacity of research training and development officer on the saacdhe executive management committee and acts as editor for the journal of counselling and development in higher education southern africa. henry’s research interests include positive psychology, with a specific emphasis on purpose, meaning and eudaimonic well-being among student populations, self-regulation applied to the learning process, secondary traumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and research methodology and ethics prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the 192 centre for higher education transformation (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco-institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995–1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor-in-chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. dr gideon nomdo is an academic development lecturer in the centre for higher education development at the university of cape town, south africa. he views his teaching and facilitating roles from the perspective of promoting student access and ‘educating for positive and transformative change’. he convenes a first year academic literacy course and is the uct academic coordinator for the mellon-mays undergraduate fellowship programme (mmuf), which offers academic mentoring support to students who wish to pursue phds and take up positions in the academy. his current research interests are in the areas of student development, identity transformation and equity. dr vino paideya is a lecturer and first year coordinator in the school of chemistry & physics at the university of kwazulu natal (ukzn), south africa. she has a bachelor’s degree in science (bsc) with chemistry majors and a phd in chemistry education. dr paideya has received certification as a supplemental instruction (si) supervisor from the university of missouri kansas city. her research interests are first year student experiences, chemistry education, student academic support programmes (si) and she has also worked with ukzn teaching and learning office on several institutional research projects. she has published journal articles and conference proceedings in her field of interest. dr paideya has also presented research papers both nationally and internationally at conferences and seminars. dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, south africa. prior to that she was the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences and given lectures at the uc berkley, the university of leuven (netherlands), and the university of oslo (norway). she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has also been involved in various quality assurance panels reviewing student affairs at south african universities and has taken part in the national review of the south african student engagement tool (sasse). she has been a member of the national executive of various national professional organisations 193 including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and currently serves on the executive of the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). she is also the africa regional coordinator of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). she is a founding member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. linda spark is a senior tutor and programme grant holder in the faculty of commerce, law, and management of the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. she has been lecturing in information systems for more than 20 years, and prior to that worked in the it industry. she has extensive experience with student advising and support, lecturing and course coordination, curriculum and course development, various academic, administrative and citizenship roles, including the portfolio of assistant dean in teaching and learning for the faculty. her research interests include the use of technology in education, technology and ethics, and student support and success. gugu wendy tiroyabone is the chief officer for academic advising in the centre for teaching and learning of the university of the free state (ufs), south africa. she is certified by the internationally-based board for student advising, the national academic advising association (nacada). wendy is responsible for providing leadership and management in the research, implementation and evaluation of academic advising across the ufs. her other responsibilities include the management of strategic relationships with stakeholders involved in the advising network across the institution. she is passionate about empowering and supporting students in becoming self-directed, motivated, and responsible decision-makers. wendy has completed a bsc in genetics, and an honours degree in behavioural genetics. she is currently completing a master’s degree in higher education studies. her main focus is on academic advising as a practice aimed at facilitating student success in higher education. she remains primarily committed to the fields of student development, student engagement, student orientation, student support and, ultimately, student success to ensure a new generation of graduates are engineered through efforts such as academic advising. in expanding her latitude of professionalism in higher education, wendy has worked as researcher for the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), research assistant in student development and success, and as learning facilitator for the ufs pioneering first-year curriculum, ufs101. 194 call for submission of papers for the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa), vol. 6 (2018): “space, language and identity politics in 21st century higher education” guest editor: philippa tumubweinee as a way of introducing the theme to be tackled in a 2018 guest-edited issue of the journal of student affairs in africa, it is worthwhile to pose a question, albeit a rhetorical one: why would a journal dedicated to theoretical, practice-relevant, and reflective contributions from across the scholarly and professional field of student affairs entertain a special edition on space, language and identity politics in higher education? the short answer would be: everything. the long answer to this question, however, is to be found in an exposition by benedict anderson in imagined communities (2006). in anderson’s view, style has the potential of producing further assumptions about space and time. ‘style’ in this case would refer to jsaa which, in the student affairs terrain and discourses in africa, has provided the intellectual and technical means for representing the kind of imagined community that is the student affairs fraternity on the continent – a fraternity which comes with its largesse and baggage in the form of the scope of jsaa. it is instructive that the ‘representation’ under reference occurs primarily through the medium of a code i.e. language. in the imagined community created by jsaa – which existentially approximates the student affairs terrain in africa and even beyond – the multitude of actors are nonetheless bounded by space and time. they are connected by the same encircled, fixed landscape within which they all simultaneously exist. in following this logic through, the commonalities of code and simultaneities of space and time exemplified by jsaa are at the heart of the ways in which actors in the student affairs fraternity on the continent, and possibly beyond, consider themselves part of a community, and therefore strive to build an identity informed by the fraternity’s imaginary. by design therefore, this guest-edited issue will address itself to the politics of space, language and identity in higher education, in africa and globally. the contributions in the guest-edited issue will singularly and collectively grapple with the nuances attendant to the intersections amongst space, language and identity in higher education. key topics to be pursued in this issue include: • higher education spaces and the politics of space in higher education • space and identity, symbols and signs in the post-colonial university • politics of identity: student protests, language, institutional culture 195 • institutional policies and their impact on (the politics of) practice (e.g. language policies) • social cohesion, diversity and citizenship • intersections of language, curriculum, educational access and transformation • curriculum, decolonisation, and epistemic injustices | freedoms • student experience, student identity, and student politics of diverse student groups (e.g. lgbtiq+ students). jsaa is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and reflective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in africa. jsaa is published twice a year by the jsaa editorial executive in collaboration with stellenbosch university and african sun media. the journal is indexed in international indices and available full-text open access from eric, doaj, ajol as well as on its own website hosted with stellenbosch university. since 2017, jsaa has been accredited by the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) as a subsidy-earning journal on the sa list of scholarly journals. authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. submission process and important dates manuscripts due: 15 january 2018 (or by arrangement with the guest editor) envisaged publication date: june 2018 please submit abstracts to the guest editor for guidance or contact her for further information: ‒ ms philippa tumubweinee, m.prof arch, pretoria email: philippa@inafricadesign.co.za please submit final manuscripts by email to ms philippa tumubweinee. email: philippa@inafricadesign.co.za with cc to email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com jsaa: submission preparation checklist – please see online at http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:philippa@inafricadesign.co.za mailto:philippa@inafricadesign.co.za mailto:jsaa_editor@outlook.com http://www.jsaa.ac.za 196 publications by african sun media education first! – from martin luther to sustainable development by wolfgang lutz & reiner klingholz (2017) “this scholarly yet highly accessible volume by two renowned experts shows why education is under threat, and what should be done to counter this. the authors mobilise a fascinating array of compelling historical and current evidence which demonstrates the centrality of education to the creation of flourishing societies and show the dire consequences of its neglect. anyone interested in education and development should read this book.” – professor ian goldin, university of oxford isbn 978-1-928357-35-3 r300 202 pages isbn 978-1-928357-36-0 r240 (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781928357360 writing centres in higher education – working in and across the disciplines by sherran clarence & laura dison (2017) writing centres in south africa, and globally, are now well established academic support centres within many universities. historically tasked with supporting students as they grapple with the demands of academic writing, many centres are now moving beyond their own walls to work with academic tutors, lecturers and departments to rethink the ways in which knowledge is transformed into different kinds of disciplinary writing. this move raises pertinent questions for writing centre directors, tutors/consultants, and for the universities that house them, e.g. how does a centre, tasked with supporting more general academic literacy development, initiate students into a range of particularised discourse communities? isbn 978-1-928357-54-4 r350 222 pages isbn 978-1-928357-55-1 r300 (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781928357551 african sun media is an integrated content manager and specialist supplier of publishing and printing services for the higher education market and the private sector. we publish under the imprints sun press, sun media, rapid access publishers (rap) and conference-rap. most of our publications are available in electronic and print format at: www.sun-e-shop.co.za africansunmedia.snapplify.com (e-books) www.africansunmedia.co.za http://www.africansunmedia.co.za/sun-e-shop/product-details/tabid/78/productid/485/default.aspx https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com/product/9781928357223 https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com/product/9781928357360 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928357360 http://www.africansunmedia.co.za/sun-e-shop/product-details/tabid/78/productid/500/default.aspx https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com/product/9781928357551 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928357551 http://www.sun-e-shop.co.za https://africansunmedia.snapplify.com http://www.africansunmedia.co.za 197 publications by african minds going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans by jennifer m. case, delia marshall, sioux mckenna & disaapele mogashanaz (2017) what influences students’ experiences of success and failure? this book follows 73 students that started going to university in south africa six years ago and then enrolled in three-year bachelor’s degrees, either in the arts or sciences. chapter by chapter, the book introduces more student voices and their narratives around which the book is structured and which provide the rich material for the closer examination of students’ experiences of going to university. the students about which the book is come from a range of socio-economic backgrounds; many of them are what can be termed first generation students in that their parents did not participate in bachelor’s level university study. for many of them, access to university brings huge expectations to live different lives to that of their parents: expectations of social mobility. some of them succeed in getting their degrees, some of them don’t succeed at first but then get there, some are still grappling. some of them move with ease into the jobs they had anticipated; many of them struggle to find the kind of work that fits their ideas of what they should be doing. follow the narratives of cheryl, nala, paul, tebogo and temba, and 68 more in this book which represents the third issue in african minds’ flagship book series african higher education dynamics. all publications by african minds can be downloaded as e-books (pdfs) free of charge from the african minds website. print copies can be ordered from: www.africanminds.org.za (publisher’s website) www.africanbookscollective.com or www.amazon.com (for international orders) http://www.africanminds.org.za http://www.africanbookscollective.com http://www.amazon.com 198 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at http://www.jsaa.ac.za. submissions must be made by email to the journal manager at jsaa_editor@outlook.com. submissions in response to special calls for papers must also be made directly to the guest editors concerned (see call for papers). the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. researchbased articles must be original and research-based and must make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. the length must be approximately 5 000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as for research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution, and must significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. typical length should be 2 500–5 000 words. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • book reviews should be between 800 and 1 000 words in length. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • comments and critique, of no more than 2 500 words, are also welcome. • proposal for the journal’s dialogue/interview section and calls and notices should be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences, vacancies, etc.) may incur a nominal fee. authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the ethical requirements of social research have been considered and fully complied with. 2. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 3. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 4. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 5. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 6. the journal uses the apa author–date referencing system. 7. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind peer review must have been followed. 8. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. 9. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jsaa_editor@outlook.com http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/help/view/editorial/topic/000044 199 10. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); reflective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 11. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial excecutive. section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer-reviewed); high-quality reflective practitioner accounts (peer-reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed campus dialogue/interview section ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed book reviews ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed the editorial and peer-review policy adheres to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals (assaf council, 2008). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant reflective practitioner accounts are blind-reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, who would typically be members of the international editorial advisory board of the jsaa. peer reviewers have proven scholarly and/ or professional expertise in the subject matter of a manuscript. reviewer reports are assessed by a member of the editorial executive and form the basis of any decision by the editorial executive on how to proceed with a manuscript. the suitability of a manuscript is evaluated in terms of originality, significance, scholarship and adherence to the requirements of ethical social research, scope and interest, and accessibility. publishing and dissemination policies cost of publishing there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. licensing notice authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a creative commons attribution license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal. authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in online research repositories or on their website), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. open access policy this journal provides open access to its e-journal content. free copies can be downloaded from the journal website at http://www.jsaa.ac.za, and from co-hosting sites e.g. http://ajol.info. authors are encouraged to place copies of their final articles in their institution’s research repository. http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://ajol.info 200 print copies/subscription • online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at http://www.jsaa.ac.za. • printed copies of past issues of the journal (vol. 1 to vol. 4(1)) can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective.com/; amazon books http://www.amazon.com or directly from african minds http://www.africanminds.co.za. • printed copies from vol. 4(2) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://www.africanbookscollective.com/ http://www.amazon.com http://www.africanminds.co.za mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= _goback 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3098 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial articulation and continuities: first-year experience in higher education birgit schreiber,* thierry m. luescher** & teboho moja*** * dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, south africa. she is the book review editor and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za ** prof. thierry luescher is research director in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council, cape town, and affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. he is the jsaa journal manager. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com *** prof. teboho moja is professor and program director, higher education program, new york university, u.s.a., visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, and extraordinary professor in the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. discussions around first-year experiences have been focused on student adjustment and inclusion into the culture and discourses of higher education. however, the issue is much broader and includes efforts of articulation of processes and continuity of experience. this guest-edited issue thus focuses on the wider issues and includes discussions on systemic articulation and ruptures in student experiences. developmental shifts when entering higher education are experienced by students in a variety of ways. it is incumbent on higher education and the wider system to enable continuity of experience and articulation of systems in such a way that student success is at the centre. thus, the core articles in this issue focus on systemic articulation, in and out of classroom experience and the operational and ontological engagement of students, beyond the first-year experience. moreover, while discussions on university success are usually focused on higher education agency, it is essential that the silence around causality and influence of schooling and wider societal issues are recognised. the articles in this issue purposefully bring together such a wider perspective. a broader perspective on the student experience of higher education is also the subject of the book reviews published alongside the guest-edited research and reflective practitioner articles. liezel frick reviews the book going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans authored by jenni case, delia marshall, sioux mckenna and disaapele mogashana (cape town: african minds, 2017). the book follows 73  young people who first entered university in south africa some six years ago, and documents their battles and challenges as they move more or less successfully into, through and out of university studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3098 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3098 rejoice nsibande carefully reviews a timely intervention into the question what meaning and practices of academic freedom apply to students today: bruce macfarlane’s book freedom to learn: the threat to student academic freedom and why it needs to be reclaimed (london: routledge taylor and francis, 2017). nsibande highlights how the book develops and sustains its argument that university policies are impacting negatively on students’ lives; national policies demonstrate a lack of trust and respect for students as adults and the adoption of managerialism and performative culture has led to universities putting administrative processes and reporting to national bodies at the centre, at the cost of student success. key to understanding macfarlane’s argument is that students – as adults – should collaborate over choices and decisions on what to learn, how to learn, when to learn, and how to live their lives. our third book review by taryn bernard discusses the first volume in the new bloomsbury series “understanding student experiences in higher education”. the book negotiating learning and identity in higher education: access, persistence and retention is edited by bongi bangeni and rochelle kapp (london: bloomsbury, 2017). similar to going to university, it is part of a longitudinal research with students; in this case, they are all young black students who are mostly first generation, working class and from singleparent families. bernard particularly commends the authors for having been able to resist ‘deficit constructions’ of the students and rather to focus on the agency of the participants, and conducting research which highlights the agentic and enabled subject positions of the participants. bernard argues that the book makes an important contribution to the global conversation around widening access and participation by offering an in-depth understanding of student experiences of black students at a historically white research university. as customary, we publish in the first issue of the year the names of the reviewers of the previous volume and hereby wish to thank them for their time and expertise in evaluating and helping to select and improve the submissions we receive. we also welcome two new editors to the editorial executive, prof. sioux mckenna from rhodes university in south africa and dr bekele workie ayele from kotebe metropolitan university in ethiopia, and dr angelina wilson fadiji as new editorial assistant. we are also grateful to dr annsilla nyar for her work on compiling and editing the articles, and ms maretha joyce for managing the publishing process of this jsaa guest-edited issue. since accreditation, we have experienced a significant increase in author submissions; the editorial executive of jsaa is immensely grateful for the committed work of the editors and reviewers and other collaborators who voluntarily and without any remuneration contribute to the journal and its aims. finally, we would like to express our sadness about the untimely passing of prof. brenda leibowitz in april 2018. leibowitz held the sarchi chair in post-secondary education: teaching and learning at the university of johannesburg; she was an internationally recognised expert in the scholarship of teaching and learning in the south and recently worked on key projects related to jsaa’s publishing scope, such as the esrc-nrf project on the influence of rurality on students’ transition to higher education. leibowitz was part http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3098 birgit schreiber, thierry m. luescher & teboho moja: articulation and continuities: first-year experience ... vii of the broader jsaa community as a reviewer; in addition, her work has featured several times in the journal. in vol. 2(1), denise wood reviewed the book discerning critical hope in educational practices edited by vivienne bozalek, brenda leibowitz, ronelle carolissen and megan boler (london and new york: routledge, 2013), and joy papier reviewed brenda leibowitz’ book higher education for the public good: views from the south (oakhill, usa: trentham books; and stellenbosch: african sun media, 2012). most recently, we published the interview by gugu wendy khanye with brenda leibowitz and john gardner on teaching and learning and the first-year experience (in vol. 4 issue 1). hamba kahle, prof. leibowitz. how to cite: schreiber, b., luescher, t.m. & moja, t. (2018). articulation and continuities: first-year experience in higher education. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), v–vii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3098 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3098 _goback 110 the jsaa editorial executive wishes to thank the peer reviewers of volume 2 of the journal of student affairs in africa for their time and expertise in helping to select and improve the submissions received for this journal. kate baier llewellyn macmaster umesh bawa martin mandew laurie behringer kobus maree cecil bodibe lisa bardill moscaritolo amy conger cora motale john dalton taabo mugume tom ellett gerald ouma monroe france jesús enrique ramos reséndizh colleen howell don hugh smith manja klemenčič joshua smith patrick love malvinia turner christina lunceford nan yeld henry mason thank you to our reviewers journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 117–119 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3074 117 www.jsaa.ac.za book review bangeni, b. & kapp, r. (eds.). (2017). negotiating learning and identity in higher education: access, persistence and retention. london: bloomsbury. reviewed by taryn bernard* * dr taryn bernard is lecturer and course-coordinator, extended degree programme, faculty of arts and social sciences, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: tbernard@sun.ac.za negotiating learning and identity in higher education: access, persistence and retention is the first in a bloomsbury series, entitled “understanding student experiences in higher education”. it consists of nine chapters, all of which report on research that was conducted using qualitative, longitudinal data at the university of cape town (uct) – an elite, english-medium, and historically white south african university. the participants in the research are all part of a generation of young black people who have grown up in the new south africa and are mostly first generation, working class and from single-parent families. in addition to this, they are all bilingual or multilingual and english is generally used as a second or third language. by collecting and analysing data over a period of eight years the book offers a rich understanding of the identities and experiences of this important group of university students. the approach adopted by the editors and authors when representing participants in the study is also of significance: in the introduction, kapp and bangeni (2017, p.  2) draw the reader’s attention to the fact that many public textual representations in south africa construct black working-class youth as failures or victims, as disadvantaged and as marginalised. in this book, the researchers can be commended for the necessary step of moving away from such deficit constructions to rather focus on the agency of the participants, and conducting research that highlights the agentic and enabled subject positions of the participants. this is done by avoiding a static notion of identity from the outset, and by adopting a poststructuralist approach to identity that acknowledges that identity changes over time and in accordance with the context in which the individual is situated. overall there were twenty participants included in this study from the period 2002 to 2005, and another hundred participants from the period 2009 to 2012. the participants were registered in a range of faculties and for a range of degrees. the researchers draw on a number of data-collection methods and texts such as questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, written reflections and assignments that had been selected by the students themselves. in this way, the voices of the participants have been traced throughout their journey through the higher education system. this longitudinal perspective offers insight http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3074 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:tbernard%40sun.ac.za?subject= 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2017, 117–119 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3074 into how and why students persist and engage with their studies and uct as an institution, or why they deregister or disengage. more specifically, the book sets out to answer three extremely pertinent questions in higher education contexts today: 1. how does a particular group of students can gain meaningful access to institutional and disciplinary discourses? 2. how can the knowledge, languages, resources and discourses that the students bring with them be recognised and valued; and 3. how can important role players address the practices and resources that marginalise particular groups of students? in addressing these questions the researchers work towards facilitating more meaningful approaches to access in an effort to transform discourses that exclude, silence and marginalise. the chapters in the book are arranged in order to focus on the experiences of one small, typical sample of participants at a time and the approach to analysis differs from chapter to chapter, depending on the aims of the author(s). throughout the nine chapters, the contributors are able to cover a variety of contexts and subject positions, including the working-class township schooling context (kapp, badenhorst, bangeni, craig, janse van rensburg, le roux, prince, pym & van pletzen, chapter  1), the engineering extended curriculum programme context (craig, chapter 7), subject positions regarding mathematics (le roux, chapter  2), the experiences of a young working-class muslim woman registered for a social science degree (sacks & kapp, chapter  3), humanities, students’ understanding of language, literacy and identity (kapp & bangeni, chapter  4), the role of religion in framing students’ experiences of higher education (bangeni & pym, chapter 5), the factors shaping the degree paths of black students (bangeni, chapter 6), and finally, the impact of previous experiences and social connectedness when transitioning to higher education (pym & sacks, chapter 8). there are a number of prominent issues that are raised in this book, and which stand out for me as being worthy of further exploration – ideally in terms of comparable research emanating from other universities in south africa. i refer specifically here to topics and symbols that reoccur across text types and during diverse processes of analyses. of particular significance is the participants’ notion of ‘the university’, of ‘home’, of english and of religion and religious practices. for example, the authors are able to reveal the extent to which uct is conceptualised as a site of privilege and excellence, wherein english is conceptualised as both a portal for access and a gatekeeping mechanism, and perceptions of learning academic english are constructed around contrasting binaries of loss/gain, whiteness/alienation and upward mobility/exclusion. these findings should have a significant impact on how academic literacy development is conceptualised and implemented at tertiary level. adding to this, the longitudinal data were able to highlight connotations around the notions of ‘home’, where home remained a significant aspect of the participants’ identity even while away from home and at university. the chapters all make a valuable contribution to understanding the paradigms and discourses with which the students http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3074 taryn bernard: negotiating learning and identity in higher education: access, persistence and retention 119 enter university, including religious paradigms, which are often challenged in disciplinary discourses (particularly those of philosophy and science). many students maintain their religious beliefs as a framework that enables them to stay positive and maintain a good working ethic in the context of challenging home and academic environments. the manner in which this issue is dealt with within the book is so convincing and authentic that it works as a cautionary tale to academics who may disregard religious beliefs as such beliefs may contribute to persistence and retention, particularly amongst a vulnerable group of students. overall, the book makes an extremely important contribution to the global conversation around widening access and participation by offering an in-depth understanding of student experiences at uct. over and above this, each aspect of the research project is able to critique the dominant, yet deficit, assumption that students will be passively assimilated into disciplinary discourses after they have been rehabilitated in adjunct, first-year practices without any changes to mainstream teaching practices and institutional culture. this then offers an important commentary on approaches to teaching and learning, and academic development which are commonplace at many south african universities. how to cite: bernard, t. (2018). review on bangeni, b. & kapp, r. (eds.). negotiating learning and identity in higher education: access, persistence and retention. london: bloomsbury. (2017). journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 117–119. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3074 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3074 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 87–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.147 www.jsaa.ac.za teaching and learning and the first-year experience: interviews with brenda leibowitz and john gardner gugu wendy khanye* interviews and dialogue * researcher, south african national resource centre for the first year experience and students in transition (sanrc). email: gwkhanye@uj.ac.za. introduction the south african national resource centre for the first year experience and students in transition (sanrc) conducted interviews with two leading scholars in the field of teaching and learning – brenda leibowitz and john n. gardner – in order to begin a conversation about the role of teaching and learning in the first-year experience (fye). both interviews were conducted in august 2015 by gugu wendy khanye, and were designed to elicit insights about the effectiveness of teaching and learning support for first-year students in the higher education system, from both a national and international perspective. brenda leibowitz is the chair in teaching and learning at the university of johannesburg (uj), having previously served as the director of teaching and learning at stellenbosch university. leibowitz’s work in the area of social justice and the scholarship of teaching and learning (e.g. leibowitz, 2010) is well read in south africa and inspires and enriches the academic field of teaching and learning and student learning and development. john gardner is currently senior fellow and distinguished professor emeritus at the university of south carolina (usc) as well as the president of the john n. gardner institute of excellence in undergraduate education. in his role as founding director and senior fellow at the national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition, gardener has engaged in a range of teaching and learning activities and initiatives including advising, facilitating, mentoring and developing new research topics. interview with brenda leibowitz khanye: in one of your seminars you presented on “the roles of values and concerns in professional academic identities”. in closing, you ended by saying “society doesn’t change that much. social differences remain, inequality persists.” in the south african higher education space, can the scholarship of teaching and learning contribute towards establishing equilibrium of the three above-mentioned aspects? elaborate. 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 87–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.147 leibowitz: there are waves of change in society – waves of wealth, times when society is more impoverished. we never reach a time when things are absolutely perfect or even excellent. in relatively egalitarian societies, there is some inequality. south africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world; we have one of the highest gini coefficients in the world, which is the gap between the richest 10% and the poorest 10%. in an article in the journal higher education quarterly, david cooper [2015] discusses “south african higher education as a stalled vs. skewed revolution”. it appears that the racial inequalities still exist but have moved to be more class-based. the fact of the matter is that there have been huge changes in higher education since 1990/1994. there is a large task to be achieved, with some room for celebration but more concern and hard work. simon marginson [2015] states that we have had the notion that education and higher education can change social inequality and therefore serves as an equaliser or provides for social mobility. the hard fact of the matter is that society changes, education/higher education is not the key lever in creating social inequality. however, education must obviously play its role as well as it can. given this, there is a huge job for educators to make higher education as accessible as possible and as effective in various ways. in terms of teaching and learning, the primary responsibility of learning rests with students and lecturers/academics to make that learning possible or to make it such that students can exercise that responsibility. furthermore, there is a huge role in the sector for student counsellors and individuals working in support divisions. it is a distributed responsibility and there is a role for managers, dvcs [deputy vice-chancellors], rectors and all staff. everyone has a role to play. the role of scholarship of teaching and learning [sotl] within this matrix depends on a few things: (1) it needs to be an effective scholarship, relatively rigorous and relatively informed by data, theory and prior reading of what others are doing, and be systematic; and (2) what is extremely important is that it is a scholarship that is underpinned by a vision of social justice, it is not just any kind of scholarship. khanye: carpenter and curran [2013] have come to agree that “academics have a core role to play in the student experience during and beyond the higher learning phase”. what do you believe is the actual role of academics and should academics be directly involved, or is this the role of the institution? leibowitz: every grouping within the institution has a role to play, e.g. the vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellors need to lead the institution, they need to make it possible for academics to flourish and to teach as well as they can. academics need to be part of crafting the vision of the institution. one can make a distinction between management and leadership within the institution because it is the leader who helps to provide a sense of the way forward, but it is the manager that makes the environment conducive. research conducted has shown that when academics work hard and are really flourishing, it is the general conditions, the interpersonal relationships between staff and also in the lecture halls, that make a difference in encouraging and discouraging academics, so they too have a huge role to play. support divisions such as academic development gugu wendy khanye: teaching and learning and the f irst-year experience 87 centres and centres for teaching and learning also have a role to play, whether it is in providing formal courses and workshops, which research has been proven to play an important role in an academic’s professional development, or whether it is in supporting academics in more informal ways. there is a synergy between what academics learn from formal workshops/ courses, plus this broader issue of the environment in which they teach and from which they learn a huge amount. ron barnett speaks about the “will to learn” (2007): that it remains the students’ responsibility to learn, but they tend to learn when the environment is more conducive, more encouraging, if there is something exciting that they get the point in learning. it is thus the responsibility of the academic to show students what the learning is that is so exciting and so important, and to a lesser extent but very important, that learning is possible. if the student feels that they cannot learn, it is beyond them, then they also will not learn. as academics, we create the opportunity for students to learn. it can thus be summarised to be called an “ecology” within the institution, everything in the process interacts. khanye: it is often said student learning occurs more outside the classroom than in the classroom. if this is so, do you believe that good teaching practice makes a difference in student learning? leibowitz: yes, there is an interesting complementary relationship between formal learning and informal learning, where informal learning occurs mainly outside the classroom, while formal learning is the result of the taught curriculum. they balance because the formal curriculum can set off like a catalyst: if you learn something exciting from the taught curriculum, the student may have an interest to follow it up on their own. in the instance of an informal environment, it can be a drag because if there is nothing there that supports what is happening in the formal environment the counter messages coming from there can limit the effect of the formal learning – then growth does not occur. a “savvy” lecturer thus takes cognisance of what is happening in the informal learning environment and taps into it and inducts students into that formal world. ensuring the student gets into the world of formal learning is dependent on the student – a minority of students are truly self-starters. khanye: teaching has been compromised by pressures upon academics to pursue research; moreover, the reward system for academics has favoured them doing research over good teaching. would you say that teaching and research are sometimes incompatible? can one be both a great teacher and a great researcher? leibowitz: there are examples of individuals who are both a great teacher as well as a great researcher. for example, carl wieman, an american physicist and nobel laureate who has advised extensively on teaching and learning matters, set up a science teaching centre. having served on the board of the council on higher education (che) and higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa) teaching and excellence awards, i have been aware that there are individuals who are excellent teachers as well as excellent researchers, thus it is possible to be both. there are no two ways about it, although this may be a minority as it requires a lot from you. 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 87–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.147 some people are excellent teachers in the traditional sense in that they teach well intuitively, and do not really spend much time in professional development or conducting research on their teaching. but it is becoming increasingly difficult to get the label “excellent teacher” without doing some research on your teaching – which is a challenge. but anybody who has pride in their work and teaches should be good at it, so logically there should not be a clash between teaching and research. there are numerous examples in the country. one professor of mathematics nominated as having made an impact on top-performing first-year students at the previous university where i worked, said that he became an excellent teacher from conducting more research in his field because it allowed him to go to conferences and network with others who have a strong understanding of the subject. that further allowed him to “see the wood from the trees”, i.e. to distil what is the essence of the subject and use that in teaching. he is an example of someone who goes to great lengths for their teaching, spending a great deal of time preparing his lectures, finetuning his notes on blackboard, and obtaining feedback from his students.with regard to the balance between being both an excellent teacher and an excellent researcher, there is a difference in the case where you have a huge teaching load and it is difficult to be a good teacher. this is a challenge faced by many institutions in the country where teaching loads are much higher, so that would mitigate against being good at both or having enough time to devote to both, so it is not about quality necessarily. there is also a neoliberal approach of throwing money and incentives, which in some instances skews the view of the profession because when you can get more funds through research and there is pressure for research, it could lead to a neglect of teaching. research from a project i have led on professional development at eight south african universities has shown that at each of the eight institutions documents and academics attest to research being pushed and incentivised, thus resulting in the skewed effect. on the other hand, some universities are also starting to incentivise teaching through their promotional systems. if you see teaching as scholarship, then you would conduct research on your practice because we must be systematic and scholarly and engage in debate about something we do, whether it is about teaching or the discipline, it does not matter. higher education needs to view an academic career as an integrated one. khanye: the focus of the work of the sanrc is the first year of study and the succeeding transition within higher education. active teaching and collaborative learning is a key goal in the teaching and learning space. given high student numbers and large classes, is it possible to create an active and engaging learning environment for large classes during the first year? leibowitz: yes definitely, in my experience, i have come across numerous academics that are excited about their teaching, and in interviews and conversations have given great examples of handling large-class teaching. a great deal of academics are in fact positive about teaching “large classes”. there are two meanings of “engagement”. there is the notion of engagement where the lecturer creates opportunities for the student to engage actively in their own learning, to be active about their learning and to succeed academically. gugu wendy khanye: teaching and learning and the f irst-year experience 89 but the second meaning of “engagement” is encouraging students to engage more actively in the community, the outside world, and with social issues. in my view both are extremely important. for academics, to have an impact and engage the students both inside and outside the classroom, it is critical to understand what is being done during the lecture, what assignments are required of students and the influence of what students do outside the lecture, depending on what they have learnt and apply in tutorials and other situations. for the first-year specifically, there are four main elements that stand out as highly important for me: firstly, the notion of cognitive or affective contact, being able to acknowledge the first-year student and establishing meaningful contact – “i see you”. secondly, the cognitive scaffolding and creation of bridges for the student into the knowledge – an assignment structured specifically to ease the student into comprehending the theory, providing building blocks required to do the assignment; showing students the rules of the discipline and allowing them to practise the learnt rules. thirdly, experiential learning. i believe learning is not only about formal and cognitive processes, it is more modern theory around embodiment and affect; you want students to feel the new concepts and ideas and grow with them, especially for students who have not had good schooling. you cannot just teach formally and according to the rules and precepts, because it becomes superficially acquired; it needs to be owned and acquired and integrated. your passion needs to be evident, as a lecturer, if you show enthusiasm, that you are excited by the knowledge and see its relevance, some of that ought to infect the students. you model being a professional, being a scholar to students, and lecturers need to be “polished”. the fourth and final theme has to do with more immeasurable attributes; we often talk about students as “them” as if they are something different from us – we need to see ourselves as learners and model to the students what we would want them to be. khanye: “the role of values and concerns in professional academic development” seminar that you gave at the university of the free state is based on the autobiographies of three academics working in the field of academic development. it explored the possibilities of critical reflection for creating agency and enabling conditions for students and staff in higher education. please can you share three key findings from this research? how can teaching and learning contribute to creating enabling conditions for the first-year experience? leibowitz: the seminar has led to a paper by leibowitz, garraway and farmer (2015): “influence of the past on professional lives: a collective commentary”. the paper was based on critical and social realism. the research suggests the importance of biography, and that your prior experiences do not necessarily determine what you become, but they do provide enabling opportunities for your next stage of development. how one interacts with one’s immediate environment makes the next stage possible. an example would be a situation which is challenging and forces you to respond creatively and critically. this might make it easier when you need to be critical or creative in future situations. similarly, for students, their biographies influence how they learn but these do not entirely determine what happens next, it just makes certain things easier or more difficult. 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 87–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.147 reflexivity is another theme. it suggests that when you do find out about yourself, your values and how you got to be where you are, you extend this reflexivity to your educational experience, thinking more carefully and understanding the enabling factors. this should enable you to strategise how to proceed more effectively, thoughtfully, or ethically. the third finding is around the importance of values, as all human activity is influenced by our values, including our teaching and learning. we need to be sensible, as rudyard kipling said: “god give me the strength to change what can be changed, to accept what cannot be changed and to know which one is which”. departing thoughts: i imagine the sanrc as a resource providing support more broadly in the field of higher education. this is an opportunity to provide resources that practitioners and researchers can draw on. interview with john gardner khanye: fye programmes and activities are often conducted independently by different stakeholders at universities. who are key stakeholders that should be collaborating across institutions to make fye programmes and activities a more collaborative effort and experience? gardner: over the past 40 years, increasingly, much of the leadership has been taken by academic leaders, and so ideally institutions need to have partnerships between academic administrators, student services administrators, and faculty, because they have more contact with new students, people that do assessments, institutional research; most importantly, partnerships with students themselves; and, moreover, with the top leadership of the institution (rector or vice-chancellor). it is also very important to have partnerships with the government agencies as they have an interest in terms of what is happening in universities to help those beginning university studies. alumni should also have a vested interest in anything that is good for students, and so they too should be involved. there are also financial investors who can invest in education, like corporate leaders, foundations – for example what the kresge foundation is doing in south africa around promoting access and success in higher education and graduating the next generation of knowledge workers, because they are interested in student success work. there are multiple stakeholders and of these some are more important than others; and no work on the first-year experience is going to proceed beyond a certain level of effectiveness without the faculty, the faculty have to be involved in this because they stay longer in institutions – and, unlike administrators, have greater opportunities for contact with students. khanye: research and theories around “student involvement” and “student engagement” have come to play an integral role in the structuring of first-year experience programmes for supporting students in the 21st century. are these theories still critical in initiating structured fye programmes; are there new theories in the field to consider? gardner: this has in recent times become a real challenge, because the dominant thinkers that provided the theoretical base for this work are all “ageing white men” – as in the work gugu wendy khanye: teaching and learning and the f irst-year experience 91 of alexander astin on student involvement theory, which was first published in 1984, and other theorists of that time like george kuh whose key focus is on student engagement and emerged around 2000 through the first administration of the national survey for student engagement [nsse], which is now used internationally. the nsse has been used to document the effectiveness of a number of what george kuh has come to call “highimpact practices”, and that i would like to think is attention-getting and very effective. there are all kinds of ongoing research and new studies, but i cannot think of anyone that has achieved the prominence of astin, or kuh, or vincent tinto with work on the student integration model (1975) – and myself, and hence the problem of the ageing white men with insufficient successors in the wings, let alone already on the stage. the real challenge is to be able to have the length of time and the research effort to see if a lot of the strategies that these scholars have advanced will be as effective with the changing college student body of the 21st century – students who are much more engaged in using technology for their learning, who are much less likely to be full-time, and are more likely to be on-campus residential students. much of the early work of the researchers was done on middle-class and upper-middle-class, traditional college students, and so we are still very much in the process of seeing how long this established work will be validated with the newer types of student now in higher education. the jury is out – although my own sense is that the core ideas of prominent scholars have a great deal of universal validity; i have seen them work and in all kinds of institutional settings. some of the things espoused – like some of the involvement strategies put forward by astin – are very difficult to implement with students who are above the traditional age and have children and do not live on campus; but if you look at the work of tinto – the theory on academic and social integration – we know that is very influential with non-traditional learners as well. so, it remains to be seen. the area we know least about is the use of technology and distance education (online education) and how we are going to adapt these long-standing theories to that growing delivery system. khanye: extensive research has been conducted around the concept of high-impact practices (hips). hips have been found to lead to increases in important student outcomes such as engagement, academic achievement, deep learning and student persistence and retention [kinzie & evenbeck, 2008]. what challenges and opportunities are associated with implementing hips in the first year? gardner: challenges in these instances are very similar to challenges you would have starting anything. the real challenge is where the resources are coming from, and most institutions – because of the conditions of the world economy and government priorities – are not getting a lot of new money and are calling for the redistribution of existing money. this means that when you need money to start something new, you have to take it from existing units – which usually results in resistance. there are a number of internal political challenges faced by institutions, also most of the hips involve faculty and there are certain challenges like getting the faculty to do things they are not doing now. most fundamentally, most institutions have tried some if not all of these hips, but they offer them for smaller 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 87–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.147 groups of students, often what we call “boutique programmes”, rather than bringing them to scale. an example would be having a first-year seminar and targeting certain students for the first-year seminar but not offering it to all of the students. i would argue that the firstyear seminar can be valuable for all students because it deals with the normal, traditional adjustments to higher education. to offer the first-year seminar to the entire intake class in small groups is a very big resource commitment, so again the challenges shift from an experimental pilot to a fully institutionalised initiative. this challenge relates to another challenge: that frequently hips are started by someone that is innovative, gets some support, and is well regarded, but often these hips become so identified and affiliated with that one person that should they leave the institution, or get promoted, or retire, then the question is: what happens to the hip? the real challenges relate to scaling up: getting more people involved and making them a part of the basic way to do business – instead of offering learning communities for 20 or 30% of the firstyear students, you put all first-year students in learning communities. to institutionalise anything, a case should be presented to build support and build allies with those who will support the initiative, from the top down. a lot of it has to do with who ends up being the proponents for these hips; if the hips are advocated for by well-respected internal leaders, they are more likely to be supported. khanye: in your early work, you are cited by various researchers and practitioners in higher education as saying “many institutions have adopted programs designed to provide a ‘rite of passage’ in which students are welcomed, supported, celebrated, and eventually assimilated into the campus” (gardner, 1986). what are fundamental theories that support the notion of creating a “rite of passage”? gardner: these would come especially from several of the disciplines that have most extensively studied rites of passage – mainly anthropology and sociology. but you know, there are several centuries now – dating back to the nineteenth century – of research on groups that have highly structured processes for inducting new members into the group; and those processes are generally rituals that are repetitive actions often accompanied by music, dance, and other physical activities that have certain sacred symbols that are displayed and accompanied by songs or chants, and are typically designed by older people to move younger people forward into the next stage of life in society. rites of passage are designed to teach people how to function at the next stage of life, whether it is to be a hunter, a fisherman, a homemaker, or a mother. societies have had these rites of passage for thousands of years; it is just that in recent decades we have been paying greater attention to the importance of these rituals in higher education for how they bond students together and to the institution. the rituals further support students and how they increase student enthusiasm for being at the university and how they teach the traditions of the university to students so that they feel some sense of historical connection and affiliation. the book by vincent tinto (1987) leaving college drew extensively on anthropological research to look at this whole concept of integration and how people get integrated into groups. in my own work, when i led the university 101 programme at the university gugu wendy khanye: teaching and learning and the f irst-year experience 93 of south carolina it was an effort to integrate new students, younger students, into the university – and we coupled it with a number of ceremonies and rituals such as holding convocation, getting all students to read the same book and have discussion groups around that book, providing on-campus tours for students to explore facilities, and all these constitute a cumulative set of rituals. we still have a document called the carolinian creed – it is a statement of six core values that have been widely emulated around the world, and on the first day of class we would have this poster with the carolinian creed on it, and get each student to sign their name to it, to make a commitment to honour the carolinian creed. so those are all different kinds of rituals, and of course in higher education there are other rituals in social groups including secret societies and pledging, athletic rituals, soccer, and so on. those are all examples of ritualistic behaviour. in the classroom, students would feel less anxiety and more comfortable if we did something earlier in the term to get them to bond with other students; such activities as giving them assignments that they can do in pairs, trios, or larger groups – anything to make the classroom experience a less individualistic one, less lonely, less autonomous. also the use of rites of passage in the classroom are more “get acquainted” techniques and pedagogies that can work, early on, to break down some of the barriers for students. in the south african context, i have observed thousands of young people come from rural areas whose indigenous language was neither english or afrikaans, but were required to learn to use one of these two languages at university, and were mixing with very diverse cohorts of people – one can but only imagine how challenging that is; so anything that can be done to make students who are not first-language english or afrikaans-speaking feel more comfortable and at home, affords a proactive approach. khanye: given your long-standing experience and acquired knowledge in the field of first-year experience, what role do peer leaders play with regard to hips leading to transformational learning experiences during the first year? gardner: there is a great deal of research that has been done relating to several of the questions at hand: one question is, that within the higher education environment – everything that makes up the ecology within the university – what elements of the university have the greatest influence on what students decide to do, the choices they make, who they are going to be with, and how they are going to spend their time? and when it comes to major life decisions, is the faculty the greatest influence, or advisors, residence hall staff, parents, siblings, and/or friends? who has the greatest influence on students in higher education? we know, factually, that the greatest influence is exerted by other students; students are hugely and easily influenced by their peers. now in some ways that is a good thing, because students will do things to help students get off to a good start and make good choices; but on the other hand, students sometimes do things to their fellow students that are not really a good thing, they do not always serve as the best example. so what we are realising is that we should not act as if this matter of student influence is not of importance. we should not 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 87–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.147 leave it to chance; we should try to leverage how students influence students. that means institutional managers should be involved in picking high-performing students and putting them into roles of responsibility and leadership, giving them training and supervision and reward for working with their peers/mentees. it is really a way of translating into action the consensus and research findings in higher education over the past 50 years that show that students have greater influence on each other than any other source of influence; and so now the role of peer leaders is to try to address that. in the united states, peer leaders are used very extensively; for example, in residence halls, advising initiatives and first-year seminars. of course, peer leaders are also being used in various forms of informal instruction such as in teaching labs in science courses, and language courses – this has been a long-standing practice for decades and we know through research that it is effective. so this is very promising. we are broadening our effort in using students to conduct courses like laboratory sciences; we are using peer leader influence both in the class as well as outside the class. i personally was the first in my institution to make use of peer leaders in the first-year seminar class and i found it really meaningful to the students; and now in the institution there are over 200 sections of our university 101 course making use of peer leaders. the idea and concept of a support group, which is in effect a group of people that are having a major life transition in common, is group that is led by someone who also had the challenge but has survived the challenge and flourished in spite of the challenge – the support group is a universal concept and higher education professionals should lend themselves to it and how it feeds into theories of student development and success. in closing, south africa got into exploring the work around fye during the 1980s and many south african academics came to visit the university of south carolina in the mid-eighties and we kept our doors open for your country to learn from our existing research communities. we have seen an extraordinary amount of change compressed into the country in a remarkably short period of time, but what south africa is demonstrating is the universality of the applicability of the concept of the first-year experience, which can and will help more. the key is to get more public policy in terms of what government does to support the different types of initiatives that would help first-year students. references astin, a. (1984). student involvement: a developmental theory for higher education. journal of college student personnel, 25(4), 297–308. barr, r.b. & tagg, j. (1995). from teaching to learning – a new paradigm for undergraduate education. change magazine, 27(6), 12–25. barnett, r. (2007). the will to learn: being a student in an age of uncertainty. maidenhead, uk: srhe and oup. carpenter, d.s. & haber-curran, p. (2013). the role of research and scholarship in the professionalisation of student affairs. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(1&2), 1–9. cooper, d. (2015). social justice and south african university student enrolment data by “race”, 1998–2012: from “skewed revolution” to “stalled revolution”. higher education quarterly, 69(3), 237–262. gugu wendy khanye: teaching and learning and the f irst-year experience 95 gablenick, f., macgregor, j., mathews, r.s. & leigh-smith, b. (1990). learning communities: creating connections among students, faculty and disciplines. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. gardner, j.n. (1986). the freshman-year experience. the journal of the american association of collegiate registrars and admissions officers, 61(4), 261–274. kinzie, j. & evenbeck, s.e. (2008). setting up learning communities that connect with other high-impact practices. washington center, learning community summer institute. kuh, g. (2003). what we’re learning about student engagement from nsse. change, 35(2), 24–32. leibowitz, b. (2010). towards sotl as critical engagement: a perspective from the “south”. international journal for the scholarship of teaching and learning, 4(2), 1–5. leibowitz, b., garraway, j. & farmer, j. (2015) inf luence of the past on professional lives: a collective commentary. mind, culture and activity, 22, 23–26. marginson, s. (2015). is higher education reinforcing inequality? university world news, issue no. 376. retrieved 18 november 2015 from www.universityworldnews.com/article. php?story=20150714011947146#.va5di02icju.citeulike. tinto, v. (1975). dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research. review of educational research, 45(1), 89–125. tinto, v. (1987). leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. chicago: the university of chicago press. tinto, v. (1997). classrooms as communities: exploring the educational character of student persistence. journal of higher education, 68(6), 500–623. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 85–87 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2486 85 www.jsaa.ac.za * dr lisa bardill moscaritolo serves as associate vice president and dean for students at pace university, new york, usa. she is also a founding member and general secretary of iasas. ** dr kathleen callahan is lecturer for leadership studies at christopher newport university. email: kathleen.callahan@cnu.edu journal review asia-pacific journal for student affairs (ajsa) reviewed by lisa bardill moscaritolo* & kathleen callahan** the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) serves as a global network of student affairs and services workers that encourages sharing, cooperation, research, exchanges, and attendance at each other’s conferences. the vice president and general secretary of iasas attended the 2016 asia pacific student services association (apssa) conference in chiang mai, thailand. long-time colleague and past regional coordinator in asia for iasas, evelyn ariola-songco, presented both members with a copy of the inaugural journal of the philippine association of administrators of student affairs (paasa). this is the first journal in the south east asian region and is an important first step in advancing the field. the editorial board for the asia-pacific journal for student affairs (ajsa) is comprised of student affairs practitioners in the philippines and although not peer-reviewed at this time, they are working to develop this journal and set high standards. volume 1, april  2015, institutionalizing research in student affairs administration, is a true accomplishment for the region and the field as properly noted by ma. paquita diongon-bonnet: student affairs practitioners all over the world are selfless individuals who contribute their time and effort, as well as expertise and talent, in honing the future. truly, we join our fellow educators who handle academics in the quest for the total development of every student whose parents entrust their formation to our institutions. (p. 1) it seems natural to provide an overview of this seminal document in this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa because of its connection with iasas and the theme of this issue is about hearing international voices of those who work outside of africa. from the other side of the world those who work in student affairs are similarly concerned about student success. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:kathleen.callahan%40cnu.edu?subject= 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 85–87 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2486 the creation of the association of south east asian nations (asean) has changed the landscape in higher education. cooperation of the 10 member states is to provide for better prosperity and peace for all. in the first article the author, ma. paquita diongonbonnet, offers a reflection on the asean integration and how the skills students need to be successful after graduating from college have expanded to meet the demands of the new work force. additionally, recommendations are provided for colleges and universities on how to effectively help students develop these employability skills. this issue also includes understanding the voices of children of overseas filipino workers (ofw) who must leave their families to make a living outside of the philippines. researcher abenir uses the philippines as a case study and provides insight into these children’s lives, their rights, and what they believe the responsibilities of their parents should be to the family through mixed methods using surveys and text analysis. it is expected that more work opportunities abroad will be a result of the asean pact. the results of this study show that a majority of children (91%) believe their migrant parent is fulfilling family obligations but that there are still some concerns regarding parents leaving for an extended time. understanding the psychological concerns of this underrepresented group of children, who will eventually come to our campuses, will help student affairs and services respond more appropriately and provide support where needed. research on life skills and how students gain these skills through involvement in student organisations is highlighted in the third article written by dr songco. these life skills will help students to become more employable post-graduation. through the use of emotional intelligence as a framework, the researcher developed a qualitative study to observe university student organisations and life skills development in connection with these organisations, and provided recommendations based on findings. melegrito proposes in the fourth article to provide an institutional framework to develop socially responsible students through three critical areas: spiritual enhancement, leadership formation, and social engagement. the author integrates these three areas to create a framework that, in the author’s opinion, should be considered and aligned to the goals of any new programme within various units/departments. with this framework being utilised, institutions can develop students who are civically and socially responsible. the last article in this journal, by dr diongon-bonnet, is a grounded study about how the university community describes and identifies factors of quality of life including administration, faculty, and students. “quality of life then is defined by university stakeholders as a state of human condition with a general sense of well-being, where needs are met beyond what are basic, and having internal and external resources to live a meaningful and purposeful existence” (p. 111). in addition to defining quality of life, the author found indicators of and enhancers of quality of life and provides the university sector with recommendations to each stakeholder to ensure these factors are being met. now that the first issue has been published, evelyn ariola-songco, who is part of the editorial board, highlighted some future plans for the journal. the first task is to initiate a peer review process for the journal and she noted that before the first issue was published the board had asked members of apssa to make up a board of reviewers. there are also lisa bardill moscaritolo & kathleen callahan: asia-pacific journal for student affairs (ajsa) 87 plans “to have a writeshop in collaboration with apssa-isa. this aims to enhance the research and writing skills of student affairs practitioners” (evelyn ariola-songco, personal communication, 25 may 2017). overall, the first volume of the asia-pacific journal for student affairs encourages administrators to engage and begin to institutionalise research with the region. this journal is a wonderful new contribution to the literature in the field of student affairs and provides perspective from our colleagues in the asia-pacific region. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2014, 97–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.96 www.jsaa.ac.za global summit on student affairs: africa joins the global conversations lisa bardill moscaritolo* and birgit schreiber** campus dialogue * dr lisa bardill moscaritolo is general secretary for the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) and associate vice-president for student affairs and dean of students at pace university, pleasantville campus, new york, usa. ** dr birgit schreiber is iasas chair for the africa region and director: centre for student support services at the university of the western cape, cape town, south africa. email: bschreiber@uwc.ac.za. close to a hundred selected international delegates from student affairs divisions at universities and colleges met in rome at the 2nd global summit for student affairs on employability, soft skills and leadership development. the first summit organised by the international association for student affairs and services (iasas) and the us association for student affairs professionals in higher education (naspa) was held in washington dc in 2012. the 2nd global summit in rome in 2014 was hosted by the european university college association (euca, www.euca.eu) in collaboration with both iasas and naspa. focus and organisation of summit the issue of soft skills and civic engagement for employability was the main topic of ‘rethinking education’, the initiative launched by the european commission in 2012 to encourage student affairs and higher education to take measures to ensure that young people’s development is articulated according to their civil lives and labour markets. the four main topics of the summit were the following: 1. integrating soft skills in the university educational path: the role of student affairs and services; 2. soft skills development for better employability: student affairs and services as a facilitator for the dialogue with the labour market; 3. fostering an entrepreneurship mind-set and creative thinking on university campuses; and 4. enhancing civic participation, a global approach, and social inclusion. selected senior student services and affairs staff, rectors, vice-rectors, university presidents and senior university executives from 37 counties across the developed and developing world on six continents came together to share ideas and best practices on how student 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2014, 97–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.96 services and student affairs professionals can create and develop programmes on soft skills/ leadership development to assist in closing the employability gap. the aim of the global summit was to initiate high-profile debate on how student affairs and services can promote access, inclusion and integration, support and development, and employability. special focus was on issues that arise from massification of higher education and the role of education in social justice, such as employability, entrepreneurial thinking, civic engagement and student mobility within a context of disciplinary and theoretical development of the student affairs divisions within higher education. the event was opened by the president of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), prof. dr rob shea, who was followed by the president of the us association of student affairs professionals in higher education (naspa), prof. dr kevin kruger. jigar patel, principal of mckinsey & co, uk, then presented the eu report education to employment, getting europe’s youth into work. the mckinsey report is one of the most important cross-national studies on the relationship of higher education with employment: it is based on rigorous research that involved more than 8 000 participants (students, student affairs, university executives and the corporate sector) in eight countries (france, spain, germany, greece, portugal, sweden, the united kingdom and italy). the report highlights the articulation gap between higher education and the labour market and makes suggestions for closing the gap. the research is premised on the notion of the university within the instrumentalist framework of higher education, and of higher education as a key role player in the construction of the national and regional economic and social fabric. ‘the years at university’, says prof. gian luca giovannucci, president of the euca, ‘are fundamental for academic engagement, but are also the time when young people can best develop all the complementary competencies needed to meet the challenges of living an active civil life and making contributions to the national and global economy’. (personal communication, 23 october 2014) silvia costa, chair of the culture committee of the european parliament, reminded delegates that student affairs divisions at universities are poised to play a key role in shifting the university’s gaze towards developing responsible and responsive global citizens who take on the mantle agency to ensure sustainable conditions for a globalised world. dr saloshni pillay (south africa, university of kwazulu-natal), dr birgit schreiber (south africa, university of the western cape) and gugulethu xaba (south africa, tshwane university of technology) were invited to join the global summit. dr pillay is the president of the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas) and dr schreiber is the africa chair of iasas and nec member of the south african association for senior student affairs practitioners (saassap). gugulethu xaba is the president of nasdev, the south african association of student development practitioners. dr lisa bardill moscaritolo, general secretary of the iasas, was on the planning committee for the summit. she indicates that the summit was a unique opportunity for universities from across the globe and from across dissimilar educational spaces to share lessons and to build solidarity with core issues facing students and institutions. lisa bardill moscaritolo & birgit schreiber: global summit on student affairs: africa joins the global conversations 99 the global summit participants were asked to reflect on the framework of the summit and how the overall summit impacted their work, university or institution and/ or region in the world. participants noted that they had gained a better understanding of the employability gap as noted in the mckinsey report, and appreciated the opportunity to engage with others on how student services and student affairs staff can lessen on this gap. staff shared how they are creating opportunities for students to develop their soft/ leadership skills. some noted that this is happening through networking with companies, offering internships, working with community organisations in order to engage students in their surrounding communities, and encouraging student mobility/study abroad. there were many examples of how staff are introducing events and education in halls of residence to develop the skills necessary for students to be strong leaders. lastly, other peer programmes and co-curricular and curricular programs on soft/leadership skills assist in students gaining the skills they need to be competitive in today’s marketplace and be successful in their personal life. some institutions are developing leadership programmes targeting women. participants commented on how meeting others from different parts of the world helped them to see commonalities in their work and brought a needed level of understanding, as many in the field outsideof the us feel isolated. additionally, those who attended appreciated the opportunity to collaborate and borrow ideas. lastly, apart from the main concepts of the summit, participants appreciated networking and finding a shared understanding around student issues such as equity and lack of academic preparation. birgit schreiber notes that the summit allowed her to share and to learn from others regarding the similar issues facing her and those who work in south africa. africa’s role in global conversations has unique potential to influence global events and to assist in shaping global conversations. the lessons learnt within the african context, which is clearly not a homogenous higher education environment, are invaluable to other regions. in south africa, the concerns relate to socio-economic challenges, and other regions in the world are dealing with the same kind of issues. this can, at times, make our student affairs work different from that in westernised countries. for the developing world, the gap between the skills needed for college graduates to do well in the world of work (a topic discussed in the mckinsey report) is much larger than in the western world, as can be seen in some of the high unemployment statistics. however, through our work in student affairs, we do need to equip and educate students in the soft skills they need to be successful, and hearing from other developing countries and how they are doing this work was helpful. the written proceedings of the 2014 summit are available on the website and will provide more specific feedback from participants from certain regions of the world, as well as background on the summit and the topics covered. these proceedings are shared with global summit participants and with iasas members. you are encouraged to join iasas at iasas.global (membership is free) to learn more. 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2014, 97–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.96 2016 global summit applications to host the 2016 summit will be shared, in mid-2015, with professional associations around the world and with key leaders. this information will also be shared with iasas members and everyone is encouraged to apply to host this prestigious event. the planning committee feels strongly that dialogue with as many student affairs and student services professionals around the world as possible will assist us in serving our students better and in understanding our work in different regions of the world. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 65–76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 65 www.jsaa.ac.za research article monitoring student (dis)engagement: retention officers’ experiences at the cape peninsula university of technology nosisana mkonto* * dr nosisana mkonto is head of the department of the student learning unit at fundani centre for higher education development at the cape peninsula university of technology, cape town, south africa. email: mkonton@cput.ac.za abstract most first-year university students experience serious academic and adjustment challenges, which remain undetected until it is too late to provide meaningful intervention. universities are therefore developing academic support systems that can assist in identifying students who experience learning challenges early on, and provide quality first-year experiences that ensure that first-year students adapt, engage and succeed at the university. such student academic support systems should provide resources that detect risk factors as early as possible. this study explores the support provided by the retention officers (ros) in assisting first-year students to overcome disengagement issues at the cape peninsula university of technology in cape town, south africa. modelled on tronto’s (2010) theory of ethics of care, the design of the first-year experience project is underpinned by the value of inclusion and care for first-year students in higher education. this practitioner-based paper draws on the experiences of ros in monitoring first-year students’ disengagement in a science faculty at the cape peninsula university of technology. data extracted through interviews and written reports by ros formed the basis for a qualitative interpretation of ros’ experiences dealing with firstyear students’ disengagement. this paper therefore highlights the importance of mediating between discipline-based support and generic psycho-social support through the involvement of ros to enhance student engagement. keywords first-year experience; student engagement; first-year student support; ethics of care; retention officers introduction universities globally are devising strategies to support first-year students to successfully navigate the university effortlessly (tinto, 2006). first-year students often experience challenges in transitioning from high school to university. while some first-year students cope better with transition and hence perform better academically, others struggle and consequently fail and drop out (mcmillan, 2014). anecdotal accounts suggest that first-year students are often overwhelmed by the large quantity of information they receive in the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mkonton%40cput.ac.za?subject= 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 65–76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 first weeks of entering the university. this leads to a sense of confusion and information overload. some students do not get accepted into their programme of choice and are forced to accept an offer into another programme and this also results in confusion and lack of commitment. issues around student integration and responding to students’ unpreparedness for university studies have been researched extensively with various models of coping with first-year student attrition proposed (astin, 1993; bean, 1980; mcinnis, 2001; pascarella & terenzini, 1983; tierney, 1992; tinto, 1993). access for success and access for participation speak more to the south african higher education social justice agenda. in south africa there is a high failure and dropout rate amongst first-year students, more especially african students, with a large number of first-generation students from disadvantaged socioeconomic and educational backgrounds (sader & gabela, 2017). consequently, there is a constant need to re-evaluate the efficacy of learning and social support being provided to first-year students. this paper explores the concept of retention officers (ros) as one of the interventions being provided in order to enhance first-year students’ engagement in the university. specifically, the paper argues that the narratives of a small group of ros accounting for how they experience first-year students’ engagements with studies highlight how the ethics of care framework could be instrumental in extending the way first-year student learning support is being provided, especially for disadvantaged students. the first‑year experience (fye) this study emerges from the first-year experience (fye) project in a university of technology in south africa. the ros’ initiative is located within the fye project in that university. fye aims not only to increase student success and reduce attrition, but to maximise student achievement. fye focuses on encouraging students to become fully inducted into their academic disciplines and programmes, providing them with psychosocial and academic support that will inspire them to achieve academic excellence. the university prioritises student support for first-year students with the aim of curbing attrition and increasing retention. in order to curb attrition the university set up two fye structures, one institutional and the other faculty-based. the institutional fye structure comprises of representatives from the faculties and support units which include the library, student counselling unit, disability unit, and the centre for innovative education development and student welfare. the institutional fye committee discusses issues pertaining to first-year students in all six faculties of the university. the fye faculty structure comprises of the teaching and learning coordinator, first-year coordinators, retention officers, mentors, tutors and class representatives. in the faculty fye structure discussions include: challenges, opportunities, sharing of best practices and general issues affecting first-year students. the creation of these structures encouraged the integration of the fye in all the university structures. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 nosisana mkonto: monitoring student (dis)engagement: retention officers’ experiences … 67 retention officers (ros) initiative until recently, at the university there was no clear platform directed towards coordinating the socio-academic needs of first-year students within faculties and departments. fye provided the platform and the retention officers’ (ros’) initiative fell under its auspices. there are different names for ros. they are called first year advisors (box, callan, geddes, kemp & wojcieszek, 2012), academic advisors (coll & draves, 2009), coaches (bettinger & baker, 2014). by whatever name they are called, they are responsible for academic preparation, information gathering, information sharing and social integration of firstyear students into the university. they assist in preparing students academically for their chosen field of study, counsel students, provide advice and care, identify challenges students face and refer them to the relevant student support services. retention officers, students advisors and coaches enhance the interaction between the students and the faculty and contribute to the development of positive attitudes, relationships and university experience in general (coll & draves, 2009). the retention officers (ros) initiative was established to track first-year students’ performance and identify students’ disengagement as well as who could be at risk as early as the first month of registration, and to provide care and support and/or refer them to the relevant support units. there is support for first-year students at the university such as the writing centre, student counselling, disability unit, library, hiv/aids unit and student welfare but they are located outside the faculties and first-generation students often do not know how to access such assistance. the ros are senior students (masters and phd) employed in a faculty to provide support to first-year students. they work closely with the first-year coordinator in identifying risk factors faced by first-year students as early as possible and are paid a monthly stipend. the ros undergo training in basic counselling skills, understanding students with disabilities, accessing blackboard, basic understanding of hiv/aids, and mentoring and understanding social issues that impact academic performance. training of ros is done in collaboration with other support units at the university and focuses on the student in totality which is key to first-year transition (tinto, 2006). this is confirmed by cleyle and philpott (2012) whose study proposes that institutional structures at the university could be instrumental in student engagement and success. universities should therefore invest in support services in preparing students for higher education. the ros’ role is to ensure that first-year students understand how things work at the university, which includes how they are being supported and whether they know where and how to access academic and other support services. bettinger and baker (2014, p. 5) assert that first-generation students are often not aware that they require assistance, do not take steps towards seeking help and do not know what questions to ask. in addition, the ros are responsible for monitoring class attendance, non-submission of assignments, failing of tests and academic literacy issues. this involves contacting students who have missed classes, failed a test, and could not submit an assignment, to find out what their problem 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 65–76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 was, and assisting them in getting the necessary help and/or referring them to the relevant support units available. such support follows a compassionate and holistic approach that acknowledges the reality of first-year experience (box et al., 2012, p. 93; kift, 2015). student transition and student engagement: a brief overview the ro initiative is aimed at student success at universities and in so doing it follows morrow’s (1993) concept of epistemological access. epistemological access does not only denote registering students at the university and permitting them to study but signifies knowledge of the course they are studying (morrow, 1993). in order for the students to be engaged in their studies, they need to be provided with support. the role of an ro is to provide such support. scott, yeld and hendry (2007) and the council on higher education (che, 2013) attest to high attrition rate at first-year level in south african higher education institutions. che (2013) further confirmed a 33% dropout rate of students accessing universities. several causes have been alluded to for the high attrition rates that include but are not limited to transitional challenges, inability to cope with the complex curricula, lack of support at the university, financial problems and incorrect choice of course of study. lack of support is the reason why the university of technology in this study instituted the retention officers’ initiative within the first-year experience project. tinto (1975) proposes that when students are provided with support they are more likely to be satisfied, to persist and not drop out of the university. disengaged students are less likely to be committed to the university, will not be satisfied with the institution and hence drop out (nelson et al., 2012). tinto (1975) and bean (1980) acknowledge that the more students are integrated into the university the more they are committed to the university. tinto (1987, p. 176) further asserts that: students are more likely to become committed to the institution and, therefore stay, when they come to understand that the institution is committed to them. programs cannot replace the absence of high quality caring and concerned faculty and staff. first-year students expect such care to come from staff at the institution. research has affirmed the positive influence that staff can have in promoting student transition (tinto, 1987). student–staff relations also promote student learning and development, thereby enhancing student experience at the university. tronto (2010, p. 162) asserts that care relationships should have clear, defined and acceptable purposes. in the case of the ros, the overall purpose is retention and they have a clear mandate of supporting the first-year students so that they can adapt, engage and succeed at the university. tronto (2010, p. 160) further identified four phases of care: caring about, caring for, giving care and receiving care. caring about refers to being attentive to the needs of the person being cared about and also picking up unspoken needs; caring for is making a conscious decision to meet the needs recognised and putting together resources to meet these needs; giving care refers to the actual act meeting the caring needs; and receiving care involves the reaction of the person receiving care. in the context of south african higher education, the high attrition rate of students entering http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 nosisana mkonto: monitoring student (dis)engagement: retention officers’ experiences … 69 university (che,  2013) makes the first-year student vulnerable and therefore requiring care. the  ros’ interaction with their relationship with the students exposes them to be able to provide care. kuh (2009) stresses the importance of student experience during their studies at the university. student engagement zepke (2013) looks at student engagement in the university in terms of engagement with lecturers, peers and support provided by the university. studies indicate that student– staff interaction play an important role in student engagement and success (astin, 1993; pascarella & terenzini, 1991; tinto, 1993). trowler (2010) and strydom, basson and mentz (2010) recognise the incorporation of academic and non-academic aspects of the student experience in order to improve engagement. kuh (2009) and cleyle and philpott (2012) recommend that in order for student engagement to succeed it should include appropriate support structures that cater for students’ needs. such support structures could be beneficial in student engagement and success. the ro initiative is one such structure that serves the students’ needs to ensure that they engage with their studies. thomas (2002) acknowledges the connection between student engagement and success. research design this research focuses on ros’ experiences of first-year students’ learning engagements. as such, much of the data needed leans towards ros’ perceptions and accounts of first-year students’ learning engagements. in order to ensure that this is not a superficial description of the students’ experiences, the study was designed within the qualitative design. qualitative data was collected from eight ros from different departments in a science faculty at a university of technology in south africa from february to september. the participants were purposely selected so as to create a good rapport between research focus and the participants (brynman, 2008). purposive selection accentuates rich information from the participants (patton, 2002) and allows for deeper understanding of student engagement and their challenges. semi-structured one-on-one interviews were held with the eight participants who were part of the ros initiative. this was supplemented by observations extracted from ros’ reports. the interviews were recorded and transcribed. the data provided insight into the care provided by the ros and the challenges faced by first-year students. the following research questions guided the data extraction process: • what are the challenges faced by first-year students in your department? • what kind of support does the first-year student require in order to engage? • what kind of support does the ro provide? findings based on the information extracted from interviews and ros’ reports, the following key aspects stand out regarding how first-year students engage with learning in particular and university life in general. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 65–76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 late coming and class attendance some students arrive late or do not attend classes (especially the early morning classes) because of the unreliability of the transport system in the city. “i miss classes because in a week, the trains are delayed 3 or 4 times and we only get the information about the delay after waiting for an hour for the train.” unreliable commuter trains are a key problem that students from economically disadvantaged suburbs face. this greatly hampers their ability to arrive on campus on time or at all as they often cannot afford alternative modes of transport such as buses and taxis. one student reported staying about 50km away from the university. there is only one train that leaves from that area at 5.00 am and, if he misses that train, the next one will only arrive five hours later. “if i miss the 5am train i go back home.” another student reported being just lazy and finding it difficult to wake up in time: “i am not a morning person. i wish classes can start at 11h00.” clubbing was fingered as another cause for late coming or non-attendance of classes: “when i go to long street on a week day it is difficult to come to school the next day.” in order to support the student who lives 50km away from campus, the concerned ro organised a space in the hostel for the student. another ro had a discussion with the lazy student and the one who goes clubbing on week days, and showed them the importance of attending classes and arriving on time for classes as this will not only help them at the university but also in the workplace as the university is preparing them for the world of work. the ro went as far as finding students staying in the same area so that they could travel together to avoid being robbed on the way to the bus or train station. a whatsapp group that included all the students was formed so that those who had challenges with public transport could inform the group of their late coming or non-attendance. the ro would inform the lecturer, request the work to be done and then send it to the students. workshops on time management and goal setting were arranged for the students so that they could understand the importance of planning their school work, setting time aside daily for studying and setting themselves smart goals. the ro also reported that in some classes, taking the attendance register was problematic, especially in large classes. non-submission of assignments and poor test results some students reported that they had not yet grasped the teaching style of the lecturer and therefore failed to follow in class. “at school our teachers used to explain other stuff in isixhosa but here the lecturers speak english all the time and i get lost most of the time.” others struggled with academic writing conventions when completing their assignments even though these students were referred to the writing centre to acquire the necessary writing skills. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 nosisana mkonto: monitoring student (dis)engagement: retention officers’ experiences … 71 “i submitted an assignment that did not have references because i did not know that i needed to write references.” the ro referred the student to the writing centre for harvard referencing workshops in this case. the writing centre also supported the student with workshops on topics such as note-taking and academic writing skills. the ro used the whatsapp group to remind students about upcoming assignments and tests so that they could prepare on time and submit assignments to the writing centre for writing support. lack of resources some indicated that they lacked resources such computers and learning space at home. “i do not own a laptop and there is no computer at home so i struggle when i have to write an assignment and the computer labs are always full.” “at home we are nine and we share one room and i do not even have a space to study. i must wait for everyone to sleep and study in the kitchen.” though there is a 24-hour computer laboratory at the university, students who are not staying in hostels cannot stay at the university until very late when working on their assignments because they have to catch public transport to get home. “i have a bus ticket and have to catch a 17h00 bus. i cannot stay in the computer lab until late.” others do not have a space to study at home as the whole family stay in a one-roomed shack. in response to the above-mentioned issue the ro requested the students to form study groups to meet over weekends or students to come individually to study at the university or a nearby library. personal issues some of the issues that the students mentioned to the ros can be considered to be personal and sensitive. for example, two students shared the following information with the ros: “i am pregnant and i am scared to tell my parents and i don’t know what to do. i am stressed out.” “i am not sure whether to drop out with my studies or not, i have been diagnosed with a dreaded disease. what is a point of studying if i am going to die in any case?” the ro arranged counselling for these students for professional advice. financial issues south africa is a very unequal country with huge disparities between the rich and the poor. therefore, finance will always influence poor students’ levels of engagement at the university. some students lack basic needs such as daily provision of food. this is what one student reported to the ro: “my mother who is a bread winner has been retrenched and now we are experiencing difficulties at home, most days we do not have food and just drink water and sleep.” 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 65–76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 the ro brought these issues for the attention of the head of department who in turn asked for donations in terms of foodstuffs from lecturers. some students have to fend for their families while they are studying. another student also reported that: “i work at a restaurant 4 nights a week so that my family and i can survive.” the student was offered a job as a student assistant, even though it does not pay much, but the student could at least attend classes and was no longer tired. both these issues will affect the engagement of these students. other issues some issues are explained during orientation and are written in the subject guide but firstyear students could not grasp them very well and ended up seeking answers from the ros. “i was sick when a test was written, i have a sick certificate, and to whom do i submit the sick certificate?” “where is room 314 in this building?” “how do i get my lecturer if i want to ask something?” these questions might seem trivial and something that students can find out for themselves, but they are significant in gauging student engagement. the ros encouraged students to approach them whenever they have questions and even if they think the questions are stupid. the majority of students received the care provided by the ros very well. they did not wait for the ro to approach them, but approached the ro on their own when they experienced challenges. “i was approached by a group of five who were struggling with calculations, looking for a tutor.” not all students were happy with the care given by the ros. one student complained that the ro is always in their face and “must give him a break!”. challenges faced by ros ros also face challenges as mentioned by these ros: “the previous year we were more successful in referring students with problems to support units, the short term this year made such intervention impossible.” monitoring attendance register is sometimes problematic because of large classes. discussion universities globally have become more diverse due to increased numbers of student registrations. diversity is evident in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, race and socioeconomic status. universities are therefore compelled to review their retention strategies in order to accommodate and retain the diverse students coming into the university (coll & draves, 2009). universities made use of academic advising as a way of increasing retention (tinto, 2006). the ro initiative in the context of the university under study provides an early http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 nosisana mkonto: monitoring student (dis)engagement: retention officers’ experiences … 73 warning system and feedback that is critical to student engagement. the ros provide a caring space for first-year students to talk openly about their issues without fear of being judged. the students felt that someone cared for them and about them. they, in turn, received the care and engaged with their studies. knowing that somebody cares for them encouraged students to persevere. this is confirmed by the following statement: “young people need emotional, spiritual and communal support before they start learning (jansen, 2015). monitoring of first-year student engagement and intervening with students who are at risk of failing can help curb the high attrition and dropout rates at higher education institutions (box et al., 2012). the majority of first-year students entering higher education are first-generation students who lack cultural capital that can assist them in navigating higher education (pather & chetty, 2015; norodien-fataar & daniels, 2016). the onus is on students to seek and utilise the support that is being provided by the ros. receiving support and making use of the available resources at their disposal at firstyear level lays a foundation for successful learning in their future years of study. students need to make a conscious decision to engage with their books on a regular basis. in order for the students to be able to do this, they need somebody caring for and about them. while students commit to their learning, staff at university should show care and enhance the commitment the students show. some of the students have limited resources that are detrimental to their engagement. not possessing a personal computer and not having access to the internet disadvantages the 21st century student. technology plays a very important role in terms of accessing information and the actual writing of assignments. however, some lecturers are oblivious of students’ circumstances and demand a lot from the students while paulsen and st. john (2002) caution that it is important to take these circumstances into consideration. the ros, by engaging with the students, bring these issues into the open so that they can be discussed and solutions found. the majority of first-generation students come from impoverished socio-economic backgrounds where there is a lack of basic needs for survival such as food and study space. hunger and poverty are prevalent in south africa. ros can create awareness about these issues and bring them out for discussion so that the university can devise ways of resolving them. conclusion retention officers play an important role in providing material and interpersonal resources to first-year students, such as access to information and services. this study adds to the already considerable volume of research on supporting first-year student learning engagement in south africa. however, the paper extends the argument on how first-year student learning initiatives are conceptualised and implemented from an ethics of care perspective. this is a practitioner based paper reflecting on ros’ accounts and experiences of first-year student engagement. in this regard, the paper argues that a caring ro, just like any other student learning support personnel, can make significant changes 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 65–76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 in how first-year students engage with their academic work. therefore, even though the ro initiative adds to the already considerable number of student support initiatives in the higher education landscape, the most important contribution of the ro initiative is how the ros use their past experiences as students, and a caring approach in listening to students’ challenges, thereby enabling these students to re-engage with their studies. when students felt overwhelmed and alienated by the university they had a person in the form of the ros to talk to and offload their baggage. the ros were a convenience for firstyear students to ask small questions, some of which they felt embarrassed to ask, and these questions were vital to students’ adaptation, engagement and success – especially for firstgeneration students. ros, through their continuous contact with students, collected data on student engagement that can be utilised to enhance institutional efficiency and inspire recurring quality improvement. sometimes the ros could not do their work well because of large classes and the limited time they have, especially during student protests. some lecturers are reluctant to allow the ros to access first-year students’ information though the ros are sworn to maintaining of confidentiality in the contracts they sign. references astin, a.w. 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(1975). dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research. review of educational research, 45(1), 89–125. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0099 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360125188 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.911250 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.911250 https://doi.org/10.17159/1947-9417/2016/568 https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2002.0023 https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2002.0023 https://doi.org/10.20853/31-1-1056 https://doi.org/10.20853/31-1-1056 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00992835 https://doi.org/10.1080/02680930210140257 https://doi.org/10.2307/1982046 https://doi.org/10.2307/2668211 https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 65–76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 tinto, v. (1987). leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. chicago: university of chicago press. tinto, v. (1993). leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). chicago: university of chicago press. tinto, v. (2006). research and practice of student retention: what next? journal of college student retention: research, theory & practice, 8(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.2190/4ynu-4tmb-22dj-an4w tronto, j.c. (2010). creating caring institutions: politics, plurality, and purpose. ethics and social welfare, 4(2), 158–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2010.484259 trowler, v. (2010). student engagement literature review. the higher education academy, 11, 1–15. zepke, n. (2013). student engagement: a complex business supporting the first year experience in tertiary education. international journal of the first year in higher education, 4(2), 1–14. https://doi. org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v4i2.183 how to cite: mkonto, n. (2018). monitoring student (dis)engagement: retention officers’ experiences at the cape peninsula university of technology. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 65–76. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 https://doi.org/10.2190/4ynu-4tmb-22dj-an4w https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2010.484259 https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v4i2.183 https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v4i2.183 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 51–62 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 51 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice advocating for standards in student affairs departments in african institutions: university of botswana experience barbra m. pansiri* & refilwe p. sinkamba** * barbra m. pansiri is the director, student welfare, of the university of botswana. ** refilwe precious sinkamba is a senior lecturer in the department of social work at the university of botswana. abstract the student affairs departments have seen immense growth over the years, from a discourse which had no academic relevance in higher education, to that which is expected to add value to the attraction, retention, and graduation of students. however, the latest developments have seen the role of student affairs departments grow from ‘in-loco parentis’ to educators who are expected to strategically position the image of their institutions to ensure that students are equipped with relevant, tried and tested skills in preparation for their studies, work, and civic engagement. the level of personal growth of students as they transition from secondary to tertiary institutions is now also traced to the effectiveness of student affairs personnel, policies, and structures. thus the need for the visibility of such departments and the need to add value to higher education in the 21st century has escalated. more innovative ways of engaging students and academics in this social discourse has a bearing on a professional approach that places emphasis on standards. the argument is made for advancing standards in the sphere of student affairs as a method of enhancing needed visibility and adding value to african higher education, the focus of which is leading the continent’s transformation agenda towards socio-economic development. introduction efforts are being made to enhance the intellectual faculties of students and to engage a holistic approach to producing well-rounded individuals. trends around the world have demonstrated a growth in, and emphasis on, student affairs standards in addition to those in the academic arena. graduating students are expected to exhibit employability skills and be prepared in wellness categories, socially (appreciating individual uniqueness), physically (wellbeing), emotionally (self-awareness and awareness of the needs of others), intellectually (development of cognitive skills), occupationally (practical skills), and spiritually (attitude towards life) as a foundation for educating the whole person (barber, 2011). at the university of botswana, the institutional mission emphasises graduates who have been involved in relevant and quality programmes, and who are equipped with both academic and personal development skills (university of botswana, 2008). emphasis on standards has traversed even the southern african region. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 51–62 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 in the usa, student affairs staff are not only well equipped with professional qualifications, but are guided by standards in discharging their day-to-day responsibilities (evans & ranero, 2009; rose, 2014). botswana has not been left out of this upsurge in professional requirements. it is not unusual to come across references to world rankings in terms of quality services and products nor to see job advertisements for vacancies calling for accreditation or affiliation with professional associations. the government of botswana has recently established an accreditation body – the botswana qualification authority (bqa) – to oversee quality standards related to institutions of learning. therefore, it is now common practice across professions to emphasise standards in order to establish the best way to attain the highest levels of quality. being at the core of contributing to a well-rounded student, the student affairs department has not been excluded from this demand for quality services to prove its value through the overall quality of education in particular and national development in general. expectations for standardisation are thus apparent. standards are defined as incorporating a comprehensive and valid set of criteria that judge and/or support programme quality and effectiveness, representing best practices that colleges and university programmes can reasonably achieve (cas, 2006). professionalism has always been associated with standards in that professions should exhibit a set of standards that guide their work. the move towards professionalisation of student affairs departments through the establishment of standards can be understood from several perspectives. one perspective comes from the council for the advancement of standards in higher education (cas) in the united states of america affirming that national standards are one of the key means by which a profession matures (cas, 2006). arminio (2009) observed that, by establishing standards, professions indicate their determination to control their own destiny. and finally, the commitment to the pursuit of excellence, knowledge, and truth invariably implies that “the university must always be a cauldron of bubbling engagement, a site of robust and rigorous debate, with no room for complacency or mediocrity” (makgoba & seepe, 2004, p. 15). hence, quality should form part of everything that an institution of higher learning does and promotes. it is argued in this paper that quality cannot be left only to academic programmes but should be extended to interventions outside the classroom for meaningful student success. benefits of professionalising student affairs describing the role of student affairs within higher education can be challenging. although most individuals understand the role and importance of faculty and administration within an institution, student affairs professionals may struggle to articulate the role they play within institutions to those unfamiliar with the concept. it might be explained that faculty members are responsible for educating students and for creating new knowledge through research, while administrators are responsible for the bureaucratic aspect of the organisation and providing leadership and administrative support to the institution. student affairs professionals may be involved in all of these activities yet, because they may not be attached to an academic department nor directly reporting to senior administrators, their work may be misunderstood or overlooked (gansemer-topf, 2013). barbra m. pansiri & ref ilwe p. sinkamba: advocating for standards in student affairs departments ... 53 student affairs and services professionals, along with teaching faculty, bring to the institution a particular expertise regarding students, their development, and the impact of their learning environments. they are closely associated with the academic mission and serve as important links between students and the institution (ludeman & strange, 2009; ludvik, gardner & hickmott, 2012). the world higher education declaration (1998), a creation of the international association of student affairs services (iasas), and annual conferences of the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) and the african student affairs conference, suggest an interest by student affairs professionals in becoming more recognised and valued within african higher education. in addition to these organisational activities, student affairs professionals can also elevate the importance of the profession through their work on different campuses. gansemer-topf (2013) states that student affairs departments can develop a common language of assessment in enhancing the importance of and respect for the student affairs profession. the title ‘student affairs professional’ implies that student affairs is a profession. greenwood (1957) listed five characteristics of a profession, which include: grounding in systematic theory; authority recognised by clientele; broader community sanction and approval of that authority; an ethical code regulating relations with clients and colleagues; and a professional culture sustained by professional associations. in addition, klegon (1978) examined the evolution of professions from a sociological perspective and suggested that there are two dynamics at play in the development of a profession. the internal dynamic is the efforts of practitioners to raise their status, define services which they perceive only they can perform properly, and achieve and maintain autonomy and influence. the external dynamic relates to the larger social and institutional forces that either contribute to or reduce the conceptualisation of the work as a practice or true profession. these characteristics provide insights into the evolution of student affairs from practice to profession. in reflecting on the current context of higher education abroad, ludeman, osfield, hidalgo, oste, and wang (2009) stated that there is increasing evidence that higher education must address the basic personal needs of students by providing a comprehensive set of out-of-classroom student services and programmes commonly referred to as student affairs and services. given the various definitions of a profession, it is evident that student affairs in africa, with its development of professional organisations, legitimacy by internal and external stakeholders, and the larger societal recognition of the need to improve college student access and success, is becoming more pronounced (gansemer-topf, 2013). this requires student affairs professionals to become more confident in their personal ability to learn and grow, and promote that process among students. there has been a great deal of effort by student affairs practitioners and researchers to promote the benefits of professionalising student affairs departments through the establishment of standards. evans and ranero (2009) highlight the following as some of the tangible benefits of professionalisation: • creation of a platform for sharing common interests and goals; • professional development of members; • professional enhancement of the field; 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 51–62 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 • establishment of ethical and professional standards for guidance; and • creation of a networking forum for dialogue, lobbying and advocacy. a great deal has been written about the traditional role of student affairs departments in academia. traditionally, personnel dealing with students’ affairs have been regarded as people handling student issues outside the classroom or what others termed being ‘in-loco parentis’ (someone to perform a parental role in the absence of biological parents). student affairs departments had no academic relevance, and there was little communication with other academic structures. this was further supported by low enrolments and fewer social issues. student affairs staff had no defined job profiles or any expectations towards students’ learning. recent years have seen a significant growth in expectations of these practitioners to a point that the majority feel overwhelmed by roles that are now both academic and social in nature. the broad recruitment/enrolment-to-graduation role of student affairs departments now includes marketing, internationalisation, registration, orientation, academic advising, scheduling, counselling, catering, discipline, leadership development, multi-culturalism, wellness, collaboration, and partnerships with other key stakeholders such as ministries, sponsors, and parents. such expectations are emanating from academics, industry, national, international levels, and students themselves. the understanding is that students spend more than 70% of their time outside the classroom and thus the opportunity for learning outside the classroom to augment what happens in class should be promoted, particularly for positive behavioural change. more than 50% of life skills and general learning occurs in this manner. similarly, the student affairs department is seen as a living laboratory for student development and is being called upon to provide structures for students’ development in the 21st century (hiscock, 2012; keeling, 2006; major & mangope, 2014). benefits of professionalised student affairs departments in the usa in the usa, the roots of the student affairs profession date back to the colonial era and the earliest years of american higher education. the profession developed rules and regulations that governed students’ behaviour and conduct, and college rules and expectations even when students were not on the college premises (arminio, 2009; evans & ranero, 2009). over the years the profession grew as it attracted more research attention (arminio, 2009; evans & ranero, 2009; keeling, 2006; magolda & magolda, 2011). the initial exploration of the growing out-of-class curricula by the american council on education (ace) finally resulted in various ways leading to the establishment (keeling, 2006), of the council for the advancement of standards in higher education (cas) in 1979 with the following aims: • formalising assessment of programmes; • justifying the impact of student affairs work; • justifying structural adjustments; • justifying organisational support for growing diverse needs including those related to gender, minority groups, sexual orientation, disability, mental health, faith, and values; and • intensifying research. barbra m. pansiri & ref ilwe p. sinkamba: advocating for standards in student affairs departments ... 55 the usa thus has the largest number of student affairs professional associations highly regulated by agreed-upon standards. student affairs in southern africa there is growing interest in professionalising student affairs in africa. for instance, in the last decade, academic programmes with a focus on student affairs have sprung up in a number of african universities. at eduardo mondlane university (emu) in maputo, makerere university (mak) in kampala, and the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town, programmes have been developed and are being delivered (long, 2012). further, development of programmes in higher education studies and student affairs, and the demand that has been shown by both students and prospective employers reflect training needs that clearly go beyond the on-the-job training model that is otherwise so prevalent. this indicates the requirement of specialised and high-level skills for those entering the profession. this is supported by research conducted in new and existing centres, in research programmes focused on african higher education, and in growing literature on higher education and student affairs in africa (long, 2012). it is also essential that higher education should be fully developed and understood in order to create an enabling environment for student affairs to thrive. however, it appears that there is still a need to develop an african identity and vision for higher education (makgoba & seepe, 2004). this contributes to the slow growth of the tradition of student affairs in africa. south africa is an example of developed higher education policies. concurrently, professional associations in student affairs are developing. long (2012) states that among them are: the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), founded in 2010; the association for college and university housing officers international, southern africa chapter (acuho-i-sac); the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saachdhe); national associations such as the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and the national association of student development practitioners (nasdev), in south africa. many of these associations hold annual conferences, which include insightful presentations, professional reflections on good practices, and research relevant to the profession (long, 2012). the history of student affairs at the university of botswana (ub) in understanding the history of student affairs in botswana there has to be an appreciation of the overall student affairs departments in the country. however, there is limited published research and documentation on this matter. anecdotal data suggest that student affairs departments in the majority of tertiary schools was mostly subsumed under other administrative departments and where this was not the case there was a relevance to the academia. for example, academic staff members used to be responsible for sports, wellness, and career guidance programmes. currently, this situation still pertains in most tertiary education centres. such a scenario relegates student affairs’ key functions to the periphery and compromises a holistic approach to student development. the human resource 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 51–62 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 development council (hrdc; 2014) concept paper observes the dire marginal presence of student affairs structures in the country that address the social aspect of students and absence of national guiding frameworks. transformation of the student affairs department at the university of botswana became more pronounced in the 1990s due to high student enrolments and diverse student population. there was an identified need to restructure the administrative functions. a fully established division of student affairs was finally created in 1999 under the deputy vice chancellor, student affairs with five departments and three units. their core mandate was generally to support the student life outside the classroom and, more specifically, to follow up on the university objective of “improving students’ experience”. the expectation was for each department or unit to develop programmes and services meant to empower students’ learning and to address their needs. ensuring quality in established programmes and services was to be done through service-level standards, accreditation, and partnerships (university of botswana, 2016). successes student affairs at the university led to various services and programmes in support of students’ learning such as: peer support, counselling, wellness programmes, equity programmes, interest in and focus on first-year students, cultural and sports events, living and learning community programmes, health care, leadership development programmes, and more active engagement with students outside the classroom. the understanding was that the experiences that students were exposed to would ultimately determine their life success. challenges the above successes were not without challenges. as much as structural adjustments were successfully accomplished and there was recognition of the value added by student affairs infrastructure, there was no anecdotal evidence that the envisaged success and intended soft skills were attained. the university continued to be a predominantly academic institution evidenced by budget priorities and decisions skewed to support this aspect of the institution. anything else that occurred outside the classroom was perceived as a waste of time and resources. in addition, the level of staff competencies in student affairs issues remained very low with no predetermined qualifications required for the job. job vacancies in some of the departments indicated a degree qualification in any field. few staff members had an appreciation of the need for a qualification in student affairs. support for partnerships and associations were minimal with no clear procedures for such engagement. participation of student affairs staff in international events were met with uncertainty. as the flagship university in the country, this approach meant that most institutions in the country had even more limited student affairs structures. absence of a national guiding framework for student affairs did not improve the situation, a factor observed by the hrdc as worrisome (hrdc, 2014). barbra m. pansiri & ref ilwe p. sinkamba: advocating for standards in student affairs departments ... 57 the university did not have any visible standards to be attained in student affairs and the value it was adding was constantly challenged. absence of professional associations in the country to measure and monitor the work of student affairs practitioners meant that the profession was relegated to the periphery. surprisingly, students’ behavioural and engagement issues outside the classroom continued to be a centre of debate across the institutions of learning. high failure rates, disengagement, hiv and aids prevalence, alcohol and substance abuse, and moral decadence continued to frustrate efforts towards student retention, success, and graduation, including their readiness for the employment market. therefore, a conclusion can be made that while the university had objectives, vision and mission, and structures for a student affairs academic component, the impact and value of work on the ground remained invisible and of scant significance. this presents a challenge for future growth in the area. literature validation research has shown the significant impact that student affairs departments can have on student, retention and success through quality services and programmes (astin, 1993; davenport & pasque, 2014; long, 2014; tinto, 1993). a clear demonstration of this is a study of 2,685 freshmen in 23 colleges and 16 states in the usa, that established that students at community colleges (less selective in admissions) had similar scores to their counterparts at most four-year colleges which are highly selective in this regard (hankin & gardner, 1996). the difference was attributed to the experiences that students were exposed to through thoughtful, quality interventions (often provided by student affairs and services). wenger’s (1998) model of communities of practice depicts value that can be added through well defined, articulated, and personally guided experiences. professional associations are about enabling quality. therefore, student affairs departments must adopt professional approaches if they are to create a lasting impression. the literature further confirms that greater numbers of students are attending universities and colleges with complex personal and health issues that profoundly challenge their capacity to thrive (yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013). a professional approach will shape the way the students interact with each other and with the university, as well as transforming how student affairs professionals communicate with each other (yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013). there are various challenges to those professionals across institutions and a common ground pursued through shared standards will present an opportunity to customise and address the many emerging issues. additionally, the student affairs literature suggests several successful initiatives emanating from collaboration between student and academic affairs professionals (ely, 2009; fried, 2000; pascarella & terenzini, 2005). these include first-year enrichment programmes, residential-based education and the living learning communities (astin, 1996). the value derived from well-focused, researched, quality connections guided by appropriate standards and expectations would result in a coherent, seamless, and integrated learning experience. 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 51–62 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 considerations for establishing standards at ub the changing demographics of students in african tertiary institutions; environmental impact; emerging issues in higher education; the threat and survival of student affairs departments; changes in the ict industry; the impact of globalisation; the competition from world campuses; africa’s transformation agenda for socio-economic issues, and constrained resources, all elicit the need to refocus attention on quality and value-adding initiatives through student affairs and services. student affairs departments need new solutions for the current dynamic and volatile environment. how to add value may be located in professional bodies with established, and tried and tested standards. the presence of national frameworks will not only provide guidance but also the development of norms and standards in student affairs. this is in cognisance of the fact that in developing countries, where student affairs is fully established, the determining factors have been policies at national levels and a supportive environment for such a focus which is a challenge in botswana. the following are areas where professionalising student affairs will add value: • aligning and focusing programmes to institutional missions and thus creating support from significant stakeholders; • developing cutting-edge competencies with clear learning outcomes for both social and academic skills; • establishing and maintaining collaborative partnerships; • career definition for champions of the change including defining relevant qualifications for student affairs; • establishing student-focused environments; • developing an african student affairs identity through establishing common grounds; • ethical practice and accountability; • understanding of and intervention for higher education landscape and trends; • commitment of resources and innovations for sustainable impact; • staying current in the field and eliminating comfort zones; • self-regulation by student affairs and taking control of its own destiny; and • maximising opportunities such as research, professional writing, and presentations. way forward departments of student affairs will need to understand what they do and why they do it, by taking stock of desired goals and focusing on creating impact. in so doing they will need to establish a well-articulated and integrated student affairs philosophy linked to their mission. due to absence of similar contexts they may consider joining existing professional associations and learning from others’ positive experience. establishment of uniform structures for coherence at local, national, and regional levels will be essential. role divisions might be necessary to further reinforce the team spirit and ensure that those with capabilities in certain areas are supported. professional associations thrive on a barbra m. pansiri & ref ilwe p. sinkamba: advocating for standards in student affairs departments ... 59 spirit of voluntarism and members will need to commit to going beyond the normal call of duty. this would necessitate a change from the norm by intensifying research to inform new ideas and innovations and engagement in continuous evidence-based evaluations and improvements. as much as this sounds like a tedious process, benefits will ultimately outweigh the costs as professionalisation is both a responsibility and an opportunity. according to a report by the united nations educational, scientific, and cultural organization (unesco; 2002) on the role of student affairs and services in higher education, the profession should develop and adhere to high standards of practice and behaviour including educational training and preparation, assessment of student outcomes, codes of ethics, and management practices. all are necessary in order to deliver the best services and programmes and to be accountable to students and other stakeholders. in addition, staff members in student affairs and services are required to be, or at least become (along with their faculty partners), the campus experts on knowledge and understanding of students and their development. through careful analysis of existing data, the staff members need to develop a comprehensive and accurate socio-cultural picture of their student population. this is done through identifying inadequate or missing information so that they can initiate appropriate action and inform campus administrators, faculty, student leaders, and government officials on the nature of the student body. although work in this area readily gives staff an awareness of students’ needs and wants, a phenomenological understanding that scientific instruments and methods be used to supplement this view and provide a wider perspective of the student body is crucial. conclusion there is no doubt on the importance of standards in the maturity of a profession that seeks to add value to existing structures like student affairs. we profess that standards have multiple benefits, especially to growing economies. an exploration of experiences in the usa, where such standards have been adopted, has demonstrated a possibility and a solution for africa in the 21st century to drive desired change in terms of student retention and success. it augurs well for the african transformation agenda which has placed emphasis on various units that should come into play to graduate a market-ready student. when education goes beyond the status of elites to being a basic necessity for all, then the diverse environment calls for more innovations of value. the university of botswana does recognise the need to create value through studentfocused interventions and beyond classroom curricula. a number of processes were put in place to respond to the call but more are needed as most programmes lack the depth and breadth of effective intervention with key visible competencies. literature reviews in student affairs support interventions which are evidence-based, and context-specific interventions are the ideal. such common ground can be established through standards. interrogation of student affairs knowledge, gaps, and desired impact will provide a platform for relevant conversations and attitudes needed for change. 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 51–62 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 references arminio, j. 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(2009). basic principles, values and beliefs that support an effective student affairs and services programme in higher education. in: r.b. ludeman, k.j. osfield, e.i. hidalgo, d. oste & h.s. wang (eds.). student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices (pp. 5–10). paris: unesco. ludvik, m.j.b., gardner, m.m. & hickmott, j. (2012). demonstrating student success: a practical guide to outcomes-based assessment of learning and development in student affairs. virginia: stylus publishing. magolda, p.m. & magolda, m.b.b. (2011). contested issues in student affairs: diverse perspectives & respectful dialogue. virginia: stylus publishing. major, t.e. & mangope, b. (2014). multicultural competence in student affairs: the case of the university of botswana. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(1), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.14426/ jsaa.v2i1.58 makgoba, m. & seepe, s.p. (2004). knowledge and identity: an african vision of higher education transformation. in: s.p. seepe, (ed.). towards an african identity of higher education. pretoria: vista university & skotaville media. mohamedbhai, g. (2008). the effects of massification on higher education in africa. accra: association of african universities. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (1991). how college affects students: findings from twenty years of research. san francisco: jossey-bass. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (2005). how college affects students: a third decade of research (vol. 2). san francisco: jossey-bass. rose, r. (2014). council for the advancement of standards in higher education [presentation with audio]. assessment & accountability in student affairs & higher education (cns 610). paper 40. retrieved from http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cns_assmt/40/ tinto, v. (1993). leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). chicago: the university of chicago press. unesco (united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation). (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. paris: unesco. university of botswana. (2007). student affairs concept paper. gaborone: deputy vice chancellor, student affairs. unpublished. university of botswana. (2008). a strategy for excellence: the university of botswana strategic plan for 2016 and beyond, to be a leading center for academic excellence. gaborone: vice chancellor, student affairs. unpublished. university of botswana. (2016). submission of the student affairs division on the restructuring of the division. gaborone: unpublished. upcraft, m.l. & gardner, j.n. (1987). the freshman year experience. in: j.n. hankin (ed.). the community college: opportunity and access for america’s first year students monograph series. s.c.: south carolina national resource centre. wenger, e. (1998). communities of practice: learning as a social system. systems thinker, 9(5), 2–3. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511803932 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cns_assmt/40/ https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511803932 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 51–62 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 world declaration on higher education. (1998). world declaration on higher education for the 21st century: vision and action. retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ wche/declaration_eng.htm yakaboski, t. & birnbaum, m. (2013). the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(1–2), 33–48. http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/declaration_eng.htm http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/declaration_eng.htm journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 105–106 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3070 105 www.jsaa.ac.za campus report sanrc fye conference 2018: an important space for south africa’s fye community is now taking shape annsilla nyar* * dr annsilla nyar is director: south african national resource centre for first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), university of johannesburg, south africa. email: anyar@uj.ac.za the sanrc’s annual first-year experience conference is rapidly becoming established as a focal point on south africa’s higher education calendar. the 2018 conference was held at the garden court marine parade in durban on 23–25 may 2018. the conference was attended by a wide spectrum of delegates from south africa’s universities. from the large number of 130+ delegates who were present, it was possible to see that this young conference has grown impressively since the inception of the new centre only a short time ago in 2015. the conference theme, “toward the pursuit of excellence in national support to south africa’s first-year students: critically examining all aspects of the fye”, embraced a number of different themes: (a) teaching for first-year success; (b) measurement and accountability in first-year support services; (c) innovative first-year support initiatives; (d) engaging the student voice; and (e) orientation programmes as a key element of student support. the programme reflected the diverse body of work of fye scholars and practitioners along the lines of the various themes. seventy-three papers were presented in total, in addition to the workshop sessions. the keynote addresses delivered at the conference were intended to provide important ‘framing’ reference points for the national conversations to be taking place over the three-day conference period. the opening keynote address was given by prof. sandile songca, who is deputy vice-chancellor: teaching and learning at university of zululand (unizulu). prof. songca reflected critically on the historical background of the fye concept and how it is expressed and practised in different contexts, including that of his institution of unizulu. the second keynote address of the conference on 24 may 2018 was delivered by prof. emmanuel mgqwashu, dean of education at rhodes university. prof. mgqwashu spoke about the research project, “the influence of rurality on students transitions to higher education”, on which he is currently working with two other partner universities, i.e. the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3070 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= 106 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2017, 105–106 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3070 universities of johannesburg and fort hare. the project also has international links with the universities of bristol and brighton in the united kingdom. this keynote address was particularly well received by many conference delegates, who found that the project’s framing themes of social justice and decolonisation in higher education resonated deeply with them and their work. dr laura dison, senior lecturer in the wits school of education, delivered the final keynote address on the last day of the conference, 25 may 2018. dr dison is the co-coordinator of the postgraduate diploma in higher education at university of the witwatersrand (wits). she brought her specialist knowledge of managing the wits postgraduate diploma to her critical reflections on the benefits of professional development for all higher education staff (not only academics). she also spoke to the issue of how reflective practice in teaching and learning may ultimately provide the enabling conditions for student success. the conference is intentionally designed to offer professional development opportunities to fye scholars and practitioners in ways that would continually upskill them and build their capacity for the fye work they are undertaking. the professional development workshops were very well attended. three workshops were held concurrently on the first day of the conference: (a) a heltasa tutoring and mentoring sig workshop led by dr subethra pather from university of the western cape (uwc) with heltasa colleagues dr xena cupido from cape peninsula university of technology (cput), dr nelia frade from university of johannesburg and ms thaiurie govender from durban university of technology (dut); (b) a workshop on good orientation practices as part of an sanrc national campaign on orientation, led by dr danny fontaine from university of cape town; and (c) a workshop addressing how academic libraries contribute to student success led by dr shirlene neerputh from university of western cape (uwc) and ms ingrid thomson from university of cape town (uct). the conference has quickly gained a strong national constituency, linking to one of the key goals of the sanrc, i.e. the facilitation of national networking and collaboration among south africa’s universities. the annual conference serves as testimony to the national links being forged through the unique platform that this particular space offers universities to learn more about what each institution is doing and how collaborative work can be done. it is toward this end that the conference strives to provide relevant spaces for such national conversations to take place, not only in the conference rooms but also after hours where national and international networking can take place. for those who wish to enquire about the next annual sanrc fye conference, details about sanrc fye conference 2019 can be found in due course on the sanrc website: http://www.sanrc.co.za. how to cite: nyar, a. (2018). sanrc fye conference 2018: an important space for south africa’s fye community is now taking shape. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 105–106. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3070 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3070 http://www.sanrc.co.za http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3070 _goback 1 jsaa (journal of student affairs in africa) special edition: tutoring and mentoring – key strategies for tertiary educational development in south africa editor in chief, prof teboho moja guest editor: dr nelia frade (neliaf@uj.ac.za) editorial committee: dr thierry luescher, prof martin mandew, dr birgit schreiber, ms lucy alexander, prof james garraway overview of the jsaa special edition – tutoring and mentoring – key strategies for tertiary educational development in south africa (nov 2017) student support through tutoring and mentoring, as understood in the academic mainstream as well as in the student affairs domain, are demonstrations of an ethics of care in higher education. such strategies, integrated or embedded in mainstream teaching and learning practices, have been supported by the department of higher education and training through teaching development grants to facilitate a more effective transition for students into academe, to achieve better learning, retention as well as increased academic success rates. through this special issue, we hope to promote a broader exploration and interrogation of these strategies within teaching and learning at universities, thereby contributing to strengthened scholarship and debate, which might lead to further research, insights and questions, and ultimately the strengthening of practice. published research on these topics from south africa and africa have contributed to engaging scholarly approaches to educational development: however, as an emergent field of research and scholarship, educational support and development, requires evaluative, descriptive and analytic research approaches to share best practices, theorise the field and consider the role of contextual factors unique to the south african context. the diverse roles played by different forms of educational support, as well as terminology variations contribute to challenges around the coherence of research on tutoring and mentoring in south africa, and comparative analysis. frameworks, implementation, theory and practices for tutoring and mentoring strategies also vary across the diverse disciplines in any one institution. interesting debates are being held across institutions, in faculties, in student affairs, and teaching and learning units, regarding discipline specific versus generic approaches; also under debate is who best plays these support roles, as well as issues of embedding or differentiating such support strategies. more theorising is required to understand and conceptualise these issues towards more effective practice. papers are invited which move beyond the specifics of programme application and outcome evaluations to exploring factors which could form the basis of student support theory and practice, without losing the specificities of discipline and context, so critical to making sense of an intervention. the issues of social justice and transformation underpinning such interventions are also pertinent, as are specific manifestations of these values. 2 we invite papers that engage critically with questions such as these or introduce additional questions for the 5th volume (november 2017) of the journal for student affairs in africa. papers can be conceptual or empirical but must address the concerns of the special issue clearly. papers on the following topics are invited: tutoring and mentoring as strategies for transforming higher education o key educational development and transformation strategies for equity in higher education o the policy and funding landscape in he influencing tutoring and mentoring o is responsibility for student educational support optimally distributed? o institutional-systemic versus programme support strategies o tensions around remediation and development o social justice and the ethics of care in higher education support strategies o educational development strategies for retention and integration of students o alignment of academic and personal social engagement o attaining graduate attributes within and outside the classroom through tutoring and mentoring o the role of formal and informal student groups in supporting each other towards social justice and equity goals. tutoring and mentoring theory and development in higher education in sa o theoretical underpinnings in tutoring and mentoring for south african higher education o the implications of context for tutoring and mentoring o articulation of support and development with mainstream curriculum o generic versus disciplinary tutoring models o capacity development and professionalization of staff with reference to a wider conceptualisation of support and development o training and development, and valued attributes of mentors and tutors. successful models of tutoring and mentoring o systemic reviews and meta-analysis of theory and practice of tutoring and mentoring in south africa o evidence of strategies which bring success in tutoring and mentoring in higher education o educational support via supplemental media, multimedia/curriculum pathways/frameworks. the journal of student affairs in africa (which is currently under review for accreditation) plans to publish a special edition which creates a platform for debate and engagement on the tutorial and mentoring support provided to higher education students in south africa, within and linked to the academic and disciplinary domain. http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa#.v_3pjyrzsmr http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa#.v_3pjyrzsmr 3 the jsaa is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open-access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and reflective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in africa. authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. two article types are invited: research-based (academic) articles and reflective practitioner (professional) articles. research-based articles contributors are encouraged to submit original research-based manuscripts of approx. 5000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150-300 words. research-based articles should include consideration of recent literature and theory, their contribution to it, and they must comply with standard academic conventions and scholarly practices. reflective articles reflective practitioner accounts of professional campus practice are also invited for peer review. they are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic conventions and scholarly practices. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution and significantly enhance our understanding of tutoring and mentoring practices within their respective scope and focus. typical length: 2,500 – 5,000 words. submission process and important dates please send your paper to the guest editor: dr nelia frade, senior coordinator: tutor development, university of johannesburg, at neliaf@uj.ac.za manuscripts due review process mon 13 february 2017 1 march-7 may 2017 (including return to author/s for amendments or adjustments) final re-submission date for accepted and reworked articles 17 july 2017 envisaged publication date 1 november 2017 submission procedure http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions because this is a special edition, please send this to the guest editor, dr nelia frade at neliaf@uj.ac.za. please do not submit it online. queries may be directed to the same email address. http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions mailto:neliaf@uj.ac.za 4 jsaa: submission preparation checklist as part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines. 1. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 2. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 3. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the author guidelines, which is found in about the journal. the journal uses the apa author-date referencing system (for details see our referencing guide). 4. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practitioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind review have been followed. 5. if submitting a proposal for the interview/dialogue section, a call or notice, or a comment/critique, please email directly to the journal manager. 6. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 7. the front page of the manuscripts indicates the section under which the article is proposed to be published i.e. research article (peer reviewed); reflective practice (peer reviewed); or book reviews. 8. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced upon request by the editorial team. 9. the submission must be accompanied by a scanned signed statement that: the following article (full title) is confirmed as the author’s own work. signed (author/s’ name/s). this special edition is related to the joint conference of the international consortium of educational development (iced) and the higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa). we particularly welcome papers presented at the conference. it is published with the support of funding from the department of higher education national collaborative teaching development grant: the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats. http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions#authorguidelines http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions#authorguidelines http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/manager/publicfolder/jsaa_manager/jsaa-apareferencestyleguide.pdf http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/manager/publicfolder/jsaa_manager/jsaa-apareferencestyleguide.pdf javascript:openhelp('http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/help/view/editorial/topic/000044') journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 151 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state theuns du buisson* * theuns du buisson is academic facilitator in the philosophy department, university of the free state, south africa. email: dubuissonth@ufs.ac.za abstract conducting undergraduate studies in the english language, while only a small minority of students speak english at home, poses many problems to learning in the south african context. this article explores how restrictive language policies may influence proper learning and impact negatively on the self-understanding of students. it also explores how multilingualism could help to reduce the continued reliance on english, without doing away with english in its entirety. this is especially relevant in light of english and other colonial languages still being perceived as “languages of power” (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 403). therefore, attention is given to the link between language and power, especially in light of languages often being used to implement, display and preserve power. language use in the classroom, especially with regard to codeswitching (also called translanguaging), is discussed. finally, it explores the success that was achieved during multilingual tutorial sessions. in the tutorials, students were encouraged to explore the course work in their native languages, thereby internalising it and getting a better understanding thereof. keywords tutoring; multilingualism; higher education; codeswitching introduction in 2016, with the language policy committee reviewing the university of the free state’s language policy, some of us in the philosophy department decided to conduct the tutorials for philosophy by means of a multilingual approach. this was done in preparation for what seemed to be the future language policy. our expectations were realised in the new language policy (university of the free state, 2016). rather than having separate tutorials for english and afrikaans language speakers as in the past, we brought all students together in one class. they were then allowed to form smaller groups, according to their mother tongues, or language preferences. the motivation was that we were of the opinion that a high proportion of learning problems stem from students’ lack of english comprehension and usage. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:dubuissonth%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 152 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 the aim of this article, therefore, is to assess the impact of language policies on students’ learning experiences. special attention is given to multilingual policies. challenges to such policies are discussed, in conjunction with the challenges faced by second-language students. finally, the multilingual tutorials themselves are discussed in a reflective manner. discussion multilingualism in language policies across the world and in south africa even though the european union and the council of europe are encouraging multilingualism, it is rarely seen in official language policies. in austria, for example, slovene is neglected in favour of german. this is because having everyone speak german is thought to be good for social cohesion (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, p. 554). in portugal, a similar situation occurs, with the difference being that second-language speakers are usually immigrants (faneca, sa & melo-pfeifer, 2016, p. 45). as part of nation building, many countries opt for a monolingual policy, aiming towards single-language societies. this frequently alienates speakers of minority languages from influential positions. even if national languages are local, they still put students who are speakers of other languages at a disadvantage (tupas, 2015, p. 114). bilingualism and multilingualism are often seen as enemies of national unity. they are therefore portrayed in purely negative terms. according to skutnabb-kangas and garcia (1995, p. 223) it is especially common for people in the united states of america to view bilingualism and multilingualism as factors leading to “ghettoization”, “ethnic unrest” or “separatism”. bilingualism then stands in stark contrast to nation-building and assimilation (asfaha, 2015, p. 138; skutnabb-kangas & garcia, 1995, p. 223). nation building is not the only political consideration that plagues multilingualism. many developmental agencies, such as the association of south-east asian nations opt for single-language policies in order to integrate geographical economic communities. english is generally the choice of such organisations, as it opens trade between the region and the rest of the world (tupas, 2015, p. 113). many arabic countries opt for purely arabic policies to ensure that the dominant group retains its position of power (bahous, bachab & nabhani, 2014, p. 355). national governments use language as a means to attain and expand power in both economic and political domains. according to van der walt and wolhuter (2016, p. 1024), a language becomes a language of power, when those in favour of it also wield economic, political and military power. the question with regard to policy is usually in terms of the role of other languages in relation to english. english language proficiency then becomes a gatekeeper in deciding who has access to university and who does not (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 404). in india, many universities decided to teach in the majority language of the region, with english as a supplementary language. this simultaneously prevents language from becoming a gatekeeper, but also ensures that everything does not succumb to the english melting-pot (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 408). this can easily be the case, as english is seen as a language of power. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 153 in south africa, power also played a decisive role in developing language policies. this was often the case when white people formed policies in such a way that their interests were advanced, often at the cost of black people and their indigenous languages. today, universities are expected to aid students by providing assistance and lectures in african languages, as the majority of students are not proficient in english or afrikaans (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 39). later in this text, however, it becomes clear that this is seldom done. even though in 1994, south africa was in the position to implement fully multilingual policies in higher education, this did not happen. there was hope for a fully inclusive policy that would have put african languages at the same level as english, making south africa a leader in the advancement of african language interests. because no decisive action was taken, meaning that language policies were almost in a state of non-existence, proponents of african language instruction have been disappointed overall. the result is that most universities became monolingual english institutions (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 407). despite some universities, mainly previously afrikaans universities, becoming bilingual (by including english) and officially mentioning african languages in their policies, we are yet to see real advances being made with regard to african languages as languages of teaching and learning (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 407). although african languages are mentioned in policies, it seems clear that none of the universities plan to use them as a medium of instruction soon. african languages should not be seen as having an inferior vocabulary. when afrikaans was first used, it did not have an extended vocabulary either, but consisted of words used by its “agrarian original speakers” (king & chetty, 2014, pp. 46–47). afrikaans did, however, become a fully-fledged language of commerce, science and education (king & chetty, 2014, pp. 46–47). for a language to be regarded as a language of power, it is a prerequisite that it be used in these fields, as afrikaans came to do. therefore, using a lack of vocabulary as a reason to exclude african languages is illogical, as languages develop through use, and should be used “in their current form as primary or auxiliary media of instruction” (madiba, 2013, p. 387). the university of limpopo also opted for teaching in english only. despite their expectation of students being proficient in english, this was seldom the case. the majority of students have only the most basic grasp of english, meaning that they struggle to finish their degrees within the required time (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 409). with a graduation rate of 15%, which is mostly ascribed to english deficiency, it is almost unfathomable that english is still the only language of teaching and learning at ul. this “gravitation towards unilingualism” threatens other languages and the cultural value that they carry within them (makalela & mccabe, 2014, p. 411). the council for higher education (che) lists several reasons for the poor academic performance of undergraduate students. these include, but are not limited to, material and socio-economic factors related to the inequalities that stem from apartheid, the lack of academic support and underpreparedness for university studies (che, 2013, pp. 54–57). according to the che-report, this underpreparedness, or insufficient academic literacy, is mainly linguistic in nature. almost all of the requirements for being academically literate, as listed in the report, have to do with reading and writing (che, 2013, p. 58). “the academic 154 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 problems are familiar – a severe articulation gap, difficulties with the medium of instruction for the majority of students for whom english is a second, third or sometimes fourth language, and mainstream curricula that have not adjusted to these realities …” (che, 2013, p. 83). by providing students with the opportunity to have academic discourses in their mother tongues, we aim to take steps in order to adjust to this reality. by following resource-based, rather than rights-based approaches, the academic registers of many languages could be built up simultaneously. what this would entail is that actual resources are spent on the development of different languages. in most current language policies, language diversity is displayed by means of having building names in multiple languages or handing out pamphlets in multiple languages. a resource-based approach, rather than a rights-based approach, would mean that actual work is being done in terms of developing different languages (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 399). this could then bridge the gaps between african and western knowledge systems. in this way, a higher education system in which only about 5% of the population succeeds can be radically transformed (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 403). transformation, however, seldom refers to language when it is used in university policies, visions and goal statements. with the emphasis on a vague thing called “transformation,” many students may feel that they are “already transformed”. the obvious next step is then to learn the so-called “languages of power”, meaning that english is the only language option that makes sense (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 403). not only do restrictive language policies lead to low academic achievement in the short term, but also to a negative self-perception in the long term (fredricks & warriner, 2016, p. 319). it is, of course, not just students who must transform. a joint effort by students and faculty staff should be undertaken to ensure transformation from superficial language rights, to the actual granting thereof. even though english is currently the language of “business and trade,” languages and their roles are not static. the role of the english language could easily be taken over by other languages in the future (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 411). one country that realises this in its policy-making is eritrea. even though it went through a lot of political turmoil, with each regime favouring their chosen languages, primary education is currently offered in nine languages. english enjoys a prominent position, without infringing on the grounds of other languages (asfaha, 2015, pp. 137–138). it is well known that people learn to read better when taught in a language that they already know and speak (trudell & schroeder, 2007, p. 165). therefore, access to the languages of power, or the languages of those in power, can only be granted once people are literate. like in the case of eritrea, mother tongue-based multilingual education is the best way to attain that. language, power, culture and identity language policies can have vast impacts on the behaviour of people in certain settings, in response to their own language use. the state of arizona implemented an “english only” policy in their public schools. this has led to people policing themselves and others, and even making people reflect negatively on their own languages. languages other than english are often portrayed in the vilest ways imaginable (fredricks & warriner, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 155 p. 309). people in general also associate english with modernity, while vernacular languages are seen as backward. this is especially the case in many societies that were previously colonised (tupas, 2015, p. 120). one should be wary of alienating particular cultures in favour of an anglocentric model. just because english is used, the language need not control the culture of discourses (dafouz & smith, 2016, pp. 405–406). often, if attention is only given to the language of teaching and learning, heritage languages are stripped of their power. they become associated with inferiority (faneca et al., 2016, p. 49). one of the ultimate contradictions in such a scenario is that native speakers of minority languages are discouraged from speaking it. non-native speakers, on the other hand, are encouraged to learn minority languages (fredricks & warriner, 2016, p. 312). a school usually has language hierarchies that are closely linked to power relations (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, pp. 557–558). inequalities and unequal power structures that are shaped by language use can only be uprooted by confronting them, by means of mother tongue-based multilingual education. unfortunately, many ideological misconceptions hinder such policies from being embraced (tupas, 2015, pp. 115–117). often, socio-economic factors can be aligned with language and the prestige of the relevant languages. if speakers of a certain language are generally poor, they may associate certain other languages with power and progress. this makes them hesitant when they are expected to choose their own language as a subject, or receive instruction in it (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 41). this is one of the reasons why using african languages in education is often criticised, even though such criticism runs contrary to most theories of education, which state that mother tongue-based education is by far the most effective. other possible reasons may be the argument that the apartheid government advocated teaching in african languages, to keep black people out of the “languages of power”. (king & chetty, 2014, p. 47). english, and to some extent afrikaans, is still regarded as such today, even though many people, including native speakers thereof, are wary of afrikaans, due to its connotation with apartheid (king & chetty, 2014, p. 47). some governments may have a vested interest in keeping certain groups, and their languages from attaining power. as there is a proven link between thought, culture and language, oppressing a certain language may prevent the speakers thereof from uplifting themselves by means of autonomous thought. the best, if not the only, way to prevent this lack of autonomy, and encourage free thought, is by means of instruction in the first language of those being taught (van der walt & wolhuter, 2016, p. 1027). different dialects could also be deemed as belonging to different power positions. ferguson (1959), as cited by (bahous et al., 2014, p. 356) identifies “diglossic” languages as different dialects that are used in the same region. this refers to a “higher” variation that is mostly used in education and official documentation, and a “lower” register that is used in colloquial settings. codeswitching and diglossia are both often used as means to establish and show off power. studies in the philippines show that this also happens when external “power languages” are acquired. even though most people in the philippines choose to be schooled in english, inequality is so great that poor students end up learning a type of english that is “deemed undesirable by society” (tupas, 2015, p. 119). 156 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 when learning languages in order to escape certain socio-economic conditions, one must remember that the languages of power are not stagnant. just as languages can lose value, they can also gain value through seemingly unrelated causes. as political instability in lebanon came to be the norm, english and french achieved an even higher status. it became a way out, through which students could further their studies overseas (bahous et al., 2014, p. 355). languages are not spoken in isolation, but often form part of many other social functions. therefore, languages also have certain values or prestige attached to them. usually, languages of learning and higher orders have “overt prestige”, while vernacular languages have “covert prestige”. this means that they are valued, but not as much in public as in private (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 40). it is therefore of the utmost importance to understand students’ relationships with their heritage languages. as language and culture are often intertwined, one must be cognisant of the “real or imaginary language practices in the various contexts in which they move” (faneca et al., 2016, pp. 49–50). even though language may not be a defining cultural marker for everyone, as with religion, class or ethnicity for some people, it always contributes. users of language may feel different affinities to the languages that they know. some languages may be simply a tool, while others may be at the heart of their being (van der walt, 2013, pp. 164–165). teaching and learning subject language if students cannot cope with the language in which they are learning, they are set back for as long as it takes to become proficient in the language (gibbons, 1995, p. 104). one of the prominent parts of learning a particular subject is the technical language terms thereof, as each field of study comes with words that are endemic to it. for students who are still learning the language of teaching and learning, this poses many problems (gablasova, 2015, p. 62). second-language students often use a blend of technical english and common english, which is not suited to their particular fields (winberg, van der geest, lehman & nduna, 2010, p. 299). even though more south african students claim english as their first language, compared to in the past, it is clear that the type of english that they refer to is often far removed from the english required for university studies. this is being addressed by means of academic literacy programmes, in which students are taught how to write in the academic style and register (che, 2013, p. 71). our tutorial programme also aims to serve as a partial remedy. students’ reference to english as a home language may also be mistaken, as many of their homes are bilingual or multilingual. such students seldom come into contact with academic registers in any context (stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 398). native speakers often have trouble with new words, or subject-specific words. while non-native speakers would then guess at wrong meanings, native speakers would guess at correct, but incomplete meanings for such words. if other words in a sentence are unknown to a student, the chances are slim that they would understand the technical terms (gablasova, 2015, p. 69). such learning not only concerns learning new concepts, but also erroneous information that is often included in mental definitions of words (gablasova, 2015, p. 70). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 157 studying the acquisition of technical terms for non-native speakers is difficult as they often do not distinguish between new words that are known to native speakers and actual technical words. non-native learners are often able to grasp technical concepts, but with a much narrower scope of the meaning thereof (gablasova, 2015, p. 69). where words exist in students’ native languages, the translation could provide a reference point from which understanding can follow. simply appplying a label to a concept could be meaningless if the student has no way of recognising it in his/her own frame of reference (king & chetty, 2014, p. 46). students who write in their own languages tend to grasp their audience better, as compared to when they write in english. certain fields are seen to “belong” to english, and therefore, in the students’ view, the focus, when writing, should fall on how it is presented, rather than on explaining content (winberg et al., 2010, p. 302). plagiarism often occurs, because students struggle to integrate different sources. melles (2015), quoted by winberg et al. (2010, p. 301) coined the term “plagiphrasing” which refers to students who “plagiarise entire phrases as a compensatory strategy”. language use within the classroom even though mother-tongue learning is by far the best type of instruction, it must be acknowledged that learners are not only confined by language. their languages form but part of one of many systems that help them to either exert control, or to be controlled by others (tupas, 2015, p. 121). students who are not proficient in the english language usually come from schools where they also faced other challenges. it would be an oversimplification to only refer to “english-medium teaching” in the same way across countries, as not all have the same language demography. in multilingual settings, multilingual students and lecturers work together to construct knowledge, by means of their respective linguistic backgrounds and resources (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 400). second-language learners not only differ in their competency of the language of learning, but they also differ in the richness of the language that they bring with them. this is often undervalued, with minor exceptions when it comes to common second languages. if students’ home languages are to be used in a productive way, they cannot be placed into strict confines like “languages of origin”, pitted against the “target language” (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, pp. 555–556). students who only understand english on a very basic level when being accepted to study at english-medium universities, is not only a south african problem. during a lebanese study, many lecturers complained that students were using a mix of arabic and english in class. this is probably due to them being at the “minimum level required” to be accepted to university (bahous et al., 2014, p. 354). one should take into account that very few languages are homogenous throughout. in most cases, the language spoken at home is a completely different dialect than that spoken in academia. therefore, insisting on the use of pure standardised languages, even mother-tongue, would be just as foreign to students as the current english-only approach (madiba, 2013, p. 390). one way to address this is by making use of, often subconscious, codeswitching. 158 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 king & chetty (2014, p. 40) “loosely” define codeswitching as “the use of two or more languages, varieties, or even dialects within a single language turn”. this is in no way confined to classrooms. codeswitching often happens because students are not competent enough in the target language. many studies, specifically around language learning, have found that using the local pidgin forms of the language could be helpful in learning the “proper” form thereof (bahous et al., 2014, p. 357). codeswitching is often used to shift power from the teacher to students. in this way, a question may seem less intimidating when asked in the student’s native language, rather than in english, which carries its own imperatives (king & chetty, 2014, p. 43). students often code-switch to clarify meaning or to confirm their understanding of certain concepts. the majority agree that they form a better understanding when teachers use both english and their native languages (aziakpano & bekker, 2010, p. 47; bahous et al., 2014, p. 360; stroud & kerfoot, 2013, p. 400). codeswitching often occurs so as to ensure that students understand the english concepts that they are being taught (king & chetty, 2014, p. 41). because it may be seen as a failure of adapting to the university setup, many students and teachers deny ever codeswitching in a classroom situation. this may be because they act in contravention of the language policy, or because it would be a confession to not being fully proficient in english (bahous et al., 2014, p. 631). another possible reason, especially in the south african context, for not affirming the use of codeswitching, could be the internalised links between language and racial or ethnic purity (king & chetty, 2014, p. 44). studies of english-medium education in multilingual settings are not only concerned with the language that is spoken in class, but also with how english is used elsewhere. it is not only the language of teaching and learning, but also the common language between professions and trade (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 399). facilitating tutorials research has shown that peer tutoring helps students to better understand academic work, while also improving the throughput thereof (bowman-perry, burke, zhang & zaini, 2014, p. 261). reciprocal peer tutoring motivates students to constantly monitor their own understanding of the work that they are studying (de backer et al., 2015, p. 482). in this model of tutoring, students constantly switch from being tutors to students, and vice versa, within their groups. academic achievement leads to more academic engagement (bowman-perry et al., 2014). because peer tutoring increases both, it could start a positive cycle, resulting in greater academic gains. increasing student numbers, compared to relatively low increases in teaching staff, constantly forces universities to rethink the ways in which they encourage and support students. one such way is reciprocal peer tutoring (de backer et al., 2015, pp. 484–485). one major advantage of having tutors is that individual feedback can be received from students, without increasing the workload of the instructor (lee, hong & choi, 2017, p. 43). students often report that they are scared or shy to ask questions, or to actively take part in tutorials. this is usually the result of their poor language skills in english. for this http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 159 reason, many students requested that isixhosa tutorials be offered as an option during the first academic year at rhodes university (aziakpono & bekker, 2010, p. 47). similarly, this request has been made in our department at the university of the free state for sesotho and isizulu tutorials. academic staff, especially tutors, should use classroom interactions to measure proficiency in academic discourse. these discourses generate new meaning, by means of students and lecturers engaging their respective cultures in these discourses. the english language is merely the lingua franca, a tool through which these discourses happen (dafouz & smith, 2016, p. 407). some of the tutors’ roles have to do with facilitating discussions and having discussions with students. this is an important tool that should be used to measure how students are progressing (lee et al., 2017, p. 154). students have shown that they are more inclined to take ownership of their learning when they are allowed to converse about coursework in the languages of their choice (purkarthofer & mossakowski, 2011, p. 558). monitoring of academic progress could then happen when feedback is given, or through actively listening to student discussions. these discussions are not just for monitoring student progress, but also so that guidance can be given when students are struggling. reflection on philosophy tutorials at the university of the free state tutorials were held once a week to supplement the weekly lectures. both were two hours in duration. students were required to read a philosophical text in preparation for the weekly lectures and tutorials. during lectures, a member or the instructional staff explained the week’s reading fully. i, as facilitator, was tasked with supplementing these lectures by means of tutorials. during these tutorials, the aim was not merely to repeat the lecture in a different format, but to equip students with the necessary skills to interpret such lectures by themselves. i usually split up the two-hour tutorial session into two parts. during the first part, i conducted an informal discussion with the class. this part usually lasted a maximum of 45 minutes. during this time, i went through some key words and phrases in order to ensure that everybody shared certain levels of understanding. this process reinforced the acquisition of subject-specific terms. students were often asked to paraphrase certain important passages from the text. they were given a specific amount of time to finish this. afterwards, students were requested to send their anonymously written answers to me in the front of the class. i then read some of these aloud to the whole class, asking them to locate where improvements could be made. not only did this help to attain academic literacy, but by doing such exercises, i hoped to equip students with the skills needed for them to act as peer-tutors for each other. this served as a basis from which the second part of the tutorial followed. during the second part of the tutorial, students were asked to divide themselves into groups of no more than five students per group, according to their native languages, or the languages which they prefer. in this particular class, students tended to form english, afrikaans, sesotho and isizulu groups. 160 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 151–162 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 some questions were then displayed on the screen, which students were required to discuss within their groups. students were then encouraged to speak the languages that they were most comfortable with in discussing the questions. the questions were displayed in english, afrikaans, isizulu and sesotho. thereafter, students gave feedback to the class in the english language. at first, some students were hesitant to practise academic discourses in their native languages. many students thought that they simply would not have the vocabulary in their languages to express philosophy as it is usually done by means of the english and afrikaans languages. these fears were quickly replaced with confidence as students realised that questions on the screen made no use of words borrowed from other languages. students were even more surprised to find that they knew many of these words already. even though african languages are not regarded as languages of power, students were implicitly made aware that this lack of power stems from past politics. they could then come to the conclusion that languages are not innately inferior when they are not used as languages of instruction. from about the second week of the course, it became apparent that students were prepared to get actively involved in the process. what was probably the most empowering was when they realised that their understanding really improved as they were able to internalise the concepts before conveying them in the english language again. as the module was concerned with the contribution of the founding fathers of the christian church to philosophy, it became apparent, especially to students of the catholic faith, that they were more familiar with the vocabulary. catholicism is a widely practised religion in south africa, and especially lesotho, where many of our students are from. this enabled most of the group members to function with a remarkable grasp of the content knowledge. as mentioned earlier, many students were initially reluctant to speak in the class because they were scared of demonstrating their lack of english proficiency. by enabling dialogues in multiple languages in the course, this fear was quickly overcome such that when students were asked to give feedback in english, they were much less reluctant than before. conclusion the use of language is an important part of learning. many problems that students experience, when it comes to learning, emanate from their limited language capabilities. even though language policies that support second-language learners should be implemented, this has not yet been done sufficiently. by offering multilingual tutorials, within an english language-centred coursework, lecturers and tutors can offer relevant support to students without stepping outside the institution’s language policy. the increase in confidence, paired with much better student engagement, serves to prove how effective multilingual subject learning could be. it empowers students to dig deeper into their personal experiences, which are seldom formed in the english language, in order to better enrich their understanding of content knowledge. should it become possible to offer course materials in students’ mother tongue, the expectation is that students will become even more involved with their own learning. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 theuns du buisson: facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state 161 references asfaha, y.m. 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(2017). facilitating multilingual tutorials at the university of the free state. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 151–162. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/lds/melles/cfm http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/lds/melles/cfm https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-011-9255-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2013.09.003 https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199803)26 https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199803)26 https://doi.org/10.2167/lcc333.0 https://doi.org/10.2167/lcc333.0 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2014.977295 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2014.977295 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/default-source/policy-institutional-documents/language-policy.pdf?sfvrsn=0 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/default-source/policy-institutional-documents/language-policy.pdf?sfvrsn=0 https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2010.545032 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2706 115 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at www.jsaa.ac.za. submissions must be made by email to the journal manager at jsaa_editor@outlook.com. the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. in teaching and learning, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. research-based articles must be original and research-based and must make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. the length must be approximately 5 000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as for research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution, and must significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. typical length should be 2 500–5 000 words. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • book reviews should be between 800 and 1 000 words in length. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • comments and critique, of no more than 2 500 words, are also welcome. • proposal for the journal’s dialogue/interview section and calls and notices should be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences, vacancies, etc.) may incur a nominal fee. authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 2. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 3. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 4. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 5. the journal uses the apa author–date referencing system. 6. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind review must have been followed. 7. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. 8. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 9. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); reflective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 116 10. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial team. section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer-reviewed); high-quality reflective practitioner accounts (peer-reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed campus dialogue/interview section ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed book reviews ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed the editorial and peer-review policy adheres to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals (assaf council, 2008). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive committee to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant reflective practitioner accounts are blind-reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, who would typically be members of the international editorial advisory board of the jsaa. peer reviewers have proven scholarly and/or professional expertise in the subject matter of a manuscript. reviewer reports are assessed by a member of the editorial executive and form the basis of any decision by the editorial executive on how to proceed with a manuscript. the suitability of a manuscript is evaluated in terms of originality, significance, scholarship, scope and interest, and accessibility. publishing and dissemination policies cost of publishing there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. licensing notice authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a creative commons attribution license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal. authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. open access policy this journal provides open access to its e-journal content. free copies can be downloaded from the journal website at http://www.jsaa.ac.za. authors are encouraged to place copies of their final articles in their institution’s research repository. print copies/subscription online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at www.jsaa.ac.za. printed copies of current and past issues of the journal can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective.com/; amazon books http://www.amazon.com. print copies can also be ordered directly from the publisher’s website http://www.africanminds.org.za and at info@africanminds.org.za. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 121–127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 121 www.jsaa.ac.za campus report mental health at universities: universities are not in loco parentis – students are active partners in mental health birgit schreiber* * dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, south africa. she is the book review editor and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za mental health in the spotlight mental health is currently in the national and international and african spotlight (jacaranda, 2018; mabasa, 2018). recently, the south african higher education mourned losses at wits university, stellenbosch university, as well as other institutions of higher learning (mabasa, 2018). the u.k. media featured an article in the guardian, quoting the u.k. minister of higher education as saying that higher education institutions risk “failing an entire generation of students” (adams, 2018). this article takes position on the emerging discourse around mental health in higher education. it discusses the extent of the problem and reveals the challenges in our understanding in terms of the absolute measures and highlights that particularly female students are at risk (lochner et al., 2018). this article emphasises that constructions of students as active partners in higher education opens the opportunity to enlist students as active partners in creating conditions conducive to health and healthy choices that promote mental health. hyperbolic responses like bristol university’s call for all academics to go on suicide watch training and the bbc’s suggestion for students choosing the ‘opt-in’ service (adams,  2018; bbc,  2018) and blame-discourses focusing on higher education are unconsidered, reductionist and simplistic. these positions deepen the myth that there is one pathogen that causes mental ill-health and one solution that forestalls it. the ecosystemic and multi-etiological framework of mental health is far more useful in illuminating factors that impact mental health. the most critical factors which need to be emphasised include multiple sociocultural contextual factors including gender violence, the ‘always on’ y-generation, promoting help seeking enablers and putting pressure on the public health and school system to respond during early adolescence which is onset for most mental health issues. student affairs in higher education institutions needs to focus on ecosystemic interventions, working towards a caring and engaging institutional context, and focus on promoting help-seeking behaviours as well as doing targeted intervention focusing on at risk groups. specific at risk groups include high alcohol users, female students with history of self-harm and students with low social embeddedness. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= 122 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 121–127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 extent of problem the official journal of the world psychiatric association collects data on life time prevalence and projected lifetime risk of mental disorders via the who’s world mental health survey of young adults (kessler et al., 2007). seventeen countries across the world are compared (n = 85 052) and very useful and reliable data emerges. the highest prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder are reported in the u.s. and columbia. according to the who study, the south african figures for anxiety and mood disorders are much lower than these and lower compared to the netherlands, mexico, germany and italy (kessler et al., 2007). figures from nigeria suggest that prevalence of mental illness there is much lower than south africa (kessler et al., 2007). these figures suggest that the causality is much more complex. the simplistic leap to blaming socioeconomic status of students and the performance focus of higher education is unhelpful. to examine the data on the south african student population, the recent ‘caring university project’ has gathered data on mental health from 18 universities in 8 countries across the continent (lochner et al., 2018). it emerges that 24,68% of students reported at least one lifetime major depressive disorder and 20,8% a generalised anxiety disorder (lochner et al., 2018). the onset of mental illness is around 14 years of age and the most vulnerable group appears to be females (lochner et al., 2018). amongst the students in this study, race, first generation, or financial vulnerability did not emerge as a risk factor (lochner et al., 2018). in a meta-analysis examining sixty-one studies that explored hopelessness as correlators of mood disorders, lester (2013) found that there was only small increase in hopelessness since 1978, with american undergraduate students scoring significantly better than students from other nations. twenge (2015) reviewed research on incidence of mental illness and found that there has been a steady increase in mental health issues for the past decade. we see a decline of suicidality since the 1990, and while this may be an indication that there has been an improvement of mental illness, this may be related to the increased prescription of antidepressants and more readily accessed mental health care services (twenge, 2015). it is evident, that the research on increase in reporting and/or incidence of mental illness is not conclusive. there are questions on what exactly is measured: increase in reporting? increase in availability of mental health care services? increase in accessing services? a reduction of stigma (lochner et al., 2018) and thus a breaking of the silence around mental health? are students more psychologised and thus quicker to identify symptoms and seek help more readily (koppetsch, 2018)? is there a cultural shift towards a higher demand on subjective wellness? is there a quicker leap from distress to disorder? or do we indeed see an increase in depression and anxiety in our student population? these are questions that are not fully explored. constructions of students – active partners in mental health mental health issues are not going to be addressed by focusing on higher education institutions as the curartive driver. this focus on higher education as the responsible agent https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 b. schreiber: mental health at universities: universities are not in loco parentis: students are active partners … 123 is regressive and reminds of the in loco parentis model of higher education. it positions higher education in a paternalistic role and reduces students to helpless minors and vulnerable victims. the focus, at least in part, needs to be on students as active collaborators in the fight against mental health issues. south african higher education and the larger part of africa is currently in the throes of de-colonialisation, reconceptualisation of the curriculum, considering higher education practice and principles, and examining its own raison d’être (le grange, 2016). the guiding framework for this renewal borrows from socially just pedagogies and liberation education. within social pedagogies students are conceptualised as active partners in education; and within socially just pedagogies, students are constructed as active agents and collaborators in addressing conditions that perpetuate social inequalities. students are active partner within the system of education and they cannot be treated “as the unfortunate” (freire, 1970, p. 54). so, too, are students active partners in considering issues around mental health. martín-baró (1989), a scholar of freire, who applied liberation education principles to psychology maintains that “psychotherapy must aim directly at … shaping a new identity for people as members of a human community” (1994, p. 43). martín-baró (1989) thus argues that students need to be enlisted to address issues that perpetuate ill-health and are active agents of promoting conditions that are conducive to mental health. this article argues that the basic stance of any psychological and counselling service within student affairs in current african higher education should be aligned to the tenets of socially just pedagogies. students are part of martín-baró’s ‘human community’ and are part of efforts to improve mental health. the construction of the active and engaged student as a key collaborator in successful education is akin to the notion of agency in psychotherapy. these are important constructions of the student-patient, as participation, agency, subjective engagement and active involvement is a key predictor for therapeutic success (orlinsk et al., 2004). in a meta-analysis of 27 therapeutic outcomes, it appeared that patients’ therapeutic agency leads to improved therapeutic outcomes (bohart & wade, 2013; coleman & neimeyer, 2015). students as active partners is not only a conceptual argument aligned to liberation education and social justice, but also an established tenet of successful psychological and medical treatment. hyperbolic and alarmist responses deepen erroneous myths the idea that suicidality and mental ill-health can be ‘addressed’ or ‘dealt with’ in the higher education sector by general university staff, academics and management – as argued by adams in the guardian based on bristol university’s and the universities u.k.’s report (adams, 2018) and the reveals a lack of knowledge of mental illness, is simplifying the interacting causal aspects of precipitating and predisposing factors, fudges the scope of higher education, and furthermore, and perhaps the most sinisterly, implies that higher education is the central caretaker responsible for the prevention of and treatment on suicidality, anxiety and depression. 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 121–127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 the idea that academics should “intervene when students get into difficulties” (adams, 2018, p. 2) is counter to what academia is about. students indeed need to be challenged and some of these challenges are uncomfortable, unsettling and confront the status quo. to sanitise the higher education experience of challenges is absurd. as recent as 2015/2016 the #fallist student movement reminded the world that students are indeed adults who engage with adult issues and can take on oppressive and unjust systems. we have empowered and vocal students who can make conscious choices. suicide, as part of a range of mental illnesses, premised on psychological dysfunctions such as impaired impulse control and mood disorder cannot be contained by general university staff as suggested by the the guardian (2018) and naledi pandor (uwn, 2018). while ‘gatekeeper programmes’ (lochner et al., 2018) are useful, these need to include students to make them effective. universities need to create inclusive environments of care and compassion and support the outliers and courageous thinkers and student leaders. the ‘alert system to detect patterns of difficulty’ proposed by bristol university (adam, 2018, p. 2) is akin to big brother watching, premised on homogenous and uniform behaviour patterns. any such alert system stifles free expression, original behaviour and curbs free thinking. only a narrow band of normative behaviour and conformist thought can survive such watchful alert systems. a look at scope and role there are at least six reasons why the implicit suggestion that higher education holds the key, the responsibility or blame, for student mental health is unhelpful. 1. by focusing on universities, one lets the real culprit off the hook: the public health care system and the secondary school system is responsible to address mental health issues. the onset of mental health issues is around age 14 (lochner et al., 2018; who, 2011) and it is at that point – and prior to that – that effective services need to be provided. 2. role clarity is essential: staff in higher education should teach socially just curricula and facilitate relevant co-curricular programmes which are inclusive and caring, which promote healthy choices and active global citizens, and develop empowered graduates who are active agents of sustainable change towards social justice and towards conditions that are conducive to mental health. 3. students in higher education should risk being challenged and engage with new ideas and indeed push their boundaries. higher education’s role is to challenge students, not cocoon in comfortable narratives premised on assumptions of students’ psychological fragility. 4. students need to make healthy choices. lifestyle choices of the ‘always on’ millennials and ‘generation y’, who engage in pervasive hypercritical selfevaluations, make this generation of students more ambitious, more vulnerable and less self-reliant than previous generations (koppetsch, 2018). the misuse of performance enhancers, such as the illicit overuse of ritalin, the misuse of alcohol https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 b. schreiber: mental health at universities: universities are not in loco parentis: students are active partners … 125 and substances in an attempt to enhance performance are choices that students need to consciously manage. for instance, the national institutes of health (nih) warns that almost 40% of students in the u.s. engage in binge-drinking once per month (nih, 2018). these are choices that students make and while mental ill-health and insidious social factors are contributors and precipitants, students do need to realise their agency within this and make conscious choices that promote health rather than ill-health. 5. by focusing on ‘how universities deal with mental health problems’ (adam, 2018), the author somehow implies that universities are in a paternalistic caretaker role – in loco parentis – and that the students are passive bystanders vis-à-vis their own mental health. the narrative of students as helpless minors has long gone and was finally dispelled by the 2015/2016 student unrest which displayed the immense student power, decisiveness and leadership that precipitated wide change across the affected countries, especially south africa, canada and the u.s. indeed, in late adolescence and early adulthood, in this prolonged developmental moratorium, students may oscillate between regression and precociousness but to reduce them to vulnerable victims that rely on universities for mental health interventions is miss-constructing the student–university relationship and corrupts the teaching–learning process. it is not a binary: at times, students may indeed be vulnerable but also have internal locus of control that enables them to be competent partners in mental health promotion. the treatments for mental health rely most centrally on the patient and not on the university. he and she, the student, has to report, has to engage, make choices, seek help, comply with treatment, reach out, and be a collaborative and active partner in treatment. the depressed and vulnerable student, paradoxically, needs to be positioned as the central partner in any intervention. when universities position themselves as the saviours, it deepens the sense of patient victimhood, promotes welfarism and social disempowerment discourses. september (2018) rightly points out that universities need to enable accessible services, accessible to the vulnerable and disenfranchised, but it is a three-way partnership of the adult student and the compassionate institution and functioning public health care system that will shift the status of mental health. 6. the mental health care professionals, the psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses are the best trained and most insightful group of professionals who are equipped to diagnose and treat. it is ill-guided to appoint well-meaning academics and benevolent university managers as caretakers and mental health experts who should monitor students for self-harm risk and give alerts (uwn, 2018). the training for such interventions is not done over a weekend short course and minimises the risks associated with assessments for self-harm. 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 121–127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 the risks of such naïve plans, like the one proposed by bristol university (adam,  2018), are not only for the staff who need to live with the burden of ever-scanning students for suicide risks and living with the guilt when they fail. but also, such a system would narrow the spectrum of behaviours and be akin to big brother watching any behavioural outliers and reporting these to the mental health police. this call made by the universities u.k. (adams, 2018) to train all staff in suicide prevention is absurd. the reductionist approach encapsulated in their ‘checklist of steps that university leaders can take to prevent suicides’ (adams, 2018) minimises the contributing and multiple factors, neglects the biomedical aspect of mental health, disempowers the vulnerable, and wrongly allocates agency to university leaders while absolving each and everyone of us of the responsibility to contribute towards a healthier society. we must remember that suicide and suicidal behaviours peek during late adolescence and early adulthood and again around retirement. and let us also remember that “the rate of suicides among students is significantly lower than among the general population” (adams, 2018). capacitation and outsourcing the current trend by universities based in part on reduced government funding, to reduce mental health care staff, to outsource or to establish free emergency telephone or e-services to deal with spiking mental health issues is compounding the issues around mental health (uwn, 2018). responses tend to be crisis and emergency driven, rather than preventative and proactive, and systemically integrated and articulated to teaching and learning. the splitting off of mental health care as a short-term treatment outside of the daily lived experience does not assist in addressing systemic factors that are causally implicated in mental health. south african minister of higher education, naledi pandor, announced in november 2018 that zar 900 million (60 million euro) will be invested in “university capacity development in order to support universities in developing programs around issues of mental health and support to students that face gender-based violence” (dhet,  2018). this reveals profound understanding that violence, especially gender-based violence as a social-cultural systemic issue, is linked to mental health. capacitation and support for universities is essential and it appears that south african minister pandor is impacting this very positively. conclusion the concern for students’ well-being is indeed a just, urgent and relevant one. but universities must not narcissistically appoint themselves as the only saviour, nor should students be robbed of their role in mental health or be limited in their spectrum of expressions by pathologising the outliers. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 b. schreiber: mental health at universities: universities are not in loco parentis: students are active partners … 127 it takes a community to create conditions that instil hope and self-care in students. to isolate universities as the hotspot for suicide and then to add that universities ought to do something about it deepens the myths that universities are the centre of the universe and can save us all. references adam, r. 2018. ‘call for all university staff to get suicide prevention training’. the guardian, 5 september. bbc (british broadcasting corporation) (2018). https://www.bbc.com/news/education-44635474 freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed. new york, n.y.: continuum. hamad, r., fernald, l., karlan, d. & zinma, j. (2014). social and economic correlates of depressive symptoms and perceived stress in south african adults. epidemiology & community health, 62(6). herbst, c. (2011). paradoxical decline? another look at the relative reduction in female happiness. journal of economic psychology, 32(5), 773–788. https://doi/org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.07.001 jacaranda, f. (2018). no money for campus counselling services – minister. world news, october, issue no 526. kessler, r., angermeyer, m., anthony, j., de graaf, r., demyttenaere, k., gasquet, i., de girolamo, g., gluzman, s., gureje, o., haro, j., kawakami, n., karam, a., levinson, d., mora, m., brown,  m., posada-villa, j., stein, d., tsang, c., aguilar-gaziola, s., berlund, p., gruber, m., petukhova,  m., chatterji, s. & ustun, b. (2007). lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the world health organization’s world mental health survey initiative. official journal of the world psychiatry association, 6(3), 168–176. le grange, l. (2016). decolonising the university curriculum. south african journal of higher education, 30(2), 1–12. lochner, c., roos, j., taljaard, l., bantjes, j., saal, w. & stein, d. (2018). the caring universities project, presented at the su dsaf research programme, 2018. mabasa, n. (2018). suicide on campus: spate of deaths raises alarm. daily maverick, october. martín-baró, i. (1994). the role of the psychologist. in: i. martín-baró. writings for a liberation psychology (pp.  33–46). edited by a.  aron & s. corne. translated by a.  aron. cambridge, ma.: harvard university press. national institute of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/ collegefactsheet/collegefactsheet.pdf september, j. (2018). campus suicide: universities need to find ways to assist students who are passive in seeking help. daily maverick, october. twenge, j. (2015). are mental health issues on the rise? psychology today, 12  october. www. psychologytoday.com/us/out-chaning-culture/201510/ uwn (university world news) (2018). issue 532. http://www.universityworldnews.com/article. php?story=2018063006332838 how to cite: schreiber, b. (2018). mental health at universities: universities are not in loco parentis – students are active partners in mental health. journal of student affairs in africa,  6(2), 121–127. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 https://www.bbc.com/news/education-44635474 https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/collegefactsheet/collegefactsheet.pdf https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/collegefactsheet/collegefactsheet.pdf http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/out-chaning-culture/201510/ http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/out-chaning-culture/201510/ http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20180630063328382 http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20180630063328382 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3318 _goback 102 call for submission of papers for the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa), vol. 6 (2018): “space, language and identity politics in 21st century higher education” guest editors: philippa tumubweinee and munene mwaniki as a way of introducing the theme to be tackled in the first 2018 guest-edited issue of the journal of student affairs in africa, it is worthwhile to pose a question, albeit a rhetorical one: why would a journal dedicated to theoretical, practice-relevant, and reflective contributions from across the scholarly and professional field of student affairs entertain a special edition on space, language and identity politics in higher education? the short answer would be: everything. the long answer to this question, however, is to be found in an exposition by benedict anderson in imagined communities (2006). in anderson’s view, style has the potential of producing further assumptions about space and time. ‘style’ in this case would refer to jsaa which, in the student affairs terrain and discourses in africa, has provided the intellectual and technical means for representing the kind of imagined community that is the student affairs fraternity on the continent – fraternity which comes with its largesse and baggage in the form of the scope of jsaa. it is instructive that the ‘representation’ under reference occurs primarily through the medium of a code i.e. language. in the imagined community created by jsaa – which existentially approximates the student affairs terrain in africa and even beyond – the multitude of actors are nonetheless bounded by space and time. they are connected by the same encircled, fixed landscape within which they all simultaneously exist. in following this logic through, the commonalities of code and simultaneities of space and time exemplified by jsaa are at the heart of the ways in which actors in the student affairs fraternity on the continent, and possibly beyond, consider themselves part of a community, and therefore strive to build an identity informed by the fraternity’s imaginary. by design therefore, this guest-edited issue will address itself to the politics of space, language and identity in higher education, in africa and globally. the contributions in the guest-edited issue will singularly and collectively grapple with the nuances attendant to the intersections amongst space, language and identity in higher education. key topics to be pursued in this issue include: • higher education spaces and the politics of space in higher education • space and identity, symbols and signs in the post-colonial university • politics of identity: student protests, language, institutional culture 103 • institutional policies and their impact on (the politics of) practice (e.g. language policies) • social cohesion, diversity and citizenship • intersections of language, curriculum, educational access and transformation • curriculum, decolonisation, and epistemic injustices | freedoms • student experience, student identity, and student politics of diverse student groups (e.g. lgbtiq+ students). jsaa is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and reflective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in africa. jsaa is published twice a year by the jsaa editorial executive in collaboration with stellenbosch university and african sun media. the journal is indexed in international indices and available full-text open access from eric, doaj, ajol as well as on its own website hosted with stellenbosch university. since 2017, jsaa has been accredited by the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) as a subsidy-earning journal on the sa list of scholarly journals. authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. submission process and important dates manuscripts due: 30 september 2017 (or by arrangement with the guest editors) envisaged publication date: march 2018 please submit abstracts to the guest editors for guidance or contact them for further information: ‒ ms philippa tumubweinee, m.prof arch, pretoria email: philippa@inafricadesign.co.za ‒ dr munene mwaniki, phd, free state email: mwanikimm@ufs.ac.za please submit final manuscripts by email to ms philippa tumubweinee. email: philippa@inafricadesign.co.za with cc to email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com jsaa: submission preparation checklist – please see online at www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:philippa@inafricadesign.co.za mailto:mwanikimm%40ufs.ac.za?subject= mailto:philippa@inafricadesign.co.za mailto:jsaa_editor@outlook.com http://www.jsaa.ac.za _goback _goback 113 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 19–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 19 www.jsaa.ac.za research article psychological health and optimism amongst unemployed graduates in zimbabwe julia mutambara,* tinashe r. makanyanga** & pilot mudhovozi*** * dr julia mutambara is a registered clinical psychologist and chairperson: department of behavioural sciences, faculty of medicine, midlands state university, zimbabwe. email: juliamutambara@gmail.com ** tinanshe r. makanyanga is a former student, department of psychology, faculty of social sciences, midlands state university, zimbabwe. email: tinashemakanyanga@gmail.com *** prof. pilot mudhovozi is dean: julius nyerere school of social sciences, great zimbabwe university, zimbabwe. email: peemudhovozi@yahoo.com abstract the study sought to examine the relationship between optimism and general health amongst unemployed graduates in zimbabwe. most of the studies on unemployment have focused on job loss but this study is based on failure to get employment after graduating with a university degree in a resource-constrained environment. one hundred and twelve (112) graduates were selected using non-probability sampling methods. a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and the statistical package for social sciences (spss) was utilised to analyse data. age and period after graduation were found to be negatively related to both general health and optimism amongst the unemployed graduates. overall optimism and general health were found to be inversely related. the study calls for the need for psychological interventions for unemployed graduates in zimbabwe. keywords general health; graduate; optimism; unemployment introduction the world is presently confronted by a youth unemployment crisis (unesco,  2013). globally, youth represent 43.7% of unemployed individuals. in sub-saharan africa the figure is higher with 60% of the unemployed being youth (ilo, 2010). in zimbabwe large numbers of graduates remain unemployed for several years following graduation. unemployment in zimbabwe continues to rise – it was 10.8% in 1982; 21.8% in 1992; 30% in 1995; and 95% by 2012 (ncube, 2000; econometer global capital report, 2013). currently, the country has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world (cia world factbook, 2017). periods of unemployment on someone’s curriculum vitae (cv) have been perceived as signalling low productivity, hence increasing the likelihood of a person not being hired or being offered a job (mcquaid, 2017). unemployment at the start of a career may lead to loss of skills or to a general loss of confidence by the individual. youth unemployment, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:juliamutambara%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:tinashemakanyanga%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:peemudhovozi%40yahoo.com?subject= 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 19–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 especially for those who have skills, leads to a higher likelihood of long-term ‘scarring’ in later life in terms of subsequent lower pay, higher unemployment and reduced life chances (bell & blanchflower, 2010). periods of unemployment result in reduced income which is directly related to deteriorating health (tøge, 2016), depression (holland, 2012), reduced job satisfaction and well-being (mcquaid, 2017), young adults’ heavy episodic drinking and smoking (de visser & smith, 2007; reine, novo & hammarström, 2004). it is also associated with an increased risk of mental illness, self-harm and suicide (haw, hawton, gunnell & platt,  2015; hollederer, 2015; norström & grönqvist, 2015), and distress including financial, physical health and mental health distress (chen et al., 2012). in addition, the risk of morbidity and of premature mortality has been found to be significantly higher for unemployed persons compared to the employed (hollederer, 2015). the health effects of unemployment have been found to be more pronounced in later in life than at younger ages (reine, novo & hammarström, 2004). graduating with a degree in a country that is going through economic hardships has been found to have worse health impacts compared to leaving school when the country`s economy is flourishing (maclean, 2013). in a study that investigated the lasting health effects of leaving school in a country going through an economic recession, drawing data from the national longitudinal survey of youth, maclean (2013) noted that by age 40 men who left school in a depressed economy have worse mental and physical health than men who did not. graduating in bad economies has been shown to result in job mismatching (kahn, 2010) and lower self-esteem (maclean & hill, 2015). however, these effects do not emerge immediately but develop over time, especially amongst highly skilled workers. therefore, unemployment not only has short-term effects but long-term effects have also been observed. these effects include lifelong scarring (negative long-term effect that unemployment has on future labour market possibilities) which reduces resilience (nilsen & reiso, 2011), difficulties in returning to normal life (guintoli, south, kinsella & karban, 2011) and greater incidence of suicide (milner, page & lamontagne, 2013). unemployment-related stress calls for people to develop effective coping strategies so as to avoid the negative effects. optimism has been found to moderate the effects of unemployment on psychological stress (lee, 2008). optimism can be defined as a generalised positive expectation for the future (scheier & carver, 1985) and optimists tend to have a general expectancy of positive results which is associated with greater success in attaining goals (shepperd, maroto & pbert, 1996). when faced with a difficult situation, optimists are most likely to experience positive feelings since they expect a positive outcome. according to mckee-ryan, song, wanberg and kinicki (2005) high unemployment rates result in pessimism which reduces the job seeker`s tenacity, thereby reducing the probability of getting employment. optimism has been shown to be very important in predicting psychological well-being as it is an effective coping strategy (chengting, mauno & lee, 2014; lee, 2008). young graduates are particularly vulnerable to the effects of stress as it is a period when one makes important decisions in life concerning education and career as well as parenthood (kito & https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 julia mutambara, tinashe r. makanyanga & pilot mudhovozi: psychological health and optimism … 21 ueno, 2016). in african contexts, especially after graduation, the young adult feels obliged to compensate the family financially for the sacrifices that they would have made to send him/her to school/higher education. in addition, graduates feel the need to take over family responsibilities from their parents as some of their younger siblings may not have received proper schooling as a result of their parents’ sacrifice for the sake of the graduate’s university education. there are many stressors that are faced by unemployed graduates. however, there is a lack of research on the subjective experience and mental health of graduates in zimbabwe. many studies have looked at unemployment as a result of cessation or termination amongst those who were previously employed. however, this study focuses on unemployment amongst graduates who have attained degrees and yet have never been employed before. the study was guided by the following research questions: 1. what is the relationship between demographic characteristics and optimism amongst unemployed graduates? 2. what is the relationship between demographic characteristics and psychological health amongst unemployed graduates? 3. what is the relationship between optimism and psychological health amongst unemployed graduates? methods zimbabwe is a country in southern africa with a population of slightly over 13 million. it  has both rural and urban areas with 32.2% of its inhabitants residing in urban areas (index mundi, 2018). in 2016, about 20 000 individuals graduated from state universities in the country and more than this number from private universities, polytechnics, teachers’ training colleges and other institutions of higher learning. but of those, only a tenth are absorbed into employment, locally (the herald, 2018). the researchers used a quantitative approach. quantitative research refers to explaining a phenomenon by collecting numerical data that is analysed using mathematically based methods (muijs, 2004). a descriptive survey design was used to collect information from a representative sample of unemployed graduates. sample and sampling techniques the target population of this research was graduates who hold degrees from colleges and universities but who have never been employed and are aged between 21 and 30. these were recruited from amongst students who were doing postgraduate studies and from employment agencies. convenient sampling was used to select participants who were willing to take part in the study. a total of 112 unemployed graduates took part in the current study. in terms of age 15.2% (17) of the participants were aged 21–24; 49.1% (n = 55) were within the 25–29 age range; 28.6 % (n = 32) were aged 30–34 and the age range 35–39 consisted of 7.1%  (n = 8). 58.9% (n = 66) were male and 41.1% (n = 46) were female. regarding marital status, 33.9% (n = 38) were married and 66.1% (n = 74) were single. 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 19–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 instrument to measure psychological health the researchers used the general health questionnaire (ghq-12) which was established by goldberg and hillier (1979). the ghq-12 is a selfadministered screening questionnaire used mainly used to detect psychological distress. in support of its usefulness sanchez-lopez & dresch (2008) reiterate that the ghq-12 has a cronbach’s alpha of 0.76. the questionnaire has twelve questions which assess general health and scoring was done using a four-point likert scale. the general health questionnaire is a widely used screening instrument. it detects a wide range of psychological disorders, mainly on the anxiety/depression spectrum, and has been shown to be a valid and reliable instrument across cultures. the tool was chosen because it was found to be reliable with reported factor structures that were consistent with the original studies (kihç, 1996). optimism was assessed through the revised version of the life orientation test (lot-r) (scheier, carver & bridges, 1994) with a cronbach’s alpha of 0.70. the instrument was chosen for this study because it has adequate predictive and discriminant validity, and overall is a good measure of optimism (scheier, 1994). the lot-r measures dispositional optimism which is defined as general positive outcome expectancies. this section is composed of six questions that assessed the orientation to life that is possessed by optimistic and non-optimistic people. the lot-r had three negatively worded items, for example, items like: “generally speaking, looking into the future i do not see positive things.” the lot-r has a five-point likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). the negative phrases that showed less optimism were reverse-coded in the spss. in the current study ghq-12 and the lot-r had a cronbach’s alpha of 0.82 and 0.76 respectively. data collection procedures and ethics ethical clearance was obtained from midlands state university. employment agencies gave permission to the researchers to access their participants who in turn signed consent forms to participate in the study. all individuals signed consent forms. one of the researchers, a clinical psychologist, was on standby to assist those who showed symptoms of distress as a result of the study. thus, those who reported high levels of distress were referred to the psychologist. data analysis the data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version  21. thereafter, the researchers identified the patterns of the relationship between optimism and general health amongst unemployed graduates, as well as the influence of demographic characteristics on optimism and general health. an examination of the predictive relationship between optimism and general health was done at the end through anova and pearson correlation. the 5% (p < 0.05) was applied. data analysis was done to examine the relationship between optimism and general health amongst unemployed graduates in zimbabwe. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 julia mutambara, tinashe r. makanyanga & pilot mudhovozi: psychological health and optimism … 23 results table 1: general health and demographic characteristics age gender marital status period after graduation pearson correlation sig (2-tailed) n -0.193* 0.042 112 -0.592 0.340 112 0.111 0.245 112 -0.784* 0.028 112 * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). the findings showed that there is a weak negative relationship between age and general health (r = -0.193). the relationship is statistically significant at a significance level of 0.05, (r) = -0.193, p < 0.042. table 1 shows that there is a moderate negative relationship between gender and general health (r = -0.592). the relationship was found to be statistically significant at a significance level of 0.05 (r) = -0.592, p < < 0.340. the findings showed that there is weak positive relationship between marital status and general health (r = 0.111). the relationship was not found to be statistically significant at a significance level of 0.05, (r) = 0.111, p < 0.245. this implies that marital status has no influence on general health. the findings showed that there is a very strong negative relationship between duration after graduation and general health. the relationship was found to be statistically significant at 0.05, (r) = -0.784, p < 0.28. this means that graduates who have spent more years being unemployed after graduation are less likely to have good health. table 2: optimism and demographic characteristics age gender marital status period after graduation pearson correlation sig (2-tailed) n -0.513* 0.027 112 -0.190 0.010 112 0.759* 0.036 112 -0.478* 0.030 112 * correlation is significant at 0.05. as shown in table 2, the relationship between age and optimism was found to be statistically significant at a 0.05 level (r) = -0.513, p < 0.027. the negative correlation implies that graduates who are older are more likely to score less on optimism. results did not show any relationship between optimism and gender (r) = -0.190, p < 0.010. the relationship between marital status and optimism was found to be statistically significant at significance level 0.05, (r) = -0.759, p < 0.036. this relationship (r = -0.759) implies that marital status has a negative influence on optimism. the results showed a relationship between optimism and duration after graduation (r) = -0.478. the relationship is a moderate negative relationship. the relationship was found to be statistically significant at a significance level of 0.05, (r) = -0.478, p < 0.30. 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 19–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 table 3: correlation between optimism and general health correlations optimism totals general health totals optimism totals pearson correlation 1 -0.337** sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 n 112 112 general health totals pearson correlation -0.337** 1 sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 n 112 112 ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). table 3 presents the relationship between optimism and general health. the results indicate that there is a weak negative relationship between optimism and general health (r = -0.337). the relationship was found to be statistically significant at a significance level of 0.01, r(112) = -0.337, p < 0.00. the findings show that a decrease in optimism will result in an increase in health problems. this relationship is converse because as the independent variable decreases (optimism) the dependent variable increases (health problems). it, therefore, implies that graduates who score low on optimism will score high on health problems. discussion the first research question in this study sought to explore the relationship between various demographic characteristics and general health amongst unemployed graduates. the results of the study found a positive association between general health and marital status. while general health was negatively correlated with age and period after graduation, this may imply that older graduates presented with higher levels of self-reported distress compared to those who were younger. in line with this finding, bell & blanchflower (2009) noted that being unemployed when young leads to a higher likelihood of long-term ‘scarring’ in later life in terms of subsequent lower pay, higher unemployment and reduced life chances. this study did not show that older unemployed graduates suffered more difficulties than younger unemployed graduates. another study also found that unemployment amongst young men had more impact on psychological health compared to older man (reine, novo & hammarström, 2004). this study may have focused on job loss and not on those who have never been employed as is the case in the current study. although gender differences in distress were noted in this study, its not clear which gender is more prone to stress caused by unemployment after graduation. although this study did not compare gender differences, it is important to note that within traditional gender roles men are expected to be productive and failure to secure employment despite possession of relevant qualifications may prove to be very distressing (un,  2003; unicef, 2005). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 julia mutambara, tinashe r. makanyanga & pilot mudhovozi: psychological health and optimism … 25 lastly, the duration of the period after graduation was found to be related to selfreported distress, meaning that those graduates who had more years of unemployment had higher scores on the ghq and thus were more stressed compared to their counterparts. mcquaid  (2017) noted that unemployment at the start of a career may lead to having lower skills or to a general loss of self-confidence by the individual. optimism has been found to be related to self-confidence (boden, 2004). age, marital status and period after graduation were found to be related to optimism amongst the study participants. these findings may point to the fact that as an individual grows older, the less optimistic they would be of positive outcomes in life. optimism was found to be related to marital status which may imply that being married could lead to better outlook for the future. optimism was found to be negatively correlated with period after graduation. lastly, the research found a negative correlation between optimism and general health (distress) amongst unemployed graduates in zimbabwe. this may imply that the more optimistic an individual was, the less distressed they were. similar to this finding, lee (2008) in his study of hong kong graduates, also found a negative correlation between optimism and general health. he noted that optimistic unemployed graduates showed fewer symptoms of general health deterioration and displayed more positive emotions (lee, 2008). the findings of this study are therefore similar to those of other studies that have been done elsewhere. limitations of the study this study relied extensively on questionnaires that are closed-ended, and therefore respondents were not afforded the opportunity to narrate the challenges that they were encountering. the study relied mainly on an urban sample and thus the views of rural graduates were limited. again, the use of non-probability sampling may have limited the generalisability of the findings to the target population. another limitation of the study is that the study sample was made up of graduate students and this could have skewed the results of the study to the extent that the results cannot be generalised to the whole population. conclusions the results of the study showed a relationship between age and general health, implying that age was a factor in reporting of distress amongst the study participants. also, psychological distress varied with the gender of the participants as well as the duration of the period after their graduation. optimism was shown to be related to age, marital status and period after graduation. given the growing number of unemployed graduates in zimbabwe, their mental health should be given priority, especially in light of the economic downturns experienced by the country. more qualitative research is needed to explore the experiences of unemployed graduates since questionnaires as used in the current study do not provide details on the lived experiences of unemployed graduates. 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 19–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 references bell, d.n.f. & blanchflower d.g. 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(2013). tackling youth unemployment through tvet. bonn. unesco-unevoc: international centre. retrieved from unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002255/225531e.pdf unicef (2005). masculinities: male roles and male involvement in the promotion of gender equality a resource packet. retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/emerg/files/male_roles.pdf how to cite: mutambara, j., makanyanga, t.r. & mudhovozi, p. (2018). psychological health and optimism amongst unemployed graduates in zimbabwe. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 19–28. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002255/225531e.pdf https://www.unicef.org/emerg/files/male_roles.pdf https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 15‑27 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 15 www.jsaa.ac.za research article what are we witnessing? student protests and the politics of the unknowable dionne van reenen* * ms dionne van reenen is a researcher at the unit for institutional change and social justice at the university of the free state (ufs), south africa. email: vanreenend@ufs.ac.za abstract south african public higher education has been dogged by student protests since 2015. many of these disruptions raise pertinent issues for the sector, as well as bring about valued awareness and change. critical scholars have remarked that in every social or political movement, something of pronounced importance is being said – usually emerging from representatives of groups that have been marginalised, subordinated or even muted. in this article, a “logosemantic” theoretical perspective (visagie, 2006), which is also referred to as “key theory” (visagie, 2006; van reenen, 2013) is utilised to determine some driving conceptualisations emerging in the “languaging strategies” (stewart, smith & denton, 2012) of contemporary student movement culture in south africa. not discounting significant research that investigates the impact of the digital age on the communication, mobilisation and sustaining of social movements, this article takes a critical look at grounding concepts that may be identified in the discursive formations of the movements. these are taken to be neither new nor unique, either in essence or manifestation. however, the divisions and polarisations they expose, signal an urgent need for some communicative reform in the “imagined community” (anderson, 2016) of the academy. keywords language strategy; legitimacy; logosemantics; postmodern; student protests; social movement culture introduction wherever one’s sympathies may lie within the diverse racial, political and class histories of south african public universities,1 it is a truism that since 2015, south african higher education (and broader society) has seen some rallying against inherited structures of power, establishment and privilege in the form of widespread student protests (luescher & 1 given my involvement at the university of the free state (ufs) specifically, i make no assumption that this materiality is reflected elsewhere, although it may be. readers are welcome to make such determinations and offer alternative assessments against dissimilar institutional involvements and circumstances. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:vanreenend%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 15‑27 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 klemenčič, 2016; van der merwe & van reenen, 2016; jansen, 2017).2 in the academy, there have been persistent calls for ‘new’ ways in which to speak about, make sense of, and resolve problems in south african public higher education, which have arguably reached crisis stages as full‑blown university shutdowns became spatial representations of communicative breakdowns in recent years (manjra, 2016). these disruptions remain a powerful tool for both consciousness raising and coercion. however, it is not clear what is meant by requests for a ‘new’ language or even if there is some yet‑to‑appear vocabulary that one could access in order to understand or address such impasses. from stewart et al. (2012), to whom i refer below in more detail, i would argue that a good deal of this rhetoric is not new; in fact, it is rather typical of ‘languaging strategies’ in movement culture generally. likewise, underlying those strategies, one may find quite conventional examples of postmodern “conceptual structures” (visagie, 1994, p. 12). what remains troubling in the post‑#movement era is that, those attempting to respond to problematic institutional politics seem to be struggling to find some consensus that could bring about either long‑term solutions or workable interim resolutions in order that educational projects can continue unimpeded by polarising politics. the fragmentations that have emerged between and amongst students, staffs, managements and government have not done much to yield wider agreements required to make decisions or plans and implement them effectively (shaku, 2016).3 further, when an apparent consensus has been reached, it appears to be a false one, in that it is only a matter of time before settlements are rejected and met with ever more dissatisfaction, followed by another round of protests and, indeed, more uncertainty about how to proceed or if the growing lists of demands and the institution’s inability to meet them will end. this article is a philosophical critique of “logosemantic kernels” (visagie, 1994; 2006) and “languaging strategies” (stewart et al, 2012) detectable in student politics discourse. the analysis accepts the premise that as long as there are large‑scale social inequalities and resistance thereto, critical voices from the academy are important in exercising caution towards persistent, pervasive flirtations with “one‑dimensional modes of thought” based on a “functionalised, abridged and unified language” (marcuse, 2013, p. 98, 134), from which scholarly spaces are certainly not immune. managing the fallout of segregationist thought benedict anderson (2016, p. 4) claims that to understand nationalisms properly, “we need to consider carefully how they have come into historical being, in what ways their meanings have changed over time, and wh y, today, they command such powerful emotional legitimacy”. it would seem reasonable to assert that one thing south africa has been doing 2 this includes various expressions of dissatisfaction with ongoing practices of inequality or discrimination primarily against people of colour in the academy. similar resistance has occurred in the broader south african society, against a backdrop of international and global resonance. jonathan jansen, cited in this article, was the rector and vice‑chancellor of the ufs at the time of the protests. the current rector and vice‑chancellor is francis petersen, under whom protest action has continued. 3 shaku was a student activist who worked at the institute for reconciliation and social justice at the time of the 2015 protests. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 dionne van reenen: what are we witnessing? students protests and the politics of the unknowable 17 over the last two decades or so, is attempting to manage the fallout after the unbridled, nationalistic project of apartheid, with fluctuating levels of commitment and success.4 this effort has utilised various interventions involving reconciliation, reconstruction and redress as markers for policy and implementation under the overarching principle of social cohesion contained in the national development plan 2030 (2012). however, a new generation has come of age in south african society and is making its presence felt in higher education. this generation is far more focused on economic redress and advancement than its predecessors and frames this discourse in a social justice narrative which, in essence, is highly egalitarian.5 on one hand, students are fighting exclusions resulting from the “historical legacy of apartheid” and colonialism; on the other hand, they are challenging a current political administration that is perceived to be “a craven and corrupt political class” (manjra, 2016). the public university structure is seen as connected to both. in the preamble to the digital age, around the time that the ethics and concepts contained in postmodern thought were being engaged with more seriously as alternatives to classical ideals, south africa formally entered the era of apartheid (in 1948), which was characterised by a diametrically opposed set of ethics, serving a rigidly segregated, conservative, oppressive system. i would suggest that, following various social and political destabilisations in the earlier twentieth century, the emergence of the postmodern era in the latter part of the twentieth century ushered in a set of “critical, strategic and rhetorical practices” that significantly changed the academy (aylesworth, 2015). these have found expression in various social movements and their politics globally, but were incompatible with south african public higher education and society at the time. after 1994, however, the push towards democratisation continues to grow. one might acknowledge an unprecedented, widespread visibility of this democratisation in the twenty‑first century, presumably due to the massive expansion of mass media industries and their highly effective vessels of ever‑evolving technology (earl & rohlinger, 2012, p. ix). the long‑held faith in a conventionally authoritative, reasonably stable knowledge tradition has been shaken and so have its spaces for, and modes of, delivery. exposed to the dynamism and speed with which information gets disseminated in the public sphere, the current generation seems to be very sceptical of all tradition; they seem genuinely interested in a politics of fragmentation and difference; they are very taken with a sense of crisis, disruption and apocalypse (cf. kellner in marcuse, 2013, p. xxxii). the latter framings 4 the ufs is a historically afrikaans university (hau) that served the nationalist vision with pride, promoting a strong ‘afrikaans’ and ‘christian’ institutional culture amongst an exclusively white staff and student body. a comprehensive history of the university is documented in from grey to gold (2006). this changed in the early 1990s, when people of colour were finally admitted to undergraduate programmes and could be resident on campus. a parallel language policy, incorporating english‑medium instruction, was implemented in 1993 to make these inclusions possible (van der merwe & van reenen, 2016, p. 7). the policy changed again in 2016 with white students, many of whom did not select afrikaans‑medium instruction, now forming about 20% of the student body (ufs commission for gender equality presentation, 2017). the university continues to struggle with transformation against this history (van der merwe & van reenen, 2016). 5 some refer to this generation as the ‘born free generation’ (cooper, 2017, p. viii), i.e. born after the end of apartheid. 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 15‑27 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 have gained some significant currency amongst many observers in south african higher education (cf. ray, 2016; manjra, 2016; jansen, 2017). correspondingly, affective language containing appropriate measures of anxiety and dread, permeates commentary regarding the future of the sector, often described as being “in crisis”, “under pressure” and “on a precipice” (che, 2016, p. 5). the disruption of the knowledge space, the core concept of which is deeply rooted in notions of fixity and endurance, seems to have left south african higher education embroiled in perpetual (individual and collective) existential crises of nietzschean proportions. at the university of the free state (ufs) these disruptions, coupled with an academic staff that is resistant to change, largely white and therefore reflecting the opposite demographics of the student body (ufs, commission for gender equality presentation, 2017), has made transformation at the ufs difficult. institutional responses remain polarised as evidenced in formal investigations into, and reports on, the protests, during which communications between groups routinely broke down (ufs, 2016; 2018). conflating subjects and systems following a relatively unified, countrywide protest under various student leadership groups in 2015, some new groups entered the fray, with many rejecting recognised or established leadership (cf. jansen, 2017, chapter 5). one of the most interesting developments in the recent waves of protests has been a palpable aggression towards legitimately placed6 governing structures and the recognition of a number of alternatively established splinter groups and movements. this has been evidenced in a side‑lining of conventional leadership structures such as students’ representative councils, recognised staff associations (with the possible exception of workers’ unions), as well as management, national structures and government departments. these actions have been accompanied by some anger and mistrust. even though governing bodies have attempted to remain in negotiation with protest groups, many have been unable to reach agreements, and sometimes, even after agreements have been reached, they have soon been abandoned, with campuses shutting down, then attempting to re‑open, only to shut down again within hours or days. pathologies of instability and change are fundamental to movement culture (johnston & klandermans, 1995) as are pathologies of confrontation (cathcart, 1978; 1980). while many institutions have claimed during shutdowns that the majority of students and staff want to return to lectures, protesting groups seem to have gained the upper hand and the academic calendar for 2016 was at risk of not concluding. i would suggest that student movement groups have exhibited a distinctly ‘postmodern’ grammar in their approach but i make no assumption that this is deliberate; it may simply be aligned with global attitudinal trends. there are participants who explicitly identify themselves as ‘postmodernists’, which is somewhat ironic given that people espousing postmodern tendencies rarely want to be identified as such or be identified with any kind 6 by ‘legitimately placed’, i mean either by institutional election processes or by government and institutional appointment. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 dionne van reenen: what are we witnessing? students protests and the politics of the unknowable 19 of nominal category for that matter. in this time of complicated identity politics, never have people been so weary of being identified. accepting the shift, though, if ‘postmodernism’ is largely indefinable and lyotard is to be taken in earnest, then it seems we might have entered such a space in the politics of the contemporary knowledge industry. i do not select that particular terminology arbitrarily. while i acknowledge that many actors in a university system do not accept the term “knowledge industry” or “learning industry” (jarvis 2001), i would agree with jarvis (2001, p. 140) that as a result of rapid globalisation university systems often function in this way regardless of individual efforts against what has become known as the “commodification” of knowledge (lyotard, 1984). late capitalist societies have become “knowledge‑based societies” in which knowledge is produced, packaged, authorised, marketed, sold, consumed, contracted and exchanged as part of the broader “knowledge industry” which feeds a job market that requires qualifications (jarvis, 2001, p. 6). in the contemporary higher education landscape, then, the “use‑value” of knowledge gives way to knowledge as commodity for exchange (lyotard, 1984, pp. 3‑5). lyotard, whose name must be synonymous with the term following his publication the postmodern condition (1984), characterises the state of knowledge as not being “original” or even “true”. he states that his premises “should not be accorded predictive value in relation to reality, but strategic value in relation to the questions raised” and, further, makes a sharp distinction between the language of science and the language of ethics and morality (lyotard, 1984, p. 7). however, even when applied, such category labels neither exist in isolation nor are they neutral. most often, they are multiple and, very often, they are partial. because we are dealing with people, one simply cannot reason without inbuilt slides. if we could accept that, we could accept that categorisations are not absolute determinations; they merely represent a preference for, or comfortability in, one kind of “philosophical neighbourhood” rather than another. in this instance, what i mean by a “philosophical neighbourhood” is a theoretical schema or type that rests on a “propositional interlogic” entailing a conceptualisation structure and accompanying semantic field complete with associated aesthetic or value attachments, which, although sometimes loosely applied, are determinable, nevertheless (visagie, 2006, p. 31; van reenen, 2013, p. 76). as stated above, the south african knowledge industry, like many others, was established against an era that lauded ideals of scientific objectivity and politico‑economic rationality. it placed great emphasis on a foundational approach to knowledge and human activity with what visagie (2006, p. 89) terms “upper attributes” of simplicity, finitude, universality, necessity, continuity, constancy and knowability. these attributes, as one might expect, relate to a history that enjoyed a giddy romance with lineages lauding ancient greek and christian ideals that were resurrected during various periods in history and, of course, in the enlightenment. this kind of fixed grammar is both attractive and useful for those pursuing scientific and theoretical ends of explanation and prediction. rapid advances in science, technology and  industry have demonstrated the practical success of these pursuits but that grammar is not adequate for the human sciences which negotiate a more peripatetic subject. historically, university knowledge systems were extremely elitist and access was reserved for a 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 15‑27 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 privileged few. in the contemporary era, this has given way to mass education systems which house a larger, diverse membership to produce an effective workforce (jarvis, 2001, p. 6). habermas, a strong critic of postmodernism, concedes that human nature and interaction have proven to be notoriously unpredictable features of any social praxis debate and, consequently, far less suited to structural schematics; yet he does not argue for a rampant self‑transformation but an intersubjective consensus which is rather more focused on the other as opposed to self‑interest (habermas, 1987, pp. 161‑163). following a logosemantic model, the postmodern dialect can be characterised as implicitly directed towards an anti‑foundational approach which rejects any so‑called “grand narrative” and privileges; instead, “lower attributes” of complexity, infinity, individuality, contingency, discontinuity, flux and unknowability (visagie, 2006, p. 30). inevitably, though, these attitudinal adjustments become ideological and form grand narratives of their own (cf. aylesworth, 2015; visagie, 2006; habermas, 1987). students seem to have become far more accustomed to the particularistic zone of the lower attributes in their conduct and reasoning. functioning with the lower attributes entirely, naturally connects to individual life‑historical and own‑group narratives but becomes problematic for institutions and diversified, large clusters. the rhetoric emerging from this grounding is not new, as visagie’s theory would argue, but it highlights a large, divisive communication gap between students (in movements) and those who govern them. no doubt, perhaps in concert with habermas, visagie argues effectively for a balance between the two attributive poles. the language of social movements in their work on theorising social movements as communication, stewart et  al. (2012, pp. 2‑13) offer a useful working definition: “movements are organized collectives (possibly minimally or loosely arranged) that purposefully function outside of established structures and institutional systems, often with flat leadership, around a common goal.” in this case, the goal is free, decolonised, quality education. movements are typically large in scope, often intended to extend beyond their immediate situationality and they promote or oppose changes in societal norms and values in an “agonistic ritual” most notably expressed in confrontation (cathcart, 1978). #rhodesmustfall began at the university of cape town and extended quickly into a national movement: #feesmustfall. movements often encounter opposition in a ‘moral struggle’ as is demonstrated in #feesmustfall’s widely voiced attempt to show the moral bankruptcy of managements, staffs and government (clearly evidenced in shaku, 2016). stewart et  al. (2012, p. 49) propose that movements utilise persuasive tactics of “affirmation”, images that strongly promote group identity and “subversion”, and images that undermine the ethos of the opposition. furthermore, movements make use of five “languaging strategies” that stewart et al. (2012, pp. 143) discern which are of particular interest here and should be recognisable. identification identification relies on a firm establishment of an ‘us’ group based on common histories and goals that index common realities in order to form some solidarity in the movement https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 dionne van reenen: what are we witnessing? students protests and the politics of the unknowable 21 as a base for mobilisation. when movements are establishing identities, they commonly use shared race, gender, ethnicity, background, class, and so on. #feesmustfall is no exception and has relied particularly on identities of race and class to unite protesting students. this may be read from representations in the media landscape as students being victims suffering from the trauma of institutionalised racism, racialised poverty, financial exclusion, and broader social injustice (schlebusch, 2015). tensions concerning student access and success, deregistration, proxy politics, the curriculum, gender discrimination, patriarchal and paternalistic management, have also been present in the movements’ demands but remain secondary to race and class (pather, 2016; pilane, 2016; mbongwa, 2016). this might be one reason that students have aligned with workers in the associated #endoutsourcing struggle, which is largely seen as a positive development of the movement. however, the reluctance of the movement to connect with the struggle in basic and secondary education as well as the everyday struggles (particularly gender issues) of the majority of south africans has been broadly criticised (shuaib, 2016). at the end of 2016, there was a real possibility that the academic year could not conclude. one consequence would have been that thousands of potential health workers could not graduate and therefore would not be able to be placed in the public health sector (harvey, 2016). students and their sympathisers argued that they were regretful of this problem but quickly pointed to the dysfunction in the public health sector as also needing exposing and addressing, in their justifications. polarisation once a movement has united an ‘us’ group for the cause, it will inevitably position itself against a ‘them’ group, the purpose of which is separation and division in a good‑versus‑bad dichotomy. in the case of #feesmustfall, there are several levels of polarisation. amongst students themselves, one pro‑group seems to have been established as those who share a common experience of ‘black pain’ and the con‑group is seen as those benefiting from ‘white privilege’. again, this terminology is not unique to south african contexts. an almost blanket perception in an unequal society like south africa is that the black masses suffer because of a retention of economic capital by whites which was bequeathed to them by colonialism and apartheid. amongst others, cooper (2017, p. 2) has noted, that under a post‑1994 anc‑led government, despite “some admirable legislative and service delivery developments, material transformation has been frustratingly slow”. many younger students in the movement rage against the anc government now and reject the legacy of mandela, often framing those in his administration as ‘sell‑outs’ who left black poverty and white privilege untouched (jansen cited in bond, 2016). in spite of possible exceptions in social reality and many who might not want to be identified with either of these two designations, both terms remain racially qualified and seem to have become normative in the vernacular. other than an expressed irritation with the ruling class, students seem reluctant to take on big issues such as private interests of power elites, a possible state capture, problematic multinational interests, widespread corruption and mismanagement, and so on. they mostly focus on privilege maintenance in the form of ‘white economic capital’ (also called ‘white monopoly capital’), and, more specifically, the lack of redistribution of wealth (spies, 2016). 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 15‑27 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 other divisions exist between managements and students; security/police and students; managements and government; students and government; university and society; students and media; academics and students, and so on. within these, there are also visible antagonisms fuelled by proxy politics and generation gaps. the result is an impatience, intolerance and mistrust, both between and within groupings, which does not allow for lengthy, co‑operative communication that might be the only way to move forward. amidst persistent conflict, a different way of speaking or being is not readily tolerated in campus discussions (malala, 2016). the student movement members predominantly see themselves polarised against white south africans, the university managements and staffs, the government, and the various systems that maintain the status quo who are seen to be unsympathetic to their struggles or unable or unwilling to resolve grievances (fisher, 2016; chabalala, 2016). justice malala opines on the persistent silencing of vice‑chancellors and dissenting others: “the truth is that a small, radical, violent elite is intimidating everyone else into silence … is holding our children, our future, hostage” (malala, 2016). framing framing involves establishing a central, organising idea around which events, issues and related concepts are arranged. “facts are neutral until framed” (malesh in stewart et  al., 2012, p. 150). just as in any prominent social movement, people rally around relatively simple, but politically powerful slogans that typically use the rhetorical tactic of a few short terms to accomplish a larger strategy. slogans are pervasive in public movements and they have significant persuasive power in realising the goal of “agitating and threatening the powers that be” (malesh in stewart et al., 2012, p. 154). #feesmustfall has associated slogans such as ‘end outsourcing now’, ‘students must rise’, ‘aluta continua’, ‘free, decolonied, quality education now’, and so on. the term ‘fallist’ has become associated with protesters as many slogans and banners call for a falling of something or someone associated with campus symbols and prominent leaders in the higher education sector. the sentiment driving the student protests, then, is not one of revision and reconstruction; it is revolutionary in character which implies a complete break with tradition and authority and, sometimes, violence or destruction (manjra, 2016). this language manifests in a decidedly anti‑framing: it is anti‑establishment, anti‑ authority, anti‑structure and anti‑procedure. at times, this discourse emerges in a seemingly irrational manner. take the example of the (by now, well‑known) ‘science must fall’ debacle at uct in which a student proposed the decolonisation of science as follows: science, as a whole, is a product of western modernity and the whole thing should be scratched off. especially now … if you want practical solutions as to how to decolonise science, we have to restart science from … an african perspective … from our perspective of how we have experienced science … for instance … there’s a place in kzn … and they believe that, through black magic … you are able to send lightning to strike someone, so can you explain that scientifically because it’s something that happens? (science must fall?, 2016) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 dionne van reenen: what are we witnessing? students protests and the politics of the unknowable 23 a member of the audience, who disagrees with the speaker, is chastised for “… disrespecting the sacredness of this space …” and asked to apologise by a person who appears to be the discussion leader. of course, the higher education sector has seen this before: demands for an (individual or particular) cultural consideration in a (universalisable) scientific space – a scrapping of science and replacing it with (african) science, which implies that science conducted from an african perspective or by africans, would result in something other than science in its current form. the nature of science does not seem suited to cultural/ racial/ethnic categorisation of those who conduct it, yet it could be argued that those who conduct it determine the kind of knowledge emerging from it and i think this extremely important issue might be lurking at the crux of a badly stated premise. successful science should win out against competing hypotheses because it is able to withstand testing, not because of the racial/ethnic (or any other power‑determining) identity markers of researchers, subjects and learners. decentralising western conceptualisations or decentralising the white subject is not simply a matter of eradicating a european work product or europeans themselves. here is where one would hope for robust, yet productive and reasonable scholarly work, which falls beyond the scope of this article and would hopefully be taken seriously by disciplinary experts. storytelling one of the distinguishing marks of postmodernity is its preoccupation with narrative (schrag, 1992, p. 90). movements in their on‑going mistrust of ‘upper’ attribution framing have become particularly enamoured with the power of narrative and individual storytelling (isaac in earl and rohlinger, 2012, p. 20). storytelling involves personalised, biographical accounts and explanations that people in movements use to “digest experience and dramatize processes of becoming” and pivotal moments for change (malesh in stewart et al., 2012, p. 151). added to this, students in movements do not seem organised or united enough to work together in formulating documentation and drive that through given procedures and structures, notwithstanding the submissions of memoranda. the problem with personalised narratives is that a single experience, if reiterated sufficiently, transmutes quite rapidly into an assumed, broader ontological reality. while the importance of the (singular) lived experience is not to be underplayed, it is equally important to integrate it into a network of interdependent and competing experiences and narratives in order to yield a full panoply of student experience. inevitably though, in movements, the majority of those differing voices is excluded and often referred to in student movement discourse as ‘the silenced majority’ (nicolson, 2016). power “virtually all political and protest communication is about power, domination or control” (stewart et al., 2012, p. 151). i would assume that protesting students would inevitably have a problem with this statement as they see their cause as primarily one of social justice and redress. they have gone to great lengths to highlight injustices committed by the established structures and at the same time, highlight trauma and pain inflicted upon them and their 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 15‑27 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 families. however, there is more to a power matrix than polarising victims and villains. there are issues of coercion and threat, violence and victimisation, damage and deceit on all sides of the political divisions. protesting students, and their detractors alike, are not above reproach when it comes to these concerns. we have seen members of movements and protests operate in ways that are as bad as, and worse than, those they class as their oppressors. protesting students have threatened and intimidated those who do not wish to take part in protests, those who wish to continue with classes or university activities, and those who do not agree with their cause or tactics, in spite of either side supposedly having rights to exercise their choices. they have become violent towards people and damaged property both on campuses and surrounding areas and they have negotiated in bad faith. in the recent documentary, fees in crisis (enca, 2016), when students’ transgressions are exposed and questioned, they tend to justify their behaviour by contextualising it as a response to police and security brutality, racialised exclusions or simply a consequence of youth. they have been dismissive of property damage, stating that universities are insured, so this is not important. de vos (2016) affirms that the constitution of south africa (1996) preserves “the right to assemble and to protest in order to advance a particular cause”, but cautions that this should be done “unarmed and peacefully”. ideological thought translates swiftly to problematic actions, excluding groups, restricting movement, public disruption, and dismissing alternative voices within students’ much‑desired safe spaces. movements have demonstrated time and again that their members are not always able to practise the democratic and constitutional values they are assumed to want to realise. the intellectual acceptance of principles does not necessarily imply a practical application of them. closer to the truth, perhaps, is that when protestors believe so vehemently in their cause, they not only judge theirs to be the single most important issue amongst an array of other social ills; they seem to be able to abandon commonly accepted patterns of reasonability, conduct and engagement with some facility. this is not because of a lack of rationality, but partly because a politics of fragmentation and opposition implies that excluded or misrecognised groups are demanding access to different resources or rewards, and because they have been excluded from these, they are prepared to go beyond norms of acceptable conduct to get them. as habermas argues: “in the revolt of a dissident will, there all too often also come to expression, as we know, the voice of the other who is excluded by rigid moral principles, the violated integrity of human dignity, recognition refused, interests neglected, and differences denied” (habermas, 1993, p. 14). conclusion i regard the student movement culture as a rejection of the remnants of the imagined community of a united rainbow nation in the sense that the myth of a “deep, horizontal comradeship” has given way to the reality of “the actual inequality and exploitation” of the current dispensation (anderson, 2016, p. 7). within that post‑1994 imaginary, education is frequently billed as an antidote to social suffering. in other words, education is offered to members of societies more as a means to better oneself, to rise above one’s circumstances, to end cycles of poverty, and less as some sort of civic responsibility. higher education, no longer high school, has often been framed as a “ticket to the middle class” (carnevale, 2012). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 dionne van reenen: what are we witnessing? students protests and the politics of the unknowable 25 this promise carries with it the very real expectation that with a degree, one can access better levels of employment, improve one’s living spaces and head for circumstances enhancing personal advancement. this translates to an individual means for transcending undesirable and systemic social realities; it is not really a means for undoing these realities. unequal social structures, for all intents and purposes, then, remain intact. while university students seem to be well aware of the economy that a degree holds as a personal good, less so is the focus as a public good. hull (2015, para. 9) has argued that, “to the extent that higher education is an individual good, the individuals who benefit from it should pay for it; to the extent that it is a public good, it should be paid for from the public purse … full public provision is not always the route to social justice.” that said, protesting students are not against higher education. they are against the higher education system as it stands and they want it transformed. however noble that intent may be, when protest reconstitutes itself from being a legitimate form of resistance to being the sole form of communication in the academy, the transformation is a shaky one that “hypercontextualises” (visagie,  1994) individually premised narratives and morphs them into systematic platitudes, regardless of the presence of valid, competing discourses. if this imbalance between attributes (visagie, 2006) continues unabated, the entire discourse will be permeated with what habermas (1993), a vehement critic of postmodernism because of its contradictory self‑reference, cautioned against: arbitrarily validated norms, unchecked self‑interest, and an unrestricted relativism – a perfectly postmodern moment, indeed. references anderson, b. 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(2016). politics and power struggles define student protests. mail & guardian. 22 january. retrieved on 7 january 2017 from http://mg.co.za/article/2016‑01‑21‑politics‑and‑power‑struggles‑define‑ student‑protests ray, m. (2016). free fall: why south african universities are in a race against time. johannesburg, south africa: bookstorm. schlebusch, n. (2015). student protests: a textual analysis. focal points. retrieved on 18 january 2017 from https://www.newsclip.co.za/temp/student‑protests‑a‑textual‑analysis.pdf science must fall? (2016). youtube. 12 october. viewed on 22 november 2016 at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=c9sirnibd14 shaku, t. (2016). the struggle for free education. retrieved on 30 december 2016 from http://workers socialistparty.co.za/wp‑content/uploads/2016/02/pages‑8‑9‑student‑struggle.pdf spies, d. 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(2019). what are we witnessing? student protests and the politics of the unknowable. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 15‑27. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 http://mg.co.za/article/2016-01-21-politics-and-power-struggles-define-student-protests http://mg.co.za/article/2016-01-21-politics-and-power-struggles-define-student-protests https://www.newsclip.co.za/temp/student-protests-a-textual-analysis.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9sirnibd14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9sirnibd14 http://workerssocialistparty.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pages-8-9-student-struggle.pdf http://workerssocialistparty.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pages-8-9-student-struggle.pdf http://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/nmmu-students-to-appear-in-court-after-protests-20160922 http://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/nmmu-students-to-appear-in-court-after-protests-20160922 scholar.ufs.ac.za:8080/xmlui/handle/11660/4755 scholar.ufs.ac.za:8080/xmlui/handle/11660/4755 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920382612 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920382612 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3690 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 49-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.92 www.jsaa.ac.za are african flagship universities preparing students for citizenship? lucky kgosithebe* and thierry m. luescher** research article * mr lucky kgosithebe is junior researcher at the human resource development council (hrdc) in botswana. email: baggiolucky@yahoo.com. ** dr thierry m. luescher is assistant director: institutional research at the university of the free state, bloemfontein/mangaung, south africa. abstract this article investigates the contribution of higher education to democratisation in africa by studying the political attitudes of undergraduate students at four african flagship universities in botswana, kenya, south africa and tanzania. it analyses students’ attitudes against those of youths without higher education and mass publics in their respective countries. the study focuses on flagship universities because of their role as important players in the development of the social, economic and political leadership of their respective countries. the surveys used stratified random samples of third-year students across all faculties and years of enrolment, which resulted in a weighted sample of 400 students from each of the participating institutions. students’ attitudes are compared with those of the same age percentiles of youths without higher education, and those of the entire population sample, from the nationwide public opinion surveys conducted by afrobarometer. the analysis of the data uses the notions of commitment to democracy, critical citizenship and political engagement to show that students at the four flagship institutions have significantly higher levels of political awareness and political participation, and higher levels of criticalness, than youths without higher education and the general mass public. however, no consistently higher levels of commitment to democracy were found among students. we therefore argue that the study provides evidence of the political hothouse conditions typical in many african universities. it also provides grounds for the call that african higher education institutions should be more conscious of, and explicit in, the cultivation of the norms, values and practices conducive to democracy in order for higher education to contribute in enduring ways to citizenship development and the deepening of democratisation in africa. keywords citizenship; higher education; democratisation; student politics; public opinion. 50 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(1) 2015, 49-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.92 higher education and democracy in africa in the course of the 1990s, a great number of african nations embarked on transitions to economic and political liberalisation and democratisation, embracing competitive, multiparty electoral systems within an enabling framework of political and civil rights (bratton & van de walle, 1997; lass, 1995). more recently, the wave of popular protests and uprisings known as the ‘arab spring’ has again raised the hopes for the political emancipation and democratisation of countries in north africa and parts of the middle east. the global history of democracy shows, however, that the democratisation of state and society is not an event; it is an ongoing project that comes in ‘waves’ and has its ‘reverse waves’ (huntington, 1991; brown, 2011). moreover, while there is a broad consensus on what constitutes a well-designed institutional framework to make democracy work, democratic institutions like popularly elected and representative legislatures, responsive and responsible executives, and well-functioning judiciary systems constitute only the ‘hardware’ of a democratic system (mattes, davids & africa, 1999). in order to deepen and consolidate, democracies require people committed to democracy, that is, committed democrats, critically thinking and actively participating citizens, as well as democratically minded leaders and professionals to staff the complex institutions of modern democracy. sustainable democracy is said to require a critical mass of educated people who believe in and support democracy, and who have the cognitive skills to act as critical citizens and the organisational experience and relevant expertise to take on democratic leadership roles in state and civil society. these democrats constitute the ‘software’ of a modern democratic system and vibrant civil society (mattes et al., 1999); they form the constituency to enhance the quality of democracy and its endurance, particularly in times of stress (gerring, 2011). whether, and to what extent, african higher education contributes to democracy and development has come into the spotlight of research conducted by the higher education research and advocacy network in africa (herana). among the herana studies, four have looked specifically into higher education’s contribution to strengthening democracy (i.e. mattes & mughogho, 2010; mattes & mozaffar, 2011; luescher-mamashela et al. 2011; luescher-mamashela, et al. 2015). there are good reasons for including democracy in the herana studies on higher education and development: democracy and development are closely interlinked. in sen’s terms, democracy has intrinsic, instrumental, and constructive roles to play in the process of development (2001, pp. 146-159). correspondingly, gerring argues that ‘a transition [to democracy] that is consolidated (and thus maintained over a long period of time) is likely to bring manifold benefits – economic, infrastructural, environmental, educational, public health, and gender based’ (2011, p. 231). past research conducted mainly in europe and north america has found that education in general, and higher education in particular, plays an important role in the development of a democratic citizenry and democratically minded leaders (for details see: mattes & luescher-mamashela, 2012). in their landmark study, nie, junn and stehlik-barry argue that ‘formal education is almost without exception the strongest factor in explaining what citizens do in politics and how they think about politics’ (1996, p. 2). education increases society-wide literacy levels, thus enabling larger sections of the lucky kgosithebe & thierry m. luescher: are african f lagship universities preparing students for citizenship? 51 citizenry to follow politics using a variety of media sources, including print and online newspapers; education stimulates other forms of cognitive engagement with politics, and interest in and discussion about politics; education increases knowledge of basic facts about the political system, government, and political incumbents; and, overall, education plays a role in the inculcation of democratic norms and values. higher education in particular is said to enable students to acquire and interpret new information in a more critical manner. increasing levels of education also translate into improved communication and organisational skills which enable people to persuade and mobilise others. the sum effect of education is therefore higher levels of political efficacy, which result in specific political behaviours such as citizens joining civil society organisations, contacting elected representatives and other government officials, working together with other citizens and participating in community action groups, acquiring attitudes of tolerating political opponents and refraining from violent protest, and, ultimately, supporting democracy and defending it if it comes under threat (for a detailed overview of the literature see: mattes & luescher-mamashela, 2012; and brown, 2011). studies that empirically investigate the contribution of higher education to democracy in the african context are hard to come by. on the one hand, access to higher levels of education in africa has been limited to an elite few; the average higher education gross enrolment ratio in sub-saharan africa is only around 6.1% of the 18-24 years age cohort (even if it has been growing at a fast pace) (unesco, 2011; 2008 figures). in addition, limited access to basic political infrastructure such as independent news media has further hampered the development of the type of cognitive skills demanded of ordinary citizens in africa to act as full democratic citizens. in a recent study involving representative mass publics from 18 african countries, mattes and mughogho (2010, p. 1) note: along with limited access to news media, the extremely low levels of formal education found in many african countries strike at the very core of the skills and information that enable citizens to assess social, economic and political developments, learn the rules of government, form opinions about political performance, and care about the survival of democracy.” hence, poorly performing government leaders are often afforded surprisingly good performance evaluations by citizens, while democracy gets low levels of support. mattes and mughogho conclude that this produces an anti-democratic concoction of attitudes aptly named ‘a particularly corrosive form of uncritical citizenship’ in africa (mattes & mughogho, 2010). the few empirical studies that have specifically investigated the contribution of higher education to democratic attitudes among citizens in africa have produced ambiguous results. while some have shown strong positive correlations between increasing levels of education and democratic attitudes and behaviours (evans & rose, 2007a; 2007b), others have argued that the analyses used in these studies have failed to isolate the specific ‘higher education effect’ (mattes & mughogho, 2010). rather, mattes and mughogho (2010) argue that, if studied in isolation – and thus controlling for the primary and secondary education level effects – higher education produces diminishing returns for support of democracy 52 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(1) 2015, 49-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.92 and the development of democratic attitudes among citizens in africa. they arrive at this conclusion from the analysis of data from afrobarometer surveys that cover 18 african countries. it shows that african university graduates are not significantly more supportive of democracy than citizens with lower levels of educational attainment; they thus suggest that african universities fail to deliver on a key aspect of their public-good mandate, that is, ‘the socialisation of enlightened, responsible and constructively critical citizens’ (cf. white paper on higher education, republic of south africa, 1997, section 1.3). the above overview of the literature shows that the higher education–democracy nexus has been analysed by several scholars, most of whom argue that higher education contributes in varying degrees to popular support for democracy and thus the consolidation of democracy. typically, previous studies have looked at the political attitudes of citizens with different levels of education. the present article, in contrast, seeks to nuance these findings by adding to the analysis the attitudes and behaviours of students while at university. in addition, the analysis is meant to show whether participation in student politics influences support for democracy, for exmaple by analysing whether student leaders are significantly more committed to democracy than students not in leadership and whether their participation in campus politics is matched by increased participation in the democratic process beyond the campus. the student surveys against the background of findings of previous studies into the nexus of higher education and democracy, herana conducted surveys with students and student leaders on the campuses of four african universities to establish what kinds of citizens and future leaders of state and civil society are emerging from some of the most prestigious public universities in east and southern africa. surveys were conducted with a representative sample of third-year undergraduate students at the university of botswana (ub) in 2011, and at the university of cape town (uct), the university of dar es salaam (udsm), tanzania, and the university of nairobi (uon), kenya, in 2009. the universities were not selected to be representative in any way; rather, it is their unique ‘flagship’ status as the oldest and presumably most prestigious institutions within their respective higher educational and national contexts, and thus their potential significance in the (re-)production of the social, economic and political elites of their countries, which warranted their selection for the study.1 the herana student surveys were conducted on the understanding that macropolitics and public higher education are closely interlinked – as the history and legacy of apartheid in south african higher education show. for instance, the apartheid legacy is still evident in the constitution of the sector itself: in the higher education landscape which, even after the bail-outs of the late 1990s, the mergers and incorporations of the early and mid-2000s, and subsequent developments in the sector, still discernibly reflects historical inequities on key indicators (bunting, sheppard, cloete & belding, 2010; mngomezulu, 2012). apartheid social engineering has its legacy in students’ class backgrounds and academic preparedness, and, as the soudien commission highlighted, in students’ lived experience on campus, in that, after almost two decades of south african lucky kgosithebe & thierry m. luescher: are african f lagship universities preparing students for citizenship? 53 democracy ‘discrimination, in particular with regard to racism and sexism, is pervasive in [south african higher education] institutions (ministerial commission, 2008. p.13). the surveys use the micropolitical dimension of students’ and student leaders’ attitudes to democracy as indicators to be described and understood in comparative terms, thus seeking to measure the so-called educational effect of higher education on democratic attitudes and citizenship at university level. the analysis of the data uses a heuristic of three basic conceptions of democratic citizenship: the notions of ‘committed democrat’, ‘active citizen’ and ‘critical citizen’. • committed democrat refers to a notion of citizenship that highlights unwavering commitment to democracy; it is measured in terms of consistent preference for democracy over non-democratic regime alternatives on an index with four survey items. • active citizenship refers to the classic kantian distinction between active and passive citizens; it measures on an index of six survey items not only support for democracy (one indicator), but also participation in democratic politics by means of involvement in formal political leadership and participation in informal political activity such as mass meetings and demonstrations (measured on five items). • the notion of critical citizenship is based on norris’s work (1999) and jeevanatham (2005) and is measured here as support for democracy (one item) alongside a critical stance towards the level of democracy in the country. it therefore combines in one index both regime support and the critical evaluation of regime performance (three-item index). the student surveys produced 400 weighted responses of third-year students (and student leaders) at each university (but it excludes from the sample international students at uct). having designed the student survey instruments based on afrobarometer’s methodology, the article compares the findings of the student surveys with national public opinion data from botswana, kenya, south africa, and tanzania, both in aggregate form as well as disaggregated to youths of the same age cohorts as students but who do not have higher education.2 the student responses from the four east and southern african universities and national data from afrobarometer have to be understood within their respective institutional and national contexts, which provide important variation for comparative analysis. while it is not possible to go into details here, it is important to keep in mind that, even though all four countries are democracies, kenya, south africa and tanzania are of to the african group of the post-cold war (or ‘third wave’) democracies, while botswana has been a multi-party democracy since its independence in 1965 and is widely hailed as the ‘african success story’ in consolidating democratic politics on the continent (cook & sarkin, 2010). moreover, various comparative indicators show that the three younger democracies have succeeded to varying degrees in consolidating democracy and good governance in the past two decades. kenya and tanzania are only considered ‘partly free’ by freedom house and neither of the two qualifies as a genuine electoral democracy. south africa and botswana, in contrast, are 54 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(1) 2015, 49-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.92 considered two of the few fully free electoral democracies in africa (puddington, 2009). moreover, during data collection, botswana (2011) and tanzania and south africa (2009) were politically stable – and all three have been ruled by the same political party since their transition to multiparty democracy. kenya, in contrast, saw a change of political party at the helm of government in 2002 after it made its transition to multiparty democracy in 1997. however, in 2007/2008, the country experienced the worst case of electoral violence in its political history. by june 2009 (when the student surveys were conducted), kenya was also still recovering from the aftermath of the election violence and a new constitution had not yet been adopted. the effect of the macropolitical context on the attitudes of students and mass publics is evident in the data. for kenya, it is fair to conclude that kenyans’ opinions reflect in part the political instability that occurred due to post-election violence in the 2007/2008 elections (luescher-mamashela et al., 2011). the interpretation of cross-country analyses must therefore be mindful of the different national and institutional contexts present at the time of data collection. african students’ political attitudes in comparative perspective students and the idea of democracy: are african students committed democrats? a first ‘requisite’ for democratic citizenship and leadership is presumably knowing the basics of what democracy is and is not. yet, democracy is not only in political theory a contested concept; it means different things to different people. the student surveys conducted at ub, uct, udsm and uon did not presuppose a particular conception of democracy; rather they investigated students’ understanding of the term ‘democracy’ and their views on what features of society were essential for a country to be called a democracy as part of the investigation. the data shows that more than nine out of ten student respondents can provide a comprehensible and valid definition of democracy in their own words. almost all definitions carry a positive connotation. in closer analysis, students of the four flagship universities have predominantly procedural, liberal and/or participatory ideas of what democracy is. half of the students (51%) define democracy first in terms of political rights and civil freedoms; just under a third (31%) as popular participation and deliberation in politics; meanwhile less than a tenth define it in substantive terms as equality, fairness or justice. concerns with socio-economic development (such as access to basic services) are almost completely absent from students’ conceptions of democracy. only when students are prompted with a multiple-choice ‘wish list’ of potentially important features of a democracy, socio-economic goods (such as provision of basic services; equality in education; and full employment) come to top the list marginally ahead of political goods such as freedom of speech or majority rule. taking the notion of ‘committed democrat’ as the touchstone, the analysis shows the extent to which students prefer democracy over authoritarian regime types. almost three-quarters of students (72%) prefer democracy over any other regime type, and over 88% always reject non-democratic regime types, such as one-party rule, military rule lucky kgosithebe & thierry m. luescher: are african f lagship universities preparing students for citizenship? 55 and presidential strongman rule, as alternatives to democracy for the way their national government should run. however, overall, only a minority of students at uon (45%) and udsm (36%) can be described as unreservedly committed democrats in that they always prefer democracy and always reject non-democratic regime alternatives in the survey. the students from these two east african universities also emerge as less committed to democracy than the same-age cohorts of youths without higher education and the general mass public in their respective countries. thus, at uon and udsm, the mattes and mughogho (2010) finding that citizens with higher education1 are not necessarily more supportive of democracy than citizens without higher education is confirmed – albeit not at ub and uct, where a majority of students are committed democrats. at the ub, more than two in three students qualify as committed democrats (69%). at uct, 54% of the students are committed democrats by this definition, which is considerably more than the south african mass public and their age peers without higher education (where only about a third are fully committed to democracy) (see figure 1). figure 1: committed democrats n students = ub, uon, uct, udsm 400 each n valid afrobarometer national mass publics: bw=971; kny=1104; tzn=1208; sa=2400 n valid afrobarometer national age cohort without higher education: bw=229; kny=157; tzn=162; sa=312 moreover, considering the argument made in literature on student activism (e.g. altbach, 2006), it is perhaps surprising – or even shocking – that there is no significant correlation between involvement in formal student leadership on campus2 and being a committed democrat, as various statistical tests have shown (for details see luescher-mamashela et al., 2011, p. 58). for example, despite the difference in proportions of commitment to democracy between ordinary students and student leaders, a chi-square test indicates that there is no statistically significant association between commitment to democracy and student leadership. therefore, current or prior involvement in formal student representation 69% 56% 67% 45% 46%43% 63% 55% 54% 32% 35% ub/botswana uon/kenya uct/south africa udsm/tanzania n students n mass public youth age cohort n mass public 36% 56 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(1) 2015, 49-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.92 and student leadership seems to have no significant positive impact on commitment to democracy in any of the four universities. it follows that, if there are student leadership development interventions that specifically aim at citizenship development, they presently do not result in any significant increase in support for democracy among these students. contrary to expectation, participation in formal student leadership on campus (along with related student development interventions) therefore does not act as a distinct student leadership pathway to democratic citizenship. similarly, the attempt to explain support for democracy among the students of the four flagship universities in terms of demographic features (e.g. gender, class), institutional and cultural factors, and attitudinal and behavioural variables, has yielded very weak and few statistically significant results (for a very detailed study on the tanzanian data set, see mwollo-ntallima, 2011). therefore, only the students in the two southern african universities, the university of botswana and the university of cape town, are significantly more committed to democracy than their age peers without higher education or the national mass public; at the university of nairobi and university of dar es salaam this is not the case. if the latter universities are aiming to contribute over and above previous levels of education to a new generation of highly educated democratic citizens and leaders in their respective countries, they are currently not succeeding on those terms. students evaluating the performance of democracy: are they becoming critical citizens? to what extent do the present political systems of botswana, kenya, south africa and tanzania actually satisfy students’ political ideals? how do students and student leaders see the level of democracy in their country and the performance of the democratic system? analysing students’ evaluation of democracy’s performance, the surveys use the notion of ‘critical citizen’. it characterises those who prefer democracy and are critical or very critical of the current level of democracy in their country (i.e. those who consider the political system in their country as not yet fully democratic). in the analysis, the majority of the students from the three universities in the newer democracies consider their country ‘not a democracy’ or ‘a democracy with major problems’. most critical are students from the university of nairobi where less than 15% consider their country a full democracy or a democracy with minor problems. in contrast, almost 90% of the students at the university of botswana say that botswana is a democracy with, at most, minor problems. the contrasting views of students reflect only partially the national context. on the one hand, the extremely low democracy endorsement that kenya’s democracy receives from uon students must be understood in relation to the post-2007 election turmoil there and the fact that kenya found itself under a transitional government at the time of the survey and the new constitution still needed to be approved in a referendum in the coming months. on the other hand, the surveys also show that the students from all the universities are generally very critical of the extent of democracy in their country and, except in the special case of kenya, students are far more critical than their age peers without higher education and the mass publics in their respective countries (see lucky kgosithebe & thierry m. luescher: are african f lagship universities preparing students for citizenship? 57 figure 2). as will be shown below, the heightened criticalness of students may reflect the generally higher levels of political awareness of students compared with citizens in general in their country and the youth without higher education. figure 2: critical citizens n students = ub, uon, uct, udsm 400 each n valid afrobarometer national mass publics: bw=944; kny=867; tzn=937; sa=1996 n valid afrobarometer national age cohort without higher education: bw=225; kny=146; tzn=146; sa=309 critical regime performance evaluations also emerge from questions considering the extent to which students are satisfied with the way democracy works in their country. most students at the two east african universities are not satisfied at all with the performance of democracy in their respective countries (uon 87%; udsm 70% not satisfied). at ub, about one in two are not satisfied (52%) with botswana’s democracy, while, at uct, a majority of the students (57%) is ‘fairly’ or ‘very satisfied’ with south africa’s democratic system, which is more than south africans in general (49%). students therefore emerge in all cases as highly critical of the performance of democracy in their respective countries; only the kenyan mass publics – and for good reason – realise equally that the way democracy operates in their country needs improvement. having said this, other analyses show that there are high numbers of fairly uncritical democrats and complacent (inactive) democrats in these universities – occasional armchair critics, so to say. for example, almost a third of respondents from uct fall into this category (cf. luescher-mamashela et al., 2011). nonetheless, in the national comparative perspective, the students from all campuses emerge as highly likely to be critical democratic citizens, and, in all cases but kenya, they are much more critical than their respective fellow citizens and their same-age peers who do not have higher education. on this account, the universities therefore seem to be succeeding in producing more critical democrats in the region. 70% 43% 34% 70% 41%39% 68%71% 68% 41% 45% ub/botswana uon/kenya uct/south africa udsm/tanzania n students n mass public youth age cohort n mass public 64% 58 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(1) 2015, 49-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.92 participating in democratic politics: are african students active citizens? democratic processes require more than critical thinking; they require critically constructive behaviour. in terms of the classic kantian distinction between active and passive/inactive citizens, only those citizens who in one way or another actively participate in decision-making are indeed different from the subjects of a non-democratic polity (weinrib, 2008). firstly, in order to successfully participate in politics, citizens need to be cognitively engaged with and aware of, public affairs and politics around them. contrary to inactive citizens, who are completely disengaged, passive citizens may participate in democratic politics at least through remaining cognitively aware (e.g. by following the news); active citizens, however, act upon their convictions. in the student surveys, cognitive engagement with politics was measured mainly by investigating the levels of interest in, and frequency of discussing, politics and public affairs. here, the surveys show that universities provide a privileged space for young citizens to engage with politics. although the surveyed students are not generally more interested in politics than non-students, students discuss politics far more frequently than their age peers without higher education and the general public in their country. talking politics, it appears, is highly common in all four universities. in addition, while students make frequent use of a diversity of news media (e.g. radio, tv, newspapers) at a level at least equal to that of mass publics, the frequency of students accessing news online is striking: internet access to news is almost entirely a student privilege – in all four countries. of the students in all three universities, 85% or more say they have access to and use the internet daily or almost daily to gain access to news, whereas only around 10% of mass publics have this kind of access. even among the relevant age cohort without higher education, internet use is no higher than among publics in general. thus, when it comes to cognitive awareness of politics, there can be no stopping students becoming actively involved in the democratic politics of the day. proxies for active citizenship measure participation in formal (and conventional) roles in civil society, in particular formal leadership in voluntary associations (including participation in campus-based student representative roles and relevant student organisations), and participation in mass meetings, demonstrations and protests as less conventional forms of participation. do the advantages of increased political awareness provided by the university translate into actual participation? are these cognitively aware students behaving as active citizens? the survey data shows that higher levels of cognitive engagement indeed correspond to very high levels of political activism, both onand off-campus. participation in political meetings and protests is highest at udsm, followed by uon and uct. at ub and udsm, half of the students have taken part in a student demonstration in the preceding 12 months and about two in five students in a demonstration or protest off-campus (39% at ub and 36% at udsm); 29% of uon students participated in a demonstration on campus and 28% off-campus; and 21% of uct students demonstrated on-campus and 17% participated in an off-campus/national demonstration. except at uct, where students have participated in national protests and demonstrations about as much as south africans lucky kgosithebe & thierry m. luescher: are african f lagship universities preparing students for citizenship? 59 in general, students at ub, uon and udsm are around twice as likely to demonstrate as their compatriots. leadership and active participation in voluntary associations onand off-campus is another indicator for measuring students’ attitudes to civil society. as far as active membership or leadership in non-religious associations off-campus is concerned, students are much more likely (at ub, uct and udsm) and moderately more likely (at uon) to participate than their respective peers without higher education. in addition, students are, of course, also highly involved in campus-based student organisations. student leadership on campus also correlates strongly with student leadership in off-campus voluntary organisations, whereby students are considerably more likely to be leaders in civil society organisations off-campus than their less educated peers.4 figure 3: active citizens n students = ub, uon, uct, udsm 400 each n valid afrobarometer national mass publics: bw=899; kny=1028; tzn=1121; sa=2112 n valid afrobarometer national age cohort without higher education: bw=207; kny=147; tzn=147; sa=264 it is clear that, with respect to all measures of political engagement, both in terms of cognitive engagement and active participation and leadership, all four flagship universities offer significant advantages to the politically interested and politically participatory student. figure 3 shows that, compared with their fellow citizens, students are much more likely to be active democratic citizens. moreover, the disaggregation of mass data into the relevant age cohort shows that it is not youthfulness that accounts for the more activist political disposition of students, but conditions (or predispositions) associated with studying at an african flagship university that have the effect of students being more likely active citizens. from hothouse to training ground: conclusions and implications against the background of the questions in the herana studies – that is, what contribution higher education makes to democracy in africa – the student surveys show 46% 18% 12% 27% 23% 16% 21% 14% 22% 8% 15% ub/botswana uon/kenya uct/south africa udsm/tanzania n students n mass public youth age cohort n mass public 35% 60 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(1) 2015, 49-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.92 that the four flagship universities clearly offer a privileged space for critical thinking and discussions on democratic politics and a base for formal and informal political participation. in the light of the importance of critical thinking skills in society in general (jeevanantham, 2005) and for the quality and endurance of democracy (norris, 1999; gerring, 2011), this is an important contribution of african higher education to democracy. moreover, the flagship universities offer clear advantages for participation and leadership in formal settings such as student government on campus and voluntary associations onor off-campus. in nie et al.’s terms (1996), students at these universities are therefore not only seated closer to the political action as observers, but they are also more likely to be on stage themselves, and more likely to be politically participating at a young age than their peers without higher education and the public in general in their respective countries. the findings of the analyses provide evidence of the familiar phenomenon of student activism in africa: the university as a political hothouse. they go a long way in illustrating why students tend to be at the forefront of political movements in africa, which has inspired a diverse literature on student activism dating back to the mid-1960s and before (e.g. lipset, 1965; unesco, 1994; munene, 2003; luescher, 2005; altbach, 2006). political participation, it appears, is not so much a matter of interest in politics; it is about having access to, and being informed of, current affairs; about discussing politics with peers and thus being ‘cognitively engaged’; along with being placed where participation and leadership are possible. the political hothouse effect of the university observed in the surveys harbours a distinct potential for african universities to engage with the democratic mandate in order to develop democratic citizenship and leadership. on the one hand, mattes and mughogho’s (2010) work suggests that the high levels of political engagement disappear once a student leaves the university and thereby loses the advantages for cognitive engagement and political participation offered by student life. this may be explained in terms of the findings on commitment to democracy (above) which seems to be insufficiently developed in the course of the university experience. it may thus be argued that there is a need for a more conscious and explicit cultivation of the norms, values and practices conducive to democratic attitudes and behaviours among students in order for higher education to contribute in lasting ways to citizenship development and, by extension, the deepening of democratisation in africa. we believe that the hothouse conditions observed in the surveys offer the very potential for universities to act as training grounds for critical and active democratic citizenship through the opportunities presented to students, namely ‘to learn how democracy works’ and ‘that democracy works’ as proposed by bleiklie (2001, p. 1; emphasis in original). in order to harness the potential of making the university an effective training ground, we therefore recommend that student affairs and academic departments develop strategic interventions – in and outside the classroom; and in-curricular and extra-curricular activities – that consciously cultivate democratic norms, values and practices on campus. moreover, we recommend a sustained research effort drawing on local and international best practice, and informed by and relevant to the local, institutional and national contexts, to measure the extent to which student engagement contributes not only to students’ academic success lucky kgosithebe & thierry m. luescher: are african f lagship universities preparing students for citizenship? 61 but also to their attainment of relevant graduate attributes and competences related to democratic citizenship. acknowledgements we are grateful to other members of the herana project team for their work in collecting data and commenting on the analysis and interpretation, in particular nico cloete, sam kiiru, robert mattes, angolwisye mwollo-ntallima, njuguna ng’ethe, and michelle romo. we are also grateful to afrobarometer for readily providing data and other support. the herana studies were funded by the us partnership for higher education in africa, in particular the ford foundation, the carnegie corporation of new york, the rockefeller foundation and the kresge foundation. student researchers were supported by scholarships from the norwegian agency for development cooperation (norad). sdg. endnotes 1. in the mattes and mughogho study, the ‘citizens with higher education’ refers to both students and graduates; in contrast, the present study only includes students who are currently at university. 2. ‘student leaders’ has been defined in the surveys as students who were previously or are currently in elected student leadership positions at residence, faculty or institution-wide level, e.g. serving on a house/hall committee, a faculty or school council, or students’ representative council (src), student guild structures or the university senate/council. 3. while the selection of ub in botswana, udsm in tanzania and uon in kenya is relatively straightforward, there are other potential choices in the south african case, i.e. the university of pretoria, the university of stellenbosch, or the university of the witwatersrand in some respects, as well as universities that have been important in the production of the black social and political elite such as the university of fort hare, the university of durban-westville (now part of the university of kwazulu-natal), and the university of the western cape. however, with the given criteria of age and current prestige, uct emerged as the most defensible choice. 4. for details of the methodology, sampling, response rates, weighting, etc., of the herana student surveys as well as the afrobarometer data, see luescher-mamashela et al. (2011). the relevant age cohorts of youths without higher education taken from the afrobarometer sample ref lect the age groups of the 10 to 90 percentile age group of the student surveys. they are: batswana of 21-27 years of age; kenyans of the ages of 22-25 years; south africans of 20-23 years of age; and tanzanians of the ages of 22-26 years. provided that the students are selected from f lagship universities, while the youths without higher education are from a representative national sample (based on afrobarometer data), the analysis could also be interpreted in terms of differences in political attitudes between elite offspring and the youth in general. 5. details of the correlations can be accessed from luescher-mamashela et al. (2011). references altbach, p.g. (2006). student politics: activism and culture. in j.f.j. forest & p.g. altbach (eds.), international handbook of higher education. dordrecht: springer. bleiklie, i. 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(2008). kant on citizenship and universal independence. australian journal of legal philosophy, (33)1, 1-25. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 49–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 49 www.jsaa.ac.za research article the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience alongside university access and success: a south african university case study subethra pather* & nirmala dorasamy** * dr subethra pather is currently teaching & learning specialist in the office of the deputy vice-chancellor academic at the university of western cape, cape town, south africa. email: supather@uwc.ac.za ** dr nirmala dorasamy is a senior lecturer in the department of public management and economics, faculty of management science at the durban university of technology, durban, south africa. email: nirmala@dut.ac.za abstract the widening of access into higher education institutions in south africa has rapidly transformed the student population to become more diverse. students vary in age, race, culture, backgrounds, educational experiences, academic potential and university expectations. widening university access with the commensurate need for success requires intervention mechanisms to ensure university management addresses student challenges, especially at first-year undergraduate level. access and success cannot be achieved without understanding students’ university expectations and experiences, as these are critical factors that are integrated with retention and success. this paper examines the gap between students’ expectation and experience and argues that the intensity of such a gap can negatively impact the goal of achieving access and success amongst students from diverse backgrounds. the study utilised a preand post-survey to collect quantitative data from 95 first-year teacher education students at a university of technology in south africa. the results indicate that there is a significant gap between students’ expectations and their actual university experience with regard to the following indicators: social engagement, academic engagement and seeking academic support. it is posited that such a mismatch between students’ university expectations and experience can result in students feeling disconnected to the institution, which could lead to academic failure and high drop-out rates. this study recommends that an intentionally planned first-year experience programme is required to entrench a more inclusive and sustainable first-year experience for ‘all students’ which could close the gap between students’ expectation and experience and access and success. keywords first-year experience; first-year expectation; gap analysis; higher education introduction the south african constitution of 1996 and the education white paper 3 (ewp 1997), entitled “a programme for the transformation of higher education”, allude to important transformation principles to eradicate all forms of unfair discrimination and advance http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:supather%40uwc.ac.za?subject= mailto:nirmala%40dut.ac.za?subject= 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 49–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 the redress of past inequalities (department of education [doe], 1997). one of the key imperatives of transformation is that student enrolment be expanded and access broadened to reach a wider distribution of social groups and classes (doe, 1997). the post-school system that is envisaged in the post-apartheid south africa is one that is more expanded and diverse, thereby ensuring that the quality, quantity and diversity of post-school education and training in south africa are significantly enhanced. issues of access and success are fundamental to meaningful transformation within the higher education milieu in south africa. public higher education institutions (heis) have increased enrolment figures from 892 936 in 2010 to 985 212 in 2015 (department of higher education and training [dhet], 2016). the new enrolment trends show a different racial imbalance with more students from historically underrepresented groups entering higher education. for example, the african student complement increased from 64% of all enrolments in 2008 to 70% in 2013 (council for higher education [che], 2013), a student population that is more representative of the country’s national population. this drastic shift in diversity in enrolment demographics in south africa’s higher education has resulted in students entering universities from positions of extreme inequality in terms of schooling, race, class, and financial and other resources (chetty & pather, 2015). this has been underpinned by student expectations varying across the continuum from being realistic to unrealistic. without students understanding this continuum, unfulfilled expectations can have a detrimental effect on successful performance. in essence, university management needs to make concerted efforts to ensure a match between expectations and experiences as this is an imperative for student success. although, the south african higher education system has made notable progress in terms of widening access, cohort studies have highlighted that approximately 30% of students drop out of university in the first year and about 55% of all students never graduate (che, 2013). while there has been growth in differentiation and diversity, many of the students entering higher education face a number of challenges. such challenges include student preparedness (bettinger & long, 2009), low retention and success rates (pascarella & terenzini, 2005), and lack of provision of relevant first-year support (tinto, 2007). evidence points to heis in south africa not being adequately equipped to accommodate the new student population entering university (che, 2013). south african universities need to be more assertive in gaining a full understanding of their incoming students’ university expectations and experiences, specifically focusing on indicators relating to social engagement, academic engagement and seeking academic support. gaining such knowledge could increase student success and retention, particularly in the first year of study. additionally, such knowledge can inform effective and appropriate first-year support initiatives. a number of studies have revealed that an awareness of student expectations can reduce students’ psychological stress (james, 2002); improve academic performance (smith & wertlieb, 2005); encourage social relations and integration (bean & eaton, 2001); and improve students’ sense of belonging or sense of community (thomas, 2012; tinto, 1995). in this regard, it becomes imperative that universities re-evaluate intervention mechanisms to ensure that students’ experiences are aligned to their expectations, thereby fostering success through access. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 subethra pather & nirmala dorasamy: the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience … 51 from the literature reviewed, first-year student retention and success studies focused mainly on factors within the institution such as the quality of students’ first-year university experience, student engagement and academic performance, without taking into account students’ prior university expectations. the match or mismatch between student expectation and actual experience can provide insight into all of the aforementioned factors within the institution. this study takes into account students’ prior university expectations and their actual experience in social engagement, academic engagement and seeking academic support at university. student engagement can be defined as “the quality of effort students themselves devote to educationally purposeful activities that contribute directly to desired outcomes” (hu & kuh, 2001, p. 3). they add that this engagement includes activities inside and outside of the formal classroom. the australian council of educational research (acer) defines student engagement as “students’ involvement with activities and conditions likely to generate high quality learning” (acer, 2008, p. vi). there are various perspectives on student engagement, which according to zepke and leach (2010), allow a multifaceted lens to be placed on student engagement. this study takes into account the above two definitions of student engagement. this study addresses the dearth in the literature on student expectation and experience by examining the intensity of the gap between incoming students’ expectations of social engagement, academic engagement and seeking academic support, with their actual university experience. it can be argued that a gap analysis study between students’ expectations and experience is critical to ensuring that the goals of access and success are achieved. measuring the intensity and direction of the expectation–experience gap would provide a better understanding of the extent of the mismatch or alignment of students’ expectation with university experience, which could inform appropriate actions taken to close this gap. this outcome could have a positive impact on student university transition, retention and success. literature review widening university access has drawn first-year students from varying schooling contexts. this action has opened access to a significantly large number of students, particularly from township and rural schools, which, according to the south african human rights commission (2006), can be characterised as dysfunctional, vulnerable, alienated and lacking social cohesion. students entering universities with such disparities in schooling could influence their university expectations. nelson, kift and clarke (2012) acknowledge that the diversity in students’ lives impacts on their university expectations, which they suggest reflects on a range of first-year experiences and students’ engagement with the university. slonimsky and shalem (2006) identify these students as mainly first-generation university students with limited access to the social networks harbouring vast expanses of university experiences. such under-preparedness for the complex nature of university study could impact on teaching and learning and student success (moll, 2004). therefore, the argument by reason, terenzini and domingo (2006) that the first year is the most critical year for laying the foundation for subsequent academic success does require urgent consideration by higher education institutions when planning support initiatives for first-year students. 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 49–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 universities need a multi-dimensional approach in understanding students’ expectations and actual university experience. this approach will provide a more in-depth exploration of students’ first-year expectation and experience, which can assist in improving student transition, retention and success. awang and ismail (2010) offer one such approach. they suggest that universities need to conduct regular first-year surveys concerning students’ expectations and perception as part of their quality improvement exercise. they assert that the information collected can ensure that the services offered by the institution to their first-year students could be of the highest quality. strydom (2015) suggests that universities need to create the following awareness amongst incoming students: how universities function; complexities of university readiness; opportunities to learn the required academic behaviours and expectations; social interactions; and diverse environmental factors, as all of these aspects can influence more realistic expectations, thereby reinforcing opportunities for success. a substantive number of studies on student expectations reveal that students have unrealistic expectations of university experience with regard to awareness of courses to enrol in (mcinnes et al., 2000); generic skills required for university study (bamforth, 2010); and managing workloads and self-study (van der meer, jansen & torenbeek, 2010). personal and circumstantial variables were also found to influence students’ expectations, which ultimately interfere with student success. kim, newton, downey and benton’s (2010) research showed that student expectations were strong predictors of academic performance and success. they assert that students’ personal, social and academic related factors influence students’ expectations of academic performance and success. a study by creighton (2007) highlighted that students who felt accepted within the social environment of the university were more likely to return, while those who had unrealistic expectations were more likely to be unsuccessful. additionally, creighton found that isolation and a lack of support services did not facilitate learning, nor contribute in positive ways to student success. tinto, goodsell-love and russo (1993) assert that the congruency between students’ expectation and university experience is a determining factor for students’ access and success. they further explain that the aligning of students’ expectation with their actual experience is necessary for understanding students’ sense of belonging or fit. these authors argue that it is this sense of belonging that is linked to the students’ sense of congruence and without this sense of congruence between the student and their educational pursuits, it can be assumed that these students are less likely to navigate successfully through the first year of university. the authors of this paper, however, contend that higher education institutions have a moral obligation to ensure that the students who gain access into their universities are understood and accommodated for inclusively. students’ expectations should be explicit to all first-year curriculum planners, academics and support units to ensure successful transition into university. the rural education access programme (reap), which undertook a study on the factors influencing the success of previously disadvantaged students, concluded that rurality negatively affects students’ success and found that insufficient finances was also a key reason for student dropout. in addition, reap recognised that the “unpreparedness of http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 subethra pather & nirmala dorasamy: the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience … 53 students” was commonly known “but the unpreparedness of higher education institutions for these types of students is less taken into account” (reap, 2008, p. 6). this knowledge could also encourage a more constructive dialogue between all stakeholders to ensure a positive alignment of students’ expectations and university realities, thereby allowing for enhancement of student success. the real challenges affecting student success require institutional support. literature on the first-year student transition reveals that for students to successfully make the transition to university life, they need to develop a sense of belonging and connectedness with their new peer groups and the wider academic community. thomas (2012, p.  12) defines students’ sense of belonging as “students’ subjective feelings of relatedness or connectedness”. perry and allard (2003) claim that students need to make connections between the experiences they bring with them to the new university environment and their new knowledge obtained at university. they stress that the ability to do this cannot be pursued in silo. university support in facilitating alignment of student expectations and experiences is integral for student success. in addition, the institutional support needs to be underpinned by appropriate timing in the provision for it to be effective. drawing from literature on university students’ expectation and experience, it is evident that there is a mismatch between students’ pre-university expectations and actual experience (smith & wertlieb, 2005). however, this study examines the extent of the gaps between students’ pre-university expectation and their actual university experience. the uniqueness of the study is that it explores the degree to which students’ expectations of their actual university realities are matched or mismatched. this study makes use of gap analysis to identify the intensity or size of gap between students’ expectations and actual experience. if first-year students enter university with a set of expectations shaped by their prior educational knowledge, background and histories, and are confronted with experiences that do not match these expectations, then there is a greater likelihood that these students will experience dissatisfaction and either drop out of university or struggle to fit in. this study draws on parsuraman, zeithaml and berry’s (1985) service gap idea that postulates that the quality of service perceived by a customer depends on the size and direction of the gap. they define service quality as the gap between consumers’ expectations and perceptions. the assumption underlying the service gap concept is that disappointment and withdrawal of support or use of service will result if expectations are not met. gap analysis is not a new concept in the higher educational context and can be applied to higher education in a similar way to quality of services perceived by customers. for example, in labay and comm’s (2003) study, they used gap analysis to evaluate student expectations and perceptions concerning their tutor’s services. in legčević’s (2009) study, she determines the quality gap by measuring university students’ perceptions and expectations of educational services offered in the law faculty in osijek. in the present study, the gap between students’ university expectations with their actual university experience is examined alongside widening university access and success. 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 49–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 methodology this exploratory study analysed first-year teacher education students’ pre-entry expectations with their actual university experience of social, academic and seeking support integration. the aim was to gain a better understanding of the size of the gap between student expectation and experience in relation to its impact on access and success. this study employed a case study strategy conducted in the faculty of education at cape peninsula university of technology, in cape town, south africa. a self-designed questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data at two stages in the study. the first survey was a selfadministered pre-entry expectation survey, which was mailed to all first-year students accepted into the bachelor of education (bed) programme prior to commencement of their academic study. an acceptable response rate of 65% was achieved. the second survey was conducted in the last term of the first year of study. all first-year teacher education students were invited to complete the first-year experience survey. the second survey had a response rate of 66%, but from a smaller pool of first-year students. only students who completed the first pre-entry expectation survey and the second first-year experience survey were considered as participants for this study. in this regard, a total of 95 first-year students who completed both surveys became the participants of this study. instrument the pre-entry expectation survey information was collected in two parts. the first part collected biographical and background characteristics information. the second part contained 35 expectation statements covering items relating to academic preparedness, social and academic integration, perceptions of lecturer expectations, and seeking institutional support. students were asked to rate all items on a 4-point likert scale with respect to their expectations and perceptions of university experience. to give participants a range of responses to the statements, a likert scale consisting of four categories ranging from 4 being ‘strongly agree’ to 1 being ‘strongly disagree’, was provided. the reason for using a 4-point scale is that participants are required to make a decision on the statement. as noted by cohen et al. (2008), there is often a tendency for participants to opt for the mid-point. in the first-year experience survey, the same 35 statements from the expectation survey were used. all the expectation statements were changed to experience statements and presented in the same order with the same 4-point rating scale. data analysis procedure quantitative statistical analysis was conducted by using a computer software package (statistical package for the social sciences: spss version 22.0). comparison of the two sets of scores was done using the paired sample t-test, as normality conditions were satisfied. of the 35 pairs of indicators computed, 25  statements, around 71%, were found to be statistically significant at the 5% significance level, with the majority of the statements yielding p-values less than 0.001. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 subethra pather & nirmala dorasamy: the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience … 55 the gap scores for each statement were measured by examining the average mean expectation score with the average mean experience score. according to juillerat (1995) student satisfaction can be defined by the positive and negative gaps in the expectation level and actual experience. in this study the gap score was obtained by calculating the difference between the average mean score for each expectation statement paired with the corresponding experience statement. a positive difference between the mean expectation score and the mean experience score indicated that the students’ actual experience exceeded their expectations. a negative gap score indicated that the students’ expectation was not met by their actual university experience. a p-value of less than 0.05 indicated the level of significance of the gap. descriptive and statistical inferences were used to interpret and present the findings of this study. validity and reliability the self-designed survey used in this study was piloted, tested and revised to ensure reliability and validity. to determine the reliability of the survey instruments, the authors made use of cronbach’s alpha (α) to determine the internal consistency and average correlation of the 35 items in the survey instrument. the cronbach’s alpha for the 35 items ranged from 0.564 to 0.776. the overall coefficient score of 0.668 obtained for this study can be regarded as an acceptable score, bearing in mind that this was a newly developed instrument. two layers of informed consent were sought. first, approval was sought from the institution’s faculty ethics committee. a formal proposal was submitted to the committee, providing full disclosure of the aim, objectives and procedures of the research project and the participants who would be selected for the project. a research ethical clearance compliance form was completed. the second consent was obtained from the participants. written consent was attached to the pre-entry expectation and first-year experience survey. as an introduction to the survey a brief summary of the research project was highlighted, also stating that filling in of the questionnaire was optional; no costs would be incurred since a self-addressed envelope was provided for the expectation survey; and finally, confidentially would be preserved with regard to participants’ information and identity as completed. findings and discussion the aim of the study was to determine the size of the gap between students’ expectation and actual university experience in relation to students’ engagement in academic, social and seeking support. the findings from this study indicate significant gaps between first-year students’ expectation and their actual university experience. in the current study, a negative gap indicates that students’ expectations were not met. this implies that students’ mean expectation scores were greater than their mean experience scores. a positive gap implies that students’ expectations were met and in some occurrences, it actually exceeded their expectations. in this regard, the mean experience score was greater than the mean expectation scores. from the tables below, it is evident that an overall negative average gap 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 49–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 score was found in all three categories: social engagement (-0.53), academic engagement (-0.65), and academic support (-0.56). these results imply that there was a mismatch between students’ expectation and actual experience. in this study, students’ expectations of their actual first-year university experience were not met. in order to better understand the findings of this study the authors needed to gain a comprehensive overview of their participants, their profiles and background characteristics. the next section describes the participants’ backgrounds. first-year students’ profiles from the total sample of 95 participants, 77% were female and 23% male. the majority of the participants (53%) were under 20 years of age, attending university directly from school. a substantive portion of 40% of the participants were in the 21–29 year age group. most of the participants (53%) indicated english as their home language, while 23% indicated isixhosa and 21.5% indicated afrikaans. a large majority of the participants  (83%) indicated they were first-generation students, implying that they were the first members in their immediate family to attend university. finally, only 6% of the participants were able to fund their own studies, while 53% sought outside funding in the form of bursaries and loans. a total of 41% of the participants indicated that their parents funded their university studies. the profile of the sample participants was representative of the first-year bed student cohort in the faculty. the participants’ background characteristics provided context to the data collected in the preand post-surveys. the findings from these surveys are discussed in the following sections under three main headings: (i) social engagement, (ii) academic engagement, and (iii) seeking academic support. (i) social engagement: gap analysis table 1 below shows the gap analysis for five social engagement indicators which included ‘joining social clubs’, ‘attending social functions’, ‘making new friends’, ‘making friends from different racial groups’, and ‘social events on campus will be a distraction’. the highest positive gap is observed for ‘making friends’ (0.15) indicating that the participants’ actual experience at university of making friends was higher than their prior expectation. however, this result was not found to be significant with a p-value of 0.063. the highest negative gap is observed for ‘joining social clubs’ (-1.24), indicating that students’ expectations of joining clubs at university were higher than their actual experience and therefore not met. this result was found to be significant with a p-value of <0.001. significant p-values were also noted for ‘attending social functions’ (p = <0.001) and ‘social events will be a distraction’ (p = 0.003). both these statements indicate a negative gap, -1.07 and -0.34 respectively, implying that students’ expectations were not met. the indicator ‘making friends from different racial groups’ also produced a negative gap, -0.14. however, this score was not significant (p = 0.054). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 subethra pather & nirmala dorasamy: the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience … 57 table 1: gap scores of social engagement indicators social engagement indicators expectation experience gap p-value joining social clubs 3.12 1.88 -1.24 <0.001 attending social functions 3.20 2.13 -1.07 <0.001 making new friends 3.34 3.49 0.15 0.063 making friends from different racial groups 3.47 3.33 -0.14 0.054 social events on campus will be a distraction 2.15 1.81 -0.34 <0.001 average 3.06 2.53 -0.53 students’ mean expectation score of ‘social events being a distraction’ was close to the level of disagreement (2.15) while their actual experience on this indicator shows a score close to strongly disagree (1.81). this result actually corroborates the negative gap in statements 1 and 2 in table 1 above. all statements had a lower level of agreement than their expectations. this result could be due to a number of variables either within or external to the university environment, such as the university not having many social events or clubs, poor advertising of social clubs and events, students’ heavy workloads and full timetables, lack of transport, financial constraints, students not feeling as if they belong, and/or personal obligations. spengen (2013) argues that students with a deficit in social capital can fall behind socially and academically, and are more likely to have higher levels of non-academic engagements due to problems associated with integrating into university life. however, regardless of the reason for non-social engagement, the exclusion of first-year students from the university’s social activities can cause great insecurity and hesitation within the university environment whereby these students will view themselves as cultural outsiders (spengen, 2013). according to thomas (2012, p. 12), feeling a sense of belonging can be defined as “students’ subjective feelings of relatedness or connectedness” to the university. in pather’s (2015) study, it was found that students’ lack of connectedness to the wider university community was mainly due to their financial constraints and family obligations. for students to successfully make the transition to university life, they need to develop a sense of belonging and connectedness with their new peer groups and the wider university community. for bourdieu (1984) integration and a sense of belonging are informed by one’s habitus and past experiences. as spengen (2013) asserts that first-generation students generally come from a background where there is an absence of advantaged knowledge, resources and information acquired from social networks, this results in these students not being able to adequately understand higher education as a conduit to overall success. this lack of social capital can create unrealistic expectations of the students’ social engagement within the higher education milieu. this section’s findings highlight the urgent need for universities to make a conscious effort to enhance students’ social engagement so that students can feel more socially connected to the institution. 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 49–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 (ii) academic engagement: gap analysis this section outlines the gap analysis of first-year students’ expectations and actual university experience within the following academic engagement indicators listed in table  2 below: time spent preparing for lecturers; time spent at the library; social media contact with the lecturer; conversations with the lecturer outside of class time; and regular feedback from the lecturers. table 2: gap scores of academic engagement indicators academic engagement indicators expectation experience gap p-value a lot of time spent on preparing for lectures 3.31 2.73 -0.58 <0.001 a lot of time spent at the library 3.09 1.70 -1.39 <0.001 social media contact with lecturers 2.62 2.17 -0.45 0.002 conversations with lecturers out of class 2.76 2.52 -0.24 0.004 regular feedback from lecturers on assignments and tests 3.34 2.75 -0.59 <0.001 average 3.024 2.374 -0.65 all these academic engagement indicators show a negative gap, which implies that students’ expectations, were higher than their actual experience and therefore not met. all the statements in table 2 show a mean expectation score that has a higher level of agreement than the mean experience scores. the gap analysis for all the statements are regarded as significant with p-values being <0.05. students’ expectations exceeded their actual experience with the biggest mean gap of -1.39 being scored for ‘a lot of time spent at the library’. students’ expectation of spending time at the library scored a high level of agreement, 3.09 as opposed to their actual experience score which indicated a strongly disagree score of 1.70 with a significant p-value of 0.001. a significant p-value of 0.001 was also indicated for the mean gap of ‘a lot of time spent preparing for lectures’ -0.58 and ‘regular feedback from lecturers’ -0.59. the mean gap of the ‘social media contact with lecturers’ (-0.45) and ‘conversation with lecturers outside of class time’ (-0.24), indicated a significant p-value of 0.002 and 0.004 respectively. the findings in this section indicate that students had high expectations with regard to academic engagement. smith and wertlieb (2005) contend that unrealistically high expectations make it difficult to adjust to university life, thereby inculcating higher levels of non-adaptation. however, the participants in this study demonstrated high expectations of academic preparedness by anticipating spending much time preparing for lectures and also spending a vast amount of time at the library. contrary to this expectation, the students’ actual experience indicate that this expectation was not met. jansen and van der meer (2011) highlight that students’ preparedness for academic education is one of the most important factors for success at university, and it can be expected that students who feel better prepared for university will have less trouble with university transition. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 subethra pather & nirmala dorasamy: the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience … 59 the results also found that the participants’ high expectation of getting feedback, having social media contact and conversations with lecturers outside of class time was not met. brinkworth, mccann, matthews and nordström (2009) support this finding. they indicate that first-year students seem to hold expectations that academic staff will provide quick feedback to students about their work and that academic staff will be readily accessible to students. according to spengen (2013), students who enter university with social capital benefits, display higher levels of class participation and higher interaction with academic staff. however, students lacking such social capital benefits do not possess the resources and knowledge to fulfil their roles as students thereby hindering their development and success. it is therefore critical that universities acknowledge these tensions and seek intentional strategies to close these gaps, which could impact on the risks associated with student access and success. (iii) seeking academic support: gap analysis table 3 shows the gap analysis of students’ expectation with their actual university experience under the following four seeking academic support indicators: seeking assistance from lecturers; seeking assistance from librarians; seeking assistance from peers and friends; and seeking assistance from senior students and tutors. all results indicate a negative gap between the mean expectation and experience scores. this implies that students’ expectations of seeking assistance exceeded their actual experience of getting academic support at university. table 3: gap scores of academic support indicators academic engagement indicators expectation experience gap p-value seek assistance and advice from lecturers out of class time 2.07 1.58 -0.49 <0.001 seek assistance from librarians with finding information 2.47 1.82 -0.65 <0.001 seek assistance from peers and friends with academic work 2.30 2.23 -0.07 0.330 seek assistance from senior students and tutors with academic work 2.30 1.27 -1.03 <0.001 average 2.29 1.73 -0.56 the largest negative gap is observed for ‘seeking assistance from senior students and tutors’ (-1.03) with a significant p-value of 0.000. two other significant p-value of 0.001 were indicated for ‘seeking assistance from librarians’ and ‘seeking assistance from lecturers’ with a mean gap of -0.65 and -0.49 respectively. the smallest negative gap of -0.07 is observed for seeking assistance from peers and friends. this result indicates that there was a close correlation between students’ expectation and their actual experience with regard to peers and friends assisting with academic work. however, this gap was not significant (p = 0.330). from the results, it is evident that participants’ preference, from highest to lowest, with 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 49–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 seeking academic assistance at university were from their peers (3.23), librarians  (2.82), academic staff (2.58) and senior students and tutors (2.27). this finding indicates that peers and friends become an important source of information and support to the first-year students. this study’s finding collaborates pather, norodien-fataar, cupido and mkonto’s (2017) research findings that found students sought academic assistance from peers that they identified as more knowledgeable and/or like-minded, also acknowledging that their peers were more easily accessible. darlaston-jones et al.’s (2003) study acknowledges the lack of engagement between academic staff and students. they reveal that students tend to feel ignored by their lecturers and inhibited about contacting them even when seeking assistance with academic issues. tinto et al. (1993) identifies this lack of integration between students and academic staff, outside of the classroom environment, as one of the contributing factors to student dropout. ball and vincent’s (1998) concept of ‘grapevine knowledge’ is supported in this study’s findings. the grapevine knowledge indicates that students seek assistance and information from peers and friends known to them. ball and vincent refer to this information received from friends and peers as hot knowledge and acknowledge that students perceive this information as valuable and more honest and trustworthy. these authors add that information received from the institution, particularly academic and support staff members, is regarded as cold knowledge. baker, ramsay, irwin and miles (2017) proclaim that non-traditional students find seeking information from the institution uncomfortable to access. the results in this section show that students’ preferred source for seeking academic support was from friends and peers, and not from university staff, senior students and tutors, as they had perceived prior to entering university. in this regard, university academic and support staff need to improve on providing a more inviting connection with first-year students. additionally, institutions need to provide mentoring skills to first-year students early in the academic year so that these students can be equipped to support one another. the danger of incoming students relying on peers and friends for academic support and institutional information could result in limited or incorrect support, advice and information offered to fellow students, which could have an impact on the students’ academic success. conclusion the study has provided a detailed view of first-year students’ expectation and university experience relating to social engagement, academic engagement, and seeking academic support. in analysing the gap between students’ expectations and actual university experiences alongside students’ university access and success, it is argued that student success is a product of an environment that supports students’ expectations of university realities. access and success at university is indicative of students fulfilling their expectations relating not only to academic learning, but also to broader career, social and personal goals. institutionally, student success is pivotal to universities preparing and supporting students for life beyond the university milieu. therefore, universities need to be responsive to student expectations and experiences by developing strategies that prepare and support http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 subethra pather & nirmala dorasamy: the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience … 61 students in achieving success. investments in scrutinising students’ expectations and experiences requires careful analysis of factors relating to expectations and experience that allow students to connect with the social, academic and support structures of the institution as this would have a direct impact on success. in this study, the realities of the first-year students’ social engagement, academic engagement and seeking support were not commensurate with their expectations. success can be impeded if the reality of students’ expectations is not met. an alignment of expectations with experiences can significantly help students to feel more connected with the university, thereby contributing to positive learning outcomes. universities need to address incoming students’ realistic and unrealistic expectations with their actual university experience so as to foster students’ sense of connectedness to their new learning environment. in this regard, university initiatives need to be intentional and inclusive. creating an awareness of the demands of higher education and addressing any university misconceptions of the first year of study is critical for academic and social adjustment into the university environment. this will also assist in closing the gap between student expectation and university experience. addressing the misfit and helping students to connect with the opportunities of university life not only helps in the transition to university but also helps students to understand the culture and expectations of university life. by doing so, students tend not to become demotivated when their university experiences do not match their expectations. however, institutions also need to be sensitive to students’ expectations and make a conscious effort to align the institutional structures to satisfy the type of students who are entering higher education in the twenty-first century. most often, academic success is related to students’ expectations being fulfilled and therefore it is imperative that universities understand the student expectation–experience alignment to ensure academic access, retention and success. references acer (australian council for educational research). 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(2018). the mismatch between first-year students’ expectations and experience alongside university access and success: a south african university case study. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 49–64. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903383211 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2010.522084 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article designing the south african higher education system for student success ian scott* * prof. ian scott is emeritus professor, centre for higher education development, university of cape town, south africa. email: ian.scott@uct.ac.za abstract south africa’s higher education system is falling far short of producing the mix of competent graduates required to meet the country’s need for social and economic development. the problem of poor patterns of student success is longstanding, and is persisting despite the policy changes and many educationally sound interventions that have taken place in recent decades. this points to entrenched underlying obstacles, including but going beyond the legacy of apartheid, and indicates that they will not yield to supplementary or ad hoc improvement initiatives, however well-conceived individually. this paper is thus based on the proposition that there is a pressing need to design the south african university education system to focus unequivocally on student success and equity of outcomes. this implies, intentionally, that the current system is not designed around any clear commitment to student success. correcting this must involve a re-prioritisation of goals in the higher education sector, aimed at ensuring that student success is accepted as the end goal of the educational mission of higher education. the paper argues that, if this is to be achieved, what is required is a sophisticated, realistic, coherent and comprehensive strategy for positive change. given the nature of the higher education system, such a strategy must involve not only a clear vision of the scope of the changes and interventions needed to make a real difference to the performance patterns – in terms of equity as well as overall outcomes – but also an in-depth understanding of the responsibilities that must be taken by the key stakeholders and the underlying obstacles that must be addressed. the paper offers an outline of the major points of the argument, including the importance of applying design principles to any comprehensive response to the need to place student success at the heart of the higher education agenda. keywords student success; skills shortages; higher education policy; educational development; academic development; curriculum reform; teaching and learning approaches; student support; equity; systemic change; strategy for change; design for learning http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:ian.scott%40uct.ac.za?subject= 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 introduction putting student success at the heart of the higher education agenda despite recent official assertions of acceptable progress in performance (dhet, 2015, 2017a), it is widely recognised that south africa’s higher education system is falling far short of producing the mix of competent graduates required to meet the country’s needs, in terms of advanced expertise for all forms of development as well as meeting individual educational aspirations and “equity of outcomes”. as statistician-general pali lehohla has put it: … we have a crisis of producing [graduates with advanced] knowledge for the country. … there is a need to rethink [the inadequate prioritisation of education] as a process by which a discourse takes place to highlight the importance of education. this poses interesting questions for leaders at all levels of government. (times live, 27 september 2017) however, there are few signs of decisive steps being taken by national and institutional leadership to give unequivocal priority to student success, as opposed to access alone (scott, 2017b). in south africa “just under half of the young people who enter undergraduate degrees (in either contact or distance mode of tuition) never graduate. this is a major challenge for the system …” (dhet, 2017a, p. 20). especially in contexts where lifechances are strongly dependent on educational attainment, access without success is a hollow achievement. yet student success remains in the back seat when it comes to state funding and institutional practice. in these circumstances, it seems essential that groupings concerned about the effectiveness of university education – including academic and student associations and interested civil society bodies – should take the lead in pursuing the reprioritisation of goals within higher education. thus the theme of the 2017 conference of the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience – ‘imagining a vision of student success in the 21st century’ – should be strongly welcomed. this paper is based on a keynote address at that conference, responding to an invitation to address a critical question: what would it take to place student success at the heart of south africa’s higher education agenda? the conference theme encouraged big-picture thinking but, since any plans are only as good as their implementability, this must be tempered by realistic appreciation of the obstacles. with this in mind, the central question can be broken down into three key constituent ones that need to be addressed: 1. why should student success be at the heart of the higher education agenda? 2. what will it take to put it there, at system and institutional level? 3. what kinds of changes and developmental interventions are required to make substantial improvement in performance actually happen? it is necessary to acknowledge here that higher education is not only about education. its other core functions are knowledge generation and community engagement (doe, 1997, sec. 1.3). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 3 however, the educational mission of higher education – producing individuals with advanced knowledge and skills – has special importance in developing countries where there are severe shortages of high-level capabilities. it is this educational mission that is the focus of this paper. the meaning of student success there is a long history of debate about the complexity of the outcomes of higher education and what should be most valued. however, for the great majority of the key stakeholders – viz. the students individually and the country and society at large – student success carries the essential meaning of mastering a field of learning sufficiently to earn a sound tertiary qualification. a definition of the goal of student success used by the council on higher education (che) captures this succinctly: “enhanced student learning with a view to increasing the number of graduates with attributes that are personally, professionally and socially valuable” (che, 2014, p. 1). it is this meaning of student success on which the argument in this paper is based. the end goal is thus seen as the successful completion of studies, and the key unit of measure is graduates. particularly in contexts like south africa, access to higher education has minimal value without successful completion (che, 2013, pp. 32–34). student success therefore has a critical transformative role, for individuals and the country as a whole. central proposition a fundamental judgement that has be made about the higher education system is whether its educational outcomes can be substantially improved – to the level the country requires – by supplementation of the existing mainstream teaching-and-learning system or whether more fundamental, systemic changes are needed. this paper is based on the latter view: that there needs to be a decisive break with the old, persistent, racially skewed and unsuccessful patterns of provision and hence of performance. ensuing from this, the central proposition of this paper is that there is a pressing need to design the south african university education system to focus unequivocally on student success and equity of outcomes. the purpose is to ensure that higher education makes its full contribution to social and economic advancement and to achieving social cohesion (pandor, 2005). a key implication of this proposition is that the higher education teaching-and-learning system is currently not designed for this unequivocal focus. there are two considerations that are inherent in the proposition. firstly, determining priorities in higher education is complicated by the fact that universities have three major functions: teaching, research and social engagement. argument about the relative importance of these functions is almost certainly fruitless (though understanding their interdependence is critical), so it must be emphasised that the prioritisation argued for in this paper relates to higher education’s formal educational role. secondly, effective prioritisation of higher education goals depends on distinguishing between means and ends, as outlined below. 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 distinguishing between means and ends clearly identifying the end goal, and distinguishing it from whatever sub-goals are needed for achieving it, is essential for setting and prioritising any developmental agenda. it is the basis for identifying effective strategies and directing them where they are most needed, hence making the best use of available resources. a key element of the argument in this paper is that the end goal of all formal education is to facilitate student learning and thereby the fulfilment of the students’ educational aspirations; this is best manifested in successful completion of the programmes the students embark on, provided always that the programmes are of appropriate quality. it follows from this that, notwithstanding the complex debate about the purposes of higher education, student success must be at the heart of the educational agenda. it also follows that all educational provision, developmental initiatives and resources need to be understood and used as means to the end goal of student success in quality programmes. the sub-goals – whether they concern, for example, staff development, educational research or student financial aid – are crucial to achieving the end goal but must not be reified as ends in themselves, lest sight of the end goal should be obscured. student success as the end goal this section offers a brief substantiation for seeing student success as the end goal, thus warranting its being placed at the heart of the higher education agenda. the state of student success: current realities student success in south africa is currently a scarce resource. higher education statistics have for decades pointed to severe under-performance, racially skewed outcomes, and waste of talent and material resources across the sector (che, 2013, pp. 39–53; scott et al., 2007, pp. 9–18). this is particularly damaging because, as shown in participation rates, the student body is a small, selected group that should be expected to do well (che, 2013, pp. 41–42; che, 2017, p. 5). the country needs to confront these realities. for example, current figures for contact university students (dhet, 2017a; che, 2017) show that: • under 30% graduate in regulation time; • under two-thirds graduate within 6 years; • one-third have not graduated after 10 years; and • significant racial inequalities persist. if distance education students are included, the patterns become worse. moreover, comparing contact cohort performance in the biggest two qualification types since the institutional mergers indicates virtually no improvement over the period, overall or by population group, and persistent racial disparities:1 1 the 2006 cohort data are from the early post-merger period, when the institutions had re-stabilised; the 2010/11 cohort is the latest for which comparable data are available. there are minor methodological differences between the che and dhet datasets. there has evidently been improvement in the highly selective 4-year degrees, but comparable data are not available. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 5 table 1: comparison of contact completion rates of the 2006 cohort (from che) and the 2010/2011 cohort (from dhet) by qualification type and population group population group 3-year diplomas: graduated within 5 years (%) 3-year degrees: graduated within 5 years (%) 2006 cohort: che 2011 cohort: dhet 2006 cohort: che 2011 cohort: dhet all students 42 41 53 49 african 39 40 47 44 white 55 49 64 62 sources: che, 2013, pp. 45, 49; dhet, 2017b, pp. 26–27 the overarching importance of equity of outcomes as these figures indicate, the motivation for prioritising student success is not only to improve performance overall but also to achieve “equity of outcomes”. this term was introduced in the first higher education white paper of the democratic era as a critical complement to “equity of access” (doe, 1997, sec. 2.29). transformation – in the sense of fair distribution of the benefits of higher education – depends on achieving both equity of access and equity of outcomes, within a context of strong overall completion rates and quality of outcomes. this is still far from being achieved. despite major change in enrolment demographics, participation rates are still heavily skewed racially (che, 2017, pp. 4–5). to compound this, completion rates remain racially skewed, neutralising much of the improvement in access (dhet, 2017a; scott, 2017a, pp. 18–22). the resulting failure of equity of outcomes is encapsulated in the fact that only 7% of african and coloured youth are succeeding in higher education. the extent and the persistence of lack of equity of outcomes have a major effect not only on social justice – particularly in respect of individuals’ life-chances – but also on all forms of development. graduation figures clearly show that unless the system can realise the intellectual potential within all communities, there is no prospect of producing the quantum of advanced knowledge and capabilities that the country needs (che, 2013, p. 52). this situation provides a strong argument that transformation of the performance patterns should be an imperative for the higher education system, being essential to the overall success of its educational mission. yet the fact that the performance data “still demonstrate apartheid-era patterns of inequality” (dhet, 2015, p. 56) indicates insufficient prioritisation of this imperative. it must be asked why equity of outcomes, as a fundamental element of student success, is not also unequivocally at the heart of the higher education agenda. the importance of student success: implications for the higher education sector the shortcomings in student success are severely hindering progress towards a range of key societal and economic goals (che, 2013, p. 32). while the universities depend on co-operation and assistance from the state, business and civil society, in the final analysis 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 responsibility for producing graduates lies squarely with the higher education sector, duly supported by statutory national bodies. it is consequently the obligation of the sector as a whole, including the dhet, to play its full role in societal advancement by ensuring the requisite graduate output and outcomes. it seems clear that the higher education sector cannot fulfil this obligation – its educational raison d’être – without an unequivocal prioritisation of student success. the strategic and social justice motivation for this has existed for many years, so the question must be asked: what is standing in the way? a broad approach to prioritising student success the need for a comprehensive strategy for change if the argument is valid that student success is the end goal, then the emphasis must shift to the means required to achieve that end. this section outlines key elements of a broad strategic approach to establishing student success as a top priority of the higher education sector and government, with the purpose of ensuring that effective means of achieving a decisive improvement in student performance can be designed, committed to, and brought to fruition in practice. the following steps are essential for designing an effective approach to prioritising student success: • making a convincing case for the centrality of student success, based on analysis of the current inadequacy of graduate output and the national importance of improving it (as outlined above); • determining what body should lead the development of an effective new approach to advancing student success; • gaining in-depth understanding, and sufficient acceptance, of the nature and scope of the systemic changes and interventions necessary for optimising student success; • specifically identifying the authorities and bodies that must take responsibility for making appropriate policy and for designing and implementing the necessary developments at different levels of the system; • determining what kind of environment and enabling conditions will best foster the work, and, obversely, determining the key obstacles to be addressed. there is fortunately a great deal of knowledge and experience of higher education development to build on in facilitating student success. a range of innovative and educationally sound interventions has been applied to improving access and success over the last four decades, primarily through academic development and student support initiatives such as personal counselling, tutorial support, fostering academic literacies, and offering foundational provision within extended curricula. tens of thousands of students have benefited from these, and there can be little doubt that they have played a strong role in the improvements that have occurred (see for example che, 2013, pp. 70–90). as the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 7 performance figures show, however, they have not had the collective impact needed for a decisive break from “apartheid-era patterns of inequality” (dhet, 2015, p. 56). the central challenge, then, is to establish approaches that can be applied in the mainstream teachingand-learning process across the sector, to benefit all students who need them. the complexity, magnitude and persistence of educational under-performance in higher education strongly indicate that achieving a national commitment to student success will require a coherent, sophisticated, realistic and above all comprehensive strategy for change. historically, the impact and the sustainability of developmental initiatives have been greatly limited because the initiatives have been fragmented or have not taken realistic account of contrary interests at institutional or sector level. critical elements of a strategy for educational change successes and failures in educational development in south africa suggest that the effectiveness of large-scale interventions depends much on some key characteristics, including: • intentionality and political will, without which there is no genuine commitment; • systemic rather than peripheral approaches, to match the scale of the need; • comprehensiveness in scope, including clear delineation of linkages between related areas of the strategy; • realism, not pursuing naïve solutions; and • design thinking, as outlined below. the significance of design thinking the value of the concept of design is being recognised in educational development. it incorporates key meanings such as clear purpose, planning, bringing multiple elements together into a coherent whole, employing a range of means towards a specific end, and creativity. all of these are central to effective educational development. the relevance of ‘design for learning’ has special features, for example: • “… design is probably most powerful when conceived as the intelligent centre of the whole teaching-learning lifecycle.” (goodyear, 2015, p. 32) • the design process can overcome the danger that “being submerged in the takenfor-granted assumptions of both a disciplinary tradition and a teaching tradition can make solutions look deceptively self-evident.” (op. cit., p. 31) • “a common design tactic is to reframe the problem as presented, to see whether a more radical approach … might actually be better.” (op. cit., p. 38) • “design usually entails resolving tensions between competing objectives.” (op. cit., p. 35) the potential of ‘design for learning’ to refresh teaching-and-learning approaches, to better match contemporary conditions, is the basis for the case that commitment to coherent design should underpin higher education development. 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 examples of analysis for a strategy for student success detailed analysis of what needs to go into a comprehensive improvement strategy is beyond the compass of this paper. however, the remaining sections offer examples of analysis in two key areas of the strategy, viz. (a) the nature and scope of the developments needed for optimising student success, and (b) the roles and responsibilities that different bodies need to take to bring about an unequivocal focus on student success. the nature and scope of educational development needed to optimise student success: three critical dimensions in order to design the higher education sector for student success, the essential first step is to determine the nature and scope of the developmental work to be undertaken, i.e. the range of systemic changes and interventions needed to foster substantial improvement, breaking away from the patterns of the past. this step is critical for effectiveness and also as a basis for shaping the initiative as a whole, including accurately identifying the roles and responsibilities required from different bodies and levels of the sector. it is fully recognised that student performance in higher education is affected by a range of external factors, especially schooling and socio-economic conditions. however, these factors are beyond the control of the higher education sector and often intractable (scott,  2017c). student financial aid, crucial as it is to student success, is primarily a responsibility of national government. the change strategy discussed in this paper therefore focuses on factors internal to higher education, particularly the teaching-and-learning process itself, which is fully within the control of the sector. in order to provide a view of the scope of a comprehensive educational approach, this section identifies and analyses the role of three major dimensions of the teachingand-learning process which critically affect student success and in which educational development must be undertaken if student performance is to be substantially improved. (see also scott, 2017a, pp. 5–7.) curriculum content and orientation while curriculum content and orientation have always been fundamental to the educational process, it is increasingly recognised that expanding the scope of research and development work in this dimension is called for. content and canon have been subject to ideology and dispute for centuries, but overt contestation over what is being taught, and for what purpose, is increasingly coming to the fore internationally, not least within the current student protest movement in south africa (shay & peseta, eds., 2016). while content concerns what is taught, orientation here refers to aspects of a curriculum such as ethos and primary area of reference (for example, professionallyorientated, or regionallyor internationally-focused) or dominant pedagogical approach (for example, problem-based learning) (blackmore & kandiko, 2012). content and orientation together constitute the intellectual heart of a curriculum, and have strong effects on learning. in particular, the extent to which students are able and willing to http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 9 engage constructively with what they are learning can impact on which of them thrive and which are alienated (shay & peseta, 2016, pp. 361–363). for such reasons, especially in a historically divided society, decisions on curriculum orientation and content need to be taken with care and insight, based not only on what suits the discipline or the world of work but also, critically, on what will facilitate sound learning and realise academic potential within a culturally, linguistically and socio-economically diverse student body. the significance of this complex responsibility is illustrated by the passions on both sides of the current curriculum decolonisation debate in south africa. taken together with the other major dimensions of educational development, this aspect of curriculum design must have a key place in any strategy for student success, and expertise in it needs to be built and valued. delivery of the curriculum delivery comprises all the ways in which a given curriculum is communicated and made accessible to students. this dimension consequently covers a wide range of activities, encompassing “teaching, learning support, advice and guidance, coaching, mentorship, peer and collaborative learning, feedback and assessment, personal development planning and tutoring, skills development and practice, and access to resources” (jisc, n.d.). in the south african context, psychosocial student support and academic staff development are also key elements related to delivery. these core teaching-and-learning activities constitute the intensive day-to-day business of the educational process, and their effectiveness or otherwise clearly has a major bearing on student success. they have to be in place irrespective of the nature of the curriculum, but need to take forms that are appropriate for it and for the students’ learning needs. in the south african context, particular attention needs to be given to the expectations and use of what is known as ‘concurrent’ student support. this refers to forms of academic support (such as tutorials, workshops, online resources and mentorship) that are made available to students while they are engaged in particular courses in the curriculum. concurrent support is beneficial in many ways but is bound to take the curriculum content and structure as a given. this means that if the overall design of the curriculum is not wellmatched with the profile and needs of the students, the effectiveness of concurrent support is greatly limited. structural design: the curriculum framework structural design refers primarily to the ‘curriculum framework’, which means the key structural parameters that frame the curriculum as a whole, including the entry and exit levels, the formal duration (which influences the entry and/or exit level), the extent of flexibility in pathways through the curriculum (which influences the accommodation of diversity), and modularity (which can influence curriculum flexibility and the relationship between depth and breadth). 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 this is the dimension of the teaching-and-learning process where key systemic obstacles to success and equity are located, including: • discontinuity between the outcomes of schooling and the demands of higher education, commonly known as the ‘articulation gap’ (che, 2013, p. 60); • failure to develop language-related and other academic literacies; and • failure to provide support for major transitions in knowledge domain within curricula. the curriculum framework therefore has a major effect on both access and success. it influences the categories of students that can responsibly be admitted, and impacts critically on ‘epistemic access’ and quality of learning, and hence on which students succeed and fail. there is evidence that in the south african context of extreme inequalities in educational background, it is not possible for a single set of curriculum parameters to provide the full range of the student body with a fair degree of equality of opportunity to succeed (che, 2013, pp. 35, 97). despite this, the curriculum framework is still widely but incorrectly regarded as effectively immutable. until it is recognised as a key variable in the design of the mainstream teaching-and-learning system in higher education, it will continue to constitute a major constraint on student success. the consequences of misunderstanding where the roots of obstacles to learning lie the three key dimensions of the teaching-and-learning system discussed above must clearly work together, as an organic whole, to successfully facilitate learning. faults or shortcomings in any of them will inevitably impair the outcomes of the educational process. while the dimensions must function in full alignment, each nevertheless has its own unique and essential role. therefore, when endemic obstacles to learning are discerned, it is essential that their origins in one or more of the key dimensions are analysed and traced, so that faults can be effectively addressed at source. at the risk of over-simplification, an example of misidentification of where root causes lie may serve to illustrate this key point. a topical case is that of approaches to addressing the problem of the secondary-higher education articulation gap (for a detailed account, see scott, 2017a, pp. 37–39). this systemic fault arises from south africa’s major educational inequalities and is manifested in a serious mismatch between the assumptions about academic preparedness made by the universities and the actual knowledge and skills that students bring with them from their schooling. its existence has been officially recognised since the 1997 higher education white paper (doe, 1997, sec. 2.34). the main systemic response, funded by the state since 2004, has been extended curriculum programmes, which are designed to provide foundational learning and alternative pathways through the curriculum, based on realistic assumptions about students’ prior learning. a major shortcoming, however, has been that resource allocation has thus far restricted the reach of extended programmes to under 15% of the student intake, with only modest growth in prospect over the next decade. this leaves students in http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 11 ‘mainstream’ curricula without access to foundational and extended provision, even though analysis has indicated that a substantial proportion of these have a high probability of failing because of the articulation gap (dhet, 2012, p. 1; che, 2013, pp. 98–99). how should this be addressed? in recent years, while continuing its limited support for extended programmes, the department of higher education and training (dhet) has invested the bulk of its mainstream educational development resources in funding a range of concurrent support interventions (via the teaching development grant and now the university capacity development programme). this means that the dhet has decided that concurrent support is the only academic intervention needed to deal with obstacles to learning faced by mainstream students, including structural ones arising from the curriculum framework (fees commission, 2017). this flies in the face of longstanding experience and analysis pointing to the ineffectiveness of concurrent support as the primary means of addressing systemic faults such as articulation failure and under-development of academic literacies. the ineffectiveness comes from the anomaly – possibly futility – of expecting students to master preparatory knowledge during a course which assumes that knowledge to be already in place. concurrent support must therefore be used as a complement to, but not a substitute for, effective structural design – or, for that matter, for appropriate curriculum orientation and content. the dhet’s decision can be seen as an example of assuming that intervention in one dimension (in this case delivery) can overcome major faults in another (structure). such an incorrect assumption is likely to be costly, in that the resources directed into concurrent support will not be effectively used, and more importantly the articulation problems among mainstream students will not be resolved and the current poor performance patterns will persist. in contrast, seeking solutions in the dimension where the articulation problems really lie, i.e. in the curriculum framework, yields good examples of the value of innovative design (che, 2013, pp. 70–90 and appendix 2). “reframing the problem, for example by seeing the problem as a symptom of some larger problem, is a classic design move” (goodyear, 2015, p. 35). the importance of the inter-relationship between the key dimensions of the teaching-and-learning process in designing for student success: an overview the following is an overview of the key points arising from the analysis in this section. • interventions in one dimension of the teaching-and-learning process cannot compensate for significant shortcomings in another. if not addressed, shortcomings in any dimension put a counter-productive burden on work in the other dimensions, in efforts to compensate that are usually unsuccessful. for example, effective delivery is difficult enough in diverse classes but almost impossible in the absence of an inclusive curriculum framework or orientation. 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 • the different dimensions each have their own unique and essential purposes and functions, which must be brought to bear on meeting the needs of each particular context. there must thus be fit-for-purpose educational design and development in every dimension. • at the same time, the different dimensions are necessarily complementary. for example, “curriculum delivery is part of [a] dynamic interrelationship with curriculum design … within this process ‘delivery’ is defined as the point at which learners interact with the designed curriculum” (jisc, n.d.). effective design and educational development are needed to ensure that content, orientation, structure and delivery are brought into mutually-reinforcing alignment. the underlying principles of biggs’s theory of “constructive alignment” (biggs & tang, 2011) are valuable to apply here, albeit in a broader framework. this is a fundamental design challenge. • the outcome of this alignment must ensure that the teaching-and-learning process as a whole serves the interests of the full range of the student body, effectively accommodating diversity. • each dimension must be recognised as a key site of ongoing educational development, to utilise advances in knowledge of teaching and learning, and to adjust to changes in the student body as well as the wider context of higher education, including schooling, technology and the world of work. • misdiagnosis of the origins of obstacles leads to ineffective interventions, unproductive utilisation of resources and persistence of poor outcomes, because it results in treating symptoms rather than the underlying cause. • it is essential that responsibility for educational development in the different key dimensions is taken at the levels that have the requisite authority and capacity to bring the development to fruition. the dhet and institutional leadership have essential roles to play, but they have often not accepted these responsibilities adequately, or have delegated them to levels that do not have the wherewithal to carry them through. this undermines the cohesive effort needed for success. conclusion the analysis above has identified the need to recognise and align the three dimensions of the curriculum, highlighting the importance of comprehensiveness and coherence in designing an effective teaching-and-learning process. however, this need is not reflected in dhet priorities or most current mainstream practice. the present imbalance in attention to the three dimensions, with an undue focus on concurrent support, is an impediment to achieving substantial improvement in student success and equity of outcomes. as indicated by the persistence of negative performance patterns, the current design of the teaching-and-learning process is perpetuating the status quo, and the questions must be asked: ‘who is benefiting from this?’ and ‘what will it take for the need for fresh thinking and more fundamental change to be recognised?’ http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 13 placing student success at the heart of the higher education agenda: what will it take? this paper has argued that a comprehensive improvement strategy must be founded on a full understanding of the scope of the challenge – that is, the broad categories of what needs to be done. if sufficient agreement can be reached on this understanding, it opens the way for addressing, in a fully informed way, the core question: ‘what will it take to put student success at the heart of the higher education agenda, at system and institutional level?’ the answer to this question will form the second major part of the strategy for change, involving the issues of how and by whom the goal must be achieved. to date, various performance improvement approaches – ranging in focus from student engagement to structural curriculum reform – have been researched and implemented on a limited scale. however, none of these have been adequately tested in mainstream practice, primarily because the end goal has not been sufficiently prioritised by the decision-makers. this has resulted in a lack of essential conditions for progress, including decisive national debate on the issue, critical engagement by stakeholders, agreed common ground, and leadership. consequently, interventions have been ad hoc or constrained in scope, and have hence had limited impact in relation to the magnitude of the challenge. once the initiative has been scoped and leadership agreed, moving student success to the heart of the higher education agenda requires the following key steps: • gaining ‘sufficient consensus’, in the institutions as well as in the national bodies, on the nature and scope of the development required (as discussed above); • identifying the bodies, actors and decision-makers whose assent, active co-operation, expertise, authority and resources are essential for pursuing the end goal; and clarifying the roles and responsibilities to be expected of each; • taking realistic account of the obstacles to the prioritisation of student success at the different levels of the system, and thereby coming to an understanding of what conditions, motivation and mindsets need to be engendered; and • developing the change strategy in detail and implementing it through a realistic operational plan. this is clearly a complex task. as in the scoping of the initiative, comprehensiveness and coherence are key, but here the need for realism and sophistication in strategy come to the fore, given that the field of higher education is characterised by multiple interests and semiautonomous bodies and individuals. offering any detail on the implementation of the strategy is beyond the scope of this paper, so the remaining sections aim just to highlight key considerations about the issues of responsibilities, obstacles and leadership. the key decision-makers and what should be expected of them higher education has multiple stakeholders but this section is confined to the two most influential decision-making parties, the state and the institutions. 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 essentially, the state has two interlinked responsibilities in respect of prioritising student success: providing enabling policies; and ensuring that state funding for higher education is directed at facilitating and rewarding student success and equity. its biggest challenge is to use these mechanisms to firmly guide the sector in the right strategic direction without undue prescription of approaches. the effectiveness of this role is critical for progress. given the distributed nature of power in higher education, the institutions have a pivotal role in shaping how, and with what real effects, national policy is translated into practice. it is only in the institutions that teaching-and-learning approaches can be tailored to specific student bodies and conditions. if student success is to be prioritised, the universities must be committed to: • ensuring that their educational mission is recognised and valued as a central obligation to the public good; • reflecting this priority in all core strategies and operations; and • accepting accountability for the outcomes of their educational role, including graduation rates. the status quo is far from meeting these conditions, as outlined below. obstacles to an unequivocal focus on student success there are ample indications that the educational operation of the public university system is not designed around student success as its end goal. in particular, universities are not held to account for the outcomes of their educational process, as manifested in the quality and efficiency of their graduate production. a realistic strategy for prioritising student success will hinge on a thorough, candid understanding of the obstacles to it. here are examples. in the universities, arguably the most influential obstacle is lack of ‘parity of esteem’ for the main functions of higher education. as leibowitz (2017) sums it up: in universities of all kinds and orientations, the dominant perception is that “research [is] valued – and rewarded – more highly than teaching”. if the educational mission is not at least equally valued, it is likely that the majority of the academic community will not willingly prioritise it, and may resist formal accountability for the outcomes of their work as educators. since culture and attitudes cannot be imposed by fiat, sophisticated strategy will be needed to create alternative incentives and conditions to modify institutional culture. within the state, the university education management system is not designed around student success as the end goal either, despite recent attention to student performance (dhet, 2017b, p. 3). this shows particularly in the funding system, which is geared to enrolments rather than graduates, chronically underfunds operating budgets and interventions designed to improve student success, and tolerates major wastage of resources arising from under-performance (che, 2013, pp. 136–137). the fact that, in the recent contestation over financial access, the issue of student success has been absent (scott, 2017b) is telling. the low priority of student success evident in such examples constitutes a primary obstacle to any strategy for change. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 15 who will take leadership in fostering a focus on student success? there are two major leadership tasks: (a) achieving sufficient consensus on what developmental action is needed, and (b) creating the conditions that will enable the prioritisation of student success. considering who should assume leadership is beyond the scope of this paper. two key points warrant noting, however. firstly, in terms of authority and political power, the dhet must exercise leadership, but it is impeded by factors such as shortage of capacity. strong support would therefore be needed from national bodies (like the che), relevant professional organisations, and new organisations arising from the reconstruction of student financial aid. secondly, there is an opportunity for the higher education development community – made up primarily of academics and professionals in fields such as academic development and the first-year experience, student affairs professionals, and regular university staff with particular expertise in education – to play a special role: to mobilise around the student success goal and to contribute intellectual leadership, informed advocacy, and support for national bodies. conclusion there is at present no indication – in the state or the institutions – of a vision of the higher education system that is designed to break decisively with the performance patterns of the past. the prevailing systemic conditions, including dominant academic culture and the funding regime, influence universities’ behaviours and priorities much more powerfully than statements of purpose in policies or public-interest arguments, and the dominant culture and management system favour the status quo. it can therefore be said that the current design of the higher education system is an obstacle to placing student success, including equity of outcomes, at the heart of the higher education agenda. the obstacles are weighty and complex, but they must be confronted. they cannot be expected to yield to ad hoc or small-scale interventions. the situation calls rather for a sophisticated, comprehensive, coherent and realistic strategy for prioritising student success as a goal and facilitating student success in practice through a system that is designed explicitly for this purpose. references biggs, j. & tang, c. (2011). teaching for quality learning at university (4th ed.). buckingham: open university press/mcgraw hill.  blackmore, p. & kandiko, c. (eds.). (2012). strategic curriculum change: global trends in universities. oxford: routledge, with the society for research into higher education. che (council on higher education). (2013). a proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in south africa: the case for a flexible curriculum structure. pretoria: council on higher education. retrieved 18 oktober 2017 from http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/full_ report.pdf http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/full_report.pdf http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/full_report.pdf 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 che (council on higher education). (2014). framework for institutional quality enhancement in the second period of quality assurance. pretoria: council on higher education. retrieved 18  october  2017 from http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/frameworks-criteria/ framework-institutional-quality-enhancement-second-period che (council on higher education). (2017). vitalstats public higher education 2015. pretoria: council on higher education. dhet (department of higher education and training). (2012). foundation provision in ministerially approved programmes. pretoria: department of higher education and training. dhet (department of higher education and training). (2015). 2nd national higher education summit 15–17 october 2015, annexure 3, are we making progress with systemic structural transformation of resourcing, access, success, staffing and researching in higher education: what do the data say? pretoria: department of higher education and training. retrieved from http://www.dhet.gov.za/summit/ docs/2015docs/annex%203_dhet_progress%20with%20transformation%20_what%20do%20 the%20data%20say.pdf dhet (department of higher education and training). (2017a). 2000 to 2014 first time entering undergraduate cohort studies for public higher education institutions. pretoria: department of higher education and training. dhet (department of higher education and training). (2017b). ministerial statement on the implementation of the university capacity development programme. pretoria: department of higher education and training. doe (department of education). (1997). education white paper 3: a programme for the transformation of higher education. pretoria: government gazette no. 18207. fees commission. (2017). transcript of public hearing set 8 hearing 3: testimony of the department of higher education and training 24-03-2017. retrieved 18 october 2017 from http://www.justice. gov.za/commissions/feeshet/hearings/set8/set8-d8b-transcript_24-03-17.pdf (session 2). goodyear, p. (2015). teaching as design. herdsa review of higher education, 2, 27–50. jisc (jisc design studio) (n.d.). transforming curriculum delivery through technology. retrieved 11 april 2017 from http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/page/40379712/transforming%20 curriculum%20delivery%20through%20technology leibowitz, b. (2017). there’s pressure on academics to learn how to teach. but they need more support. the conversation, 4 may 2017. retrieved 24 october 2017 from https://theconversation.com/ theres-pressure-on-academics-to-learn-how-to-teach-but-they-need-more-support-76022 pandor, n. (2005). education key to improving economic growth and promoting social cohesion. edited extract from address by minister of education naledi pandor. cape times, 7 september, p. 15. scott, i. (2017a). response to testimony of the department of higher education and training on 24 march 2017. invited submission to the commission of inquiry into higher education &training (fees commission) 25 april 2017. retrieved 24 october 2017 from http://www.justice.gov.za/ commissions/feeshet/hearings/set8/set8-d8-responsedhet.pdf scott, i. (2017b). without success, access will fail. mail & guardian, 6 october 2017. retrieved 24 october 2017 from https://mg.co.za/article/2017-10-06-00-without-success-access-will-fail scott, i. (2017c). no quick fix for university crisis. mail & guardian, 13 october 2017. retrieved 24 october 2017 from https://mg.co.za/article/2017-10-13-00-no-quick-fix-for-university-crisis scott, i., yeld, n. & hendry, j. (2007). a case for improving teaching and learning in south african higher education. higher education monitor no. 6, pretoria: council on higher education. retrieved 24 october 2017 from http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/higher-education-monitor/ higher-education-monitor-6-case-improving-teaching http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/frameworks-criteria/framework-institutional-quality-enhancement-second-period http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/frameworks-criteria/framework-institutional-quality-enhancement-second-period http://www.dhet.gov.za/summit/docs/2015docs/annex 3_dhet_progress with transformation _what do the data say.pdf http://www.dhet.gov.za/summit/docs/2015docs/annex 3_dhet_progress with transformation _what do the data say.pdf http://www.dhet.gov.za/summit/docs/2015docs/annex 3_dhet_progress with transformation _what do the data say.pdf http://www.justice.gov.za/commissions/feeshet/hearings/set8/set8-d8b-transcript_24-03-17.pdf http://www.justice.gov.za/commissions/feeshet/hearings/set8/set8-d8b-transcript_24-03-17.pdf http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/page/40379712/transforming curriculum delivery through technology http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/page/40379712/transforming curriculum delivery through technology https://theconversation.com/theres-pressure-on-academics-to-learn-how-to-teach-but-they-need-more-support-76022 https://theconversation.com/theres-pressure-on-academics-to-learn-how-to-teach-but-they-need-more-support-76022 http://www.justice.gov.za/commissions/feeshet/hearings/set8/set8-d8-responsedhet.pdf http://www.justice.gov.za/commissions/feeshet/hearings/set8/set8-d8-responsedhet.pdf https://mg.co.za/article/2017-10-06-00-without-success-access-will-fail https://mg.co.za/article/2017-10-13-00-no-quick-fix-for-university-crisis http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/higher-education-monitor/higher-education-monitor-6-case-improving-teaching http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/higher-education-monitor/higher-education-monitor-6-case-improving-teaching ian scott: designing the south african higher education system for student success 17 shay, s. & peseta, t. (2016). a socially just curriculum reform agenda. teaching in higher education, 21(4), 361–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2016.1159057 shay, s. & peseta, t. (eds.). (2016). curriculum as contestation. special issue. teaching in higher education, 21(4). times live. (2017). sa is skills-hungry‚ says statistics chief. 27 september. retrieved 24 october 2017 from https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-27-sa-is-skills-hungry-says-statisticschief/ how to cite: scott, i. (2018). designing the south african higher education system for student success. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 1–17. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2016.1159057 https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-27-sa-is-skills-hungry-says-statistics-chief/ https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-27-sa-is-skills-hungry-says-statistics-chief/ http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 _hlk505613699 _hlk496261533 _hlk495676032 _hlk496636827 _hlk495829669 _hlk505895570 _hlk496782188 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 www.jsaa.ac.za not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university janice rasmussen* research article * ms janice horsager rasmussen is a phd candidate. email: janice.rasmussen@africainternational.edu abstract the number of students enrolled in higher education outside their countries of origin increased from 0.8 million in 1975, to 2.1 million in 2000, and to 3.7 million in 2009 (ryan, 2012). this growing trend of student mobility leads to increased university competition for students around the globe. however, little is known about the experiences of international students in africa. this lack of understanding could leave the continent at a disadvantage for attracting and retaining international students, while other parts of the world continue to benefit. to begin to address this gap, i conducted a qualitative phenomenological study at one private university in east africa that attracts about 20% of its population as international students. as international student coordinator at this university, i interviewed 13 graduate students from various countries and conducted participant observations on campus for three years. i aimed to understand students’ perceptions of their learning experiences. this article focuses on students’ non-academic learning. students’ positive and negative experiences highlighted the difference that student affairs and administrative staff can make in the quality of students’ educational experiences. a needs model shed light on students’ non-academic experiences. student affairs and administrative staff were essential in 1) providing pre-arrival information, 2) meeting students’ initial basic needs, 3) connecting them with others, keeping immigration documents current, and 5) understanding the new academic system. ecologically, students were required to make a variety of connections in their adjustment process on campus and beyond.if the university could adequately address international students’ non-academic issues, then students would be better able to focus on their main purpose: their academics. it is recommended that the university revisit its procedures and develop more holistic international-student-friendly policies. then, it could better support the learning of its present students and attract more international students, thereby more greatly impacting the world. 46 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 keywords higher education, internationalisation, international students, student experience, student affairs, east africa. introduction african students have long pursued graduate degrees abroad. at great financial cost, some have battled racial discrimination, immigration hassles and loneliness only to find that their studies do not fit their contexts once they return home (hyams-ssekasi, 2012, p. 50). institutions outside africa are actively recruiting african students. these universities have recently become aware of the importance of the quality of the student experience. institutions and countries appear to be increasingly cognisant of the importance of satisfied international graduates, and are thus looking to ensure that their foreign students receive the education and overall student experience they were promised during the recruitment process (verbik & lasanowski, 2007, p. 28). in today’s competitive graduate school environment, continuous improvement is critical just to stay viable. institutions within africa, too, must focus on the quality of students’ experiences if they hope to attract international students. yet little research exists regarding the current state of international students’ experiences in africa.this article provides a case study of one university in east africa that has attracted international graduate students from its inception about three decades ago. as its international student coordinator for four years, i observed the experiences of international students and noticed gaps in our services to them. in an effort to better serve them, i undertook a qualitative study of their learning experiences at the university. my findings may offer insights to similar institutions in africa, which also desire to see international students not only survive but thrive in their graduate studies. purpose, design and methodology of the study this study describes international students’ learning experiences at a private university in east africa, which i will refer to here using the pseudonym trinity global university (tgu) to preserve its anonymity. i sought to understand 1) how international students describe their academic and non-academic learning experiences at tgu; 2) how their past learning experiences influenced their expectations and experiences at tgu; and 3) whether and how international students changed while at tgu. findings regarding the students’ academic experiences, how they say they have changed and the pedagogical implications are being published elsewhere. this article focuses on the international students’ non-academic learning experiences pertaining to student affairs and administration. the research context this is a case study of tgu, a small, private, international university in east africa, with about 600 students. tgu is a hybrid of different international and local educational systems that have influenced its history and present (buenfil, 2014, pp. 219–220; dimmock & walker, 2005, p. 81). like many private institutions of higher learning, tgu began as a janice rasmussen : not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university 47 seminary. the original goal was to provide quality theological education at masters level in africa, for africa. it has recently expanded into doctoral and bachelor level courses and beyond theological topics. typically, 19–23% of the student body at tgu has been international students (non-local-country passport holders) from about 28 countries. most come from english-speaking countries around africa. however, students have also come from north america, asia, europe, australia and south america in the past five years. some are only on campus for a few weeks each year for intensive programmes, while others live on campus for up to four years or more, if they do consecutive programmes. since international students get priority for on-campus housing, the campus community is very international. at tgu, the faculty is also international. in 2012–2013, about half of full-time faculty members (10 of 17) came from outside the country. however, as tgu adds bachelors courses, the percentage of international faculty is decreasing (kihika, 2011; mutheu, 2013). even with this rich history of international education, the university focuses little attention and few resources on international students. the few policies in place relate to transcript equivalency assessments, immigration regulations, settling students in, and housing. most of the administrative and student affairs staff are locals. population and sample i conducted the interview portion of this study during term iii of the 2012–2013 academic year. during this academic year, 107 (including 76 graduate) international students enrolled at tgu. they held passports from 23 countries. this study focused on graduate students, because of tgu’s history as an internationally recognised graduate institution.because i believed that on-campus, full-time students may have experienced tgu more intensely than commuters, i invited only enrolled graduate international students living on the tgu campus and studying full-time, with at least one previous term of enrolment, to be interviewed. out of the 24 masters students and 14 phd students (n = 38), 13 agreed to be interviewed in depth (n = 13). while this sample was not large, it represented about one third of the population. also, these 13 represented near maximum variation in age, programme, family status and passport country. methodology, data collection and analysis since i sought to understand international student experiences in depth in a particular context, i chose a qualitative, case study approach. this was appropriate, as qualitative research involves looking for rich, deep data that will give understanding of a certain phenomenon in context (mugenda & mugenda, 2003, p. 204). i looked for patterns emerging from the narratives. in contrast, quantitative research looks for patterns in numbers. it usually requires larger populations and sampling numbers. the size of the sample in qualitative research is usually smaller than in quantitative research, which was appropriate with my small population. the results are not generalisable, though they may be cautiously transferrable to very similar situations (creswell, 2009, p. 13). 48 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 in contrast to quantitative research, current qualitative methodology acknowledges the researcher is not totally objective or detached from the research participants (charmaz & bryant, 2011, p. 192). some researchers even claim that researchers should be members of the groups of people whom they study in order to make legitimate knowledge claims about them (miller & glassnar, 2011, pp. 136–141). at the least, researchers should be familiar with the participants’ lives and try to experience the natural setting of the phenomenon under study (gall, gall & borg, 2007, p. 31). as an international student and international student coordinator, i was well positioned to conduct this type of research.in order to understand the lived experiences of the students and the meaning they made of their experiences, i chose a phenomenological, interpretive approach for this study. participant observation and interviews were utilised. participant observation notes were taken over three years (2011– 2014), which captured a broad range of experiences of many international students on campus. these included skits in chapel, small group discussions and one-on-one discussions around campus with international students from many countries and programmes. prior to this study, in 2011, five similar interviews with international students were also conducted, transcribed and analysed. these were included as part of the participant observations. the participant observation notes were analysed and used to triangulate the data from the interviews.i interviewed 13 students in depth (an average of 90 minutes per interview) in order to get a more focused understanding of their experiences and to hear their stories. twelve allowed me to record and transcribe the interviews. for the other one, i took notes. each interviewee double-checked his or her transcription. i then analysed the interviews and the participant observation notes using the computer program weft qda. i labelled various concepts and open-coded them into categories, then analysed them again into more abstract axial codes. themes eventually emerged for each research question, which i also sent back to interviewees for review. conducting these member checks ensured the trustworthiness of the data and findings. i will describe the themes related to non-academic learning experiences, using pseudonyms for the students to preserve their anonymity. each theme arose from many students expressing the viewpoint, but i am only able to share a few representative quotes here due to space constraints. research findings and discussion of related literature though classes were challenging, most international students at tgu found the non-academic issues to be more frustrating. physical, social, financial and cultural issues powerfully affected their lives and their learning at tgu. this canadian student’s sentiments were echoed by many others: most of the challenges have not been in the classroom. they’ve been outside of the classroom. there have been some really great things outside of the classroom and some more difficult ones. outside of the classroom, there have been some cross-cultural learning experiences, for better or for worse. (paulo, personal communication, april 29, 2013) administrative issues and cross-cultural communication issues caused him more difficulty than his courses. just as adult educators begin their programmes with needs assessment (vella, janice rasmussen : not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university 49 2002, pp. 228–229), student affairs staff must first understand the experience of the students and the needs they express if they want to support them well and improve on the service they offer. maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory points out that if people’s basic needs are not met, energy is not available for higher-level needs (lau, 1984, pp. 68–69). if one assumes that pursuing graduate studies is a higher-level need, then his theory suggests that lower-level needs must be met before meeting higher-level needs can be attempted. this hierarchy may be debated, but international students confirmed that attention to the various levels of needs was important for them to concentrate on their studies. when students first arrived, their basic physiological needs were of foremost concern. the security issues soon became important, as did the social needs. although maslow’s theory has been critiqued as an unreliable predictor of decision-making behaviour, i use it here simply to categorise the students’ various reported issues and to illustrate how institutions can support the whole student. figure 1: maslow’s hierarchy of needs (adapted from lau, 1984, pp. 68–69) before arriving, international students needed admissions information, campus information and some contacts. they had questions about what to expect, what to bring, and where they would live. most found admissions staff friendly and helpful. physiological needs upon arrival, international students had many basic physiological needs. most needed transportation from the airport or bus station and a phone contact. once on campus, they needed meals, keys to their housing and a campus tour. they needed internet access and phone sim cards. then they needed to access their financial accounts, to shop for food and household basics, and to navigate public transport.once settled, these physiological issues did not disappear. for some, financial worries about these basic needs persistently distracted them from learning, such as the congolese student below. self actualisation: fulfilling calling self-esteem: respect, sense of competence, confidence love and belonging: has friends, accepted in community safety and security: legitimate immigration status, orderly structures, free of fear physiological needs: food, shelter, communication, clothing 50 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 before going to class in the morning, i’m like, ‘what am i going to eat today?’ ... i know that maybe after lunch i’m not going to cope even in the library ... i am hungry. i cannot make it ... these kinds of things ... they really disturbed me. the finances were not there. (luka, personal communication, may 13, 2013) this student could not focus on his higher-level needs while hungry. while local students in other places also experience financial stress (yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013, p. 41), international students have fewer places to turn for help. many of these students had relied on family, church members and friends in the past. now, for the first time, they felt truly on their own, depending only on god to provide. a south sudanese student explains: you don’t have scholarship for yourself or even for your families. and here you cannot run to any nearer person asking for something when you come to school fees, when it comes to upkeep. these are some of the challenges we are facing and these can also influence our studies, ’cause as a family man, when my children, if they don’t have meal in the house to drink, so i cannot concentrate on the study. i will focus twice. i will think, now they don’t have something and i’m here in the library. so i cannot be stable ... (tomas, personal communication, may 20, 2013) back home, this student could borrow from neighbours when in need, but at tgu, even his fellow countrymen were too constrained to help. these issues led many to pray more and to have more compassion for others in need. some with full scholarships wished the tgu community could do more to support their fellow struggling students, although tgu has a benevolence fund for students’ basic food needs. some (especially students from nigeria, drc and south sudan) struggled with the weather. although they had been sent information about the weather before arrival, they could not imagine how cold it would be. they had to purchase more warm clothing and blankets as soon as they came for themselves and their children. safety and security financial problems also affected students’ sense of security. one student told of his most stressful moment: being “de-registered” from class because he could not pay his fees. at this lowest point, he was ready to pack up and go back home to malawi (or another country to avoid the shame of returning home a failure). miraculously, he received a last-minute scholarship and stayed (daudi, personal communication, may 27, 2013).although the campus itself was viewed as a secure, peaceful place, the country was involved in a war during this time. terrorist attacks, armed robberies, carjackings and pickpocketing on public transport occurred regularly, often nearby. many international students came with traumatic experiences, such as first-hand experiences of war. some got news while studying that their relatives were in crisis or had been killed in conflict back home. student affairs personnel organised trauma workshops for such students. janice rasmussen : not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university 51 immigration status problems still, the most unsettling safety issue for the majority of international students was their immigration status. acquiring and maintaining valid immigration status was extremely frustrating for many students. some students delayed submitting their documents, the government was slow, but many also questioned the school’s follow-up on their student visas. meanwhile, students and their family members worried about being in the country illegally, though they reportedly developed patience in the process. international students at institutions around the world share these immigration concerns, in various forms (hyamsssekasi, 2012, pp. 127, 249). one tgu student described his feelings: you feel as if you are not treated well ... there are times that the service delivery is not adequate and sometimes even availability when you need help ... it kind of cuts across but, you see, it’s more severe for international students because you feel you are far away from home and then you sometimes say, for these people, whatever happens, they are at home, but for you ... the impact becomes more and sometimes you begin to wonder, “is it because i’m not from here? will it be better if i’m at home?” ... for example, the last time my [student visa] expired, i knew i felt insecure when i was going out, you know, supposing, somebody, a policeman says, “are you legally in this country?” (jeremiah, personal communication, may 24, 2011) this student felt that staff did not provide services in a timely, adequate way. he wondered if it was because he was a foreigner. he felt the impact sharply, being far from home. unclear administrative structures maslow notes that clear, orderly structures of administration can provide security (lau, 1984, p. 68–69). students expected the administrative systems and structures to be like those of the institutions they had attended previously. they soon realised that they had to learn a new educational system, a new “academic culture” (cortazzi & jin, 1997, p. 77). some from large secular universities were confounded by the way education was administered at tgu, as one nigerian student reported below: here you don’t quite know where to go. maybe that is where you get some of your worry from. you don’t quite know which systems to follow. and even when you do that, the general spirit around does not see you as if you are doing something right even when your motive is right. (matteo, personal communication, may 15, 2013) when structures were unclear and inefficient, students felt as if they were set up to fail. they worried about being seen as rebels if they pushed for information. comparative education experts teferra and altbach (2003) point out that the challenge of ineffective administration in higher education runs throughout the continent: efficient management and administrative systems are of paramount significance to the productivity and effectiveness of any enterprise; academic institutions are no exception. by and large, however, african universities suffer from poor, inefficient, and highly bureaucratic management systems. poorly trained and poorly qualified personnel; inefficient, ineffective, and 52 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 out-of-date management and administrative infrastructures; and poorly remunerated staff are the norm throughout many systems. (teferra & altbach, 2003, p. 7) these concerns may contribute to the following theme, if staff members themselves feel unappreciated and underpaid. uncaring administrative staff while the interviews were not intended to evaluate staff ’s effectiveness, some staff performance issues affected students’ learning experiences. many international students felt uncared for by some of the administrative staff. at the time of the study, administrators and student affairs personnel seemed threatened that students (not just internationals) were trying to take power, boycott activities or push too strongly for their rights at ugu, as was happening in other places (yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013, p. 45). some international students who were unaccustomed to campus tensions between students and administrators were shocked by this. students questioned the efficiency and communication skills of staff in some offices. some felt that the administrative problems at tgu kept recurring without being resolved. some felt that administrative staff needed professional development to reach international standards as a university, as noted in other studies on student affairs in africa (major & mangope, 2014, pp. 24–31; yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013, p. 43). also, most staff members had no experience of being a foreigner, so perhaps that contributed to their perceived lack of empathy in dealing with internationals. on the other hand, several staff members were seen as caring and helpful. admissions staff attracted some of the students interviewed. inaccessible finances the system of handling student finances at tgu caused great stress for some international students. some were surprised to find that money that sponsors had previously sent to their student accounts for their upkeep was not available for some weeks, or even months. they needed it for living expenses, including food, but could not access it. at the same time, they did not want to paint a bad picture of tgu to their sponsors, such as the ethiopian student below: i have personal sponsors to support my studies here in the country. ... they [tgu accounts office] are not able to pay me in time. the money was sent one month before coming here. every term, still until today, they do that ... but i get it in the fifth week or for example, in the ... second term, i got it at the eight week of the term, after dying [metaphorically]. that is great challenge for me. (emmanuel, personal communication, april 26, 2013) if they were able, students set up an external account into which sponsors could deposit their upkeep money, but some, like the student above, were not able to change the agreements previously made with sponsors. tracking electricity bills and payments also caused confusion and frustration. the international (and others) students lacked trust in the finance department, as noted by the american student overleaf: janice rasmussen : not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university 53 there’s always been a lot of debate on campus, on how finance should be dealt with, but the majority ... are very disappointed in the finance department – how they handle students, the double standard. they expect a lot of students but then they don’t come through on their part. (samuel, personal communication, june 15, 2011) while they may have been demanding of students, the finance department was also challenged by students who were behind with their accounts. students sometimes also had unrealistic expectations of when money would arrive and could be accessed. administrative difficulties at places such as tgu are interconnected with lack of funds (yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013, p. 33). universities around the world are in financial crisis, “but the magnitude of these problems is greater in africa than anywhere else” (teferra & altbach, 2003, p. 5). love and belonging making friends took time. with demanding studies, not much time was available for these graduate students. families relied on each other, but even then, roles changed. others missed spouses and family members back home. singles often found other singles from the local and the international community. as noted in the next discussion section, in time, most of these international students felt accepted by the community. many developed deep relationships with people from various countries, through programmes set up by student affairs, the student council, or just through classes, roommates and informal networks. some even married fellow students. the great cultural diversity on campus also brought challenges. while most expected cultural challenges, they still found them surprising and difficult when encountered, like the nigerian student below: you are coming from africa, you don’t expect such changes. you assume that it’s going to be like africa – you are africans, you have similar outlooks and all that – then all of a sudden there’s this rude shock or awareness that, oh, we’re africans, but there are so many things that are different. the first thing is the social life – you know, how they socialise is different from how we do it. so that creates a little bit of disorientation. maybe you expect to be greeted and you are not greeted ... but with time, you just get used to it. (jeremiah, personal communication, may 24, 2011) after the initial confusion, most international students had learnt cross-cultural skills, in addition to making many cross-cultural friendships. occasional discrimination most international students at tgu were african. in contrast to studies of african international students done elsewhere, such as in the uk, international students at tgu reported less racial discrimination, especially from fellow students (hyams-ssekasi, 2012, p. 197). international students at tgu generally found the host country students to be more helpful and friendly than host students in other places (terkla, rosco, & etish-andrews, 2007, p. 1). however, a few international students experienced discrimination at tgu. 54 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 several students felt that they had been very unfairly represented (even falsely accused) in communications with the tgu administration, possibly because they were foreigners. they felt issues were taken to higher levels very quickly and without hearing both sides of the issue. this led to frustration and a sense that they (as international students) could not speak up when they had problems, as they would not be fairly heard, as noted by the student below: one of the challenges here at [tgu] is xenophobia, quite frankly, here as international students ... not ... in the classroom, but outside and even to some extent, dealing with administration ... what i’ve learned basically ... i have to be very careful about what i say. (paulo, personal communication, april 29, 2013) other international students, too, learned to keep quiet. perhaps the country’s colonial history influenced how some internationals were treated. missing home and the support there students missed the support they would have experienced if they had been studying back home. some would have been able to get emotional and financial help from family, church member, and neighbours, such as this malawian student who reported: learning was a bit simpler [at home], easier to me than how i’m experiencing it over here ... at least there, family members and relatives, whenever i’m stuck, i would consult. they would support. (daudi, personal communication, may 27, 2013) students felt lonely and missed home. when cultural challenges came, students reminded themselves that they were only here for a short time and that “this is not home”. they challenged themselves to adapt. they were determined to focus on learning and finishing, as the student from south sudan below pointed out: if i start to do something, i make sure i finish that. so as soon as i step on this soil, i make sure i graduate. in fact, for the first year, it was quite challenging, but now i am sure i will finish. (tomas, personal communication, may 20, 2013) some who felt lonely found friends to talk to, pray with or run with. some found ways to go home on breaks to join their families. some sought out other foreigners to talk to, like the nigerian student below: i miss home. that, for me, affects me ... i sometimes feel that, this is not my country or somebody makes me feel like ... this is just not your place. so that reality is there. and sometimes they do come in a very sharp way that does affect ... you ... i kind of prepare my heart for the best or for the worst, so when i am down ... i realize that way, this is home for some people, human beings like me. that helps my inner man and sometimes i talk about it with friends who will not be offended ... international students. (matteo, personal communication, may 15, 2013) he learned to cope with homesickness when it came. most students shared these feelings, though they coped in different ways. janice rasmussen : not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university 55 change overload and cultural adjustment for many international students, all of these issues combined created what one researcher labelled “change overload” (loss, 1983, pp. 49–55). change overload means that one difficulty or even several difficulties would be manageable, but many at once, particularly upon arrival, can leave international students very stressed. students at tgu especially felt this in their initial weeks at tgu. although the “u curve” theory of cultural adjustment has been questioned lately (black & mendenhall, 1991, p. 245; kohls, 1979, pp. 68–70; university of minnesota, 2012, p. 31), this group of international students, from their retrospective report, generally followed the basic curve. they were excited upon arrival at tgu, then discouraged as they struggled with many bewildering issues, and then, gradually, they developed relationships and coping skills to operate effectively in their new location. self-esteem the competence and confidence levels of some students were challenged by the heavy workload and by having to learn many new skills at once, as noted by the congolese student below. i struggled like the first three terms. i was like totally confused between the it, and the library, and the classes and actually in my undergraduate we don’t use computers. this was one of the hard things. sometime i can write and in the middle of my assignment, i lost it. you can just feel the frustration. (luka, personal communication, may 13, 2013) students like this had a steep learning curve that affected their self-esteem – negatively at first, but then positively as they learnd these skills. english and academic skills students who lacked fluent english struggled to listen, speak, write and read at the levels required for their graduate studies. like international students in other places (cammish, 1997, pp. 143–146), they felt doubly burdened. they felt disadvantaged in class amongst peers with fluent english. an ethiopian student expressed his concerns: that’s another challenge, in fact, to write in a good way, since we are from different countries ... we don’t have english. our people, they do not speak english. but here, since we are from different countries, our teachers, they look to our work, according to their standards or according to the other students, not understanding our problem, or our weakness in english. (emmanuel, personal communication, april 26, 2013) many of these felt they greatly improved their english skills while in the country, which benefits them in the future. tgu students also felt some second-language anxiety, but they did not seem to experience as much as some international students in europe, perhaps because most tgu students did not speak english as their first language (charter et al., 2010, pp. 8-9; zhao & wildemeersch, 2008, p. 55). 56 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 pressure to succeed several tgu students talked of the pressure to succeed, since they were on scholarship or their families had sacrificed for them to study. some said they would have quit in the difficult times if they could have avoided the shame. other studies have noted similar findings (mclachlan & justice, 2010, p. 31). being humbled at tgu, as in other places, some students gave up high status (such as bishop, pastor, or teacher) to become students at tgu. they were treated as students. being humbled was difficult, but character-building. these self-esteem issues were more related to academics than directly to administration. yet, the quality of services and support by student affairs and administration could either add stress to the students’ whole experience or alleviate stress. self-actualisation the student affairs and administrative sectors at tgu were meant to support students by enabling them to pursue their goals in their graduate studies, thus moving them towards fulfilling their purpose and calling in life. the academic content generally did provide this, as expressed by the canadian student below: here the learning process is for the purpose of ministry together ... we’re part of a community and we’re contributing to the greater good of the church and the academy across the continent, and also a sense that our studies are relevant and needed. that’s also something that our teachers have given us a strong sense of ... so there’s a lot of mutual encouragement and encouragement to pray and believe that this is god’s will for us. (paulo, personal communication, april 29, 2013) he appreciated the faculty’s faith in him and was inspired to fulfil his destiny by the faculty. another student developed his calling by serving on the student council, where he learnd about different decision-making styles. as an american, he learnd cross-cultural communication skills appropriate to the local country that have helped him in his career, as he reported in an informal follow-up interview (benjamin, personal communication, april 11, 2015). summary of findings tgu international students voiced a variety of non-academic issues that affected their learning experiences. given the continual financial constraints, the university had to accomplish its goals with minimal funds. yet, many issues mentioned by tgu international students were not costly to remedy. for example, they needed timely information before arrival. upon arrival, they needed assistance with basic needs, like transportation, housing, food, shopping, sim cards, internet access and meeting people. they hoped for staff to be available when needed. students wanted to be treated kindly and fairly, respected, listened to, and supported. they wanted clear administrative structures and processes to follow, with janice rasmussen : not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university 57 accountability of staff. they required timely access to their upkeep money. they needed valid immigration status to feel safe. some needed support in their cultural adjustment or relationships. some required academic support skills to help them develop confidence and competence in english, academic writing, and computer and library skills. with attention to these needs, they were able to concentrate on their higher-level needs of fulfilling their callins and the purposes for which they came to study at tgu. the whole community can contribute to all aspects, but, at tgu, faculty focus on meeting the higher levels (self-esteem and self-actualisation) through academics, which is generally effective. fellow students generally fulfill the love and belonging level, although they may need help making connections. the role for student affairs staff and administrative staff, therefore, is mainly addressing students’ physiological and safety and security issues. discussion international students enter a new environment when they arrive at tgu. even beyond campus, new international students must interface with many new sectors. bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory illustrates holistically these various sectors in the environment (papalia, old, & feldman, 2004, p. 42). adapting bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory to an international student’s context at tgu may look something like the following chart: figure 2: tgu international student’s ecological reality, adapted from bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory in reality, the lines between the systems are not clear; they all interrelate. yet, this chart shows a well-nestled person, tucked securely into all the systems around him/her. internationals probably felt like that back home. however, the ecological reality for most international students upon arrival looks more like the following chart: africa and world: economy, professions, pan-african owner agency, education systems and historical context over time individual and near envrionment, family, roommates, god, virtual communication with “back home” tgu campus: friends, classmates, social groups, chapel, small groups, administration, policies, internet, library, classes, professors near community: town, city, church, markets, transportation, professional and ministry contacts, friends outside campus, weather the country, east africa: government offices (immigration, higher education policies, laws, embassies), language, cultural values 58 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 3(2) 2015, 45-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.135 figure 3: typical international student’s ecological reality upon arrival at tgu most tgu international students arrive with very few contacts and no local web of relationships. african systems operate on relationships. if student affairs personnel can help students to connect with others and build relationships from the very beginning, they will likely settle in more quickly and be able to focus on their studies. these relationships can help them to learn the campus culture and the environment beyond campus. student affairs staff and administrative staff at tgu seem to focus mainly on enforcing general policies set by administration and responding to student issues as they arise. a more holistic, studentfocused approach may work better to serve present international students and to facilitate attracting international students in the future. specifically, student affairs staff can endeavour to be available, give timely information, proactively provide empathy and support, and link students to others who can help them. as noted in a previous editorial of this journal, peer interaction is key to integrating into the institution (moja, schreiber, & lueschermamashela, 2014, p. 4). indeed, interaction with their peers is one of the highlights for international students at tgu. staff can facilitate this by immediately pairing them with a local student “buddy” and with an international student friend. as classes start, students can be connected with an upperclassman in their programmes and with a faculty mentor. some students find these links themselves, but student affairs personnel have a role in making sure no one struggles silently. further studies further studies on international student support are needed. researching ‘best practice’ models of new international student orientation and ongoing international student support at universities around africa would be helpful. researching international student adjustment in africa would also prove fruitful, such as studies on the differences between various groups of students (i.e, from certain regions or first-time travellers) in order to customise orientation for various groups. conclusion tgu administration and student affairs must serve the end goal of the university, which is educating students to transform their world. the quality of the non-academic services plays individual,with only virtual communication to tgu and back home janice rasmussen : not just academics: supporting international graduate students at an east african private university 59 a critical role in international students’ educational experiences. for quality educational experience, quality administration and student support services are foundational. to build strong student support programmes, a clear understanding of international students’ experiences is essential. from there, policies and services can be revisited and developed that deal with real student issues in specific universities, from a holistic perspective. various players on campus have different roles in this. student affairs and administrative staff can particularly impact in the areas of information, basic needs, safety/ security and connections. when international students are adequately supported in their non-academic campus experiences, they can focus better on their academics. educational institutions that support international students well will find that their impact spreads across the world when students graduate. they may also attract more international students. acknowledgement the author would like to recognise the international students who participated in this study and voluntarily shared their experiences. references black, j.s, & mendenhall, m. 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(2008). hosting foreign students in european universities. european education, 40(1), 51–62. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1–16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 www.jsaa.ac.za coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race shose kessi* and josephine cornell** research article * dr shose kessi is senior lecturer in the department of psychology at the university of cape town. email: shose.kessi@uct.ac.za ** josephine cornell is a research intern at the unisa-mrc’s institute of social and health sciences, violence, injury and peace research unit and masculinity, tradition and social change programme. email: josephine.cornell@mrc.ac.za abstract since the dismantling of apartheid in south africa, increasing numbers of black students have been enrolling at historically whites-only universities. this situation has been paralleled by a resurgence of racialising discourses that represent black students as lacking in competencies, lowering academic standards and undeserving of their places at university. this paper investigates the impact of these discourses on black students at the university of cape town (uct). over six months, 24 students from seven departments and four faculties participated in a photovoice project during which they produced photographs and stories representing their experiences at uct. the findings demonstrate that, through practices of material and symbolic exclusion, racialising discourses of transformation had a detrimental impact on students, affecting their self-esteem, sense of belonging, and academic performance. the discussion reflects on the identity dynamics and the coping strategies that black students adopt to fit into the whiteness of the university. keywords transformation, black students, south africa, higher education; race, photovoice. introduction the transition from apartheid to democracy paved the way for significant changes in south africa’s institutions of higher education. arguably, the most notable change is the shifting demographics of historically ‘whites-only’ universities. in 1989, on the eve of the dismantling of apartheid, black students1 constituted 24.7% of the student population at the university of cape town (uct) (luescher, 2009), a leading south african public institution. it took another 16 years for the number of black students to exceed white students when, in 2007, black students accounted for 51% of uct’s student body (dhet, 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 2007). figures for 2011 indicate a total of 25 279 students, of which 7 262 were african, 3 748 were coloured, 1 859 were indian and 9 306 were white (dhet, 2011) – indicating that black students still constituted just over 50% of the student body. despite these promising figures, the politics of transformation at uct have been the subject of intense debate (erasmus, 2010; kessi, 2013a; soudien, 2010), with particular emphasis on the admissions policy. the discourses emerging from this debate tend to present black students as ‘the problem’. furthermore, amidst what we will argue are contradictory practices of transformation, little is known about what black students at uct think, and how they feel and navigate these dynamics on a day-to-day basis. this paper is thus concerned with the experiences of black students at uct who tell a very complex story of the dynamics of racial transformation. discourses of race and transformation at uct racial differences and race discrimination are recognised as central concerns of the transformation process.2 however, the growing number of black students at uct, resulting from the admissions policy, has been met with a more direct discourse of resistance to transformation. discourses of low standards and reverse racism have inundated the media and present black students as the ‘problem’ rather than as rightful co-beneficiaries of transformation (kessi, 2013a). discourses of transformation thus produce knowledge about black students as underserving of an education either because they are lacking in capabilities (they are accused of not entering on merit) or lacking in hard work (they are accused of being unfairly advantaged). studies on the impact of racialisation on educational achievement in south africa (de beer, smith & jansen, 2009; higham 2012; vincent, 2008) and elsewhere (johnson-ahorlu, 2012; codjoe, 2001; davis et al., 2004; harper, 2009, 2012, 2013; howarth, 2004; fries-britt & turner, 2001; gillborn et al., 2012; phoenix, 2009; smith, allen & danley, 2007) have shown that such discourses can affect the self-esteem and sense of belonging of black students who internalise the negative stereotypes assigned to them, often leading to a drop in their academic performance. the aim of this paper is to discuss the experiences of black students at uct, to voice their views on transformation, and to build a framework for resisting and altering the negative discourses associated with the transformation discourse. it further contributes to the research on transformation and decolonisation in higher education in south africa from the perspectives of black students. photovoice methodology the data for this project was collected through a participatory action research initiative using photovoice methods. photovoice involves the collection of photographs accompanied by written stories or captions (referred to as ‘photo-stories’) produced by the research participants to describe their experiences at uct and their views on transformation. these photo-stories were then displayed at a photography exhibition held at uct and open to the public. drawing on feminist theory, freirian conscientisation and shose kessi & josephine cornell: coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race 3 documentary photography (strack, magill & mcdonagh, 2004; wang & burris, 1997), photovoice is a method that offers participants the opportunity to voice their concerns, represent themselves, gain a deeper awareness of the issues affecting them, and reach a broad audience. hence, participating in a photovoice project can be an empowering experience in which participants develop a consciousness of their situation and become active change agents in their own lives (carlson, engebretson, & chamberlain, 2006; strack, magill & mcdonagh, 2004; wang & burris, 1997; kessi, 2015). photovoice research has been effective in working with young people in south africa to address issues of identity, stigmatisation and social change (moletsane et al., 2007; kessi, 2011, 2013b; langa, 2010) and is particularly appropriate for use with university students who may feel unable to reach those in the institution who make influential decisions (goodhart et al., 2006), and to raise consciousness about the impact of racialisation (kessi, 2011, 2013b). the participants in this study were 24 full-time undergraduate and postgraduate black students from uct, 5 male and 19 female, drawn from seven departments in four different faculties.3 the participants were recruited through the department of psychology’s student research participation programme (srpp),4 or by word of mouth. the design of the project included a series of activities including focus group sessions on transformation; written personal reflections (of 500 words); a photography training exercise; photo-story production; and a photography exhibition. the exhibition opening was held at uct on 10 october 2013 and was attended by students, participants, faculty and members of the public.5 the project thus involved participants in an organised and staged process designed to encourage a rigorous reflection on the complex issues surrounding transformation at uct and to give black students an opportunity to be heard and recognised as active and full members of the uct community. findings the findings are organised below into three themes and present the data arising from the focus group discussions, the personal reflections and the photo-stories collected during the project. the themes present how the discourses of low standards and reverse racism occur in participants’ stories of their experiences at uct. the first theme, out of focus: racial identity and belonging, highlights their general reflections on their identity and position within the institution; the second theme, daily experiences of segregation, othering and inequality, exposes the ways in which their experiences of being black at uct are reinforced in many aspects of their everyday lives on campus; and the third theme, the whiteness of uct: cultural and symbolic exclusion, presents participants’ deeper reflections on the historical, institutional and relational barriers that contribute to the racial dynamics that they experience at uct. theme 1: out of focus: racial identity and belonging this theme describes the impact of stigmatising discourses of blackness on students’ experiences at uct. many of the participants described how arriving at uct was marked by ‘feeling black’ for the first time. 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 in this first photo-story, claudia describes her impression of uct as more concerned with its reputation than with embracing the racial transformation of the institution. in the photograph, a black student is standing ‘out of focus’ in front of a uct building that is ‘in focus’. out of focus as part of the theme on transformation at uct, i took this photo as it captured this idea. the fact that the subject, the student, is out of focus while the building is in focus, has important suggestions being made concerning transformation at uct. as a newcomer at uct it feels as though it is the image of uct (top achieving institution on the continent) which is privileged over the students themselves […]. being ‘out of focus’ is the metaphor for feeling insignificant as opposed to the significance of uct. this reveals a disconnection from the institution – the black student in the photograph does not contribute to the reputation of uct but rather highlights the perspective that increasing numbers of black students leads to a drop in status for the institution. these ideas of lowering standards also came up significantly in the data through students’ experiences of self-doubt. many expressed that ‘feeling black’ led them to internalise the negative imagery of incompetency attributed to them and, therefore, to question their own abilities. in the following photo-story, vicky reflects on the application process and the changing significance that indicating one’s race on the application form had for her: shose kessi & josephine cornell: coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race 5 coming to uct was the first time i felt black indicating my race on my application form was one of the information that i gave not thinking that it mattered that much. i thought it was just for statistical purposes, but it came to be something that would impact my self-esteem greatly in my life at uct. i have started to wonder if i got to where i am because of my academic potential or whether it was because i am black and there needed to be some black people in the class for uct to be achieving their goal of transformation […]. this first encounter with ‘race’ at uct left her uneasy and made her question her academic abilities. in the title of her photo-story, the phrase ‘feeling black’ is used as a negative experience of racialisation as opposed to being black. ‘feeling black’ was a way of describing how black students are perceived by others through stigmatising images of blackness. davis et al. (2004), who interviewed black students about their experiences at a predominantly white american university, noted one student saying that “you will come here and you will learn that you are black” (p. 432). for vicky, indicating her race on her application form was at first a rather benign act that subsequently gained a new significance after her experience of uct. as she reflected on that moment and connected it to her current experiences, she concluded that the students who are meant to be central to transformation were somehow removed – they were simply numbers on a form. in her personal reflection, lindi also expresses the impact that these discourses have on her ability to succeed: “had i entered because of merit? or had i entered because of my skin colour? [...] i believe that these doubts have been the major contributor to my recent 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 low academic achievements […]”. being in an environment that marginalises and alienates black students made her question her abilities and impacted her academic performance. students also explained their experiences of ‘feeling black’ in relation to their academic competencies vis-à-vis white students and how, consequently, they were made to feel that they were taking the place of white students. in the following extract from a focus group, sean says: i feel it in my [x] class all the time. i’m just there, i’m just occupying a space that was actually meant for another white person that did better than me […] i do feel, all the time! […] i do feel i’m occupying a space that wasn’t actually meant for me. here we see the combined impact of discourses of low standards and reverse racism. sean describes how ideas of incompetency are associated with the guilt of taking the place of white students. hence, as black students internalise what it means to be black at uct, they begin to construct their black identities in relation to white identities and take on the responsibility of reverse racism. left unaddressed, this creates the conditions for isolation as depicted in the following photo-story: isolation (zethu) isolation is the theme captured in this image as it is also an important part of transformation experienced at uct. the fact that this male student is alone and almost blurred shows the possible disillusionment in which this isolation sometimes results. in this photograph, there are two students – one white student sitting on the stairs and a black student who is not only blurred but also partly hidden behind the tree. however, the photographer only speaks of the black student in her story and leaves the racial dynamic as a tacit interpretation. the white student is more visible in the photograph and is reading shose kessi & josephine cornell: coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race 7 a book, which could symbolise his connection to being a student at uct, whereas the black student is hardly visible and seemingly passing by, as if there by mistake. this photostory is a powerful example of how a photograph can convey beyond words the affective experience of being black at uct. being in an environment where racial identity is salient leads to a sense of isolation, a lack of belonging and low self-esteem amongst black students who are left to grapple, often for the first time, with the reality of what it means to be black in south africa today. the reflections in the above stories are verified by de beer et al. (2009), who found that the black students who perceived themselves as ‘secondclass students’ (regardless of their academic ability) had lower academic performance than those who did not. these racialising experiences therefore have a real impact on both identity and performance and have been documented by a number of researchers (codjoe, 2001; cokley et al., 2012; johnson-ahorlu, 2012; gillborn et al., 2012; griffin et al., 2010; harper, 2013; howarth, 2004; phoenix, 2009). these experiences may not be particular to uct, but for many of the participants, the awareness of being black in a racialised society was heightened by the focus on racial identities in university practices, in particular the hostility surrounding the affirmative action discourse. universities are often referred to as elitist institutions that cater for a privileged few (gibson, 2015). hence, experiences of belonging and exclusion become even more palpable in such environments (see tabensky & matthews, 2015). as the next two themes demonstrate, the elitism of uct is very much racialised through day-to-day practices and upheld by cultural symbols of whiteness. theme 2: daily experiences of segregation, othering and inequality this second theme highlights the racialising encounters that black students face on a regular basis. these take place during lectures and tutorials, in residence halls, and in other public spaces across the university. the stories below are examples of the racial segregation that exists on campus, of encounters with white students and of the material inequalities between white and black students. in the following extract from his personal reflection, kopano describes the commonplace practice of sitting in separate race groups: first day of lectures and the class is split almost perfectly by race. all the white students sat in one section we coined “camps bay”. all the indians sat in another. most of the coloured and muslim students would sit next to the indian section or at the back of the class or “mitchell’s plain”. the upper middle class black students congregated in a small area and finally the rest of the black students populated the remainder of the class “khayelitsha”. i was in shock …6 the practice of labeling physical areas by race is an indication of the lingering impact of apartheid segregation. the fact that this practice occurs at uct makes it apparent that the current generation is still affected by racial beliefs, contrary to what the discourses of reverse racism suggest. segregation is not a benign act of separation in south africa but a historical practice of oppression that signified a division between superior and inferior ‘race’ groups (zuma, 2010) and has been documented in previous studies with uct students (alexander & tredoux, 2010; schrieff et al., 2010, 2005).7 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 participants also spoke about their experiences of othering during group work or joint assignments with white students. they complained about how their contributions were often undermined or that white students demanded to check over their work before submission. one participant, mashama, described a situation where she got higher marks on an assignment than her fellow white student, who said: “… oh man i just don’t know what happened. something’s wrong …” participants described these as subtle experiences of racism that indicated a sense of entitlement amongst white students. indeed, the reluctance of white students to work with black students in group-work projects has been widely documented (fries-britt & turner, 2001; harper, 2012, 2013; higham, 2012; solórzano, ceja & yosso, 2000; vincent, 2008). another important issue that participants raised is the material inequality that they encounter. these experiences represent a stark contrast to the discourse of reverse racism. having to face the privilege of white students on a daily basis heightens students’ experiences of ‘feeling black’ and its associated stereotypes. the following focus group exchange explains: buhle: yesterday, am walking back home after class and this boy drives off in a porsche boxter…i was like, oh my gosh, this boy, this kid, this child, is driving a car that could like pay for my entire fees, like everything, 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, honours, masters. this guy is driving a car and he’s revving his engine and i could just not stop laughing at how (pause) i felt so poor… bongi: and it’s crazy because then, after that moment you had, you’re supposed to just carry on with life now like you had that moment, take it all in and like you deal with it, take it in, suck it up and then you go to class and sit right next to this person every single day. these differences in material wealth further contribute to the affective experience of exclusion and incompetency. ‘feeling poor’ is another way of depicting the range of experiences of ‘feeling black’ at uct and one that arises out of the confrontation with excessive wealth. these experiences are a constant reminder for black students that they are not on a level playing field with their white counterparts. hence, experiences of segregation, othering and material inequality are a few of the ways in which racial disparities are reinforced in black students’ day-to-day lives at uct. theme 3: the whiteness of uct: cultural and symbolic exclusion the data up to this point has touched upon participants’ position at uct in relation to institutional practices and in relation to white students. their testimonies of these experiences point to the whiteness of the university, a set of cultural practices that are historically, socially and culturally produced (frankenberg, 1993) and that privilege the experiences of white students over black students. the following set of stories highlights how participants reflected more broadly on the whiteness of the university to explain the devaluation of their own identities and experiences. returning to the sense of ‘feeling black’ expressed in the first theme, the following story reflects on how coming to uct is many black students’ first significant exposure to whiteness. shose kessi & josephine cornell: coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race 9 kagiso: maybe i always knew i was black. and perhaps i always knew there were white people. i never really cared about it though. it never really impacted me in any way. the thing is, i grew up in a township. we never did see any whites, let alone interact with them, unless we went to town […]. fast forward a few years and i find myself in cape town, a student at uct as a fresher […] and for the first time ever in my life i was confronted with the cultural capital that comes with being white, or familiar with the white world. thus, for the first time ever in my life, i felt black, i knew i was black […] and suddenly for the first time ever in my life too, i felt inferior […]. kagiso describes how coming to uct ignited his awareness of the broader power relations between blacks and whites in society. although he hints at a vague awareness of it growing up in the township, his first significant encounter with whiteness was at uct. he refers to the “cultural capital that comes with being white” as a symbolic location of privilege, and highlights the significance of the sense of familiarity with the white world that made him, as a black student, feel inferior. this familiarity relates to the affinity that white students automatically have with the cultural symbols and artefacts imbued in the discourses and practices of uct. the following photo-story about the statue of british mining magnate and colonialist cecil john rhodes (who ‘donated’ the piece of land on which uct is built) that previously stood high in the centre of upper campus8 captures many of these ideas. power and internalised inferiority (sean) 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 this picture shows the main statue of cecil john rhodes on upper campus. as i took the picture standing in front of the statue, i thought about the internalised inferiority that is imbued in my psyche as a black student at uct. these are unconscious processes that dictate my relationships with others, my decisions, the way i speak and how i have come to perceive myself and people who are of my race. standing in front of the statue of cecil john rhodes, i still felt the power of the colonisers on my colonised forefathers and myself in contemporary south africa. in taking the picture, i was still positioned in a lower position of both the statue and my white fellow students standing next to the statue. this elevated their position in relation to me and the jammie stairs was a metaphor for the upward mobility of black people and how that meant that whiteness or the colonisers’ position needs to be aspired to. the fact that i adjust my accent and continuously refine my english is a reflection of this and the black person’s positionality in this institution. a most interesting aspect of this story is how the condition of success for black students is the assimilation into whiteness. sean suggests that if black students want to be successful at uct, they must take on the values and culture of the white world and aspire to it, in this case through changing their language and accents to fit in. participants also raised related issues such as the whiteness of the curriculum and the lack of black representation in academia. as mareka reflects: our curriculum is still from a western perspective. you look at most of the lecturers we have, i’m a third-year student at uct and i’ve not been taught by somebody who’s black or someone who’s of another colour. the content of the curriculum is important as students’ ability to relate to the material is a significant factor in facilitating their learning experience and promoting their knowledge and capabilities (codjoe, 2001; nhlapo, 2011; hickling-hudson & ahlquist, 2003). furthermore, the lack of black academic staff can reinforce black students’ sense of exclusion. it symbolises a lack of opportunities for them to gain access to careers in academia but also denies them the advantages of having professors of their own race. some of those advantages are that black lecturers can help to validate students’ academic ability, belongingness and racialised experiences, and serve as role models (davis et al., 2004; harper, 2013). the cultural capital associated with whiteness is both despised and envied by participants who, on the one hand, take on some of the behavioural expectations that ease their assimilation into the culture of the institution and, on the other hand, resist because of the impact on their identities and sense of self-esteem. these experiences largely revolve around discourses of incompetency and reverse racism that they face on a daily basis and that highlight a master narrative of black underachievement (harper, 2009). the discussion that follows will focus on the identity impacts caused by these experiences and the need to re-centre the transformation discourse on more positive outcomes. shose kessi & josephine cornell: coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race 11 discussion: identity impacts, coping and resistance students’ experiences in this study highlighted some of the many challenges of ‘feeling black’ at uct and the centrality of race in the politics of transformation. imbued in participants’ experiences are feelings of inadequacy, not belonging, self-doubt and confusion. in response to these dynamics, students adopted strategies to cope with the dominant culture of the university. many students silence themselves and are thus not able to participate fully in university life. others distance themselves from the transformation discourse as one that applies only to other black students (kessi, 2013a), whilst many students assimilate into the dominant culture by taking on certain cultural practices, such as modifying their language and changing their accents, making friends with and engaging in the activities of white students. kopano explains how he transitioned from feelings of inadequacy and incompetence that led him to silence himself in the classroom, to a sense of inclusion by making friends with white students and joining the predominantly white rugby team: and if white people see me asking a question, “who’s he who thinks he’s…” you know? and also in my mind i’m thinking they got higher marks than me, so obviously my question’s going to be stupid. and you always second guessing yourself… because i couldn’t ask a question in the class i doubted my entire ability and it affected my ability to get good marks. the way i got over it, very embarrassing, i decided to start playing rugby with the white guys… i decided to start playing to become friends with them so that i know that i can interact on the same level to get in my mind that we can think the same so that in class when i talk they know that we’ve the same brain… and lo and behold it improved my marks by about 8 per cent. for kopano, being in close contact with white students reduced his feelings of incompetence and exclusion and had a positive impact on his academic performance. although this was an effective strategy for kopano and one that disarmed his white counterparts, being accepted by white students remained the underlying condition. in doing so, he took on the responsibility of the stereotype and for transformation, letting white students off the hook. also, his embarrassment indicates that efforts to fit into the culture of uct sometimes come with other affective consequences. students who assimilate with whiteness are faced with the additional burden of how this might be perceived by other black students. one participant, mashama, explained how relating to white students when she first arrived at uct earned her the label of ‘coconut’ – a term given to black people who take on white identities. participants described how interactions between themselves as black students became more complex in the context of uct where the need to belong often dictated who they would relate to and how.9 these complicated identity dynamics mean that black students must find strategies for coping in addition to their academic requirements (smith, allen & danley, 2007). these strategies also shift over time. the contrast between lihle, a first-year student, and sean, a postgraduate student, speaking of racism at uct is evidence of the need for effective coping and resistance strategies: 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 lihle: back home, people talk about uct like, “oh my gosh! this diverse place, i mean amazing place. there’s no racism there whatsoever! people there are equal [… ]”. and that’s the mentality i had coming here. i didn’t really want to, i don’t know maybe i didn’t want to find out about this, but i just don’t know. i ignored whatever came my way, whatever racism thing that came my way. sean: i mean i used to feel so confident. these things i weren’t aware of, and then you become aware of them and you become your insecurity. i can speak about it because i’m able to deal with those insecurities, that’s why i’m so open about it. black students have to put in the extra effort to fit in, to prove themselves, and to defend their right to be at uct. many black students at uct are excluded by transformation discourses and simultaneously take on the burden of transformation. transformation then is not simply about diversity statistics in admissions but is also, and just as importantly, about addressing the culture and practices that perpetuate their marginalisation from uct. the rationality and reductionism of the transformation discourse, as one that supports black students to ‘fit into’ the university but simultaneously portrays them as incompetent, conceals the exclusionary practices that take place. conclusion despite the increasing numbers of black students at uct, their sense of belonging to the university remains limited and their position within the discourses of academic achievement remains precarious. black students are seen as passive recipients of transformation policies rather than active contributors to the prestige of uct. directing our attention to the contributions that black students make to knowledge production in higher education would represent a paradigm shift in understanding transformation at uct and elsewhere. black students have been and continue to be at the forefront of socio-political changes in south africa. as such, their involvement in historically white universities such as uct should continue to guide current and future transformation efforts. endnotes 1. ‘black students’ in this paper refers to african, coloured and indian/chinese students as per the former racial categories instituted under apartheid. we use the term ‘black’ as a political identity that acknowledges that all these racial groups were affected by apartheid policies and as a way of promoting a common experience of racialism and a solidarity between black students that goes beyond apartheid classifications. 2. http://www.uct.ac.za/about/transformation/ 3. one student only participated in phase 3 and subsequently dropped out. two students participated in most phases but did not submit final photo-stories. the final data set includes the personal ref lections and photo-stories from 21 participants. 4. srpp is an online system to promote and facilitate student involvement as participants in the research activities of the psychology department. 5. the exhibition is mentioned here as an important part of the photovoice project. however, due shose kessi & josephine cornell: coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race 13 to space limitations, this particular paper focuses on the data collected in the project and does not ref lect further on the impact of the exhibition. 6. camps bay is an aff luent white suburb, mitchell’s plain is a coloured township and khayelitsha is an african township. during apartheid, black south africans were assigned to live in underresourced settlements – ‘townships’ – and separated by apartheid racial categories. 7. the student self-segregation that kopano describes is not only by race but also by class by referring to the “upper middle class black students” and the “rest of the black students”. differences amongst black students in terms of class, gender, ability and sexual orientation have come up more prominently in subsequent phases of the project and have been discussed elsewhere: cornell, j. (2015). transforming higher education: uct students’ visions for the future. mail and guardian. retrieved 26 september 2015 from: http://thoughtleader.co.za/ psyssa/2015/09/26/uct-students-visions-for-the-future-transforming-higher-education/ 8. the project took place before the emergence of the #rhodesmustfall movement and the subsequent removal of the statue from uct campus. 9. the authors acknowledge that these participants may have experienced racism differently depending on other identity factors such as class, gender, language and nationality. however, these concerns did not come out significantly in this phase of the project. this could be the result of the photovoice methodology, which aimed at building solidarity amongst students in relation to their racialised experiences. more recent groups of lgbt and gender non-conforming participants revealed more prominently the intersecting realities of being black at uct. references alexander, l. & tredoux, c. 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(2000). critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: the experiences of african american college students. journal of negro education, 69, 60–73. soudien, c. (2010). affirmative action and admissions in higher education. south african journal of higher education, 24(3), 221–223. strack, r.w., magill, c. & mcdonagh, k. (2004). engaging youth through photovoice. health promotion practice, 5(1), 49-58. tabensky, p. & matthews, s. (2015). being at home: race, institutional culture and transformation at south african higher education institutions. pietermaritzburg: university of kwazulu-natal press. vincent, l. (2008). the limitations of ‘inter-racial contact’: stories from young south africa. ethnic and racial studies, 31(8), 1426-1451. doi: 10.1080/01419870701711839. wale, k. & foster, d. (2007). investing in discourses of poverty and development: how white wealthy south africans mobilise meaning to maintain privilege. south african review of sociology, 38(1), 45-69. doi: 10.1080/21528586.2007.10419166. 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 walker, m. (2005). rainbow nation or new racism? theorizing race and identity formation in south african higher education. race, ethnicity and education, 8(2: 129-146. doi: 10.1080/13613320500110501. wang, c. & burris, m.a. (1997). photovoice: concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. health education and behavior, 24(3), 369-387. zuma, b. (2013). the social psychology of self-segregation: the case of university student friendship groups. doctoral dissertation, university of cape town, south africa. zuma, b. (2010).  the social psychology of (de)segregation: rigorously studied and poorly conceptualized. psychology & society, 3(1), 92-106. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 www.jsaa.ac.za the politics of student housing: student activism and representation in the determination of the user-price of a public–private partnership residence on a public university campus in south africa taabo mugume* and thierry m. luescher** research article * mr taabo mugume is a researcher in the directorate for institutional research and academic planning, university of the free state, south africa. email 1: mugumetj@ufs.ac.za; email 2: taabomugume@gmail.com. ** dr thierry m. luescher is assistant director in the directorate for institutional research and academic planning, university of the free state, south africa. abstract south african universities have been facing a critical shortage in the provision of student housing for several years now, and the establishment of public–private partnerships (ppps) is seen as part of the solution to address the shortage (rensburg, 2011). this article investigates the effectiveness of the students’ representative council (src) of the university of the western cape (uwc) in representing student interests during its negotiations with university management to reduce the user-price per student for the new kovacs residence, a ppp student housing complex on the uwc campus. it thus highlights some of the complexities involved in public–private collaborations on student housing provision, including the tension between profitability, affordability and equity in the face of organised student power. the article shows that, considering the various initiatives taken by the src to engage university management, and the resulting reduction of the user-price per annum, students’ interests were effectively represented by the src, even if this view does not correspond with the perceptions of students. our analysis uncovers many deficiencies in student representation processes both within student structures and university management. it is supported by data from in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion. interviews were conducted with src members and university management, and a focus group discussion was facilitated with students in residences. keywords higher education; university administration; student politics; student housing; activism; representation; social justice; public–private partnerships. 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1-17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 introduction the subject of student representation in higher education institutions continues to be emphasised not only in south africa but worldwide (jungblut & weber, 2012; klemenčič, 2012; luescher-mamashela & mugume, 2014; luescher, klemenčič & jowi, forthcoming). this article focuses on student representation within an important domain of student life and governance: student housing. in particular, we investigate the effectiveness of student representation at the university of the western cape (uwc)during the ‘kovacs crisis’ of 2012 and the related process of negotiating the student user-price for the new kovacs residence which had been established as a public–private partnership (ppp). our investigation deals with the student political challenges involved in addressing the shortage of student housing, in particular the negotiation of an affordable userprice between university and organised student power. in the process, we will address questions of representation, participation and accountability in student representation, and the effectiveness of student interest representation through the university’s students’ representative council (src). the process of resolving the ‘kovacs crisis’ included the src taking the initiative in relation to university management, its mobilisation of students to protest against the lack of action by management on the high user-price, and, eventually, the way the src communicated with students about the outcomes of the meetings held with management. we find that, contrary to the perceptions of students, the src actually represented the interests of students effectively, which resulted in a significant reduction in the annual user-price from r30 000 (usd2 400) to r24 000 (usd1 900) – even if this falls short of the student demand of r 17 000 (usd1 400). our analysis shows various typical characteristics and deficiencies in the manner of student representation, student participation, and communication with the student body on all sides. we conclude that the way the crisis was resolved highlights a need for universities such as the uwc, which have high levels of student activism, to stick to established mechanisms of student representation in the process of decision-making and resolving conflicts – even in the case of ppps – and avoid retreating into ‘closed spaces’. the latter negates the advantages of formal student representation in university decision-making and creates antagonistic relations between university management and organised student power. moreover, our analysis shows how university managements routinely tend to undermine student representation – especially in their manner of communication – even if eventually they agree with the cause. we highlight two important matters frequently raised in studies on student representation: firstly, the argument that representation improves the quality and acceptability of discussions, and, secondly, that only transparent and inclusive decision-making processes involving students have the potential of inculcating democratic values and leadership skills as part of co-curricular learning outcomes. finally, the article provides a cautious reminder to students, university management and private investors that ppps may not be the panacea for addressing the shortage of affordable student housing in developing countries. taabo mugume & thierry m. luescher: the politics of student housing 3 the kovacs residence project the provision of affordable student accommodation presents a challenge internationally, even if the challenges differ between developed regions and developing countries. a study by the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) shows that an increase in the need for universities to provide housing space for students is, inter alia, a result of international student mobility, whereby international students may find it more difficult to make private arrangements for accommodation than local students who may live at home, reside with relatives, or have easier access to local renting stock (unesco, 2015). in south africa, as in many other developing countries, the shortage of affordable student accommodation is a function of the fast expansion of higher education, the enrolment of increasing numbers of students from poor and working-class backgrounds, critical shortages of privately owned rental stock conducive for student housing, and limitations of funding and capacity in the development and maintenance of university-owned student accommodation. in 2011, a ministerial committee reviewing the provision of student housing at public universities in south africa found that there had been a backlog of almost 200 000 student beds in public higher education in 2010. addressing this shortage over the next ten years would require an investment of r82.5 billion (usd6.6 billion) in addition to the costs for the refurbishment and modernisation of existing student housing infrastructure (rensburg, 2011, p. 125). the ministerial committee identified ppps as one of the different sources of funding available to address the shortage of student accommodation (rensburg, 2011, p. 126; also see: bond & tait, 1997; mafukidze & hoosen, 2009; phiri, 2012; proscia, 2015). the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town, south africa, is a public university that was originally established in 1960 as a university for coloured students1 and is located on the outskirts of the urban core in the bellville south area. it prides itself on being an emerging research university which continues to provide access to quality higher education for poor and working-class students; at the same time, the institution’s commitment to social justice and its geographic location create a desperate need for student housing on campus. this is captured, for example, in the words of the former vicechancellor of the uwc, prof. brian o’connell: the scale of the problem is desperate. we [uwc] have thrown open the doors of learning for nineteen thousand students, but we only have [student housing] place for three thousand two hundred. local landlords demand high rentals, but nsfas [the national financial aid scheme] funding is totally inadequate; and this accommodation is often appalling. we can’t have any campus programmes after four in the afternoon because of the dangers our students, many of whom are from the poorest of the poor communities of khayelitsha and beyond, face while travelling. the nearest cinema is fifteen kilometres from campus. the past continues to linger with us. (o’connell in rensburg, 2011, p. 118) despite its commitments and the dire need for on-campus student accommodation, in 2010 the uwc was only able to provide housing for 20% of its student body (rensburg, 2011, p. 32). moreover, while the uwc was charging among the highest user-prices for 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1-17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 on-campus accommodation of any south african university, it recorded a deficit of almost r12 million in 2010 (almost usd1 million) in respect of its residence system (rensburg, 2011, p. 98, table 12, p. 103, table 13). according to phiri (2012), it is in the context of these challenges that the institution went into a ppp with a private investor, kovacs, to build a new complex of student residences on campus land known as the kovacs uwc student housing project (kovacs, 2015). the first phase of construction of the kovacs residence complex started in 2011 and the first housing units were opened for student occupation in 2012. upon its completion in 2014, the kovacs residence complex provided 1 100 new beds (uwc, 2013, p. 93).2 when the first phase of residence blocks opened to students in january 2012, the annual user fee charged per student became an issue of contention. phiri (2012) argues that part of the contention was the view of students that kovacs as a privately owned company was profit-driven. the cost per single room was set at about r30 000 a year, while the userprice in the existing uwc residences was considerably lower. there was an (erroneous) view among students that the average price of residences at uwc was about r15 000 per bed and therefore that kovacs was charging double the normal cost of student housing. thus, immediately after the first blocks of kovacs were completed and became available, students started protesting against occupying the blocks owing to their high user-price. students argued that the kovacs residence would only accommodate students from wealthy families; that students from poor backgrounds would be disadvantaged in their access to on-campus housing when compared with students from affluent backgrounds; and that kovacs was thus creating class divisions among students (phiri, 2012). it is at this point that the src had to step in. the src is the statutory governance structure established to represent students’ interests in a south african higher education institution. it is established in terms of the higher education act (1997), a university’s institutional statute and the src constitution. in keeping with the notions of good and cooperative governance in south african higher education, an src ought to participate in the governance of its institution with respect to all institutional matters that affect student interests. thus, section 3.3 of the white paper on higher education (wphe) of 1997 indicates: good governance must be based on a recognition of the existence of different interests and the inevitability of contestation among them and must therefore create structures and encourage processes which enable differences to be negotiated in participative and transparent ways. (wphe, 1997) it is against this understanding of the nature of university governance and the role of the src that the src intervened in the matter of kovacs on behalf of students in order to challenge the user-price of the new residences through the structures of the university. taabo mugume & thierry m. luescher: the politics of student housing 5 conceptualising the study representation various scholars have articulated the reasons for representation, the various ways it could or actually does take place, and the advantages and disadvantages which may arise in the process of representation. hannah pitkin argues, firstly, that representation ‘means the making present in some sense of something which is nevertheless not present literally or in fact’ (pitkin, 1972, p. 9). representation thus involves making present one who is absent. to what extent is it possible (or even desirable) for the representative to ‘replace’ an absent person? what leeway does the representative have in her or his role? in keeping with these questions, lavalle, houtzager and castello (2005) note that the autonomy of the representative has to be considered along with her or his genuine commitment to the interests of the represented. the effectiveness of representation can therefore not be discussed in isolation from, for example, levels of participation and accountability. in terms of this and other characteristics, a number of scholars have established different typologies of representation. thus, pitkin (1972) categorises representation in four ways: formalistic, descriptive, substantive and symbolic representation. mansbridge (2003) also offers four categories of representation, namely promissory, gyroscopic, anticipatory and surrogate representation. even though the two scholars use different concepts for their respective types of representation, a number of similarities emerge from the way they define and characterise them. formalistic representation is characteristic of a type of representation where ‘a representative is viewed as someone who has been authorized to act’ (pitkin, 1972, p. 39). in this case, power is entrusted to the individual who takes over a specific office. this idea of representation relates to mansbridge’s notion of promissory representation whereby a representative is authorised to represent, but, in this case, only after making certain promises to the represented, for example during an election campaign (2003, pp. 516–517). secondly, according to pitkin (1972, pp. 39–40), descriptive representation refers to the case where a representative is elected to office because she or he somehow resembles a group that is to be represented. the relevant characteristics in this case may be demographic (e.g. based on class, race or gender). mansbridge (2003, p. 520) refers to this type of representation as gyroscopic representation; while there are various differences in the characterisation of their respective types, both authors agree that ‘resemblance’ does not guarantee that the elected representative will actually act on behalf of the group that elected her or him to office. thirdly, pitkin explains substantive representation as a form of representation which focuses on ‘what the representative does and how he/she does it’ (pitkin, 1972, p. 143). in the context of student leadership, this form of representation would, for example, refer to the situation whereby an src member who made certain promises during an election campaign is assessed while in office as to the extent to which these promises have been given substance. the idea thus corresponds to mansbridge’s notion of anticipatory 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1-17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 representation (2003, pp. 516–517) whereby voters reflect on the record of a candidate before making a decision to re-elect the candidate. anticipatory representation is therefore also similar to promissory representation, given that the promises which may be made by a candidate during a campaign, for example, could be the indicators used by the electorate to anticipate her/his future performance. lastly, the notion of symbolic representation focuses on what the representative stands for (pitkin, 1972, p. 42). an example would be someone who gets elected because he/she stands for the eradication of poverty. mansbridge’s fourth notion of surrogate representation, in contrast, refers to a form of representation that ‘occurs when a legislator represents constituents outside of their district’ (2003, p. 522). this category is also given and defended by dovi (2006). in this case, there is no electoral relationship with the representative, because she/he was elected by a different constituency (mansbridge, 2003, p. 522). for the purposes of this study, the different categories of representation given by each of these authors can be seen as providing different reasons or rationales for electing an src into office and thus as dimensions for considering the effectiveness of representation. in this regard, the case for student representation has historically been made on a number of premises. firstly, it is argued that the operation of an institution may be impaired by the exclusion of a very large number of those actively involved in, and affected by, the activities of the institution, especially if, as in the case of students, they may become politically organised or unionised to defend their interests; secondly, that as consumers, students have an interest in the quality of the service they receive; thirdly, that participation is a fundamental element of the education process, which cannot take place without the willing acceptance and support of those who are being educated; and, finally, that the inclusion of students in the processes of decision-making means decisions are made by inclusive bodies and thus may result in better decisions that are accepted with less resistance by the student community (luescher-mamashela, 2013). not only can the nature of representation be characterised and analysed from various perspectives, and be justified on different grounds, but representation can also take various forms: it may occur in conventional settings or be informal. moreover, it has been noted above that student representation cannot be discussed without considering the implications of participation and accountability. attention will, therefore, be given to the question of political participation and, particularly, ballard’s distinction of different spaces of participation. spaces of participation according to birch (1994, p. 80), ‘participation’ refers to taking part in an activity which, in this case, may be public, political or community-based. ‘community participation’ refers to various ways in which members of a certain locality take part in collective decision-making processes, especially at a local-government level; ‘political participation’ refers to how citizens participate in the formal political process, for example in electing their parliamentary representatives, while ‘public participation’ generally refers to both community and political participation. participation performs two main political purposes: taabo mugume & thierry m. luescher: the politics of student housing 7 it can be used for information-gathering exercises in order to allow leaders to understand the needs of citizens or a community; it is also a way for citizens to engage the governing authority so as to ensure that the needs of the community or citizens are met (ballard, 2008, p. 168). ballard (2008, pp. 173–182) distinguishes between two popular types of ‘spaces’ utilised in the process of participation. firstly, he conceptualises ‘invited spaces’ as those spaces that are used by a governing authority to engage the community and gather information about the needs of citizens. in the context of a university, these would, for example, include meetings arranged by an src and meetings between management and students, as well as elections for the src and for other structures of student governance like a residence house committee, etc. conversely, ‘invented spaces’ are those spaces created by citizens to engage the governing authority, for example on matters of policy. they are typically created to provide avenues of engagement outside the established processes; they may thus be considered unconventional and include various forms of protest. the way these different kinds of spaces are utilised is part of a continuous contestation of ideas and a shifting constellation of power. gaventa adds to the conception of ‘invited’ and ‘invented’ spaces that of ‘closed spaces’ as the third space of participation. ‘closed spaces’ are those where ‘decisions are made by a set of actors behind closed doors, without any pretence of broadening the boundaries of inclusion’ (gaventa, 2006, p. 26). those included in closed spaces may try to create an invited space in order to legitimise decisions taken behind closed doors, thus seeking consent from excluded representatives to relieve any hostility that may have built up from taking decisions in closed spaces. it has been argued that student representation in many universities precisely originates in a politically-realist assessment of the political situation on campus; hence the ‘co-option’ of student representatives into formal or ‘invited spaces’ of university decision-making (luescher-mamashela, 2013). accountability in considering pitkin’s type of formalistic representation, two key components of representation can be highlighted: authorisation and accountability (pitkin, 1972). authorisation entails a representative having the rightful power to speak on behalf of a constituency or electorate and thus to represent its interests. accountability, in turn, involves the representative accounting for her or his use of this authority; thus, where a representative fails to represent the interests of the represented, he or she should be removed from office, for example by voting a new candidate into the position in the next election (pitkin, 1972, pp. 55–57). moncrieffe (1998, p. 393) posits that, during the term of office of a representative, political accountability can be measured first of all through openness and transparency in the process of representation. thus, representatives ought to provide ‘timely information and opportunities of deliberation and debate’ (moncrieffe, 1998, p. 393). hence, representative democracies have constitutions which provide for checks and balances as measures of accounting to the public. in the case of the src of the university of the western cape, the src constitution (2010) outlines the importance of annual general meetings for the src to report back to students. conwell and gaveta (2001) 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1-17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 highlight transparency and trust as the two main values of accountability. ‘trust’ refers to the extent to which stakeholders believe in one another’s agenda: the represented has trust in the representative, while the representative is transparent so as to ensure accountability to those who trusted him or her with public office. methodology in order to analyse and understand the processes of representing students’ interests in the course of resolving the question of the pricing of kovacs, a differentiated notion of student representation was used based on the foregoing conceptual outline. this basic framework presented the starting point for conducting in-depth interviews to extract detailed actorrelative accounts of the origins of the so-called ‘kovacs crisis’ and how it was resolved (see rule & john, 2011, p. 30). the sampling of respondents was purposive to ensure that they were well informed (coyne, 1997, p. 623). actors involved in the negotiations were therefore interviewed, including an official in the office of the deputy vice-chancellor: student affairs who is responsible for linking the student leadership (src) to university management and who attended the meetings in the process of resolving the ‘crisis’. other interviewees were the src president and a src cabinet member of the 2011/2012 src, both of whom were part of the src team that negotiated with the uwc management. in addition, a focus group discussion was conducted with six students who lived in different uwc residences at the time of the crisis, including three female and three male students, two of whom were specifically chosen because they had been involved in kovacs-related student protests and had attended the report-back meetings organised by the src. in this manner, more detailed and richer, different perspectives could be gained on the problem and how it was resolved. finally, one of the researchers was also a resident of a uwc student residence at the time and had some opportunity to observe public student activism. thus, by means of these different methods of data collection and sources of data, the researchers were able to triangulate the observations and thus increase the validity of their findings and conclusions (compare neuman, 1997, p. 421). the research is, however, limited by the fact that the researchers could neither conduct a focus group or interviews with any of the students who had occupied rooms in the kovacs residence during the time of the ‘crisis’, nor with member of senior management of the university other than the officer noted above. the data obtained from both the in-depth interviews and the focus group discussion were coded and analysed to assess how effectively the src leadership represented students’ interests. below, we outline the steps that were taken to resolve the crisis and how the conceptual framework may assist in understanding the process. the steps taken by the different actors representation the src of the uwc represents the interests of students in the various governance structures and committees of the institution, including the council as the university’s highest decision-making body, the senate, the institutional forum, and many of their taabo mugume & thierry m. luescher: the politics of student housing 9 respective committees, and in meetings directly with institutional management. in keeping with its role as the representative structure of student interests, the newly elected src of 2011/2012 called a meeting with university management immediately after being voted into office at the end of the 2011 academic year to discuss the pricing of the kovacs residence. according to the student affairs officer, the src argued that the proposed annual user-price of r30 000 for the new kovacs residence was much higher than the typical user-price at uwc residences. src members interviewed for the purpose of this study (2 april 2013 & 4 april 2013) recalled that management agreed to have a meeting if the src had suggestions to present. cursory research conducted by the src found that the most expensive residences at the uwc at the time were the hector petersen residence (hpr) and disa residence, each supposedly costing about r15 000 (usd1 200) per annum; other public universities in or around the cape town metropole charged considerably more: the university of stellenbosch apparently had the most expensive residences costing about r23 000 (usd1 840), while the university of cape town charged approximately r20 000 (usd1 600) and the cape peninsula university of technology approximately r18 000 (usd1 440) annually.3 thus, in the first consultation meeting organised by the src for the student community about kovacs, students demanded that the kovacs residence user-price be reduced to r17 000 (interview with the src president, 4 april 2013). following the consultation meeting with students, the src cabinet agreed in camera that the src should negotiate a reasonable price between r20 000 and r22 000 with the private contractor. this decision by the src cabinet to negotiate on behalf of students at a price higher than that suggested by the students they represent, illustrates lavalle, houtzager and castello’s (2005) argument that representatives assume autonomy in the making of decisions. in this case, the src clearly sought to improve its negotiating position by seeking to strike a balance between students’ demand for affordability and what the src anticipated as the service provider’s reasonable demand for profitability. src members (interviews, 2 april 2013 & 4 april 2013) indicated that they had a number of meetings with university management and kovacs. in order to get a price reduction, the src argued that ‘the university should subsidize the residence’. the src further argued that it did not make sense paying r30 000 for kovacs while faculties such as the faculty of arts did not even have a degree that cost as much annually. moreover, the src reasoned that most uwc students were funded by the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas), which only offered a maximum of approximately r15 000 for accommodation (interviews, 2 april 2013 & 4 april 2013; phiri, 2012). the src president noted that they discovered later in discussions with management that the university had actually informed the national department of higher education and training (dhet) about the anticipated high user-price for kovacs residence and that the department had released some funds to the institution to be used for subsidisation a year earlier. however, it was noted that: 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1-17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 uwc went back to the department [and requested] to use the money for something else [arguing that they] will replace it at some other point. the department [representatives] approved that request. (interview with src president, 4 april 2013) according to both the student affairs officer (interview, 5 april 2013) and src members (interview, 2 april 2013 & 5 april 2013), the meetings between the src, kovacs and university management deadlocked. hence, the src, after holding a report-back meeting with the student body, decided to organise a protest on the uwc’s main campus and deliver a memorandum to university management and the kovacs board. throughout this phase in the ‘kovacs crisis’, the src was acting as the formal representative body, negotiating on behalf of the student body, consulting students, organising protests on behalf of students, and drafting and delivering a memorandum to the managements (compare pitkin, 1972). the change in the form of engagement from formal negotiations to protests following the deadlock highlights the src’s ability to employ a diverse political repertoire in its pursuit of representing student interests, thus showing resolve as representatives not to accept a deal it thought was not in the interest of the student community. the interview with the student affairs officer (interview, 5 april 2013) further indicates a different complexity in the kovacs residence ppp: kovacs was a private entity on uwc land. were the various problems raised in relation to the new kovacs residence by the students to be addressed by university management or by kovacs? eventually, after a series of meetings deadlocked, src protest actions, a unilateral management decision, and two open letters by the src to the dhet, a meeting was held with all the major actors involved in the ppp: the development bank of southern africa (dbsa), which had loaned the funds to the private investor (kovacs); the dhet, which had provided funds and guarantees to the university; uwc management and kovacs management; and the src. through retreating to an ‘invented space’ in the form of protest, students had put sufficient pressure on university management to provide a new space to which to invite all stakeholders for discussion and negotiation (cf. ballard, 2008, p. 186). however, according to interviews with participants, even this meeting did not produce the results the src was hoping for. according to the participating src members, the main player among all the actors, the dhet, asked for time to think about a better solution. by the time the 2011/2012 src left office in november 2012, it had not heard from the dhet (interviews, 2 april 2013; 4 april 2013 & 5 april 2013). as much as it is clear here that the src tried to engage with other parties on behalf of students, there were hardships such as those suggested in the focus group (7 april 2013). for example, it was argued that the src could not win a battle against university management because student representatives were always outnumbered in these meetings. a focus group respondent went on to argue that the src’s strategies were poor and that the src ought to caucus with sympathetic council members rather than rush to protest. accordingly, the student argued that students lost the battle against management (focus group, 7 april 2013). taabo mugume & thierry m. luescher: the politics of student housing 11 participation and accountability as shown above, students not only participated in formal meetings in order to put pressure on university management to reduce the user-price of kovacs residence, but also organised the protests that followed and which resulted in the temporary halting of construction work at the kovacs site on the east campus and a sit-in/occupation of some rooms in the unit that was ready in 2012. the mobilisation of students was done using posters in public places informing students about upcoming protest marches and student mass meetings; mass emails were also sent out to inform all students of the goings-on. students thus used both invited and invented spaces in the process of making their demands. despite the very public nature of the ‘crisis’, the focus group participants (7 april 2013) argued that there was insufficient consultation with the student body, both by university management and the src. one of the focus group respondents even argued that he knew nothing about kovacs, and that as a student in a uwc residence, the protests could have affected him. the focus group participants further indicated that, in the report-back meetings organised by the src, there was less emphasis on student participation and that src members, it appeared, were not completely open with students about the discussions that were going on with university management. a focus group respondent argued: i think they were hiding something. you know, when someone is hiding something, before they answer your question they consult each other. (focus group, 7 april 2013) transparency is very important in promoting trust between representatives and represented, as conwell and gaveta (2001) posit. in this case, the src seems to have been working against its own interests, since its manner of communication led students to doubt the trustworthiness of the src’s engagement with management. moreover, some students said that students were discouraged from attending the src’s mass meetings because they tended to turn into party-political contests rather than focusing on trying to constructively resolve the ‘kovacs crisis’. accordingly: the thing is in those meetings its always sasco and pasma trying to win over the students. [each] saying you know we actually have a better plan than this one, so they do not actually address the problem. (focus group, 7 april 2013)4 another focus group respondent argued that propositions by students in mass meetings tended to be overlooked. apparently, this was also particularly the case if a student was a pasma member, because the src leaders were mostly from sasco. as a result, fewer students participated in the mass meetings and, eventually, fewer knew about the protests. moreover, because the protests were not well organised, some of the students were arrested for damaging university property. thus, the above suggests that the different spaces for participation created by the src were not always effectively used as a means to show itself accountable to students, build trust, and ensure broad-based participation. this negatively affected students’ perceptions 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1-17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 of the effectiveness of student representation by the src. as noted, the src used various measures of reporting back: mass meetings, mass emails and posters in public places. participation is indicated, for instance, by the fact that the decision to protest was reached in a meeting between the src and students in order to force university management back to the negotiating table after a deadlock had been reached. the src facebook page and other online social networks also served as forums for discussion and information. finally, reporting back also happened through the src constitutional general council meeting which brings together all student leaders serving in student governance structures on campus. nonetheless, attendance levels were reported as very low, which impaired the src’s ability to account to the student body (focus group, 7 april 2013). resolving the ‘kovacs crisis’ in march 2012, university management sent an email to all uwc students informing them that the cost of the kovacs residence had been reduced from r30 000 to r24 000 per annum. the src had been waiting for almost two weeks to receive a response to the memorandum it had delivered as part of the protest march; when it received the email from university management, it was taken aback, since it had not been part of this decision nor had it been informed of it before the general university community was informed. according to the student affairs officer, the latter was an administrative oversight; the src president was supposed to have been informed of the decision before it was made public: the person who was supposed to have sent the letter did not add the src president as one of the recipients to inform him that this is what has been agreed to and to please share this with his fellow src members [before we make the decision public]. (5 april 2013) however, some participants in the focus group doubted the ignorance of the src of university management’s decision; they also alleged that some members of the src cabinet had been promised incentives so as to accept the resolution by management (focus group, 7 april 2013). these allegations were, however, vigorously denied by the src president and his cabinet. university management instituted an investigation to discover what exactly had happened about the lack of informing the src prior to sending out the public emails to inform students about management’s decision (interview with student affairs officer, 5 april 2013). according to the student affairs officer, the investigation concluded that it had been an administrative oversight – a human error – that the src was not informed beforehand. for our purposes, such oversights and allegations epitomise a sense of mistrust between the represented and the representatives; allegations of this nature create a negative perception about the src which, eventually, affects student participation in src activities, as some participants in the focus group argued (focus group, 7 april 2013). concluding discussion university management’s unilateral decision to subsidise the kovacs residence user-price came about undeniably as a result of the ‘kovacs crisis’ created by the src and students taabo mugume & thierry m. luescher: the politics of student housing 13 in 2012 for this purpose. management’s commitment to resolving the ‘crisis’ was limited and temporary: it only committed to subsidise the kovacs price for one academic year (2012), and the reduction was limited to a new price of r24 000. in its annual report, university management considered the housing fee subsidy agreement a ‘financial risk to the developer’ and ‘setback’ in its efforts to develop campus infrastructure and address the student housing shortage, even though it recognised the need for ‘equitable access’ to student housing and ‘affordability’ (uwc, 2013, p. 23). it further reported: council ... approved that if needed, some university funds, of which a maximum amount was determined, could be redirected to the kovacs student accommodation project, a public private partnership project. this decision has been taken as a sustainability measure to reduce the immediate financial burden on students by reducing the base fee charged by the developer, which will also impact on increases going forward. (uwc, 2013, pp. 6–7) nowhere in the annual report is there any mention of the src’s role in initiating and arriving at the decision. meanwhile, the src members interviewed argued that they had suggested subsidisation earlier in the discussions with management: we said to the university they [should] subsidize; they were a bit reluctant to subsidize it. in the end, we succeeded. i think that’s the argument that actually won the case. (interviews, 2 april 2013 & 4 april 2013) thus, not only was it the src’s initiative to open talks on the kovacs user-price (and eventually create a ‘crisis’), but the src also claims to have suggested the solution. however, in the communication regarding the resolution of the ‘crisis’, university management failed to mention the role of the src. as with management’s email to students, the manner in which university management communicated publicly about the kovacs subsidisation decision in the uwc annual report undermined the role played by the student representatives. did university management fear losing face and therefore deliberately refuse to involve the src in the final decision and inform it about its decision to subsidise kovacs in order to avoid students claiming victory? the resolution of the ‘crisis’ could have provided an opportunity for a mature university management and src to showcase good and cooperative governance, as well as to reconcile and demonstrate their mutual solidarity and commitment to social justice at the uwc. however, management’s actual action angered the src members, and students were unsure about the effectiveness of their src (interviews, 2 april 2013 & 4 april 2013). thus, while all respondents in the interviews and focus group discussion agreed (when prompted) that the src had represented the interests of students persistently, and that management’s agreement to subsidise the residence in 2012 could be attributed to the src’s representation of student interests, the level of effectiveness was considered highly debatable. the src’s effectiveness was challenged by most focus group discussants who argued that the price of kovacs was still high (and had returned to r30 000 in 2013). in addition, they argued that students had, after all, wanted the price down to r17 000, which 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 1-17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.89 was not achieved. the kovacs case thus raises the important question of how to include student representatives effectively when forging complex partnerships with external bodies, as in the case of ppps for student housing, where students have an abiding interest in the kind of service to be provided. student involvement in university decision-making frequently leads to better decisions and decisions that are more readily accepted by students (cf. luescher-mamashela, 2013). the ‘kovacs crisis’ of 2012 illustrates this – not only in its contemporaneous context but also when considering the sequel to the ‘kovacs crisis’ in 2014. in march 2014, uwc management turned to the high court to restrain the src from protesting, inter alia, about the fact that disadvantaged students needed accommodation on campus while kovacs residence had 200 empty (and unaffordable) beds (fredericks & mposo, 2014). it is at this point that the vice-chancellor of the uwc, prof. o’connell, conceded that the kovacs ppp altogether turned out not to be the perfect solution to address the institution’s student housing challenge. according to fredericks and mposo (2014): asked if in hindsight he [i.e. the uwc vice-chancellor, prof. o’connell] thought the university should have entered the partnership, he said: “i don’t think so.” in a broader perspective, the way the ‘kovacs crisis’ was brought about and resolved emphasises the importance of formal student representation in higher education institutions and the problematic nature of using ‘closed spaces’ as mechanisms of decisionmaking. south africa is a democracy which, by 2012, was still in its teens, and where these mechanisms of student representation put in place at university level were also seen as opportunities for grooming a new crop of democratic leaders. outdated authoritarian and exclusive methods of decision-making and resolving institutional problems do not expose student leaders to democratic values and practices and thus do not effectively use the opportunity of student involvement in university governance as a training ground in democracy (see mattes & luescher-mamashela, 2012). acknowledgements we are grateful to the respondents for their participation in the study; and to the reviewers of the journal for their fruitful and critical comments. sdg. endnotes 1. apartheid legislation in south africa classified all inhabitants into four racial groups, variably called ‘native’ or ‘black’, ‘european’ or ‘white’, ‘coloured’, and ‘indian’ or ‘asian’. the population group ‘coloured’ included people of mixed descent and from various parts of the world. 2. the uwc annual report describes the kovacs student housing project as follows: ‘uwc has appointed kovacs in terms of a financing agreement in a “build operate transfer” (bot) model whereby uwc leases land to kovacs with a right to develop student residences exclusive to uwc students with a right to collect rentals at full risk. the financing agreement to uwc is regulated by a “development agreement”, lease agreement” and a “management agreement”. the salient points of the agreements are: 1) the terms of the lease [are] 25 years plus 3 years of development; 2) kovacs takes full risk of the business model; 3) the design and development taabo mugume & thierry m. luescher: the politics of student housing 15 of student accommodation stock is the responsibility of kovacs with approval from uwc; 4) the total number of beds contracted amounts to 1100. the asset will be depreciated over its useful life. the obligation will be released to revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. the land rentals will need to be recognised on a straight-line basis. at the end of the lease term only the asset will remain on the statement of financial position and this will continue to depreciate over the remaining useful [life]. phase 1 of the service concession agreement was completed with construction costs of r57,741,421 having been incurred. 334 beds were completed in this phase. phase 2 consists of the construction of 3 accommodation blocks with actual cost incurred of r44,824,917. a total of 228 beds were available for use at beginning of 2013. phase 3 comprises the balance of the development entailing the construction of 538 beds to be estimated at r76,573,940.’ (uwc, 2013, p. 93) 3. when comparing this with rensburg (2011, p. 103, table 13), who provides the official weighted figures of average residence prices for 2010 by all the universities referred to by the src’s ‘research’, it is clear that the src’s figures were much too low and outdated, wrong or based on discounted residence prices. 4. sasco and pasma are two major student political organisations involved in student politics at the uwc. the south african students congress (sasco) is formally aligned with the south african governing party, the african national congress. the pan africanist student movement of azania (pasma) is a student organisation born at the uwc and aligned to the pan africanist congress of azania, a south african political party. the uwc src tends to be dominated by either one of the two organisations; 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(2013). university of the western cape, 2012, annual report. bellville: uwc. retrieved july 26, 2015, from http://www.uwc.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, ix–xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3061 ix www.jsaa.ac.za guest editorial the first-year experience (fye): moving toward a well-defined field of study in south africa annsilla nyar* * dr annsilla nyar is director: south african national resource centre for first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), university of johannesburg, south africa. email: anyar@uj.ac.za for too long, south africa has watched from afar as global fye scholarship continues to establish and consolidate itself. now, with the recent array of initiatives to establish the fye academically in south africa, including the establishment of the south african national resource centre for first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) in 2015, the prospects for the fye as a well-defined field of study appear especially bright. this special edition of the journal of student affairs in africa chronicles the fye in south africa as an aspiring academic community that is poised for future development. this fye edition of journal of student affairs in africa represents a significant milestone for the first-year experience (fye) in south africa. it is the second edition of the journal which is devoted exclusively to matters of the fye. as such, this journal edition shines a spotlight on the fye and helps to give this relatively ‘new’ area of study the rigorous academic attention that it rightly deserves. thanks are due to the journal for supporting a sustained focus on the fye. from initially serving as a small subset of the teaching and learning literature, it is now possible through such a journal edition to imagine the fye as a thriving and well-defined field of study in the next two decades. the kind of academic support that the jsaa represents will ensure that the field continues to flourish. this edition features an interesting collection of papers that addresses a wide range of topics of intrinsic interest to fellow fye academics and practitioners. the articles are all drawn from different universities in south africa and are all unmistakably national in character. this suggests that a national body of uniquely south african literature is now in the making. the collection of articles assembled in this journal edition does not represent a cohesive portrayal of the state of the fye in south africa. rather, it represents different snapshots of varying dysfunctions and fissures in the complex environment of south africa’s higher education sector. the issues in this collection of articles are case-study based but they are not particular to south africa. there is a universality to these issues that will resonate with all higher education professionals, both locally and globally. ian scott’s macro-level analysis of the factors affecting student success in south africa provides a compelling framework for the collection of articles in this journal. scott is clear that the higher education sector is not structurally designed to support a strong focus on http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3061 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, ix–xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3061 student success. he strongly advocates long-term systemic change and offers a number of key insights in this regard. the other articles in this edition all address different aspects of the student experience which afford the opportunity for south africa’s institutions of higher education to engage in self-reflection about the extent to which institutions are addressing the multi-faceted needs of students. nosisana mkonto’s case study of retention officers at the cape peninsula university of technology (cput) reveals insights about the student experience that institutions of higher education would do well to integrate into a fine-grained understanding of the challenges faced by students. mkonto’s data is qualitatively rich and draws on the voices of students in a way that clearly elucidates the difficult circumstances under which some students navigate the institution. some of the data is poignant, for example the quotation, “i am not sure whether to drop out with my studies or not, i have been diagnosed with a dreaded disease. what is a point of studying if i am going to die in any case?” (mkonto, 2018, p. 71). in a similar vein, subethra pather and nirmala dorasamy write about the sobering gap between students’ expectations of university life and the realities with which they are actually faced when entering the institution. the article recommends the implementation of first-year experience programmes as a means of bridging the gap between expectations and reality for students. mpho jama provides a study of generic skills training in the medical curriculum at university of free state (ufs). jama has previously written on stress amongst medical students. tracey mckay and co-authors anban naidoo and zach simpson make a valuable contribution to this edition with their informative account of student funding and how the matter of financial access to higher education influences prospects for student success. this article is timely in the context of current student protests over the matter of funding and the prevalent atmosphere of instability in the higher education sector. academic monitoring systems are one of the most important tools used by institutions of higher education to ensure the retention of students. toward this end, rubby dhunpath and vino paideya provide a case study of the academic monitoring system at the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn). the authors apply systems thinking – a useful conceptual tool for approaching complex phenomena with a holistic mindset and a sense of how the different elements of a system relate to the system as a whole – to their analysis of academic monitoring systems at ukzn and arrive at a sophisticated critique of current academic monitoring systems at the institution. the work assembled in this journal edition of journal of student affairs in africa provides food for thought for any higher education professional with an interest in institutional change. this edition allows for a consideration of a number of pressing questions. in line with scott’s call for transformative change of the higher education system as a whole, questions can be asked about the current suite of student success initiatives underway at south africa’s universities and the extent to which they can be seen as ameliorative as opposed to truly transformative. given the vast amount of institutional energy and attention invested in student success initiatives by the sector as a whole, it is worth considering whether current interventions are in fact designed toward addressing symptoms in the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3061 annsilla nyar: the first-year experience (fye): moving toward a well-defined field of study in south africa xi manner of a ‘band-aid’ rather than attending to underlying systemic problems. in light of the various social problems, such as poverty and hunger, which form a central part of the student experience, institutions must also consider how to engage closely with society in order to help support students more effectively. paideya and dhunpath point thoughtfully to the imperative of engaging with “the nature of education of a societal system, a system interacting with other societal systems embedded in a rapidly and dynamically changing macro society”. this edition underlines the fact that a first-year experience programme can stand at the forefront of innovation and transformative change for both society and institutions of higher education. how to cite: nyar, a. (2018). the first-year experience (fye): moving toward a well-defined field of study in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), ix–xi. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3061 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3061 _goback 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 65 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a reflective case study from south africa thierry m. luescher* * prof. thierry m. luescher is research director in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, south africa, and an affiliated associate professor in the school of higher education studies, university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za; thierryluescher@outlook.com abstract quality enhancement in student affairs is an integral part of professional practice, and its documentation and reflective evaluation are important in the ongoing professionalisation of student affairs in africa. this article proposes a way of conceptualising a reflective scholarship of practice in student affairs in africa and method to conduct reflective practice studies to build a relevant knowledge base. based on this methodology, it then analyses a student affairs quality enhancement review at a south african university in detail, showing its conceptualisation and implementation, and reflecting on its outcomes. the article thus provides evidence of a ‘home-grown’, ‘activist’ quality enhancement review that focuses on key issues in the south african context and the context of the case university: the professionalisation of student affairs, the co-curriculum, and social justice models such as participatory parity, universal design for learning, and student engagement. keywords assessment; higher education; participatory parity; professionalisation; quality assurance; quality enhancement; reflective practice; scholarship of practice; social justice; student engagement; universal design for learning introduction quality assurance and a commitment to the enhancement of quality in student affairs and services is an integral part of professional practice (mandew, 2003). while quality assurance (qa) generally refers to processes “designed to ensure that specific standards are met and maintained through policies, procedures, monitoring and evaluation”, quality enhancement (qe) is conceptually different in that it focuses on “deliberate, continuous, systematic and measurable improvement” and is meant to facilitate a process to “raise the standards, creating different benchmarks and new standards to be quality assured” (council on higher education [che], 2014, pp. 10–11). both processes are a kind of assessment, i.e. “a systematic and critical process that yields information about what programmes, services, or functions of a student affairs department or division positively contribute to https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:?subject= mailto:?subject= 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 students’ learning and success and which ones should be improved” (bresciani, gardner & hickmott,  2012,  p. 16, in gansemer-topf, 2013, p. 26). unlike the continuous and day-to-day types of assessment done as part of the professional work of student affairs, such as needs assessments, participation and satisfaction surveys, and outcomes assessments (gansemer-topf, 2013, p. 27), qa and qe processes provide a macro-level, meta-assessment of student affairs and services. in the south african context, these processes are particularly important as part of the ongoing process of professionalisation and the need to ensure that as higher education further massifies and diversifies, student affairs plays its distinctive role of focusing on the personal, cognitive and emotional growth and maturation of all students as well as enhancing students’ attainment of graduate attributes and contributing to student engagement and success (kuh, 2009; ludeman, osfield, hildago, oste & wang, 2009; luescher-mamashela, moja & schreiber, 2013). in south africa, a uniform, systematic national approach to qa in higher education was developed and implemented from the early 2000s. however, only its reconceptualisation in line with a qe model in the last five years has included a deliberate focus on student affairs and services (che, 2014, 2016). at the institutional level, a number of south african universities are applying in some functional areas and often for accreditation purposes either the widely used international system of quality assessment in student affairs developed by the american council for the advancement of standards in higher education (cas), or specific assessment tools developed by south african professional councils. a key issue with using cas, as with regard to any qa instruments, is “the transferability of systems established elsewhere in the world” (harvey & williams, 2010). whereas the national qe process of student affairs and services in south africa has been well documented by the che (e.g. che, 2015), there is little literature available as yet on institution-level processes of qa/qe in student affairs in south africa or more widely across the continent. annual reports of certain universities, such as makerere university in uganda, suggest that quality assessments of student affairs are taking place (mak, 2013). however, documentation specific to student affairs is scarce, and there is almost no evidence of reflective student affairs scholarship on the topic coming out of africa. meanwhile, the professionalisation of student affairs requires a reflective scholarship (carpenter & habercurran, 2013) that critically engages with nationaland institutional-level experiences of qa/qe in student affairs and thus adds to the growing knowledge base of student affairs in africa. this article describes and analyses the conceptualisation and implementation of an institutional student affairs qe process at a medium-sized public university in south africa. the student affairs qe review conducted in the course of 2015 was purposed as means to enhance the quality of student affairs and services at that university. the university leadership intended the review to provide evidence of the ‘transformation’ of student affairs in line with strategic goals of the university. the review should therefore show how projects and services had been re-conceived over the term of the outgoing dean in line with the university’s commitments to social justice, reconfigured as co-curricular programmes, and https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 67 were contributing to student engagement, while also producing recommendations for further improvements to this effect. it thus sought to give effect to tinto’s maxim: effective student support does not arise by chance. it is not solely the result of good intentions. rather it requires the development of an intentional, structured, proactive approach that is coherent, systematic and coordinated in nature. (tinto, 2014, p. 17) as a reflection on qe as a student affairs practice at the example of a particular case university, this article considers first the concept and methodology of a reflective scholarship of practice for student affairs in africa. it proposes a definition of a scholarship of practice in student affairs and a method and way of reporting engagement in reflective practice by means of a scholarly article. it thus provides a practical proposal for a contextually relevant, critically reflective scholarship of practice as foundation for the development of theory grounded in student affairs practice. the article then introduces the setting and organisation of student affairs and services at the case university at the time of the review, followed by an outline of the conceptualisation of the student affairs review, the principles underpinning it, and its methodology and implementation. in its third part, the outcomes of the review are discussed with reference to the report of the external review panel, and as part of the final reflections it considers the social justice dimensions of the review, its conception as ‘activist’ review, as well as other learnings that can be derived from the review overall. a reflective scholarship of practice as a methodology in student affairs carpenter and haber-curran (2013) discuss key principles involved in the development of scholarly practice in african student affairs to “promote dataand theory-based intentionality of practice” (p. 1). they argue that scholarly practice requires relevant data and theory that is meaningful in an african context. correspondingly, blumberg (1990) had argued earlier that scholarly practice requires the intentional development of a body of knowledge that is useful to practitioners; one that does not claim universality but is focused on practice itself; one that is specific to the ‘craft’ and yet not esoteric or trivial. based on blumberg’s insightful discussion, a fit-for-purpose scholarship of practice in student affairs therefore involves a number of elements: • a scholarship of practice in student affairs deals with problems that are meaningful to practitioners and that practitioners can experientially relate to; it understands practice as action, as performance, as a deliberate, skilled way of doing things. • it studies practice in a scholarly manner that is intentional and part of a process of learning, academically rigorous and systematic, and that results in trustworthy accounts, analyses, and interpretations. • it can address different kinds of practitioner-relevant knowledges: (1) the nature of the practice and the circumstances it is practised under, and/or (2) matters of practitioners’ self-understanding and personal skills. it does so by means of description, analysis, critical reflection, interpretation, and even speculation. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 • it seeks to attain a body of knowledge that enables practitioners to transfer learning to their own practice reflectively so as to enhance their practice. • it produces the empirical building blocks towards the development of a theory of practice that enables scholars to ask yet better questions and reflective practitioners to understand their practice in ways they have not previously. as a way of translating this conception of a purposeful scholarship of practice in student affairs into the format of a reflective practice article, case studies in morgan’s (2012) book, improving the student experience, provide a worthwhile template to draw on. building on her work, the structure and key components of a reflective practice article could respond to the following points and questions: • contextual information about the higher education system, the institution and its student body, and the student affairs department where a practice is housed; • title and description of the practice, i.e. an intervention, project, initiative, programme or service; • reasons for the practice: why was this practice developed and adopted? what was its purpose and objectives? who was the target group? what outcomes were envisaged? • conceptualisation and implementation of the practice: how was the practice conceived and developed? what was included/excluded? how was the practice implemented? what were its costs (including non-costed issues like time)? how was it managed, monitored and evaluated? • reflections on the practice: what were the outcomes in terms of achieving its purposes? what worked, what did not work, and why? what recommendations for improvement can be made? • reflections on ethics and transferability: what ethical considerations must be noted in relation to the practice? what is the potential of transferring the practice to other target groups or implementing it in different institutional and campus settings? • reflections on the account: what is the trustworthiness of this reflective practice account? what biases may be implicit? how does it contribute to a scholarship of practice in student affairs? what further research may be required? it is with this definition of a scholarship of practice and related method in mind that this article has been developed. this article draws on three sets of data: 1. widely accessible documented data on the higher education system and institution, particularly annual reports, institutional policy documents, and the like; 2. internal university documents specifically developed for the student affairs review at the case institution. while these documents are not publicly available (e.g. not uploaded on the institutional website), they have been distributed internally and are in no sense ‘classified’ and can be distributed without restriction; and 3. personal insights into the review process. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 69 at the time, i was responsible for institutional research at the case university and tasked by the university leadership and qa directorate to conceptualise and implement the student affairs qe review together with the leadership and practitioners of student affairs at the university, as well as other stakeholders. this article is therefore strictly speaking not the reflection of a student affairs practitioner but that of an institutional researcher-cum-qe practitioner at the case university. student affairs and services at the case university in the year preceding its student affairs qe review, the case university celebrated 110 years of existence during which it had become a medium-sized public university operating from two metropolitan campuses in a provincial capital of south africa and a smaller campus in a rural part of the province. its student body was made up of just over 31 000 registered students, of which 73% were undergraduate, 22% postgraduate and 5% occasional students; 2 092 were international students, and 2 200 in campus-based residences (and many more in private off-campus student residences and privately rented accommodation surrounding the campuses) (ufs, 2014, p. 10). overall the student body was starting to reflect the demographic composition of wider south african society. having been designated during apartheid as exclusively white, afrikaans-tuition university, the institution was amongst the public universities in south africa to undergo a set of far-reaching changes, including an ongoing process of language policy review (e.g. van der merwe & van reenen, 2016). in the early 1990s, after the removal of restrictions on access for black students, the institution adopted a dual english/afrikaans tuition model and thereafter admitted increasingly larger numbers of black students. in the early 2000s, the originally white metropolitan campus was merged with two smaller campuses of historically black universities in a deliberate attempt by the national government to break with “the geopolitical imagination of apartheid” in the higher education sector (asmal, 2002, p. 1). by 2014, the racial composition of the student body had changed in such a way that black students made up 71% and female students 62% of the student body. in contrast, the vast majority of permanent academic and student affairs staff remained white and male (dirap, 2016, pp. 9–10). student support services were delivered primarily by three independent units: student academic services, the division of student affairs (dsa), and a centre for teaching and learning. the dsa, headed by a dean of student affairs, reported directly to a vicerector/deputy vice-chancellor responsible for academic and student affairs. the dsa was internally structured into several units and departments, respectively responsible for student governance, student life and leadership (including student media, arts and culture, and leadership development), student housing and residence affairs (including eight clusters of student residences called ‘student life colleges’), student counselling and development, a unit for students with disabilities, and a unit for careers development (dean of student affairs, 2014; ufs, 2015, p. 61; see figure 1). 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 student leadership development student arts & culture student rag community service student volunteers & projects student media counselling services assessment services development workshops faculty advising crisis & trauma response inter-intra-varsity student life colleges gateway fy college student learning communities student affairs bursary awards career advice services faculty career fairs career skills development student entrepreneurship career network develpment c / src elections & oversight cec / iea / iec student councils constitutions external liaison student housing & placement guest & conference housing housing services student residence life health & social services student development housing & residence affairs student sport student support services faculty & institutional advising campus universal access disability awareness student governance housing & residence affairs qwaqwa student affairs students with disabilities student life & leadership counselling & development sa management forum careers development south campus student affairs kovsie sport protection services health & wellness dvc: academic dean of student affairs figure 1: organisational structure of the dsa [source: dean of student affairs, 2014] student affairs at the case university was an institutional function operating across the three campuses, with an emphasis (or rather bias) towards the metropolitan, historically white campus. moreover, a few years ago, the university had notionally established eight student life colleges as clusters of existing on-campus residences and day student houses, which were meant to act as the delivery sites of the student affairs co-curriculum. however, in reality the ‘old’ centralised structure of student affairs and service model remained operationally dominant and responsible for the delivering of services, training and projects in a traditional centralised ‘service model’ manner, following the functional areas of student affairs (see figure 1). the restructuring of student affairs in alignment with the college life model and a co-curriculation of student affairs were considered ongoing processes. conceptualising the review given that the dean of student affairs, who had been put in place in the wake of a widely publicised racist incident at the university in 2009 (i.e. the ‘reitz incident’ analysed in detail in van der merwe and van reenen, 2016), was leaving the institution by the end of 2014, an assessment of progress made by the dsa in terms of its transformation was timely. the dsa strategic plan sought to position its core student life function as part of “the heartbeat of the transformation process within various student cohorts” (dsa, 2013, p. 6). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 71 meanwhile, there was a concern by a new vice-rector responsible for academic and student affairs that the dsa transformation was strong on claims and weak on evidence. a  qe review would ensure that the rectorate knew exactly what was being handed over to a new dean due to be appointed in the course of 2015. the institutional qa directorate, which facilitates the process of quality reviews at the university, was tasked to drive the conceptualisation and implementation of a student affairs qe review in collaboration with the dsa and to account for its outcomes to the responsible vice-rector. the student affairs review was conceived in line with the university’s general institutional qe framework (dirap, 2014), which outlines the rationale and conceptual and practical principles for qe at the university across its academic core functions. the same also apply to quality reviews of administrative and support functions of the institution, and the framework had previously been applied to a review of the university’s library and information services. within that broad framework, the student affairs review methodology followed closely that of the university’s guidelines for the institutional curriculum review (dirap, 2012). it was therefore based on qe guidelines originally developed for academic learning programmes. this implied that the co-curricular programmes of the dsa ought to be comparable to the curricular programmes offered in the faculties. as starting points, a set of process principles and substantive review principles were elaborated in collaboration between the university’s qa directorate and the dsa. the six process principles to guide the operationalisation of the review were: peer review; honesty and openness; accountability; collegial leadership; programme focus; and knowledgebased improvement (dirap, 2015, p. 5). the ten substantive review principles contained in the guidelines for the student affairs review acted as high-level assessment criteria (dirap, 2015). they were more contextual to the specific situation of the university, more normative and evidently conceptualised to steer the thinking of student affairs practitioners into key directions. a key area of assessment was to be the dsa’s contribution to human reconciliation or what the university called its ‘human project’. commitments to equity and social justice also informed principles such as open and comprehensive access (to student affairs programmes) and the notion of pathways of lived experience. the assessment should consider the extent to which all students1 have equal access and opportunity to participate, diversity of perspectives in programmes and achieve programme goals; and therefore that programmes are designed to serve a cross-section of students that is representative in terms of the demographics of the student body. the principle of broader and higher impact focused the assessment not only on questions of efficiency, effectiveness and value for money, but also prompted the focus on enhancing student success – both in specific academic terms as well as with respect to a number of civic graduate attributes – in line with the assessment principle of student engagement. the 1 the listing of relevant demographic characteristics in the guidelines is extensive and includes: race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth; as well as academic qualification, discipline, and year of study. 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 question here was to reflect on ways in which student affairs programmes enhance student engagement, for instance, by means of using ‘high-impact practices’ (hips).2 the idea of co-curriculation infused in the qe review was prominent and meant to provide a way of re-conceptualising student affairs towards strengthening the delivery of interventions as part of co-curricular programmes in support of fostering graduate attributes.3 related principles included co-curricular integrity and alignment with graduate attributes and the notions of progression and combination. the argument was that the endpoint of all student affairs restructuring should be a ‘seamless’ co-curriculum (compare moja & france, 2015). the final two substantive principles for the qe review focused respectively on students and staff. the principles of student-centredness and responsiveness to special needs required evidence to demonstrate the responsiveness of student affairs programmes to student interests and needs. the principles of professionalism and quality then spoke to the idea that the review ought to enhance the professionalism of student affairs practitioners. operationalisation from the perspective of the practitioners involved in the actual review, the most important part of the guidelines for the student affairs review were the so-called ‘focus areas’. the outline of focus areas provided specific instructions for conducting a self-evaluation of all offerings, and the structure of self-evaluation reports. firstly, it required that departmental ad-hoc task teams were constituted to prepare a complete list of all programmes and activities per department; a list of evidence collected for self-evaluation including existing policies, strategic or action plans, milestones and goals, monitoring data and other evidence of performance such as evaluation surveys, student data and evaluations, etc; and a fourto six-page-long self-evaluation report per programme. in this manner, every department was required to self-evaluate its offerings using the points and questions listed by focus area (see box 1; dirap, 2015, pp. 10–11). implementing the review the pre-review process unfolded with initial meetings in late 2014 between the outgoing dean of student affairs, the incoming acting dean of student affairs, the vice-rector: academic and student affairs, and the assistant director for institutional research in the university’s qa directorate who led the process. during these meetings, subsequent drafts of the guidelines for the student affairs review were discussed. given the ambitiousness of the qe process, 2 student engagement is defined as “the time and effort students devote to activities that are empirically linked to desired outcomes of college and what institutions do to induce students to participate in these activities” (kuh, 2009, p. 683). it involves aspects of academic engagement and social integration, as well as social and political engagement (e.g. pascarella & terenzini, 2005; kuh, 2009; strydom & mentz, 2010; luescher-mamashela et al., 2015). 3 the graduate attributes proposed in the case university include: (1) scholarship; (2) active glocal citizens; (3) lifelong learning; (4) inquiry focused and critical; (5) academic and professional competence; (6) effective knowledge worker; and (7) leaders in communities. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 73 box 1: self-evaluation focus area focus 1: design of the programme  illustrate how the programme reflects the interests/needs of students.  describe the purpose, objectives, and strategies of this programme.  does the programme meet specific requirements of national policy and legislation and/or of national/international professional associations in this area of student affairs (if applicable)?  compare the purpose and type of programme to the applicable cas standards and criteria. (this is optional and must be done separately.)  is the programme an integral part of the co-curriculum of the ufs? consider: how do the programme design and intended outcomes fit into the bigger picture of the co-curriculum and the academic curriculum? specify the following: • appropriate programme title • intended learning outcomes and/or graduate attributes to be fostered • target students: numbers, year(s) of study, special constituencies; assess the actual number and representivity of participants with programme goals • articulation with other co-curricular and curricular programmes, e.g. ufs gateway programme; ufs101; other relevant curricular and co-curricular programmes. • methodology of programme delivery  discuss the effectiveness of the programme in attaining identified objectives/outcomes and attributes: • to what extent are the identified purpose and objectives met and intended learning outcomes and graduate attributes attained? what evidence exists to substantiate this or, in other words, how do you know what you have done well? • what challenges and obstacles do the department/office face in accomplishing programme objectives? • what has been accomplished and done well? • what is needed to achieve objectives and what are your ideas for the future of the programme (especially in relation to the restructured, student life college-based student affairs)?  explain how the department addresses the issues of: • professionalism and quality • knowledge-based improvement focus 2: integration in the co-curriculum, college structure, and articulation  does the programme articulate/integrate with the totality of the co-curriculum? illustrate how the programme (and its activities, events) forms part of a coherent co-curriculum that provides for meaningful articulation with cognate curricular/co-curricular programmes, including those offered by ctl (e.g. ufs 101).  explain how the programme enables combinations with other programmes and progression towards the attainment of graduate attributes.  reflect on the programme’s current institutional location in our office and department; its relation to the structure of student life colleges; and its relation to other structures in the curricular and co-curricular space.  reflect on the department’s capacity to offer the programme, including the possibility of upscaling and enhancing the programme to reach a broader student population and have a higher impact (also see below). focus 3: human reconciliation and student engagement  demonstrate how the programme acknowledges the importance of human reconciliation by reflecting on: • the content and strategies of programme delivery in relation to the ufs human project. • the programme purpose, outcomes and types of assessment/evaluation. • integration of human reconciliation in students’ lived experience; pathways of lived experience; diversity of perspectives (see ‘substantive principles of review’ above).  does the programme target any specific groups of students? reflect on the suitability of limiting access to participation in the programme in terms of: • principles of open and comprehensive access; effective provision with broader and higher impact; responsiveness to student interests and needs (including special needs) (see ‘substantive principles of review’ above). • resource needs (current costs; capacity constraints; costs of a potential upscaling).  reflect on ways the programme enhances student engagement. • how does the programme relate to and impact on students’ academic success? • does the methodology of programme delivery involve any high-impact practices of student engagement (such as staff-student interaction; first-year seminars; learning communities; meaningful engagement with diverse others; etc.)? • how does it relate to the development of high level graduate competences such as critical thinking skills, leadership skills, civic skills, diversity and social skills (cf. proposed graduate attributes). [source: dirap (2015, pp. 10–11] 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 it was clear to all that this would be a laborious undertaking. two staff members – one in the dean’s office and another in the qa directorate – were assigned full-time to work on the review and support student affairs unit heads and staff in the process. in addition, a budget of about r100 000 (usd 8 000) was set aside for the visit of the external panel, to cover all travel costs as well as honoraria for the panel members. as part of the pre-review process, the qa directorate made several presentations to the student affairs management forum, i.e. a forum of all heads of departments and units in the dsa, and upon invitation, to the individual departments and units included in the qe review. it was also during these meetings that some of the issues arising – including fears of retrenchments – could be addressed. almost all student affairs core units were included in the review: • the office of the dean of student affairs, including but not limited to the dsa secretariat; the student affairs management forum; the student affairs research desk; the student bursary awards; as well as student governance. • department of student life, which was responsible for the first-year orientation programme “gateway”; student leadership development; student arts and culture; student community service programmes “receive and give/rag”; student volunteers and projects; student media (including the student-run radio and tv station); the “no student hungry” campaign; and other programmes and activities. • department of residence life, including the structures and programmes of the student life colleges, as well as its peer mentoring programme. • department of health and wellness, especially including all programmes related to student health and wellness. • student affairs and services offered on the two satellite campuses of the university, including the areas and related units reviewed on the main campus. • the unit for students with disabilities programmes and student counselling and development, which also included careers development, asked to be voluntarily included in this review. the review excluded programmes in student housing and residence affairs other than those offered by the department of residence life. it also excluded the departments responsible for student sport and protection services. amongst the reasons for this exclusion were that these departments reported to the vice-rector: operations, rather than via the dean of student affairs to the vice-rector: student affairs. the structures of student government, such as the central students’ representative council (src), the campus srcs, and student government structures in student residences, faculties and departments were also excluded and eventually reviewed separately a year later. overall, the student affairs review was implemented in a two-phase process that officially started in february 2015 and was concluded in august of the same year. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 75 review process the process of evaluation comprised two phases: a self-evaluation of programmes (phase 1) conducted by the student affairs practitioners themselves; and an external review involving a visiting panel of expert peers (phase 2). the full process is outlined in figure 2. discussions & short-term response external review report external evaluation self-evaluation reports student affairs review pre-process departmental self-evaluation identify programmes, study guidelines, data collection improvement plan monitoring plan figure 2: student affairs review process [source: dirap, 2015, p. 13] phase 1: self-evaluation the process of self-review involved that all units formed task teams to evaluate their programmes in terms of the principles and objectives of the review, using the three focus areas as specific guidelines and template. in addition, it was initially proposed that the acting dean of student affairs, in consultation with programme coordinators, would assist departments in identifying relevant cas standards. a cas standards-related evaluation exercise parallel to the assessment in line with the focus areas (box 1 above) was meant to provide a platform for an (international standards-based) critique in addition to the specific foci of the review. however, most departmental task teams opted not to use the cas standards but to only use the internal review guidelines. the task teams were appointed by the head of each department and comprised a programme coordinator and others involved in the delivery of a programme (or intervention, activity, project or service) and, as far as possible, a student leader and a programme alumnus as a way of incorporating the student voice in the process. thus, phase 1, as a process of self-review, affirmed the professional responsibilities of student affairs practitioners and enabled them to take ownership of the process and accordingly facilitate 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 a trustworthy review. all self-evaluation reports were concluded and submitted to the qa directorate within three months (by may 2015), following which they were edited and put into a uniform format to be submitted to the members of the external evaluation panel. phase 2: external panel evaluation the purpose of the external peer review was to provide a holistic, external, expert view of student affairs provision at the case university, including commendations of good practice and recommendations for improvement. for this purpose, an external evaluation panel was constituted which originally comprised of six peers selected to have collectively professional and/or academic expertise of all the areas of student affairs under review. additional appointment criteria were that they needed to have prior assessment experience, a good understanding of the south african and university-specific context, and be representative demographically in terms of race and gender. on the advice of the qa directorate and in consultation with the acting dean and the student affairs management forum, the vice-rector appointed: a retired vice-rector of a south african university as chair of the panel; a director of student affairs of a south african university; the author of the student affairs ‘bible’ a guide to student services in south africa (2003) who at the time was campus director of a university of technology; a clinical psychologist who was director of a local university’s centre for student support; an american expert in student affairs and professor of educational leadership working at a university in california; and the director of qa of an east african flagship university. eventually, only the first five were able to participate in the panel. the panel was provided with summaries of the self-evaluation reports ahead of their site visit. the actual site visit was conducted over a week in june 2015. during their intense time on campus, the panel members perused the self-evaluation reports and related evidence in detail, visited a number of departments, interviewed student affairs staff, students and student leaders, and had meetings with the university leadership. outcomes of the review the external qe panel concluded its work in august 2015 by submitting a 30-page report to the qa directorate. amongst its first set of recommendations was that student affairs at the university needed to build “a strong and intellectually respected identity” (external panel 2015, p. 14) and its discourse, culture and practices had to become part of the institutional culture and practices (p. 18). the panel proposed that student affairs adopts a theoretical change-behaviour model for changing the institutional and student culture of the university (p. 16). for this purpose, not only governance and management changes would have to be introduced but there was a need to develop an overarching strategic plan for student affairs aligned to the university’s strategic plan (p. 11), campus-specific strategic plans, and a better integration of the dsa across all campuses and units (p. 14). the latter would also help to create a sense of common purpose and belonging across all campuses and eventually ensure equivalence in facilities, resourcing and service provision across all campuses (pp. 10–11). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 77 the co-curriculation of dsa offerings and its interface with the academic curriculum featured strongly in the report. the panel recommended that the dsa conducts a rigorous design, conceptualisation, implementation, and assessment of programmes (p. 15) and ensures that its co-curricular programmes would be informed by a critical pedagogy, that they would be evidence-based and research-driven. it would need to identify high-impact practices and have ongoing qe processes (p. 13). in the process, the dsa should reduce the overall number of student affairs programmes, invest in fewer, stronger, and better designed programmes (p. 15), and create a deliberate, ‘hard’ interface between the student affairs co-curriculum and the academic curriculum (p. 13). it argued that such a ‘hard’ interface would be easy to create with the formal curriculum as regards, for example, student affairs arts and culture and the academic departments of fine arts, drama and theatre arts; student affairs media and the academic department of communication sciences, student affairs volunteerism and the directorate for community engagement, and so forth. (p. 15) with regard to the college model, the panel argued that the dsa should not consider day students as ‘appendages’ to the residence system, but consider the development of a day students/commuter students’ resource centre and related programmes (informed inter alia by needs assessment studies) (p. 7). the college model was seen as an opportunity to emphasise “an academic focus, cultural theme, social justice emphasis, environmental ecological lens, wellness scope, etc.” in the creation of student learning communities (pp. 5–7). finally, with respect to the professionalisation of student affairs, the report argued that a new, yet to be appointed dean of student affairs should have a doctoral qualification. collaborations with research and academic units on campus should be harnessed to develop programmes and training programmes on building community, anti-racism, reconciliation, etc. (p.  15). the university’s school of higher education studies, in turn, was named as the place to develop short learning courses for dsa staff and eventually professional qualifications focused on student affairs to contribute to the professionalisation of student affairs at the university and beyond (p. 8). final reflections in keeping with the purposes of a reflective practice account, a number of matters deserve deeper consideration and reflection. they include substantive matters related to the conceptualisation of the qe review, like the way it sought to give effect to notions of social justice, the pitfall of conceiving a qe process too much in activist terms, and processspecific matters such as the locus of accountability in the implementation of an institutional qe review. social justice and the qe review the place of social justice in assessment has received growing attention in scholarly literature on learning assessment (e.g. mcarthur, 2016). in context-specific student affairs literature, schreiber (2014, p. 211) has recently proposed participatory parity, universal design for learning (udl), and student engagement, as three conceptual models to enhance student affairs’ contribution to social justice in south africa. 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 she notes that participatory parity involves that student affairs must “create opportunities for people to participate on an equal footing” and that a transformative, social justice approach to student affairs must address the “underlying social structures that [continue to] generate these inequities” (bozalek & carolissen, 2014, pp. 15–16, in schreiber, 2014, p. 214). this implies that “we need to organise student support services and programs in such a way that all students have equal opportunity to interact and participate in them” (schreiber, 2014, p. 214). with respect to udl, schreiber argues that udl “affirms students’ diversity and promotes flexible learning environments as a normative framework to accommodate the range of individual styles of learning and development”. in the practice of student affairs it requires “multiple means of representation”, “multiple means of expression”, and “enticing students to engage in support and development via multiple routes”. udl thus requires that student affairs services and programmes “span the range of interactions, modalities, styles, and media” so as to reach a diversity of students (schreiber, 2014, p. 215). thirdly, the student engagement model implies that student affairs work must become increasingly “integrated into and articulated with the academic life of the institution”. schreiber argues that there is ample evidence in the literature to show that “the goals of student engagement serve the goals of equity and participation, especially if the engagement framework is conceptualised beyond the normative and focuses on those specific groups for whom engagement with and connection to the academic environment is already a challenge” (schreiber, 2014, p. 216). especially groups of students that do not fit the ‘traditional’ student model need to be reached with newly designed institutional strategies and interventions that promote engagement. the promotion of student engagement in student affairs thus involves bringing on board previously excluded and marginalised student groups, creating opportunities for active and collaborative learning, and promoting learning communities, diverse relationships and affirmative and formative modes of communication amongst students and between staff and students (schreiber, 2014, p. 216). it is evident that the student affairs qe review at the case university did not only seek to assess progress of dsa programmes and services towards social justice goals. rather, by its very conceptualisation and implementation, it sought to actively steer a reconceptualisation of student affairs at the case university towards social justice models and goals. given the university’s history of institutionalised racism, racial and ethnic exclusion, social justice concerns and particularly redress based on race, gender and sexual orientation, and overall the integration of human reconciliation in students’ lived experience has been a key area of the strategic re-direction of the institution since 2009. participatory parity and udl principles of open and comprehensive access, the notion of pathways of lived experience and the assessment principle that all students should have equal access and opportunity to participate in programmes and achieve programme goals, and therefore that programmes ought to be designed to serve a cross-section of students that is representative in terms of the demographics of the student body, illustrate this point. similarly, the assessment principle of diversity of perspectives required reflection in the process of review on the extent to which a programme was oriented towards introducing https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 79 students to the complexities of living in a diverse, multi-cultural, democratic society, and thus to learn to think critically. the assessment principle of broader and higher impact focused the review on questions of participation and student engagement, to move away from a plethora of expensive boutique offerings (many of which were only accessible to the small number of on-campus resident students and a legacy of the university’s afrikaner institutional culture). a future suite of programme offerings thus ought to comprise a smaller number of culturally inclusive high-impact programmes/activities offered more costeffectively to an upscaled number of students that reflect the diversity in the student body. the latter was also a recommendation by the external review panel. with all this in mind, the review thus sought to assess current practice in social justice terms and use social justice concerns for improvement purposes. the pitfalls of designing a ‘home-grown’, ‘activist’ review along with the intention to enhance the uptake of social justice models and practices in the dsa, the qe review sought to contribute to professionalisation by emphasising process principles such as peer review, collegiality, professionalism and evidence-based improvement. these two aspects of the change orientation may well be seen as a normal part of the ‘activist’ intervention of enhancement-focused reviews in the student affairs domain. however, the ‘activist’ nature of the review went beyond this and overall faced three conceptual problems. firstly, the idea that distinct project activities and services should be reviewed as if they were elements of a co-curricular programme turned out to be ill-conceived. by the time of the review, the dsa had actually not reconfigured its diverse offerings as co-curricular programmes. rather, student affairs had continued to operate in departmental ‘silos’, each offering a distinct and traditional set of projects, training interventions and services. in most cases they had not been designed as a co-curriculum that constructively aligns intended (learning) outcomes with related learning and assessment activities, articulates with other academic and co-curricular offerings, and articulates in terms of progression and combination with other offerings (e.g. biggs & tang, 2007). if there was a sense of progression, this was merely within a distinct set of offerings (e.g. in student leadership development where participation in one offering could require prior participation in another offering). as the external panel also pointed out, there was little to no communication and collaboration with the faculties and academic development centre, and thus no sense of an ‘interface’ between the academic curriculum and what could eventually become the co-curriculum in student affairs (with the exception of careers development, gateway, and student governance, which necessarily coordinated some offerings with faculty structures). expecting the review to reconceptualise in its self-evaluation what student affairs did in co-curricular terms and then assess it as if it operated in co-curricular terms, contradicted the idea of reviewing what is rather than what should be. in this respect, the qa directorate sought to do what the dsa had failed to achieve since 2009: a comprehensive redesigning of student affairs in line with social justice models, a new theory of change, and the co-curriculation thereof. 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 65–83 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 a second pitfall manifested in relation to the principle of accountability built into the process, which it turned out mainly worked bottom-up, but not top down. too little emphasis was on the accountability of the university and student affairs leadership as to what will happen with the outcomes of the review process. one matter could be resolved: ahead of, and during the review, several student affairs staff expressed the fear that the review could lead to retrenchments. these fears were allayed in staff meetings of the dsa and by an address of the vice-rector to the student affairs management forum in the course of the review. however, at the end of the review, a lack of accountability of the top university leadership to the dsa revealed itself in another, major way. when the student affairs portfolio was shifted unexpectedly to a different vice-rector, the external panel report and its recommendations were shelved. the new vice-rector did not recognise the importance of the work done. the focus rather turned to crisis management in the face of an escalation of student protests at the university in early 2016, as the #feesmustfall and #endoutsourcing campaigns of the src and the free education movement turned violent (luescher, loader & mugume, 2017). nonetheless, while the review itself did not result in an explicit improvement and monitoring plan as envisaged in the process guidelines (see figure 2 above), the newly appointed dean of student affairs eventually took many of the external panel recommendations on board when he developed an integrated strategic plan for the dsa (see dsa, 2016a, 2016b). thirdly, the attempt to do a parallel assessment using cas standards in addition to the ‘home-grown’ assessment based on the internal guidelines and focus areas outlined in the guidelines for the student affairs review clearly failed. student affairs practitioners gave three reasons for having opted out of doing a cas-based assessment: workload, lack of training and support, and relevance. with regard to the first two, staff noted that the compulsory assessment based on the internal guidelines was already onerous and in addition to normal workloads. they also argued that using an advanced system like cas required training and support, which was not available to them at such short notice. finally, in terms of relevance, the argument was that the ‘home-grown’, internal guidelines were clearly highly applicable to the university context and dsa’s strategic repositioning; meanwhile the contextual applicability of cas standards would require an in-depth consideration, which again needed time and effort that was beyond the review’s timelines. the lesson is that in both cases, ‘home-grown’ and adapted international review methodologies, adequate resourcing is required for their successful conceptualisation and implementation, including staff training, staff time allocation, and finances. conclusion the scholarly documentation of student affairs practices in higher education in africa is an important process in its professionalisation. this article has sought to make a two-fold contribution by conceptualising a reflective scholarship of practice and related method for producing context-relevant reflective practitioner accounts on student affairs, and then producing such a reflection at the example of a qe review in a south african university. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 81 the article describes and reflects on the conceptualisation, operationalisation and implementation of a ‘home-grown’, ‘activist’ student affairs qe review in a south african university in detail. it shows how the review sought to focus on key issues in the south african context and the context of the case university: social justice, the co-curriculation of student affairs services, and professionalisation. it thus provides a practice-relevant empirical example of an institutional qe process in student affairs while also reflecting on the pitfalls that may be encountered along the way. acknowledgements i am grateful to mr vhugala nthakheni for comments on parts of an earlier version of the manuscript and for the comments received from the jsaa editor and peer reviewers. disclosure of interests and funding this is a personal reflection and my own involvement in the process of the qe review has been referred to in the article. i have no financial or non-financial interests in this study. no external funds were provided for the research. i am grateful to the hsrc for availing the time to conduct this reflection. references asmal, k. 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(2013). towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(1&2), vii–xiii. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 luescher-mamashela, t.m., ssembatya, v., brooks, e., lange, r.s., mugume, t. & richmond, s. (2015). student engagement and citizenship competences in african universities. in: n. cloete, p. maassen & t. bailey (eds.), knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education (african higher education dynamics series vol. 1). cape town and maputo: african minds. makerere university (mak) (2013). makerere university self-assessment report, october 2013. kampala: makerere university, directorate of quality assurance. mandew, m. (2003). a guide to student services in south africa. pretoria: chet. mcarthur, j. (2016). assessment for social justice: the role of assessment in achieving social justice. assessment & evaluation in higher education, 41(7), 967–981. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2 015.1053429 morgan, m. (2012). improving the student experience: a practical guide for universities and colleges. london and new york: routledge. moja, t. & france, m. (2014). creating seamless connections: intersecting the social and academic lives of students. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(1), 79–82. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.55 pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (2005). how college affects students. san francisco, ca.: jossey-bass publishers. schreiber, b. (2014). the role of student affairs in promoting social justice in south africa. journal of college & character, 15(4), 211–218. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2014-0026 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider43/default-document-library/dsa-strategy-framework-2017-2022.pdf?sfvrsn=31d3d121_0 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider43/default-document-library/dsa-strategy-framework-2017-2022.pdf?sfvrsn=31d3d121_0 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider43/student-affairs-documents/student-affairs-strategic-plan-2017---2022.pdf?sfvrsn=c917dc21_0 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider43/student-affairs-documents/student-affairs-strategic-plan-2017---2022.pdf?sfvrsn=c917dc21_0 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.33 https://doi.org/10.1080/0260293930180102 https://doi.org/10.1080/13538321003679457 https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0099 https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2016.1238644 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1053429 https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1053429 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.55 https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2014-0026 thierry luescher: quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a ref lective case study … 83 speckman, m., mandew, m. & bodibe, c. (2014). student affairs in south africa. cape town, south africa: african minds publisher. strydom, j.f. & mentz, m. (2010). south african survey of student engagement (sasse) – focusing the student experience on success through student engagement. pretoria: council on higher education (che). tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south africa lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5–28. https://doi. org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 ufs (university of the free state) (2011). university of the free state strategic plan, 2012–2016. bloemfontein/mangaung: ufs. ufs (university of the free state) (2014). integrated report 2014, university of the free state. bloemfontein/ mangaung: ufs. van der merwe, j.c. & van reenen, d. (2016). transformation and legitimation in post-apartheid universities: reading discourses from ‘reitz’. bloemfontein: sun press. sdg. https://doi.org/10.188 20/9781920382612 how to cite: luescher, t.m. (2018). quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a reflective case study from south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 65–83. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v6i2.3310 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920382612 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920382612 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 89–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2487 89 www.jsaa.ac.za * jennifer a. hamilton is the executive director of the canadian association of college & university student services (cacuss). email: cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca book review osfield, k.j., perozzi, b., bardill moscaritolo, l. & shea, r. (2016). supporting students globally in higher education. washington, d.c.: naspa. reviewed by jennifer a. hamilton* the growth in opportunities for learning between international practitioners of student affairs and services has been exciting over the last number of years. as international students have increased in number on our campuses, and as local issues become global issues, the need for dialogue and sharing amongst student affairs professionals from different geographical regions is crucial. professional associations based in the united states (acpa, naspa) and elsewhere have included international symposia, pre-conference workshops, and knowledge communities that focus on global issues and internationalisation at their conferences for some time. the creation and chartering of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) formalised the opportunity for those from different regions to engage with one another on shared interests. and in 2012, 2014 and 2016, naspa and iasas joined together in inviting international professionals together for the “global summit on student affairs and services”. this volume is a testament to those efforts and the growing professionalisation of student affairs in many parts of the world. the volume’s stated primary focus is “how student affairs professionals can provide students with the best student service opportunities possible”, (p. ix) and to examine student affairs and services in the worldwide context. it is divided into three sections: ‘an interconnected and interdependent world’; ‘helping ourselves to help our students succeed’,  and ‘responsible global interaction’. taking on the topic of “supporting students globally” is a big issue and the title might suggest that this volume is meant for practitioners who have international student services or student exchange programmes in their portfolios. this volume may be of interest to those professional staff, but it is not meant to be a “how to” for supporting students, despite its title. in my assessment, this volume is directed at one of the following three audiences: • student affairs professionals working in international student services who are looking to expand their professional knowledge beyond their day-to-day roles; • those who are highly involved in student affairs professional associations; and • general student affairs practitioners or faculty from various countries interested in learning from others and gaining some perspective on international issues. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:cacuss-ed%40cacuss.ca?subject= 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 89–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2487 the volume has a number of strong chapters and in particular – beginning with the end – the appendices are an excellent reference bringing together over 60 pages of international organisations both alphabetically and by country. these are an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to do research, outreach, engage in conversations about possible exchanges or learn about a particular country and its system of post secondary education. it is already a well-thumbed section of my own copy. the volume also does a good job in chapter  2, ‘the global dialogue’, documenting evolution and execution of the global summit. while it may not be of interest to all practitioners, it is an important way to archive what transpired in a volume such as this. chapter 7, on intercultural competence, is a useful summary of an importance competence for both ourselves as professionals and for our students. chapters 8 and 10 are also helpful in examining exchange programmes for both staff and graduate students. chapter 11 looks at the emerging trend of “branch campuses” and how student affairs may be structured in hybrid ways in those unique institutions. chapter  12 does an excellent job of considering student mobility and its impact on the campus and the student. it is well researched and well written. while it is not possible to summarise each and every chapter, there are several which cover unique topics not covered in other books and journals. overall, it does well in attempting to shift the conversation about student affairs into the international arena. however, its lofty goals end up with a volume that is a bit disjointed and with a lack of focus. it isn’t clear that the central thesis ties all the chapters or the sections together. the book has multiple purposes and multiple audiences and it may not deliver or meet expectations in any one particular area. one may be left looking for answers to questions such as “how do we support students globally?” in other places. another criticism is the lack of diversity of the chapter authors. of the 30, the majority are from north america (with half from the u.s.). although several authors have some exposure to international experiences, there is a missing analysis of the impact of mostly dominant-culture voices and the potential for the colonising of the dialogue about the profession from a north american perspective. because professional practice, graduate preparation and research in the united states is so very strong, we have all benefited from the shared knowledge of our american colleagues. we could work harder to invite more voices from countries outside of the u.s. and canada to lend perspective on some of the deeper issues. on the positive side, the book could help the student affairs practitioner consider the many ways in which we might be more globally minded, gives an introduction to many subjects in the global higher education space, and points to several resources for learning more. the book also leaves us with some great resources and an opportunity to explore further research. areas that could be explored include the intercultural competency of student affairs professionals, a deeper examination and empirical review of trends, rather than listing individual countries as chapter 14 summarises. there is so much potential for exploring issues that may impact all of our students regardless of country or campus. collaborative and comparative research is needed in areas such as employability, access, learning outcomes, rising costs/funding, participation jennifer a. hamilton: supporting students globally in higher education 91 and success of racialised and marginalised students, sexual violence (and other forms of violence), civility, and promising practices and structures which engage faculty. having truly international research and reflection about these issues would be stimulating. i applaud the editors, authors, naspa and iasas for bringing together the excellent authors for this much anticipated book about the broad range of issues of an international nature in student affairs work. the volume offers the invitation for us to consider our work in different contexts and to reach beyond our borders to be better at our work and support the success of our students. this is an important job not only for those working in international student services, but for all of us. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, v–xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 v www.jsaa.ac.za guest editorial space, language and identity politics in higher education philippa tumubweinee* & thierry m. luescher** * dr philippa tumubweinee is an architect and head of the school of architecture and geomatics, university of cape town, south africa. email: philippa.tumubweinee@uct.ac.za ** prof. thierry m. luescher is research director in the human sciences research council, cape town, and associate professor of higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung/ bloemfontein, south africa. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za as a way of introducing the theme tackled by this guest-edited issue of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa), it is worthwhile to pose a question, albeit a rhetorical one: why would a journal dedicated to theoretical, practical and reflective contributions on student affairs entertain a special issue on space, language and identity politics in higher education? an answer to this may be found in an exposition by benedict anderson (2006) in imagined communities. anderson argues: communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined. (anderson, 2006, p. 7) in anderson’s view, style has the potential of producing further assumptions about space and time. the notion of style in our case, it may be argued, refers to the jsaa which is the medium through which the student affairs discourse is presented; grounded in and in reference to the intellectual and technical resources that represent an “imagined community” of student affairs in higher education across africa. it is instructive that the representation under reference occurs primarily through the medium of a code: language. notwithstanding the shared language and platform, in the imagined community created by jsaa, the multitude of actors participating in the professional and scholarly student affairs discourse are nonetheless bounded by space and time. we are connected by the same encircled, fixed landscape within which we simultaneously exist. in following this logic through, the simultaneities of space and time exemplified by jsaa are at the heart of the ways in which actors in the student affairs community across the continent consider themselves part of a community and build an identity informed in an imagined community. by design, the special issue will address itself to the post-colonial time and the space of higher education in geographical regions with a colonial legacy. the contributions in the guest-edited issue singularly and collectively grapple with the nuances attendant to the intersections between space, language and identity politics in higher education in geographical regions with a colonial history. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:philippa.tumubweinee%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:tluescher%40hsrc.ac.za?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, v-xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 overview of the articles in this issue in the south african context, the politics of space, language and identity in higher education have been brought into sharp focus by the 2015/16 student movement. it is largely due to the student movement and campaigns like #rhodesmustfall, #openstellenbosch, #afrikaansmustfall, #feesmustfall and #rureferencelist, to name but a few,1 that the debates of the mid and late 1990s on the africanisation of higher education and curriculum reform, the transformation of institutional cultures, and the meanings and implications of advantage and disadvantage in higher education, are receiving renewed attention. all the articles in this guest-edited issue respond in various ways to matters raised in the course of the 2015/16 student movement or attribute the political salience of their analysis to concerns raised by various student campaigns since 2015. the opening article by philippa tumubweinee and thierry m. luescher called ‘inserting space into the transformation of higher education’ focuses specifically on the significance of space in the transformation of higher education. in this article, we argue that the concept of social space can provide the conceptual tools for reframing policy and designing new policy interventions in pursuit of higher education transformation goals. we start out by arguing against a notion of space merely as physical infrastructure or a void to be filled. rather, in keeping with lefebvre and others, we conceptualise a ‘sociopolitical’ notion of space as socially produced and as co-producer of the social. using this understanding of space, we conduct an analysis of four national cornerstone policy documents on higher education transformation in south africa (1997 to 2017). our analysis shows that, since the original post-apartheid white paper on higher education of 1997, it is only the most recent national policy document, the draft national plan for postschool education and training of 2017, which blurs the lines between the social ills affecting the student experience of higher education (and indeed society at large), which we call ‘the realities of the everyday’ on campus, and different functions of space. our article suggests new conceptual tools for a research agenda that explores the (social) organisation of space in higher education which will allow policymakers to insert space-related concerns into the policy debates on decolonised higher education that have been (re-)ignited by the student movement. dionne van reenen’s insightful article analyses the south african student protests from a language perspective. her article traces detectable languaging strategies employed by the student movement and the conceptual structures informing these strategies. the article starts by reviewing some post-1994 changes and the related impact of democratisation 1 in this issue. we use the term ‘the 2015/16 student movement’ to refer to the sum of social processes that have rallied students from 2015 under the banner of a variety of campus-based and national campaigns (typically marked by a twitter hashtag) as political actors to demand change in higher education policy and practice (and, in some cases, beyond), thereby creating a sense of common cause and identity amongst the involved students (albeit at various levels of intensity), and bringing them into conflict with authorities within the higher education sector and beyond. this definition of ‘student movement’ draws on social movement theory (especially della porta & diani, 2006, p. 21) and the theory of student activism and student movements (altbach, 1991; badat, 1999). however, we have not imposed this on authors and thus various authors in this issue may use terms like ‘student movement’ differently. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: space, language and identity politics in higher education vii on higher education; van reenen notes that the student protests show that these changes are not seen as satisfactory in the eyes of the young generation and that the ‘logics’ underpinning higher education and contemporary debates and approaches are seen as oppressive by student protesters. using visagie’s (2006) theoretical frame, van reenen’s analysis shows that grand narratives are rejected in student movement discourse in favour of attributes such as complexity, infinity, individuality, contingency, discontinuity, flux and unknowability. students focused on the ‘lower attributes’ through which they were able to articulate individual life-history narratives. as a result, this led to disagreements in communication between students and university leaders. in addition, the author uses the theoretical frame of stewart et al. (2012), which posits that movements utilise persuasive tactics of affirmation. in particular, she analyses the student movement in terms of identification, polarisation, framing, storytelling, and power. in doing so, the article problematises the student movement narratives, considering the dominating and silenced voices. in a highly unequal and divided society like south africa, accessing higher education is one of the few and effective ways to ensure upward social mobility. this has positioned the university at the centre of transformation in south africa and makes higher education a high-stakes endeavour, especially for poor, working class, and first-generation students. while van reenen acknowledges that valuing higher education for its social mobility potential is an understandable and legitimate position taken by students, her argument is that the way disagreements are communicated requires critical consideration because otherwise the student movement may not achieve its goals. to conclude the article, van reenen also affirms the conceptual propositions of stewart et al. (2012) and visagie (2006) as useful to analyse the communicative elements of the student movement. the third research article in this issue, authored by jacques laubscher, returns to the spatial concerns and raises important topics for change in the physical landscape of universities in south africa. it aims to addresses the spatial implications at the heart of the #feesmustfall, #rhodesmustfall and #curriculummustfall campaigns. the article tracks the development of the freedom park on salvokop in pretoria, using the language of restitution, and seeks ways to define a new and integrated south african culture by drawing from the multiple identities and experiences of its people. in response to #rhodesmustfall, the article calls for a physical response by universities to create a responsive identity. it shows a way in which physical transformation of universities can encourage dialogue in order help to resolve future problems of higher institutions of learning. the suggestion of a kgotla for the spatial transformation of universities has particular currency because it brings concepts of indigenous knowledge systems to the university. solomon dlamini’s article ‘#feesmustfall: lessons from a post-colonial global south’ discusses the core issue raised by the #feesmustfall campaign: the meaning and models of fee-free higher education. dlamini’s article describes the context within which demands by south african students for ‘free, decolonial, quality higher education’ arose towards the end of 2015. he recalls the freeze on student fee increases (in 2016) and president zuma’s announcement of free higher education for the poor and the so-called missing viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, v-xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 middle students in 2017. dlamini’s starting point is that south africa, being a late-comer to liberation, has the opportunity to learn from other post-colonial countries with respect to the funding of higher education. yet, dlamini finds that the trend in the global south has been to actually move away from fee-free higher education towards various kinds of costsharing models, such as the one operative in south africa until recently. in his discussion, dlamini then argues, however, that the south african context demands a funding regime that provides the potential for social mobility on a large scale, given the highly unequal and divided nature of south africa’s post-apartheid society. mlamuli hlatshwayo and george kehdinga take a social justice perspective in an attempt to theorise the #mustfall student movements of 2015/16. they start by arguing that a significant amount of literature on the student movement in south african higher education is characterised by two limitations: literature on the student movement is often found in non-academic and non-peer-reviewed outlets and it is typically lacking in theoretical grounding. hlatshwayo and kehdinga’s article seeks to contribute to remedying these gaps. they briefly contextualise the emergence of the #mustfall campaigns historically within the higher education landscape and then outline fraser’s social justice framework as a lens through which to consider the economic framing, the cultural framing and the political framing of the #mustfall movement. what form of culture arises from the #feesmustfall protests? in his article, george mavunga analyses a selection of newspaper articles published between october 2015 and march 2016 in the mail & guardian, sunday times, city press, sunday independent, the star, daily sun, the citizen, new age and sowetan. his analysis is inspired by a critical realist framework. he specifically looks at the interplay between higher education (political and governance) structures and various forms of agency employed by key stakeholders – that is students, university management and government – in relation to the voicing of demands, protesting, and responding to protests. mavunga argues that overall a culture of tension and distrust amongst the key stakeholders arose from the protests which could be attributed to the way these stakeholders perceived, and went on to exercise, their agency in an attempt to resolve the conflict arising from the protests. to avert a recurrence of the negative consequences of student protests such as the destruction of property, violence on the side of protesters as well as security personnel, and thus the development of adversarial and toxic relationships amongst different stakeholders, mavunga recommends collaborative approaches to conflict resolution in south african higher education. these approaches need to be framed differently from those in which some stakeholders seek to achieve outright victory over other stakeholders, which he argues was a recurring mode of engagement during the #feesmustfall protests. thus, what is needed is to return to a culture of seeking compromise; one which acknowledges that a sufficient consensus may not satisfy all stakeholders’ demands fully, but provides enough common ground to move forward together. a collaborative approach to addressing student needs is also central to the article by travis c. smith and emily e. virtue. their concern is to profile the experiences of postgraduate students of colour in american universities, and they argue for more https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: space, language and identity politics in higher education ix intentional collaborations between academic and student affairs staff when it comes to support for postgraduate students of colour. their survey of the literature shows that, so far, little has been explored empirically on the topic, but the available evidence is strong and compelling: postgraduate students feel ‘lonely’, ‘isolated’, operating in a ‘chilly’ climate – and this sense is multiplied for students of colour. according to smith and virtue, the barriers that are experienced by students of colour in graduate schools operate like ‘systems of oppression’; the authors’ purpose is to consider how they can be dismantled in collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs. according to smith and virtue, some universities are incentivising collaborations between student affairs and academic affairs. by means of such collaborations, they are able to provide better experiences and more support for postgraduate students of colour. such collaborations are vital to improve the student experience and academic success of postgraduate students, particularly postgraduate students of colour. a starting point in initiating collaborations is that both sides – student affairs and academics – understand and acknowledge the limits of their respective expertise and reach out to each other. stephen steyn’s article ‘presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures in the development and maintenance of transformative curricula’ analyses different conceptions of timelines in the teaching of architectural theory and history. the article is in parts inspired by one of the decolonisation-related splinter campaigns of the 2015/16 student movement: #sciencemustfall. steyn reflects on the teaching of history and theory in architecture in the context of present challenges posed to the discipline’s knowledge base. he explores an inclusive and representative way of identifying and selecting knowledge in order to profile and engage with it in a critical way. this is done to counter the canonical approach that has guided knowledge production and associated ‘power’ in architectural education. in the process, steyn takes a critical stance that aims to question established ways of teaching history and theory in architecture and on its framing, in order to establish a more reflexive and representative approach to teaching. the final article in this issue titled ‘grasping the regimes of language, space and identity in the visual of post-apartheid higher education in south africa’ by giselle baillie, mary duker and zamansele nsele discusses what they have learnt – individually and collectively – from a research project that investigates the contribution of visual arts to social cohesion, specifically in relation to space, language and identity politics in higher education. their research project was conceptualised just prior to the pivotal #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall student protests and grounded in the south african national development plan’s (ndp) assumption that the arts have the power to re-imagine social relationships by facilitating opportunities for social cohesion. given that the implementation of the project coincided with 2015/16 student mobilisation, it necessitated critical reassessments of the ndp’s social cohesion assumptions and its western narrative of ‘the power of the arts’. in the process, the question of whether the arts have the power to re-imagine social relationships by facilitating opportunities for social cohesion became increasingly questionable; indeed, as one of the authors argues, the role of the arts in public spaces remains contentious, while the development of a more appropriate language x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, v-xi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 to address south africa’s history of racism remains elusive. baillie, duker and nsele query whether the idea of social cohesion has become a taken-for-granted, common-place and unquestioned norm, because we have not imagined any other way of dealing with a past (and present) as divisive as south africa’s. questioning the idea of ‘social cohesion’ is uncomfortable; yet, there is a great need to do so. the article ends with the suggestion that we need to “increase our collective appetite for discomfort”, and it proposes that “artsbased methodologies” might assist us in doing so. book review and editorial matters in addition to the research and reflective articles discussed above, this issue of the jsaa also includes a review by monica mclean of talita calitz’s recent book, enhancing the freedom to flourish (routledge, 2019). at insights gained from the narratives of a diverse group of south african undergraduate students, calitz explores the complex reasons why some students flourish at university while others are socially and academically marginalised. in doing so, she makes a welcome contribution to a growing literature on ways of enhancing the student experience (e.g. ashwin & case, 2018), narrative studies of students’ pathways into, through and beyond higher education (e.g. case, marshall, mckenna & mogashana, 2017), and life-history studies of particular students (such as those of former student leaders, cf. luescher, webbstock & bhengu [forthcoming]). a unique contribution of calitz’s book is that she employs a capability approach (along with drawing on the work of others like paolo freire) and aims to “design capability praxis for higher education environments where students are vulnerable to unequal participation” (calitz, 2019, p. 147). in the words of the book reviewer, monica mclean: in my view, the outstanding achievement of her book is to replace the usual deficit view of students whose economic and social circumstances make it difficult for them to benefit from university education with a theory of participation which emphasises agency and inclusion. this achievement results from calitz’s combining a human development approach with insight from the life stories of eight students in a south african university who faced economic and academic barriers to equal participation. finally, on behalf of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa, we would like to express thanks to the reviewers of volume  6. their time and expertise in evaluating and helping to select and improve the submissions is hereby acknowledged and greatly appreciated. conversely, as guest editors of this issue, we would also like to express our own gratitude to those that have assisted us in preparing this special issue, including the authors, peer reviewers and publishing team, and especially the jsaa editorial executive for their trust and support throughout. acknowledgements we would like to thank the university of cape town and the human sciences research council for providing the space and time to conceptualise and produce this jsaa issue. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: space, language and identity politics in higher education xi we would also like to acknowledge the funding support received by dr  tumubweinee from the uct research block grant, and by prof. luescher from the andrew w. mellon foundation (grant no. g-1802-05403), to produce the issue. references altbach, p.g. (1991). student political activism. in: international higher education: an encyclopedia. new york: garland. anderson, b. (2006). imagined communities: reflections on the origins and spread of nationalism. second edition. london: verso. ashwin, p. & case, j.m. (eds.). (2018). higher education pathways: south african undergraduate education and the public good. cape town: african minds. badat, s. (1999). black student politics, higher education & apartheid: from saso to sansco, 1968-1990. pretoria: hsrc. calitz, talita m.l. (2019). enhancing the freedom to flourish. london: routledge. https://doi.org/ 10.4324/9781315207070 case, j.m., marshall, d., mckenna, s. & mogashana, d. (2017). going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans. cape town: african minds. della porta, d. & diani, m. (2006). social movements: an introduction. second edition. oxford: blackwell. luescher, t.m., webbstock, d. & bhengu, n. (forthcoming). reflections of south african student leaders, 1994-2017. cape town: african minds. how to cite: tumubweinee, p. & luescher, t.m. (2019). space, language and identity politics in higher education. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), v-xi. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 mailto:/10.4324/9781315207070?subject= mailto:/10.4324/9781315207070?subject= https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3688 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 33 www.jsaa.ac.za research article from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment: exploring the value of supplemental instruction in a large first-year class mianda erasmus* * mianda erasmus is a lecturer in the department of psychology at north west university, south africa. email: mianda.erasmus@nwu.ac.za abstract large classes are a reality in many tertiary programmes in the south african context and this involves several challenges. one of these is the assessment process, including the provision of meaningful feedback and implementing strategies to support struggling students. due to large student numbers, multiplechoice questions (mcqs) are often used in tests, even though researchers have found possible negative consequences of using mcqs. giving appropriate feedback has been identified as a strategy to remedy some of these negative consequences. this paper reports on action research in which an intervention strategy was implemented in a large first year psychology class where supplemental instructors (sis) were used to give detailed feedback to students after assessments. the lecturer first modelled how to give feedback by discussing the mcqs in detail with the sis and identifying possible errors in their reasoning and meta-cognitive processes. the sis subsequently repeated this feedback process in their small-group sessions. after each assessment, students who performed poorly were advised to attend a certain number of si sessions before the next test, and their attendance, even though voluntary, was monitored to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. students’ performance in subsequent tests was compared and the results seem to indicate that attending si sessions was mostly associated with improved test results. this strategy also appears to encourage attendance of si sessions. in addition, students’ responses in a feedback survey indicate an overall positive perception of this practice. these results can inform other lecturers teaching large classes and contribute to quality enhancement in assessment and better support for students. keywords supplemental instruction; assessment; mcqs; feedback; modelling introduction tertiary education plays an important role in the development of south africa (dhet, 2013). the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) aims to improve quality in universities, and the white paper for post-school education and training published in 2013 indicated the envisaged increase of enrolment numbers from 17.3% to 25% (dhet, 2013). however, at the same time, funding is reduced, leading to http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mianda.erasmus%40nwu.ac.za?subject= 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 an increase in the number of large classes, possibly negatively influencing the quality of education (hornsby, osman & de matos-ala, 2013; hornsby & osman, 2014). what constitutes a large class depends on the discipline and the learning environment, but large classes are a reality in many tertiary programmes in the south african context and this involves several challenges, especially in terms of the quality of education (hornsby, osman & de matos-ala, 2013). one of the challenges is the assessment process, including the provision of meaningful feedback and implementing strategies to support struggling students (mulryan-kyne, 2010). due to large student numbers, multiple-choice questions (mcqs) are often used in tests. although researchers have found possible negative consequences of using mcqs, giving appropriate feedback has been identified as a strategy to remedy some of these negative consequences (butler & roediger, 2008). supplemental instruction (si) is a model focusing on high-risk courses, designed to support and assist students academically by using collaborative learning in peer-facilitated sessions (arendale, 1994). a lot of research has been undertaken on the use of supplemental instruction to support students both globally (blanc, debuhr & martin, 1983; congos & schoeps, 1998; etter, burmeister & elder, 2001; hensen & shelley, 2003; huang, roche, kennedy & brocato, 2017; kochenour, jolley, kaup & patrick, 1997; lindsay, boaz, carlsen-landy & marshall, 2017; martin & arendale, 1992; mccarthy, smuts & cosser, 1997; ning & downing, 2010; summers, acee & ryser, 2015) and in south africa (harding, engelbrecht & verwey, 2011; harding, 2012; paideya & sookrajh, 2010; paideya & sookrajh, 2014; zerger, clark‐unite & smith, 2006; zulu, 2003) and these studies clearly show the value of si on different levels and its effectiveness in terms of improved student performance. however, fewer studies have explored the specific role that si can play in the assessment process, or more specifically, in the feedback after assessment, using a quantitative methodology. the value of this study therefore lies in this niche area. this paper reports on the first cycle of an action research project in which i implemented an intervention strategy in my large first year psychology class. i write this paper as lecturer, who identified a problem, but also as researcher who subsequently looked for a solution to this problem and assessed the effectiveness of the intervention. the feedback strategy involved supplemental instruction leaders (sis) and the use of modelling. using si principles such as integrating skills and content, metacognition of learning, cooperative learning and modelling (arendale, 1993, 1994) i modelled to the sis how to give detailed feedback to students after assessments, how to facilitate these sessions in order to help students to identify the errors they made, to understand the work better and to prepare for the following assessment. sis subsequently repeated this process in their si sessions. students who performed poorly in tests were tracked to determine if the intervention helped them to improve their marks. by using a t-test, their marks before and after the intervention were compared. students also shared their perceptions of si and the intervention in an online survey. the main purpose of this article is to explore the value of si in improving the assessment process in a large class. the outline of this article will follow the process as the action research unfolded, namely: identification of the problem, planning to act, action, evaluation, reflection and http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 35 finally improvement for the next cycle. firstly, the specific context of this research will be described, then the challenge that was experienced in this teaching and learning environment will be explained, followed by a short literature review that helped to inform the intervention strategy. the next section will explain what the intervention strategy entailed and how it was implemented. this will lead to the research questions in terms of evaluating the intervention, the research that was conducted, the results and discussion, and a reflective section on the limitations and what will be considered for the second cycle. background context of the study the context of this research is a first year psychology class of about 600 students taught by one lecturer (me). as a result of venue size restrictions, the students are divided into two groups. the first semester module is ‘introduction to psychology’, which covers a broad span of topics, including a lot of new concepts and theories which students often find quite overwhelming and challenging. in the second semester the module is ‘social and community psychology’. since these students are first years, the academic programme is structured in such a way as to assist them in the adaptation from high school. many different assessment opportunities are provided to encourage students to study the material in small chunks. to check their understanding, there is an online mcq quiz after every chapter. they also write four class tests, a semester test, have a group assignment and some other activities before they write the exam. due to the large numbers and limited resources, multiple choice questions (mcqs) are used – both in the continuous assessment in the form of online quizzes, as well as in the more formal class and semester tests. preparing high-quality mcqs which are at the correct cognitive level and consisting of a good question (stem) and plausible choices (distractors) (tarrant, ware & mohammed, 2009) allows me to assess knowledge and understanding of the theories, as well as include application-type questions by using scenarios. this method makes it possible to give prompt feedback with the marks available either immediately (in the case of online quizzes) or within a few hours after a test has been written. each context has its own challenges and it is important to keep the student profiles in mind (scott, 2015; van rooy & coetzee-van rooy, 2015). many of the students in this particular context are first-generation students and most of them do not have english as a mother tongue, but as second or even third language. they often come from poor backgrounds and dysfunctional secondary schools, making them underprepared for university and putting them at a disadvantage, especially as far as academic literacy skills in english are concerned (cross & carpentier, 2009; krugel & fourie, 2014; mhlongo, 2014). since a mcq consists of a stem (the question or scenario/case study) and then at least four distractors (the possible answers) (jennings, 2012), this type of test often involves a lot of reading, which can be challenging for some of these students (bharuthram, 2012; paxton, 2007, 2009). especially with the use of scenarios in order to include application questions, a 50-question test can easily be between eight and ten pages long. it also requires careful 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 reading in order to identify the correct response, and if english is not a first language, this might prove to be quite difficult (butler & van dyk, 2004; scott, 2015; van wyk, 2014). at our institution, modules with large classes are considered high-risk modules and therefore support is made available in the form of supplemental instruction (si). the si leaders are senior students who did well in the module and who i select through an interview process. there are usually between six and eight sis per semester. they attend my classes, meet with me weekly and each one conducts two to three sessions (with a maximum of 25 students) per week. the si sessions are voluntary and open to any student to attend. challenge as part of the feedback after a test, i used to make the test memo available for students on the learning management system (lms). this allowed students to reflect on their test and identify the mistakes they made. or rather, that was the aim with making the memo available. however, in repeating some questions in subsequent tests, i realised that students tended to study the questions by heart from the memo, without deeper understanding of the content. in repeating the question, the options would be placed in a different order, but there was a trend that students would repeat whatever happened to have been the correct response in the previous test (b for example), instead of reading and understanding the question before choosing the appropriate answer. this had an influence on their performance and contributed to a lower pass rate. research shows that more detailed, quality feedback can remedy this situation (guo, palmer-brown, lee & cai, 2014; iahad, dafoulas, kalaitzakis & macaulay, 2004; malauaduli & zimitat, 2012). due to the heavy work load, it is impossible to use class time to go through the test in order to give detailed feedback and explanations of how to approach the questions. as outlined in the context above, the limited resources do not allow for the possibility of using different types of assessment instead of mcqs. so the complex dilemma is: what can be done to improve the assessment process? how can quality feedback be provided to students in the current situation? how can students be assisted to develop testtaking skills and improve their reasoning patterns when it comes to answering a mcq, but also understand the content better? how can we replace the “inky, pinky, ponky” strategy when doing mcqs with a true understanding of a, b and c? how can the pass rate be improved without lowering the standard? a literature review was subsequently done to explore and determine possible interventions that could be developed. literature review large classes quality education is a key element in developing countries and plays a vital role in economic growth (hornsby, osman & de matos-ala, 2013). having said this, with the enrolment numbers increasing, and limited resources, classes are increasingly becoming http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 37 larger (ehrenberg, brewer, gamoran & willms, 2001). this is often associated with lower student performance (hornsby & osman, 2014). however, student learning is not necessarily determined by the class size, but rather by the skills and expertise of the lecturer as well as by the use of the appropriate teaching approaches and active participation of students (mulryan-kyne, 2010). it is therefore important that large classes are not given to the most junior lecturer with the least experience, but rather that senior, experienced academics take this responsibility and mentor junior staff in the process (jawitz, 2013). although large classes can pose a number of challenges, with innovative teaching methods it is possible to overcome these challenges and literature on large class pedagogy in higher education is increasing (hornsby & osman, 2014). large classes are not necessarily “bad”, since the diversity and energy can be used to incorporate interactive class activities and offer a high-quality learning experience, as long as the strengths and limitations are well understood (jawitz, 2013). assessment assessment can be particularly challenging in large classes, especially if resources are limited and there is not extra help with marking available. assessment can have a feed-out function, indicating performance, or it can have a feedback function, aimed at providing information that will assist in continuous learning (knight, 2002). in addition, it is crucial that the assessment aligns directly with the module outcomes. different assessment strategies should be used in order to cater for the different student learning styles (brady, 2005). assessment should allow students to receive feedback on their learning and also give guidance to further learning (carless, salter, yang & lam, 2011; knight, 2002) and here mcq assessments can be valuable. multiple-choice questions and feedback there are numerous advantages to using mcqs, for example, that they are more objective, more time-efficient in terms of writing and marking, and they offer the possibility to cover a wider range of the work (higgins & shelley, 2003). however, there are also several limitations and potential disadvantages linked to the use of mcqs. one of the biggest questions is whether mcqs allow for higher-order cognitive skills assessment or simply factual recall, especially since critical thinking is important in higher education (brady, 2005; jennings, 2012). mcqs are often seen as “easy” and as testing superficial, factual knowledge only (palmer & devitt, 2007). however, this depends greatly on how the question is asked and whether functional, plausible distractors are given (tarrant et al., 2009). a mcq can be structured in such a way as to assess the higher cognitive levels of comprehension or application and therefore be versatile if designed appropriately (brady, 2005; yonker, 2011). in an application question, for example, a case study can be used, requiring comprehension and application skills and much more than factual, surface knowledge. in their study, leung, mok and wong (2008) found that some students placed 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 more emphasis on understanding in preparation for a mcq assessment and that scenariobased mcqs were perceived to help them in developing critical thinking skills. another problem concerns the fact that students can potentially guess the right answer (delaere & everaert, 2011). students might joke saying that if in doubt with a mcq, you can always resort to a rhyme like “inky, pinky, ponky” or “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” to help you make a choice. although it is possible to guess, there are also ways in which guessing can be discouraged, like negative marking (scharf & baldwin, 2007). brady (2005) postulates that there are many disadvantages if mcqs are poorly designed and these can cause under-performance or over-performance which are not related to the students’ ability. for example, if the distracters are not plausible, it’s easier to eliminate them, even without much knowledge (tarrant et al., 2009). on the other hand, if the distracters are not well written, they can confuse students, even though they know the theory. since mcqs allow for assessing detail, obscure knowledge is sometimes asked instead of sticking to the module outcomes (brady, 2005). setting and designing efficient, objective and high quality mcqs on the appropriate level is a skill, is time-consuming and requires commitment (jennings, 2012). so although time is saved in the marking process, a lot of effort goes into compiling these assessments. research has shown that effective, quality feedback is very important in enhancing students’ understanding of the questions (lizzio & wilson, 2008; nicol, 2009). however, students should receive more than simply the correct answer. it is vital that they understand why they chose the wrong answer and not only where they made the wrong choice. students need to understand and be able to explain the reason behind their choice and where they faulted in their reasoning. however, writing this type of feedback for every distracter of every question can be very time consuming. feedback is a pedagogical practice that supports learning, but quality feedback is often not readily available for undergraduate students (taras, 2006). due to the nature and format of the mcq, students are exposed to correct and incorrect information, which could lead to confusion and negative effects. in their study, butler and roediger (2008) found that giving feedback after a multiple-choice test improved performance on subsequent tests, probably due to the fact that it allows the student to correct previous mistakes. they focused specifically on mcq assessments and explored the role of feedback in increasing the positive effects and decreasing the negative effects of mcqs. by comparing different groups, either having no feedback, immediate feedback or delayed feedback, they concluded that giving students’ feedback after the test is vital and that it also allowed them to have more clarity on what they knew and what they did not know (butler & roediger, 2008). these findings are echoed by a more recent study by guo et al. (2014) where feedback on mcq assessments was given online by means of analysing the students’ responses with the help of the snap-drift neural network approach. tinto (2014) also recommends the use of technology and predictive analytics in the feedback process, which can help to reduce the workload. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 39 supplemental instruction model the si model was founded in the early 70s at the university of missouri in kansas city where there was a very high dropout rate (arendale, 1993). it was decided to move away from the traditional medical model approach of supporting students who had been identified as having a problem or being at risk, and rather implementing a non-traditional approach where the focus was on difficult or high-risk modules and where assistance was available for everyone from the start of the module (martin & arendale, 1992). supporting this principle, research has also found that si sessions are beneficial to all students, regardless of their performance, although it has more impact on struggling students (wilson, waggenspack, steele & gegenheimer, 2016). the purpose of the si programme is to increase academic performance and retention by providing opportunities for students to be involved in collaborative learning in peer-facilitated sessions. sessions are open to all students and attendance is voluntary (arendale, 1994). prospective sis are expected to meet certain criteria before being considered as a possible candidate. they are students who have completed the module before, preferably with the same lecturer, and who have performed well. the sis act as “model” students by showing the students how successful students think about the module and process the module content. after they have been selected, they receive training in collaborative learning techniques which assist the students in knowing “how” to learn (transferable academic skills), as well as “what” to learn (content) (arendale, 1994; mcguire, 2006). the theoretical framework in which the si model is embedded, includes a wide variety of important learning theories including piaget’s constructivism, vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, tinto’s model of student retention, weinstein’s metacognition, collaborative learning (dewey and bruner), keimig’s hierarchy of learning and improvement programs and dale’s cone of experience (arendale, 1993). social learning theory and the concept of modelling also play an important role, especially in the intervention discussed in this paper. it is of vital importance to train sis well in the theories underpinning the si model so that they can implement it successfully in the sessions (jacobs, hurley & unite, 2008). there have been many studies focusing on the effectiveness of si (coletti et al., 2014; fayowski & macmillan, 2008; kilpatrick, savage & wilburn, 2013; latino & unite, 2012; malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2012; okun, berlin, hanrahan, lewis & johnson, 2015; summers et al., 2015; terrion & daoust, 2011). in a systematic review of the relevant literature between 2001 and 2010, dawson, van der meer, skalicky and cowley (2014) found that si participation is correlated with improved performance as well as lower failure and withdrawal rates. these studies did not only look at effectiveness from an academic performance perspective, but also included overall graduation rates, the impact on the development of academic skills as well as the effect on general well-being, social relationships and engagement. 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 these results are also reflected in more recent studies (malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2015; paloyo, rogan & siminski, 2016; ribera, brckalorenz & ribera, 2012; wilson & rossig, 2014). si improves students’ long-term retention of the module content (price, lumpkin, seemann & bell, 2012), helps them to be more engaged in their learning while getting a deep understanding of the work (paideya & sookrajh, 2010, 2014) and also contributes to their sense of belonging (summers et al., 2015). with the influence of technology, a recent study (hizer, schultz & bray, 2017) explored the effectiveness of offering si sessions online and found that it had similar effects to the face-to-face model. methodology the intervention the intervention that was implemented is a discipline-specific strategy that took place within the first year psychology modules, with a very close collaboration between the sis and the lecturer of these modules. as i have already indicated, research has emphasised the importance of effective, quality feedback in enhancing students’ understanding of questions in a mcq assessment. although feedback can be given in a written format, students might still not fully understand or might not take the time to read it. the fact that the si model is based on, among other things, modelling by senior students and the development of skills (not only a focus on content), prompted me to take this modelling a step further. the intervention is based on allowing the students to get quality feedback on the tests, in small groups, via the sis. however, it was important to ensure that the sis were empowered with the necessary skills to be able to give this feedback. instead of making the test memos available to the students on the lms, i made it available through the sis. after every test, the sis were required to attend a meeting with me to which each one had to bring a memo for the test that they had worked out themselves. this ensured that they went through the test thoroughly and had a similar experience to the students in considering all the options in the process of deciding which option they considered the correct answer. during the meeting, i modelled the feedback process, illustrating how the feedback should be given to allow for better understanding and deeper learning. based on what the si leaders chose as answers, each question and distracter was discussed in detail, allowing me to identify possible errors in the sis’ reasoning and understanding while illustrating how to address these errors. with the correct memo, the sis subsequently took this discussion to the small-group sessions where they repeated the feedback process with the students. the fact that this was the only way students got access to the memo aimed to encourage students to attend these sessions. after each assessment students who performed poorly were advised to attend a certain number of si sessions before the next test. this number differed, depending on the available time before the next test. attending si sessions remained voluntary, but in order to determine the effectiveness of the intervention, students’ attendance was monitored. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 41 it is important to emphasise that the sessions were still open to everyone and that the attendees consisted of good, average and struggling students. in line with the si design, this is not a remedial programme and the sessions are not focused on or exclusively for students who performed poorly. in addition, it is often the interaction between fellow students that promotes a conducive learning environment. assessing the intervention in assessing the effectiveness of the intervention as well as the value of si from the students’ point of view, the following questions guided the enquiry: 1. what are students’ perceptions of the value of si, in particular in assessment? 2. what effect does the intervention have in improving students’ performance? action research in this study, action research was used as it allowed me to focus on a practical problem in the teaching and learning environment and enabled me to look for a practical solution in my specific context. action research is cyclical in nature (maree, 2007). the current paper reports on the first cycle of this research. as previously explained, certain aspects of my teaching practices needed attention, and action, in the form of an intervention, to improve practice. after identifying the challenge, a scan of literature informed the planning and implementation of the intervention. assessment of the intervention had to be done to determine whether practice was indeed improved (mcniff, 2013). the final step was to reflect and amend or improve the practice for the second cycle (laycock & long, 2009). the reflection also allowed for my professional development, as the lecturer (kayaoglu, 2015; ryan, 2013), for practices to change (kemmis, 2009) and for enhancement of the scholarly approach to teaching and learning. action research is often a multi-method approach, using a holistic perspective to solve the problem at hand (maree, 2007). in this study, in addition to the reflection and literature review to develop the intervention strategy, a survey was used to acquire students’ feedback on the strategy and students’ marks were monitored to determine whether the strategy improved their academic performance. data collected in the feedback survey, students were asked questions about si in general (whether they attended, the value of si sessions) and also more specifically about the intervention strategy (whether it encouraged them to attend si sessions and whether it helped them to improve academically). a likert scale was used for most of the questions in collecting quantitative data. the last question was an open-ended question where students could give feedback in their own words regarding the role si played in their journey as first years. the students who underperformed in a test were tracked after the test and in subsequent tests. pre-intervention and post-intervention test performance scores were used for students who were part of the intervention strategy, to determine whether their performance improved. 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 population the population in this study constituted 219 of the approximately 600 first-year psychology students at the mafikeng campus of the north-west university. participation in the study and being part of the intervention strategy was voluntary. for ethical reasons, students completed the feedback survey anonymously and no names were used at any point. a total of 219 students completed the feedback survey electronically. the number of students who attended the si sessions where the intervention strategy was put in place, varied from test to test. results in what follows, the results of the first stage of the action research will be given. these results were obtained from the feedback survey that was done electronically on efundi (a  sakai lms) at the end of the semester, as well as from the students’ performance, for which the t-test results will be given. 1. what are students’ perceptions of the value of si, in particular in assessment? with the aim of validating the responses received in the survey, the students who completed the online survey were asked whether they actually attended si sessions and how often. only 15% of the students who responded in this survey had never attended si sessions. a total of 85% of the respondents did attend the sessions, even though some attended more often than others. it can therefore be concluded that the results from this survey reflect students’ perceptions accurately. in gauging the students’ perceptions of si, they were asked to indicate to what extent they think they would make use of the si services in the future. their responses are shown in the chart that follows. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree 56% 31% 8% 2%3% use si again? figure 1: future use of si service http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 43 their experience of si as first years encouraged 87% of the respondents to indicate that they will continue to make use of this service. in order to get a better idea of how the students were helped by attending si sessions, they were given a list of possible areas and could select as many options as they thought applicable in terms of their personal experience. the following shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 the si sessions helped me to ... 70 80 90 54% 36%work with other students 43%network with other students learn from other students 54%improve my test writing skills 61%get new ideas on how to study 73%understand test questions better 79%improve my marks 80%understand the work better figure 2: the value of si sessions as perceived by students this graph gives a clear picture of the variety of areas in which students feel they were assisted by attending si sessions. in terms of the specific feedback strategy under investigation in this study, it is evident that the test feedback made a difference. students indicated that the si sessions helped them to improve their test writing skills (54%), their understanding of test questions (73%) and their overall understanding of the work (80%) which also resulted in better performance (79%). these results concur with previous research that found that quality feedback can have a positive influence (butler & roediger, 2008; lizzio & wilson, 2008). it also indicated that the use of sis in providing feedback in the assessment process, helped students move away from the random guessing associated with mcqs (inky, pinky or ponky?) to understanding the questions and the different possibilities (a, b and c) as they developed test-taking skills. the survey also included two separate questions that dealt with this particular feedback intervention. after every test, i posted a list of student numbers of the students in need, who were advised to attend si sessions before the next test. students were asked to indicate whether this practice encouraged them to attend sessions and whether attendance helped them to improve their marks. the graph below shows the results. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree perception of feedback strategy 4 7 15 24 50 3 6 12 28 51 list encouraged to attend marks improved figure 3: students’ perceptions of feedback strategy being in a position of need after a test and receiving the directive and advice to attend sessions did encourage students and helped them to consequently improve their marks. the last question in the online survey asked students to give feedback on how the si sessions helped them in their journey as first year students. the themes that emerged from these responses support the results of the preceding questions, and also give some more insight and possible avenues to explore in future research. in terms of the specific intervention which is the focus in this article, the following themes were identified: • improvement in test-writing skills • better performance in tests • enhanced understanding of content and questions • increased confidence in approaching mcq tests to illustrate the perception that the si assistance was valuable in assessment and in improving marks, here are a few quotes from students: “my si always made it easy and normal for us to participate in sessions without being ashamed. my marks improved drastically, i went from 46% to 48% then from 48% to 64% and then i  got a distinction on my last test 88%.” “the si helped me to improve from zero to hero.” “si sessions are very informative and guide you on test writing skills and what to actually look at when preparing for tests and exams.” “the si helped on how to tackle the multiple-choice questions, how to prepare for the test and also to be able to understand the questions on the test.” “it helped me understand how to interpret questions and understand them to choose correct answers during my tests.” http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 45 “si helped me to have better understanding about this module. at first i failed, and again i failed second test. after that i was advised and convinced to attend the si. since i started attending si i was doing well with my tests and i started to love psychology. thematic analysis of the students’ responses on the question: ‘how did si sessions help you in your journey as first year or doing first year psychology?’ yielded the following additional themes. some quotes are given to illustrate these themes. themes possibility to use own language / mother tongue opportunity to ask ques�ons cope be�er with workload and pace in class feel cared for encourage study outside the class / sessions provide prac�cal, relevant examples improve self-esteem, believe in self transferral of skills correct reasoning improve study methods “it encouraged me to be posi ve and to believe in myself.” “it helped to correct the mistakes and wrong interpreta on of concepts.” “she also helped me to apply her advices on other modules, so that i can perform well.” “the si session has helped me to relax and enjoy varsity life in a good manner, every one say varsity life is difficult and people fail and that no one cares whether you pass or not but that’s not true, people are caring here.” “allowing everyone to ask ques ons and in some moments we used our own language.” “at first i didn’t hear the lecturer because i had problems with english. some si made it easy for me to understand and gave me the skills to apply in class for understanding.” figure 4: value of si: themes 2. what effect does the intervention have in improving students’ performance? by using a dependent t-test with paired samples, the pre-intervention and post-intervention test performance scores were compared to determine whether their performance improved as part of the intervention strategy. since attendance was voluntary, some students attended whilst others did not. comparing these two groups enabled me to link the difference to the intervention strategy implemented. since non-random sampling was used and attendance was voluntary, statistical inference about the population cannot be drawn. therefore effect sizes, more specifically cohen’s d, was calculated to indicate the practical significance of any differences found. according to ellis and steyn (2003), a small effect would be d=0.2, a medium effect d=0.5 and a large effect d=0.8. this could also be indicated as practically non-significant, practically visible and practically significant. 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 table 1: results of t-test si session assessment mean standard deviation effect size attended early detection quiz 44.51 11.034 1.18 test 1 57.53 10.451 not attended early detection quiz 43.95 10.815 0.91 test 1 53.74 12.488 attended test 1 41.16 6.36 1.08 test 2 48.00 11.49 not attended test 1 40.19 5.98 0.42 test 2 42.69 10.08 attended test 2 40.24 6.371 1.37 semester test 48.94 8.771 not attended test 2 39.53 6.511 0.69 semester test 44.03 8.848 based on the effect size of 1.18, 1.08 and 1.37, the difference in the test scores of the students attending the si sessions is practically significant, improving in performance for the following assessment (44.51 to 57.53; 41.16 to 48.00; and 40.24 to 48.94). the test scores of the students not attending the si sessions improved much less, as indicated by the smaller effect sizes of 0.91, 0.42 and 0.69. thus one can conclude that the intervention did have the desired effect. 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 did not attend attended semester 1 1.4 1.6 semester 2 semester 3 figure 5: effect sizes indicating practical significance this graph portrays the influence of the si sessions and in particular the intervention in the form of the feedback strategy that was offered during the sessions. there is a notable http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 47 difference in terms of performance between the group that attended si and the group that did not attend. these results give some indication that this type of intervention can play a valuable role in assisting students in understanding the assessment process and improving their performance and concurs with other research that si can be effective in improving students’ performance (kilpatrick et al., 2013; malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2015; paloyo, rogan & siminski, 2016; summers et al., 2015). discussion in a feedback survey, students were asked questions about si in general, and also about the specific intervention strategy. responses in the feedback survey indicated an overall positive perception of this practice. students were asked how often they attended si sessions and they were also asked to indicate how the sessions helped them. the responses that were chosen by the highest percentage of students are linked to the feedback intervention, indicating that the strategy had positive influences. the sessions are also believed to allow students to work and network with other students and to learn from them, as is the purpose with the collaborative learning si model (arendale, 1994). the fact that students who are struggling are specifically reminded about the availability of si sessions and advised to attend, also appears to encourage attendance of si sessions. from the findings in the open-ended question, it is clear that the si sessions played a big role in assisting the students in understanding assessment, which confirms findings in other studies (malm et al., 2012; ribera et al., 2012). in addition, from this data interesting new themes emerged that would allow for further exploration in the next cycle. keeping the student profile in mind, language seems to play an important role and the fact that some sis are able to communicate in the students’ mother tongue, might play a vital role in the success of this strategy. students’ performance in subsequent tests was compared and the results seem to indicate that attending si sessions was mostly associated with improved test results. these results can therefore inform other lecturers teaching large classes and contribute to quality enhancement in assessment. reflection: limitations of the study it is vital to be aware of any limitations in a study. in the action research process, it is also important to reflect on every action in a cycle and determine how practice can be improved and what else can be done. this has been an exciting learning process for me as the lecturer. there are several limitations, both in terms of the methodology and research, as well as the intervention itself. one limitation of this study is that it was conducted on a small scale, within one class in one specific context. this means that one cannot generalise or assume that it would have similar results in a different context. however, as part of a teaching approach, these principles might be deemed valuable to lecturers in similar situations, experiencing similar problems. as far as the t-test results are concerned, this study only followed the students that were struggling and did not consider the impact of 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 33–53 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 the intervention on the other students, whether average or good. this could be addressed in the second cycle. in terms of the intervention, is has to be mentioned that it is rather time consuming and requires dedication. the time spent with the sis after every test to model the feedback process is considerable. however, it is still much less time consuming than giving the feedback in a large class or drafting detailed individualised written feedback on all the questions in every test. the added value of this process for both the sis and the students should also be taken into account when considering this option. the advantage of having done this with the first group of students, is that sis for the next year will already have experience of this process (having been in the sessions) and have been exposed to different models (the different sis they attended sessions with) before they start modelling the behaviour in sessions to the next group of first years. this prior experience also makes my modelling easier and quicker, since they are already familiar with the process. having experienced this effect, i do believe that it can be a sustainable process that can help students develop. second cycle of the study the focus in this research was on the students in need. in subsequent cycles, the other students could also be included to see whether si feedback helped to improve their testtaking skills and enhance their overall performance in the module. another approach that could be considered is to start the feedback process by giving students detailed written feedback for the online quizzes while still continuing with the modelling through the sis after the tests. in terms of assessing students’ as well as sis’ experience of the process, more qualitative data will be collected in the next cycle. this could be done by having focus group interviews with some of the students, but also with the sis in order to determine what the sis themselves gained from being involved in this process. did they also develop skills that helped them in their own studies? investigating the transferability of these skills to other modules will also add to understanding the value of this practice, by asking students if the intervention helped them in other modules as well. exploring the development of meta-cognitive skills as well as other possible influences (like the role of language) will further extend our understanding of the role and value of this intervention. in the second cycle, the results of first cycle will be displayed to the new group of first year students as motivation for them to attend si sessions since goldstein, sauer and o’donnell (2014) found that students’ perceptions of the value of si sessions can influence their motivation and increase their attendance. based on the work of quinton and smallbone (2010) and supported by the findings of boud and molloy (2013), i can also consider asking students to reflect on the feedback with the purpose of helping them to apply their learning in a feed forward into the next assessment and developing self-regulation in the process. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 mianda erasmus: from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment ... 49 conclusion in this paper, i discussed an approach to giving valuable feedback in the context of a large class by using supplemental instruction and modelling. the results of this study showed that the intervention seems to improve students’ performance, and that students had a positive perception of the process. si can play a valuable role in the assessment process in a large class, especially in giving quality feedback on assessment that allows students to learn test-writing skills and develop their reasoning, but also to understand the content better. instead of using “inky, pinky, ponky” strategies to answer mcqs, students were empowered to understand the different options given in a, b and c and make the appropriate choice. these results can inform other lecturers’ practice in teaching large classes, and contribute to quality enhancement in assessment and better support for students. even though it was done in a very specific context and within a psychology module, this strategy could also be used in other contexts and disciplines. acknowledgements this paper was developed with the support of funding from the dhet nctdg project: “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreat.” a word of thanks goes to elda lyster, my mentor in this project, for the help and guidance in writing this article. references arendale, d. 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(2017). from inky pinky ponky to improving student understanding in assessment: exploring the value of supplemental instruction in a large first-year class. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 33–53. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2015.1030516 https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930500353038 https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-9-40 https://doi.org/10.2190/cs.13.3.c https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2015.1012691 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2014.08.005 https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2010.481041 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2701 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 29 www.jsaa.ac.za research article first‑year college students’ emotional intelligence and help‑seeking behaviours as correlates of their academic achievement melese astatke* * mr melese astatke is a lecturer in the department of educational psychology, woldia college of teachers education, north east ethiopia. email: meleseblen2563124@gmail.com abstract the main purpose of the study was examining the correlations of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour on students’ academic achievement in woldia college of teacher education (wcte), woldia, ethiopia. the participants were 283 first-year regular diploma students of the college in the academic year of 2015/2016. the study employed a quantitative approach which followed correlation design involving four instruments to collect data for the study: emotional intelligence questionnaire, academic help-seeking behaviour questionnaire, psychological help-seeking behaviour questionnaire, and cumulative grade point average. to answer the research questions raised in the study, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation and pearson product-moment analysis, as well as inferential statistics such as independent sample t-test, multiple regression tests, and beta coefficients were conducted. the pearson correlation analysis reported the following findings: (1) emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and, psychological help-seeking behaviour had a significant positive correlation with students’ academic achievement; (2) emotional intelligence and academic help-seeking behaviour had a positive but not significant correlation with each other; (3) however, emotional intelligence was negatively but not significantly correlated with psychological help-seeking behaviour. the multiple regression analysis showed that there was a significant contribution of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour to the total variance of academic achievement. the beta coefficients revealed that the independent contributions of independent variables of the study to the total variance of academic achievement were found to be emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour, respectively. the  independent sample t-test reported that there were significant gender differences in students’ emotional intelligence and psychological help-seeking behaviour. the gender differences in academic help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement were not statistically significant. finally, it was recommended that parents, instructors, counsellors, and administrative bodies should work on promoting students’ emotional intelligence and developing students’ help-seeking behaviours (academic and psychological help-seeking behaviours) to enhance academic achievement of students in wcte. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:meleseblen2563124%40gmail.com?subject= 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 keywords academic achievement; academic help-seeking behaviour; emotional intelligence; psychological helpseeking behaviour background of the study college-level academic activities are different in many ways from the students’ high school experiences. for instance, according to bohanan (2008), a typical course load in high school includes more than 30 hours of classroom instruction, but 12 to 15 hours is considered a full load in college. as bohanan points out, the reason for this is that college courses typically require two to three hours of preparation for each hour spent in the classroom. students are expected to come to class having already studied the material, so that more information can be covered each semester than is possible in a typical high school setting. in high school, academic requirements are not as demanding and most  assignments are completed at school or within short periods of time at home, whereas in college, academics are more demanding and more difficult. most classes require several hours of homework each week in order to complete assignments. in addition, effective college-level study skills are critical to success. focusing specifically on first-year students’ academic, social and emotional problems, a preliminary survey conducted at the university of zambia indicated the presence of a large number and a wide variety of problems that are sufficiently potent, general and persistent to be a cause of concern to university authorities (wilson, 1984, cited in kabtamu, 2009). a  similar study conducted in two universities of thailand also showed that the most severe adjustment problem of first-year students was related to adjustment to college work (barnacle & cheunarrom, 2000, cited in kabtamu, 2009). the studies further disclosed that adjustment to college was strongly associated with the academic achievement (aa) of the students. there seems to be general agreement amongst scholars that students’ academic achievement depends on several interlocking factors (gifford et al., 2006). sociodemographic factors (such as age, income and gender), psychological factors (e.g. motivation, stress and study strategies) and other factors like study hours and understanding the language of instruction are amongst the factors that could play substantial roles in students’ academic success. despite other numerous types of variables that could affect students’ academic achievement at different levels of schooling, the current study examined the correlates of emotional intelligence (ei) and help-seeking behaviour dimensions (academic helpseeking behaviour [ahsb] and psychological help-seeking behaviour [phsb] on students’ academic achievement at college level. the concept of emotional intelligence is a very interesting topic of psychological research, especially in regard to how it affects the workforce and social functioning of citizens in the process of helping needy people and delivering public services (gregg, grout, ratcliffe, smith & windmeijer, 2008, cited in gemechu, 2014). moreover, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 31 goleman  (1998) referred to emotional intelligence as the ability to be aware of one’s emotions and managing those emotions in one’s daily interactions with people, to establish emotional connections. in addition, bhadouria (2013, p. 8) defined emotional intelligence as “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate amongst them and to use this information to guide ones thinking and actions”. regarding college students, research conducted by mestre et al. (2006) showed that college students who have high emotional intelligence tended to perform better in terms of academic achievement. in line with this, researchers, for instance bhadouria  (2013), found out that the correlation between emotional intelligence and academic achievement, and teaching emotional and social skills at school, not only positively influence academic achievement during the year when these were taught but also have an impact on longterm achievement. on the other hand, gemechu (2014), after conducting a study, reported a positive but not statistically significant correlation between the students’ emotional intelligence and academic achievement of r (213) = 0.01, p = 0.87. diener and dweck (1978) described help-seeking behaviour that is directed towards finding the solution to a problem as promoting extended task involvement. academic helpseeking is viewed as an important instrumental (also known as autonomous, adaptive, or strategic), self-regulatory behavioural strategy that successful learners use to help achieve their academic goals (karabenick, 2004; karabenick & shim, 2005).with regard to the urges of psychological help-seeking, sarson and sarson (2002) as cited in kabtamu (2009) wrote that some people seek professional help when they are dissatisfied with themselves, or because of concern expressed by family members, friends or co-workers. there are arguments in the research studies concerning gender differences in emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviour dimensions (academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour) and academic achievement amongst male and female students. regarding gender difference in emotional intelligence ciarrochi, chan and bajgar (2001) found that emotional intelligence was higher for females than for males. similarly, charbonneau and nicol (2002) in their study revealed that the women scored somewhat but not significantly higher than the men on emotional intelligence. by contrast, mishra and ranjan (2008) studied whether the gender difference affects the emotional intelligence of adolescents and the results showed that adolescent males and females differ significantly on emotional intelligence, with the males found to be significantly higher on emotional intelligence than the females. while there is limited research on gender difference in academic help-seeking behaviour, the results from holt’s (2014) study revealed that female students reported more positive attitudes towards seeking academic help than their male counterparts. however, holt did not suggest why there are gender differences in academic help-seeking behaviour. this finding led to the proposition that the gender differences presented in nam et al.’s (2010) meta-analysis on students’ attitudes towards seeking psychological help also pertain to students’ attitudes towards seeking academic help. as described by addis 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 and mahalik (2003), males’ reluctance to seek help is motivated by a complex interaction of their socialisation, the social construction of masculinity, and the meaning of giving and receiving help in a particular situation. however, the limited research in the extant literature does not offer empirically supported explanations for this gender difference in academic help-seeking. contrary to holt’s (2014) finding, sager (2015) reported no gender differences in attitudes about seeking academic help. many studies reported gender differences in psychological help-seeking behaviour, showing that females report more positive attitudes about seeking psychological help than their male counterparts (holt, 2014; elhai, schweinle & anderson, 2008; larose & bernier, 2001; lopez et al., 1998). nam et al. (2010) conducted a meta-analysis on gender differences in attitudes towards seeking psychological help. in their studies of college students, their main finding was that female college students exhibit more favourable attitudes about psychological help-seeking. abdu-raheem (2012) stated that gender differences and academic achievement amongst students in schools is one of the most topical issues in the current debate all over the world. according to abdu-raheem, a major area of concern has been the effects of gender differences on academic achievement of students. in ethiopian-context research conducted by atsede (1991), cited in ayele (2012), it is contended that cultural systems of ethiopia, particularly gendered socialisation (i.e. females’ marginalisation), prevent them from being as successful as males. in fact, over the years, there has been a growing awareness of the role of females at home, in schools and community in general. however, worries have equally been expressed about the role of females in the political, social, cultural, psychological, economic, spiritual, scientific and technological development of the nations. in this regard, tadesse (2011), in his study, reported that there was a statistically significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female students. however, other researchers (for instance, ewumi, 2012) reported that there were no significant gender differences in students’ academic achievement. to summarise, the studies mentioned above are preliminaries in the ethiopian context, suggesting that there is a knowledge gap in the literature with respect to the correlates of emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviour dimensions (academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour) with students’ academic achievement and gender differences in these variables. essentially, therefore, it was plausible for the current researcher to see the correlates of students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviour dimensions (academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour) with their academic achievement in woldia college of teachers education (wcte) first-year regular diploma students. the college is one of the ten government teacher education colleges of amhara region, north east ethiopia. statement of the problem according to kabtamu (2011), the first year of college life is usually acknowledged as a stressful time for social and academic adjustment. during this period, first-year students face https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 33 many social challenges (e.g. moving away from their primary support systems – parents) and intellectual challenges (e.g. more demanding course work or heavy work load). to this end, some local studies have revealed that ethiopian collegians, particularly the freshmen, encounter enormous psychological and social hazards that require professional help in addition to help rendered by friends and relatives (abdu, 2003; tsige, 2001). however, it is a common observation that most college students in our country tend to be uncomfortable about disclosing themselves to professional help providers, especially when they are expected to share intimate personal feelings and emotions with a new advisor or counsellor. moreover, as reported in tadesse (2011), it was indicated that students’ academic achievement can be largely associated with many variables, but the current study focused on examining the correlations of three variables: emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour on students’ academic achievement in wcte. with this in mind, the following rationales initiated the current researcher to conduct this study. primarily, since the researcher is an instructor and guidance and counselling officer of the wcte, his own experience of teaching the students (mainly first-year students) revealed the many psychosocial problems that they face (for instance, their academic, emotional and psychological problems), and this urged him to conduct this type of study in the college. in wcte, students’ cgpa is frequently daunting from year to year. in this case, the yearly reports of students’ academic achievement scores recorded by the registrar’s office of the college show this academic trend. in this regard, in view of the social, academic and personal challenges that students are supposed to adjust to, the researcher believed that it would be worthwhile to assess the students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours. second, the controversies and uncertainties regarding the relationship between ei, ahsb, phsb and academic achievement, the predictive power of ei, ahsb, phsb on students’ academic achievement, and gender differences amongst these variables raised above, evoke additional interest. so the researcher wanted to arrive at a conclusion through conducting his own research. finally, in the college, while there are different types of research studies conducted on different issues, the researcher did not come across such a study about examining the correlates of students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviour dimensions (academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour) with students’ academic achievement, and he finally reached a conclusion that there is a scarcity of research resources in the area emphasised. therefore, the current study will give an overview of the correlates of students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviour dimensions (academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour) with their academic achievement in this level of education. bearing in mind the above justifications, the study is designed to find answers to the following three major research questions: 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 1. are there relationships amongst emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, psychological help-seeking behaviour, and academic achievement? 2. which independent variable(s) is (are) the strong predictor(s) of academic achievement? 3. are there statistically significant gender differences in students’ emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, psychological help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement? methods design of the study as mentioned earlier, this research project aimed at investigating the correlates of first-year college students’ emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour with their academic achievement. to achieve its purpose, the research followed a quantitative approach. this research approach allowed the researcher to numerically analyse the relationships amongst the dependent and independent variables in the study. the students’ emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour were the independent variables whose changes presume to influence the dependent variable (academic achievement). thus, the study came under the umbrella of correlational research design. population, sample and sampling techniques of the study the population of this study were first-year regular diploma trainees of woldia college of teacher education (n = 972, m = 615 and f = 357) in the 2015/2016 academic year. from this population, 179 male and 104 female (total = 283) first-year regular diploma students were selected as source of information using the sampling determination formula of yamane (1967, p. 886) cited in israel (2009), i.e.: n n = 1 + n(e)2 where n is the sample size, n is the population size, and e is the level of precision. since the study focused on first-year students, only first-year students were selected through employing purposive sampling. to do so, stratified random sampling as well as probability proportional to size techniques was used. to make the sample size proportional across departments and gender, their stream (department) and gender were considered as two strata. the following table depicts samples selected in the above-mentioned sampling techniques. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 35 table 1: summary of the sample size by stream and gender stream (department) population sample male female total male female total new modality 562 262 824 164 76 240 special needs 53 16 69 15 5 20 kindergarten (kg) 0 79 79 0 23 23 total 615 357 972 179 104 283 source: wcte registrar’s office data gathering instruments in order to achieve the objectives of the study, four kinds of instruments – emotional intelligence questionnaire, academic help-seeking behaviour questionnaire, psychological help-seeking behaviour questionnaire, and the cumulative grade point average (cgpa) of wcte first-year regular diploma students of 2015/2016 academic year of first semester – were used to gather the necessary data from students. questionnaires a total of three types of questionnaires were developed and administered to collect data on learners’ emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour. the scales were tested for their reliability. the questionnaire consisted of four major parts. in the first part, the respondents were requested to supply general demographic information. the second part consisted of the emotional intelligence questionnaire, the third part consisted of the academic help-seeking behaviour questionnaire, and the fourth part consisted of the psychological help-seeking behaviour items. to lessen the communication or language barrier of the respondents, all the questionnaire items in this study were translated into their mother tongue with the help of two teacher educators of wcte qualified in english language. in addition, with the recommendation of two psychology teacher educators some ambiguous items were re-defined so as to provide more clarity. for all of the three scales (emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour) all of the items were likert-scaled on a fivepoint scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). a. emotional intelligence questionnaire students’ level of emotional intelligence was measured by using 33 items adopted from a previous study (gemechu, 2014) and adding four additional items from different literature sources. the questionnaire consisted of 37 items. b. academic help-seeking behaviour questionnaire the academic help-seeking behaviour questionnaire used to measure the level of students’ academic help-seeking behaviour scale was developed by julia c. sager (2015). the questionnaire consisted of 14 items. 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 c. psychological help-seeking behaviour questionnaire attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help scale – short form (atspphs-sf): this is a ten-item measure adapted from the original attitudes towards seeking professional help scale (fischer & farina, 1995). it is the most widely used measure of individuals’ attitudes towards seeking psychological help (elhai, schweinle & anderson, 2008). higher scores on this measure indicate a more positive attitude about treatment, and are associated with greater intentions to seek psychological help. cumulative grade point average (cgpa) the cumulative gpa of first-year regular diploma students of the 2015/2016 academic year first semester (in all courses) for each student was collected from the registrar’s office of woldia college of teacher education to measure academic achievement score. data gathering procedures pilot study before administration of the questionnaires, the college dean’s consent was required in giving access and permission to conduct a study in the college and to allow students to participate in the study. the researcher asked the consent through describing the purpose of the study and the ethical guidelines to be considered in the study. the informed consent was provided through discussion. the researcher administered the questionnaires (pilot test) to 30 students (15 males and 15 females) who were not part of the study, and calculated item total correlations. the cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability (or consistency) was used to measure internal consistency of the scales. the responses were coded and the reliabilities of the three questionnaires were calculated. accordingly, reliabilities of cronbach’s alpha 0.856, 0.882 and 0.873 for emotional intelligence (comprising 37 items), academic help-seeking behaviour (comprising14 items) and psychological help-seeking behaviour (comprising 10 items) respectively were obtained. the reliability coefficients indicated that the items were highly reliable. george and mallery (2003) suggested the following rules for evaluating alpha coefficients: > 0.9 – excellent; > 0.8 – good; > 0.7  – acceptable; > 0.6 questionable; > 0.5 – poor; < 0.5 – unacceptable. the face validity of the scales was tested by psychology teacher educators in the department of education of wcte. after the reliability score, further modifications were made to make the items clear and understandable. the main data gathering process after the questionnaires were ready for administration, the researcher followed the following data-collection procedures. the questionnaires were administered in students’ respective regular class periods by the researcher himself and four other instructors of the college. after the purposes of the research were clarified and informed consent was gained from respondents, the participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire without a time limit. following this, the questionnaire booklets (emotional intelligence questionnaire, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 37 academic help-seeking behaviour questionnaire and psychological help-seeking behaviour questionnaire) were handed out to the respondents. respondents were asked not to discuss the items as the response of one could influenced another. explanation and examples as to how students should respond to the questionnaire were given by the researcher. instructions and further explanations were given to the effect that first they needed to fill out the demographic questionnaire which requests them to write their gender, section, and roll number (which was used to collect their academic achievement scores). after completing the demographic questionnaire, the participants were told to start completing the questionnaire through reading the instructions. adequate time was provided for the participants to fill out the questionnaires. in order for the students not to provide invalid answers to the questionnaire items, they were allowed to raise any question or doubt while filling out the data. administration of the final version of the questionnaires took place during march 2016. when the students had finished, all the booklets were collected by the researcher’s assistants and the researcher himself. the researcher then thanked the respondents and the assistants for their cooperation. finally, all the data was coded once the coding process was completed and organized for analysis. in addition, regarding the data-collection process through analyzing students’ achievement scores (to measure their academic achievement), the researcher used the following procedure: 1. first, the researcher informed the registrar officer of the college of the purposes of reviewing students’ achievement scores. 2. students’ average achievement scores (cgpa) of all courses taken in first semester were collected by using their roll number. 3. finally, their cgpas were received from the registrar. data analysis techniques the statistical analysis was carried out based on the basic research questions that the study aimed to answer. as it was explained in the previous sections, this research is quantitative. the data were analysed using different statistical tools. so, in this study, to see the general feature of the data on each variable, descriptive statistics like the mean and standard deviation of each variable were calculated. after the data-gathering and coding process, the researcher used the statistical package for social sciences (spss-version 20), amongst the various computational techniques for analysis. three statistical techniques were employed. correlation (pearson’s productmoment correlation) was used to assess the relationship between emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour (predictor variables) on the one hand, and the criterion variable (academic achievement) on the other and between the independent variables. thus, whether these predictor variables (emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour) predict students’ academic achievement was examined. multiple regression analysis was used to examine how well emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 psychological help-seeking behaviour (predictive variables) predict students’ academic achievement (criterion variable). lastly, t-test (independent sample t-test) was used to see if there existed any significant gender differences in the variables of the study. the students’ first semester cgpa was used to represent their academic achievement. ethical considerations pr ior to administer ing the questionnaire, the objectives of the study were clearly explained to the participants and oral infor med consent was obtained. confidentiality and anonymity were ensured throughout the execution of the study. operational definitions emotional intelligence : refers to the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions to discriminate amongst them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions as measured by an emotional intelligence scale. academic help-seeking behaviour : refers to cognitively-oriented achievement behaviour involving the search for the employment of a strategy to obtain academic success. psychological help-seeking behaviour : refers to emotion-oriented counselling services requested by students and delivered by the guidance counsellor. academic achievement : refers to wcte first-year regular diploma students’ first semester cgpa scores in all courses taken in the 2015/2016 academic year. results pearson product-moment correlation as denoted in the statement of the problem, one of the objectives of this study was to examine the relation between emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, psychological help-seeking behaviour, and academic achievement of college students, especially first-year regular diploma students at the wcte. to do this, the pearson productmoment correlation was conducted and the results are indicated in table 2 below. table 2: the correlation between emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, psychological help-seeking behaviour, and academic achievement variables mean sd pearson correlation coefficients 1 2 3 4 1. ei 3.1731 0.3426 1 2. ahsb 3.4643 0.5623 0.153 1 3. phsb 2.9871 0.4742 -0.089 0.252** 1 4. aa 2.5713 0.3317 0.483** 0.409** 0.226* 1 n = 283 {codes were 1 = male, 2 = female}; * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level; ** correlation is significant at the 0.01 level https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 39 as indicated in table 2 above, the results of pearson correlation showed that there was a significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence and academic achievement, r (283) = 0.483**, p < 0.01. similarly, academic help-seeking behaviour had a significant positive correlation with academic achievement, r (283) = 0.409**, p < 0.01. in addition, academic help-seeking behaviour had a significant correlation with psychological helpseeking behaviour, r (283) = 0.252**, p < 0.01. furthermore, there was a positive significant correlation between psychological help-seeking behaviour and students’ academic achievement, r (283) = 0.226*, p < 0.05. the correlation between emotional intelligence and academic help-seeking behaviour was positive but not statistically significant, r (283) = 0.153, p > 0.05. however, there exists a negative but not statistically significant correlation between emotional intelligence and psychological help-seeking behaviour, r (283) = 0.089, p > 0.05. multiple regression analysis the second purpose of this study was to examine how well independent variables predict the dependent variable. hence, multiple regression analysis for all variables was computed. regression analyses typically follow significant correlations and are used to determine the extent to which academic achievement (dependent variable) can be predicted from emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour (independent variables). the utility of regression lies in its future use. the following table presents the result of the multiple regression analysis in which the independent variables were identified in the order of their importance in predicting students’ academic achievement. table 3: multiple regression statistics of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour on academic achievement variables ß std. error ß t p r r2 1. ei 0.441 0.071 0.456 6.223 0.000 0.6199a 0.383 2. ahsb 0.171 0.044 0.290 3.852 0.000 3. phsb 0.136 0.052 0.194 2.592 0.011 the regression analysis results indicated that there was a significant contribution of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour to academic achievement (r2 = 0.383, f = 24.789, p < 0.05). furthermore, the direct effects of the independent variables on academic achievement were determined using beta coefficients. the effects on academic achievement of emotional intelligence ( ß = 0.456, t = 6.223, p < 0.05), academic help-seeking behaviour ( ß = 0.290, t = 3.852, p < 0.05) and psychological help-seeking behaviour ( ß = 0.194, t = 2.592, p < 0.05) were statistically significant. the independent contribution of emotional intelligence to the total variance in academic achievement was found to be 22.0248 %, which was 57.4634% of the total r2 (i.e.  0.383). the independent contribution of academic help-seeking behaviour to the 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 total variance of academic achievement was found to be 11.861%, which was 30.9457% of the total r2(0.383). this means the composite contribution of emotional intelligence and academic help-seeking behaviour to the variance of academic achievement was 88.4091%. the remaining 4.4426% contribution of the total r2, which was 11.5908% of the total r2, was contributed by psychological help-seeking behaviour, independent sample t-test the third purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a statistically significant gender difference of the variables in the study. to do this, independent sample t-test was conducted and the results are presented in table 4. table 4: independent sample t-test variables male (n = 179) female (n = 104) t df sig (2-tailed)mean sd mean sd ei 3.2562 0.31947 2.9341 0.29479 5.007# 282 0.000 ahsb 3.5481 0.61163 3.4532 0.27500 2.899 282 0.104 phsb 2.8848 0.50360 3.2812 0.16547 -4.362# 282 0.000 aa 2.6007 0.33984 2.5419 0.30280 1.308 282 0.193 #p < 0.01 results of t-test analysis in table 4 above revealed that there were significant gender differences in emotional intelligence, t (282) = 5.007, p < 0.05, and psychological help-seeking behaviour, t (282) = -4.362, p < 0.05. the results showed that male students scored statistically higher mean emotional intelligence scores. on the other hand, female students showed more psychological help-seeking behaviour than their male counterparts. however, significant gender differences were not found on academic help-seeking behaviour, t (282) = 2.899, p > 0.05, ns and academic achievement, t (282) = 1.308, p > 0.05, ns. discussion the present study examined the correlates of emotional intelligence, ahsb, and phsb, on academic achievement. the discussion was first about the results obtained with regard to the relationship of ei, ahsb, and phsb with academic achievement. second, regression analyses of the influences of ei, ahsb, and phsb (predictive variables) on academic achievement (criterion variable) were conducted. finally, gender differences in ei, ahsb, phsb and academic achievement were dealt with. intercorrelations amongst variables previous research has shown conflicting information about the relationship between emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, psychological help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement. the results of the pearson correlation analysis presented in table 2 of this study clearly shows that the relationships between students’ https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 41 academic achievement (dependent variable) and emotional intelligence, academic helpseeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour (the independent variables) were statistically significant. the results of this study indicated that emotional intelligence had a significant and positive correlation with the students’ academic achievement. this indicates that as students’ emotional intelligence increases, their academic achievement increases and vice versa. these findings are similar to the findings of many previous international studies, for instance, tamannaifar et al. (2010) and mestre et al. (2006). in addition, in line with the current study, researchers such as yahaya et al. (2011) and mulugeta (2011) found that emotional intelligence significantly and positively related to students’ academic achievement. contrary to the present findings, studies conducted by barchard (2003); bracket and salovey (2006); marquez et al. (2006); sunbul and alsan (2007); newsome, day and catano (2000) cited in mulugeta (2011) reported findings that revealed very weak and non-significant correlation between emotional intelligence and students’ academic achievement. the relationship between emotional intelligence and students’ academic achievement indicated that, as students’ emotional intelligence grows, it is likely that their academic achievement increases and vice versa. the pearson correlation coefficient presented a significant positive relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. in view of this, it is absolutely essential for teacher education colleges to enhance their students’ emotional intelligence, and by so doing, improve the academic achievements of their students. for instance, teachers can enhance students’ emotional intelligence by: embedding social and emotional learning into their teaching practices, encouraging students to develop and share opinions, engaging students in problem-solving, etc. furthermore, the result of this study shows that students’ academic help-seeking behaviour has a significant and positive correlation to students’ academic achievement. this shows that students who have good academic help-seeking behaviour also show good academic achievement. to this end, teachers can improve students’ academic helpseeking behaviour by restructuring the learning environment to one that does not emphasise competition and grades, but focuses more on understanding. in addition, trying to be more interactive and engaging may help to increase students’ academic help-seeking behaviour and decrease ambivalence towards a topic or content area. in line with this, after conducting research on attribution analysis of help-seeking in academic settings ames and lau, (1982); karbenic and kanp (1991) cited in kitsance and chow (2007), concluded, “… when college students are confronted with poor performance, they engage in both achievement-related and help-seeking behaviour”. in addition, the findings of the previous scholars and researchers (such as karabenick & knapp, 1991; ryan et al., 1998; ryan & pintrich, 1997) are in line with the result of this study. according to karabenick and knapp (1991), students who encounter academic difficulties are more likely to first engage in instrumental activities designed to help one improve his/her academic performance, followed by seeking help from informal sources (primarily from peers), seeking help from formal sources (instructors and support services), and lastly, lowering their aspirations and altering their goals. 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 moreover, burgeoning research studies have investigated a significant positive relationship between academic help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement (for instance: triandis, 1994; volet & karabenick, 2006; newman, 1998). according to volet and karabenick (2006), help seeking is currently considered an important learning strategy that is linked to students’ academic performance. according to triandis (1994), cultural factors can influence whether and in what situations students seek help. similarly, volet and karabenick noted that the more students are culturally different from their peers, the less likely they are to approach them for needed academic assistance. for this matter in classroom instruction it is important to understand the multidimensional nature of cultural diversity and inclusion and how this understanding can be used by teachers to more effectively develop varied instructional strategies that will allow them to teach with better cultural responsiveness. newman (1991) stated that help seeking in the classroom is a social transaction. thus, teachers establish and students internalise patterns of classroom discourse, helping students both to accomplish difficult tasks and to learn that questioning is an invaluable academic strategy. in contrast, teachers who take on the role of experts are likely to support overdependent executively expedient help seeking. at this point, teachers’ feedback helps students learn the difference between adaptive and non-adaptive (i.e. expedient) help seeking. encouraging students to go back to an incorrect problem and try to resolve it may convince them of the importance of determining whether they need future assistance. additionally, it may be instrumental in students’ coming to appreciate the function of questioning and help seeking in the ongoing process of self-monitoring and teaching (newman, 1991). in addition, the present study found a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence and academic help-seeking behaviour. this, in other words, means emotional intelligence and academic help-seeking behaviour are significant/positively dependent on each other and students with good academic help-seeking behaviour are likely to have high emotional intelligence and vice versa. the result of this study also revealed that there is a negative and non-significant correlation between emotional intelligence and psychological help-seeking behaviour. this indicates that, students who have high emotional intelligence seem less likely to be psychological help seekers and vice versa. with regard to the relationship between psychological help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement, the findings of this study revealed a positive and significant correlation between students’ psychological help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement, r (283) = 0.226*, p < 0.05. the finding of this study is consistent with goodwin (2008). the findings reported that there existed a significant positive relationship between psychological help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement. this means that when psychological help-seeking behaviour increases, academic achievement increases and if psychological help-seeking behaviour decreases, academic achievement falls. the contributions of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour on students’ academic achievement. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 43 the multiple linear regression analysis results indicated that there were significant contributions of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour to students’ academic achievement (r2 = 0.383, f = 24.789, p < 0.05). furthermore, the beta coefficient analysis was conducted to see the direct effects of study variables on students’ academic achievement. in the current study, the beta coefficient analysis showed that the multiple contributions of emotional intelligence, academic helpseeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour were significant (i.e. the composite contribution of these variables was 38.3%). amongst the total contribution of the three independent variables of the study, emotional intelligence and academic helpseeking variables made a great contribution (i.e. the composite contribution of these two variables was 88.4% to the total r2 which was 38.3%). it is also indicated that emotional intelligence, which accounts for 22.02% of the total variance, was the strongest predictor of students’ academic achievement. when the direct effects of the predictor variables on criterion variables are examined for the overall sample, in support of the literature, in this study emotional intelligence had a significant and positive direct effect on the achievement of students ( ß = 0.456, p < 0.05), indicating that emotionally highly intelligent students had higher academic achievement compared to their counterpart students who had lower emotional intelligence. researchers like guil, mestre and gil-olarte (2004) found that emotional intelligence was a strong predictor of academic achievement. according to them, when other variables were controlled, it was indicated that emotional intelligence contributed significantly to academic achievement. similarly, bhadouria (2013) stated that more than any other variable emotional intelligence was found to be a reliable predictor of academic achievement. findings from this study are consistent with those of the above researchers. in line with this, other researchers (for instance, chew, zain & hassan, 2013) also indicated that emotional intelligence was a significant predictor of academic achievement. furthermore, in this study, academic help-seeking behaviour significantly and positively predicted academic achievement amongst wcte first-year regular diploma students ( ß = 0.290, p < 0.05). students who scored high on measures of academic helpseeking behaviour were more likely to score higher on academic achievement results than students who scored low, and vice versa. this finding was consistent with the findings of ryan and pintrich (1997) and ryan, pintrich and midgley (2001). in addition, in this study, psychological help-seeking behaviour was found to be a positive and significant predictor of academic achievement of wcte first-year regular diploma students ( ß = 0.194, p < 0.05). hence, students who scored high on measures of psychological help-seeking behaviour were more likely to score higher on academic achievement than students who scored low and vice versa. in line with this study, goodwin  (2008) reported that negative attitudes towards psychological help seeking correlated with lower gpas. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 gender differences in emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, psychological help-seeking behaviour, and academic achievement previous research findings reported argumentative statements regarding gender differences in the emotional intelligence of students. for instance, ciarrochi, chan and bajgar (2001) stated that female students reported better emotional intelligence than male students. in line with this, viswantha and siva (2013) also reported that higher emotional intelligence and being female are positively associated with academic success. contrary to the above findings, in line with the present study, researchers, for instance, mishra and ranjan (2008) have studied whether the gender difference affects emotional intelligence of adolescents and the results showed that adolescent boys and girls differ significantly on emotional intelligence, and boys were found to be significantly higher on emotional intelligence than girls. regarding gender differences on students’ academic help-seeking behaviour, researchers, for instance, holt, (2014); elhai, schweinle and anderson (2008); larose and bernier (2001), revealed that females report more positive attitudes about seeking academic help than their male counterparts. in the same vein, holt’s (2014) study revealed that female students reported more positive attitudes towards seeking academic help than their male counterparts. in connection with the findings of the assumption that high performance of female participants was linked to their seeking behaviour, girls are more likely to seek academic help than boys. in this perspective local study, for example, dawit (2008) showed that there is a significant difference between male and female students in academic helpseeking performance. contrary to the above findings, the present study shows no significant gender difference on students’ academic help-seeking behaviour. in line with this study, williams (2011) in his research findings, points out that there was no gender difference with regard to frequency of academic help-seeking behaviour. similarly, kabtamu (2009), in his research findings, explained that no statistically significant difference was obtained in academic help-seeking behaviour between male and female participants. furthermore, with regard to gender differences in psychological help-seeking behaviour, nam et al. (2010) conducted a meta-analysis on gender differences in attitudes towards seeking psychological help amongst college students. their main finding revealed that female college students exhibit more favourable attitudes towards psychological help seeking. the finding of this study is in line with nam et al.’s (2010) report that indicates female students’ higher psychological help-seeking behaviour than their male counterparts. the probable explanation for this may be due to the fact that females reported lower emotional intelligence scores compared to their male counterparts and their lesser tendency to express their emotions. in the same vein, research has consistently found that females and people with previous counselling experience show more favourable attitudes towards seeking help than males and people with no previous counselling experience. in this regard, addis and mahalik (2003) concluded that across ages, ethnicities and social backgrounds, males are less likely than females to seek help for physical and mental health problem. in line with this, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 45 evidence indicates that help-seeking behaviour might be different from culture to culture or from place to place (tien, 1997, cited in kabtamu, 2009). with regard to gender differences in academic achievement, there are argumentative findings. for instance, ewumi (2012) reported a negative significant relationship between gender and students’ academic achievement. of course, there are also contrary findings, which stated that no significant difference between gender and academic achievement was observed (farook, 2003; naderi et al., 2009, cited in tadesse, 2011). the result of the current study indicated that there was no statistically significant gender difference in students’ academic achievement. consistent with the findings of farook (2003) and naderi et al. (2009) cited in tadesse (2011), the result of the present study revealed no statistically significant academic achievement difference between male and female college students, even though male students scored higher on academic achievement (m = 2.6007, sd = 0.3398) than their female counterparts (m = 2.5419, sd = 0.3028). the probable explanation for the finding that there is no statistically significant difference in the academic achievement between female and male college students could be that, mostly in rural ethiopian culture, societal as well as parental attitudes and expectations favour males’ education over females’ education. the assumption is that female students are kept busy doing home circumstance routine duties and do not have time to do their academic activities which might have affected the academic achievement of male students positively while it affected the academic achievement of female students negatively. however, at this level of education (college education), since female students are living away from their parents, they do not devote much of their time to doing home circumstance tasks. rather, their study hours are equal to their male counterparts’ which enables them to perform effectively in academic endeavours. conclusions in conclusion, in this study emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour are significantly and positively correlated with the wcte first-year diploma students’ academic achievement. the multiple regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour positively and significantly predict the students’ academic achievement. the independent t-test analysis results indicated that there exist statistically significant differences on students’ emotional intelligence and psychological help-seeking behaviour based on gender. in this regard, male students were found to have higher emotional intelligence than female students and female students were found to be more psychological help seekers than male students. in contrast, there were no significant gender differences on students’ academic help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement. in general, this study clearly shows that emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour variables are related to wcte first-year college students’ academic achievement. thus, we have to find ways to foster the students’ emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, as well as psychological help-seeking behaviour in the interests of better academic achievement. 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 recommendations based on the major findings and the conclusions drawn, the following points are implied to be taken into account by line stakeholders: 1. the college should: • prepare intensive orientation material about the importance of seeking academic and psychological help by initiating contact with professionals and present academic support when they first come to the college; and • emphasise social life, academic activities and adaptation mechanisms to the new environment by addressing problems of cultural norms and gender differences. 2. the college instructors ought to: • create smooth and friendly relationships with their students, and let the students know that the instructors are usually open and helpful; • give emphasis in the classroom and throughout the whole teaching and learning process to promoting emotional intelligence and academic helpseeking behaviour amongst the students; and • design lessons in a way that appeals to students’ emotional needs and enhances emotional abilities. the reason for this is that even if they are academically successful but lack these skills, they may not be productive, especially in the areas of dealing with the emotional, social and behavioural issues of human beings. additionally, the ability to integrate emotional information into cognitive activities is essential to effective functioning across the entire course of the students’ lives. 3. on their part, the students have to: • develop the habit of asking for academic and psychological help/advisory and counselling services from their parents, teachers and counsellors; and • create friendly relationships with their parents and teachers so as to develop their emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours for their academic success as well as social relationships. 4. all bodies concerned, such as family, school community and community-based organisations should: • avoid imposing any cultural practices that could promote gender differences of emotional intelligence and help seeking behaviours; • play a greater role to prepare the students for high emotional intelligence through rewarding them and giving them recognition for their improved emotional intelligence within the family, the school environment and the community they live in; and • consider academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour to prepare the students to contribute significantly to social capital and community services. accordingly, attention should be given to the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 melese astatke: first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours … 47 emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours of college students rather than focusing only on their cognitive intelligence because these behaviours will be of vital importance in their professional services to the community. overall, the researcher would like to recommend that parents, instructors, counsellors and the college administrative bodies work on promoting students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours to enhance academic achievement of students in the wcte. in addition, since the study was conducted in a limited area, it is more important to conduct a similar study that would represent a larger population of college students. in fact, it would be advisable for educators, curriculum designers, counsellors, etc., to focus not only on cognitive factors, but also on non-cognitive factors such as emotional intelligence and psychological help-seeking behaviour etc. in the teaching and learning process. in summary, these findings have offered insight into the correlations between students’ emotional intelligence, help-seeking behaviours and their academic achievement. future research will also be needed to clarify the causes of gender differences between students’ emotional intelligence and psychological help-seeking behaviour variables. acknowledgements the author would like to thank all participants of the study at woldia college of teacher education. references abdu, e. 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(2013). emotional intelligence among teacher trainees. global research analysis, 2(12). volet, s. & karabenick, s. (2006). help seeking in cultural context. in: s. karabenick & r. newman (eds.). help seeking in academic settings: goals, groups, and contexts (pp.  117–150). mahwah, n.j.: lawrence erlbaum associates. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730010024762 https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730010024762 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.45.1.79 https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.483714 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.90.3.528 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.90.3.528 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.89.2.329 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.89.2.329 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.97.2.275 http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses/ 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 29–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 williams, j.d. & takaku, s. (2011). help seeking, self-efficacy, and writing performance among college students. journal of writing research, 3(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2011.03.01.1 yahaya, a., ee, n.s., bachok, j.d.j., yahaya, n., bon, a.t. & ismail, s. (2011). the relationship of dimensions of emotional intelligence and academic performance in secondary school students. elixir psychology, 41, 5821–5826. how to cite: melese astatke (2018). first-year college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours as correlates of their academic achievement. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 29–50. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2011.03.01.1 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.2515 _goback __refheading__4590_851070015 __refheading__4598_851070015 __refheading__4600_851070015 __refheading__4608_851070015 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, v-xii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.131 www.jsaa.ac.za equity and social justice in higher education teboho moja*, thierry m. luescher** and birgit schreiber*** editorial * clinical professor for higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university ** senior researcher and assistant director: institutional research, university of the free state. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com *** senior director of student affairs, university of stellenbosch. in networks of outrage and hope (2015), manuel castells discusses the new social movements of popular unrest, starting with the arab spring and occupy movements that began with, and were accelerated by, “internet social networks […] beyond the control of governments and corporations” and protested the economic and political corruption and social injustices prevalent in our world (castells, 2015, p. 2). according to castells, the new movements indicate a shift in power to those who can wield social media and thereby influence the “construction of meaning” (p. 5). the cyberspace of social media – representing a “space of autonomy” (p. 250) – is now being claimed by students for the movement for change in higher education in africa, the usa and the world as a whole; student organising is taking on a new kind of form, which luescher and klemenčič (forthcoming 2016) call the “internet-age student movement”. the new cyber-savvy student – horizontally engaged, organically organised above partisan lines but deeply connected to the real issues of social injustice – is changing the worldscape of higher education. the hashtag movements in south africa of 2015, of which the best known are #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall, are certainly the most prominent manifestations of the “internet-age student movement” phenomenon in africa so far. students at the university of cape town spearheaded the #rhodesmustfall movement, calling for an institutional culture that reflects their africanness to decolonise higher education in south africa – including its curriculum – and for advances in equity and inclusivity. for many acute observers of higher education in africa, these calls are reminiscent of those made in the early 1970s by post-independence governments and the professors and leadership of the first african universities that were based on the rationale that africa needed african universities that support the developmental state (yesufu, 1973). the millennial student is making a different call – to hold government and institutions vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, v-xii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.131 accountable to principles of equity and social justice alongside their claims of supporting a developmental state. for south africa’s institutions, particularly its historically advantaged ones, the call is to transform their institutional cultures, which are frequently characterised as ‘privileged’. moreover, after having reclaimed the institution, and with the statue of cecil john rhodes having fallen, the new student wants access to affordable education – hence the #feesmustfall movement’s demands to government to deliver on the right to affordable education have become synonymous with higher education struggles in the developing world and reflect a global pattern of post-2009 student struggles against austerity and the rising costs of higher education to students. fees have not yet fallen; but in south africa, at least, fee increases have been halted for now and may soon be falling for good. the issues in other african countries are not that different. student protests over tuition fees, related matters of student funding and conditions of learning are commonplace. for example, in kenya, university of nairobi students demanded the immediate release of funds by the higher education loans board earlier in 2015; at makerere university in uganda, protests erupted yet again at the start of the new academic year in october, against university management’s tuition fee policy; and at the university of lagos in nigeria, the death of a student by a falling power cable has sparked protests against the dangerous neglect of campus infrastructure and the lack of responsiveness and sympathy by university officials. in addition, students continue to play a traditional role as “extra-parliamentary opposition” in countries like the drc and egypt, putting their lives on the line for a better future for all. sadly, the response by governments continues to be one of elevating the level of violence and tensions between students, university administrators and governments. in the us, where small-scale protests have not really amounted to much in the decades since the major anti-vietnam protests, students are also bringing about change in the higher education landscape. the #blackoncampus movement is an expression of the feeling of being unwelcome and under-represented on campuses that maintain hegemonic assumptions about privilege. students are protesting over race relations issues and the lack of support for the under-represented black minority and potentially “invisible” groups. the recent university of missouri protest by a student on a hunger strike is a case in point: the football team’s threat not to play and to cause a big loss in university revenue led to the resignation of both the system president and the campus chancellor within days of the protests starting. in no time, other campuses joined to show solidarity with the protesting students. students at ithaca college renewed their campaign to push out their president for his failure adequately to address racial incidents on campus. at vanderbilt university, students are calling for the dismissal of a professor whose column last january regarding the incidents in paris are said to be anti-islamic. support for missouri students has also been reported from smith college, where students and professors joined the protest. students at the university of iowa wore black clothes and rallied at the old capitol. student activism has been re-ignited in a new and powerful way and university leadership is responding quickly to meet or address the demands being made. similar to #rhodesmustfall, princeton university students have demanded that woodrow wilson must fall, and a sit-in in the president’s office has led to a commitment to remove woodrow teboho moja, thierry m. luescher & birgit schreiber: equity and social justice in higher education vii wilson’s name from campus due to his racist tendencies and advocacy for segregation. townson university and occidental college students also made demands that are changing their institutions (jaschik, 2015a; 2015b). the knee-jerk reaction of university leadership should be of concern to student affairs professionals more than ever, due to the need to focus on their role in advancing not only awareness of issues of social justice but also of enabling students to become constructive agents of change and to challenge visible and invisible structures that maintain inequities, to “imagine a different future” and “use knowledge for social transformation” (osei-kofi, 2011, p. 393). for us in the student affairs profession, there is the realisation of the power of the student voice when there is lack of proactive and constructive use of established mechanisms in addressing students’ concerns. student affairs professionals should take heed of the knowledge available on student activism and advise university leadership accordingly. thus, it is well known that the violent repression of student protests is a key factor in increasing the size and militancy of student movements and that, in the long run, repressive strategies are highly counterproductive: the ways in which student activists articulate their concerns tends to be conditioned by the response they expect (altbach, 1991; lueschermamashela, 2015). engaging with the theoretical foundations of student affairs is one of the hallmarks of a professionalised practice. it is important for diverse students to feel welcome, receive support and be included in the campuses on which they study, not only for the sake of middle-class notions of “comfort” and “feeling at home”, but also for delivering on equitable access and acknowledging and supporting diversity and inclusivity as values in themselves. in the article on international students’ experiences at an east african university, janice rasmussen shares lessons about what it is like to be a student in a foreign country; the article highlights the need to provide the necessary support and a sense of welcome. the article by ana naidoo and juan-claude lemmens of the university of pretoria focuses on intervention strategies for supporting first-year students. this contribution introduces our focus on the first-year student experience that we will pursue in depth in the first 2016 issue of the journal. support for students is indeed critical for ensuring epistemological access, and the article on the attitude of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners towards academic development classes by thembeka shange from the tshwane university of technology speaks equally to those issues. epistemological access is also a key topic in the book review included in this issue (see below). the increasing diversity of the student bodies at universities, along with the rise of identity politics in general, has long been acknowledged as a challenge for student affairs; in south africa, with its history of apartheid institutionalised racism and colonial-era social conventions of racial discrimination and exploitation, addressing the legacy of apartheid in general and academic segregation in particular is a key aspect of a transformation agenda based on the principles of social justice and equity. while the common-sense notion of transformation in south africa – even in higher education – has become closely associated with the ‘numbers game’ of demographics, the article by shose kessi and josephine cornell shows a much richer, deeper dimension that remains largely unaddressed. ‘coming to viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, v-xii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.131 uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race’ uses a powerful methodology, photovoice, to analyse the racialised discourses embedded in the institutional culture of the university of cape town, a historically white university. kessi and cornell’s article expands on earlier findings by zimitri erasmus and jacques de wet (2003) about the burden of black students at historically white universities to do all the ‘race work’ –  for example, naming ‘race’ and problematising the racially biased nature of social relations, the university environment and the curriculum to which white staff and students are blind. the article also relates to points made by john higgins (2007) that a core problem of institutional culture is the pedagogical culture and culture of transmission in south african universities, which must address “the reality of the uneven distribution of cultural capital” (p. 116). in our view, however, the latter point needs revision and further investigation. we would argue that it is less an “uneven distribution of cultural capital” and much more a deeply biased validation of only one racialised kind of cultural capital: what is typically referred to as ‘whiteness’. kessi and cornell’s article illustrates this in the quotes they provide of students’ reflections on a set of photographs taken at uct. in so many ways, the article captures the sense of disappointment and injustice experienced by black students that has given rise to the #rhodesmustfall movement. in the us, which has a similar history to that of south africa, the protests noted above, such as #blackoncampus, are awakening calls to engage with race issues that are often ignored in the hope that they will go away. indeed, identity politics will be with us in student affairs for as long as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and so forth are used as grounds for ‘othering’ and discriminating unfairly, including and advantaging some and excluding and disadvantaging others. the field of ‘transforming’ is as wide and diverse as the student affairs profession and also reaches deep into the core of the academic realm. while professionalisation is not a panacea, an amateurish approach to student affairs is fast approaching its best-before date. thus, we submit that at the heart of the current upheavals in higher education are the principles of social justice and equity – in particular, equity in education. as we know, equity and equality are two concepts that are often used interchangeably even though we know they are not. equity is about the recognition that a differentiated response is required to enable parity of living. within critical social theory, nancy fraser (2009) and joan tronto (2013) discuss ethics of care and participatory parity as a key aspect of equitable living and that a range of varied responses to conditions of living as well as transformative approaches are required to address the structures that maintain inequities. bozalek and carolissen (2014, p. 16) suggest that we need to “create opportunities for people to participate on an equal footing”, and that this is an expression of recognition of diversity of living. it is a lived form of social justice. in african student affairs, the current developments leave us with a number of questions: what is the next #movement? will the south african phenomenon of #movements, which started at one institution, spread to others and eventually galvanised in a nationwide #feesmustfall movement, mobilise continentally across the african cyberspace? equity and social justice in higher education are continental – indeed global – concerns. how will teboho moja, thierry m. luescher & birgit schreiber: equity and social justice in higher education ix student affairs rise to the challenge? we are sure to continue keeping an eye on the current developments and publish the contributions that will advance a professional reflexivity about, theoretical engagement with, and empirical understanding of this. we close off this issue of the jsaa with two invitations to our readers to engage with the diverse literature spanning the field of student affairs. the first is the review of ursula wingate’s (2015) book, academic literacy and student diversity: the case of inclusive practice, reviewed brilliantly by thengani ngwenya. according to ngwenya, wingate’s book “is not just another textbook on academic literacy but an incisive critique of the often taken-forgranted conceptions of academic literacy and its role in curriculum design and pedagogy” (p. 61). he argues that the book shows that epistemological access is deeply intertwined with academic literacy; that academic literacy is far more than a set of reading and writing skills to be delivered to ‘disadvantaged students’ to be able to cope with higher education; and that wingate succeeds in proposing a more egalitarian and transformative approach to academic literacy based on the language socialisation and socio-cultural theory. if this sounds like jargon, ngwenya assures readers that the book is “eminently readable” and “will appeal to both experts and novices working in the field of academic literacies in higher education” (p. 61). our second invitation to read is a set of three reading lists for practitioners and scholars of student affairs in africa, which were compiled by tom ellet, birgit schreiber and travis york respectively. this is the third anniversary issue of the journal of student affairs in africa. we started this journey in 2013 and are deeply grateful to all contributors, editors and peer reviewers for continuing to share their knowledge and invest their time and expertise in our common quest to contribute to the professionalisation of student affairs in africa. we are also indebted to our colleagues at the university of the western cape libraries and e-publications and at our publisher african minds, who have taken responsibility for the professional and technical aspects of the publishing of jsaa since its launch. in its first three years, the jsaa has grown immensely. on the one hand, we now have a growing stock of research articles of increasingly high quality; on the other hand, we have found ourselves having to reject a number of articles or redirect articles that did not match the scope of the jsaa. of most concern, we detected this year two cases of serious plagiarism in submitted manuscripts, which confirmed our practice of putting submissions through plagiarism detection software. the growth of the jsaa is also evident in statistics provided by google analytics: the jsaa has a readership that hails from all continents. indeed, among the top 50 countries from which the journal was accessed, there are several from the african continent from which the open-access, online version of the jsaa is accessed: botswana, egypt, ethiopia, ghana, kenya, mozambique, nigeria, south africa, uganda, zambia and zimbabwe. it further includes users from all other brics countries (of which china tops the list), as well as from other countries across the globe such as the united states (which overall tops the list), australia, canada, germany, japan and the united kingdom. we had over 4 500 new users of the website in 2015 alone (not counting the surge in users when this issue goes live), of which over 240 have registered on the website to receive regular notices. x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, v-xii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.131 as members of the editorial executive of jsaa we remain fully committed to the jsaa’s mission “to be the foremost academic journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in universities on the african continent”. thus, in the course of 2014, jsaa was evaluated and included in the directory of open access journals (doaj), and this year we have started the process of being evaluated and indexed in african journals online (ajol), the world’s largest online collection of african-published, peer-reviewed scholarly journals (see www.ajol.info). our mediumand long-term goals are to gain endorsements and accreditation by institutional, professional, national and continental bodies such as the south african department of higher education and training, and to have jsaa included in all relevant international indices. as we continue to monitor the journal’s impact, we find that published articles are also increasingly surfacing in citations. there is a wellknown lag in citation impact of works published in the humanities and social sciences; yet, given our focus on quality, relevance and accessibility, we are confident that our contributors will find themselves affirmed in the choice of the journal as a manner of inserting themselves into a global scholarly discourse on student affairs in africa and beyond. we hope you will enjoy this issue, and dare to enter the debates and contribute an article. for the editorial executive, prof. teboho moja, dr thierry m. luescher and dr birgit schreiber references altbach, p.g. 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(2015). theorising student activism in and beyond the 20th century: the contribution of philip g. altbach. in: klemenčič, m., bergan, s. & primožič, r. (eds). (2015). student engagement in europe: society, higher education and student governance. council of europe higher education series. strasbourg: council of europe. magolda, p.m. & baxter magolda, m.b. (eds) (2011). contested issues in student affairs. virginia: stylus. osei-kofi, n. (2011) beyond awareness: student affairs educators as social justice advocates. in p.m. magolda & m. baxter magolda (eds). contested issues in student affairs. virginia: stylus, pp. 387–393. tronto, j. (2013). caring democracies: markets, equality and justice. new york: nyu press. yesufu, t.m. (1973). the role and priorities of the university in development. in yesufu, t.m. (ed.). creating the african university: emerging issues of the 1970s. ibadan: oxford university press. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 61 www.jsaa.ac.za research article theorising the #mustfall student movements in contemporary south african higher education: a social justice perspective mlamuli nkosingphile hlatshwayo* & kehdinga george fomunyam** * dr mlamuli nkosingphile hlatshwayo is a lecturer in curriculum and education studies, university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: hlatshwayom@ukzn.ac.za ** dr kehdinga george fomunyam is a senior research fellow at the durban university of technology, south africa. email: georgek@dut.ac.za abstract a significant amount of literature on the student movement in south africa is characterised by two limitations. firstly, a significant amount of this literature is found in un‑academic and non‑peer‑reviewed sources, such as social media, online newspapers, blog posts and other platforms. secondly, some of this literature is characterised by an absence of theory in offering us critical analysis of the emergent conditions of the student movement as a phenomenon in south african higher education (sahe). in this article, we respond to the above gaps by contributing to the scholarly development and critical analysis of the student movement in sahe. in order to respond to the above two gaps, we firstly provide a brief historical and contextual environment that has contributed to the emergence of the student movement phenomenon in sahe. secondly, we introduce nancy fraser’s social justice perspective, in offering us the theoretical and conceptual tools we need to look at the struggles and challenges that confront student movements, focusing in particular on the challenges that frustrate them in relating and interacting as peers on an equal footing in society. using fraser’s social justice framework to look at the #mustfall movements will allow us to better understand them as complex phenomena in sahe and allow us to properly understand their emergence. keywords higher education; institutional differentiation; participatory parity; social justice; student movements; student politics introduction in the beginning of 2015, the then little known #rhodesmustfall activist chumani maxwele and a small group of students from the university of cape town (uct) poured faeces at the statue of the arch imperialist and coloniser, cecil john rhodes, calling for transformation at uct. this culminated in nationwide protests regarding the widespread calls for higher education (he) to transform/africanise/decolonise particularly in historically white universities (hwus). subsequent calls for transformation have shed a spotlight on a range of issues which include but are not limited to the funding crisis https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:hlatshwayom%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= mailto:georgek%40dut.ac.za?subject= 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 facing higher education institutions (heis); academic staff diversity; the marginalised experiences of black female academic staff in he; the plight of workers and outsourcing; the often forgotten experiences of disabled students; the experiences of first‑generation black working‑class students who are the first in their family to come to university; the role of language as a symbolic representation of hegemonic cultures, epistemic racism, and cultural alienation; the deeply contested notions of he curricula as an “institution”, one that embodies eurocentric and alienating values and beliefs, and others (badat,  2009,  2016b; bosch,  2017; bozalek & boughey, 2012; amit chaudhuri,  2016; heleta, 2016; jansen, 2003; maringira & gukurume, 2017; mbembe, 2015; naicker, 2015; ngcobozi, 2015; oxlund, 2016). firstly, a significant amount of this literature is often found in opinion pieces, national and local magazines, on social media platforms and others. although this could be categorised as primary data and useful to our critical understanding of the emergence of the student movement as a phenomenon in sahe, this literature is, albeit new, only emerging now in the 2015‑2016 period and has not been subjected to peer review, critical discussion or theorisation to a sufficient extent. secondly, some of this literature is characterised by an absence of theory in offering critical analysis of the emergent conditions of the student movement as a phenomenon within the sahe. while we note emerging literature from nyamnjoh (2016), mbembe (2010; 2015), badat (2016b), luescher, klemenčič and jowi  (2016) and others who have used various theories to make sense of student movements, student activism and student politics, there is nonetheless a gap in the literature as a significant amount of the canon is either descriptive regarding the experiences of students in he or focuses on policy. for instance, in their recent work, case, marshall, mckenna and mogashana (2018) critically interrogate the experiences of young south africans on how they negotiate their university life, including illuminating for us the often forgotten experiences and challenges faced by students who drop out. some of the scholars who explored 2015‑2016 student movements have looked at the role of psychology in supporting student movements (pillay, 2016); the role of social media, in particular “twitter activism”, in sparking the #feesmustfall movement (bosch, 2017); the role of fees in student movements as a barrier to accessing he (chaundry, 2016; hodes, 2016); linking the emergence of student movements with the other forms of popular protest in south africa and to what extent the emergence of student movements can be located in the manner in which he has been historically structured in the country (naicker, 2016). it should be noted that in this article, we are not focusing on the transformation debates in higher education; student activism; student violence (both physical and epistemological); stakeholder engagements; university governance structures and others. although all these matters are related and intersect with the emergence of student movements in sahe, they are nonetheless not explored in this article as we respond to the above gaps by contributing to the scholarly development and critical analysis of contemporary student movements in sahe. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 63 fraser’s social justice framework offers us the theoretical tools to look at the role of social arrangements that ought to enable people to relate and interact as peers on an equal footing in society. her notion of participatory parity identifies for us three key dimensions for participatory parity to be achieved – these are the economic, cultural and political dimensions. these three dimensions will help theorise contemporary student movements in the sahe landscape and help to elucidate the conditions of their emergence within the he landscape as a phenomenon. before we discuss fraser’s social justice framework in terms of the the theoretical lenses towards which we will be leaning to make sense of and understand contemporary student movements as phenomena within the sahe landscape, it is important to first outline the context and contested history of he in south africa so as to understand and extrapolate the emergent conditions of student movements within sahe. we now turn to this context. mapping the context: the sahe and its (brief) history in this section, we offer a brief critical discussion on the manner in which sahe institutions are structurally shaped and historically influenced by the apartheid period. we do not seek to suggest that student movements as a phenomenon only began during the apartheid era. we  are only highlighting the profound ways in which apartheid thinking influenced institutions of higher learning, and how we continue to be affected by this in contemporary society. sahe institutions are profoundly influenced and shaped by the history of colonialisation and apartheid (akoojee & nkomo, 2007; badat, 2010; jansen,  2008). the apartheid regime’s attempt at racial separation and the reinforcement of white supremacy meant that heis were seen as intellectual, academic, linguistic and socioeconomic instruments of social engineering, with the graduates of he seen as contributing to the needs of the apartheid state or been relegated to the “bantustans”. this implication for he under the apartheid regime meant that critical conversations only emerged in the early 1990s regarding the role that ought to be played by he in a democratic south africa (akoojee & nkomo, 2007; badat, 2010, 2016a). badat (2008,  p. 121) highlights the relationship between he and the apartheid social order and its implication for the post‑apartheid era as follows: in apartheid south africa, social inequalities of a class, race, gender, institutional, and spatial nature profoundly shaped higher education. given this, south africa’s new democratic government committed itself in 1994 to transforming higher education as well as the inherited apartheid social and economic structure, and institutionalizing a new social order. necessarily, the realisation of social equity and redress for historically disadvantaged social groups in higher education, and therefore, the issue of admissions, has also loomed large in policy discourse. in order to critically interrogate the emergence of student movements as a phenomenon in sahe we need to look at how differentiated the higher education system was under apartheid. this will help illuminate and tease out the conditions of possibility that necessitate student movements to emerge in he. naidoo (2004) argues that there 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 were three kinds of universities under the apartheid period – that is, the dominant tier, the intermediary tier and finally, the subordinate tier. in the dominant tier were the universities that were established during the british colonial period whose function was to serve as an instrument of english values, ethics and morals. when the apartheid regime introduced the apartheid laws in 1959, these universities became reserved for white students (naidoo, 2004, p. 461). dominant tier universities were, and to a significant extent continue to be, research intensive with their institutional infrastructure and research output internationally recognised and competitive. the intermediary universities were predominantly afrikaans speaking and were established in response to the anglo‑boer war for the benefit of the afrikaner community. the primary function of these universities was to act as a socioeconomic and linguistic response to the dominant universities in the first tier, and to help construct, maintain and extend afrikaner national identity, values and cultural beliefs. it was these institutions that helped to produce some of the apartheid intellectual, academic and political elites who helped legitimate and maintain the regime. in countering the predominant influence of the imperial values and british influence found in the universities in the dominant tier, these universities became instruments of producing the apartheid, nationalist values as espoused and promoted by the then national party through the production of competing knowledge and ideologies as required and supported by the then regime (naidoo, 2004). universities in the third and final tier were the subordinated universities that were set up for the different black south african ethnic groups.1 these universities were characterised by, and largely still continue to experience poor funding, poor infrastructure and social upheaval. it was largely in the subordinate tier institutions, together with universities in the dominant tier, that resistance to the apartheid regime emerged within the he system. a significant number of student movements and their concomitant political influence emerged from within this subordinate tier. naidoo (2004, p. 463) argues that what made one of these universities become politically conscious and its students acutely aware of the injustices of the regime, was that the university: … forged an alliance with the mdm [mass democratic movement] that resulted in the university remaining locked in the heteronomous sector. however, the political stance against apartheid and its aim of developing an alternative model of university education attracted a significant number of radical academics with high levels of academic capital. the university’s position‑taking and the influx of academic capital resulted in the university ascending to a dominant position relative to other black universities in the subordinate sector of the field. 1 while we acknowledge the non‑existence of “race” biologically (smedley & smedley, 2005), the racial categories of black and white are used here to emphasise the historical and social consequences of these identities on factors such as history, socioeconomic status, educational and occupational status, wealth, political power, notions of belonging, social and epistemic justice, being‑ness and others (du bois, 2008; gordon, 2013; maldonado‑torres, 2007; mudimbe, 1988). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 65 the ideological underpinning of the apartheid education policy was specifically designed to fit in with the broader apartheid social arrangements – that is, distributing educational resources unequally on the basis of “race”, teaching black students that their marginality and oppressed position in south african society was “natural”, and in the process, imbuing in them an ethnic “tribal” identity and locating them with “their own” people (reddy, 2004). thus they ensured that they created two types of subalterns for the regime – “a small elite to operate the administrative structures of the subaltern (in the bantustans and urban areas) and a labouring class to perform unskilled labour for the industrial economy” (reddy, 2004, p. 9). this ensured that the he terrain was used as a space in which the broader social engineering goals of the regime were achieved and that racialisation and “ethnicisation” played a significant role in the “tribalisation” of students and the broader population. reddy (2004, p. 9) argues that this differentiated he landscape: …  was produced in keeping with the imperatives of the grand apartheid project. the unintended consequence was that the black universities created conditions that led to the emergence of student resistance. the latter helped create and sustain the internal resistance movement and together with structural factors (economic contradictions, regional changes and global pressures) helped produce the collapse of the apartheid regime. the role of the he landscape under apartheid was to ensure that different ethnic groups were divided according to their “tribal” identities, and the social construction of the subaltern would serve the interests of the bantustan as well as the broader state functioning goals of the regime. this resulted in the unintended consequences of creating the conditions of possibility that led to the emergence of student movements that acted as a force of resistance, particularly in historically black universities (hbus). as we have argued in the introduction of this article, the student movement phenomenon is not new in the sahe landscape. in contemporary sahe it has historical influences from and can be located to the 1976 soweto uprisings, with three key trends that can be identified as having played a significant role in the emergence of student movements and their political organisations (reddy, 2004, p. 19). firstly, black student numbers significantly increased at universities, particularly at the hbus, which provided the immediate basis for political mobilisation and effective mass protests. secondly, the apartheid regime’s comprehensive separation of students into ethnic institutions and the repressive atmosphere that was prevailing in the black colleges served as a stark contrast with the conditions at the hwus. this played a significant role in alienating, frustrating and angering black students (reddy, 2004). this was further exacerbated by the differences in the material conditions amongst the campuses and constituted one of the key conditions for the emergence of student movements as a phenomenon under the apartheid social order. the third trend was seen in how the “new” institutional vision from the apartheid regime, beginning in the early 1950s, had racially segregated heis and attempted to socially construct ethnic subaltern subjects, producing new forms of protests and resistance through the emergence and spread of black consciousness ideas and practices (reddy, 2004). 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 reddy (2004) further argues that these revolts were occurring within the socio‑ political climate of the security police fears, a political apathy within the repressed communities as well as the organisational and political “vacuum” in black politics – the may to june 1972 student boycotts were important developments in student politics. the spread and influence of black consciousness beyond university students of the south african students organisation (saso), together with the 1972 boycotts of bantu education, greatly contributed to the rejection of apartheid education in most urban areas (reddy, 2004). one of the defining moments in student movement history was seen when the department of bantu education in 1974 sent a circular instructing african schools that the afrikaans language would from 1975 be the language of instruction in 50% of the subjects (reddy, 2004). the south african students movement (sasm), founded in 1968 as a coalition of different and often contradictory views, in bringing together the urban school‑ going youth (diseko, 1992) strongly organised in areas such as orlando west, naledi high and morris isaacson, calling for students to boycott classes from mid‑1975 (reddy, 2004). this resulted in a mass rally organised by sasma on 16 june 1976 in soweto at orlando stadium. police shot at the demonstrating crowd, killing hector pieterson, who was to become the first of over 600 students, youth and adults killed by the police (reddy, 2004). this revolt spread to the larger soweto townships around the transvaal, the western cape and natal. in contemporary south africa, scholars have argued that there was no ‘post’ moment for students registered in historically black universities, technical vocational education and training (tvet) colleges as well as universities of technology, which seem to have been experiencing massive student protests since the dawn of the new democratic dispensation. these students have been protesting issues such as fighting for financial support from the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas); demanding quality accommodation; that tertiary institutions not financially and academically exclude students; demanding transport and other demands (south african history online, 2015). for instance, student protest turned violent at the beginning of 2012 at the cape peninsula university of technology (cput), when the university announced a high registration fee of r5 000 (holgate, 2012), resulting in the south african students’ congress (sasco) leading a massive protest on campus. similarly, a massive protest occurred in four different universities in 2014, when students demanded to enrol without paying fees after the universities had claimed they owed fees from the previous financial year, and thus were prevented from registering while the money was outstanding. this resulted in massive protests and the disruption of registration at university of johannesburg (uj), durban university of technology (dut), mangosuthu university of technology (mut) and the university of limpopo (makoni, 2014). davids and waghid (2016) argue that there is an inequality in the manner in which protests and social disruption in hbus are treated compared to protest action in hwus, suggesting that this a reminder of the deeply embedded apartheid inequality reflected in he: protests at south africa’s universities didn’t suddenly start in 2015 with the “fees must fall” movement. students at poorer institutions that cater almost exclusively for black students such as the cape peninsula university of technology, fort hare university and the tshwane https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 67 university of technology have been protesting routinely against rising fees and the cost of higher education since 1994. but their protest action was largely ignored and often didn’t make headlines beyond regional newspapers. the most recent “fees must fall” protests have involved students from both historically advantaged and historically disadvantaged universities. they have attracted widespread media coverage and have sparked solidarity protests in london and new york. the two very different responses – little media attention given to earlier protests at historically black universities versus widespread coverage and international solidarity for protests at historically white universities – are a stark reminder of post‑apartheid south africa’s embedded inequalities. (davids & waghid, 2016, para. 1‑4) having briefly engaged the historicity and context of student movements in south africa, it is critical to theorise this experience and/or phenomenon using a lens that can offer appropriate tools with which the discussion can be advanced. in the next section, therefore, we introduce the theoretical tools that helped frame the article and allowed us to critically engage with and theorise contemporary student movements in the sahe landscape. fraser’s social justice framework fraser equates justice with the ability of people to participate as equal and full partners in social interactions (fraser, 2000, 2001, 2009). adopting a structural understanding of society, she argues that justice requires social arrangements that enable people to compete on equal footing and proposes a three‑dimensional approach to social justice – the economic, the cultural and political. this means that social arrangements must be such that they allow individuals in society to participate as equals in all three dimensions. fraser considers that, although interconnected and linked with one another, they are nonetheless distinct “genres of social justice” which all affect an individual’s ability to interact as equals (bozalek & boughey, 2012). thus, we suggest that although the three dimensions could be analytically separated from each other, they nonetheless intersect in one’s life in either enabling or constraining participatory parity. firstly, in the economic dimension, the distribution of material resources is central to enabling individuals to interact as equals in society. participatory parity would be constrained if there is a maladministration of resources or where there is marginality, deprivation, disparities in the income and wealth, labour and leisure time (bozalek & boughey, 2012; fraser, 2009). in the economic dimension, class‑based structural inequalities are at the heart of dis‑enabling individuals in society from interacting as equals in society, thereby resulting in distributive injustice in looking at the economic structures at play. in sahe, distributive injustice on the economic dimension is seen with the experiences of first‑generation black working‑class students and their marginalised experiences. this occurs as a result of the economic background that these students come from in terms of which they are unable to participate as equals in he, and thereby become structurally marginalised and could be said to be experiencing distributive injustice on the basis of their class status. secondly, in relation to the cultural dimension, social arrangements should be such that there is equal respect and that there are equal opportunities for achieving social esteem (bozalek & boughey, 2012; fraser, 2009). in this case, participatory parity would be 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 prevented, constrained or limited when social arrangements in society do not recognise or value the different cultural views or identities. within the cultural domains, there exists the politics of recognition or misrecognition. it should be noted that in her earlier conceptions of the social justice framework, fraser only focused on the economic and cultural dimensions of the framework in her earlier conceptions (bozalek & boughey, 2012; fraser, 2000, 2001, 2009). in her recent work, fraser has introduced the third dimension to her conception of social justice – that is, the political – in arguing for an epistemological shift from the post‑westphalian conceptions of the nation‑state to now beginning to expand her framework in looking beyond the borders of nation states and interrogating non‑state actors and their ability to constrain, limit or prevent participatory parity (fraser,  2009). this is seen in how the injustices perpetrated by non‑state actors cannot be limited to the confines of the nation‑state. social arrangements must be arranged in such a way that everyone should have a political voice, and thus should have an influence in decisions that affect them. fraser takes this understanding further in looking at representation as boundary setting. this, for instance, happens when he establishes the boundaries regarding who is included or excluded in justice claims. for instance, he under apartheid was characterised by a boundary setting that excluded black students as either being trained to serve the needs of the apartheid state or to respond to the demands of the bantustans. this racialised and oppressive boundary setting, which fraser calls “misframing”, sought to misrepresent and misrecognise black students outside of the confines and domains of apartheid sociological thinking. in order to overcome unjust conditions that prevent, limit or constrain participatory parity, fraser (2009) suggests that there needs to be structural dismantling. it should be noted that all three dimensions (that is, the economic, political and cultural dimensions) need to be present in order for participatory parity to be achieved. for each of the three dimensions, fraser distinguishes between affirmative and transformative approaches that deal with injustices (bozalek & boughey, 2012; fraser, 2009). fraser sees affirmative approaches as not going far enough in dealing with the structural social arrangement in society. that is, for her, they do not disturb or interrupt the “underlying social structures that generate these inequities” (bozalek & boughey, 2012, p. 690). she advocates for transformative approaches that privilege the social structures themselves in dismantling them and ensuring universal access to social justice. for instance, in the economic dimension, transformative approaches would enable universal access to material resources and interruption of the economic inequalities, wealth disparities and the privilege that positions one group of people and subordinates and marginalises another. in the cultural dimension, transformative approaches would attempt to challenge and dismantle binary conceptions of social reality, acknowledge complexity and destabilise simplistic understandings of life, reality and being‑ness. in the political dimension, transformative approaches would recognise the post‑westphalian understanding of how our challenges and social reality transcend the borders of the nation‑state. boundary setting through the misframing and the misrecognition would need to be “redrawn”, or completely challenged and dismantled. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 69 in this article, we adopt the above theoretical tools to make sense of and understand contemporary student movements in the sahe. we now turn to critically discussing and theorising contemporary student movements through the participatory parity framework. to do this, fraser’s three‑tier framework – economic, cultural and political – will be used to theorise the #mustfall student movements in sahe. the economic framing of the #mustfall student movements in sahe the #mustfall movements were predominantly engineered by economic reasons which university management could no longer silence and the national government could not ignore. the yearly increment in student fees as well as the diverse financial constraints such as the cost of living in cities where most of these universities are based, became a huge financial burden to bear especially on the “missing middle”, that is, students whose parents or guardians are deemed to earn too much to qualify for nsfas and too little to service the student loans. ndelu (2017) argues that students from predominantly black universities and universities of technology have been consistently waging battles against the ineffectiveness of nsfas regarding the payment of university registration fees, financial exclusion and debt cancellation. he goes further to argue that: the problem with nsfas is one of the reasons why students want free education. once a previously disadvantaged student is not accepted for nsfas, obviously they will want free education because their debt is increasing – and once you have a lot of debt, you cannot register in the following year. you can’t proceed with your studies. you cannot buy your books … they give out food vouchers late. that’s why some people get angry as well – because obviously, you want to study but you don’t have your books and stuff. (ndelu, 2017, p. 20) the #feesmustfall movement, perhaps unlike any other sub‑branches of the #mustfall movement, was able to attract widespread attention and mobilise large number of students largely because the issue of access to he, in particular the unaffordability of institutions of higher learning, became the rallying call for different organisations, students, civic bodies and others. what became interesting was seeing how different students from different social class positions became united in the concern with the unaffordability fees. this was seen in how the historical and often forgotten protest from hbus was picked by the predominantly middle‑class students in hwus who all rallied together in arguing about the importance of access. similarly, #rhodesmustfall could be understood from an economic perspective. the statue of cecil rhodes at the centre of of the uct campus depicted to the students the reasons why they are financially distressed and economically marginalised. it depicted the very essence of colonialism and how this socioeconomically and structurally underdeveloped africa at the expense of colonial development and imperial industrialisation (rodney, 1972). it re‑echoed the financial burdens and ruins brought about by apartheid. to another set of students, it represented a huge source of financial buoyancy brought about by the mandela‑rhodes scholarship as well as the huge endowments bequeathed to the university by cecil john rhodes. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 financial exclusion is a common phenomenon across all south african institutions of higher learning. paton (2016) argues that economic calls were the strongest reasons for the waves of student protest across the nation and economic solutions would provide answers to such challenges. this is supported by bond (2015) who argues that the increasing university subsidies, and augmenting contributions to nsfas have not been enough to address the financial exclusion. fraser (2009) argues that the economic dimension of social justice sees material resources as central to enabling individuals to interact as equals in society. the lack of financial resources or financially excluding students would be to constrain them which would create marginality, deprivation, disparities in the income and wealth, labour and leisure time and, by extension, ensure the continuation of economic marginality and the death of social justice (bozalek & boughey, 2012; fraser, 2009). in the economic dimension, class‑based structural inequalities are at the heart of dis‑enabling students in universities from interacting as equals, thereby resulting in distributive injustice in looking at the economic structures at play. in sahe, distributive injustice in the economic dimension is seen with the inability of some students to access he and well as the struggles to secure funding. the consequences of this, although expressing themselves in different and often complex ways (such as the increasing militarisation of sahe institutions across the different campuses, discussed below), have been predominantly economic in nature. wa azania (2016) argues that within the period of 12 months since the eruption of the different student movements across the sahe landscape at the beginning of 2015, numerous institutions of higher learning across the country have been set alight by protesting students. in september 2015, various cars and buildings were set alight by protesting students at the university of kwazulu‑natal while in october 2015 protesting students at the university of fort hare’s main campus in alice set alight both entrances leading to the institution. also, students at the university of limpopo’s turfloop campus set a security vehicle on fire and at the university of zululand’s kwadlangezwa campus, protesting students set the student centre building on fire. in november 2015, two buildings were set alight at the university of the western cape’s bellville campus while students at the tshwane university of technology’s soshanguve campus burned three halls, including an exam centre, and two security cars. shortly thereafter, the financial aid building at cape peninsula university of technology was set on fire – twice. in february 2016, protesting students at the north west university’s mahikeng campus set various buildings on fire – including the science centre. in the same month, students at the university of cape town burned paintings and a jammie shuttle bus. the vice‑chancellor’s office was also petrol bombed. the university of the witwatersrand also saw a lecture hall and a school bus set alight. various offices and a staff house at vaal university of technology’s vanderbijlpark campus were set alight. on the university of johannesburg’s kingsway campus sanlam auditorium was set alight in an apparent arson attack. rhodes university similarly experienced three arson attacks, two of them were at the exam venues and a third one at a tennis club. these figures do not include those in tvet colleges. the huge economic cost of financial exclusion both for the students and the universities makes it a critical factor of the #mustfall student movements, one which requires critical engagement within the paradigms of social justice to handle. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 71 fraser (2001) argues that social justice is the feedback and corrective principle that detects distortions of the input and/or out‑take principles and guides the corrections needed to restore a just and balanced economic order for all. this principle is violated by unjust barriers to participation, by monopolies or by some using their property to harm or exploit others. for this harm to be eradicated, economic harmony which results in participative and distributive justice operating fully for every person within an institution is needed. by understanding the #mustfall movements from an economic social justice perspective we are bringing to bear the guidelines for destroying the monopolies that created such systems and building checks and balances within social institutions, and re‑synchronising distribution (out‑take) with participation (input). in other words, in order for us to understand the #feesmustfall student movements properly, we need to understand the economic dimension as playing a central role in denying students the capacity to interact as equals in society, as the lack of funding, crisis of accommodation, textbooks, food and others, continue to marginalise students and ensure that these factors deny them access (both physical and epistemological) to institutions of higher learning. as fraser argues, we need to move beyond the domain of affirmative approaches to social justice and begin to look at structural social arrangements in society so as to achieve participatory parity and true social justice. not focusing on the economic structural arrangements that continue to marginalise students will frustrate the possibilities of achieving participatory parity. the cultural framing of the #mustfall student movements in sahe the #mustfall movements were also as much a cultural project as they were economic. for example, the #openstellenbosch movement was anchored on the language barriers in accessing the curriculum as well as the knowledge systems within the institution. the challenges brought about by the lack of social and cultural capital with which to navigate the elitist systems within the previously white universities made the #mustfall movements a cultural one. the drive to remove the statue of cecil rhodes from the centre of the university of cape town was a deeply cultural act guided towards eradicating the cultural awareness of colonialism, whiteness as a singular mode of being in the world and cultural alienation that the statue invoked amongst students. furthermore, the call to remove the statue of king george v from the university of kwazulu‑natal’s howard college campus in durban demonstrated the cultural framing of the movement in symbolising the rejection of the imperial and colonial heritage that seems to surround sahe institutions. the statue itself was thereby seen as representing the legitimation of colonial artefacts which thereby sought to suggest that culturally and politically, the colony can coexist with the envisioned dream of a post‑apartheid south africa, regardless of the contradictions, trauma and memory that the colonial monument evoked for the black majority. the cultural framing of student movements did not stop at these two universities. the call resonated at rhodes university, university of witwatersrand, and university of pretoria, amongst others. maringira and gukurume (2017, p. 33) argue that the movement was about blackness and how to regain the cultural identity of black people. they asked, “where are black lecturers, black non‑academic staff? you move from one office to another, from one class to another, all you find is either a white or coloured 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 lecturer. they don’t understand our situation as black students, they don’t represent us, and this is part of the struggle in decolonised education” (maringira & gukurume, 2017, pp. 33‑34). the cultural representation of ethnicity was a strong backbone of the struggle. similarly, students protested against the imperial and colonial history of he institutions in south africa, particularly cecil john rhodes’ and other colonialists’ vision in turning south africa into a colonial british metropole. for example, chaudhuri writes about cecil john rhodes’ vision for south africa in general and south african higher education in particular, who called for: the establishment, promotion and development of a secret society, the true aim and object whereof shall be for the extension of british rule throughout the world, the perfecting of a system of emigration from the united kingdom, and of colonisation by british subjects of all lands where the means of livelihood are attainable by energy, labour and enterprise, and especially the occupation by british settlers of the entire continent of africa, the holy land, the valley of the euphrates, the islands of cyprus and candia, the whole of south america, the islands of the pacific not heretofore possessed by great britain, the whole of the malay archipelago, the seaboard of china and japan … (quoted in chaudhuri, 2016, para. 4) fraser (2001) argues that the effect of culture on politics – and thus on the prospects for social justice – are alarming. the widespread “politicization of culture, especially in struggles over identity and difference or struggles for recognition keep exploding in recent times and this is due to the fact that claims for recognition drive many of the world’s most intense social conflicts – from battles around multiculturalism to struggles over gender and sexuality, from campaigns for national sovereignty and subnational autonomy to newly energized movements for international human rights” (fraser, 2001, p. 2). these struggles are heterogeneous and run the gamut from the patently emancipatory to the downright reprehensible. to therefore take the #mustfall movements away from the cultural struggles of south african life is to dissuade it from its very essence. thus, recognition was and, to a large extent, still continues to be a central theme in the student movements in rejecting the imperial, colonial and apartheid influences in he institutions and attempting to re‑assert blackness as a legitimate mode of being. reflecting on her own experiences in a historically white university, lihle ngcobozi (2015) argues about the need for recognition for black subjectivity and what she refers to as the “methodology of racism” in how it enacts itself in institutions of higher learning as instruments to silence, differentiate and marginalise: there are a number of implications that come with this burdensome demand [for transformation]. the most salient of these implications is the implicit demand made by white students to allow white normativity to mutate with ease, comfort and without resistance. this demand suggests further that although black students are in the process of constituting their subjectivity, the students must suspend the project of the humanisation of the self and understand that white students matter, too. this is a distraction. the very methodology of racism and the upholding of white supremacy works to distract the black https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 73 political project of constituting and claiming black subjectivity. this, in and of itself, is the working of anti‑black racism, which has unapologetically found itself comfortable enough to claim its space on the rhodes src page and, by and large, a number of white students on campus. (ngcobozi, 2015, para. 5) maringira and gukurume (2017) and konik and konik (2017) argue that the struggle for free education appears to have been a struggle to deracialise the institution and promote inclusivity. this is largely because most of the student movements have a membership that is predominantly black, with few members who are white or coloured. the idea of living with dignity and in a decent place remains largely elusive for the majority of black people. building on this notion, oxlund (2016, p. 9) refers to the university of pretoria, which had to shut down its operations out of security concerns: “here black student organizations used #afrikaansmustfall and #uprising to demand that afrikaans be scrapped entirely and as a prerequisite for academic employment at this university, which has historically had afrikaans as its lingua franca. white afrikaans student organisations, on their side, labelled the right to be instructed in their mother tongue as a human right in their defence of afrikaans”. african students, on the other hand, protested against this movement in another movement which “came to be known under the hash tag #afrikaanssalbly (afrikaans will stay), and it created a tense and insecure atmosphere in pretoria”. it was not just about a collective student fight, but about student cultural identities and existential belonging, similar to the #openstellenbosch movement at stellenbosch university. #openstellenbosch argues that afrikaans as a language is deeply political in south africa as it was used by the apartheid regime as a sociolinguistic tool of belonging regarding who counts as being human, and who counted as a subject (#openstellenbosch, 2015). #openstellenbosch became a movement that sought to connect the marginalised experiences of black students at stellenbosch university with what they deemed as the oppressive institutional culture that often rendered them as others in the university (#openstellenbosch, 2015). they argued that 1. no student should be forced to learn or communicate in afrikaans and all classes must be available in english. 2. the institutional culture at stellenbosch university needs to change radically and rapidly to reflect diverse cultures and not only white afrikaans culture. 3. the university publicly needs to acknowledge and actively remember the central role that stellenbosch and its faculty played in the conceptualisation, implementation and maintenance of apartheid. (#openstellenbosch, 2015, para. 6) bozalek and boughey (2012) argue that social arrangements should be such that there is equal respect and that there are equal opportunities for achieving social esteem. this is because participatory parity would be prevented or constrained if social arrangements in society do not recognise or value the different cultural views or identities. within the cultural domains, there exists the politics of recognition or misrecognition. this could be clearly seen in the university of pretoria. oxlund (2016) adds that “the university management advised the public that henceforth english would become the sole medium 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 of instruction, with afrikaans and northern sotho as secondary languages only. although this was a historic and ground‑breaking development, in terms of public attention it was almost overwhelmed by news of violent clashes happening elsewhere”. the constraints of misrecognition and lack of social cohesion ensure the constant eruptions of new forms of barriers in the way of social justice. it is the understanding of the deeply rooted cultural framing of such movements that true meaning can be made. the students at the university of western cape demonstrated this more clearly when they argued that “we want to rename these buildings, we have to feel at home, it has to represent us as blacks, and great hall must be named steve biko, heroes of our history” (maringira & gukurume, 2017,  p. 39). they further added that “if you go to england, is english land, china is chinese land, but in africa, it is not african” (p. 40). the desire to be african in all facets is at the centre of the #mustfall movements. similarly, lihle ngcobozi (2015) writes about the black student movement at rhodes university, confronting this cultural domain regarding the culture of whiteness in hwus: these conversations and forms of resistance from the students at the university of cape town and the challenging of the presence of historical artefacts of colonial violence should not be reduced to a removal of a statue, the changing of the name of rhodes university, or social media campaigns. these are all entry points into broader concepts of transformation and black students laying claim to space, and the right for their space to be reflective of a transforming institution. when students call for “rhodes must fall” and rally behind #rhodessowhite as a collective, we ought to look deeper into the cause and align ourselves with any movement that vehemently rejects the untouchable nature of white normativity and its hold on shaping the experiences of black students at rhodes, uct and society at large. (ngcobozi, 2015, para. 10) snodgrass (2015), adding to this, argues that the wave of protests that has swept across south african universities in recent times reflects the undercurrent of socio‑political tensions of the society as a whole. the university should be the bastion of the freedom of expression in the promotion of democracy, as well as possess the moral and ethical obligation to provide spaces for fierce debate and critical engagement. but the reality has been somewhat different in south african universities where most of them have distinguished themselves as bastions of intolerance, privilege, conformism and censorship. the culture myopism must be destroyed and room created for inclusive and open engagement on the platform of equality and shared experience as well as individual experiences for the #mustfall student movements to be fully understood. in her initial work, fraser only conceptualises social justice as a two‑dimensional approach. in her later work, she introduces the three‑dimensional understanding through the inclusion of the political dimension in highlighting the increasing role of non‑state actors in producing new forms of marginality and exclusion that perpetuate injustice. we  now turn to the political framing in relation to contemporary student movements within the sahe landscape. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 75 the political framing of the #mustfall student movement in sahe politics is the very fabric of the society. it moulds the philosophical underpinnings within a particular nation and opens up the nation or society for discourse and dictum. philosophers have always seen a human being as political in nature, meaning almost everything he or she does is inherently political. the #mustfall movements therefore could not but be seen and understood as political. sibeko (2016) argues that the differentiating effects of #mustfall movements are now pervasive in the sahe sector and probably beyond. academics, schools and faculties have turned on each other. some universities are pitted against others, like the “wits option” vs the “uct option” (sibeko, 2016, para. 2). some academics are accused of being blindly supportive of “the innocent students” and parading their colours as the immaculate left; while others are seen as blindly securocratic, unreconstructed conservatives who see nothing wrong with the university, institution culture or even how deeply contested he curricula is and its implicit values. the politicking within and about the movements and the different political and ideological positions which emerged from such process further explore and highlight the political in the #mustfall movements. sibeko (2016) further argue that, “for the immaculate left, it is ultimately a capitalist state that has no interest in the poor emerging from poverty; overlapping with black people in a society dominated by whiteliness; creating an unreconstructed racial capitalism that needs to be toppled. students in this view lack agency and are in every context victims of external forces. every action is the response of victim to oppressor” (sibeko, 2016,  para. 8). this political reconstruction of the #mustfall movements epitomises the depth of the despondency within academia and the political will and agency needed for redress. fraser (2009) concurs with this when she argues for an epistemological shift from the post‑westphalian conceptions of the nation‑state and the interrogation of non‑state actors and their ability to constrain, limit or prevent participatory parity. socio‑political arrangements must be made in a way that everyone has a political voice and influence in decisions that affect them. however, sibeko (2016) shows the contrary of this in the sahe when he points out that “senior management” is seen to lead with security, follow up with more security, and have no interest in negotiation or compromise. students just want a free, decolonised education in a transformed institution and are shot for daring to ask for it – and they remain innocent, brutalised “black bodies”. this political meandering and juxtaposition of power with might, speaks to the need for social justice and a social justice understanding of the #mustfall student movements. nshimbi (2016) further argues that students are political animals who constitute a vibrant part of civil society, a natural element of a democratic society such as south africa. since universities are training grounds for future leaders (and this includes political leaders), it is rather duplicitous to praise students when they demonstrate excellence in science, technology or business that promises a great future, but simultaneously condemn them for political engagement. he adds that universities are to nurture students in the discipline and art of political engagement and groom them for this sort of leadership. satgar (2016) argues that the #mustfall movements heralded three new developments in mass politics in post‑ apartheid south africa. first, it married social media to mass politics which did not exist 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 prior to this. second, this political matrix was amorphous, except for moments of media representation which presented ‘leaders’ at the forefront. in practice, this was not the case in the university space. third, it was about copying developments from different campuses – what is known as a mimetic politics. so, if students marched and protested at one campus, others followed, or if students occupied particular spaces at a certain university this was repeated at other campuses embracing the revolt. the #mustfall movements therefore brought forth or represent a form of politics with deeply democratic practices and institutional representation. it is also about a new neo‑colonial or post‑apartheid politics aimed at reclaiming and transforming the public university and eradicating the crisis of national liberation politics, alongside other rising movements. fraser (2001) argues that the emergence of the knowledge society opens new possibilities for politics beyond the ordinary or mundane. identity is no longer tied so exclusively to labour, and issues of culture are intensely politicised. social justice requires the politicising of these issues, thus creating room for discussions around multiple‑status hierarchies, including those of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality and religion. the need for a political understanding of the #mustfall movement therefore cannot be overemphasised. valela  (2015) comments on the relationship between the student movements themselves occurring in a specific political moment in south africa, and the conditions of the emergence as a new phenomenon in the sahe: this wave of campaigns waged by students across the country is also happening at a time in south africa’s history where we are dealing with more than just the post‑apartheid moment. we are in the post‑marikana moment. after 1994, it seemed highly unlikely (if possible) that a group of human beings would be shot and killed by state police considering the nation’s history of police brutality under an unjust apartheid regime. however, we are dealing with the reality that the colonial structure is not dismantled; therefore it should not come as a surprise that protest would be met with such violence. at rhodes, the black student movement’s peaceful mobilisation has been met with responses that reflect the tactics of a police state. however, this should not come as a surprise since the head of security is a former member of the south african police. (valela, 2015, para. 8‑10) camalita naicker (2015), building on valela (2015)’s argument on the intersectionality between the student movement politics within the sahe landscape and the broader socio‑political challenges that confront the south african state, makes a closer connection between what students experience in he politically, and the operating discourses that are employed to explain the struggle of the marikana mine workers: marikana, as a type of politics, is not just about state violence against popular dissent. it is also about the ways in which the liberal media has aligned itself with the state to present poor black people organising themselves outside of authorised institutions as “mobs” and “thugs” who are “irrational” and “violent” and under the control of external agitators of various kinds. in recent weeks, exactly the same language has, for the first time in post‑apartheid south africa, also been used to describe students at former english‑speaking white https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 mlamuli n. hlatshwayo & kehdinga g. fomunya: theorising the #mustfall student movements … 77 universities like uct and rhodes. this development has shown that the liberal consensus is not only unable to engage the politics of poor black people on a reasonable basis. it is equally unable to respond to black students challenging liberal authority on a reasonable basis. this makes it clear that the limits to the forms of democracy acceptable to liberalism, and to the forms of political presence acceptable to liberalism, are about race as well as class. (naicker, 2015, para. 4‑5) both valela (2015) and naicker (2015) refer to fraser’s notion of mis‑framing in suggesting that the colonial artefacts and symbols in heis act as a boundary setting that seek to exclude the lived experiences of black students. this is especially seen with naicker’s argument on the employed political discourse that seeks to mis‑frame and misrecognise the plight of students’ movements as “violent”, a “mob” and under the control of “political agitators”. this mis‑framing and misrecognition is done deliberately to misunderstand the plight of student movements, depoliticise their fight for social justice and shift the political discourse away from higher education transformation to now about violence and how it threatens and needs to be neutralised by the state. in other words, this shift in political mis‑framing does two things – firstly, it silences the critical conversation on the deeply contested and fractured history of sahe. secondly, it subverts the debate away from the plight of student movements and what they are fighting, to now conversations about violence, and its place in post‑apartheid south africa. thus fraser suggests that a true commitment to social justice would demand that students dismantle the social arrangements that continue to mis‑frame and misrecognise them, and that a new boundary setting be “redrawn” that allows for inclusivity and the humanity of everyone, including their different struggles and modes of being in the world. conclusion in this article, we argue that the literature on contemporary student movements is characterised by two key gaps. firstly, this literature is predominantly found on various “un‑academic” and “non‑peer‑reviewed” platforms such as online media, opinion pieces, social media and others. secondly, some of the literature on contemporary student movements could be characterised by an absence of theory in offering a critical and theoretical analysis of contemporary student movements, their emergent conditions as well as the challenges that they are confronting. in this article, we divided the responses in  two. the first section focuses on mapping the context and the fragmented history of he in south africa, and we locate student movements in such periods. this allowed us to see and extrapolate the emergent conditions of contemporary student movements within the sahe. the second part of the article we dedicated to foregrounding fraser’s social justice framework as an analytical tool that allowed us to look at contemporary student movements within the sahe as complex actors that could be seen within three domains, that is, the economic, the political and the cultural. 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 references #openstellenbosch. 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(2012). sa students protest high registration fees. the south african. retrieved from https:// www.thesouthafrican.com/sa‑students‑protest‑high‑registration‑fees/ jansen, j. (2003). the state of higher education in south africa: from massification to mergers. state of the nation. south africa, 2004, 290‑311. jansen, j.d. (2008). reflections on meaningful access to education. south african child gauge, 2009, 7‑8. konik, i. & konik, a. (2017). the #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall student protests through the kübler‑ross grief model. discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, 1‑15. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/01596306.2017.1288084 luescher, t.m., klemenčič, m. & jowi, j.o. (2016). student politics in africa: representation and activism (vol. 2). african minds. makoni, m. (2014). unpaid fee loans spark protests at universities. university world news. retrieved from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140130121433345 maldonado‑torres, n. (2007). on the coloniality of being: contributions to the development of a concept. cultural studies, 21(2‑3), 240‑270. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162548 maringira, g. & gukurume, s. (2017). ‘being black’ in #feesmustfall and #freedecolonisededucation: student protests at the university of the western cape. in: m. langa (ed.), an analysis of the #feesmustfall movement at south african universities. johannesburg: centre for the study of violence and reconciliation. mbembe, a. (2015). decolonizing knowledge and the question of the archive. master class lecture. mudimbe, v.y. (1988). the invention of africa. bloomington, il: indiana university press. naicker, c. (2015). post‑marikana sa, birthing the new student politics. daily maverick. 7 april. retrieved from https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015‑04‑07‑post‑marikana‑sa‑birthing‑the‑ new‑student‑politics/#.wjaaouqwbiu naicker, c. (2016). from marikana to #feesmustfall: the praxis of popular politics in south africa. urbanisation, 1(1), 53‑61. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455747116640434 naidoo, r. (2004). fields and institutional strategy: bourdieu on the relationship between higher education, inequality and society. british journal of sociology of education, 25(4), 457‑471. https://doi. org/10.1080/0142569042000236952 ndelu, s. (2017). ‘a rebellion of the poor’: fallism at the cape peninsula university of technology. in: m.  langa (ed.), an analysis of the #feesmustfall movement at south african universities (pp. 13‑32). johannesburg: centre for the study of violence and reconciliation. ngcobozi, l. (2015). #rhodessowhite: an insight. the conversation. retrieved from http://www. theconmag.co.za/2015/03/27/rhodessowhite‑an‑insight/ nshimbi, c.c. (2016). when politics and academia collide, quality suffers. just ask nigeria. the conversation. retrieved from https://theconversation.com/when‑politics‑and‑academia‑collide‑quality‑suffers‑ just‑ask‑nigeria‑67313 nyamnjoh, f.b. (2016). #rhodesmustfall: nibbling at resilient colonialism in south africa. bamenda, cameroon: langaa rpcig. oxlund, b. (2016). #everythingmustfall: the use of social media and violent protests in the current wave of student riots in south africa. anthropology now, 8(2), 1‑13. https://doi.org/10.1080/194 28200.2016.1202574 pillay, s.r. (2016). silence is violence: (critical) psychology in an era of rhodes must fall and fees must fall, london: sage. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246316636766 reddy, t. (2004). higher education and social transformation: south africa case study. https://open.uct. ac.za/handle/11427/22067 https://www.thesouthafrican.com/sa-students-protest-high-registration-fees/ https://www.thesouthafrican.com/sa-students-protest-high-registration-fees/ https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2017.1288084 https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2017.1288084 http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140130121433345 https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162548 https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-04-07-post-marikana-sa-birthing-the-new-student-pol https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-04-07-post-marikana-sa-birthing-the-new-student-pol https://doi.org/10.1177/2455747116640434 https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569042000236952 https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569042000236952 http://www.theconmag.co.za/2015/03/27/rhodessowhite-an-insight/ http://www.theconmag.co.za/2015/03/27/rhodessowhite-an-insight/ https://theconversation.com/when-politics-and-academia-collide-quality-suffers-just-ask-nigeria-6731 https://theconversation.com/when-politics-and-academia-collide-quality-suffers-just-ask-nigeria-6731 https://doi.org/10.1080/19428200.2016.1202574 https://doi.org/10.1080/19428200.2016.1202574 https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246316636766 https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/22067 https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/22067 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 61‑80 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 rodney, w. (1972). how europe underdeveloped africa. in: p.s. rothenburg (ed.), beyond borders: thinking critically about global issues, pp. 107‑125. bingley, u.k.: emerald group publishing. satgar, v. (2016). #feesmustfall: the poster child for new forms of struggle in south africa? the conversation. retrieved from https://theconversation.com/feesmustfall‑the‑poster‑child‑for‑new‑ forms‑of‑struggle‑in‑south‑africa‑68773 sibeko, s. (2016). what must fall: fees or the south african state? the conversation. retrieved from https:// theconversation.com/what‑must‑fall‑fees‑or‑the‑south‑african‑state‑67389 smedley, a. & smedley, b.d. (2005). race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real: anthropological and historical perspectives on the social construction of race. american psychologist, 60(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003‑066x.60.1.16 snodgrass, l. (2015). universities need to manage hate speech, not stifle freedom of expression. the conversation. retrieved from https://theconversation.com/universities‑need‑to‑manage‑hate‑ speech‑not‑stifle‑freedom‑of‑expression‑47885 south african history online. (2015). student protests in democratic south africa. https://www.sahistory. org.za/article/student‑protests‑democratic‑south‑africa valela, n. (2015). the rhodes to perdition: why rhodes was never ready for the bsm. daily maverick. 26 march. retrieved from https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015‑03‑26‑the‑rhodes‑ to‑perdition‑why‑rhodes‑was‑never‑ready‑for‑the‑bsm/#.wi_6mkqwbiv how to cite: hlatshwayo, m.n. & fomunyam, k.g. (2019). theorising the #mustfall student movements in contemporary south african higher education: a social justice perspective. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 61‑80. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 https://theconversation.com/feesmustfall-the-poster-child-for-new-forms-of-struggle-in-south-africahttps://theconversation.com/feesmustfall-the-poster-child-for-new-forms-of-struggle-in-south-africahttps://theconversation.com/what-must-fall-fees-or-the-south-african-state-67389 https://theconversation.com/what-must-fall-fees-or-the-south-african-state-67389 https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.60.1.16 https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-manage-hate-speech-not-stifle-freedom-of-expression https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-manage-hate-speech-not-stifle-freedom-of-expression https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/student-protests-democratic-south-africa https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/student-protests-democratic-south-africa https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-03-26-the-rhodes-to-perdition-why-rhodes-was-neverhttps://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-03-26-the-rhodes-to-perdition-why-rhodes-was-neverhttps://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3693 _hlk498372547 _goback 81 author biographies dr darren l. clarke is the senior director strategic alliances and outreach at rutgers graduate school of education (gse), new brunswick, nj (usa). he is responsible for strategic planning and advancement of gse relationships, the development of joint master’s degree and certificate programmes, oversight of online graduate programmes and elearning at gse. he developed and implements gse’s south africa initiative (sai). he earned a master’s degree in student personnel administration from new york university and a doctor of education degree in social and philosophical foundations of education from rutgers university. his research interests in diverse learners and multicultural learning environments has focused on the development and implementation of cultural immersion and service-learning programmes with united states students and diverse educational learners and leaders abroad. in march 2016, he co-edited an international volume entitled social justice and transformative learning: culture and identity in the united states and south africa, published by routledge, taylor and francis group. dr jon c. dalton is emeritus professor of higher education and former vice-president for student affairs at the florida state university. he retired in 2010 after 44 years of teaching and administration in higher education. he is a graduate of franklin college, yale divinity school, and the university of kentucky. his research and writing focus on the impact of higher education on college student moral and civic development. dalton is a former senior scholar of the american college personnel association, a former president of the national association of student personnel administrators (naspa) and a recipient of naspa’s outstanding contribution to literature and research award. jon and his wife, beverly, have two children who live in chicago and two grandchildren, charlie and alexandra. he currently leads an esl english class for migrants and enjoys sailing and travelling. dalton continues to serve as co-editor of the naspa journal of college and character and to assist with the annual institute on college student values which he helped to found and which is hosted by the student affairs division of florida state university. he is also a member of the international editorial advisory board of the journal of student affairs in africa. mr gobena daniel is a lecturer and student dean at addis ababa university (aau), ethiopia. his research focuses on higher education learning communities and childrenrelated issues and he has presented nationally in this regard. he is deeply involved in the ethiopian psychologist association. as a member of the research team for higher education studies at the aau school of psychology, college of education and behavioral sciences, he supervises postgraduate students who are doing research within the different functional areas of student affairs. he has a ba hons (psychology) and an ma (measurement and evaluation), both with distinction. he is currently busy with a research project focusing on counselling for students at different levels of education. he has also written fiction books. 82 ms claudia frittelli is programme officer, higher education & research in africa, an international programme at carnegie corporation of new york. she develops the programme’s higher education research, policy and governance initiatives to sustain higher education reform through external regulatory bodies and non-profit advocacy organisations. as part of the corporation’s investment in strengthening african universities and developing the next generation of academics as a means to national development in tanzania, uganda, south africa and ghana, her work has included supporting university strategic priorities in research and graduate studies, staff development, information and communication technology (ict) and e-learning, gender mainstreaming and community engagement. prior to joining the foundation, she held management positions in the global telecommunications and internet private sector in paris and new york, and served as an advisor to international not-for-profit agencies. she holds an mba from the american graduate school of international management, thunderbird, and an ma in linguistic studies from syracuse university, usa. mr abera getachew is a lecturer at ambo university (au), ethiopia. previously he was student counsellor and lecturer at madda walabu university. he is a member of the research team for higher education studies in the au department of psychology, institute of education and behavioral sciences. he teaches and supervises undergraduate students who are doing research within the different functional areas of student affairs. he holds a ba hons (psychology and sociology, 2007) and an ma (counselling psychology, 2012, with distinction). he is currently conducting a research project that focuses on student counselling at different levels of education. in addition, he conducts research on learning communities, presents in national symposia, and has published on hiv/aids. currently, he has a manuscript on substance use and mental health disorder among university students under review. dr mpho priscilla jama started her career as a professional nurse and holds a degree in nursing ba cur (nursing education and community health). she ventured into higher education in 2000 as a lecturer in the division student learning and development (dsld) in the faculty of health sciences (fhs) at the university of the free state in bloemfontein, south africa. she has since obtained a masters in higher and further education studies and a phd in higher education studies. presently she is the head of dsld and is primarily responsible for the academic development and support of undergraduate students in the fhs. part of that responsibility includes teaching in the mbchb and b med science undergraduate programmes. she also teaches in and supervises postgraduate students in the health professions programme. her research expertise is intertwined with her work in the dsld. this follows from doctoral work (completed in 2009) on the design of an academic support and development programme to combat attrition among medical undergraduates. her current research 83 explores the academic environment, with specific focus on the manner in which humane values are modelled in curricular and co-curricular teaching and learning practices and activities. she places a particular emphasis on practices that often subject students to inordinate stress resulting from hostile teaching and learning environments. her research and expertise has earned her international and national recognition and awards. she was awarded a golden key international honour, a fulbright scholarship in 2013 and subsequently hosted as a visiting research scholar for almost a year at the university of california los angeles (ucla). she was invited to participate as part of a panel of experts at a student access and success conference funded by the usa kresge foundation. she also serves as a reviewer for the national resource centre (nrc) for the first-year experience and students in transition located at the university of south carolina in the usa. nationally, she has served on the executive of the higher education learning and teaching association of south africa (heltasa). she serves as a reviewer for the heltasa conference abstracts and research articles. furthermore, she is a co-founder of the first year experience (fye) special interest group (sig) which was awarded a teaching and learning grant by the department of higher education and training (dohet) to establish a south african national resource centre (sanrc) for the first-year experience and students in transition. apart from her involvement in these activities and research in the above areas, as well as the pursuit to publish articles in journals, her main focus presently is writing a book which was drafted during her fulbright scholarship at ucla. the tentative title of her book is towards a humanistic pedagogy: teaching students in complex and demanding academic environments. dr thierry m. luescher (luescher-mamashela) is assistant director of institutional research at the university of the free state, south africa. prior to this he was senior lecturer in higher education studies, extra-ordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. he researches, teaches and consults on matters of international and comparative higher education, with particular interest in the nexus of higher education with politics in africa, higher education policy and governance, student politics, the student experience, and higher education development in africa. he has published in local and international scholarly journals, including studies in higher education, european journal of higher education, journal of higher education in africa, south african journal of higher education, tertiary education and management and perspectives in education, along with chapters in internationally edited books. he is an editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the book student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and j.o. jowi, 2016, which is available open access). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www.thierryluescher.net. 84 mr munyaradzi makoni is a senior journalist for university world news based in cape town, south africa, where he reports on higher education and science. he has been a journalist for more than 15 years. some of his stories are published by thompson reuters foundation, scidev.net, and intellectual property watch and the tablet among others. ms razia mayet is a learning development facilitator in the academic development and support unit at the university of johannesburg (uj), south africa. students who are failing and finding it challenging to cope with university studies are referred to the unit by their departments and are offered interventions and support to assist them to cope with the requirements of learning at university. razia has over 30 years of experience in teaching in primary, secondary and higher education. she is involved with the research project scholarship of teaching and learning for social justice at uj and in the strategic reflections around the decolonisation debate. currently she is also part of the university of johannesburg staff group reflecting on the role of the engaged academic in times of student struggle. the blog can be accessed at http://sotlforsocialjustice.blogspot.co.za/2016/12/ the-role-of-socially-engaged-academic.html. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education transformation (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco-institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995–1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post-1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is editor-in-chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. dr willy nel serves as head of discipline: educational psychology in the faculty of education and as associate of the institute for reconciliation and social justice at the university of the free state, south africa. his research interests in higher education transformation and transformative autonomy of teachers are pursued through a critical community psychology lens. he publishes in national and international journals and has contributed chapters to national and internationally published books. however, he does not measure his work in academe only through the usual routes of peer recognition, important as it is for others, but rather in how much he can do to advance transformation in higher education. 85 dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbsoch university, south africa. prior to that she was the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences and given lectures at the uc berkley, the university of leuven (netherlands), and the university of oslo (norway). she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has also been involved in various quality assurance panels reviewing student affairs at south african universities and has taken part in the national review of the south african student engagement tool (sasse). she has been a member of the national executive of various national professional organisations including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and currently serves on the executive of the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). she is also the africa regional coordinator of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). she is a founding member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. dr eva‑marie seeto is director of community engagement (and previously director of student life and learning) at the university of the sunshine coast, australia. with over 25 years’ experience as a practitioner and manager in health and disability services, she has also served as a leader in student affairs since 2005. she received her doctorate from the university of queensland, australia, school of social and behavioural sciences. with research interests in health promotion and student mental health, she is a review board member for the international journal, review of disability studies, university of hawaii. she has extensive governance and leadership experience with community services organisations and is a member of the australian institute of company directors. she was elected to the board of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) in 2013. jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 90 jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 91 jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 92 jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 93 jsaa 4-2_inside cover & contents_2017-01-31 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 129–130 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3315 129 www.jsaa.ac.za book review clarence, s. & dyson, l. (eds.). (2017). writing centres in higher education: working in and across disciplines. stellenbosch, south africa: african sun media. reviewed by annsilla nyar* * dr annsilla nyar is director: south african national resource centre for first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), university of johannesburg, south africa. email: anyar@uj.ac.za a frustrated undergraduate student asked me in 2012: “why is writing a paper at university so incredibly difficult?” it is only now, six years later, upon reading this excellent book that i feel fully equipped as a higher education professional to answer this age-old question in an informed and comprehensive manner. certainly other higher education scholars and practitioners will similarly find the book of immense value to their work. it also provides an understanding of some of the complexity of academic reading and writing processes, particularly so in the south african context where lack of proficiency in english is seen as a barrier to student success. it is for this reason that this book is a most welcome addition to south african theory and pedagogy in the teaching and learning space. there is a need in south africa to begin a truly national conversation about writing and this book would serve as a useful anchor for this type of conversation. this edited collection of articles by sherran clarence and laura dison is firmly located in south africa, and as such provides a uniquely south african take on writing centre theory and pedagogy. as a tool for effective teaching and learning practice, writing centres are now ubiquitous at many institutions of higher education. however there is not a great deal known about writing centres and their history and development. it can be said that it is also not common practice to question the epistemological assumptions underlying common pedagogical approaches used in writing centres. this is a knowledge gap that the book fills particularly well. through the book it is interesting to have learned about the historical development of writing centres in south africa and the theoretical and pedagogical approaches used in writing centres. two articles herein can be singled out in terms of providing an in-depth understanding of how writing centres in south africa are situated, theoretically and operationally, as well as in a historical sense: (a) fatima slemming’s article, “the place of education theories in writing centres: why this makes for significant research”, and (b) pamela nichols’ article, “writing democracy: from writing centres to writing fellows to writing intensive courses in a university-wide writing programme”. the book highlights the innovative nature of writing centre practice and continuing adaptation to the changing needs of students. for example, the article by akisha pearman, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3315 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= 130 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 129–130 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3315 “supporting academic communication in writing centres in the digital age”, is a nod to the advent of the digital revolution and the increasing influence of multimodal tools of learning in higher education. kabinga jack shabanza’s article, “enhancing reflection on writing: using group writing consultations to develop meta-awareness of disciplinary writing”, was very useful in highlighting the universal problem of large classes and the ways in which smaller groupbased writing consultations can possibly offset the disengagement which may occur in the context of large classes. shabanza draws on his experiences from writing centres at the university of johannesburg. this article is thoughtfully written and provides much-needed reflection for higher education professionals, particularly busy lecturers teaching large numbers of students. the concluding chapter of the book, “reflecting on writing centre practice through students’ experiences of a contextualised writing centre” by laura dison and belinda mendelowitz, provides an incisive summary of many key issues and themes interlinking the different articles in the book through the evaluation of a focus group conducted at the wits school of education (wsoe) writing centre. according to dison and mendelowitz, their focus-group data illuminate crucial issues of voice, identity and power which speak to broader issues of transformation in the higher education sector. the authors make a case for a discipline-based writing centre which would help students feel more situated in their own particular disciplines. while the book is strongly rooted in south africa, as can be seen in the case studies and examples drawn from south african universities, the themes and issues expressed in the book will undoubtedly find resonance with the global academic community who face similar challenges. this is particularly highlighted by nicole bailey bridgewater’s article, “diversifying monolingual tongues: what american writing centres can learn from their multilingual south african counterparts”. bridgewater argues persuasively for the establishment of multilingual writing centres in the united states. producing a generation of confident academic writers should be one of the key goals of any institution of higher education. this book is testimony that there is a great deal of effort invested towards this goal in south africa. it is well-written and solidly grounded in theory and pedagogy. it would not be an exaggeration to call the book required reading for all higher education professionals. those working in the fields of education should be especially encouraged to read this book and see writing centres as an important form of student support. it is hoped that the authors may see fit to produce another book which would further broaden the scope of the book by featuring the perspectives of other universities in south africa. how to cite: nyar, a. (2018). review on clarence, s. & dyson, l. (eds.). writing centres in higher education: working in and across disciplines. stellenbosch: african sun media. (2017). journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 129–130. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3315 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3315 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3315 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, v–viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial towards student well‑being and quality services in student affairs in africa thierry m. luescher,* birgit schreiber** & teboho moja*** * prof. thierry luescher is research director in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council, cape town, and affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. he is a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com ** dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, south africa. she is the book review editor and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za *** prof. teboho moja is professor and program director, higher education program, new york university, u.s.a., visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, and extraordinary professor in the institute of post‑school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor‑in‑chief. two themes define this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa: student well-being, and the provision of quality student affairs services. the themes of student well-being in general, and mental health in particular, have become prominent in higher education in recent years, and student affairs is implicated in the solutions. in this issue, a more systemic approach – with less hyperbolic and reductionist notions – is put forward to illuminate not only the incidences, but also the contributing factors to student mental health and well-being along with its correlates in academic achievement and recommendations for intervention. the articles in this group cover the topic broadly and inclusively across the fully student lifecycle and from different theoretical, methodological and empirical standpoints. amongst the articles on student well-being, mental health and academic achievement, the first two articles take as their starting points prevalent social problems in their respective countries and how they impact on student attitudes and well-being. against recurring incidents of xenophobic violence in south africa, akande, musarurwa and kaye present their findings of a study of student attitudes towards, and perceptions of, xenophobia at a university in durban. they find traces of xenophobic perceptions and attitudes particularly amongst first-year students from low income areas. in reflecting on their findings, they reaffirm “the importance of educational institutions in intercepting negative ethnic/racial sentiments” and call for interventions that reach into the communities with, for example, dialogue sessions. the second article was prompted by the high level of unemployment in zimbabwe since the economic downturn; it studies the mental health of unemployed graduates. the research by mutambara, makanyanga and mudhovozi shows that factors like age, gender, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, v–viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 marital status and period since graduation were significant for explaining variations in psychological distress and optimism amongst unemployed graduates, and that optimism was a significant factor in enhancing general health. an important learning for student affairs professionals here is that so-called ‘outduction’ programmes may need to include not only career counselling but also prepare graduates for the eventuality of unemployment. melese astatke’s article examines the relationship of emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviour with the academic achievement of first-year students at a teacher training college in ethiopia. melese finds that emotional intelligence and academic and psychological help-seeking behaviour have a significant positive impact on students’ academic achievement. the implication of this finding is clear: student affairs practitioners, along with academic and administrative staff and parents should work on promoting students’ emotional intelligence and encourage students’ help seeking behaviours as this is not only good for their own well-being, but also enhances their academic achievement. a positive correlation between better health and academic achievement is also suggested by the article by morris-paxton, van lingen and elkonin. their interest is specifically on students from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds and they argue that the incidences of educational failure that such students often face in higher education could be lessened by instituting a holistic health promotion programme within the first year of study. finally, do we really know who our students are as they enter university, asks hundermark? her study conducted for the humanities’ teaching and learning unit of the university of the witwatersrand in south africa sought to better understand the backgrounds of new first-year students, as well as to proactively determine the factors that may place them at risk academically. however, rather than reporting on actual survey result, hundermark reflects on the process of research. she thereby provides a number of recommendations to inform future praxis, both in researching students and designing interventions that can be implemented to address risk factors that students present. a last contribution on the topic of mental health is presented by schreiber where she puts forward the notion that students are active collaborators in the work on well-being and mental health. the publication, university world news, reports on a number of university responses to mental health, which schreiber critiques as theoretically unsound. she highlights the importance of systemic conceptualisations and emphasises the role of professional care, rather as against using monitoring mechanisms by lay university staff without professional training in matters of mental health and well-being. the second, smaller theme in this issue engages with the question of the quality of student affairs services in africa. it showcases two different approaches to assessing quality. the first gauges the extent of service quality by means of a survey with final-year undergraduate students at ethiopian public higher education institutions. using a modified version of the servqual questionnaire, lodesso, van niekerk, jansen and müller assess three dimensions of service quality perception or satisfaction: expectations of service quality; perceived experience of service quality; and the importance of service quality at their university. the results were sobering: “the majority of the elements that constitute https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 thierry m. luescher, birgit schreiber & teboho moja: towards student well-being and quality services ... vii attributes of service quality were perceived by students to be very poor”. given the need to target resources in a constraint environment, the authors recommend that institutions identify those service areas that have high perceived importance scores and low perception scores on service experience in order to redeploy some of the resources and implement measures to improve service quality where it is perceived to be the most important. the article by luescher in this theme critically reflects on a quality enhancement process that was conducted at a south african university in 2015. the article shows how the student affairs review was designed with reference to a number of procedural and substantive principles, and implemented by means of a process of internal selfevaluation and an external panel assessment. considering the aspirations of the review with regard to the professionalisation of student affairs at that university, alignment with social justice commitments, and initiatives towards co-curricularisation, the article also critically highlights potential pitfalls in the design and implementation of quality enhancement processes. perhaps as important as the case study of the quality enhancement process itself is the methodology by which luescher reflects on the intervention. jsaa has been seeking to encourage student affairs practitioners to critically reflect on their practices and specifically provides a platform for such reflections. now, luescher’s article proposes a way of conceptualising a reflective scholarship of practice in student affairs in africa and method to conduct reflective practice studies aimed at building a relevant knowledge base. we hope that student affairs professionals from across the continent will find this framework a useful tool for writing reflective practice articles on their day-to-day student affairs work. in our on-campus section, this issue reports on two interesting events that have taken place recently and in which african student affairs has played a key role: the southern african federation of student affairs (safsas) and the global summit of student affairs (iasas-naspa). both events reach beyond national-local issues and foreground the importance of collaborations across entire regions. the safsas event brings together the southern african region and the iasas-naspa event in chile this year, brought together student affairs professionals from 32 countries who translated unesco’s sustainable development goals into local applications. finally, we publish two book reviews. the first book reviewed in this issue is edited by sherran clarence and laura dison and entitled writing centres in higher education: working in and across disciplines (2017, african sun media). across its diverse chapters, the book reviews the historical development of writing centres in south africa and – uniquely – the theoretical and pedagogical approaches used in writing centres. while it draws its examples and cases specifically from the experience of writing centres in south african universities, the book reviewer, annsilla nyar, argues that the themes and issues expressed in the book will have a much wider resonance. the second book review discusses jonathan jansen’s book, as by fire: the end of the south african university (2017, tafelberg). trowler, a senior higher education scholar, takes a critical and academic perspective on the book and offers interpretations that illuminate the controversial reception this book has received. viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, v–viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 for us as the jsaa editorial executive, we have welcomed the enthusiastic contributions of our new journal manager, maretha joyce, who has taken on the pre-publishing aspect of the work. since the 2017 recognition and approval of jsaa as a dhet-accredited scholarly journal, the work for the editorial executive has taken on huge proportions and we are very grateful that ms joyce is supporting our work. how to cite: luescher, t.m., schreiber, b. & moja, t. (2018). towards student well-being and quality services in student affairs in africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), v–viii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v6i2.3317 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3317 _goback 121 author biographies dr taryn bernard is a lecturer and coordinator of the extended degree programme in the faculty of arts and social sciences, stellenbosch university, south africa. dr rubby dhunpath is the director of teaching and learning at the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), south africa. his previous appointments include that of teacher educator at ukzn, senior research specialist at the human sciences research council and rockefeller research fellow at the university of illinois. a fulbright and spencer alumni, he now provides leadership for the promotion of scholarship in teaching and learning, and institutional research. he is also an advisor/mentor in the teaching advancement at universities (tau) fellowship. rubby has researched and published in education and language policy, organisational ethnographies and higher education curriculum. prof. nirmala dorasamy is a senior lecturer in the department of public management and economics, faculty of management science. being a rated researcher, she has widely published in accredited journals both locally and internationally. her research focus areas include ethics, leadership and governance with particular focus on the public sector. her expertise has been widely recognised by international journals, earning her nomination to several editorial boards. being a member of the discipline specific organisations has enabled her to chair track sessions at several conferences. she has successfully supervised and examined master’s and doctoral students. prof. liezel frick is an associate professor in the department of curriculum studies and the director of the centre for higher and adult education at the faculty of education at stellenbosch university, south africa. her research interests are within the broader field of doctoral education, with a particular focus on aspects of doctoral creativity and originality, learning during the doctorate, and doctoral supervision. her master’s and doctoral students work more broadly within the fields of higher and adult education, where most tend to focus on staff development, student experiences of learning environments, and workplace learning. liezel is a member of the international doctoral education research network (idern), as well as of the special interest group of the european association for research on learning and instruction (earli) on researcher education and careers. she has received the best african accomplished educational researcher award for 2013-2014 by the african development institute (adi) and the association for the development of education in south africa (adea), and currently holds a south african national research foundation y2 rating. dr mpho priscilla jama ventured into higher education in 2000 as a lecturer in the division student learning and development (dsld) in the faculty of health sciences (fhs) at the university of the free state in bloemfontein, south africa. presently, she is the head of dsld and is primarily responsible for the academic development and support 122 of undergraduate students in the fhs. part of that responsibility includes teaching in the mbchb and b medical science undergraduate programmes. she also teaches and supervises postgraduate students in the health professions education programme. dr jama is also an internal and external examiner for postgraduate studies. dr jama’s research expertise is intertwined with her work in the dsld. this follows from doctoral work (completed in 2009) on the design of an academic support and development programme to combat attrition among medical undergraduates. her current research explores the academic environment, with specific focus on the manner in which humane values are modelled in curricular and co-curricular teaching and learning practices and activities. she places a particular emphasis on practices that often subject students to inordinate stress resulting from hostile teaching and learning environments. her research and expertise has earned her international and national recognition and awards, such as golden key international honour, a fulbright scholarship in 2013 through which she was subsequently hosted as a visiting research scholar for almost a year at the university of california los angeles (ucla) in the usa. nationally, she has served on the executive of the higher education learning and teaching association of south africa (heltasa). she serves as a reviewer for conference abstracts and research articles nationally and internationally. furthermore, she is a co-founder of the first-year experience (fye) special interest group (sig) which was awarded a teaching and learning grant by the department of higher education and training (dhet) to establish a south african national resource centre (sanrc) for the first-year experience and students in transition. she serves as a member of the conference scientific committee/editorial board for the international institute for academic development. presently, her focus is on writing a book, which was drafted during her fulbright scholarship at ucla. the tentative title of her book is “towards a humanistic pedagogy: teaching students in complex and demanding academic environments”. prof. thierry m. luescher is a research director in the education and skills development research programme of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and an affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state (ufs), mangaung, south africa. before that, he was assistant director for institutional research at the ufs, a senior lecturer in higher education studies and extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he has a pg diploma in higher education from the ufs and obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. thierry researches, teaches and consults on matters of international and comparative higher education, with particular interest in the nexus of higher education with politics in africa, higher education policy and governance, student politics, the student experience, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he has published in local and international scholarly journals, along with several chapters in internationally edited books. he is a founder and editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student 123 development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the book student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and j.o. jowi, 2016). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www.thierryluescher.net. prof. tracey mckay has over 20 years’ experience in teaching in higher education. she has a number of teaching qualifications, teaching awards, community engagement awards and a research award. she has supervised 20 master’s students to completion and has 44 accredited publications to date. she is currently an associate professor at the university of south africa (unisa). her phd was on adventure tourism under the supervision of prof. chris rogerson. her research interests include adventure tourism, environmental management, school commuting, private schooling, and teaching and learning in higher education. she is currently the president-elect of the society of south african geographers (ssag). ms celine meyers is a research assistant at the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc). she holds a ba in psychology, ba hons in sociology (cum laude) and is currently in the final stages of completing her ma in sociology. celine received an award for the best research project in 2016 (sociology) at the university of johannesburg (uj), south africa, and currently sits on the dean’s list in the humanities faculty. in addition, she has received scholarship awards from the national research foundation (nrf), uj merit awards and the global excellence and stature (ges). her research interests include studies in online communication, higher education, and international and national migration. dr nosisana mkonto is the head of department of the student learning unit and the coordinator for the first-year experience at fundani centre for higher education development (ched) at the cape peninsula university of technology (cput), south africa. her responsibilities include leading and coordinating fye initiatives in the institution. she holds a secondary teachers’ diploma (std) from the lennox sebe college of education, a ba from unisa, a bed and med (education support) from the university of cape town, and a btech (business administration) and phd from the university of the western cape. she also holds the following positions: deputy chairperson: isixhosa national lexicography unit (xnlu); chairperson: fundani ethics committee; chairperson: cput institutional first-year experience committee, and member of cput disability advisory forum. previous positions include; coordinator technical committee (xnlu); lecturer (faculty of education and business faculty, cput), academic development lecturer (fundani ched, cput) and teacher (western cape education department). her research interests include student support and development, learning and teaching styles, peer support, mentoring and first-year experience. nosisana has held an erasmus mundus scholarship as visiting scholar at the university of hull, uk. she has presented papers at both national and international conferences, and has published articles in journals. http://www.thierryluescher.net 124 prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and the university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education trust (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995–1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post-1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor-in-chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. ms lebo mosebua is an administrative support specialist at the south african national resource centre for the first year experience and students in transition (sanrc). she has over seven years of work experience within the higher education sector. prior to joining sanrc, she worked at the school of leadership (sol), where she was responsible for coordinating slp programmes (related to industrial policy, strategic diplomacy and transitional justice), focusing on the complex emergencies associated with insurgency and counter-insurgency campaigns on the horn of africa. in addition to coordinating the programmes, she acted as a communication liaison for sol with policy makers from zambia, swaziland, botswana and zimbabwe. she is a certified public relations and communications practitioner and holds an additional qualification in management services through the faculty of engineering, conferred by the university of johannesburg, south africa. she is currently in the process of completing her master’s in business administration as well as accumulating credits in order to become a chartered communications practitioner. she is an honorary member and co-founder of the students public relations association (spra), an academic support structure and student chapter under the public relations institute of southern africa (prisa). mr anban naidoo is the director of student academic services at the university of the free state, south africa. he holds a bcom accounting qualification from the university of cape town, an information systems qualification from the cape peninsula university of technology, and a master’s in business administration (mba) from the university of pretoria. his interests include a broad range of fields centred around innovation and systems thinking in the higher education sector, such as student recruitment, applications, admissions, assessments, curriculum management, student record management, 125 graduation, student finance and financial aid. anban has also had the privilege of working for the university of cape town and the university of pretoria, two of south africa’s top universities. dr rejoice nsibande is the head of evaluation services in the centre for learning, teaching and development at the university of the witwatersrand (wits), south africa. her responsibilities are to support academic staff in their engagement with evaluations of their teaching and courses. this involves individual consultations, facilitating workshops and formal sessions. her research interest is on evaluations of teaching as a social practice, focusing on the interplay between evaluation practices and institutional culture in the context of academic staff development and quality teaching. she has written and presented papers in this area of interest. currently, she is also actively involved in two projects of the higher education learning and teaching association of southern africa (heltasa), as chair of the teaching excellence awards committee and as an advisor in the teaching advancement at university fellowship (tau). dr annsilla nyar is director of the south african national resource centre for the firstyear experience and students in transition (sanrc). the sanrc is an independent national centre based at the university of johannesburg (uj), south africa. prior to this, she held several senior management positions, including that of senior researcher at the gauteng city-region observatory (gcro), a partnership between the gauteng provincial government, uj and the university of the witwatersrand (wits); research manager at higher education south africa (hesa), now universities south africa (usaf). annsilla has over 20 years of experience in the world of academia. she holds a master’s degree in political science from the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn) and a phd through the department of political studies at wits. dr vino paideya is a lecturer and first year coordinator in the school of chemistry & physics at the university of kwazulu natal (ukzn), westville campus, south africa. she has a bachelor’s degree in science with chemistry majors and a phd in chemistry education. dr paideya has received certification as a supplemental instruction (si) supervisor from the university of missouri, kansas city. her research interests are first year student experiences, chemistry education and student academic support programmes (si). she has also worked with the ukzn teaching and learning office on several institutional research projects. she has published journal articles and conference proceedings in her fields of interest. dr paideya has also presented papers both nationally and internationally at conferences and seminars. dr subethra pather is currently the teaching & learning specialist in the office of the deputy vice chancellor academic at the university of the western cape (uwc). included in her portfolio is the coordination of the institution-wide tutor programme and first-year experience at uwc. she is currently the convenor for the heltasa 126 special interest group: tutoring & mentoring. dr pather, who holds a doctorate of education, was awarded a department of higher education and training (dhet) scholarship from the university of kwazulu-natal, centre for critical research on race & identity (ukzn – ccrri’s nationwide project titled education and emancipation: a critical, intervention-orientated investigation of obstacles and opportunities within higher education and training in south africa). dr  pather’s research interests lie in the higher education field with particular focus on student learning support, first-year experience, and student access and success. her academic publications and presentations are centred in this field. she is also involved in several national and international networks in first-year experience to advance her research agenda. dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, south africa. prior to that, she was the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences, and has given lectures at the uc berkley, the university of leuven (netherlands), and the university of oslo (norway). she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has also been involved in various quality assurance panels reviewing student affairs at south african universities, and has taken part in the national review of the south african student engagement tool (sasse). she has been a member of the national executive of various national professional organisations, including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and currently serves on the executive of the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). she is also the africa regional coordinator of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). she is a founding member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. prof. ian scott is professor emeritus in the centre for higher education development at the university of cape town, having been director of academic development for many years. he has served on task teams and has undertaken research for various policy bodies, including the department of higher education and training (dhet), the council on higher education (che) and the world bank, and led the research and report-writing for the che’s investigation into undergraduate curriculum reform, published in 2013. he has also served on the dhet’s foundation provision reference group, which advises the minister on policy and funding for extended curriculum programmes, since its inception. his main research interests are in higher education policy related to teaching and learning, comparative models for widening successful participation in higher education, and curriculum development. 127 dr zack simpson is an educational development lecturer in the faculty of engineering and the built environment at the university of johannesburg, south africa. he holds a phd in education from the university of cape town. his research interests include engineering education, higher education studies, academic literacies, and social semiotics. he has produced more than 25 publications, including journal articles, book chapters and conference papers, in these areas. zach is also on the editorial boards of journals, such as sotl in the south and visual communication. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 101–104 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.97 www.jsaa.ac.za cloete, n., maassen, p., & bailey, t. (eds.). (2015). knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education. cape town: african minds. birgit schreiber* book review * dr birgit schreiber is the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape, cape town, south africa. email: bschreiber@uwc.ac.za. manuel castells (2001), who is regarded as one of the most influential social scientists commenting on the role of higher education in contemporary global consciousness, describes the roles of universities as the generation of new knowledge, the conceptualisation and diffusion of ideology and forms of knowing, the recreation of elites, and the development of skilled labour. the tension between the utilitarian role, on the one hand, and the generation of new forms of knowledge and the contradictions inherent in this, on the other, is the focus of this widely influential new book. the african university, despite calls for it to act as an instrument of development in the post-colony and engine of an african renaissance, has struggled to assert itself within the paced global knowledge economy which requires the university to ‘become a central actor of scientific and technological change’ and to become the centre of ‘cultural renewal and cultural innovation … linked to the new forms of living’ (castells in cloete et al., 2015, p. 2). knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education builds on these premises and explores the trends and debates around the intended and emerging identity of african flagship universities in eight countries by relying on comparative indicators and sets of data. empirical data from universities and governments on research levels and outputs, numbers of students and staff, and contextual factors, are used to present a textured analysis of the eight flagship universities, which are the university of botswana, university of cape town (south africa), university of dar es salaam (tanzania), eduardo mondlane university (mozambique), university of ghana, university of mauritius, makerere university (uganda) and university of nairobi (kenya). these eight universities formed the sites of the extensive and comprehensive herana (higher education research and advocacy network in africa) project, initiated by the centre for higher education transformation (chet) in 2007 with funding support from the carnegie corporation, the ford foundation and other benefactors, and which has focused on exploring the multitude of factors which influence universities’ ability to contribute to knowledge creation and development more broadly, and, indeed, 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 101–104 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.97 on the importance of the role and function of the research-intensive institution itself. the book cogently argues that only a select few institutions are required to drive the african knowledge and research agenda, but that this function needs to be performed in order to remain part of the global debates in the global knowledge economies and to ensure the innovative renewal of knowledge which creates possibilities of change. the book is divided into four sections, and each section engages in depth with issues of performance, research incentives, governance and policy context, and the ‘universities’ third mission of engagement’ understood in systemic terms. overall, african flagship universities are struggling with playing ‘catch-up’ (scott in cloete et al., 2015, cover) with any of the comparative regions, including those of south america and india, and many factors are discussed which may assist regions and countries in focusing their energy on developing conditions which encourage a differentiated higher education sector in which a researchintensive university can flourish (altbach in cloete et al., 2015, p. 20). the desirability of a flagship and world-class university is not left uncontested. cloete et al (2015, p. 22) cite altbach (2013) and assert that flagship universities play unique roles within the academic system. even though only a small percentage of universities in the developed regions fulfil the criteria for research-intensive institutions (china 3%, us 5%), at least a select few are required to serve the range of functions espoused by castells, which is to renew and innovate in order to carve new ways of knowing so as not only to reproduce existing systems and ways of being. even secondary knowledge production sectors rely on phd productions of the universities and, based on the data presented in knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education, african universities need to develop their capacity and need to engage policy contexts, so as to become more enabling to contribute significantly to the region’s knowledge generation and systemic renewal (cloete et al, 2015). in discussing the extensive and detailed evidence from the eight flagship universities in southern, east and west africa, the editors nico cloete, peter maassen and tracey bailey have attracted the most impressive collection of contemporary scholars, authors and researchers. each chapter is authored by a team of widely published african scholars and scholars of africa. manuel castells describes the book as ‘mandatory reading for academics, policy-makers and concerned citizens, in africa and elsewhere’ (cloete et al, 2015, cover) which sums up the extraordinary value and significant contribution these authors make to the evolution of our thinking about higher education in africa and beyond. the chapters are embedded into the framework discussed in chapter 1. the following chapters describe performance, alliance and international research cooperation by means of in-depth and accessible comparison and discussion of empirical data. chapter 5 argues cogently that political will beyond the higher education sector with a lens across the african region is required to vitalise the notion of ‘brain circulation’ and phd mobility, which has the potential to significantly stimulate research and knowledge creation. the following chapters then discuss research incentives exploring contextual, policy and individual factors. the chapters also discuss governance and funding councils and their intended and implicit roles in terms of steering and coordination in the eight countries. birgit schreiber: knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education 103 chapters 10 and 11 present research on the university’s ‘third mission’ around issues of dialectic interconnectedness of the knowledge creation project with society and the world ‘out there’. useful indicators are presented which assist in navigating the ‘ideological quagmire’ of the engagement terrain (van schalkwyk in cloete et al., 2015, p. 205). as part of the university’s ‘responsiveness’ to local development needs (doe, 1997), and in line with notions of the co-creation of the academic agenda, facilitated in problem-focused pedagogies, the importance and complexity of the ‘contextual factors that are impacting on knowledge production’ (bailey, 2010, p. 18) are deliberated. chapter 10 asserts that ‘citizenship education is an essential part of contextually relevant education in democracies’ (luescher-mamashela et al. in cloete, 2015, p. 231). this chapter links higher education’s role in citizenship development via the notion of student engagement to the academic project and the development of graduate attributes. in the course thereof, it shows that ‘the multiple roles that african flagship universities are meant to play in development ... coincide empirically in terms of student engagement’ (p. 257). this expansion of the herana project to include key aspects of the student experience makes this book particularly relevant to student affairs professionals. the chapters present extensive data in extensive and accessible tables, graphs and figures on each university’s knowledge production, based on mined data, with a focus on many variables. this is the area which, on the one hand, is the strength of the book, having clearly required extensive empirical research. however, on the other, while not supporting the reductionist notion of the quantification of higher education into parts such as ‘outputs’ and ‘rankings’, the book bases its important findings and conclusions on these indicators. there is much critique which laments the ‘quantification and evaluation of academic work; and increasing dependence on these quantitative measures to define and assess academic productivity and efficiency’ (bode & dale, 2015). the ‘uncritical dependence on quantification not only masks but also exacerbates problems in higher education’ (dale, 2012, p.5), which might include ‘development challenges in the university’s own backyard’ (duncan in chetty & merrett, 2014, p. iii). the book’s heavy reliance on data is its strength, in that it is a sober voice among the romantic and melancholic narratives about african higher education. at the same time, this heavy reliance on data shifts the indicators of success into a reductionist framework and – because this book is likely to be highly influential and referenced widely – it might make the quantification discourse normative. having said this, i thoroughly enjoyed the neatness of the empirical research on which the book rests, even while knowing that african higher education, much like higher education across the globe, is anything but neat, but full of messy contradictions and paradoxes. references bailey, t. (2010). the research-policy nexus: mapping the terrain of the literature. cape town: centre for higher education transformation (chet). bode, k., & dale, l. (2015). ‘bullshit’? an australian perspective; or, what can an organisational change impact statement tell us about higher education in australia? australian humanities review, 53, accessed at http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/issue-november-2012/ bode&dale.html 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 101–104 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.97 chetty, n., & merrett, c. (2014). the struggle for the soul of a south african university. selfpublished (isbn 978-0-620-58600-9). cloete, n., maassen, p., & bailey, t. (eds.). (2015). knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education. (african higher education dynamics series vol. 2.) cape town & maputo: african minds. dale, l. (2012). quantification, risk, and the rhetoric of higher education management. higher education review, 44(3), pp. 5-7. doe (department of education). (1997). white paper 3: programme for the transformation of higher education. government gazette no. 18207, 15 august 1997. pretoria: government printer. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, v-vi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.139 www.jsaa.ac.za preface by the guest editor annsilla nyar* editorial * director: south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) welcome to the special sanrc guest-edited issue of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa). the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) is pleased to have been afforded this opportunity by the jsaa to highlight some of the excellent work being undertaken in the first-year experience (fye) knowledge community. many of the contributors whose work is reflected in this issue are friends and colleagues of the sanrc. for example, the scholarly contributions received from our staunch supporters, drs jennifer keup and dallin george young from the national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (nrc) based at the university of south carolina in the united states, reflect the strength of the sanrc’s three-year partnership agreement with the nrc. other key contributions, such as that of dr andré van zyl from the academic development centre at the university of johannesburg and prof. james garraway, the extended programme co-ordinator at the cape peninsula university of technology, are testimony to the strong support behind the establishment and consolidation of the sanrc. what has been assembled here from the various contributors represents only a snapshot of some selected aspects of the fye. a full and comprehensive treatment of the fye in south africa is not yet possible. the field of fye remains under development and a robust culture of in-depth research into fye is still being nurtured by the many scholars and practitioners who are passionately promoting the idea of the first year of study being integral to student transitions and success. it is these fye scholars and practitioners who gather at the annual sanrc fye conference in search of the kinds of scholarly information, research and best practice that continues to inform and enrich the field of student success in south africa. the sanrc is constantly working to draw such scholars and practitioners into a national space of collaboration and networking that will grow the field of fye and eventually produce the kinds of researchers and academics who will make a tangible difference to how students are successfully retained in south africa’s higher education system. vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, v-vi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.139 what is not found in this fye-themed journal issue is set to be the subject of ongoing and future research by the sanrc. the challenge of ‘understanding the firstyear experience’ – for example, through first-order questions about the theoretical underpinnings of fye, definitional clarity, etc. – will be taken up by the sanrc in its mandate to examine the first year experience in its entirety critically. further research outputs building on the richness of a journal issue such as this one can be expected as the sanrc grows and consolidates its place in south africa’s higher education sector. annsilla nyar journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 89–92 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.51 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za leibowitz, brenda (2012). higher education for the public good: views from the south. oakhill, usa: trentham books. stellenbosch, south africa: sun media joy papier* book review * director, institute for post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. email: jpapier@uwc.ac.za this publication, edited by brenda leibowitz of stellenbosch university’s centre for teaching and learning, is a compilation of essays by prominent local and international academics, on the theme of higher education and the ‘public good’. but who is this ‘public’, and how is its ‘good’ defined? in the foreword, the late stellenbosch university rector russel botman draws on freire’s (1970, 1992) argument that ‘education should play a role in changing the world for the better’, to posit that “higher education is not neutral [...] it should play a useful role by serving the needs of society” (botman, xiii). this unequivocal statement sets the tone for the chapters that follow, in which the purposes of higher education ‘in the south’ are expounded upon, and where aspirations of higher education towards, inter alia, ‘social justice’, ‘democratic citizenship’ and ‘transformation’ are shown to often be confounded by the realities of constraints such as funding and institutional cultures arising out of a history of inequality. the book has four levels or layers of comment: the systemic/philosophical, the institutional, the pedagogical/curriculum and finally the academic/professional at the heart of the teaching and learning enterprise that is the university. section one considers the place of the public good in higher education transformation initiatives. in the opening article, singh (pp. 1–15) contrasts the discursive intent of socially responsive higher education with measures of accountability shaped by market forces and economic competition, a paradigm that leaves notions of higher education for social or intellectual emancipation, according to her, devoid of meaning and substance. contestations about the purpose(s) of higher education are familiar in the context of globalisation debates and the role of the university, but it is good to be reminded that universities in the south that compete at the global level do so on playing fields which are far from level in “social and fiscal terms that largely ignore history and circumstance” (p. 5). a critical point made by singh is the need for state steering in respect of the goals being espoused in its social development agenda, through incentives that locate social justice within higher education responsiveness. thus the “tussle between private and public good”, explored further in hall’s article (pp. 17–23) becomes a moral one in countries like south africa where the 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 89–92 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.51 inequalities are so stark and where higher education is expected to contribute to educating a socially responsible and active citizenry, a purpose posited later by lange as “socialisation of critical citizens”, which she says has received scant attention in south africa. she shows in her timeline of reform in south african higher education the changing focus that has reflected the priorities of government since 1994. the potential of higher education to impact the achievements of participants and to open opportunities is itself a “good” – albeit a “positional” good for some scholars – since it addresses inequality by providing individuals with the “capability” to effect change (agency) (hall citing sen [1999], nussbaum [2011] and walker [2006]). soudien continues in this vein by referring to the university as “an evolving idea” that has “the potential for disrupting social, cultural and economic orthodoxy” (p. 31). he draws attention to the ambiguities around the mission of a modern university and its many contradictions (being exclusive and inclusive at the same time, for instance), compared to the historical origins of a liberal university. he contends that in south africa, issues of access and quality have become polarised in debates about academic excellence and access for redress, and arguments about whether the latter implies compromising the former. section two moves to the institutional level, situating the debate within higher education institutions and drawing on case studies that illustrate the current dilemmas of universities. bozalek and leibowitz (pp. 59–61) hold that the combination of three normative frameworks (capabilities, social justice, and the ethics of care) can work towards achieving the ideal of higher education as a public good, and set out key elements of all three approaches that serve as evaluative tools for measuring how well the institution ‘cares’. walker takes a critical look at the curriculum in higher education and associated traditions of power relationships in what counts as “valid knowledge”, how this is selected, and implications of this selection for the future. adding to the earlier “marketisation of higher education” debates, she argues that a human capital approach need not be at the expense of “human well-being” (p. 78). by focusing on “capabilities” that enable humans to “choose and develop valuable beings and doings” (sen,1999), human beings could contribute to both society and themselves as individuals. curriculum she holds, should be built upon developing desirable capabilities, as expanded by nussbaum (1997). this conversation forms an appropriate backdrop for what in chapter 7 is referred to as “graduate attributes” or “qualities that also prepare graduates as agents for social good in an unknown future” (bowden et al., 2000 cited by van schalkwyk, herman and muller, p. 87). the writers conclude that education for the public good means also “inculcating these attributes into the teaching and learning ethos of the university”, as well as in its research culture (van schalkwyk et al., p. 97). section three hones in on the classroom level at the university, its programmes and pedagogies. waghid offers the lens of nussbaum’s “politics of humanity” to examine teacher education programmes in the light of government ‘norms and standards’ for teachers. while the ‘norms and standards’ fall short in their vague articulation, a “politics of humanity” ought to be accompanied by a “radicalised democratic citizenship agenda” in order to develop teachers for a post-apartheid society (p. 110). chapter 9 looks at a joy papier: beyond inclusion: higher education for the public good: views from the south 91 project in university social and health sciences premised on a “pedagogy of hope”, in which student groups were intentionally diverse so that interactions involved “learning about the other” (p.120). taking the concept of self and other further, subreenduth, a south african living in the usa, explores “decolonising pedagogies” through her study of undergraduate pre-service teacher education courses. an “engaged pedagogy”, she argues, allows students to “live in the world more fully by reaching critical awareness and engagement” (p. 133). from an international perspective, boni, macdonald and peris, (p. 139) explain the concept of global citizenship and how this was fostered in a group of engineering students at the polytechnic university (upv) in spain. in addition to the technical content, they focus on the methodology employed in the classroom to introduce students to the “contextual, multicultural and non-eurocentric sense of human development”. in this case study, the technique of “moral dilemma” was used, whereby a controversial issue was introduced in order to trigger argument and dialogue. koopman’s article on a “pedagogy of hybridity, reconciliation and justice” looks at teaching a diverse group of university students and how they perceive the “past” which is always present. he explores too, how the notion of “hybridity” might challenge “essentialisms” and “certainties” about who we are, and allow us to wear the “lenses” of the “other”, concluding that the concept of hybridity offers hope for a “liberating future”. in the fourth and final section, “the academic” is viewed through the lens of “critical professionalism”, a concept underpinning a project that has attempted to inform professional development towards “teaching for the public good” in the face of a “rise of control over academics’ working lives” (p. 165). the encroachment of managerialism and performativity on all aspects of higher education is a common theme in global higher education literature as the writers show, manifested in south africa through a growing “audit culture”. critical professionalism (walker, 2001), it is argued, creates the possibility of agency for the university lecturer who wishes to teach for the public good and encourages critical and reflexive scholarship. a research project in this regard is described (p. 169) in which the lessons learned are shared (pp. 173–176). ultimately, it is the academic who has to take responsibility (agency) for her/his development, which might lead in turn to a more supportive culture for such development being fostered. gierdien (pp. 179–190) demonstrates this sense of “agency” in his self-study of mathematics teaching to pre-service teachers, and illustrates what he learns through the process of becoming a critical professional, as does constandius (p. 191) in her very personal reflections that arose out of teaching a citizenship module. to close this section, wisker (pp. 203–214) provides the perspective of an academic developer in the uk, and suggests that an aspiration to teach towards the public good might be nurtured through a curriculum based on civic values and social justice. however, she argues that such values need to be “embedded within curriculum development and embraced throughout the institution” (p. 208), and that engagement with colleagues in this regard is vital. this book is an important and timely addition to the evolving landscape within which higher education is being shaped and steered. in effect it ‘walks the talk’ of the themes that have been covered by the various writers, particularly that of ‘agency’: academics 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 89–92 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.51 being critical professionals and taking responsibility for the kind of university that they would want to see. rather than the ‘public good’ being an esoteric notion, the book has served to concretise the concept, through its combination of philosophical and empirical contributions. the reader will indeed appreciate that: “teaching for the public good can entail long and difficult work, and requires individuals to be prepared to experience moments of extreme vulnerability” (leibowitz, p. 218). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 61–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.136 www.jsaa.ac.za wingate, ursula (2015). academic literacy and student diversity: the case of inclusive practice. bristol: multilingual matters reviewed by thengani h. ngwenya* book review * prof. thengani h. ngwenya is director of the centre for excellence in learning and teaching of the durban university of technology, durban, south africa. email: ngwenyat@dut.ac.za academic literacy and student diversity (2015) is a book that will appeal to both experts and novices working in the field of academic literacies in higher education. this is not just another textbook on academic literacy but an incisive critique of the often takenfor-granted conceptions of academic literacy and its role in curriculum design and pedagogy. the book is a valuable and welcome contribution to the swiftly growing and reputable new perspectives on language and education series. adopting a scholarly approach that eschews unnecessary jargon, the author provides a wide-ranging and theoretically grounded overview of approaches to academic literacy and successfully dispels myths and misconceptions about academic literacy. by foregrounding disciplinary conventions and practices, the book seeks to promote a truly student-centred approach to highereducation pedagogy. the aims of the book are succinctly and lucidly captured in the book’s introductory chapter: 1. to address common misunderstandings regarding students’ academic literacy needs, most notably the perception that it is writing only that constitutes the problem; that it is mainly language proficiency that causes deficiencies in writing; and that this problem only affects certain student groups. 2. to examine existing models of literacy/writing pedagogy and consider their suitability for literacy development of diverse student populations. 3. to propose a model of inclusive academic literacy instruction and present an intervention study in which aspects of this model were applied (wingate, 2015, p. 3). the book’s central thesis is that massification, globalisation, internationalisation and related higher-education policies have resulted in the creation of bewilderingly complex and diverse student populations in various parts of the world. the author argues that contemporary discourses on academic literacy characterised by notions of deficiency and remediation need to be supplanted by new and more nuanced approaches to academic 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 61–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.136 literacy instruction. wingate succeeds in convincing the reader that these approaches need to be transformational and inclusive by moving literacies, in their various forms, from the periphery of disciplinary epistemologies to the centre. the argument that academic literacy should not be designed for the so-called non-traditional student pervades all the chapters of the book, including those that are recognisably theoretical in orientation. the author’s intention is clearly to disabuse mainstream academics of the misguided view that academic literacy is a set of reading and writing skills required by students from underprivileged backgrounds in order to cope with the demands of higher education. in this regard, the underpinning philosophy of the book is both egalitarian and transformative. perhaps the most intellectually exciting section of the book is the chapter in which wingate outlines the principles of an inclusive model of academic literacy instruction. writing like the seasoned student development practitioner that she is, wingate provides practical examples of approaches that have been implemented in a variety of disciplinary contexts. the resources provided, including a comprehensive bibliography on the topic, will be invaluable to researchers and academics teaching in higher education. relying on the work of ochs (1986), duff (2007, 2010) and other theoristpractitioners, wingate presents a carefully argued case for the adoption of the language of socialisation and socio-cultural theory as analytical frameworks for interpreting both academic literacy instruction and the systematic and gradual mastery by students from diverse social and academic backgrounds of the defining conceptual basis of university disciplines. for wingate, being academically literate denotes demonstrable and effective communicative competence in particular academic contexts. needless to say, this conceptualisation of academic literacy neither equates nor conflates communicative competence with language proficiency or with the ability to write well. wingate reminds both the specialist and the novice in this area that literacy, especially as the word is used in higher education contexts, is often inextricably linked to the very foundations of what constitutes knowledge in a particular discipline or set of related disciplines. as she explains in this book, academic literacy is understood as the ability to communicate competently in an academic discourse community: in academic contexts, the social situations and core activities are mainly concerned with knowledge construction, presentation and debate, and accomplished through genres (such as the lecture, the research proposal or the essay). these genres are in turn achieved through contextually appropriate language functions (such as reporting, reasoning, proposing, hedging). (2015, p. 7) throughout the book the author presents a compelling argument in favour of embedding academic literacies in disciplinary discourses of which they are an indispensable conceptual and foundational component. the underlying theme of the book is thus both profound and illuminating: teaching academic literacy is not always distinguishable from teaching the content of a particular discipline or subject. wingate’s understanding and presentation of the argument for merging literacy ‘skills’ with subject content knowledge resonates with the ideas of lee shulman, who promotes what he describes as “signature pedagogies” thengani h. ngwenya: academic literacy and student diversity: the case of inclusive practice 63 that derive from disciplinary and professional ways of thinking (shulman, 2004; pace & middendorf, 2004; gurung, chick & haynie, 2009). the major achievement of this well-researched and eminently readable book is its blurring of artificial boundaries between subject content knowledge and written and spoken language. it is, wingate argues, the language that provides epistemological access to the facts, procedures, and conceptual foundations of disciplinary and, by extension, professional discourses and “ways of being”. references duff, p. (2007). second language socialisation as sociocultural theory: insights and issues. language teaching: 40(4), 309–319. duff, p. (2010). language socialisation into academic discourse communities. annual review of applied linguistics: 30, 169–192. gurung, r.a, chick, n.l. & haynie, a. (eds), (2009). exploring signature pedagogies: approaches to teaching disciplinary habits of mind. sterling: stylus. ochs, e. (1986). introduction. in schieffelin, b. & ochs, e. (eds), language socialisation across cultures (pp. 1–13). new york: cambridge university press.pace, p. & middendorf, j. (2004). decoding the disciplines: helping students learn disciplinary ways of thinking. new directions for teaching and learning: 98, 1–12. shulman, l. (2004). teaching as community property: essays on higher education. san francisco: josseybass. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 79–82 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.55 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za creating seamless connections: intersecting the social and academic lives of students teboho moja* and monroe france** co-curriculum seminar 2014 the contributions on this topic are based on a presentation we made at a colloquium organised by the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape and attended by participants from various universities. there is growing interest in the topic amongst student affairs professionals in south africa, and we believe that the topic is of interest to student affairs professionals throughout the continent. in the presentation we explored the links between co-curricular activities and students’ academic lives. our starting point is that planned and organised activities that allow for the intersection of the social lives and academic lives of students contribute to the holistic development of students. there are great strides made in intersecting academic and social lives of students in some of the universities and colleges in the usa. this presentation draws some lessons from those experiences as we explore the role of a co-curriculum in the african context and outline lessons to be learned from others’ experiences. we begin by identifying common features between the us and african universities. the first is that higher education systems in both the us and african universities comprise of large undergraduate education programmes. the second is that the systems have some elements of their colonial legacies of university lives that combined living and learning arrangements. historically, such arrangements were made mainly for convenience because there were fewer institutions and the students came from various parts of the country or beyond their own countries to study and learn from scholars who were masters of their disciplines. in africa, most countries had one university for the entire country, and some did not have universities at all and therefore sent their students to neighbouring countries for university education. various arrangements were made to provide university education between countries on a regional basis, as was the case in east africa, or made arrangements to split one university into segments offered in different countries, as was the case with the university of botswana, lesotho and swaziland as one entity. students had to leave their homes and stay in halls of residence, which in the past were referred to as hostels or dormitories. housing in general was organised and regarded as a mere convenience where * clinical professor of higher education at new york university, usa. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu ** assistant vice president for student diversity and director of the center for multicultural education and programs at new york university, usa. 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 79–82 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.55 students could live and access university education. there were little or no planned activities to integrate their residential arrangements with their academic lives beyond providing them with rules and regulations during their stay in those settings. as a result, student life in residence halls in africa has been characterised by conflict and strikes over broad social and political issues or over their own living conditions, especially strikes over food quality. residential life in the african university context was seen more as a convenience arrangement, and no formal programmes were provided to link residential life with the academic lives of students. administrators put in charge of students were often charged with the task of keeping an eye on the students and administering the rules set for living in student residences. residential and organised social life as part of the co-curriculum has largely been scanty or non-existent in african universities. a case in point is drawn from south africa, which had two parallel systems of universities that were racially segregated. the historically white universities had academics assigned to play the role of in loco parentis with some minimal academic support, while the historically black universities, similar to most situations in african universities, had administrators with no mandate for academic support. the us has moved more into professionalising the role of student affairs administrators who work closely with the academic staff to provide a rich student life experience. currently, there is growing interest in integrating the social and academic lives of students, and student affairs professionals in africa are exploring this issue. the colloquium presentation shared a brief history of student affairs in the us context, and of how the profession became professionalised, and concluded with examples of how new york university structures its programmes and co-curricular activities to integrate students’ social and academic lives. five examples of co-curriculum activities at new york university were shared as examples of how to integrate students’ social and academic lives. the first area indicated ways in which co-curricular activities become part of collaborative learning, using living learning communities in residence halls or the inclusion of faculty in residence programmes. the programmes form part of the university’s effort to create intimate learning communities for students within residence halls as a way of integrating students’ academic experiences with their residential lives. both examples illustrate how learning becomes seamless and continues beyond the classroom by allowing students to be organised into learning communities around topics of interest, as well as by letting faculty members become part of the residence hall living where there is continuation of interaction amongst students and faculty members. there are reported benefits of improved performance in classrooms enhanced by this form of collaboration. academic fellows participating in the programme work closely with one another and with residence hall staff to set an intellectual tone in the residence hall, and to design and implement a wide range of programmatic and other opportunities for students to interact with academic staff and with one another. another benefit of the programme for a university located in a big city is to create a “small college” life within a larger community and the benefits of learning together with colleagues outside the classroom. teboho moja and monroe france: creating seamless connections 81 the second area is illustrated through partnership courses across academic departments and the student affairs department. the courses offered jointly at nyu are service learning courses, first-year student seminars, intergroup dialogue programmes and scholars’ programmes such as the martin luther king jr. scholars programme. the service learning courses sometimes take the form of alternative breaks programmes, which provide students with the opportunity to learn about political and social community dynamics while becoming catalysts for collaborative social change. through learning and practice, students explore the theory of integrating service, education and reflection to create meaningful change in their communities. the alternative break courses take place during spring break and some of them bear two credits. the intergroup dialogue programme is a nationally recognised eight-week and one-credit-bearing course that brings together small groups of students from diverse backgrounds to share their experiences and gain new knowledge related to diversity and social justice. the course is facilitated by trained graduate students or student affairs professionals. the martin luther king jr. programme is a programme that celebrates students’ academic achievement and leadership and builds a community amongst students. the third area of joint programmes is fostered through the creation of full-time academic staff positions within student affairs units. the fourth example is the situation where student affairs practitioners teach in the higher education programme as adjunct staff and in some instances sit on doctoral dissertation committees. the benefit of the two areas mentioned here is not only that of integrating student lives but also of linking theory to practice for graduate students with aspirations to pursue careers as student affairs professionals. the fifth and final area to be mentioned here is the strategy to decentralise student life/ services to academic departments in order to bring the services closer to students. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article considering the role of tutoring in student engagement: reflections from a south african university brendon duran faroa* * brendon duran faroa is associate lecturer, department of psychology, university of the western cape, south africa. email: bfaroa@uwc.ac.za abstract student engagement has been defined as the extent to which students are engaged in activities that higher education research has shown to be linked with high-quality learning outcomes. the ubiquitous influence of the term ‘student engagement’ has been felt throughout the higher education landscape. this is especially true for south african higher education where student success has been poor. south african universities have been tasked to improve the student learning experience as a component of improving success. some of the innovative teaching and learning practices often highlighted by research which are thought to improve student engagement include: having students adopt teaching roles such as peer assessment, tutoring and mentoring. these practices are thought to promote student engagement, leading to greater student academic success. tutoring can therefore be seen as one of the key strategies to facilitate student engagement in order to achieve academic success. the following paper considers the role of tutoring in student engagement while reflecting on strategies used at a south african university to address the challenges associated with student success. keywords student engagement; tutoring; tutor; higher education; reflections; key strategies; south african universities background south african higher education faces a number of challenges. these include: low pass rates, very high first year dropout rates, low participation rates from previously excluded groups as well as low degree completion rates (strydom & mentz, 2010; wilson-strydom, 2010; scott, 2009). in the year 2000, 30% of first year students dropped out in their first year of study while only 22% of first years eventually went on to graduate (council on higher education, 2010). thus, the preceding decade of south african higher education already demonstrated a number of significant challenges which hamper student success. an impactful and relevant response is therefore needed to address these challenges. any response to the challenges of student success needs to be based on a student development model that is culturally sensitive, promotes social justice and which recognises the needs of all students (bourne-bowie, 2000). the response to the challenges of student success in south africa has therefore been focused on empirically sound approaches such as student http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:bfaroa@uwc.ac.za 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 engagement (strydom & mentz, 2010). engagement is uniquely poised to address such challenges, especially given its association with achievement, retention as well as social and psychological well-being (markes, 2000; crick & goldspink, 2014). the role of tutoring and tutors in higher education in south africa, as well as other countries such as the united states and canada, postgraduate student tutors are given important roles to play in facilitating student engagement and learning in higher education (clarence, 2016). among their duties, assisting in assessment or evaluation of student work, such as assignments or tests, is included as well as consulting with students outside of tutorials. despite the valuable role tutors play in higher education, there is disparity in the kinds of professional or educational support, training and development offered to them by their universities or the lecturers in whose courses they tutor (clarence, 2016). furthermore, the use of tutoring as a strategy to achieve and/or maximise engagement for the purpose of student development and success is hardly a new topic (topping, 1996; hock et al., 2001; de smet et al., 2010). in higher education, particularly at universities, tutoring has long been a historical model for enhancing students’ engagement based on a close student-teacher relationship (lee, hong & choi, 2016). tutoring programmes form an important part of academic institutions yet are but one way of facilitating student engagement. tutoring forms an integral part of a university’s teaching-learning process and can be characterised as a basic strategy for improving students’ academic success and professional goals (morillas & garrido, 2014). there is also agreement that high-quality tutoring enhances retention and facilitates advancement throughout the higher education pipeline, whilst positively impacting all students who attend (girves, zepeda & gwathmey, 2005). the importance of tutoring in higher education can also be seen in its value for students who are at risk of dropping out, and for gender equality and the integration of minorities and/or previously excluded groups (girves, zepeda & gwathmey, 2005; burrell, 2013). by promoting equal opportunities to learn, equal access to educational resources and social cohesion tutoring has a role to play in redressing inequalities. tutoring can therefore serve as a vehicle through which to tackle complex social problems. according to betts and burrell (2014) complex social problems such as social inclusion should be tackled by processes and strategies which already exist in higher education. one such strategy may therefore be tutoring as a tool for engagement. thus, the role of tutoring is multifaceted and implicit in teaching and learning, thereby fulfilling an invaluable role in student, graduate and professional development as well as in promoting student engagement. student engagement, student success and tutoring there is little agreement on a definition of student engagement, although there is strong evidence to support the benefits of student engagement in student success. while a definition of student engagement remains difficult to articulate, it may nevertheless be necessary. for the purpose of this discussion more than one definition may prove useful to consider. hu and kuh (2001) defined engagement as the quality of effort that students themselves devote to educationally purposeful activities that contribute directly to desired http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 3 educational outcomes. furthermore, engagement has also been described as “a broad construct intended to encompass salient academic as well as certain non-academic aspects of the student experience” (coates, 2007, p. 122). these aspects, coates (2007) held, are: active and collaborative learning; participation in challenging academic activities; formative communication with academic staff; involvement in enriching educational experiences; feeling legitimated and supported by university learning communities. finally, and more popularly, student engagement has been defined as both the time and effort that students devote to activities that are empirically linked to desired outcomes of college and what institutions do to induce students to participate in these activities (kuh, 2009, p. 683). for the purpose of kuh’s (2009) definition, students’ involvement in curricular and co-curricular activities may translate into involvement in their own learning. in addition, students’ participation in their institutions may assist them to actively engage in peer learning with faculty staff which may drive student success (axelson & flick, 2011; van dijk, 2013). student engagement therefore plays a central role in student success. globally, a large body of literature supports the hypothesis that high levels of student engagement yield positive outcomes for the characteristics that promote student success (astin, 1984, 1993; chickering & gamson, 1987; pascarella & terenzini, 1991, 2005; goodsell, maher & tinto, 1992; berger & milem, 1999; kuh, 1995; kuh & vesper, 1997; kuh, kinzie, schuh & whitt, 2005; kuh, 2013; lodge, 2012). these characteristics include: student development, academic achievement as well as social engagement. student engagement is a critical component needed to ensure student success (webber, bauer, krylow & zhang, 2013). the overarching conclusion seems to be that students who are most engaged at both a curricular and co-curricular level will achieve better student success. the case of the university of the western cape the university of the western cape (uwc) is a public university situated in the northern suburbs of the western cape province of south africa. it has a student enrolment of approximately 20 000 students. it was established in 1959 by an act of parliament as an ethnic college. the university opened its doors in 1960 and has since been home to very diverse student populations. since then, it has transformed itself from a small apartheid educational institution to an internationally recognised university with a reputation for excellence in teaching, learning and research (uwc corporate guidelines, 2010). it is ranked 7th in africa and 5th in the country (times higher education, 2015). uwc, much like other south african universities, has tutoring as part of almost all its curricula. my role at uwc has, among others, been that of tutorial coordinator in the department of psychology, which forms part of uwc’s faculty of community and health sciences (fchs). student engagement is not new to the university. various interventions have been used to achieve and pursue ongoing student success. in fchs, the student success project has been a notable vehicle used to investigate and address challenges associated with engagement. results from the south african survey on student engagement (sasse, 2015) revealed that on average uwc firstand senior-year students measured markedly similar to their peers (in the sasse comparison group) on the majority of the engagement indicators. recent research conducted on student engagement at the uwc has also 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 highlighted a number of factors which play a role in student engagement. schreiber and yu’s (2016) study examining student engagement at the university of the western cape (uwc) found that engagement patterns are different across race and gender while highly correlated to academic performance. the authors were able to generalise these results onto the south african higher education system (schreiber & yu, 2016). like other south african universities, uwc has also struggled with student retention and throughput. tutoring has been identified as one of the key strategies to facilitate student engagement and promote student success. keeping these attempts to measure engagement in mind, as well as considering their results, provides uwc with opportunities to capitalise on engagement in order to improve student success. tutoring therefore presents as an already present tool and strategy that can be used to improve student success. psychology tutorials this study is located in the department of psychology at the uwc. psychology tutorials in the department are conducted with the following aims and objectives in mind: • to practically address the lack of academic support beyond the traditional lecture setting; • to increase pass and retention rates of modules which include but are not limited to high-impact modules; • to contribute towards dropout prevention; • to motivate students to learn; and • to promote student engagement, thereby increasing student success. the psychology department has the largest tutorial classes in the community and health sciences faculty. tutorials are tracked (using registers) and evaluated at the end of each semester. in addition, under the guidance of lecturers, tutors have consultations with students. tutors are also required to attend compulsory training, consultation with lecturers and support meetings with the tutorial programme coordinator. tutors fulfil various roles which, broadly speaking, includes; face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, as well as assisting with tutorial, assignment and test administration. tutorials are conducted across psychology undergraduate year levels. through tutorials, students are able to access more knowledgeable peers, and share diverse solutions to shared challenges. this allows students to build knowledge commons where student engagement is promoted. as part of pursuing student success, the department, with its large undergraduate student numbers, has employed a number of strategies to improve the quality of tutorials while promoting student engagement. strategies employed include: 1. the use of postgraduate tutor teams; 2. conducting pedagogically driven content and student-centred tutorials; 3. continuous-simultaneous training and evaluation; and 4. the use of information communication tools (icts). these will be discussed in more detail and in relation to relevant literature, below. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 5 postgraduate tutor teams and their role in pedagogically driven content, student-centred tutorials the department of psychology at uwc serves large undergraduate classes. tutorial attendance varies from 10 to 120 students per tutorial. tutor teams are utilised to facilitate large groups, and senior tutors (typically masters students who have had previous experience as a tutor), assist first-time and less experienced tutors. only psychology honours, posthonours, masters and phd students are eligible for tutoring positions. senior tutors serve as valuable support resources to novice tutors and are available for consultations as well as offering assistance during tutorials and training. tutorials follow lectures on a week-by-week basis to ensure close alignment of content with the course curriculum. exercises and group activities are included in course materials as well as content from lectures which together make up formal tutorial content. additionally, lecturers and tutors collaborate to deliver quizzes and audio-visual materials. lecturers guide tutorial content based on the perceived needs of students. the tutorial coordinator presents the results of student evaluations to tutors, who then reflect on these to tailor the format of tutorials. in the face of challenges such as increasingly large class sizes, recent research points to the need for new pedagogical strategies such as those involving faculty tutor teams (bond, czernkowski & wells, 2012; crowe, ceresola & silva, 2014). postgraduate psychology tutors in the department are paired with lecturers who teach the respective modules that they will tutor. according to gucciardi, mach and mo (2016) this kind of collaborative approach, while new, holds benefits for lecturers, tutors and students including a much more integrated approach to learning. while the approach perpetuated in the literature closely resembles that used in the psychology department at uwc, there are slight deviations. one such deviation is that of in-class feedback which in the literature is obtained directly from students (cook-sather, 2013; troisi, 2014; crowe, ceresola & silva, 2014; gucciardi, mach & mo, 2016). in the psychology department at uwc, feedback is obtained from both student evaluations as well as from the literature which informs tutor training. while the programme’s overall structure aligns quite closely to that described in recent literature, at its core, it seems to lack a guiding theoretical framework. though it may not be wise to rely on a single guiding theoretical framework, a framework remains necessary. the literature on peer tutoring in higher learning seems to recognise vygotsky’s (1962, 1986) social constructivism as a popular guiding pedagogical framework (asghar, 2010; stigmar, 2016). using asghar’s (as cited in gucciardi, mach & mo, 2016) logic, identifying a guiding framework/s might not be as simple as it sounds; “the interaction between peers allows students to enter the zone of proximal development where a less able peer is able to enter a new area of potential development through problem-solving with someone more able” (p. 406). in other words while one might hold a predisposition toward a particular theory for tutorials, another might emerge in practice. simply put, even in the absence of a guiding theory, psychology lecturers, students and tutors create knowledge and meaning from their interactions, thereby constructing new knowledge. this, after all, is at the very core of social constructivism. 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 tutorials require consistent monitoring as a means of ensuring that quality teaching and learning take place. without a lens (guiding pedagogical framework) through which to monitor tutorials, the very act of monitoring might become futile, especially in the context of academia. the department would therefore need to make clear its guiding theory/ theories to avoid redundancy. however, both the former and the latter points remain debatable in light of the core tenets of social constructivism. tutors, training and evaluation the different roles that tutors are required to fulfil in the psychology department mean that continuous and, at times, simultaneous training and evaluation is required. it is for these reasons that training is conducted throughout the academic terms. training topics include: contextual issues, academic skills such as writing, psychosocial topics such diversity, social and personal well-being, train the trainer (which includes tutor and student learning strategies) and e-tools (ict training). training occurs in-house (the academic department) as well as at faculty and, recently, at institutional level (university-wide). this, while both time-consuming and labour-intensive, might still not be enough to ensure high-quality tutors who facilitate high-quality student engagement. tutors, on the other hand, seem to exhibit a generally positive attitude toward training as well as recognise the need for training. the 2016 tutor cohort, when asked whether they would recommend tutor training to a colleague or peer, provided the following comments: participant 1:“yes, i think training is important for tutors to receive standardised training.” participant 3: “yes, it puts you at ease.” participant 7: “yes, it is very helpful especially for the fact that there was time to ask questions.” participant 4: “it is something we can learn from to become better students.” continuous training and support of tutors is an important strategy geared toward assisting tutors to develop more holistically (underhill & mcdonald, 2010; layton, 2013). while the literature on training and support of tutors highlight that there has been improvement in the recognition and development of tutors, it also makes clear that more research-driven approaches may contribute to this end. by implication, these shortcomings illustrate that disciplinary knowledge is not enough to ensure high-quality tutoring, nor does it maximise or promote student engagement. much like gucciardi, mach & mo (2016), clarence (2016) makes a strong case for tutors as teaching and learning partners which may be a starting point for building tutoring capacity in higher education. in this way, tutors will share in evaluation feedback, and be more involved in scheduling learning activities and clarifying procedural rules such as registration, deadlines and course requirements (haggers & donald, 2013). at uwc, this is already a reality, given the extent of the training provided to tutors, especially considering the way in which evaluations are being optimally used to inform tutoring. furthermore, clarence (2016) identifies the following strategies which can be used to create and sustain teaching and learning environments that are better able to facilitate student engagement through tutorials. these include: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 7 (a) providing tutors with opportunities to develop both their contextual and/or disciplinary knowledge; (b) endorsing facilitation, assessment and feedback-giving practices that are relevant to their kind and level of tutoring work; (c) providing guidance and ongoing contact with the lecturers to create a responsive learning environment; (d) critically re-examining academic departments’ support, training and development of tutor capacity; and (e) re-imagining tutor development and support in structured, research-led and cumulative rather than ad hoc ways. the latter two strategies seem to be more applicable to tutoring in the psychology department. at uwc, however, strategy (d) might also be extended to include the broader institution. this means that critically re-examining academic departments’ support, training and development of tutor capacity ought to be an institutional endeavour rather than a departmental one. finally, and perhaps more importantly, is strategy (e) which seems to directly address the psychology department’s lack of compulsory tutorials. this lack of integration of psychology tutorials into the curriculum of undergraduate students means that these essential tools/spaces for engagement remain under-utilised and run the risk of taking away rather than adding to student success. perhaps opening up tutorials for more than continuous and simultaneous training and evaluation, and pursuing more research endeavours in these spaces will yield better engagement, thereby doubling up on student success. with this in mind, research endeavours ought therefore to not only be limited to inform training material. research conducted in tutorial spaces might also serve to legitimise the need and relevance for tutorials as tools for student engagement within its relevant context. information communication tools (icts) the activities that tutors undertake in order to deliver content in the uwc psychology department are perhaps evidence of their changing role in higher education. in addition to traditional roles, tutors have recently taken on a more organisational role which has come to include scheduling learning activities and tasks and clarifying procedural rules such as, registration, deadlines and course requirements (haggers & donald, 2013). this role of tutors as organisers of educational content and activities has become more apparent in the face of a higher education landscape which relies heavily on ict infrastructure. online learning has become increasingly common throughout higher education (lee, hong & choi, 2016). with this reality, tutors have been compelled to take on a more technical support role in addition to their more traditional roles. at the psychology department at uwc, the university’s institutional online learning platform is used for online tutorials, thereby facilitating online engagement. tutors and students form online discussion groups where content is broken down into chunks, queries are addressed and course-related issues are discussed. in conjunction with lecturers, tutors also include: weekly videos, podcasts, 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 small-group activities, debates and mini panel discussions. electronic content such as videos and podcasts are vetted by lecturers. the strategies employed by tutors receive overwhelmingly positive responses from students. from this it is apparent that tutors use creative ways to deliver content to students. the timing of these interactive tutorials is also key as most took place shortly before assessment preparation was due to start. it is also during these sessions that attendance spikes dramatically. students seem to respond well to audio-visual tools. icts do therefore have a role to play in engagement. the nature of higher education institutions has necessitated technology-based learning environments which demand immediate technical support and which are critical in order to maintain student interest and the flow of learning (wade, hodgkinson, smith & arfield, 2013; lee, hong & choi, 2016). the use of icts in the psychology department has therefore expanded student engagement beyond the traditional tutorial space. icts such as institutional learning platforms breach traditional barriers, thereby enabling student engagement across vast distances. even though it may be hard to deny the need for icts, its mastery by academics may pose an issue as it includes supporting students by providing technical guidance, direction and feedback on technical problems and ensuring that students harness technical systems to stimulate interactive learning and promote engagement (denis, watland, pirotte & verday, 2004; wade, hodgkinson, smith & arfield, 2013; lee, hong & choi, 2016). icts therefore necessitate greater commitment from tutors and staff. in addition, icts do not come without logistical challenges. the use of icts for tutoring in the psychology department has been plagued by the problem of access. while the online learning environment holds tremendous promise for student engagement, students are often unable to access online platforms. this is largely the result of the large numbers of students enrolled but, perhaps more problematic, is access to the technical resources. the large numbers enrolled far exceeds what the department’s and university’s computer labs can consistently accommodate. this presents numerous issues and slows the pace at which online learning environments for engagement can be accessed. in the psychology department this has triggered low online attendance rates for e-tutorials. the logistical challenges of itcs coupled with the changes to the role of tutors have resulted in lecturers having to adopt additional roles. this places additional pressure on lecturers since they are responsible for guiding tutors as far as module content and assessment-related preparation is concerned. added to this is that tutorials in the psychology department are not compulsory, yet a clear need for this kind of support exists. the lack of compulsory tutorials means that not all students feel compelled to attend sessions, which results in lecturers having to repeat lecture content during individual student consultations, especially with struggling students. here, institutions have a broader role to play. commitment from the institution toward tutorial programmes is critical for student engagement, social integration and ultimately student success (braxton, hirschy & mccledon, 2004). institutions of higher learning must take decisive steps to ensure both human resources as well as infrastructure are available and sufficiently suited to accommodate staff, students and tutors. the role of the higher education institutions in student engagement has been discussed at length across the literature on tutoring. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 brendon duran faroa: considering the role of tutoring in student engagement ... 9 van  dijk  (2013) maintains that higher education institutions should focus on how they shape their students’ academic, interpersonal and curricular activities to promote or enhance student engagement. at uwc, this would entail a greater devotion to ensuring structured, well-funded, and adequately human-resourced tutorial programmes which operate within equally accommodating ict infrastructure. considerations from the literature developing tutorials and tutors as a response to student disengagement from the literature, it appears that tutoring has a well-defined role to play in student success, especially in the south african context. thus, a primary consideration may be to develop tutorials and train tutors in order to address disengagement and achieve and maximise student success. several theorists (hart, 1992; hughes, zhang & hill, 2006; ritter & covic, 2006) suggest that one way in which to promote student engagement is through appropriate and empathic responses to students as individuals. martinez and munday’s (1998) study of student drop-out rates found that two of the factors for success were students’ awareness of their own learning process as well as lecturers’ responses to the varied learning needs of the group. any successful tutorial programmes would therefore need to incorporate careful consideration of the factors highlighted by martinez and munday’s (1998) study. this awareness suggests that students need to become metacognitively aware of their learning (gijselaers, 1996). this could lead to greater levels of intrinsically motivated learners rather than mere passive learners (dube, kane & lear, 2012; lucariello et al., 2016; brunner, 1990). for the psychology department this may mean that approaches to tutoring need to emphasise learning as an active, constructive as well as integrated process which occurs in the context of relevant social and contextual factors. a social-constructivist guiding pedagogy therefore seems particularly well suited for tutoring in this department. however, it may also be true that an array of different tutoring approaches and practices exist which could possibly foster student engagement. strategies such as assignment-assisted tutoring, strategic tutoring, one-on-one tutoring, training-related academic tutoring and peer tutoring, have all been shown to foster student engagement (topping, 1996; hock et al., 2001; de smet et al., 2010). in addition to the strategies mentioned above, the literature on tutoring identifies more coordinated and structured guidelines to achieve student success in tutoring. these include: (a) tutors must receive training instructional (teaching) strategies; (b) a tutoring programme should be specifically tailored for each students’ needs by making use of a developmental template; (c) the students’ progress should be tracked by the tutor to adjust the strategies and for the improvement of tutoring sessions; (d) tutors need to work in collaboration with the students’ lecturers to improve effectiveness; and (e) principles of learning should guide tutoring programmes (gordon, 2009; gordon et al., 2004). 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 given the support throughout the literature, it may be useful to consider how or if the guidelines above can be utilised to improve tutoring and/or thereby maximise engagement within the psychology department. the use of evaluations to inform tutoring as well as the extensive training conducted by the psychology department seem to find agreement in the literature. the concept of tutors as teaching and learning partners and student faculty teams aligns with a number of strategies discussed throughout the literature on effective tutorial programmes and tutoring. this strategy holds a lot of promise for practitioners in and beyond the department of psychology at uwc. maton (2015) argues that to better facilitate student engagement through tutorials the following is needed: support and development programmes that are coherent, guided and underpinned by contextually relevant theory and research which may over time adequately build tutors’ knowledge and skills in relation to tutoring. these considerations are especially valuable for the psychology department’s tutoring programme. firstly, maton’s (2015) argument asserts the importance of pedagogy and its role in tutoring practice. the recommendations discussed above also allow for the creation of a criterion of tutor competency and best practice. secondly, research focusing on student needs can guide tutor development to ensure relevant tutor competencies, skills and attributes. conclusion the literature on student engagement and tutoring provides a number of key strategies which can be used to address the challenges faced in higher education globally and in south africa. tutoring is a key strategy which promotes and can drive engagement in both traditional classroom settings and online learning environments. strengthening tutorial programmes and the capacity of staff can serve higher education institutions well, especially when improvements and development efforts are based on research and rooted in context. maximising and promoting student engagement through tutorials is crucial if south african universities are to responsively address the challenges of high dropout rates and student success. additionally, icts can be viewed as useful in engaging students in meaningful ways and responding to students’ needs and interests. finally, within the scope of this paper and the literature discussed, the uwc department of psychology’s tutorial programme has some valuable 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(2015). institutional report. university of the western cape, south africa. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20048 https://doi.org/10.3200/chng.37.4.44-51 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1024962526492 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1087471 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1177811 https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v3i1.101 https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12099 https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12099 https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037001153 https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037001153 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 1–15 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 schreiber, b. & yu, d. (2016). exploring student engagement practices at a south african university: student engagement as reliable predictor of academic performance. south african journal of higher education, 30(5), 157–175. https://doi.org/10.20853/30-5-593 scott, i. 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(2017). considering the role of tutoring in student engagement: reflections from a south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 1–15. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v5i2.2699 https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.532565 https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.532565 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2699 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 89 www.jsaa.ac.za research article the messiness of meaning making: examining the affordances of the digital space as a mentoring and tutoring space for the acquisition of academic literacy moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo* * the authors are part of the language development group, academic development programme, centre for higher educational development, university of cape town, south africa. the paper was written together, and all authors are acknowledged as ‘first authors’. emails: moeain.arend@uct.ac.za; aditi.hunma@uct.ac.za; catherine.hutchings@uct.ac.za; gideon.nomdo@uct.ac.za abstract having incorporated a digital aspect to our academic literacy course, and having monitored this over the last three years, we have come to believe that online mentoring can serve as an essential form of tutoring and mentoring. our study is located in the field of new literacy studies and examines the affordances of a digital space in a first year academic literacy course in the humanities. we focus on students’ acquisition of academic literacy, as well as critical thinking and reflexivity around a core social science concept; identity. here, we refer to the ability to think critically and reflexively, as the ‘analytical mode’, a key driver in shaping the pedagogy of the course. in this paper, we explore the online participation of two students and how they engage with the theme of identity, not only as an academic concept but also as one intrinsically linked with how they see themselves in a diverse post-apartheid south african context. we argue that the digital space promotes a particular form of the ‘analytical mode’ as students grapple with texts and concepts on the academic literacy course. using a qualitative case study methodology, our analysis of students’ online interaction revealed that the digital space allowed students to express themselves with a level of depth and sophistication, and to share dissident views that could not be expressed in the traditional classroom space. furthermore, we argue that the digital space can suspend students’ urgency to agree or disagree with the arguments of authors they read. by holding students between the two positions of agreement and disagreement, we propose that the digital space becomes a space of reflexive1 discomfort which captures various moments in students’ drafting processes as they operate within the analytical mode. therefore, we argue that the digital space, if harnessed with a particular type of mentoring philosophy and pedagogy that activates the analytical mode, can free up the traditional forms of academic mentoring and tutoring within the academy. this allows students the freedom to live with the messiness of their texts and to grapple with their conceptual understanding, and in doing so, develop their ‘authorial self’ (clark & ivanič, 1997). 1 see d’cruz’s (2007) analysis of the dynamic and innovative ways in which the concept of reflexivity is used. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:moeain.arend%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:aditi.hunma%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:catherine.hutchings%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:gideon.nomdo%40uct.ac.za?subject= 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 keywords affordances; digital space; identity; authorial voice; academic literacy; analytical mode introduction currently it is unusual for an article on digital spaces to be included in a collection intended to make a contribution to tutoring and mentoring. however, we would like to argue that the online space can be harnessed as a mentoring or tutoring space, or what guittierez (2008) terms as a ‘third space’. therefore, it has the potential to contribute richly and in novel ways to the tutoring and mentoring aspect of higher educational pedagogies. in this paper we offer some evidence of this potential. this study is situated in post-apartheid south africa where, despite positive changes in the education system, the remnants of the notorious bantu education system can still be felt, especially in the rural areas.2 as such, the dispensation of education remains quite divided, and only a small proportion of ‘historically disadvantaged’ students make it to university.3 our tertiary institution has thus designed a series of cross-faculty interventions to give students social and epistemic access to the ways of knowing that will facilitate their integration into academia. such interventions are offered under the banner of transformation and social redress and are subsidised by government funding in an attempt to achieve the state’s broader transformation goals. in this paper, we analyse one such intervention which we all teach on: an academic literacy introductory course (henceforth referred to as ‘aclit’) for first year humanities students on a four-year (extended degree) programme.4 we use a blended approach – face-to-face and online interaction – as part of our pedagogy to teach academic writing to small groups of students. the students who take the course are often those who come from historically ‘disadvantaged’ backgrounds and have scored low on the academic literacy component of the national benchmark tests (nbts).5 these students are seen as having 2 see the 2005 report by hsrc; and also holborn’s (2013) article. 3 the unesco (2010) measure of gross enrolment rate reflects that the overall percentage of south african students who are participating in higher education in the country is about 16%, of which 60% are white and only 12% are african and coloured. it is estimated that less than 5% of black south african students are able to gain access to the higher education sector. see also the che (2013) report, and scott, yeld and hendry (2007) for more insight into how racially skewed student participation rates are in south african higher education. 4 ‘in the faculty of humanities, the four year degree takes the form of a bachelor of arts (ba) or bachelor of social science (bsocsc) degree taken over four years (as opposed to three years). students on the four year degree have access to augmented courses, foundation courses and workshops, mentorship and extended periods of registration’ (http://www.humanities.uct.ac.za/hum/apply/undergraduate/edu). 5 ‘the national benchmark tests’ (nbts) were commissioned by universities south africa with the task of assessing academic readiness of first year university students as a supplement to secondary school reports on learning achieved in content-specific courses. the nbts assess the ability to combine aspects of prior learning in competency areas – academic literacy (al), quantitative literacy (ql) and mathematics (mat) – that directly impact on success of first year university students. al and ql are combined in the aql test and written in a three-hour morning session; the mat is written in a three-hour afternoon session. both are administered under standardised testing conditions at sites across south africa on designated ‘national test dates.’ for more information see http://www.nbt.ac.za/ http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 http://www.nbt.ac.za/ moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 91 the potential to succeed in the academy if provided with the appropriate curriculum interventions. it is, however, important to point out that the concept of ‘disadvantaged’ in the context of this intervention is shifting, and that the students entering the programme come from very diverse socio-economic and schooling backgrounds. the main aim of our aclit course is to teach students ways of reading, writing and argumentation in the humanities context, using the themes of language, identity, culture, gender and race to ground the academic discussions. these themes are still very topical in the post-apartheid higher education context, given the fact that the memory and experience of racial prejudice and discrimination during apartheid continues to act as a stimulus for articulating ideas and expressions around identity and transformation. the recent decolonising the curriculum and rhodes must fall student protest movements are testimony to the types of changes that students are demanding with respect to legitimising their presence on south african higher education campuses.6 within the above context, the classroom can thus be seen as a space of discomfort, not only because it broaches on current issues, but because it situates itself during the transitional phase between the high school context and university, a phase that ivanič (1998) would refer to as a ‘critical event’. the latter refers to the significant encounters that individuals experience during crucial periods of change in their lives.7 students therefore not only learn about topical themes but learn to interrogate them. students’ experiences during this critical event are coupled with the need to operate within what we have come to call ‘the analytical mode’ on the aclit course. we see the analytical mode as a pedagogical imperative that attempts to encourage students to critically engage with academic texts and concepts while holding off on taking a definitive position in an academic debate and in their initial essay drafts. one of the aims of this pedagogical imperative – the analytical mode – is to disrupt and challenge students’ preconceived and commonplace notions of race, gender and culture, and get them out of their comfort zones to interrogate what they may have taken for granted. this is important, since much of the teaching practices that occur in our public schooling system is geared towards the delivery and memorisation of knowledge, and not the questioning and interrogation thereof. the past two years in particular have brought to the fore the need to open up further spaces for students to express themselves, given the extent of student protests on campuses alluded to above. at the same time, our approach as staff on the aclits course is that these spaces should also enable students to exercise individual thought so that they will be in a position to interrogate, and not simply be swayed by the majority view or binary thinking. we have attempted to foster this type of learning environment by developing and embedding a digital literacies component into the aclits course. this comprises an online website where students have the opportunity to both rehearse their engagement with texts 6 see kamanzi’s (2015) article for useful background information on this. 7 ivanič’s understanding of the term ‘critical event’ is derived from the concept of ‘critical experience’ which is drawn from a more psycho-social analysis of lifespan identity theory. critical events and experiences therefore concern ‘moments of flux … between … [individual’s sense of their] different selves’ (ivanič, 1998, p. 16). 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 and concepts introduced in the course, and to reflect on these critically. it also provides new opportunities for online mentoring and tutoring pedagogic engagements and exchanges. in this paper, we explore the extent to which this aclits online space promotes our pedagogical imperative – the analytical mode – to nurture a particular voice in writing, notably the ‘authorial self ’ (clark & ivanič, 1997), through such online mentoring and tutoring engagements. the ‘authorial self ’ refers to a sense of the writer’s presence in their text and the ownership of ideas in their writing. this voice is discussed shortly in more detail. digital spaces and literacies the digital space and its plethora of literacies have come under the spotlight in recent literacy research. studies focusing on harnessing the digital space in the academy have examined its affordances for the acquisition of academic literacies (see goodfellow & lea, 2013). of particular interest to us is how the digital space can be utilised to promote the analytical mode and in doing so, shape the acquisition of academic literacies and the development of an ‘authorial self ’ (clark & ivanič, 1997). in this paper, the digital space has been construed as an alternative site of learning, or in the words of gutiérrez (2008, p. 152), as a ‘third space’ where the ‘formal and informal intersect’, promoting new forms of knowing and being in the academy, and transforming the limited views of teaching as delivery. her description of the ‘third space’ fits aptly in our understanding of the digital space, when she states that this space creates ‘the potential for authentic interaction, a shift in the social organisation of learning and what counts as knowledge’. her view echoes our view of the digital space as a nurturing space for authentic learning. through its multimodal design, the aim is to activate the different modes in which students learn and bridge the divide between the realm of ideas and that of lived experiences through tangible examples. gutiérrez’s (2008) understanding of ‘third spaces’ would resemble canagarajah’s (1997) ‘safe house’, where dissenting voices can be heard. this said, we do not adopt a technicist approach towards the digital space, nor do we view it as the panacea for the acquisition of academic literacies. online mentoring in this regard becomes an invaluable tool for helping students to grapple with the application of theory to their own lives, so as to allow them to move beyond the abstractions that so often undermine meaningful learning. the understanding of digital literacy pursued in this paper is aligned to that proposed by proponents of the new literacy studies movement, where digital literacies are viewed as a set of social practices promoted on the online learning sites. mckenna and hughes (in goodfellow & lea, 2013) make this evident when they state, ‘throughout, we are informed by an academic literacies paradigm, a theoretical framework which views writing as a social practice (lea & street, 1998).’ they use the academic literacies approach as it surfaces the tensions between power, context and identity within digital spaces. therefore digital spaces and their literacies are not neutral forms of writing, as street (1984) would point out, but are as ideological as any other space and the literacies it promotes. when designed to promote academic reading and writing in the social sciences, the digital space operates in quite a distinct way, making those very modes visible for the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 93 educator and learners, and in some ways altering the genre in which ideas get expressed. presently, students are immersed in different social networking sites and blogging course sites, where they can share their views and comments without feeling the need to be grammatically correct or articulate. leveraging the openness of such spaces as rehearsal spaces, the aclits course site was designed on the wordpress (blogging) site. according to mckenna and hughes, ‘social networking spaces (e.g. twitter, wordpress, flickr) are giving rise to alternative ways of articulating and responding to academic knowledge’ (in goodfellow & lea, 2013, p. 22). they comment further that this new genre of writing leads to texts that are open and intertextual, with a heightened awareness of audience (mckenna and hughes, in goodfellow & lea, 2013). in our case, this audience, mostly comprised of peers, is not passive, as they can engage with one another’s thoughts in a collaborative spirit. these begin to redefine what we understand as ‘academic writing’. for lea and stierer (2009), the everyday writing texts do not simply reflect academic practices but are ‘central to them’. as a result of our engagements with literature and our observations of our students’ engagements, we are interested in how the digital space and its writing modalities can activate in-depth engagement with texts and concepts introduced on the course. in other words, we are interested in how the digital space can enhance engagement in the analytical mode.8 these intersecting engagements have also forced us to reflect more critically on our own roles as instructors and facilitators of learning within the digital space, and the extent to which such roles are able to complement practices within the traditional teaching space, so that the analytical mode can be upheld. the analytical mode we understand the analytical mode as a particular disposition which encourages students to suspend judgment and remain in a productive discursive space. for us, the analytical mode represents an integrated form of engagement with course materials and academic literacy, which highlights the complexity and messiness of scholarship, which we accept as a normal part of the writing process (and is the reason why we focus on the process rather than the product of learning in our course – as will be explained shortly). the analytical mode can also be understood as a space of discomfort for students (zembylas & boler, 2002), as lecturers are encouraged to create moments of tension during the course where students are asked to confront and engage with questions that relate to their notions of identity – the core theme of the course. this is particularly important in a country like south africa, where notions such as ‘the rainbow nation’ have come under fire for not adequately addressing real issues of transformation,9 thus leaving the country and its citizens to grapple with the challenge of forging a new identity after the demise of apartheid. 8 we are grateful to john trimbur from emerson for coining this concept in discussion with us. 9 see naylor’s article (2009); see also habib’s (1996), and sichone’s (2008). 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 bearing the above context in mind, we attempted to create opportunities for students to engage critically and reflexively with issues of identity as a social construct10 so as to develop students’ authorial identity in their academic writing. in the past, lecturers on our course would create space in their face-to-face interactions with their students to assist them with producing short pieces of written texts on the topic of identity. these short pieces of writing would be a form of ‘inkshedding’ (see hunt, 2005), which is a social practice that involves writing down one’s initial ideas on a particular topic (prior to a general class discussion on that topic) and then immediately passing them on to someone else to read, with the aim of getting feedback on the content of the writing only (i.e. the writing is not evaluated in any way). this type of writing is meant to be low stakes (students do not have to adhere to the conventions of academic writing), and developmental, and would ultimately form the building blocks for a final essay that centres on identity. during these inkshedding sessions, students were expected to draw on their life histories as a means to make sense of the notion that identity is a social construct. however, these inkshedding exercises that are by and large facilitated by lecturers and which have characterised the faceto-face interactions of the classroom, have now given way to online writing exercises in the aclits course. our online mentoring roles in this respect involve a level of feedback that is not judgemental or evaluative, but which responds simply to what is being stated. in the disciplines, generally the discoursal and authorial selves are valued over and above students’ brought along resources and capital. however, on the aclits course, the online writing tasks draw on students’ autobiographies as a legitimate way of inserting themselves in the process of engaging with theoretical concepts. within this processdriven approach to academic writing (see maybin, 1996), the autobiographical self and the discoursal self are recruited to develop an authorial identity in academic texts. the way in which these different selves are harnessed in writing can index how students engage in the analytical mode. part of our online mentoring roles is geared towards facilitating these to and fro movements between the various selves, encountered by students. the online language module of the aclits course as a tutoring and mentoring space through the writing exercises, the digital space captures the moments when students shuttle between different selves and make visible the hidden components of the analytical mode. further, we discuss how the digital space operates and showcases the analytical mode when learning is scaffolded through authentic tasks. the online language module course site is an online writing-intensive, collaborative space for the last teaching day of a four-day aclit teaching week; it takes the place of a conventional tutorial session. it also departs from the tutorial space in that the content is activated through various modes for an enriched learning experience, and students’ views are captured in writing, available for peer viewing and comments. this is where students’ understanding of texts and concepts that they were introduced to during the first three days 10 for insight into identity as a social construction, see terre blanche and durrheim (1999); and shotter (1993). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 95 of the week (that is, in the traditional classroom setting), are consolidated through reflective and application tasks that are completed online in the computer lab, in the presence of ourselves. during these sessions, we play more of the role of mentors and facilitators who prompt and respond to discussion and engagement, both in the physical lab space and online, rather than in the role of lecturers who provide knowledge content and assess the students’ work. similar to tutorials, built into the online module are design principles such as alignment to course content, flexibility and responsiveness to students’ emerging needs. as such, the online sessions are developed week by week, based on our assessment of students’ orientation to texts and concepts in the face-to-face classroom. in other words, as part of our roles as mentors and facilitators in the online space, we are both responders and designers in this pedagogic endeavour. the weekly online tasks enable students to grasp the application of theoretical ideas introduced on the course with vivid examples and case studies. the course site serves as a rehearsal space where students experiment with different writerly voices. thus, the tasks are not formally assessed, but build toward major assignments on the course. students have the option of completing the online tasks at a later stage, up until sunday of that week, and lecturers often notice high frequency of students on the site over the weekend. this is perhaps a sign that students are keeping up with the content in the course covered during the week. as online mentors, we also respond to students’ online tasks collectively rather than individually, summarising core issues and providing prompts and questions that allow students to take their discussions and interrogation of texts further. these online responses are built into the following week’s face-to-face formal teaching, where we shift from our roles as online mentors and facilitators and assume our roles as lecturers, and use students’ online understanding of concepts as entry points for our formal teaching. and, in fact, this type of online facilitation has meant that we as online mentors also had to master the ‘analytical mode’ ourselves. of course it is significant here that the successful transition from the online space into the formal face-to-face teaching space is undertaken by the same people, viz, aclits staff, who signify an important element of continuity to the type of blended learning that occurs. this online course site served a pedagogical function of encouraging students’ expression and sharing of their views and responses to course readings and online content. being an informal writing space of expression, it made allowance for the messiness of meaning making in process. thus, it encouraged the development of the authorial identity by encouraging students to interact in an analytical mode. methodology the online site also yielded data for research in the form of informal meaning making and pauses and dilemmas in this development. to analyse students’ engagement with texts and concepts on the online course site, a qualitative case study methodology was employed. the case study methodology enables researchers to acquire in-depth and detailed insights into particular phenomena. in case study methodology, it is also crucial to 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 delineate what the case is. the case is defined by miles and huberman (1994, p. 25) as ‘a phenomenon of some sort occurring in a bounded context’. the case is, ‘in effect, your unit of analysis’. in this study, the case was students’ critical engagement with the concept of identity in the digital space. the case study adopted here was an exploratory one (yin, 2003), as we did not enter the research with clear presuppositions about the outcomes of the study. we allowed the data that emanates from students’ online engagement to speak for itself. at the same time, our theoretical positioning, as mentioned earlier, was very much informed by our socio-cultural approach to literacy as proposed by scholars in the new literacy studies field. we were thus able to track the written work of our 120 students across different course sites (the on-line space and traditional teaching space). we obtained permissions from the students to use their online entries and submitted assignments as data for our research purposes. our purpose here was directed at assessing a particular outcome: the main course essay, so as to gauge whether, and in what capacity, the online space impacted students’ conceptual development and understanding of the concept of identity. in other words, how did the essays reflect that students were operating within an analytical mode? through the analytical mode, how did students develop a particular authorial identity? heuristic: the clover model of writer identities to analyse students’ critical engagement with texts and concepts in the digital space, we pay close attention firstly to the way they enact voice in writing. this may offer insights as to how the online tasks could promote an analytical mode of engagement. voice in writing is a nebulous concept; for analytical purposes, we will refer to it in terms of the representation of writer identities through means such as tone, opinion and style. in his manual on writing, fulwiler (2002), like ivanič and camps (2001), explains that ultimately in our written communications, the style, content and arrangement of our writing combine to represent us. he explains that the writer’s voice is something that develops almost unconsciously, and largely apart from more conscious techniques that are focused on in learning to write: in writing, we can’t, of course, hear the timbre of the voice or see the expressions on the face. instead, we hear the voice through our reading, perhaps gleaning our first clues about the writer from the particular combination of words, punctuation, sentences, and paragraphs that we call style. (fulwiler, 2002, p. 199) clark and ivanič (1998) analyse voice using the clover model of writer identity, which is subdivided into the autobiographical, discoursal and authorial selves. the notions of ‘autobiographical self ’ and ‘discoursal self ’ allow for a clearer sense of locating and separating our research participants’ constructions of their life-histories from the ‘values, beliefs and power relations’ that inform the discourses out of which those life-histories emerge. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 97 the autobiographical self is that part of an individual’s identity which is presented in a text to reveal the individual’s sense of origin, their ‘life-history’. the autobiographical self is a dynamic self, always in the process of being constructed so as to reflect the changing lifehistory of the individual. as such, the individual’s sense of being is comprised of a dynamic interplay between events that occur and the manner in which the individual experiences and represents these events. ivanič (1998) relates the autobiographical self to goffman’s notion of ‘writer-as-performer’. it is the latter that constructs the text and ‘produces a self-portrait.’ the ‘discoursal self ’ is the ‘impression’ of oneself that the writer wishes to convey to the reader, and contains aspects of the socially constructed ‘values, beliefs and power relations’ of the context in which the text is embedded. ivanič (1998) argues that this impression of self can be ‘multiple’ and even ‘contradictory’. she relates the discoursal self to goffman’s identification of the ‘writer-as-character’, which goffman argues is ‘the identity which the writer-as-performer portrays’. of prime concern here is how the writer uses her ‘voice’ in order to sound or come across to the reader in a particular way. paxton (2006, p. 86) explains bakhtin’s (1986) analysis of how writers create a voice for themselves through ‘assimilating, reworking and reaccentuating’ other voices. finally, the authorial self is defined as the extent to which writers ‘express their own ideas and beliefs in their writing’ and ‘their presence in the text’. the ‘authorial self ’ would hence be reflected in the type of content the author chooses to present and the manner in which she aligns herself with that content in a way that marks her presence or absence. drawing on giddens’ (1991) notion of the ‘reflexive project of the self ’; that which is sustained through the constant revision of ‘biographical narratives’, ivanič (1998) shows how the authorial voice is constantly being reworked as individuals reflexively make sense of their identities with new developments in their lives. alongside ivanič, hyland (2002) also offers interesting insights into the complexities surrounding the development of an authorial identity in student writing. hyland’s (2002) work with english second language speakers shows that students were fluent in strategies of ‘author invisibility’. our contention in the aclits course is that some students (many of whom are english second language speakers) doing extended degrees may also have been indoctrinated along similar lines. a post from the blog, theeaparchivist (2012), commenting on hyland’s views on english for academic purposes (eap) courses (in his article, ‘authority and invisibility: authorial identity in academic writing’), states: it seems that by adhering to the formulae of genres and ‘accepted’ discourse we are encouraging students to produce simulacra of academic writing. a replica with no soul. what worries me is that in doing so the power is retained within the echelons of western academia. if writers “gain credibility by projecting an identity invested with individual authority” (p. 1091) and individual authority is consistently dissuaded then we do not afford students the credibility they deserve. 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 in this paper, the clover model of writer identity is appropriated to analyse the shifts in writing made by students in the digital space and how these may signal particular ways of engaging with the analytical mode. what follows by way of illustration are extracts through the chronology of the course, from two case studies in our data analysis, describing and reflecting on how the students, ‘thembi’ and ‘sandra’, engaged with texts and concepts on the course. data analysis week 1: orientation experience extract in the first week of lectures, we gave students an online exercise which required them to write a reflective piece on their experiences on transitioning from school to university. in the comments box provided below, write a reflective piece sharing your experiences at uct so far, based on the reading on transitions in your course reader and the video. in thembi’s response she provides a partially constructed narrative of her identity. she notes that her transition from school to university brought with it ‘anxiety’, ‘fear for failure’, ‘lack of confidence to participate’ and a shyness to engage with people who did not speak isixhosa. here she sees language, specifically english, as a barrier for her when it comes to engaging with her peers and lecturers. this is captured in the following words: ‘i  am developing hatred for english because it seems to be a barrier to my comfort zone so that i can be able to perform to the maximum of my ability when chances are available.’ although she views english as a barrier to her learning she is able to articulate quite clearly, ‘i have a potential inside me’ and ‘i know that i also have an answer’. for thembi, however, the performative nature of speaking in class does not always reflect the potential that she believes she has, because when speaking there is ‘no chance to edit’. here, the online environment is seen as a safer space than the traditional tutorial because students have a chance to think through their responses. very often, the traditional tutorial interactions require immediate verbal responses, which in turn require immediate evaluation by both tutor and student. sandra, on the other hand, has mixed feelings, excitement, anxiety, and a number of questions about whether she will succeed and make her family proud, ‘will i succeed? what if i become very mediocre? will i fail my family?’ like thembi and many other first year students trying to adjust to the new university environment, sandra initially feels overwhelmed, but soon this sentiment morphs into excitement, particularly when ‘meeting new people and encountering diversity in its rawest form’. we can infer from her statement that she comes from a homogeneous schooling background. this diversity for her is an eye-opening experience. she then reflects on her goals and where she would like to see herself academically and as a person: ‘i look forward to keep on carrying on in this journey […] to see how i grow academically, how i grow as a person, and to finally find my feet and know who i am and where i want to be in this world and how i can contribute in making this university, country and world into a better place!’ http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 99 as we can see, sandra’s sense of personhood is tied with her ability to make or drive social changes. her phrase, ‘how i grow as a person’ suggests that she sees identity as fluid and constantly evolving. the online task enables sandra to project herself into the future and set goals to contribute nationally but also globally. at this point, we do not know much about sandra’s socio-academic background and how that informs her perceptions of self, her context and her aspirations. week 2: reflection on english in week 2, students were given the online exercises below. that week they had been introduced to ngugi wa thiong’o (1986) and george makubalo’s (2007) writings.11 the questions required them to apply their understanding of these two readings to authentic cases and their own experiences. 1. in light of the above statements [from ngugi’s (1986) chapter], how would you interpret his statement that the english language and literature ‘takes us further and further from our selves to other selves, from our world to other worlds’? (write a paragraph in the comment box provided below.) 2. makubalo (2007) argues that english is a ‘commodity in great demand’ (p. 21 of course reader). however, from the two graphs, it is evident that english is not the most spoken language both globally and locally. in your opinion, what then accounts for its dominance? secondly, how would makubalo respond to ngugi’s statement that the english language is taking one away from one’s ethno linguistic identity? provide a response to the two questions in the comment box below. 3. activity: in makubalo’s article, we are introduced to four learners: thabo, teboho, anna and sello. they each position themselves differently in terms of their language practices. which one of these learners do you closely associate with and why? what would makubalo’s response be to the way you construct your identity? please write a paragraph in the comment box provided below. you can also comment on your peers’ comments. thembi’s response to the questions is interesting as it differs from her construction of her identity as disadvantaged in week 1’s exercise. in this exercise thembi foregrounds, asserts and celebrates her xhosa identity with the statement, ‘i am xhosa and proud to be’. although the metaphor of english as an enabler endures in her response when she states, ‘it will help me in things that it will help me in’, it is tempered with a protective discourse of her ‘xhosa identity’ in the words, ‘if a person values his culture he should not allow the advantages of english to colonize his mind’. here thembi views english, like ngugi does, as possessing the ability to colonise the second-language speaker’s mind but also as a vehicle for success in contexts where english is dominant and a marker of success. judging 11 ngugi’s (1986) chapter ‘the language of african literature’ presents an ethnolinguistic view of identity as something that is fixed and determined by the community in which one is born, in his case, the gikuyu community in kenya. he argues that the dominance of english takes him away from his gikuyu language, sense of self and community. on the other hand, makubalo (2007), a poststructuralist south african researcher, argues that identities are socially constructed, fluid, multiple and contradictory. his article presents four individual stories of black south african learners and their stated attitudes and language practices. 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 from her assertion of her xhosa identity, coupled with her recognition of the dominance of english in a post-apartheid south africa, it comes as no surprise that she identifies with sello, a learner in makubalo’s paper, who values code-switching between languages. thembi also shows an awareness of the contradictions of supporting ngugi’s critical views on english in a university where english offers certain affordances – something that she is acutely aware of. in an attempt to resolve these contradictions, she states that ‘we are different people of different cultures, and surely there is a need for us to communicate with each other, and here is english enabling us but we abuse it’. she uses the word ‘abuse’ to speak about the use of english (it is likely she meant ‘overuse’) as if she acts on the english language, but she goes on to refer to how english destroys local languages. although her response does present the reader with some binaries, namely that of the isixhosa speaker versus english speakers, we start seeing a move towards a more complex and nuanced understanding of identity. in sandra’s response, she views the english language not only as a dominant language, but also as a product of the west. she links everything that is westernised with what is modernised, and sees english as a language that gives one access to status and prestige, which she refers to as a place of ‘high value’. her choice of words implies that the use of language, in this case english, is linked to one’s self-worth, or that ascribed by others in society. she elaborates by explaining that english has such currency and power because it is a universal language. in that way, she suggests that while english may have emerged from the west, it has been appropriated by the rest. she goes on to make a comparison between makubalo and ngugi’s views on the english language, and explains that while the former believes that languages can be appropriated, the latter sees english ‘taking away from african-ness’. her use of ‘africanness’ suggests firstly that she has taken the liberty to coin a new word to capture the essence of what it is to be african, and by the same token, the inverted commas suggest that she is challenging the assumption that there is a single way of being african, or at least that she is wrestling with the idea. at this point though, she does not openly state her own position. it is only in the next task that she uses her personal history to explain why english does not destroy one’s ‘african-ness’ and that it is ‘up to us to decide whether or not it will’. in this instance, we see a strong assertion of agency when she writes her own personal reflection with respect to the english language, using english, and despite english. like thembi, she describes herself as an ‘isixhosa girl’. she views a xhosa identity as not being restricted to an ability to speak isixhosa, but also encompassing a way of life. then, she begins to share the contradictions, ‘born in transkei but grew up in the suburbs speaking english’. she claims that she cannot speak isixhosa; however, she notes that fluency in the language is not an essential marker of being an ‘isixhosa girl’. in this way, she can reconcile the fact that she self-identifies as an isixhosa girl who speaks english. she does admit that she speaks isixhosa to her mother. she goes on to share the socio-economic situation in the household, ‘living with my mother who was a domestic worker and my white guardians’, but is quick to add that, ‘from an early age i knew that i belonged to a different culture than the ‘white people’. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 101 like thembi, she is positioning herself strongly with those who are xhosa, even though she comes from a household where she benefits from her guardians’ financial support and speaks both languages. this is sandra’s way of challenging the traditional markers of language and class to define her xhosa identity. in the next paragraph, while she starts off saying that english has not influenced her identity, she goes on to contradict herself by acknowledging that, ‘maybe english has shaped only minor things in my identity’. at this point, we find her hedging with the use of adverbs such as ‘maybe’, and vague terms such as ‘things’ which she does not qualify. nonetheless, she still sees culture as something that one is ‘born into’ versus ‘born with’, to suggest that culture is a product of the earliest phases of socialisation. however, this view is also contradicted when she states that her xhosa culture is ‘embedded in my dna’. she ends off on a philosophic note with ‘english has given me a step up in the world, but my isixhosa roots have given me a step up in this life’. once again, she makes the distinction between the upward social mobility enabled through knowledge of english, and the inner growth enabled through her xhosa identity. like thembi, she presents these influences as being distinct and mutually exclusive. when asked which of makubalo’s research participants she would most relate to, she chooses anna purely because both share the same ‘origin and background’. like anna, we find that sandra is romanticising her ‘xhosa’ roots but goes on to state that, unlike anna, she does not experience the same ‘sense of loss’ when speaking english. even as she recalls her schooling, she firmly asserts that the other languages, ‘including english’, moulded her sense of self. what is significant here is that at the end of her reflection, when she sees herself through makubalo’s theoretical lens, she begins to see ‘one big contradiction of culture and identity’. week 3: reflective component in week 3, we designed an exercise to track shifts in conceptual understanding of identity as shown below. students were expected to engage with the concept of identity reflexively, by writing in the online space about their autobiographical self in relation to new ways of understanding identity, as influenced by course readings and classroom discussions. task: reflect on your notion of language and identity. write a paragraph using the following phrases: 1. before i came to uct, i used to think of identity as … 2. then i read ngugi who defines identity as … 3. i also read makubalo who argues that identity is … 4. now, i think of identity as … because … or i still think of identity as … because … 5. i have the following questions which i would like to ask ngugi and/or makubalo and the class … (note: your paragraph should be in continuous prose without the numbers 1–5.) 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 the week 3 task can be seen as a pivotal moment, when students get to revisit their views on identity in light of ngugi and makubalo’s ideas around language and identity. here they are asked to look back on their understanding of identity before they came to study at the institution, and revisit their views on identity in light of ngugi and makubalo’s ideas around language and identity. the task offers students the option to resist, challenge or acknowledge and agree with the authors’ positions. this becomes a critical moment for aclit lecturers to track how students’ views on identity, often essentialist ones like in the case of thembi and sandra, have been transformed based on their understandings of theorists who hold post-structuralist views on identity. in thembi’s response, we see that although she still agrees with ngugi, she starts to understand identity as constructed and fluid. this is a view held by makubalo who draws on post-structuralism to theorise identity and its construction. her words, ‘i still think of identity as the way you do things’ (referring to ‘xhosa culture’), coupled with ‘i can not say that identity is fixed’, reflect an understanding of identity as constructed out of past experiences that can endure across contexts, and identity construction as a continual process. therefore there is a recognition that identity is also influenced by social contexts, because she states that ‘as time goes on my surroundings change of which i can not be able to socialize with them if i don’t want to adapt to change’. by juxtaposing the two authors, we see that she agrees with aspects of ngugi and makubalo’s arguments. for us, her response reflects a complex and nuanced understanding of identity and also signals a shift in her conceptual understanding of identity when compared to her responses in week 1. sandra’s response to this exercise shows similar shifts in her understanding of identity. in her response she notes that before she came to the academy she defined her identity along racial lines and identified herself as ‘black’. this comes as no surprise as the racial categories of the apartheid era, which drew on essentialist notions, still have currency in contemporary south africa. while one would expect sandra to align herself with ngugi, based on her responses in week 1 and 2, she actually introduces the notion of choice. she states, ‘now i think of identity as your characteristics and how you define yourself as a person, things like race, culture and language help form your identity but i think it all boils down to your beliefs, dreams and who you want to be in life. i don’t believe you are defined by your ethnicity but by who you define to be.’ she still sees ethnicity as playing a significant part in her self-definition, but she emphasises that she decides how these characteristics will be used to define her. in a sense then, she begins to understand that individuals have agency in the way their identities are constructed and therefore we might find that she will even reconsider her previous statement that culture is an inescapable part of her dna. so, while our roles as online mentors and facilitators in the computer lab seek to guide and promote students agency in terms of developing their critical and analytical thinking and writing skills, our roles as lecturers is to discern the extent to which students’ understanding and conceptualising of the identity construction theory, taught in the faceto-face space, is developing and being employed in their online writing. it is in this sense that the continued interaction between our online mentoring roles and our lecturer roles contributes towards creating a holistic learning context. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 103 week 4 essay in week 4, students submitted an essay in response to the following essay question: ngugi (1986) argues that the dominance of english takes us “further and further from our selves to other selves, from our world to other worlds”. drawing on the readings, argue for or against this statement. here is thembi’s introduction to the essay, i am a young girl who can write infinite scriptures if i can be asked about how my identity has been built, because there are many bricks that i and my surroundings have utilized to construct it. in addition to that, as i am still growing i cannot position myself in a fixed spot or environment because i am continuously reconstructing it. for me the fact that we are different means that we have to live in different ways in order to be united or socialise with others. this is to say that i strongly disagree with ngugi’s argument that english alters our ethnic identity into other identities and relocates us from our region to other regions, as we cannot have unwavering identity. beliefs and actions will continue influence our creation of identity as long we live also our surroundings will always influence our actions. bear in mind that language is one of the bricks used in identity construction because language is the carrier of culture and culture also froms up your identity. in thembi’s introduction to the essay we see a significant shift in how she views identity conceptually and how she views herself as compared to her initial responses in the extracts discussed above. in week 2, for example, she not only expressed a loyalty to her ‘xhosaness’ when she stated, ‘i am xhosa and proud to be’, she also made it clear that english can colonize the minds of those who do not have english as a home language. however, in her introduction above she states, ‘i am a young girl who can write infinite scriptures if i can be asked about how my identity has been built, because there are many bricks that i and my surroundings have utilized to construct it.’ this sentence is significant as it suggests that she has shifted from an essentialist notion of identity to one where identity is understood as fluid and continuously under construction. we also see this conceptual shift when she writes, ‘i am still growing i cannot position myself in a fixed spot or environment because i am continuously reconstructing it [referring to her identity].’ unlike in previous exercises where she agreed with ngugi’s views, we now see that she states, ‘i strongly disagree with ngugi’s argument.’ for us, this emphatic statement in her introduction, signals a clear shift from an essentialist, towards a post-structuralist view on identity. her introduction also shows that she now understands that social contexts and others have a direct impact on identity construction when she writes, ‘as long we live also our surroundings will always influence our actions’. in her essay, it is apparent that she now views identity as multifaceted and that speaking a second language such as english is not the main marker of her identity or any person’s identity. however, she does articulate the idea that she has an ‘original’ identity or core identity which underscores the identities forged when she moves from one context to the next. furthermore, she constructs her identity as someone who is ‘striving to discover’ herself, which suggests a fluidity in her conceptual understanding of her identity. again, this is a marked shift from her conceptual 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 understanding of identity in week 1 of the course (before they had read the ngugi and makubalo texts). it is our contention that the freedom of expression created by the online space, coupled with online mentoring prompts and feedback, has made such conceptual shifts much more visible and has not only added to the students’ understanding of their own experiences, but also our understanding as mentors and lecturers of our students. in sandra’s essay, she puts forward an understanding of identity similar to that of thembi. she reinforces the point that she constructs and re-constructs her identity, hence steering away from the essentialist notions she expressed in the first two weeks. she states, ‘i adapt in different environments as makubalo (2007) would say, i construct and reconstruct my identity.’ in this way, she perceives herself as the author of her personal narrative, rather than a passive filter through which the environment encodes meaning onto her. like thembi, who made mention of an original identity, sandra adds a new element in her understanding of identity, namely that of a ‘core identity’. she explains, ‘i believe that as i grow i add on to my core identity. my world experiences change how i think and see things.’ this ‘core identity’ perhaps refers to the values and beliefs she mentions in the week 3 task. it seems to be a bedrock onto which she adds new layers of self-definition and self-expression. one of those layers is her use of english, as she mentions, ‘learning other languages and cultures is part of that long endless journey of identity. english is the key to all of this.’ as such, she begins to see identity construction as a fluid and evolving process, rather than a product. surprisingly, she now finds english to be ‘key’ to her self-definition, a statement which is in stark contrast with her previous views that she is a ‘xhosa girl’ and that english does not define her but only gives her ‘a step up in the world’. to support her argument, she refers to makubalo who ‘argues that there is no such thing as a fixed identity’. her strategic foregrounding of makubalo over ngugi again signals a shift in her position and her alignment with a constructionist view of identity. in addition, she begins to distance herself from the view that language is the only aspect defining identity. this contrasts with her previous work, where she not only saw language as a determinant of identity, but also conflated language, identity and racial belonging. at this point, we see her disentangling the different aspects of identity construction in order to take more agency in appropriating the aspects that are congruent with her personal narrative. affordances of the online language module as a mentoring or tutoring space as mentioned, we understand the analytical mode to be a mode of thinking where students can grapple critically with texts and concepts in a low-stakes collaborative safe space. this collaboration between online student engagement, online mentoring and face-to-face teaching serves as an important vehicle for making sense of what and how students learn. it is an example of good innovative teaching and learning practice, as echoed by sheridan (1992, p. 90) who defines this type of collaboration as ‘an overarching framework … a conceptual umbrella’ that acknowledges alternative ways for the realisation of educational goals. as we analysed thembi and sandra’s responses, it is evident that through the reflective tasks, the online space is activating different modalities of thought and being. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 105 expressing the inexpressible: ‘i know that i have an answer’ in traditional face-to-face teaching environments such as tutorials, there is limited time and scope to hear each and every student’s views on the theme under discussion. students remain silent for various reasons, including their perception of a lack of fluency in english. thembi, for instance, in week 1, views english as a ‘disabler’, a barrier to communication, seeing herself as being more fluent in isixhosa. yet she admits that, ‘i have potential inside me’, and ‘i know that i also have an answer’. due to the self ’s uneasy location in an unfamiliar academic setting, many ideas remain hidden in the deep recesses of one’s intellectual black box (pinker, 1995, p. 137), unless articulated through words. this poses a problem if we seek to identify shifts in the ‘authorial self ’ (clark & ivanič, 1998) in the classroom setting. assuming that voice is a measure of one’s critical thinking, and that it becomes manifest through speech or writing, how does one tap into the thoughts evoked in the silent moments? can critical thinking be present in the moments of silence? the first time we hear thembi’s views about the disjuncture between her perceived competence and her performance in the classroom, is in the online space where we take on the roles of mentors and tutors, and where she is asked to share her orientation experience. this is when she steps back or steps out of the confines of the formal lecturer-led classroom to reflect critically on where she situates herself as she navigates through the institutional spaces. the online space hence takes the shape of a confessional where students can silently share ideas for which they will not be held accountable. in the same vein, the online space is seen to open up possibilities for the articulation of deep-seated emotions and autobiographical aspects of one’s identity, rare to find in a physical tutorial. students can share feelings of anxiety, fear of failure, lack of confidence, which are common to both thembi and sandra as they encounter the overwhelming aspects of the university environment. the fact that ‘everyday talk’ is permissible on online spaces such as this one, allows for a more personal engagement with the academic theories and concepts, which in turn allows students to reflect on what the knowledge means to them, how it relates to, or jars with their lived reality. our roles as mentors and tutors allow for a different type of interaction with students, and it is through these roles that we enable students to articulate their thoughts in a more relaxed mode of writing. it is not surprising that lea and stierer (2009) therefore see ‘everyday talk’ as encouraged by social networking sites, as central to academic activities. in sandra’s case, she also uses the online task to project herself in the future, and share her aspirations of making a contribution locally and globally. the online space allows students to look back, but also transcend the frontiers of time to project themselves forward. these autobiographical strands are seldom acknowledged in academia, for they get misread as bias. even in academic essays, students’ authorial self often takes precedence over their lived experiences. however, through these online tutoring exercises, students on the course are able to use themselves as case studies and track their shifting sense of self over time to make powerful arguments about the fluidity of the very subject matter under examination. 106 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 here, we note a strong overlap between students’ autobiographical selves and their authorial selves (clark & ivanič, 1998), where the autobiographical elements get recruited to assert a strong authorial presence. sharing dissident views while students are able to try out new subjectivities, we note that over time it provides them with a subject position to articulate their stance towards the texts and concepts introduced in class. as such, they begin to operate at a metacognitive level, sharing their comfort or discomfort vis-a-vis the knowledge being shared, and how it may challenge their preconceived views on identity and other themes covered on the course (zembylas & boler, 2002). for instance, thembi and sandra feel the urge to express their deep-rooted ‘core’ xhosa identity, even as they encounter new ways of defining their emerging identity and acknowledging its fluidity. by the same token, they also express their views about the language through which knowledge gets exchanged in the academic space, namely english. both thembi and sandra start off by stating that english can be an enabler but can also ‘colonise minds’, that it is a western product, but also one that enables upward mobility. thembi warns against ‘abusing’ english, in other words, overusing it in ways that begin to erode one’s self-definition. on the other hand, sandra is able to reconcile the contradictions of being a ‘xhosa girl’, while speaking english, by extending the definition of xhosa-ness beyond its linguistic attributes. even so, both seem to romanticise a xhosa culture that they are ‘born with’ or is in their dna. at that point, it is noteworthy that lecturers on the course do not intervene on the site to weed out the contradictions, but allow them to be juxtaposed in students’ messy attempts at meaning making. even in week 3, when students are asked to present their previous understandings of identity and their current one, they are offered two routes into the exercise: ‘now i think of identity as …’, which would signal a shift in their conceptual understanding of identity, and ‘i still think of identity as …’, which would allow them to resist the influence of readings that often offer a constructionist view of identity. in that way, the online task demonstrates that the course is not trying to brainwash students into shedding their essentialist notions of identity, but rather to interrogate them in light of new perspectives. at that point, the lecturers turn into facilitators or mentors, prodding students with questions, rather than formally teaching content. these strategies of questioning versus overt didactic strategies of imparting knowledge verily form part of the pedagogy of discomfort, which the course privileges in order to enable students on the extended degree programme to embark on their own trajectories of meaning making. in this, it moves away from the discourse of ‘difference as deficit’ to that of ‘difference as a resource’ (canagarajah, 1997), to acknowledge students’ brought-along experiences as a valuable aspect of learning and knowledge-making. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 107 slowing time down spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity. william wordsworth (1800) from the data analysed on the online course site, it is evident that one never reaches a point of finality. rather, time slows down to postpone one’s commitment to ideas, and the giving of reasons. each week, students are editing and conceptually reworking their ideas. as such, the online space seems to be a site where one is not held captive by one’s thoughts. it is a space where the present can be paused, where the fear of the unknown, the silencing effects of the english language can be suspended, to express the inexpressible. this is the case when thembi and sandra express their angst, fears and insecurities at the start of their academic year. as mentors and tutors in this space, and through a process of trial and error, we came to the realisation that the online space required a very different type of facilitation and participation on our part, in order to accommodate the type of conceptual and analytical learning required by the slowing down of time. in this third space, we also find students revisiting their definitions of self and alignment to concepts. thembi begins by defining herself as disadvantaged, then as a xhosa girl, and finally as a young girl who can write infinite scriptures. it would appear that she explores the reach of these descriptions to present a particular aspect of her identity based on what she perceives will be valued in that instance. over time, she also revisits her view of identity as fixed to one that can be shaped by one’s ‘surroundings’ and through the choices one makes. it is possible that her transition to the university was a ‘critical event’ or turning point, making her re-assess the role of the environment on one’s identity. we are quite certain that even this moment of stillness or certainty is a temporary one and will be revisited. conceptually, the online space is one where fleeting thoughts can be captured and reflected upon to trigger new alterations. in derrida’s (1994) words, it is a moment of stasis, an ‘aporia of suspension’, where commitment to ideas is not required, and where contradictions are permissible. thembi and sandra contradict themselves week after week. thembi’s hatred for english gradually gives way to the strategic use of the language to express her dissenting views and to re-shape her personal narrative in a way that is compatible with her core beliefs and the shifts in context. the online space is therefore a space where ‘one can stop and smell the roses’, take cognisance of what is happening to one’s ideas, how one’s thoughts are shaping without being interrupted by other voices. the ability of not interrupting students’ voices in the online space while simultaneously creating opportunities and possibilities for intellectual and personal growth through our mentoring interactions with them, are therefore some of the most valuable tools that are needed to promote individual agency and ownership of the learning process. our roles as facilitators and guides in the online space have led to the realisation that a certain amount of awareness, sensitivity, empathy, openness to other ways of being and acknowledgement of the capital that students bring along with them, is needed on our part, in order to create the 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 89–111 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 necessary scaffolding needed for deep and meaningful analytical engagement. it is therefore important to recognise that learning and becoming are part of an organic and processgenerated activity that develops over time. it’s how we set up and facilitate the structures for these processes that takes centre stage. as such, one could think of the online space as a suspension bridge, a site of incoherence where one can see oscillations of the self. students’ location on that bridge reflects the complex mode of shifting understandings of self and of the concept of identity. this incoherence is precisely what allows for the emergence of a coherent narrative of self over time. the learner’s grappling with her identity through these online academic activities begins to call into question traditional learning contexts, what counts as knowledge, what counts as knowing, and the thin line between knowing and being. therefore, as mentioned, gutiérrez (2008) might describe the online space as a ‘third space’ for this very reason in that it opens doors for new modes of engagement and critique, like thembi’s use of the space in which she seeks to reconcile her problematic relationship with english, and in the process inserts herself more boldly in the knowledge-making project. narratives such as these seek to inform mentors’, tutors’, lecturers’ and institutions’ understandings of the lived contexts and struggles faced by students. in saying that, we need to acknowledge that we learn as much from our students as they learn from us. it is this type of learning ethos that can develop and grow out of the type of online intervention and facilitation that we have presented in this paper. conclusion the questions posed in this paper revolve around the affordances of the online space as a tutoring space to promote the analytical mode. using an academic literacies approach, the paper delved into the writing practices of first year students on the online course site over a semester. in place of the traditional tutoring and mentoring pedagogy, the course site had the functionalities of a blogging website used to scaffold learning, and what spurred the research were the types of engagement enabled online. using a case study method, we sought to analyse whether specific types of writer identities were promoted online or not, and more importantly, how our two participants thembi and sandra critically engaged with the authentic tasks online. part of this process also required that we reflect on our own roles and responsibilities as online mentors and facilitators in the online space, and the extent to which this related to our roles as lecturers in the face-to-face space. it emerged that the online tasks contributed to fostering an analytical ethos, an ‘analytical mode’ among students which led to a more nuanced understanding of course content, and a stronger developing sense of self. the sharing of autobiographical information between students became a stimulus for entering and engaging in the analytical mode, and for inserting themselves in the act of knowing. as a result of the conceptual development, students have been able to hone a more confident authorial voice. the online space allowed students to express the inexpressible, to share dissident views and slow down learning to trigger deeper grappling with concepts, ideas and generate metacognitive reflections on the links between self and knowing. in the process, it stretched our understanding of the analytical mode itself, to mean not only critical thinking, but a http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 moeain arend, aditi hunma, catherine hutchings & gideon nomdo: the messiness of meaning making ... 109 critical reflection of one’s position in relation to the knowledge imparted, with possibilities to imbibe, appropriate or challenge what gets taught. it also made us reassess the traditional roles of those who impart knowledge, especially in light of the new ways of ‘being’ required by those who facilitate and those who participate online become embedded in the online 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(2017). the messiness of meaning making: examining the affordances of the digital space as a mentoring and tutoring space for the acquisition of academic literacy. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 89–111. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v5i2.2704 https://theeaparchivist.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/can-students-be-afforded-authority/ https://theeaparchivist.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/can-students-be-afforded-authority/ https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849666275 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2704 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 107–112 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 107 www.jsaa.ac.za book review case, j.m., marshall, d., mckenna, s. & mogashana, d. (2017). going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans. cape town: african minds. reviewed by liezel frick* * dr liezel frick is associate professor at the centre for higher and adult education, department of curriculum studies, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: blf@sun.ac.za higher education in south africa is in a state of turmoil. student protests, increased state intervention, uncertainty and surprises around government funding of the sector amidst increased massification of universities, pressure on institutions to insource staff, calls to diversify both student and staff bodies, demands for decolonisation of university curricula (or africanisation, as msila and gumbo [2016] choose to position these debates), and substantive changes in national policy directives have created a sector in constant flux. it is thus no surprise that a variety of authoritative authors within the south african higher education context have taken a rather dim view of the current situation. while adam habib (2016) focuses on re-imagining the future of the south african university, he acknowledges the stark current reality that the south african university system is not on par with its counterparts in other developing countries and that it shows limited transformation after more than two decades of democracy in south africa. cloete (2016a) similarly points to inefficiencies within the system (particularly at the undergraduate level) that are amplified by under-funding of the system as a whole. however, he argues against the notion of free higher education, as it may lead to even greater inefficiency and inequality (cloete, 2016b) – a notion also questioned in terms of feasibility by the heher report (south africa, 2017). yet this is exactly what came to be towards the end of 2017. jonathan jansen’s recent book, as by fire: the end of the south african university (2017), considers the experiences of vice-chancellors amidst the #feesmustfall protests, and takes a decidedly negative stance on the future of universities in south africa. in as by fire, it almost seems like the culmination of jansen’s (2005, pp. 3–4, 12) earlier question, “when does a university cease to exist?”, where he remarks: … a university ceases to exist when the intellectual project no longer defines its identity, infuses its curriculum, energizes its scholars, and inspires its students. it ceases to exist when state control and interference closes down the space within which academic discourse can flourish without constraint. the university ceases to exist when it imposes on itself narrowing views of the future based on ethnic or linguistic chauvinism, and denies the multiplicity of voices and visions that grant institutions their distinctive character. and the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:blf%40sun.ac.za?subject= 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2017, 107–112 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 university ceases to exist when it represents nothing other than an empty shell of racial representivity at the cost of academic substance and intellectual imagination. … the greatest challenge facing the post-apartheid university is that second-generation south africans fail to find a compelling moral purpose in higher education beyond crass materialism and individual self-enrichment. it will require credible leadership to sustain the idea of the university through a restored idealism among students and teachers, an idealism that places our common humanity at the centre of institutional endeavour in a very dangerous world. these contributions seem to paint a picture of a system in constant crisis, with little hope of redeeming itself to be(come) both nationally responsive and internationally competitive. a narrow reading of such texts could easily make the south african higher education landscape seem barren, caught in a hopeless situation. however, in a critique on particularly jonathan jansen’s (2017) as by fire, suellen shay (2017) argues: what south africa’s universities need from their leaders now is not prophecies of doom, but deeper reflection on the transformative potential of this difficult historical moment. it is within this space that the recent publication of going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans (case, marshall, mckenna & mogashana, 2017) provides a much-needed reason for hope and respite amidst the turmoil. the book reports on narrative interviews with 73 young people who first entered university studies in south africa some six years beforehand. the interviewees hailed from three different research-intensive south african universities, studied in either arts or sciences, and included both completers (n = 60) and non-completers (n = 13). despite documenting the obvious (and sometimes not so obvious) battles and challenges students face in a nuanced way, this is essentially a book of hope as it firstly provides a muchneeded constructive student voice to understanding what university is about, and why it matters. secondly, as sue clegg’s foreword to the book highlights, it contributes to broader debates about the significance and importance of higher education across disciplinary and institutional boundaries. as such, the book may have a wide appeal not only to scholars of higher education as a field of study (as the reports of such projects often do), but also academics beyond this field of interest, professional and support staff at universities, university leaders, thought leaders in industry, and policy makers. though the book is a truly (and proudly) south african contribution, its reach will in all probability extend beyond national boundaries. and although the storied contribution is by its very nature nationally and institutionally embedded, it speaks to much broader issues of race, class and gender in higher education, as well as how student agency manifests in a turbulent and resource-constrained context. an evident strength of the contribution of going to university lies in the solid theoretical foundation (most evident in the first chapter) and methodological rigour (as explained in the addenda) on which the work is built. yet, the authors made a pragmatic decision to foreground the voices and stories of the participants, which makes the book much more http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 liezel frick: going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans 109 accessible and digestible to a wider audience, although the authors’ subsequent shorter published essays in media such as the conversation (and hopefully some future podcasts or youtube clips) may be more widely read than the actual book itself. scholars in higher education studies will find these aspects of much interest though, and there is enough theoretical and methodological depth to get a grip on the scholarship that forms the backdrop to the stories. one would also hope to see additional future scholarly publications that thrash out these aspects in greater detail for the readership particularly interested in the research behind the stories. the story of the stories unfold in an interesting way in the book, starting off with a contextualisation of higher education (chapter 1), before it moves on to how students navigate the undergraduate curriculum (chapter 2), while the third chapter explores how students deliberate and make decisions on study plans. the fourth chapter considers the broader student experience. the second half of the book gives voice to the student experience beyond the university, firstly looking at non-completion of the first degree choice in the fifth chapter (an invaluable contribution that moves the reader beyond a deficit view of high dropout and low completion rates within the sector). another valuable contribution in the sixth chapter focuses on doing postgraduate studies. chapter 7 explores students’ experiences of entering the workplace. the book ends off with a careful consideration of the purposes of higher education in chapter 8. the build-up to the final chapter moves from the contextualisation in the first chapter through a storied scenery of what it means to go to a (research) university in south africa today. the complexity of both in-class and out-of-class experiences are told in an interwoven manner, where the weave of the first-person student narratives is securely held by the weft of the authors’ interpretations. these chapters show how higher education in south africa is linked to societal and economic contexts in inseparable and complex ways, as is evident in recent policy developments. the recent draft national plan for post-school education and training (nppset) (dhet, 2017) highlights how national policy has shifted from a focus on social justice and redress (as espoused in the white paper 3 on the transformation of higher education, 1997) to a more outcomes-driven imperative (as is also evident in the white paper on post-school education and training, 2013) with a focus on skills development for (immediate) employment (with a resultant emphasis on student success and throughput) and knowledge production, application and transfer (with greater involvement of industry and the workplace). the nppset (dhet, 2017, p. 10) states that the plan, … moves away from the current focus on scarce and critical skills and proposes that the focus should be on qualifications and programmes for occupations in high demand, using three dimensions: programmes that are specifically needed for economic growth; programmes that will provide opportunities for employment for large numbers of people; and programmes that support social development priorities. 110 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2017, 107–112 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 student access, success and employment are, of course, important given the current national higher education student success indicators, youth (un)employment figures, and the slow economic growth evident in south africa. but the unintended consequences of such a policy shift may be that universities are seen as just other knowledge-based institutions focused on the exchange of knowledge and knowledge workers with other organisations. youtie and shapira (2008) warn that universities could end up being seen as mere knowledge factories when only the impact that has a direct economic and regional benefit is measured and valued. going to university, to some extent, challenges this policy discourse, when the authors point out: but university is more than just a self-improvement camp. participants were able to articulate the specific knowledge and ways of thinking that they had developed while at university, and how these skills put them in a strong position in trying to enter what is now termed the ‘knowledge economy’. importantly, these are not just instrumentalist technical ‘skills’ but ways of thinking – which means that the impact goes beyond the individual. many students spoke in some detail about the kind of creative and analytical thinking that they had learnt at university: not taking things at face value, being able to interrogate different ways of conceptualising a phenomenon, how to build up or test a logical argument. (p. 134) such a more holistic notion of student development is in line with the so-called skills identified by the world economic forum (2017) as essential to succeeding in the fourth industrial revolution, including complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility. as such, the contribution of going to university forces the reader to (re-)consider the current university sector’s potential to nurture the creative potential of students, which requires time, resources and space for more flexible programme structures, improved student support structures, an investment in developing creative higher education pedagogies, as well as research that may not have an immediate and applied impact. this is in line with the work of florida, knudsen and stolarick (2010, p.  68), who empirically explored the role of universities in the economy. their findings suggest that the role of universities “goes far beyond the ‘engine of innovation’ perspective”. they indicate that whilst technology generation is important, the role of universities in this aspect of the economy has been overemphasised while the role of universities in generating, attracting and mobilising talent, and establishing a tolerant and diverse social climate is often overlooked and neglected by policy makers and leaders. the idea of being a creative university (as defined by reichert, 2006) does not exclude being efficient or economically viable, but it takes a longer term view on the benefit it might add to society and the economy, and allows more space for dialogue, experimentation and innovation. it is within this frame of reference that the final chapter of going to university gives the reader some reason for hope when the authors conclude: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 liezel frick: going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans 111 … what kind of young people have we formed in our university graduates? they are independently minded and socially progressive. they are getting traction in their careers and they are acting with thoughtfulness and responsibility. they are thinkers and they mostly engage critically with the world and their place in society. many are aware of inequalities in society and of their own experiences of privilege. … they are resilient young people and future leaders; crucially it is their experiences of grappling with knowledge during university studies that has formed them (p. 143). these findings speak to the higher order and complex skills as envisioned by the world economic forum predictions cited above, and should not be disregarded or diluted to a more simplistic notion of skills development. going to university is available for free downloading through the publisher’s website under creative commons licensing. references case, j., marshall, d., mckenna, s. & mogashana, d. (2017). going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans. cape town: african minds. cloete, n. (2016a). for sustainable funding and fees, the undergraduate system in south africa must be restructured. south african journal of science, 112(3-4), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/ a0146 cloete, n. (2016b). free higher education. another self-destructive south african policy. cape town: centre for higher education transformation (chet). department of education (1997). white paper 3: a programme for the transformation of higher education. pretoria: government printers. dhet (department of higher education and training). (2013). white paper for post-school education and training. pretoria: government printers. dhet (department of higher education and training). (2017). national plan for higher education and training. retrieved from http://utlo.ukzn.ac.za/libraries/documents/nppset_consultation_ draft_16_november_2017.sflb.ashx florida, r., knudsen, b. & stolarick, k. (2010). the university and the creative economy. in: d. araya & m.a. peters (eds.), education in the creative economy. new york: peter lang. habib, a. (2016). transcending the past and reimagining the future of the south african university. journal of southern african studies, 42(1), 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2016.1121716 jansen, j. (2005). when does a university cease to exist? johannesburg, south africa: south african institute of race relations. jansen, j. (2017). as by fire: the end of the south african university. cape town: tafelberg. msila, v. & gumbo, m. (2016). africanising the curriculum: indigenous perspectives and theories. stellenbosch: african sunmedia. https://doi.org/10.18820/9780992236083 reichert, s. (2006). the rise of knowledge regions: emerging opportunities and challenges for universities. brussels: european university association. shay, s. (2017). the end of south african universities? the conversation africa, 16 august. retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-south-african-universities-82180 https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/a0146 https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/a0146 http://utlo.ukzn.ac.za/libraries/documents/nppset_consultation_draft_16_november_2017.sflb.ashx http://utlo.ukzn.ac.za/libraries/documents/nppset_consultation_draft_16_november_2017.sflb.ashx https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2016.1121716 https://doi.org/10.18820/9780992236083 https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-south-african-universities-82180 112 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2017, 107–112 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 south africa (2017). report of the commission of inquiry into higher education and training. retrieved from http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/sites/default/files/commission%20of%20 inquiry%20into%20higher%20education%20report.pdf world economic forum. (2017). the 10 skills you need to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution. retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrivein-the-fourth-industrial-revolution youtie, j. & shapira, p. (2008). building an innovation hub: a case study of the transformation of university roles in regional technological and economic development. research policy,  37, 188–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2008.04.012 how to cite: frick, l. (2018). review on case, j.m., marshall, d., mckenna, s. & mogashana, d. going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans. cape town: african minds. (2017). journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 107–112. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/sites/default/files/commission of inquiry into higher education report.pdf http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/sites/default/files/commission of inquiry into higher education report.pdf https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2008.04.012 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3071 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 115–116 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3313 115 www.jsaa.ac.za campus report iasas‑naspa: 4th global summit on student affairs and services tiki ayiku, lisa bardill-moscaritolo, stephanie gordon, brett perozzi & birgit schreiber* * dr birgit schreiber is senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, south africa. she is the book review editor and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) and naspa student affairs administrators in higher education have collaborated over the past decade on a biennial basis, sponsoring the global summit on student affairs and services. in the past, the summit has taken place in washington, d.c.; rome, italy; and cape town, south africa. this year, the summit took place in santiago, chile, on 24–26  october  2018. la pontificia universidad católica de chile (uc) and sister institution duoc served as hosts. specially selected representatives from countries from across the globe were invited to take part in discussions regarding delivering on and implementing the united nations development programme sustainable development goals within the local and regional higher education sectors from which the representatives came. below are outcomes from this global gathering of student affairs and services leaders from higher and tertiary education sectors around the world. the planning committee used the united nations sustainable development goals (sdgs) as a guide and framework for the summit. participants were sent a survey prior to the programme asking which of the 17 sdgs were most relevant to them and their work in their home countries. the following six sdgs were those that had 52% consensus or more from summit participants: • good health and well-being • quality education • gender equity • decent work and economic growth • reduced inequalities • peace, justice and strong institutions during the global summit, participants discussed each of the top six sdgs in small groups. many also provided short presentations on current examples of how participants have an impact on specific sdgs within their regions. these updates and small group activities provided rich opportunities to understand commonalities in their work in the region and around the world, holding true to the outcomes of past global summits. at the end of https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3313 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 115–116 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3313 two days of intellectual dialogue, several sdgs arose as most central to the work of student affairs and services leaders and practitioners in higher education. the same two sdgs emerged as the top two most important sdgs from three separate groups working independently. the third sdg selected by each group was three different sdgs from each group. the salience of the top two was extraordinary: • quality education • reduced inequalities the three others that emerged with slightly less salience were: • decent work and economic growth • peace, justice and strong institutions • good health and well-being participants left the global summit with a deeper understanding of the sdgs and plans for spreading and implementing these ideas. leaders shared examples of how they would accomplish this task and how they can use the sdgs as a framework for educating college students on global citizenship. participants left with a clear understanding of their responsibility to make an impact on world problems and the importance of supporting the united nations development programme in goal attainment. participants discussed partnerships and collaborations across regions in order to promote the delivery on sdgs. the global summit is not only an event where the leaders in higher education student affairs and services join to deepen their understanding and enhance their impact, but it is also a coming together of like-minded people from far-flung corners of the world. together we realise our shared humanity that motivates us to use higher education in more effective ways to impact the world in sustainable ways to make it a better place for everyone. for more information, see: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a-vuzlj86tup_rjphq gajsdtizwzu_eo/view how to cite: schreiber, b. (2018). iasas-naspa: 4th global summit on student affairs and services. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 115–116. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3313 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3313 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a-vuzlj86tup_rjphqgajsdtizwzu_eo/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a-vuzlj86tup_rjphqgajsdtizwzu_eo/view https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3313 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 53–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.7 53 www.jsaa.ac.za * media release, division of corporate communication, stellenbosch university, 28 october 2016. on campus global representatives flock to stellenbosch for 3rd student affairs global summit* invited representatives from 19 countries working in the rapidly developing area of student affairs and services gathered in stellenbosch to attend the bi-annual global summit on student affairs and services. the summit brought together key leaders in student affairs from around the globe to engage in dialogue around critical issues in student affairs. student affairs administrators in higher education (naspa) and the international association for student affairs and services (iasas) were the joint initiators and drivers of the event, and after a rigorous application process stellenbosch university (su) was granted the honour to host the event held from wednesday to friday (26-28 october 2016) at the wallenberg research centre at stias in stellenbosch, south africa. prof. adam habib, chair of universities south africa (usaf), an organisation representing south africa’s universities, and vice-chancellor of the university of the witwatersrand, delivered the keynote address on thursday themed “contextualising higher education within emerging democracies”. “the event is a very exciting platform for a global conversation to advance the role of higher education in general and student affairs and services in particular,” said dr kevin kruger, president of naspa. it was the third event of its kind with the first event held in washington in 2012 and the second in rome in 2014. according to dr birgit schreiber, senior director: student affairs at su, one of the main organisers of the summit and representative of the host institution, not only in south africa, but the world over an emphasis is increasingly placed on what can be termed a global transformation project. sharply coming into focus are issues such as how a global perspective meets local realities; activism and democratisation; access and gender and human rights. although these issues are globally relevant, they are extremely relevant and topical in south africa and other emerging democracies. it is thus very fitting that south africa was chosen as host nation to these important discussions. more than 50 selected thought-leaders of higher education from countries across regions and continents participated in the event. “discussing student affairs initiatives with colleagues from around the world helps to enhance overall student learning and success,” noted achim meyer auf der heyde, president of iasas. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 53–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.7 “the programme is usually focused on a particular theme,” added schreiber. “this year we used the unesco operational strategy on youth (medium strategy 2014–2021 with focus on access and gender) as the basis for discussions. the focus is on translating the high-level objectives into local realities, addressing issues of global-local tensions, rising opportunities in youth access and the role of universities and student affairs in democratisation and transformation around race and gender inequalities.” according to schreiber, the two-day conversations generated concrete outcomes: they focussed on regional collaboration and partnerships among the professional organisations and universities to further the work in higher education with special focus on accelerating the ideals of social justice. a position paper based on participants’ contributions will be submitted to unesco. apart from dignitaries from naspa and iasas, mr yousaf gabru, chairperson of the south african national commission for unesco, and those representing among others the european council on student affairs, the southern african federation for student affairs and the academic association of student affairs (usa) were in attendance. also included in the programme was a student panel consisting of six students who shared how their experienced the impact of student affairs on their lives and studies, and how student affairs enabled them to promote values of human rights, equity and justice. _mailendcompose journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 65–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.10 65 www.jsaa.ac.za on campus mental health a worry for student affairs worldwide* munyaradzi makoni** mental health has in recent years emerged as an issue of concern for university students globally, obstructing the completion of studies, according to delegates attending the 2016 global summit on student affairs and services. “we are seeing increases in mental health challenges worldwide – more stress, more anxiety, more depression and more suicides,” kevin kruger, president of the student affairs administrators in higher education or naspa, told university world news. he was unsure about what triggered the increases, but in almost every country mental health challenges were creating barriers for students to learn. “our role is to see how we support students during this challenging period of life.” kruger was at the third global summit, held at the stellenbosch institute for advanced study, at stellenbosch university in south africa from 27–28 october. the first summit was held in washington, united states, in 2012 and the second was in rome in 2014. country cases ming qi, vice-president of shangai university of international business and economics, said higher education professionals in china were equally concerned about the mental health of university students. “we have about 10% of our younger university students suffering from psychologyrelated problems,” he told university world news. ming qi attributed the problem among younger students to intense pressure to succeed. to tackle the growing problem and promote the integrity of students, he said, many universities in china were offering courses, counselling and professional help. barbra pansiri, director of the department of student welfare at the university of botswana, said mental health issues varied, as students had different needs. “youths today live according to the demands of fast life, and if their demands are not met, they become frustrated and depressed,” pansiri told university world news. research would help to understand the depth of the problem. * this article was originally published in university world news global edition and africa edition issue 435 on 01 november 2016 as “mental health a worry for student affairs worldwide”. available at http://www. universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161102125723718. reprinted with permission. ** contact: makoni.munya@gmail.com http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161102125723718 http://http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161102125723718 mailto:makoni.munya%40gmail.com?subject= 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 65–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.10 birgit schreiber, senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university, said in south africa students with mental health challenges tended to struggle to get through primary and secondary education, before the additional hurdle of getting into higher education. “the university population has very few suicidal cases, depression issues, cases of substance abuse or psychological issues, compared to the general population in any country,” said schreiber. student affairs challenges student affairs staff help students to be successful, to develop the skills needed to succeed in the job market, and to cope with academics and adjustment to universities and colleges –but the profession is fraught with challenges. as naspa’s kevin kruger said: “we are a kind of a safety net. we help you when things don’t go well.” kruger said universities were grappling with making higher education accessible to students from poor backgrounds, creating pathways that help students receive more study support, and providing financial and academic backing. “this generation of youth is much more socially active than previous generations,” he added. student affairs needs to find a balance between the operation of student freedoms and responsibilities, and to identify ways university governance could be changed to be more responsive to student needs. pansiri of the university of botswana said student affairs staff are often asked what their office does. “the work we do is not visible enough, and there is little awareness of student affairs as a profession.” kruger agreed, and said there was an imperative for student affairs to be treated more as a profession, particularly in africa. he praised south africa for having among the most advanced student affairs worldwide, and for publishing a journal of student affairs. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 63–75 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2483 63 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice promoting social change amongst students in higher education: a reflection on the listen, live and learn senior student housing initiative at stellenbosch university munita dunn-coetzee* & magda fourie-malherbe** * dr munita dunn-coetzee is the director of the centre for student counselling and development, division of student affairs, at stellenbosch university, south africa. email: mdunn@sun.ac.za ** prof. magda fourie-malherbe is professor of higher education studies in the centre for higher and adult education, faculty of education, stellenbosch university. abstract twenty-two years after apartheid south african higher education is still struggling with challenges around access, success and transformation. stellenbosch university (su), as a historically white university, is striving to become significantly better and different in terms of relevance and active roleplaying. su wants to prepare students to become south african citizens who bring about and enable positive change in society. the listen, live and learn (lll) initiative at su is a senior student housing programme with the aim of providing experiential opportunities for students to make contact with ‘the other’. by being in closer, more regular contact with ‘the other’, students’ stereotypes, biases and discriminatory attitudes should start changing for the better. this article focuses on the evaluation of one of the proposed outcomes of the lll programme – increased levels of interaction among students in a lll house lead to reduced stereotyping and diminished bias. a quantitative investigation by means of an electronic survey was conducted. the second phase of the research was of a qualitative nature and consisted of focus group interviews. the conclusion can be made that lll participants are a self-selecting group and that students who tend to apply for the lll programme probably already have low levels of prejudice, bias and stereotyping. for the programme to effect social change, it needs to be considerably expanded in order to include more students who may not necessarily share the ‘openmindedness’ of this cohort. keywords listen, live and learn initiative; social change; stereotyping; social change model; higher education introduction in 2017, 23 years after apartheid, south african society is still characterised by racial inequalities and social exclusion (leibowitz, rohlede, bozalek, carolissen & swartz, 2007; soudien, 2014). particularly over the past two years the fault lines in the ‘rainbow nation’ have been starkly exposed in the higher education sector with student protests in the #feesmustfall movement becoming ever more violent, destructive and divisive. more http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mdunn%40sun.ac.za?subject= 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 63–75 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2483 than ten years ago walker (2005a) pointed out that students’ lives are still marked “by race, by racialised subjectivities, and by a past of racial separateness” (p. 53). this is now being graphically demonstrated. yet, many societal institutions, including higher education institutions, are “striving to make a different present and a new future” (walker, 2005b, p. 133). whereas south african higher education in the past primarily targeted and served a minority ethnic group, universities are now striving to ensure equitable representation of all south africans in their student and staff components. but making a new future is more than widening access to previously underserved groups and appointing black academics; it is also about contributing to “the socialisation of enlightened, responsible and constructively critical citizens”, and “a commitment to the common good” as envisaged in the 1997 white paper for higher education (doe, 1997, p. 9). what makes this particularly challenging is that south africans are by no means homogenous in terms of economic, educational or social attributes (mdepa & tshiwula, 2012, p. 20). we shall return to this point later. this reflective account reports on the evaluation of an institutional initiative to bring a diversity of students together in living spaces in order to break down traditional barriers of race, gender, language and nationality and to achieve some of the goals of the white paper as noted above. we firstly paint the institutional context in which this initiative was introduced, after which we describe the programme and how it has developed over the eight years of its existence. the second part of the article reports on a programme evaluation that was performed to garner more insight into the effect of the programme. the complexities of such an evaluation are highlighted as well as ways of overcoming them. lastly, we share some conclusions and recommendations that could be of value to an international audience. institutional context of the programme the positioning of stellenbosch university (su) in a rapidly changing higher education context necessitates institutional transformation, the promotion of diversity, and social integration among all students on campus. su, as a historically white university, was founded in 1918, has ten faculties on five campuses, and currently has 30,305 students of whom less than 40% are students of colour. approximately 30% of su students make use of residential housing while the majority are commuting students. table 1 depicts su undergraduate enrolments from 2011 to 2016. table 1: stellenbosch university undergraduate enrolments according to race,1 2011–2015 race 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 african 1 297 1 389 1 661 1 922 2 200 coloured 2 790 2 725 2 980 3 397 3 732 indian 274 284 327 419 473 white 12 690 12 534 12 325 12 400 12 646 total 17 051 16 932 17 293 18 138 19 042 munita dunn-coetzee & magda fourie-malherbe: promoting social change amongst students ... 65 table 1 illustrates that the number of undergraduate enrolments of white students has remained more or less constant over the past five years, and that the growth in student numbers occurred primarily among african, coloured and indian students, albeit from a very low base. these figures give evidence of moderate success of a variety of recruitment and support initiatives to diversify the student population and to enhance student success, as part of su’s commitment to addressing its exclusionary past, and contributing to building a new just and inclusive society. there has, however, also been a realisation that it is not sufficient to simply widen access for african, coloured and indian students to stellenbosch university. change with regard to the institutional culture and social climate of the institution also needs to be effected. one intervention aimed at achieving this is the listening, living and learning programme, promoting social change among students. as it is transforming into an institution that is not only significantly different, but also significantly better, su aims to produce dynamic young individuals who will contribute to positioning the african continent as an important role-player in the global knowledge economy. change agents are needed to “keep the hope alive” if this effort is to succeed (kloppers, 2013). if the lll programme is to realise its aim of having a significant impact within the stellenbosch student population, this effort must move from being an innovation or an interesting initiative to being a reform. being a reform requires structural change, rethinking roles and relationships, and generally re-engineering student life so that these learning communities are appropriately supported (kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2013). the listening, living and learning programme the listening, living and learning (lll) programme at su is focused on senior students, and whilst providing student accommodation, also offers experiential learning opportunities. the lll houses are designed to provide students with a unique on-campus living environment complemented by an educational, service-oriented programme. it aims to promote listening, living and learning among students, but also between students and external thought leaders so that every house becomes an innovative “think tank” (kloppers, 2013; kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2013). its core element is bringing together a diversity of students and enabling them to embrace diversity, amongst others, by helping students to identify and adjust their perceptions of ‘the other’ (those who are different from them). the lll programme was piloted in 2008 when it started with one student house. currently there are 28 lll houses with a total capacity of 194 students (kloppers, 2016). a lll house ideally makes provision for eight students living together, consisting of a diverse group of students who differ in terms of field of study, gender, race, background and nationality. the inhabitants of every house have a specific theme for the year and engage in conversations on the theme for the year they live together. every house hosts a conversation around the theme inviting academics, civic leaders, experts and other people to join the conversation in the house (kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2013). the lll programme is based on the premise that students in the houses model ‘the different present’ and should build ‘the new future’ of south african society by 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 63–75 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2483 demonstrating that living together is possible, healthy and inspirational, and increased contact in physical and temporal spaces allows people to become friends across the boundaries that often accompany diversity. the students share intimate spaces such as kitchen and bathroom facilities, and need to negotiate the house rhythm in the use thereof, requiring them to adapt and find common ground. lounge conversations, which form the focal point of the initiative, are indispensable to challenge set ways of thinking and to promote a critical stance and open-mindedness. they also act as an inspirational space where academics and students can come together and inspire each other. the project is meant to teach people to not only live together, but also to plan and work together (kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2013). senior staff members of su are appointed as mentors (‘theme gurus’) for the year, acting as catalysts for the creation of dialogue and guiding the students in terms of conversations. participants have the unique opportunity to form friendships, to engage with experts on the theme of their house and to connect with the mentor of their lll house (kloppers, 2016; kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2013), and are, in the process, confronted with vastly different perspectives. the lll programme aims not only to effect personal change in the participants, but also to empower students to facilitate change for themselves, and on behalf of others. in developing them as actors for social change, the programme also provides a form of leadership empowerment. it is expected that students will develop a sense of working toward or serving a greater good beyond themselves. leadership is contextualised as a value-based, socially responsible process, and as roberts (2007) indicates, can be defined as ‘conviction in action’. the traditional notion of leadership being positional, exclusive and not accessible to all people is discarded. the focus in lll is rather on raising awareness of their leadership potential vis-à-vis their fellow students, others and society as a whole. as agents of change the lll students should continue establishing and supporting healthy communities when they leave su after graduation, and so continue contributing to positive social change. this builds on freire’s (1972) notion that education is a means to change the human condition. developing students as agents of change in addition to the work of freire (1972), bandura (2001) and others, this study built on the social change model of leadership (scm). the scm stresses leadership as a process, and is inclusive of all people regardless of their roles (komives, wagner & associates, 2009). an important principle of the scm is its focus on the strong connection between getting involved in social change and learning leadership. a leader in this context is one who is able to effect positive change, and all people thus have the potential to be leaders (wagner,  2009). for the purpose of this study, the scm as theoretical model was not primarily used to conceptualise leadership, but to provide a specific perspective on the social change occurring within living-learning communities. the scm approaches leadership as a process which is purposeful, collaborative and values-based, resulting in positive social change. the model is congruent with professional values in student affairs and affirming of a social justice commitment to professional practice (komives, wagner & associates, 2009). munita dunn-coetzee & magda fourie-malherbe: promoting social change amongst students ... 67 reeler (2007) explains that all social beings during development experience crisis, and transformative change is about freeing the social being from existing relationships and identities to stimulate further healthy development. as the lll programme aims to develop students as agents of change, transformative change is essential in furthering healthy development and overcoming challenging or crisis moments. the scm includes seven critical values which play out at three levels: individual, group and community (haber, 2011, p. 67). these levels and the values of scm are represented in table 2 below. table 2: values of the social change model of leadership (haber, 2011, p. 67) the seven c’s: the critical values of the social change model consciousness of self (individual) being self-aware of the beliefs, values, attitudes, and emotions that motivate you to take action. being mindful, or aware of your current emotional state, behaviour and perceptual lenses. congruence (individual) acting in ways that are consistent with your values and beliefs. thinking, feeling, and behaving with consistency, genuineness, authenticity and honesty towards others. commitment (individual) having significant investment in an idea or person, both in terms of intensity and duration. having the energy to serve the group and its goal. commitment originates from within, but others can create an environment that supports an individual’s passions. collaboration (group) working with others in a common effort, sharing responsibility and authority. multiplying group effectiveness by capitalising on various perspectives and talents, and on the power of diversity to generate creative solutions and actions. common purpose (group) having shared aims and values. involving others in building a group’s vision and purpose. controversy with civility (group) recognising two fundamental realities of any creative effort: (1) that differences in viewpoint are inevitable, and (2) that such differences must be aired openly with civility. citizenship (community) believing in a process whereby an individual and/or group become responsibly connected to the community and to society through some activity. recognising that members of communities are not independent, but interdependent. recognising that individuals and groups have responsibility for the welfare of others. since it is a key assumption of the scm that the ultimate goal of leadership is positive social change, ‘change’ is considered to be the centre of the model. change (individual, group, community) believing in the importance of making a better world and a better society for oneself and others. believing that individuals, groups, and communities have the ability to work together to make that change. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 63–75 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2483 the individual values involve qualities of individuals that contribute to positive group functioning, the group values reflect group skills and processes that contribute to effecting positive change, and the community values focus on the greater community’s needs. these three levels interact and together contribute to the overall goal of the model: positive social change. group interaction is inherent in this model and is particularly stressed in the group values of the model (haber, 2011, p. 67). the dynamic nature of the model is illustrated in figure 1. figure 1: dynamic reciprocity in the social change model as illustrated in figure 1, each dimension of the model is in dynamic reciprocity with the other dimensions. if a group is unable to come to common purpose (group dimension), it could point to an absence of commitment by individuals to the group (individual dimension) and the reasons why individuals are exhibiting resistance (individual dimension) should be examined. the scm can become a diagnostic process model to explore how an organisation functions or an individual assessment model to examine personal capacity building (chang, milem & antonio, in schuh et al., 2011, p. 361). research indicated that students taking part in social change activities reported the following benefits: the establishment of personal connections with the relevant issue and with the others involved in the issue, the development of a sense of interconnectedness, the realisation that by helping others the individual also helps him/herself, and the establishment munita dunn-coetzee & magda fourie-malherbe: promoting social change amongst students ... 69 of a sense of satisfaction (wagner, 2009). despite huge challenges facing many communities across the globe, younger generations seem to be expressing more optimism about social change and becoming more involved in effecting such change. they also are more action orientated and less politically inclined than previous generations (watson, hollister, stroud & babcock, 2011, p. 28). this points to the potential for the development of a variety of attributes in a co-curricular setting, specifically with reference to social change. amongst these attributes that will contribute to social change are absence of stereotype and bias, and non-discrimination. the lll programme deems that by being in closer, more regular contact with ‘the other’, students’ stereotypes, biases and discriminatory attitudes should start changing for the better. research methodology the research project was done in two phases. the first phase consisted of an evaluation of one of the proposed outcomes of the lll programme: ‘increased levels of interaction among students in a lll house lead to reduced stereotyping and diminished bias’, by means of a survey, and the second phase consisted of the collection of qualitative data through focus group interviews to learn more about students’ motivation for, experiences in and effects of the lll programme. ethical clearance and institutional permission were granted for both studies, and all the participants signed informed consent forms. whereas respondents completed the online survey anonymously, the participants in the focus groups were randomly selected and are also anonymised in the reporting of the results. the hypothesis was that the lll experience would lead to significant change in students’ stereotyping and discriminatory attitudes with regard to five constructs: gender, language, race, economic status and nationality. these represent the dimensions of diversity in south african society referred to above. in order to test this hypothesis a pre-test post-test research design was used, and quantitative data were collected by means of an electronic survey. the entire population of students enrolled in the lll programme at that time (99 students) was the target population, and a total number of 79 students (the sample) responded to both the pre-test and post-test. the research instrument was a researchergenerated student attitude questionnaire consisting of a linear numerical scale (depicting social distance) and a semantic differential scale (depicting stereotypes). the instrument was applied in january and in may with a view to measuring differences (if at all) in students’ attitudes that may have developed during their time in the lll programme. the first part of the questionnaire gathered demographic data of the respondents, including field of study, gender, age, home language, race, nationality and socio-economic status. table 3 provides a summary of the demographic data. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 63–75 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2483 table 3: demographic profile of survey respondents demographic factor percentages2 gender female 69% male 31% age 19–20 yrs 11,3% 21–22 yrs 59,7% 23–24 yrs 24,7% 25+ yrs 4,1% race african 21% coloured 9% indian/asian 2% white 68% home language afrikaans 41,2% english 20,6% eng & afr 15,5% african & other languages 22,7% years of registration two or less yrs 5,2% three yrs 17,5% four yrs 35,1% five yrs+ 42,2% parental income3 very poor 2,06% poor 15,4% middle-income 68% wealthy 10,3% nationality south african 94,9% international 5,1% from the above table it is noticeable that there was a preponderance of white, afrikaansspeaking female respondents, that a small minority of respondents regarded themselves as poor, and that by far the majority of respondents were south african. table 4 lists the five diversity constructs covered by the questionnaire as well as the forms of behaviour demonstrating bias and stereotyping that respondents had to indicate their agreement or disagreement with on a 10-point scale in the second part of the questionnaire. table 4: diversity constructs and form of behaviour demonstrating bias and stereotyping constructs forms of behaviour demonstrating bias and stereotyping gender distrust making jokes about using derogatory language fearing regarding as inferior not associating with swearing at language race socio-economic status nationality the linear numerical scale in the second part of the questionnaire contained 30 items in which every construct was covered by at least five statements depicting the different forms of behaviour in table 4. some of the items were put in the positive (e.g. ‘i prefer to associate munita dunn-coetzee & magda fourie-malherbe: promoting social change amongst students ... 71 with people who belong to my language group’) whereas, for control purposes, others were put in the negative (e.g. ‘i do not trust people who do not speak my language’). the third part of the questionnaire required respondents to rate members of five groups (once again representing the five constructs) on seven traits, ranging from very negative to very positive on a 10-point scale. examples of traits include trustworthiness, reliability and honesty. the research results of the first phase of the research, i.e. the pre-test post-test survey are depicted in table 5. table 5: phase 1 – survey results: pre-test and post-test mean scores construct & question pre-test mean score post-test mean score gender (qu 2) 56.91 49.60 (qu 3) 44.68 41.47 language (qu 2) 39.24 37.24 (qu 3) 43.03 40.89 race (qu 2) 56.41 56.04 (qu 3) 42.97 40.73 socio-economic status (qu 2) 46.14 46.28 (qu 3) 40.75 39.37 nationality (qu 2) 43.58 41.91 (qu 3) 43.49 40.59 table 5 shows that the mean scores of responses from the pre-test to the post-test declined, indicating less tolerance and acceptance. this means that our hypothesis that the lll experience would lead to significant change in students’ stereotyping and discriminatory attitudes with regard to the five constructs of gender, language, race, economic status and nationality was not proven. on the contrary, the results of the post-test in may were somewhat more negative, indicating less tolerance for ‘the other’ after five months of living together. the biggest change occurred with regard to discriminatory behaviour in terms of gender. however, in most cases the differences in mean scores were very small and not statistically significant. the results of the quantitative investigation left many questions unanswered. we tried to find possible reasons for the changes, but they remained of a conjectural nature. we therefore decided to undertake a second phase of qualitative inquiry where we could ‘drill down’ into students’ attitudes and their experiences of the lll programme. for this purpose four focus group discussions were conducted with current participants in the lll programme who had also participated in the online survey. each focus group consisted of three to four students. the interview schedule aimed at getting a better understanding of the reasons why students choose to participate in the lll programme, how they would describe the experience and how they believed they were changed by the experience. 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 63–75 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2483 reasons for entering the lll programme most participants deliberately chose the lll programme because they wanted to live in a more diverse environment than that afforded by residences or other forms of housing. one participant said: “… what i really also enjoy about it is just the fact that you stay with people that you wouldn’t normally choose to stay with. they’re not people that are in your normal sort of environment or circle of friends. so it’s just being exposed to different people from different backgrounds. it was really nice.” another participant commented that “it is about bringing people who are not necessarily going to meet, together”, whereas another one referred to the lack of diversity of ideas in other residential environments: “i did not encounter many people in res who are willing to confront bigger ideas, to find a place where i could live where you could debate ideas”. this need to be part of an environment where critical debate took place was also reflected in the following extract: “so to find a place on campus where i could live that was kind of built around debating ideas …” from the participants’ responses it became clear that participants in the lll programme are actually a self-selecting group as they wanted to have a more diverse experience and therefore applied for the programme. we shall return to this in the conclusion. on being prepared for the lll experience the responses to the question whether participants felt that they were prepared for the lll experience revealed their eagerness to join the programme and the expectations with which they did so, but also gave evidence of some uncertainty of whether they would cope with the experience. even though most participants underwent some form of training when entering the programme, they felt that nothing could really prepare them for the experience. some entered with confidence: “… i entered with a certain, like a fair level of confidence.” others were filled with trepidation: “i was really scared and intimidated by some of the people in the house.” one participant made quite a profound observation in likening the experience to life: “it is difficult to prepare anyone for an experience like this. it’s like preparing for life.” participants’ perspectives on their lll experience for most participants the lll experience was a dynamic process, with ups and downs. one participant mentioned feeling overwhelmed: “i was extremely overwhelmed in the beginning …”. most participants reported finding their feet over time: “… things got better over time and in that sense, i think we were more real in our responses or interactions with each other …”. munita dunn-coetzee & magda fourie-malherbe: promoting social change amongst students ... 73 although it took some time, eventually being more comfortable in the lll environment led to a greater openness to engage with ‘the others: “at some point in time you kind of break through and then you realise you have common interests and common goals and at that point it doesn’t need to be intentional any more.” another participant remarked that “… it became more and more organic”. but it remained a process of personal growth as reflected in the following comments: “it was just about challenging myself …”, and “you become a lot more uncomfortable with some things about yourself …you are forced to confront it. this leads to inner conflict. i’m not going to be this person anymore. if i don’t i’d be stupid.” the latter reflections of participants point to the personal changes that resulted from their lll experience. personal changes because of the lll experience participants agreed unequivocally that the lll experience was life-changing: “… i can now also say, i grew exponentially and without which i probably wouldn’t …” “lll has played a role in how i see people and to deal with conflict and organising your life …” reflecting on who they were and what effect the experience had on their lives seemed to have led to greater self-insight. one participant reflected: “lll did not change me but gave me the freedom to be who i am.” another participant related lll to his life experience in the following words: “… everyone is thrown into this world and into this journey called life … and … we’re always struggling to make sense of it and when you’re stuck in a house together with other people and you’re intentionally pursuing understanding of one another, you’re kind of forced to make sense of it a lot quicker and you’re also trying out more ways to make sense of it and i think that’s very helpful.” discussion and conclusion the interview data shed light on the survey results as it transpired that the lll participants are a self-selecting group – students who want to open themselves up to a diverse group of people and new experiences. this means that students who apply for the programme probably already have low levels of prejudice, bias and stereotyping. therefore their scores would not have changed much from the pre-test to the post-test. a further implication of this is that, for the programme to effect social change, it needs to be considerably expanded in order to include more students who may not necessarily share the ‘open-mindedness’ of the cohort involved in the study. as the group becomes less self-selecting, the potential for conflict will probably increase, which will require greater involvement by trained facilitators than is currently the case. our study has shown that the lll experience had a profound effect on the students who participated in the programme, and led to better self-understanding as well as 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 63–75 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2483 understanding and acceptance of ‘the other’. the programme has also equipped students with critical life skills which they would put to good effect in their role as change agents in a healing society. in this regard this study has broader application for other higher education institutions in diverse societies aiming at preparing global citizens for tomorrow. it also confirms the value added to holistic student development by the out-of-class experience, but such experiences should be based on sound theoretical perspectives, properly planned, sufficient resources should be made available for their effective implementation, and should be monitored to ascertain that intended outcomes are reached. references bandura, a. (2001). social cognitive theory: an agentic perspective. annual review of psychology, 52, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1 chang, m.j., milem, j.f. & antonio, a.l. (2011). campus climate and diversity. in: j.h. schuh, s.r. jones, s.r. harper & associates (eds.), student services: a handbook for the profession. san francisco: jossey-bass. doe (department of education). (1997). white paper 3. a programme for higher education transformation. pretoria: department of education. freire, paulo. (1972). pedagogy of the oppressed. montevideo: editorial tierra nueva. haber, p. (2011). peer education in student leadership programmes: responding to co-curricular challenges. new directions for student services, 133, 65–76. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.385 kloppers, p.w. director: centre for student communities, stellenbosch university. 2013. personal communication. 21 may, stellenbosch. kloppers, p.w. director: centre for student communities, stellenbosch university. 2016. personal communication. 29 july, stellenbosch. kloppers, p.w., dunn, m. & smorenburg, m. (2013). listening, living and learning at stellenbosch university: moving towards building healthy student communities. unpublished: stellenbosch university. komives, s.r., wagner, w. & associates. (2009). leadership for a better world: understanding the social change model of leadership development. san francisco: jossey-bass. leibowitz, b., rohleder, r., bozalek, v., carolissen, r. & swartz, l. (2007). ‘it doesn’t matter who or what we are, we are still just people’: strategies used by university students to negotiate difference. south african journal of psychology, 37(4), 702-719. https://doi.org/10.1177/008124630703700403 mdepa, w. & tshiwula, l. (2012). student diversity in south african higher education. widening participation and lifelong learning, 13, 20-33. https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.13.s.19 reeler, d. (2007). a three-fold theory of social change. the centre for developmental practice. roberts, d.r. (2007). deeper learning in leadership: helping college students find potential within. san francisco: jossey bass. soudien, c. (2014). inclusion, innovation and excellence: higher education in south africa and its role in social development. south african journal of higher education, 28(3), 907-922. wagner, w. (2009). what is social change? in: s. komives, w. wagner & associates (eds.). leadership for a better world: understanding the social change model of leadership development. san francisco: jossey-bass. walker, m. (2005a). race is nowhere and race is everywhere: narratives from black and white south african university students in post-apartheid south africa. british journal of sociology of education, 26(1), 41-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569042000292707 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1 https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.385 https://doi.org/10.1177/008124630703700403 https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.13.s.19 https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569042000292707 munita dunn-coetzee & magda fourie-malherbe: promoting social change amongst students ... 75 walker, m. (2005b). rainbow nation or new racism? theorizing race and identity formation in south african higher education. race, ethnicity and education, 8(2), 129-146. https://doi. org/10.1080/13613320500110501 watson, d., hollister, r., stroud, e. & babcock, e. (2011). the engaged university: international perspectives on civic engagement. new york: routledge. endnotes 1. student numbers are given according to race, as required by the department of higher education and training. ‘coloured’ depicts students of mixed race. african, coloured and indian/asian students constitute ‘black’ students, compared to ‘white’ students of european descent. 2. percentages do not in all cases add up to 100% due to missing responses. 3. according to respondents’ own perceptions. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320500110501 https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320500110501 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, v–vi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.98 www.jsaa.ac.za claudia frittelli preface a common refrain of western donors is that challenges of leadership, corruption and ethnicity are major elements hindering african development work. whether these dynamics are any less prevalent in the developed world is arguable. however, one indisputable factor is the african youth bulge with an estimated 20% of the world population to be african by 2050. how africa’s education systems nurture and accommodate the formative years will continue to affect mobility, peace and security globally.  with the premise that african universities have the responsibility to educate and train their countries’ political and academic leaders, carnegie corporation of new york embarked on a programme to revitalise african universities in 2000. one report flowing from the programme’s research component and entitled the university in africa and democratic citizenship: hothouse or training ground? concluded that ‘the potential of a university to act as a training ground for democratic citizenship is best realized by supporting students’ exercise of democratic leadership on campus. this in turn develops and fosters democratic leadership in civil society’. the report prompted a collaborative research project which led to the book student politics in africa: representation and activism and to this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa. the book provides a 21st-century baseline review of student governance, as well as its development, current structures and level of enforcement in a cross section of universities and countries in sub-saharan africa and indicates how student participation has evolved since the student movements of the 1960s. both the book and the journal issue provide evidence that the challenges of leadership, ethnic cleavages and good governance are already evident at the level of student leadership, often reflecting a national ethos influenced by political parties. this begs the question of how institutions might look if student governance was held to standards demanded by students themselves, thus changing the mindset graduates might take to their next institutional affiliations. vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, v–vi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.98 the issue ‘student power in africa’ of the journal of student affairs in africa and its companion publication, the book student politics in africa: representation and activism, are especially useful resources for administrators interested in the transformation of institutional cultures, and as an orientation for new student leaders. both publications are open access through a pioneering publisher, african minds, another by-product of the programme support.  student leadership is one of the principal entry points where youth experience institutional governance. vibrant universities engaged in innovative and often daring reform contribute to producing a new generation of leaders, an important route to transformative democratisation, reforming public policy and building civil society. this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa offers reflection on how that process could advance. claudia frittelli program officer, higher education and research in africa carnegie corporation of new york acknowledgement the issue ‘student power in africa’ of the journal of student affairs in africa was made possible with funding for the project student representation in higher education governance in africa received from carnegie corporation of new york, grant no. d14034. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, v–viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.1 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial student affairs in complex contexts birgit schreiber*, teboho moja** & thierry m. luescher*** while the western world – with brexit, trump, festung europa, and so forth – seems to be increasingly retreating into narrow nationalism, the journal of student affairs in africa is connecting african academics, executives and administrators and is becoming an evermore accessed international, african platform for publishing research on higher education and student affairs in africa. in this issue, we do not only publish several commentaries on the recent global summit of student affairs and services held in october 2016 at stellenbosch university, south africa. we also publish contributions from ethiopia alongside articles from australia, the usa, and universities in south africa (university of the free state, university of johannesburg). moreover, the first 2017 issue will be guest edited by colleagues from the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), which will look beyond the african continent with contributions from australia, canada, china, europe and america. dissatisfaction and frustration with political leaders have sent students pouring out into the streets, demanding free education in south africa, demanding an increase on higher education funding in ireland and protesting the presidential election outcome in the us. in the democratic republic of congo, the minister of higher education has ordered a freeze on fee increments following student protests, while in niger student protests have pushed the government to agree to provide additional funding for higher education. on the african continent, there are various challenges facing student affairs professionals, for example, providing support to students whose payments by the tanzania’s higher education student loan board (heslb) have been delayed due to administrative problems in providing correct student data and student results. in egypt, there is need to support students returning to institutional residential life at the al azhar seminary where the facility was closed for two years. there is need to support student affairs colleagues, academics and students in nigeria where unpaid salary increments threaten the educational project. higher education the world over requires our support in order to ensure that it survives these turbulences. unrest tends to focus our attention on crisis and survival, forces * executive director of student affairs, stellenbosch university. ** clinical professor for higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university. *** assistant director: institutional research, directorate for institutional research and academic planning, university of the free state. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, v–viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.1 discourses into binaries, essentialisms and absolutes. student affairs is a key role player in highlighting the complexities and creating safe spaces which engage divergent views, promote courageous conversations and counter the global trend of narrow nationalism and confrontation. violent unrest creates uncertainty and a retreat into the familiar which are symptoms of the narrow nationalism we see across the globe. the unrest derails the focus from substantive issues and focuses our attention on the ‘drama’. aggressive and bullying tactics overshadow the demands for accessible and equitable education and student affairs needs to assist our collective re-focus on putting pressure on the key issues: funding, access and equity. the global shift towards knowledge based economies has accelerated massification especially in africa; increasing intra-continental student and staff mobility and a privatisation and commercialisation of higher education. there is a complex interrelation between the political unrest within higher education and these trends: on the one hand, increasing student activism is a typical massification phenomenon; on the other hand, student and staff mobility, and privatisation, often have a contrary effect on student mobilisation for political action (see luescher, 2016). student affairs’ roles in this context are manifold; among them is to ensure that graduates will have benefited from the higher education experience – even in difficult times – as a personal transformation experience that enriches their personal, familial, communal and professional lives as fully formed critically constructive and engaged citizens. student affairs will need to anticipate and find innovative ways to adjust to the possible resulting shifts of increase in private higher education service providers and less overall funding. what lessons can be shared from professionals working in the field and what research agendas emerge from those experiences? the community at large, some political leadership, non-government organisations and in some cases labour unions have supported the issues around fees, affordability, the public-private good dimensions, access and equity. academics and university managers face the challenge of engaging students in a meaningful process when they are under tremendous stress and support services are limited, more especially so in african universities. this issue of jsaa publishes articles that reflect the complex context and the important role of student affairs in manifold ways. for instance, the massification of higher education, especially in developing country contexts, is typically accompanied by an increase in graduate unemployment. there are several reasons for this, including that graduate supply may outstrip the ability of the economy to grow and absorb graduates, the quality of graduates in general, and a skills mismatch between labour market demand and graduate output (altbach, 2011; reddy et al., 2016). student affairs has the potential to impact directly on the potential of graduates to find work opportunities in at least two ways: providing entrepreneurship training, and career guidance and counselling. the latter is often a marginal service provided by student affairs (and in some faculties) despite its importance. the research article by abera getachew (ambo university, ethiopia) and gobena daniel (addis ababa university, ethiopia) published in this issue precisely shows that career development is important for students to better understand their personal birgit schreiber, teboho moja & thierry m. luescher: student affairs in complex contexts vii values, clarify their goals and career choice direction, and improve their job searching skills, all of which improve their employability. this ties in with entrepreneurship and leadership training for students, engaging them in critical dialogue on social and economic issues that affect their responsiveness to community, national and global issues. their academic lives and social lives need to be interwoven more seamlessly in a comprehensive conception of personal transformation. our role as student affairs professionals also includes the identification of at-risk students and supporting them towards academic success. the massification of higher education increases the diversity of students overall and brings growing numbers of first generation students, rural and working class students, into the african higher education sector. mpho jama’s research with at-risk students in a south african medical school illustrates the ‘interwovenness’ of students’ academic and social lives whereby a student’s socio-economic background and harsh present realities may impact negatively on academic performance and, in turn, “poor academic performance can lead to an array of other social and psychological problems, such as withdrawal of bursaries; and the type of psychological problems, […] that some students experience” (see mpho jama’s article in this issue). razia mayet’s article focuses on the effectiveness of learning development interventions for at-risk students, particularly insofar as such interventions change students’ attitudes and confidence levels and help them to develop the competences necessary to succeed academically. both articles thus continue the topic of the previous jsaa issue (vol. 4 issue 1), which specifically focused on academic development, students’ transition to higher education and first-year experience. the professionalisation of student affairs, to which this journal seeks to actively contribute, is imperative in our context. initiatives, such as iasas’ peer mentoring programme for student affairs practitioners is therefore highly welcome (see eva-marie seeto’s article in this issue). against this, it also remains crucial to reflect on the diversity of pathways into the profession and how the professional identities of student affairs practitioners are shaped by formal and informal relationships with academic and administrative staff and students and reflective practice, along with formal professional training and development (see darren clarke’s reflective article in this regard). how do we as professionals make the choices we make and become involved in student affairs, and what narratives do we share that can strengthen what we do as professionals? the books reviewed in this issue focus on higher education leadership with specific focus on kenya (michieka, 2016, reviewed by claudia frittelli) and on the various strategies employed to understand conflict, especially higher education strategies with a focus on interfaith conflict (patel, 2012, reviewed by jon dalton). both books are uniquely relevant to our current context in terms of much needed leadership development and conflict resolution. the third book reviewed by thierry m. luescher revisits the ‘reitz incident’ of 2008 at the university of the free state (ufs) in south africa, which at the time sparked the establishment of the national ministerial committee on progress towards transformation and social cohesion and the elimination of discrimination in public higher education viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, v–viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.1 institutions. ‘reitz’ has come to be synonymous with persistent racism and transformation failure in south african higher education. the book transformation and legitimation in postapartheid universities: reading discourses from ‘reitz’ (2016, sun press) by j.c. van der merwe and dionne van reenen takes an in-depth look at the history, context and discourses of transformation at the ufs, residence cultures and ‘reitz’, and it thereby makes an important contribution to our understanding of the student experience of on-campus life, residence cultures and initiation practices, what is meant by ‘deep transformation’ in complex, transitional social contexts, and the pitfalls student affairs professionals and university leadership encounter in the process. finally, as we approach 2017, jsaa has moved from being an african minds ‘incubator journal’ to being a fully-fledged and ‘grown-up’ scholarly journal of note. jsaa was initiated in 2013 at the university of the western cape (uwc) by dr birgit schreiber, dr thierry m. luescher, prof. gerald ouma and ms tonia overmeyer. after initial discussions, prof. teboho moja came on board as editor-in-chief and lent her experience and expertise to the journal idea. in addition, the uwc deputy vice-chancellor for student affairs, prof. lulu tshiwula, gave her support as journal patroness at the time, and ms allison fullard, deputy director: uwc library, provided the technical know-how and ensured that jsaa would be hosted as the first fully open access journal of uwc on its newly created e-journals platform. starting with this issue, jsaa has become part of the stellenbosch university stable of e-journals, and is now hosted by the su library. in addition, the copy-editing and related production processes are now performed by african sun media. we are also happy to announce that starting from 2017, jsaa will be indexed in eric, the education resources information center online database maintained by the u.s. department of education. all jsaa issues starting with vol. 1 (2013) will be fully indexed and available full text from eric. we appreciate your continued interest in and support of jsaa and hope you will enjoy and benefit from the contributions published in this issue. references altbach, p.g. (2011). reforming higher education in the middle east – and elsewhere. international higher education, 64 (summer), 2–3. retrieved 14 december 2016 from http://ejournals.bc.edu/ ojs/index.php/ihe/article/view/8566/7699 luescher, t.m. (2016). student representation in a context of democratisation and massification in africa: analytical approaches, theoretical perspectives, and #rhodes must fall. in: t.m. luescher, m. klemenčič & o.j. jowi (eds.), student politics in africa: representation and activism. cape town and maputo: african minds. reddy, v., bhorat, h., powell, m., visser, m. & arends, f. (2016). skills supply and demand in south africa. pretoria: human sciences research council. http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/ihe/article/view/8566/7699 http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/ihe/article/view/8566/7699 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 93–96 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.52 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za manning, k., kinzie, j., & schuh, j. h. (2014). one size does not fit all: traditional and innovative models of student affairs practice. (2nd ed.). new york: routledge ellen m. broido* book review this book, an update of a 2007 edition, describes eleven models of student affairs practice, divided between ‘traditional’ and ‘innovative’ types. the authors, all respected scholars of student affairs and higher education, draw from several sources to describe and differentiate these models, including extensive historical and theoretical grounding, their own experience, and data from the national survey of student engagement (nsse) and the related deep (documenting effective educational practice) study, which described universities that had both higher than predicted nsse scores and graduation rates. the book is organised into four sections. the first contains chapters that introduce the book and its organisation, provide an overview of theories of engagement and the nsse and deep studies, and present a brief but detailed history of student affairs in the united states and how student affairs work has been organised. in the second and third sections the authors provide an overview of the 11 models of student affairs practice. each group of related models is grounded in its historical, philosophical, and/or theoretical context, defining features, and strengths and weaknesses. chapters conclude with discussion questions enabling readers to consider how their organisation embodies each model. the authors make clear that the models rarely exist in the pure types described in this text, and that multiple models may co-exist simultaneously in different offices or units of a student affairs division. in the second section, the authors discuss six ‘traditional’ models. these include two models focused on students’ out-of-class experience (extra-curricular and co-curricular); two administratively centred models (functional silos and student services); and two that are learning centred (comprehensive and adversarial and seamless learning). the authors also include typical organisational charts for each of these models, helping the reader to differentiate between similar models. in the extra-curricular model, student affairs staff are outside of and unrelated to the academic curriculum and function as administrators whose focus is students’ psychosocial development. in the co-curricular model, student affairs administrators see themselves as educators, working in parallel (but not in collaboration or conjunction) with faculty. * associate professor, higher education and student affairs, bowling green state university, usa. email: ebroido@bgsu.edu 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 93–96 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.52 administrative models have a focus on fiscal management, strategic planning and retention, rather than student development or learning. the authors describe the functional silos model as decreasing student engagement and therefore to be avoided. the student services model meets the transactional needs of students in convenient, accessible ways that can heighten students’ satisfaction with the institution. learning-centred traditional models are presented as either competitive and adversarial or student learning-focused. the competitive and adversarial model is not actually competitive or adversarial to academics, but operates independent of the academic mission, lacking coordination or collaboration with faculty or academic affairs. the authors also recommend avoiding this model. by contrast, in the student learning model every university employee “can contribute to student learning” (p. 124); students affairs units in this model often report to the senior academic officer, rather than to the president. in the third section of the book the authors introduce five “innovative” models, three student-centered models (ethic of care, student-driven, student agency) and two academic-centered models (academic-student affairs collaboration and academicdriven). in the ethic of care model, students are presumed to have deficits (in academic or social preparation, finances, or self-concept) that student affairs professionals remediate through individualised interactions. by contrast, the student-driven and student agency models presume a high level of student skill and initiative, and policies are designed to increase student engagement. in the student agency model students take “[full] responsibility for student life and perform as full, equal partners with faculty and staff in their efforts” (p. 145). the two academic-centered innovative models are academic-student affairs collaborative model and the academic-driven model. the collaborative model is discussed in detail and has more examples than other models in this book. grounded in calls for student affairs engagement in students’ learning, student affairs organisations embodying the collaborative model are tightly coupled with faculty, and the relationship between student and academic affairs is based on mutual respect and understanding and shared responsibility for many programmes and services. in the academic-driven model, students and faculty generate most programming, with student affairs in a secondary, supportive role. the authors do not clearly identify what makes these models innovative, other than being new. the authors claim that both student-centered and academic-centered models work best at institutions that are “small, private, not-for-profit [and] quite selective” (p. 153), meaning most institutions must use traditional models. the final two chapters of the book are new to this edition, the first focusing on theories and causes of organisational change and the second outlining specific ways in which student affairs units might reframe their work, particularly using assessment to bring human, financial, and physical resources (facilities) into alignment with the institutions’ missions and changing student bodies. the greatest utility of this book to practitioners lies in the discussion questions at the end of each chapter, the book’s ability to expand readers’ conceptualisation of their ellen m. broido: one size does not f it all: traditional and innovative models of student affairs practice 95 work, and the final assessment instrument, which allows readers to rate their organisation’s demonstrations of features of each of the 11 models. all of these will let readers consider the ways in which each model is evident at their institution and the implications of each model for their unique organisational dynamics and student body. the book’s strong grounding in student affairs history in the usa and theory will provide a basic introduction to those unfamiliar with the topic. the book would benefit from a clearer definition of the concept of a model, more examples linked to real and named institutions, and more information about how much the innovative models are hypothetical and how much they exist as described. greater attention to how the traditional models evident at the vast majority of universities can support the engagement and graduation of their students would also strengthen the text. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 65–68 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.137 www.jsaa.ac.za a reading list for practitioners and scholars of student affairs in africa compiled by tom ellet*, birgit schreiber** and travis t. york*** * dr tom ellet is senior associate vice president for student affairs, new york university ** dr birgit schreiber is senior director student affairs: stellenbosch university *** prof. travis t. york is assistant professor of higher education, valdosta state university † denotes repeats. edited for accuracy by kgalaleo leeuw and thierry m. luescher dr tom ellet’s reading list boyer, e. (1987). college: the undergraduate experience in america. new york: harper & row. kramer, g. & associates. (2007). fostering student success in the campus community. san francisco: josseybass. kuh, g. (2009). understanding campus environments. in mcclellan, g.s., stringer, j. & associates (eds.), the handbook of student affairs administration. san francisco: jossey-bass. kuh, g.d., schuh, j.h., whitt, e.j., andreas, r.e., lyons, j.w., strange, c.c., krehbiel, l.e. & mackay, k.a.  (1991). involving colleges: successful approaches to fostering student learning and development outside the classroom. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. †mcclellan, g. & stringer, j. (2009). the handbook of student affairs administration. new jersey: wiley. mcdonald, w.m. & associates. (2002). creating campus community: in search of ernest boyer’s legacy. san francisco: jossey-bass. strange, c. & banning, j. (2001).  educating by design: creating campus environments that work. san francisco: jossey-bass. winston, r. & creamer, d. (1997). improving staffing practices in student affairs. san francisco: jossey-bass. zdziarski, e.l. (2008). campus crisis management: a comprehensive guide to planning, prevention, response, and recovery. new jersey: wiley. important internet texts: acpa statement of ethical principles and standards. go to link:  http://www.acpa.nche.edu/sites/ default/files/ethical_principles_standards.pdf acpa: professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners: rubrics for professional development. go to link:  http://www.acpa.nche.edu/sites/default/files/professional-comprubrics.pdf 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 101–104 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.137 dr birgit schreiber’s reading list bohrat, h., mayet, n. & visser, m. (2010). student graduation, labour market destinations and employment earnings. in letseka, m., cosser, m., breier, m. & visser, m. (eds), student retention and graduate destination: higher education and labour market access and success, pp. 97–118. cape town: hsrc press. cilliers, c., pretorius, k. & van der westhuizen, l. (2010). a national benchmarking survey of student counselling centres/units in south africa. south african journal of higher education, 24(1), 48–65. ellis, s. (2009). diversity and inclusivity at university: a survey of the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) students in the uk. higher education, 57(6), 723–739. fang, h. & wu, w. (2006). the professional and academic trends of student affairs in american universities – in the perspective of evolution of relationship between student affairs and academic affairs. comparative education review, 49(1), 83–124. hirt, j. (2006). where you work matters: student affairs administration at different types of institutions. lanham, md: university press of america. lumadi, t. & mampuru, k. (2010). managing change in the student affairs division of higher education. south african journal of higher education, 24(5), 716–729. lunceford, c. (2006). restructuring student affairs in higher education: understanding the role of students in organizational change. phd dissertation, michigan state university, usa. †manning, j., kinzie, j. & schuh, j. (2006). one size does not fit all: traditional and innovative models of student affairs practice. new york: taylor & francis. morrison, j., brand, h. & cilliers, c. (2006). assessing the impact of student counselling service centres at tertiary education institutions: how should it be approached? south african journal of higher education, 20(5), 655–678. schuh, j., jones, s. & harper, s. (2010). student services: a handbook for the profession. san francisco, ca: john wiley & sons. strayhorn, t. (2006). frameworks for assessing learning and development outcomes. council for the advancement of standards in higher education. washington, dc: library of congress cataloguing-in-publication data. pascarella, e. & terenzini, p. (2005). how college affects students: a third decade of research (vol. 2). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. prof. travis york’s reading list ardoin, s. (2014). the strategic guide to shaping your student affairs career. sterling: stylus publishing. barr, m.j., mcclellan, g. & sandeen, a. (2014). making change happen in student affairs: challenges and strategies for professionals. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass dewey, j. (1938). experience and education. united states: kappa delta pi. guthrie, d.s. (1997). student affairs reconsidered: a christian view of the profession and its contexts. new york: university press of america. (note: though this text is geared for student affairs professionals at faith-based institutions, it has incredibly rich conversations about the nature of student affairs that extend beyond any particular faith. there is also an excellent discussion of worldview and values within our profession as well as a very nice, but brief, exploration of the history of student affairs.) hatfield, l.j. & wise, v.l. (2015). a guide to becoming a scholarly practitioner in student affairs. sterling: stylus publishing. tom ellet, birgit schreiber & travis t. york: a reading list for practitioners and scholars of student affairs in africa 67 lake, p.f. (2011). foundations of higher education law and policy: basic legal rules, concepts, and principles for student affairs. washington, dc: naspa. †manning, k., kinzie, j. & schuh, j.h. (2013). one size does not fit all: traditional and innovative models of student affairs practice (2nd ed.). new york: routledge.*mcclellan, g. & stringer, j. (2009). the handbook of student affairs administrators (3rd ed.). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass quaye, s.j. & harper, s.r. (2015).  student engagement in higher education: theoretical perspectives and practical approaches for diverse populations (2nd ed.). london: routledge. schroeder, c.c. & mable, p. (1994). realizing the educational potential of residence halls. los angeles, ca: jossey-bass journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 29 www.jsaa.ac.za research article the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses jacques laubscher* * prof. jacques laubscher is a professor and head of thedepartment of architecture,tshwane university of technology, south africa. email: laubscherj@tut.ac.za abstract higher education in south africa is experiencing a time of accelerated change, increasing complexity, contested knowledge claims and inevitable uncertainty. academia, and by proxy the place which accommodates the academic function, stand central to this debate. the need for a decolonised curriculum on the african continent dates back to the inauguration of the association of african universities (aau) in 1967. the aau called for the adherence to world academic standards in the service of africa and its people. the #feesmustfall (#fmf) movement placed renewed prominence on the necessity of a curriculum that includes indigenous knowledge systems (iks). in spatial terms, the kgotla forms part of the iks. the kgotla represents both a meaningful place and a system of communication. the spatial construct surrounding the #fmf movement lacks interrogation and debate. this article highlights the requirement of a meaningful place on south african university campuses where different voices can be heard. the importance of place is analysed at the hand of two #fmf events. firstly, the principal of the university of the witwatersrand (wits) sitting down to meet with disgruntled students. secondly, the president of south africa leaving protestors in wait on the southern terrace of the union buildings. this article concludes by stating the need for a place on south african university campuses to address the complex issues facing not only students but society at large. keywords campus design; #fmf, higher education; kgotla; meaningful place space and place the seminal publication by yi‑fu tuan (1977), space and place – the perspective of experience explores how individuals feel and think about place and space. tuan (1977) suggests that place is security and space is freedom, and that humankind is attached to the one (place) while longing for the other (freedom). similarly, heidegger (1971) distinguishes between building and dwelling, where ‘building’ serves as a means to support humankind’s ‘dwelling’. temple (2018, p. 133) emphasises the intimate relationship between “the physical form of a higher education institution and its effectiveness as a site for teaching, learning, scholarship and research”. temple states that the connection needs to be interrogated using the concepts of space and place. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:laubscherj%40tut.ac.za?subject= 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 developing the term a “placeful” university, nørgård and bengtsen (2016, p. 5) argue that “universities must offer spaces where citizenship can develop and let academics dwell”. nørgård and bengtsen (2016, p. 6) state that a university only becomes meaningful once it is more than a space where access to knowledge and education is provided. according to nørgård and bengtsen (2016, p. 6), “campus areas and buildings, are central sites that can or cannot invite dwelling within education. as such, architects and designers of academic space, as well as stakeholders, decision‑makers and front runners of that space, must safeguard that the university as spatial layout promotes academic virtues, place‑making and dwelling.” in the context of south african higher education, this responsibility is largely ignored by designers and decision makers. pertinent historical aspects of education in africa a former president of south africa, the hon. thabo mbeki, expressed the vision of a developmental university for africa embracing of african indigenous knowledge systems (iks) (mbeki, 2006). this idea needs to be put in context by referring to pertinent historical events. the freedom charter of the congress of the people was adopted at kliptown, johannesburg on 25 and 26 june 1955. under the heading, ‘the doors of learning and of culture shall be opened!’, the freedom charter states: … education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit … (congress of the people, 1955) the freedom charter should be regarded within contextual developments on the african continent. on 3  february  1960, harold macmillian (then the u.k. prime minister) addressed the south african parliament, repeating an earlier address made in accra, ghana, on 10 january 1960 (salazar & syndercombe, 2011). macmillian had spent approximately a month in africa touring the then british colonies and protectorates. this historically significant address signalled the u.k. government’s position on african independence. macmillan said: the wind of change is blowing through this continent. whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. (salazar & syndercombe, 2011, p. 39) macmillian also made an apparent reference to apartheid policy, stating: as a fellow member of the commonwealth it is our earnest desire to give south africa our support and encouragement, but i hope you won’t mind my saying frankly that there are some aspects of your policies which make it impossible for us to do this without being false to our own deep convictions about the political destinies of free men to which in our own territories we are trying to give effect. (salazar & syndercombe, 2011, p. 34) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 jacques laubscher: the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses 31 various other european states shared the british approach to the independence of african countries. during this time, independence from colonial powers made a significant contribution to the emerging ‘development’ discourse. according to cloete and maassen (2015, p. 7), 1960 was “heralded as the ‘year of africa’ and the beginning of the so‑called ‘development decade’” for the african continent. 1960 became an important milestone in african higher education. within the african political arena, […] 17 african countries gained independence, and 13 others were to become independent states a few years later. the sudden collapse of the edifice of colonialism and emergence of the political kingdom triggered even greater expectations and demands, not only for the total elimination of the vestiges of foreign rule from the rest of the continent but also for the liberation of the masses of people from disease, poverty and ignorance. (banya & elu, 2001, p. 2) following the departure of the erstwhile colonial powers, it was expected that africa’s new national universities would produce a new generation of human resources addressing the actual needs of the country. the requirements of the professions and the bureaucracy were significant. “this was to redress the acute shortages in these areas as a result of the gross underdevelopment of universities during colonialism and the departure of colonial administrators following independence” (cloete et al., 2015, p. 18). the ‘development of higher education in africa’ was the theme of a unesco conference held during september 1962 (cloete & maassen, 2015, p. 7). following this conference, and various meetings and consultations, the association of african universities (aau) was formally inaugurated in rabat in 1967 (yesufu, 1973). figure 1 presents the preamble to the constitution of the aau, stating the adherence to world academic standards in the service of africa and its people. we the heads of universities and university institutions of higher education throughout the african continent; aware that many of the problems encountered can be solved by developing a system under which there is effective co-operation and consultation among the institutions concerned; conscious of the role of african universities to maintain an adherence and loyalty to world academic standards, and to evolve over the years a pattern of higher education in the service of africa and its peoples, yet promoting a bond of kinship to the larger human society: have resolved to establish a corporate body to achieve our aims and objectives in harmony with the spirit of the organization of african unity. figure 1: the preamble to the constitution of the aau (source: yesufu, 1973, p. 81) 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 it is in the light of these simple but challenging words that the association has proceeded to identify and formulate a new philosophy of higher, particularly university, education for africa, in the hope of evolving institutions that are not only built, owned and sited in africa, but are of africa, drawing their inspiration from africa, and intelligently dedicated to her ideals and aspirations. (yesufu, 1973, p. 82) in july 1972, the aau held a workshop in accra, ghana, focusing on the role of the african university (cloete & maassen, 2015, p. 7). the accra workshop was attended by academics and various other leaders to define the african university. yesufu (1973, p. 81) provides the following summary: “at every stage, the workshop made constant calls and appeals to the association of african universities to provide effective leadership in the cause of transforming universities in africa into truly indigenous institutions.” according to mtembu (2004, p. 284), the accra workshop emphasised relevance, engagement, and service to africa’s environment and socioeconomic conditions and needs. mtembu (2004, p. 284) further argues that this should be the cornerstone of african universities. the university on the african continent, as developed by the aau and described during the accra workshop, strongly aligns with mbeki’s (2006) notion of universities on the continent embracing african iks. iks extends to the making of a meaningful place. the importance of place‑making and dwelling on university campuses is acknowledged in the works of yi‑fu tuan (1977), heidegger (1971), temple  (2018) and nørgård and bengtsen (2016). the spatial construct forms part of iks, specifically in the form of the kgotla that is still used in modern‑day botswana. the kgotla represents both a meaningful place and a system of communication. the following section explores the kgotla in more detail with the aim of juxtaposing it to recent student unrest in south africa. the kgotla in botswana, the kgotla is the traditional village meeting place, a place where one can listen and where your voice can also be heard. it serves as a space for a customary court, public meeting or community council. in essence, all issues concerning a community are brought to the kgotla, where individuals are encouraged to speak openly and freely. the central notion to the kgotla is mmualebe o a bo a bua la gagwe, translated from setswana as “everyone has the right to voice their opinion” (ashworth & ashworth, 2019). tolerance and freedom of expression are encouraged between people with different views. the system advocates the idea that ntwa kgolo ke ya molomo, or “no fight should become physical; the fiercest of fights is verbal”. (ashworth & ashworth, 2019) the kgotla consists of two distinctive components. firstly, the democratic process and secondly, the physical place or destination. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 jacques laubscher: the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses 33 a. discourse in the kgotla conflict is inevitable amongst communities. the way conflict is dealt with and subsequent reactions contribute to how the events unfold. the result could be the prevention or escalation of further conflict. efforts to reduce possible escalation should actively be sought. despite its shortcomings, various scholars describe botswana’s democracy as being exemplary on the african continent (holm, 1996; doorenspleet, 2003; molomo,  2003). according to the background note prepared by the u.s. department of state (2007) on botswana, “botswana has a flourishing multiparty constitutional democracy. each of the elections since independence has been freely and fairly contested and has been held on schedule. the country’s minority groups participate freely in the political process”. the background note further states that “[t]he roots of botswana’s democracy lie in setswana traditions, exemplified by the kgotla, or village council, in which the powers of traditional leaders are limited by custom and law”. the botswana government views the kgotla system as an essential key to governance. in 2016, frans van der westhuizen, the then assistant minister of local government and rural development of botswana stated, “the kgotla continues to provide a platform for consultations on various issues such as development, governance and any other issues of national importance” (botswana, 2016). the ministerial statement described the kgotla as “a repository for culture, customs and tradition … where important values are passed on to the younger generation” (botswana, 2016). on an institutional level, the kgotla is vital in addressing conflict within and between communities. this institution facilitates liaison between the government and community while promoting interaction and socialisation between the community members. all forms of engagements and proceedings are based on fundamental human values of civility, respect and inclusiveness. restorative justice is another principle practised in the kgotla. in essence, parties collectively resolve how to deal with the aftermath of an offence and its future implications. “[t]he kgotla is not forced on people. in many circumstances, the chief or jury would try to provide advice. people at conflict are often given a chance to talk to each other” (moumakwa, 2010, p. 71). respect for the jury during the conversation is an important part of the interaction between the respective parties. the kgotla underscores democratic values, freedom of speech and expression, while open discussion in everyone’s presence is facilitated (moumakwa, 2010, p. 76‑77). a meaningful place stands central to this idea, and the term kgotla defines a meeting place allowing individuals to exercise their democratic rights. meaning is assigned to the kgotla because it serves as “a forum for policy formulations, decision making, including political and economic developmental activities and judiciary on litigations” (moumakwa, 2010, p. 11). 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 b. a place for discussion sebitla (2018) explains the association between symbolic order and built artefact in defining the kgotla. the form of the kgotla can support, encourage and strengthen multiple human interactions (sebitla, 2018, p. 2). the floor, walls and roof of the kgotla provide a specific kind of spatial fabric and enclosure. figure 2 illustrates the spatial construct of the kgotla in its context. figure 2: a circa 1700 ce photo illustrating a meeting underway in a kgotla (source: image adapted by author from ravenscroft, n.d.) various scholars have studied the physical attributes of the kgotla. fewster (2006) refers to the significance of the spatial relationships between the main entrance, the location of the residence of the head person, the cattle kraal and kraal gate. according to sebitla (2018, p. 94), the physical environment of the kgotla serves as a map for the societal roles of the community it serves. research by sebitla (2018, p. 197) demonstrates the evolvement of different spatial relationships between the kgotla, courtyard and cattle kraal. the use of alternative materials, such as brick and mortar walls replacing the wooden enclosure, is accepted as structural elements defining the shared environment. figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate the different materials used to form the boundary and define the space of the kgotla. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 jacques laubscher: the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses 35 figure 3: the open space of the kgotla with the trees in the background and the tightly placed wooden stick fence surrounding it (source: sebitla, 2018, pp. 101, 145) figure 4: a stone and mortar wall used to form the barrier of the kgotla (source: sebitla, 2018, p. 146) figure 5: a low-rise masonry wall is used to define the open area with a thatched structure for the elders in a modern-day kgotla (source: moumakwa, 2010, pp. [i], 52) 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 the kgotla as a meeting place for robust debate and discussion could be used effectively as a spatial mediator. the kgotla serves as a place for discussion and debate. it establishes a distinct relationship between structure and place, contributing directly to democratic activity within a specific community. the traditional kgotla was an open space situated next to a cattle kraal, near to the residence of the head person. traditionally, the open area of the kgotla was enclosed with a wooden stick fence. although the materials used to make the enclosure changed over time, the meaning associated with the defined place remained intact. the function of the kgotla as a public forum remained, while the proceedings evolved to become more inclusive. the following section explores whether south african university campuses provide spaces for sharing, collaboration and the exchange of ideas. campus maps and the kgotla a desk survey was conducted to determine if any of the 26 public universities in south africa provide places to accommodate the functions of a kgotla. for this purpose, a list compiled by the department of higher education and training (2019), with the contact details of the respective universities, was used. the official website of each university was searched using the following keywords: • campus map; • campus buildings; and • infrastructure. all the universities have some form of a campus map, using either site plans or three‑ dimensional representations to illustrate the campus layout. this is mostly used to communicate physical infrastructure and its associated functions. figure 6 is a typical example of an infrastructural map of the hatfield campus of the university of pretoria (up). figure 7 shows the sunnyside campus of the university of south africa (unisa) with a three‑dimensional illustration. the ideal of a “placeful” university, as described by nørgård and bengtsen, is not evident in figures 6 and 7. similarly, no evidence of a kgotla is visible in either figures 6 or 7. although similar facilities might exist, no specific reference is made to them. following the desk review, it was concluded that few south african university campuses refer specifically to spaces facilitating vigorous discussion and interaction. a kgotla, or a similar iks meeting place, was found lacking on most of the published campus plans and three‑ dimensional illustrations. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 jacques laubscher: the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses 37 figure 6: site layout of the hatfield campus of up (source: university of pretoria, 2019) figure 7: site layout of the sunnyside campus of unisa (source: university of south africa, 2019) 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 one notable exception is the campus of the sol plaatje university (spu) in kimberley. the spatial planning of this newly established university, opened in 2014, included the design of “public spaces, squares and parks to facilitate the occurrence of public meetings, events and exhibitions, and thus maximizing sites for exchange” (sol plaatje university, 2019). these modern‑day functions align closely with the ideals of a kgotla and a “placeful” university as illustrated in figure 8. figure 8: the sol plaatje university campus in context of kimberley (source: sol plaatje university, 2019) the official spu website discusses issues surrounding 21st century campus design and architecture. (sol plaatje university, 2019) amongst others, the following pertinent aspects are listed: • the campus’s integration with its host city, • shared space as a driver for the campus plan; and • collaboration and exchange of ideas. to facilitate much‑needed interaction on university campuses, meaningful places have to be designed, constructed and maintained. unfortunately, limited resources for infrastructural development remain a significant stumbling block to achieve this ideal. the establishment of south africa’s first two new institutions of higher learning since 1994, spu and the university of mpumalanga, required an infrastructure investment programme of r1,5 billion (sol plaatje university, 2019). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 jacques laubscher: the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses 39 real-world challenges according to the official report, titled student enrolment planning in public higher education for south africa, “… the higher education system has grown more rapidly than the available resources. the resultant shortfall in funding has put severe pressure on institutional infrastructure and personnel, thus compromising the ability of higher education institutions to discharge their teaching and research mandate. (education, 2005, p. 3). wolhuter and wiseman (2013, pp. 3, 14, 16) state significant challenges faced by existing universities in africa include poor infrastructure as well as isolation from surrounding society and communities. muller (2016) argues that “the number of first‑time undergraduates entering south africa’s universities per year grew from 64,000 (excluding north‑west university due to unavailable data) to 158,000” between 1995 and 2014. during the same period, “[t]he total number of students enrolled increased from 380 000 to 980 000 (muller, 2016). the exponential growth in student numbers inevitably had to lead to some form of catharsis. the south african context of diminishing resources and the perceived disassociation of universities from the societies they serve, contributed to the frustrations of students being personified in fallism. fallism in 2015 in 2015, two student protest movements converged, culminating in the most significant student protest actions since 1994 (pillay, 2016). the 21‑year‑old south african democracy saw the first group of students marching directly to the seat of parliament. this march originated from disregarded criticism against the curriculum content and visible colonial symbols on the campus of the university of cape town (uct). these seeds of discontent were formalised under the social media banner #rhodesmustfall (#rmf) (roy & nilsen, 2016). although the first mention of #feesmustfall (#fmf) on twitter was made by @skumbuzotuswa on 21 march 2015 (wessels, 2017, p. 68), the movement gained significant momentum in october of 2015, some 1200km to the north of #rmf. after months of deliberations, the chief financial officer (cfo) of wits communicated a 10.5% increase in the average 2016 tuition fees (jarvis, 2015). this sparked a revolution reminiscent of the 1976 soweto uprisings. subsequently, students of all races united in their demand for free, decolonised and quality higher education. the vociferous demands from increasingly militant students were initially met with antagonism. at the time, the then president of south africa, the hon. mr jacob zuma, commanded universities to control the students by stating that “[w]here such unacceptable violent behaviours occur, institutional management must take firm action in line with the law and their respective policies and rules (maromo, 2015, p. 3). as a result, scenes from apartheid south africa replayed themselves across south african university campuses (wessels, 2017, p. 24). 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 the 2017 master’s dissertation titled #feesmustfall: discourse hidden in plain sight, by wessels studies the tweets posted on twitter using different hashtags relating to #rmf and #fmf. wessels (2017, p. 61) concludes that the hashtags were used 62 741 times. according to wessels (2017, p. 41), the available data indicates the following (author’s emphasis): – the suppressed reality that colonial domination imposes on public space; – how that domination transcends public space and has also transcended time (i.e. social changes in history) through hegemonic social practices; – the effect colonial domination poses on the collective memory and realities burdening sa society’s subaltern to date. in the following section, two pertinent #fmf events are evaluated against the sub‑themes of place and space. it is explored at the hand of engagement and boundaries to show how it could contribute to different outcomes. personal engagement without spatial boundaries the events following the announcement of the 10.5% tuition fee increase by the cfo of wits received extensive media coverage. the reporting included images of senior management at wits sitting with students. these photographs are particularly powerful in showcasing efforts being made towards personal engagement with boundaries. on 16 october 2015, the principal of wits, prof. adam habib, returned from the higher education conference on transformation (convened by the then higher education and training minister, dr blade nzimande, in durban) (makathile, 2015). the aim of the conference was to address “the concerns of the students regarding the proposed fee increases next year” (makathile, 2015). once back in johannesburg, habib rushed to the great hall of wits to meet both deputy vice‑chancellor andrew crouch and a large group of disgruntled students (morrissey et al., 2015). different versions of the ensuing events are told. an online newspaper report, titled habib held hostage by students, states “[h]undreds of protesting students vowed to stay the night, with professor adam habib ‘detained’ alongside them, till executive council chairman, dr randall carolissen, arrived on campus to address them …” (morrissey et al., 2015). the headline of a separate article, by the same online publication, states that wits prof denies being held hostage (makathile, 2015). using ten photographs, a photographic essay, titled pics: chaos at #witsfeeswillfall protest, tells the same story (mokati, 2015). while one image (figure 9) provides context to the assembled congregation in the great hall of senate house, three photographs in particular (figure 10) show habib sitting on the floor amongst the students. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 jacques laubscher: the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses 41 figure 9: students are gathering in the great hall of senate house at wits. (photograph: paballo thekiso) (source: mokati, 2015) figure 10: wits university principal and vice-chancellor, prof. adam habib, engaging with protesting students (photographs: paballo thekiso) (source: mokati, 2015) when studying the three photographs in figure 10 carefully, it portrays the removal of several barriers and fences. the restrictions include that of authority, age, economic status, social and legal standing, amongst others. the result is facilitating debate, albeit in a then hostile environment on emotionally charged themes. the photographs illustrate how a place (and the forms of interaction being facilitated in that particular space) can become an important aspect to assist in being heard. the removal of barriers and fences between a university principal and the students ultimately lead to those present being heard in one way or another. this highlights the importance of the spatial realm and layout of university campuses. it leads to a critical question: where are the designated (and sensitively designed) spaces on campuses that facilitate robust debate? 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 spatial boundaries and distanced engagement during the following week, the #fmf movement had grown exponentially in its vocabulary and modes of protest. the climax was set to play out on the lawns of the union buildings in pretoria. when the students, parents and other supporters arrived at the union buildings on 23 october 2015, they were restricted to the lower terrace of the southern lawns. a makeshift fence was erected to keep the arriving protestors out. behind the fence, a podium was erected from which a presidential announcement was expected at noon. figure 11 depicts an saps special task force member looking over the statue of madiba and the white podium to the assembly of students on the lower terrace of the union buildings. figure 11: a member of the saps special task force looking over the statue of madiba to the assembly of students on the lower terrace of the union buildings. (photograph: twitter.com/nickolausbauer) (source: sim, 2015) the group waited for a reply to their demands from the president, mr jacob zuma, while he was meeting with ministers and student representatives over the issues raised by the #fmf movement. the gathering became increasingly restless while they waited. at the front of the fence, a minority overshadowed the group who had been protesting peacefully. this group was antagonising members of the sa police services (saps). after the barrier was torn down, stones, bricks and other objects were hurled at both the saps and the media reporting from behind the fence. in response, the saps used stun grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets and a water cannon to disperse the crowd. just after 3.00 pm, the president announced the 0% fee increase for 2016 using national tv. the announcement did not address the actual demand for free education under #fmf, but it assisted in defusing the immediate situation. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 jacques laubscher: the kgotla as a spatial mediator on south african university campuses 43 the spatial restriction, the distanced podium and waiting period contributed towards the restlessness of the crowd and the ensuing violence. on 23 october 2015, the podium at the union buildings was never used. in this instance, the students (amongst others) had to accept distanced engagement. the need to start talking during the 2015 #rmf and #fmf movements, students often expressed their anger by damaging physical property. this included the destruction of artefacts, buildings and surrounding spaces. although south africa is known for violent protests, often accompanied by damage to property, the anger and its subsequent ventilation might be endemic to the feeling of not being heard. the need for places where one can be heard is becoming increasingly critical. these places should be established on both university campuses and in south africa at large. writing in her own capacity, lubna nadvi (2019), based in the school of social sciences at university of kwazulu‑natal, suggests, “let’s stop the violence on campuses and start talking” in a pretoria news article. navdi (2019) makes the following pragmatic suggestions for: … university assemblies being called where all can speak freely and openly about their issues and not be afraid or silenced. such open conversations will allow for solutions to emerge organically and not be held hostage to “negotiations” between representatives of groups which may never see any fruitful outcome or be stalled indefinitely. lubna nadvi (2019) also argues that universities and associated tertiary institutions receiving government funding are all public spaces. as such, these spaces should “remain safe, accessible and conducive to teaching and learning and not become militarised war zones” (nadvi, 2019). according to navdi (2019), it is necessary to “talk to one another as members of a university community who want the best solutions to the problems which face us collectively”. this requires access to a place facilitating the debate. universities should provide space “that invites and promotes openness, dialogue, democracy, mutual integration, care and joint responsibility (nørgård & bengtsen, 2016, p. 4). conclusion architecture can serve as a mediator giving identity to place through the spatial construct while addressing the needs of future generations. buildings mostly outlast their designers. prospective users often assign new functions and meaning to what was once a stable environment to a previous community. herein lies the challenge, not only for the current designer but also for the future user. the current occupant and on‑looker assign meaning, but the purpose of a particular space remains charged through past lived experiences. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 the kgotla is a spatial construct originating from iks. the kgotla could be introduced on existing south african university campuses as a place to facilitate mediation. the space should promote dialogue, democracy, assimilation, care and collective accountability. to become a meaningful place, the social construct of the kgotla needs the support of the entire university community. future studies on how the users of university campuses perceive and experience the built artefact are necessary. the built artefact and its surrounding places and spaces undoubtedly contribute to the lived experience. these experiences should be investigated on campuses across south africa. ideally, the investigations should focus on personal reality and how it could aid in infrastructural design and precinct plans for university campuses on the african continent. references ashworth, g. & ashworth, m. 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https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3691 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 83–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.56 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za a critical feminist approach to social inclusion and citizenship in the context of the co-curriculum ronelle carolissen* co-curriculum seminar 2014 * clinical psychologist, associate professor of community psychology, university of stellenbosch, south africa. email: rlc2@sun.ac.za abstract issues of social inclusion and difference within the co-curriculum are crucial. this article draws on themes central to a critical feminist framework of social inclusion and citizenship in he to argue that the way in which co-curricular opportunities are traditionally structured at universities may exclude those students who are marginalised. it also suggests how we may minimise institutional, cultural and economic discrimination, thus giving most students an opportunity to flourish. keywords social inclusion, critical feminist citizenship, co-curriculum, higher education, first generation students. introduction social inclusion in higher education (he) typically refers to enabling better access, participation and success of groups such as women, black people, working classes or people with disabilities who have been socially, historically and politically excluded (tomlinson & basit, 2012). this is also a conception of social inclusion adhered to in the recently published south african white paper on post-school education and training (department of higher education and training, 2014). it is important though to engage with the notion of inclusion more comprehensively, incorporating issues of difference in pedagogical practices, curricula and institutional ethos as well. in this article i would like briefly to consider the notion of social inclusion through a critical lens and use an understanding of social inclusion that incorporates core notions of critical citizenship before focusing on feminist frameworks to discuss the co-curriculum in he. while such definitions of social inclusion may be helpful, it is important to recognise that the very notion of inclusion has attracted critique. young (2002) argues that inclusion can maintain the status quo when marginalised groups are merely incorporated into established institutions without the hegemonic dominance of those institutions being challenged. an inclusive politics, therefore, is not assimilationist – it is one that engages in 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 83–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.56 a “transversal politics of belonging” (yuval davis, 2011) that focuses on common values and political symbolism, rather than identification. this means that identifications will not be formed on the basis of similar socially constructed (and unitary identity) features such as gender or race only. for both of these theorists, social inclusion means that collective action is constructed from the perspective of common epistemologies and understandings rather than from identity politics. while the discourses surrounding inclusion can therefore be paradoxical in terms of its compelling moral imperative and political promise of institutional policy change, they have also been infused with strong undercurrents of critical citizenship (spandler, 2007). the south african he policy context foregrounds citizenship as a desirable outcome of he. education white paper 3 aims that he should socialise students to become “enlightened, responsible and constructively critical citizens” (department of education, 1997). bozalek and carolissen (2012) construct a normative framework for analysing feminist critical citizenship in higher education that can be used to think about the co-curriculum in higher education. they argue that th marshall (1950) is commonly used as a historical reference point for discussions on citizenship. he suggests that work in public spaces determines citizenship. his ideas of citizenship rest on the patriarchal assumption that men were citizens as they worked outside the home, while women stayed at home. women worked in the private space of the home so they were not considered full citizens because citizenship depended on the measure of how hard people could work in the public sphere. this view has been critiqued by feminist writers (tronto, 1993, 2013). bozalek and carolissen (2012) highlight some of the shared themes in some feminist writers’ work. this paper will focus on themes of the constructions of human beings as citizens, the politics of needs interpretation and the public–private binary in the context of the co-curriculum after briefly defining the co-curriculum. what is the co-curriculum? one view is that co-curricular activities refer to any non-academic activities in which students engage. these activities typically include sports, societies, part-time work, volunteering, participation in student government as well as other leadership initiatives, which focus on self-development as well as psychosocial development (kuh, 1995; 2009). co-curricular activities are usually external to the formal curriculum and are, mostly, viewed by universities as central to the students’ development as they have to navigate pathways through an increasingly competitive and complex world as they prepare for future employment. even though this is a common view, it is not as easy to assess the impact of co-curricular programmes and agreeing on outcomes and the human developmental value of participation as it is to assess academic outcomes (kuh, 2009). however, issues of difference also added to this debate as the higher education student population has been changing from full-time, white, middle-class students to older, working students at a local and international level. this impacted on traditional understandings of co-curricular postsecondary settings and co-curricular student involvement. this field boasts a wide body of theory that aims to understand the co-curricular experience. these theories include ones ronelle carolissen: a critical feminist approach to social inclusion and citizenship in the context of the co-curriculum 85 like astin’s involvement theory (1999) and the student development theory of chickering (1996). i will not focus on these theories as i would like to focus on larger conceptual issues such as the themes identified earlier. constructions of human beings as citizens rights-based models dominate discourses on citizenship in he. these models assume that people enter higher education as equals, that we are all the same, and ignore the reality that different students have varied access to resources. exposure to the co-curriculum is well established in many middle-class high schools (and there are a handful of exceptions where the co-curriculum is established in poorer schools). high school learners can often choose from at least 40 clubs and societies and have the opportunity to occupy peer leadership roles. kenway and fahey (2014), in their research on round square schools across the world (including south africa), write about how high school learners are socialised into middle-class liberal polite subjects of the british empire, through strong encouragement for them to participate. most students at poorer high schools do not have these opportunities and skills that are highly valued and privileged in applications for competitive programmes such as medicine and law. secondly, these programmes at school level also privilege those who apply for scholarships, as a number of learners from advantaged high schools would have developed a discursive socialisation as to how to navigate and complete scholarship forms. at another level, the institutional bias at school and university level favours articulate students who may have had multiple and repeated opportunities to practise public speaking skills and develop confidence in speaking to those in authority through their exposure to the co-curriculum at school level already. jehangir (2010a) suggests that the development of voice and confidence in one’s views and ability to speak is a skill that is often underdeveloped in marginalised first-generation students. furthermore, material access to resources may also impact on participation in co-curricular activities. many societies at university are partially funded by fee-paying students who register and pay an annual fee to belong to the society. these fees often range from r400 to r700 (usd 40 to 70) per annum at local universities. this is just a brief example to highlight one aspect of the social and cultural inequality in school-based socialisation for the co-curriculum at university as students enter university. institutions position all students in the same way and, when they do not succeed, the discourses of neo-liberalism that value individual effort, competition and discipline construct student failure individualistically; the common assumption is that the individual does not work hard enough. the politics of needs interpretation most current views of citizenship emphasise the rights and obligations of individuals. however, fraser (1989) argues that needs are political, that they are not absolute and should not be located privately but in the public sphere. she suggests that needs are constructed by discourses in society that are informed by markets and experts. in practice, neo-liberal discourses locate needs in the individual, which means that needs are relegated to homes and families. 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 83–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.56 the nature of co-curricular activities such as volunteering often construct those who are outside the university as poor and having needs, thus politically maintaining the façade of a middle-class, resource-laden student population. yet, local studies exist that indicate that many students are poor and manage with very minimal resources, often disguising their poverty (firferey & carolissen, 2010). students who perhaps cannot afford to volunteer, but have to hold down a job as well as study, may not benefit in the same way from co-curricular activities as those who have resources. jehangir (2010a) suggests that many students who attend university as “non-traditional” students are enveloped in ambiguity as they could be earning an income to support families but are deferring this income by studying. students in this position often bridge this dilemma by working to produce family income while studying. the practice of working to produce income while studying is not normally viewed in he institutions as generating valuable skills that can be valued as a co-curricular activity. the public–private binary the denial of difference is likely to mask the inherent political skewing of relationships. marshall’s notions of citizenship still dominates current patriarchal discourses, suggesting that women and children are (or at least should be) dependent on men. women and children are constructed as needy and obtain their status through their relationships with men in society (tronto, 1993, 2013). in the context of the co-curriculum, it is important to ask if the way in which the co-curriculum is constructed benefits men and some middleclass women students who may not have any or many caring duties at home. numerous women who have caring duties such as childcare, cooking and cleaning in addition to being students (jehangir, 2010b) may not be able to participate in co-curricular activities because of the way in which co-curricular activities are generally structured. for example, in some prestigious leadership development programmes, fellows need to be available for two evenings per week from 6 to 8pm for training over a period of seven months, and be available to travel internationally for short periods as well. this is not possible for single parents who are students unless they have a strong support network. what, then, given the way in which exclusion is unwittingly built into institutional structures, are the options for restructuring the co-curriculum so that it reduces or eliminates institutional exclusion? the concept of life-wide learning and intercultural curriculum as a co-curricular change it is important to develop a much broader conception of the co-curriculum that takes into account that students gain important personal and professional development from life experiences outside the curriculum. the life-wide curriculum (jackson, 2010) and intercultural curriculum (dunne, 2011) are such initiatives. i will briefly describe each in turn. the idea of life-wide learning highlights the fact that at any point in time, for example while a learner is engaged in he, an individual’s life contains many tributaries that are ronelle carolissen: a critical feminist approach to social inclusion and citizenship in the context of the co-curriculum 87 complex and interconnected. these also may contribute to the ongoing life experiences and potential professional development of the person. it is important to conceptualise differently that which is valued as learning (jehangir, 2010b) and what counts as valued cultural capital and knowledge (yosso, 2005) that extends beyond the formal curriculum. the intercultural curriculum (dunne, 2011) draws on a body of work embodied in critical pedagogies that aims to create learning communities. the lecturer acts as facilitator and creates meaning rather than positioning himself/herself as an expert. dialogue and genuine student participation are encouraged where lecturers can draw on diverse students’ perspectives in the curriculum. this enables students to reflect on their multiple identities and to help shape their personal and professional development. conclusion this paper has therefore suggested, by using themes central to a critical feminist framework of social inclusion and citizenship in he, that the way in which co-curricular opportunities are traditionally structured at universities may exclude those students who are in some way marginalised. however, there are programmes that are seemingly working well across universities collectively, that minimise institutional, cultural and economic discrimination, thus giving most students an opportunity to flourish via the co-curriculum in he institutions. references bozalek, v., & carolissen, r. (2012). the potential of critical feminist citizenship frameworks for citizenship and social justice in higher education. perspectives in education, 30(4), 9–18. department of higher education and training (2014). white paper for post-school education and training. pretoria: government printer. department of education (1997) education white paper 3: a programme for the transformation of higher education. pretoria: government printer. dunne, c. (2011). developing an intercultural curriculum within the context of the internationalization of higher education: terminology, typologies and power. higher education and research development, 30(5), 609–622. firferey, n., & carolissen, r. (2010). ‘i keep myself clean … at least when you see me, you don’t know i’m poor’: student experiences of poverty in south african higher education. south african journal of higher education, 24(6), 987–1002. fraser, n. (1989). unruly practices: power, discourse and gender in contemporary social theory. oxford: polity press. jackson, n.j. (2010). from a curriculum that integrates work to a curriculum that integrates life: changing a university’s conceptions of curriculum. higher education research and development, 29(5), 491–505. jehangir, r. (2010a). higher education and first generation students: cultivating community, voice and place for the new majority. new york: palgrave macmillan. jehangir, r. (2010b). stories as knowledge: bringing the lived experience of first generation students into the academy. urban education, 45(4): 533–553. kenway, j., & fahey, j.c. (2014). staying ahead of the game: the globalising practices of elite schools. globalisation, societies and education, 12(2), 177–195. 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 83–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.56 kuh, g. d. (1995). the other curriculum: out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and personal development. the journal of higher education, 66, 123–135. kuh, g. d. (2009). what student affairs professionals need to know about student engagement. journal of college student development, 50, 683–706. marshall, t.h. (1950). citizenship and social class and other essays. cambridge: cambridge university press. spandler, h. (2007). from exclusion to inclusion? a critique of the inclusion imperative in mental health. medical sociology, 2(2), 3–16. tomlinson, a. & basit, t. (2012) introduction. in t. basit and s. tomlinson social inclusion and higher education. london and new york: routledge. tronto, j. (1993). moral boundaries: a political argument for an ethic of care. new york and london: routledge. tronto, j. (2013). caring democracy: markets, equality and justice. new york: new york university press. yosso, t. (2005). whose culture has capital? a critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. race, ethnicity and education, 8(1): 69–91. young, i. m. (2002). inclusion and democracy. london: oxford university press. yuval-davis, n. (2011). the politics of belonging: intersectional contestations. london: sage. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 75–80 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.13 75 www.jsaa.ac.za * assistant director: institutional research, directorate for institutional research and academic planning, university of the free state. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com. book review j.c. van der merwe & d. van reenen (2016). transformation and legitimation in post-apartheid universities: reading discourses from ‘reitz’. bloemfontein: sun press. reviewed by thierry m. luescher* what is the fuss all about? a storm in a tea cup! in august 2007, four boys prepare a video clip for the cultural evening of their university residence. it’s a prank! the students get some residence staff to play the part of new students who undergo the initiation process of their residence. it’s a dumb initiation; a humiliating one, for sure; but hey, that’s the residence tradition. you piss in the food of the first-year students, make them drink revolting concoctions till they throw up. it’s a dumb initiation; a humiliating one, for sure; but hey, that’s the residence tradition; we all went through it. now you’re a reitz man. the authors of the book transformation and legitimation in post-apartheid universities, published in 2016 in the new series critical studies in higher education transformation (sun press, bloemfontein), clearly do not see the video as just a prank; the problem runs much deeper, and neither did the south african minister of education. in march 2008, only a few days after the video became public, she announced the establishment of a ministerial committee on progress towards transformation and social cohesion and the elimination of discrimination in public higher education institutions as a way to investigate discrimination and particularly racism in south african public higher education. the official reading of ‘reitz’, offered by the ministerial commission led by prof. crain soudien, goes as follows: in february 2008, a video made by four young white afrikaner male students of the reitz residence at the university of the free state (ufs) came into the public domain. it showed the students forcing a group of elderly black (cleaning) workers, four women and one man, to eat food into which one of the students had apparently urinated. predictably, the public was outraged. the video, which won first prize in a cultural evening competition at the residence, ostensibly sought to portray an initiation ceremony. however, its real intent was to protest against the university’s recently introduced policy to integrate the student residences. […]. the public anger and condemnation that followed demanded that action be taken. the university swiftly instituted disciplinary proceedings against two of the students who were still registered (the other two had graduated at the end of 2007 when the video was made). however, it was clear that, while welcomed, the disciplinary proceedings in http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 75–80 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.13 themselves were not sufficient. the incident brought to the fore the bigger question of how an event of such intense insensitivity could have happened after 1994. moreover, the question was posed as to how an institution of higher education, which is supposed to be about broadening young people’s minds and preparing them for engaging with social and intellectual differences in people, could produce this level of narrow-minded meanspiritedness? (soudien commission, 2008: 23) clearly, the official reading prompting a national ministerial investigation into discrimination and racism in public higher education, did not see ‘reitz’ as a simple ‘prank’, a ‘storm in a teacup’. why? because ‘reitz’ is fundamentally about resistance to transformation in higher education, based on racism. the evidence supporting this conclusion can be generated relatively easily by means of a discourse analysis. the analysis of discourse has become an important way of identifying the deeper meaning, the ideological content, of text and talk (and the attitudes and behaviours they reflect). critical discourse analysis uncovers “the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context” (van dijk, 2003: 352). discourse analysis examines a discourse in depth against the context of its production; it analyses the power relations infused in discourse from the point of view of different role players involved in the discourse, and considers the meaning and implications of the discourse. a few years ago i taught a way of doing critical discourse analysis to a third-year political science class that majored in my ‘politics and ideology’ module at the university of the western cape. we then critically considered van dijk’s understanding of ideology as “the foundation of the social representations shared by a social group” (2006: 729). ideologies are belief systems shared by specific collectivities of social actors; they involve an in-group, that is ‘we’, and an out-group, i.e. ‘them’. ideologies provide the members of the in-group with identity, guidelines for action (or inaction), shared beliefs, etc. and this is evident by means of four typical strategies of in-group/out-group polarisation or what van dijk calls “the ideological square” (van dijk, 2006: 734). evidence for the ideological square can be found by analysing the main topics in a discourse; what is stressed and what is silenced; what is emphasised or de-emphasised; how social groups are depicted; various other linguistic strategies (like sarcasm, irony, hyperbole, misrepresentation, generalisation, and appeal to authority), as well as the actions that are involved in the text: consensus seeking, resistance building, indoctrination, etc. (ibid.). doing textual analysis of this kind it is possible to unearth the ideological content of a discourse. the ideological square then involves identifying constructions of ‘us and them’, and ‘good and bad’ in a discourse. a successful ideological text does the following: it will emphasise ‘our good’, de-emphasise or omit ‘our bad’; emphasise ‘their bad’, and de-emphasise ‘their good’. do that well and you have a perfectly working ideological text. xenophobia works like that; racism works like that; sexism works like that. van der merwe and van reenen’s book provides an in-depth analysis of the ‘reitz incident’ that goes far beyond the reading of the reitz video as text. yet, who are the ‘us’ and ‘them’ in the discourses of the reitz video itself? well, it so happened that the reitz residence at the time the video was made in 2007, was a segregated, all white, thierry m. luescher: transformation and legitimation in post-apartheid universities 77 male afrikaans student residence at the university of the free state, and the ufs was a typical post-apartheid university that grappled with ‘transformation pains’ (as the ufs management would have it). a typical post-apartheid university? well, maybe the ufs was a bit different. at the time, the south african higher education quality committee, in its external audit report of the university characterised it as a rather strange institution; indeed one in danger of becoming two universities: “one that is black english-medium and operates at night, and another that is white, afrikaans-medium and operates during the day” (che, 2008: 39). this ‘parallel mode’ of operating had developed over a decade and a bit, since the ufs in the early nineties started admitting black students in numbers and introduce english-tuition classes. before that, the ufs was one of the exclusively white, afrikaans universities, characterised by “a determinable white, conservative, christian, afrikaans cultural grounding” (p. 34); it was a racially, ethnically and linguistically separate volksuniversiteit, developed specifically to reflect “afrikaner nationalist conceptions of a university […] established specifically for the assumed needs of particular racial and ethnic groups” (welsh, 1972: 32; degenaar, 1977). it looked as if the volks university model was being maintained by splitting the ufs on the inside into two ‘parallel’ institutions operating from the same campus, at a time when post-apartheid higher education policy did away with the separate institution model. the students who made the video for their cultural evening were all white afrikaans boys in a campus residence well known for its conservative, exclusive, anti-black stance. in their imagination, the residence was an exclusive, ‘private’ space – not an academic facility, but a cultural institution. in this private space, the only ‘black presence’ tolerated were black workers, cleaners, as in the homes where the boys came from: nannies, cleaners, gardeners. the privileged social background of the students is pitched against that of the staff members which the white boys tricked into participating in making the video. they were from the historically most marginalised and exploited social group of south africans: black staff members, custodial staff; working class, and all but one were women. the ‘us’ for whom the video was made were privileged white afrikaner students residing in reitz who were used to order around black servants; the ‘them’ in the video were black students (played by the staff) who, under the residence desegregation policy of the ufs, would start joining the reitz residence from the 2008 academic year. the power dynamics involved in the making of the video is one aspect of racism evident in the discourse on ‘reitz’. when the black staff members asked to see the video that they participated in making, the most humiliating parts (like the scene were a senior white student in the movie looks like he urinates into the food that the new black initiates were served), were removed; meanwhile at the closed-function residence cultural evening, these episodes were the real show stoppers. the main topic of the video, however, was even more overtly racist (if there are degrees of racism): ‘we’ are opposed to desegregating ‘our’ residence; ‘we’ don’t want ‘them’ – that is black students – in ‘our’ residence: just look how ridiculous it would be to have them. the fact that these privileged white boys would go as far as calling the grown-up, middle-aged black staff members ‘whores’ in the video, just adds insult. 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 75–80 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.13 transformation and legitimation in post-apartheid universities: reading discourses from ‘reitz’ is an incredibly interesting, in parts traumatising, book to read. it is fascinating to know that it was written by two white afrikaans academics at the ufs. jc van der merwe and dionne van reenen are both working in the ufs institute for reconciliation and social justice (irsj), which was established in the wake of the ‘reitz incident’ to drive the academic and social transformation process at the ufs with academic activities and social interventions. overall the book makes for diverse reading. in the different chapters, different kinds of conceptual frameworks are used to analyse the various discourses from ‘reitz’ that the authors uncover from the analysis of media articles, institutional policies and plans, institutional correspondence, interviews with various role players, including institutional management, students, staff, and members of university governance structures. in order to understand the place of the video, which sparked off the ‘reitz incident’, the authors make the important point in the introduction: “ ‘reitz’ is analysed metonymically […] as a stand-in for larger and more harmful narratives. for these purposes then, we undertook a critical philosophical analysis of discourses and practices that, either explicitly or implicitly, reproduce resistance towards transformation” (p. 34). the book tells the story of ‘resistance towards transformation’ over six chapters, always coming back to ‘reitz’ and its significance and role in these narratives. for those who are unfamiliar with the ‘reitz incident’, chapter 1 provides a transcript and analysis of the reitz video itself, and introduces the main protagonists in the incident: the reitz students and workers. in chapter 2, the book analyses the higher education transformation process in south africa and at the ufs in broad strokes. the focus, especially when it turns to the ufs, is on institutional culture and residence cultures, and the failures of the university – the mostly white management, white academics, white students, and white alumni – to come to terms with the reality of the ufs being a public rather than volks university. the scope of analysis is wide enough to show that the dominant white group had both black and white detractors, as well as black staff and students that were ready to accommodate themselves within the hegemonic institutional culture. at its core, the chapter tells the story of the university’s failed post-apartheid residence policy in three moments, along with other milestones in the ufs post-apartheid ‘transformation’, like the incorporation of two campuses of historically black universities into the ufs, as well as the adoption of various transformation charters, policies and plans. the authors’ assessment overall is one of leadership failure: a lack of consistent and valid conceptualisation of transformation, a lack of decisiveness in implementation; flawed conceptions of the university and its relation to its social environment; all of which appears captive to the ‘old’. chapter 3 is perhaps the most traumatising part of the book: the in-depth, highly insightful analysis of residence cultures using an analytical framework that focuses on ways of understanding social relations between students, between students and residence workers, and residence traditions and initiation practices. against the background of van der merwe and van reenen’s analysis of the history of the reitz residence, and student resistance to residence integration in particular at the ufs, the ‘reitz incident’ gains a specific, historical-political context. moreover, the intersectional analysis of student residence thierry m. luescher: transformation and legitimation in post-apartheid universities 79 cultures is particularly enlightening, as the authors identify the dominant characteristics of the typical white afrikaner male residence culture: some of the dominant characteristics of a typical white afrikaner male residence can be listed as follows: a culture of seniority characterised by absolute authority; a shared, homogenous identity; clearly designated roles and intolerance towards non-conformity; an unconditional loyalty to the residence and its occupants; clearly articulated codes and punishments for violations of those codes; a commitment to being present and participating in residence life; curbing individuality and honouring traditions. (p. 117) at the core of this utterly unacademic residence culture is the ‘pa-seun’ (father-son) system: new students would have a ‘pa’ who takes the role of a strict father figure on campus. more often than not, and more so in reitz’ case, the ‘pa’ became a sadisticmilitaristic authoritarian. this system was upheld with day-to-day practices of humiliation and punishments for non-conformity and would culminate in the initiation ceremony, not unlike the one depicted in the video. the extent of this shocking culture is discussed in detail in chapter 3. chapter 4 then steps back and considers the ‘reitz incident’ and its context in terms of different notions of legitimacy and strategies of legitimation. particularly interesting is the part dealing with various ways in which the ufs management sought to save the reputation of the ufs in the wake of the public outcry over the reitz video. the story of the aftermath is continued in chapter 5 but now focuses on the strategies that go beyond ‘saving the reputation’, mainly those that occurred during the term of the first black ufs vice-chancellor and rector, prof. jonathan jansen: reconciliation, restoration, and social justice. while a lot of good is said about jansen, this is not a praise poem to the man who was appointed shortly after the reitz crisis. it shows, however, a break in the way the ufs did things, and how it approached the students and staff involved. it also shows the wider circles the ‘reitz incident’ continued to produce: the court cases against the students; the complaint with the sa human rights commission; the process of reconciling the students and staff members, with the university as the third party involved; and the debates the ‘reitz incident’ sparked off far beyond the ufs. after a brief revisiting of the meaning of ‘reitz’, the final chapter entitled ‘rethinking transformation at the university of the free state’ looks closely at the way forward. what can be learnt towards addressing transformation challenges such as diverse student and staff demographics; institutional culture; curriculum transformation and enhancement of democratic practices? van der merwe and van reenen do not propose a blueprint; more of a roadmap for thinking through key points, and considering certain practices is laid out. they are discussed in relation to five points: (1) changing the institutional culture; (2) instituting a rights-based approach; (3) creating space for ‘being political’ on campus; (4) doing anti-racism work; and (5) establishing pre-conditions. in this manner, they argue, universities will eventually become “havens of democratic habits” (p. 270). their conclusive call is for the universities – for governing structures and the academy – to remember that they ultimately are there to serve the public. 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 75–80 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.13 overall this is a very interesting and important book, particularly for academic and student affairs staff involved in university residences and university transformation more broadly. while the ‘reitz incident’ at the university of the free state in bloemfontein provides the core, the book shows its parallels and reverberations in the south african higher education sector in such a way to make it highly relevant to student affairs professionals across the continent and beyond, as student affairs grapples with ways of ‘managing’ socio-cultural cleavages of various kinds on university campuses. in the south african context a dominant issue remains racism and the whiteness of institutional cultures; in other countries very similar dynamics of discrimination are evident, including sexism, homophobia, ethnicity, religious intolerance, party-political strife, and so forth. references che (council on higher education) (2008). ufs institutional audit report. pretoria: che. degenaar, j. (1977). the concept of a volksuniversiteit. in: h.w. van der merwe & d. welsh (eds.), the future of the university in south africa. cape town: david philip. soudien commission (2008). report of the ministerial committee on transformation and social cohesion and the elimination of discrimination in public higher education institutions. 30 november. pretoria: department of education. van dijk, t. (2003). critical discourse analysis. in: deborah schiffrin & deborah tannen (eds.). the handbook of discourse analysis. oxford: blackwell publishers. van dijk, t. (2006). politics, ideology and discourse. in: ruth wodak (ed.), elsevier encyclopedia of language and linguistics. volume on politics and language. new york: elsevier, 728–740. https:// doi.org/10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/00722-7 welsh, d. (1972). some political and social determinants of the academic environment. in: h.w. van der merwe & d. welsh (eds.), student perspectives on south africa. cape town: david philipp. https://doi.org/10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/00722-7 https://doi.org/10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/00722-7 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 77-86 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.146 www.jsaa.ac.za first-year seminar intervention: enhancing firstyear mathematics performance at the university of johannesburg melanie jacobs* and estherna pretorius** research article * faculty of science, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: melaniej@uj.ac.za ** faculty of science, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: esthernap@uj.ac.za abstract south africa has opened up access to higher education over the past 20 years. the massive increase in enrolments (with almost 70% first-generation students) substantially affects progress and graduation rates in science programmes in higher education. first-year students in science realise that university mathematics requires knowledge and skills that are not part of their academic repertoires. science students at the university of johannesburg register for a two-week, credit-bearing first-year seminar (fys). the research question that this paper addresses is: what is the relationship between the firstyear seminar and the mathematics performance of first-year students in science? the specific purpose is to determine the relationship between: (1) students’ school mathematics background; (2) the problemsolving skills sessions of the fys; and (3) their first-year performance in mathematics. it was found that the fys enhances students’ ability to make a successful transition to university, with problemsolving ability acting as a fair predictor of performance in first-year mathematics. the empirical data was collected through a before-and-after test performed by the 2014 cohort with regards to students’ attendance of the fys. notably, the data indicate that the value added by the problem-solving test can be applied to identify and engage students who have high probability of becoming students at risk (stars). keywords higher education, teaching and learning, first-year student experience, mathematics performance, university of johannesburg, south africa. introduction the south african higher education sector became more aware of the need for a dedicated institutional first-year experience (fye) in 2009, when stellenbosch university hosted a national fye conference (leibowitz, van der merwe & van schalkwyk, 2009, p. 3). since then, the nature of first-year programmes and their possible role in academic 76 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 77-87 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.146 success have been widely researched, in particular with respect to attempts to counteract possible negative influences of the secondary schooling system (jacobs, 2010). currently, approximately one in eight engineering and one in four science students graduates in the expected number of years (council on higher education [che], 2013, p. 37). these throughput rates are a matter of national concern and impact on the country’s economy. south african higher education enrolments have grown by almost 90% between 1994 and 2012 (from 495 356 to 937 455) (che, 2013, p. 37). unfortunately, however, low participation and high attrition rates prevail. many students from diverse academic backgrounds were excluded due to the apartheid regime and are now accessing higher education institutions (heis) in pursuit of qualifications (tait & godfrey, 2001). this is particularly true for students enrolled for science programmes (giancola, munz & trares, 2008). the country’s public schooling system does not seem to prepare students adequately for higher education (jacobs, 2010), with inflated school marks and a lack of academic literacies being quite common (nel & kistner, 2009). more than 70% of first years have first-generation status (che, 2013, p. 45), generating additional challenges for these students, caregivers and first-year lecturers (bowl, 2001). it is almost as if the sector has come to accept that schools will not be able (at least, in the short to medium term) to prepare school-leaving students better for higher education, and especially with respect to science programmes (jacobs, 2010). science faculties therefore design formal intervention programmes (kift, 2008) to prepare their first-year students for academic and other institutional challenges. these programmes typically strive to enhance students’ confidence levels by exposing them to an enabling environment aimed at the development of their coping mechanisms. this paper places a lens on such a firstyear seminar designed by the faculty of science at the university of johannesburg (uj). the research question that this paper seeks to address is: what is the relationship between the aforementioned fys and the mathematics performance of first-year students in science? a specific purpose is to assess the import of students’ performance in the problem-solving component of the fys in relation to their first-year mathematics achievement later in their first year of study. transition and adaption the transition of first-year students from school to higher education has been explored and interrogated at length in a number of studies, namely briggs, clark and hall (2012), jacobs and jacobs (2013) and kift (2009), amongst others. science students are literally caught in a substantial “gap” between school and university education (sappa & bonica, 2008), mainly because the subject content of science programmes continues from where schools should have left off. although winterson and russ (2009) encourage schools and universities to make the transition process easier, south african schools are typically challenged by a shortage of qualified teachers, poorly maintained facilities and a lack of resources (jacobs, 2010). spaull (2014) indicates that, in south africa, only one in four mathematics teachers is sufficiently trained in mathematics. melanie jacobs and estherna pretorius: first-year seminar intervention 77 although school education authorities (e.g. volmink, 2010) constantly deny that students’ final marks might have been inflated, research-based interrogations by universities prove otherwise (nel & kistner, 2009). without blaming the school, briggs, clark and hall (2012) argue that students entering higher education make a personal investment using their cultural capital, which was accumulated through their prior education at school. many students thus enter with a “currency” that might be foreign to the institutional culture. lecturers need to identify and acknowledge this, while trying to support students to adapt to higher education expectations by exchanging their “currency” for relevant and required knowledge and skills. the need for adaptation for a successful student “identity” is amplified when firstgeneration students enter the new higher education environment (briggs, clark & hall, 2012). this first stage of transition (huon & sankey, 2002) occurs when students learn to behave like “real” university students (fazey & fazey, 2001). in fact, studies on student expectations and decision-making by peel (2000) and tranter (2003) reveal a discrepancy between the aspirations and the experiences of first-year studies. students’ lack of selfknowledge and uninformed decision-making relating to their choice of studies often lead to withdrawal and eventual dropout (hillman, 2005; james, 2000). first-year programmes first-year transition has been researched internationally since the 1970s (akerlind, 2005, p. 1). while dedicated structures and programmes are well established in the united states (such as the centre for academic enhancement at the university of georgia) and have gained ground in asian, australian and european higher education (meyers & ryan, 2008), south african institutions of higher education have been trying to convince faculty and governance structures that this is, indeed, part of their scope. lecturer champions and a few supportive deans are still persuading other stakeholders that formalised orientation (induction) programmes for transitional students (kift, 2008) are non-negotiable. first-year programmes provide first-year students with support systems that focus on making the adjustment to university life easier. the internationally renowned scholar vincent tinto (2008, p. 14) has listed the vital institutional factors that enhance student academic success, namely that a student should: be socially and academically integrated; identify with peer groups (although science students often feel alienated); be integrated into the institutional culture; and become an involved student. at the university of johannesburg, the faculty of science has been actively supporting first-year students since 2004. increasing numbers of unsuccessful students, lecturers who kept on complaining about underprepared first-years, and growing institutional pressure to enhance student throughput were the main catalysts behind the launching of the faculty’s fye (on an informal basis) in 2005. four years later, a more formalised fye programme was approved. the programme posits 10 principles, of which the following three are noteworthy: it is incumbent on the university to ensure that students are provided with enabling learning environments; the fye is not envisaged as simply assisting students to pass, but as enabling as many as possible to achieve their full potential; and the challenge of 78 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 77-87 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.146 first-year teaching requires special expertise from the academic staff, who must in turn be assisted in meeting these challenges (uj, 2009, p. 4). lecturers and senior students in the faculty of science have been engaging with first-year transition in two formal structures in the last decade. the first-year seminar (fys) and the first-year academy (fya) focus on the entering students and the lecturers teaching them respectively. the fya has been developed to give mainly first-year lecturers the opportunity to discuss and contemplate similar challenges they may encounter while teaching vulnerable and highly expectant first-year students. the fya also provides a platform for very necessary peer and senior support in teaching and learning. the fys in the faculty of science occurs two weeks before formal classes commence, and seeks to assist first-year students with their transition to higher education. the programme involves students (from all study areas) who are enrolled for science modules (such as mathematics, physics and chemistry); it includes workshops in laboratory skills, mathematical problem-solving and academic literacy for science in its curriculum. fys students also participate in sessions on time management and study skills, and are introduced to various support services on campus. they get to know the campus as soon as possible by competing in groups in an “amazing race” game, modelled on the reality television show. groups receive a map of the campus and are expected to visit indicated points of interest. upon completion, the groups present photos (on their smart devices) as evidence that they have, indeed, visited the specific points of interest. this allows them to get to know the campus in a fun and exciting way as well as to cooperate with fellow students. pascarella and terenzini (2005), as well as keup and barefoot (2005), find that the active participation of first-years in an fys has a huge positive effect on their ability to make the adjustment from school to university as well as on retaining them until their second year of study. the fys allows students to become aware of and recognise the level of their personal academic skills. the seminar also creates a safe learning environment that provides students with relevant learning opportunities geared to the development of essential skills for the various disciplines in science. erickson, peters and strommer (2006), and pascarella and terenzini (1991; 2005) all agree that fys programmes have the capacity to create an environment in which students can develop the critical thinking skills needed for their intellectual growth. the core components of the programme include three focused modules in language, mathematical problem-solving and laboratory skills development. the first component is five (two-hour) sessions focusing on academic literacy (language). bowl (2001) emphasises that non-traditional students may struggle to write scientific reports and essays; these language sessions serve as opportunities for the students to learn how to improve their reading and writing skills with a specific focus on science modules. the second component is five (two-hour) sessions focusing on solving mathematical problems with a special focus on bridging the gap in content knowledge from school to university. the third component comprises of three (two-hour) laboratory sessions, in which students are introduced to the chemistry, physics and biology laboratories and are familiarised with various items of laboratory equipment used for different experiments – many of the first-year science melanie jacobs and estherna pretorius: first-year seminar intervention 79 students come from rural schools and have never been introduced to laboratory work. carefully selected staff present sessions in various disciplines (mathematics, physics, life sciences, chemistry and geography). winterson and russ (2009) point out that students have to become accustomed to various learning styles, referencing techniques, as well as note taking. research and the writing of academic essays and reports are an integral part of higher education studies. the first-years also participate in a session with the science librarian, where they tour the library and draft a short essay, having to use the internet, an academic journal, a science textbook and an electronic database. the faculty of science established its fya in 2007. it serves as a community of practice for lecturers of first-year students, thereby promoting ernest boyer’s scholarship of teaching (and learning) (boyer, 1997). the fya undertakes research into the strategies and the roles of lecturers in dealing effectively with transitional students (jacobs & jacobs, 2013). adaptions to academics’ customary roles are recommended and the academy acknowledges that changes in role expectations may lead to role ambiguity and conflict among the lecturers, to the potential detriment of the faculty. however, appropriate lecturer behaviour and duties and also expected competencies have to be identified and developed if the faculty continually wants to enhance the academic success of its growing number of transitional students. research method this paper analyses the test results from a purposive (convenience) sample of 360 of the 1 060 students who were also enrolled for a specific module in first-year mathematics (mathematics 1a). before and after the 2014 fys, all participants (first-year students) completed a test, with 25 multiple-choice questions containing items on language, mathematics and laboratory content. all sample members participated in the preand post-fys test in problem-solving and their school mathematics results were available. a demographic analysis of the participants indicates that just less than one in four is female; slightly more than one in five had english as the primary home language; and 80% are science students, with the remainder being enrolled for engineering. the data were collected and aimed at determining the students’ content knowledge in respect of laboratory, language and problem-solving (quantitative literacy) skills. respondents were requested to complete the test upon the first day of arrival and the same test was administered on the last day (of the two-week programme). student’s final school (grade 12) and end of first semester results in mathematics were also captured. descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations and frequency distributions were conducted via the statistical package for the social sciences (spss, version 22). in 2014, the preand post-tests on the three above-mentioned constructs were administered for the first time. the 2014 investigation thus served as a pilot study and its reliability will be determined in the near future. specialist lecturers in respect of the three test components designed the test items; this ensured the content validity of each item. 80 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 77-87 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.146 research findings the sample of 360 first-year students presented the following scores (all percentages): for pre-fys problem-solving, m = 45.44, sd = 19.444; for post-fys problem-solving, m = 62.86, sd = 18.188; for school (grade 12) mathematics, m = 73.18, sd = 10.173; and for first-year mathematics (mat1a), m = 48.74, sd = 1.663. these scores are further analysed in the three tables that follow. table 1 presents a cross-tabulation of grade 12 versus first-year mathematics (mat1a) scores at various intervals. table 1: cross-tabulation: maths grade 12 versus mat1a marks mat1a mathematics in grade 12 59% or lower 60–69% 70–79% 80–89% 90% or higher total 49% or lower 6 76 69 19 3 173 (48.0%) 50–59% 2 44 50 27 4 127 (35.3%) 60–69% 1 4 15 20 4 44 (12.2%) 70–79% 0 1 1 8 1 11 (3.1%) 80% or higher 0 0 0 2 3 5 (1.4%) total 9 (2.5%) 125 (34.7%) 135 (37.5%) 76 (21.1%) 15 (4.2%) 360 table 1 indicates that 46.4% (167) of the students who scored 60% or more at school scored less than 50% (which is a “fail”) for mathematics at the end of the first year’s first semester. it is more noteworthy that three students who scored 90% or more for mathematics in grade 12 failed the subject at university. as already mentioned, the predictive value of school mathematics results is not necessarily credible. table 2 presents a cross-tabulation of post-fys problem-solving and first-year mathematics (mat1a) scores in various intervals. table 2 reveals that 32.5% (117) of the students who scored more than 60% in the post-fys test obtained less than 50% (i.e. a “fail”) for university mathematics. it seems as if students who scored less than 60% for the post-fys problem-solving test have a greater probability of not passing the mat1a course. a comparison of pre-fys versus post-fys problem-solving marks, in accordance with students’ results in mat1a, is presented in table 3. melanie jacobs and estherna pretorius: first-year seminar intervention 81 table 2: cross-tabulation – post-fys problem-solving versus mat1a marks mat1a scores post-fys problem-solving scores 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% total 49% or lower 2 11 43 66 50 1 173 (48.0%) 50–59% 1 2 16 53 52 3 127 (35.3%) 60–69% 0 0 6 10 27 1 44 (12.2%) 70–79% 0 0 0 6 5 0 11 (3.1%) 80% or higher 0 0 0 3 2 0 5 (1.4%) total 3 (0.8%) 13 (3.6%) 66 (18.1%) 138 (38.3%) 136 (37.8%) 5 (1.4%) 360 table 3: preand post-fys problem-solving scores in accordance with mat1a marks mat1a marks n mean (%) (pre-fys problemsolving) mean (%) (post-fys problemsolving) 49% or lower 173 (48.0%) 39.31 57.92 50–59% 127 (35.3%) 48.73 65.71 60–69% 44 (12.2%) 57.73 71.36 70–79% 11 (3.1%) 50.91 67.27 80% or higher 5 (1.4%) 53.33 73.33 in table 3, the increase of pre-fys to post-fys scores in all five intervals is clear. the mean pre-fys problem-solving score of the “fail” group (i.e. students who scored less than 50% for mat1a) improved by 18.6% in the post-fys test. it can be deduced that students with higher post-problem-solving results have a fair chance of passing mat1a. thus, the increase in the mean post-problem-solving results from the pre-solving test results serve as a good predictor of the success or risk of failing mat1a. hence, lecturers could apply such results to help identify students who have a strong probability of becoming students at risk (stars). the analysis indicates that students with higher post-problem-solving results had a greater probability of passing mat1a, although many factors could possibly influence the success in mat1a. the problem-solving module exposed students to what is expected at higher education level, and adds value to understanding success in higher-level mathematics. 82 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 77-87 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.146 concluding comments this paper attempted to determine whether there is a relationship between the faculty’s fys and the performance in mathematics of its first-year students. it was found that there is definite connection between students’ scores on the problem-solving component of the fys and their achievement in mathematics in the first semester. although no causality is implied or can be deduced, first-year students’ problem-solving capabilities seem to have substantial predictive value in respect of their performance in mathematics. this finding elevates the contribution and pertinence of the faculty’s fys. the fys test could increasingly be viewed as a predictive instrument for identifying students at risk of not succeeding. the timing of the fys (at the beginning of the academic year) has the additional benefit of making available vital information about firstyear students in mathematics, six weeks before first official assessments are conducted. altogether, then, participation in the fys must be seen to have a positive influence on students’ ability to make a successful transition to university. the modules of the fys that focus on mathematical problem-solving, academic language and laboratory skills assist in bridging the current gap between school and university education. further research along the lines explored in this paper could enable the university, the science faculty and first-year students to address transitional challenges much sooner (within the first three weeks of the academic year) by providing appropriate analysis and support where needed so as to ensure first-year academic success. references akerlind, g.s. 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(2002). the transition to university: understanding differences in success. paper presented at the 6th pacific rim first year in education conference: changing agendas, university of canterbury, christchurch, new zealand, 8–10 july. jacobs, m. (2010). a framework for the placement of university students in science programmes. unpublished doctoral dissertation, university of the free state, bloemfontein. jacobs, m. & jacobs g.j. (2013). role perceptions of science academics who teach to first year students: the inf luence of gender. journal of institutional research, 19, 33–45. james, r. (2000). how school-leavers choose a preferred university course and possible effects on the quality of the school–university transition. journal of institutional research, 9(1), 78–88. keup, j.r. & barefoot, b.o. 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(2009). creating confidence: developing academic skills and information literacy behaviours to support the precepts of tertiary academic performance. proceedings of the 4th asia pacific conference on educational integrity (4apcei), new south wales, australia. retrieved 19 may 2016 from http://eprints.usq.edu.au/6150/1/kimmins_stagg_av.pdf. leibowitz, b., van der merwe, a. & van schalkwyk, s. (2009). introduction – perspectives on the first-year experience. in b. leibowitz, a. van der merwe & s. van schalkwyk (eds). focus on first-year success: perspectives emerging from south africa and beyond, pp. 3–11. stellenbosch: sun media. meyers, n. & ryan, y. (2008). commentary on first year curriculum case studies: staff development perspective. queensland university of technology, brisbane: australian learning and teaching council. nel, c. & kistner, l. (2009). the national senior certificate: implications for access to higher education. south african journal of higher education, 23(5), 953–973. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (1991). how college affects students. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (2005). how college affects students: a third decade of research, volume 2. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. pascarella, e.t., pierson, c.t., wolniak, g.c. & terenzini, p.t. (2004). first-generation college students: additional evidence on college experiences and outcomes. the journal of higher education, 75, 249–284. peel, m. (2000). “nobody cares”: the challenge of isolation in school to university transition. journal of institutional research, 9(1), 122–134. sappa, v. & bonica, l. (2008). cooperative learning and support to the school to higher education transition: an integrated research-intervention aimed at first year psychology students. paper presented to iaie-iasce conference cooperative learning in multicultural societies: critical ref lections, turin, 19–22 january. spaull, n. (2014). matric 2013 in retrospect: selected findings and discussion. presentation at the uj/ kagiso trust education conversation, 19 february, university of johannesburg. 84 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 77-87 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.146 tait, h. & godfrey, h. (2001). enhancing the student experience for direct entrants to the penultimate year of undergraduate degree programmes. journal of further and higher education, 25(2), 260–265. tinto, v. (2008). access without support is not opportunity. inside higher ed. retrieved 19 may 2016 from www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/06/09/tinto. tranter, d. (2003). “fish out of water”: students from disadvantaged schools and the university experience. paper presented at creating spaces: interdisciplinary writings in the social sciences conference, australian national university, canberra. volmink, j. (2010). what can we learn from the nsc results? presentation at iie forum, varsity college, sandton, johannesburg, 21 february. university of johannesburg (uj). (2009). proposal for the implementation of a first year experience (fye) programme at uj. university of johannesburg senate, internal document. winterson, j. & russ, m. (2009). understanding the transition from school to university in music and music technology. arts and humanities in education, 8(3), 339–354. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 67–69 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.11 67 www.jsaa.ac.za * dr jon c. dalton is professor emeritus, florida state university. book review eboo patel (2012). sacred ground: pluralism, prejudice and the promise of america. boston: beacon press. reviewed by jon c. dalton* in his 2012 book, sacred ground, eboo patel, an american muslim and president of the interfaith student core in chicago, illinois, analyses the sources of contemporary interreligious conflict and offers educational, political and religious strategies for promoting more genuine and lasting interfaith cooperation. while sacred ground focuses on the united states, patel’s analysis of interreligious conflict and his prescriptions for promoting interfaith cooperation have broad relevance for international application in today’s increasingly globally connected and religiously diverse world. patel argues that religious differences have become a major source of social and political conflict in today’s world. moreover, the types of conflicts arising out of deeply held religious beliefs and practices pose some of the most dangerous and volatile threats for today’s world. thus, he argues, there is great urgency to find ways to reduce religious conflicts and to promote greater interfaith understanding and cooperation. patel’s book is part personal memoir, part historical analysis, and part theological exegesis. his writing style is highly personal and makes frequent use of personal stories, examples and observations that convey a compelling sense of urgency about the current state of religious hostility and interfaith conflict in domestic and international settings. patel has a lover’s quarrel with america’s historical promise of religious liberty and tolerance. america, patel claims, is failing to deliver on that founding promise. the rise of islamophobia, in particular, has sharply challenged america’s promise of religious pluralism and patel believes that it is important to stand up for the nation’s promise of religious pluralism, especially when it is under attack. patel believes that one of the keys to reducing interreligious conflict and promoting interfaith cooperation can be found in the principle of religious pluralism. he wants to clearly differentiate between religious “pluralism” and religious “diversity”. although the concept of religious diversity affirms the existence of differences among religions, it does not go far enough in fostering positive understanding and cooperation across individual religions. the concept of religious diversity may thus be useful for promoting a general tolerance of religious differences but it does not, on its own, incorporate an active promotion, understanding and affirmation of these differences. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 67–69 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.11 the concept of religious pluralism, on the other hand, recognises the multiplicity of religious traditions and also encourages an active understanding and acceptance of religious differences in order to promote the common good. in short, patel argues that religious diversity, by itself, conveys a simple recognition of differences while the concept of religious pluralism welcomes and incorporates the results or outcomes of interfaith efforts to understand and affirm religious differences. implicit in the concept of religious pluralism is the active social engagement with individuals of other faiths in shared efforts to understand and respect each other’s religious traditions. today, islam and its adherents have become primary targets of religious hostility in the united states as well as in a number of other countries. this development is profoundly troubling in light of the tradition of religious liberty and freedom of religious expression in the u.s. patel argues that one explanation for this development is that despite constitutional guarantees of religious liberty, religious identity in the u.s. is deeply rooted in personal religious faith. consequently the entrenched nature of personal religious commitment requires committed and proactive efforts to bridge religious differences and create communities of interfaith dialogue. patel argues that authentic interfaith dialogue should be grounded in the genuine particularity of each different religion, and not in some watered-down version of religious identity. the heart of the matter, patel claims, is how to articulate religious identity in a way that affirms both particularity and pluralism. interfaith dialogue should also acknowledge reciprocity – the shared give and take of information and beliefs in an atmosphere of mutual respect. one of the most important educational strategies employed by patel for promoting interfaith dialogue among college students is the use of community service as a primary agent of interfaith contact and dialogue. working together on projects that benefit the community helps participants build upon shared religious beliefs and common practices. interfaith dialogue can thus arise in more casual and natural settings in which religious differences do not become the primary starting point for dialogue. patel believes that an important strategy for promoting a pluralistic view of religions is through the peer training of young people from different faiths. it was this conviction that led patel to establish the interfaith youth core (ifyc). central to patel’s view of interfaith training is the role of volunteerism and community service. since compassion and service are common ideals in all major religious traditions volunteerism provides a powerful means of bringing young people together to practise interfaith cooperation. patel suggests that colleges and universities often do not take religious diversity as seriously as other student identity issues. while higher education institutions in many countries have done a great deal to recognise the importance of racial, ethnic and gender diversity, they have often devoted less attention to recognising and accommodating religious differences. colleges and universities have done even less to actively promote the goal of religious pluralism. consequently, interreligious conflict and misunderstanding on college campuses are likely to continue until greater efforts are made to engage students in embracing religious pluralism. patel argues that achieving religious pluralism will require jon c. dalton: sacred ground: pluralism, prejudice and the promise of america 69 more effort in recruiting a religiously diverse student body and creating welcoming environments for students of different faiths. colleges and universities will need to invest more effort in programmes and policies that create and sustain ongoing interreligious contact, dialogue and understanding. sacred ground provides a very persuasive critique of the importance of religious pluralism in educational efforts to help students to confront and accommodate interfaith differences. moreover, it provides useful practical strategies for implementing religious pluralism in educational settings. this highly readable and passionate critique of the promise of religious liberty is a valuable resource in helping college students to understand and advocate for religious pluralism in our contemporary world. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 19–32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 19 www.jsaa.ac.za research article exploring the challenges of first-year student funding: an intra-institutional case study tracey mckay,* anban naidoo** & zach simpson*** * prof. tracey mckay is associate professor, department of environmental science, university of south africa. email: mckaytjm@unisa.ac.za ** anban naidoo is director, student academic services, gordon institute of business studies, university of pretoria and university of the free state. email: naidooa@ufs.ac.za *** dr zach simpson is senior lecturer, faculty of engineering and the built environment, university of johannesburg. email: zsimpson@uj.ac.za abstract amongst the first of the challenges facing prospective first-year university students is the need to procure funding for their studies. indeed, demand for funding for students to access higher education far exceeds supply in south africa. one solution has been the creation of a government loan scheme, the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas), but this scheme does not cover all students. outside of nsfas, student bursary funding remains limited and universities are being increasingly pressurised to allocate bursaries to ensure students are not excluded due to funding constraints. despite this, to date, little work has been undertaken regarding university policy and management of bursary applications and funds. thus this study represents an attempt to fill this gap. the study explores the current student funding model deployed at one particular large tertiary institution as a means to gain an understanding of current funding challenges and attempt to find ways in which funding decisions can be improved. a qualitative approach was used, which involved conducting in-depth interviews with senior university staff involved in a range of student support directorates. the study demonstrates the complexity of the challenges associated with student funding. keywords student funding; higher education; first-year experience; education management; south africa introduction entry into higher education is a daunting proposition: competition for offers of placement is intense, the culture and ‘ways of doing’ at university are usually far-removed from what many entrants might be familiar with, and there is a gamut of new social experiences to face. despite their significance, these challenges have, in recent years, been superseded by the challenge of student funding. in south africa, specifically, the higher education sector has faced a series of rolling protests, dubbed #feesmustfall, that have drawn acute attention to the high cost of undertaking a university degree. any meaningful response http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mckaytjm%40unisa.ac.za?subject= mailto:naidooa%40ufs.ac.za?subject= mailto:zsimpson%40uj.ac.za?subject= 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 19–32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 to #feesmustfall, however, requires an understanding of the complexities surrounding student funding, one of which is the challenge of student bursary provision. although some work in this regard has been undertaken internationally, relatively little has been done within the context of (south) africa, specifically (kerkvliet & nowell, 2014; harrison et al., 2015; panigrahi, 2015). as such, this study seeks to explore student bursary funding from the perspective of the implementation challenges that pertain to it. this includes exploring who the stakeholders involved are, and the extent to which student funding supports the project of transformation in the country. the study is exploratory and qualitative, and examines the undergraduate student funding model deployed within one higher education institution in south africa. it is an intra-institutional case study as it draws on interviews conducted with senior university staff involved in a range of student support and financing activities. these senior staff included those working in finance, student services, information technology and recruitment. importantly, the case study speaks to the first-year student experience in that it interrogates, from an institutional perspective, how students gain access to funding with a view to examining how access to funding can be enhanced in the future. student funding: challenges and debates access to higher education is a crucial component in solving the myriad of social and economic problems that south africa faces. but access is inhibited in two crucial ways. first, there are insufficient university places in the current suite of south african higher education institutions to accommodate all the applicants. second, the aspirations of young people hailing from impoverished areas to attend tertiary education institutions are stymied if they do not have access to the funding necessary to engage in university study (walker & mkwananzi, 2015). but the sheer numbers who require funding and the limited funds available mean that there is not enough money to fund all students. this has created an urgent need to investigate alternative and innovative models of student funding within higher education. one such student funding model is a government-created student loan scheme, known as the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas). although nsfas costs the south african government upwards of r1.1 billion per year, it remains insufficient compared to the demand for funding (pillay, 2010; dhet, 2013). in addition, it is not a pure bursary scheme, with only a maximum of 40% converted to a bursary (on the condition of good academic performance) and so, even with nsfas aid, students exit university deeply indebted (kwiek et al., 2012). for those who do not qualify for nsfas, or do qualify but are not able to get funding due to funding shortfalls, it is either the students themselves or the higher education institutions that have to make up this shortfall. in practice, students manage their financial obligations via a balance of some or all of the following channels: student funding (grants, bursaries, nsfas loans), bank loans, part-time work, savings and parental contributions. the result of this can be seen in recent history: in south africa, by the early 2000s, national student debt had risen to r5.5 billion. to reduce this, south african institutions of http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 tracey mckay, anban naidoo & zach simpson: exploring the challenges of first-year student funding … 21 higher education vigorously pursued upfront payments and other cost recovery strategies, including debt collection. in some cases, this included withholding academic results until students had settled their debt (koen et al., 2006). despite this, entire student debt owed to universities alone stood – by the end of 2016 – at almost r1 billion, and the number of private student loans (from banks for example) stood at 120 000, with at least one third in arrears (govender, 2017; eighty20, 2016). indeed, another result was the student revolt of 2015, known as #feesmustfall, where students took their grievances over the costs of higher education to the streets and to the seat of government, the union buildings in pretoria. of course, debates about student funding must be situated in broader concerns about the extent to which higher education is inclusive in terms of the environment it provides for its participants. student funding is a significant concern, but it is important to avoid ‘mis-framing’ the nuanced problems that exist regarding social justice and higher education (bozalek & boughey, 2012). access to higher education is crucial for inclusive growth and social mobility, and there are various forms of transformation required across the higher education sector, particularly with regard to language, race, gender, internationalisation and class (panigrahi, 2015). it may well be of little consequence to increase student funding while ignoring the “interconnecting structures, systems, practices, discourses and cultures of higher education that are complicit in the social, economic and cultural reproduction of inequalities and exclusions in and through higher education” (burke et al., 2017, p. 1). thus, the broad aim should be to provide equitable access to higher education study for all groups within society (asplund et al., 2008). but burke et al. (2017) show that representation alone is insufficient: what is also necessary is the redistribution of resources, recognition of diverse resources and transformation of pedagogical spaces. within such a context, funding needs to be modelled in such a way that it contributes to this project of transformation. of course, therefore, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach; instead, institutions, and government, need to devise funding strategies that are student-centred. while this presents a significant challenge, it may be essential to facilitate effective transformation of higher education. nonetheless, while research shows that state aid has a positive relationship with student performance, other studies claim that the total amount of money spent does not reliably improve results (forster, 2008; richardson et al., 2009). thus, one area where student funding could be improved is in the use of multiple criteria, both academic and non-academic to determine who qualifies for a bursary. in this regard, student funding decision-makers may do better to incorporate non-traditional criteria, such as differences between the environment of the institution and the environment from which a student comes. furthermore, student funding must make provision for institutional life: residence activities provide an engaging environment in which students can become immersed in the academic environment (burke et al., 2017). this allows for better social integration, which could have a positive impact on students’ performance in higher education. furthermore, the provision of student funding cannot be divorced from the provision of student support services. students who require funding often hail from marginalised 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 19–32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 groups. although one cannot homogenise such groups, they face many obstacles: family stresses, financial strain, stigmatisation, social integration, and lack of access to the culture of the academy (thompson et al., 2013). that said, such challenges are not only felt by so-called “disadvantaged” students. all students require support, particularly in the first year, in order to fulfil their potential, whether this is support with things such as academic writing, or emotional and psychological support. the provision of such support is extremely costly, and is often marginalised within institutions because it does not provide direct forms of income to mitigate its expense. however, in this paper, we propose that student funding must be seen as part and parcel of broader initiatives aimed at (first-year) student support. a significant challenge, however, is to ensure that such support recognises diversity in a positive manner, as opposed to engaging in assimilationist coercion (burke et al., 2017). finally, a key part of student funding is stakeholder engagement. dewey (2009) proposes that institutions need to make a fundamental change to the way they engage with stakeholders. this involves much closer relationships with students, government and industry in order to ensure a sustainable, effective, accountable and flexible approach to student funding. indeed, this is critical to student funding with its myriad of challenges and constraints: institutions need to work closely with stakeholders in order to allow for innovative thinking and mutual gains. student funding (seen within the broad thrust of student support and transformation of higher education) is an increasingly important function of higher education institutions. however, it is not a simple proposition. as begičević et al. (2010) argue, there are multiple aspects on which higher education institutions are expected to deliver, each of which presents its own benefits and costs. the needs for research, industry engagement and the like present conflicting and dynamic priorities depending on which part of the institution one is positioned within (asif & searcy,  2014). again, this calls for clarity of focus, effective decision-making and open stakeholder engagement. methodology the purpose of this study was to explore the undergraduate student funding model used at one contact institution of higher education in south africa, from the perspective of senior university management. the aim was to determine if, and how, the student funding model could be improved. participants were selected based on how familiar they were with the inner workings and decision making of the institution. most were in middle management with portfolios that were either strategic or operational. the seven who agreed to participate were from the departments of student services, student finance, information technology and recruitment. these departments all work on various aspects of student funding (independently, and in conjunction with one another) and, in combination, the selection of these participants allowed for a broad exploration of the challenges, (dis)advantages and considerations related to student funding. it is important to note that the interviews were conducted in 2015, prior to the emergence of the #feesmustfall protests. participation was voluntary and participants were given the option to withdraw at any time. moreover, participation was confidential http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 tracey mckay, anban naidoo & zach simpson: exploring the challenges of first-year student funding … 23 and ethics clearance from the institution was obtained. a limitation of the present study is that participants were limited to ‘internal’ role players only and stakeholders, such as students, parents and lecturers were not included. due to the focus being funding, no direct investigation into student support was undertaken. table 1: list of interviewees title years of experience (in student funding) years of experience (in higher education) senior manager: student finance 15 30 business analyst: student finance 6 18 division head: student finance 35 35 manager: bursaries & loans 19 19 manager: financial aspects 10 10 senior manager: recruitment & retention 14 14 deputy director: recruitment & international students 18 18 a semi-structured interview schedule was designed (see appendix). the areas of focus within the interview schedule were: (a) the mechanisms used to facilitate student funding; (b) the criteria used for student funding; and (c) the challenges facing student funding. the interviews were recorded and the transcribed data amounted to 79 pages or 35 300 words. content analysis was used to analyse the transcriptions and the themes that emerged from the data are presented here. where necessary, data collection and analysis was supplemented by referring to internal documentation such as memos and policies. results current student funding model: criteria and stakeholders the interview data suggested that the institution divides student funding into three different fund groups: (1) own funds, (2) controlled funds, and (3) administered funds (see table 2) with 1 698 individual funds managed by the university. each individual fund has its own set of criteria based on the strategy and/or needs of that particular fund. as participant  1 pointed out, all “have different criteria, different reasons why each is awarded, and the processes, marketing and communication for each is different” making it “complicated” due to the “different stakeholders … finance, client service, faculties, external donors, education innovation”. 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 19–32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 table 2: fund groups and examples university’s own funds funds controlled by the university funds administered by the university • merit bursaries • sport bursaries • loans • special projects • s-funds bursaries • family discounts • staff rebate • edu-loan • nsfas • nrf • studentships • donors with m.o.u. • city council • provinces • government • other table 3 lists the types of criteria that individual student funds use, although some fund groups use a combination of these criteria. participant 7 indicated that the range of criteria was useful as it allowed the institution to “tailor offerings to suit an individual or the market … you are trying to capture”. thus, as participant 1 added, the wide range of criteria gave the institution “options”. table 3: criteria used in student funding academic non-academic • grade 12 results (individual subjects, admissions point score, etc.) • grade point average • financial neediness • sports achievement • extra-curricular activities especially leadership (head boy/girl, etc.) • employment status (institutional staff) • disability status • application for funding • faculty and/or study choice • population group/race • school • loyalty (development or school programmes) although there are non-academic criteria, the institution places a great deal of emphasis on academic criteria. participant 1 noted that this was because the institution wanted to attract “top students”. participant 7 added that “we were specifically [worried about] losing market share, especially in the top [grade 12 results] category … so it was reviewed and a new model [vice-chancellor’s award] has been put in place for 2016”. but, participant 6 noted that “rewarding performance based on study choice was perceived as being unfair by parents and students”. as such, the overemphasis on academic criteria (although this rewarded student for academic performance) was viewed as problematic. instead, participant 1 wanted leadership to be emphasised in addition to academic results, whereas for participants 3, 4 and 5, “need” was identified as taking precedence. participant 7 felt that excellence, rather than need alone, should be adopted as a criterion for nsfas: “i would like http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 tracey mckay, anban naidoo & zach simpson: exploring the challenges of first-year student funding … 25 government to reward academic excellence … couple neediness to academic excellence.” participant 6 was concerned that the awarding of sports bursaries was not transparent and that the criteria were not clear. most wanted the university to adopt aptitude and ability tests and use the results to improve student funding decisions. participant  2 wanted the settlement of previous, outstanding debt and/or the efforts made in terms of securing their own funding via loans to be a criterion. this participant also felt that “students … [who] put in a lot of effort into getting money to settle their outstanding balances but … then we help students [who] have not paid at all … [so] students who try to settle their debts are ignored in favour of those who made no effort”. the participants identified a combined total of 18 stakeholders (see table 4). the key stakeholders were identified as the university finance department, external funders (including nsfas) and students. in most cases, participants also mentioned parents. it was felt that there was significant consultation with stakeholders. for example, participant  1 argued that “they have a lot of input” while participant  5 stated that “we sit around a table often, everyone is notified” and participant  7 confirmed “we have developed a bit of a policy, so i think there is lots of opportunity to give input”. it was found that key stakeholders “sit around a table” to raise their concerns, but non-key stakeholders were managed by the relevant staff members who relay concerns to those in authority. although participants were unanimous in their belief that stakeholders were satisfied, they qualified this by arguing that there was need for some improvement. for example, participant 4 stated “yes, but potential funders are unhappy due to the process followed to become a funder”. challenges of the current student funding model it was found that the student funding model is continuously under review and revised annually, with ad-hoc changes made even during a cycle when necessary. overall, the participants felt that the current student funding model faced four significant challenges: finance, communication, funding design and student support. each of these challenges is elucidated below. finance the most important challenge was that requests for funding far outstripped the money available. participant  1 stated that “the budget is under constraint” while participant  7 adds, “the institution can’t make up the shortfall, we don’t have the money”. all of the participants acknowledged this lack of funding. the university was under financial pressure [participants  2 and 6]. participant  7 was particularly concerned that universities were spending their reserve funds (“money is not kept in reserve”) which was seen to be detrimental to the long-term survival of the university (“you are cutting off your own sustainability if you offer too many of these [bursaries]”). despite this, there was also an attempt by the institution to take inflation and real costs into account [participants  1 and 6]: “bursary values were enhanced and made more competitive [compared] to other universities”. 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 19–32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 table 4: internal and external stakeholders internal stakeholders external stakeholders • administration department • career counsellors • client services • education innovation • executive management • faculties • finance department • institutional advancement • institutional planning • research and innovation support • residences • student affairs • university relations • external funders • government departments • parents • schools • students crucially, participant  7 noted that the bulk of the money was allocated in the first year of study: “we frontload the offerings” which was seen to be “inherently unfair”. this participant wanted funds to be disbursed “through the years” as staggering the award over the duration of the study period provides consistency for the student. that is, for students to “know that [i] got that left for 2nd year” and “[what] i got left for 3rd year”. some wanted a system in place whereby student fee accounts had to be settled first rather than giving money that students can “take out and go do something else with”. another issue was that upon graduation, the nfsas bursary is converted to a loan, which means such students do not return for postgraduate studies due to this “loan hanging over their head” [participant 6]. communication participants felt that communication with students and other stakeholders could be improved. in some cases, students did not know about bursary funding and so “if the student didn’t apply for funding, then they are not going to be on the list” [participant 2]. participant 4 concurred and felt that a potential solution was to wrap funding applications with the standard application to study. that is, “funding applications should be automatic”. participant 7 felt that students need to understand the “strings” attached to loans and noted that only recently could students even “view the terms and conditions on the bursary website”, as “the rules and regulations [are currently not] clear”. another challenge was communication with potential funders, with participant  4 remarking that “potential funders are sent from one person to the next” rather than there being one central interface whereby the university can engage with potential funders. however, the participants did indicate that the university was constantly improving its practices. participant  5 noted that “we try to see if we can do it better, faster, communication” and participant 1 added “there’s a lot more communication than before”. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 tracey mckay, anban naidoo & zach simpson: exploring the challenges of first-year student funding … 27 funding design all the participants felt that the bursary fund rules and criteria were overly complex. participant 1 noted that “there are different criteria … why the award is given … they have different processes, the marketing, and the communication … it’s quite complicated … it’s a lot of admin”. added to this, was the need to manage the limited funds well ahead of time: “we try to forecast a year or two in advance.” this causes problems as there are multiple factors that can impact on these forecasts, such as inflation, strikes and budget cuts. most acknowledged the huge support offered by nsfas, but wished that they could do more. participant 3 contends that “the offer to the student is not enough to cover all their fees and for instance the hostels”. participant 5 confirms that “[nsfas] have a capped amount of r67 000 … and so can’t fund the additional r20 000 or what’s needed”. student support many participants felt that student support was critical to student funding success. participant 2 was explicit in this regard: “there is a huge lack of support for the students”. participant  3 indicated that such support is vital to student life (“it must be compulsory for students to receive counselling so that they fit in”) as did participant  4, who felt that students needed support in an environment in which they do not feel comfortable: “students feel that this [the institution] is not my first choice … i was not accepted elsewhere”. lastly, participant 7 felt that those that receive funding need to be monitored closely with full support given based on the student’s need: “i would introduce … a type of monitoring system … for students [who have] gotten funding from us … [as we do not know who] might be at risk or might not be at risk.” this way they can “get whatever kind of help is necessary”. student funding and transformation most participants were of the view that funding did take transformation into account. participant 1 said: “yes, there are equity awards.” participant 7 gave voice to the strategic nature of transformation: “yes … if you take the broad sense of transformation from equity to demographics … we have a wide range of bursaries.” in terms of improving transformation, two participants (participants 6 and 7) suggested that more emphasis should be placed on non-academic criteria and participant 1 argued for emphasis to be shifted to particular degree programmes. the question of transformation played out in the interviews in various ways, and significant, related points emerged from the data. these included: student support (again), capacity planning, language policy, and organisation development. each of these are discussed in turn below. student support student support was also seen to be important for transformation. participant 2 wanted an early warning system: “support for students … this [support must be] in the beginning of 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 19–32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 their studies, otherwise they get discouraged and they just drop out.” participant 3 indicated that there is a need to find the root cause of the problem and address that “support services, to see really where the problem is and pinpoint that”. participant  4 wanted cultural integration programmes: “[creating] a culture at university … [where students are more comfortable].” participant 6 argued for “a quota system” outlining that “we have a quota system in residence, which i think is good” [participant  6]. participant  3 argued that “it must be compulsory for students to receive counselling”. capacity planning participant 4 took the view that by increasing capacity, there would be a natural progression in terms of transformation as the institution’s demographic starts to resemble that of the nation. this involves re-designing the university to cope with the greater number of students. capacity planning refers to achieving a balance between massification and staffto-student ratio. that is, simply increasing enrolments will not, in the long run, reduce inequality because when the staff-to-student ratio becomes too large, excellence in tuition is sacrificed. language policy some participants indicated that transformation may require changing the university’s language policy [participant  6 and 7]. language policy, in the context of the institution under study, refers to teaching in a language that students are comfortable with so as to level the playing field for all students. organisational development organisational development refers to transformation of the organisation in order to match the objectives of government and ensure that staff buys in to the requirements of transformation. thus, transformation is complex and nuanced and the debate needs to be widened beyond that of funding. participant  7 sums this point up particularly cogently: “your environment should be changed that it’s welcoming to all people … and it’s something that needs to be addressed by looking at accommodation, language policies, hr policies … if you don’t address it at an institutional level and cascade that down to departmental levels … they won’t become embedded in what you do.” discussion participant concerns over money mirrored those of the #feesmustfall campaign (although these interviews were conducted before this campaign entered the public discourse). it appeared that while the institution was attempting to assist students, it was overwhelmed by the size and scale of the problem. however, the short-term solution of using equity and ‘discretionary funds’ to help students was seen as going against the principle of long-term financial sustainability. these findings are in alignment with the literature (koen et al., 2006; aydin, 2014; styan, 2014; mulaudzi, 2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 tracey mckay, anban naidoo & zach simpson: exploring the challenges of first-year student funding … 29 there are numerous challenges associated with current funding mechanisms. the total bursary money available from the government is insufficient to fund all the students who need it (dhet, 2013). thus, even academically strong students will not necessarily receive funding. another challenge is the effective allocation of bursaries, an issue found worldwide (callender & wilkinson, 2013). the institution under study here does attempt to allocate bursaries in a transparent, predictable and timeous manner. but, the range of funds from which bursaries must be allocated means that this ideal is not always achieved in practice. in addition, funding information is poorly communicated to students; as such, those who really need it often do not apply. in other cases, students hear too late that funding for which they have applied has been granted or declined, leaving them either unable to take up the bursary or unable to find alternative funding. as such, better communication with all stakeholders, but especially students, is required. sometimes, complex rules and criteria bear unintended consequences. for example, some students are awarded multiple bursaries, while other, similarly deserving students – or even more needy students – are left out altogether. thus, there should be limitations on the amount of money any one student can be allocated. this is borne out in the literature, which argues that more money does not automatically produce better academic performance (kinnucan et al., 2006). in addition, the administrative decision to write off outstanding student fee balances is a disincentive to settle debts; in fact, it creates an incentive to not pay at all. although there is a heavy reliance on nsfas, the cost of attending the institution was not fully covered by the fund. thus, nsfas needs to be re-examined and an increase in the availability of loans can be achieved through adopting innovative measures such as income contingent loans (greenaway & haynes, 2003). subsequent to this research being conducted, the heher commission of inquiry into higher education funding, instituted by former president zuma in response to the #feesmustfall protests, has also identified income contingent loans as a means of addressing funding shortfalls (the presidency, 2017). furthermore, although institutions should be able to use their own funds to attract students, this should be capped to ensure long-term financial sustainability. although the institution does its best to capture an extremely varied group of students in order to achieve transformation targets, the main driver of bursary allocations remains academic criteria (that is, grade 12 results and grade point averages), which means that transformation continues to be stymied by the inequalities present in the primary and secondary education sectors. while a focus on academic quality above all else is consistent with what happens elsewhere in the world, some participants nonetheless wanted greater emphasis to be placed on non-academic criteria, especially leadership and aptitude (subjectrelated skills tests or access tests) as well as ability (non-subject-specific tests or interviews) (zaaiman, 1998; mccaig, 2016). although this study has focused on student funding, all the participants made it clear that funding is but one issue facing the transformation of higher education. students also require emotional and social support, as well as language support, integration support, career support and psychological support. this is consistent with other studies (webber & ehrenberg, 2010; volberding et al., 2015) where it has been found that offering emotional support and other similar support services positively influences success rates. 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 19–32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 conclusion student funding is complex: it cannot be viewed simplistically as just a process of giving funds to students. from an institutional perspective, funding faces two main challenges: the available money is too little, and careful management of multiple stakeholders, rules, regulations and criteria is required. as such, the institution struggles to address these two factors. this may in part explain why first-year students struggle to obtain the funding they need. in order to ensure that what limited funding there is goes to those students most in need, it is recommended that the current funding model be improved by the inclusion of both academic and non-academic criteria. importantly, the study showed that not all students, especially first-years, know where or how to apply for funding. this means there needs to be better communication about funding. importantly, all the participants in the study emphasised that funding is but one issue facing first-year students. first-year students are highly vulnerable and need emotional and social support, as well as language support, integration support, career support and psychological support. without this improved student support, no amount of funding may help the student. in terms of future research, a number of suggestions can be made: (1) to explore students’ perceptions of student funding; (2) undertake investigation into how to ensure the sustainability of (a) institutional, (b) government and (c) corporate student funding in the south african context; and (3) the development of a model that allows for efficient and effective student funding communication, both internally and externally. references asif, m. & searcy, c. 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(2015). emotional intelligence levels of undergraduate kinesiology students: brief report. north american journal of psychology, 17(1), 37–44. walker, m. & mkwananzi, f. (2015). challenges in accessing higher education: a case study of marginalised young people in one south african informal settlement. international journal of educational development, 40, 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.11.010 webber, d.a. & ehrenberg, r.g. (2010). do expenditures other than instructional expenditures affect graduation and persistence rates in american higher education? economics of education review, 29(6), 947–958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.04.006 zaaiman, h. (1998). selecting students for mathematics and science: the challenge facing higher education in south africa. human sciences research council. retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed439908 appendix: structured interview questions 1. what criteria are used to make undergraduate student funding (bursary allocation) decisions? 2. in your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the current criteria? 3. what aspects of the current student funding (bursary allocation) system would you change if you could? 4. what inhibits the implementation of changes to the student funding (bursary allocation) system, in your opinion? 5. when last was the undergraduate student funding (bursary allocation) system reviewed? what was the outcome? 6. in your opinion, does the current student funding (bursary allocation) system address transformational issues? could the addition of other criteria assist with regards to transformation? what would these criteria be? 7. should the student funding (bursary allocation) system be used to address transformational issues? what other tools are available to address transformational issues? 8. who are the internal and external stakeholders of the student funding (bursary allocation) system? are they satisfied with the current student funding (bursary allocation) system? how much input do they have with regards to the student funding (bursary allocation) system? how to cite: mckay, t.j.m., naidoo, a. & simpson, z. (2018). exploring the challenges of first-year student funding: an intra-institutional case study. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 19–32. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.11.010 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.04.006 http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed439908 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3063 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 25-37 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 25 www.jsaa.ac.za research article career development among undergraduate students of madda walabu university, south east ethiopia abera getachew* & gobena daniel** * department of psychology, institute of education and behavioral sciences, ambo university, west showa, oromia, ethiopia. email: abegeta12@gmail.com ** school of psychology, college of education and behavioral sciences, addis ababa university, ethiopia. email: gobenadaniel@yahoo.com abstract career guidance and counselling is a vaguely implemented concept in most educational institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations. the severity of the problem and scarcity of relevant information among university students have prompted the undertaking of this study the aim of which was to assess career development among undergraduate students of madda walabu university. crosssectional study design was employed to gather quantitative data through self-administered structured questionnaires. the participants in the study were 605 undergraduate students of madda walabu university who were recruited through multi-stage sampling. the analysis employed spss-20.0 to calculate t-test and anova. the findings suggested that socio-demographic variables were important in determining the factors, levels and variances in career development. the participants’ perceived benefit of career development has shown that there is a statistically significant difference between the expected mean and the observed mean, t (604) =29.11, p<.01. however, they had only some unsatisfactory information on career development and most of them (47.4%) did not have a bright future. the result of this study showed that career development is important in understanding students’ personal values, clarifying their goals, career choice directions and job-searching skills. because the respondents’ reported information on career development is so poor, lack of future direction and decreased performance are inevitable. it is suggested that career counselling services are seen to be highly recommendable in advancing students’ career development in many aspects. keywords career development, socio-demographic variables, university students introduction career guidance and counselling is a vaguely implemented concept in most educational institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations. students need a professional counsellor’s guidance to develop their career. student services should be available on campus to help them develop self-awareness (personal interests, skills, potentials, weaknesses) and assess occupational opportunities such as, employment trends, expected http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:abegeta12@gmail.com mailto:gobenadaniel%40yahoo.com?subject= 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 25–37 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 competencies in the field, requirements for employment and job descriptions related to the area. students also need to prepare a career plan related to their career research, goal setting and means of accomplishing goals, and develop job-searching skills (identifying prospective employers, preparing résumés, preparing for interviews). hence, the role of career guidance counselling services is invaluable in enabling students to select the best fit with their ability, interest and personality. nayak and rao (2004) disclosed that discipline choice is a very important decision and that it is a long process rather than a simple incident. vocational interests and choices do not appear all of a sudden during adolescence; they appear as a result of the development process. different scholars have listed the main factors which can have a major influence on the selection of occupational types. for example, mesfin (2000) mentioned that the most frequent factors are interest in the job, personal abilities, personality traits, security, stability and prestige appeared to play a subsidiary role in influencing the choice of a vocation. in general students are uncertain of what courses they should study, and there is always a preference for courses that are believed to be easy or enjoyable. most of the students do not understand the relationship between course selections and their future destinations for business, interest and physical fit; therefore, the connection between education and career entry is also not understood by many (stuart, 2002). it is emphasised that students who join different occupational training areas should select and be placed in accordance with their interests, aptitudes and capabilities for the requirements of that particular occupation (antinios, 2006; heluf, 2005). even though students’ career choice, interest and aptitude are essential factors influencing their success in universities and colleges, the ethiopian tertiary education admission system is merely based on university entrance examination results and some affirmative action targeting girls, physically disabled students and students from ‘developing’ regions believed to be disadvantaged. scholars in the field recommend that comprehensive modern career guidance and counselling programmes will be effective in assisting students, along with their parents, in responding to these and similar issues. it is believed that when career counsellors have time, resources and the structure of a comprehensive programme within which to work, worthy things happen. these include improving academic achievement, helping students to take more demanding courses and development and use of career plans (day as cited in yilfashewa, 2011). through improving career guidance demands for young people, policy makers can address challenges in tertiary education. there challenges are in meeting gaps in access, level of quality of services and improving the nature of services. in college, the major challenges are to provide sufficient human and capital resources of the right type within educational settings. gaps in access are particularly evident in career development and in the vocational tracks of college settings. there is generally a lack of career guidance provision for students in tertiary education despite the significant benefits of career development (sun & yuen, 2012). some local researchers described that the existing modern counselling services in ethiopia are confined to educational settings, especially universities; but the availability abera getachew & gobena daniel: career development among undergraduate students, south east ethiopia 27 of counselling in non-academic settings is insignificant (yusuf, 1998). thus, the process of vocational development is a continuous, ongoing one, and it is essentially an act of developing and implementing a self-concept. counselling services in madda walabu university the origin of provision of counselling services to the students at madda walabu university was in september 2008. it commenced with employing a counsellor who had the qualification of bachelor of arts in psychology. this person worked as a student counsellor for about two years. during the first year of service, many functions were not fulfilled. among these, the counselling service office location was not suitable for all students. the university administrators did not give much emphasis to the services. counselling services for the students were considered useless. between 2010 and 2012, the counselling service was unofficially provided by the dean. this service is not recognised by the university’s administrators. the services covered various psychological, academic and social problems requiring the help of professionals. the counselling service was subsequently closed for two years whereafter the university employed two bachelor of arts in psychology graduates as counsellors. addressing individuals and group trainees’ problems needs educational and practical experiences at individual, small-scale and association levels as well as careful career guidance and counselling services. students need this career counselling from various angles ranging from field selection, marketing and recruitment potentialities to interests and other psychological requirements, and physical and psychological fitness. seeking the required readiness appropriate for career counselling and guidance services could be provided to promote the overall development of the trainees and the country. it also enables learners and practitioners to be productive for themselves as well as for society. hence, it is unquestionable that the relevance of conducting a study on this issue is that it gives prompt solutions for the improvement of the service. unless the psychosocial and emotional problems of students are addressed through effective career counselling services, these problems are aggravated or persist at the same pace, resulting in the wastage of more human resources. methods research design and area the study used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data for portraying the characteristics of career development among undergraduate students of madda malabu university which is found in ethiopia; and located at a distance of 430 km to the southeast of addis ababa. this design was chosen because of its appropriateness for the purposes of the study. the cross-sectional survey design is suitable for describing the way things are. the data gathered from respondents through questionnaires were used to discover particular characteristics of undergraduate university students. the study used quantitative design because all variables in this research were measured instead of being manipulated. 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 25–37 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 the study was conducted among 605 randomly selected regular undergraduate students in march 2013. the university has two campuses: robe main campus and goba college of medicine and health sciences. in 2013 the university had ten schools, one institute, one college and thirty-seven departments with a total number of 5,960 undergraduate students. sampling and participants this study used 605 randomly selected undergraduate students of madda walabu university in march 2013. table 1: background information of sample students by college/school and department institute: college/school department sample for regular sample for extension engineering and technology civil and urban engineering 36 construction technology and management 33 5 water resource and irrigation information system computer science 8 mathematical science mathematics statistics 36 natural science biology 38 physics chemistry sport science 16 biodiversity and natural resources eco-tourism natural resource management forestry college of health science generic nursing 40 14 health officer 35 11 midwifery 25 medicine agriculture animal science plant science 20 rural development and agricultural extension business and economics accounting 34 9 economics 32 marketing management 22 management 29 12 social science tourism management 18 geography history 18 abera getachew & gobena daniel: career development among undergraduate students, south east ethiopia 29 institute: college/school department sample for regular sample for extension behavioral science civic and ethical education 17 sociology 24 10 law psychology language english 10 afan oromo 20 13 journalism amharic institute of pedagogical science edpm# educational planning 20 subtotal 532 82 total 605 #edpm – educational development planning and management the samples in table 1 were determined based on single population proportion to size sampling in relation to college/school and department. for more information see the above table 1. regular undergraduate students of madda walabu university were the source population and the study populations were those students selected for the study through simple random sampling. the sample size was determined by using a single population proportion formula considering the following assumptions: proportion of career development which was 50%, level of confidence of 95%, margin of error 0.05, design effect of 1.5 and 10% non-response rate. finally the sample size was computed to be 605 by using the following formula: the respondents were stratified into the health and non-health campus. from the total ten non-health schools (robe campus) and one medicine and health sciences college of the university (goba campus), one college, one institute and nine schools were selected randomly. the total sample size of the study was allocated proportionally for the schools/ college. samples allocated for the schools/college were allocated proportionally for the stratified class year under the departments of selected schools/college. data collection and analysis in order to collect relevant and reliable data the researcher employed questionnaires which were used before by scholars in the area. data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. supervision of the data collection was done by the instructors from different schools in the university. the questionnaires were first developed in english and then translated into both afan oromo and amharic languages to suit the respondents. data-collection facilitators were fluent speakers of both afan oromo and amharic language. two days’ training were allocated for data collectors on how to collect and process 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 25–37 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 data. spss-20.0 was used to compute descriptive statistics, analysis of t-test and anova because the questionnaire was likert scale or ordinal type. ethical considerations ethical issues were approved by the addis ababa research review committee. after approval for ethical clearance, communication was made with madda walabu university using the joint letter taken from addis ababa university before data collection. prior to administering the questionnaire, the objectives of the study were clearly explained to the participants and oral informed consent was obtained. confidentiality and anonymity were ensured throughout the execution of the study. participants were informed that their participation was voluntary that they could withdraw from the study at any time if they wished to do so and that this would not affect any service or benefit that they were get from any institution. operational definitions career: a job or profession for which one is trained and in which one intends to be involved through life. career development: encompasses all activities that foster the individual student’s knowledge, skills and capacities in relation to planning, developing and directing their career through informed choices. career development involves the person’s creation of a career pattern, decision-making style, integration of life roles, value expression, and life-role self-concepts (herr et al., cited in niles & harris-bowlsbey, 2009). career information: comprises the delivery of accessible written, text, online, media or oral information concerning career needs and pathways; and includes career fairs, employer presentations, documents from tertiary providers and employers, and job search websites. it incorporates opportunities for students to relate career information to personal, career opportunities, progression routes, and build knowledge about where support may be available and how to access it. career counselling: refers to the professional help provided to students to deal with their career concerns and to facilitate their career development. helping students in field selection and becoming aware of the many occupations available for exploration; assisting them in deciding what to do after their graduation; and helping them to understand the challenges and opportunities of work are the main issues of career counselling in educational settings. career guidance: the process of providing an individual with career information and information about the world of work (information, exploration). this term is used interchangeably with vocational guidance. vocational guidance: the process of helping an individual to choose an occupation, to prepare for it, to enter into it, and progress in it. it is vital in assisting students who have the usual problems experienced in vocational development. it was originally thought to be provided only prior to training and employment. abera getachew & gobena daniel: career development among undergraduate students, south east ethiopia 31 results this section deals with the findings of the study. the aim of this study is to investigate the status of career development of madda walabu university undergraduate students. to assess the overall status among madda walabu university students, the researcher used quantitative data based on self-administered structured questionnaires. it is believed that the demographic characteristics of students may determine their career development status. hence, students’ socio-demographic characteristics were studied and the results are presented hereunder. table 2: socio-demographic variables in terms of age, gender, origin of residential and academic year level of respondents variables n % gender male 452 74.7 female 153 25.3 admission type regular 523 86.4 extension 82 13.6 origin of residential urban 239 39.5 rural 361 59.7 age 16–20 194 32.1 21–25 353 58.3 26–30 47 7.8 31–35 11 1.8 academic year level i 244 40.3 ii 203 33.5 iii 138 22.7 iv 20 3.6 table 2 describes the general information of the student respondents based on their socio-demographic characteristics. the total number of participants in the study was 605. as indicated, 452 (74.7%) of the participants were male, whereas the rest 153 (25.3%) were female. it is shown clearly in the table above that the frequency of participants in terms of age ranges from 21–25 years old. this constitutes the majority of the respondents which was 353 (58.3%). on the other hand, 194 (32.1 %) of them were in the age range of 16–20 years. respondents in the age range of 26–30 was 47 (7.8%). the rest of the respondents were in the age range of 31–35, which accounts for 11 (1.8%). in relation to frequency of participants in terms of origin of residential, from urban residence were 239 (39.5%) and a large number of the respondents were from rural residence which accounts for 361 (59.7%). moreover, in terms of academic year level, year i participants accounted for the majority of the respondents with 244 (40.3%) while year ii, year iii and year iv respondents totaled 203 (33.5%), 138 (22.7%) and 20 (3.6%) respectively. 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 25–37 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 table 3: the importance of career counselling services for the students item agree disagree not sure total n % n % n % n % understanding students’ personal values 431 71.2 54 8.9 120 19.8 605 100 students to clarify their career goals 362 58.9 52 8.6 191 31.6 605 100 helping students in their choice of career direction 445 73.6 34 5.6 126 20.8 605 100 assessing students’ skills and abilities 390 64.5 40 6.6 175 28.9 605 100 locating career information for the students 438 72.4 42 6.9 125 20.7 605 100 helping students in job-searching techniques 422 69.8 60 9.9 122 20.2 605 100 developing students’ interview skills 397 65.5 53 8.8 155 25.6 605 100 decision-making skills 381 63.0 47 7.8 176 29.1 605 100 identifying obstacles to students’ career choice 371 61.3 123 20.3 111 18.3 605 100 helping in writing résumé 385 63.6 126 20.8 94 15.5 605 100 table 3 clearly illustrates that most respondents do agree with the benefits of a counselling service for career development. accordingly, the respondents pointed out that in relation to their career development, a counselling service would help them to understand their personal values (71.2%) to classify their career goals (58.9), to assess their skills and abilities (64.5%), to develop their job-searching techniques (69.8%) and to identify obstacles to career choice (61.3%). in contrast, relatively few students – 20.8%, 7.8% and 8.8% – did not agree that the help of a career counselling service would be effective in writing a résumé, decision-making skills and developing students’ interview skills respectively. therefore, madda walabu university students believe in the importance of a career counselling service for their career development. table 4: one sample t-test on perceived benefit due to career counselling variables n mean expected mean sd df t sig. (2-tailed) perceived benefit due to career counselling: sum 1 to 10 605 25.25 20 4.662 604 29.112# .00 #p < 0.01 one sample t-test, used to investigate perceived benefit of career development has shown that there is a statistically significant difference between the expected mean and the observed mean, t (604) = 29.11, p<.01. therefore, students’ perceived benefit is above expected. abera getachew & gobena daniel: career development among undergraduate students, south east ethiopia 33 table 5: advancing students’ career development in relation to advancing your career development, have you thus far been successful in: agree disagree not sure total n % n % n % n % understanding personal values in career development 341 56.4 159 26.3 105 17.4 605 100 clarifying your future career goals 342 56.5 158 26.1 105 17.4 605 100 choosing a career direction 327 54.0 158 26.1 120 19.8 605 100 assessing abilities, potentials and weak points 345 57.0 135 22.3 125 20.7 605 100 locating career information 338 55.9 155 25.6 112 18.5 605 100 acquiring job-search techniques 339 56.1 153 25.3 113 18.7 605 100 developing interview skills 357 59.0 164 27.1 84 13.9 605 100 developing decision-making skills 363 60.0 142 23.5 100 16.5 605 100 identifying obstacles to career choices 357 59.0 135 22.3 113 18.7 605 100 writing a résumé or other correspondence to advance career 381 63.0 120 19.8 104 17.2 605 100 counselling services are thus seen to be highly recommendable in advancing career development in many aspects. according to data shown in the table 5, the respondents believe that advancing students’ career development helps them to understand their personal values in their career development (56.4%), to clarify their future career goals (56.5%), to develop decision-making skills (60%), to identify obstacles which might hinder their career choices (59%), and to write a résumé or other correspondence to advance their career. respondents who disagreed account for 26.1%, 25.6% and 25.3% respectively, claiming that career counselling services do not help in choosing a career direction, locating career information and acquiring job-search techniques. despite the fact that there is a lack in terms of advancing students’ career development in the university, it shows misunderstanding of the students about the concept of advancing students’ career development. table 6: students’ information on career development item agree disagree not sure total n % n % n % n % have adequate information 323 53.4 198 32.7 84 13.9 605 100 do not know where to secure this information 275 45.5 208 34.4 122 20.2 605 100 graduate and this worries you greatly 283 46.8 204 33.7 118 19.5 605 100 worry that affects your educational performance 306 50.6 203 33.6 96 15.9 605 100 do not see a bright future ahead of you 287 47.4 231 38.2 87 14.4 605 100 table 6 reveals that students have different level of information on career development. accordingly, about 53.4% reported as they have adequate information, whereas about 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 25–37 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 45.5% do not know where to secure the information. even though students have some information on career development, most of them (47.4%) do not see a bright future ahead. this in turn results in creation of worries which affect their educational performance (50.6%). moreover, almost half of the respondents admitted worrying about what to do and how to get employed after graduation (46.8%). in short, the data shows that the information that the students of madda walabu university have in relation to career development is not satisfactory. table 7: anova knowledge and information on career development by academic year ss df ms f sig. between groups 110.085 3 36.695 3.003# 0.03within groups 7296.247 597 12.222 total 7406.333 600 #p < 0.05 analysis of variance on knowledge and information on career development has revealed a statistically significant difference among the students based on their year level, f (3,597) = 3.00, p<.05. the descriptive statistics have shown that third-year students have greater knowledge of career development. as academic year increases, career development information rises due to exposure to different information sources. discussions according to hartman (1999) career counsellors provide students with experience that increases knowledge of occupations, training path, lifestyle, employment-seeking skills, decision-making strategies and above all knowledge of self. the finding of adedunni and oyesoji (2010) also show that career guidance and counselling services can provide students with the necessary tools to set career goals, and give them an understanding of the education and skills needed to meet their goals. lack of career counselling undermines the economic productivity of a country due to lack of proper career preparation, training, placement and satisfaction of students. the finding of the current study was consistent with these finding and reported that career counselling helps students to understand personal values, clarify their goals and choices of career direction, and acquire job-searching techniques. some students’ educational and career aspirations are inhibited due to personal and social difficulties that must be addressed by counsellors if students are to experience success (schmidt, 1997). in relation to advancing their career development, this study revealed that more than 60% of students recommend career counselling for assistance in developing decision-making skills and writing a résumé or other correspondence to advance their career. the finding also showed that 56% of students were able to understand their personal value, clarify future career goals and acquire job-search techniques as a result of advancing in career development skills. abera getachew & gobena daniel: career development among undergraduate students, south east ethiopia 35 career development is seen as a process of individual development rather than just getting employment and includes lifelong behavioral processes and influences that lead to one’s work value, choices of occupation, creation of career pattern, decision-making style, role integration, self-identity and career identity, educational literacy and related phenomena (schutt, 2000). nziramasanga (1999) also reports that guidance and counselling assists learners in identifying their own talents and in making intelligent choices for their future careers. the analysis of information on career counselling suggested 53.4% of students have adequate information, whereas about 45.5% do not know where to secure the information. again, the finding indicates that lack of future vision and decrease in performance among mwu students need attention. therefore, the counselling centre of mwu should take the importance of career counselling into account in the process of its re-shaping or restructuring. conclusion based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions have been drawn. the result of this study showed career development was found to be important in understanding students’ personal values, clarifying their goals, career choices and direction, and job-searching skills. however, they reported that information on career development is poor. as a result, the students do not know where to obtain career-related information, resulting in lack of future direction and decrease in performance. the career development services offered in the university were not enough and also not strong enough to provide adequate information about the characteristics of different vocational fields, labour market information, and skills required by different vocational fields. career development services through traditional consultancy services from parents, elders and peers may lead trainees to make irrational choices. however, scientific career development services should help to provide necessary information about the course of the study, information about world of work, labour market information and relevant information about abilities and skills in terms of related qualifications and competencies required to take up the identified training programme. career development services are relevant in assisting trainees to identify job opportunities and job availabilities in the area of their studies and enable them to avoid wasting time in training for vocations to which they are unsuited. by contrast, the study revealed that career development service was not given adequately in the sample the parent organisation institutions. therefore, the availability of the services is limited. as a result, this reality has adversely affected the training programme as a whole. using the intake capacity of higher education institutions as a major criterion can be a cause for some problems like unemployment of trained personnel. the placement guideline favors students. moreover, the placement guideline used to place trainees in different vocational institutions gives attention to the living area of trainees during placement activities being undertaken. finally, career counselling alone does not lead to provision of jobs or eradication of poverty. national governments, therefore, need 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 25–37 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 to create an economic environment that promotes the growth of enterprises and generally stimulates the economy. when businesses develop and expand, additional labour-market demands emerge for trained personnel, and new job and further training opportunities are created to trace and light the path of industrialisation. for this to happen on a sustainable basis, however, the higher education institutional system must be labour-market relevant, efficient and of high quality. recommendations based on the above conclusions, the researcher made the following recommendations: • career guidance and counselling services should be well established in order to reach all students. • career guidance and counselling should focus more on creating career selfawareness, and it should adopt a strategy to improve career information and planning among students. • career guidance and counselling should be strengthened if students’ career awareness and career planning are to improve. • career guidance and counselling services should focus on building a bright future for students. • the ministry of education should give more training to career counsellors and provide adequate resources for their use in career guidance and counselling. competing interests the authors declare that they have no competing of interests. authors’ contributions abera getachew (ag) was involved in conceiving the idea, proposal writing, designing, raising funding for the study, data collection, drafting of the manuscript and participated in all implementation stages of the project. he drafted and finalised the text of the manuscript. gobena daniel (gd) was involved in proposal writing, raising funding for the study, data collection and participated in all stages of the project’s implementation. ag and gd were also involved in data entry, analysing the data, drafting the text of the manuscript and participated in all stages of the project’s implementation. ag and gd were both involved in drafting, analysis and reviewing the manuscript critically for important intellectual content and participated in all stages of the research implementation. the authors read and approved the final manuscript. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank all participants of the study at madda walabu university. abera getachew & gobena daniel: career development among undergraduate students, south east ethiopia 37 references adedunni o.a. & oyesoji, a. (2010). effectiveness of career development and cognitive reframe therapy on irrational career thoughts among secondary school students in ogun state. unpublished doctoral dissertation, university of ibadan, nigeria. bedson, l. & perkins, d. (2006). a positive influence: equipping parents to support young people’s career transitions. fitzroy, victoria: brotherhood of st laurence. hartman, j.b. (1999). secondary school counselling manual. manitoba, canada: university of manitoba. heluf, g. (2005). training in technical and vocational education and employment prospects. the case of oromiya. unpublished ma thesis, addis ababa university. lemessa, d. (1996). a study of student selection straining and raining in the tvet schools. unpublished ma thesis, addis ababa university. mesfin, a. (2000). employment market international and occupational guidance services for tertiary level students in ethiopia: the case of prospecting agricultural college graduates (unpublished). mulugeta, e. (2006). workforce development: career development, preparation, and readiness of undergraduates to join the workforce: the case of sociology and social anthropology and psychology students in addis ababa university. unpublished ma thesis. addis ababa university. nayak, g. & rao, w. (2004). guidance counseling and vocational guidance. new daily uikas publishing house. niles, s.g. & harris-bowlsbey, j. (2009). career development interventions in the 21st century. columbus, oh: pearson. nziramasanga, c.t. (1999). report of the presidential commission of inquiry into education and training. harare, zimbabwe: government printers. schmidt, j.j. (1997). invitational counseling: an expanded framework for comprehensive school counseling programs. canadian journal of counselling, 31(1), 6–17. schutt, d. (2000). how to plan and develop a career center. ferguson publishing. stuart, c.p. (2002). policies and guideline for education and vocational guidance. prepared and disseminated bisection for tvet unesco, paris. sun, v.j. & yuen, m. (2012). career guidance and counseling for university students in china. international journal for the advancement of counseling, 34(3), 202–210. http://doi.org/10.1007/ s10447-012-9151-y yilfashew, s. (2011). revitalization quality using guidance counselling in ethiopian higher education institutions: exploring students’ views and attitude at haramaya university. international journal of instruction, 4(2), 62–92. yusuf, a. (1998). gender sensitive counselling psychology: a handbook for ethiopian high school counselors. addis ababa, ethiopia: addis ababa university press. zeleke, s. (2000). major problems of counselling in ethiopian high schools. ier flambeau, (7)2, 17–26. mailto:http://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-012-9151-y?subject= mailto:http://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-012-9151-y?subject= journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 85–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 85 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice who are our first‑year at‑risk humanities students? a reflection on a first‑year survey administered by the wits faculty of humanities teaching and learning unit in 2015 and 2016 genevieve hundermark* * dr genevieve hundermark was until recently a teaching and learning advisor/lecturer in the faculty of humanities teaching and learning unit at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: gen.hundermark@gmail.com abstract do we really know who our students are as they enter university? this was the question that the faculty of humanities at the university of the witwatersrand was grappling with. in response, the humanities’ teaching and learning unit compiled a registration survey for first‑year students to complete that gives an overview of who our incoming students are. the characteristics surveyed include students’ demographic and personal variables, such as the regions they came from, parental and support influences, time demands, financial and technology considerations, motivation for attending university, reading frequency, and interests. the purpose of the survey was two‑fold: firstly, to understand who our students are in terms of their background; and, secondly, to proactively determine what factors potentially place them at risk academically so that the teaching and learning unit could identify, and direct students to or implement support mechanisms to assist them. this article reflects on the survey that was conducted in 2015 and 2016 and rather than report on the findings of the survey, looks at how the survey and the “survey practice” adopted can be improved. the aim of this article is to reflect on the process used by the humanities teaching and learning unit to implement and improve a survey to determine different factors that potentially place first‑year students at risk. reflecting on this process, as opposed to reporting on the results of the survey, is important because it contributes to an action research process where future praxis is informed by reflection on previous action. this process is helpful to identify survey questions and administration that can be improved so as to gain more accurate data, as well as to identify proactive interventions that can be implemented to address risk factors students present and support students to be successful in their studies. keywords at‑risk students; first‑year experience; student success; student support; transition introduction there are many factors that contribute to higher education students being potentially at risk of either failing or dropping out of university. these include their academic ability, traced through previous academic performance (such as school-leaving results), as well as https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:gen.hundermark%40gmail.com?subject= 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 85–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 other non-academic factors such as access to funding and food (eiselen & geyser, 2003; mckenzie & schweitzer, 2001). historically, students in the faculty of humanities at the university of the witwatersrand were understood in terms of limited data such as admission data, which covered basic demographic information, for example age, race, gender, home address, matric/school-leaving results and related admission point score (aps). little more was known about the diverse student population in the faculty and their potential needs, such as who might need additional support in the transition to university based on factors that place students “at risk”. furthermore, students were only identified as being at risk after their semester 1 (mid-year) results, and therefore missed out on opportunities to be supported early in the year. the humanities teaching and learning unit decided to address this issue by devising a registration survey for first-year full-time students so we could better understand who these students were, and identify factors that might place them at risk academically and support measures needed. the survey was informed by a body of literature and staff input and conducted in 2015 and 2016. the 2016 version included amendments based on additional factors that had been identified. in both years, the results of the survey were shared with various forums within the faculty (such as the undergraduate studies committee, the teaching and learning committee and first-year coordinators) with the aim of increasing faculty and first-year lecturers’ understanding of their students and their potential risk factors. this article gives an overview of the literature that informed the survey and reflections of the effectiveness of the registration survey. a number of factors were considered in compiling the survey, although this is by no means a complete list. lessons were learnt from the administration of the survey as well as its compilation so that students’ support needs could be identified and addressed earlier in the academic year to assist them to succeed from the start of their higher education journeys. the article concludes with recommendations on how this “survey practice” can be improved, and future research projects that can assist with understanding and supporting incoming students. context and problem the faculty of humanities at the university of the witwatersrand employs two “at risk coordinators” in its teaching and learning unit (tlu). these coordinators are tasked with identifying and supporting at-risk students, focusing mainly on first-years. the tlu understands the term “students at risk” to be those who require temporary or ongoing interventions to assist them to achieve academically in order to be successful at university, and/or not drop out of university. our problem in humanities was two-fold: we only identified “at risk” students after the first semester (mid-year) based on their academic results, and secondly, we did not know enough about our first-year students. previously, only students’ school-leaving results (aps – admission points score for south african students) were used as an indicator of academic https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 genevieve hundermark: who are our first-year at-risk humanities students? … 87 success prior to commencing their studies. however, this is not the only measure. as we wanted to know more about our students and identify those who could be at risk earlier, we devised a survey that included a number of factors that could assist us in identifying them. we decided on a survey as the matric results of south african students that determine their aps are becoming less reliable – exam cheating is becoming a more frequent occurrence in some centres (mlambo, fredericks & sapa, 2015; peters, 2015). the national benchmark tests (nbts) can be used to gauge academic readiness for higher education but nbts are not used throughout the faculty. a survey seemed to be a reliable mechanism to assist us to gauge risk as well as understand who our first-year students are. we compiled the survey based on literature on what constitutes academic risk, the first-year experience, and student retention and attrition. staff input across the faculty was also considered. by understanding the background of first-year students and early identification of at-risk factors, support structures and mechanisms could be identified to assist students early in the academic year so that they could be more likely to experience success in their studies (purnell, mccarthy & mcleod, 2010). the faculty of humanities registration survey the first survey that the tlu drafted for the 2015 cohort included factors that students could self-report. students were provided options to select from. it comprised 22 statements, covering a range of factors: • demographics: age; first/home language; region that the student came from • parental/ support influences: first-in-family/ first-generation student; parents’ qualifications/level of education; family history of mental illness; students’ special learning needs; residence during semester • demands on time: part-time employment; outside responsibilities; transport to campus • financial considerations: number of meals per day; funding for studies • technology considerations: access to technology; ability to use software programs (self-assessed) • interest/motivation/involvement: bachelor of arts (ba) as choice of degree; the university of the witwatersrand as choice of university; career certainty • reading: when students last read a book; reading frequency with regard to demographics, students’ age, their home language and the region they come from impact on their academic achievement and “staying power”, with older students having a greater tendency to drop out (fike & fike, 2008; ishler & upcraft, 2005). students’ proficiency in the language of instruction also impacts the demands they experience academically – students who have the language of instruction as an additional language tend to experience difficulty with their academic studies (eiselen & geyser, 2003; stephen, welman & jordaan, 2004). the region that students come from can also act as an indicator of risk with students from certain provinces (e.g. gauteng) being depicted as more successful in higher education (soudien, 2014). 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 85–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 parental and support influences include whether the student was first-generation, their parents’ level of education, the student’s special learning needs and where the student resides during semester. first-generation students tend to have a higher attrition rate than their counterparts – they experience more difficulty in being prepared for and adapting to the university environment, and tend to lack adequate family support (pascarella, pierson, wolniak & terenzini, 2004). this often correlates with their parents’ level of education – students whose parents have lower levels of education and whose parents did not attend university, tend to have lower levels of academic achievement and lack the requisite parental support and understanding to encourage them in their studies (fike & fike, 2008; pascarella et al., 2004). students with learning disabilities or special needs are potentially at risk, and an awareness of who these students are can assist in directing them to resources and interventions on campus that can contribute to academic success (reed, kennet, lewis, lund-lucas, stallberg & newbold, 2009). where students reside during semesters can contribute to the support they receive for their studies – students who stay in a university residence tend to have lower dropout rates than their day-student counterparts (ishler & upcraft, 2005). students who stay at home during the semester may also receive adequate social support from their parents (pascarella et al., 2004), or they may have additional burdens and responsibilities placed on them, such as reliance on public transport, chores and so on. we also surveyed family history of mental illness for two reasons. firstly, if there is mental illness in the family we posited that the student may be supporting or dealing with such a family member and this can place an additional stressor on the student. secondly, mental illness tends to be hereditary (hemmings, kinnear,  lochner, niehaus, knowles, moolman-smook, corfield & stein, 2004) and experience in the faculty shows that some students develop or become aware of mental illness in the course of their studies. these students often need time off for diagnosis and treatment, which then impacts on their academic performance, and potentially results in attrition (megivern, pellerito & mowbray, 2003). students tend to experience a number of demands on their time outside the university context, impacting their time management and academic performance. these demands include part-time employment responsibilities (ishler & upcraft, 2005; mckenzie & schweitzer, 2001) and “out-of-class” activities or responsibilities (terenzini, pascarella & blimling, 1996), such as extra-curricular (sport, social clubs) activities and care-taking or household chores. transport to campus potentially indicates additional demands placed on students’ time because public transport is not always reliable in south africa, with strikes, large numbers of passengers and long queues impacting on travelling time, which then negatively impacts students’ time management and ability to cope with academic demands. students who experience financial difficulties experience additional stress in higher education (bojuwoye, 2002) impacting their retention and academic success (hinton, 2007). they tend to have difficulty focusing on their studies as they worry about whether they will be able to continue studying. however, students who receive financial aid tend to have lower dropout rates (fike & fike, 2008). funding may be available from https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 file:///c:/users/david/documents/sun%20media%20files/jsaa%206(2)%20k0383/proefleser/dvz/javascript:void(0); genevieve hundermark: who are our first-year at-risk humanities students? … 89 a variety of sources, such as parents or family, scholarships, bursaries, loans or personal resources, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. an awareness of students’ funding sources can assist with understanding additional sources of stress that may impact on students, their academic success and support needs. related to financial considerations is the socioeconomic status and income levels of the households students come from (ishler & upcraft, 2005). these factors were not surveyed but students were requested to indicate the number of meals they ate per day. food security is often related to socioeconomic status. access to meals was surveyed for two reasons – firstly, students who lacked food security could be directed to campus resources to assist them with meals, and secondly, low-income students are often academically underprepared for university (engstrom & tinto, 2008), impacting their academic achievement. technology considerations were included in the survey, as the university is becoming increasingly dependent on electronic platforms for students to access learning material and submit assignments. students tend to have varied levels of access to and proficiency in ict (czerniewicz & brown, 2010). currently, if students do not have access to electronic mechanisms off-campus, such as computers or smart phones, they are likely to experience difficulty in keeping up with the demands of their studies. this can impact their time management as they need to schedule additional trips, at extra cost, to campus over weekends to access computers in 24-hour centres. proficiency in using computers is also an important consideration – some students enter university having few or no computer skills and this can impact their time management, ability to access learning material hosted on electronic platforms, and ability to complete assignments timeously. motivation to succeed and the level of interest that a student displays in his or her studies contribute to academic success. students who have a work-life orientation to their studies are more likely to achieve academically at university (mäkinen, olkinuora & lonka,  2004), particularly disadvantaged youth who are goal-oriented (dassbrailsford, 2005). certain traits, such as achievement motivation, also play a role in students’ academic achievement (busato, prins, elshout & hamaker, 2000). motivation and interest can be gauged through the students’ choices of university, degree and career and how certain they are of these aspects. if students are uncertain of any of these factors, they are less likely to succeed academically (willcoxson & wynder, 2010). in addition, students require a range of academic skills in order to cope with academic demands and succeed at university (bojuwoye, 2002). these skills include reading skills (pretorius, 2002). if students are not able to read at the required level for tertiary studies, they are less likely to achieve academically and cope in a higher-education environment. reading is “a powerful learning tool, a means of constructing meaning, and acquiring new knowledge” (pretorius, 2002, p. 169). the reading culture of students can be gauged by how often they read. this information helps to indicate whether students may experience academic challenges, as those who do not read frequently may struggle to deal with the volume of reading they are exposed to at university. students were requested to complete the survey in 2015 and 2016. 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 85–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 administration of the survey in 2015, the survey was paper-based and completed by first-year students at registration while they were waiting in line. this helped the students to pass the time and contributed to a high response rate (95%). the responses were then captured by two data capturers, which was a time-consuming process. the capture and analysis of the data took a month from registration and presented a time-lag. in 2016, the university moved to online registration and not all students were present at the registration day. we changed our approach by setting up a google survey for students to complete, emailed them the link, and requested them to complete the survey. although this approach assisted with reducing the time-lag in collating data and communicating the results, the response rate was lower – only 40% of students completed the survey. there was also confusion concerning the survey – the university implemented an online biographical questionnaire that was completed during registration and many students commented to the teaching and learning unit that they did not complete the faculty survey as they thought both surveys were the same. ethical considerations in both 2015 and 2016, there was an informed consent process – students were informed in writing at the start of the survey that the information they shared was confidential and would be used to research and identify how the teaching and learning unit could better support students. only the two data capturers in 2015, who had signed non-disclosure agreements, and the coordinators had access to the data. hard copies of 2015 surveys were stored in locked cupboards in a coordinator’s office, while access to the results of the 2016 online survey was password protected. when students were identified for particular interventions, only the coordinators had knowledge of the particular factors that were considered for their selection. when students were contacted to participate or access interventions and/or support services, they were emailed or contacted individually rather than as part of a group. data reported to different forums and committees were presented as a group and no individual information was disclosed so as to protect the identity and confidentiality of students. what we did with the survey results the survey results were used to inform various interventions, disseminated to humanities’ staff through different forums, to identify students who had a particular need (food, special needs, etc.) and track potential at-risk students and their progress. when we collated the results in 2015, we identified students who presented six of the 22 at-risk markers surveyed; for example, if a student was first-generation, an additionallanguage english speaker, had access to two or fewer meals a day, last read a book more than six months prior to registration, had restricted access to icts and lived in rented accommodation. these factors were considered with students’ aps and identified students were invited to apply to attend the first-year experience (fye) camp. this camp assisted https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 genevieve hundermark: who are our first-year at-risk humanities students? … 91 students to develop skills for university success, such as academic writing, goal setting, time management and so forth. the tlu sponsored 30 applicants to attend this camp during the first-semester break in 2015. in 2015 and 2016, the survey results were presented to humanities staff through different forums. presentations were given to the teaching and learning committee, the undergraduate studies committee, first year coordinators and lecturers, and staff in campus support structures such as the fye office and the careers and counselling development unit (ccdu). feedback and discussions during these presentations indicated that the survey exercise was useful and helped staff to understand the first-year cohort of students. we were also able to gain ideas on how to improve the survey and possible strategies to assist students; for example, additional support that is needed for additional-language english speakers for reading and managing the volume of reading they are required to do. the presentations helped to raise the participants’ awareness of first-year issues and encouraged various support strategies to be considered. we used survey data to identify students who had a particular need (food, special needs, etc.) and then emailed or contacted them individually to direct them to relevant campus support structures. students who lacked food security were directed to the student affairs’ food bank and those with special learning needs were informed of the disability unit, where they could be assisted. in addition, an email was sent to the entire cohort each year, detailing where different campus support structures could be located. this was done as a mitigating measure in case we overlooked some students, or some may not have disclosed particular information, or did not complete the survey (for example, if they registered late). we correlated students’ marks with the survey results in order to understand which factors, or combination of factors, place students most “at risk” (for example low-income, first-generation students (engle & tinto, 2008)). we intend to conduct a longitudinal correlation study that will help us to identify “at-risk” students early in the first semester so that we can proactively direct them to the assistance they may need to be successful at university. we are, however, cautious of stigmatising students and will continue to be sensitive in the way that we deal with them. the correlation study, however, is likely to evolve; based on feedback from our presentations and through our subsequent research and experience, we have reflected on the survey and how it can be improved. reflections on the survey after administering the survey in 2015, we noticed that there were aspects that the survey did not take into account and that could be (some of which, were) added to the 2016 version to enhance the quality of the data gathered and give further indications of students’ risk and potential support needed. what the 2015 survey did not take into account it would be naïve to think that the surveyed aspects were a complete list of factors that determined if students were at risk academically or of dropping out. there is a range of other factors that students bring with them that contribute to their success or lack thereof, 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 85–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 as well as experiences they have during their studies. the factors that were included in the survey are those that students could readily self-report and were not available elsewhere in the university: for example, students’ school-leaving results and aps were not surveyed as these are available in university databases. the role of previous academic performance should not be negated, as there is a strong correlation between this and academic achievement in higher education (eiselen & geyser, 2003; ishler & upcraft, 2005; mckenzie & schweitzer, 2001). however, there are other factors that impact student performance, which can be broadly categorised into four areas: academic, personal, support and university experiences. some of these factors could be included in future versions of our registration survey, or be independent studies. academic factors include academic self-efficacy (mckenzie & schweitzer, 2001; nel, troskie-de bruin & bitzer, 2009); students’ study habits; communication skills (eiselen & geyser, 2003); the development of academic skills for higher education (purnell et al., 2010; reed et al., 2009); and the academic achievement students experience at university (muckert, 2002). university under-preparedness is an important factor that needs to be considered – south african students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, “are increasingly underprepared for higher education studies” (nel et al., 2009, p. 974) and an awareness of this lack is crucial in order to develop effective programmes that develop the academic skills students need. the tlu developed some academic development programmes but the efficacy of these needs to be evaluated. personal factors comprise the students’ expectations and whether those expectations are matched (bean & kuh, 1984; purnell et al., 2010); students’ motivation and level of commitment to attending and staying at university (dass-brailsford, 2005); personality factors that contribute to student resilience (busato et al., 2000) or “grit” (duckworth, peterson, matthews, kelly, 2007); integration into the social and academic systems of the institution (pascarella & terenzini, 1980); and students’ assimilation of the university’s values and their capacity to reject prior attitudes and values that may inhibit them from continuing with higher education (elkins, braxton & james, 2000). support factors in the form of students’ support networks and their ability to develop these, including peer support; the ongoing support students receive from parents and family during the course of their studies; and students’ participation in support programmes also play a role in their performance (dass-brailsford, 2005; purnell et al., 2010). furthermore, students’ university experiences contribute to their performance, such as their holistic student and campus experience; membership of campus clubs or organisations; teaching and learning experiences; and the adjustment difficulties they may experience that can assist or hamper them (bean & kuh, 1984; purnell et al., 2010). enhancing the survey from our dealings with students, and feedback gained from presentations to faculty staff in 2015, there were other factors that could have been included in the 2016 survey. the factors included: the size and type of schools that students matriculate from; family https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 genevieve hundermark: who are our first-year at-risk humanities students? … 93 circumstances; the amount of time students spend on social media; and their motivation to attend university. the size of the schools that students matriculate from was included in the demographic section of the 2016 survey. this aspect provides insight into the students’ ability to locate resources and support – it is probably easier to find assistance in a small school (e.g. 300 learners) versus a large school (1 500 learners). there may also be a correlation between the setting and type of school the students matriculated from – the language of instruction, whether the school is rural or urban and public or private – as the quality of education in these types of school varies and contributes either negatively or positively to matriculants’ levels of university preparedness and their subsequent academic success (bojuwoye, 2002; pretorius, 2002). another aspect that could be included in the survey is the family circumstances of students, for example, if parents are married or single. from exit interviews conducted with students who deregistered during 2015, there appeared to be a stronger likelihood of attrition if students came from single-parent households. this aspect can provide insight into parental/support influences as well as the financial considerations sections of the survey. this question was not included in the 2016 survey as we felt it was intrusive and needed to be piloted. there is apparently a correlation between the amount of time students spend on social media and their academic achievement (more time on social media leads to lower academic achievement) (sauti, 2015); so this aspect was included in 2016 in the section relating to demands on time. the reason why students attend university links to their motivation to study (kift, 2004) and is a factor that would be helpful to understand – for example, whether students are at university for their own reasons or under duress as a result of parental pressure. this aspect was included in 2016 under the section concerning students’ interest/motivation/ involvement. in terms of administering the survey, a paper-based approach seems to be more viable for yielding a high response rate. students will be given the opportunity to complete future surveys during orientation week when they have a slot with the tlu. not all students have access to devices to complete the survey online and the tlu will have to factor in time for capturing paper-based surveys. the survey could be a viable mechanism to test these additional factors and check for correlations with students’ results or attrition in order to understand the impact of these factors on student risk. the survey should also be verified statistically so as to get a more accurate tool. conclusions and recommendations the south african higher education landscape draws a diversity of students from various regions and backgrounds, with markedly different high school experiences. knowledge of who our students are can assist educators to adapt their teaching and university structures 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 85–97 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 in order to be better prepared to host and support incoming students. for this reason, the practice of the registration survey should continue as valuable information is gained. the survey can be enhanced by including additional aspects discussed in this article. however, gauging the risk factors that students present should not be considered the only predictor of student success. there are a number of other factors that impact student persistence, resilience and academic achievement. identification of students’ risk factors will, however, assist with directing them to support structures and interventions that can assist them earlier in their higher education studies. the results of the survey should be communicated to faculty staff as early as possible in the academic year so that they are aware of the cohort they are engaging with. the information can assist teaching staff with their teaching strategies in order to effectively communicate with and support students. an efficient method to ensure a quick turnaround time between the survey and the report disseminating the results needs to be investigated. in light of this reflective discussion, there are possible future research projects that can assist with understanding and supporting incoming students. these include the following: • students who register late should not be negated. they may require their own survey to assist in identifying additional support structures needed to help them catch up the work they have missed. • the survey should be tested with different intakes of students and collated with students’ mid-year and first-year results to identify potential predictors, or combinations of factors as predictors, for students at risk of failing or dropping out. this will enable the validity and reliability of the survey to be examined. • to further ensure the validity and reliability of the survey, survey questions could be rigorously tested through statistical analysis. • it could be worthwhile to have students complete the survey again at the end of their first year to determine if their at-risk factors have changed and if there is a correlation with their marks as a result. for example, students move in and out of campus residences during the year and their academic performance may be impacted as a result. • a follow-up study should be done to identify how students are and can be supported by the university system (at institutional, faculty, school and course level). support gaps can then be identified and strategies put in place to further assist students to be successful in their studies. • other factors identified in this article can be researched in more depth to gain insight into how these factors impact students and how students can be better supported to manage these factors, for example, the role of academic, personal, support and university experiences (factors that this article did not investigate and report on). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 genevieve hundermark: who are our first-year at-risk humanities students? … 95 references bean, j.p. & kuh, g.d. 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(2010). the relationship between choice of major and career, experience of university and attrition. australian journal of education, 54(2), 175–189. https://doi.org/10.11 77/000494411005400205 how to cite: hundermark, g. (2018). who are our first-year at-risk humanities students? a reflection on a first-year survey administered by the wits faculty of humanities teaching and learning unit in 2015 and 2016. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 85–97. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 https://doi.org/10.1177/000494411005400205 https://doi.org/10.1177/000494411005400205 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3311 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 www.jsaa.ac.za the effectiveness of student involvement in decisionmaking and university leadership: a comparative analysis of 12 universities in south-west nigeria adesoji a. oni* and jeremiah a. adetoro** research article * dr adesoji oni is senior lecturer in the department of educational foundations, university of lagos, akokayaba, lagos. email: aoluoni@yahoo.com. ** dr jeremiah adetoro is senior lecturer in the department of educational administration, university of lagos, akoka-yaba, lagos, nigeria. email: adetorojeremiah@yahoo.ca. abstract this study examines student involvement in university leadership and decision-making and its impacts on leadership effectiveness in universities in nigeria. the study uses a descriptive survey conducted among students and staff in all 12 of the public and private universities in south-west nigeria.1 the research findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness. it also reveals that there are significant differences between decision-making with student involvement and decision-making without student involvement. conversely, no significant difference was found in leadership effectiveness between decision-making in public and private universities. the study finally reveals that there is a significant relationship between the management-student relationship and teaching effectiveness. the results therefore show that, for leadership and teaching effectiveness to be improved in nigerian universities, provision should be made for the adequate involvement of students in decision-making on important matters relating to university administration. keywords student representation; leadership; student politics; public higher education; private higher education; university governance; effectiveness; teaching and learning. background and introduction universities in nigeria exist to achieve specific goals in teaching, learning, research, and the development of citizens, among others. in nigeria, the functions of the university head, that is, the vice-chancellor, are to manage people, tasks and resources in order to achieve these goals. all the activities of the institution’s management, whether working with the general public, the management ranks, academics, the board of directors, staff or the student 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 union, are ultimately meant to contribute to this end. in this process, both conscious and unconscious processes are involved. when these processes are conscious, decision-making is already evoked and is in use. decision-making is the process of identifying and choosing among alternatives based on values and preferences. it is synonymous with management. nobert (1996) believes that control of a system is achieved through the use of feedback from the environment. he defines a system as a means of appreciating how organisation parts interact with their environment. decisions made affect all parts in a system. for effective decisions to be made, every role player in the system needs to participate at one level or another. thus, mullins (2004) and edem (1992) identify three levels of participation in a system, namely: 1. the technical level: operational or processing level (the actual work, e.g. teaching); 2. the managerial level: human resources; and 3. the community level: the environment. it suffices to say that decision-making is the kernel and an essential aspect of an organisation, including the school system, which determines the daily operations or activities of an organisation. student involvement in decision-making is not well embraced and accepted in nigerian universities as a result of the organizational structure and bureaucratic nature of our educational system. (adeleke, 2000). ‘student participation in decision-making’, according to jeruto and kiprop (2011), refers to the work of student representative bodies such as school councils, student parliaments and prefectorial bodies. it is also a term used to encompass all aspects of school (or university) life and decision-making where students may make a contribution informally through individual negotiation as well as formally through purposely created structures and mechanisms. it thus refers to participation of students in collective decisionmaking at school or class level and to dialogue between students and other decision-makers, and not only consultation or surveying student opinion (ajayi,1991). student participation in decision-making in universities is often viewed as problematic owing to the fact that students may be viewed as minors, immature and lacking in the expertise and technical knowledge that is needed in making decisions regarding the university. thus, student participation in decision-making is often confined to issues concerned with student welfare, with students not being involved in core governance issues (fajana, 2002). oke, okunola, oni and adetoro (2010) argue that most university-school administrators do not allow their students to participate in decision-making in their universities. they assert that the major problem confronting their universities is the alienation of students from decision-making. this present situation in our universities is described by fletcher (2004, p. 18) as ‘tokenism and manipulation’ where students are given a voice but in fact have little or no choice about what they do or how they participate. there is no meaningful involvement of students in deciding some of the issues that affect them directly. despite the usefulness and relevance of student participation in decision-making in university management, it has been established that not all university administrators encourage and practise student involvement in decision-making in their university. savage adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 67 (1968) points out that administrators vary greatly in the extent to which they encourage or allow other staff and students to participate in the decision-making process. such variation may be due to an administrator’s view concerning her/his roles and the staff members, as well as the confidence and trust an administrator has in the ability, sincerity, competence and performance of her/his subordinates. it needs reiteration here that decisions give rise to policies and plans, which, of course, are mere intentions when not implemented. the actual task of implementation rests with all the staff of an organisation. it has been argued that there should be participatory decision-making if the implementation is to be successful. it seems, however, that not very many nigerian universities encourage student involvement in decision-making, and, even among the few vice-chancellors who try it, fewer still understand the basic principles of student involvement in decision-making. this is evidenced in the many staff strikes and student demonstrations in nigerian universities, which are caused by faulty decision-making (tonga, 1997). the state of the art of decisionmaking therefore seems to be defective in nigerian universities, owing to the way decisions are imposed on students, as evidenced even in the structure of the university system (see appendix iii). the lack of effectiveness results in cases of stress, tension, frustration, isolation, selfishness, and conflict between staff and management, between students and staff, between students and management themselves, among staff themselves, and in the management rank and file (salisu, 1996). the nigerian student unions thus often complain about the lack of involvement of students in decision-making. consequently, wrong decisions are made on issues involving student admission, student housing, tuition fees, allowances, students’ general welfare, and disciplinary matters. buttressing the need for involvement of students in decision-making, alani, isichei, oni and adetoro (2010) highlight the need to include students in the school’s decisionmaking process. oke et al. (2010) further argue that failure to involve students in decision-making in the schools can lead to difficulty in the planning and implementation of school goals, which can degenerate into inadequacies in respect of human, material, financial and physical resources. representation of students in university decision-making, according to luescher-mamashela (2013), is one of the main ways in which universities engage with students, listen to them, and involve them in their internal decision-making processes. empirical studies indicate that the representation of students in decision-making at the institutional level is close to universal (salisu, 1996; mullins, 2004). however, there is considerable variability between and within institutions so far as representation at lower organisational levels (e.g. faculty, school/department and course levels) and across different issue-based governance domains (e.g. teaching and learning, students’ social issues, and staffing) (luescher-mamashela, 2013). oyedeji and fasasi (2006) observe that, while some leaders would want to take decisions without involving subordinates, others would want to encourage participatory decisionmaking. this trend abounds in nigeria universities, both private and public, whereby students have little or no say in decision-making concerning academic and administrative matters. meanwhile, there is that conviction that students’ decisions are less prone to favouritism than decisions made by the leadership alone, which will have far-reaching effects on its academic and 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 administrative achievements (fajana, 2002). moreover, ajayi (1991) states that the importance of student involvement in decision-making in universities cannot be overemphasised owing to its spill-over effect on the overall academic achievement of students. ejiogu (1995) is of the opinion that educational leaders are expected to be equipped with the academic knowledge and professional skills to enable them to cope with changes in teaching and learning situations, coupled with the administrative demand for efficiency and effectiveness. that is why, in the us and uk higher education systems, formal student involvement in university decision-making became an established feature of university governance, not only in student affairs governance, but also with respect to certain aspects of teaching and learning as well as institution-wide strategy and planning (luescher-mamashela, 2013). the value of actively involving students in decision-making can generally be described from one of three perspectives: • functional: how does student involvement in decision-making benefit the university? • developmental: how does student involvement in decision-making benefit the students? • social: what are the benefits to society of student involvement in decision-making? in addition, it can be argued that student participation in university decision-making processes is part of an emerging and related discourse on education for democracy (tenune, 2001) and universities as sites of citizenship (colby, ehrlich, beaumont & stephens, 2003). thus, student involvement in decision-making in their university may facilitate their introduction to democratic ideals and practices. research has therefore indicated that student involvement in decision-making has various related benefits. a benefit of effective participation is that students will find it easier to accept decisions in which their representatives have had input as participants. they are also more likely to understand the motives for an otherwise objectionable policy and to appreciate that the motives were not malicious, even in the case of mistakes. obondo (2000) observes that, if students are involved in making decisions about salient issues concerning their lives, they are likely to identify with the outcomes of such processes, and colleges with institutionalised participation will experience less student-related administrative problems. if governance is shared, students then feel more positive about college goals and objectives (obondo, 2000). obondo further asserts that, in the transformation of universities, students should be involved. a student association represents an important resource in university efforts to confront challenges as they arise. student representatives have been noted to have the capacity to diffuse potential conflicts. this they can do through regular meetings with their members and the university administration, and by designing a mechanism for regular communication, thereby restraining their colleagues from engaging in unnecessary conflict (obondo, 2000). similarly, wood (1993) conducted a study in three colleges on faculty, student and support-staff participation in governance and found out that these groups constituted valuable sources of information on decisions. respondents were found to be positive about student participation and the ability of students to make significant contributions to the adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 69 quality of decisions (also see: zuo & ratsoy, 1999; menon, 2005). however, he further argues that students may not be in a position to effectively represent the interests of their groups if they have no place on university boards. this would simply promote the interests of a specific group, which may lead to conflict. greg (1998) defines involvement in decision-making as creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. staff and student involvement in decision-making is not a goal per se. rather, it is a management and leadership philosophy about how people are most enabled to contribute to the improvement and the ongoing success of their work in the organisation. according to melvin (2004), involvement is conceived in terms of a process of dialogue, decision-making and action-taking (dda) regarding particular changes under way in a school. the main goal of university-based decision-making is to ensure that there is student involvement to accomplish the university’s mission through its strategic plan. buttressing this view, onyene (2002) argues that decision-making is more or less an administrative behaviour directed toward articulation and actualisation of the goals and objectives of the school. in other words, it involves a particular kind of leadership style. in this respect, orest (1999) indicates the importance of the school climate not only as a determining factor in the type of educational programme carried out within the school, but also in terms of the close relationship between school climate and leadership. leadership styles may characterised as autocratic, laissez-faire or democratic. the style of leadership and school climate are therefore determining factors for staff and student involvement in decision-making which can lead to leadership effectiveness or ineffectiveness in overall university performance. as a result of the foregoing, there have been calls for increasing the extent of inclusion of students in decision-making in nigerian universities, owing to the frequent occurrences of student unrest, student militarism, cultism, and gangsterism in the sector. proponents of student participation in decision-making have justified their support for this idea on the premise that decisions in a school affect students in latent and manifest ways. largely, they are recipients of final decisions (sushila & bakhda, 2006); hence, recommendations made by students may be very constructive and, if approached in the right manner, could make a positive contribution. in this way, students’ rejectionist tendencies with regard to decisions imposed upon them by university management would change to ownership and acceptance of decisions arrived at with their participation. thus, persistent agitation by students highlights the urgent need for student involvement in decision-making, as it is believed that, if students were part and parcel of decision-making, they could ensure that their interests are adopted in the administration of universities. nonetheless, despite laudable student agitation in this regard, not much research has been conducted to find out how far, or to what extent, students are involved in decision-making in nigerian tertiary institutions; the role and contribution of students in university decision-making in nigeria are relatively neglected areas of inquiry. this study therefore investigates the extent of student involvement in decision-making and its impact on leadership effectiveness in universities in south-wesr nigeria with a view to filling the knowledge gap between the theory and practice of participatory university management. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 statement of the problem the governance of the university has not been smooth since its inception all over the world (tonga, 1997). in nigeria, in particular, university management has been faced with various challenges since early 1980s, including high rates of youth restiveness, poor academic performance, examination malpractices, increasing conflict on campus, and indiscipline among students in universities across the country. moreover, part of this scenario is that nigerian students have resorted to cultism, riots, robbery, cybercrime, theft, prostitution, hooliganism, and drug abuse, and have shown a general lack of interest in academic matters during the course of their university education (alani et al., 2010). in some cases, the situation deteriorated to the extent where government was forced to close down some universities to enable law enforcement agencies to re-establish law and order. many researchers believe that these problems indicate leadership deficiencies, as a result of which university managements prove ineffective in ensuring academic excellence, providing good communication network, motivating both teachers and students, and even enforcing discipline among students (salisu, 1996). there is therefore increased urgency to think of ways to give recognition to all actors affected by university decision-making. are these lapses in decision-making, which culminate in strikes and a strained student–management relationship, the result of the incompetence of decision-makers? or are they due to the nature and structure of universities? could the problem be inherent in the nature of the decision-making process? or could some other factors be responsible? the thrust of the present study is to investigate the extent of student involvement in decision-making and how it impacts on university effectiveness in south-west nigeria’s universities with a view to advancing suggestions on how to improve governance practices for the purpose of bringing about more efficiency in the administration of these universities. study objectives the objectives of this research are therefore as follows: 1. to identify the leadership styles used in private and public universities in nigeria; 2. to assess the influence of student involvement in decision-making on universities’ effectiveness; 3. to examine the difference in leadership effectiveness between decisions made in public universities and decisions made in private universities in south-west nigeria; and 4. to examine the relationship between the management–student relationship and teaching effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria. hypotheses the following hypotheses are tested in the course of this study: 1. there is no significant relationship between student involvement in decisionmaking and leadership effectiveness in nigerian universities. adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 71 2. there is no significant difference in decision-making with student involvement and decision-making without student involvement. 3. there is no significant difference in leadership effectiveness between decisions made in public universities and decisions made in private universities in south-west nigeria. 4. there is no significant relationship between the management–student relationship and teaching effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria. methodology the study adopted a descriptive-survey design. an attempt was made to determine the relationship between student involvement in decision-making and universities’ effectiveness in both public and private universities in south-west nigeria. the population of the study comprises all 134 universities in nigeria, students and staff (in all the public and private universities). the sample for the study comprises 1 750 students and staff drawn from 12 selected public and private universities in the six states that make up south-west nigeria, namely lagos, ogun, oyo, osun, ondo and ekiti. the method used for sampling students and staff was the simple random technique for selecting the participants and the universities. the research instrument used for the study was a questionnaire. the questionnaire was made up of two sections. section a comprised participants’ personal data while section b comprised 20 statements. each participant had the opportunity of choosing one of four options to agree or disagree with a statement: strongly agree (sa), agree (a), disagree (d) and strongly disagree (sd). the statement items were designed to determine the perception of students and staff with regard to the relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness. the items are presented in the appendix. prior to conducting the survey, the questionnaire was given to colleagues, who provided suggestions and comments on the appropriateness of the items. their suggestions were taken into consideration for validity purposes before the researchers made the final corrections to the questionnaire and conducted the survey. the reliability of the research instrument was ascertained by conducting a pilot study using universities not included in the study. this was done to ensure that results could be generalised to other universities that were not included in the main study. to pre-test the reliability of the research instrument employed in the study, the researchers gave out the questionnaire to 100 participants who did not take part in the study and a test-re-test reliability coefficient of 0.67 was established. ahead of surveying, the researcher sought the permission of the respective university authorities to conduct the research. assistant researchers were recruited from among graduate students of the university of lagos. the assistant researchers were adequately briefed about the objective of administering the questionnaire. participants were encouraged to express their views about each of the statements. all the administered copies of the questionnaire were completed. the collected data were analysed using frequency tables, percentages, and t-test and pearson product-moment correlation statistical tools. the t-test was used to determine the 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 significant difference in decision-making with student involvement and decision-making without student involvement, as represented in hypothesis 2; as well as the significant difference in leadership effectiveness between decisions made in public universities and decisions made in private universities, as per hypothesis 3. the pearson product moment correlation statistical tool was used to test the relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness, as well as the relationship between the management–student relationship and teaching effectiveness in the sampled universities. the copies of the questionnaire were scrutinised to ensure that they were properly completed by the participants. the responses from each participant were based on proportion and percentages, which were used to analyse the data. also, the t-test statistical tool used showed whether or not there was had any significant difference between the observed frequencies and the participants’ set of expected frequencies. results student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness hypothesis 1 (ho1): there is no significant relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness in nigerian universities. table 1: student involvement in decision-making, and leadership effectiveness variables n x (mean) sd df r-cal r-tab remark student involvement in decision-making 1 750 x =20.63 11.47 8.97 1,748 0.549 0.195 significant leadership effectiveness y = 11.22 p < 0.05 the results presented on table 1 show the relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness in universities in nigeria. the results reveal that there is a significant relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness in both public and private universities in nigeria. this is evident from the fact that the r-calculated value of 0.549 is found to be greater than the r-critical (r-table) value of 0.195. this implies that regular involvement of students in decisionmaking by the universities authorities was found to enhance leadership effectiveness in universities in south western nigeria. decision-making with and without student involvement hypothesis 2 (ho2): there is no significant difference in decision-making with student involvement and decision-making without student involvement. adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 73 table 2: difference in decision-making with student involvement and without student involvement variables n x (mean) sd df r-cal r-tab remark decision-making with student involvement 1 750 x 1=16.14 sd1 = 6.74 1 748 2.49 1.98 ho2 rejected decision-making without student involvement x 2=17.09 sd2 = 8.55 p < 0.05 the results in table 2 reveal that the r-calculated is 2.49, while the r-tabulated gives 1.98 at p<0.05 and 1 748 degrees of freedom. the null hypothesis ho2is therefore rejected. this means that there is a significant difference in decision-making that involves students and decision-making that does not involve students in south-west nigeria’s universities. leadership effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria hypothesis 3 (ho3): there is no significant difference in leadership effectiveness between decisions made in public universities and decisions made in private universities in southwest nigeria. table 3: difference in leadership effectiveness between decisions made in public and private universities variables leadership effectiveness n x (mean) sd df r-cal r-tab remark decisions made in public universities 1 750 x 1 = 3.04 sd1 = 1.39 1 748 1.31 1.98 ho3 accepted decisions made in private universities x 2 = 2.17 sd2 = 1.20 p < 0.05 the results in table 3 show that the r-calculated is 1.31, while the r-critical (table) is 1.98 at p < 0.05 given 1 748 as the degrees of freedom. therefore, the null hypothesis ho3 is hereby accepted. this implies that leadership effectiveness in both public and private universities in south-west nigeria is the same based on either decisions made in public universities or decisions made in private universities in south-west nigeria. 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 the management-student relationship and teaching effectiveness hypothesis 4 (ho4): there is no significant relationship between the management–student relationship and teaching effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria. table 4: the management–student relationship and teaching effectiveness variables n x (mean) sd df r-cal r-tab remark management–student relationship 1 750 x =18.98 13.28 1 748 0.547 0.195 ho4 rejected teaching effectiveness in public and private universities x =10.38 9.79 p < 0.05 table 4 shows that the calculated r-value of 0.547 is greater than the table value of 0.195 given a 0.05 level of significance and 1 748 degrees of freedom. the null hypothesis ho4 is therefore rejected. there is therefore a significant relationship between a cordial management–student relationship and teaching effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria. discussion of findings the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness in south-west nigeria’s universities. the study also revealed that there is a significant difference in decision-making with student involvement and decision-making without student involvement. furthermore, it showed that there is no significant difference in leadership effectiveness between decisions made in public universities and decisions made in private universities in south-west nigeria. finally, there is a significant relationship between the management–student relationship and teaching effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria. the results therefore show that, for leadership and teaching effectiveness to be guaranteed in nigerian universities, provision must be made for adequate involvement of students in decisionmaking on important matters relating to university administration. the findings of this study are therefore similar to those of jeruto and kiprop (2011), who studied student participation in decision-making in terms of the work of student representative bodies such as school councils, student parliaments and perfectorial bodies. the findings are also in line with those of oke et al (2010), who assert that the major problem confronting our universities is the alienation of the students from decision-making, and the position of ajayi (1991), who states that the importance of student involvement in decision-making in universities cannot be over-emphasised due to the spill-over effect on the overall academic achievement of students. adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 75 summary, recommendations and conclusion on the basis of data collected through a survey of staff and students in public and private universities in six states of south-west nigeria, this study has shown that regular involvement of students in decision-making by university authorities has the potential to enhance leadership effectiveness of university administrations in universities in south-west nigeria. the results of the study also show a significant difference in decision-making that involves students and decision-making which does not involve students. moreover, a cordial management–student relationship significantly affects teaching effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria’s universities. conversely, the study has revealed that there is no significant difference between leadership effectiveness in public and private universities in south-west nigeria. these results therefore suggest that university authorities and management should endeavour to involve students in their decision-making, whether or not the universities are private or public entities. furthermore, attempts should be made to ensure that students participate in all matters of interest that are meant to improve the teaching effectiveness of academic staff. a cordial relationship and mutual understanding between the student body and university authorities will enhance the smooth administration of universities in nigeria and thus provide for a more peaceful environment that 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(2001). universities as sites of citizenship and civic responsibility: united states study. philadelphia: international consortium for higher education civic responsibility and democracy. tonga, a.m. (1997). the role of public relations in conflict resolution. master’s thesis. nigeria: university of ibadan, ibadan. zuo, b., & ratsoy, e.w. (1999). student participation in university governance. canadian journal of higher education. 29(1), pp. 1-26. adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 77 appendix i: student questionnaire faculty of education university of lagos, nigeria students’ questionnaire dear participants, please respond to these items provided by putting a tick (✓) against your responses. the items are mainly for research purposes. your responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality. yours faithfully, a.a. oni (ph.d.) & j.a. adetoro (ph.d.) section a: biodata of participant 1. age range 16-20 [ ] 21-25 [ ] 2. gender male [ ] female [ ] 3. course of study_____________________________________________________ 4. level______________________________________________________________ 5. type of iniversity: public [ ] private [ ] 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 section b please tick (✓) as an indication of whether you agree or disagree with the options presented in the column below. key: strongly agree [ sa ]; agree [ a ]; disagree [ d ]; strongly disagree [ sd ] s/n item description sa a sd d 1. students should not participate in decision-making in the university. 2. decision-making ought to be the priority of the university management. 3. participation of students in decision-making of the university involves them in the day-to-day running of the university. 4. students get demoralised when they are not involved in decisionmaking in the university. 5. participation of students in decision-making will enable them to implement some of the decisions of the university effectively. 6. students feel they belong when they are involved in the decisionmaking. 7. to boost students’ productivity, they should be allowed to partake in the decision-making process in the university. 8. getting students to partake in decision-will affect their academic activities. 9. students should remain in the classroom and not get involved in the decision-making process. 10. students should not be involved in decision-making, which is the managerial attribute of university management. 11. the university management should operate an open-door policy in the school. 12. vice-chancellors who operate closed-door policies in the school are not friends of their students. 13. students are not trained to take decisions in the management of the university. 14. students who are involved in decision-making in the university work with great zeal. 15. to motivate students, they must be involved in the decisions made in the university. 16. students tend to develop an ‘i don’t care’ attitude if they are not involved in decision-making in the university. 17. students’ academic achievement is high when their universities’ managements involved them in university activities of a management nature. 18. students perform better if they are involved in decision-making in the university. 19. students do not like non-participation in decision-making in the universities. 20. students do not bother much about participation in decision-making in universities. adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 79 appendix ii: staff questionnaire faculty of education university of lagos, nigeria staff questionnaire dear participants, the following questionnaire is aimed at eliciting information from staff in the university on students’ involvement in decision-making and universities’ leadership effectiveness in southwest nigeria. your honest and prompt responses to the items are hereby solicited. please note that your anonymity and the confidentiality of your responses are fully guaranteed. you need not provide your names. yours faithfully, a.a. oni (ph.d.) & j.a. adetoro (ph.d.) section a: bio-data of participant please tick (✓) where appropriate: 1. name of university___________________________________________________ 2. type of university : public [ ] private [ ] 3. gender male [ ] female [ ] 4. age range 23-30 years [ ] 31-38 years [ ] 39-46 years [ ] above 46 years [ ] above 53 years [ ] 5. highest qualification nce/nd [ ] hnd/ba/bsc [ ] ma/msc./mba/mpa [ ] ph.d. [ ] 6. status teaching staff [ ] non-teaching staff [ ] 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 65–81 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.93 section b below are four options to choose from the questionnaire. tick (✓) in the column that strongly expresses your feelings. key: strongly agree [ sa ]; agree [ a ]; disagree [ d ]; strongly disagree [ sd ] s/n item description sa a s d d 1. your university management allows students to give their opinions on university administration. 2. your university management encourages students to take part in the school programme. 3. students are actively involved in the university leadership programme. 4. your university management is always annoyed when students contribute ideas to university governance. 5. students always look forward to meetings between themselves and universities’ authorities so as to contribute their ideas. 6. your university’s management accepts students’ opinion at any point in time. 7. students take part in decision-making whenever the university has a problem. 8. your university vice-chancellor allows students to exchange ideas freely without fear. 9. my university vice-chancellor is happy whenever any student contributes his/her opinion on university problems. 10. my vice-chancellor’s leadership style can move the university forward. 11. my vice-chancellor’s presence in any student activities arouses a sense of fear. 12. my vice-chancellor motivates students to give their opinions during the decision-making meeting. 13. it takes the students conscious extra effort to contribute promptly to solving the university’s problem. 14. my vice-chancellor finds it difficult to involve students in decisionmaking. 15. my vice-chancellor involves the students in the making of school rules and regulations. 16. in my university, students have very little freedom to decide in management meetings. 17. students have a lot to say about what happens in their university, but are afraid to say it. 18. the vice-chancellor really values students and also involves them fully in the university decision-making process. 19. my vice-chancellor’s job is hectic so he does not have time for meetings. 20. what type of leadership style is being operated in your university? democratic leadership style [ ] autocratic (authoritarian) leadership style [ ] laissez-faire leadership style [ ] adesoji oni & jeremiah adetoro: the effectiveness of student involvement in decision-making & university leadership 81 appendix iii: administrative structure of nigerian universities visitor chancellor council (pro-chancellor) senate (vice-chancellor) the two-tier decision-making levels of a university registry (registrar) deputy vice-chancellor (academic) integrate faculties (deans/provosts/directors) integrate academic department (research and services) student body library (librarian) bursary (bursar) non-academic department (deputy registrars and directors) deputy vice-chancellor (administration) journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 77–79 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2484 77 www.jsaa.ac.za on campus global summit on student affairs and services lisa bardill moscaritolo* & karen davis** * dr lisa bardill moscaritolo serves as associate vice president and dean for students at pace university, new york, usa. she is also a founding member and general secretary of iasas. ** karen davis is associate director, student academic services (retention, achievement and equity) at victoria university of wellington, new zealand. in the most recent issue of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa), readers were introduced to the 3rd global summit on student affairs and services that was hosted by stellenbosch university (su) in cape town, south africa, this past october 2016. this summary will provide a more detailed outline of the organisation of the summit, its processes, and the final written product for the 2016 summit, which was initiated by the international association for student affairs and services (iasas) and student affairs administrators in higher education (naspa). the first global summit in 2012 was held in washington, d.c., which is the home office of naspa and in 2014 the summit was held in rome, italy and was hosted by the european university college association (euca). perozzi, giovanucci and shea (2016), note that the summit “is not a ‘conference’ in the traditional sense; rather, the methodology allows for emergent issues and a discussion of concepts that are most relevant to participants” (p. 24). following the same ideals, forty participants, from 19 different countries, who support students on college and university campuses around the world, were invited to south africa for a rich dialogue around critical issues facing student affairs and services. some of the issues that surfaced in 2012 and 2014 were used as a basis for further reflection in the 3rd summit. these themes included professionalisation and internationalisation of the field, employability and soft skills, engaging in student activism, and access and inclusion. while planning each summit and choosing a framework or theme for the summit, a deliverable was discussed early on. in 2012, the output was an executive summary of the proceedings including the themes and recommendations suggested, as well as a video. in 2014, a summary was written on the event and outcomes. the planning committee identified deliverables for the summit and the 2016 iasas/naspa/su planning committee feels that the process and outcome was fully realised with the 3rd summit. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 77–79 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2484 the wallenberg research centre at stias in stellenbosch was the perfect venue for the two-day dialogue on the unesco operational strategy on youth (medium strategy 2014–2021), concentrating on access to tertiary education in africa and gender. this document was sent to participants ahead of time. while at the summit, participants first worked in groups based on their region in the world, to consider the impact of the unesco medium term strategy on youth on their specific work. professor adam habib, chair of universities south africa (usaf) helped to set the stage by contextualising higher education in south africa and provided comparisons to other parts of the world during a most inspiring opening address. mr yousaf gabru, chair of the south african commission for unesco, provided further perspectives on the medium term strategy document and the connections to student affairs and services work. participants used the overarching unesco document as high-level goals for our work in student affairs and brought these goals into their local environments, while commenting on the global goals from an indigenous perspective. participants also worked in cross-border teams to continue analysing the unesco publication and specifically make affirmations and suggested contributions that can be shared with unesco in relation to the work of student affairs and services. this collaborative work allowed for a shared understanding of the unesco objectives and provided a platform for embracing the most salient concepts. the summit allowed for large group discussion with all participants on four topics that had surfaced in past summits. as noted above, the 2012 topics were professionalisation and internationalisation of the field, employability and soft skills, engaging in student activism, and access and inclusion. the unesco medium term strategy was cross-referenced with these topics to further understand student affairs and services work globally, help practitioners develop shared goals and outcomes, and work toward attaining these outcomes. the end result of the summit was a global response on the impact that student affairs and services have on students and how our work contributes to the objectives in the unesco strategy. the medium term strategy articulates the shared goals of the member states and a vision for the attainment of peace and equitable and sustainable development with two global priorities focused on africa and gender equality. education has a key role in achieving human rights for all. the unesco strategy describes nine strategic objectives and five of these are particularly aligned to the global aims of student affairs and services in higher education. these are: 1. developing education systems to foster high-quality and inclusive lifelong learning for all; 2. empowering learners to be creative and responsible global citizens; 3. advancing education for all (efa) and shaping the future international education agenda; 4. supporting inclusive social development, fostering intercultural dialogue for the rapprochement of cultures and promoting ethical principles; and 5. fostering creativity and the diversity of cultural expression. lisa bardill moscaritolo & karen davis: global summit on student affairs and services 79 in response to these objectives, several themes emerged in the global discussions at the summit as delegates shared their local knowledge and expertise. there was a strong commitment to high-quality lifelong learning grounded in holistic and inclusive approaches. delegates reflected on the challenge of achieving human rights through education for all and our responsibility to contribute to addressing peace, sustainability and gender equality. the value of multiple voices was noted, along with the need to empower students to act as partners and change agents in their educational experience. a reframing of co-curricular design was seen as a way to value indigenous knowledge and unique ways of sharing knowledge. while recognising different worldviews, through collaboration there can be greater alignment of educational systems and institutions as we shape the future international education agenda. achim meyer auf der heyde, president of iasas and general secretary for the deutsches studentenwerk, is working with unesco to promote the recommendations of the global summit 2016. our unesco response as well as the finalised documents on previous summits can be read at http://iasas.global/global-summit-student-affairs-andservices/. the gains of the global summit in 2016 can be understood in our response to unesco but can also be described through the following thoughts. the summit “constitutes a precious opportunity to share experiences, highlight problems and identify possible common solutions. as some participants at the global summit of stellenbosch explain in an interview, “it’s an opportunity to compare one’s experience with the world” (ceccarini, 2016, p. 4). barbra pansari from botswana university adds that for her “the value of the summit is our networking and sharing experiences and lessons with colleagues from all continents of the world”. “discussing student affairs initiatives with colleagues from around the world helps to enhance overall student learning and success,” noted achim meyer auf der heyde, president of iasas (personal communication, 28 october 2016). references ceccarini, i. (decembre, 2016). student affairs and services – open to the world. universitas: studi e documentazione di vita universitaria, (142), rui foundazione. perozzi, b., giovannucci, g.l. & shea, r. (2016) the global dialogue. in: k.j. osfield, b. perozzi, l.  bardill moscaritolo & r. shea (eds.). supporting students globally: trends and perspectives for student affairs and services (pp. 21–41). washington, d.c.: naspa. http://iasas.global/global-summit-student-affairs-and-services/ http://iasas.global/global-summit-student-affairs-and-services/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 1‑13 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article inserting space into the transformation of higher education philippa tumubweinee* & thierry m. luescher** abstract in this article we argue for a socio-political conception of space in order to show how conceptualisations of space can provide conceptual tools in the reframing of policy and designing of policy interventions in pursuit of higher education transformation goals. in keeping with lefebvre and others, we conceptualise space as a co-producer of social relations with agentic capability in the transformation of higher education. using this understanding of space as a conceptual framework, we analyse four national cornerstone policy documents on higher education transformation in south africa. we find that space is almost consistently conceived of only as an object in transformation – be it with respect to macro policy on mergers to reconfigure the apartheid spatial landscape of higher education, or with respect to discriminatory institutional cultures and the need to create secure and safe campus environments. since the landmark white paper on higher education of 1997, it is only the most recent policy document we analyse, the draft national plan for post‑school education and training of 2017, which blurs the lines between the social ills affecting higher education, the student experience and student academic performance, and different functions of space. we conclude by introducing the conceptual tool of spatial types as an opening gambit for a research agenda that aims to explore the organisation of space in higher education institutions to identify the underlying rules that govern their social nature and promote conceptualisations of social space in the reframing and design of policy that respond to calls for the creation of transformed and ‘decolonised’ higher education, as heard in student movement campaigns in 2015/16. keywords decolonisation; higher education; higher education policy; #rhodesmustfall; social space; space; student experience; student movement; students; transformation space as co‑producer of the everyday how does space frame transformation in higher education? to what extent can a critical socio‑political conception of space allow a deeper understanding of the reality of the * dr philippa tumubweinee is head of the school of architecture and geomatics, university of cape town, cape town, south africa. email: philippa.tumubweinee@uct.ac.za ** prof. thierry m. luescher is research director in the human sciences research council, cape town, and associate professor of higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung/ bloemfontein, south africa. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:philippa.tumubweinee%40uct.ac.za?subject= mailto:tluescher%40hsrc.ac.za?subject= 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 1‑13 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 everyday of student life in higher education, and how can such an understanding shape policy on transformation in south african higher education? with this article we seek to challenge some long‑held perspectives in policy discourse focused on the how and the why, the modalities and rationales, of transformation in higher education, arguing that this has failed to address a substantial conception of the where or locality of transformation, translated through the reality of the everyday in higher education. our argument proceeds in a dialogue between a conceptual reading of space as a social product and a political reading of space in relevant transformation policy in south africa. with respect to the former, we take as our starting point the well‑established view of the university as social institution in south african and international literature (badat 2010; simatupang 2009; o’connell 2003; kerr 2001; castells, 1993), which conceives the university as an institution that “maintains, reproduces, or adapts itself to implement values that have been widely held and firmly structured by the society” (gumport, 2000, p. 73). in this respect, the higher education system and its institutions constitute “a subsystem of a larger social system” (maoyuan, 2016, p. 36). this social system overall “arranges people in space” and “arranges itself [in] the physical milieu of that society” (hillier & hanson, 1984,  p. 27) through social processes and relationships that are “bound up … with the ways in which social formations acquire and change” (hillier & hanson, 1984,  p. 27). correspondingly, social relations which lefebvre would call “the actual content of life” (2003,  p. 20), happen in space, and therefore the transformation of higher education should also consider the conception of space as social. to put it bluntly: space is not the void between brick and mortar; neither is it an abstract thing that is independent of the substantial social relations within it. rather, (social) space, in the original of lefebvre and others building on him, is a (social) product, which co‑produces the social nature of institutions such as universities. this reading of space as social also involves the political, because social space is where “the struggles and contradictions of ‘living actuality’ (kipfer, 2009, p. xxi) happen”. against this reading of space, the reality of everyday student life on campus, which we typically study under the rubric of the student experience (bitzer, 2009; kerr & luescher, 2018), is therefore a co‑construct between human actors and the space within which they act and relate. when conceiving of policy that looks at the transformation of higher education, space needs to be read as something that is both social and political. to reiterate: space is not only the context in which the social happens; it is itself “a network of relations of co‑existing things” (goudeli, 2014, p. 124), which co‑constructs the social relations in it. therefore, space has agency; it is an actor of its own. space is not an abstract object; rather, space is a subject whose agentic capability ought to be harnessed in the transformation of higher education. the policy on the transformation of higher education must therefore consider the spatial dimension of the lived reality of students (and staff) in higher education. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: inserting space into the transformation of higher education 3 in this article, our interest is to analyse the place of space in national policy on higher education transformation to see if there is evidence of a socio‑political understanding of space in these policy documents. do we find any evidence of a socio‑political conception of space in national policy on the transformation of higher education? engaging the goals of transformation higher education policy in post‑apartheid south africa has as its overarching goal “a transformed higher education system [that] would play a critical role in an emerging, non‑racial, progressive democracy, in producing critical, independent citizens as well as skilled and socially‑committed graduates who would be capable of contributing to social and economic development” (webbstock, 2016, p. 22). post‑apartheid transformation in higher education is therefore not only about achieving demographic equity in the staff and student bodies of institutions (‘equity’), and a qualitative and quantitative improvement of the outputs of higher education (‘efficiency’ and ‘quality’); rather these and other transformative initiatives in higher education are intended to overall create a system that plays “a significant role in helping to build an open, democratic, post‑apartheid society and an informed, critical, and socially aware citizenry” (webbstock, 2016, p. 22). engaging the goals of transformation from the perspective of universities as social institutions, what is the place of space in policy statements on higher education transformation? our foregoing conceptual discussion prompts a prominent place for space and space‑related concerns in policies that can engage the legacy of apartheid – the ultimate, legislated, spatial divider – and the aspirational goals of the 1996 constitution within higher education institutions and the sector as whole. as a way of engaging the goals of transformation, student activists have harnessed the power of the socio‑political meanings of space in protest demands in unprecedented ways in democratic south africa. starting in 2015, protest campaigns such as #rhodesmustfall, #openstellenbosch, and #steynmustfall, have challenged the established tradition of theorising about the process and understanding of transformation as referring to epistemological change, institutional culture, and social cohesion (doe, 2008). while it is true that these tenets accommodate the fluidity of change that is necessary for multiple initiatives and knowledges for transformation (see lange, 2014), they miss a substantial grounding in the where of transformation, and the reality of the everyday of students’ experiences of higher education that is deployed in space. it is here that the student movement of 2015/16 has shown new directions for transformation policy in which the where can be important. the framing of space in higher education policy for the purposes of this article, we selected four national ‘cornerstone’ policy documents on higher education transformation: the 1997 education white paper 3: a programme for the transformation of higher education (wphe), the 2001 national plan for higher education (nphe), the 2013 white paper on post-school education and training (wppset), and finally the 2017 draft national plan for post-school education and training (nppset). a couple of 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 1‑13 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 points need to be made with respect to this selection. firstly, the draft nppset was never actually released as a public document; it was, however, widely consulted on (and the release of a final plan is imminent). secondly, the distinction must be noted between the white papers and the plans, as the latter are linked to and largely based on the ideas of the former. as has been pointed out in various policy analyses, there is typically some policy agility between white paper and plan. thirdly, the two white papers also cover a different scope. while the wphe only deals with the universities, the wppset covers the entire post‑schooling system (including the universities, the colleges and the skills development system). our selection is justified by our aim of seeking to cover a lot of policy terrain within the limitations of this article. we analysed text segments in the selected policy document which we identified by relevant codes. the codes we used included the terms and derivatives of ‘space’, ‘place’, ‘social’, ‘experience’, ‘everyday’, ‘culture’, as well as ‘geography’, and the like. we applied the codes in text searches to tag the text segments and then analysed the dominant policy conception of space in south african higher education taking this methodology, focusing on the codes and documents noted above, and using our conception of space as co‑produced by, and co‑producer of, the everyday as conceptual lens, thus defines the scope and limitations of our enquiry. this methodology gives us the tools to show the tension between a socio‑political conception of space in the everyday and conceptions of space implied in macro policy documents. on the one hand, our analysis is prompted by the need to provide new perspectives on policy on higher education transformation or, if you will, decolonisation. on the other hand, we are also inspired by young and kraak’s early call to respond to “the continuing need for theoretically informed critiques of [education] policy that point to alternatives to what is often experienced as the given nature of the status quo” (2001, p. 16). the white paper on higher education the white paper on higher education (1997), which built on the recommendations of the national commission for higher education (1996), starts out by referencing space primarily in terms of access to higher education in three distinct senses. firstly, it considers space in terms of “spatial and geographic barriers to access” (doe, 1997, section 1.11 [our emphasis]). secondly, it uses the term ‘space’ to refer to (funded) student places in various programmes and qualifications, and in terms of overall institutional and system enrolment plans.1 thirdly, space is alluded to in the white paper’s reference to the transformation of institutional cultures. the idea of spatial barriers to access is problematised in the white paper in terms of a geographic understanding of space(s) in higher education, whereby a university campus is conceived in infrastructural terms as a ‘delivery site’ of higher education programmes along with a political understanding of the historical, racialised iniquities embedded in 1 even though this is a frequent and repeated use of the term ‘space(s)’ in subsequent policy documents, it is only marginally relevant for our present concerns and therefore not analysed further. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: inserting space into the transformation of higher education 5 the landscape of higher education. it is in this respect that a socio‑political reading of space is evident, which former minister kader asmal famously called “the geo‑political imagination of apartheid planners” (doe, 2001, preface). at the macro‑level, geo‑political inequities in the post‑apartheid south african higher education landscape prompted a policy‑led reconfiguration of the institutional landscape by means of mergers and incorporations which consumes much of the high‑level policy debate from the late 1990s (jansen, 2003; badat, 2015). as was predicted, university mergers tend to be difficult and longwinded (hall, symes & luescher, 2003); perhaps surprisingly, the process succeeded in most cases even if one merger had to be undone (i.e. sefako magkatho health sciences university was demerged from the university of limpopo), and several complex merged institutions are still experiencing instability (as in the cases of tshwane university of technology and walter sisulu university). in contrast to the incisive national intervention with respect to the macro institutional landscape, no such equally far‑reaching transformation policy initiatives were designed to impact on spatial barriers to access (and success) within campuses, which the white paper and other documents conceived in terms of the concept of ‘institutional culture’.2 the relevant sections in the white paper (doe, 1997, sections 3.41‑3.44) are well worth quoting at length: 3.41 the ministry is seriously concerned by evidence of institutionalised forms of racism and sexism as well as the incidence of violent behaviour on many campuses of higher education institutions. it is essential to promote the development of institutional cultures which will embody values and facilitate behaviour aimed at peaceful assembly, reconciliation, respect for difference and the promotion of the common good. 3.42 the ministry proposes that all institutions of higher education should develop mechanisms which will: • create a secure and safe campus environment that discourages harassment or any other hostile behaviour directed towards persons or groups on any grounds whatsoever, but particularly on grounds of age, colour, creed, disability, gender, marital status, national origin, race, language, or sexual orientation. • set standards of expected behaviour for the entire campus community, including but not limited to administrators, faculty, staff, students, security personnel and contractors. 2 as john higgins (2007) has shown, in much of the policy discourse following the white paper, the notion of ‘institutional culture’ comes to act as a code word for whiteness, especially with respect to the experiences of black staff and students in historically white institutions. there are, however, instances where ‘institutional culture’ is used quite differently in policy discourse. for instance, in the highly acclaimed volume transformation in higher education: global pressures and local realities in south africa, edited by nico cloete and others (2002), the term ‘institutional culture’ is used as organisational culture (as it would be in american business management literature). moreover, rebecca schendel (2018) shows how the conceptualisation of the relationship between institutional culture and pedagogy in south african higher education scholarship changes over the last ten years (2007‑2017) along with changing conceptions of institutional culture. 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 1‑13 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 • promote a campus environment that is sensitive to racial and cultural diversity, through extracurricular activities that expose students to cultures and traditions other than their own, and scholarly activities that work towards this goal. • assign competent personnel to monitor progress in the abovementioned areas. 3.43 the ministry is committed to an institutional culture in which there is gender equity. institutions have a responsibility for creating an equitable and supportive climate for women students and staff. […]. 3.44 the ministry deplores the many incidents of rape and sexual harassment on higher education campuses. institutions are enjoined to develop and disseminate institutional policies prohibiting sexual harassment of students and employees, together with the establishment of reporting and grievance procedures incorporating victim support and counselling, confidentiality, protection of complainants from retaliation, as well as mechanisms for ensuring due process and protection for respondents. the white paper clearly commits to a transformation of the everyday – the lived experience of students (and staff) – from one characterised by “institutionalised forms of racism and sexism as well as the incidence of violent behaviour”, “harassment or any other hostile behaviour”, including “many incidents of rape and sexual harassment” to institutional cultures which “embody values and facilitate behaviour aimed at peaceful assembly, reconciliation, respect for difference and the promotion of the common good” along with “gender equity”. the white paper also starts to propose how and where to transform institutional cultures: in the creation of “a secure and safe campus environment” and by setting new “standards of expected behaviour” (doe, 1997, sections  3.41‑3.44). although the white paper therefore considers the campus environment in socio‑political terms, it does not really understand it to be a social space where people learn, live, fall in and out of love, grow, find and lose and refine themselves, as social beings. unlike the transformation of the socio‑political macro‑level landscape, when it comes to the transformation of the campus environment and along with it institutional cultures, there is no large‑scale funded national policy intervention, even though problems continue to flare up (see, for example, the 2008 report of the so‑called soudien commission). it may be assumed that the white paper expects institutional‑level plans to carry the load of policy initiatives, e.g. with reference to the institution’s mission, programmes, enrolment, race and gender‑equity goals, infrastructural development and so forth (doe, 1997, section 2.15). and, perhaps, institutional cultures are meant to spontaneously transform in the course of addressing demographic representation in the staff and student bodies. whatever the case may be, the lack of effectiveness of this policy strategy is clearly evident from the findings of the soudien commission (doe, 2008), in the demands of the various ‘decolonisation campaigns’ on the campuses of historically white universities in 2015/16 (such as #rhodesmustfall, #openstellenbosch, #steynmustfall, #rureferencelist, etc.), and in scholarly research on the student experience (as synthesised in kerr & luescher,  2018). campuses and institutions – as if they were not spaces where people learn – live, fall in and out of love, grow, find and lose and refine themselves, as social beings. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: inserting space into the transformation of higher education 7 the national plan for higher education the national plan for higher education (2001) presented itself as the implementation framework for realising the goals of the 1997 white paper. as may be expected, the dominant policy conception of space and space‑related concerns did not change between the white paper and the national plan, even if there is clearer focus and emphasis evident in the latter. for instance, the national plan of 2001 continues to emphasise a commitment to develop a higher education system that contributes to social justice, democracy, and citizenship; one that will […]  support a democratic ethos and a culture of human rights through educational programmes and practices conducive to critical discourse and creative thinking, cultural tolerance, and a common commitment to a humane, non‑racist and non‑sexist social order. (doe, 2001, section 1.2) however, as with the white paper, the problem is that this is not ‘located’ in any substantial terms. this argument can be illustrated with reference to some of the nphe’s defined outcomes. for example, outcome  5 in section  2.6 looks at curriculum change (and changing the enrolments by fields). part of the argument is that there needs to be a ‘cultural’ transformation in higher education. in today’s terms, the relevant passage in the nphe could perhaps be headed as ‘decolonisation’. it notes that: […] important fields of study which impact on the development of a common sense of nationhood and that could play an important role in contributing to the development of the african renaissance continue to be marginalised in higher education institutions. these include, in particular, fields of study such as african languages and culture, african literature (and not only in its english form), indigenous knowledge systems and more generally, the transformation of curricula to reflect the location of knowledge and curricula in the context of the african continent. the ministry would like to encourage institutions to develop and enhance these fields and will monitor developments closely. (doe, 2001, section 2.6) the nphe thus urges an epistemological ‘rootedness’ in africa – likely inspired by the contemporaneous african renaissance discourse. this, however, is not taken further. at the same time, we may want to make reference to the point made already in section  1.1 of the nphe under challenges, namely, that higher education especially in historically white universities continues to be marred by “institutional cultures that have not transcended the racial divides of the past” (section 1.1). outcome 8 argues that staff equity and the institutional cultures of historically white institutions remains problematic whereby the latter is responsible for alienating black staff, which also impacts on black students’ academic performance and success (doe, 2001, section  3.3). while the nphe thus continues to conceive of (untransformed) institutional cultures as ‘barriers to access, performance and success’, they have curiously moved from being a problem affecting 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 1‑13 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 all higher education institutions to one specific to historically white institutions only.3 moreover, while the where appears clearly in the macro‑level policy perspective and takes the mergers and incorporations as intervention to redress the legacy of the geo‑politics of apartheid (doe, 2001, section 6), such policy intervention is neither spelled out for an epistemological africanisation nor a transformation of the campus environment to reflect the values and aspirations of the constitution. the white paper on post‑school education and training over a decade and a half after the 1997 wphe and as the policy programme for a new dedicated ministry of higher education and training, the white paper on post-school education and training (wppset), is published in 2013 (dhet, 2013). in the meantime, the higher education system had changed quite substantially. student enrolments had nearly doubled from a half million in 1994 to almost a million. alongside this expansion, student demographics (and less dramatically so staff demographics) had changed to increasingly reflect national demographics (che, 2009). the post‑merger institutional landscape of the mid‑2000s was in the process of settling down, and in few cases, being revised, and the first entirely new institutions were being established. in the assessment of the che (2009, p. 8), “challenges faced by merging institutions included establishing identities for the new institutions, accommodating different institutional cultures and traditions and aligning policies and procedures”. nonetheless, the overall picture was that […]  the institutional mergers have succeeded in creating a new landscape in which the [former apartheid‑based] identities of institutions based on race and language are blurred. (mabokela, 2007, in che, 2009, p. 9) the same could not be said for the transformation of institutional cultures sought in 1997. in the wppset the argument was still being made that higher education continued to be characterised by discrimination, including racism and sexism (dhet, 2013, section 4.1). this assessment was based primarily on the findings of the ministerial committee on progress towards transformation and social cohesion and the elimination of discrimination in public higher education institutions, or soudien committee, which had been established in 2008 in the wake of the notorious ‘reitz incident’ at the university of the free state (doe, 2008). unlike any previous policy document in higher education, the wppset puts emphasis on experience(s). such experience(s) are functionally differentiated: learning experience, educational experience, workplace experience, practical experience, industry experience, 3 while there is less research available from historically black universities, all indications are that they are equally marred by various forms of discrimination, harassment and other hostile behaviour, and so forth (for a synthesis of the literature, see kerr luescher, 2018; also see ‘kwenza madlala’ in luescher, webbstock & bhengu [forthcoming]). moreover, the soudien report notes that “transformation is clearly a challenge facing all south african higher education institutions” (doe, 2008, in che, 2009, p. 85). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: inserting space into the transformation of higher education 9 and so forth. this conception of positive, functional, place‑based experiences, while helpful in an instrumental sense, is also limited in two ways: firstly, nowhere in the document is the function of ‘citizenship development’ practically considered as to where and how this should happen. what types of experiences should facilitate such development? in what spaces? and through which initiatives and interventions? secondly, there remains no indication where the negative, dysfunctional experiences of discrimination happen (in the classroom? in residences? in workplaces? at the taxi rank?), in what social interactions, and how one could counter them. considering the 1997 white paper’s treatment of the socio‑political dimension of space, it appears that national policy had regressed.4 the draft national plan for post‑school education and training to conclude our brief analysis, we consulted the draft national plan for post-school education and training (2017). our search finds that although the draft nppset talks of space in more detail than the nphe and the wppset, its conceptualisations of space are grounded in and primarily refer to infrastructure. the white paper’s conception of functional experiences is reinforced in the national plan’s emphasis on functional places for experiences. in the descriptions of these functional places, space is conceived as a physical thing. it is worth noting though, that the draft nppset includes for the first time a consideration of the social use of campus space, for example, as recreational facilities or accommodation. thus, section 2.5 of the draft plan argues that “appropriate infrastructure is essential to the achievement of the white paper policy goals”. in particular, it notes: larger multi‑purpose lecture theatres, more student learning spaces, office and work spaces for additional academic and support staff, more libraries, e‑learning centres, workshops, work simulation rooms, laboratories, research facilities and equipment, it workstations and networks, student accommodation and recreational facilities will be required. (dhet, 2017, section 2.5) specific reference is also made to (the inadequacy of) student accommodation in the system and the need to build new campuses (dhet, 2017, section 2.5). however, the draft nppset still fails to make the link between physical space and social space, that is, to understand and problematise the question of space in socio‑political terms. despite being the most ‘space‑conscious’ document, there is still little acknowledgement of social space (other than in terms of specific ‘official’ functions of a place). yet, perhaps the closest to any conception of social space in any of the four cornerstone policy documents analysed here is the following passage in the draft nppset of 2017: the multiple and complex academic and non‑academic factors contributing to poor student success in south african universities have been well documented over a long period of time. at undergraduate level, poor success can be attributed among many factors 4 an expectation was that the establishment of a permanent transformation oversight committee in 2013 would address transformation failure in the area of institutional culture (see lange & luescher‑ mamashela, 2016, p. 124). 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 1‑13 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 collectively grouped into life and logistic factors, teaching and learning factors and psycho‑ social factors. […] large classes, poor early warning systems, limited access to student support services (both academic and psycho‑social), curriculum design and pedagogical challenges, language issues, inadequate or inappropriate teaching and learning facilities, alienating institutional cultures, the use of ict infrastructure, and many other factors impact overall on the ability of institutions to facilitate improvements in student success. (dhet, 2017, section 5.3, p. 85) thus, it is here where the distinction between physical space(s) that have functionality for student living and learning, for teaching and as work spaces, starts to get blurry in light of the dysfunctionalities of higher education and failure to transform. however, it only does so with reference to students’ academic performance and success; it does not yet consider the wider transformation goals and how they ought to be experienced in the realities of the everyday.5 in conclusion: towards a research agenda on space and higher education at the most general level, our analysis of transformation policy in south african higher education has found that space is almost consistently conceived only as an object in transformation; it is ‘a thing’ devoid of agency. this kind of understanding of space in higher education policy – whether as physical space or as abstract ‘place’ to be filled – is problematic against an understanding of the role of social space in social relations, and thus of space as socio‑political actor in transformation. transformation happens in space, in the subjective environment of the everyday, which for students (and staff alike), is more than a ‘passive’ infrastructure or an abstract void; space is defined by and defines everyday lived experiences. we interact in this space and our interactions are limited or encouraged by this space. the way space is perceived, conceived and eventually experienced has a profound impact on students’ experience of higher education and by extension, of the experience of everybody interacting in and with the sector. it follows that space and space‑related concerns should have a prominent place in policy on higher education transformation. inserting space into a theorising of the relationship between the national agenda for transformation in higher education and differentiated campuses can be used to translate national policy imperatives, at different institutions, into the realities of the everyday. as we have shown, space in higher education transformation policy to date has been conceived in terms of abstract macro‑level systems, institutions, programmes, and enrolment places on the one hand; on the other hand, it has also come to be conceived as brick‑and‑mortar infrastructure more recently. problematisations of the social, in turn, have been analysed and addressed in policy mainly in terms of gender, class, and race (and other social categories), 5 for an important recent contribution to the literature on students’ experiences of getting into, through and out of higher education beyond the confines of current policy discourse, see case et al’s (2017) book going to university, based on narrative interviews with 73 young people who entered university studies in the early 2010s. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 philippa tumubweinee & thierry m. luescher: inserting space into the transformation of higher education 11 often with reference to institutional culture. neither of these two approaches adequately take into account a conceptual reading of space as a social product and co‑producer of the social that plays an active, dynamic, political role. in other words, the two policy approaches fail to deliver a socio‑political understanding of the role of space in the realities of the everyday in higher education. hence also student campaigns like #rhodesmustfall, which centred on the reality of the student experience in the everyday, were able to highlight the dysfunction of higher education policy for transformation from a cultural, socio‑political and economic perspective. our argument is that conceptualisations of space in higher education, particularly those that look at space as a social product and co‑producer of the social, allow for understandings of the lived reality of the everyday, which are grounded in the empirical.6 empirical understandings of the lived reality of the everyday in higher education can shift policy to allow for a shared and collective project of transformation involving multi‑voiced narratives that are socially, economically and politically relevant. policy that engages with space as social and political can, in its construction, consider “the ‘right things’ through the ‘right lenses’, and [do so] ethically” (hentschel & press, 2009, p. 6; in tumubweinee, 2019, p. 230). our concluding proposition is that socio‑spatial types can provide such lenses. socio‑ spatial types allow us to analyse the organisation of space at a higher education institution and the factors that influence this. in this respect, they allow us to look simultaneously at what happens, why it happens, how it happens and where it happens. thus, they provide a conceptual and methodological point of entry into the operationalisation of social space in higher education policy writing. such spatial types can include: living, learning, working, recreation, movement, architecture, and consumption, to name a few. as has recently been shown, […]  spatial types, in revealing space use and the everyday practices at a higher education institution, can be utilised to explain the linkages between spatial organisation and differentiated understandings and experiences of transformation in higher education. (tumubweinee, 2019, p. 76) in this way, they allow us to look at the underlying rules that govern the social nature of higher education institutions and provide insights into the way the social nature of these institutions extends into wider society. 6 the ways that #rhodesmustfall and other #mustfall campaigns have shifted the understandings of transformation linked to different conceptions of ‘space’ will need to be shown empirically in a different paper. 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 1‑13 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 acknowledgements we would like to thank thandi lewin as well as the anonymous peer reviewers of jsaa for their insightful comments on an earlier version of the article. dr tumubweinee would like to acknowledge funding received from the university of cape town (urc block grant) and prof. luescher would like to acknowledge funding received from the andrew w. mellon foundation (grant no. g‑1802‑05403) to produce this article. references badat, s. 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(2016). overview. in: council on higher education (ed.), south african higher education reviewed: two decades of democracy (pp. 5‑61). pretoria: che. young, m. & kraak, a. (2001). introduction. in: a. kraak & m. young (eds.), education in retrospect: policy and implementation since 1990 (pp. 1‑16). pretoria: hsrc, and london: institute of education. how to cite: tumubweinee, p. & luescher, t.m. (2019). inserting space into the transformation of higher education. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 1‑13. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511597237 https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511597237 https://doi.org/10.1080/0258934032000073897 https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2016.1238644 https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2016.1238644 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 www.jsaa.ac.za faculty intervention as support for first-year students ana’dhavelli naidoo* and juan-claude lemmens** research article * prof. ana’dhavelli naidoo is deputy director: academic support in the department for education innovation, university of pretoria, south africa. email: ana.naidoo@up.ac.za ** dr juan-claude lemmens is head: research and innovation (higher education) in the department for education innovation, university of pretoria, south africa. email: jlemmens@up.ac.za abstract the impetus for this study is grounded in a strategic decision by management to measure readiness for university education as part of an early alert and referral system. the motivation for this project is also rooted in literature that points out that the south african higher education system faces challenges with students entering the system underprepared. data at entry to the university, specifically related to the individual student, is used initially to profile the students. this profile is used to identify students who could be at risk of failing. these students are referred to a faculty student advisor (fsa) for support to address their needs. using a survey, 966 students were identified as being at risk at the beginning of the 2013 academic year. after additional criteria were applied to our prediction model, 200 students were selected for academic development workshops or individual sessions provided as intervention in the first semester. an outcomes assessment method was used to determine whether the number of sessions that at-risk students attend has had an influence on their academic achievement in the first semester. the assumption is that students who made more use of the intervention services (attended more sessions) were more likely to be successful than students who defaulted on the intervention or attended fewer sessions with the fsas. a cross-tabulation showed a significant association on the pearson’s chi-square statistic (13.60, df(4), p = 0.009), which implies that students who attend more sessions with the fsa are more likely to be academically successful in their first semester. keywords academic risk profile, academic success, first-year student, readiness for university. 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 background in 2010, a decision was made to provide a number of interventions to support students to succeed at the university. the aim was to develop an early alert and referral system to identify students who required support. one of the strategic goals of the university is to increase the access, throughput and diversity of students. bringing the three concepts together results in a focus on the success of our diverse group of students. unpublished cohort research on student success done at our institution over a number of years indicates that first-year students are especially at risk of failure and eventual withdrawal, which adversely impacts on the institution’s success indicators. the challenges faced by our university are not experienced in isolation. literature (van zyl, 2013; scott, 2009) shows that the south african higher education system as a whole is facing similar challenges. since the publication of the white paper on the higher education landscape (doe, 1997) an updated report by the council on higher education (che, 2014) shows that the key indicators of the success of the sector, such as participation and retention rates, are lower than anticipated. the gross participation rate in south africa has, for instance, plateaued at about 17% (che, 2014). graduation rates disaggregated by race show that, although african students have made some improvements in gross participation rates (improvement from 9% to 14% between 1996 and 2012), there is still a large disparity between their participation rates and their proportional population size. proportionately, white and indian students have much higher participation rates in the higher education system (che, 2009; 2013; 2014). given that the number of students who gain access to the university is, relatively speaking, very low, it is of concern that only 51% of the students who gain access to three-year degree programmes at universities tend to graduate after period of six years (che, 2009; 2014; bunting et al., 2010). in addition, these graduation rates are also highly skewed among racial groups (che, 2013). in order to increase students’ chances of success, higher education institutions need to make a concerted effort. success, in this context, is defined as the ability of an institution to retain a student from admission through to graduation (berger & lyon, 2005). research suggests that evaluating success only towards the end of a programme is insufficient and that students should be assessed and monitored from the very first day they enter the university (arguably even before then) and at strategic points along the cycle of the academic programme (van der merwe & pina, 2008; rassen et al., 2013; van zyl, gravett & de bruin, 2012; van zyl, 2013). practices are constantly being put in place in the hope that they will influence student success. the thinking underlying this study is that improvement of students’ overall experience inside and outside the classroom, especially at first-year level, is a prerequisite for ensuring that students succeed in subsequent years of study. scott (2009) writes that the first year is regarded as the academic year in which students’ success is highly influenced by their experiences. they have to adjust to the new institutional environment and manage increased levels of stress (tinto, 1993; bean & eaton, 2000; upcraft, gardner & barefoot, 2005; jones et al., 2008; hawkins & larabee, 2009). ana’dhavelli naidoo & juan-claude lemmens: faculty intervention as support for f irst-year students 19 literature review internationally, institutions have approached some of the problems discussed above with an orchestrated approach by implementing an early alert, monitoring and referral system (rassen et al., 2013; tinto, 2013). early alert refers to the identification of a student who is potentially at risk of being unsuccessful at a university, either academically or personally (beck & davidson, 2001; seidman, 2005). such a system is heavily focused during the first academic year, as numerous research points to the first-year learning experience as critical to student success and persistence (reason, terenzini & domingo, 2006; pascarella & terenzini, 2005). according to wend (2006), the student learning experience can be defined as the variety of experiences within the sphere of the university that influence learning. the student learning experience is therefore all-embracing and includes matters such as curricula; methods of teaching, learning and assessment; the learning environment and resources; student progress and achievement; and academic and pastoral support. the firstyear experience is not only influenced by the university environment in which students go to class, socialise in cafeterias, participate in sport or learn in small groups in the library, but is also highly influenced by students’ motivations, ability, socio-economic status, preparedness, and other external factors (tinto; 1993; bean & eaton, 2000; braxton & hirschy, 2005; jones et al., 2008; hawkins & larabee, 2009). particularly, for first-year academic achievement at the university, the level of academic readiness or preparedness is of critical importance. literature suggests that a reason for the poor performance of the higher education sector is that students enter the system underprepared (scott, yeld & hendry, 2007; strydom as cited in joubert, 2002). academic readiness is broadly defined as the level of preparation a student needs in order to enrol and succeed, without remediation, in a credit-bearing programme at a higher education institution (conley, 2007). more specifically, preparedness refers to being prepared in reading, writing and mathematical skills (van dyk & weideman, 2004; cliff, 2014). the readiness model of conley (2007) shows that readiness for university education is not only associated with academic performance at school or with measures of ability on psychometric tests, but also with socio-cultural and motivational factors. the participants of byrd and macdonald’s study, for instance, identified the following additional factors associated with readiness, namely: skills in time-management; motivational factors; background factors; and student self-concept (byrd & macdonald, 2005). other researchers pay attention to the non-cognitive and/or demographic characteristics of students as influencers of readiness for university (sedlacek, 2004, 2005; camara, 2005a, 2005b). the four categories of readiness that were identified by byrd and macdonald’s (2005) qualitative study are confirmed by conley’s (2007) research on readiness for university over a number of years. conley further suggests a broad definition of readiness that includes cognitive strategies, acquiring content knowledge, academic behaviours, and contextual knowledge and skills. conley (2007) explains that the various elements of readiness are neither mutually exclusive nor perfectly nested because they interact with and affect one another extensively. entry characteristics in the form of demographic variables have been shown to predict accomplishment later in one’s academic career (sedlacek, 2005). 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 keup (2008) names four issues that impact on student readiness: the shift to a truly multicultural student body; mental and emotional healthcare needs; a utilitarian view of higher education; and an integration of new technologies. in considering the first-year experience, kift (2009) says that the challenge of moving from research and theory into practice is becoming more difficult. this makes it even more important to determine whether our practices will have any impact on student success. the interventions provided by the fsas can be classified as informal learning opportunities (wawrzynski and baldwin, 2014) that also forge links with the formal ones taking place in the classroom. while interventions by the fsas may not fall neatly into kuh’s (2008) high-impact practices, they are seen as an attempt to address some of the needs of first-time-entering students. early alert and referral strategy our institution adopted an early alert and referral system early in 2010 to facilitate the transition from school to university in order to have students fully integrated into the university environment within the first quarter of the first year. among the activities were academic introductions to the disciplines before the start of the official year, allocation of mentors to particular students, monitoring student achievement after the first test (in a particular faculty), and the placement of advisors to provide support within each faculty. in line with literature on student readiness (van der merwe & pina, 2008; van zyl, gravett & de bruin, 2012; rassen et al., 2013; van zyl, 2013), students are assessed on their academic readiness. our student academic readiness survey (stars) was developed to function – in conjunction with demographic variables, high-school marks (admission point score) and the national benchmark test – as early warning indicators of failure or dropout among first-year students. the stars is a low-stakes, self-report survey measuring non-cognitive variables on 115 items, administered during the orientation week. this survey has been administered, since 2010, to over 42 000 students. it is a normreferenced test and consists of 26 non-cognitive dimensions. the objectives of the stars are to act as early-warning indicators of failure or dropout among first-year students and to categorise students into groups for specific interventions. students identified through the stars are referred to a peer mentorship programme for transitional support and/or an fsa for academic support and advice. the fsa refers students with financial and accommodation challenges to the relevant sections. this study will focus on the academic development interventions supplied by the fsas. the responsibilities of the fsas are to make contact with students and invite them to an intervention programme; advise such students about reducing their risks; provide study skills and time management workshops; monitor particular students’ results as an early alert of their progress; provide support to self-referred students; and assist students requiring advice about programme changes. the fsas are also required to keep records of the students who attend their intervention programmes. the data about the number of students identified for the intervention programmes as well as the students’ participation rates are necessary for the programme to have value during the first semester of the first year. research suggests that ana’dhavelli naidoo & juan-claude lemmens: faculty intervention as support for f irst-year students 21 not only student support services, but the system as a whole, influence students’ learning experiences and success (tinto, 2013). while efforts are also being made to encourage lecturers to support students within their discipline, this is not the focus of this article. here, we focus on the interventions made by the fsas. methodology the current study focuses on the quantitative analysis of survey data in combination with high-school academic results, student demographic data and results from the national benchmark test (nbt). the aforementioned data are used in predictive analytics to identify students for various intervention programmes on campus. data collection method or procedure the stars is administered to students attending the orientation week at the beginning of each academic year. the survey is intended for all first-time-entering, first-year students. however, not all new students are able to attend the orientation week and, in some cases, returning and transferring students also attend it. the surveys are administered in paperand-pencil format and electronically. the results of the stars feed directly into the institution’s business intelligence software, called the stars student retention system. each student’s stars profile is programmatically compared with his or her high school academic results, student demographic data and results from the nbt. predictive analytics of the data over a number of years were used to develop academic risk profiles of students. the stars retention system uses the algorithms of the predictive analytics to identify the students who may be at risk. the system produces automatic reports that are used by the fsas to contact students about a variety of intervention programmes. the criteria for selection for academic advising, which are evaluated in this study, include high school academic performance in relation to the admission requirements per programme. as part of this study we have included the nbt as an additional criterion for selecting at-risk students because research shows that the three nbt sub-tests generally act as contributing signals, with national senior certificate (nsc) results, in explaining firstyear academic achievement (lemmens, 2013). the results of the stars are mainly used as qualitative information for tailoring the intervention programme. fsas are required to keep records of the students who attend academic advising and the number of sessions they attend. the number of sessions ranged from zero to nine sessions. these sessions were clustered into three, roughly even, groups in order to perform a pearson’s chi-square analysis from contingency tables (field, 2005). the students who attended zero sessions were contacted but chose not to attend any of the sessions. three distinct groups – at-risk, borderline and successful – were used by the fsas for further academic development interventions in the second semester. the data for this is not presented here as the focus is on the first semester only. the research question for this study is: does the number of academic advising sessions decrease the academic risk of students who were predicted to be at risk upon entry to the institution? 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 data analysis the data analysis for this study can be categorised as descriptive analysis of the demographic data and institutional sample data. inferential statistics, namely a pearson’s chi-square, was used in combination with contingency tables because the data were clustered into discrete categories. a chi-square analysis was also used to test a hypothesis with an associated significance indication (field, 2005). in order to evaluate the academic success of students, a cluster analysis was performed to identify students who had performed academically poorly in the first semester. cluster analysis is a statistical method for finding relatively homogeneous clusters of cases based on measured characteristics. the k-means algorithm clustering method was utilised to analyse the data (field, 2005). the variables that were used in the first phase of the analysis, performed by our institutional planning section, were the ratio of credits registered versus credits failed; the average mark for the first semester; the ratio of modules in which students performed poorly; and the high school english mark. in the second round of the analysis, the borderline students were extracted from the data set and split into sciences and non-sciences groups. the k-means cluster analysis was performed on these two groups separately. the variables that were used in the second phase were the ratio of credits registered versus credits failed; the average mark for the first semester; and the ratio of modules in which students performed poorly. however, the high school english mark was removed. this allowed identification of borderline students at the granular level, thus splitting the lower borderline from the true borderline and upper borderline students. the lower borderline students became part of the at-risk group. the following outcome assessment models will be used to evaluate the outcomes as they are presented in the evaluation framework: model 1: outcomes assessment of at-risk students characteristics of at-risk students at entry academic development transition financial and accommodation academic outcomes fail first semester dropout/course change academic risk cluster participation rates successfully complete intervention discontinue intervention ana’dhavelli naidoo & juan-claude lemmens: faculty intervention as support for f irst-year students 23 in this model, the students who were identified as being at risk with predictive analytics were referred to one of the three support services mentioned above. they are subsequently prearranged in two groups, namely students who successfully completed the intervention and students who discontinued or defaulted on the intervention. the two groups will be compared in relation to their first-semester academic achievement, their academic risk cluster and dropout rate. the purpose is to determine whether students who made use of the intervention services were more likely to be successful than the students who defaulted on the intervention. in this study the focus is on the cluster analysis of the academic outcomes in relation to participation in academic development sessions facilitated by the fsas. sample the population for this study consists of 12 916 students enrolled in their first year in 2013. first-time-entering, first-year students numbered 8 515, with the remainder of the students being both returning students (students who did not successfully progress to the second year of study) and transferring students (students who changed course or transferred from other institutions). a total of 7 033 students completed the stars and, from the initial risk criteria, 966 students were identified as being at risk. after applying additional risk criteria explained in the data collection procedure above, 200 students were identified as being at risk. the fsas followed these students up. the fsas kept records of the 200 students for the purpose of this study. coyne (1997) refers to all sampling as being purposeful. he turns to patton’s view (1990, p. 69), that “qualitative inquiry typically focuses in depth on relatively small samples, even single cases, selected purposefully”. the purpose of choosing the 200 students is that they interacted with the fsas in terms of being provided with a form of intervention. ethical considerations confidentiality of first-year students was maintained at all costs. students were informed of the purpose of the survey prior to its administration. students had to log in to the student portal with their student numbers and passwords to gain access to their individual reports. only reports of students who agreed to make their information accessible to university staff were available by proxy access to fsas, counselling staff and deans of faculty. students were advised to make use of support structures, but not forced to do so. these students were also briefed about the method through which they had been identified and what the support programme entailed. students who decided not to make use of recommended services either did not attend the sessions or indicated their decision to default verbally to the fsa when invited to the intervention programme. results our results focus on the descriptive statistics of the sample and the quantitative evaluation of the intervention programme facilitated by the fsas. 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 sample the distribution of first-year students by faculty and by admittance type can be observed in table 1. table 1: biographical data of first-year students by faculty and admission type faculty new returning transfer total humanities 1 394 244 80 1 718 natural and agricultural sciences 1 716 663 81 2 460 law 173 180 9 362 theology 56 11 7 74 economic and management sciences 1 717 383 95 2 195 veterinary science 131 42 27 200 education 914 98 54 1 066 health sciences 569 646 651 1 866 engineering, built environment and it 1 845 1 085 45 2 975 total 8 515 3 352 1 049 12 916 66% 26% 8% 100% from the population of first-year students admitted to the university (12 916), a total of 7 033 students completed the stars. of the 7 033 students completing the stars during the orientation programme, 93% are first-time-entering, first-year students, 2% of the registered students are students returning to the first year and 4% of the registered students have transferred from other institutions. one per cent of the students are labelled as “unknown” on their student record. the target audience for the student academic readiness survey was first-time-entering, first-year students and, to a large extent, this was achieved. the distribution in participation rates in the stars by faculty is equivalent to the distribution of the student population as presented in table 2, thus indicating that the students who completed the stars are a representative sample of the first-time-entering, first-year student population. from table 3 it is evident that the majority of students who completed the stars are female, which is in accordance with the gender profile of the undergraduate student population (female = 58.5% and male = 41.5%) and first-year students in particular (female = 58.2% and male = 41.8%) at our own institution. ana’dhavelli naidoo & juan-claude lemmens: faculty intervention as support for f irst-year students 25 table 2: distribution of students completing the stars by faculty faculty frequency percentage economic and management sciences 1 374 19.5 education 834 11.9 engineering, built environment and it 1 550 22.0 health sciences 469 6.7 humanities 986 14.0 law 164 2.3 natural and agricultural sciences 1 500 21.3 theology 36 0.5 veterinary science 120 1.7 total 7 033 100.0 table 3: distribution of students completing the stars by gender gender frequency percentage female 4 120 58.6 male 2 913 41.4 total 7 033 100.0 table 4: distribution of students completing the stars by race racial group frequency percentage asian 363 5.2 black 2 705 38.5 coloured 178 2.5 other 34 0.5 unknown 6 0.1 white 3 747 53.3 total 7 033 100.0 from table 4 it is evident that the majority of students who completed the stars are categorised as white, which is roughly in accordance with the racial profile of the undergraduate student population and first-year students in particular. black students make up 38.5% of the sample, while the proportion of black students in the population of firsttime-entering, first-year students is 41.1%. the proportion of white students completing the stars is 53.3%, while the population of white, first-time-entering, first-year students is 50.7%. black students are thus slightly under-represented in the sample and white students are slightly over-represented in the sample. 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 academic proficiency of students completing the stars the academic proficiency of students who completed the stars is presented in table 5. academic proficiency, in this instance, is measured by the admission point score (aps) as well as the subtests of the national benchmark test (nbt). these scores show, to some extent, the academic skills and/or knowledge that a student has acquired up to a certain point. universities can use this information to set benchmarks for the level of knowledge and/or skills that students require to have a fair chance of being successful at a particular programme. thus, they not only say something about the students’ current ability, but also predict academic outcomes in the future based on what is known presently. table 5: average high-school academic performance on the aps and nbt n min max mean std deviation aps 6 574 15 50 34.50 4.589 nbt-al 5 139 28 92 62.64 11.311 nbt-ql 5 139 13 96 58.88 15.128 nbt-math 4 510 19 97 48.84 15.947 sample total 4 276 from table 5 the mean aps score was 34.5. on the other hand, the mean score for the nbt–academic literacy subtest was 62.64, while the mean score for the nbt– quantitative literacy subtest was 58.88 and the mean score for the nbt–mathematics subtest was 48.84. the sample total for this table is 4 276 because not all students have to complete the nbt results, and the sample total represents the number of students who have scores for all four of the variables. first-semester students ‘at risk’ according to the stars table 6 shows that 966 students were identified as being at risk by the stars student retention system at the beginning of the academic year, using only aps as the criteria. for the purpose of this study, the nbt was included in the selection criteria to identify students who are at a greater risk. a total of 200 students were selected for this purpose. internal research at our institution on nsc subjects and apss with the stars results shows that the nsc – and, more specifically, the aps – only partly explains academic outcomes (lemmens, 2013). when other variables, such as nbt results and psychosocial variables, are added, they can increase the accuracy of the prediction model. from table 7 it is evident that students who were selected based on aps criteria only have higher mean scores on the nbt-al, nbt-ql and nbt-math than the students selected with aps and nbt criteria (60.64 vs 56.23; 57.24 vs 49.91; 45.27 vs 39.05 respectively). one can see that the aps scores of both groups were almost equal and that the addition of the nbt subtest provides additional information to help with the accuracy of the prediction model. the students who were contacted were prioritised because of their performance on the nbt and would possibly be at greater academic risk. ana’dhavelli naidoo & juan-claude lemmens: faculty intervention as support for f irst-year students 27 table 6: prediction criteria applied faculty criteria: aps criteria: aps and nbt economic and management sciences 264 42 education 97 23 engineering, built environment and it 215 13 health 33 2 humanities 242 43 law 12 3 natural and agricultural studies 83 65 theology 7 0 veterinary science 13 9 grand total 966 200 table 7: descriptive statistics of participation in fsa session/s and proficiency scores aps criteria only (n = 766) n min max mean std deviation aps 763 17 38 29.83 3.679 nbt-al 519 29 85 60.64 11.319 nbt-ql 519 20 91 57.24 15.981 nbt-math 439 20 88 45.27 14.396 aps and nbt criteria (n = 200) n min max mean std deviation aps 196 3 37 29.09 3.523 nbt-al 125 31 83 56.23 12.363 nbt-ql 125 19 84 49.91 14.011 nbt-math 112 22 71 39.05 11.939 academic development outcomes assessment in this section, the students who were identified as being at risk based on academic criteria will be assessed against the academic risk cluster as the outcome variable. the students who were identified and referred to the fsas will be divided into three groups, analysed according to the number of sessions in which they participated (grouped for analysis purposes). 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 table 8: cross-tabulation of academic risk cluster and number of fsa sessions participated in academic cluster number of individual fsa sessions total zero sessions one session two or more sessions at risk count 28 27 12 67 % within cluster 41.8% 40.3% 17.9% 100% borderline count 24 29 22 75 % within cluster 32.0% 38.7% 29.3% 100% successful count 8 28 22 58 % within cluster 13.8% 48.3% 37.9% 100% total count 60 84 56 200 the two variables in the contingency table (cross-tabulation) in table 8 – academic risk cluster and the number of fsa sessions participated in – are significantly associated on the pearson’s chi-square statistic (13.60, df(4), p = 0.009). this implies that there is a significant relationship between the risk cluster in which a student is observed and the number of academic advising sessions in which a student participated with the fsas. the category of “zero sessions” refers to the students who were invited to the interventions but did not participate (n = 60). the number of students attending one session were 84 and number of students attending two or more sessions were 56. the results show that 41.8% of the at-risk students fall into the zero session, 40.3% participated in one session and 17.9% participated in two or more sessions. the students classified as borderline with the cluster analysis had slightly larger numbers of students attending one session. namely, 38.7% of the students attended one session, 32% of the borderline students attend zero sessions and 29.3% attended two or more sessions. in contrast, 13.8% of the successful students attended zero sessions, 48.3% attended one session and 37.9% of the students attended two or more sessions. based on the cluster analysis percentages, one could conclude that the optimal number of sessions that at-risk students should attend, to move from being classified as being at risk upon entry into the institution to being classified as successful, is one. one can also observe a larger number of students within the “successful” category. however, students attending one session were in the majority, which will influence the relative frequencies and associated percentages. in order to accommodate the difference in total frequencies of students attending interventions, the relative percentages of the number of sessions in relation to the academic cluster has to be investigated. the results of the calculation of the frequencies and column totals in table 8 (percentages not shown here but explained in this paragraph) show that successful students were more likely to have attended two or more sessions (39.3%) than students who attended one session (33.3%) or no sessions at all (13.3%). conversely, the at-risk students tended not to attend any sessions (46.7%) compared with students who participated in one session (32.1%) and students who participated in two or more sessions (21.4%). the ana’dhavelli naidoo & juan-claude lemmens: faculty intervention as support for f irst-year students 29 students classified as borderline could have attended zero (40%), one (34.5%), or two or more (39.3%) sessions without showing a clear trend in the contribution of attending more sessions to risk movement. generally, the results thus show that of the high-risk group contacted by the fsas, students who attend more sessions with the advisor are more likely to have successful first-semester academic outcomes. furthermore, there is evidence to show that academic advice is an effective intervention for high-risk students in the short term. however, this finding needs to be tested further. further research will be undertaken on students who did not receive any intervention, but who were identified by the stars, to determine if they could have been more successful had they received academic advice. such a comparison could have worked well with the students whom the stars system identified as not being at risk. conclusion the research from this study found that 766 stars students who were selected using aps criteria and who did not attend fsa interventions were less likely to be at risk than the 200 who were selected based on the aps and nbt results participated. adding the subtest of the nbt to the identification of students for the academic intervention programmes has improved the ability to predict the success of students entering the university, allowing the university to be more active in selecting at-risk students with predictive analytics and recommending interventions proactively. an outcomes assessment of this analysis– intervention–evaluation framework has shown promising results for the implementation of academic advising in this case, and has allowed us to improve the intervention programme as well as the monitoring of at-risk students. the results show that only 32 out of 200 students were able to move out of academic risk without attending any academic advising – however, most of these students were at borderline academic achievement. this could be attributed to students making changes to their academic behaviour due to the knowledge that they were being observed (the hawthorne effect) or because they consulted elsewhere. the results show that 28 of the 60 students who did not attend any sessions are from the at-risk category (46.7%). it is also evident that students who attend only one session have a one in three chance of being either at risk, borderline or successful. this indicates that attending only one session does not seem to be clearly beneficial to this group of students. evidently, the tipping point in the effectiveness of academic advising is student participation in two or more sessions. students who attend two or more sessions are likely to be successful or, at least, to become borderline academic achievers. clearly, students who do not use fsa services are at a higher risk. thus, active participation in intervention programmes is of value to academically underprepared students. through the stars and the employment of fsas, the institution has shown its commitment to interventions for improving student success. it is taken further within the faculties where students identified as being at risk are supported by tutors and other academic practices. the findings have also shown the value of using nbt results as additional criteria for identifying at-risk students for academic advice programmes. research has used nbt 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.133 mostly in comparative analyses of nsc marks and nbts for placement purposes (fleisch, schöer & cliff, in press). references bean, j.p. & eaton, s.b. 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(2005). challenging and supporting the first-year student: a handbook for improving the first year of college. san francisco: jossey-bass. van der merwe, a. & pina, r. (2008). use of portals, crm, assessment: stellenbosch university case study. workshop presented at the 1st southern african conference on the first-year experience: using ict to track, profile and individually help students, stellenbosch. van dyk, t. & weideman, a. (2004). switching constructs: on the selection of an appropriate blueprint for academic literacy assessment. journal for language teaching, 38(1), 1–12. van heerden, e. (1997). university education and african thought: ref lections on underachievement among some unisa students. south african journal of ethnology, 20(2), 76–94. van zyl, a. (2013). teaching the students we have: two perspectives on first year students at the university of johannesburg and the uj first year experience initiative. paper presented at higher education learning and teaching association of south africa (heltasa), pretoria, south africa. retrieved november 21. 2014 from http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12491 van zyl, a., gravett, s. & de bruin, g.p. (2012). to what extent do pre-entry attributes predict first year student academic performance in the south african context? south african journal of higher education, 26(5), 1095–1111. wawrzynski, m. & baldwin, r. (2014). promoting high-impact student learning: connecting key components of the collegiate experience. new directions for higher education, 165, 51–62. wend, p. (2006). towards a joined-up student learning experience strategy at oxford brookes university. brookes ejournal of learning and teaching 2.1. retrieved 20 august 2014 from http:// bejlt.brookes.ac.uk/articles/towards_a_ joined_up_student_learning_experience_at_oxford_ brookes_universit/. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 163 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme on student performance langutani mary masehela* & memory mabika** * dr langutani mary masehela is a senior educational development practitioner in the centre for higher education teaching and learning, university of venda, south africa. email: mary.masehela@univen.ac.za ** dr memory mabika is senior lecturer in the department of communication and applied language studies, university of venda, south africa. email: memory.mabika@univen.ac.za abstract the university of venda introduced an academic mentoring programme in 2012. the introduction of the programme was in response to the results of a national study that was conducted by scott, yeld and hendry (2007). the study was replicated at institutional level and it yielded similar results that indicated that at least 30% of undergraduate students drop out at the end of their first year. using margaret archer’s morphogenetic framework, this paper seeks to assess the impact of the programme on students’ performance. the key question asked in this study is: ‘what impact has the mentoring programme made on the academic performance of students in the department of communication and applied language studies?’ this department formed part of this study because the module lecturer was among the first few who exercised her agency by consciously volunteering to join the programme with the hope that it would improve pass rate. the pass rate improved from 80% to 92% the first time the programme was implemented and it has been high ever since, while the students in that department have continued to embrace the programme. both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted for this study. qualitative data consisted of an open-ended questionnaire which was used to collect data from forty-five mentees. interviews were also conducted with ten mentees, three student mentors, the media studies (mst 1541) lecturer and the educational development practitioner (edp). from the forty-five questionnaire respondents, only ten mentees were also interviewed to confirm responses that were given in questionnaires before the researcher had reached saturation point. quantitative data were collected through a comparison of module results for 2012 and 2013. the mst 1541 classes in 2012 and 2013 were taught by the same lecturer, who confirmed minimal changes in terms of content and teaching methods which could have influenced the improved pass rate in 2013. the study concludes that the mentoring programme contributed to improving student success. however, the study only focused on one causal mechanism, namely mentoring. it is therefore recommended that a broader study be conducted to evaluate the impact of additional causal mechanisms. furthermore, the researchers recommend improved monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to curb the inconsistencies and irregularities reported by the mentors, mentees, lecturer and educational development practitioner. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://mary.masehela@univen.ac.za mailto:memory.mabika%40univen.ac.za?subject= 164 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 keywords critical realism; mentoring; retention; social realism; success; student performance; student support introduction this paper seeks to assess the impact of a student mentoring programme on student performance among first-level students at the university of venda (univen). the study explores departmental conditions and the student success rates before and after the introduction of the mentoring programme in the department of communication and applied language studies (cals). univen is a rural-based, previously disadvantaged institution, which mainly caters for the formerly marginalised black population in the limpopo province of south africa (mabika, 2015). the university of venda’s centre for higher education teaching and learning (chetl) reported that at least 53% of the students who wrote the 2011 examinations would be repeating a module or two of their first-year modules the following year (masehela & ndebele, 2016, p. 117). the institution attracts mostly first-generation students who come from disadvantaged schooling backgrounds from peri-urban and rural communities. these students face financial challenges, underpreparedness, a lack of exposure to various technologies, poverty and a range of emotional burdens which can significantly affect their academic participation and performance (krause, 2005). however, in its effort to deal with some of these challenges, univen introduced an institution-wide academic mentoring programme in the second half of 2012. this programme was accepted by some lecturers and rejected by others who felt it added more work to their already heavy workloads (masehela, ndebele, sikhwari & maphosa, 2014). this paper aims to share the experiences of a lecturer who was a member of the department before the introduction of the programme and who later became one of the first academics to participate in the programme when it was eventually introduced. the paper also shares the experiences of an educational development practitioner (edp) who participated in the programme since its inception and worked directly with the lecturer concerned in implementing the programme in cals. students who also participated in this programme during its inception completed a questionnaire for this study. using archer’s morphogenetic framework, the paper seeks to establish if mentoring was one of the causal mechanisms that impacted on the performance of students in cals. archer’s non-conflationary framework adopts the analytical dualism approach to analyse data that contributes to the success or non-success of the mentoring programme. thus, the structure, culture and agency are analysed separately to explore the status quo of student performance in the department. the question posed for this study was: ‘what impact does the mentoring programme have on the academic performance of students in the department of communication and applied language studies?’ data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, the edp, the module lecturer and module results. quantitative data which were comparatively analysed were collected from the lecturer’s 2012 and 2013 records in the department of cals. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 165 this paper provides a brief background of the need for support programmes in higher education in the recent past both globally and in the south african higher education landscape. the paper further introduces the theoretical framework that underpins this research, namely social realism which is rooted in the critical realism philosophy of life, and discusses the reasons for choosing this framework. this is followed by the methodology used to analyse the data. background habley (2004) found that students’ interactions with faculty, staff, advisors, peers and administrators directly influenced undergraduate retention. to this end, tinto (2004) suggests that, to improve undergraduate retention, all institutions of higher education must offer easily accessible academic, personal and social support services. this perspective is not only relevant to the experiences of the global north. norodine-fataar (2011) found that the mentoring programme offered at the fundani centre of the cape peninsular university of technology served a dual focus, that is, academic and social. du preez, steenkamp and baard’s (2013) study also confirms that the promotion of active interaction amongst students, faculty, staff, advisors, peers and administrators which is further enhanced through the introduction of mentoring programmes can impact positively on student retention. the growing body of literature on high impact practices (hips) clearly supports student mentoring, stating that there is a link between engaged learning and successful degree completion (kuh, 2008; brownell & swaner, 2009; kuh & o’donnell, 2013; wellman & brusi, 2013). hips are defined as undergraduate opportunities that have a positive association with student learning and retention which further share several traits: they demand considerable time and effort, facilitate learning outside of the classroom, require meaningful interactions with faculty and students, encourage collaboration with diverse others, and provide frequent and substantive feedback (keup, 2015). the theoretical framework: a critical realist ontology this study explores margaret archer’s (1995, 2003) theory of social realism, which is grounded in roy bhaskar’s (1979) philosophy of science known as critical realism. bhaskar argues for a stratified ontology that takes account of an ultimate reality that exists independently of human action and thought. bhaskar (1979) argues against a flat monistic view of reality by advocating for three levels of reality, namely the real, the actual and the empirical. the level of the real is where structures and mechanisms are placed and it is at the bottom stratum. this is the level where planning takes place. after that, events emerge at the level of the actual. the impact of the planning that took place at the bottom of the ladder is realised at this second level. however, agents who participate in the event experience the effects of the event differently, either positively or negatively, at the level of the empirical. critical realists attempt to recognise the subjective nature of knowledge and argue for the presence of underlying deep mechanisms and enduring structures within a social world. this philosophy of science sees reality through neither the positivist lens nor the 166 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 constructivist lens (sayer, 2007, p. 2). we now turn to explain why social realism was used in this study. why social realist methodology or ontology? first, social realism draws on bhaskar’s notion of a stratified view of reality, outlined above. bhaskar’s critical realism asserts that the world is composed of three strata or layers, that is discourses, structures, powers and tendencies at the level of the real; events at the level of the actual; and experiences and impressions at the level of the empirical (bhaskar, 1979; patomaki & wight, 2000; sayer, 2007). therefore, for the purposes of this study, the researchers were interested in unearthing the tendencies at the level of the real which contributed to the outcome of an improved academic performance at the level of the empirical. secondly, social realism allows for an exploration of the way change occurs, or does not occur, over time. it does this through the use of archer’s (1995) morphogenetic framework, which allows social researchers to analyse the interplay between ‘the people’ (i.e. human agency) and ‘the parts’ (i.e. structure and culture) in any social milieu. in the case of this study, we used archer’s framework to explore what could have led to the improvement or non-improvement of student performance after the introduction of a mentoring programme in the department of cals. in this study we examine student performance before the introduction of the mentoring programme, using 2012 results and analysing departmental practices at that time. this is then followed by a comparison of the mst 1541 2012 and 2013 results and an examination of the departmental practices after the introduction of the mentoring programme. thirdly, social realism requires us to adopt analytical dualism, which involves the artificial separation, for the purposes of analysis, of ‘the parts’ (structure and culture) and ‘the people’ (agency). the rationale behind the separate analysis of the parts is so that each domain has its own unique emergent, autonomous and efficacious properties and powers that can or cannot bring about change. social realism avoids the epiphenomenal character prevalent in other social theories, for instance empirical and linguistic realism, where “… either the ‘parts’ or the ‘people’ are held to be the ultimate constituents of social reality to which the other could be reduced” (archer, 2000, p. 5). therefore, in this study, archer’s framework adopts the analytical dualism approach to analyse data and to explore the parts and the people’s contribution to the success or non-success of the high-impact practice programme with specific reference to the mentoring programme in cals. this approach to exploring conditions allows researchers to dig deep down to the root cause of the situation. the context of study: cals at univen cals is housed in the school of human and social sciences at univen in limpopo province of south africa. univen is a historically disadvantaged institution, which draws most of its learners from the lowly rated rural and township high schools around http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 167 vhembe district and surrounding areas (mabika, 2015). ‘lowly rated schools’ refers to poorly funded public schools which normally draw learners from the poor black rural and high-density townships. this is confirmed in the report of the ministerial committee for the review of the funding of universities (department of higher education, 2013, p. 14). the higher education system in south africa shifted after the attainment of democracy in 1994, opening up access to all. this resulted in burgeoning enrolments in the underprepared institutions. it is reported that the university of venda in 2002, boasted an enrolment figure of a total headcount of 7 783 students (department of education, 2004, p. 41), while the same institution boasted a total headcount of 14 147 students in 2015 (university of venda annual report, 2015, p. 43). yet infrastructure and staff complement did not match the growth. the year 2017 shows further growth of enrolment in this institution. in addition to this, the study that was conducted by scott, yeld, and hendry (2007) on behalf of the council on higher education (che) identified poor throughput rate as a national challenge which requires the higher education system to work together as a collective to address the challenge; this was done through the introduction of the quality enhancement project (qep) (che, 2014, p. ii). statistics for the poor national throughput rate in higher education are shared by schoeman (2014) as follows: only 15% of sa university students graduate, only 25% of students in “contact institutions” graduate in the required time, only 35% of the total intake and 48% of contact students graduate within five years. in light of these poor throughput rates, this study also acknowledges the following as key conditions in exacerbating poor performance and attrition of students: academic under-preparedness of academic staff and students; transition or adjustment problems; career choice uncertainties in students and inadequate financial support. wadesango and machingambi (2012, p. 118) add that academic achievement is closely tied to socioeconomic status, and that being raised in a low-income family often means having fewer educational resources. they further point out that, in spite of resilience and the will to be successful, low-income families face additional challenges such as limited access to health care and nutrition, which could contribute to lower academic performance. in addition, students’ lack of what bourdieu (1977) calls “cultural capital”, aggravates a student’s underpreparedness for higher education. cultural capital is the assumption that children from working-class families do not have the privilege of acquiring the skills and knowledge that they would require at university from their parents because they are first-generation students. therefore, student mentors can act as role models for junior students who might not have academic roles models. there are also fears that digital illiteracy is rife among students from poor rural communities in south africa due to lack of access to digital technologies. poley, cotton and mcalpin (2000, p. 1) argue that there is “a growing problem of the digital millennium with increasing polarization between the information haves and have nots”. they further argue that, as technology continues to develop, the gap between the information haves and have nots continues to widen. wadesango and machingambi (2011) further note classroom absenteeism as another major contributor to poor performance in higher education. 168 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 with the intake of the above-mentioned student body in the department of cals at univen, the challenge is aggravated by the nature of the discipline and the staff component of the department. the department is multi-disciplinary; it was originally the department of linguistics but later incorporated media studies and became the department of cals. most students who enrol at the school of humanities register for the media studies programme. however, the greatest challenge for this very popular degree programme is the lecturer to student ratio. lecturers in the media studies programme are overwhelmed by the large numbers of students. the lecturer/student ratio is approximately 1:120. the department has six full-time lecturers, including the head of department, one part-time lecturer for media studies and one for linguistics. the significance of the study given the context of univen, it is clear that there is not only a need for student support and development programmes in this institution, but there is also a critical need to critique these programmes at close range to ascertain their relevance in this context. although student mentors at univen are selected on merit and undergo training the researchers saw the need to give a critique of how the mentoring programme was unfolding in the department of cals. while the research questions in this study will assist the researchers to unearth the impact that the mentoring programme might or might not have made on student performance, the study will also serve as a reflective tool for the lecturer in the study and other lecturers, as well as the development practitioner and other practitioners. since student support initiatives at univen are relatively new measures, reflective and reflexive practices are critical in order to move towards innovative practices that speak directly to the context instead of being influenced by pragmatic practices that have worked in other institutions. according to barry stierer (2008) reflective practice is the act of scrutinising and critiquing one’s teaching habits. stierer argues that the philosophy of personal effectiveness in teaching is a very important component in professional development. teaching in higher education could even go beyond reflection to reflexivity. luckett (2001) argues for an epistemologically diverse curriculum which encourages reflexive competence, that is, knowing how one knows that which one knows, and how one got to know it. therefore, it is important for one to put forward one’s role as a teacher rather than simply acknowledge one’s command of the content only. tinto (2012) argues that student success is strengthened by assessing performance of both academics and students in ways that allow them to change their behaviour, in order to keep improving success rates. in their quest to professionalise their teaching practices, it is important for academics at univen to base their practices on research-based evidence as advocated by stierer (2008). hence, this study selected archer’s social realist ontology to serve as a lens through which to critique the interplay between students, academics, academic developers and the structures that the institution has put in place to improve student performance. following is a section that shares literature on peer mentoring, what it entails and the impact it has on student performance in higher education. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 169 literature review peer mentoring mentoring is interpreted differently in different contexts. du preez et al. (2013) define peer mentoring within the academic context (module mentoring) as a process whereby reciprocity and equal status abide, and both the mentor and the mentee exchange knowledge, ideas, support and interest to the benefit of both parties. these authors advance the importance of reciprocity and equality between the mentor and mentees since in this context they both occupy the same position, that of student. in that sense, they both stand a chance of learning something from each other or from the interaction itself. langhout, rhodes and osborne (2004) propose four styles of mentoring: (1) moderate mentors (conditional support and moderate levels of structure and activities); (2) unconditionally supportive mentors (highest level of support with moderate levels of structure and activity); (3) active mentors (highest level of activity combined with the lowest degree of structure); and (4) low-key mentors (highest support and lowest activity). leidenfrost, strassing, schabmann, carbon and spiel (2011) add three more peer-mentoring styles, namely the motivating master mentoring, informatory standard mentoring and negative minimalist mentoring. the motivating master mentor performs well academically, is committed to mentoring sessions, and provides informational and motivational mentoring, while avoiding negative mentoring. informational mentors focus on providing information without being asked for it, while negative minimalist mentors are ignorant of the content and fail to answer any questions. for further research at univen around mentorship, it would be beneficial to investigate the kind of mentors who are likely to be recruited in this institution. in addition, the university of venda pays its mentors a stipend, which adds to their motivation to do the task. the question could be: what kind of mentors will the institution recruit when there is no stipend attached? more on the kind of mentors at cals is shared in the data analysis section. the authors of this paper examine the impact of mentoring in a rural historically disadvantaged university in south africa. given the history of the country and its academic support practices, the first phase of the academic development movement, as noted by pavlich and orkin (1993, cited in boughey, 2010, p. 4), emerged as a result of historically white liberal universities admitting small numbers of black students in the early 1980s due to “relaxed state apartheid policies”. other than that, academic student support practices in higher education institutions were not common except for student counselling services. as a result, current academics know and understand very little about student support practices, especially those that are regarded as high-impact practices. what is academic mentoring? landolt (2012) and masehela et al. (2014, p. 369) define mentoring as an informal face-to face communication process, over a predetermined and sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the 170 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 mentor) and a person who is perceived to be less knowledgeable (mentee). in addition, a mentor is knowledgeable in a specific academic area of expertise and should share that knowledge and skills with their mentees (landolt, 2012). it is further argued that effective mentoring is more than a question-and-answer session, but involves various informal methods of sharing information through dialogue, and the development of an ongoing relationship of open learning where the mentor and the mentee face and resolve challenges as a team. however, eby, rhodes and allen (2007) see the end result of mentoring as key to defining mentoring. they define mentoring as a way to help reduce school dropout rates, increase academic achievement, promote self-identity and a positive self-image, reduce risky behaviours, and facilitate career development. these views are also shared by academic developers at univen. they see mentoring as more than just improving academic performance of students, but also as concerned with assisting mentees to cope with their psychological and social challenges. mentors, in this institution, are also trained in life skills in order to be able to provide lay counselling to their mentees. however, these mentors are encouraged to refer their mentees to professional student counsellors as soon as they detect serious psychological issues in their mentees. research methodology to address the research problem, which seeks to assess the issue of change/nonchange after the introduction of the mentoring programme at univen, the study adopted qualitative and quantitative approaches. quantitative data comprise of two subsequent mst 1541 classes (2012 and 2013), while qualitative data were collected using in-depth interviews with ten student mentees. seventy mentees were given questionnaires and, of those seventy, forty-five were completed and returned. furthermore, student mentors and the lecturer of the selected module, as well as the edp, were interviewed. the morphogenetic approach was used to evaluate the change that occurred (or lack of change) as the department transitioned from a period before and after the introduction of the mentoring programme. population and purposive sampling the study used purposive sampling. ashley crossman (2017) defines a purposive sample as a non-probability sample that is selected based on characteristics of a population and the objective of the study. the choice of participants in this study was selective as per crossman’s description of purposive sampling. the module lecturer taught this module prior to and after the implementation of the mentoring programme. the mentors were in the pilot programme in 2013 and at the time of data collection they were honours students in the department. the mentees were in their third year of study when data was collected. the study focused only on 2013 mentees and mentors. the lecturer, who has been teaching this cohort of students since 2010, is still teaching the module, while the edp is still facilitating this programme in chetl. when the study was conducted, six of the eleven mentors from cals, who were first trained in 2013, were still at univen http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 171 completing their honours degrees, while seventy of the 2013 mentees were doing their third and final year of study in the department of cals. some of the mentees are now mentors in the department, which has made data collection for this study possible. out of the six mentors who were still at univen, only three mentors agreed to participate in this study. the other three declined to participate because they were finalising their honours mini-dissertations at the time of data collection. however, all seventy mentees agreed to participate in the study. forty-five completed and returned the questionnaire. ten of the mentees were interviewed. the mst 1541 lecturer and the edp were both interviewed. data collection qualitative data collection interviews: this study adopted in-depth interviewing for data collection from the various population groups selected for this study. in-depth interviewing is a qualitative technique of data collection which uses open-ended questions and probing to solicit details from the information-rich selected population. interviews are labour-intensive and produce a lot of information, which makes it difficult to collect data from a large sample (crouch & mckenzie, 2006). interviews rely on a small sample, sometimes as small as one, and because of that the results cannot be generalised beyond the selected sample for the study (masehela et al., 2014). participants who were interviewed consisted of the edp, the lecturer, three mentors (who comprised of two males and one female) and ten mentees (consisting of five males and five females). all the interviews were conducted in english and audio recorded. questionnaire: an open-ended questionnaire was handed to a total of seventy students who were mentees in this module in 2013. forty-five questionnaires in total were returned and analysed for this study. quantitative data collection quantitative data were collected through a comparison (by percentage) of mst 1541 module results for 2012 and 2013. data analysis: results and discussion analysis of qualitative data: interview and questionnaire data using analytical dualism – the temporary separation of structure, culture and agency as proposed by archer (1995, 2000) – interview data of the three mentors were analysed using the critical discourse analysis approach of norman fairclough (1989). as discourses are analysed, the culture of the department in question is understood. discourses were extracted from the data. in the next section, the discourses that were uncovered from the data, including the analysis of these discourses, are provided. the culture and manner in which agency was exercised by the mentors, mentees and lecturer is unearthed in the following analysis. 172 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 • the discourse of responsibility: why do you think mentoring was helpful to your mentees? “mentees became more involved and their marks also improved.” (mentor c) mentors a and b conceded that their mentees become more confident and active in their sessions. agentially, the programme taught mentees to take responsibility for their learning. the programme strengthened their agency. archer (2000) argues that human beings have the power to exercise agency in any context irrespective of the challenges of the time. all the mentees who were interviewed in this study agreed with this assertion. most of the mentees pointed out that their mentors advised them to prepare for their main lectures beforehand because that would make it easier for them to actively participate during class discussions with their lecturer. the culture of low pass rates (80%) gave way to that of high pass rates (93%) as revealed by the differences between the 2012 results, before adoption of mentoring, and the 2013 results, after the introduction of the mentoring programme. young (2015) reported a similar outcome in a study conducted in a south african university where students had to explain ‘why peer leadership works’. • the discourse of ‘proximity’: how was your relationship with your mentor helpful to you? “… it was even easier for me to ask questions when i did not understand …” (mentee a) “interacting with the mentors was a means of understanding [sic] the given module on a more generational level, it facilitated understanding.” (mentee f) the discourse of proximity re-emerges in the mentees’ data. culturally, students are freer working with their peers than with their lecturers. they find peers more approachable. students feel more comfortable communicating with mentors compared to the power differentials that exist between students and lecturer. mentee m10, during the interview session, also alluded to the same view when s/he said: “i gained more from my mentor than i did from my lecturer and i also learned how to participate in class because i got the opportunity to be open between my peers.” these mentees’ responses from the questionnaires and interviews confirm the mentors’ claims that student-to-student relationships make the learning process less intimidating. various scholars assert that mentoring success depends largely on the proximity of the members involved (mccuaig, hare & monsen 2014; sambunjak & marušić, 2009; frazier, 2007). proximity means that students feel more comfortable and motivated when they work with their peers during a learning process. one respondent in young’s (2015) study showed appreciation for ‘proximity’, stating the following: ‘i have had difficulties in my first year without guidance, i felt the need for an african child to be assisted is highly in demand if not imperative. making change in the black (race) community, as i run most of my sessions in isizulu.’ in the interview with the module lecturer, she confirmed that, since she deals with large classes, the mentoring programme creates an opportunity for a much more effective interaction with her students: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 173 “some of the students require individual attention but this was difficult as the numbers continued to increase each year. this in a way resulted in me failing to effectively utilise the various assessment methods, particularly formative assessment. prior to the introduction of mentoring, i mainly focused on summative assessment only. this later improved when mentors were introduced. i used the small groups to introduce formative assessment. i would give my students an assignment in class. they would submit their first draft to the mentor who would go through it using a marking memo which i would have prepared and give as much feedback as possible on the scripts and during their sessions. students would now go and rework the assignment before submitting it to me. i would now assess and give them a mark which would be recorded. thus we merged mentoring and lecturing together in order to achieve better results.” (lecturer) the mentoring programme also impacted positively on the assessment practices by the lecturer. • the discourse of freedom: what was your relationship with your mentees? “i am free to express my views without fear because i am confident of my capabilities because my lecturer and the edp have fully prepared us for the task.” a culture of free-spiritedness was inculcated during mentoring sessions. mentors felt free, mentor b avers, and this claim is in line with cuseo’s (1991) observation that peer leaders are empowered to exert influence in a less intimidating way than staff or faculty. this is similar to the claim made in the discourse discussed above. mentees m4 and m9 also asserted that they felt more relaxed and less intimidated to participate in their discussion with their mentors since they were fewer and the mentor was a student like them. mentee m6 said he felt more secure making a mistake in these small groups than in a large class full of people. • the discourse of reflectivity: what was the best part of being a mentor? “it helped me to reflect on what i have learnt in my first year. i also learned new things through our discussions with my mentees.” the mentoring programme brought another learning perspective to the mentors which might not have transpired had they not been involved in the mentoring programme. joseph joubert (1994) argues that “to teach is to learn twice”. furthermore, mentoring sessions allowed both mentors and mentees to be themselves and to operate in an informal environment, while mentoring also made mentors feel good because they were being given an opportunity of becoming motivating master mentors as alluded to by leidenfrost et al., (2011): “… it gave me a chance to impart knowledge to juniors.” mentors also see themselves as carriers of knowledge, a feeling that builds self-esteem and self-confidence. • the discourse of lack of commitment: what is the downside of being a mentor? “attendance was sometimes poor and this was discouraging. they usually attend when they are facing an imminent challenge. e.g. tests.” (mentor b) 174 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 the nature of mentoring, that of being a flexible, non-compulsory activity for students, makes it open to abuse. mentees do not feel obliged to attend sessions. tinto (2012) argues that there is nothing optional for students if the institution is serious about student success. archer (1995) rightly argues that institutional structures condition human action. therefore, if the institutional structures do not make student support programmes compulsory, not all students will be equally committed to the programmes. in this instance, the interplay between structure and culture is seen to be influencing agency. the mentees here are seen to be taking the programme for granted. • the discourse of mentor commitment: were you able to commit to mentoring duties at all times? “the mentees need us all the time, which was not possible at times since we were also students who would be busy at times.” (mentor a) mentors raised an important structural matter in this study. mentor a argues that there is a need to revisit the method used to select mentors, because some of the mentors were not dedicated in their work as mentors and even their performance as mentors was not satisfactory. an important suggestion by the mentors is advanced here. this point tallies with what the authors have raised above concerning future research on mentoring at univen. mentors also suggest that mentoring sessions should be included in the main timetable slot so that mentees can take it seriously. however, it is interesting to note that, despite this challenge, student performance improved in 2013 from 80% to 92% (see details of analysis in the next section). • the discourse of ‘epistemological access’: what benefits did you obtain from attending the mentoring sessions? “i managed to understand how to tackle questions during the exams and express myself.” students understood concepts and themes better. mentee m2, pointed out that: “… attending mentoring sessions where we revised a number of past tests and examinations helped me to understand how things were done in varsity. it helped me understand how test questions were set and how to answer them.” the epistemological access discourse confirms the claim made by different scholars that epistemological access does not come naturally to students: they have to be inducted into this academic literacy (boughey, 2010; boughey & niven, 2012). this implies that students from both poor schooling backgrounds and well-resourced backgrounds need to be inducted into the academic culture. the difference could be that those from wellresourced schools and families might possess in them greater cultural capital as expounded by bourdieu (1977). • the discourse of excellent relationship: what was your relationship with the mentor? mentors and mentees had relationships that were relaxed and friendly: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 175 “she was patient, she treated us like we were her little brothers and sisters. we were a family, an academic family …” this approach proved appropriate for students. however, the approach itself might pose risks such as encouraging intimate relationships between mentor and mentees, abuse of power by mostly mentors, losing focus during session by turning session into an informal chat session. these risks are shared during mentor training with the mentors in order to enable them to avoid the risk of turning the relationship into something beyond the mentor–mentee relationship. • the discourse of building self-esteem: how did you benefit from mentoring others? mentoring boosts an individual’s self esteem: “it helped me gain confidence in steering my views.” mentee m7 stated that the open discussions during the mentoring sessions allowed the shy students to come out of their shells which also boosted their confidence to participate in class discussions. hobson, ashby, malderez and tomlinson’s (2009) study revealed that mentoring is helpful in boosting the confidence of mentees because in its nature it is able to provide emotional and psychological support. • the discourse of student support for senior students: do you think the mentoring programme for first year learners is sufficient? most of the students see the importance of student support and feel that they would have done better in second and third year if they had received similar support. “my second year … marks were not satisfactory at all and i believe that if i had been mentored i could have done better.” “we have a lot of content which we do not understand. we seek mentoring especially in the 3rd year.” however, some students are against the idea of attending mentoring sessions at senior level, arguing that first-year mentoring is enough to prepare them for senior phases. “i gained enough confidence and studying skills which have sustained me in my 2nd and 3rd level hence i think mentoring should be limited to 1st years,” opines interviewee m8. the discourses shared above (a to j) are indicative of the potential positive changes that mentoring can bring to an institution. however, there are also challenges associated with the implementation of such a programme. the following discourses indicate that for the programme to improve some issues need to addressed. • the discourse of incentivising: do you think mentors should be given stipends for their services? in addition, mentors in cals propose that the incentive for mentors should be increased as currently it is not worth the effort required. (at univen, mentors are paid r1 000 per month.) the module lecturer is also in support of this view: 176 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 “in addition, the incentives are too little considering the important service the mentors are offering.” (lecturer) this view is supported by the result of a study conducted by du preez, steenkamp and baard (2013, p. 1232) at stellenbosch university in south africa. this study found that mentors felt that the incentives linked to mentoring were not worth the effort. however, some mentors realised that it was not just about the money but that it also benefited them and helped them to relearn the basics in their subjects. this is in support of joubert’s (1994) notion that “to teach is to learn twice”. • the discourse of time management: what other distinct benefits did you gain from the mentoring programme? “i learned to be punctual.” mentees confirmed that they took responsibility for their learning through the mentoring programme. they learned to manage their time better and to take the initiative instead of waiting for someone to motivate them. mentee m5, during interviews, said the following: “juggling time between class activities, mentoring and other personal social activities made me realise i have to come up with a logical and systematic time management plan.” this quote confirms that, in the process of engaging with mentoring sessions, mentees saw the necessity of managing their time effectively. jackson (2009, p. 434) outlines key steps for successful time management as follows: (1) set realistic goals; (2) get organised; (3) delegate; (4) relax and recharge; and (5) stop feeling guilty. these are some of the aspects covered during mentor training. similarly, these are covered during time management workshops offered to first years at univen. • discourses of challenges: what were some of the weaknesses of the mentoring programme? although there are discourses that may discourage students from committing themselves to the programme, they are not strong enough to dissuade the students and lecturers from partaking in these programmes. both mentors and mentees feel that there are not enough resources to support the programme. this frustration is also shared by the module lecturer: “there is a lack of venues for mentoring sessions.” it is unfortunate that the institution was not designed to accommodate co-curricular programmes from the beginning. as a result, students are encouraged to hold mentoring sessions under trees or anywhere else on campus grounds due to a lack of venues. “the mentors should get more materials, study materials and prepare a lot.” “… it shouldn’t be a one-way process. provide venues to build a support structure for the mentoring programme.” (lecturer) interviewee m6 also bemoaned the lack of space as affecting their participation in mentoring sessions. they said: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 177 “having no fixed venue affected my attendance sometimes; if my battery is flat i am not able to communicate with my mentor or other mentee in my group hence sometimes i missed my meeting because i could not locate my group on time.” another challenge raised by mentors was that some mentees showed commitment only during assessment periods. “most of us took mentoring for granted since it was still a new thing to them and did not show up most of the time but when there was a test they showed up in numbers.” a similar finding was noted in a similar study of the same context by masehela et al. (2014). it was established that mentees were irregular in their attendance of mentoring sessions. however, in an interview, mentee m3 owned up, saying: “… i only realised mentoring sessions were equally important after failing our first test which most students who took mentoring seriously from the beginning passed.” analysis of quantitative data data analysis for quantitative data which is basically a comparison of the 2012 and 2013 results for mst 1541: 70% 2012 80% pass rate 80% 90% 100% 2013 92% 2012 and 2013 mst 1541 pass rates figure 1: pass rates for 2012 and 2013 in mst 1541 between 2012 and 2013, the mst 1541 class was taught by the lecturer who participated in this study. the lecturer revealed that she utilised similar course content and used almost the same teaching methods for both years. however, in 2013 she implemented the newly introduced student mentoring programme as an additional teaching method. the study revealed that, although mentoring is still facing various challenges, it can contribute to improved student performance at univen. this is supported by the pass rates of firstyear students in cals. the pass rate increased from 80% in 2012, prior to the introduction of the mentoring programme, to 92% in 2013, after the introduction of the programme. the mentors, mentees and even the lecturer involved attributed this to the significant role that mentoring played in changing the pass rate of the under-prepared first-year students at univen. 178 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 163–182 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 recommendations lecturer recommendations the selection process of appointing mentors has to be tightened so that only the committed and most dedicated mentors are drawn into the programme. there is a need for the academic development unit to develop a feedback form for mentors and the mentees to complete at the end of each term. this will help the lecturer and the unit to improve this service. furthermore, there is need for office space for student support and development work. analysis of edp data in the edp’s role, a lot goes on at the level of the real (archer, 1995) to constantly improve the programme. the mentoring programme at univen was developed according to supplemental instruction principles. supplemental instruction is an attitude to learning in which learners are self-driven by curiosity and their willingness to exchange thoughts and ideas with other students (malm, bryngfors & mörner, 2011). therefore, the univen mentoring programme encourages the mentor-mentee relationship to be driven by exchange of thoughts, ideas and self-drive. the principles of the social integration theory in tinto (1975) also guided the shaping of this programme. for senior students to become mentors, they have to undergo training which includes the topics of basic understanding of mentoring in an academic context, and teaching strategies. these two topics are dealt with in a one-day session. there is a follow-up session on life skills provided by the student counselling unit from chetl. after students have undergone these two training sessions, they then qualify to receive a certificate. nonetheless, there are challenges that edps continue to face. the matter of monitoring and evaluating mentoring sessions is still difficult to do. however, lecturers are encouraged to take responsibility for this since they are the owners of the modules. two interns have since been employed to take responsibility of monitoring and evaluation of the programme, and they make sporadic visits to the sessions. each mentor is required to submit a personal mentoring timetable to the monitors. ethical issues students participated in this survey willingly. they were all asked to sign a written consent form. there was no form of punitive measure taken against those students who chose not to participate in the study or those who changed their mind after signing the consent form. conclusion this study examined the impact of the mentoring programme in the department of cals at univen with the following research question: ‘what impact has the mentoring programme made on the academic performance of students in the department of communication and applied language studies?’ it emerged from the study that mentoring http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 langutani mary masehela & memory mabika: an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme ... 179 is a required and highly appreciated programme by mentees at univen. it is contributing positively towards imparting academic and cultural capital to students involved in this programme. however, the current structure of a non-compulsory mentoring programme is not proving completely successful as students fail to attend until they realise its value in their learning. there is an urgent need to convert the newly created temporary staff positions for monitoring and evaluation into permanent ones. given the positive reaction by both students and lecturers, and the results of this study regarding the effectiveness of the programme, permanent positions for monitors and evaluators of the programme should be created. lastly, this study, although limited in analysing one causal factor, does suggest that a mentoring programme can impact student performance. however, a broader study should be conducted to compare the impact of this factor in conjunction with others to confirm whether pass rate improvement can be attributed to mentoring only or a combination of factors. references archer, m.s. 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(2015). exploring the (high) impact of peer leadership experiences: findings from the 2014 south african survey of peer leaders. paper presented during the south african national first year experience and students in transition conference at the university of johannesburg, south africa, 21 may. how to cite: masehela, l.m. & mabika, m. (2017). an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme on student performance. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 163–182. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v5i2.2707 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 http://10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 http://10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2707 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 77–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 77 www.jsaa.ac.za research article maximising the first-year experience through the incorporation of generic skills in a medical curriculum at the university of the free state mpho priscilla jama* * dr mpho priscilla jama is head: division student learning and development, office of the dean, faculty of health sciences, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. email: jamamp@ufs.ac.za abstract the highest attrition rates occur among first-year students. universities have designed different curricular programmes, such as the development of generic skills, to address this challenge. in the medical school at the university of the free state in south africa, these skills were incorporated in the mbchb curriculum as an eight credit-bearing module in 2000 and later increased to 12  credits in 2009. to date, the effectiveness of this first-year module in equipping students with generic skills was last determined in 2002. the aim of this research was to determine the perceptions of first-year students regarding the effectiveness of this module in equipping them with generic skills. a questionnaire survey was distributed to 596 first-year medical students each year from 2013 to 2016. a focus group discussion (fgd) was held with 13 students who failed the first year of study in 2016 and had to repeat in 2017. according to the results, most students had a positive perception about the structure and organisation as well as the benefits of the module. however, from the questionnaire results, the overall rating of the effectiveness of the module was not very positive, with 35% of students rating it effective, 45% rating it relatively effective and 20% rating it not effective. however, during the fgd, seven (54%) of the 13 students rated it effective. in the qualitative statements of the questionnaire, a common comment related to the poor rating was about the unnecessary long hours in some sessions. other comments from the questionnaire were medically related, with some students suggesting more practical and clinical demonstrations. during the fgd, students could not understand why their peers needed practical demonstrations in the first year. the incorporation of generic skills should be context and discipline-specific and students should be “re-equipped” with certain skills during different stages of the curriculum. keywords first-year experience; students’ attrition; generic skills module and development; high-impact practices; medical curriculum; students’ perceptions; higher education; south africa; university of the free state introduction the high attrition and drop-out rates of first-year students in universities have been a challenging phenomenon and explored by many researchers (arco-tirado, fernándes-martín & fernándes-balboa, 2011; badat, 2010; council on higher education [che],  2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jamamp%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 77–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 tinto, 1987; tinto, 2014; van zyl, 2016; veenstra, 2009). many reasons, for example underpreparedness for university, lack of or poor skills such as time management, study strategies, academic literacy and inability to adjust to university environment, have been provided for these high drop-out rates (boughey, 2013; davids, 2014; jaffer & garraway, 2016; mouton, louw & strydom, 2013; underhill & mcdonald, 2010; wilson-strydom, 2015). in response to this trend, different countries have designed different structures. for example, the national resource centre (nrc) for the first-year experience (fye) and students in transition, established at the university of south carolina in the united states of america (u.s.a.), is known for its expertise and scholarship in this area (latino & ashcraft, 2012; skipper, 2017; young & hopp, 2014). south africa has followed suit by establishing the south african national resource centre (sanrc) for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc, 2017), which also provides expertise and scholarship. one of the interventions that universities have designed and used for now over twenty years to ease the transition from school to university is the development of generic, also called general, skills of students (christie, 1997; beylefeld & jama, 2002; robley, whittle & murdoch-eaton, 2005; shakir, 2009; oliver, 2013; murdoch-eaton, louw & bezuidenhout, 2016). although most studies have focused on the effectiveness of such an intervention in equipping students with these skills at the beginning of the first year only, not much has been reported to further determine the perceptions of students who had to be “re-equipped” because they had to repeat the first year of study. hence, the significance of this study lies in its aim to determine not only the perceptions of students at the very beginning of their first year at university, but to continue to determine their perceptions after “re-equipping” them because of a failed first year of study. generic skills studies in the field of generic skills development have been done in countries such as the u.s.a. (benjamin et al., 2012), china (leung, leung & zuo, 2014), malaysia and indonesia (hadi & ibrahim, 2013) and singapore (jacobs et al., 2014). most of the studies, however, were done in the united kingdom (u.k.) and australia. in the u.k., the 1997 dearing report identified the key skills required by graduates to function in the workplace. this report was preceded by the u.k. general medical council’s (gmc) review of the undergraduate medical curriculum, which recommended the introduction of student-selected components. these are components that allow students to study areas that are of particular interest to them in depth, while developing generic skills that are essential for professional medicine in the 21st century (robley, whittle & murdoch-eaton, 2005). also termed “generic graduate attributes” or “transferable skills” that are applicable across most disciplines, these skills include oral and written communication, information technology, numeracy, teamwork, managing and organising learning and information retrieval, and critical analysis (kember, 2009; kember, lueng & ma, 2007; murdocheaton & whittle, 2012; shakir, 2009; whittle & murdoch-eaton, 2005; robley, whittle & murdoch-eaton, 2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 mpho priscilla jama: maximising the first-year experience through the incorporation of generic skills ... 79 in australia, generic skills are regarded as the qualities, skills and attributes a university believes its students should develop during their studies, to prepare them for employment (barrie, 2007; cumming, 2010; mcneil et al., 2012; oliver, 2013). the australian learning and teaching council (altc) funded a national graduate attributes project to identify strategies for embedding and assessing graduate attributes (barrie, hughes & smith, 2009). according to jones (2009), the australian technology network of universities further identified capabilities in a number of disciplines at different universities, and outlined steps towards its implementation in the programmes. as alluded to by star and hammer (2008), the changes in australia’s system of higher education led to a skills-based pedagogy, which became a useful way of addressing issues such as students’ transition, development of appropriate discipline-specific standards and development of life-long learning. in their study of british and south african medical schools, murdock-eaton et al. (2012) reported on the importance of generic skills integration in medical curricula and ensuring that these skills are tailored to the needs of students. in south africa, burch et al. (2013, p. 676) investigated the generic learning skills of academically-at-risk students at the university of cape town (uct) and reported that “detailed knowledge of skills deficiencies provides an opportunity to offer tailored support promoting effective learning, thereby enabling students to achieve their true academic potential while also addressing the widening of access agenda”. notably, the undergraduate education and training subcommittee of the medical and dental professions board of the health professions council of south africa (hpcsa) has in collaboration with the training institutions and the south african committee of medical and dental deans, adopted seven “afrimed” core competencies for undergraduate students in sa (hpcsa, 2014). the renewal of the medical curriculum has been common in many universities across the world. for instance, whittle and murdoch-eaton (2005) reported on the changes of curriculum 2000 in the u.k. and how this affected students’ key skills. in south africa, hartman et al. (2012) reported on the transformation of the uct’s curriculum with the aim to equip their graduates with the required competencies. recently, murdoch-eaton, louw and bezuidenhout (2016) reported on the implementation of a revised curriculum at stellenbosch university, stating that other than scientific knowledge, the generic learning skills of students should be developed and facilitated. similar to the renewal of the u.k. curriculum 2000 and the medical curricula at uct and stellenbosch, the university of the free state (ufs) revised their curriculum, also called curriculum 2000. with these revisions, the importance of developing the general skills in the first year of study had been emphasised. in south africa, this is particularly important because of the high attrition of especially black students who come from previously underrepresented groups and backgrounds, and eventually drop out in the first year of study. the council on higher education (che, 2013) revealed that nearly a quarter of all students drop out after the first year at university. different forms of incorporation of the generic skills in first-year curricula have been suggested. for example, latino and ashcraft (2012) referred to first-year seminars (fys) and reported on how these seminars should be designed, implemented and assessed. 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 77–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 skipper (2017) and kuh (2008) referred to the fys as high impact practices (hip) that engage students in educationally purposeful tasks. young and hopp (2014) stated that the main objectives of a fys are to develop a connection with the institution, develop knowledge of campus resources, and develop academic skills. some of the fys are in the form of credit-bearing modules (lewin & mawoyo, 2014), which is the case at ufs. context the context of this paper is a first-year module on general skills (mgen1513) of the mbchb undergraduate medical curriculum in the school of medicine at the ufs. when the school restructured the programme from a six-year to a five-year curriculum in 2000, one of the directives was to prepare medical students for the demands of the curriculum by helping them become proficient in general skills, such as time management, study techniques, group work, and research. in this curriculum, students who fail a module at the end of the first semester, cannot progress to the second semester. another restructuring element in the curriculum was the design of a learning development programme (ldp) presented in the second semester to accommodate first-year students who failed the first semester. included in the ldp is a life-long learning skills module (llls1524) that aims to “re-equip” these students with generic skills, thus preparing them to “re-enter” the first academic year in the following year (ufs, 2017). in south africa, the incorporation of generic skills in all curricula is a requirement of the south african qualifications authority (saqa, 2000). in the medical curriculum at the ufs, a template for incorporating general skills in the curriculum was developed and mainly based on that of the university of leicester in the u.k., which also revised its medical curriculum (beylefeld & jama, 2002). therefore, the skills that were incorporated in the module are based on the saqa requirements and the university of leicester template. at the outset, it was anticipated that some of those students who failed would be seriously lacking in the required competencies, while others would be typically negative towards reinforcement of skills they had acquired as a result of privileged schooling backgrounds. according to the results of the study undertaken to determine the students’ experience of the module in 2000 and 2001, most students felt positive about the module. those who were negative were from privileged schools, claiming that they had already acquired the skills (beylefeld & jama, 2002). with further restructuring of the curriculum in 2009, the credits of this module were increased from 8 to 12, thus requiring an organisational restructuring of the module. as consistent with conventions of most curricula, the module has been evaluated by the students by means of a questionnaire survey. methodology a questionnaire was administered to all first-year undergraduate medical students at the end of the first semesters in 2013–2016, as part of the formal module evaluation of the mbchb curriculum. although students’ evaluations are subjective in nature, as asserted by newton, menna and tank (2009), they provide invaluable information than can lead http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 mpho priscilla jama: maximising the first-year experience through the incorporation of generic skills ... 81 to module improvement. this paper reports on the findings of questionnaires completed by 471  of 596 (79%) students between 2013 and 2016. probably, some of the students who did not respond are senior students who had already done this module and those who were absent from class. the aim of the survey was to elicit information regarding the students’ perceptions of the extent to which the module equipped them with the required generic skills to be competent in their studies, and focused on (i) structure and organisation; (ii) perceived benefits; (iii) overall rating; and (iv) suggestions for improvements. the aim of collecting the 2013–2016 data was to determine the trends in the students’ perceptions, ultimately the review of the module. in order to corroborate data from the questionnaire, a focus group discussion (fgd) was held with 13 (68%) of the 19 students who had failed at the end of the first semester of their first year in 2016, were admitted in the ldp in the second semester of the same year, and re-admitted in the first semester of their first year in 2017. notably, these students were equipped with the generic skills in the mgen1512 module in the first semester of 2016, “re-equipped” with the same skills in the second semester of 2016 in the llls1524 module when they were in the ldp, and again in the mgen1512 module in the first semester of 2017 when they repeated the first year. the same broad themes about the structure and organisation of the module, perceived benefits, overall rating and suggestions for improvements, were used to guide the interview. however, the focus was on the aspects that most students either did not agree or agreed with, those that were either perceived very positively and negatively and those that were rated either high or low. similar to the open-ended items in the questionnaire, students were given an opportunity during the fgd to comment and give suggestions. results the following results portray data for over four years of study and provide the trends in the students’ perceptions over these years. structure and organisation: questionnaire table 1 summarises students’ responses with regard to the structure and organisation of the module. according to these results, the percentage of students who agreed with the statements ranged between 52% and 65% on most of the aspects regarding the structure and organisation of the module. there were three aspects that most students agreed with: first, 69% of the students agreed that there was sufficient time to achieve the outcomes of the module; second, 80% of the students agreed that the facilitators knew the content of the module; and third, 75% of the students agreed that facilitators were prepared for contact sessions. however, only 49% agreed that the teaching and learning activities helped them to achieve the stated outcomes, and only 48% agreed that the e-portfolio was an effective method to demonstrate competence. the most common response in the comments regarding the teaching and learning activities was that they would have preferred more clinical and practical demonstrations. 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 77–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 structure and organisation: focus group discussion during the fgd, all 13 (100%) students agreed that there was sufficient time to achieve the outcomes of the module, the facilitators knew the content and were prepared for the contact sessions. remarkably, they added that although there was sufficient time to achieve the outcomes, they did not use the time effectively, with all of them stating that they “waited until the last minutes”. one of the students said “we have to be honest and take the blame here”. with regard to the e-portfolio, these students felt that it was very time-consuming to upload the items in the portfolio, especially those that had to be uploaded twice, and to keep up with the deadlines. one of the students said “it did not make sense to do some of the skills twice and double upload”. another comment was that the e-portfolio manager kept on “bugging” them with due dates and threatening to close the online platform at midnight. when the students were asked to comment about the request to have more clinical and practical demonstrations, most of them seemed surprised. one of them mentioned that this was “very biased”, because there were practical and clinical demonstrations in the other modules. another student said, “i really don’t understand what more they wanted, because they had practical sessions in anatomy and the lecturers in mgen did include practical sessions such as looking at references and doing them practically when we did references and plagiarism.” perceived benefits: questionnaire in table 2, the questionnaire results with regard to the perceived benefits of the module are summarised. between 53% and 64% of the students’ perception was that they benefited from the skills taught in the module. there were five skills that students particularly thought they benefited from the most. these skills were dealt with in the sessions on plagiarism (75%), referencing technique (83%), medical terminology (91%), ethics and professional behaviour (76%), and research (72%). however, students felt they did not benefit from problem solving (49%), introduction to information communication technology (ict) (49%), photo story (41%) and poster communication (41%). the suggestions and comments were mostly on the time allocated for sessions, introduction to sesotho/afrikaans/english terms, medical terminology and photo story. in the case of time allocated for sessions, most students stated that some sessions for which two hours were allocated could be reduced to one hour, with the first hour dedicated to a lecture and the next hour for self-directed learning or getting notes for self-study. concerning the session on introduction to sesotho/afrikaans/english terms, 24% of the students requested more sessions for this, even suggesting a formal course, as is the case at other universities. with regard to medical terminology, approximately 19% of the students requested more practical medical terminology sessions. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 t ab le 1 : s tu d en ts ’ re sp o n se s re g ar d in g t h e st ru ct u re a n d o rg an is at io n o f th e m o d u le q u es ti o n n ai re i te m d is ag re e n eu tr al a g re e 2 0 1 3 n = 9 7 2 0 1 4 n = 1 2 2 2 0 1 5 n = 1 1 5 2 0 1 6 n = 1 3 7 t o ta l n = 4 7 1 2 0 1 3 n = 9 7 2 0 1 4 n = 1 2 2 2 0 1 5 n = 1 1 5 2 0 1 6 n = 1 3 7 t o ta l n = 4 7 1 2 0 1 3 n = 9 7 2 0 1 4 n = 1 2 2 2 0 1 5 n = 1 1 5 2 0 1 6 n = 1 3 7 t o ta l n = 4 7 1 n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) n ( % ) 1. t h e co n te n t o f th e m o du le w as w el l pl an n ed . 8 (8 ) 39 ( 32 ) 12 ( 10 ) 17 ( 12 ) 76 ( 16 ) 38 ( 39 ) 46 ( 38 ) 31 ( 27 ) 37 ( 27 ) 15 2 (3 2) 51 ( 53 ) 37 ( 30 ) 72 ( 63 ) 83 ( 61 ) 24 3 (5 2) 2. t h e co n te n t o f th e m o du le pr ov id ed o pp o rt u n it ie s to de ve lo p sk ill s. 16 ( 16 ) 18 ( 15 ) 16 ( 14 ) 7 (5 ) 57 ( 12 ) 26 ( 27 ) 42 ( 34 ) 29 ( 25 ) 35 ( 26 ) 13 2 (2 8) 55 ( 57 ) 61 ( 50 ) 70 ( 61 ) 95 ( 69 ) 28 1 (6 0) 3. t h e te ac h in g an d le ar n in g ac ti vi ti es h el pe d m e to ac h ie ve t h e st at ed o u tc o m es . 14 ( 14 ) 22 ( 18 ) 17 ( 15 ) 18 ( 13 ) 71 ( 15 ) 37 ( 38 ) 49 ( 40 ) 35 ( 30 ) 48 ( 35 ) 16 9 (3 6) 46 ( 48 ) 51 ( 42 ) 63 ( 55 ) 71 ( 52 ) 23 1 (4 9) 4. t h e ti m e to a ch ie ve t h e le ar n in g o u tc o m es w as su ff ic ie n t. 3 (3 ) 6 (5 ) 9 (8 ) 11 ( 8) 29 ( 6) 25 ( 26 ) 40 ( 33 ) 26 ( 23 ) 29 ( 21 ) 12 0 (2 5) 69 ( 71 ) 76 ( 62 ) 80 ( 69 ) 97 ( 71 ) 32 2 (6 9) 5. t h e w o rk bo o k an d gu id e to o n lin e le ar n in g w as a va lu ab le a id t o l ea rn in g. 14 ( 14 ) 19 ( 16 ) 20 ( 17 ) 30 ( 22 ) 83 ( 18 ) 37 ( 38 ) 49 ( 40 ) 28 ( 24 ) 32 ( 23 ) 14 6 (3 1) 46 ( 48 ) 54 ( 44 ) 67 ( 59 ) 75 ( 55 ) 24 2 (5 1) 6. t as ks a n d as si gn m en ts w er e  cl ea r. 16 ( 16 ) 25 ( 20 ) 17 ( 15 ) 15 ( 11 ) 73 ( 15 ) 21 ( 22 ) 32 ( 27 ) 18 ( 15 ) 31 ( 23 ) 10 2 (2 2) 60 ( 62 ) 65 ( 53 ) 80 ( 70 ) 91 ( 66 ) 29 6 (6 3) 7. t as ks a n d as si gn m en ts w er e lin ke d to t h e ex pe ct ed o u tc o m es t h at w er e st at ed . 5 (5 ) 9 (7 ) 5 (4 ) 11 ( 8) 30 ( 6) 33 ( 34 ) 41 ( 34 ) 24 ( 21 ) 41 ( 30 ) 13 9 (3 0) 59 ( 61 ) 72 ( 59 ) 86 ( 75 ) 85 ( 62 ) 30 2 (6 4) 8. t h e e -p o rt fo lio i s an ef fe ct iv e w ay o f de m o n st ra ti n g co m pe te n ce . 32 ( 33 ) 44 ( 36 ) 22 ( 19 ) 19 ( 14 ) 11 7 (2 5) 28 ( 29 ) 43 ( 35 ) 23 ( 20 ) 35 ( 26 ) 12 9 (2 7) 37 ( 38 ) 35 ( 29 ) 70 ( 61 ) 83 ( 60 ) 22 5 (4 8) 9. o ve ra ll th e fa ci lit at o rs kn ew t h e co n te n t o f th e m o du le  w el l. 1 (1 ) 7 (6 ) 9 (8 ) 7 (5 ) 24 ( 5) 21 ( 22 ) 23 ( 19 ) 8 (7 ) 19 ( 14 ) 71 ( 15 ) 75 ( 77 ) 92 ( 75 ) 98 ( 85 ) 11 1 (8 1) 37 6 (8 0) 10 . o ve ra ll th e fa ci lit at o rs w er e w el l pr ep ar ed f o r co n ta ct s es si o n s. 2 (2 ) 6 (5 ) 8 (7 ) 10 ( 7) 26 ( 6) 13 ( 13 ) 21 ( 17 ) 28 ( 24 ) 28 ( 20 ) 90 ( 19 ) 82 ( 85 ) 95 ( 78 ) 79 ( 69 ) 99 ( 73 ) 35 5 (7 5) t ab le 2 : s tu d en ts’ p erceived b en efits o f th e sk ills tau g h t in th e m o d u le t h em e b en eficial s lig h tly b en eficial n o t b en eficial 2 0 1 3 n = 9 7 2 0 1 4 n = 1 2 2 2 0 1 5 n = 1 1 5 2 0 1 6 n = 1 3 7 t o tal n = 4 7 1 2 0 1 3 n = 9 7 2 0 1 4 n = 1 2 2 2 0 1 5 n = 1 1 5 2 0 1 6 n = 1 3 7 t o tal n = 4 7 1 2 0 1 3 n = 9 7 2 0 1 4 n = 1 2 2 2 0 1 5 n = 1 1 5 2 0 1 6 n = 1 3 7 t o tal n = 4 7 1 n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) n (% ) 1. l earn in g styles 50 (52) 69 (56) 78 (68) 94 (69) 291 (62) 35 (36) 35 (29) 29 (25) 33 (24) 132 (28) 12 (12) 18 (15) 8 (7) 10 (7) 48 (10) 2. p ro blem so lvin g 31 (33) 58 (47) 62 (54) 80 (58) 231 (49) 28 (29) 41 (34) 38 (33) 43 (31) 150 (32) 38 (39) 23 (19) 15 (13) 14 (11) 90 (19) 3. icebreaker & gro u pin g 63 (65) 77 (63) 70 (61) 82 (60) 292 (62) 19 (20) 29 (24) 21 (18) 41 (30) 110 (23) 15 (15) 16 (13) 24 (21) 14 (10) 69 (15) 4. g ro u p w o rk 67 (69) 79 (65) 68 (58) 91 (66) 305 (65) 17 (18) 31 (25) 30 (26) 29 (21) 107 (23) 13 (33) 12 (10) 17 (15) 17 (13) 59 (12) 5. in tro du ctio n to ic t 43 (44) 57 (47) 59 (51) 70 (51) 229 (49) 28 (29) 36 (29) 37 (32) 51 (37) 152 (32) 26 (27) 29 (24) 19 (17) 16 (12) 90 (19) 6. p lagiarism 72 (74) 82 (67) 86 (75) 112 (82) 352 (75) 16 (16) 28 (23) 19 (16) 23 (17) 86 (18) 9 (9) 12 (10) 10 (9) 2 (1) 33 (7) 7. r eferen ce tech n iqu e 83 (86) 102 (84) 99 (86) 105 (76) 389 (83) 8 (8) 16 (13) 10 (9) 27 (20) 61 (13) 6 (6) 4 (3) 6 (15) 5 (4) 21 (4) 8. stress m an agem en t 49 (51) 59 (48) 76 (66) 88 (64) 272 (58) 33 (34) 44 (36) 30 (26) 43 (31) 150 (32) 15 (15) 19 (16) 9 (8) 6 (4) 49 (10) 9. in fo rm atio n skills 49 (51) 64 (52) 64 (56) 78 (57) 255 (54) 35 (36) 44 (36) 37 (32) 45 (33) 161 (34) 13 (13) 14 (12) 14 (12) 14 (10) 55 (12) 10. m edical term in o logy 92 (95) 107 (88) 106 (92) 121 (88) 426 (91) 4 (4) 12 (10) 5 (4) 13 (9) 34 (7) 1 (1) 3 (2) 4 (4) 3 (2) 11 (2) 11. p ro fessio n al & eth ical beh avio u r 73 (75) 84 (69) 94 (82) 109 (80) 360 (76) 18 (19) 31 (25) 17 (15) 22 (16) 88 (19) 6 (6) 7 (6) 4 (3) 6 (4) 23 (5) 12. r esearch skills 74 (76) 84 (69) 88 (77) 95 (69) 341 (72) 15 (15) 30 (25) 22 (19) 27 (20) 94 (20) 8 (8) 8 (6) 5 (4) 15 (11) 36 (8) 13. in tro du ctio n to seso th o / a frikaan s/e n glish 66 (68) 80 (66) 72 (63) 81 (59) 299 (63) 16 (17) 22 (18) 23 (20) 41 (30) 102 (22) 15 (15) 20 (16) 20 (17) 15 (11) 70 (15) 14. stu dy m eth o ds 48 (49) 59 (48) 71 (62) 81 (59) 259 (55) 28 (29) 39 (32) 34 (29) 42 (31) 143 (30) 21 (22) 24 (20) 10 (9) 14 (10) 69 (15) 15. t im e m an agem en t 46 (47) 60 (49) 66 (57) 83 (61) 255 (54) 30 (31) 41 (34) 37 (33) 35 (25) 143 (30) 21 (22) 21 (17) 12 (10) 19 (14) 73 (16) 16. t est & exam tech n iqu es 48 (49) 62 (51) 68 (59) 80 (58) 258 (55) 33 (34) 38 (31) 39 (34) 41 (30) 151 (32) 16 (17) 22 (18) 8 (7) 16 (12) 62 (13) 17. in tegrated learn in g 57 (59) 72 (59) 77 (67) 85 (62) 291 (62) 31 (32) 33 (27) 32 (28) 33 (24) 129 (27) 9 (9) 17 (14) 6 (5) 19 (14) 51 (11) 18. c lin ic reflectio n 46 (48) 56 (46) 94 (80) 107 (78) 303 (64) 37 (37) 44 (36) 18 (15) 22 (16) 121 (26) 14 (14) 22 (18) 3 (3) 8 (6) 47 (10) 19. p h o to sto ry 41 (42) 40 (33) 60 (52) 53 (39) 194 (41) 33 (34) 40 (33) 32 (28) 49 (36) 154 (33) 23 (24) 42 (34) 23 (20) 35 (25) 123 (26) 20. p o ster co m m u n icatio n 32 (33) 37 (30) 52 (45) 72 (53) 193 (41) 36 (37) 46 (38) 46 (40) 47 (34) 175 (37) 29 (30) 39 (32) 17 (15) 18 (13) 103 (22) 21. o ral presen tatio n s 57 (59) 73 (60) 77 (67) 96 (70) 303 (64) 25 (26) 32 (26) 20 (17) 31 (23) 108 (23) 15 (15) 17 (14) 18 (16) 10 (7) 60 (13) mpho priscilla jama: maximising the first-year experience through the incorporation of generic skills ... 85 perceived benefits: focus group discussion during the fgd most of the students agreed with the results of the questionnaire, especially concerning the sessions that they thought were beneficial. although they stated that they did not see the need to upload twice on the e-portfolio, it was very fulfilling to receive good marks from their peers for plagiarism activities. they stated, however, that the peer assessment should only happen once. similar to the data from the questionnaire, there was a unanimous plea to increase the time for sesotho/afrikaans/english sessions or offer it as a course. although 58% students indicated on the questionnaire that they benefited from the stress-management session, the students who participated in the fgd thought that this session was presented too early in the year. one of them said, “medical students experience stress later on, this should either be addressed later or repeated.” contrary to the questionnaire findings, most students did not agree that the number of medical terminology sessions should be increased. one of the students said “that’s not necessary, medical terminology in mgen is what it is meant to be. it is an introduction, we do this in anatomy anyway and a lot is repeated in other semesters and i guess during the coming years.” the students were probed about the photo story and the poster communication, which both received a negative response from approximately 41% of students on the questionnaire. their non-verbal response regarding the photo story strongly indicated that they fully agree with the poor response obtained with the questionnaire. interestingly, one student stated “please press exit delete for that one. i don’t know why it’s there in any case.” with regard to the poster communication, they also unanimously agreed with the questionnaire response. actually, one of them said “oh another waste of our time, just keep it one hour lecture please, don’t expect us to spend another hour making those drafts of the poster, we can do the rest for ourselves”. an alarming issue that came forward during the fgd, was their opinion concerning the professional and ethical behaviour session. one of the students stated that although 76% of the students in the questionnaire survey thought this session was beneficial, it did not help at all because most of their peers are “cheating a lot”. with further probing, one student said, “our class is not ethical at all”. they further referred to incidences of “cheating”, “signing for each other on the attendance register”, “sending each other messages during a test”, “making gestures such as sighing and whispering as a clue to an answer” and “swapping clickers to share answers”. it was quite disturbing when one of the students mentioned that “they were actually talking during the open book test”. when asked about the role of invigilators, one of the students said, “they never get caught because of the large class. that is the real problem that this faculty must start to think of otherwise the cheating will never stop.” overall rating: questionnaire the questionnaire results on the overall rating of the module (table 3) showed that only 35% of the students thought the module was effective in equipping them with the required generic skills. approximately 45% rated it reasonably effective. according to the statements 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 77–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 in the comments and suggestions section, once again students stated that some of the sessions are unnecessarily too long. other common comments were “we already know these skills”, “we already did this in high school” and “some of us are seniors, we did this”. table 3: students’ rating of the overall effectiveness of the module rating 2013 n=97 2014 n=122 2015 n=115 2016 n=137 total n=471 n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%) effective 27 (28) 46 (38) 42 (36) 52 (38) 167 (35) reasonably effective 43 (44) 44 (36) 54 (47) 70 (51) 211 (45) not effective 27 (28) 32 (26) 19 (17) 15 (11) 93 (20) overall rating: focus group discussion during the fgd, eight (62%) of the 13 students indicated that they perceived the module as beneficial. however, none of them thought it was not beneficial. notably, one student was of the opinion that the reason why only 35% of the students thought the module was beneficial was that most students “think” they know. this student further said: “you know medical students, when they arrive here with all those 9 to 10 distinctions, they think they know it all. nobody wants to appear stupid.” interestingly, one of the students said: “let them just fail before they realise the benefits of some … not all of the sessions.” similar to the questionnaire response, another student was of the opinion that it was most probably senior students who thought the module was not beneficial. when asked to comment about being exposed to the mgen module twice and the llls module once, they recommended that skills such as conflict management and public speaking covered in the llls module should be included in the mgen. another suggestion was that the mgen workbook should have more notes that they can “take home”, which is the case in llls. discussion in general, the results from the questionnaire and fgd indicate that students had a positive perception about the structure and organisation of the module, especially regarding the content and facilitators’ engagement. despite the positive perception about sufficient time to achieve the outcomes, it is clear that designers of the module must review the amount of time allocated for certain teaching and learning activities, as suggested by latino and ashcraft (2012). this became evident in the comments of the students who suggested practical demonstrations and decreasing the time from two hours to one hour. another matter to consider is that these students are digital natives and can function on their own; hence, the sessions on photo story and poster communication were perceived negatively. however, there should be caution in assuming that students can manage their time and are self-directed learners, because the comment “we waited until the last minute” from one of the fgd participants indicated that they could not manage their time effectively. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 mpho priscilla jama: maximising the first-year experience through the incorporation of generic skills ... 87 despite the contradiction regarding the inclusion of clinical demonstrations, this suggestion was consistent with the view of walker, cited by entwistle (2010), who stated that teaching and learning activities must consider the interests of students. the results also demonstrate that south african medical schools must design the generic skills module according to their context. hence, the request to increase or design the sesotho/afrikaans/ english content as a course is relevant for doctors who have to communicate with patients in these languages. it is common knowledge that most medical students experience high levels of stress. the comments about incorporating the stress-management session later indicate that module developers must consider the timing of some sessions. it was pleasing to note that students thought they benefited from the research, referencing and plagiarism sessions, because the hpcsa (2014) expects medical students to be trained as scholars. generally, the assessment of generic skills is challenging (murdoch-eaton & whittle, 2012), which was evident from the comments on the e-portfolio assessment in this study. therefore, module developers must design credible assessment methods that can be managed effectively by both facilitators and students. regarding the overall rating of the module, it became clear that students might not realise the relevance of generic skills development at the beginning of their first year. as one of them stated, “they think they know”. therefore, the importance of “re-equipping” them with these skills during different stages of the curriculum has to be emphasised. although universities can consider a way of recognising prior learning for those who claim “they have already acquired the skills”, it should be done with caution, as students might not realise the context in which these skills are taught and how they apply in their respective disciplines. despite the 35% overall rating of the module, according to assessment records, the average academic performance (marks) of the students in the module was excellent (78%). the surprising revelation about the unethical behaviour of first-year medical students, who are trained to be professionals, was disturbing. according to the hpcsa (2014), professional and ethical behaviour is one of the cornerstones of being a doctor. it highlights the importance of “re-equipping” students with skills during the different stages of their studies. the comment about the management of a large class is worth considering. conclusion the primary focus of this study was to determine the perceptions of first-year medical students regarding the effectiveness of the generic skills module in facilitating transition from school to university. similar to the situation in 2002 (beylefeld & jama, 2002), students still had a positive perception about the module. however, it is clear that module developers must continually revise the structure and organisation of the module, the teaching and learning activities and assessment practices. in addition, south african universities must develop first-year programmes and strategies directed at the transition from school to university, based on the specific programmes, disciplines and context. in this way, these programmes and strategies can be intentional and focus on activities that provide for high impact practices. from this study, it became clear that there must be congruence between 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 77–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 the time allocated for sessions and the teaching and learning activities. the findings further suggest revision of assessment methods that can be managed effectively by both students and lecturers. given the different perceptions of the students who did the llls module, it may be necessary to “re-equip” students with generic skills during different stages of the curriculum, thus providing for life-long learning. overall, the findings of this study may be relevant for other higher education institutions that plan to incorporate generic skills into their disciplines. a limitation of this study was that only one group of students who did the llls module in the ldp, were included in the study. further studies are recommended to evaluate the perception of the students during the different stages of transition during their studies, which in medical education will be between the pre-clinical and clinical years. other studies can be done to track the academic performance of these students throughout their studies. acknowledgements this research is a registered project with the health sciences research committee at the ufs. the author would like to thank the students who participated in this study, and 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(2009). a strategy for improving freshman college retention. the journal for quality and participation, january, 19–23. retrieved 28 september 2017 from https://static.squarespace.com/ static/51fafa0ee4b0d906af53ce83/.../jqp%20article.pdf whittle, s.r. & murdoch-eaton, d. (2005). curriculum 2000: have changes in the sixth form curricula affected students’ key skills? journal of further and higher education, 29(1), 61–71. https://doi. org/10.1080/03098770500037762 wilson-strydom, m. 2015. university access and success: capabilities, diversity and social justice. london: routledge. young, d.g. (2016). the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes at south africa’s higher education institutions. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(1), 17–32. https://doi.org/ 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 young, d.g. & hopp. j.m. (2014). 2012–2013 national survey of first-year seminars: exploring high-impact practice in the first college year. research reports on college transition no. 4. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. retrieved 28 september 2017 from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed546831 how to cite: jama, m.p. (2018). maximising the first-year experience through the incorporation of generic skills in a medical curriculum at the university of the free state. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 77–91. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 http://apps.ufs.ac.za/dl/yearbooks/274_yearbook_eng.pdf https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://static.squarespace.com/static/51fafa0ee4b0d906af53ce83/.../jqp%20article.pdf https://static.squarespace.com/static/51fafa0ee4b0d906af53ce83/.../jqp%20article.pdf https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770500037762 https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770500037762 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed546831 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3067 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 55–60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.8 55 www.jsaa.ac.za * an adaptation of a plenary address delivered at stellenbosch university’s annual student leadership conference, 4 september 2016. ** associate at the institute for reconciliation and social justice, university of the free state, south africa. email: nelwn@ufs.ac.za on campus student leadership: challenges and possibilities* willy nel** abstract in my attempt to adhere to the request that i provide an interpretation of the theme for the session, ‘critical engagement, innovation and inclusivity’, and cognisant of the primary audience, i weave student leadership responsibilities, challenges and possibilities into the address. events since the plenary address have however necessitated adapting it and it has also been adapted to fit the journal prescripts for a campus report. for all south african universities, the period october 2015 to october 2016 was, without a doubt, one of the most volatile periods for higher education in the post-apartheid state. student affairs practitioners, by virtue of their being the champions of students but also because some of them are members of senior management structures, would themselves navigate this period of uncertainty guided by differing sets of principles. thank you to stellenbosch’s newly appointed dean of students for the warm welcome; i wish her good luck and lots of wisdom. also, a heartfelt thank you to student affairs for the invitation. i was asked to speak in broad terms about the theme of this plenary, namely critical engagement, innovation and inclusivity, to set the scene for the morning session. from the plenary brief and summary of sub-themes i drew the assumption that knowledge firmly underpins this session. therefore i will return, more often than not, to knowledge as i unpack the leading concepts in this plenary theme. as student leaders, you are fully aware that this is a time of great uncertainty in higher education in south africa. the sector’s instability since early 2015 is the result of the two primary demands by students: for decolonisation of the university and for free higher education. before the announcement on 19 september 2016 by the minister of higher education, universities had their own trepidations about what another zero percent fee increase for 2017 might mean in real financial terms. most universities were unequivocal; it would mean financial ruin if not accompanied by government coverage of the shortfall in income. the announcement of a zero percent increase in fees for students whose household income falls below r600,000 per year led to widespread student protests (radio 702, 2016). http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:nelwn%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 55–60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.8 these protests were in line with students’ fundamental call for free higher education. the relief on the increase in fees certainly did not appease them. the conundrum of fee-free higher education is not an abstract concept floating outside of the sphere of student leadership, neither is it only a concern for top managers nor restricted to the realm of protests on the streets of the university. your critical engagement around this issue of fees within your scope of leadership will be important to how the student body, in general, deals with the repercussions of the announcement by the minister of higher education. you can choose to engage with the issue by expressing yourself in many ways. you can choose to listen only to fellow student voices and try to forge your own sense of logic from what you hear. but could it be considered ‘critical engagement’ if only fellow voices confirming agreement are listened to? obviously, you can listen to other voices. mondli makhanya, editor of city press, put the question to students: what are you offering society in return for all these things you want? (makhanya, 2016). as expected, in the great south african tradition of debate, eusebius mckaiser, respected journalist and opinion shaper, challenged makhanya robustly, even calling his column an example of what flawed argumentation looks like (mckaiser, 2016). this exchange is an example of critical engagement in action, where different views on the same matter are contested. student leaders can also choose not to engage with the issue and wait for others to make up their minds on their behalf. such leaders should feel morally obliged to refund the university for the costs of their attendance of this conference. more seriously, by waiting for others to engage with an issue on your behalf, you run the risk of missing vital details. an example of how important issues get overlooked is the intersectionality of the many struggles that students go through. a persistent regret by many student leaders is that awareness of intersectionality was a big casualty in the early to even late stages of the protest movement since 2015 (lujabe, 2016). the image accompanying the article by lujabe (2016) portrays an lgbtiq activist being restrained by fellow male activists from, apparently, sjambokking them. so, beware: the womanist sjambok is coming to a campus near you, very soon, if student leaders do not engage with the intersectional struggles deeply and critically. our outgoing src president had, not very long ago, to call off the handing over of a memorandum on racism because women and lgbtiq activists did not allow him to speak because he denied their request for a memorandum of intersectional issues. his interpretive schemes drowned out all other issues but racism. this is an example of how patriarchal tendencies silence the important matters raised by the lgbtiq community and women. student leaders will do well to heed the note of caution in this example. the other two concepts in this plenary theme, innovation and inclusivity, will be thoroughly dealt with in the breakaway sessions. hence, i will not say much about them. it is a standard intuition of incoming leadership to want to do things better and more efficiently than the outgoing team of leaders. therefore, innovative means to achieve the goal of greater efficiency become standard practice, even an obsession. innovation without regard for an institution’s strategic direction can be hollow. innovation should not simply mean ‘redesign’ (jacobs, 2016) of practices which do not fundamentally assist an institution in its transformation trajectory. so, student leaders, in your innovative zeal to do things willy nel: student leadership – challenges and possibilities 57 better and faster than the outgoing leadership, do not forget that continuous transformation of a complex space such as this university requires more than redesign; it requires strategic focus. it requires of you to read the times and sometimes to leave certain things as they are in favour of dealing decisively with a larger matter at hand. student leaders should be very aware of institutional shifts and not wait to act until a cause is made fashionable by a wellknown figure. inclusivity is an ideal which permeates through every vision and mission statement of all universities in our country. it would, therefore, be easy for the engaged and innovative student leader to translate mediatised struggles such as the debacle about black girls’ hair at a pretoria school (timeslive, 2016) into an interrogation of policies and practices within the scope of your leadership. again, not just to redesign for redesign’s sake, but to effect inclusivity. shifting gear zygmunt bauman (2011:100) suggests that there is an increasing “divorce between power and politics”. by that, bauman (2011) means that the ability to do things is no longer really influenced by the ability of formal structures, such as the state, to decide on what should be done. this insight holds lessons for current-day student leadership. your leadership position is firmly entrenched within the system of institutional politics personified by structures such as residence committees or student representative councils (srcs). hence, you have a demarcated area of responsibility; a scope of decision-making abilities, if you will. compare this scope to the unfolding reality of protest leadership playing out during the wave of student protests we are experiencing currently. the student movement has shown numerous times how it organises outside of the formal structures such as srcs. open stellenbosch serves as a forceful example of power that was loosened from the official structures of student politics. at the university of the free state a student leadership collective called the free education movement diverted power from the src. this movement is not a registered student association but arose because students were dissatisfied with the src’s shift in position regarding the protest. students are also familiar with the various leaders of this movement who come from different associations, which explains their authority. this is an important example as it illustrates that popular acknowledgement of leadership can be as strong a force as formal elections. obviously, this observation does not declare formal structures obsolete. it merely serves as a source of knowledge that might be invisible to some amongst you who thought that the only way of gaining and exercising power is through a formal structure. the question before you is, probably, not how to regain regulatory authority but rather what the effects are of the divorce of power from politics on your leadership role. an immediate negative effect of the divorce is that communal bonds become more frail and very temporary (bauman, 2007). a student leader of an immediate collective like a residence has bigger challenges at hand when the divorce between power and politics is complete. this observation rests on my lived knowledge that, simply, communal living depends on physical displays of regard for communal bonds, e.g. by not stealing from a pot cooking in a communal kitchen. for student leaders of larger collectives, such as src 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 55–60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.8 members, the frailty of communal bonds holds a different challenge such as that posed by the power of internet-connected lives. the free education movement at the university of the free state, for instance, mobilises entirely through its facebook page. in that case the combination of cyber-connectedness and a common cause, all linked to the weakened state of the src, is much more effective at organising large numbers of people than the src. some people debate issues and negotiate entire struggles only in cyberspace e.g. #handsoffpravin (2016); hardly a modality for real human contact but effective in raising awareness and serving as an outlet for collective frustration. elsewhere, a co-author and i  (keet & nel, 2016) found that student leaders in formal structures experience a deep sense of disappointment upon leaving office. they put so much faith in the ability of their structures to transform a university that this results in semi-depression when they do not succeed. so, what to do, then? together with critical engagement with the challenges presented to your leadership position and innovation for deep inclusive change, it is also probably important to know the limitations that you are up against. be aware that “social reality itself has become schooled”, as posed in the seminal work of ivan illich (1970:3). this means that, through education, we have become so used to having almost every aspect of our lives regulated that we no longer know what it means to operate outside of such regulation. formal education as packaged by schools, colleges and universities is not free of the regulatory impulses implicit in many academic disciplines. these impulses are sometimes necessary professional standards that have to be attained so that graduates can comply with the basic measures of responsible practice. however, as acknowledged by critical scholars (fricker, 2007; keet, 2014a; keet, 2014b; zipin, fataar & brennan, 2015), the regulatory impulses of formal education can also serve other purposes such as governmental control over its citizens or re-inscribing of self-produced disciplinary truths – a very dangerous endeavour as illustrated by the initial uptake of scientific racism (lack & abramson, 2014). even as various pathways to knowledge and skills exist in south africa today, such as recognition of prior learning (saqa, 2004), we very much rely on formal education offered by schools, colleges and universities. we have been schooled to largely understand that health care different from that provided by a medical doctor is irresponsible, learning on your own is unreliable and community organisation outside of state-subsidisation (or university-subsidisation) is dangerous and subversive (illich,  1970). you would do well as a student leader to challenge the social control mechanisms so intimately tied to formal education, otherwise you are your own drawback. take note of the dulling effect of the general middle-class aspiration of just obtaining a degree to achieve good employment. this aspiration, if devoid of critical thought, is detrimental to the emancipatory urge so prevalent today in the student protests. differently put, the docile student who just wants to obtain a degree and leave university is the perfect example of how certain governments would like their citizens to behave. some forms of education outside the classroom, such as on the streets of the university whilst calling for free higher education, are terrifying to a state intent on keeping its citizens non-questioning. willy nel: student leadership – challenges and possibilities 59 conscious student leaders would allow for extra-structural learning, such as through online courses and attendance of informal talks, so as not to be overly dismissive of potential allies from outside your structure who, for example, did not participate in this formal leadership conference, e.g. open stellenbosch. opportunities for co-curricular learning are offered by your university, such as study-abroad, university exchanges, dual-institution degrees and internships. such opportunities should be taken advantage of by student leaders but be mindful not to become domesticated into an uncritical, overly grateful state of being. your task as a leader is to grow, not to seek out opportunities just to satisfy your own need for travel or pampering at the university’s cost. remain vigilant about the agendas that sometimes accompany the largesse of sponsors. it will be valuable to keep this argument in mind during discussions on decolonisation because colonisation itself relied strongly on the building of a servile class of educated people who would keep the regime intact. be aware that old institutions like universities have strong habitus; that invisible social power which directs the behaviour of people within that space without them even being aware of why they behave the way they do (keet & nel, 2016). an obvious example is the unquestioned wearing of jackets of office by most src members or the obvious absence of open car boots blaring music; all this in a concentrated space of young adults. who told you to wear those jackets or who told you that it is not acceptable to play music in such a manner? this habitus will not change within your one year of office. a more sensible goal could rather be to use the system effectively for the improvement of your constituency’s lives. at least you will be able to leave office with a tangible set of achievements and non-achievements, as opposed to a depressed feeling of general failure. be wary of identity politics. this is actually really simple: my own identity becomes more strongly defined the more i exclude certain characteristics (manganyi, 1981). with such strong exclusionary identification comes less appreciation for the value that others might add. in higher education, which is one of the most diverse spatial concentrations of young people, such identity solidifications can only be toxic. a simple explanatory example will suffice: if you are not in the march against racism, you must be a racist (even if poor communication by the src did not allow you to change your schedule). in this example the identity of the activist is intimately tied to the ability to participate in all forms of activism such as a march. all those who do not participate in such actions fall outside of the identity marker of activism, and hence can be dismissed as opposed to the aims of the action, irrespective of valid reasons for being absent. the last point i make is on decolonisation of universities, a concept you will grapple with further in the break-away sessions. getting stuck on the 1960s type of africanisation, aptly criticised by franz fanon as a ruse for corruption and too much inward-looking, is not helpful (mbembe, 2016). unfortunately some of the calls for decolonisation today carry the same meaning. mbembe (2016:34) traces ngugi wa thiong’o’s concept of decolonisation as more productive since it defines decolonisation as “seeing ourselves clearly”, or re-centering of our continent. however, this understanding does not exclude the rest of the world from the decolonisation project on the continent. in fact, mbembe (2016) is open to dialogue amongst different systems of knowledge creation and knowledge usage. narrow ethnocentric and ideological notions cannot serve the decolonisation project 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 55–60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.8 well. decolonisation must also mean out-of-country and out-of-continent experiences at the same time that intra-continental links are strengthened, especially by south africa, given our apartheid-imposed isolation and our current-day superiority-complex-imposed tentativeness about intra-continental links. with these few words i wish you a fruitful conference. thank you. references bauman, z. (2007). liquid times. living in an age of uncertainty. cambridge: polity press. bauman, z. (2011). collateral damage. social inequalities in a global age. cambridge: polity press. fricker, m. (2007). epistemic injustice. power and the ethics of knowing. oxford and new york: oxford university press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198237907.001.0001 #handsoff pravin (2016). https://twitter.com/hashtag/handsoffpravin illich, i. (1970). deschooling society. cuernavaca, mexico: harrow books. jacobs, a.h.m. (2016). using a theoretical framework of institutional culture to analyse an institutional strategy document. education as change, 20(2), 204–220. keet, a. (2014a). epistemic ‘othering’ and the decolonization of knowledge. africa insight, 44(1), 23–37. keet, a. (2014b). plastic knowledges: transformations and stagnations in the humanities. alternation, 21(2), 99–121. keet, a. & nel, w. (2016). rights, regulation and recognition. studying student leaders’ experiences of participation and citizenship within a south african university. international journal of educational sciences, 13(1), 129–144. lack, c.w. & abramson, c.i. (2014). race, psychology and scientific racism. in: c.w. lack & c.i.  abramson (eds.). psychology gone astray. a selection of racist and sexist literature from early psychological research, pp. 5–20. oklahoma: onus books. lujabe, n. (2016). the struggle within the struggle. city press. retrieved from http://city-press. news24.com/news/the-struggle-within-the-struggle-20160611 makhanya, m. (2016, august 28). stop the war on knowledge. city press. retrieved from http://citypress.news24.com/voices/stop-the-war-on-knowledge-20160826 manganyi, n.c. (1981). looking through the keyhole. johannesburg: ravan press. mbembe, a.j. (2016). decolonizing the university: new directions. arts & humanities in higher education, 15(1), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022215618513 mckaiser, e. (2016, august 29). editors should know better. cape times. retrieved from http://www. iol.co.za/capetimes/editors-should-know-better-2061863 radio 702 (2016). http://www.702.co.za/articles/35433/fees-will-increase-in-2017-by-no-morethan-8-nzimande south african qualifications authority (saqa) (2004). criteria and guidelines for the implementation of recognition of prior learning. pretoria: saqa. timeslive (2016). http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2016/08/29/pretoria-high-school-for-girlsfaces-fury-after-black-pupils-told-to-%e2%80%98straighten-hair%e2%80%99 zipin, l., fataar, a. & brennan, m. (2015). can social realism do social justice? debating the warrants of curriculum knowledge selection. education as change, 19(2), 9–36. https://doi. org/10.1080/16823206.2015.1085610 https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198237907.001.0001 https://twitter.com/hashtag/handsoffpravin http://city-press.news24.com/news/the-struggle-within-the-struggle-20160611 http://city-press.news24.com/news/the-struggle-within-the-struggle-20160611 http://city-press.news24.com/voices/stop-the-war-on-knowledge-20160826 http://city-press.news24.com/voices/stop-the-war-on-knowledge-20160826 https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022215618513 http://www.702.co.za/articles/35433/fees-will-increase-in-2017-by-no-more-than-8-nzimande http://www.702.co.za/articles/35433/fees-will-increase-in-2017-by-no-more-than-8-nzimande https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206.2015.1085610 https://doi.org/10.1080/16823206.2015.1085610 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 97–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.53 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za bozalek, vivienne, leibowitz, brenda, carolissen, ronelle & boler, megan (eds.) (2013). discerning critical hope in educational practices. london and new york: routledge denise wood* book review paulo freire, regarded as one of the most influential educators of the 20th century, proclaimed in pedagogy of hope that hope is an ontological need, which “demands an anchoring in practice” (freire, 1994, p. 2). the kind of hope that freire was referring to was not a naïve hope that is “subjectively idealistic” (freire, 1970, p. 129), but rather, critical hope fostered through a radical pedagogy combining “hope, critical reflection and collective struggle” (giroux, 1985, p. xvii). similarly, giroux (2003) spoke of “educated hope”, noting the need to combine the discourse of critique and hope in ways that lead to critical activity, and opens up the possibility for social change. freire’s pedagogy of hope is thus a transformative pedagogy, one that challenges didactic styles of instruction that relegate the student to a passive vessel to be filled with content (what freire referred to as the “banking concept of education”, 1970, p. 74) and seeks to awaken students’ critical consciousness and awareness of power relations through a dialogic relationship with the teacher. such a transformative pedagogy involves more than simply empowering students. through their collaborative roles as “co-investigators in dialogue” (freire, 1970, p. 81), both teachers and students are transformed. feminist scholar and social activist bell hooks refers to such a transformative approach as an “engaged pedagogy”, one in which teachers transform their curriculum and their teaching practices to sites of resistance that challenge the biases and systems of domination that perpetuate inequalities and oppression in a neo-liberal society (hooks, 1994). discerning critical hope in educational practices builds on the work of these revolutionary scholars through an edited collection, responding to freire’s call for a pedagogy of hope: the type of educated hope referred to by giroux and the transformative teaching practice advocated by hooks. the edited collection achieves this ambitious goal through the skilful synthesis of theory, critique and praxis interwoven in a four-part volume addressing critical hope in education, a critique of neoliberalism, postcolonial perspectives on critical hope, and a historical account of the emancipatory potential of critical hope. as michael apple in his foreword to the book argues, the individual chapters in discerning critical hope in educational practices build upon each other in a way that exposes the “multiple relations of * professor of learning, equity access and participation, central queensland university, australia. email: d.wood@cqu.edu.au. 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 97–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.53 exploitation, domination, and subordination – and multiple political projects that interrupt these relations in education and the larger society” (apple, 2013, p. xvii). importantly, as apple observes, the authors in the book describe their pedagogical approaches to engaging in transformative practices through critical pedagogy involving “participatory inquiry and dialogue” (bozalek et al., 2013, p. 2), which seeks to foster the conditions for critical hope and social change. part i of discerning critical hope in educational practices focuses on critical hope in education. in chapter 2, michalinas zembylas reinforces freire’s distinction between naïve and critical hope, arguing for a pedagogical approach involving “critical emotional praxis”; a pedagogy of critical hope that combines affective, ethical and political perspectives through critique and action. zembylas provides a tangible example of what he means by critical emotional praxis through a vignette describing the strategies undertaken by a teacher in cyprus as she sought to engage in intercultural pedagogical practices that aimed to address discrimination and stereotypes against migrant students. megan boler continues the theme of critical hope and the role of emotions in chapter 2 through her discussion of the “pedagogy of discomfort”, an approach that engages students in critical reflection about their assumptions, emotional reactions and responses to reveal unconscious privilege and complicity with the dominant ideology. boler makes the point that such a pedagogy focuses not only on the dominant group, but also to members of marginalised cultures. in the final chapter of part i, bozalek, carolissen and leibowitz build on the foundations laid by zembylas and boler in the preceding chapters, describing the strategies they employed for embedding critical hope in educational practice through a course undertaken by students enrolled in two historically differently placed higher education institutions (heis) within the south african context. despite the positive outcomes reported by the authors, the challenges and resistances are also discussed to highlight the importance of critical hope being understood as an iterative and ongoing process. the three chapters that comprise part ii focus on critical hope through a critique of neoliberalism. in chapter 4, gustavo fischman and eric haas argue for discourses of hope that go beyond progressive pedagogies characterised by “narratives of redemption” (the view that sees teachers as “superheroes”). andré keet continues the critique of neoliberalism in chapter 5 by problematising approaches to human rights education that work against the critical, arguing for engagement with the concepts of “plasticity” and “deconstruction” linked to a critique of human rights education. the final chapter in part ii by henk van rinsum draws on the freirean concepts of critical hope and radical transformation through a deconstruction of the hope project of the university of stellenbosch as means of demonstrating the need for institutions to engage in critical selfexamination at every level in order to bring about change. part iii provides postcolonial perspectives on critical hope through contributions by three authors who in their respective chapters describe the transformative potential of a critical hope anchored in praxis in the struggle against racism and as a means for denise wood: discerning critical hope in educational practices 99 overcoming colonial domination. in chapter 7, ronald david glass draws on his own personal history in critiquing what he describes as the false hopes that have limited the social and political commitments of white antiracism educators in the usa. glass invokes the freirean concept of critical hope as an ontological need in highlighting the importance of critical hope in supporting the struggles for justice and a means of overcoming despair associated with the persistence of oppression. paul warmington continues the discussion of the transformative potential of critical hope anchored in praxis in chapter 8 through his account of the black education movements in the uk. warmington argues that such movements need to be based on a critical hope that is historically grounded, while at the same time informed by universal ideals of transformative education. merylyne cruz’s chapter on decolonising education, informed by her own journey as a critical filipino feminist concludes part iii. through her account, cruz employs a reflexive performance counter-narrative of the self as a form of decolonising writing. the final section of the book provides philosophical overviews of critical hope through john horton”s historical account of the emancipatory role of critical hope. in her afterword, mary zournazi reflects on the affective dimensions of critical hope and the importance of gratitude as an ethical relation between people. taken together, the papers comprising this edited collection build on each other in providing diverse perspectives based on the authors’ experiences in varying geographical contexts in which the challenges that educators face in their quest for achieving critical hope in their teaching reflect the differences marking each site’s historical and contemporary conditions. the diversity of voices and social contexts represented in the book thus provide and demand of the reader a “multi-faceted interrogation of the notion of critical hope” (bozalek et al., 2013, p. 4). through its focus on critical hope anchored in praxis, this edited collection provides an accessible resource that can guide educators in applying the principles of critical hope to their classroom practices in ways that can begin to realise the goals of transformative pedagogy. at the same time, the authors’ accounts reveal the challenges associated with what apple describes as “counter-hegemonic actions in education theory and practice” (apple, 2013, p. xvii). this book does not offer simple solutions for overcoming despair, which so often accompanies the struggle for transformation in education and the work for social justice. as apple in his foreword to the book reminds us, the task of challenging dominant ideologies is hard work; there are no easy solutions. however, the contributions in this edited collection do provide educators with strategies for transformative action based on a critical hope fostered through critical reflection, critique and praxis. as such, discerning critical hope in educational practices is in many ways unfinished, since critical hope is “an ongoing process involving constant re-evaluation and revision for renewal and sustained critique” (bozalek, 2013, p. 2). as apple (2013) identifies, critical hope and the work of the engaged educator is therefore a project that is never finished and is always becoming (p. xvii). 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 97–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.53 references apple, m. (2013). foreword: hope in a time of crisis. in v. bozalek, b. leibowitz, r. carolissen, & m. boler, m. (eds), discerning critical hope in educational practices (pp. xiv-xxii). london and new york: routledge. bozalek, v., leibowitz, b., carolissen, r., & boler, m. (2013). introduction. in v. bozalek, b. leibowitz, r. carolissen, & m. boler, m. (eds), discerning critical hope in educational practices (pp. 1-8). london and new york: routledge. bozalek, v., leibowitz, b., carolissen, r., & boler, m. (eds). (2013). discerning critical hope in educational practices. london and new york: routledge. freire, p. (1994). pedagogy of hope: reliving pedagogy of the oppressed (r. r. barr, trans.). london, new dehli, new york, sydney: bloomsbury. freire, p. (1970). pedagogy of the oppressed (m. b. ramon, trans.). new york: continuum. giroux, h. (2003). utopian thinking under the sign of neoliberalism: towards a critical pedagogy of educated hope. democracy & nature, 9(1), 91-105. giroux, h. (1985). introduction. in p. freire (ed.), the politics of education: culture, power and liberation (pp. xi-xxvi). westport: bergin & garvey. hooks, b. (1994). teaching to transgress: education as the practice of freedom (vol. 4). new york: routledge. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 19-34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.90 www.jsaa.ac.za comrades’ power: student representation and activism in universities in kenya mwangi j. macharia* research article * mr mwangi j. macharia is a lecturer in the department of philosophy, history and religion at egerton university, njoro, kenya. email: mwangijm2003@yahoo.com. abstract in the last decade, student politics and governance of universities in kenya and in other african countries have undergone a tremendous transformation. the unprecedented expansion and massification of public universities, the introduction of ‘module 2’ programmes, the admission of private, ‘parallel’ and ‘school-based’ students, and the substantial increase in private universities have impacted on the governance of the institutions and student politics in different ways. in this context, this article explores student involvement in university governance and describes the structure of students’ unions in kenyan universities in comparison with students exercising ‘comrades’ power’ in universities in kenya. keywords higher education; student politics; student activism; student unionism; university governance; representation. background and introduction according to the commission for university education (2014), the higher education sector in kenya is comprised of 52 universities, including 22 public chartered universities, 17 private chartered universities, and 13 institutions with letters of interim authority. in addition to universities and polytechnics, the higher education system contains a number of teacher training colleges, institutes of science and technology, government-owned and government-supported medical training colleges, and trade and agricultural institutions, which provide three-year vocational training at diploma level and two-year certificate courses. student enrolment in kenyan universities rose from 571 at independence in 1963 to a total of 239 362 in the 2012-2013 academic years (kenya national bureau of statistics, 2015). 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 19-34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.90 private higher education in kenya can be traced to the colonial period when missionaries established schools and colleges for their converts. the first private institutions of higher learning were st paul’s united theological college (1955) and scott theological college (1962). in 1970, the united states international university (usiu) established a campus in nairobi. these early universities offered degrees in the name of parent universities abroad. for a long time, the government did not give accreditation to these private colleges or universities. thus, the evolution of private higher education and the privatisation of universities were a response to two developments. firstly, there was the increasing demand for higher education in the face of the financial inability of the government to expand admissions and subsidise students in public universities. this was a key impetus for the growth of private universities. secondly, there was the desire by the management of public universities to stall the collapse of the institutions and reverse the decline in the quality of their programmes. the increased demand for university education led the government to encourage the establishment and accreditation of private universities in the 1990s. this phenomenal growth has not satisfied the increased need for university education in kenya. the phenomenal growth has also increased the need for transformation and the restructuring of student governance and representation in order to effectively highlight and address issues affecting the growing number of students. over the last few years, there has been a massive expansion characterised mainly by upgrading some middle-level colleges to university status. this has been occasioned by the increasing numbers of students joining the universities through the joint admissions board and the self-sponsored program (ssp). the rising number of students has also been occasioned by the increase in conversion of several middle-level colleges to fully fledged universities (bosire, chemnjor & ngware, 2008). in early 2014, for example, kenya upgraded 15 such colleges into fully fledged universities in a bid to raise capacity for at least 10 000 extra students annually. the rapid rise in the student population has raised significant issues regarding student representation and governance in both public and private universities. new data from the government shows that enrolments in state universities rose by 41%, from 195 428 in 2012 to 276 349 by the end of 2014. in contrast, admissions to private universities increased by just 7.1%, from 45 023 in 2012 to 48 211 in 2013. as a result of the admissions jump in public institutions, overall student enrolment shot up by 34.9% nationally to reach 324 560, as against 240 551 in 2012. kenya’s ministry of planning attributes the rise to new courses, the upgrading of university colleges to universities, and the expansion of private universities. enrolments are expected to hit new highs this year as the government starts admitting state-funded students to private universities – currently, state-funded students can only join public universities (kenya national bureau of statistics, 2015). in this context, this article engages with two specific questions: • what is the structure of student representation and participation in university governance in public and private universities in kenya? • what is the nature of ‘comrades’ power’ and student activism in universities in kenya, and what may account for changes and different patterns in public and private institutions? mwangi j. macharia: comrades’ power: student representation and activism in universities in kenya 21 methodological approach this article is largely descriptive and exploratory in design (cf. creswell, 1998; babbie, 2001; bogdan & bilken, 2003). it draws on available literature related to student governance, student politics and activism internationally, as well as in kenyan universities, which was supplemented with information from the field. for the former, library and internet searches provided a considerable amount of literature. the documentary sources used included published books, journal articles, magazines, as well as unpublished materials such as dissertations, and conference and seminar proceedings. in particular, they were useful in demonstrating the nature of student politics, representation and organisational characteristics in public and private universities in kenya, as well as the significant similarities and differences in exercising ‘comrades’ power’ in public and private universities in kenya. in addition, the article draws on conversations with student leaders held on the main campuses of four universities: two public universities, that is, kenyatta university (ku) and egerton university (eu), and two private universities, that is, the united states international university (usiu) and mount kenya university (mku). the study does not attempt to provide a comparative analysis of student politics between these four institutions; rather, they serve to ensure that the overall discourse provided in this paper is informed by a variety of institutions. overall, the article to present a reflective account that raises questions and informally starts making propositions towards a deeper understanding of historical changes and contemporary patterns of student politics in kenyan public and private universities and their significance. governance and universities in kenya governance is a relational concept whose meaning depends on the context in which it is applied. while there is a variety of definitions of ‘governance’ found in the literature, which makes a single, unanimously comprehensive definition difficult, a common element in conceptualising governance in higher education is the notion of a multifaceted web of interaction and relationships among bodies operating at different levels, depending where, by whom and when the decision is made, and on what aspect (cf. obiero, 2012). governance is also viewed as the structure of relationships that authorise policies, plans, and decisions, and account for their probity and responsiveness (meek in amaral, meek & larsen, 2003). on the same note, it is described as decision-making patterns of authority distribution (margison & considine, 2000, p.7; also see: meek in amaral et al., 2003). higher education governance can be viewed in terms of two levels: institutional or internal governance and external or system governance (de boer & file, 2003, p.10). external governance encompasses the vast array of macrolevel structures and relationships through which the regulatory frameworks and policies for higher education are developed, funding is allocated to institutions, and institutions are held accountable for the way it is spent. it also includes less formal structures and relationships which steer and influence organisational behaviour across the system. institutional governance refers to the structures 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 19-34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.90 and processes within individual institutions that establish responsibilities and authority, determine relationships between positions, and thereby define the way through which all stakeholders in a university setting relate to one another (maassen 2003; de boer & file, 2003). the relationship between these two levels determines the characteristics of individual higher education institutions, how they relate to the whole systems, the nature of academic work, and, more importantly, the ways the institutions are organised and governed. this article focuses on the institutional level governance. for a very long time, institutional governance in africa has been based on a top-down model. this has been challenged frequently in favour of a more inclusive, democratic, and participatory model of governance and leadership in keeping with notions of democratic representation (de boer & stensaker, 2007), the more traditional notions of shared governance, or the concept ‘distributed leadership’ (e.g. harris, 2004). the latter is a rather new concept where responsibilities and activities are distributed across a wide range of people within each specific context (e.g. lumby, 2003, p. 283). thus, obondo (2000) argues that, in order to effect a democratisation of higher education management in kenya, existing organisational structures, their composition, operational rules and procedures, have to be modified consistent with the demand for an all-inclusive approach to academic administration. obondo continues by arguing that democratisation of decision-making is important not only because many conflicts arise from an unequal power relationship, but also because universities are advocates of democratic institutions and should therefore practise what they preach. the governance of universities typically provides a mechanism through which students can organise themselves in a governance structure that enables them to articulate their views. in considering how student governance is operationalised in private universities and in public universities that are increasingly privatising most of their students, one cannot fail to notice the drastic change from the notions of shared governance that traditionally gave academics and their students greater leeway in the governance of the institutions to the recent introduction of more corporate governance structures. the latter have increasingly diminished the power of students and academics in making binding decisions. the rapid growth and expansion of universities in kenya have therefore raised contradictory issues of governance in terms of the ways in which both public and private universities are run. in kenya today, both public and private universities have embraced, in varying degrees, a democratisation of decision-making. on the one hand, the universities act of 2012 promotes wider representation and participation of staff and students in key university governing bodies, and allows staff a greater say in selecting senior university administrators. in the past the president of kenya used to be the chancellor of all public universities, who, in turn, appointed the vice-chancellors and members of a university’s council. this meant that the government played a key role in the internal governance of public universities. the grand coalition government, which came into power after the post-election violence in 2008, introduced far-reaching reforms in the running of public universities. today, each university has its own chancellor and the appointment of the vicechancellors is done through competitive bidding. moreover, the government interferes very mwangi j. macharia: comrades’ power: student representation and activism in universities in kenya 23 minimally in the running of private universities, apart from, for example, through the role of the commission for university education (cue) in awarding charters and letters of interim authority. it is arguable that the universities act of 2012 has led to the emergence of new governance cultures in institutions. a unique hybrid of two modes of governance, devolved and centralised, seems to have been introduced through the new act. this model of governance is a kind of ‘devolved centralisation’ which seems to favour a corporate governance structure. at the same time, it did not seem to do much in enhancing the voice of the students’ union. student involvement in university governance in kenya student involvement in university governance illustrates students’ willingness to participate in the life of the university. as studies of student engagement have shown, it involves additional educational benefits for students. moreover, wood (1993 in obiero, 2012) carried out a study in three colleges regarding faculty, student and support-staff participation in governance in which he found that these groups provided valuable sources of information for decisionmaking. other studies have also had positive outcomes concerning student participation and the ability of students to make significant contributions to the quality of decisions (zuo & ratsoy, 1999; menon, 2005). wood further argued that students may not be in a position to effectively represent the interest of their group if they have no place on university boards (or councils). provided that a university comprises various internal stakeholders such as administrators, teaching and non-teaching staff, and the students, who interact in everyday activities of the university, their voices should be heard at the same level and the decision-making organs of the university should include all stakeholders in keeping with the ‘stakeholder society’ (de boer & goedegebuure, 2003, in obiero, 2012, p. 8). as stated earlier, kenya has in the recent past experienced unprecedented growth in and expansion and massification of, universities. the introduction of ‘module 2’ programmes, the admission of ‘private’, ‘parallel’ and ‘school-based’ students, and the substantial increase in private universities have impacted on the governance of the institutions. with this rapid growth and expansion, issues of governance have presented challenges in terms of the ways in which both public and private universities are run in the country. most of these challenges affect students directly and indirectly, since they are the key stakeholders in these institutions. students form the biggest body in the university and, without them, the university would not serve its purpose (obiero, 2012). although students have representatives in university councils, senate and faculty management committees, they are sometimes excluded when crucial matters such as examinations are being discussed. student representation in kenyan universities takes place through students’ unions and students’ associations at institutional level and also through the kenya national university students union at national levels. these levels of representation are necessary in the area of reform if the challenges of governance in the institutions are to be addressed. each of the public universities in kenya has a student governing body referred to by different names such as students’ union, student government or congress. whichever designation is used, this is a body that is akin to a student parliament; it has office bearers who are elected after 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 19-34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.90 each academic year (bosire et al, 2008). the function and structure of the students’ unions in kenya’s public university system are more or less similar to those in other universities in the rest of the world. generally, the students’ union is both a student platform for addressing various social, political and corporate issues of the student community and a link between students and university management (egerton university, 1999a). current reforms have increased the number of students elected as representatives. the increase in student enrolments has led to each hall electing representatives to the student unions. there are also representatives of non-resident students; representatives according to mode of study; school-/faculty-based representatives; as well as representatives of special groups based on, for example, gender and disability. this means that the student council of today is a fairly large body. this enlargement of student representation is not, however, proportional to the increase in student enrolment. the increasing student population has not seen a corresponding increase in leaders who can articulate issues of student representation, which implies increasing pressure on those handling student issues. obiero (2012) argues that student associations and unions represent an important resource in the university’s effort to confront current and emergent governance crises, as student representatives have been noted to have the capacity to diffuse potential conflicts. this they can do through regular meetings with their members and the administration, and by designing a mechanism for regular communication, thereby restraining their colleagues from unnecessary conflicts (obondo, 2000). in addition, there are other benefits of involving students in the running of the university which do not need to be repeated here (e.g. luescher-mamashela, 2013; obiero, 2012; obondo, 2000). in most universities in kenya, the students’ unions also supplement the services that are offered by the university. these include services such as assistance with academic and administrative problems, peer counselling, the provision of financial assistance for needy colleagues, offering study facilities and services, and running businesses such as bookstores, internet cafes, tuck shops and restaurants (luescher, 2009). in this case, they have to work together with senior managers such as the dean of students or the director of student affairs (luescher, 2009). at egerton university, for example, as is likely the case in other public universities, the students’ union was established by the university act and statutes (egerton university, 1999a; 1999b). with the enactment of the new universities act of 2012, the university developed new statutes that recognised the students’ union. the union is recognised under the dean of students and the directorate of student welfare. the union plays an integral role in the university in line with the the university act, which provides that the student body must oversee and plan students’ activities for the promotion of academic, spiritual, moral and harmonious communal life and social well-being. it is registered in the office of the dean of students and approved by the university senate and management. the students’ union is represented in the senate (but is excluded when the senate is discussing examinations) and congress and on faculty committees. the student government comprises the following nine key offices and office bearers with their designated functions (sueu, 2002): the executive chairperson, the executive vice-chairperson, the secretary-general, the organising secretary, mwangi j. macharia: comrades’ power: student representation and activism in universities in kenya 25 the treasurer, the director: welfare, the director: academics, the executive secretary, and the director: sport and entertainment. these titles may differ from one university to another, but generally indicate the main offices, which also make up the executive organ of the union, or students’ representative council. the other two organs are the students’ governing council and the committees of the union. the former consists of the executive, constituency representatives, year representatives, religious representatives, representatives of clubs and associations, representatives of non-resident students, sports and entertainment representatives and corporate members. the latter are a creation of the executive and consist of, but are not limited to, the academic affairs committee, welfare committee, finance committee, students’ centre committee, external affairs committee, sports and entertainment committee, editorial committee and discipline committee (barasa, 2002). the students’ union is therefore a legal entity recognisable in university administration and governance. it has a guiding constitution that determines and controls the activities of student leaders and their responsibilities to the student body and to the university as defined by the various organs. as a legal entity, the students’ union has various rights and obligations, such as holding term elections, collecting funds, organising meetings, and disciplining its members. all students of egerton university are automatically members of the students’ union, for which they pay union fees as part of their university fees. this is the source of funding for the union. at kenyatta university, students are represented by the officials of the kenyatta university students’ association (kusa). the association was established in 1995. all bona fide students of ku are automatically members of the association upon registration. it was formed so as to take into consideration the needs and views of students. like those associations at other universities in kenya, kusa was banned owing to the uprisings in support of multiparty democracy in the country in the late 1990s. it is now ten years since the re-establishment of kusa with the aim of being involved in matters affecting students within the university (obiero, 2012). kusa is run by an executive body and a congress made up of students elected through democratically run elections. the congress is made up of the executive council and other ex officio and elected members. the executive consists of the president, vice-president, secretary-general, deputy secretary-general, finance secretary, academic secretary, organising secretary, gender and social welfare secretary, special needs secretary, and the chairperson of each of the satellite campuses (as provided for in the constitution). the speaker of the congress is an ex officio member of the executive. student involvement in governance in private universities in kenya seems to be based on the south african model of a students’ representative council (src). yet, like elsewhere, student governments in private universities and colleges typically fulfil the functions of student governments: (1) representing students’ interests in institutional (and national) governance structures (and related media work); (2) overseeing social activities of students and student organisations on campus, along with student involvement in the running of residences, and sports facilities; and (3) providing supplemental services for students (hall & symes, 2000; also see: ojo, 1995). 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 19-34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.90 student activism in universities in kenya student involvement and formal representation in university governance in kenya have not eliminated student activism in the institutions. this may be due to the complications arising from huge student enrolments, the expansion of universities and a lack of corresponding levels and numbers of representation. student activism may be defined as ‘the informal or extraordinary political activities of students’ and ‘the public expression of new ideas, about shaping public debate on a topic’ which is typically political in nature (luescher-mamashela, 2015). student activism is not limited to higher education institutions; it has even influenced national issues in the country. in cases where students feel underrepresented, misrepresented or not represented at all in the formal decisionmaking processes of university governance, the likelihood of student activism increases. in most universities in kenya, student activism has been blamed for the numerous strikes and closures over the past decade, thus prolonging the time required by students for completing their studies, disrupting academic life, and driving prospective students and staff to private and overseas institutions (mwiria et al., 2007). bakke (1966), after studying student activism in six different countries, has proposed a set of insights or hypotheses about the roots and soil of student activism. firstly, student activism is a product of a stage of youth in the maturation process. student activism is a function of the universal search of adolescent youth for an adult role in society, for selfidentity and for social integration, and of their self-assertion at this stage of their maturation process. secondly, student activism is said to be an actualisation of the image of the ‘student’. here, he argues that there are varying images of a ‘student’ that play a role in why students engage in student activism. thirdly, student activism is a result of the youth’s involvement in societal problems. lastly, student activism is a result of students’ relations wit other action groups. this highly influences the minds and attitudes of radical students, thus shaping their focus in interacting with such groups and encouraging them all the more to participate in student movements. in kenya, student activism has been closely associated with the slogan ‘comrades’ power!’. bakke’s idea of the roots of student activism being found in an activist, youthful, emancipatory student identity yearning for, and forged, in unity with other groups which struggle for democratisation, social justice, and human rights seems to capture that relation. the call for ‘comrades’ power!’ in kenya has its roots in the independence struggle; it has been heard chanted during the democratisation process of the 1990s, during recent student protests, and even during campaigns for students’ union elections. the nature of students’politics, representation and organisation in public and private universities student activism or ‘comrades’ power’ has undergone several transformations in the history of kenya. university students of the 1960s were not involved in politics. this is because they were supplied with the basic necessities during their studies and had guaranteed positions in the ranks of the emerging national bourgeoisie upon graduation. however, after 1970, changes occurred that made university students abandon their ivory-tower mentality mwangi j. macharia: comrades’ power: student representation and activism in universities in kenya 27 and begin a systematic engagement in political action, including violent confrontation. the political apex of student activism was reached in the mid-1970s and lasted to the mid-1990s, by which point student action was more likely to be accompanied by demands for democratic reform. in kenya, university students have been leaders of protest, activism and dissent, strikes, and demonstrations – as in many other countries (altbach, 1989; brickman & lehrer, 1980; light & spiegel, 1977; miser, 1988). mazrui (1995) says that, in the 1960s and 1970s, african students were often the vanguard of democratic defiance in many african countries. it may well be that kenya would still be wallowing in dictatorship today were it not for the orchestrated street demonstrations by university of nairobi students in the period leading up to multiparty politics. the university students, through their leaders, have presented to kenyans and to the democratisation process the power to riot, to protest, and to stand up for their rights, commonly referred to as ‘comrade power’. street demonstrations in nairobi and other towns are almost synonymous with university students. mazrui (19995, p.165) says: the relationship between the government and students is often the most difficult… since government relations with students are often the most difficult, they are the main cause of political confrontations on third world campuses. this is certainly true of the campuses of kenyan public universities. kenyan public universities face a strained relationship with university management because of decisions and actions that management takes without prior consultation with the student body. for example, in 2009, kenyatta university students rioted violently in protest at 2 000 students not being given ample time to clear their university fee arrears in order to register. conversely, the relationship at private universities in kenya, between management and student body is different. it appears that, at private universities, there is proper prior consultation on important issues affecting students. this may be one of the reasons why student activism in these institutions is absent or only minimal. during democratisation process of the 1990s, the term ‘university students’ was associated with fights, riots, stone-throwing, and so forth, all in utter rebellion at unpopular government moves. ‘comrades power’ was a household term at the time. students joined civil society groups and the national convention executive council (ncec) in making kenya almost ungovernable through protests, eventually forcing president moi and the then ruling party, the kenya african national union (kanu), to concede to multiparty elections and establish other democratic institutions and structures (mazrui, 1995). even before moi, during kenyatta’s era, the regime had crushed all opposition, with only one real threat left: university students and the university community. the universities were part and parcel of the national political discourse; opposition politics in kenya would not be complete without student activism. the students were proactive in campaigning for their rights and those of their fellow citizens, in spite of the unsympathetic and repressive political climate that prevailed. student leaders could get arrested, beaten up, jailed at the infamous nyayo house, or even be murdered in cold blood. 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 19-34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.90 student leaders were powerful figures in the country then. the government of the day kept vigil over student activism to the extent of placing spies in major universities. the former presidents jomo kenyatta and moi knew the student leaders of all the major campuses by name, and especially those of the university of nairobi. comrades, as they would popularly refer to one another, would proceed without fear of subjugation or intimidation to challenge the government on unpopular moves. student activism was a public watchdog. in 1992, when the fight for multiparty democracy in africa was at its peak, university students joined notable ‘second-liberation’ figures such as kenneth matiba, charles rubia, paul muite, and raila odinga, among others. the struggle successfully saw the repeal of the famous section 2a of the kenyan constitution, thus ushering in a new era of multiparty democracy. moreover, thanks to the student activism of the 1980s and 1990s, a crop of vibrant national leaders emerged. the likes of current senator for siaya county, lawyer james orengo, former senior adviser of raila odinga, miguna miguna, the current member of parliament for budalangi, ababu namwamba, and kenyan chief justice and president of the supreme court, dr. willy mutunga, are but a few of the current leadership in kenya that cut their teeth on student leadership. in the contemporary phase, student apathy to student activism has become quite prevalent. several issues have brought about the phenomenon. firstly, the apathy is due to a certain ‘nonchalance’: students feel they lack issues affecting them as one and they only mind about what affects them – blame it on individualism and anomie (mwiria et al., 2007). hence, students may ask: why the activism? secondly, the academicians of the 1980s were filled with radicalism, which they taught right into their lecture halls; thus lecture halls became bubbling pots of activism. academics taught emancipation from repression without paranoia or selfishness. meanwhile, contemporary students focus on reading, passing examinations, graduating, and getting out into the highly competitive job market. to them, a student is intelligent as long as he or she grasps the reading, passes examination and graduates exemplarily (mwiria et al., 2007). the result is ‘academic robots’ who blindly conform to the repressive capitalistic system and politics. can a student without a critical mind and ideals, agree to activism? student apathy to politics has now become an obstacle to student activism, whereas a critical perspective on the bad politics of the day used to be the main thrust for student activism of previous student generations in the 1980s. it thus appears that the students do not mind any longer how their student organisations, and the country’s politics at large, are run. given that the vibrancy of ‘comrades’ power’ has mainly been restricted to public universities, and students in private universities have shied away from such activism and instead focused on getting their education and qualification, do we see a convergence between public and private universities’ student politics? exercising comrades’ power in public and private universities in kenya universities are unique institutions in many ways, not the least because they have a degree of autonomy rare among large social institutions, and, even if this autonomy has been under attack for many years, it is important nonetheless. this is a fertile condition for exercising ‘comrades’ power’. given that universities in kenya are autonomous and provide a more mwangi j. macharia: comrades’ power: student representation and activism in universities in kenya 29 liberal environment than the surrounding society, they tend to provide the conditions for exercising political activist attitudes and be the boiling pot of ‘comrades’ power’. student newspapers, social media, and radio and television programmes are able to ensure that students are quickly informed of events and are able to create an atmosphere that stimulates student activism and political consciousness. moreover, in kenya, universities – especially public universities – are geographically located in major towns and cities. as a result, demonstors are easily mobilised at very short notice and demonstrations are huge in scope. furthermore, these public universities normally have a large population of students involved in protests. the damage caused by the riots is often considerable, as in the case of the kenyatta university riots of 2009. in contrast, riots in private universities are rare. one reason may be that private universities do not have the large student populations that public universities have. as a result, management is closer to the issues that affect the students, and thus these issues are easily discussed and enough information is given to the students. moreover, the rhythm of academic life is both a help and a hindrance to student activism (cf. luescher-mamashela, 2015). the amount of free time available and the volume of academic work to be done all affect student participation in activism. student life in most public academic systems permits a good deal of free time. many students in kenyan public universities have a lot of free time on their hands after they have attended scheduled lectures. the sense of constant responsibility for academic work is not strong and, in general, lectures and other assignments are not compulsory in these public universities. in contrast, at private universities in kenya, students are examined regularly by their lecturers, which seems to instil a greater sense of responsibility and leaves little time to engage in activism. there is, therefore, less time for extra-curricular activities of all kinds because of the constant assessment of work. these may be some of the reasons why student activism is more prevalent in public than in private universities in kenya. future studies could attempt to systematically test these propositions. conclusions the basic concern of this study was to explore and describe how students are represented in the governance of universities in kenya and how student activism has changed, particularly given the current era of multiparty democracy, and greater openness and inclusivity in the governance of the institutions. generally, student representation and formal participation in the governance of universities have increased over time, especially compared with the 1980s and 1990s. this may be due to the sociopolitical and economic changes that have occurred in the country since the democratisation process of the 1990s. in particular, student leaders have become involved in decision-making in the university through participation in the various governance structures, boards and committees. this was found to be beneficial: student leaders now formally acted as the link between the student body and university administrators and there was satisfaction among students when their ideas were implemented. this led to a more peaceful university climate. however, the study also found that most of the decisions that students made had to be vetted by the university authorities, as students were seen to lack the qualifications to have a final say in decisions. conversely, whenever there was lack of adequate 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 19-34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.90 consultation and involvement of students in decision-making, there was a high possibility of student unrest and activism in the universities. currently, in both public and private universities, the democratisation of decisionmaking within the universities has been enhanced by promoting wider representation of staff and students in key university governing bodies and by allowing staff a greater say in selecting senior university administrators. however, for democracy to flourish, and for student activism to be minimised, students, through their leaders, should be given more representation in governing organs of the university. the university management and administrators should make deliberate efforts to strengthen the students’ unions and associations. it is important for power and authority to be shared and distributed fairly and decentralised effectively among all the dominant groups within the campus community. in line with the argument of obondo (2000), it has been proposed that democratisation of decision-making is important not only because many conflicts arise from such an unequal power relationship, but also because universities are advocates of democratic institutions, and should therefore practise what they preach. students as stakeholders in the university should have a say in issues affecting them. through involvement in governance, the student leaders arrive at a self-concept and divergent thinking. the skills they acquire enable them to contribute to society. it is therefore important for university administrators to give student leaders adequate opportunity to play their roles in university governance. finally, the article has argued that student activism and the call to ‘comrades’ power’ have undergone changes over the years which may be associated with the changes in national politics in kenya, the expansion of university education, and changes in the reach and general political attitudes of student bodies. in addition, student activism is more prevalent in public than in private universities. a number of propositions have been advanced in this respect, relating to the size of institutions, changes in teaching content and pedagogy, changes in the size and composition of student bodies, and the status of students and graduates in society. it would be interesting for scholars to undertake a more detailed analysis of student representation and activism in public and private universities in the east african region. furthermore, university managers should re-examine the suitability of their governance and management models vis-à-vis the orientation of the contemporary university student. representation and formal participation of students in the governance of universities should be an integral part of each and every aspect of university governance. references altbach, p.g. 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(1999). student participation in university governance. canadian journal of higher education, 29, pp. 1-26. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 251-252 | 2307-6267   245 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds call for papers journal of student affairs in africa, 2023, jsaa 11(1) ten years of research on student affairs in africa – scholarship, theory, practice and reflection in 2013, the journal of student affairs in africa launched with the double issue “the professionalization of student affairs in africa”. three years later jsaa became formally accredited by the south african department of higher education and training as a subsidy-generating journal. over the last ten years, the journal has published ten volumes, twenty issues, and over 200 research articles, ref lective practice articles, campus reports, and book reviews, which have been cited over 1275 times (as per google scholar, october 2022). to commemorate the journal’s achievements and the decadal milestone, the editorial executive of the jsaa calls for papers that take stock of the last ten years of research, scholarship, theory and practice ref lection, and publication on student affairs in africa. through the tenth anniversary we seek papers that will analyse changes in the profession and its professionalization in africa; and ref lect on the emergence of this domain. in essence, we asks the question, where is african student affairs in 2023? articles for this commemorative anniversary issue of jsaa may be theoretical, empirical and case studies, or practice-relevant ref lective contributions. they may deal with student affairs in africa or beyond, student affairs as a profession in africa or in a comparative framework, and with any specific aspect related to the profession, professionalization, and professionalism. contributions may want to engage with the ten-year theme particularly by referring to trends over time, the status quo, or compare developments in different contexts over time. more particularly, we invite articles on the following: • critical contributions engaging with the notions of profession, professionalization, and professionalism, their meanings in relation to the practice of student affairs, changes thereof, and related processes and developments within africa • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context • explorations of professional trends, professional development and academic programmes and qualifications related to student affairs in africa and beyond • critical analyses of the student affairs profession in the african context, including critical contributions that employ decolonial, intersectional, and fallist lenses • high level ref lective practitioner accounts that make a contribution to understanding the profession within the african context http://www.jsaa.ac.za 246   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 257-258 | 2307-6267 we also welcome papers that specifically deal with jsaa per se such as articles that examine the articles published in the jsaa over the last ten years and analyse them thematically or in terms of the services and functions they refer to, their scope, theoretical framework, methodology, and so forth, or their authorship, use/citations, and references. the editors will be able to provide full datasets of the articles to interested researchers. about jsaa jsaa is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and ref lective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in african higher education. jsaa is published twice a year by the jsaa editorial executive in collaboration with the university of pretoria and african minds (publisher). the journal is full-text hosted on the website of the university of pretoria at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa, as well as co-hosted by ajol, doaj, and eric, and indexed in international indices including base, infobase index, worldcat libraries, sherpa/romeo, and google scholar. jsaa has an ibi factor of 2.2 (2019). jsaa is accredited by the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) as a subsidy-earning journal on the sa list of scholarly journals. authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. submission process and important dates submission of full papers to the jsaa journal management system by: 31 january 2023 response from editors/vetting process to authors: 28 february 2023 submission of revisions 1 from authors: 31 march 2023 peer review process: april 2023 submission of final corrected manuscripts (revisions 2) from authors: 31 may 2023 publication of jsaa vol. 11, issue 1: 31 july 2023 jsaa uses apa7 referencing style. please consult the jsaa author guidelines for information about formatting etc. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/ submissions to submit your paper please register and submit at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa please direct any queries to: prof. teboho moja, teboho.moja@nyu.edu prof. thierry luescher, tluescher@hsrc.ac.za dr birgit schreiber, birgitdewes@gmail.com https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/user/register?source= https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/user/register?source= mailto:teboho.moja@nyu.edu mailto:tluescher@hsrc.ac.za mailto:birgitdewes@gmail.com journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia: a study of a university in durban olubunmi damilola akande,* hilary jephat musarurwa** & sylvia blanche kaye*** * olubunmi damilola akande is a doctoral candidate in the peacebuilding programme, icon centre, durban university of technology, south africa. email: dammy_74@yahoo.co.uk ** hilary jephat musarurwa is a doctoral candidate in the peacebuilding programme, icon centre, durban university of technology, south africa. email: hmusarurwa2@gmail.com *** sylvia blanche kaye is a senior lecturer in the peacebuilding programme, icon centre, durban university of technology, south africa. email: sylviak@dut.ac.za abstract the recurrence of xenophobic violence in south africa has been attributed to the proliferation of antimigrant sentiments that stems from social, political, economic and cultural misconceptions and cleavages. the study presents the results of a survey undertaken at the durban university of technology (dut) to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of dut students on xenophobia in south africa. a questionnaire was designed and employed to collect data from 547 registered students of a university in durban. the result reflects the existence of satisfactory awareness on xenophobia and low levels of anti-migrant sentiments which show that the majority of the students are not xenophobic. traces of xenophobic perceptions and attitudes were observed in the responses of entry-level students from low-income areas, thus pointing to entry-level students and younger students as being more disposed to xenophobic tendencies. this trend echoes normative conceptions concerning xenophobia in south africa, particularly, as a phenomenon deeply ingrained in socioeconomic inadequacies. however, the positive disposition of most students towards xenophobia reaffirms the importance of educational institutions in intercepting negative ethnic/racial sentiments as well as calls for intensified integration programmes and the extension of such into the communities. keywords attitudes; migrants; perceptions; stereotypes; violence; xenophobia introduction the end of apartheid marked the beginning of a new trend of aggression in south africa, this time between local populations and the growing migrant population. the upsurge in cases of these forms of aggression and violence are deepened in the permeation of particular perceptions and attitudinal patterns which have brought to the fore a lot of questions on the nature and manifestation of such traits (crush & pendleton, 2004; ogunyemi, 2012). the transfer of such sentiments beyond the immediate sites of xenophobic violence to other places, such as institutions of learning, has warranted concerns. this is especially https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:dammy_74%40yahoo.co.uk?subject= mailto:hmusarurwa2%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:sylviak%40dut.ac.za?subject= 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 relevant in cities that have experienced incidents of violence against foreigners. since 1990, various degrees of coordinated attacks have been orchestrated mainly against african migrants in provinces such as gauteng, western cape, mpumalanga and kwazulu-natal (choane, shulika & mthombeni, 2011; crush, ramachandran & pendleton, 2013). most prominent of these outbreaks is the 2008 pogrom that started in alexandra and later spread to cities around durban and cape town (hickel, 2014). the study seeks to undertake a contextual investigation on the existence and nature of xenophobic sentiments amongst university students in durban university of technology (dut). background since the 2008 widespread aggression against foreign nationals (mainly of african descent) which culminated in the deaths of over 60 people, xenophobia has assumed prominence in discourse as a recurrent cause of social unrest in different parts of south  africa. in  2015, durban was a flashpoint for xenophobic violence with over five people killed and thousands more rendered homeless in a spate of violence that lasted about two weeks (asakitikpi & gadzikwa, 2015, p. 227). anti-migrant sentiments and stereotypes that stem from social, political, economic and cultural misconceptions and cleavages have been commonly identified as driving forces for this kind of aggression. a number of studies have confirmed the existence of high levels of stereotypes and anti-migrant sentiments amongst the south african population, more openly displayed by the black population mainly due to their engagements with migrant populations (crush & pendleton, 2004; laheer, 2009; landau, ramjathan-keogh & singh, 2005, p. 8; tshishong, 2015). these anti-migrant sentiments are deeply rooted in social misconceptions and political/economic cleavages; identifying and understanding such sentiments is crucial for ameliorating the tensions and violence associated with xenophobia in south africa. inequality and poverty have been identified as the major precipitators of the proliferation of anti-migrant sentiments. this position becomes more apparent in the face of economic downturn, inadequate social amenities and an unstable political climate. consequently, the quest for ownership and control of limited resources strengthens, resulting in an articulation of identity differences and the emergence of exclusionary measures for eradicating more ‘vulnerable’ competitors. central to this approach is the scapegoating of foreign black africans who are perceived as direct threats to job security and also blamed for the shortfalls of governance (tella, 2016, p. 144). solomon and kosaka (2014, p. 5) explain that “xenophobia basically derives from the sense that non-citizens pose some sort of a threat to the recipients’ identity or their individual rights, and is also closely connected with the concept of nationalism: the sense in each individual of membership in the political nation as an essential ingredient in his or her sense of identity”. a new wave of nationalism born out of the complexities of increased migration, economic inequalities and underdevelopment has pitted local groups against external groups, depicting them as opportunists and threats to the economic security of indigenous groups. xenophobic attitudes are mainly influenced by a sense of deprivation which is aptly captured by the “relative deprivation” theory. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 olubunmi d. akande, hilary j. musarurwa & sylvia b. kaye: students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia … 3 xenophobia has been commonly analysed through the constructs of relative deprivation (dassah, 2015; ejoke & ani, 2017; hopstock & de jager, 2011; human sciences research council, 2008). relative deprivation affirms the connection between violence and economic inequalities. it holds that discrepancies between expected economic conditions and reality fuel the feeling of frustration that precipitates violence (džuverovic, 2013, p. 3). psychological stress and tensions are triggered when individuals perceive their inability to access their entitlements in terms of goods and living conditions. the tensions are released through aggressive actions against those responsible for the situation or other accessible target. in south africa, antagonistic sentiments towards foreigners are underlined by a sense of deprivation and driven by anger. the deprivation comes from the widespread inequality, poverty and also the deplorable nature of service delivery mainly experienced by the local population who had high expectations of the post-apartheid regime (hopstock & de jager, 2011). the frustration and emergent violence are directed towards accessible groups such as african migrants who are perceived as opportunistic and a hindrance to the attainment of an ideal society. in cases where the media portrays foreign nationals negatively, it plays a crucial role in the creation of a derogatory image of foreigners and fosters the xenophobic discourse. the print media has frequently been accused of utilising labels and metaphors that foster the creation of a homogenous identity for african migrants in south african (danso & mcdonald, 2001; pineteh, 2017; tella, 2016). most often, migrants are framed as smugglers, drug traffickers and fraudsters, thereby fostering the classification of african migrants into different criminal groups as well as affiliating individual countries with a specific crime (solomon & kosaka, 2014, p. 12). pineteh (2017, p. 10) points to the negative influence of local print media coverage of the 2008 and 2015 xenophobia incidents which encouraged the reinforcement of negative sentiments and the escalation of more violence. on one hand, this draws attention to the positive potential of the media in altering the pro-xenophobic narrative through constructive news reportage. other factors, such as perceived cultural supremacy and provocative statements, also occupy prominent spots as drivers and triggers of anti-migrant sentiments and violence. the long years of colonial occupation coupled with a detachment from the rest of africa have contributed to the development of an exclusive cultural identity that disregards alien cultures and values (tella, 2016, p. 144). the emergent identity particularly perceives other african cultures as inferior and threatening, thus lending credence to the ‘afrophobia’ hypothesis (dassah, 2015, p. 134). added to this are inflammatory and controversial remarks from political office holders and traditional leaders which legitimise exclusionary narratives and trigger aggressive actions against immigrants. this was evidenced in the 2015 outbreak of violence in durban which was ignited after the zulu king, goodwill zwelithini, made a call for migrants from other african countries to return to their home countries (saleh, 2015, p. 304). there have been a number of investigations into the perceptions and attitudes of south africans towards xenophobia. the results of these studies are varied, but overall indicate the existence of anti-immigrant sentiments amongst south africans. this position was affirmed by samp (south african migration project) in rukema and khan (2013, p. 178) 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 when they pointed to south africa as being one of the most xenophobic countries in the world. the nature and expression of these sentiments take different forms. for example, in institutional settings such as universities, xenophobic sentiments are more likely to be expressed in subtle ways but with demoralising impacts on the subjects, thereby raising concerns about the nature of xenophobic perceptions in such settings (singh,  2013). overall, the general persistence of xenophobic violence in the face of increasing globalisation has had dire implications for the status of south africa on the international scene (kang’ethe & duma, 2013), thereby justifying the need for extensive exploration of issues of migration and attitudes towards migrants. the nature and manifestations of xenophobic violence have drawn attention to the impact of certain intervening factors in the construction and reinforcement of anti-migrant sentiments and behaviours. xenophobia has been commonly described as a phenomenon rooted in the micro politics of townships and informal settlements (misago,  2009,  p. 3). this is mainly because the majority of the violence starts from these areas, thereby raising questions on the level of inequalities and poverty being experienced by the inhabitants of informal settlements. the correlation between xenophobic sentiments and individual level of life satisfaction becomes apparent. kayitesi and mwaba (2014, p. 1128) further explain that “the targeting of african migrants living in these poor communities may be explained by the perception of black south africans that the migrants exacerbate their dissatisfaction with poor government service delivery”. kayitesi and mwaba (2014) and coetzee (2012), in their studies on perceptions and attitudes towards xenophobia, revealed the existence of a minimal level of xenophobic attitudes amongst some university students and workers while a similar study conducted in limpopo and the western cape revealed a high level of xenophobic practices amongst university students (ritacco, 2010; singh, 2013). from the foregoing, it can be deduced that people’s perceptions and attitudes towards xenophobia are not static; they vary from province to province and are influenced by key factors such as the nature of study, participants’ status, participants’ demographics, and location, amongst others, thus elevating the need for a robust body of literature on the subject. by engaging a broader sample size, this study investigates perceptions on and attitudes towards xenophobia, and interrogates the influence of mediatory factors such as gender, age and location on xenophobic attitudes. a study of this nature will contribute in developing a pool of information which could help in identifying the patterns associated with xenophobia. this could serve as a foundation for broader engagement on the impact of xenophobia on the tertiary education landscape. this engagement is pertinent in view of the multi-cultural nature of south african tertiary institutions. in line with the pervasive notion of global consciousness, south african universities attract a considerable number of students from other african countries, thereby encouraging the internationalisation of the university environment. understanding the impact of such trend on culture and constructions of realities could assist student affairs practitioners to devise appropriate strategies to improve the learning experiences of students (foreign and local). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 olubunmi d. akande, hilary j. musarurwa & sylvia b. kaye: students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia … 5 rationale the study is driven by the pervasive nature of anti-migrant sentiments and its impact on different sectors of the society. by exploring students’ knowledge and attitudes towards xenophobia in durban university of technology, the study aims to contribute to an emerging body of knowledge on attitudes towards xenophobia in south african tertiary institutions. in addition, a number of social and economic initiatives have already been instituted by the government and civil societies to curb the violence and improve the relationship between immigrants and locals. prominent amongst these is the introduction of stiffer migration policies, security reforms and reconciliatory/healing programmes (adjai & lazaridis, 2014, p. 245; asakitikpi & gadzikwa, 2015, p. 229). an inquiry into the nature of the dispositions towards xenophobia will provide valuable insights on the impact of such measures. in this vein, the study sought to investigate through a survey the knowledge and attitudes of durban university of technology (dut) students on xenophobia. the objectives of the study include: • to investigate the awareness and disposition of dut students on xenophobia and examine the level of xenophobic sentiments and attitudes amongst dut students; • to examine the link between their perceptions on xenophobia and their conduct; and • to investigate factors influencing their perceptions on xenophobia in south africa. methodology the research was conducted at the durban university of technology, durban, where the student population is set at approximately 26 000. two of the researchers are postgraduate students of the university whilst the third is a senior lecturer at the same. data was collected using a closed-ended questionnaire which was designed in line with the objectives of the study. the research instrument was approved by the institutional research ethics committee and administered to 547 registered students of south african descent from all races and course levels. the respondents were voluntarily drawn from six faculties of the university located at the m.l. sultan, steve biko, ritson and city campuses. stratified random sampling was employed to recruit respondents. stratified random sampling involves partitioning the target population into strata and randomly selecting respondents from each stratum to make up a single sample (salkind, 2010). for this study, stratification was done according to the faculties in order to facilitate fair representation of the faculties. in total, 547 questionnaires were retrieved from respondents above the age of 18 selected from undergraduate, bachelors and postgraduate levels. willingness to participate and being of south african origin formed the basis for recruiting respondents. research ethics the study was approved by the institutional research ethics committee of the university (ref: rec 70/60). questionnaires were administered directly by the researchers at locations such as lecture rooms, residences and laboratories amongst others. in most cases, approval was sought from lecturers to administer the questionnaires during classes. during the distribution, a brief yet detailed introduction of the study was relayed after which verbal 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 dissent or assent to participate was elicited. the questionnaires were anonymously filled in and therefore did not expose the identity of the respondents. no incentives (monetary or otherwise) were offered for participation. the responses were handled confidentially and were analysed by the researchers using the statistical package for social sciences (spss). research instrument the questionnaire is divided into two parts. the first section features questions that investigate the demographics of the respondent and their basic knowledge on xenophobia in south africa. the second section investigates the attitudes of the respondents towards xenophobia through hypothetical questions that juxtapose the knowledge of the respondents with their attitudes. short scenarios were created where respondents were asked to choose their potential responses from a list of options ranging from ‘definitely not’, ‘probably not’, ‘probably yes’, ‘definitely yes’ and ‘don’t know’. results and discussion of the 547 respondents, 67.1% were females and 32.7% males with 76.2% aged between 18  to 24 years. in terms of enrolment, 81.7% were studying for diploma programmes, 9.6% for bachelors, 7.6% for master’s whilst only 1.1% were studying for a phd. 39.7% of the respondents came from urban townships with 36.6% coming from urban suburbs whilst the remaining 23.6% came from rural farming and mining communities. 77.5% of the respondents were black, 16.4% indian with only 4.1% and 1.5% being white and coloured respectively. the first part of the study involved asking respondents about their knowledge of xenophobia. 94% indicated that they were aware that xenophobic attacks had occurred within south africa. the majority of the respondents, 57.9%, relied solely on the media for information on xenophobia, while 37.9% depended on all sources which included the media, family/friends, community meetings and university/college. it is worrying to note that only 0.9% of the respondents relied on the university as a source for such information. furthermore, only 29.8% of the respondents were aware of the national action plan (nap) to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances. nap was introduced by the government in march 2016 with a central focus on raising awareness as well as collecting crucial information on xenophobia and other related intolerances (bbc monitoring africa, 22/03/2016). the lack of awareness of this policy reflects a significant gap in the circulation of the policy which could imply that tertiary education populations were not adequately covered during the public consultation processes of this policy. such omission could have implications for the articulation of often silenced yet crucial narratives on racial and inequality issues. cross-tabulation analysis was used to determine if age, location or ethnicity influenced the level of awareness on xenophobic issues (see table 1). there were no significant differences between these variables concerning the level of awareness. we observed, though, that the respondents from rural mining areas scored highly – 100% and 75% on the two questions – in comparison with the other groups. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 olubunmi d. akande, hilary j. musarurwa & sylvia b. kaye: students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia … 7 table 1: cross-tabulation of awareness by age, location and ethnicity (per cent) awareness by age 18-24 25-30 31-35 above 35 • of recent xenophobic attacks 93.5 93.3 100.0 96.4 • of nap 30.0 22.7 40.0 37.0 by location urban suburbs urban townships rural farming rural mining • of recent xenophobic attacks 93.4 96.3 90.3 100.0 • of nap 29.8 31.5 26.3 75.0 by ethnicity black indian white coloured other • of recent xenophobic attacks 95.2 92.0 86.4 87.5 66.7 • of nap 30.9 22.1 40.0 12.5 66.7 to investigate the disposition of dut students towards xenophobia and the link between their perception on xenophobia and their conduct we posed four short scenarios (listed in the left-hand column of table 3). we asked (1) whether the student regarded the described behaviour as xenophobic, and (2) whether the student would engage in the activity. the results are reported in tables 2 and 3 respectively. many of the scenarios drew on cases of possible xenophobia reported in the south african media during 2015 when the attacks resurfaced. prominent amongst these were reports of foreign-owned spaza (small) shops being looted, of king zwelithini being alleged to have sparked fresh xenophobic attacks by calling for foreigners to be sent back to their countries, and of foreigners being mocked in public places such as taxis and being called derogatory names. table 2 indicates that all four scenarios were judged to be very xenophobic or fairly xenophobic by half or more of the respondents. the average proportion of respondents who rated a scenario as very or fairly xenophobic was 69.6 per cent. this implies that the majority of the respondents are knowledgeable on the manifestation of xenophobic attitudes. table 2: perceptions of xenophobic attitudes in the four scenarios (per cent) scenario xenophobic no not sure little bit fairly very leader makes a call for foreigners to leave the area 5.1 16.6 8.7 17.3 52.4 group mocks foreigner for inability to speak local language 7.9 8.6 15.2 19.2 44.8 mob loots foreign-owned spaza shop 4.6 10.6 8.8 13.5 58.3 taxi driver calls a foreign commuter a “kwere kwere” 5.9 9.0 8.6 14.8 58.1 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 on the conduct of respondents in specific xenophobic scenarios, the majority of the respondents indicated that they would not be involved in any of the listed activities (see table 3). the average proportion of respondents who indicated that they would definitely or probably not participate in a xenophobic activity was 81%. this indicates that a large proportion of the respondents are not disposed to xenophobic attitudes, possibly indicating a disapproval of xenophobic violence by dut students. this finding is congruent with a similar investigation undertaken at the university of johannesburg which reported a widespread condemnation of xenophobic violence by students (naidoo & uys,  2013,  p. 20). in terms of the link between the perception and conduct of the respondents, a significant positive correlation is observed between the responses on their perception and their conduct with a slightly higher proportion of respondents not willing to engage in xenophobic attitudes. table 3: willingness to engage in xenophobic activity depicted in the four scenarios (per cent) your possible response in that situation definitely not probably not probably yes definitely yes don’t know would you ask foreigners to leave? 41.5 31.6 8.2 4.2 11.3 would you mock a foreigner for not speaking your local language? 73.1 16.5 3.3 0.5 3.1 would you loot a foreignowned spaza shop? 69.5 14.8 2.7 1.5 7.5 would you call a foreigner a “kwere kwere”? 59.6 17.4 12.2 4.0 0.5 the third aim of the article was to examine the factors influencing the disposition of the respondents towards xenophobia. specifically, the study sought to investigate the influence of gender, location, age, enrolment and ethnicity. cross-tabulations were carried out to investigate how these played out across age, location, enrolment levels as well as the respondents’ ethnic background (see tables 4 and  5). a small proportion of the respondents (16% male and 17% female) would engage in certain xenophobic activities (calling a foreigner a ‘kwere-kwere’) regardless of the fact that a majority (79.7% males and 86.8% females) regard such behaviour as xenophobic. this discrepancy presents a gap in knowledge that could be further interrogated through focus group discussions to identify drivers behind xenophobic tendencies. one plausible explanation could be that those calling foreigners a ‘kwere-kwere’ do so innocently because it is a norm within the places they come from and they do not realise that it is xenophobic. we must highlight that understanding the reasons for xenophobic dispositions was not the aim of the study although the traits manifested by some students would call for further investigations into this. this is therefore one of the limitations presented by this study and it creates room for additional data to be collected using qualitative methods. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 olubunmi d. akande, hilary j. musarurwa & sylvia b. kaye: students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia … 9 there were no significant differences across all variables concerning these four scenarios. however, indian and white respondents were significantly more likely than african respondents to regard scenarios 1 and 2 as xenophobic. as indicated in table  6, 85.2% and 95.2% compared to 75.4% respectively for scenario 1, whilst for scenario  2, it was 94.2% and 90.5% compared to 79.8% respectively. it should be noted that a small proportion in all groups were most likely to engage in all four xenophobic activities. interestingly, the students who came from rural mining locations were most significantly likely to engage in scenario 1 and 2 in comparison with those from other locations (table 5). the findings imply variations (most likely racial/geographical) in the respondents’ disposition and conduct towards xenophobic scenarios. the differences in perceptions and attitudes challenge normative notions that xenophobic sentiments are prevalent across all socioeconomic groups in south africa (neocosmos, 2010, p. 2; solomon & kosaka, 2014, p. 9). none of the phd students were likely to engage in any xenophobic activity at all. this could be as a result of the correlation between higher levels of education and increased ethnic/racial tolerance (hainmueller & hiscox, 2007, p. 400; hjerm, 2001, p. 40). table 4: cross-tabulation of gender against the four scenarios (per cent) scenario xenophobic engage male female male female ask foreigners to leave 72.3 81.0 14.9 11.9 mock foreigner for not speaking local language 86.4 86.3 6.6 2.8 loot foreign-owned spaza shop 77.1 87.4 6.0 3.6 call a foreigner a “kwere-kwere” 79.7 86.8 16.6 17.0 cross-tabulation was further used to analyse the gender, age and enrolment level of those who had reported xenophobic perceptions and were likely going to engage in one of the four scenarios under review (see tables 6 and 7). it was discovered that female respondents, 57.8%, 66.7% and 65.7 %, constituted those who were likely to engage in the xenophobic behaviours in scenarios 1, 3 and 4 respectively. this discovery is in sharp contrast with previous reports that associate females with more positive dispositions towards diversity and other migration-related issues (dandy & pe-pua, 2010; naidoo & uys, 2013, p. 11). however, the gender composition of the sample population must also be taken into account as females constituted 67.1% of the total number of respondents. table 7 shows the observation that students aged between 18 and 24 as well as those studying at diploma level constituted the greater majority of those who would engage in xenophobic behaviour across all four scenarios. the display of xenophobic sentiments by younger and entrylevel students suggest this population is more disposed to xenophobic sentiments and less tolerant of racial diversity and multiculturalism. this finding re-echoes the relationship between education levels and racial tolerance. the economic undertones to this factor must not be ignored as the majority of these respondents were from communities (rural mining) synonymous with high levels of socioeconomic inadequacies. 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 t ab le 5 : c ro ss-tab u latio n o f age, lo catio n , en ro lm en t level an d eth n icity ag ain st th e fo u r scen ario s (p er cen t) x en o p h o b ic e n g age b y age 1 8 -2 4 2 5 -3 0 3 1 -3 5 a b ove 3 5 1 8 -2 4 2 5 -3 0 3 1 -3 5 a b ove 3 5 a sk fo reign ers to leave 79.7 71.2 74.0 81.5 12.6 9.5 18.5 12.0 m o ck fo reign er fo r n o t speakin g lo cal lan gu age 85.3 71.2 76.9 80.8 3.7 4.2 11.1 0 l o o t fo reign -ow n ed spaza sh o p 84.0 82.0 82.3 84.6 4.8 2.8 7.4 0 c all a fo reign er a “kw ere-kw ere” 85.3 81.9 84.6 81.5 15.1 20.5 22.2 22.2 b y lo catio n u rb an su b u rb s u rb an tow n sh ip s r u ral farm in g r u ral m in in g u rb an su b u rb s u rb an tow n sh ip s r u ral farm in g r u ral m in in g a sk fo reign ers to leave 82.8 78.0 71.7 50.0 7.3 14.3 18.5 50.0 m o ck fo reign er fo r n o t speakin g lo cal lan gu age 85.9 81.7 78.7 100.0 2.1 4.3 6.7 0 l o o t fo reign -ow n ed spaza sh o p 90.0 81.7 78.9 50.0 3.2 4.3 5.9 0 c all a fo reign er a “kw ere-kw ere” 84.8 87.6 78.1 100.0 10.1 23.2 16.7 25.0 b y en ro lm en t level d ip lo m a b ach elo rs m aster’s p h d d ip lo m a b ach elo rs m aster’s p h d a sk fo reign ers to leave 77.2 81.7 85.0 100.0 13.9 8.5 7.5 0 m o ck fo reign er fo r n o t speakin g lo cal lan gu age 83.7 73.0 82.1 100.0 3.5 8.2 2.6 0 l o o t fo reign -ow n ed spaza sh o p 83.8 81.7 89.5 100.0 3.9 8.4 2.6 0 c all a fo reign er a “kw ere-kw ere” 85.3 78.0 84.7 100.0 16.5 22.0 13.2 0 b y eth n icity b lack in d ian w h ite c o lo u red b lack in d ian w h ite c o lo u red a sk fo reign ers to leave 75.4 85.2 95.2 100.0 15.7 2.3 4.8 12.5 m o ck fo reign er fo r n o t speakin g lo cal lan gu age 79.8 94.2 90.5 87.5 4.9 1.2 0 0 l o o t fo reign -ow n ed spaza sh o p 81.6 94.2 95.3 87.5 5.5 1.2 0 0 c all a fo reign er a “kw ere-kw ere” 85.1 83.7 81.0 87.5 24.7 3.5 5.0 25.0 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 olubunmi d. akande, hilary j. musarurwa & sylvia b. kaye: students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia … 11 table 6: gender composition of respondents who would engage in xenophobic activities (per cent) scenario probably yes definitely yes male female male female ask foreigners to leave 42.2 57.8 26.1 73.9 mock foreigner for not speaking local language 55.6 44.4 33.3 66.7 loot foreign-owned spaza shop 33.3 66.7 62.5 37.5 call a foreigner a “kwere-kwere” 34.3 65.7 22.7 77.3 table 7: age composition and enrolment level of respondents who would engage in xenophobic activities (per cent) probably yes definitely yes age composition 18-24 25-30 31-35 35+ 18-24 25-30 31-35 35+ ask foreigners to leave 82.6 8.7 4.3 4.3 72.7 11.4 9.1 6.8 mock foreigner for not speaking local language 66.7 16.7 16.7 0 100.0 0 0 0 loot foreign-owned spaza shop 80.0 6.7 13.3 0 87.5 12.5 0 0 call a foreigner a “kwere-kwere” 66.7 19.7 7.6 6.1 77.3 9.1 4.5 9.1 enrolment level dipl b m phd dipl b m phd ask foreigners to leave 88.9 8.9 2.2 0 90.9 0 9.1 0 mock foreigner for not speaking local language 70.6 23.5 5.9 0 100.0 0 0 0 loot foreign-owned spaza shop 71.4 21.4 7.1 0 87.5 12.5 0 0 call a foreigner a “kwere-kwere” 80.0 12.3 13.2 0 86.4 13.6 0 0 dipl = diploma; b = bachelors; m = master’s discussion the results will be discussed in accordance with the key themes that emerged from the study. education and xenophobic sentiments the findings presented in the study reaffirm the popular conception of a negative correlation between xenophobic sentiments and education, especially higher education (hainmueller & hiscox, 2007, p. 405). the display of negative dispositions towards antimigrant sentiments and attitudes by the majority of the students cannot be disconnected from the role of higher institutions of learning as venues of cultural, ethnic and racial convergence. this is especially relevant in the south african higher education system which is known to attract a high number of foreign students (kalpana, 2015). the belief is that increased positive contact between different groups in the school system tends to ameliorate racial/ethnic polarisation (kayitesi & mwaba, 2014). university systems, 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 through their academic and non-academic programmes, provide ample opportunity for intercultural education and cohesion between divergent social groups. interestingly, the widely acknowledged correlation between economic status and enrolment trends also offers plausible explanations for the low levels of xenophobic sentiments. student populations at higher education institutions are marked with poor representation of students of low economic status (frempong, ma & mensah, 2012; nel, kistner & van der merwe, 2013; thomas & quinn, 2007). this implies that the majority of the registered students are likely from economically stable backgrounds and therefore less exposed to the economic irregularities that drive xenophobic sentiments. other factors that could account for low levels of xenophobic sentiments amongst higher education students include: individual values, enlightenment, exposure to apartheid and life expectancy. further inquiry into the subject will provide more insights on the influence of these mediating factors. further inquiry is also required to shed more light on the link between gender and xenophobic sentiments. whilst appraising the place of education in ameliorating xenophobic sentiments, a reconsideration of the centrality of competition for limited socioeconomic opportunities and amenities to the xenophobia discourse is pertinent. aggressive responses to migrants’ residency have been frequently linked to a competition for limited jobs, housing and business spaces (pineteh, 2017; solomon & kosaka, 2014). this suggests that the emergence of certain conditions, such as limited scholarships and job opportunities, could trigger extreme notions of group rights and claims to spatial ownership even in the university. the economic factor the results confirm the assumptions of the relative deprivation theory which essentially relates violence to economic inequalities. what this implies is that respondents from disadvantaged areas are more likely to display anger or negative sentiments about migrants. this was confirmed by the study as most of the xenophobic responses were traced to students from a disadvantaged location (rural mining). the possession of xenophobic sentiments by students from a particular location (rural mining) is generally reflective of the patterns of xenophobia in south africa with a high concentration of aggressive anti-migrant stereotypes in specific areas. low-income areas such as informal settlements, townships and other underdeveloped areas have been identified as ‘hotspots’ for the expression of xenophobic attitudes and eruption of violence (kersting, 2009, p. 16). this trend is widely connected to the high levels of poverty and socioeconomic insufficiencies prevalent in such locations, thus lending some credence to misago’s (2009, p. 3) conceptualisation of xenophobia as a phenomenon peculiar to informal settlements and underdeveloped areas. the informal settlements are typically inhabited by a large population of low-income earners comprising mostly natives and migrants of african descent who all compete for meagre economic opportunities and social services. to limit threats to livelihoods and bolster claims to amenities and services, social distinctions are accentuated and projected through what has been described as a new wave of nationalism. central to this form of nationalism is a narrow conception of citizenship and indigeneity as exclusive to persons with identical historical, cultural, geographic and ethnic inclinations https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 olubunmi d. akande, hilary j. musarurwa & sylvia b. kaye: students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia … 13 (solomon & kosaka,  2014, p. 8). foreigners (those who fit specific descriptions) are thus labelled as threats (job stealers, criminals, opportunists, disease agents) to the acquisition of the socioeconomic benefits that accompanied the end of apartheid. apartheid and ethnicity not directly linked to the findings but crucial for understanding the construction of xenophobic sentiments are the concepts of apartheid and ethnicity. the history of separatist notions of nationalism and migration is rooted in discriminatory immigration policies inherited from apartheid which stratified immigrants into two groups – the white migrants and the black african migrants. the former were seen as investors and therefore enjoyed more favourable immigration treatments than the latter who were collectively seen as a dispensable source of cheap labour (harris, 2001). this partly explains the lop-sided nature of xenophobia in south africa. also contributing, though not widely explored, are perceptions on white supremacy vis-à-vis racial inferiority complex (subordination of blackness to whiteness). this flows from internalised prejudices regarding the exceptionalism of the white race and the self-acceptance of unflattering notions regarding disadvantaged races. the consequences of this go beyond a diminished sense of self-worth to an increased devaluation and intolerance towards people of similar racial orientation (vincent, 2008, p. 1442). this partly explains the skewed conceptions about outsiders and intolerance towards other africans. in addition, there have been references to the centrality of ethnicity to the xenophobic discourse although not widely discussed in the literature. during the outbreak of violence, the status of foreigners was determined by superficial factors such as physical features and mastery of certain local languages, suggesting the existence of deeper rivalries. individuals without these typical traits were tagged as foreigners or outsiders, explaining why locals from minority groups have also been affected by xenophobia. in 2008, a third of the people killed were south africans from minority groups who were not fluent in the main languages and had different skin tones (sharp, 2008). this draws attention to pre-existing antagonisms and fissures between local ethnic groups, responsible for a number of violent outbursts in the 1990s (kynoch, 2005, p. 500; steinberg, 2008), thus, positioning xenophobia as partly rooted in deeper cultural constructs and power tussles. in this realm, ethnicity is influential in determining belongingness, resulting in a blurry distinction between foreigners and outsiders. zegeye (2012, p. 335) makes reference to a precolonial period where authentic zulu identity served as the basis for a politics of exclusion. recommendations to disrupt the circulation of this antagonistic/pro-xenophobic discourse, there is a need to revitalise the education system and institutions at all levels to further accommodate multiculturalism, tolerance and diversity (matunhu, 2011). emphasis could also be placed on enlightenment on the state of affairs in other african countries especially on refugee dynamics and other migration-related issues. entrepreneurial education may also be given some consideration to lessen the adverse effects of the current economic downturns on 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 1–17 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 unemployed persons. for widespread impact, this form of education could be extended beyond the formal institutions to communities, especially those with heterogeneous features. the media could also play an important role by embarking on aggressive campaigns against the proliferation of negative anti-migrant stereotypes. the strong correlation between socioeconomic inadequacies and xenophobic sentiments reflects the need for extensive and continuous interventions aimed at disrupting the negative legacies of apartheid. the persistence of poor living conditions in the rural areas and informal settlements replicates the legacies of an oppressive regime that must be broken before sustainable change can occur. this suggests a multi-level approach for tackling the widespread scourge of xenophobia. the psychological component aspect also deserves more attention, particularly the impact of long years of oppressive rule on internalised prejudices about race. most importantly, the wind of change should commence with a transformation of the authorities’ controversial stance on xenophobia, evidenced through discriminatory policies and a mostly lackadaisical outlook on xenophobic violence. in the study context, there may be intensification of integration programmes for entry-level students; more attention should be focused on engaging younger students in constructive discourses on migration issues. dialogue sessions using the community of inquiry format (spiteri, 2013) where students (local and foreign) are given the opportunity to openly articulate their perceptions about specific issues and also freely ask questions of one another can be encouraged for entry-level students and extended to all students. further qualitative investigation on the disposition of both local and migrant students towards xenophobia will provide valuable insights on topic. this is especially relevant in view of the methodological risks associated with a study of this nature where there’s a possibility of collating more socially desirable (expected) responses than factual responses. the emergent comprehensive study could provide useful background information for the design of a future intervention. conclusion from the results presented it can be concluded that dut students have satisfactory levels of awareness on xenophobia. however, the lack of knowledge on the nap (national action plan) reflects a significant gap in this regard. this calls for more concerted approaches in engaging the discourse on xenophobia in university environments. those concerned with students’ welfare such as the student affairs department need to engage more with the issue of heterogeneity and how it impacts the social and formal systems on campus. the establishment of interactive forums for engagement and enlightenment on immigrationrelated matters could be instrumental in improving the knowledge of students on such issues. a widespread negative disposition towards xenophobic sentiments was observed as well as a positive correlation between respondents’ perceptions on xenophobia and their willingness to engage in xenophobic attitudes. this outcome lends credence to the importance of education in curbing the proliferation of negative ethnic/racial perceptions and stereotypes. however, consideration should also be given to the influence of economic indices on student enrolment trends in tertiary institutions. the expression of anti-migrant https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 olubunmi d. akande, hilary j. musarurwa & sylvia b. kaye: students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia … 15 sentiments by students from specific disadvantaged areas reinforces the influence of location and economic factors on the cultivation of anti-migrant sentiments. this calls for the implementation of appropriate programmes on social integration, especially for entry-level students. these programmes should aim at familiarising new students with concepts such as liberal education, global consciousness and tolerance, amongst others. the design of the potential intervention should be driven by qualitative inquiries into the underlying nature and manifestation of xenophobic sentiments. references adjai, c. & lazaridis, g. (2014). people, state and civic responses to immigration, xenophobia and racism in the new south africa. journal of international migration and integration, 15(2), 237–255. https://doi. org/10.1007/s12134-013-0277-5 asakitikpi, a.o. & gadzikwa, j. (2015). reactions and actions to xenophobia in south africa. global media journal, 9(2), 217–247. bbc monitoring africa (producer). (22/03/2016, 25/01/2017). s. africa working on national action plan to combat racism, xenophobia-president. retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/ 1774685887?accountid=10612. choane, m., shulika, l.s. & mthombeni, m. (2011). an analysis of the causes, effects and ramifications of xenophobia in south africa. insight on africa, 3(2), 129–142. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0975087814411138 coetzee, e. (2012). emploring perceptions of xenophobia in a sample of south african employees. journal of psychology in africa, 22(4), 609–620. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2012.10820575 crush, j. & pendleton, w. 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(2012). rehearsals of genocide in south africa: thinking with and beyond francis nyamnjoh and michael neocosmos. african identities, 10(3), 329–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.201 2.715459 how to cite: akande, o.d. & musarurwa, h.j. & kaye, s.b. (2018). students’ attitudes and perceptions on xenophobia: a study of a university in durban. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 1–17. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412961288 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412961288 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8322.2008.00597.x https://doi.org/10.1177/0975087816655014 https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v11i4.52 https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v11i4.52 https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870701711839 https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2012.715459 https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2012.715459 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3307 _goback _enref_1 _enref_2 _enref_3 _enref_4 _enref_5 _enref_6 _enref_7 _enref_8 _enref_9 _enref_10 _enref_11 _enref_12 _enref_13 _enref_14 _enref_15 _enref_16 _enref_17 _enref_18 _enref_19 _enref_20 _enref_21 _enref_22 _enref_23 _enref_24 _enref_25 _enref_26 _enref_27 _enref_28 _enref_29 _enref_30 _enref_31 _enref_32 _enref_33 _enref_34 _enref_35 _enref_36 _enref_37 _enref_38 _enref_39 _enref_40 _enref_41 _enref_42 _enref_43 _enref_44 _enref_45 _enref_46 _enref_47 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 www.jsaa.ac.za the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes at south africa’s higher education institutions dallin george young* research article * assistant director for research, grants, and assessment, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition, university of south carolina, columbia, sc, usa. email: youngdal@mailbox.sc.edu abstract this paper advocates an integrated approach to transition programmes at south africa’s higher education institutions through drawing on the us literature on the first-year student experience and specific reference to behavioural interaction theory. the case for developing intentional and vertically integrated transition programmes is tied to: the need to understand the desired behaviours and learning outcomes at each stage of a student’s experience; an appreciation of the cognitive, psychosocial and identity development at different years of study; and a recognition of environmental influences and how they relate to, and can be adapted to, changing student characteristics and needs. particular reference is made to chickering and reisser’s seven vectors of identity development, baxter magolda’s work on young adults’ journey toward self-authorship, and bronfenbrenner’s developmental ecology model. it is concluded that an intentional, vertical integration of transition programmes requires horizontal alignment between objectives (desired behaviour), the developmental needs of students, and educational environments. in this regard, a number of recommendations for higher education instructional and support staff are proposed. keywords higher education, transition programmes, first-year student experience, behavioural interaction theory, united states, south africa. introduction tertiary education in south africa has been characterised as a “low-participation, high attrition system” (fisher & scott, 2011, p. 1). overall, only 17% of the 20–24-year-old population are enrolled in institutions of higher education (national planning commission, 2011). moreover, large numbers of students who enter the academy leave. estimates suggest that as high as 55% of the students who enrol in university will never graduate (council on higher education [che], 2013). a report from the south african council on higher education notes, “high attrition and low graduation rates have largely neutralized important 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 gains in access” (che, 2013, p. 9). the national completion rate of 30% suggests that only 5% of young south africans are effectively being served by the higher education system. this problem hits historically underrepresented population groups particularly hard. while gains have been made in the past 20 years in terms of increasing access for students from these groups, there are still inequities in the current system. participation rates for african and coloured students are at 14% and 15% respectively (che, 2012). this is coupled with comparatively low rates of completion of qualifications (che, 2013). while the participation rate for indian students (46%) is slightly lower but comparable to that of whites (57%), their course completion rate in regulation time is more comparable to african and coloured students (che, 2013). the issue of “throughput” – or students’ successful entrance into, persistence in, and completion of – qualifications, has risen to the forefront of the national conversation on post-secondary education in south africa. the national economy has become increasingly dependent on jobs that require rising amounts of training and education. moreover, the number of jobs in the economy is outpacing the number of diploma and degree recipients. educational policy, such as that outlined in the national development plan white and green papers on post-school education and training (dhet, 2012; 2013) have focused on supporting the public universities and technical vocational education and training (tvet) colleges to meet the nation’s economic needs. in addition, students themselves have an interest in completing their higher education in a minimal amount of time. quicker time to degree or diploma completion translates to less money spent on tuition and other associated costs of attendance. such increases in the time to degree can translate to debt and further financial drain on the student’s family. aside from the monetary outlay required for ongoing enrolment, delayed entry into the job market can mean deferring earnings that would otherwise be gained from full-time employment at a higher salary. the longer a student stays in a college or university without completing the programme, the more likely it is that he or she will leave the educational system without a qualification, suggesting that motivation wanes as time extends. moreover, if young members of a community see that their peers are consistently dealing with failure in the current system, they may shy away from seeking higher education, keeping participation levels low. as figures presented earlier suggest, students at higher risk of attrition are those from historically underrepresented population groups in both higher education as well as the economy. this “revolving door” problem can compound social and economic problems among these groups; in effect, education becomes a mechanism for maintaining the status quo rather than a tool for its disruption. the high cost to students and their families with low chances of success can be a drain on the individual, the family, the community and the country. supporting student success issues concerning throughput are manifest throughout the undergraduate curriculum. the first year is a point in the educational pipeline at which students are particularly vulnerable. dallin george young: the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes 17 in contact institutions, nearly a quarter of all students leave after the first year (che, 2013). in fact, one-half to two-thirds of all attrition in higher education occurs between the first and second year. moreover, the remaining amount of attrition that occurs after the second year is not trivial. while estimates of the student departure between years two and three are not available, it is likely the period in which the second largest group of students leave their studies. conversely, a substantial proportion of students remain in institutions for five years or longer. the che (2013) reported that 14% of the year 2000 cohort was still registered after five years. the discussion of simply admitting and graduating students without attention to the quality of the educational experience is incomplete. student success at university goes beyond simple completion of the requisite number of modules in their prescribed sequence. in fact, many stumbling blocks to successful completion of coursework are not directly related to academic skills. furthermore, students need to develop as whole individuals for life beyond the university, learning how to become engaged citizens, responsible leaders and thoughtful employees. this suggests that any discussion of student success must include issues related to the co-curriculum, where many of these skills are developed. to provide adequate curricular and co-curricular support, educators have developed initiatives with an aim to support students during key transition points in higher education, namely entry, the first year, the “senior years” and graduation. these initiatives are of relatively recent vintage in south africa. as such, documentation of and research on these programmes is relatively sparse; however, there is evidence that they have become fairly widespread. to help facilitate the entry into higher education, universities and colleges have developed initiatives including pre-term orientation, bridging programmes and extended curriculum (jones et al., 2008; lewin and mawoyo, 2014). once students arrive on campus, it is possible they are met with one or more offerings aimed at easing the challenges of the transition to university, such as: credit-bearing first-year seminars, programmes developing academic and personal skills, or workshops designed to foster information literacy development (jones et al., 2008; lewin & mawoyo, 2014; scott, 2012). some institutions, such as stellenbosch university, have developed an institution-wide approach to orientation and the first-year experience that extends well beyond the first few weeks of the semester (botha & van schalkwyk, 2009). institutional attention to the first-year transition has given rise to two national conferences on the topic, one hosted by stellenbosch university in 2008 and one sponsored by the newly established south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition in 2015. the support of senior students and students preparing for graduation comes through other academic support offices (lewin & mawoyo, 2014). this typically occurs in situations where students engage with units focused on providing services related to writing and language support, academic advising and career development. these services are frequently administered under the banner of an academic development department on campus. while these services might not carry the title of “transition programmes” per se, they play a critical role in the ongoing support of students as they progress through the educational pipeline. 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 statement of the problem transition programmes have historically been specialised (having a narrow focus on providing a particular service), localised (residing within a particular faculty or functional area or office), and aimed at a particular group of students (those in a particular programme of study, academically underprepared). furthermore, they are usually temporally bound, such as a first-year seminar. often, students are passed from one transition programme to the next like a baton in a relay race (keup, 2015). stated candidly, functions of student success offices remain in silos; where coordination exists, it is haphazard and incoherent. speaking of first-year programmes specifically, scott (2012) identified this problem and suggested that initiatives should be janus-faced, looking forward and backward simultaneously; firstyear programmes, like all other programmes supporting students in transition, should be a special but not discrete part of the educational process. greenfield, keup and gardner (2013) emphasise that success is more likely when we take our focus from individual “star” programmes and create an integrated constellation of student success programmes. integrated transition programmes but what does it mean to have an “integrated” approach to student transition programmes? barefoot et al. (2005) set out to document the foundations of excellence in first-year and other transition programmes in institutions of higher education in the united states (us). in that investigation, they described that intentionality, integration and comprehensiveness are criteria for excellence within a specific programme, intervention, or time in university (e.g. the first-year experience), yet very little attention was paid to coherence across these efforts (barefoot et al., 2005). other studies of transition programmes in south africa and the us have characterised connections between efforts as primarily administrative or transactional rather than based on meaningful connections, coherence and interdisciplinarity (ogude, kilfoil & du plessis, 2012; padgett and keup, 2011; young and hopp, 2014). vertical integration of transition programmes – that is, integration across the undergraduate experience from beginning to end – is related to curricular sequencing and scaffolding (che, 2013). vertically integrated programmes have coherence between initiatives, support campus-wide learning standards, and attend to student developmental and educational progression. moreover, the “vertical” aspect of the integration suggests that not only are students’ needs attended to and supported at each step along the path, but that each experience is coordinated so that the experience that precedes dovetails into the one that follows. an integrated approach to support structures, curriculum and pedagogy would improve the effectiveness of the delivery of student support services, generate efficiencies and economies of scale at the institutional level, and create a more engaging and satisfying educational environment for students. in what follows, the paper presents a theoretical case for the need to create vertically integrated programmes. after the theoretical case is made, discussion turns to the practical and research implications of this proposal. dallin george young: the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes 19 the theoretical case the theoretical perspective for vertically integrating transition programmes advanced here is based on lewin’s behavioural interaction theory, first published in 1936. lewin proposed an understanding of an individual’s behaviour based on a formula taken from the conventions of mathematics: b = f (p, e). in this pseudo-mathematical formula, b refers to the individual’s behaviour. p signifies the individual personal characteristics, such as cognitive and psycho-social states, as well as other characteristics and attitudes. finally, e refers to the environment. the environment includes physical, social, organisational and psychic sources of influence on individuals (strange & banning, 2001). kolb (1984) extended this idea to include learning-as-behaviour. in other words, learning involves a transaction between the student’s personal characteristics and the educational environment. this frame of reference allows the educator to recognise that learning outcomes can improve when the educational environment is optimised for the students who engage with it. an apt practical example of how the interactionist perspective can be operationalised is related to making decisions about how to improve institutionwide student outcomes. educators attempting to improve student success markers such as persistence or completion rates (a proxy for student behaviours) are faced with a choice: to admit only the students who match the environment, the students for whom the system is already structured, whose success is all but assured; or to take the opportunity to find ways to recalibrate educational environments to unlock the potential in whichever groups of students enter institutions of higher education. in the former option, educators are manipulating the p in the formula by selecting a particular blend of personal characteristics in their students; in the latter, educators are adjusting the environments, e, to have an impact on the outcomes. furthermore, the interactionist perspective, as framed as a mathematical equation, suggests that to achieve particular behaviours over time, the person and environment must interact and adapt in ways responsive to each other. lewin (1943) further expanded his formula to indicate that timing plays a critical role in individual behaviour: bt = f (st). in other words, behaviour at a given point in time, or bt, is a function of a person’s situation (which includes both personal and environmental factors) at that point in time, st. moreover, as students progress through university, they grow in their knowledge and capability and their priorities are different at different stages of their development. further, the desired learning outcomes change as students progress through their undergraduate careers. therefore, the behavioural interactionist perspective conveys three key insights to which higher education professionals must attend to develop intentional and vertically integrated transition programmes: (a) an understanding of the desired behaviours and learning outcomes at each stage of an undergraduate’s experience; (b) an understanding of the characteristics of students, including how cognitive, psychosocial and identity development of students progresses throughout university years; and (c) an understanding of environmental influences and how they may be structured to be adaptive to changing 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 student characteristics and needs. what follows are theoretical and practice-based perspectives on each of these three conditions. as a full treatment of all theoretical and practical perspectives related to the constituent pieces of how interactionist theory informs vertical integration would be impractical, a selection will be presented to illustrate how each changes over time to set up a discussion of how they can inform the development of vertically integrated student success programmes. many of the perspectives discussed below have been developed based on university students in the us. there are certain to be nuanced differences in the applied particulars of these perspectives used to make the case; however, while differences exist, the underlying conceptual framework is transferrable across international and cultural boundaries. thus, the connections presented herein are intended to be illustrative rather than prescriptive. behaviour to describe the desired outcomes and behaviours of students at different points in their educational careers, the work of the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition in the us is instructive. the national resource center conducts national surveys on student transition programmes in higher education as its primary research activity, dating back to 1988. the studies conducted ask respondents from colleges and universities in the us to identify the objectives for the initiatives designed to support student transition and success in the first, second and final years in university. respondents to the most recent survey of first-year seminars identified the top objectives for the course (or module). the three most frequently identified objectives for students in the first-year seminar were to: (a) develop a connection with the institution; (b) develop knowledge of campus resources and services; and, (c) develop academic skills (young & hopp, 2014). lewin and mawoyo (2014) referred to similar aims of firstyear experience initiatives within academic development departments in south african universities. these are aligned with the oft-stated goals of first-year experience programmes to facilitate students’ academic and social adjustment to university (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; ogude, kilfoil & du plessis, 2012; upcraft, gardner & barefoot, 2005). studies of institutional attention to the second year of university by the national resource center have similarly asked respondents to name the key objectives for students in year two. the most frequently designated objectives for second-year students were: (a) career exploration; (b) career preparation; (c) academic assistance; and (d) academic programme selection (young, schreiner & mcintosh, 2015). other important outcomes for the second-year student include academic self-efficacy, motivation, values and deeper academic engagement (schaller, 2010). the student’s final year of university is an important transition point in the higher education pipeline. students in this stage are making preparations to exit the undergraduate phase of their lives and will enter the workforce or continue on in postgraduate or professional education (hunter et al., 2012). when institutions were asked by the national resource center in the us to identify the desired objectives of final-year capstone experiences, the most frequent responses were: (a) critical thinking or analytical, dallin george young: the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes 21 problem-solving skills; (b) professional and career development; (c) proficiency in written communication; and (d) the ability to conduct research (padgett and kilgo, 2012). person a robust opus of theoretical descriptions of human development during university studies has been developed over the past half century. while these theories differ in terms of philosophy, aspect of the person under consideration, or population group, one conclusion remains consistent throughout: late adolescence is an important developmental period for the majority of people (evans et al., 2010; mcewen, 2003). key features of student development theory include not only the interpersonal and intrapersonal changes a student is undergoing in university, but the factors that lead to this development, the development towards which the university experience should be directed, and the aspects of the college environment that can encourage or inhibit growth (knefelcamp, widick & parker, 1978). two useful theories for understanding how students are developing and that point to how environments can be constructed to support student success during key periods of university study include chickering and reisser’s (1993) seven vectors of identity development and baxter magolda’s (1999; 2001) description of young adults’ journey toward self-authorship. a brief overview of each theory follows, along with a description of how the theories might manifest throughout the first, second and final years of university. identity development chickering and reisser’s theory of psychosocial identity development is cited as perhaps the best known and most widely referenced student development theory (skipper, 2005). the theory, originally developed by chickering in 1969 and revised by chickering and reisser in 1993 (evans et al., 2010; skipper, 2005) describes seven vectors representing developmental tasks university students undertake as they develop their individual identities. students will encounter these tasks to varying degrees over time and may not complete them in exactly the presented order. however, the seven vectors suggest a progression, where each subsequent vector represents greater complexity, stability and integration (evans et al., 2010). the seven vectors are: (1) developing competence; (2) managing emotion; (3) moving through autonomy towards interdependence; (4) developing mature interpersonal relationships; (5) establishing identity; (6) developing purpose; and (7) developing integrity. chickering and reisser (1993) suggest that students are likely to encounter certain developmental challenges earlier in their progression than others, to wit the first four vectors. for example, the first year is widely thought of as an exciting time of new discoveries, freedoms in thought and behaviours, and growth in self-confidence. however, as scott (2012) points out, the reality for many students is that the first year is pocked with experiences of failure, lost confidence and disillusionment. new students have entered a novel social milieu, meeting unfamiliar peers and instructors. thus, they may face emotions such as excitement, fear or depression. emotion and interpersonal relationships intertwine as they explore their newfound freedom to follow romantic pursuits. 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 as well-constructed curricular and co-curricular experiences help students to move along these vectors, students commence work on development related to the latter three. studies on the second year of university have described the time as one in which students begin to reflect on their experiences and explore how they fit into university life and the world at large (schaller, 2010). second-year students have developed enough competency, self-awareness and confidence to begin grappling with larger questions such as the purpose of their education and what meaning their life might have (margolis, 1989; schaller, 2005; 2010). in the best cases, this eventually leads to commitments related to academics, relationships, and self (schaller, 2010). students begin to establish an identity, gain greater clarity about their purpose, and begin to solidify coherent commitments (chickering & reisser, 1993). by the final year of university, students have begun to cultivate strengths in each of the seven vectors. students have developed intellectual, physical and interpersonal competence; gained an awareness of emotions and the ability to pair them with responsible action; moved from emotional dependence to interdependence free from the need for continual reassurance; and fostered the capacity for enduring and healthy relationships (chickering & reisser, 1993). moreover, these students are about to leave university having maturated a clearer sense of who they are as individuals, marked by heightened self-acceptance and self-esteem, increased clarity of personal and professional goals, and deepened clarification and congruence of values and actions. self-authorship as the result of more than 20 years of interviews of individuals in university and in their lives afterwards (evans et al., 2010), baxter magolda developed a theoretical model to describe the intellectual development of students’ meaning-making frameworks. the theory describes dimensions of development that are characterised by three major questions that young adults face: (1) the intrapersonal who am i? (2) the interpersonal what relationships do i want with others? and (3) the epistemological how do i know what i know? (baxter magolda, 2001). baxter magolda describes a developmental framework where students, early in their university studies, “adopt what to believe, how to view themselves, and how to act in relationships from external authorities without carefully examining their own thoughts and feelings” (baxter magolda et al., 2012, p. 418). the demands of the stated outcomes of higher education and life beyond university require adults to develop self-authorship: the internal capacity to author one’s views, identity and relationships (baxter magolda, 2001; baxter magolda et al., 2012). students arrive at university with a strong reliance on external authorities (baxter magolda et al., 2012). first-year students frequently reach to external sources of authority in the classroom, where learning is characterised by memorisation and uncritical acceptance of the perspectives of others. rather than engaging in critical thought by expanding and judging perspectives, students gravitate toward and imitate their instructors’ points of view. baxter magolda has termed this phase of the journey toward self-authorship “following formulas” and students often frame these formulas as if they are their own (baxter magolda, dallin george young: the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes 23 2001; evans et al., 2010). baxter magolda et al. (2012) found that nearly all (96%) students in a sample of 228 were predominantly reliant on external sources of authority; 86% were characterised as “externally defined” (p. 424). however, the second year is an important moment along the path to self-authorship. students begin to recognise the shortcomings of their reliance on external sources of authority, to become aware of the need to develop an internal voice, and to work towards constructing new ways of making meaning. the period in which students find themselves between external and internal roots of authority is characterised as a “crossroads” (baxter magolda, 2001; baxter magolda et al., 2012). studies have demonstrated that as second-year students recognise the shortcomings of their previous ways of knowing, defining their sense of self, and their relationships, they seek ways to redefine them on their own terms (baxter magolda et al., 2012; schaller, 2010; schreiner et al., 2012). specifically, baxter magolda et al. (2012) found that 63% of second-year students demonstrated development exhibiting more complex meaning-making and less reliance on external authority than in their first year. baxter magolda’s self-authorship theory is especially useful for understanding how students might develop their internal meaning-making frameworks during their time at the university in ways that will ultimately serve them as they engage in relationships, learning, employment and other activities as young adults post-graduation. in the final year of university, students’ journey to self-authorship will progress as they “become the author of [their] life”, marked by choosing their own beliefs and becoming owners of their knowledge, determining their own values and identity, and engaging in relationships in which they can remain true to themselves and develop reciprocal attention to needs (baxter magolda, 2001). however, in the initial study where the theory was developed, the students were only anticipating self-authorship upon graduation. it was found that graduates “left [university] with an initial awareness that they would have to make their own decisions, but without internal mechanisms to do so” (baxter magolda, 2001, p. 36). environment the importance of creating educationally purposeful environments has been discussed widely for at least the past century. as dewey (1933) states, “whether we permit chance environments to do the [educating], or whether we design environments for the purpose makes a great difference” (p. 22). environments, as stated earlier, are important levers in the student success equation, particularly as wider access to higher education has become more important and the characteristics of students have become more diverse. bronfenbrenner (1993) proposed an ecological model of human development based on lewin’s model of person–environment interaction. the strength of bronfenbrenner’s developmental ecology model is its ability to describe the importance of the interactions between the person and the environment and to understand how the interaction influences outcomes (evans et al., 2010). the model focuses on the interaction between four components of human ecology: person, process, context and time (bronfenbrenner, 1993). as the discussion presented herein is focused on a framework for educational environments, 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 the components of context and time are the most germane to this framework and will thus constitute the bulk of the discussion. it is worth presenting the components of person and process briefly to illustrate how person and environment interact within this ecological model. one of the chief pillars upon which bronfenbrenner’s (1993) model rests is the extension of lewin’s behavioural interaction perspective to state that development is an ongoing result of the interaction of the person and the environment (evans et al., 2010). from this, bronfenbrenner described two key mechanisms that have the most influence on this interaction. first, the personal characteristics with the greatest influence on personal development are those that strengthen or diminish dispositions toward the immediate environment. these characteristics include those attributes that elicit responses from the environment, the manner in which individuals react to the environment, the differences in how people engage or persist in activities of increasing complexity, and the way in which individuals perceive their agency relative to the environment (renn & arnold, 2003). second, “proximal processes”, or the forms of interaction between the person and the environment that are closest to the individual, are the primary sources of developmental influence (evans et al., 2010). proximal processes should be encountered at progressive and developmentally appropriate times to achieve optimal development and so as not to be too complex and overwhelming. context is the aspect of the model that receives the most attention and forms the framework for the conceptualisation of the environment. bronfenbrenner (1993) described the environment as four nested levels of context, surrounding the person at the centre: (1) microsystem, (2) mesosystem, (3) exosystem, and (4) macrosystem. the microsystem is characterised as the physical, social or constructed features of the immediate environment. interactions with roommates, friendship groups, work settings, athletics teams, families and relationships with instructional staff all constitute common microsystems of the university student’s environment (renn & arnold, 2003). educators create structures to facilitate and ensure students’ engagement with these microsystems, for example by teaching in classrooms, setting up office hours for instructor–student interaction, and offering peer mentoring to students. the mesosystem refers to the processes taking place between two or more settings containing the developing person (bronfenbrenner, 1993). in other words, a mesosystem is an interaction between microsystems. for example, a mesosystem occurs when a roommate relationship influences the way in which the student and a classroom environment interact. other mesosystems are formed when students’ family situations interact with their educational environs. examples of educational environments that have been designed to facilitate high-impact student success by creating mesosystems include linked courses, residential living-learning communities, and connecting service-learning to first-year experience programmes (young & hopp, 2014). exosystems are environments that exist beyond the immediate environment of the individual but still have strong influence on the microsystems or the individual (bronfenbrenner, 1993; renn & arnold, 2003). exosystems within university students’ dallin george young: the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes 25 ecosystems include the fiscal and policy environments of the university, the curriculum committee, and even the environments of important others, such as their parents’ workplaces. other important exosystems for students include national policy on degrees and diplomas, such as the higher education qualifications framework, and needs and hiring processes of the industries into which graduates will be entering. the most distal of the students’ ecosystem is the macrosystem. the macrosystem contains the sum total of the micro-, mesoand exosystems within a particular social structure (bronfenbrenner, 1993). this includes the broader university and all members of its community, but also comprises larger environments, such as socio-historical trends and larger cultural expectations (renn & arnold, 2003). the macrosystem has profound influences on students in transition. for instance, a first-year student moves from the culture of home to a new culture of the university. additionally, the expectations of society about what it means to be a student at university, as well as the meaning that particular cultural perspectives assign to a university graduate, are forms of the influence that the macrosystem has on students and their transitions. finally, bronfenbrenner (1993) outlined the role that time plays in the interaction of the person with the environment. as proximal processes should be structured at appropriate times to optimise the developmental potential of the person–environment interaction, the model suggests that time has a critical role in structuring educational environments. the idea of vertical integration as presented herein has a strong basis in the notion of the role of time in how the person and the environment interact to achieve learning and development. discussion lewin’s (1936) behavioural interaction perspective stipulates that behaviour, learning (kolb, 1984), or development (bronfenbrenner, 1993) is influenced by the interaction between the person and the environment. transition programmes have been developed to assist university students to adapt and achieve goals along their educational journey through higher education. as students change during their time at university, the environment can, and must, be responsive to achieve optimal learning and development. however, it is unreasonable to expect that an environment developed to achieve a particular outcome at one point in time would be adequate to produce a new outcome for a student who has changed at some future point. for example, second-year students are less prone to seek out help in the same ways as they did in the first year (young, schreiner & mcintosh, 2015). moreover, vertical integration of student success programmes requires sequencing educational experiences in an intentional, focused and ordered way. successfully integrated approaches to transition are built on an understanding of how students develop during and throughout their time at university. thus, an intentional vertical integration of transition programmes also requires, and is built upon, horizontal alignment between objectives (desired behaviour), the developmental needs of students, and educational environments. for instance, if the desired objective (i.e. behaviour) for first-year students is academic adjustment, educators must consider who they are as people. students in the first year of university are likely to be confronted with 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 challenges related to confidence, emotions, relationships and new-found independence (chickering & reisser, 1993). moreover, they are likely to look to external sources of authority as they engage in learning and making meaning of novel information (baxter magolda et al., 2012). as educators adapt, adopt and create environments, they must consider how they can create educationally supportive ecosystems. educators must consider the elements of the micro-, meso-, exoand macrosystems both related to the curriculum and the co-curriculum that they can modify and improve to assist students in the first year. the same pattern is followed for the subsequent years of university. however, vertical integration suggests a progressive approach to the objectives. thus, as scott (2012) suggested, transition-focused initiatives should look both forwards and backwards, creating a seamless educational experience. first-year programmes should set students up for the second year, the second year should build on the first-year and prepare students for the final year, and final-year initiatives and culminating experiences should be based on creating an integrative educational opportunity for students who are poised to graduate and enter the next phase of life, either in the workforce or in graduate or professional education. implications for practice and research as a result of this conceptual case for vertically and horizontally integrated approaches to student transitions, three recommendations for higher education instructional and support staff can be advanced for south africa’s higher education institutions: (1) determine what the desired outcomes are for students at each year of university; (2) develop an understanding of who students are at each step throughout their undergraduate years; and, (3) create educational environments to match and facilitate development and learning in the micro-, meso-, exo and macrosystems. first, institutions must determine realistic and desirable outcomes for each year. a reasonable place to start is with a set of general learning objectives for all students at the institution. similar to how a qualification’s curriculum is built on a specific set of learning outcomes related to the discipline, an institution can create a general overview of what it means to be a graduate from that university. then, the next question follows: what do institutions want their students to know at each step along the way? coming to some consensus about this at an institution-wide level is likely to be somewhat difficult as there are likely to be differing opinions. however, there is power in this process; if done properly, multiple stakeholders can come to the table and develop buy-in as they participate in the development of these objectives. second, an ongoing commitment to understanding who south african students are and how they develop throughout their undergraduate years is critical. as expressed earlier, a major limitation of the examples presented herein is that they are based on scholarship that is based on university students in the united states. the specific application and development of programmes must be built to serve local needs within the broader national context. understanding the unique circumstances and developmental trajectory of students at each institution will allow for creativity in developing high-impact interventions. dallin george young: the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes 27 finally, the educational environment represents the opportunity for higher-education professionals to intervene and make a difference in the trajectory of the lives of students. however, the students who are at university now will not be served by systematic structures that take years to develop. even in the rare cases where there is systemic agreement that widespread changes to curricular or co-curricular structures are necessary, changes are slow to come. while the long-term goal is to weave this integrated support into the institutional fabric, a more measured approach can be advocated. educators can seek opportunities to support students in structures that already exist on campus; this is especially important for senior university students. the interested highereducation professional on campus or institutional researcher can create an inventory of the existing points in universities that are currently uniquely poised to provide the first steps toward integrating student transitions. such examples include services under academic development and support, academic advising, and on-campus residences. studies of the evolution of student success programmes in the united states have revealed that initiatives aimed at supporting second-year students most frequently emerged out of different functional areas first (e.g. student residences, academic advising, career services) and then became more coordinated (keup, gahagan & goodwin, 2010; young, schreiner & mcintosh, 2015). once the offices, programmes and initiatives have been identified, it is important for those staff to connect, collaborate and create communities of practice. the coordination of transition programmes can lead to opportunities for efficiency and identifying gaps in coverage. the appointment of a coordinator of senior student programmes can put in place an individual to be a champion. however, the appointment of an administrator does not signal the successful implementation or integration of transition initiatives – it is merely a first step. concluding comments creating intentional educational environments can help students as they move through university. vertical integration, as a progressive, intentional, and student-centred approach to developing and delivering student success, provides a comprehensive method for incorporating best practice for student success. as institutions attend to how students develop as they progress through university and respond appropriately, they will be better positioned to deliver on the social and economic promises of higher education. references barefoot, b.o., gardner, j.n., cutright, m., morris, l.v., schroeder, c.c., schwartz, s.w., siegel, m.j. & swing, r.l. (2005). achieving and sustaining institutional excellence for the first year of college. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. baxter magolda, m.b. (1999). creating contexts for learning and self-authorship: constructive-developmental pedagogy. nashville, tn: vanderbilt university. baxter magolda, m.b. (2001). making their own way: narratives for transforming higher education to promote self-development. sterling, va: stylus. 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 baxter magolda, m.b., king, p.m., taylor, k.b. & wakefield, k.m. (2012). decreasing authority dependence during the first year of college. journal of college student development, 53(3), 418–435. botha, l. & van schalkwyk, s. (2009). the first-year academy: an institution-wide initiative to foster student success. in: d. nutt & d. calderon (eds). international perspectives on the first-year experience in higher education (monograph no. 52), pp. 95–100. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. bronfenbrenner, u. (1993). the ecology of cognitive development: research models and fugitive findings. in r.h. wozniak & k.w. fischer (eds). development in context: acting and thinking in specific environments, pp. 3–44. hillsdale, nj: erlbaum. chickering, a.w. & reisser, l. (1993). education and identity. (2nd ed.). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. council on higher education (che). (2012). vitalstats: public higher education 2010. retrieved 29 august 2015 from www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/vital_stats_public_higher_ education_2010.pdf. council on higher education (che). (2013). a proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in south africa: the case for a flexible curriculum structure. che publication: pretoria. retrieved 29 august 2015 from www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/full_report.pdf. department of higher education and training. (2012). green paper for post-school education and training: the doors of learning and culture shall be opened. retrieved 29 august 2015 from www.che.ac.za/ sites/default/files/publications/dhet_green_paper_post_school_education_training.pdf. department of higher education and training. (2013). white paper for post-school education and training: building an expanded, effective, and integrated post-school system. retrieved 29 august 2015 from www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/latest%20news/white%20paper%20for%20post-school%20 education%20and%20training.pdf. dewey, j. (1933). how we think: a restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. new york, ny: d. c. heath. evans, n.j., forney, d.s., guido, f.m., patton, l.d. & renn, k.a. (2010). student development in college: theory, research, and practice. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. fisher, g. & scott, i. (2011). the role of higher education in closing the skills gap in south africa. closing the skills and technology gap in south africa background paper 3. washington, dc: the world bank. greenfield, g.m., keup, j.r. & gardner, j.n. (2013). developing and sustaining successful first-year programs: a guide for practitioners. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. hunter, m.s., keup, j.r., kinzie, j. & maietta, h. (2012). the senior year: culminating experiences and transitions. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the firstyear experience and students in transition. jones, b., coetzee, g., bailey, t. & wickham, s. 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(1978). editor’s notes: why bother with theory? in l. knefelkamp, c. widick & c.a. parker (eds). applying new developmental findings: new directions for student services no. 4, pp. vii–xvi. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. kolb, d. (1984). experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. englewood cliffs, new jersey: prentice hall. lewin, k. (1936). principles of topological psychology. new york, ny: mcgraw-hill. lewin, k. (1943). defining the “field at a given time”. in k. lewin (ed.). field theory in social science, pp. 43–59. new york, ny: harper & row. lewin, t. & mawoyo, m. (2014). student access and success: issues and interventions in south african universities. retrieved 29 august 2015 from www.inyathelo.org.za/knowledge-services/ inyathelo-publications/view-all-publications-for-download/item/student-access-and-successissues-and-interventions-in-south-african-universities-2014.html. margolis, g. (1989). developmental opportunities. in p.a. graysen & k. cauley (eds). college psychotherapy, pp. 71–91. new york, ny: guilford press. mcewen, m.k. (2003). the nature and uses of theory. in s.r. komives, d.b. woodard & associates (eds). student services: a handbook for the profession (4th ed.), pp. 153–178. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. national planning commission. (2011). national development plan 2030: our future – make it work. retrieved [date] from www.poa.gov.za/news/documents/npc%20national%20 development%20plan%20vision%202030%20-lo-res.pdf. ogude, n., kilfoil, w. & du plessis, g. (2012). an institutional model for improving student retention and success at the university of pretoria. the international journal of the first year in higher education, 3(1), 21–34. padgett, r.d. & keup, j.r. (2011). 2009 national survey of first-year seminars: ongoing efforts to support students in transition. research reports on college transitions, no. 2. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. padgett, r.d. & kilgo, c.a. (2012). 2011 national survey of senior capstone experiences: institutionallevel data on the culminating experience. research reports on college transitions, no. 3. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. renn, k.a. & arnold, k.d. (2003). reconceptualizing research on college student peer culture. the journal of higher education, 74(3), 261–291. schaller, m.a. (2005). wandering and wondering: traversing the uneven terrain of the second college year. about campus, 10(3), 17–24. schaller, m.a. (2010). the journey into self. in m.s. hunter, b.f. tobolowsky, j.n. gardner, s.e. evenbeck, j.a. pattengale, m.a. schaller & l.a. schreiner (eds). helping sophomores succeed: understanding and improving the second-year experience, pp. 66–80. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. schreiner, l.a., slavin miller, s., pullins, t.l., & seppelt, t.l. (2012). beyond sophomore survival. in: l.a. schreiner, m.c. schreiner, & d.d. nelson (eds), thriving in transitions: a research-based approach to college student success, pp. 111–156. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. scott, i. (2012). first-year experience as terrain of failure or platform for development? critical choices for higher education. in b. leibowitz, a. van der merwe & s. van schalkwyk (eds). focus on first-year success: perspectives emerging from south africa and beyond. stellenbosch: sun press. 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 17-32 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 skipper, t.l. (2005). student development in the first college year: a primer for college educators. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. strange, c.c. & banning, j.h. (2001). educating by design. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. upcraft, m.l., gardner, j.n., and barefoot, b.o. (2005) challenging and supporting the first-year student. san francisco, c.a: jossey-bass. young, d.g., schreiner, l.a. & mcintosh, e.j. (2015). investigating sophomore student success: the national survey of sophomore-year initiatives and the sophomore experiences survey, 2014. research report no. 6. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience & students in transition. young, d.g. & hopp, j.m. (2014). 2012–2013 national survey of first-year seminars: exploring highimpact practices in the first college year. research report no. 4. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience & students in transition. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, v–vi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2476 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial voices from around the globe birgit schreiber,* thierry m. luescher** & teboho moja*** * dr birgit schreiber is senior director: student affairs, of stellenbosch university, south africa, and a member of the editorial executive of jsaa. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za ** dr thierry m luescher is research director: education and skills development, in the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, south africa, and journal manager of jsaa. email: jsaa_editor@ outlook.com *** prof. teboho moja is clinical professor for higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university, usa. jsaa has been seeking to provide an opportunity for student affairs professionals and higher education scholars from around the globe to share their research and experiences of student services and student affairs programmes from their respective regional and institutional contexts. this has been given a specific platform with the guest-edited issue “voices from around the globe” which is the result of a collaboration with the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), and particularly with the guest editors, kathleen callahan and chinedu mba. in this respect, we are pleased that the present issue highlights the intersection of global and local issues in student affairs, and of debates around local professionalisation and epistemic-discursive communities of practice in student affairs. global and local issues are not so much about the spatial but the framework and lens of student affairs, which simultaneously aim to be locally relevant and embedded, and globally referenced to an overarching set of guidelines abstracted from the local and articulated at the global. correspondingly it is instructive to invoke the notion of the global gemeinschaft (robertson, 1995) as one community in the world, with many communities inherent within it; the notion that new identity is shaped by global-international and global-local influences on the epistemic-discursive community of student affairs (castell, 1997). furthermore, the jsaa-iasas collaborative issue also brings into focus global trends and their local expression, including the reorganisation of knowledge in student affairs in relation to changing local realities. by foregrounding botswana, china, south africa and the usa, a comparative discourse is set up which is part of the global. callahan and mba’s guest editorial provides a succinct overview of the guest-edited articles in the issue. we are particularly glad that several of them address matters directly related to the professionalisation of student affairs in their respective contexts: on the history, challenges and solution to professionalisation in china, on standard setting and http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= mailto:jsaa_editor%40outlook.com?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, v–vi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2476 quality assurance in botswana, and on the development of a sister journal to jsaa, the asia-pacific journal of student affairs in the philippines. in addition, we add to the guestedited collection the article by arega bazezew and mulugeta neka on incidents of, causes for, and the management of interpersonal conflicts among undergraduate students at bahir dar university in ethiopia. finally, it is a great achievement to be credited to our authors, reviewers and editors that since january 2017, the journal of student affairs in africa is accredited in south africa by the national department of higher education and training as a subsidy-earning scholarly journal on the sa-list of accredited journals. this means that authors affiliated to south african universities can submit their peer-reviewed articles, i.e. research articles and reflective practice articles, as recognised research outputs for subsidy purposes. furthermore, jsaa is now also fully indexed and full-text available from the education resources information centre (eric) in addition to our co-hosting with african journals online (ajol) and the directory of open access journals (doaj). references castells, m. (1997). the power of identity. the information age, 2. malden and oxford: blackwell. robertson, r. (1995). glocalization: time-space and homogeneity-heterogeneity. in: m. featherstone, s. lash & r. robertson (eds.), global modernities. london: sage publications, 25–45. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250563.n2 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250563.n2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 1-13 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2478 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article paving the road to success: reflecting critically on year one of an undergraduate student support programme at a large south african university danie de klerk,* linda spark,** andrew jones*** & tshepiso maleswena**** * danie de klerk is a lecturer and coordinator: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. ** linda spark is a senior tutor and grant holder: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand. *** andrew jones is a grant holder: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand. **** tshepiso maleswena is an associate lecturer and coordinator: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand. abstract student success, faculty and university throughput, and the need for adequate and appropriate student support remain prevalent issues in the south african and global higher education sectors. subsequently, the faculty of commerce, law, and management at a large south african university applied for teaching and development grant funding in order to address these areas of concern. the grant was awarded and initially intended to help students at risk by implementing appropriate interventions to prevent them from dropping out of university or being excluded. however, being labelled as “at risk” was not well received by students and so the grant holders designed a new programme, adopting a decidedly more holistic approach. as such, the road to success programme was born. the first three months saw those involved conceptualise, plan, and develop strategies, material, and interventions that were implemented in january 2015. the vision was to scaffold and support first-year students, particularly those in danger of being academically excluded, through an integrated network of tutorials, workshops, online support, and a series of resources called toolkits for success, in an attempt to help students achieve their academic goals. despite a number of challenges, ranging from funding shortfalls and food security to students’ emotional wellbeing and resilience, 2015 proved invaluable in terms of refining strategies, gaining insight, and programme growth. preliminary data shows an increased pass rate for students who engaged with the rsp, with higher pass rates linked to greater rsp attendance. consequently, this article serves as a critical reflection of the rsp at the end of its inaugural year and will share data, highlight lessons learned and challenges faced, and discuss how the programme has been taken to scale in 2016. keywords access with success, higher education, holistic support, pass rate, socio-economic challenges, south africa, student success, student support, success programme, throughput http://www.jsaa.ac.za 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 1–13 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2478 introduction the need for additional, often co-curricular, student support at university, faculty,1 school, department, and/or course level, is prevalent throughout the south african and global higher education sectors (andrews & osman, 2015; moser, berlie, salinitri, mccuistion & slaughter, 2015; naude & bezuidenhout, 2015; tovar, 2015). nevertheless, factors contributing to the initial design and implementation of student-support interventions may vary significantly. correspondingly, south africa’s department of higher education and training (dhet), council on higher education (che), and the south african institute for distance education (saide) concern themselves with these matters by facilitating development grants (e.g. the dhet’s teaching development grant (tdg), soon to be the university capacity development grant, which aims to establish at-risk support interventions (among other things) at south african tertiary institutions and engage in projects to address student support and success (e.g. saide’s partnership with the kresge foundation’s siyaphumelela programme, which focuses on data analytics as a means of improving student success and retention). these are but some of the initiatives in place to address the many and varied challenges faced by the country’s post-secondary institutions. contextualisation background massification of the south african higher education sector (hornsby & osman, 2014; lucket & sutherland, 2000) mirrors global trends over the last two decades (bai, 2006; giannakis & bullivant, 2016; kivinen, hedman & kaipainen, 2007; lee, 2016; pretorius and xue, 2003; ru-jer, 2012; trow, 2000; trow, 2006; yeom, 2016). add to this increased attrition rates locally and abroad (andrews & osman, 2015; goncalves & trunk, 2014; hughes, 2013; martínez, borjas, herrera & valencia, 2015; mestan, 2016), the access with success dichotomy (ngo & kwon, 2015; prakhov, 2016), socio-economic challenges faced by students in south africa and many other countries (dockery, seymour & koshy, 2016), and a variety of mental health concerns prevalent on university campuses worldwide (hugo, boshoff, traut, zungu-dirwayi & stein, 2003; lund, kleintjes, kakuma, flisher & mhapp research programme consortium, 2010; williams, herman, stein, heeringa, jackson, moomal & kessler, 2008), and the scene is set for poor pass rates and serious threats to student success. the access with success dichotomy the national plan for higher education in south africa (doe, 2001) identifies as one of its key objectives the promotion of “equity of access and fair chances of success to all who are seeking to realise their potential through higher education, while eradicating all forms of unfair discrimination and advancing redress for past inequalities” (p. 6). the strategic 1 in the south african context the word “faculty” does not refer to academic or lecturing members of staff, but a cluster or group of schools/units/departments concerned with a particular discipline or subject area. danie de klerk, linda spark, andrew jones & tshepiso maleswena: paving the road to success ... 3 objectives within this working paper remain clear: increase access to higher education for poor and disabled students in order to redress past inequalities and ensure that university staff and student profiles eventually reflect the demographics of south africa. yet fifteen years after its publication, inequities remain rife, with disparities in student participation and throughput rates evident across population groups (higher education south africa (hesa), 2011). moreover, admission to university is based on national exams that can discriminate against those who attended poorer and/or rural schools, thus favouring students from higher income groups or who may have attended better secondary schools, and elucidating why under-prepared students mostly come from under-resourced schools (mdepa & tshiwula, 2012). the demand for access to higher education also continues to increase at rates far greater than existing resources and infrastructure can accommodate (shaik, karodia, david & soni, 2014) and many countries cannot provide access to all those who qualify for higher education (gyimah-brempong & ondiege, 2011; leibowitz & bozalek, 2014). additionally, there appears to be a direct correlation between access and funding, and between poverty and retention in african universities (mdepa & tshiwula, 2012). it is unlikely that simply focusing on access to higher education will address equity of opportunity; rather south african universities should be supportive environments where academics and students alike are willing to think innovatively. this can be achieved by adopting appropriately transformed learning and teaching strategies and techniques, ensuring staff and students have access to adequate induction programmes and holistic support, and through effective academic mentoring (ratangee, 2006). only by ensuring epistemological access to knowledge can knowledge be democratised, and in turn address disparities in throughput and graduation rates, as well as issues with the transformation of higher education institutions (du plooy & zilindile, 2014; ratangee, 2006). yet this is not the only challenge faced by south africa’s tertiary sector. socio-economic challenges in south africa in 2015, the country experienced a tipping point when thousands of students across multiple campuses revolted against nationwide university fee increases. the #feesmustfall campaign brought south african students’ socio-economic plight to the public’s attention, placing the spotlight on one of the major factors affecting access to and retention in tertiary education (breier, 2010; gyimah-brempong & ondiege, 2011). research shows that a lack of information about the financial implications of tertiary education can cause students to avoid university, or it can allow them to enter without fully understanding the financial impact (breier, 2010). south africa has one of the highest levels of inequality in the world (breier, 2010; leibowitz & bozalek, 2014), with most african families being particularly poor (leibowitz & bozalek, 2014). one challenge is to provide resources to finance everyone who qualifies for admission to university. the principle of equity suggests that nobody should be denied an education on the basis of socio-economic status (gyimahbrempong & ondiege, 2011), yet government funding is based on a shared-cost model, implying that the cost of education should be carried by both student and government (gyimah-brempong & ondiege, 2011). 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 1–13 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2478 a large portion of students accessing higher education come from middleor highincome groups, though the availability of grants, bursaries, scholarships, and student loans (e.g. the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas), similar to the us federal pell grant system) make it possible for poorer students to access tertiary education (gyimahbrempong & ondiege, 2011; leibowitz & bozalek, 2014; mdepa & tshiwula, 2012). although nsfas covers expenses other than tuition, it also tries to fund as many students as possible, which means students seldom obtain full funding. subsequently, recipients are compelled to commute long distances, stay in accommodation not conducive to studying, and/or lack food and other necessities (breier, 2010; mdepa & tshiwula, 2012). moreover, not all applicants receive nsfas funding, while many prospective students remain unaware of alternative funding opportunities (mdepa & tshiwula, 2012). this lack of financial resources is one of the major challenges faced by students (mdepa & tshiwula, 2012) who often drop out because of financial obstacles. so, even after gaining access, a high number of poorer students will fail to complete their degrees (mdepa & tshiwula, 2012), while those who do stay are usually expected to support family members and as a result may go hungry or sleep in lecture theatres or libraries (breier, 2010). on a larger scale, government funding has not kept up with enrolment growth and subsidies have been consistently declining in recent years (gyimah-brempong & ondiege, 2011), yet funding for higher education in south africa remains lower than in countries at similar levels of development (leibowitz & bozalek, 2014). to offset the declining subsidies most universities regularly increase tuition fees, which negatively impacts poorer students and exacerbates social and economic inequalities (wangenge‐ ouma,  2010). in south africa, only about 31% of students contribute to the financing of tertiary education (cloete, 2016), up from 24% in the last decade, while government subsidies have decreased from 49% to 40% in the same period (cloete, 2016). subsequently, the current approach to financing tertiary education in south africa is insufficient and not sustainable (gyimah-brempong & ondiege, 2011; leibowitz & bozalek, 2014), and intensifies other threats to student success. mental health concerns on south african campuses a number of publications by international scholars focus on the plight of students on campuses, yet there seems to be a lack of published knowledge about mental health interventions and challenges at south african tertiary institutions. moreover, the conceptual framework on which empirical data from south african university cases should be based lacks the requisite theoretical underpinnings (petersen & lund, 2011; colleges struggling with growing demand for mental health services, n.d.). as such, the design of methodologies for south africa will have to be based on and adapted from research conducted at international colleges and universities, with an emphasis on effective education, awareness, and interventions. cluver and orkin’s (2009) research is central to assessing elements contributing to mental health disorders in young people at south african universities. bullying at school, children being orphaned by aids, and poverty are some of danie de klerk, linda spark, andrew jones & tshepiso maleswena: paving the road to success ... 5 the prominent contributing factors (cluver & orkin, 2009) and it has been documented that “[m]ental disorders account for a large proportion of the disease burden in young people in all societies” (patel, flisher, hetrick & mcgorry, 2007, p. 1303). additionally, the world health organization’s aims report (who, 2007) provides a broad yet integral insight into the mental health systems that exist in this country. where cluver and orkin (2009) focuses on specific demographics, the who-aims report (2007) provides a more nuanced account of south africa’s mental health challenges, taking into account factors like the financing of mental health services, legislation, and policy frameworks that have been put into place. subsequently, when considering the challenges faced by higher education in south africa, it is not surprising that stakeholders have developed programmes and support structures to address student success (engelbrecht, harding & potgieter, 2014; potgieter, harding, kritzinger, somo & engelbrecht, 2015; mcghie & du preez, 2015), in line with international practice (bensimon, 2007; hatch, 2016; perez & ceja, 2010; perna, rowan-kenyon, thomas, bell, anderson & li, 2008; stanton-salazar, 2011; stantonsalazar, vasquez & mehan, 2000; wathington, pretlow & barnett, 2016). the road to success programme background in 2014, tdg funding was either directly awarded for projects in the faculty of commerce, law, and management (clm) at the author’s university or as part of projects for the entire university. the faculty received money for a total of four projects and whilst each project constitutes a separate entity, they have been combined into an overall programme with a common aim: to improve first-year throughput, enhance student success, and provide effective support for undergraduate students. subsequently, at-risk coordinators were employed to coordinate programme efforts, identify students at risk, develop and implement interventions, and engage with students in one-on-one and/or group settings. these positions are academic in nature and although they involve little or no formal teaching, data analytics, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and student success form part of the duties. in the latter part of 2014 an intervention workshop was conducted for students classified as at risk. the workshop was poorly attended, with the two major reasons students provided for not attending being a lack of integration into the normal academic programme (the workshop was conducted during the september study break) and students’ perceived denial about the stigma associated with being classified as at risk. as such, the name road to success programme (rsp) arose from the need for a positive, successorientated student support initiative that runs parallel to the academic curriculum and one that students would want to participate in. so, although poor student performance, particularly at first-year level, was the driving force behind this project, the rsp aims to provide co-curricular, non-academic interventions that run concurrently with the standard academic support provided by courses. at the beginning of 2015 it was rolled out to all 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 1–13 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2478 first-year students in addition to small cohorts of readmitted2 and at-risk students, in an attempt to help them achieve their academic goals. overall target and benefit the core objective of this programme is to improve the course pass rates of first-year students by 10% and to provide at-risk students with the requisite mentor/tutor support. the anticipated outcome of rsp interventions is to improve students’ preparedness for formative and summative assessments, which would ideally result in improved student performance and throughput. moreover, the additional interventions for at-risk students should enable them to progress, particularly in instances where support addresses non-academic factors. consequently, the programme comprises an integrated network of group tutorials, one-on-one consultations, online support, and toolkits that serve to support clm undergraduates in an attempt to help them achieve their short-, medium-, and longterm academic goals. additionally, it focuses on assisting students from the faculty’s three undergraduate schools in dealing with emotional, psychological, and socio-economic challenges, to ultimately ensure they realise their potential, graduate with integrity, and take responsibility for their own success. the first year in the first quarter of 2015, thirty (30) success tutors (senior undergraduate students) were appointed, following a shortlisting and interview process. they were trained through clm’s tutor training programme and the university’s counselling and careers development unit, and would facilitate non-academic student support across the aforementioned rsp focus areas. with the success of the programme hinged on student buy-in, a marketing campaign was launched (involving the design of pamphlets, banners, shirts, social media sites, and posters) to inform undergraduates of the rsp’s support and benefits. additionally, an academic literacy programme was developed and implemented, while toolkits for success formed the foundation of all non-academic group tutorials, covering things like time management, study skills for university purposes, note taking, planning, reflective practice, and more. in quarter two the rsp started working on initiatives pertaining to clothing and food provisions for needy students, with a corporate partnership starting off what would become the rsp foodand clothing banks. the commencement of semester two saw the rsp conduct one-on-one interviews with all first-year students who had failed two or more examinations at mid-year, as well as the entire cohort of readmitted students (a condition of their readmission). these interviews allowed for greater insight into students’ circumstances and requirements. because of the programme’s holistic nature, both cohorts were channelled into focus groups (with a 2 at the authors’ university there is a system that requires students to meet a particular set of minimum requirements at the end of an academic year to remain a registered student. students who do not meet these requirements are excluded from the faculty in which they are studying. an appeal process could see a student readmitted the following year, providing they adhere to certain conditions of readmission. danie de klerk, linda spark, andrew jones & tshepiso maleswena: paving the road to success ... 7 maximum of 10 students per group), which met once a week, capitalised on the diversity of the students (they were from different degree programmes and years of study), and used reflective practice to scaffold students through semester two. quarter four was characterised by sessions on study planning, examination preparation, and peer support as a means of making sure students were on track for the end-of-year examinations. end-of-year evaluations were administered and students were asked to evaluate the rsp and their focus groups, but it should be noted that the #feesmustfall protests had a crippling effect on the evaluation process. challenges and mitigation strategies a plan to use the university’s learning management system (lms) to conduct forums was stymied by slow response times and server problems. scheduling and venue booking for the more than 1,000 students who signed up for the rsp also proved challenging, as the rsp does not form part of the mainstream curriculum and is not accommodated on the academic timetable. this was resolved by using the lms to allow students more flexibility in booking their sessions (a functionality not affected by the aforementioned server problems). at one point storage space for clothing and food became a problem, but this was overcome by acquiring additional office space. the rsp still finds that some students do not read their emails regularly, fail to carry out instructions, and often do not take the mandate of the programme seriously until it is too late. the biggest challenge faced in the final quarter of 2015 was the #feesmustfall student protests, which saw the university close for nearly two weeks. many rsp students had their study planning and momentum disrupted by the temporary suspension of the university academic programme, which in turn led to increased anxiety and stress. the rsp tried to manage these concerns as best they could. analysis descriptive statistics approximately 1050 first-year and readmitted students were signed up for the rsp in january 2015, which marked the beginning of semester one and a new academic year. by the end of the semester 772 students had engaged (i.e. attended one or more interventions) with the programme, which constituted a 74% overall engagement. in semester two about 500 readmitted and at-risk first-year students were signed up for the rsp, with 342 having engaged with the rsp by the end of the semester (i.e. 68%). although this means fewer students engaged in semester two than in semester one, the team ascribes it to two factors: (1) fewer students were signed up in the second semester, and (2) the #feesmustfall protests that occurred during the fourth quarter. table 1 below contrasts the overall faculty pass rate with the average pass rates of rsp students who engaged with a specific percentage of sessions (i.e. 70% to 79%, 80% to 89%, and 90% to 100%). semester one (2015) results seem quite sporadic, which can be attributed to the fact that it was the programme’s first semester, while semester two (2015) results start 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 1–13 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2478 alluding to a link between student engagement with the rsp and academic success. this provided the core team with evidence that rsp interventions appeared to be benefiting students and influenced the adjustments realised in semester one of the following year. the table shows a clear upward trend in the pass rates of students who engaged with the rsp in semester one of 2016 and reflects that greater rsp attendance is linked to average pass rates above the overall faculty average. table 1: engagement rate and student pass rates semester and year rsp engagement level average rsp student pass rate average overall faculty pass rate semester 1 (2015) 70% to 79% 100% 70%80% to 89% 56% 90% to 100% 66% semester 2 (2015) 70% to 79% 82% 85%80% to 89% 66% 90% to 100% 100% semester 1 (2016) 70% to 79% 62% 69%80% to 89% 70% 90% to 100% 77% recommendations and lessons learned in the authors’ experience, students (and staff) often harbour negative perceptions about support initiatives, so increased awareness of a programme, its benefits, and its successes must be emphasised. students suggest these programmes require additional work and commitment, so mechanisms to include support activities within their existing timetables are vital; our toolkit on time management has been crucial in this endeavour. the statistics show that student buy-in and attendance serve as both input and output to the success of these programmes, so a strategy for marketing the benefits and highlighting the successes is required to encourage engagement. academics are often the first to identify non-academic issues with students, so their awareness, support, and recommendation of these programmes are vital. moreover, grant-funded programmes usually receive financial support for a fixed period of time. as a result, it is necessary to seek and request funding to sustain such programmes. approaching businesses, investigating alternative revenue streams from within the university, running additional paid-for courses, and answering proposals where funding is offered, are a few of the possibilities. while many will argue that it is not the role of academics (or indeed a university) to provide food, accommodation, books and/or clothing to students who are not paying for them, in an environment where students are severely impacted by socio-economic factors, it is important to assist where possible. this may include involving external entities looking for pro-bono engagements, or simply asking the university community for donations. danie de klerk, linda spark, andrew jones & tshepiso maleswena: paving the road to success ... 9 in most universities there will also be specific departments that deal with some of these matters, so it is necessary to make students (and staff) aware of all available help. it should be noted that the operational activities of these programmes require a substantial time commitment from those involved. as such, it is important to focus on collecting data on these initiatives and conducting studies to determine which interventions are useful and/or successful, provide evidence to stakeholders, and publish research in the area of student support. towards the future the road to success programme has made some salient strides in its year of inception (2015). this progress, coupled with increased student engagement, allows the team to infer that the future will be more effective in terms of student involvement. the year 2016 has seen the emphasis shift from a first-year student focus, to rolling the programme out to all clm undergraduates. from a supplementary-support perspective, the rsp’s corporate partnerships have helped create male and female clothing banks and donated food to the rsp foodbank. an intensive awareness drive was launched to reach out to students, while a sponsored weekly hot-beverage station aimed to encourage students to pay-it-forward by donating food and toiletries to help fellow students in need. other future initiatives include: a faculty-specific academic literacy programme (alp); formalising the rsp as a compulsory, co-curricular initiative for all incoming first-year students; an annual clm pre-university school prior to the commencement of the new academic year, offered to all new first years; work-readiness initiatives through partnerships with internal and external stakeholders; success tutor training and development initiatives; and an interdisciplinary enquiry-based learning course for all clm undergraduates. the rsp continues to evolve through the scholarship of student support and success, data analytics, and student engagement, alluding to a promising future. conclusion with the massification of the tertiary sector, concerning success rates, and socio-economic challenges unlikely to dissipate anytime soon, the need for proactive and pre-emptive solutions to address these issues become imperative. in this paper the authors outlined their holistic student support and success initiative in the form of the road to success programme. the aim was to allow others insight into their unique approach to enhancing student success, which serves to supplement and complement the academic programme. the authors hope the lessons they have learned and subsequently shared in this article will provide others working in the space with practical advice to help conceptualise, develop, implement, and enhance their own initiatives. the rsp remains dedicated to evolving and refining their student success and support programme, and in the long run address (at least some of) the challenges faced 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(2016). a brief history and a framework for understanding commonalities and differences of community college student success programs. new directions for community colleges, 175, 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20209 hesa (higher education south africa) (2011). insight, (3), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305741006000087 https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2007.0032 https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2007.0032 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9343-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9343-5 https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/a0146 https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/a0146 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.07.033 http://www.sadag.org https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1020777 https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2014.962726 https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2014.962726 https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2014.1000280 https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2014.1000280 https://doi.org/10.24839/2164-8204.jn19.4.164 https://doi.org/10.24839/2164-8204.jn19.4.164 https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20209 danie de klerk, linda spark, andrew jones & tshepiso maleswena: paving the road to success ... 11 hornsby, d. & osman, r. (2014). massification in higher education: large classes and student learning. higher education, 67(6), 711–719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9733-1 hughes, h.a. (2013). factors inf luencing attrition rates in midwifery students. nursing standard, 27(26), 42–48. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns2013.02.27.26.42.e7130 hugo, c.j., boshoff, d.e., traut, a., zungu-dirwayi, n. & stein, d.j. (2003). community attitudes toward and knowledge of mental illness in south africa. social psychiatry & psychiatric epidemiology, 38(12), 715–719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-003-0695-3 kivinen, o., hedman, j. & kaipainen, p. (2007). from elite university to mass higher education: educational expansion, equality of opportunity and returns to university education. acta sociologica, 50(3), 231–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699307080929 lee, s. (2016). massification without equalisation: the politics of higher education, graduate employment and social mobility in hong kong. journal of education and work, 29(1), 13–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2015.1049024 leibowitz, b. & bozalek, b. (2014). access to higher education in south africa: a social realist account. widening participation and lifelong learning, 16(1), 91–109. https://doi.org/10.5456/ wpll.16.1.91 lucket, k. & sutherland, l. (2000). assessment practices that improve teaching and learning. in: s. makoni (ed.), improving teaching and learning in higher education (pp. 98–129). johannesburg: witwatersrand university press. lund, c., kleintjes, s., kakuma, r., flisher, a.j. & mhapp research programme consortium. (2010). public sector mental health systems in south africa: inter-provincial comparisons and policy implications. social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 45(3), 393–404. https://doi. org/10.1007/s00127-009-0078-5 martínez, a., borjas, m., herrera, m. & valencia, j. (2015). relationship between measures of academic quality and undergraduate student attrition: the case of higher education institutions in the colombian caribbean region. higher education research and development, 34(6), 1192–1206. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1024622 mcghie, v. & du preez, m. (2015). addressing the learning needs of at-risk students at the university of the western cape. south african journal of higher education, 29(1), 164–180. mdepa, w. & tshiwula, l. (2012). student diversity in south african higher education. widening participation and lifelong learning, 13 (special issue), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.5456/ wpll.13.s.19 mestan, k. (2016). why students drop out of the bachelor of arts. higher education research and development, 35(5), 983–996. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1139548 moser, l., berlie, h., salinitri, f., mccuistion, m. & slaughter, r. (2015). enhancing academic success by creating a community of learners. american journal of pharmaceutical education, 79(5), 70. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe79570 naude, l. & bezuidenhout, h. (2015). moving on the continuum between teaching and learning: communities of practice in a student support programme. teaching in higher education, 20(2), 221–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2014.978752 ngo, f. & kwon, w. (2015). using multiple measures to make math placement decisions: implications for access and success in community colleges. research in higher education, 56(5), 442–470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-014-9352-9 patel, v., flisher, a.j., hetrick, s. & mcgorry, p. (2007). mental health of young people: a global public health challenge. the lancet, 369(9569), 1302–1313. https://doi.org/10.1016/s01406736(07)60368-7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9733-1 https://doi.org/10.7748/ns2013.02.27.26.42.e7130 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-003-0695-3 https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699307080929 https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2015.1049024 https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.16.1.91 https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.16.1.91 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0078-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0078-5 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1024622 https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.13.s.19 https://doi.org/10.5456/wpll.13.s.19 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1139548 https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe79570 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2014.978752 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-014-9352-9 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60368-7 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60368-7 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 1–13 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2478 perez, p.a. & ceja, m. (2010). building a latina/o student transfer culture: best practices and outcomes in transfer to universities. journal of hispanic higher education, 9(1), 6–21. https://doi. org/10.1177/1538192709350073 perna, l.w., rowan-kenyon, h.t., thomas, s.l., bell, a., anderson, r. & li, c. (2008). the role of college counselling in shaping college opportunity: variations across high schools. the review of higher education, 31(2), 131–159. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2007.0073 petersen, i. & lund, c. (2011). mental health service delivery in south africa from 2000 to 2010: one step forward, one step back. samj: south african medical journal, 101(10), 751–757. prakhov, i. (2016). the barriers of access to selective universities in russia. higher education quarterly, 70(2), 170–199. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12087 pretorius, s.g. & xue y.q. (2003). the transition from elite to mass higher education: a chinese perspective. prospects, 33(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1022616532317 potgieter, m., harding, a., kritzinger, q., somo, c. & engelbrecht, j. (2015). ref lections of science students on their experiences of an academic development programme in south africa. south african journal of higher education, 29(1), 108–131. ru-jer, w. (2012). social class barriers of the massification of higher education in taiwan. chinese education and society, 45(6), 70–81. https://doi.org/10.2753/ced1061-1932450506 ratangee, n. (2006). academic literacy, the pteep and the prediction of academic success. unpublished master’s thesis. university of witwatersrand, johannesburg, south africa. shaik, a., karodia, a., david, j. & soni, d. (2014). private providers can widen access to higher education: a fertile idea whose time has come. breaking barriers, 29 january. stanton-salazar, r.d. (2011). a social capital framework for the study of institutional agents and their role in the empowerment of low-status students and youth. youth & society, 43(3), 1066–1109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x10382877 stanton-salazar, r.d., vasquez, o.a. & mehan, h. (2000). engineering academic success through institutional support. in: s.t. gregory (ed.), the academic achievement of minority students: perspectives, practices, and prescriptions (pp. 213–247). new york, n.y.: university press of america. tovar, e. (2015). the role of faculty, counselors, and support programs on latino / a community college’s students’ success and intent to persist. community college review, 43(1), 46–71. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0091552114553788 trow, m. (2000). from mass higher education to universal access: the american advantage. minerva, 37(4), 303–328. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1004708520977 trow, m. (2006). ref lections on the transition from elite to mass to universal access. in: j.j.f. forest & p.g. altbach (eds.), international handbook of higher education (pp. 243–280). dordrecht: springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4012-2_13 wangenge-ouma, g. (2010). funding and the attainment of transformation goals in south africa’s higher education. oxford review of education, 36(4), 481–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305498 5.2010.491181 wathington, h., pretlow, j. & barnett, e. (2016). a good start? the impact of texas’ developmental summer bridge program on student success. journal of higher education, 87(2), 150–177. https:// doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2016.0010 williams, d.r., herman, a., stein, d.j., heeringa, s.g., jackson, p.b., moomal, h. & kessler, r.c. (2008). twelve-month mental disorders in south africa: prevalence, service use and demographic correlates in the population-based south african stress and health study. psychological medicine, 38(2), 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291707001420 https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192709350073 https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192709350073 https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2007.0073 https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12087 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1022616532317 https://doi.org/10.2753/ced1061-1932450506 https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x10382877 https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552114553788 https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552114553788 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1004708520977 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4012-2_13 https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2010.491181 https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2010.491181 https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2016.0010 https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2016.0010 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291707001420 danie de klerk, linda spark, andrew jones & tshepiso maleswena: paving the road to success ... 13 who (world health organization) (2007). who-aims report on mental health systems in south africa. chicago. yeom, m. (2016). critical ref lection on the massification of higher education in korea: consequences for graduate employment and policy issues. journal of education and work, 29(1), 48–63. https:// doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2015.1049026 https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2015.1049026 https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2015.1049026 _goback citation journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 98–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v4i1.148 www.jsaa.ac.za a. funston, m. gil & g. gilmore (eds). (2014). strong starts, supported transitions and student success. uk: cambridge scholars publishing. reviewed by birgit schreiber* book review * dr birgit schreiber is senior director student affairs at the university of stellenbosch frameworks for extended support in foundation programmes have recently been critiqued as focusing on an othered, separated and identified group of students while leaving exclusionary practices unchallenged in the mainstream of the university (bozalek & leibowitz, 2015). various african researchers (akoojee & nkomo, 2007; kioko, 2010; ndebele, 1995; vilakazi, 1986) support the argument that institutional practices, pedagogies and structural issues premised on notions of assimilation require re-visioning in order to shift student persistence rates. these sentiments expressed by african authors are cogently echoed by the australian researchers, collected in strong starts, supported transitions and student success. the editors andrew funston, miguel gil and gwen gilmore have attracted innovative thinkers and novel practitioners who reflect on their work in the transition, retention and persistence spaces. collectively, the chapters argue for a systemic and collaborative approach to changing systems and cultures, programme designs and pedagogies in order to “acknowledge the totality of the students’ learning experience” (p. 15). gil builds on kift, nelson and clark’s (2010) concept of “tradition pedagogy” (p. 15) and distinguishes between the integrative-assimilative approaches to support that aim at integrating students into the status quo of higher education, and the “adaptive” model that “assumes that students come with different degrees of cultural and social capital that need to be valued and fostered as true strengths” (p. 16). each chapter in the book underscores this fundamental theme of student-centred principle, which is the outstanding value of this interesting book. the chapters discuss cases studies, explore challenges and showcase scaffolded designs to system-wide frameworks for embedding “transition pedagogies” into the mainstream of universities. various chapters respond directly to tinto’s observation that “most institutions have not yet been able to translate what we know about student retention into forms of action that have led to substantial gains in student persistent” (p. 146) and discuss approaches 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volum 4(1) 2016, 98–100 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v4i1.148 and practices that shift persistence rates in the students within these “whole-of-institutions” approaches that focus on the fye stages and are “key to the attrition puzzle” (p. 149). for me, one of the most exciting chapters is brian zammit’s “embedding a thirdgeneration transition pedagogy: the role of core foundation units”, in which he explores debates on attrition and argues that it is not monocausal. transition pedagogy is premised on the acknowledgement of socio-cultural incongruencies, combined with curricular and co-curricular articulation as well as institutional culture and climate issues, and proposes a model that shifts persistence rates. citing kift et al. (2010), he applies the third-generation transition pedagogy to the case study in this chapter. this book contributes to the scholarship on concepts of persistence, success, attrition and institutional culture and opens critical debates on pervasive and systemic issues that often impair progress. add-on, short-term and other such insular interventions remain impotent at challenging the exclusionary status quo. the authors provide cogent examples, cases and evidence to lend weight to the argument that institutional efforts and systemic collaborations are probably the most potent methods of addressing the broad concerns of persistence and success. “whole-of-institution” (p. xi) approaches, also called collegial and systemic (reason, 2009), are the most effective in terms of triggering substantial shifts towards enhancing students’ chances of persistence (reason, 2009). the book is a collection of chapters that offer critical insights into, and expand, the scholarship about fye. the chapters begin with funston, gil and gilmore exploring the constructs and assumptions embedded in fye discourses, and encourage the reader to review assumptions about the role of higher education within discourses of equity, access and participation. fye is sometimes viewed in instrumentalist terms about retention of “indigenous” or “previously disadvantaged” groups of students, and funston, gil and gilmore challenge this view as assimilationist and present the “whole-of-institution approach”, which highlights the importance of “executive led and holistic approaches” (p. 15), culture and climate shift within institutions. through critical reflection, scholarship, research and insightful narrative, the editors and authors do not offer simplistic solutions but illuminate the profound challenges in employing transformative strategies truly to transform higher education. each chapter offers a detailed case study to illustrate how transition pedagogy manifests in fye spaces, thus impacting institutional change. this is perhaps the one area in which this book may have been more explicit. there is little exploration of how the fye, even if re-thought in radical terms, changes the overall traditional practices of mainstream senior years in the undergraduate and postgraduate sector. overall, the book is an extremely valuable resource for anyone in higher education who is committed to the complex tasks of realising the ideals of higher education as an equaliser. birgit schreiber: strong starts, supported transitions and student success 99 references akoojee, s. & nkomo, m. (2007). access and quality in south african higher education: the twin challenges of transformation. south african journal of higher education, 21(3), 385–399. kioko, j. (2010). foundation provision in south african higher education: a social justice perspective. in c. hutchings & j. garraway (eds). beyond the university gates: provision of extended curriculum programmes in south africa, pp. 76–96. proceedings of the january 2009 rhodes university foundation seminar. kift, s., nelson, k. & clark, j. (2010). transition pedagogy: a third generation approach to fye – a case study of policy and practice for the higher education sector. the international journal of the first year in higher education, 1(1), 1–20. doi:10.5204/intjfyhe.vlil.13 ndebele, n. (1995). maintaining domination through language. academic development 1(1), 3–5. reason, r. (2009). an examination of persistence research through the lens of a comprehensive conceptual framework. journal of college student development, 50, 659–682. vilakazi, h. (1986). the need for a revolution in education. proceedings of the aspects 7 asp conference, university of natal, pietermaritzburg. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 71–73 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.12 71 www.jsaa.ac.za * claudia frittelli is programme officer, higher education and research in africa at the carnegie corporation of new york. email: cf@carnegie.org book review ratemo waya michieka (2016). trails in academic and administrative leadership in kenya: a memoir. boston: beacon press. reviewed by claudia frittelli* trails in academic and administrative leadership in kenya: a memoir (2016) by ratemo waya michieka provides a historical footprint for african university leaders tasked with transforming constituent colleges into full-fledged public universities. kenya’s higher education enrollment reached 470,000 in 2015 from 184,000 in 2010, and the sector has expanded from five to twenty-three public universities since the 2000s (icef monitor 2016, commission for university education, 2015). during this expansion, leadership at kenyan public universities has fluctuated between politicised recruitment and decision-making, and autonomy of management to the detriment of university governance structures (oanda & jowi, 2012). according to his memoir, prof. michieka, although a political appointee, succeeds at strengthening the institutional governance structures he leads. the book documents the author’s founding of and/or contribution to pivotal higher education constituent organisations between 1994 and 2003 which have led to broader platforms for higher education decision-making. this includes his role in the origins of kenya education network, the african institute for capacity development, inter-university council of east africa, kenyan commission for higher education, and re-initiation of jomo kenyatta university students organization at a time when kenyan student unions were banned due to riotous behavior (chapter 12). in 1989, president moi seconds michieka from his position as associate professor and chairman, faculty of agriculture, university of nairobi, to become deputy principal of academic affairs and subsequently vice-chancellor of jomo kenyatta college of agriculture and technology (jkcat). michieka’s mission is to transform jkcat into a science and technology-based public university which involves lobbying the agenda; staff recruitment and release; development of academic programmes and staff; improving gender equity; increasing research funding, infrastructure and publications; maintaining quality; and managing outreach services and public relations (chapter 10). while the book lacks data indicators of what was achieved, the vice-chancellor’s decision-making procedures are well documented. thirteen years later, following a political transition, president kibaki abruptly appoints michieka as director-general of the national environment management authority http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:cf%40carnegie.org?subject= 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 71–73 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.12 (nema). on arrival at nema (chapter 17), the appointee receives a list of environmental, pollution and degradation issues and no budget. neither appointments were michieka’s choices, but his ability to transform a university college into kenya’s fifth public university, and subsequently modernise a heavily controlled government parastatal while maintaining integrity and independence from political machinations is exemplary. the memoir demonstrates his leadership adjustments and approaches among multiple constituencies – gaining the confidence of and retaining academic staff; building long-term relationships with external funders like the japan international cooperation agency; representing rural community voices to protect national parks; and influencing nation-wide public attitudes through pioneering anti-litter campaigns. this leads to his conclusion in chapter 19 that good leadership “includes the following aspects: • vision – framing the organisational character and pursuing it; • planning and generating potential solutions to the issues at hand; • deciding and making a commitment to a course of action; • explaining the rationale that led to this commitment and presenting the legitimate expectations; • executing the objectives to realisation; • continuous evaluation of the progress with modifications as necessary; • integrity and accountability; • responsive public relations; • good sense of time management.” in both establishing jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology (jkuat) and transitioning to nema, michieka starts with a clean slate, charts a course, consults with governance bodies, and rallies staff and external stakeholders. the memoir’s chronological account of his merit-based decision-making in a context of ethnic cleavages, nepotism and sycophancy provides practical examples for decision-makers in similar contexts. the author self-admittedly reports on rather than critiques the political regime which some may find lacking. however, the personal anxieties he describes, like facing discrimination on an apartheid-era south african airways flight, validate his integrity and character. in 2006, he returns to his tenure at the faculty of agriculture and veterinary sciences, university of nairobi where he had never stopped conducting research and supervising postgraduate students, demonstrating his commitment to scholarship and the kenyan academy. the book was supported by the council for the development of social science research in africa (codesria) higher education leadership program which documents challenges and trends of university leadership over the past several decades. the program aims to better understand the various changes taking place with regard to governance and leadership of higher education institutions in africa, the nature and forces at play in constituting leadership and governance,  and the extent to which changes in governance and leadership of african higher education have contributed or not to changing the general perceptions of the mission and roles of institutions (codesria, 2012). kenya is expected to have one of the world’s fastest-growing populations of 18to 22-year-olds through 2024, claudia frittelli: trails in academic and administrative leadership in kenya 73 along with a steady decline in the percentages of undergraduates studying abroad (icef monitor, 2016). the kenyan commission for university education has recently been given a mandate to collect, disseminate and maintain data on the country’s sixty-eight higher education institutions (the universities (amendment) bill, 2014). concerns about quality due to massification are attributable to the sector’s leadership and governance, particularly the effectiveness of university senates and councils. by documenting historical governance practices, trails in academic and administrative leadership in kenya contributes to equipping the next generation of higher education leaders. references commission for university education (2015). retrieved from http://www.cue.or.ke/images/ phocadownload/accredited_universities_kenya_nov2015.pdf council for the development of social science research africa higher education leadership program (2012). retrieved from http://wavuti.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/7/6/3076464/ leadership_programme_call_for_proposals_for_nwgs_and_crns.pdf icef monitor (2016). “kenyan students staying home in greater numbers but quality concerns persist”, 23 february 2016. oanda, i.o. & jowi, j. (2012). university expansion and the challenges to social developments in kenya: dilemmas and pitfalls. journal of higher education in africa, 10(1), 49–71. the universities (amendment) bill (2014). retrieved from www.parliament.go.ke/... bills/.../730_2566d32f61596 http://www.cue.or.ke/images/phocadownload/accredited_universities_kenya_nov2015 http://www.cue.or.ke/images/phocadownload/accredited_universities_kenya_nov2015 http://wavuti.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/7/6/3076464/leadership_programme_call_for_proposals_for_nwgs_and_crns.pdf http://wavuti.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/7/6/3076464/leadership_programme_call_for_proposals_for_nwgs_and_crns.pdf http://www.parliament.go.ke/...bills/.../730_2566d32f61596 http://www.parliament.go.ke/...bills/.../730_2566d32f61596 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, vii-xiv | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.99 www.jsaa.ac.za student power in africa manja klemenčič*, thierry m. luescher** and james otieno jowi*** editorial * dr manja klemenčič is fellow and lecturer in sociology of higher education in the department of sociology, faculty of arts and sciences, harvard university, usa. ** dr thierry m. luescher is senior researcher and assistant director: institutional research in the directorate for institutional research and academic planning, university of the free state, south africa. email: lueschert@ufs.ac.za *** mr james otieno jowi is the founding executive director and secretary general of the african network for internationalization of education (anie). he teaches comparative and international education in the school of education, moi university, kenya. this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa brings together parts of the work of a group of young african scholars who have investigated student politics in africa and its relation to university governance, national politics, citizenship and democracy in africa. it is part of the african minds project student representation in higher education governance in africa sponsored by the carnegie corporation of new york (see preface by claudia frittelli in this issue). following an open call for proposals in december 2013, we received over 20 abstracts and eventually draft papers which we thoroughly reviewed and individually engaged the authors on. we gave them extensive comments and access to local and international literature, and advised them on conceptual, analytical and methodological approaches to guide the development of their papers. in august 2014, the group of authors and editors met for a three-day symposium and workshop in cape town, south africa, during which they shared their experiences, reviewed and commented on one another’s contributions, and discussed cross-cutting issues emanating from the papers. the participants were also treated to workshops aimed at developing academic writing, presentation and publishing skills, and presentations on contemporary trends and practices in academic publishing. the final product of the project is presented in two publications: the dedicated issue ‘student power in africa’ of the journal of student affairs in africa and its companion publication, the book student politics in africa: representation and activism, published as vol. 2 in the african higher education dynamics series of african minds (cf. luescher, klemenčič & jowi, forthcoming). in our work as project leaders and editors, we have been cognisant of recent empirical and theoretical work conducted for various other projects, including the council for the viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, vii-xiv | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.99 development of social science research in africa’s (codesria’s) investigations into higher education governance in africa, the studies done by the higher education and advocacy network in africa (herana) on higher education and democracy, and the centre for higher education transformation’s (chet) project on student leadership, student engagement and citizenship competences in africa. we have also been inspired by the publication of special issues on student representation of the journals tertiary education and management (2011), european journal of higher education (2012) and studies in higher education (2014). in keeping with this genealogy, the student representation project has been first and foremost an opportunity to produce new knowledge on the politics of students in african universities, focusing on empirical investigations into student representation and activism in the african context. the aim has been to explore and describe contemporary manifestations of student power, particularly student representation in african higher education governance and student activism, in order to develop new and existing key concepts, analytical approaches and theoretical frameworks. what is ‘student representation’? ‘student representation’ refers to the formal structures and processes of elected or appointed student representatives speaking or acting on behalf of the collective student body in higher education governance within a higher education institution or a higher education system. it means making the collective student voice ‘present’ in decision processes within higher education institutions or public-policy processes led by political authorities responsible for higher education. student representation is premised on three conditions. firstly, there must be democratic procedures in place which confer collective student powers on student representatives to represent the interests of the collective student body and through which those powers can also be revoked. secondly, student representatives must create procedures through which they regularly communicate with the student body to collect student views and inform about their activities (for more on authorisation and accountability, see mugume & luescher, in this issue). thirdly, there must be representational structures through which student representatives can intermediate student interests into the decisionmaking processes. in other words, student representatives have to have seats on governing and other bodies involved at all levels and stages of the decision-making processes (klemenčič, 2014). why study student representation? student representation is a widespread phenomenon, worldwide and across all african higher education institutions, at the level of institutional governing bodies. indeed, it is a vital ingredient in higher education governance at the institutional level, that is, the decision-making processes, structures and relationships through which higher education institutions choose their goals and guide and restrain collective activities. contrary to the institutional level, student representation in national-level higher education governance is much less widespread across the systems, and often dependent on informal relationships rather than stipulated in formal rules and procedures (klemenčič, mugume & luescher in manja klemenčič, thierry m. luescher & james otieno jowi: student power in africa ix luescher, klemenčič & jowi, forthcoming). the relations between governments and student groups are more frequently explored through the lens of activism and student movements rather than representation. in any case, investigations into student power and students’ collective political behaviour contribute to a broader research theme of how human agency – individual and collective – shapes higher education policies, a theme which is still fairly underexplored within the field of higher education studies. student representation and student affairs student representation lies at the intersection of several key research areas in higher education studies. for one, it lies at the heart of student affairs as a field that focuses on institutional practices with respect to co-curricular learning and services to, and support for, students at institutions of higher education. institutional relations to student representative associations – student councils, unions, governments, guilds, parliaments, etc. – fall directly into the domain of responsibilities of student affairs departments within institutions of higher education. what exactly these relations entail varies from one institution to another. in some institutions, student affairs practitioners are the ones who have direct contact with student organisations and student representatives, manage the institutional support granted to these organisations, oversee their activities, and help with advising and training student representatives. it is very common that student affairs professionals involve student representatives in planning and implementing various programmes, services and events under their responsibility related to student advising, arts and culture, counselling, diversity, disability, leadership development, orientation, residence life, sports and recreation, and student onand off-campus life more broadly. student associations frequently supplement services that are offered by the institutions of higher education (see examples from kenya by macharia in this issue; also see luescher-mamashela & mugume, 2014). the cooperation between student affairs professionals and student representatives comes naturally from the shared responsibility to organise student life either on the basis of the concept that universities stand in loco parentis or out of awareness that student life outside the classroom is important for student self-formation, well-being, and student engagement, and should therefore be pursued intentionally and systematically and be consciously structured and coordinated (tinto, 2014). student representation and higher education governance student representation is also part of the studies of governance and administration of higher education institutions and of higher education system governance. the former investigate the structures, processes and relationships which steer organisational behaviour within individual institutions. the latter focus on structures, processes and relationships between public authorities, higher education institutions and other higher education stakeholders, such as students, which coordinate, steer and influence organisational behaviour across a higher education system. both types of studies elucidate the questions of authority, power and influence, responsibilities and preferences of various actors within the decision-making processes of higher education institutions or within a higher education polity. students – x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, vii-xiv | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.99 individually or collectively – are one, often highly invested, actor in these decision-making processes (klemenčič, 2012; 2014). by focusing specially on the agency and subjectivity of students we can investigate student governance as the constellations of authority and accountability that manifest the ‘cultures of governance’ (hall, symes & luescher, 2004) that operate and are experienced in student life. student governance includes in its scope the structures, processes and relationships of student government, how it is organised, governs and is governed, and how student representatives relate to the collective student body and to the authorities which they try to influence (klemenčič, 2012; 2014; lueschermamashela & mugume, 2014). student representation and student activism where student representation is absent or ineffectual, students have historically resorted to protest action to voice their grievances and express their preferences. student activism refers to various, typically oppositional, forms of public expression of student power (altbach, 2006; for an overview of altbach’s work on student activism, see luescher-mamashela, 2015). student activism is not confined to higher education-related isses; it extends the articulation of student preferences well beyond university politics and policy to involve students as a political force in social movements locally and around the world (altbach & klemenčič, 2014, p. 2). student representation and student activism are two sides of a coin, the currency of which is student power. in this respect, pabian and minksová (2011, p. 262) argue that there are two categories of studies of student politics: ‘the first deals with student activism in “extraordinary” governance processes like student protests and rallies while the latter focusses on the “ordinary” processes of elections and board negotiations.’ yet, the interrelation between student representation and activism is not only conceptual; it is also historical. the formal representation of students in higher education governance has its roots precisely in student agitation to this end (luescher-mamashela, 2013; pabian & minksová, 2011). student representation and student engagement finally, student representation falls into the research on student engagement, especially on research into teaching and learning for critical and active democratic citizenship (trowler & trowler, 2010). conceiving universities as sites of citizenship and civic involvement harnesses the university potential to consciously cultivate democratic norms, values and practices on campus (bergan, 2004). a strong student representation is at the centre of such an objective. as the article by kgosithebe and luescher (in this issue) shows, universities stimulate students’ cognitive engagement with politics, as well as their interest in and discussion about politics, and increases knowledge of basic facts about the political system, government, and political incumbents. student representation, if diligently following the principles of democratic governance, is a powerful example of democracy at work, and efficacy of student representatives in university governance can be an important lesson that democracy indeed works. the activities organised by student representatives – as well as by other student groups – present the ‘social glue’ that bonds the university community and enhances student engagement, in particular the sense of student belonging to a university manja klemenčič, thierry m. luescher & james otieno jowi: student power in africa xi community, all of which are essential for student integration, motivation, retention and student success (tinto, 2014; also see: kuh, 2009; astin 1999; tinto 1998). they lend themselves to life laboratories for active and collaborative learning for the development of competences and critical understanding related to democratic citizenship (lueschermamashela, ssembatya, brooks et al., 2015). this potential, of course, also presents challenges. student representatives who do not adhere to the principles of democratic governance of student associations, who misuse the powers vested in them for personal or party-political interests, or who fail to meet student expectations due to inactivity, feed student cynicism over the state of democracy within their student association, university and their country. similarly, universities that do not provide for student representation deny their students opportunities to be socialised into enlightened, responsible and constructively critical citizens. a well-designed institutional framework of student representation is a necessary, but not sufficient, part of such socialisation. to nurture students’ commitment to active and critical citizenship of the university and beyond, other measures need to be integrated into the curriculum and in all functions and operations of university life so as to consciously cultivate democratic norms, values and practices on campus (klemenčič, bergan & primožič, 2015; luescher-mamashela, ssembatya, brooks et al., 2015). student power in africa: in this issue this issue of the jsaa comprises five articles from the student representation project and covers a diversity of topics. the article by taabo mugume and thierry luescher addresses the critical shortage in student housing on public university campuses in south africa and the student politics surrounding attempts at addressing this by means of public–private partnerships. with regard to the ‘kovacs crisis’ of 2012 at the university of the western cape, the authors show how the students’ representative council put the user-price of the new residence onto the agenda of the university management, and analyse the effectiveness of student representation in the process. mwangi macharia explores contemporary student representation and participation in university governance in kenya. he outlines the structure of students’ unions in kenyan universities and students’ involvement in university decision-making, and this is followed by a discussion of the changing manifestation of ‘comrades’ power’ in universities. blessing makunike outlines in his article the relationship between the zimbabwean student movement and government in broad strokes: from the pre-independence period through the first and second decades of independence. he illustrates his argument about the love-hate relationship between the student movement and government with special reference to two moments in the country’s student political history: the 1973 student protests against racial discrimination at the university of rhodesia and post-1990 developments in national and university politics in zimbabwe. lucky kgosithebe and thierry luescher analyse data on students’ political attitudes to democracy collected as part of the herana student surveys at four african flagship universities. comparing the student data with national public opinion data from the afrobarometer, they find that, in most cases, students are better informed, more active xii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, vii-xiv | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.99 and more critical citizens than youths without higher education and citizens in general in their respective countries. they also find that the students at the four universities, that is, the university of botswana, university of cape town, university of dar es salaam, and university of nairobi, are not necessarily more democratically inclined than non-students. in this way, their analysis confirms earlier studies that suggest ‘political hothouse’ conditions in african flagship universities; they offer solutions as to the way these conditions may be employed to transform the african university into a training ground for democracy. finally, adesoji oni and jeremiah adetoro present the results of a survey conducted among academics, university leaders and students in the 12 public and private universities of south-west nigeria. in a country where formal student representation is limited and the expression of student interests frequently results in large-scale protests, the results of their analysis are leading the way. they conclude that, ‘for [university] leadership and teaching effectiveness to be guaranteed in nigerian universities, provision must be made for adequate involvement of students in decision-making on important matters relating to university administration’ (oni & adetoro, in this issue). they arrive at this conclusion by focusing their analysis, firstly, on the relationship between student involvement in decision-making and leadership effectiveness, where they find a significant difference in decision-making with student involvement as against decision-making without student involvement. secondly, when analysing the impact of the student–management relationship on teaching effectiveness, they again find that a cordial relationship significantly affects teaching effectiveness. the guest-edited research articles are complemented by a critical reflection on the role of student affairs in the internationalisation of higher education and, particularly, in the transition of international students to campus life at new york university (nyu). allen mcfarlane presents 15 salient lessons learnt from the international student engagement meeting initiative at the nyu new york campus. in the jsaa organisational news section ‘campus dialogue’, annsilla nyar reports on the inaugural conference of the south african national resource centre for the first year experience and students in transition, which took place from 19 to 21 may 2015 at the university of johannesburg. in addition, lisa bardill moscaritolo and birgit schreiber present a report on the 2nd global summit on student affairs which took place in rome in 2014. the summit was hosted by the european university college association in collaboration with the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) and the us association for student affairs professionals in higher education (naspa). this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa concludes with a critical review of the acclaimed new book knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education, edited by nico cloete, peter maassen and tracy bailey, and reviewed by birgit schreiber. for the editing of the latter contributions, the guest editors would like to thank the jsaa editorial executive for its support. manja klemenčič, thierry m. luescher & james otieno jowi: student power in africa xiii the issue of ‘student power in africa’ has been guest-edited by: dr thierry m. luescher, university of the free state, south africa dr manja klemenčič, harvard university, usa mr james otieno jowi, moi university, kenya references altbach, p.g. (2006). student politics: activism and culture. in forest, j.f. & altbach, p.g. (eds.), international handbook of higher education. dordrecht: springer. altbach, p.g., & klemenčič, m. (2014). student activism remains a potent force worldwide. international higher education, 76 (summer), pp. 2-3. astin, a.w. (1999). student involvement: a developmental theory for higher education. journal of college student development, 40(5), pp. 518-529. bergan, s. (ed.). (2004). the university as res publica: higher education governance, student participation and the university as a site of citizenship. strasbourg: council of europe publishing. hall, m., symes, a., & luescher, t.m. (2004). the culture of governance in south african public higher education. journal of higher education policy and management, 26(1), pp. 91-107, doi: 10.1080/1360080042000182555 jowi, j.o. (2004). student participation in the governance of higher education in africa. paper prepared for the centre for higher education transformation. cape town: chet. klemenčič, m. (2012). student representation in western europe: introduction to the special issue. european journal of higher education, 2(1), pp. 2-19. doi: 10.1080/21568235.2012.695058 klemenčič, m. (2014). student power in a global perspective and contemporary trends in student organising. studies in higher education, 39(3), pp. 396-411. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2014.896177 klemenčič, m., bergan, s., & primožič, r. (eds). (2015). student engagement in europe: society, higher education and student governance. (council of europe higher education series no. 20). strasbourg: council of europe publishing. kuh, g.d. (2009). what student affairs professionals need to know about student engagement. journal of college student development 50(6), pp. 683-706. doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0099 luescher, t.m., klemenčič, m., & jowi, j.o. (eds). ( forthcoming). student politics in africa: representation and activism. (african higher education dynamics series vol. 2). cape town & maputo: african minds. luescher-mamashela, t.m. (2013). student representation in university decision making: good reasons, a new lens? studies in higher education, 38(10), pp. 1442-1456. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2011.625496 luescher-mamashela, t.m. (2015). theorising student activism in and beyond the 20th century: the contribution of philip g. altbach. in klemenčič, m., bergan, s., & primožič, r. (eds), student engagement in europe: society, higher education and student governance. (council of europe higher education series no. 20). strasbourg: council of europe publishing. luescher-mamashela, t.m., & mugume, t. (2014). student representation and multiparty politics in african higher education. studies in higher education, 39(3), pp. 500-515. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2014.896183 xiv journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, vii-xiv | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.99 luescher-mamashela, t.m., ssembatya, v., brooks, e., lange, r.s., mugume, t., & richmond, s. (2015). student engagement and citizenship competences in african universities. in cloete, n., maassen, p. & bailey, t. (eds), knowledge production and contradictory functions in african higher education. (african higher education dynamics series vol. 1). cape town & maputo: african minds. pabian, p., & minksová, l. (2011). students in higher education governance in europe: contrasts, commonalities and controversies. tertiary education and management, 17(3), pp. 261-273. doi: 10.1080/13583883.2011.588722 tinto, v. (1998). colleges as communities: taking research on student persistence seriously. the review of higher education, 2(2), pp. 167-177. tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south africa lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), pp. 5-26, doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 trowler, v. & trowler, p. (2010). student engagement evidence summary. york: higher education academy. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 81 www.jsaa.ac.za research article #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis of selected newspaper articles george mavunga* * mr george mavunga is senior coordinator in the academic development centre at the university of johannesburg, south africa. email: gmavunga@uj.ac.za abstract using critical realism, this article looks at articles from selected south african newspapers which reported on the #feesmustfall protests. the study established that, arising from the protests, was a culture characteried by tensions and distrust amongst stakeholders such as students, university management and the government. this, the article argues, was a result of how each of these stakeholders perceived, and went on to exercise, their agency in an attempt to resolve the conflict arising from the protests. to avert a recurrence of negative consequences of student protests such as the destruction of property and development of toxic and adversarial relationships amongst different stakeholders, the article recommends collaborative approaches to conflict resolution in south african higher education. these approaches need to be framed differently from those in which some stakeholders seek to use their agency to achieve outright victory over other stakeholders – a recurring mode of engagement during the #feesmustfall protests. keywords agency; critical realism; culture; #feesmustfall; higher education; protests; student movements; student politics introduction starting in october 2015, south african public universities experienced a wave of student protests initially over proposed fee increases for the 2016 academic year. the protests started at the university of the witwatersrand (wits) and they soon spread to all the government‑ funded universities. however, students’ disgruntlement with a number of issues in south african higher education had been boiling under the surface for a long time. for example, earlier in the year, the country had also witnessed the #rhodesmustfall protests which were triggered by students’ unhappiness over the continued presence of the statue of cecil john rhodes and other symbols of colonialism at the university of cape town. by january  2016, the #feesmustfall protests had broadened in scope to unhappiness with student accommodation and language of instruction policies at mainly the historically white universities as well as the outsourcing of support staff such as cleaners, gardeners https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:gmavunga%40uj.ac.za?subject= 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 and security guards. the protests therefore mutated and assumed different names such as #outsourcingmustfall and #shackville. at some universities, the protests were very violent and led to suspension of lectures and examinations; damage to property as well as injury and arrest of some students (phaladi & salavu, 2016). the #feesmustfall protests generated so much publicity that they were nominated the newsmaker of the year for 2015 (africa news agency, 2016). as the country takes stock of their financial and social costs, various aspects of the protests have become subjects of research (langa, 2017; booysen, 2016). covering the period between october  2015 and february 2016, this article looks at reports on the protests from selected english language newspapers with a wide circulation in south africa. the study was motivated by the realisation that the character of the protests is still contested amongst academics (booysen, 2016). using critical realism (cr) (bhaskar, 1978), this article is a contribution to the debate around the character of the protests. the article argues that, emerging from the #feesmustfall protests was a culture of engagement which was mainly a function of how different stakeholders belonging to different structures perceived and exercised their agency. critical realism: the culture, structure and agency nexus in trying to explain social phenomena, cr looks at the interplay of three elements, namely culture, structure and agency. the paradigm perceives the world as being made up of a plurality of structures, which through their individual and collective agency influence the events that take place and those that do not (morton, 2006). these contribute to the architecture or form of the culture of society or that of the events that take place in specific entities within society. drawing insights from marxist thinking, cr proposes that, to understand and change the social world, we need to identify the structures that generate social events and the discourse used to describe them (bhaskar,  1978). cr, therefore, advocates a holistic analysis of the historical and social contexts in which social events take place (hartwig, 2007). in the context of the article, the newspaper reports are therefore analysed from the perspectives of all key stakeholders such as university management, students and academics in a bid to holistically characterise the culture of the #feesmustfall protests. culture: ‘what do members of a social group have in common?’ matsumato (1996) defines culture as “… the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviours shared by a group of people … communicated from one generation to the next” (p. 16). for quinn (2012), culture is “… the ideas, beliefs, theories, values, ideologies and concepts which are manifest through discourses used by particular people at particular times” (p. 29). a key implication of these definitions is that the culture of group members and relationships amongst them is influenced by aspects such as the identities of the group members; how the group members perceive their roles in those groups and how they should exercise the power or authority attached to those roles (agency). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 83 the definitions of culture given above provided scope for an analysis of the character of the #feesmustfall protests from a cultural perspective as the protests and how they unfolded were a function of how different stakeholders related with each other. in addition, the protests had a long‑term impact on the south african higher education sector. for example, for mbembe (2016), the protests marked a significant cultural shift in political engagement at south african universities. booysen (2016, p. 18) asserts that, as a result of the events of 2016, “an on‑going thirst for activism is in evidence”. such evidence, is, for instance, seen in that, at the time of writing this article in 2018, the soshanguve campus of the tshwane university of technology in pretoria had been closed for several weeks as a result of student protests. another justification for framing the #feesmustfall protests on a cultural basis lies in that they inspired a number of other demands by students, albeit not of equal measure. examples include #outsourcingmustfall; #endrapeculture and #patriachymustfall (ndelu, 2017). such demands, and others, all of which aggregated into #feesmustfall, despite being rooted in philosophies such as black consciousness and decolonisation, also represent a cultural shift which, according to godsell and chikane (2016), is driven by the search for a post‑colonial south african university in which, amongst other things, students seek solidarity with fellow students and workers as well. mpofu‑walsh (2016) also alludes to the rationale in looking at the character of the protests through a cultural prism in light of the spread of fallism and its programme of action to other parts of the world such as europe and america. structure: ‘we are because we belong’ structure refers to those institutions that have the power to give direction to social activities (westwood & clegg, 2003). their existence is demonstrated in the systems of interaction that occur between people or entities that belong to different social groups. as a result, social structures have the capacity to establish associations amongst positions, practices and roles (witgren, 2004). structure in the context of the #feesmustfall protests refers to individual or collective actors that have an influence on university governance (godsell & chikane, 2016). such structures as university management, the government and student representative councils, on the basis of perceived individual or collective power, influenced the events that took place during the #feesmustfall protests and, ultimately, the form of the culture that characterised the protests. the existence and influence of structures at universities is exemplified by fitzgerald and seale’s (2016) contention that some of the formal university structures were subjected to pressure by some groupings whose legitimacy was questionable. this is in keeping with the contention by archer (2003) that while some structures are formal, others can be informal. agency: ‘what drives our actions?’ jarvis (1985) defines agency as “… the vehicle by means of which institutions provide procedures through which human conduct is patterned” (p. 116). archer (1996) says it is 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 the mandate (and the ability to exercise it), which individuals or groups have to influence the activities of the structures to which they belong. implied in both definitions is the idea that it is through agency that structures influence events that take place in society and therefore the culture that characterises those events. in this study, structures such as student representative councils, university executives and government departments are seen as possessing various forms of agency by means of which they influenced events during the #feesmustfall protests and the culture thereof. this is exemplified by the fact that the protests, according to godsell and chikane (2016) were, in part, ignited by mainly black students at historically white universities realising that they still lacked agency to influence the course of events despite their initial celebration upon gaining access to these universities. methodology cr is a multi‑method paradigm which is not based on a single research methodology and a fixed approach to data analysis (carlson, 2005). this study relied mainly on a qualitative approach in the collection and analysis of data from the selected newspaper articles. this entailed trying to make sense of the individual and collective perceptions of members of the various structures involved in the #feesmustfall protests with respect to the exercise of their agency. the characterisation of the culture emerging from the protests was based on this analysis. a total of thirty‑five articles from widely circulating newspapers in south africa such as mail & guardian, sunday times, city press, sunday independent, the star, daily sun, the citizen, new age and sowetan from october 2015 to march 2016 were analysed. while the first four newspapers are weeklies, the last six are dailies. the major inclusion criterion for the articles selected was the extent to which, after an initial reading, the researcher identified the interplay of structure, agency and culture in them with respect to the protests. the study also made use of some online pictures of events that happened during the #feesmustfall protests. from a methodological perspective, the use of cr is interpretive in nature. it therefore entails re‑articulation of the texts being analysed to yield new narratives (kripendorff, 2013). in this study, the focus of the new narrative was on the form of the culture that characterised the #feesmustfall protests. while they are generally reliable as sources of data, one of the weaknesses which newspapers have is that, as an element of the media, hardly any of them is completely neutral as their editorial policies are guided by the ideologies of their owners. in many cases, they serve the interests of a privileged few in society (duncan, 2003). this study brought balance to the discussion of the findings from the selected newspaper articles by tapping from literature on #feesmustfall found in textbooks. some of the literature was actually based on the voices of the students (malebala, 2017; ndelu, 2017; vilakazi, 2017). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 85 research questions the two main questions were: 1. what is the form of the culture arising from the #feesmustfall protests between october 2015 and march 2016? 2. how can this culture be explained in terms of the structure‑agency‑culture nexus? results and discussion the discussion of the results is based on patterns of the structure–culture agency cross‑links which emerged from the selected newspaper reports. the patterns emerged firstly, from an analysis of how each of the different structures involved in the #feesmustfall protests was portrayed as perceiving its own agency. secondly, the patterns were derived from the perceptions of the means by which such agency could be exercised to resolve the conflict leading to, and arising from, the protests. the influence of structure two broad levels of structures identifiable from the selected newspapers were the macro and micro. at the macro level were political party‑affiliated student organisations. examples of these included the south african students’ congress (sasco); democratic alliance students’ organisation (daso) and the economic freedom fighters students’ command (effsc). when the protests started, these different student structures put their differences aside and fought as a united front. this was seen in the unanimous agreement amongst the different student organisations that fees had to fall (watson, 2016b). the initial unity amongst student organisations affiliated to different political parties was a defining characteristic of the protests to which the momentum that they quickly gathered could be attributed. it is noteworthy, however, that in interviews with vilakazi (2017) some #feesmustfall participants at the soshanguve campus of the tshwane university of technology said that protests at their campus could not be reduced to #feesmustfall since they had been protesting for many years over issues such as poor student accommodation and financial exclusion. in addition to student structures, other macro‑level structures included universities south africa, a joint forum for all vice‑chancellors of the public universities in south africa; the department of higher education and training (dhet); department of police; faith‑based organisations; and political parties such as the african national congress (anc), democratic alliance (da) and economic freedom fighters (eff). the responses of these social entities to the protests as reported in the newspaper articles were similarly closely reflective of how they sought to pursue resolutions to the conflict in ways that suited their interests. for example, the secretary‑general of the anc, in his response to the protests, argued that the provision of free education had always been an aspect of the anc’s policies (mantashe, 2015). in his view, therefore, the anc government was, in principle, not against the demand for free education by the students. 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 given the demand by political organisations for consistency in responses to issues of national importance, it is ironic that there were often instances of contradiction between sub‑structures belonging to the same entity. for example, contrary to the anc secretary‑ general’s views on the #feesmustfall protests highlighted above, the anc youth league (ancyl) characterised the protests as “… part of a counter‑revolutionary movement bent on overthrowing the government” (cele, 2016, p. 14). similarly, the congress of south african trade unions (cosatu) blamed the protests on inept leadership by the vice‑chancellors (ngobeni,  2016). such apparent contradictions serve to highlight the complex form of the culture of the #feesmustfall protests arising from the specific identities, perceptions and interests of sub‑structures which, in some cases, belonged to the same macro‑level structures. visible micro‑level, structures included the students representative councils (srcs) of the individual universities; political party‑affiliated student organisations and university management. generally, the responses of each of these structures to the protests showed their belief in both the legitimacy and efficacy of their actions. for example, university management condemned the violence perpetrated by some protestors, arguing that it infringed on the rights of non‑protesters. an example was a letter written to staff members by adam habib, the vice‑chancellor of the university of the witwatersrand, after they criticised him for securitising the university. in the letter, he cited the case of an old man from limpopo province whose attempt to assist his grandson with registration had been violently disrupted. however, in a response to the letter, bohmke (2016) argues that despite previously taking part in protests, which put the lives of staff and students at risk at the former university of durban‑westville, habib’s material conditions had changed so much as to make it difficult for him to fully appreciate his own students’ struggle. another example of university executives’ position was that of the university of johannesburg (uj) spokesperson who reportedly warned that “… no intimidation or violence would be tolerated during the 2016 registration”. (watson, 2016a). this seems attributable to the belief by senior management, as a structure, in the principle of the managerial right to manage, a form of agency which, perhaps in their perception, legitimised their use of threats, rules and regulations to deal with the conflict arising from the protests. however, juxtaposed with such threats, the uj vice‑chancellor issued a statement appealing to students’ appreciation of the transformative power of education. the statement, added to the complex and multi‑dimensional nature of the culture arising from the #feesmustfall protests as on one hand, within the same micro‑level entity, threats are portrayed as the chosen conflict resolution tool while, on the other, persuasion is depicted as the preferred approach. the influence of agency from the selected newspaper articles, the responses of the different macro‑ and micro‑ level structures showed reliance on various forms of agency. these responses constituted the means by which they executed the protests, in the case of the students, or responded https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 87 to them, in the case of the government and university management. this also contributed to specific tenets of the culture of the #feesmustfall protests identifiable in the selected articles. examples of the different forms of agency relied on by different structures included the power of the collective; violence; access to state resources and power; and, in the case of academic members of staff, projecting themselves as the ‘voice of reason.’ the power of the collective seven years before 1994, ndebele (1987, p. 2) predicted, “surely the children of the masses are destined to invade the universities.” this came true with the eruption of the #feesmustfall protests in 2015, ironically under a democratic government. a critical aspect of the students’ mass participation in #feesmustfall was their belief in their power as a collective. illustrative of this, as shown in figure 1, was the large number of students who marched to such centres of national political power as luthuli house, the headquarters of the anc, and the union buildings in pretoria, which is the seat of government as well as parliament in cape town. according to booysen (2016, p. 22), a placard held by one of the students during protests at parliament also emphatically expressed the students’ belief in the power of the collective as it read, “the people have more power than the people in power”. figure 1: mass attendance at the union buildings (source: https://bit.ly/2o7g0hl) to demonstrate their power when they marched to luthuli house, the students did not allow gwede mantashe, the then secretary of the anc, to address them as all they wanted https://bit.ly/2o7g0hl 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 was to hand over their list of demands to him. similarly, as captured at wits university in 2015 in figure 2, the students prevented the vice‑chancellor of the university, adam habib, from leaving the auditorium in which they were gathered until he called a meeting of the university’s council. this incident demonstrated the power of the collective in that, in all likelihood, it would have been impossible under normal circumstances for an individual student to prevent the vice‑chancellor from leaving the auditorium. according  to  soudien  (2016, p. 205), habib’s posture, though, did not mean that he was being held hostage by his students, but it was rather one that demonstrated “… the full amplitude of the complexity of, and in some ways an experimental response to, the leadership question of higher education”. this confirms the view that the culture of the #feesmustfall protests was multi‑dimensional and therefore should not be looked at from only one angle. figure 2: wits vice-chancellor, adam habib (centre), held hostage by students (source: https://mg.co.za/#feesmustfallpictures) thirdly, in january 2016, students threatened to disrupt the local government elections in the whole country if their demands were not met. (watson, 2016b). such a threat could only come from a social entity with a strong belief that as a collective, it could achieve such a feat. no individual student or students’ structure would have dared to issue such a threat and hope to be taken seriously by the authorities. the threat by the students to disrupt the local government elections is demonstrative of the influence of the students’ faith in the power of their collective agency on the culture of the #feesmustfall protests. violence as a form of agency in addition to relying on the power of the collective, the selected newspaper articles depict the students as perceiving violence as a form of agency through which the conflict in the #feesmustfall protests could be resolved as shown in the pictures that follow. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 89 figure 3: violence on campus (source: https://bit.ly/2gnfsns) figure 4: violence on campus (source: https://za.pinterest.com/#feesmustfall) the violence depicted in the photographs gave rise to newspaper headlines such as: • ‘varsities on the brink of collapse’ (monama, 2016, p. 1); • ‘varsities on thin ice’ (malingo, ramothwala & selapisa, 2016, p. 1); • ‘varsities ablaze’ (phaladi, 2016a, p. 2); and • ‘campus strife flares’ (monama & molosankwe, 2016, p. 1). https://bit.ly/2gnfsns 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 as a result of the increasing levels of violence as implied in these headlines, one vice‑chancellor expressed the fear that there might be loss of life, warning, “what really worries immensely with escalation of violence is … the day is not far off when a parent will have to fetch their son or daughter in a body bag …” (macupe, 2016, p. 5). however, in the same article, one of the eff student command leaders reportedly expressed the students’ determination to continue with the fight until their concerns were heard, even in the face of death. the sentiment expressed by the eff student command leader is in keeping with the philosophy of fallism which, according to cele (2016), is “an oath of allegiance that everything to do with oppression and conquest of black people by white power must fall and be destroyed” (p. 6). the destruction of artworks at uct, the torching of a bus at uct; the burning of a science centre at north‑west university and the burning of an auditorium at uj could perhaps be attributed to this ideology. it is also perhaps on the basis of this philosophy that a former wits src president is cited as arguing that, to merely talk about violence on campuses without addressing the students’ demands, is to miss the point (macupe, 2016, p. 5). in an interview with one of the #feesmustfall leaders malabela (2016) was told that the students saw violence as the only way they could get the government and university authorities to listen to their demands because the neoliberal ideology on the basis of which the south african university is currently being run does not believe in anything being given to anyone for free. according to ndelu (2017) the students’ frustration, to which the violence might also have been attributed, was the realisation that since 1994 the south african government had sold the black populace in the country a falsehood about liberation and created a deceptive illusion of a “rainbow nation”. characterisng the culture of the protests thus were two contrasting perspectives on the efficacy of violence as a form of agency that could be used as a vehicle through which the conflict could be resolved. while those in university management such as the vice‑chancellor who expressed the fear that violence might eventually lead to the death of a student, perceived violence as a destructive tool, some student leaders, seemingly on the basis of insights from scholars such as franz fanon concluded that it was the only weapon at their disposal for the attainment of their goals. the violence that erupted during the protests might also be viewed as inevitable as protests are inherently disruptive of current social arrangements. consequently, they call attention to urgent societal problems (duncan, 2016). some students at uct felt that while condemning the physical violence perpetrated by students, the university management was sadly oblivious of the violence that is suffered by both black students and staff members through deprivation, alienation and, especially during the protests, police brutality (ndelu, 2017). in addition to violence, the acrimony and toxicity in the culture of the protests was demonstrated through the threats and insults that the then minister of higher education and training, dr blade nzimande, received from some of the students. for example, during a meeting of student leaders, one of them reportedly warned the minister, “blade, we are coming for you … i hope we are very clear on this matter, blade. we will show you that we are serious, if need be, by force “ (watson, 2016b). in another instance, at wits, the minister https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 91 was actually insulted by one student reportedly shouting, “voetsek blade” while others chanted, “blade must fall! blade must fall” (molosankwe, 2016, p. 1). this is demonstrative of the loss of respect for government officials emanating from the students’ frustration with failure by the government to meet their demands. another dimension of the culture of the protests was the disapproval which the violence that characterised them received from some observers such as journalists. for example, without absolving university authorities and government of culpability in the crisis, makhanya (2015, p. 2) observes that “… the destruction of property and the violent intimidation of fellow students is totally unbecoming of people who have overcome obstacles to arrive at institutions of higher learning”. similarly, mthombothi (2016, p. 21) cautions, “violence is unconscionable in a democratic society … reason, not savagery, or boorishness, should reign in our tertiary institutions.” jansen (2015, p. 16) draws a parallel between the violence that erupted during the #feesmustfall protests and apartheid‑era violence, lamenting that although it brought south africa its freedom, “… it sometimes included complete disregard for the humanity of others, such as the horrific necklacing episodes and the torture, even the death, of suspects in camps”. this comparison projects the culture of violence that was exhibited at some universities as a zero‑sum game, “… a kind of gangsterism masquerading as progressive politics” (ibid.). perhaps, to an extent, the death of professor mayosi of uct through suicide, reportedly as a result of depression caused by how he was treated by students during the #feesmustfall protests, serves to demonstrate this culture of lack of compassion for others, which emerged from the protests. interestingly, by the end of february 2016, some students had begun shunning violence and the racism often associated with it. for example, at uct, one female student lamented: “they (the violent students) are taking something that was pure and good and turning it into a fight: black against white. it’s that narrative, these generalisations which i don’t like” (huisman, 2016, p. 6). this student’s disapproval of violence demonstrates that even though members of a group confronted by the same form of adversity may initially be assumed to belong to a homogenous group, there may come a time when, spurred by the power of individual agency, some of them begin to differ in the way they may interpret the events happening around them. on the basis of such differences of opinion amongst students on the efficacy of violence as a tool for resolving conflict, the protests might be said to have become characterised by internal contradictions and ambiguities with the potential to slow down their momentum. othering and denigration as forms of agency in addition to reliance on the power of the collective and of violence, the students who took part in the #feesmustfall protests also used othering and denigration as forms of agency. crang (1998, p. 61) defines othering as a “… process through which identities are set up in an unequal relationship”. this implies that an individual who engages in othering simultaneously constructs the self or in‑group in unequal and mutual opposition to the other or out‑group. they do this through identification of some desirable traits, which the 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 self or in‑group is deemed to possess and the other or out‑group is perceived not to have (brons, 2014). alternatively, the other or out‑group is perceived as having some undesirable characteristics which the self or in‑group does not have. as a result, the relationship between the two is characterised by implicit, but in some cases explicit, expressions of superiority and inferiority in referring to self or in‑group and the other or out‑group respectively. often this leads to denigration of stakeholders with whom the individual holds contrary views. denigration thus becomes a form of agency which is embedded in othering (cole, 2004). several cases of othering and denigration could be identified in the newspaper articles reporting on the #feesmustfall protests. for example, in the article in which one student leader warned the minister of higher education that the students would go for him, referred to earlier, the juxtaposition of the minister’s name, ‘blade’ with the pronoun ‘we’ which refers to the students demonstrates that the student leader perceived the minister and the students as occupying opposing positions in the conflict. denigration is also evident in the threats issued by students such as “blade must fall! blade must fall” and insults such as “voetsek blade” (molosankwe, 2016, p. 1). in the placard in figure 5, through a sarcastic and metaphoric play on the minister’s first name, the students portray him as ineffective. figure 5: denigrating the minister of higher education and training (source: https://bit.ly/2lf5vvl) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 https://bit.ly/2lf5vvl george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 93 the then president, jacob zuma, was also not spared the denigration as shown in figure 6. figure 6: denigrating the president (source: https://za.pinterest.com/#feesmustfall) the message in the placard is another sarcastic reference to the president’s difficulties with reading. denigration of the president in this way might also be seen as a form of agency through which the students hoped to achieve their goals. state power and resources as forms of agency in an attempt to assert its authority, the government had by march 2016 taken the view that, while students had a democratic right to protest, resorting to the use of violence and destruction of property “constitute a criminal act that must be prosecutable” (chernick & kalipa, 2016, p. 6). the minister of higher education and training therefore reached an agreement with the minister of police on the deployment of police to those university campuses rocked by violence. he also called for the prosecution of perpetrators of violence to protect life and property at university campuses. such measures demonstrate belief in the agency of state power as a possible effective tool for containing the violence at university campuses. similarly, some of the universities are reported in the newspaper articles to have flexed their muscles as exemplified by the contracting of private security companies to secure campuses; using the courts to interdict students from protesting on campus; and, in some cases, the issuing of threats and subjecting protesting students to disciplinary procedures – all inherently forms of agency used by university authorities to contain the protests. 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 the government, through the dhet, also used its control of the national fiscus as a form of agency. for example, the then minister dismissed the influence wielded by student leaders who had earlier walked out of a meeting with him in ekurhuleni. reportedly, the student leaders later contacted him requesting continued engagement (makatile,  2016). if true, then the students’ turnabout is an acknowledgement on their part, even if not explicitly expressed, of government’s agency as a stakeholder in the pursuit of a solution to the protests. this can be said to be particularly so in light of the pledge by government to commit r9 billion to make up for the shortfall arising from the 0% fee increase, clearing historical debt dating back to 2013 and sponsoring the so‑called ‘missing middle’ students. to assert government’s authority and the authenticity of its promises, the then minister of higher education and training further warned students to “… be careful of wolves in sheep skins” (makatile, 2016, p. 13). the metaphor was directed at the so‑called ‘third hand’ which, the minister claimed, was trying to use students to achieve nefarious ends in the south african local government elections scheduled for 2016. this force was thus projected as lacking in honesty and its power could only lie in deceit and manipulation. however, the fact that the minister did not name the so‑called wolves in sheep skins seemed to imply that his warning was premised on a conspiracy theory on the basis of which the students were stripped of their own agency. academics’ responses to the protests some articles written by academics or those reporting on their views appeared in some of the selected newspapers. in many such articles, the general view seemed to be that the academics were the voice of reason. the articles portrayed them as holding a position on the matter that would help to resolve it with greater efficacy than what both the government and university executives were capable of. the academics therefore perceived themselves as having a form of agency which can be added to the complexity of the culture of the #feesmustfall protests. for example, at some universities, some academics marched in solidarity with students as exemplified in figure 7. figure 7: protesting academics (source: https://bit.ly/2ghpd6l) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 https://bit.ly/2ghpd6l george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 95 the academics’ sympathetic response to the crisis seemed to stem both from what they saw as genuine demands by students and heavy‑handedness in the responses of some university executives to the protests. in an open condemnation of the adoption of measures such as the hiring of bouncers to man university entrances, swart (2016, p. 47) says, “by inviting the police and security on to campus, management opened the door for indiscriminate force and disproportionate measures against students.” mangcu (2016, p. 18) concurs with this view, asserting that there had been “… greater peace at those universities that have not brought in any private security or police” and goes on to argue that this is simply attributable to the fact that “police and private security almost always aggravate already volatile situations”. this observation concurs with the bourdiean view that the police represent repressive state power so their deployment to university campuses would naturally ignite violence. the blame for the culture of violence which erupted during the #feesmustfall protests is therefore laid squarely at the doorstep of university executives. painting a picture of contradiction and inconsistency in the culture that emerged from the #feesmustfall protests, swart (2016, p. 47) laments the chameleonic behaviour of some vice‑chancellors of south african universities when she points out, “it is a truth universally acknowledged that those propelled into power and privilege often forget where they came from.” the vice‑chancellors are thus projected as belonging to a powerful structure in terms of both their management positions and the agency of authority that accompanies this. their implied ill treatment of students is therefore all the more frowned upon in light of the parallels between their own backgrounds and those of the majority of their students whose voices they are projected as shutting up coercively. instead of being role models, the vice‑chancellors, in swart’s (2016) view, are sell‑outs who have betrayed not only the present struggle but the old one which they were part of too. according to swart (ibid.), they therefore created a culture in which they exposed “… their own fear and paranoia and exacerbated existing tensions”. this view was echoed by another macro‑level structure, cosatu, when it pointed out: vice‑chancellors are all talk and no action and have been exposed by the student protests. they have barricaded themselves behind police and security walls and are not behaving like people in charge of foundations of knowledge, but like paranoid securocrats running concentration camps. (ngobeni, 2016, p. 4) similarly, accusing the vice‑chancellors of a culture of brinkmanship in dealing with the protests, amato (2016, p. 6) identifies adam habib and max price, the wits and uct vice‑chancellors respectively, of having “… veered into kragdadigheid (display of power or vigour) by hiring private security whom they have allowed to suppress peaceful protest”, their initial deft response to the #feesmustfall protests notwithstanding. the metaphor used to characterise the vice‑chancellors’ behaviour in this case is indicative of academics using their agency as intellectuals to subject the vice‑chancellors’ competencies to closer scrutiny than they might have done before. 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 81‑99 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 ironically, one of the vice‑chancellors at the time, jonathan jansen, who might have been expected to defend his fellow vice‑chancellors, concludes that it is disingenuous to blame the students for the crisis that rocked south african universities as they were not the problem. rather, he advised that “… without solving the leadership problem at universities, large injections of state bail‑out funding would be a terrible waste of resources” (jansen, 2015, p. 8). in this view, therefore, real power lies in good leadership and not in managerial or state‑assisted agency to solve the problem through throwing money at it. fitzgerald and seale (2016) concur with this view when they argue that at the height of the #feesmustfall protests, vice‑chancellors’ managerial inadequacies were seriously exposed as many of them did not know how to deal with the dilemma of allowing the protests on their campuses concurrently with guaranteeing the safety of staff, students and infrastructure. with respect to vice‑chancellors who boast about their struggle credentials and yet react dictatorially to students’ protests, a parallel is also drawn between them and some national leaders in post‑colonial africa, liberators who became oppressors using the same instruments of power which the erstwhile oppressor used to employ. confirming this characterisation, mangcu (2016, p. 18) concludes that “… protest is by definition a process of disruption of the normal order: democrats respond to it with patience, authoritarians with violence”. in this view, therefore, such vice‑chancellors use their power to unfairly perpetuate the oppression of students coming mainly from previously disadvantaged demographic groups, thus subverting the gains of the democratic trajectory the country has been on since 1994. this becomes paradoxical in that universities, especially in the south african historical context, are supposed to be agents of empowerment of those from historically disadvantaged sections of society. in this regard, as a reminder to the universities of their obligations to the larger south african society by virtue of their position, ramphele (2015, p. 5) says that “the education system, including higher education, must acknowledge that it is time to provide intellectual leadership to effect radical transformation”. in further condemning the securitisation of campuses, swart (2016) appeals to academics and students’ right to academic freedom, which she, however, sees being eroded by those structures that leverage their access to power either at state or institutional level to suppress their voice. acknowledging the critical role of youth’s inherent power, swart (2016, p. 47) says: “there is nothing as powerful as youthful anger constructively employed. we should convert the intense anger into something new and existing; the creation of a culture of non‑violent protests in which the police have no place and in which no bully or black shirt can mute us.” in light of this suggestion the protests could be said to have generated a culture of mistrust between academics and university executives with respect to the handling of the students’ protests. the academics project themselves as the voice of reason which, if listened to, would bring normalcy to campuses while some of the vice‑chancellors are portrayed as insensitive dictators. mangcu (2016) advises that universities need to listen more closely to students and devise a new governance model. whatever its form, such a model would imply a realignment of the power structures and relationships amongst the different role players https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 george mavunga: #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis … 97 involved in the governance of the universities. in concurring with this suggestion, the wits vice‑chancellor called on “… all stakeholders in higher education to collectively take the blame for all the wrongs in the sector and come up with solutions” (macupe, 2016, p. 5). the wits vice‑chancellor’s suggestion is indicative of a realisation on the part of some university executives that a culture of intransigence would not be helpful to attempts to end the #feesmustfall protests. conclusion the selected newspaper articles show that, emerging from the #feesmustfall protests of 2015 to 2016 was a culture which was demonstrative of the structure‑culture‑agency nexus. the form of this culture was shaped firstly, by the identities of the different structures involved in the conflict and secondly, by these structures’ perceptions of their agency as well as how they deemed it possible to exercise this agency. aspects such as mass participation and speaking with one voice exemplified the character of the culture of the protests, especially at the beginning. the different stakeholders are also portrayed as having relied on different forms of agency in their bid to resolve the conflict. while the students relied on such forms of agency as the power of the collective and violence, the government relied on its control of the national purse and security apparatus. on the basis of their belief in the managerial right to manage, university executives relied on threats of expulsion and other forms of discipline. articles by academics and those reporting on their views projected them as the voice of reason – a form of agency that added complexity to the culture of the protests. in light of the time that was lost during the protests, the level of destruction that took place at some of the campuses and the attendant financial losses as well as the acrimony, adversity, stakeholder polarisation and toxicity which the protests generated in the relationships amongst the different stakeholders, different approaches to conflict resolution in south african higher education are recommended. such approaches should be such that less focus is placed on positions which stakeholders occupy in different structures and the agency which is perceived to come with these positions. rather, for effective conflict resolution, all stakeholders should seek to leverage forms of agency predicated on collaboration and the pursuit of win‑win outcomes. references africa news agency. 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(2019). #feesmustfall protests in south africa: a critical realist analysis of selected newspaper articles. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 81‑99. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 http:www.litnet.co.za/interview-with-achille-mbembe/ http:www.litnet.co.za/interview-with-achille-mbembe/ https://doi.org/10.18772/22016109858.8 https://kaganof.com/kagablog https://kaganof.com/kagablog https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920338879 http://citeseerx.psu.edu/viewdoc https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410510577989 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3694 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 17 www.jsaa.ac.za research article peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects at the mechanical engineering department at walter sisulu university qonda makala* * qonda makala is teaching development specialist, centre for learning and teaching development at walter sisulu university, south africa. email: qmakala@wsu.ac.za abstract the majority of the students who enroll at the walter sisulu university (wsu) in south africa are not equipped with the necessary academic/learning skills to cope with the university environment, especially in mechanical engineering. the department of higher education and training (2013, p. 17), further states that “students’ support is crucial to ensure that students adapt to the demands of college life and that they can meet the demands of college programmes”. particularly in south africa, the school environment might also contribute to poor student performance as a result of insufficient student support, and a lack of facilities and resources. in order to address this gap, a peer-assisted learning (pal) programme was implemented to provide support targeting high-risk subjects for at-risk students in mechanical engineering at wsu. the programme therefore is pro-active and student-driven in that senior students assist junior students with their academic work and learning processes. the programme is designed to encourage collaborative and cooperative learning approaches during group sessions and active student engagement to support student learning (laal & laal, 2012). the programme requires substantial resources and time commitments. it is important from an operational, learning, and student perspective to understand in what ways the pal programme assists students (if at all). eliciting the experiences of students also helps the department to design interventions from a student-centred perspective using the lens of learning theories. this qualitative case study explores the student experience of the peer-assisted learning (pal) programme. open-ended questionnaires/survey from 20 first-year students elicited their perceptions and experiences of the pal programme. responses were analysed thematically. findings indicated that the students had useful insights that may contribute to revising the programme. aspects mentioned were improved study skills, improved time management, and improved communication, problem-solving and presentation skills. the study suggests that the pal programme also creates a safe (where students of the same age come together to discuss concepts of the subject under the guidance of the senior student as an experienced student), comfortable and conducive environment for first-year students’ learning. however, the gender dynamics within the programme point to revisions needed in the programme to address the gap on the gender balance as only six out of the twenty participants in this study were female. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:qmakala%40wsu.ac.za?subject= 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 the study contributes to our understanding of aspects of pal for first-year mechanical engineering students at wsu, as it affords students the opportunity to interpret, integrate and apply information/knowledge acquired during lectures and to interact effectively in small-group sessions. keywords peer-assisted learning; peer-assisted learning leaders; at-risk students; mechanical engineering; university of technology introduction arising from the transformation of higher education (he) in south africa and the diverse groups of students enrolling at walter sisulu university (wsu), the institution had to find and adopt diverse means to accommodate first-year mechanical engineering students, particularly those from educationally disadvantaged groups. according to horsthemke (2009, p. 3), “there has been a strong drive towards democratising education at all levels: primary, secondary and tertiary, following the first democratic election in south africa in 1994”. after 1994, the education system should have been revised in democratising education for all students in all levels as noted above, to ensure that student learning programmes accommodated underprepared students for he. seven years later horsthemke (2009) points out that the strong drive towards democratising education is still ongoing in the universities. many first-year students are under-prepared for he and thus innovative learning and peer-to-peer intervention strategies are needed for these students to succeed (brownlee, walker, lennox, exley & pearce, 2009; jamelske 2009; kuh, 2001; morosanu, handley & o’donovan, 2010; pike & kuh, 2005; schrader & brown, 2008, cited by ginty & harding, 2014). it is important that institutions note the issue of underpreparedness of first-generation students. in institutions where many first-year students are under-prepared, intervention measures are needed, and student academic support such as pal programmes have been found to promote success in australia (devine & jolly, 2011, p. 219). the extent to which our pal programme meets students’ needs is yet unknown. the focus at wsu is on learning policies and programmes which enhance learning, based on a philosophy that all learners can learn (eiselen & geyser, 2003). it is important to note that all students can engage in increased learning when learning systems are in place. learning is enhanced when learners have supportive learning programmes, feel a sense of ownership, have control over their learning processes, and are able to learn from each other in a safe and trusting learning environment (glynn, macfarlane, kelly, cantillon & murphy 2006). in light of this, the mechanical engineering department at wsu has identified first-year high-risk courses with low pass rates every semester/year. for high-risk courses, the centre for learning and teaching development (cltd) unit has introduced a pal programme to foster cross-year support between students on the same course. the pal programme, based on work done by capstick and fleming (2004) encourages students to support each other and to learn cooperatively under the guidance of trained senior students, called pal leaders (palls). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 19 context of the pal programme at wsu as the former pal coordinator and the observer of the research presented here, the context of the programme at wsu and some of the structural hurdles that have been reported in the pal departmental contact persons’ meetings, which were usually hosted three to four times a year, will now be discussed. the aim was for the departments (chosen lecturer/s as pal departmental contact person/s) to report on how they perceived the underprepared student problem.1 if one subject or course was identified as “high risk”, its students were enrolled for a pal intervention. a high-risk subject/course was identified when, over a three-year period, that subject had an average pass rate below the institutional and departmental percentage (centre for learning and teaching development, 2010, p. i). in light of this, all the students in that particular course are then regarded as at-risk and the pal programme is then compulsory for these students. some of the difficulties of running the programme extend to staff and management and are mentioned below to situate the context of the study. researcher observations during pal operation lecturers themselves feel threatened when their subjects are identified for pal intervention. they sometimes oppose their second year students’ (palls) involvement in assisting, facilitating learning and mentoring on the course. heads of departments (hods) do not understand why there is a need for pal interventions even if they see that performance in some subjects is not satisfactory. some lecturers are not keen on helping their pal leaders with the information (learning materials) required for the programme before the pal leader conducts the pal session. in these instances, hods have to insist that their staff members cooperate in the programme; however some hods instead “protect” their staff members from giving time to the programme. this is in spite of the wsu pal procedure manual that subject lecturers should support their pal leaders as it is part of their role as subject lecturers. this suggests that more departmental awareness of the pal programme is imperative. in the following section i discuss the meanings of “at-risk students”; explore reports of various peer-assisted learning programmes; and show how three learning theories inform the pal programme at wsu. literature review at-risk students in higher education institutions although pal is meant for high-risk subjects/courses at wsu, it is noticeable that all firstyear students are at-risk because of these high-risk subjects and, of course, at-risk students need to be considered for the pal programme to retain them in higher education as part of the retention strategy of the university. at wsu at-risk students are not stigmatised by identifying them specifically, as they are told that all students with high-risk subjects should attend pal programme sessions. 1 a number of these issues are also mentioned in the data collected in this case study. 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 according to southwest educational development laboratory (sedl) (2001, cited by eiselen & geyser, 2003, p. 118), at-risk students are described as those who, “because of limited english proficiency, poverty, race, geographic location, or economic disadvantage, face a greater risk of low educational achievement”. students are more likely to drop out during the first two years of study, with the highest percentage dropping out during the first year. mcgrath and braunstein (1997, cited by eiselen & geyser, 2003) note that attrition during the first year of study remains a problem despite extensive research having been conducted and intervention programmes implemented. students who are disadvantaged educationally, socially and financially are at greater risk of failure and withdrawal. institutions of he have a responsibility to provide the necessary learning environment for the engagement of all students including those deemed “at-risk” (coates, 2005, cited by pearson & naug, 2013). pearson and naug (2013) further declare that these students are in need of extra assistance and guidance to succeed in he. according to bitzer (2005, p. 172), “for many years in south african higher education it was believed that only those who ‘fit’ higher education would eventually be successful”. “at-risk” students are more likely to blame outside sources (circumstances, people or things), for example, parental interference in choice of study direction, as reasons why they and other students like them are unsuccessful. these students, therefore, need special attention, and higher education institutions should accommodate “at-risk” students (pearson & naug, 2013). findings of this study will assist in identifying aspects of the programme that are effective and those that require attention as pal is seen as one of the potentially important intervention strategies for student academic support at the tertiary level (van der meer & scott, 2009; kieran & o’neill, 2009; allen & court, 2009; cheng & walters, 2009; couchman, 2009, in devine & jolly, 2011). intervention: peer-assisted learning programme according to topping and ehly (1998, p. 1, cited by wadoodi & crosby, 2002, p. 241), pal is defined as “the acquisition of knowledge and skill through active help and support among status equals or matched companions”. pal essentially is about peer learning and individual development. glynn, macfarlane, kelly, cantillon and murphy (2006, p. 2) claim that “pairing junior and senior undergraduate students provides psychological support and aids professional and personal development”. this enhances knowledge and skills of individuals during pal sessions. capstick, fleming and hurne (2004, p. 3) from bournemouth university (u.k.) “confirm that pal sessions are intended to offer a safe, friendly place to help students adjust to university life faster, improve their study habits, acquire a clear view of course direction and clear expectations, and enhance their understandings of the subject matter of their course through group discussion and interaction”. capstick et al. (2004) posit that pal may be defined as a scheme for learning support and enhancement that enables students to work cooperatively under the guidance of senior students in their second year. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 21 the environment in the wsu pal sessions looks conducive for all students in the programme as capstick et al. (2004) describe above. most usually, second-year students, called peer-assisted learning leaders (palls), facilitate weekly study support sessions for groups of first-year students after undergoing training. dymoke and harrison (2008, p. 11) concretise the idea of pal sessions when they assert: “much informal learning takes place outside the formal educational setting”. in most of these studies the notion of learning is used generically; in this study learning is explored through a combination of learning theories. pal is conducted in an informal education setting which is linked to the understanding that pal sessions consist of active, collaborative and cooperative learning. an additional advantage of pal is alluded to by speirs (2013), that during pal many senior students exchange learning habits and strategies while working with junior students. in the next section, i synthesise the key features across three relevant learning theories in relation to the pal programme. theories and relations guiding peer-assisted learning (pal) figure 1 illustrates how the pal programme design draws on three compatible learning theories for the benefit of integrated learning. active, collaborative and cooperative learning are discussed further below. active learning: 1. group work 2. participation 3. self-learning/instruction 4. present ideas cooperative: 1. depend on each other 2. discuss 3. responsiblity 4. reflect on group work collaborative: 1. interdependence 2. peer interaction 3. accountability 4. interpersonal skills 5. group skills 6. verify information figure 1: learning theories active learning in pal, students are engaged in active learning. active learning is defined as any instructional method that engages students in the learning process (pinheiro & simoes, 2012). according to gunga and ricketts (2007, cited by ceza, 2012), students construct 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 their knowledge and solve problems as they view topics from multiple perspectives. learners become autonomous managers of their learning and in the process even work out questions for which they will seek answers from other sources and the internet. pundak, herscovitz, shacham, and wiser-biton (2009) mention domains of active learning perceptions that should be addressed by teacher training developers. these are; (i) investigate various ways to activate students in a large class, particularly by means of group work; (ii) encourage student participation in classes in order to ensure that they understand the study material and are successful in the course; (iii) give students the opportunity to learn by themselves topics from the syllabus, following proper guidelines given by the instructor; and (iv) involve students in assignments that encourage them to present ideas, new critical arguments and ideas by themselves. these recommendations were used in the design of the pal programme. collaborative learning (cl) the second box in figure 1, collaborative learning (cl), links very well with active learning and is the second key pedagogical aspect of the programme. in pal, the intention is for students to “collaborate to supply missing information or attempt solutions to problems as they help each other and thinking skills and knowledge and understanding of course subject matter may develop within the cooperative environment of the pal session” (congos & schoeps, 1998, p. 5, cited by capstick & fleming, 2004, pp. 2–3). in this regard, cl is an educational approach that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product (laal & laal, 2011). laal and laal (2011) further assert that cl occurs when small groups of students help each other to learn. in our programme these groups consisted of senior students and junior students, where they discuss the subject matter after the lecture outside of lecture time. arendale (2016) supports these opinions, stating that cl refers to a wide range of formal and informal activities that include any form of peer-student interaction. cl adheres to these principles: (i) positive interdependence is established in the group through adoption of different roles that support the group moving to complete a goal; (ii) peers interact with one another; (iii) activities are structured to establish individual accountability and personal responsibility; (iv) development of interpersonal and small-group skills; and (v) group processing of small-group activities through verification of verify information accuracy (cuseo, 2002; johnson, johnson, holubec & roy, 1984, cited by arendale, 2016, p. 4). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 23 cooperative learning the third approach guiding the programme is cooperative learning, where students work together as a group to achieve the same learning goal, such as mastering and assimilating the same learning content. donelan (1999, cited by capstick & fleming, 2004) presents some research evidence to suggest that pal is able to effect positive outcomes through the consolidation of knowledge through participation; cooperative, informal learning through discussion; and enabling social integration of students. lundeberg and moch (1995, cited by capstick & fleming, 2004) also suggest that the personal, cooperative approach of pal influences the cognition of students in positive ways, including enhancing the ability to apply abstract ideas. according to johnson and johnson (1989, cited by chapstick & fleming, 2004), cooperative learning consistently produces higher achievement than either competitive or individual effort. johnson and johnson (1994, cited by killen, 2010, p. 215) mention five basic elements that need to be present in small-group work to be considered cooperative, namely: (i) students must depend on one another by working together to achieve a specific goal, which means interdependence (as per figure 1); (ii) there must be continuous, direct interactions where students have discussions and exchange ideas on tasks. they are aware that each member of the group is responsible and that they will only be successful if their partners are successful: this leads to accountability towards each other (see figure 1); (iii) each member of the group is responsible for a part of the learning and accountable for the success of each member of the group, and is thus responsible for their learning; (iv) every member of the group must apply interpersonal skills such as listening to other members, asking questions to eliminate uncertainties, discussing, negotiating and constructively solving problems and differences: this means collaboration is fostered (see figure 1); and (v) groups must reflect on the outcomes and how they function as a group, to digest information learnt and reflect on information and understanding of the subject. it is interesting to note the common features of each of the three frameworks. figure 1 has been organised to highlight these overlaps. for example in point 1: “group work; depend on each other; interdependence” all point to a collegial rather than competitive/individual way of working. background: pal at walter sisulu university pal has been introduced at wsu as an academic intervention programme to contribute to the throughput rate of the university. senior students called pal leaders (palls) are tasked with helping first-year students with their academic work. the features of pal include: the training of pal leaders by the pal coordinator in study techniques, group management and facilitation skills, as well as how to conduct the pal sessions. training runs for a period 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 of two full days. pal leaders are shown different ways to manage a pal session. they are also expected to demostrate what they have learnt (skills) during the last hours of the second day of training. pal departmental contact persons are involved in the training to introduce/share their departmental expectations. sessions on customer care and pastoral care are included as they will deal with diverse groups of students. during the training, we demonstrate how pal sessions should be conducted: ideally, the group session must be made up of at least 45–50 students per pal leader. this is as per the general pal procedure manual of the university. for mechanical engineering, only 40 students registered and 20 participated as per this study, with the following gender ratio: 14 (70%) males and 6 (30%) females (see table 2). sessions consist of students meeting with the palls for two hours each day throughout the week, as per the wsu student employment policy, which states that undergraduate student assistants should only work 10 hours per week (cltd, 2008, p. 8). pal leader/lecturer relationship pal leaders and lecturers meet for one hour every week for pal session preparation, which is essential as pal leaders are also students and not subject specialists or experts. lecturers have to equip them with their learning materials and topics to cover during pal sessions. the material/topics should have been covered first by the lecturer during his/her lecture; the pal leader addresses the gaps in understanding which students might have. the lecturer and pal leader provide weekly feedback to each other regarding student cooperation in the session, performance during the lecture and performance on the task/ tests and assignment writing. the lecturer is expected to encourage the pal leader and reflect on his/her performance/conduct when required by the pal office. pal leaders’ role at wsu: to facilitate two-hour daily of pal sessions; circulate attendance register per session; report to pal coordinator weekly/monthly; and meet with the subject lecturer one hour per week (centre for learning and teaching development, pal procedure manual 2010). intended benefits of the pal to students: access to more student academic support; help on assignment writing; and study skills techniques. benefits of pal to pal leaders: pal leaders are paid an hourly rate for 40 hours of work done per month; get opportunities to meet and converse with the subject lecturer; are recognised by the entire department based on their performances and are often employed as junior lecturers within the institution. they sometimes deviate from their intended field/ discipline and move into the academic field because of their experience as pal leaders. pal session attendance: pal sessions are compulsory; all students taking high-risk modules are expected to attend pal sessions; and the coordinator observes the pal sessions daily. pal coordinator’s role: to supervise the pal sessions daily; oversee pal programme activities including administrative work; update the pal manual and procedure manual yearly; and evaluate the pal programme’s progress quarterly/annually. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 25 wsu models its pal programme on the peer-led team learning (pltl) process developed at the city university of new york (cuny) (arendale, 2016, pp. 9–10) with a few differences elaborated on below. wsu also conducts weekly pal sessions, two hours per day, where pal leaders meet with their pal students for pal sessions. guiding principles for pltl at city university of new york include the following: (i) the programme is integral to the course, and two hours of workshop time is required weekly. at wsu two hours of session time per day (centre for learning and teaching development, student employment policy, 2008:8); (ii) peer leaders are trained in group leadership and course content; activities and materials are challenging yet accessible. in addition, at wsu, plls are trained in study skills, customer service (taking care of assisted peers during and after sessions) and leadership; (iii) academic staff members are deeply involved in the programme. at wsu, the academic participant is called the pal contact person or liaising person and lecturer (centre for learning and teaching development, 2010:3); (iv) physical space and environments are conducive to discussion and learning. at wsu, space (venue) is a problem; and (v) the programme has strong support from the institution (arendale, 2016:39). at wsu we are still in the process of getting buy-in from some resistant faculties, although the majority of faculties do support the programme. methods this paper is part of a larger study. for this aspect, a qualitative research methodology was applied. the following research questions were investigated: 1. what constitutes an effective pal programme for mechanical engineering students? 2. what are first-year mechanical engineering students’ perceptions regarding the existing pal programme? the researcher administered a qualitative survey to 20 of the 40 first-year students (pal students) in the mechanical engineering department. purposeful sampling was used because i wanted to use participants who were deeply involved in the pal programme. i assumed that these participants would provide rich information about students’ perceptions. students chosen were those who most frequently attended pal sessions. as much as the pal programme is compulsory, the gender of participants was not intentional, as the sample was drawn on the basis of participants who had participated in the pal programme. however, as engaged students, they were able to provide useful insights into the pal which will inform future interventions. it must be acknowledged that more negative perceptions, or different perceptions could have emerged from those who did not attend many sessions. this may be an important aspect for further investigation. 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 data collected from the questionnaires were analysed and themes identified. openended questionnaires were used to collect data from first-year students in order to elicit their perceptions and experiences of the programme. these questionnaires were administered in a lecture venue as distributed hard copies, and the researcher was present to guide the process. the questionnaires consisted of 22 questions. findings the survey was administered to 20 first-year students in the pal programme. their biographical data were collected in order to establish the demographic profile of the participants, such as their age, gender and level of study, as part of section a in the questionnaire. the demographic background of the participants is provided in tables  1 and 2 below. table 1: age of the students in the pal programme (n = 20) age 16-18 19-22 23-25 total pal students 2 (10%) 17 (85%) 1 (5%) 20 (100%) seventeen (85%) of the respondents were between the ages of 19-22 years, two respondents (10%) between the ages of 16-18 and one respondent (5%) was in the 23-25 age group. this indicates that the majority of the participants were between 19 and 22 years of age for the first-year students. the gender/sex of the respondents in the pal programme is shown in table 2. table 2: gender of the students in the pal programme gender males females total pal students 14 (70%) 6 (30%) 20 (100%) table 2 indicates that 14 participants (70%) were male and 6 participants (30%) were female. yet in the whole class the student gender consisted of ±25 males and ±15 females, which is probably related to the perception that females do not take engineering courses in numbers and continue to be under-represented in the engineering profession (kaspura, 2012). all the palls were male. when advertisements were placed for female palls to apply, no female students applied to become palls. this gender bias requires further investigation and remediation. in the course of analysis, the following themes pertaining to programme effectiveness emerged. these themes were also covered in the literature review. identified themes: (a) safe and friendly space (b) adjust to unversity life (c) study habits (d) venues problematic (e) institutional support needed figure 2: themes on programme effectiveness http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 27 the themes identified are understood as follows: (a) safe and friendly space arises as illustrated in these participants’ responses: “i feel safe and comfortable during pal sessions because our pal leaders treat us like brothers and sisters.” “even if you have questions about their methods, they only shed light and do not take it personal like some lecturers i know.” “this pal session is like you are with your family where you feel safe and free and my mind is peaceful when in pal sessions.” “i feel safe because during pal sessions we are all students.” “even if you have questions about their methods, they only shed light and do not take it personal like some lecturers i know.” these responses suggest that the environment during pal sessions is safe, friendly and comfortable for them to learn, as compared to that of their lecture/class time. (b) adjusting to university life: eighteen of the 20 respondents agreed that pal had played a big role in their adjusting quicker to university life. “if it was not for pal i would not be doing s2 by now.” “when it comes to academic records of any individual of this university the help was a lot.” “they did the most important thing to me.” the adjustment to university life would contribute to first-year students adjusting academically in the university. (c) study habits: “my study skills have improved ever since i attended pal sessions and before i was just studying as a high school leaner, but now i got skills.” (this is confirmed by keenan (2014: 3), as one of the aims of pal viz. “to develop independent learning and study skills to meet the requirements of higher education”.) “pal helped me to practise before i write the test.” “they make the assignment easier for us.” “they taught me of preparedness for test.” (d) venues problematic: lack of venues was a serious problem for these students. as indicated, lack of venues may have caused them to miss some pal sessions because it was difficult to get venues. there was a feeling that if the pal sessions could have specific venues allocated for them, it would mean more regular attendance of the pal programme. timetabling of pal sessions was also a problem as it was not possible to timetable the sessions when venues were limited. lack of venues may have contributed to the poor timetabling of pal sessions. “i think they should draft timetable so that we all [are] aware about our pal sessions.” “there’s a lack of venues.” 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 17–31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 (e) institutional support needed: “i think they should draft timetable so that we all [are] aware about our pal sessions.” more issues were highlighted that are detrimental to the pal sessions such as the lack of venues, poor time management by pal students, and pal sessions not being timetabled; these issues were highlighted as aspects least liked of the pal programme. discussion the aim of the research was to establish how students experienced the pal programme by analysing a sample of students’ perceptions. their perceptions contribute to understanding features of an effective programme. hence the second research question states: “what are first-year mechanical engineering students’ perceptions regarding the existing pal programme?” the perceptions of the students who attended the pal programme were obtained by means of several questions asked about the skills they gained, how they benefited from attending the pal programme, their opinions about the pal leaders, and what they liked most and least about pal. the results indicated that pal students benefited from the pal programme, that it helped them with course direction and expectations, and that it also helped them with their assignments and tests. improved performance in the assignments and tests further helped them to pass almost all their subjects. the general sentiment is that the first-year students involved are satisfied with the pal programme in their department. learning skills gained by the pal students were indicated as improved study skills and problem-solving skills, the ability to cope with assignments, tests and the course as a subject/module, improved selfesteem and confidence gained by first-year students. pal students indicated improvement in their understanding of the subject matter and improved academic performance from attending pal sessions. they also gained confidence on how to ask and answer questions during pal, which they did not have during lectures. the purpose of learning became clearer. they also learnt the importance of managing time for their studies. conclusion the data suggests that pal benefited the students. however, issues were also identified such as lack of allocated venues and the need for timetabling specific slots for pal sessions. nevertheless, pal has helped at-risk students academically and socially, as respondents indicated that they had managed to pass tests and complete assignments, and that they adjusted more easily to university life. they claimed that their study habits improved, as some managed to proceed to the next level because of the assistance in pal sessions. the pal sessions were viewed as safe, friendly, comfortable and informal and at-risk students received sufficient help from pal leaders. it seems that the deliberately designed structure using active, collaborative, and cooperative learning is a beneficial pedagogical approach for such pal support programmes. glynn, macfarlane, kelly, cantillon and murphy (2006, p. 2) claim that “pairing junior and senior undergraduate students provides psychological support and aids professional and personal development”. eiselen and geyser (2003) further declare that at-risk/first-year students feel more insecure, and t h a t they http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 qonda makala: peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects ... 29 have a greater need for personal attention, assistance and guidance than other students. the results of this study seem to confirm these findings for our group of underprepared south african students. limitations in the study it was noticed that some students did not attend the pal sessions regularly. therefore, acknowledgement of more negative perceptions, or different perceptions could have emerged from those who did not attend many sessions. this may be an important aspect for further investigation. in addition, when advertisements were placed for female palls to apply, no female students applied to become palls. this gender bias requires further investigation and remediation. recommendations suggested to address the concerns • sufficient venues for pal sessions must be allocated by the university; • an academic staff member must coordinate pal session activities in the department; • a timetable for pal sessions should be drafted without delay when venues have been secured; and • subject lecturers to take note of the imperative to be approachable to their students in class. while these recommendations may not seem far-reaching, they do point to the need for structure and institutional support for such programmes. the beneficial aspects of relationship, collegiality and peer mentoring are confirmed. acknowledgements • mentor: dr moyra keane (phd) – university of the witwatersrand • ms lucy alexander (mphil in adult education, uct) – academic coordinator, tdg-heltasa tutoring and mentoring project this paper was developed with the support of funding from the dhet nctdg project: “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats.” references abdal-haqq, i. 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(2017). peer-assisted learning programme: supporting students in high-risk subjects at the mechanical engineering department at walter sisulu university. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 17–31. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.091 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903390786 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903390786 http://wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/publications/files/qualitative_research.pdf) http://wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/publications/files/qualitative_research.pdf) http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/bitstream/10144/84230/1/qualitative rese https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v4i1.152 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.11.046 http://www.docs.hss.ed.ac.uk/iad/learning_teaching/academic_pastoral/peer_support_toolkit/options/pals/peer_assisted_learning.pdf http://www.docs.hss.ed.ac.uk/iad/learning_teaching/academic_pastoral/peer_support_toolkit/options/pals/peer_assisted_learning.pdf https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590220134060 http://10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2700 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 17-30 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366   17 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article an assessment of covid-19 pandemic quarantine and isolation programmes: a case study of the university of limpopo mochaki d. masipa,* d. justin ramoshaba,** l. thomas mabasa,*** k.a. maponyane,**** koko n. monnye,***** seponono mampa,• tiisetso a. chuene,•• mathibedi f. kgarose••• & kgaogelotsenene j. motloutse† abstract south africa, like the rest of the world, was affected by the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. from march 2020, the country’s president, cyril ramaphosa, imposed lockdown regulations in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which led to the closure of universities. when the national regulations allowed for the resumption of university activities, the university of limpopo had to set up quarantine and isolation facilities as a strategy to manage infections. as a new initiative, challenges would be expected in managing this unfolding situation. against this background, this paper considers the findings of a study which focused on the establishment and operations of quarantine and isolation facilities at the university. documents were analysed for the purpose of data construction and substantiated with data collected through semi-structured interviews. the university staff members responsible for the facilities were purposively selected to participate in this study. data were analysed through thematic content analysis. the study found that the university established the quarantine and isolation facilities according to government guidelines; the facilities were well managed; and activities were implemented as expected. however, operational challenges that require improvements were identified and this article accordingly makes recommendations. * dr mochaki d. masipa is dean of students at the university of limpopo, south africa. email: mochaki.masipa@ul.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-3404-7440. ** mr d. justin ramoshaba is a lecturer in the department of social work at the university of limpopo, south africa. email: justinramoshaba17@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0002-6961-1972. *** prof. l. thomas mabasa is an associate professor in education studies in the school of education at the university of limpopo, south africa. email: thomas.mabasa@ul.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-8270-4495. **** mr k.a. maponyane is director of the sport and recreation administration, university of limpopo, south africa. email: kakata.maponyane@ul.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-9069-8873. ***** ms koko n. monnye is a student research assistant at the university of limpopo, south africa. email: koko.monnye@ul.ac.za. orcid id: 0000-0002-4119-3756. • ms seponono mampa is an assistant manager at the student health and wellness centre, university of limpopo, south africa. email: seponono.mampa@ul.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0001-9907-0567. •• mr tiisetso a. chuene is a pharmacist at the student health and wellness centre, university of limpopo, south africa. email: tiisetso.chuene@ul.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-1976-146x. ••• mr mathibedi f. kgarose is a data capturer at the student health and wellness centre, university of limpopo, south africa. email: mathibedi.kgarose@ul.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0001-6955-3883. † mr kgaogelotsenene j. motloutse, at the time of writing, was a student research assistant at the university of limpopo, south africa. he passed away in the course of the production of jsaa 10(2). orcid: 0000-0002-0458-1063. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mochaki.masipa@ul.ac.za mailto:justinramoshaba17@gmail.com mailto:thomas.mabasa@ul.ac.za mailto:kakata.maponyane@ul.ac.za mailto:koko.monnye@ul.ac.za mailto:seponono.mampa@ul.ac.za mailto:tiisetso.chuene@ul.ac.za mailto:mathibedi.kgarose@ul.ac.za 18   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 17-30 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366 keywords assessment, covid-19, quarantine facility, isolation, university of limpopo introduction on 30 january 2020, the world health organization (who) declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (sars-cov-2) outbreak a pandemic and a public health emergency of international concern (pheic). it further proclaimed the outbreak to be a biological threat to 21st-century society (remuzzi & remuzzi, 2020). in south africa, the first covid-19 case was diagnosed on 28 february 2020. in an endeavour to curb the spread of covid-19, the who came up with multiple strategies, among which quarantine and isolation strategies were identified as fundamental. considering the magnitude and severity of the covid-19 outbreak, south africa declared a national state of disaster on 15 march 2020. in anticipation of actions that would follow, universities were advised by the department of higher education in collaboration with higher education and training, health, wellness and development centre (higher health) to close and evacuate students. the university of limpopo suspended operations on 16 march 2020 and sent staff members and students home. as a decisive measure to save millions of south africans from infection, president cyril ramaphosa announced a national lockdown on 23 march 2020, which officially began on 27 march 2020. the lockdown enforced travel restrictions and led to the closure of educational institutions. the lockdown was categorised into different levels, from level 5 to level 1, with alert level 5 representing the worst case scenario, high levels of infection amidst low health system readiness. as lockdown alert levels were relaxed, the process of returning students to campus (referred to in this article as “repatriation”) came into effect. the university established a repatriation committee, which consisted of a number of university stakeholders, to manage the return of staff and students. under alert level 4, final-year medical students were repatriated to the university of limpopo. all other students were supported through remote multi-modal teaching, learning and assessment. with the return of students, universities were expected to establish quarantine and isolation sites to accommodate students who might have been affected by the virus. the establishment of such sites on campuses was meant to relieve the overburdened national healthcare system. the literature shows that the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic has surfaced a range of problems which include putting pressure on healthcare systems which have limited resources to manage the pandemic effectively in the context of high global infection rates (zhao et al., 2020). the south african department of health (doh) and higher health, with guidance from who, designed protocols and guidelines to be observed by quarantine and isolation facilities. the guidelines explicitly outlined procedures, processes, and standards for establishing and implementing quarantine and isolation sites (higher health, 2020; department of health, 2020). deploying the higher health (2020) guidelines advising post-school education and training (pset) institutions on how to manage and respond to covid-19 outbreaks, the university of limpopo masipa, ramoshaba, mabasa, maponyane, monnye, mampa, chuene, kgarose & motloutse: an assessment …   19 developed a quarantine programme and an isolation programme, which led to the establishment of quarantine and isolation facilities. the quarantine facility was developed to accommodate students who had had close contact with those who had been infected, as well as those who were showing signs and symptoms of covid-19. the isolation facility was developed for students who were infected with covid-19. in addition, the university adopted self-quarantine and self-isolation strategies for staff members. assessing the implementation and performance of the quarantine and isolation programmes at the university of limpopo is essential for compliance, accountability and quality enhancement (babbie & mouton, 2011). assessment provides feedback on how the programmes operated and the extent to which their expected objectives were attained (de vos et al., 2011). to the best of the researchers’ knowledge, no study has been undertaken to assess the implementation and performance of the quarantine and isolation programmes at the university of limpopo. it is this background that necessitated that this study be conducted. research problem the advent of the covid-19 pandemic, which led to a sudden closure of universities and colleges in south africa, had extensive impacts on the teaching and learning activities at these institutions. the ensuing effects included unprecedented levels of anxiety and stress among staff members and students as the spread of the virus continued to threaten the well-being of those on campuses and in the communities around the institutions (morganstein et al., 2017; al-rabiaah et al., 2020). when the government allowed for the resumption of academic activities, universities and colleges were left with the task of preventing and controlling the spread of the virus in order to create a conducive environment for living, teaching and learning. although universities and colleges resorted to online platforms for teaching and learning and for general communication in an effort to minimise contact (römer, 2020), the implementation of some academic and support activities continued to require face-to-face interaction, which compelled some staff members and students to return to campuses. to mitigate the spread of the virus on campuses, the government provided guidelines for quarantine and isolation in relation to covid-19 exposure and infection (department of health, 2020) for the establishment and maintenance of on-campus quarantine and isolation facilities to ensure that those affected by the virus in these environment would receive appropriate care. subsequently, the university of limpopo adopted the principle of self-quarantine and self-isolation for staff members and provided quarantine and isolation facilities for students. the university created quarantine and isolation facilities based on the government’s guidelines; and the student health and wellness centre (shwc) was tasked with the responsibility of providing programmes of care and support. there is no evidence that the university programmes have been assessed since their initiation. considering that the logistics were relatively new and complex, a need arose for the programmes to be assessed in relation to their implementation and to establish possible challenges that would require improvements in the programmes. 20   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 17-30 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366 purpose of the study the purpose of the study was to assess the covid-19 quarantine and isolation programmes of the university of limpopo. in line with a number of theories which were used as frameworks for the study, the study sought to provide answers to the following main question and sub-questions: main question: to what extent did the university of limpopo implement the intended programme activities? sub-questions: • does the university of limpopo have quarantine and isolation facilities? • how did the university of limpopo operationalise its facilities? • were the covid-19 standard operating procedures adhered to as prescribed? • how was the tracking and placing of people under investigation (pui) implemented? • how was covid-19 data managed in the facilities? • how was quality ensured in the programmes? • what were the challenges faced in managing the quarantine and isolation facilities and how were they addressed? theoretical framework to assess the covid-19 quarantine and isolation programmes of the university of limpopo, the theory deemed as the most appropriate guide by the research team was the realistic evaluation theory and the theory of action. the realistic evaluation theory as developed by pawson and tilley (1997) argues that the success of interventions depends on the underlying mechanisms at play in a specific context. this is confirmed by maben et al. (2018), who refer to the theory as concerned with the identification of underlying causal mechanisms that explain how an intervention works and under what conditions. this theory is said to be suited for the assessment of new initiatives and innovative programmes, which makes it suitable in relation to this study’s efforts to establish what in the university of limpopo’s quarantine and isolation programmes worked, for whom, and under what circumstances, as well what did not work (pawson & tilley, 1997). in addition, the theory of action was also deployed in the context of the realistic evaluation theory as a guide for this research. according to aguilar (2020), the theory of action entails predicting what will happen when implementing a set of strategies. the components of a system and the linkages between them are said to be outlined in a theory of action (d’brot, 2019). methodology there are different methodological approaches that can be used to assess a programme. the choice depends on the focus of the assessment (gerrits & verweij, 2018). the focus may either be implementation assessment, outcomes assessment or impact assessment. given the focus of this study was on the implementation of the covid-19 pandemic masipa, ramoshaba, mabasa, maponyane, monnye, mampa, chuene, kgarose & motloutse: an assessment …   21 quarantine and isolation programmes, a qualitative approach was adopted. the choice of methodology was informed by the fact that it enabled the researchers to interact with the participants in the study (moser & korstjens, 2018). the chosen methodology also helped the researchers to determine the challenges, the support and the ongoing concerns that needed to be addressed as the programmes were being implemented. research design a case-study design was used to assess the programmes. the use of the design was prompted by the research question of the study, and the advantages that it offered in relation to how the study could be conducted, that is, with a focus on assessment of implementation. the design helped the researchers to interrelate with the participants and also to achieve a holistic view by understanding the nuances of the processes involved in the implementation of the covid-19 quarantine and isolation programmes (harrison et al., 2017). sampling ten respondents who were involved in the implementation of the programmes were purposively and conveniently selected to participate in the study. they were: the chairperson of the repatriation committee (cr); the overseer of repatriation coordination (or); the head of the student health and wellness centre (hw); the manager of the quarantine and isolation programmes (mp); a data capturer (dc); a pharmacist (p); a nurse who was employed for the programmes (n1); a manager of housing (mh); an officer responsible for catering (c); and the head of the centre for counselling and development (p). both de vos et al. (2011) and greeff (2011) advise that in purposive sampling a particular case is chosen because its demonstrable features are of some interest for the study in question and are of relevance to the topic under study. all respondents in this study were sampled because they had a stake in the development or implementation of the quarantine and isolation programmes and were expected to have rich information that was deemed appropriate and relevant in answering the research questions. consequently, the selection criteria were: involvement in the establishment or implementation of the programmes; health practitioner qualification; and a willingness to participate in the study. data construction/collection research instruments are tools used to collect data (de vos et al., 2011), and this study made use of a schedule of structured interviews with individual respondents. structured interviews were utilised to prevent deviation from the scope of the research. in terms of question construction, this study used open-ended questions to gather detailed information on the implementation of the quarantine and isolation programmes and facilities. open-ended questions, according to cleave (2017), allow participants to provide detailed information, providing researchers with more useful and contextual responses. 22   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 17-30 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366 the construction of the interview schedule was guided by both the department of health’s guidelines (2020) and the university of limpopo’s covid-19 health protocols. the 2020 guidelines were provided by the national department of health; and the university’s health protocols were obtained with the permission of the university’s registrar. as a participatory study, with some of the researchers also participating in the implementation of the quarantine and isolation programmes, internal observations were made through site visits undertaken by those who were authorised to access the highly contagious facilities. a number of people who were involved in the establishment and implementation of the programmes, but were based outside the facilities, were also interviewed. a checklist based on the requirements outlined in the doh guidelines was used to establish the availability of facilities and resources; and interviews were used to corroborate and confirm the responses in relation to this checklist. data analysis analysis of data helps researchers to break data down into a manageable state (flick, 2013). as the study was qualitative in nature, the data were analysed through a thematic analysis approach. this approach was selected because of its potential to assist researchers in identifying and analysing emerging patterns and themes from the data (nowell et al., 2017). the process started with the transcription of the interviews into text. as bazeley (2013) and miles et al. (2014) advise, this was followed by reading the transcripts so that the researchers could familiarise themselves with the data. data were sorted by developing codes which led to the development of categories. codes and labels were allocated to words, sentences and paragraphs. this process helped the researchers to analyse the responses of the participants which led to the development of themes (mori & nakayama, 2013). the themes that emerged included the establishment of quarantine and isolation facilities at the university of limpopo; the operation of the quarantine and isolation facilities at the university of limpopo; adherence to government covid-19 standard procedures; tracking and placing people in the quarantine and isolation facilities; managing data in the quarantine and isolation facilities; and quality assurance of the programmes. ethical considerations as fleming (2018) and bos (2020) advise, ethics play an important role in research. this is due to the fact that some of the methods that researchers use can be quite personal and invasive. the conduct of this study adhered to ethical guidelines. an ethical clearance was obtained from the turf loop research and ethics committee (trec) of the university of limpopo with the following project number trec/139/2021: ir. permission to utilise the university’s documents was obtained from the university’s registrar. other aspects taken into consideration included informed consent (denzin & lincoln, 2011). participants were fully informed about the study, its purpose, and the benefits and consequences of participating in the study. they were also informed that masipa, ramoshaba, mabasa, maponyane, monnye, mampa, chuene, kgarose & motloutse: an assessment …   23 they had a right to not participate in the study and thereafter asked to sign a consent form. other aspects taken into consideration included confidentiality and anonymity (fleming, 2018; bos, 2020). this was ensured by keeping the data confidential and using pseudonyms to protect the identity of the participants as ref lected in the sampling section of the study. for example, the participants were coded as “mp”, “hw”, “ni” and “dc”. discussion this section discusses and synthesises information relating to the two programmes. research results are presented based on the themes that were identified during research and in alignment with the research questions to allow for thematic analysis as suggested by mori and nakayama (2013). after analysis, six themes emerged, each of which is discussed according to the information that was gathered. any challenges that were identified in relation to each theme, and any solutions that were proposed under each, are also discussed in relation to the views expressed. theme 1: the establishment of quarantine and isolation facilities at the university of limpopo the research found that the university of limpopo repatriation committee established separate quarantine and isolation facilities for students. the quarantine facility was established to accommodate students who presented with covid-19 symptoms as well as those who had close contact with a covid-positive person; while the isolation facility was strictly reserved for students who had tested positive. the quarantine and isolation facilities were established as part of efforts to manage the covid-19 pandemic. this is in line with brooks et al. (2020), who postulate that facilities such as those for quarantine have been used as a preventive measure for centuries in an effort to deal with major infectious outbreaks; and have proven effective in controlling the spread of infectious diseases, such as cholera. the respondents indicated that the process followed in identifying sites for the facilities met the requirements of the national guidelines. the researchers are of the view that compliance with the national guidelines enabled the university to provide better facilities and healthcare. this is supported by aiken (2008) and shortell et al. (2009), who argue that better health facilities are associated with better healthcare. the national requirements for establishing such facilities included secluding them from dwellings; ensuring security was tight; and deploying the necessary resources for a healthy living environment. it is important to note that the context within which the quarantine and isolation programmes were implemented was an unusual one for the participants. the repatriation committee identified a number of student residences that met the national requirements for establishing the necessary facilities. at the same time, there was a lack of complete adherence to the infrastructure guidelines. a few problems were identified in establishing the facilities, including the 24   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 17-30 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366 absence of ramps for wheelchairs, and the fact that rooms and ablution facilities had to be shared, a concern especially at times of heightened levels of infection. the absence of ramps comes as no surprise since the university’s residences for students living with disability were not among the identified sites. the sharing of rooms was arranged in a manner that met social-distancing requirements. such sharing occurred mostly in the isolation areas. to fulfil the requirements for the establishment of such facilities, it is suggested that a wheelchair-friendly environment be created. antonak and livneh (2000) and wiman and sandhu (2004) note that neglect of the needs of people living with disability can increase their vulnerability. one of the managers (mp) of the programmes succinctly made the point: my biggest worry and challenge lies with the issue of easy access to the facilities by disabled students, as the facilities are not wheelchair-friendly. maintenance challenges such as power disruption were also reported, with the university’s emergency services being called upon to alleviate the resulting problems. this finding is in line with gehringer et al. (2018), who found that power disruptions pose a serious challenge to paediatric hospital admissions in south africa. theme 2: the operation of the quarantine and isolation facilities at the university of limpopo respondents indicated that the quarantine and isolation facilities operated as per the government guidelines and that the services were available at all times. the participants noted that students were quarantined or isolated for 10 days as per the guidelines and were released from the facilities when declared clear of the coronavirus. an existing management team comprising staff from the student health and wellness centre provided administrative support and cleaning services, alongside professional nurses who had been trained in how to respond to covid-19 and were employed on a temporary basis. the services provided in the facilities were said to meet the minimum requirements for the implementation of quarantine and isolation. for example, three meals were provided every day; cleaning followed the required procedure; all staff members were supplied with the appropriate personal protection equipment (ppe); and sanitizer and cleaning disinfectants were made available at all the relevant spots. although the number of nurses and the absence of a proper data-capturing programme were initially cited as challenges, a lot of compromise and improvisation facilitated the smooth running of the facilities. in line with the theories used as a frameworks for this study, it was found that the quarantine and isolation programmes benefitted the students and eased the health threat to the broader welfare of the campus, as alluded to by morganstein et al. (2017). one respondent (hw) noted: the operation of the university quarantine and isolation facilities is as per the guidelines. for example, the facilities are open for 24 hours [a day, each] week. masipa, ramoshaba, mabasa, maponyane, monnye, mampa, chuene, kgarose & motloutse: an assessment …   25 participants indicated that the university had not employed an environmental health practitioner, which had inhibited appropriate inspection of the facilities. therefore, the strict facility-inspection procedures suggested by the national guidelines could not be undertaken. the challenge was exacerbated by a ban on external visitors under the university protocols at this time. this is in line with the findings by david and mash (2020) at a quarantine facility in cape town where a number of staffing-logistics challenges were identified. some of the facility management activities at the university of limpopo were managed internally by university staff members. theme 3: adherence to government covid-19 standard procedures it is necessary to state that reporting on most of these services required site visits for direct observation. unfortunately, such visits were vetoed as a result of the nature and behaviour of the coronavirus. thus, the information on this aspect of the facilities’ operations was obtained indirectly from the staff members working in these spaces. it was reported that the shwc team developed a protocol to guide the delivery of services in the quarantine and isolation facilities, based on national standards. pawson and tilley (1997), in line with one of the theories used as a lens in this study, advise that deployment of good mechanisms leads to successful interventions. in this regard, the delivery of the services at the facilities entailed the implementation of standard operating procedures for both clinical and non-medical teams and the establishment of appropriate infection prevention and control measures. the study found procedural adherence to the protocol in areas including the stringent use of ppe within the facilities; wellexecuted daily clinical examinations of the residents and referrals to the nearest hospital for stabilisation; proper record keeping; and appropriate housekeeping, disinfection and decontamination procedures. laminated paper was used for demarcating areas where necessary. the adherence to guidelines and protocols was confirmed by one of the respondents (n1) who noted: students are mandated to wear masks in the facilities and must be catered for in the facilities and this has been happening in the university facilities. the movement of residents from one facility to another and the processes for their discharge strictly followed the protocol. that said, services were often affected by a surge of infections and some instability would be caused by the limited staff complement. although the disposal of waste material was not supervised by an environmental health practitioner, staff members were well trained on how to dispose of ppe in coordination with the university’s waste management company. although it had been expected that an entrance and an exit would be provided at each of the facilities, the study found that, in fact, one main gate at each of the facilities was used to monitor and restrict both inward and outward movement. inside the facilities, residents’ rooms were separated, and no visits were allowed. 26   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 17-30 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366 challenges experienced in this area of service provision were reported as manageable mainly because staff members were well prepared to deal with the problems. this is contrary to the findings of david and mash (2020), who found that there were challenges with regard to staff. theme 4: tracking and placing people in the quarantine and isolation facilities the respondents indicated that, in line with the national guidelines, the professionals within the facilities were tracking and placing students who came under investigation. the respondents indicated that the process of tracking and placing was triggered by a number of factors such as: arriving with covid-19-related symptoms and reporting having been in close contact with a person who had tested positive for coronavirus but had failed to take the recommended safety precautions. in such cases, tracking and placement would be initiated immediately. screening at the university gates also assisted in identifying people suspected of having contracted the virus, who would then be immediately placed under observation in the quarantine facilities. one respondent involved in the repatriation process (hw) noted: at the gates, for example, everyone is screened and mandated to disclose any symptoms they might be having. if the person is positive, all their close contacts will be contacted or reached for placement or admission in the facilities. according to one of the respondents (dc) involved in the facilities, those with whom the students who tested positive had been in contact were tracked down. say during screening a positive student indicates that they have been in contact with so and so, the process of tracking and placing will unfold. according to the respondents, the main challenge in this regard was when the alleged contacts of those who had tested positive denied having had any such contact. this made it difficult to bring suspected cases to the quarantine facilities. another reported challenge was the difficulty in detecting covid-19 among students living off campus, especially if they did not seek help from the shwc. this finding is in line with kariuki et al. (2021), who found that privacy and confidentiality concerns can inhibit quarantining and tracing, especially when using an app. the realistic evaluation theory as developed by pawson and tilley (1997) argues that the success of interventions depends on the underlying mechanisms at play in a specific context. accordingly, this study found that the quarantine and isolation programmes had been satisfactorily implemented. theme 5: the management of data in the quarantine and isolation facilities the respondents indicated that the data captured at the quarantine and isolation facilities were well managed and kept safe and confidential. the quarantine and isolation programmes utilised an electronic register designed by the data capturer in the shwc masipa, ramoshaba, mabasa, maponyane, monnye, mampa, chuene, kgarose & motloutse: an assessment …   27 to capture data and to enable access to these data, while the hard copies of the patient files were kept locked away. this adherence to ethical standards of confidentiality and anonymity was confirmed by one of the facility managers (mp): the confidential information does not get shared with wrong people. it is managed and shared within professionals. even in the reporting to seniors, like those in student affairs, the names of students are not shared; only statistics, general challenges and successes are shared. captured data were reportedly analysed statistically for reports that were shared with the management of the institution. this is in line with the findings by ienca and vayena (2020), who found that data management can also be used to mitigate future infections. this indicates that instead of treating data management as an ethical issue only, it can also be used as a strategy to mitigate future pandemics. theme 6: quality assurance of the programmes in line with the theories used as lenses for this study, one of the themes that emerged was that of quality assurance. the managers of the programme provide supervision at the facilities. for purposes of compliance with the university’s health protocols, public health officers paid weekly visits to the facilities to monitor their activities and compile reports. these reports were presented at weekly meetings of the division of student affairs, where general challenges are discussed and solutions are sought. the study found that an online client satisfaction survey tool designed by the covid-19 response team in the shwc had been produced for quarantined and isolated students. such online forms of communication have become quite common under what may be referred to as the “new normal” and, as römer (2020) indicates, have provided some of the most effective strategies for “mediating” the situation under covid-19. on admission, students were provided with particulars of those responsible for the management of the quarantine and isolation sites, as well as the details of those in authority at the university who could be contacted when emergency attention was required. the study found that, accordingly, the offices of the dean of students, the director of the shwc and the director of the centre for student counselling and development (cscd) were among those regularly consulted by students. this strategy of furnishing the students with a range of contacts who may be contacted in relation to covid-19 issues assisted with the monitoring of services in the facilities. meanwhile, the study also found that the isolation and quarantine facilities offered no opportunities for physical and recreational activity, which could explain why many of the students in these spaces reportedly expressed discomfort in the facilities, with some demanding an early discharge. most such cases were referred to university psychologists who offered counselling online. in this context, problems of internet connectivity experienced by a number of students were reportedly resolved when a new facility for the quarantine and isolation programmes was established. baker and greiner (2021) 28   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 17-30 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366 assert that there is also a need to manage patient stress by giving them comfort and providing them with knowledge about the pandemic. limitations of the study the limitations of this study include following: limited literature on the assessment of covid-19 quarantine and isolation facilities; insufficient responses to some of the questions because only a few respondents had access to the facilities. recommendations there is a need • for the utilisation of facilities that are disability-friendly to accommodate disabled individuals; • for the university to employ an environmental health practitioner not only for covid-19-related matters, but also for general assessment of its own facilities; • to intensify health education to address challenges such as refusing to disclose close contacts in the facilities; and • for the establishment of physical and recreational activities to deal with the discomforts that were reported by occupants of the facilities. conclusion the data and analysis above suggest that the university of limpopo developed effective quarantine and isolation programmes and established facilities within which quarantine and isolation could take place. this research found that the quarantine and isolation programmes adhered to government covid-19 standard operating procedures and that the tracking and placing of people under quarantine and isolation were effectively implemented. the programmes were managed by experienced shwc staff members who were able to capture and manage data properly and administer a client-satisfaction survey tool effectively. the study identified a number of challenges and made recommendations where necessary. it found that some of the challenges encountered had been resolved through improvisation by using available resources. however, it was found that the university should attend to the lack of an environmental health practitioner, whose services are essential for the effective management of health programmes and facilities in general, as a critical matter. references aguilar, e. 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(2022). an assessment of covid-19 pandemic quarantine and isolation programmes: a case study of the university of limpopo. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 17-30. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4366 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0832-5 https://doi.org/10.28945/4736 https://doi.org/10.28945/4736 https://10.3310/hsdr06370 http://doi.org/10.1017/9781316481424.019 https://doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057371 https://doi.org/10.1080/13814788.2017.1375091 https://doi.org/10.1080/13814788.2017.1375091 https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847 https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30627-9 https://thelifelonglearningblog.uil.unesco.org/2020/07/21/covid-19-a-wake-up-call-to-invest-in-literacy/ https://thelifelonglearningblog.uil.unesco.org/2020/07/21/covid-19-a-wake-up-call-to-invest-in-literacy/ https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.032008.112750 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.032008.112750 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/12371809.pdf https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/12371809.pdf journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 51–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 51 www.jsaa.ac.za research article student satisfaction regarding service quality at ethiopian public higher education institutions: a case study solomon l. lodesso,* eldridge j. van niekerk,** cecelia a. jansen*** & hélène müller**** * prof. solomon l. lodesso is associate professor, department of educational planning and management, college of education, hawassa university, ethiopia. email: soleysus7@gmail.com ** prof. eldridge j. van niekerk is professor, department of educational leadership and management, college of education, university of south africa, pretoria, south africa. email: vniekej@unisa.ac.za *** prof. cecelia a. jansen is associate professor, department of educational leadership and management, college of education, university of south africa, pretoria, south africa. email: janseca7@gmail.com **** dr hélène müller is research associate/statistician, department of curriculum and instructional studies, college of education, university of south africa, pretoria, south africa. email: helenemuller23@gmail.com abstract the quality of services rendered to stakeholders at higher education institutions (heis) is of critical importance to the esteem of these institutions. perceptions of the quality of such services can be measured in various ways. this study assesses the extent of service quality as evaluated in students’ satisfaction with services received at ethiopian heis. to this end, data was collected from final-year undergraduate students at ethiopian public higher education institutions (pheis). the service quality (servqual) questionnaire was administered. the collected data was analysed using the methodology of the importance-performance analysis (ipa) model. findings indicated that the majority of the elements that constitute attributes of service quality were perceived by students to be very poor. this is reflected in low satisfaction scores. it is recommended that heis identify those service areas that have high perceived importance scores and low perception scores on service-experience in order to redeploy some of the resources and implement measures to improve service quality. keywords importance-performance analysis (ipa) model; public higher education institutions in ethiopia; service quality; service quality improvement; student satisfaction introduction service quality in education, and particularly in higher learning, is a fundamental and important aspect of educational excellence (malik, danish & usman, 2010). universities are cognisant of the fact that exceptional service quality will set them apart from their competitors and therefore heis strive to incorporate sound market-orientation strategies into their business plans (järvinen & suomi, 2011). universities in ethiopia are no exception to this. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:soleysus7%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:vniekej%40unisa.ac.za?subject= mailto:janseca7%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:helenemuller23%40gmail.com?subject= 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 51–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 total enrolment at pheis1 in ethiopia escalated from 326 318 in 2007/08 to 729 028 in 2014/15 (ministry of education, 2016). this illustrates that the annual intake of undergraduate students has increased dramatically. limited numbers of academic staff, many of whom are inexperienced, have accompanied this expansion of higher education. the situation has been exacerbated by limited funding and insufficient infrastructure, which have had a negative effect on the quality of education offered, resulting in stakeholder dissatisfaction (with reference to both the academic and administrative components of service). therefore, to improve the sense of dissatisfaction and other conditions, several service quality improvement initiatives are currently underway at heis. however, despite dissatisfaction being expressed frequently, it is not common practice in ethiopian education to measure service quality against variables of student satisfaction or dissatisfaction. this study identified satisfaction measurement as a gap in research knowledge and, in the research discussed in this article, measured service quality against specific dimensions which are based on the servqual (service quality) methodology and questionnaire (malik et al., 2010). malik et al. (2010) define service quality in terms of stakeholders’/students’ perceptions of service once exposed to a specific service – be it academic or administrative – offered at their institution. according to servqual methodology, characteristics of quality can be identified, defined and measured (malik et al., 2010). for example, identifiable service quality characteristics/quality criteria may include the reliability of the service (will the service/s be constantly available when required?); assurance (the assurance that issues raised will be attended to); tangibility (general appearance and upkeep of physical structures); empathy (the attitude of staff rendering services); and responsiveness (whether service requests are dealt with speedily). mentioned quality characteristics are also referred to as servqual dimensions. these dimensions are further elaborated on in the methodology section of the article. heis need to understand the quality attributes held by their stakeholders (zafiropoulos & vrana, 2008). for shah (2009), institutions can improve the quality of service they offer if they listen to and incorporate feedback given by stakeholders. in 2008, all “first-generation universities” (universities established prior to 1998 are said to be first generation) carried out formal institutional self-evaluation processes for the first time to highlight good practices and identify ways of enhancing quality in all aspects of their institutions. herqa’s (higher education relevance and quality agency) quality audit teams assessed each hei’s self-evaluation document and feedback was given to each university. herqa reported the strengths and weaknesses of these institutions; however, students’ satisfaction with service delivery was not incorporated in this assessment. this fact motivated the current research because similar research into service quality in the ethiopian context has not been undertaken. accordingly, the purpose of the research reported in this article is to provide insight into the extent of students’ satisfaction regarding the service delivery at ethiopian pheis by posing the following research questions: 1 the higher education proclamation (federal democratic republic of ethiopia, 2003) regards “heis” and “pheis” as umbrella terminology for all universities, university colleges, colleges and institutes. in this study, “universities” is used interchangeably with “heis”. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 solomon l. lodesso, eldridge j. van niekerk, cecelia a. jansen & hélène müller: student satisfaction regarding service … 53 • to what extent are students satisfied with the service quality improvements at pheis? • which dimensions of service quality need to be prioritised because they are considered crucial by students in improving the service quality? • are there any gaps between the perceptions and importance of dimensions of service quality improvement? the concepts of service quality and the measurement of service quality will be elaborated on in the following two sections. this is followed by a methodology section and the presentation of deductions derived from the quantitative results. recommendations and conclusions form the last sections of the article. service quality brysland and curry (2001, p. 391) define service quality as “providing something intangible in a way that pleases the consumer and that gives some value to that customer”. parasuraman, zeithaml and berry (1988), in an earlier work, provide a comprehensive definition of service quality as a function of the difference between perceptions of service quality and expectations of what service quality ought to be. the literature furthermore defines service quality as the extent to which the quality of a service rendered matches the customer’s expectations (kitchroen, 2004; kassim & zain, 2010; parasuraman, zeithaml & berry, 1985). according to gbadamosi and jager (2009), service quality in higher education is determined by the extent to which stakeholders’ needs and expectations are satisfied. okunoye, frolick and crable (2008) support this idea by stating that meeting the needs and expectations of stakeholders and complying with their values is an important competitive factor for the success of heis. one of the fundamental and challenging steps in the improvement of service quality is the identification of the key stakeholders (jongbloed, enders & salerno, 2008). according to alves, mainardes and raposo (2010), stakeholders are individuals or groups of individuals who have the power to affect an institution, or to affect the objectives of the institution. okunoye et al. (2008) describe staff (administrative), faculty and students as key stakeholders of services provided by heis. the research reported in this article focuses on the perceptions of students as stakeholders. ethiopian heis are expected to provide quality service to students. with reference to types of services students may expect to receive, the business process re-engineering document (hawassa university, 2008) of the hawassa university, for example, specifies services such as quality education at reasonable cost; swift and quality student services (e.g. registration, dissemination of examination results, and assured and reliable responses to valid queries); a peaceful and conducive environment; courteous treatment when dealing with university staff; proper advocacy and guidance services; and opportunities to develop leadership potential – to name but a few. providing these and other services to students requires that university management and providers of services (both academic and administrative staff) be aware of students’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with such services. 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 51–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 the conceptual relationship between student satisfaction and service quality satisfaction is the difference between stakeholders’ expectations and their perception of the service quality improvement. the higher the perceived service quality improvement, the higher stakeholders’ satisfaction will be (petruzzeluca, uggento & romanazzi, 2006). knowledge of the stakeholders’ expectations helps heis to reduce the gap between their expectations and service delivery. it also aids in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the service delivery of institutions. as a result, the institution improves its performance (jackson, helms & ahmadi, 2011; chen, yang, lin & yeh, 2007; petruzzeluca et al., 2006). there is a positive correlation between satisfaction and loyalty, where an increase in satisfaction leads to an increase in loyalty (douglas, douglas & barnes, 2006; chen  et al.,  2007). the loyalty of stakeholders has implications for institutions and is manifested through returns to the organisation. jongbloed et al. (2008), state that heis should frequently evaluate their level of commitment and degree of involvement in serving the demands of students. superior service quality is achieved in an institution where students’ needs are identified and addressed (toremen, karakus & yasan, 2009; jongbloed et  al.,  2008). kitchroen (2004) contends that the dissatisfaction of students with heis’ service quality is expressed in a decline of student admissions. therefore, student satisfaction is a critical measure of service quality and hei management should regularly evaluate student satisfaction. in general, according to chen et al. (2007), when student satisfaction is assessed to be low (dissatisfaction), such an assessment assists the institution in prioritising improvement initiatives. knowledge of the perceptions of students assists institutional management in maximising satisfaction and minimising dissatisfaction. jackson et al. (2011, p. 393) argue that “educational institutions, like businesses, are forced to confront the fact that, since perception is reality to customers, it is the perceptions that must be considered if improvements are to be recognized”. the argument set out in the discussion up to this point leads to the deduction that the service-quality criteria of the servqual methodology (mentioned in the introduction section of this article), namely: tangibles; responsiveness; reliability; assurance and empathy – when expressed as quantitative measurable concepts in the empirical research – serve as the operational framework for the study. models developed to quantify service quality attributes literature on service quality in the educational field proposes several models that measure or quantify criteria of service quality. these include, for example, the servqual model (parasuraman et al., 1988), the servperf (service performance) model (cronin & taylor,  1992), the evaluated performance (ep) model (teas, 1993), the ipa model (martilla & james, 1977) and the hedperf (higher education performance) model (firdaus,  2006). this research uses a combination of the most commonly used models, namely the importance-performance analysis (ipa) model and the servqual model to measure students’ experience of service quality in ethiopian heis. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 solomon l. lodesso, eldridge j. van niekerk, cecelia a. jansen & hélène müller: student satisfaction regarding service … 55 several empirical studies in various fields have been conducted using ipa models to assess service quality, for instance in higher education (wright & o’neill, 2002), amongst university students (angell, heffernan & megicks, 2008; douglas et al., 2006; o’neill & palmer, 2004; joseph & joseph, 1997) and in the transport service sector (wang, feng & hsieh, 2010). wright and o’neill (2002) investigated the service quality at western australian higher education institutions by employing the ipa model. douglas et al. (2006) measured student satisfaction at liverpool john moores university in the united kingdom, using the ipa model. angell et al. (2008) also used the ipa model for identifying the service factors used for quality evaluation by postgraduate students to analyse the appropriateness of ipa in the assessment of service quality and to provide a working example of ipa’s application at a british university. they confirm that the ipa is a suitable tool for measuring service quality in heis. in wright and o’neill’s (2002) investigation of service quality at western australian heis based on the ipa model, results revealed that students’ satisfaction level differed statistically significantly for certain core service quality dimensions compared to other dimensions. these results illustrate the usefulness of the ipa technique in evaluating service quality in a hei context. angell et al. (2008) similarly used the ipa model to quantify and identify critical service factors in a quality evaluation research project with postgraduate students of a hei. identification of specific critical factors in this instance again illustrates the suitability of the ipa model in measuring service quality at heis. the ipa technique was originally developed by martilla and james (1977). this technique seeks to identify the underlying importance ascribed by consumers to various quality criteria being assessed, when compared with perceived service satisfaction of delivered services (wright & o’neill, 2002). the objective of the ipa is to identify which attributes or combinations of attributes are the most influential in student satisfaction. martilla and james (1977) state that the ipa assesses the underlying importance accorded by consumers to quality criteria, while simultaneously expressing satisfaction with services delivered according to the same quality criteria. the technique therefore delivers, pairwise, importance/perceived service satisfaction ratings, which gauge agreement between perceived importance of a service and perceived service experienced. methodology sampling the population for this quantitative study consisted of all final-year undergraduate students registered for an academic degree at 6 of the 31 public universities in ethiopia (ministry of education, 2012). the six mentioned universities were selected as a first step of a two-stage stratified random sampling process. the establishment date of universities served as the firstlevel stratification classifier: universities established prior to 1998; those established between 1998 and 2011; and universities established after 2011. two universities per stratum were randomly selected (universities per stratum were numbered and two numbers per stratum were drawn using a table of random numbers), namely hawassa and addis ababa 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 51–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 universities from the first stratum (first-generation universities); dilla and woliata soddo universities from the second stratum (second-generation universities); and meda wolabo and dibre markos universities from the third stratum (third-generation universities). subsequently, students (250 per university) were proportionately and randomly selected per faculty for each university – faculties serving as a second-level stratification classifier. (the alphabetic faculty lists of undergraduate third-year students per university were numbered in each case. using a table of random numbers, a proportion of 250 students was then randomly selected per faculty (depending on faculty size) for each university. this resulted in a total of 1 500 (6 x 250) students being selected from six universities. ethics the ethical aspects of research were addressed in that ethical clearance for the research (which originally formed part of the doctoral studies of the first author) was applied for and granted by the ethics committee of the college of education at unisa. the necessary permission – via permission letters addressed to relevant academic managers – was also obtained from each university and faculty prior to questionnaire distribution and completion. student respondents indicated their willingness to partake in the study by means of informed consent on the questionnaire. measuring service quality satisfaction perceptions: the servqual questionnaire the modified servqual questionnaire (parasuraman et al., 1991) was used to assess respondents’ perceptions/or satisfaction of their expectations of service quality; perceived experience of service quality; and the importance of service quality at their university. respondents expressed these three types of perceptions (importance, experience of services rendered and expectations) by rating three sets of 22 identical service criteria issues on a seven-point likert rating scale. importance perceptions were expressed according to a rating scale where 1 indicates “not important at all”, up to 7, which indicates “extremely important”. likewise, expected and experienced perception scale ratings measured agreement: a score of 1 indicates “very strong disagreement”, up to 7, which indicates “very strong agreement”. the 22-item questionnaire probed dimensions/criteria of service quality labelled as tangibles (items 1–5), reliability (items 6–10), responsiveness (items 11–14), assurance of service delivery (items  15–18) and empathy (items  19–22). of relevance to the discussions in this article are the rating responses of importance and experienced service perceptions to the 22 questionnaire items. parasuraman et al. (1988) explain that the tangibles dimension of the servqual questionnaire refers to the surroundings, physical facilities and equipment used in the delivery of services (e.g. the particular hei) and to the appearance of the personnel. the dimension of reliability describes the ability of the service provider to deliver dependable and accurate services as promised. responsiveness describes the service provider’s willingness to assist stakeholders by providing prompt service, while assurance addresses the service provider’s knowledge and ability to instil confidence in its stakeholders. the dimension https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 solomon l. lodesso, eldridge j. van niekerk, cecelia a. jansen & hélène müller: student satisfaction regarding service … 57 of empathy refers to the institution’s readiness to provide individual care and attention to stakeholders. questionnaire administration the responses to a total of 1 425 completed questionnaires (of 1 500 distributed) were electronically captured to an excel spreadsheet for analysis purposes. the 1 425 questionnaires represented a 95% response rate, which can be regarded as very good, since this far exceeds the response rate of similar studies (nadiri, kandampully & hussain, 2009). the excellent response rate can be ascribed to the fact that respondents at each university completed the questionnaire in a single session, convened specifically for this purpose at each university. the ipa strategy the analysis and interpretation of captured data according to ipa methodology is based on the analysis strategy and reasoning set out below: mean rating responses (and their standard deviations) for the above mentioned importance and perceived service experience perceptions for each of the 22  service quality criteria questions are calculated. the differences between each mean-experience perception and mean-importance rating (referred to as the “gap” score) for each of the 22  service criteria are also calculated. this forms the crux of the ipa methodology argument: if the perceived importance (as reflected in the mean importance rating) and the experienced perception of service delivery (as reflected in the mean perception rating) on any of the 22 aspects of service quality agree, the gap score (which measures discrepancy between the two perceptions) will be small, as opposed to a larger gap score when perceptions of an aspect differs. a substantial gap will indicate a type of disparity between experience and expectation of service quality (to be elaborated on in terms of quadrants below). ipa methodology simplifies the interpretation of the “gap” between perceived importance and experienced service delivery for all 22 service-delivery criteria by means of an ipa grid system (figure 1). the grid system is structured in such a way that the two-axes system represents the importance component of the service quality assessment (the y-axis) and the perceived experience of service quality (the x-axis). the origin of the grid system is positioned (the (x; y) coordinate in euclidean space) where the x-coordinate assumes the value of the overall mean perception rating (also referred to as “perception of the experience of service quality rendered”) of all 22 service quality criteria combined, and the y-coordinate assumes the value of the overall mean importance rating of all 22 service quality criteria. the 22 paired importance/perceived service experience service quality criteria ratings are then mapped onto the ipa grid system. if complete importance–experience agreement exists for any criterion, ipa methodology argues that the specific (x;y) coordinate will be positioned close to the origin. any deviation (importance/perceived service experience discrepancy) will be indicated by plotted (x;y) coordinates positioned some distance from the origin in one of the four quadrants of the plot – an indication of satisfaction discrepancy. 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 51–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 critical service areas that need improvement initiatives can be identified according to the quadrant that a specific (x;y) service-criteria coordinate falls in. figure  1 below explains the quadrant interpretation of the ipa analysis technique: quadrant  a (regarded as the quadrant that requires attention/concentrate here) identifies service attributes perceived to be important, but are under-performing; quadrant c (low priority) identifies service attributes perceived not to be that important, but that are also under-performing; quadrant  b (keep up the good work) identifies service attributes that are perceived to be important and that are performing well; and quadrant d (possible overkill) identifies service attributes that are performing well, but are less important. figure  1 summarises this argument. d not important, good service a very important, poor service c not important, poor service b very important, good service im po rt an ce o f se rv ic e n ot im po rt an t ve ry im po rt an t perception of service rendered disagree / poor service agree / excellent service figure 1: interpretation of the four quadrants in the ipa technique source: adapted from martilla & james (1977, p. 78) results and discussion the research context frequency tables (not included in this article) of biographical properties probed in the servqual questionnaire, described the biographical profile of the respondents and indicated a young, predominantly male group of respondents: 69.5% were male and 30.5% female. in the ethiopian higher education system, the majority of students are still male, as reflected in the sample composition. distribution according to age indicated that almost 64% of the respondents were between the ages of 22 and 24 years, and an additional 27.5% in the 19–21 age-bracket. only 8.2% of the sampled students fell in the 25–27 age bracket and 0.3% were older than 27 years. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 solomon l. lodesso, eldridge j. van niekerk, cecelia a. jansen & hélène müller: student satisfaction regarding service … 59 results of the importance‑performance analysis (ipa) as described in the methodology section, mean perception rating-scores (and standard deviations) were calculated for service experienced and importance perceptions of service quality for the 22 aspects of the servqual questionnaire. results are reported in table 1. table 1: perceived performance, importance and gap scores of individual ipa items for the student data set service dimension aspects of service probed perception of service experienced (p) perception of importance (i) gap score (p–i) mean std. dev. mean std. dev. mean std. dev. t an g ib le s 1. modern equipment 3.13 1.74 6.77 0.53 -3.64 1.21 2. facilities appealing 3.51 2.04 6.61 0.70 -3.1 1.34 3. neatly dressed 2.83 1.72 6.63 0.68 -2.58 1.14 4. resources appealing 4.05 1.82 6.74 0.57 -3.91 1.15 5. fulfil promises agreed 3.14 1.81 6.75 0.57 -3.61 1.24 r el ia b il it y 6. intent solve problem 3.37 1.78 6.76 0.53 -3.39 1.25 7. satisfactory service 3.44 1.77 6.73 0.57 -3.29 1.2 8. timely services 3.35 1.87 6.74 0.55 -3.39 1.32 9. error-free records 3.25 1.73 6.72 0.63 -3.47 1.1 10. inform re services 3.70 1.76 6.74 0.58 -3.04 1.18 r es p o n si ve n es s 11. prompt service 3.59 1.68 6.76 0.55 -3.17 1.13 12. willingness to assist 3.68 1.70 6.74 0.54 -3.06 1.16 13. not too busy, respond 3.42 1.71 6.60 0.70 -3.18 1.01 14. radiate confidence 3.57 1.70 6.64 0.64 -3.07 1.06 a ss u ra n ce 15. feel safe dealing university 3.72 1.73 6.72 0.59 -3.00 1.14 16. courteous behaviour 3.68 1.74 6.72 0.56 -3.04 1.18 17. sufficient knowledge 3.81 1.74 6.76 0.56 -2.95 1.18 18. individual attention 3.59 1.70 6.66 0.66 -3.07 1.04 e m p at h y 19. convenient hours 3.72 1.79 6.68 0.62 -2.96 1.17 20. personal attention 3.12 1.65 6.66 0.62 -3.54 1.03 21. student-interest important 3.31 1.66 6.69 0.58 -3.38 1.08 22. understand needs 3.33 1.64 6.75 0.58 -3.42 1.06 overall mean 3.47 6.71 ‑3.24 valid n (multiple responses) 1425 ‑3.17 0.63 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 51–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 figure  2 below provides a graphical presentation of the paired importance–experienced perceptions of students on the 22 aspects of service quality. deductions summarised in the discussion section below figure 2 are based on the quadrant guidance provided in figure 1 of the methodology section. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 6,58 6,6 6,62 6,64 6,66 6,68 6,7 6,72 6,74 6,76 6,78 6,8 2,85 2,95 3,05 3,15 3,25 3,35 3,45 3,55 3,65 3,75 3,85 3,95 4,05 im po rt an ce p er ce pt io n experienced service perception figure 2: ipa plot of students’ importance/experienced service delivery rating findings derived from the ipa (table 1) and ipa plot (figure 2) the most crucial finding: quadrants a and c the ipa rationale explained in the methodology section can be applied to figure 2 and indicates that service aspects and dimensions that fall within quadrants a (very important; poor service) and c (not important, poor service) identify services that students perceive to be critical with respect to service quality. the labels and services that fall within these two quadrants are discussed under the next two bullet points: • quadrant a: important, but underperforming the ipa plot mapped services 1–3 and 5–9 (modern equipment; appealing facilities; well-dressed staff; promises fulfilled; sincere problem-solving approach; satisfactory service; error-free records; punctuality) onto quadrant a. these services describe the tangibles and reliability dimensions of service delivery. students regard these two dimensions as important, but they are underperforming in terms of service quality. the deduction can be made that students regard the surroundings, physical facilities and equipment used to deliver services as important, but that these are lacking (tangibles). students also place a high premium on reliability and find that service delivery in this regard is poor. in particular, the largest gap scores in quadrant a are identified as item 3, staff neatly dressed (tangibles dimension); item  5, fulfil promises (reliability dimension); and item  1, modern https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 solomon l. lodesso, eldridge j. van niekerk, cecelia a. jansen & hélène müller: student satisfaction regarding service … 61 equipment (tangibles dimension). the gap scores for these aspects are -3.91; -3.61 and -3.64 respectively. this suggests that, according to student perceptions, the appearance of the university staff and equipment, in particular, are unsatisfactory, and that service in ethiopian higher education institutions is unreliable. • quadrant c: underperforming, but not critically important the ipa map reflects that students perceive elements of the empathy and responsiveness dimensions of service delivery to be underperforming, although they do not regard these elements as being critically important for service quality. these include item  20, personal attention by staff, and item 21, an institution that has students’ interests at heart, which describe the empathy dimension of service delivery. mean gap scores of -3.54 and -3.38 respectively were reported. the magnitude of these gap scores indicates a discrepancy between expectations and experiences. likewise, item  13, staff at an excellent university will not be too busy to respond to requests, describes an aspect of the responsiveness dimension of service quality. a mean gap score of -3.18 is reported in this instance, which again identifies a discrepancy between expectation and experience. these listed services will also affect students’ perceptions of service quality because they (the students) noted their experiences of underperforming services. therefore, although the students did not place as high a premium on these services as on those listed in quadrant  a, these services nevertheless influence their general perception of service adequacy. universities would do well to institute improvement initiatives in these areas. it can be deduced that students view willingness to assist (responsiveness) and readiness to provide individual care (empathy) as aspects of service that are underperforming at their higher education institution. in general, services and service dimensions falling into quadrants  a and c require serious attention from university management to ensure student satisfaction. other findings derived from the ipa and ipa plot: quadrants b and d the ipa rationale explained in figure 1 indicates that services classified as falling within either quadrant b or d define services viewed as important and performing well – in other words, quality service – or services that are good performers, but not that important (once again quality service). the labels and services that fall within these two quadrants are discussed under the next two bullet points: • quadrant b: important and performing well the ipa plot mapped services 10–12 and 15–17 (staff inform students of services to be performed; staff provide prompt services; staff are willing to assist; students feel safe to deal with the university; staff are courteous towards students; staff are knowledgeable regarding services) onto quadrant  b. these services describe elements of the reliability; responsiveness and assurance dimensions of service quality. students regard aspects or elements of these dimensions as important and experience these aspects as quality service. in this regard the deduction can be made that, to students, certain aspects of their institution’s reliability regarding services rendered; 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 51–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 willingness to assist students (responsiveness) and their institution’s knowledge and ability to assure students (assurance) are important and that students perceive these components of service as quality services. this finding proves that universities have, to a certain extent, achieved an acceptable level of service quality – according to students – with specific components of their services. therefore, the good work achieved in these areas should be acknowledged. • quadrant d: not important, but performing well the ipa plot mapped services 4, 14, 18–19 and 22 onto quadrant d (visual appeal of services; staff behaviour that instils confidence in students; staff pay individual attention to students; convenient lecture and office hours; staff understand special needs of students). these services describe elements of the tangibles; responsiveness; assurance and empathy dimensions of service quality. students regard these elements of the greater dimensions as less important but appreciate the quality of services delivered in these areas. it can be deduced that students perceive specific components of their institution’s willingness to assist students (responsiveness), physical appearance surrounding services (tangibles); assurance; and readiness to provide individual care (empathy) as quality service elements even though they do not perceive these elements to be that important. management could well reflect on whether attention given to these areas could be scaled down to some extent and focus intensified on elements identified as important issues where students expressed dissatisfaction. conclusion and recommendations the study revealed that students’ satisfaction with service quality was low. most aspects of the service quality dimensions of reliability and tangibles proved to be the criteria of service quality that students considered to be very poor. the two other dimensions are of somewhat lesser importance (responsiveness-assurance and empathy). the implication is that an improvement of service quality in especially specific aspects of the dimensions of reliability and tangibles will lead to satisfaction perceptions of service quality amongst students as stakeholders of heis. in order to improve students’ service quality satisfaction, university management should therefore design workable improvement initiatives focused on the identified aspects of especially reliability, tangibles, empathy, responsiveness and assurance. references alves, h., mainardes, e.w. & raposo, m. 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(2006). measuring student satisfaction at a uk university. quality assurance in education,14(3), 251–267. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880610678568 federal democratic republic of ethiopia (fdre). (2003). proclamation no 351/2003: higher education proclamation. addis ababa: federal democratic republic of ethiopia. firdaus, a. (2006). the development of hedperf: a new measuring instrument of service quality for the higher education sector. international journal of consumer studies, 30(6), 569–581. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2005.00480.x gbadamosi, g. & jager, j. (2009). what you see is what you get: service quality, students’ perceptions and satisfaction at south african universities. south african journal of higher education, 23(5), 877–893. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v23i5.48806 hawassa university. 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(1985). a conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. journal of marketing, 49(4), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251430 parasuraman, a., zeithaml, v. & berry, l. (1988). servqual: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. journal of retailing, 64(1), 12–40. parasuraman, a., zeithaml, v. & berry, l. (1991). refinement and reassessment of the servqual scale. journal of retailing, 67(4), 420–450. petruzzeluca, l., d’uggento, a. & romanazzi, s. (2006). student satisfaction and quality service in italian universities. managing service quality, 16(4), 349–364. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520610675694 shah, a. (2009). the impact of quality on satisfaction, revenue, and cost as perceived by providers of higher education. journal of marketing for higher education, 19, 125–141. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/08841240903451324 teas, r.k. 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(2008). service quality assessment in a greek higher education institute. journal of business economics and management, 9(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.3846/1611-1699.2008.9.33-45 how to cite: lodesso, s.l., van niekerk, e.j., jansen, c.a. & müller, h. (2018). student satisfaction regarding service quality at ethiopian public higher education institutions: a case study. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2), 51–64. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 https://doi.org/10.2307/1251430 https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520610675694 https://doi.org/10.1080/08841240903451324 https://doi.org/10.1080/08841240903451324 https://doi.org/10.2307/1252216 https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880910929917 https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2010.529329 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360220124639 https://doi.org/10.3846/1611-1699.2008.9.33-45 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3309 _hlk519541490 _hlk519523841 _hlk519618583 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 183–185 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 183 www.jsaa.ac.za book review meyer, h.-d., st. john, e.p., chankseliani, m. & uribe, l. (eds.). (2013). fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice. rotterdam: sense publishers. reviewed by elisa brewis* * elisa brewis is at the ucl institute of education, london, u.k. email: linda.brewis.14@ucl.ac.uk fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice is an edited volume that aims to address the central question of how and why we can promote policies for fair access to higher education (he). it takes a fairly common view of equity, exploring fair access in terms of racial, socio-economic and rural/urban background. the chapters on china and georgia also consider fairness in the context of political favouritism and nepotism. the book’s primary focus is on access to he, in other words, academic preparation, selection of students and affordability of he. to a lesser extent, the book also explores the question of how to sustain participation in and completion of he among disadvantaged groups. from the outset, the editors make it very clear that the purpose of the book is to counter a neoliberal narrative. they wish to open up a space among he researchers and practitioners to learn about and consider alternative models for he. the book aims to do this by giving us a systems-level perspective on he policy, comparing post-wwii systems with current ones, and comparing systems across continents and political contexts. it does not, for instance, examine fair access policies via institutional behaviour or particular intervention programmes. the resultant ‘bird’s-eye view’ of he systems provides us a comprehensive and empirically rich entry point to a discussion on fair access to he, with an attempt to include some non-oecd (organisation for economic co-operation and development) experiences as well. although the book is pitched as a critique of the neoliberal model of he, it nonetheless adopts a consistently pragmatic tone. this is evident in the way the discussion on fairness (justice) is framed alongside the policymaking concerns of improving quality vis à vis global competition (excellence) and funding constraints (efficiency). before launching into the country case studies, the book first addresses theoretical understandings of justice in he. in line with the approach described above, this discussion is anchored in concrete notions of justice. for example, heinz-dieter meyer’s chapter argues for an institutional-comparative approach (sen, 2009) to reasoning about fair access to he, as it “focuses our attention on the manifest and remediable injustices in a particular setting …” (p. 16). the context of race, class and he participation in the u.s.a. provide a http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:linda.brewis.14%40ucl.ac.uk?subject= 184 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 183–185 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 backdrop for the next two chapters. lesley jacobs presents a case for the use of affirmative action policies, based on the ideological argument that diversity in he is a positive, societal “plus”. edward st. john, in turn, highlights a historical precedent for fair access policies even in the libertarian political climate of the u.s.a. he uses ample statistical data to demonstrate that equitable access to and full completion of he were only achieved with serious political commitment and state funding, most notably via the gi bill of 1944 and the pell grants introduced in 1972. having established that fair access policies are both justifiable and historically precedented, even within neoliberal traditions, the second part of the book moves on to illustrate the successes and failures of national equity policies through a survey of nine country case studies – finland, china, colombia, korea, germany, georgia, south africa, brazil and australia. the central theme that emerges is the tension between concentrating limited state resources into pockets of excellence (for instance, the chinese or korean solutions), or spreading the resources thin for the sake of regional equality (for instance the finnish or german models). another recurring theme is the need for political commitment as an important precursor to adequate state funding. the case of finland illustrates this very clearly. as marja jalava points out, an equitable distribution of access to he across the heavily polarised urban/rural nation was only possible thanks to significant political support. the agrarian league political alliance was able to lobby the interests of the non-elite metropole, while the strong leftist movement advocated against a vocationalisation or proletarianisation of he. the result was the establishment of new research-based universities across several provinces. it is laudable that the book also includes a third section dedicated to the student voice in countering neoliberal he policies – even if the conclusions drawn are rather gloomy. oscar espinoza and luis eduardo gonzales recount the mass social support for student protests in chile. this support stemmed from the high burden placed on families to cover he costs (79.2% of total expenditure on he in comparison to 14.4% from the state, p. 243). even with such a broad support base, it was still very difficult for the student movement to challenge the neoliberal status quo. in the american he context, anna schwenck reveals how a discourse on “excellence” has drowned out demands for a just and equitable society. it appears that even in california, the home of the clerk kerr he “masterplan” to promote social mobility, funding cuts have altered policy discourse and forced a wedge between students and he management. the final section of the book (part 4) ends on some concrete policy recommendations. in the first chapter, the editors conclude that we urgently need evidence to counter the neoliberal model. they argue that current funding mechanisms rely more on “ideological arguments” than on an “evidence-based discourse about fairness” (p. 284). this book can be seen as one such concerted effort to make an evidence-based case for fairness. in the final chapter, edward st. john and heinz-dieter meyer propose a 10-point list of what a fair access policy might involve. they concede that, if market models and loans are to be used, we need to at least temper their most serious ramifications for disadvantaged groups, such as using loans only as a last resort and making repayment terms lenient. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 elisa brewis: fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective ... 185 reflecting on the ‘call to arms’ in this book to collect more data on equity issues, it is promising that there are on-going attempts to do just that. for example, the global equity index project is attempting to chart a global map on inequality in access to he (atherton, dumangane & whitty, 2016). an example of a country-level initiative is the siyaphumelela project in south africa, which strives to use data analytics to improve student outcomes. the conclusion of the book is perhaps somewhat disheartening, however, as it focuses on ‘what can be done within a neoliberal funding model’ rather than returning to the initial discussion on ideological arguments in favour of fair access policies. for example, it would be helpful to explore the way in which the social justice dimension of he is often explicitly linked to national development plans in low-middle income contexts, and its potential to fuel fair access policies. nevertheless, fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective is a timely book that makes an important contribution to the field of he studies by offering an empirically rich exploration of fair access policies. references atherton, g., dumangane, c. & whitty, g. (2016). charting equity in higher education: drawing the global access map. london, u.k.: pearson. sen, a. (2009). the idea of justice. massachusetts, u.s.a.: harvard university press. how to cite: brewis, e., (2017). review on h.-d. meyer, e.p. st. john, m. chankseliani & l. uribe (eds.). fairness in access to higher education in a global perspective: reconciling excellence, efficiency, and justice. rotterdam: sense publishers. (2013). journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 183–185. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2708 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 113 www.jsaa.ac.za research article international survey of peer leadership (ispl): an emerging snapshot of the status of peer leadership in south africa nelia frade* & gugu wendy tiroyabone** * dr nelia frade is senior coordinator: tutor development in the centre for academic staff development at the university of johannesburg, south africa. email: neliaf@uj.ac.za ** gugu wendy tiroyabone is chief officer for academic advising at the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state, south africa. email: tiroyabonegw@ufs.ac.za abstract the power and importance of peer influence in educational settings has been well documented (cuseo, 2010; ender & kay, 2001; keup, 2010). in south africa, research supports international trends that student involvement in peer-led activities contributes to student success and ultimate throughput (layton & mckenna, 2015; loots, 2009; underhill & mcdonald, 2010). a plethora of research exists attesting to the benefits for students who are the recipients of peer-led activities. in south africa, however, knowledge gaps exist pertaining to a national perspective on the experiences and, to some extent, on the benefits of peer leadership activities for peer leaders themselves. the purpose of this study is to provide an initial national snapshot of the development and experiences of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education, using the international survey of peer leaders (ispl). the research design adopted was a non-probability purposive sampling technique, with a sample size of n=466. data were analysed using descriptive analyses. findings validate previous findings and provide a more comprehensive picture of the types of peer leadership positions held, the training and support peer leaders receive, levels of engagement, and the benefits of being involved in peer-led activities. keywords peer leadership; higher education; student engagement; student involvement; peer leader development; peer leader gains; trends introduction globally, institutions of higher education have increasingly begun to utilise undergraduate and postgraduate peers in student support and service delivery (cuseo, 2010; keup, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). these students, known as peer leaders, are chosen to use their influence to assist undergraduate students in a way that is more accessible and less intimidating than when delivered by teaching staff, professors, or administrative staff (cuseo, 2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:neliaf%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:tiroyabonegw%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 114 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 current international research also indicates that peer leader positions are beneficial to both the students serving in the leadership role and the students they support. with regards to the benefits reported by peer leaders, harmon (2006), for example, found that peer mentors for first-year students reported increases in their ability to manage groups, empathise with students, and facilitate learning. peer leaders across america also continue to report improvements in their communication and leadership skills; increased knowledge of campus resources; more interaction with teaching staff, professors and peers; greater engagement in critical thinking and diverse problem solving, and refined interpersonal skills (astin, 1993; ender & kay, 2001; shook & keup, 2012). these aforementioned studies, conducted at various institutions in america, also provide insight into the selection, training and compensation models for peer leaders. in addition, they further attest to the development and positive experience gained, and position peer leadership as an emergent high-impact practice (hip) (keup & young, 2014). hips are defined as “teaching and learning practices (that) have been widely tested and have shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds (and represent) practices that educational research suggests increases rates of retention and student engagement” (kuh, 2008, p. 9). specifically, hips are characterised as practices that include an investment of time and energy, substantive interaction with faculty and peers, high expectations, feedback, exposure to diverse perspectives, reflection and applied learning, and accountability (keup, 2016). historically, research in south africa has predominantly focused on particular types of peer-led activities ranging across academic as well as co-curricular lines. (layton & mckenna, 2015; loots, 2009; zerger, clark-unite & smith, 2006). this has resulted in localised studies and has failed to provide a national picture of the development and experiences of peer leaders. this study explored the development and experience of south african peer leaders using the international survey of peer leaders (ispl). the ispl is an expansion and adaptation of the 2013 american national survey of peer leaders which was used to gather national data by the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. the ispl instrument was standardised to be responsive to the south african context. during 2014 and 2015, data were collected at six representative south african institutions of higher education. this study provides insights on an initial rollout of the ispl as a pilot study and begins to foreground peer leadership as an emergent hip. in addition, this study calls attention to the diverse ways in which peer leadership has historically been implemented in south africa and offers opportunities for internal comparisons between institutions which can inform best practice around peer leadership. looking ahead, this study provides prospects for international comparisons, which can help south african institutions of higher education to align themselves with international trends around peer leadership. literature review educationalists define peer leaders as students who have been selected, trained, and designated by a campus authority to offer educational services to their peers. these services http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 115 are intentionally designed to assist peers to cope with the demands of tertiary education (newton & ender, 2010). peer leaders are then chosen to provide support, as they are perceived as more approachable and less judgemental than an authority figure (cuseo, 2010). in addition, both students and their peer leaders are at proximal stages of cognitive and social development, which facilitates student identification with and comprehension of the peer leader (vygotsky, 1978; cuseo, 2010). the significant role that peers assume in human development has been widely documented within educational contexts (cuseo, 2010; ender & kay, 2001; keup, 2016; newton & ender, 2010). in fact, most theories on student development highlight the significant influence that peers have on intellectual development, academic engagement, moral development, clarification of political and social values, formation of self-concept, and interpersonal skills (greenfield, keup & gardner, 2013). peers not only influence developmental processes, but are also instrumental in interacting with and encouraging other students to become involved on their campus. scholars such as astin (1993), alexander, wogelgesang, ikeda and yee (2000) suggest that academic involvement and interaction with faculty and fellow students increases the time and physical and psychological energy that students devote to the academic experience. astin (1993, p. 398) concluded, “the student’s peer group is the single most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years”. in the light of this perspective, there has been a proliferation in the use of peer leaders in almost every area of academic and student support (hilsdon, 2013; keup & skipper, 2016; newton & ender, 2010). keup (2012) suggests that training is critical for developing the capabilities and skills required for peer leadership. furthermore, training differentiates the peer leader role from informal peer-to-peer interactions (keup, 2016). ender and kay’s (2001, p. 1) definition of peer leaders as “students who have been selected and trained to offer educational services to their peers” reinforces this view. this definition supports the notion that peer leaders must be trained to undertake their respective roles within the institution. according to latino and ashcraft (2012), intentional and ongoing training is a prerequisite for any successful peer leadership programme and further state that training should be intentionally designed to adequately prepare peer leaders for their roles and responsibilities. globally, peer leadership has come under scrutiny in an attempt to better understand the practice as well as its benefits. in the the kingdom of bahrain, a localised study was conducted in the basic medical science department at qatar university (kassab, abu-hijlek, al-shboul & hamdy, 2005), to investigate the experiences of students engaged in problem-based learning (pbl) and the development of peer leaders. peer leaders reported development in the following areas: interpersonal communication, teamwork, leadership, evaluation, and feedback skills. in australia, research traditionally focused on particular types of peer led activities, for example, tutoring. researchers have concluded that tutors play a crucial role in university teaching in australia as tutoring supports student engagement with discipline-specific curricula (bell & mladeniovic, 2014). given that a significant percentage of australian 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 tutors aim to transition into academic careers, tutoring has been identified as a useful practice for “growing one’s own timber” (bell & mladeniovic, 2014). in the higher education sector in portugal, peer leadership is a widespread practice. unfortunately, as in many other countries, limited research into the peer leader experience exists. a study conducted with peer tutors involved in project-led education (ple), found that tutors expressed satisfaction with the programme and experienced a sense of personal fulfilment (simao, flores, fernandes & figueira, 2008). american researchers colvin and ashman (2010) investigated the roles, risks, and benefits of peer-mentoring relationships in higher education. their research findings have confirmed that the most common areas that involve students helping other students are peer tutoring and peer mentoring. in addition, they found that successful peer mentoring and peer tutoring does not happen within a vacuum, but is the result of relationships among students, mentors, and instructors. furthermore, wawrzynski, loconte and straker (2011) conducted a national peer educator study (npes) to evaluate the national peer education programme and the experiences of peer educators at american colleges and universities. results from this evaluation, yielded parallel findings to the work of astin (1993) and pascarella and terenzini (2005), which indicated that peers have the most significant influence on one another’s growth and development in college and that peer educators applied the information that they presented to their peers to their own student lives. additional studies conducted in america, focusing on the benefits associated with being a peer leader, have shown that students who serve as peer leaders also experienced gains in social and emotional development, such as improved social skills, self-confidence, self-esteem, sense of purpose and personal identity (shook & keup, 2012; cuseo, 2010; harmon, 2006; ender & kay, 2001). in addition, peer leaders reported a greater sense of belonging at their institution, gained a deeper understanding of institutional processes and governance, built stronger relationships with faculty and staff, became more responsible, increased their appreciation of diversity, and gained awareness of professional and ethical standards (keup & skipper, 2016; latino & ashcraft, 2012). furthermore, it was evident that peer leaders were also more likely to experience integrative and applied learning in their educational experience (shook & keup, 2012), which could positively affect employability and the development of career-relevant leadership skills (cuseo, 2010). in 2009 and 2013, the american national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition (nrc) conducted a national survey. the purpose of the national survey of peer leaders (nsp) was to gather student and institutional data to examine the ways in which peer leader programmes were structured and administered and their impact on the students who served as peer leaders. responses from 4 932 students in peer-leader roles at 49 institutions of higher education in the united states of america provided insights into the experiences and outcomes of these positions (keup, 2014; keup & skipper, 2016). peer leaders were asked to rate their growth in four outcome areas, namely: skills development; undergraduate experiences; employability; and academic performance. they reported that their involvement and experience in peer leader positions had resulted in positive gains, specifically in skills development, undergraduate experiences http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 117 and employability outcome areas (keup, 2014). interestingly, despite the fact that a high number of survey respondents were engaged in academic peer-leader roles, the academic performance outcome area was the least affected. qualitative results revealed that this was due to an over-involvement in activities, poor time management and the stress associated with the peer leader role (shook & keup, 2012). research in south africa has predominantly focused on particular types of peer-led activities within individual institutions of higher education, for example, tutors, mentors and supplemental instruction leaders (layton & mckenna, 2015; loots, 2009; zerger, clarkunite & smith, 2006). south african research supports international trends suggesting that the recipients and providers of peer-led activities benefit academically, which can make a difference to student success and, ultimately, throughput (underhill & mcdonald, 2010). this is evident from research conducted by loots (2009), who found that involvement in an academic peer-mentoring programme enhanced student performance, resulting in both academic and social integration for the mentor and mentee. additional studies focusing exclusively on the experiences of mentors (norodien-fataar, 2012) found that mentors created links between their technological usage, engagement, and their learning. further studies focusing on the experiences of supplemental instruction leaders show that they developed leadership skills and pursued careers in academia (zerger, clark-unite & smith, 2006). it is clear that involvement in peer-led activities provide benefits to the students who receive the service and the peer leaders themselves. methodology research design this study formed part of a collaborative international research project led by the national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (nrc) in the united state of america. the said project was conducted in five english-speaking countries across the globe, namely, the u.k., canada, australia, new zealand and south africa. the 2013 american spl was used as a point of departure to develop the ispl in an iterative and interactive way with inputs from all stakeholders. the purpose of the ispl was to provide a deeper understanding of the development and experiences of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education. given this, the ispl had to be standardised for the south african situation to ensure its validity for the south african higher education context. this task was entrusted to representatives of the university of johannesburg (uj) and the south african national resource centre (sanrc) who were identified by the nrc as the south african representatives to coordinate the ispl. the standardisation of the ispl was a collaborative process involving staff and students, who selected changes. finally, the completed instrument was piloted with a small group of peer leaders. the following changes were unique to the south african version of the ispl: (a) the spl survey only included undergraduate respondents, but for the sa context, postgraduate students were also included; (b) south african peer leaders were requested to indicate if they were degree or diploma students. 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 participants the representatives responsible for coordinating the south african ispl were tasked with identifying and recruiting potential participants. six south african institutions of higher education were selected to participate in this survey, namely the university of johannesburg (uj), the stellenbosch university (su), the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), the university of the free state (ufs), the nelson mandela metropolitan university (nmmu), and the central university of technology (cut). these institutions were selected because of the historically high numbers of student peer leaders employed by each of these institutions to increase student learning and engagement in higher education. in addition, these institutions represent the three institutional types in south africa, namely traditional, comprehensive and universities of technology, allowing for generalisation and nuanced inter-institutional-type comparisons.1 ethical clearance for this study was obtained from each participating institution. sampling this study adopted a non-probability, purposive sampling technique. sampling occurred on two levels, the first being that institutions were representative of the three types of institutions of higher education in south africa; the second institutional sampling dimension was their consistent use of peer leadership. institutional sampling of peer leaders varied as illustrated in figure 1; 466 respondents participated in the survey. in each of the six institutions, the entire population of peer leaders for that year were included. the sample size, although consisting of representatives from all participating institutions, comprised a significant number of respondents from the university of johannesburg (n=278). the reason for this was that uj was the primary location of the study, which meant that the national representatives had direct access to the peer leaders. furthermore, this may be because the sampled institutions were represented by only a sample of their peer leaders and not the entire population of peer leaders for the year. 1 universities in south africa are divided into three types, namely, traditional universities, which offer theoretically-orientated university degrees; universities of technology, which offer vocationally orientated diplomas and degrees; and comprehensive universities, which offer a combination of both types of qualifications (https://e.m.wikipedia.org). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 119 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 participating institutions 42 37 278 60 44 5 university of the free state university of kwazulu-natal university of johannesburg stellenbosch university nelson mandela metropolitan university central university of technology figure 1: frequency distribution of survey respondents per institution instrument the ispl contained questions in three main areas: demographics, structural features of the peer-leader experience and outcomes of the peer-leadership experience. peer leaders were asked to provide demographic information including the number of years attended at university, residency, gender, and race/ethnicity. the section on structural features contained questions that focused on the number of peer leader experiences at university, the quantity of time spent performing duties per week, the amount of training received, and the types of and locations of the experiences (e.g. peer tutor, residence assistant, and orientation leader). the outcomes section included questions that focused on how the peer-leadership experience contributed to gains in relation to the institution, the development of skills, the development of workforce readiness, and overall academic success. the ispl consisted of quantitative and narrative measures to capture respondents’ varied experiences. each response category was coded as a dichotomous variable for analyses. the outcome variables were worded as self-reported gains, thereby representing perceived measures of change rather than direct gauges of development. respondents were asked to indicate their self-rated change on an eight-point scale – “greatly decreased”, “decreased’, “slightly decreased”, “no change”, “slightly increased”, “increased”, “greatly increased’ and “unable to judge”. these self-rated measures limit the scope to draw conclusions about true impact but do provide descriptive analyses of perceived peer-leader experiences (keup, 2016). data collection data collection was carried out via web technology in that each participating institution received a unique url link. this link was sent to coordinators in each of the participating institutions who in turn made it available to the various peer leaders in their institutions. this web link allowed peer leaders to voluntarily and anonymously access the ispl, which was completed between october 2014 and march 2015. the web link took students to 120 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 an online data-collection platform where students could respond to the survey. on this webpage, students were informed of their rights as participants in this research and were given the opportunity to opt out with no penalty. data analysis analyses of the data were undertaken using quantitative methods. the data were analysed with ibm statistics spss 22. descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was used to investigate the experiences of peer leaders in terms of the variables being measured in the ispl instrument (questions 1–69). frequency tables were also drawn to help describe and summarise the experiences of peer leaders in a more meaningful manner. another level at which the data were analysed involved calculating cross-tabulations to better depict the number of times certain variable combinations occur as a result of another variable in the sample data. findings and discussion the discussion below is based on the responses of 466 students in peer-leader positions at six universities across south africa. these results were compared to some of the results from the american 2013 national survey of peer leaders as conducted by the nrc. two unique data point adaptations to the south african version of the ispl yielded the following results: (a)  the majority of respondents were enrolled for a degree (86%) and only 14% were enrolled for a diploma; and (b)  64% were undergraduate as opposed to 36% postgraduate students. typically, south african peer leaders were found to be senior or postgraduate students in their third to fifth years of study. this is congruent with the literature, which states that postgraduate and senior students are viewed as having developed a greater sense of interpersonal and intellectual competence, and are therefore better able to inspire and motivate undergraduate students (astin, 1993; colvin, 2007). further analysis of the south african demographic frequencies indicated that the largest age group participating in peer-led activities was within the age group 21–25 (52%). in south africa, half of the respondents were female (50%) in contrast to 71% females in america and 53% were black south africans in contrast to 72% being white in america; the racial mix is representative of each country’s demographic composition. in addition, 55% of the south african peer leaders resided off campus compared to 43.7% in america; furthermore 52% of peer leaders in south africa studied in the same province that they resided in; in america, a larger proportion, 76%, were in-state students. the majority of south african and american respondents reported having held between one and two peer-leader positions concurrently. south african peer leaders, however, reported spending between one and 10 hours per week performing their peer-leader responsibilities, whilst their american counterparts spent more time, namely between six and 15 hours per week. the most common use of peer leaders across the sampled south african institutions was for academic purposes (71%), followed by 17% for co-curricular (i.e. student clubs, student governance and student housing) peer-led activities and 12% for programmes that facilitate http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 121 student transitions and support (i.e. orientation and first year experience (fye)). this is in sharp contrast to the american sampled institutions as peer leaders were most commonly used for co-curricular activities, followed by programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (i.e. orientation and fye) and lastly for academic purposes (keup, 2014). the use of peer leaders in south africa for academic purposes highlights the gap that exists between the demands of higher education and the preparedness of school leavers for academic study and in turn the way the peer leader role is conceptualised. institutions of higher education in south africa are increasingly utilising peer leaders in order to deal with the learning needs of students who were previously disadvantaged as a result of apartheid-era secondary schooling (white paper, 2013). the american nrc study revealed that 86% of the respondents reported having being trained which is comparable to the south african ispl respondents who reported that 84% of them had received training (keup, 2014). table 1 depicts the length of initial formal training that the south african and american peer leaders reported receiving in preparation for their peer leadership roles. this clearly shows that a number of peer leaders in south african and america were generally trained for half a day or less. this suggests an emergent model of best practice for peer leadership training that represents sustained development via initial training and ongoing support and supervision. from the research findings, it is evident that south african peer leaders spend between 1–10 hours per week fulfilling their roles. in order for students to gain the maximum benefit from interacting for this substantial amount of time with peer leaders, training should be intentionally designed and sufficient to provide the necessary support to students. training should also differentiate between levels of experience, as peer leaders are often reappointed year on year. thus, irrespective of the peer-leader position held, peer leaders must be sufficiently trained for all the positions they hold (keup, 2012, latino & ashcraft, 2012). table 1: duration of the initial formal training for all peer-leadership positions held training length of formal training south africa america half a day or less 28% 23% one day 16% 19% two days 17% 18% three days 14% 11% four days 4% 6% a week 8% 17% two weeks 1% 21% three weeks 2% 7% enrolled in class 5% 19% other 1.3% 7% 122 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 just more than half (54%) of south african respondents reported receiving additional ongoing training after their initial training, while in the 2013 nrc study, 68% of the respondents indicated having received additional ongoing training. table 2 indicates the type of additional training that was offered to peer leaders in both south africa and america. in south africa, additional ongoing training predominantly took the form of regular meetings specifically dedicated to training (46%), whilst in america the preferred type of additional ongoing training (61%) occurred during staff meetings (keup, 2014). table 2: types of additional ongoing training for all peer leadership positions held ongoing additional training type south africa america retreat 4% 39% staff meetings 6% 61% meeting with supervisor 11% 48% workshops 46% 7% in order to gain a deeper understanding of the data, cross-tabulations of the south african data were calculated to examine the relationships between specific sets of data (e.g. ongoing additional training and three broad categories of peer-leader positions). despite the fact that 84% of the ispl respondents reported receiving training, the researchers felt that the important role that training plays in preparing and sustaining quality peer leadership needed to be further explored. in south africa, only 63.3% of the academic peer leaders reported having received initial training. peer leaders employed in programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (orientation and fye) reported that 61.9% had received training for these positions. lastly, respondents participating in co-curricular peer-led activities reported that only 59.4% had received training. with regard to sustained support and development, only 63.4% of the academic peer leaders, 58.4% of peer leaders employed in co-curricular activities, and 61.9% of peer leaders employed in programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (orientation and fye) reported having receiving ongoing additional training. this highlights the fact that many south african peer leaders are placed in positions for which they receive no training. this lack of training can hinder the quality of peer-mediated interventions and adversely affect student engagement in peer-led activities (shook & keup, 2012, newton & ender, 2012). peer leaders who are not trained cannot sufficiently assist students, and may not even be fully aware of their roles and responsibilities, which are highlighted during training. in addition, peer leaders need to receive ongoing support and development as this creates opportunities for them to form support networks with fellow peer leaders and with staff who are responsible for peer-led initiatives (keup, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). these support networks allow peer leaders to identify with the institution and to feel a sense of belonging at the institution and the campus community (astin, 1993). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 123 further analysis of the results shows that almost all the south african respondents rated their involvement in peer-leadership roles as satisfying (91%). this finding is comparable with results from the nrc study (95%) (keup, 2014). in order to ascertain the benefits of peer-leadership activities on peer leaders themselves, respondents were requested to report their growth in four outcome areas, namely, the development of skills, the undergraduate experience, employability outcomes and academic performance. concerning these four outcome areas, the majority of the south african respondents reported positive gains. table 3 depicts the gains reported by south african and american peer leaders in relation to the development of skills. the top three identified skills for both the south african and american respondents, as depicted by the numerical value assigned in brackets ranging from 1–3, were interpersonal communication (90% and 87.3%, respectively), leadership (91% and 82.5%, respectively), and teamwork (90% and 77.5%, respectively). this table clearly shows that more south african respondents reported increases in skills development than did their american counterparts. this suggests that many peer-leadership opportunities in south africa may be contributing to some of the learning and personal development outcomes that significantly impact on the development of career-relevant leadership skills (cuseo, 2010). table 3: self-rated skills development gains skills development peer leaders who reported increased skills % difference south africa america leadership 90 (2) 87.3 (1) 2.7 interpersonal communication 91 (1) 82.5 (2) 8.5 teamwork 90 (3) 77.5 (3) 12.5 time management 86 73.6 12.4 project management 81 72.9 8.1 organization 86 71.5 14.5 presentation 87 67.5 19.5 critical thinking 93 65.8 27.2 written communication 80 53.4 26.6 key: the ratings in brackets (1-3) indicate which skill gained through peer leadership was rated most important. peer leaders were asked to rate how peer leadership affected selected university experiences. table 4 highlights the ways in which involvement in peer leadership positions enhanced the south african and american respondents’ undergraduate and postgraduate experiences. amongst south african respondents, the top three rated undergraduate and postgraduate experiences were: being provided with opportunities for meaningful interactions with their peers (94%), interacting with and understanding people from diverse backgrounds (92%; 93%, respectively) and interacting with staff members (92%). the american respondents 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 reported that their peer-leadership positions had affected their undergraduate experiences in that they had provided opportunities for increased knowledge of campus resources (83.6%), meaningful interaction with peers (81.2%) and promoted a sense of belonging at the institution (76.6%). more south african respondents once again reported experiencing greater increases in positive experiences than their american counterparts did. as kuh (2007) notes, students who are engaged with staff members and peers, and feel part of the campus community, are likely to be more motivated to perform at higher levels and more likely to persist, suggesting further positive effects on peer leaders’ persistence. south african institutions of higher education are increasingly under pressure to improve access, success and throughput rates (white paper, 2013). in order to meet these demands, practices like the use of peer leaders to promote academic and personal growth and to intentionally engage student, hold potential. table 4: self-rated undergraduate and postgraduate experience gains undergraduate and postgraduate experience peer leaders who reported increased positive experiences % difference south africa america knowledge of campus resources 89 83.6 (1) 5.4 meaningful interaction with peers 94 (1) 81.2 (2) 12.8 feeling of belonging at institution 84 76.6 (3) 7.4 meaningful interaction with staff members 92 (3) 75.9 16.1 interaction with people from different backgrounds 92 (3) 75.6 16.4 meaningful interaction with faculty 85 73.3 11.7 understanding people from different backgrounds 93 (2) 72.9 20.1 desire to engage in continuous learning 90 71.8 18.2 desire to persist at institution 77 68.9 8.1 table 5 illustrates findings with respect to respondents’ perceptions of their gains regarding skills that may enhance their employability. the top identified employability skill for both the south african and american respondents was their ability to build professional interpersonal relationships (93% and 77,9%, respectively). the secondand third-highest gains as reported by the south african respondents were being able to analyse problems from a new perspective (92%) and creating innovative approaches to a task (91%). in contrast, the american respondents reported their secondand third-highest gains to be: applying knowledge to real life settings (72.7%) and integrating knowledge from different places (71.2%). the difference in reported increases between the south african and american respondents ranges between 15 and 35%. in terms of employability outcomes, far more south african respondents reported increases than american respondents. the http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 125 findings show that involvement in peer-leadership activities provides the opportunity for peer leaders to develop the knowledge, skills, competencies and values (graduate attributes) that are required for them to function effectively, creatively and ethically in the world of work (white paper, 2013). table 5: peer leaders’ self-rated employability outcome gains employability outcomes peer leaders’ increased sense of their own employability % difference south africa america building professional interpersonal relationships 93 (1) 77.9 (1) 15.1 applying knowledge to real life settings 88 72.7 (2) 15.3 integrating knowledge from different places 90 71.2 (3) 18.8 providing direction through persuasion 89 67.8 21.2 analysing problems from a new perspective 92 (2) 65.8 26.2 expecting to find a job after graduation 83 65.5 17.5 creating innovative approaches to a task 91 (3) 65.4 25.6 engaging in ethical decision-making 87 64.5 22.5 sharing ideas with others in writing 82 46.2 35.8 given that the most common use of peer leaders across the sampled south african institutions was for academic purposes, it is interesting to note that gains in academic skills were the lowest. qualitative analysis of the ispl results suggest that this less positive outcome can be linked to the peer leaders’ inability to balance their roles and responsibilities with their own academic activities, which resulted in less time spent studying. table  6 shows that only 57% of the south african and 23.9% of the american peer leaders reported that their peer-leadership experience had a positive effect on their overall academic performance. in addition, 53% and 19% of the south african and american respondents, respectively, reported a positive effect on their average mark. this is less positive than all the other reported self-rated changes and is in sharp contrast to findings by astin and sax (1998) and kuh and pike (2005) who suggest that participating in service during the undergraduate years substantially enhanced the students’ academic development and had a positive correlation with retention and academic performance. despite this less positive outcome, at least 57% of the south african peer leaders reported that involvement in peer-leadership activities had a positive impact on their academic performance. this is particularly significant given that south african institutions of he have increasingly come under pressure to broaden access to historically under-represented groups who are often underprepared for tertiary education (underhill & mcdonald, 2010). from a south african perspective, involvement in peer leadership activities has the potential to provide access to the epistemological discourse of the academy. 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 table 6: self-rated academic performance gains academic performance perceptions of improved academic results amongst peer leaders % difference south africa america overall academic performance 57 23.9 33.1 grade point average 53 19.0 34.0 number of modules completed each per term/ semester 34 15.1 18.9 facilitate timely graduation 24 1.8 22.2 the findings of this study validate research findings mentioned in the literature (astin, 1993; shook & keup, 2012; cuseo, 2010; keup & skipper, 2016; latino & ashcraft, 2012; newton & ender, 2010; keup, 2014, 2012; harmon, 2006). this research has confirmed that peer leadership provides benefits to the students who receive the service and to the peer leaders themselves. in particular, it appears that peer leaders in less developed countries, like south africa, gain substantially from being involved in peer-leadership programmes. it further calls on the custodians of peer-led activities to design training programmes that are intentional and that will equip peer leaders with the necessary skills to provide effective support to students. in addition, it highlights the need for sustained training and development so that peer leaders can be further supported and developed, and have opportunities to establish support networks with their fellow peer leaders. it further positions peer leadership as a hip in that it requires time and effort, facilitates experiential learning, results in positive gains, promotes meaningful interactions with faculty and students, encourages interaction with diverse individuals and provides regular feedback (kuh, 2008). conclusion this study confirms that peer leaders regard the role they play as significant in their own development, a phenomenon which has been widely documented, particularly within educational contexts (cuseo, 2010; shook & keup, 2016, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). given the powerful and global quality of peer leader influence, higher education has begun to utilise peers in student support and service delivery because they have the potential to be positive role models and promote academic and social accountability (keup, 2012). as confirmed by this pilot study, peer influence can also lead to positive outcomes for the peer leaders performing their roles. this study, although a pilot, provides a better understanding of the development and experience of peer leaders at six south african institutions of higher education. findings show that peer-leader positions in south africa are primarily for academic support (71%), followed by co-curricular support (17%), and then lastly for programmes that facilitate student transitions and support (i.e. orientation and fye) (12%). in addition, this study http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 127 shows that parallels exist between graduate attributes (depicted by employability outcomes) and the gains made by peer leaders. it further highlights the need for peer leaders to be more extensively trained, developed and supported. on a national level, institutions of higher education should begin to re-evaluate the peer leadership programmes they have in place to ensure that peer leaders are receiving the necessary training and support to effectively fulfil their roles. in addition, institutions should be encouraged to form communities of practice around peer leadership in order to share best practice and potentially work towards the accreditation of peer leadership positions. furthermore, institutions of he should begin to harness the power of peer leadership programmes in supporting underprepared students, addressing retention and throughput rates and promoting epistemological access to their disciplines. acknowledgements this paper was developed with the support of funding from the dhet nctdg project: “the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats.” a word of thanks goes to dr andré van zyl, our mentor in this project, for all his support and guidance in writing this article. references alexander, w., wogelgesang, l.j., ikeda, e.k. & yee, j.a. (2000). how service learning affects students. los angeles: higher education research institute, university of california at los angeles. astin, a.w. (1993). what matters in college? four critical years revisited. san francisco: jossey-bass. astin, a.w. & sax, l.j. (1998). how undergraduates are affected by service participation. journal of college student development, 39(3), 251–263. bell, a. & mladenovic, r. (2014). situated learning, reflective practice and conceptual expansion: effective peer observation for tutor development. teaching in higher education, https://doi.org/10.1080/1356 2517.2014.945163 colvin, j.w. (2007). peer tutoring and social dynamics in higher education. mentoring and tutoring, 15(2), 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260601086345 colvin, j.w. & ashman, m. (2010). roles, risks and benefits of peer mentoring relationships in higher education. mentoring & tutoring: partnership in leaning, 18(2), 121–134. https://doi. org/10.1080/13611261003678879 cuseo, j.b. (2010a). peer power: empirical evidence for the positive impact of peer interaction, support, and leadership. e-source for college transitions, 7(4), 4–6. department of education. (2013). white paper for post-school education and training. building an expanded, effective and integrated post-school system. pretoria: department of higher education and training. ender, s.c. & kay, k. (2001). peer leader programs: a rationale and review of the literature. in: s.l. hamid (ed.), peer leadership: a primer on program essentials (monograph no. 32, pp. 1–12). columbia, s.c.: national resource center for the first year experience and students in transition, university of south carolina. greenfield, g.m. & keup, j.r. & gardner, j.n. (2013).  developing and sustaining successful first year programs: a guide for practitioners. san francisco, c.a.: jossey-bass. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2014.945163 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2014.945163 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260601086345 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678879 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678879 128 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 113–129 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 harmon, b.n. (2006). a qualitative study of the learning processes and outcomes associated with students who serve as peer mentors. journal of the first-year experience and students in transition, 18(2), 53–82. hilsdon, j. (2013) peer learning for change in higher education. innovations in education and teaching international, 51(3), 244–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2013.796709 kassab, s., abu-hijleh, m.f., al-shboul, q. & hamdy, h. 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(2016). peer leadership as an emergent high-impact practice: an exploratory study of the american experience. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(1), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.14426/ jsaa.v4i1.143 keup, j.r. & skipper, t.l. (2016). the perceived impact of peer leadership experience on college academic performance. journal of student affairs research and practice, 54(1), 95–108. keup, j.r. & young, d. (2014). the power of peers: exploring the impact of peer leadership experiences. presentation at the acpa convention, indianapolis, 30 march–2 april. kuh, g.d. (2007). what student engagement data tell us about college readiness. washington, d.c.: association of american colleges and universities. kuh, g.d. (2008). high-impact educational practices: what they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. washington, d.c.: association of american colleges and universities. kuh, g.d. & pike, g.r. 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(2012). an account of student mentor’s models of ref lexivity during an e-mentoring programme. south african journal of higher education, 26(3), 546–563. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (2005). how college affects students: volume 2: a third decade of research. san francisco, c.a.: jossey-bass. simão, a.m.v., flores, m.a., fernandes, s. & figueira, c. (2008). tutoring in higher education: concepts and practices. sīsifo/educational sciences journal, 7, 73–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2013.796709 https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590500156186 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1599-0 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1599-0 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1087471 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1087471 nelia frade & gugu wendy tiroyabone: international survey of peer leadership (ispl) ... 129 shook, j.l. & keup, j.r. (2012). the benefits of peer leader programs: an overview from the literature. in: j.r. keup (ed.), new directions in higher education: peer leadership in higher education, 157, 5–16. san francisco, c.a.: jossey-bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20002 underhill, j. & mcdonald, j. (2010). collaborative tutor development: enabling a transformative paradigm in a south african university. mentoring & tutoring: partnership in learning, 18(2), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 vygotsky, l.s. (1987). thinking and speech. new york: plenum. wawrzynski, m.r., loconte, c.l. & straker, e.j. (2011). learning outcomes for peer educators: the national survey on peer education. new directions for student services, 133, 17–27. https://doi. org/10.1002/ss.381 zerger, s., clark-unite, c. & smith, l. (2006). how supplemental instruction benefits faculty, administration, and institutions. new directions for teaching and learning, 106, 63–72. https://doi. org/10.1002/tl.234 how to cite: frade, n. & tiroyabone, g.w. (2017). international survey of peer leadership (ispl): an emerging snapshot of the status of peer leadership in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 113–129. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20002 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678853 https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.381 https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.381 https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.234 https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.234 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2705 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za tinto’s south africa lectures vincent tinto reflective practice the following are transcripts of the four lectures given by prof. vincent tinto, distinguished university professor emeritus, syracuse university, at the regional symposia “conceptualising a coherent approach to student success” organised by the council on higher education in pretoria, durban and stellenbosch in august 2013. lecture 1: theoretical underpinnings and research framework for student success  let me start by saying what an honour it is for me to be here with you who are working to improve the success of your students. writing articles and books on improving student success as i do is the easy part, being able to do something about an issue that is so critical to the future of south africa is the hard part. yet the issues you face are some of the same issues with which we also struggle in the united states. the gap between highand low-income students in college completion in our country is large and has been increasing over time. like you, we are concerned about the success of our students because, as it is for you, our future lies in our students’ future. but in speaking with you today let me be clear that i am not here to tell you what to do. it is presumptuous for someone from another country working in a different educational system to tell you what actions you should take here in south africa to promote student success. but as i have been working on this project of increasing student success for some 40 years, i have had the opportunity not only to write and carry out research on student success but also work with many institutions both in the united states and a number of countries in europe, asia and south america. i have worked with over 400 institutions over these more than a few years. i have also worked with foundations, with states and federal governments. over that time, i have come to see some patterns of action that distinguish those universities that have improved their completion rates, especially among low-income students, and those that have not. in turn i have learned important lessons about what seems to characterise those institutions. this morning i want to share with you three important lessons that i have learned which frame our conversations in subsequent presentations. 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 first lesson: providing students access without support is not opportunity. without support, academic, social, and financial, too many students do not complete their programmes of study. it is my view that once an institution admits a student, it becomes obligated to provide, as best it can, the support needed to translate the opportunity access provides to success. second lesson: the classroom experience is central to student success. most students commute to campus. few have the privilege of living on campus. in the united states only 20% of our students do so. despite the movies you may have seen about higher education in united states, most of our students work, many attend part-time and an increasingly large number are from low-income backgrounds who do not have the privilege, the time, or the resources to live on campus. for these students, indeed for most students, when they come to a campus, the first place they go is to the classroom. when class is over they leave, because they must. it follows that however we define student success, however we measure it, the one place success must arise is in the classrooms of our campuses. for most students, the classroom is the only place where they meet each other and engage with their peers and faculty in learning activities. consequently however we think about the strategies of promoting success, our efforts must begin, but not end, with students’ classroom experiences. recall the object of our work is not simply that students are retained, but that they learn while begin retained. student learning is the object of our work; retention is only a vehicle through which it occurs. the third and final lesson: improvement in institutional rates of student success does not arise by chance. it is not simply the result of good intentions; although good intentions are clearly a requirement, improvement in rates of student success requires more. it requires an intentional, structured and coherent set of policies and actions that coordinate the work of many programmes and people across campus; actions that are sustained and scaled up over time and to which resources are allocated. there is no magic cure to improvement. it simply takes time and sustained effort. these lessons will serve as the basis for our conversation today. the goal is to begin what the council hopes to achieve, namely that these conversations you have with your colleagues here today, with your colleagues in the universities in which you work, will form the basis of an ongoing conversation about the programmes and strategies you will implement in the future to improve the success of your students at your universities and across all of south africa. it’s not a short-term project. once you begin you must stay the course even when faced with challenges. your students and your nation need your effort. finally, on a personal note, i have long held the view that when we admit students to our universities we sign, in effect, a contract with our students that obligates both us and them to a series of actions. for their part, it is a contract that obligates them to take advantage of the opportunity that so many of their peers do not have; to take their studies seriously and exert the effort needed to complete their programmes of study. for our part, we take on an obligation that calls for us to translate, as best we can, through our actions the promise access provides into a meaningful opportunity to complete our students to successfully complete their studies. you are only too well aware that there are many things vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 7 that affect student success: personal lives, economic resources, etc. the unavoidable fact is that though we aspire to help all our students, there are many things that affect their success over which we have little control. but we do have control over their experience on the campus; experiences that are now shaped by decisions and actions we have made in the past. we can and should improve their experiences and in turn their success by changing our decisions and actions. it is to this end, a rethinking of what we do, that our conversation today is directed. let me now turn to the first of what will be four presentations today about improving student success. in doing so let me point out that it reflects the council request that i first talk about the origins of my work, its theoretical propositions, and the research underlying it since it has long been shown to be an effective guide to the development of effective strategies to improve student success. it also reflects the council interest in having you base your proposed course of action on sound theory and research. before i talk about these issues, you may ask why theory matters, in this case why we need to focus on theories of student success? we need to because theory allows us to move beyond empirical descriptions of behaviour, such as student success or the lack thereof, to an attempt to understand why those behaviours occur. the point of theory is to explain how those behaviours arise so that when something goes awry, that is when students do not succeed; you have a strategy, a way of thinking about what in turn you do to improve success. in this manner, theory becomes a guide to action. the council wants your proposals to have some framework that provides a way of thinking about what you plan to do, why you do it, and what you need to do next. but it is important to understand that there are limits to what any theory can explain. though theory can and does provide a useful guide to action, there is no substitute for experience and the learning that arises from experience. so while there is good reason to employ theory and prior research in the development of your projects, you should not do so in such a narrow way that you do not modify your proposals based upon your experience. the need to do so is not only a reflection of the limits of any theory, but also of the social and cultural context from which theory springs. in this case it is important to see my theory as reflecting the issues about student attrition that were being debated during the late 1960s in the united states, a period of dynamic tensions that gave rise to the civil rights movement of the time. at that time, theories of student attrition, or what was referred to as “dropout”, tended to blame the victim, namely the student who dropped out. dropouts were typically seen as not sufficiently motivated, as not being able to defer immediate gratification, or simply not having values appropriate to the succeeding in university studies. no one questioned the role the university played in constructing the failure of its own students. yet like many others at the university of chicago i was part of a vibrant antiestablishment movement that the focused on issues of inequality and its roots in existing power structures of society. we were intent on shedding light on the role of the “system” in the construction and maintenance of the prevailing patterns of inequality, in my case with patterns of dropout and its correlation with income and race. together with other 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 graduate students, i focused on the role of the system – the university – in constructing patterns of “dropout” within the university. it is a perspective that continues to inform my work, namely that in exploring issues of student attrition and efforts to enhance student persistence and graduation, we have to ask about the actions of the university and what the university should do to change its practices and policies to promote greater student success and do so in ways that also address issues of inequality. in the development of my work, i had sought to develop a way, through social theory, of explaining how the “system”, the institution, works to shape the success of its own students. as i sought out a way of doing so, i participated in an interdisciplinary seminar with other graduate students and faculty – a common event at the university at the time – in which were presentations on psychology, anthropology, economics, history and sociology. one graduate student gave a presentation on emile durkheim, the first chair of sociology at the university of paris, and his theory of suicide, when individuals choose in a real way to leave a human community. durkheim wrote of the role of intellectual and social integration or the lack thereof as shaping an individual’s decision to remain in the community or leave it. as soon as i heard the presentation i immediately saw the analogy between membership in a human community such as a village, and membership in the community of the university. it was an instantaneous flash of recognition. i am sure many of you in the audience know the experience. you are working with someone, discussing some issue, when a light bulb suddenly turns on. so too in my case. it immediately became apparent that i could translate durkheim’s work to an analysis of student “dropout”. but let me observe, however, that while durkheim, like other french intellectuals at the time, was concerned with the impact of immigration on french culture and therefore took integration to mean assimilation, that is not what we in the 1960s in the united states took the term to mean. for us, given our sad history of slavery and racial segregation, the term integration meant the opposite of segregation. in today’s context, a more useful term would be the term “inclusion” as it contains no hint of assimilation. in translating durkheim’s theory of suicide to a theory of educational suicide, namely “dropout,” i employed the concepts of academic and social integration and developed a “theory” or more accurately described as a conceptual model that sought to translate how social and academic integration and the resulting membership in educational communities on campus arise. i sought to explain the impact of other people’s behaviours and the organisations and structures they construct on students within the university; actions and polices that lead people and their constructed organisations to act in ways that knowingly and/or unknowingly include or exclude individuals from their communities and their institutions of university in which they are located. thus the development of the so-called “tinto’s theory of student attrition”. a confluence of a number of factors at the time led it to become the primary, but not only, way academics, practitioners and policy-makers approached the issue of student dropout and in turn student persistence. over time, it helped shape the adoption of a range of actions, programmes and policies that i will soon discuss aimed at increasing student persistence and completion, not least of which is the emphasis on the need to involve all students in the academic and social communities of the university. vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 9 but like any other theory, my work has evolved over time. this resulted not only from what i learned from a wide range of visits to different colleges and universities, but also the work of other researchers who sought to apply my work to other situations and the resulting suggestions they made for improvements. for me the most important is the research of hurado and carter on the role of culture, values and perceptions of membership in students’ decisions to leave an institution. they correctly pointed out that is not interaction or engagement per se that drives dropout, but the perceptions individual derive from those interactions that underlie student decisions to dropout. not all interactions are positive. those that are lead to retention. those that convey the opposite, lead to withdrawal. my point is simple. people act on what they preceive. therefore while we should measure engagement, as some engagement is better than none, we should ascertain whether engagement leads a student to see him/herself as a valued member of an academic and social community. the need to do so is particularly important when the student body is diverse. another change in my theory reflects my own particular autobiography. i went to the university of chicago, and having received a fellowship, was able to live on campus and avoid the need to work. yet most students in the united states do not live on campus, must work, often full time, are older, and have family obligations beyond campus. for these students, time on campus is limited, their engagement constrained by forces external to the campus. consequently, i began to see the issue of involvement not so much as the presence of involvement per se but as the ways in which involvement in the communities of the campus can serve to keep students attached to the institution when external communities may pull them away. the question then arose as to what types of involvement matter most for these students. once i studied student patterns of behaviour on campus, it quickly became apparent that the answer to that question lies in the classrooms of the campus because those places of learning were very often the only place on campus where they spent time and engaged with faculty and other students. it follows that any discussion of enhancing student involvement/engagement and in turn student retention and completion must centre, indeed begin, with students’ experiences in the classroom. it is not surprising then that over the last two decades my work has increasingly focused on the role of student classroom experience in student success and the types of policies and actions we must pursue to change classrooms in ways that promote greater student engagement and success. for me the point of theory is not merely that it helps explain what we see, but that it leads to actions that can change what we see. as regards the issue that concerns us today, namely improving student retention and completion, change is occurring, albeit not as rapidly as many of us would prefer. one change is the development and use of surveys to measure and track student engagement. in the united states, the most widely used surveys are the national survey of student engagement that is intended for four-year institutions, otherwise known as nsse, and the community college survey of student engagement, typically referred to as ccsse, that is used in two-year colleges. the former, nsse, has been adapted for use in your country, 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 here known as sasse, and in australia and new zealand where it is referred to as ausse. these have proven useful if only because they enable institutions to ascertain students’ level and types of engagement and, when used over a number of years, ascertain how engagements change over time. understandably there are limits to what such surveys can tell us, not the least of which reflects the fact that they often are plagued by low response rates. nevertheless, they have served to focus our attention on the importance of student engagement and its role in student success. another change, one that concerns us here today, is the growing recognition that classrooms matter and student success in the classroom is the building block upon which student retention and completion is built. that has led us to acknowledge the critical role academics play in student retention and completion. their actions in the classroom are critical to student classroom success and in turn to student retention and completion. yet unlike educators in elementary, middle and secondary schools, academics in higher education, including myself, are not trained to teach their students. i do not mean to suggest that there are not many gifted academics who have the ability to engage students in learning in powerful ways. there are. but as a matter of our prior training, we have not been trained to teach our students. i have a phd from the university of chicago. what did i learn about teaching methods? little. what about curriculum development? nothing. student development theory and student learning styles? again nothing. assessment of student learning? again nothing. what qualifies me to teach? i have a phd that has trained me to carry out research and write research articles. let me be clear. i do not blame the academics. instead i fault the system from which we spring that prepares us for our work in the universities. clearly this must change. fortunately, there are now movements in address the issue of the preparation of academics. for instance, queensland university of technology in australia now requires all lecturers to be part of a two-year training programme before they get a position as a lecturer. derby university in great britain does the same thing. please visit their websites. whatever model we adopt, it is clear we must all focus on the training of new academics for their important work in the classroom and ask in turn as to the skills academics must acquire to be effective in the classroom and actively engage their students in powerful learning activities. in this regard we need to heed the evidence that speaks to the power of collaborative pedagogies and interdisciplinary learning communities in promoting student learning to which i will speak later. whatever reforms we adopt, we must ensure that our classrooms include all voices in our diverse societies. let me now turn briefly to issues of quality enhancement. though we in the united states are also concerned about quality, our forms of accountability are somewhat different from yours. we do not have a national system of higher education. our system is divided into separate states. each state has its own policy. one state could have one policy and an adjacent state can have a very different policy. nevertheless, an increasing number of states, most notably the state of tennessee, now fund institutions not only on enrolment but on output as you do. but rather than count the number of graduates, as you do, these states are determining budgets based upon the efficiency of throughput, namely the proportion of vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 11 those who start who finish five years later. such accountability makes it in the institution’s interest, you would hope, to do something about improving graduation rates. indeed we are beginning to see changes in institutional practice. fortunately, there is a good deal of research on the issue of improving student retention and completion. you can start by reading my books as well as those of george kuh that stress the importance of student engagement to student success. what concerns us here is the research on the link between classroom engagement and learning. this is important because the object of our work is not simply that students stay, but that they learn while staying. without learning, retention in my view is a hollow achievement. let me now speak to future directions of research on student retention and completion. one, not surprisingly, is online education and its impact on student enrolment, engagement, and retention. though there is clearly promise in online education, as it provides students access to a range of much richer resources than available through textbooks, evidence and institutional experience tells us that that promise has yet to be fulfilled. while enrolments have increased, retention in online courses is lower, in some case, considerably lower than face-to-face courses. understandably there is a good deal of variation among online and face-to-face courses, but on average online retention rates are lower. in part this reflects the fact that building meaningful engagement in learning is more difficult in online courses than in face-to-face courses. at the same time, we know that students from collegeeducated backgrounds, especially those from high-income backgrounds, are much more likely to succeed in online environments than low-income students who are first in their family to attend university. this reflects the fact that success in online education requires skills and resources that are not evenly distributed in our societies. nevertheless, like any “new” strategy, there is a tendency for people to rush, pell-mell, to employ that strategy in the hope that it alone can solve complex problems. unfortunately, there is no “magic bullet”. my advice: wait and learn from the experiences of other institutions’ use of online education before jumping into the pool. my own experience tells me that blended or hybrid classrooms can be quite effective as they enable more students to participate without having to entirely distance themselves from their classroom peers. similarly there is promise in the movement to translate massive online learning environments to what are called “flipped classrooms”. students do their reading and work online before class and then come to the classroom to apply what they learned online. this is important because deep learning arises not by reading or listening but by doing, that is applying what is read or heard. . another promising development is the increasing use of what is referred to as predictive analytics. though you may not have heard the term, you already know what predictive analytics can do. how many people have made purchases on itunes, amazon, or netflix? when you make a purchase, what happens next? typically you will receive a message that says “people like you have purchased this…”. that recommendation is the result of predictive analytics. once a website has information about you, as they all do, they will make recommendations for additional purchases based on what they know of the buying habits of people like you and on your previous purchase. the more you purchase, 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 the more refined the recommondation(s). that’s predictive analytics. what concerns us here today is that universities are beginning to use predictive analytics in providing feedback to students. for example, a number of universities in the united states have developed online advising systems that employ predictive analytics to fine-tune the advice they provide individual students to better meet their specific needs as reflected in students’ response to a series of questions. though such systems do not entirely replace advisors, it greatly reduces their work as it provides students with up-to-date, accurate information that does not have to be repeated by the advisor. again a caution: predictive modeling for education is still in its infancy. in their current form, it tends to be better at “predicting” the needs of the “average” student than those who are “not average”. consequently, before you rush into using a product employing predictive analytics, pilot test it to ensure it is equally effective for the various groups of students you serve. another development that will soon shape your efforts here in south africa reflects the recognition that it is one thing to successfully complete an individual course; it is another to successfully compete in a programme of study and earn a university degree. completion of a programme of study requires completing a sequence of courses, one after the other over time. i make this often overlooked point because the strategies we now employ to help students successfully complete a course, will not, on their own, help students complete a programme of study. though our current strategies still matter, other issues shape the completion of a sequence of courses over time. one is the impact of curricular structure upon completion. for instance, consideration is being giving to move from what are called mainstream programmes to extended programmes in which students have more time and more options to complete their programmes of study. if you have not heard about it, you soon will. from my own distant perspective, i think it is a good idea. why? many students fresh out of secondary school often do not yet know what they want to study. they will be obliged to pick a major when it may not be the best choice. being able to explore options in the first year can only help. at the same time, some students will have to repeat a course they failed in the first year. a constrained timeframe and course schedule will only make it more difficult to complete their programmes in the prescribed timeframe. in any case, the same things happen in the united states; we are asking the same questions. i should point out that we in the united states are also looking at the structure of our curricula and asking how we change them to increase the likelihood of programme completion. another issue concerns the role of student development. though it is sometimes difficult to discern, students do change over time. eighteen-year old students, who typically see the world as bimodal, become twenty-one year olds who tend to have a more complex and nuanced view of the world. in other words, they mature and their social and academic needs change. my point is simple. while we have understandably focused our efforts to help students succeed in the first year of university study, as that is the year when students’ struggles are greatest, it does not follow that students do not struggle afterwards. many do. to help students complete their programme of study, not simply their first year, we have to sequence our actions over time in ways that respond to their changing developmental needs. vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 13 one final issue. much of the research on student retention has occurred in disciplinary silos; sociology, psychology, economics and so on. my own work, for instance, is primarily that of a sociologist who looks at the impact of the actions of other people and structures on individual behavior. a researcher in the field of psychology, however, is more likely to be concerned with the impact of individual attitudes on student success, while a researcher in the field of economics more with the effect of finances. at some point, however, we have to get out of our disciplinary silos to develop interdisciplinary theories of student success that combine these perspectives in ways that allow us to build more powerful strategies to promote student completion. my comments on the need to take account of theories of student development are but one such instance when combining different fields of research can further our efforts. but there are other possible combinations. one lies in the use of network analysis and the role of networks of affiliations in student persistence. specifically, one can conceive of persistence in a university as a process in which people form networks of affiliation that bind them to other people and in turn to the university. students who establish such networks, especially during the first year, are more likely to stay in the university than those who are unable to establish those connections. another lies in role theory, specifically in its view that being successful in any setting is akin to learning to play a role deemed appropriate in that setting. much like as actor or actress who learns to a role in a play, a student seeking to be successful within a university has to learn to play a ”student role” with its script, dress codes, interaction instructions, etc. from this perspective, it follows that strategies to promote student success have to be more intentional in helping students understand what is required to be successful in the fullest sense of the word. i need not remind you that many of your students, like myself, come from families with little prior educational experience and therefore have few ways of learning what is required to be a successful student in a university setting. in closing, let me point out that the goal of theory is not simply that of explanation, but that of action. your work as researchers in developing theories of student success appropriate to the south african context is to develop forms of explanation that lead to educational action, action which is not simply about helping student stay and finish their programmes of study, but do so in ways that lead to powerful learning. in the final analysis our goal is student learning. student retention is simply the vehicle for that to occur. lecture 2: access without support is not opportunity  for too many of our students, providing access without appropriate support does not provide meaningful opportunity to succeed in the university. this is the case because many begin university ill-prepared for the academic and social demands of university study and are unaware of what university studies demand. like a young lady i was talking to yesterday, many are from small rural villages and are the first in their families to attend university. she, like many other students, will likely need some support to be able to successfully navigate the often stormy waters of university life. 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 a variety of supports exist that can help students. one reflects the fact that new students, especially those who are first in their families to attend university, need to learn to navigate university. unlike students who have parents who were university trained or brothers and sisters who are university trained these students have no resources upon which to draw. this is why universities have orientation programmes. listen to the voice of this student who talked about his experience with orientation: “i was kinda confused on everything … i was like, what about turnin’ over here … and then i just ended up sittin’ in a room, and then she just started givin’ people papers. i’m like, where am i? she says you are in orientation. i was, oh, i accidentally fell on orientation! so i got that out of the way by accident, but i’m glad i did it, ’cause i learnt a lot of stuff i did not know. and as soon as i walked out of orientation i knew exactly what i needed to go and do.” (student video clip 1) the challenge with the more common traditional orientation programmes is that they are voluntary and often too brief and as they occur prior to the start of university studies do not provide students with an opportunity to get answers to questions that arise only after they begin their studies. this is why many universities extend some orientation activities into the first semester most commonly in the so-called ‘first year seminar’ to which we will refer later. two points. first, he said it as by accident. that should not be the case. do not leave it to the students to accidentally find orientation. rather make it a requirement. second, when he left orientation he knew exactly what he had to do. that is important. if do not know how to navigate the university, to find resources and support, it is much more difficult to succeed in the university. this should also be the case for advising. some students, again most often firstgeneration university students, don’t have the requisite cultural resources to know how to think about university study, what to study and what courses to take. in fact many are undecided, though they might not admit that because they feel obliged to pick a field because their parents want them to. in the united states, nearly half of all students who begin in universities are undecided as to their major and many change majors during their studies. even among those who finish in a major, research tells us that nearly half will end up working in other fields. thus the challenge for advising is to help those who are unsure of their major as well as those who are. listen to what this low-income young woman says about advising: “i think that is so, so important because the schools i am looking into now to transfer to, i have to see what classes i need to take to get to where i need to go. if i don’t sit down with an advisor and take that time, what’s the point? i’d be taking classes that’d be irrelevant. i won’t use any of the credits. i mean, it is always good to learn, but we have a goal. it’s like, what progress am i making towards that goal?” (student video clip 2) vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 15 let me repeat some of the things she said. she said, “it is great to take courses, but if it doesn’t lead to progress, i don’t have the time”. in fact, they often don’t have the money. regrettably universities rarely have enough advisors, in particular those who are professionally trained, to address the advising needs of all students, especially those who are undecided. this is why the development of online advising systems that are based on the use of predictive analytics is so appealing. such systems do not replace the importance of personal advising. but it does allow students to get some degree of advising 24 hours a day, seven days a week, if they have a computer and internet service to gain access to that information. but as very few universities can afford such technologies, many have turn again to the first-year seminar to address advising needs by including some developmental advising and career counseling activities. if your universities move to giving students more options in the first year, you will find that the first year seminar can provide a forum to advising that is unlikely to be otherwise available to all students. given the proven success of the first year seminar in improving student persistence, it is little surprise that on many campuses it has become an academic “one stop” shop that has included in it a variety of academic support services. for instance, for students who are academically underprepared, the first year seminar will contain academic skill-building activities. again, listen to one student who talked about his experience in a first year seminar: “i was told it is an easy grade, and since i have never been to college before so i figured it could be helpful so i took the class, like study skills, writing, getting research – it is like everything, like built into like one class basically. it is helpful. it is.” (student video clip 3) increasingly, a number of universities now require all first year students to take a first year seminar. but as not all the first year students have the same needs, universities have begun differentiating their seminars such that different groups of students attend seminars that have different emphasis (e.g. skill-building vs. advising). students often need academic support as they are engaged in their studies, support that goes beyond the capacity of first year seminars. for that reason universities employed a range of academic support programmes for such as learning centres, tutorials, study halls, and so on. it is important to note that academic support proves to be more effective when it is contextualised to the course in which students need support. that is to say when it is linked to the course in such a way that the academic support students receive deals specifically with the issue of succeeding in that specific course. simply put, the closer support is linked to the specific demands of the course, the easier it is for students to translate the support they receive to the practical problem of succeeding in that course. there is a range of such techniques now being successfully employed to help students succeed in their courses. one is supplemental instruction where students who are struggling in a course will attend small tutorial sessions led either by a student who had a high grade in the course the prior year or a support person. in either case, the tutorials are directly 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 timed to the specific demands of the course, one class at a time. research has shown that courses with supplemental instruction have higher average grades that similar courses that do not because there are many fewer ds and fs, and there is the rub. another effective strategy are learning communities where students enroll in two or more courses together. as applied to students who need additional academic assistance, one of those courses will be a basic skills course. in this case the content of the course, let’s say accounting, to which the basic skills course is linked will provide the content for the application of basic skills. in this way, students are learning basic skills as they are learning accounting. listen to what one student said about her experience in such a linked course learning community. “the relationship between accounting and esl (english as a second language) is helping a lot because the accounting professor is teaching us to answer questions in complete sentences, to write better. and we are more motivated to learn vocabulary because it is accounting vocabulary, something we want to learn about anyway. i am learning accounting better by learning the accounting language better.” support can also come from other people. it can come from counsellors, individual academics, individual staff members, and from peer mentors. for many of our disadvantaged or under-represented students, in the united states, having a mentor of similar backgrounds matters. it matters because a mentor can say to the person with whom he or she works, “if i have been able to successfully walk this path so can you, and i’m gonna show you how”. listen to what one student said about mentors: “each student, somewhere somehow, should be assigned to like a mentor. sometimes kids do get demotivated and then they need a little push and they need a little encouragement. sometimes their friends they want to help them, but they don’t know exactly what to say. so sometimes i think we do need that mentor to keep us going.” but if you have mentors, as some of your universities do, they must be trained. training is important because mentors have to possess skills that most students do not have. at the same time, mentors have to be able to access university resources (e.g. counselling, health) because they will sometimes discover personal problems that dwarf their capacity to respond. learning communities and cohort programmes where students travel through the curriculum together as a group can also provide support. so too can student clubs and organisations. the very process of staying together as a group and sharing common experiences can provide significant social support. here’s the quote from a woman i interviewed in new york. she was 37 at the time, had three children and worked two jobs to pay for the family. she had a history of struggle and was unable to finish college after several attempts. finally she found herself in a learning community where students constantly meet each other in and outside class. listen to what she said: vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 17 “in the learning community, we knew each other. we were friends; we discussed everything from all the classes. we knew things very, very well because we discussed it all so much. we had discussions about everything. it was like a raft running the rapids of my life.” without the support of her peers she said she would not have succeeded. this is not because the academics or support staff did not care for her. rather it was her peers whose support helped her succeed. whatever form social support takes, individual, group, or programme, what matters is that students gain a sense of belonging, that they matter to the university. though it is evident that most students need support sometime during their stay at the university, it is not always clear when they need support. that is why universities are developing “early-warning” systems that notify them when students need support, especially academic support in the classroom. to be effective, warning of students difficulties must be early. this is the case because students who struggle early in a classroom, or have problems in residence halls, will tend to get discouraged and begin withdrawing. the sooner you respond to their needs, the more likely it is you can help them out of those struggles. here is where technological solutions, such as predictive analytics, can be helpful. so too can peer mentors. in many cases the first year seminar can also serve that purpose, especially those that have a peer mentor assigned to the seminar. speaking of the first year seminar leads to one final issue that is the focus of diane grayson’s current work, namely the role of student development and the nature and timing of support. given what we know about the developmental sequence that characterises the growth and maturation of traditional age students, it follows that support has to be timed to the changing needs of students as they progress through the university, not just during the first year. a final thought. effective student support does not arise by chance. it is not solely the result of good intentions. rather it requires the development of an intentional, structured, proactive approach that is coherent, systematic and coordinated in nature. lecture 3: promoting student classroom success student success, however defined and measured, necessarily arises in the classroom, one course at a time, overtime. lest one forget, the object of student persistence is not merely that students complete their programmes of study, but that they learn while doing so. learning is the object of our work, persistence is merely a vehicle to achieve that end. though learning can occur in a variety of places outside the classroom, it is in the classroom experience that is central to student learning in their field of study. given our focus on student success, one can therefore ask what we know about the attributes of classrooms that promote success, especially during the critical first year of university. not only do most dropouts arise in the first year, but the learning that arises in the first year is the foundation for subsequent learning in the years that follow. if students do not succeed in the first year courses, it is unlikely that they will succeed subsequently. this does not mean that learning in the second, third and fourth year do not matter. rather it means that learning in the first year is critical to all that follows. 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 what then do we know about the characteristics of successful classrooms in the first year? first, expectations matter. students need to know what to expect of their university studies and the courses in which they enrol. but not all students, in particular those who are first in their family, know how to navigate the university or navigate a university classroom. though orientation may help as regards the university generally, student classroom expectations are framed not only by what instructors write in their syllabi, but also what they do in the classroom. unfortunately, syllabi are not necessarily accurate portrayal of what is actually required. the result is that students have to discern what is expected during the course. not all students are able to do so. but while clear expectations matter, high expectations matter more. no one rises to low expectation. yet many new students, in particular those who have had a history of academic struggle, do have high expectations of their capacity to succeed. some are told they will never succeed; others come to have low expectation given their prior experience. regardless, having or coming to have high expectations for oneself matters. listen to this student as he talks about how an instructor’s expectation affected his own: “when i came in a certain teacher that would tell me, ‘you begin the first day in the class, you are starting out with an a; don’t lose your a.’ and that stuck with me. and even if i got a class where the teacher didn’t tell us that, in my mind i’m starting with an a. and i’m gonna fight to keep this a. and when that stuck, i took every semester as a challenge and entered every class: ‘i’m starting out with an a. and i’m not gonna lose it’.” it is important to note that expectations can also be shaped by students’ early experiences in the classroom. as yeager and walton of harvard university have demonstrated, even small successful classroom experiences early in the first semester can enhance students’ expectations for their success in the university. high expectations are one thing; being able to reach those expectations is another. thus the second attribute of effective classrooms, namely the availability of support, in particular academic support. universities, of course, have a range of academic support programmes. but as noted in my prior speech, academic support is most effective when it is connected to and/or contextualised to the specific course in which students require support. one of the most common forms of contextualised support, that i described earlier, is supplemental instruction. listen to what one student says about her experience in supplemental instruction: “well, thankfully, our college has a supplemental instruction programme in which a student who previously did the class and aced it, and knows this professor, this class, and you get together once a week, twice a week sometimes, and you go over the material that’s been discussed in class and anybody can come to it. so i got to meet a lot of great people doing that and we formed our own study group on top of that one just to help us out a little bit more, but it has really saved me big time.” vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 19 not only did she get academic help, she and other participants formed their own groups. these often become little communities of their own in which students support each other. as you know, students working together typically do better than students working alone. the same phenomena occur in basic skills-teaching communities that we also discussed earlier. students not only get academic support, they also gain social support from the peer groups in the learning community. the two-year colleges in the state of washington in the united states have gone one step further by embedding academic support within certain courses. like many two-year college across the united states, a majority of students require some sort of academic support. in this case, technical and vocational courses are being co-taught by an academic support person and an academic. they work together so that the academic skills students have to acquire are embedded in their curriculum and are applied in the classroom. a third characteristic of successful classrooms is the presence of assessment of student performance and its use to trigger academic support when needed. universities have a range of assessments and that do sometimes trigger academic support. what matters, however, is not simply that support is available, but it’s being provided earlier enough in the semester to make a difference. thus the development of what are referred to as “earlywarning” systems. the key term is “early.” the earlier the better. this is the case because the longer students’ confusion and problems in a course remain, the more difficult it is to help them catch up to coursework and succeed. given the challenge of getting faculty to provide early-warning, universities are beginning to explore technological solutions. some of these are driven by predictive analytics as is the signals system first implemented at purdue university in the united states that relies on students taking their exams online. when they do poorly, the system generates a red light that alerts students, instructors and support staff that the student needs support. but such early-warning systems are not very useful if students do not avail themselves of support. email warnings will not suffice. what is required is for instructors and support staff to be proactive in reaching out to the student urging them to get support. some academics are now doing in-class assessments of student learning. eric mazur at harvard university, for instance, uses automated clickers to assess student learning during class. in this instance, an instructor who is, let’s say teaching physics, will stop during class and pose a question to students about the topic being covered in class. they will then have to choose one of several possible answers on their clickers, the result of which will immediately appear on the instructor’s computer screen. depending on the number of incorrect answers, the instructor will quickly review the material before going on. other instructors, as i have, use the so-called “one-minute paper” technique that ask students, at the end of class, to identify writing, without identifying themselves, what was unclear during in the class, or what is referred to as the “muddiest point”. after reviewing those papers, the instructor will identify three of the most often cited muddiest points. at the outset of the next class the instructor will review those points to make sure confusion does not continue. there is a wonderful book by thom angelo and patricia cross called 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 classroom assessment techniques that is composed of multiple chapters each with a different assessment technique. it should be on the shelves of all instructors. in either case, these techniques provide a very early warning to the instructor about learning in the class. more importantly, research has shown that such techniques, when used consistently, improve learning in the classroom. they do so for a number of reasons. first, students get immediate feedback so that confusion does not continue beyond that class to the next. second, because, students do not identify themselves, they can honestly tell what they do not know. third, if done consistently, students come to expect that they will again be asked what they do not understand. that in turn leads more students to actively question their learning during class, a reflective process we refer to as critical listening that also improves learning. finally, the instructors get feedback about their teaching and therefore the opportunity to improve their teaching. the fourth attribute of effective classrooms is engagement. simply put, students who interact with faculty and students and indeed staff – when appropriate – in or around the classroom, do better in the classroom. engagement matters. but some types of engagement matter more for learning than others. that which is most predictive of learning is active engagement with other students in the class in learning activities. it is, in part, because students who spend more time with their classmates in active learning also spend more time studying. but studying is not just sitting alone at one’s desk, but also being actively engaged with others in trying to learn. this is why increasing number of academics are turning to pedagogies such as cooperative learning, problem-based or project-based learning that require students to be actively engaged with their peers in classroom learning. the latter two pedagogies also require students to apply what they are learning together to solve problems or complete projects. more than anything else, application of what is being learned enhances learning. listen to what this student says about his experience in a classroom that employs cooperative learning: “they give us group assignments in the classes where we have to communicate with other students and we can connect with them online through discussion boards and stuff like that and we have to do different assignments together as a group which has helped me, otherwise i wouldn’t probably communicate with anyone else in my class.” notice that he said, “we have to communicate with other students”. my point is that such engagements do not arise by chance. they have to be intentionally structured into the very fabric of the classroom that requires students to engage. then he said, “otherwise i may not have ever talked to anyone else”. the same can be said of learning communities where students share two or more classes together and cohort programmes that require students proceed through the curriculum together. listen to another student: “you know, the more i talk to other people about our class stuff, the homework, the tests, the more i’m actually learning … and the more i learn not only about other people, but also about vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 21 the subject because my brain is getting more, because i’m getting more involved with other students in the class.” notice that he equates learning to “getting more involved with other students in class”. given our knowledge of student development, it is not surprising that for many traditionalaged students social engagement is often a precursor to academic engagement. by contrast, students who are socially isolated often do not become academically engaged. thus the power of pedagogies that require active learning with others. he concludes his comment with, “i’m getting more involved with the class even after class.” what he was referring to was that involvement in the class leads him and others in class to keeping talking about their learning even after class. they do so in part because social engagement is the glue that leads them to continue together after class. that is what he meant by “class after class”. study time expands because they have a social as well as academic reason to do so. to summarise, classrooms that hold high expectations for their learning, that provide support for their learning, that use assessment and feedback to trigger support when it is needed, and require students to be actively engaged with their peers in learning, are classrooms in which students are more likely to learn and in turn succeed. and the more frequently students succeed in their courses, one course at a time over time, the more likely they are to persist and complete their programmes of study. again, such classrooms do not arise by chance. it requires an intentional, structured and proactive course of action directed toward the goal of student learning, not simply course completion. it also requires collaboration among the academics and those support persons working with them. in the final analysis, though academics play the primary role in shaping classrooms, it proves that everyone’s action, in particular support staff, can improve student learning. lecture 4: improving institutional rates of student success  student success does not arise by chance. nor does improvement in institutional rates of student success. when you look at institutions or indeed programmes within institutions that are successful in graduating their students you will find they share one common characteristic, namely that they do not leave student success to chance. their success is not a random occurrence. it is the result of an intentional, structured course of action that is systematic and coordinated in nature, involving many people across campus. what does it mean to be intentional? first, it means an institution or programme has a long-term course of action with clearly-defined goals that can be measured so as to enable it to assess to what degree it is achieving those goals. it is too often the case that programmes are unable to clearly define the goals they are trying to achieve or the degree to which they are successful in doing so. my point is simple: before you begin, make sure you can clearly define the goals of your efforts, how you will measure those goals, and in turn determine whether you are successful in achieving those goals. there are many outcomes that are not easy to measure. doing so may involve the collection of both quantitative as well as qualitative evidence. 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 this leads to a second point, namely the need for data. you need consistent, reliable data, quantitative and/or qualitative, to drive your decision-making. at the same time, you need to collect data to determine not only whether the programme is achieving its goals, what is known as summative assessment, but also data to inform you how the programme can be improved over time, which is known as formative assessment. as regards the former, you need to establish measures, typically quantitative, that are agreed upon by the various stakeholders whose support is needed for programme continuation. as regards the latter, formative assessment, you should establish a mechanism that allows you to hear the voices of students talk about their experiences in the programme. you should do so in a manner that would approximate, as best you can, what they would say about their experience as if you as an academic, support staff, or administrator were not present. in other words you need to need what they say about the programme, or institution for that matter, when they talk among themselves. being intentional also requires that you allocate the resources necessary to achieve the goals of the programme. though resources are always limited, you still need to plan ahead and determine what resources, human, financial and educational, you need to ensure as best you can programme success. while doing so, do not underestimate the time and effort required for programme success. what does it mean to be structured? it means that you establish a coherent organisational structure to guide your actions with clearly defined lines of responsibility and linkages to other parts of the university. in the case of a university action plan, institutions often establish an office, position (e.g. dean of student success), or committee and assign to that entity the responsibility and resources to guide, coordinate and oversee the action of other programmes and people within the university. my point is simply this: you need to establish an office, position, or committee that has as its responsibility to oversee and bring structure to action. without the assignment of responsibility and some degree of authority, structured action typically does not follow and coordination is very hard to achieve and maintain. what does it mean to be systematic and coordinated? systematic means that you attempt to address the various facets of student experience that shape the outcome you seek to achieve. realistically you cannot address every facet of student experience. but you can and should attempt to shape those student experiences related to the sought-after outcome over which you already have some degree of control. as i argued earlier, if the intended outcome is greater rates of student success as defined by completion, it follows that you must address student classroom experience because classroom success is the building block on which student completion is built. it follows that being systematic requires that you also bring together other offices, programmes, and/or people who are concerned with that part of the activity that you are not in order to coordinate their varying actions. doing so requires having clear linkages of communication between the office, position or person who is charged with overseeing action with other offices, programmes or persons who have responsibility for related actions. making institutional-level changes requires many offices, programmes and people working together for the same goal. vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 23 let me share my own experience, some years ago, in directing a university-wide effort at syracuse university to improve graduation rates overall and reduce the gap in graduation rates between white and african-american students. i was asked by the chancellor of our university, president or rector in your system, to develop a committee to address the issue of university rates of retention and the retention of african-american students, most of whom with from low-income families. when i began, some 25 years ago, the overall graduation rate of the university was approximately 54% and the difference between african-american students and white students, primarily of european descent, was roughly 23% or approximately the national average. currently our overall graduation rate is about 84% and the gap between white and african-american students is about 6% even though we continue to admit a sizeable percentage of low-income students. in fact, among private universities in the united states, syracuse university now has one of highest proportion of low-income students. our graduation rate improved even as we became more diverse. it is a noteworthy achievement. but it took time and a long-term strategy that was structured and systematic in nature. my first step was to bring together all the key stakeholders in the university, those who were located at key leverage points within the university. not just people who you know and like but those who have authority to get things done in different domains of action within the university (e.g. academic and student affairs, administration, residential staff, etc.). my goal in doing so was to establish trust and obtain their willingness to work together to achieve our common goal. it took over a year of meetings to do so before we moved to establish a plan of action. but once that trust was established, it was much easier to agree on a common course of action. the first step was to obtain and in turn distribute across the university data on student progression and completion rates for students overall, for different groups of students, and for different programmes within the university. we had to establish a commonly agreedupon set of facts that would serve as the foundation upon which all subsequent action could be judged. we shared information, we shared data, we exposed our dirty laundry. it was not easy, but that’s a condition of collaboration. we moved to implement a series of actions, often one at a time, and measure each year our progress in improving student success. each year we would publish the same set of data. each year we would host a meeting to share with the university community what was being done to improve student success. it was a slow process, but after 25 years of effort, we can say with some pride, we were successful. but, let me repeat, it took time and a willingness to keep working together. too often initiatives start and stop and do not give themselves the time to see their actions take root. i should point out that one of the important steps we took, very early in our efforts, was to address the traditional gap between academic and student affairs. we sought to break down the traditional silos that separated the two domains of action. we did not want to repeat the pattern where an action was lead either by one or the other, but not both. we were very conscious of the need for joint effort and the collaboration between academic and student affairs, especially those in academic and social support. like a number of 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 universities, we sought to integrate the two within one office, one division so that they would meet together in the same space and over time learn from each other. in effect we recognised that significant improvement in university graduation rates also required some degree of reorganisation of our own efforts. implementing effective programmes let me know turn to the development of programmes to address issues shaping student success within the university. once we identified a possible course of action, let us say a first-year seminar, we read as much as we could about them, we visited websites and, importantly, talked to other people who were running the same programmes at other universities that were like our own. despite all we read, and all the websites we visited, it proved to be the case that talking to other people about their programmes was the most valuable. so let me urge you, if you are thinking about building a mentoring programme, for instance, like the one at stellenbosch university, call them up and talk with them. but when you talk to someone who is running a successful programme elsewhere, do not just ask them what they are doing; ask them how they got to do what they are doing now. the first question is about their current action. the second concerns how they implemented their programme in a way that allowed them to be successful. while it is important to know the attributes of a successful programme, knowing how to successfully implement it is more important. poor implementation undermines any action however successful elsewhere. let me offer you several pieces of advice about successful implementation. first start small and pilot test. the larger the programme you start at initiation, the more managerial problems you have that may undermine the programme before it begins. second, carry out both summative and formative assessment. the latter is especially important because you will invariably discover that regardless of how much you read and talk to other people about a programme, implementing a programme in your context will reveal issues that you did not consider. third, all programmes that succeed go through an initial threeto four-year period of slow growth as they assess and make changes before the programme “takes off.” this is sometimes referred to as the “tipping point” in programme development when one observes increased outcome effect over time. unfortunately too many efforts stop before they get to that point. they do not give themselves the time it takes to succeed. it turns out most studies of change over time, whether it’s revolutionary change, voting patterns, school participation or programme development reveal that most improvement over time takes on the forms of an s-curve over time or what is known as a sigmoidal curve. at the outset change is small, but once improvement takes hold, typical three to four years into programme development, outcome efforts increase. eventually, you reach what is known as the “ceiling” to any programme, namely that no one programme can address all the issues that impact the goal of the programme. there is only so much any one action can achieve. hence the need for a systematic approach that addresses a range of issues shaping student success. vincent tinto: tinto’s south africa lectures 25 one reason why i have spent time on the character of implementation and the time it typically takes to generate noticeable improvements is to urge you to make it clear to those whose support you need to develop a programme or course of action that they should not rush to judge the actions successful before it has time to fully develop. this is but one reason why many actions stop because those whose support is needed reach the premature conclusion that the action is not working. if you are getting resources from a foundation for the programme like che, department of higher education, or your own institution, make sure they understand the time it takes to develop an effective action and urge them not judge your programme after just one or two years. in the united states, for example, a major national project to improve completion in our two-year colleges, called achieving the dream, has taken five to six years before it reached a tipping point. why? because the project is working not just with one or two colleges, but with many colleges across the nation each of which has its own particular set of circumstance. it takes time. sustaining action it’s one thing to begin an initiative to improve student success; it’s another to ensure that it endures over time after its initial implementation. this is not simply a matter of the issue that we just discussed. rather it is a function of the fact that too many programmes do not plan at the outset for their continuation over the long term. to do so you should plan for your replacement at the very outset of your work and recruit others to join you who might replace you over time. several thoughts first, evidence matters. unless the programme can demonstrate in a convincing manner that its impacts outweigh the costs associated with its operation, it is unlikely that any institution would continue the programme over time. what one hopes to achieve is that the evidence is sufficiently convincing that the institution is willing to support the programme and build the cost of the programme into their ongoing budget. in other words, it becomes part of what the institution does each year. what type of support does a programme have to obtain? clearly you need administrative support because they control the purse strings of the institution. you may also need the support of your colleagues in academic affairs or student affairs whose work is part of the programme. in any case, you will need the support of students who are willing to participate in the programme, that is if it is voluntary. the question then is what type of evidence do you need to gain the support of these groups? for administrators, numbers of programme impact matter. for academics like you, it is evidence that it is possible, given their work lives, to join your efforts and doing so will yield positive results. for students, it is evidence that the programme helps them and is possibly fun. whereas the first set of data can be presented by programme and institutional research staff, the second is best delivered by other academics who participate in the programme. for students, other students in the programme are best conveyers of evidence. 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 gaining long-term support is important, but not sufficient to ensure programmes continue over time. eventually those who initiate a programme get tired and move on. therefore those who initiate a programme have to plan, at the very outset, for their eventual replacement. but to recruit replacements, the initiators have to be willing to let those who assume responsibility for the programme have a voice in how it will operate in the future. this typically means that programmes that sustain themselves over time invariably change somewhat as new people take responsibility for the programme. scaling up action but of the programmes that endure, only a very small proportion scale up to serve a large proportion of students. most remain boutique programmes that serve a relatively small proportion of students, in part because many began as targeted programmes serving a specific group of students. generating significant improvement in institutional rates of completion, however, requires that programmes scale up beyond their initial target group. doing so requires that the programme demonstrate its usefulness to many different segments of the university. typically this is most likely in the first year of university study before students become separated into their majors. perhaps it is not surprising that the one initiative that has scaled up is the first year seminar. it has because the seminar, while serving the same function, can be adapted to serve varying student needs. again, data matter. that is to say that to scale up the programme has to demonstrate that it can help students of varying fields of students succeed in the first year. in the united states the evidence of the effectiveness of the first year seminar, when properly implemented, is widespread. in fact a number of universities now require all first year students to take a first year seminar. closing thoughts as we close our conversation, it bears repeating that student success and improvement in rates of student success does not arise by chance. it requires intentional, structured and proactive course of action that is systematic in nature and coordinated in application. it requires collaboration among many programmes, offices and individuals. and it requires time and the willingness to see programmes through to their maturation. as you are part of a national effort to improve graduation rates across south africa, a goal which is central to your country’s future, it is more important than ever that you see this initiative through. doing so will take 10 or more years of effort. in the united states, we have been involved for over 20 years in an effort to improve our graduation rates and we are not yet done. there is still much to do. a final note. these efforts will not be easy; you will sometimes disagree and no doubt become tired. remember this is not about you. nor, in the united states, is it about me. it is about our students. their future is our future. their future is our nation’s future. as you go forward please do not be reluctant to contact me if i can be of help. thank you. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za selected publicatons of vincent tinto reflective practice 2013 isaac newton and student college completion. journal of college student retention. 15, 1-7. 2012 completing college: rethinking institutional action. chicago: the university of chicago press. 2011 moving from theory to action: a model of institutional action for student success. in a. seidman (ed.), college student retention: formula for student success. 2nd edition. westport: greenwood publishing. 2008 learning better together: the impact of learning communities on the persistence of low-income students (with c. engstrom). opportunity matters. 1, 5-21. 2008 access without support is not opportunity (with c. engstrom). change: the magazine of higher learning. 40, 46-51. 2008 moving beyond access: college success for low-income, first-generation students (with j. engle). the pell institute for the study of opportunity in higher education. 2000 linking learning and leaving: exploring the role of the college classroom in student departure. in j. braxton (ed.), reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 81-94). nashville: vanderbilt university press. 1997 classrooms as communities: exploring the educational character of student persistence. journal of higher education. 68(6) (nov/dec), 599-623. 1993 leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd. edition). chicago: the university of chicago press. 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 5–28 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 1993 stages of student departure: reflections on the longitudinal character of student leaving. journal of higher education, 59 (july/august): 438-455. 1982 limits of theory and practice in student attrition. journal of higher education, 53(6), 687-700. 1982 defining dropout: a matter of perspective. new directions for institutional research: studying student attrition. 36: 3-15. 1975 dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research. review of educational research, 45(1), 89-125. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 1-12 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.2 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article supporting at-risk learners at a comprehensive university in south africa razia mayet* * ms. razia mayet is learning development facilitator in the academic development centre, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: raziam@uj.ac.za abstract this paper reports on a study done within the learning development unit (ldu) at a south african university. it addresses the issue that many students who arrive at university lack the requisite academic skills needed for success in higher education which increases the time taken to graduate. one of the multiple reasons for this is the ‘articulation gap’ between school and higher education in south africa and in other countries. this articulation gap is exacerbated by the assumption about prior learning on which south africa’s traditional higher education programmes are based. the purpose of this study is to explore whether learning development interventions can change student attitudes and confidence levels, and develop some of the skills necessary to succeed. the study allows the academic counsellors who provide support a sense of whether their interventions are working. the study was undertaken by analysing student responses to learning development interventions. the data is gleaned from evaluation forms, assessment results and interviews conducted with students over three sets of consultations with each student. there were three hundred students who attended workshops and one hundred who sought individual consultations. initial analyses suggest that significant gains were made in increasing student coping mechanisms and learning/study skills. this indicates that support offered by the learning development unit develops the capabilities and competencies of academically at-risk learners. it is important to note that the ld unit does not pursue graduate outputs and notions of success rates but focuses on enabling at-risk students, allowing them to engage in more purposeful learning. keywords academic competence, academic development, at-risk students, learning development, learning development interventions, student success, under-prepared students introduction in south africa, as in many other countries, a high number of students arrive at university without the requisite study skills and strategies required for succeeding in higher education (department of education (doe), 2006; council of higher education (che), 2013; unesco,  2002). such students are more likely to leave university before graduating (scott,  2009; kinzie, 2011). the lack of preparedness that students face when they enrol http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:raziam@uj.ac.za 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 1–12 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.2 for studies in higher education is referred to as the ‘articulation gap’ i.e. the gap between success at school and success at university. this gap needs to be bridged particularly through the work of the academic support and learning development units in higher education in order to support students to succeed in higher education. according to the che, “the articulation gap is not confined to subject knowledge but encompasses a range of facets of learning such as academic literacies, conceptual development and socialisation” (che,  2013). furthermore, there is a widening gap between what students expect and what is actually delivered at university (tinto, 2012; shrawder, 2015). the changing role of university and the growing diversity of students being admitted into university in south africa make learning development even more relevant. as institutions attempt to uphold and pursue global trends and benchmarks on performativity and competition for rankings and throughput rates, the need for student academic support increases. results in both the pirls (progress in international reading literacy study) and the nbt (national benchmark tests) suggested that student preparedness had been dropping over the last five years (nkosi, 2013). however, this race to produce more human capital can lead to students feeling more disengaged, disillusioned and marginalised (grant, 2015). it is precisely these learners that need to be reached out to, accommodated and engaged by academic development and learning development facilitators. winberg et al. (2013) raise the concern that the neo-liberal agenda of preparing work-ready graduates is seen as the primary role of the higher education sector. they however point out that if curricula are understood as workplace preparation then graduate attributes such as critical thinking and learning to learn will suffer. in the south african higher education landscape, academic development is still closely linked to the national transformation agenda (i.e. the transformation to democracy after apartheid) and perceived as a means to close the gap between racially and socio-economically disadvantaged learners and learners from advantaged backgrounds (che, 2013). academic development and support programmes need to exceed their reach in higher education, especially to students in first year and those in transition. academic (or educational) development programmes across south africa’s tertiary institutions have a limited impact as they reach only 10% of the student body (scott, 2007). in south africa 60% of student enrolment is now made up of black african students. the completion rate for black students at university is still less than half of the rate of white students (scott, 2009). this statistic makes a compelling argument firstly, for the need of academic/ learning development and secondly, for bridging the articulation gap between school and higher education. research is required that provides an account of the difficulties students face in accessing the knowledge and related literacy practices of the university. as the study described in this article shows, academic development as a programme or as an intervention to assist students can make the transition to learning at university achievable for learners aspiring to get a university qualification regardless of race, schooling background or socio-economic status. these learning support interventions are necessary as many of the mainstream diplomas and degrees offered at university do not offer learning, academic razia mayet: supporting at-risk learners at a comprehensive university in south africa 3 literacies and study skills and strategies. the learning and academic development of students is thus an area of concern which cannot be neglected (kuh, kinzie, schuh & whitt, 2005). more especially, research shows that first-year success requires support strategies and mentoring from committed staff to alleviate the problem of attrition and high dropout rates (reason, terenzini & domingo, 2006). the fact that the students pass a matriculation examination does not necessarily make them academically competent for success at university. university requires a whole new set of learning skills. the government’s transformation policy for education after apartheid allowed for increased access to higher education for previously disadvantaged students, in order to alleviate the racially skewed patterns of enrolment and graduation. one of the ways this was done was to increase funding of academic/learning development programmes (boughey, 2010). in response to this concern, learning development initiatives and interventions are offered at this university to provide these skills. the purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of learning development as an intervention in enhancing learning support and improved results for students who are academically at risk. this was investigated by analysing student responses in evaluations and interviews to ld interventions. student assessments were analysed to evaluate whether there had been improvements. initial results indicate that students who are exposed to the interventions experience an improvement in their results and have a more positive outlook on their university experience. theoretical framework i first highlight the thinking behind academic development, and cite some successful interventions first focusing on the international arena and then on the national. i argue that learning development interventions can offer students foundational support to close the articulation gap and ease the transition to higher education. learning development at uj has as its primary goal the aim of increasing access to learning, of encouraging and supporting students to learn independently and subsequently enhance learning and performance at university, such that students move from being at risk to being competent learners who are prepared. in fulfilling these objectives, learning development has to train and prepare students to take charge of their own learning goals and in so doing become accountable for their own progress. they should also manage their time in a more structured way so as to enhance organisational skills. in addition, students have to adapt successfully to the new environment in order to thrive in the university setting (tinto, 2012; kuh, 2003; pascerella & terenzini, 2005; schreiner, 2010). a comprehensive study conducted by reason, terenzini and domingo (2006) based on 6,687 first-year american students across 30 campuses highlights the student’s sense of support, levels of academic and cognitive engagements, and a coherent first year. their study focused on the individual, organisational, environmental, programmatic and policy factors that shaped student development of academic competence in first year. their evidence suggests that students’ learning and cognitive development is shaped by what happens in the class, but more so by the range of learning opportunities their institutions 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 1–12 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.2 provide outside the classroom. students who reported more encounters with diverse individuals and ideas, also reported advantages in academic competence. another such successful intervention which focused on mentoring and monitoring students is documented by kuh, kinzie, schuh and whitt (2005). they documented the practices in 20 successful deep (documenting effective educational practice) institutions in the usa. student-oriented support services and academic interventions feature high on the list in all institutions. in one of them 15,000 first years are each given support and opportunities to succeed by being allocated to support and advisory staff who mentor and monitor students to identify and tag struggling students in an early-warning system (kuh et al., 2005). kuh suggests that for students’ success to be enhanced, it becomes necessary to identify with the least engaged, those who are at risk, and to target interventions towards these students. being at risk is defined by schoon (2006) as being confronted with an unwanted event and lacking the adaptive ability to deal with the adverse conditions. kinzie raises these pertinent issues to direct thinking on the issue of what puts students at risk of attrition: who are the culprits of depressed success rates? is it underprepared or unmotivated students? or is it underperforming institutions and ineffective pedagogies? or are we ignoring emotional and psychological phenomena among a diverse student population? (kinzie, 2012) these questions are as pertinent to the south african students who are the population in this study as they point to the underlying factors that may be overlooked in the dilemma to find the ‘culprits’ that retard student success. i argue that it is a combination of underprepared students, a diverse student population and under-performing institutions which fail to provide the requisite academic support. kinzie’s question about emotional and psychological phenomena is addressed by rheinheimer, laskey and hetzel (2011) who surmise that academic readiness is not only related to skills and behaviour, but that a lack of either motivation, soft skills or personality traits can also place a student at academic risk. learning development as a mediator of positive learning and academic outcomes has a role to play in modifying and improving these attributes and behavioural habits through interventions and academic support. aud’s (2010) assertion that fewer than half of college students who begin a bachelor’s degree ever complete one in their lifetime (quoted in schreiner, louis & nelson, 2012) further highlights the need for academic and learning support to be undertaken at firstand second-year level. in a study looking at first-year expectations and experiences conducted among science and humanities students, brinkworth, mccann, matthews and nordstrom (2009) concluded that a successful transition was not only about academic competence, but also about “adjustments to a learning environment that requires greater autonomy and individual responsibility than students expect upon commencement”. this implies that students who do not adjust easily and quickly to the rigours of studying in higher education or those that are unable to self-regulate are also at risk. the issues of general concern for razia mayet: supporting at-risk learners at a comprehensive university in south africa 5 student success are those of commitment to the course, expectations of teaching, support for learning, academic confidence, time management and social engagement (willcoxson, cotter & joy, 2011). however, many international studies address kinzie’s question about ineffective pedagogies and regard these as the reason for students dropping out. for instance, several insights were provided by long, ferrier and heagney (2006) with regard to teaching and being at risk. at-risk students in first year identified academic reasons for discontinuation in tertiary education and largely blamed poor quality of teaching and/or inadequate or poor interaction with teaching staff. it would seem then that lecturers take for granted that students are “university ready” and do not address these needs adequately if at all. additionally, palmer, o’kane and owens (2009) identified “liminality” and “slippage” as factors that contributed to students being at risk. liminality relates to the student’s feelings of being suspended in the “transient space” between home and university and belonging to neither; while slippage describes the transitional phase/state within the student who feels unrelated to the space or place. in the south african higher education context, the latest report from the council for higher education (che, 2013) reveals that: some 55% of all entering students, including about 45% of contact students, never graduate. the figures show that, in the main degree and diploma programmes only 27% of all students, including 20% of african students and 24% of coloured students, graduate in regulation time. boughey (2007) supports the notion that access and admission to university in south africa remains a contested arena since universities are places where knowledge is constructed in ways that sustain the values and attitudes of the university. recent student protest action and campaigns like the #fees must fall and decolonisation of knowledge movements are a result of the values and attitudes that students blame for their unpreparedness and underpreparedness for higher education studies. students contend that these values place them at risk of either failing, increasing the time taken to graduate, or worse, dropping out of the system as access is denied to them by virtue of their so called disadvantaged educational and socio-economic background. national throughput and statistics show the seriousness of lack of preparedness for higher education in south africa; the apartheid legacy, ongoing economic inequalities and major problems in the schooling sector enhance the way student unpreparedness is experienced in this country. the che report argues that “time constructively spent on foundational learning [...] will foster quality and success” (che report, 2013). the sa department of education, too, reiterates that: foundational provision is commonly intended primarily to facilitate the academic development of students whose prior learning has been adversely affected by educational or social inequalities. foundational provision is thus aimed at facilitating equity of access and outcome. (doe, 2006) 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 1–12 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.2 the foundational programmes generally focus “on the discontinuity or articulation gap between students’ educational backgrounds as shaped by their familial and socioeconomic circumstances” (che report, 2013). south african academic development initiatives have learnt a lot from the ‘foundation programmes’ which have been offered by many sa universities for the past decade. shandler et al. (2011) have reported on student success in the extended/access diplomas at the university of johannesburg where “foundational provision” and more supported learning takes place. their results indicate that in many cases, foundational-phase learners have overtaken mainstream students in completing their diplomas. academic development programmes enable south africa’s higher education institutions to offer greater access to higher education and the academic competencies to deal with the skills and strategies required to succeed in a higher education environment (scott, 2007, 2009). detailed context of the study this study is located in the learning development unit (ldu) at a university in johannesburg. ldu is a unit within academic development and support which offers support to students who do not have the necessary competencies to cope with university study. currently the faculty of health sciences offers four learning development workshops to their first-year students in all seven departments during the first semester. individual students may be referred by psycad, the psychological services wing of academic support, or sent by a lecturer or head of department who has identified the student as being at risk of failing. or the student may be going through a review process after failing their major subjects and receiving an f7 rating which in effect means that they are no longer eligible to register for further studies. the student has an opportunity to lodge an appeal. often their appeals are accepted on the basis that they agree to attend academic support/learning development. the first session with a learning development facilitator is a “getting to know you” session. the students fill in a form giving biographical and contact details and are then interviewed to gauge lifestyle issues, family and educational background, financial situation, living arrangements, accessibility to food and university funding. a food cupboard is maintained on a donation and sponsorship basis for indigent students or those who are hungry or lack immediate access to food. students are assisted to apply for a food bursary operated by an ngo in collaboration with uj, so that they receive at least two meals a day on weekdays through the gift of the givers food programme. the next part of the conversation between the student and the academic counsellor relates to the course or diploma that the student is registered in, and the study method that the student currently employs. the student is interrogated about the number of hours and times when study is undertaken, the methods and techniques used to study, the notetaking and -making skills, the memorisation and retrieval skills used, how resources are organised, use of learner guides and blackboard (the it learning management system of the university) and any other related issues that may arise. the second session with the student is used for equipping the student with timemanagement skills and setting up a time-managed programme for the student based on razia mayet: supporting at-risk learners at a comprehensive university in south africa 7 their lifestyle and commitments. a week later, the student reports back on the timemanagement programme and it is further revised and fine-tuned to meet personal needs and learning styles. in the third session, the student is inducted into the study cycle and shown how to implement each of the components for constructive cognitive engagement, namely, pre-reading, attending class, consolidation, the weekly review and revision. the student is shown how to link their individual work with the learning outcomes and assessment criteria as set down in the learner guide for each course. in subsequent sessions the student is shown how to take notes in class, make notes during consolidation and organise their learning resources and material. they are also guided to use memorisation and retrieval skills, text maps, mind maps and referred to academic literacy and the writing centre for further support if required. when test or assessment dates are announced, a specific study programme for the test is set up, taking into account the amount of work that will be tested and the time that is available. students are urged to contact the counsellor by email or to make further appointments with the academic counsellor if additional support and help is required. methodology the current study is based, firstly, on an analysis of 300 evaluation forms from the training and workshops presented by the learning development unit to the health sciences departments. of the 300 students that attended the workshops arranged by their departments, 100 came back for individual help and consultations. other students are referred by their departments if they have failed more than one test. the students are generally undergraduate students from all faculties studying across a range of qualifications. research by the director of academic development, dr andre van zyl, reveals that at least 40% of our students are first-generation university students. the students each attended a minimum of three sessions of individual academic counselling in the learning development unit. these students were interviewed before the sessions with the counsellor, then completed a further evaluation form, and at the end of the set of sessions a conversation was held with students about their overall impressions and to gauge if they had actually implemented suggested changes and made improvements and progress. in addition, test results from before the intervention were compared with test results from after the intervention. the evaluation forms for both the workshops and the individual consultations are constructed similarly. they are made up of four key questions relating to the actual intervention sessions, as follows: 1. i learnt new study techniques and approaches in my academic counselling session. 2. i think i will be able to apply some of the techniques i learnt in my studies. 3. i think the academic counselling session will make a positive contribution to my success as a student. 4. i will recommend attending academic counselling to other students. 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 1–12 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.2 the response options of the key questions are linked to a 5-point likert scale ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’. these four questions are followed by two further open-ended questions: 1. what i found most useful about academic counselling was _________. 2. list some of the techniques/skills you will be willing to try or be able to implement ___________. for the close-ended questions, the frequencies on each option of the likert scale were calculated. qualitative content analysis was used for the open-ended questions and interview data. specific themes were identified that would support or contradict responses to previous questions. the students who attended individual consultations were also tracked in terms of performance before and after the set of sessions, to check improvements and persistence. in this way a deeper understanding was gained of their experience with learning development and the contribution made by ld towards the improvement in their results and their university experience. finally, the 2015 undergraduate student report was also mined for statistics relating to the tutoring programme and the academic development centre. this is an online survey undertaken annually. during 2014/2015 a cohort of 14,000 of a potential 30,000 students responded to the survey which is overseen by the division for institutional planning, evaluation and monitoring (dipem). findings and discussion results show that both sets of students, those who attended the workshops as a class and those that attended the individual consultations, were enabled by learning development interventions. the analysis of the evaluation forms of the class groups showed that: • 90% of students were positively disposed towards the workshops. • the workshops and training sessions on time management and the study cycle were marked as the most useful. • approaches to study skills and note taking were next in terms of usefulness. students definitely felt that they had received skills that had enabled them. students reflected on arriving at university with only their experience of learning at school. they said that in many cases lecturers do not allow them to ‘slide gently’ into the workload and new learning context. a fortnight of orientation is clearly not sufficient to allow first-time university students access to the learning culture of such an institution, with the result that students feel overloaded, stressed and easily start to fall behind with their studies once lectures and assessments commence. students only realise that they are falling behind with work and/or are not coping after the first sets of results are released in the first term. it is at this point that more and more individual consultations are requested. the analysis of the evaluations of the students who attended individual learning development consultations, revealed that: razia mayet: supporting at-risk learners at a comprehensive university in south africa 9 • 92% of students agreed that they had learnt new techniques of managing their studies and time after attending academic counselling and that they would be able to apply the new techniques to improve their studies. • 78% of students strongly agreed that academic counselling would make a positive contribution to their studies. • 75% strongly agreed that they would recommend attending academic counselling to other students. the students stated that they felt “less stressed” and were able to dedicate themselves to their studies with confidence once they had a time-management plan and study skills in place. follow-up visits were scheduled to check on results of tests and assessments administered. mark increases and improved results in assessments were noted in nearly all cases. students who, on the first visit, were emotional, insecure and felt that they were failures who would let their parents down, showed more confidence and were more positive. typical comments students made in their evaluations and interviews are quoted: it made me to excel in my studies. [...] all academic issues are addressed promptly and with solutions. [...] the workload seems less and study skills have improved after my sessions with the counsellor.” she shows how to get the bigger picture of what you about to do. [...] even today i am still applying what study skills i learnt. saying my problems out loud and having someone put solutions down on paper that i can use continuously really helped me. these student comments concur with other research that shows that the more students experience success and see positive results, the more likely they are to stay on at the institution (tinto, 2012). the 2015 university of johannesburg undergraduate student experience report, a survey undertaken by dipem (division of institutional planning, evaluation and monitoring) revealed the following in respect of tutoring and academic development and support: • 71% of the students who responded regarded the academic environment to be ‘good’ whilst 19% rated it as ‘very good’. • overall, 90% of the students felt that the university of johannesburg offers a supportive academic environment. • 67% of the undergraduates said that the study method courses were helpful. they rated the academic development staff as ‘knowledgeable, helpful and professional’. the tutoring unit was credited with 68% of respondents saying that they sought help at least once a week from tutors. (dipem 2015) 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 1–12 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.2 the impact of the learning development interventions on the university is that the faculty of health sciences and the building and construction management department have institutionalised the learning development offerings to their first-year students based on the student and lecturer evaluations of the interventions. in addition, the faculties of engineering and the built environment, humanities and science are booking more workshops for their students and referring students for academic counselling. as students move into their senior years, they return for help with time management, writing skills and academic literacies. the role for direct student support cannot be ignored, as learning development interventions have an important role to play in mediating study skills and learning as a psycho-educational tool that leads to performance-enhancing behaviour. conclusion students in their first year of study and sometimes beyond, need the support and scaffolding to traverse and move efficiently through the content and context of higher education to ease the transition into and have the preferred experience of learning in university. the initial findings in this study support this claim. both the findings and the literature indicate that, with guidance and interventions designed to support and empower them, students are definitely enabled to make the transition from school to university and succeed. these results are relevant for those educators and policy planners who are interested in increasing retention and diminishing drop-out rates, as well as those who hope to ‘ease the articulation gap’. both king (1999) and kuh (2005) liken college for the first-year student to a jigsaw puzzle made up of many puzzling pieces that do not seem to fit. academic/learning development can help students to find a way to fit the puzzle pieces together and find direction in a transitional phase of their lives. through supported learning of skills and strategies to negotiate the puzzle that constitutes the first year of study, learning development can provide help for the academically at-risk student to attain a greater measure of academic competence. the university has to make provision for and actively market academic support so that students remain engaged. persistence and retention instead of drop-out and attrition will then become the experience of more students in higher education. acknowledgements this paper is written with the support of funding from the department of higher education national collaborative teaching development grant: the improvement of teaching and learning in south african universities through researching and evaluating tdg projects in the first year experience (fye) initiatives, tutorials, mentoring and writing retreats. i would like to thank moragh paxton for mentoring me in the writing of this paper. references boughey, c. 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(2003). what we’re learning about student engagement from benchmarks for effective educational practices. change: the magazine of higher learning, 35(2), 24–32. https://doi. org/10.1080/00091380309604090 kuh, g., kinzie, j., schuh, j. & whitt, e. (2005a). student success in college: creating conditions that matter. san francisco: jossey-bass. kuh, g., kinzie, j., schuh, j. & whitt, e. (2005b). assessing conditions to enhance educational effectiveness. san francisco: jossey-bass. long, m., ferrier f. & heagney, m. (2006). stay, play or give it away? students continuing, changing or leaving university study in their first year. victoria (australia): monash university, centre for the economics of education and training. retrieved 12 december 2016 from http://www.monash. edu/education/non-cms/centres/ceet/docs/2006stayplayorgiveitaway.pdf nkosi, b. 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(2009). betwixt spaces: student accounts of turning point experiences in the first-year transition. studies in higher education, 34(1), 37–54. https://doi. org/10.1080/03075070802601929 https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300140 https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300140 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9188-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9188-3 https://doi.org/10.1177/009155210503300102 https://doi.org/10.1177/009155210503300102 https://doi.org/10.1002/he.321 https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380309604090 https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380309604090 http://www.monash.edu/education/non-cms/centres/ceet/docs/2006stayplayorgiveitaway.pdf http://www.monash.edu/education/non-cms/centres/ceet/docs/2006stayplayorgiveitaway.pdf http://mg.co.za/article/2013-07-19-00-school-maths-failing-varsity-entrants http://mg.co.za/article/2013-07-19-00-school-maths-failing-varsity-entrants https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802601929 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802601929 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 1–12 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.2 pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p. 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(2005). ‘it was nothing to do with the university, it was just the people’: the role of social support in the first year experience of higher education. studies in higher education, 30, 707–722. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070500340036 winburg, c., engel-hills, p., garraway, j. & jacobs, c. (2013). professionally-oriented knowledge and the role of professionally-oriented higher education. kagisano, 9: the aims of higher education. pretoria: che. willcoxson, l., cotter, j. & joy, s. (2011). beyond the first year experience: the impact on attrition of student experience throughout undergraduate degree studies in six diverse universities. studies in higher education, 36(3), 331–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903581533 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-8884-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-8884-4 https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511490132 https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226804545.001.0001 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070500340036 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903581533 _goback www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 147–148 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4691 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 147 campus report iasas student leaders global summit in rome: actioning the sdgs kathleen 'kat' callahan1 1 dr kathleen ‘kat’ callahan, christopher newport university, virginia, usa; iasas director of student leader global summit. email: kathleen.callahan@cnu.edu. orcid: 0000-0002-7711-7659 the 5th iasas student leader global summit (slgs) was held in rome, italy from july 13 to 15. forty selected students from twenty countries attended and participated in educational sessions and working groups. ailish smith, a student from ireland commented, “being in rome for the iasas slgs when rome was experiencing record temperatures showed me that we are past the point of urgency to achieve sustainability, we are in an emergency.” it is global issues that bring us together for one purpose. educational sessions at the slgs ranged from universities as change agents, digital citizenship, and service learning. students were put into small groups that selected one of unescos agenda 2030 sustainable development goals (sdg). they were tasked with creating a micro-campaign focusing on one sdg within a community of their choice in which at least one student has a personal connection. connecting other elements within the system, they created a system map and an accompanying stakeholder map to ensure complete understanding of their selected issue and community. after establishing feedback loops and polarity of connections, they identified two to three leverage points that the group would be able to plan an intervention, but only an intervention in which the students would be able to access. therefore, the eight micro-campaigns completed at the slgs would be actionable and possibly replicable in communities around the world by university students. the groups addressed sdgs 2 (zero hunger), 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality), 6 (clean water and sanitation), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), and 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions). students identified communities in south africa, ukraine, the united states, norway, and zimbabwe. many of the campaigns directly involved institutions of higher education, student organisations, and surrounding communities to make sustainable change. samuel kaimenyi, secretary general from kca university in kenya discussed his experience working on sdg 5, gender equality. “i am now motivated to implement a project aimed at providing affordable recyclable sanitary products to women and girls from my informal settlements area back home. this issue is particularly close to my heart as i have seen firsthand the challenges that women in these marginalized communities face when it comes to accessing menstrual hygiene products.” http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 147–148 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4691 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za148 overall, knowledge and content only get us so far in this world. it often is the relationships we build with one another that truly changes our mindsets and our ability to see past our own life experience. the students had an opportunity to build their own relationships. alessandro marsh, a student from south africa stated, “initially i thought the friendship at the summit was a welcome by-product of our project. instead i realized that that it was its lifeblood.” this is a testament to the quality of students blended with topics of the global summit to create this context for student growth and development in rome. bhavika vohra, a student from the united arab emirates reflected that “through thought-provoking discussions, immersive workshops, and valuable connections with like-minded individuals, we were brought together to advocate for responsible practices aligned with the sustainable development goals. united by our shared vision and determination, we were inspired to build a future where responsible and sustainable practices become the norm, leaving a lasting impact on our planet and paving the way for a better world for generations to come.” the student leader global summit will continue to challenge students in the future to confront current global concerns and address issues of society that impact us all. university students are both the leaders and active followers that future generations will depend on to change the world. how to cite: callahan, k. (2023). iasas student leaders global summit in rome: actioning the sdgs. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 147–148. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4691    253 thank you to our reviewers and editors the jsaa editorial executive wishes to thank the peer reviewers and editors of volume 10 of the journal of student affairs in africa for their time and expertise in evaluating and helping to select and improve the submissions received: reviewers alina pap sonja loots magda fourie keamogetse morwe taabo mugume shose kessi lisa bardill moscaritolo johan groenewald munita dunn-coetzee bryce bunting rupert langley taylor rosheena jeawon jeremy doughty evelyn songco richard appiah christine immenga matete madiba xander van lill angelo fynn rupert langley taylor graham dampier faeza khan matete madiba rosanno wells nadia barnard barend van wyk tobias van den bergh editors birgit schreiber thierry luescher annsilla nyar henry mason vicki trowler angelina wilson fadiji bekele workie teboho moja angelique wildschut martin mandew wp wahl 254    publications by african minds www.africanminds.co.za on becoming a scholar: what every new academic needs to know edited by jonathan jansen and daniel visser (2022) (u)mzantsi classics: dialogues in decolonisation from southern africa edited by samantha masters, imkhitha nzungu and grant parker (2022) who counts? ghanaian academic publishing and global science david mills, patricia kingori, abigail branford, samuel t. chatio, natasha robinson and paulina tindana (2022) http://www.africanminds.co.za http://www.africanminds.co.za https://www.africanminds.co.za/on-becoming-a-scholar/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/democracy_discourse_relevance/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/umzantsi_classics/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/understanding-higher-education/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/who-counts/    255 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa. submissions must be made on the online system at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa. for information and help, please contact the journal manager, ms bronwin sebonka at bronwin.sebonka@up.ac.za. submissions in response to special calls for papers must also be made directly to the guest editors concerned (see call for papers). the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student 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http://www.africanbookscollective.com/ http://www.amazon.com http://www.africanminds.co.za http://www.africanminds.co.za mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= issn 2311-1771 (print) issn 2307-6267 (electronic) the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open-access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and reflective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in africa. editorial collaborative approaches to scholarship in student affairs guest editorial embracing saassap scholarship research articles thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences of accessing psycho-social and academic support during the covid-19 pandemic an assessment of covid-19 pandemic quarantine and isolation programmes: a case study of the university of limpopo demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout in africa’s largest distance higher education institution developing online student leadership training interventions so that disadvantaged black students may enjoy a seat at the proverbial table keeping up with changing times: student leaders, resilience, fragility and professional development an exploratory study of the effects of the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown on the emotional and social well-being of university students enrolled at a university of technology psychometric properties of a short measure for south african first-year students’ perceptions of fit with their courses of study student perceptions on their transition experiences at a south african university offering a first-year experience programme demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration of students’ structural and material constraints does gender moderate the association of peer pressure on alcohol use during emerging adulthood of students? a multi-group analysis facilitating first-year student adjustment: towards a model for intentional peer mentoring profiling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa reflective practice campus mental health revisited student affairs and services leadership in trying times: student social behaviour project and psycho-social support interventions at a comprehensive university in south africa building capabilities and leadership for youth development: nelson mandela university’s approach book reviews wealth, values, culture & education: reviving the essentials for equality and sustainability low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa: opportunities, obstacles and outcomes #feesmustfall and its aftermath: violence, wellbeing and the student movement in south africa journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 61–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.9 61 www.jsaa.ac.za * this article was originally published in university world news global edition and africa edition issue 435 on 01 november 2016 as “higher education struggles in an emerging democracy”. available at http://www. universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161026142339345. reprinted with permission. ** contact: makoni.munya@gmail.com on campus global summit on student affairs and services: prof. adam habib’s keynote* munyaradzi makoni** the evolutionary growth of the university in the 21st century is affected by enormous challenges and the possibility of problems being addressed is constrained by national politics, bureaucracy and resource limitations that threaten the equality of the global academy, says prof. adam habib, vice-chancellor of the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. the evolutionary growth of the university in the 21st century is affected by enormous challenges and the possibility of problems being addressed is constrained by national politics, bureaucracy and resource limitations that threaten the equality of the global academy, says prof. adam habib. he was a keynote speaker at the 2016 global summit on student affairs and services held from 27–28 october at stellenbosch university near cape town. the gathering was organised by student affairs administrators in higher education or naspa, and stellenbosch university and the international association of student affairs and services, with 50 student affairs leaders in attendance. to survive the 21st century, it is essential to come together as global citizens and a global academy, said habib, who is also chair of universities south africa, the representative body of 26 public universities. major challenges such as inequality, terrorism, public health, climate change and renewable energy are transnational and require multinational teams that come together and comprehensively tackle them. this needs to be done in a calm and collected manner, and thoughtfully so as not to reinforce inequalities and polarise societies. inequality is a common problem habib noted that higher education could help to create a more equal society, by producing growing numbers of quality graduates and providing sufficient numbers of students from poor and marginalised communities with access to the best universities in society. http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161026142339345 http://http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161026142339345 mailto:makoni.munya%40gmail.com?subject= 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 61–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.9 another challenge is to provide sufficient numbers of high quality graduates in professions required by society, so that skills scarcity does not lead to undue escalation of remuneration. “both cases are easier said than done in south africa,” said habib, acknowledging that as a university leader he is not a neutral analyst of the country’s higher education situation. “south africa is a microcosm of our world, an acute manifestation of challenges that confront us. the struggle is a harbinger of what is likely to happen to us all.” habib observed that the united states has experienced a rising number of social protests since 2015. the country is saddled with us$1.3 trillion in student debt, and young people were unhappy with the economic system. lack of stability in the united kingdom following the brexit vote highlights that many young brits are alienated with the decisions of their parents. a noble struggle inter-generational conflicts are playing out on campuses, as they are safe places where young people experiment with ideas. habib backed the student struggle in south africa as a noble one, explaining that the issues in essence are the high cost of university education and the alienation many black students feel in historically white universities. the government has expanded the higher education system from 420,000 students in 1990 to 1.1 million in 2015. as we expanded, the per capita state subsidy for students began to decline. vice-chancellors and bureaucrats like me began to increase fees, often in double digits. when you do this for a 15to 20-year period, the price of higher education is taken out of the hands of poor people and the middle class. in habib’s view, another major problem has been that universities have failed to come to terms with their diversity. universities themselves have to change – but there is an expectation that students have to change for the university. a powder keg for south african students was a statue at the university of cape town, of british imperialist cecil john rhodes, who donated the land on which the university is built. last year the statue became a point of disaffection, with black students feeling it was not an appropriate symbol for the campus – the #rhodesmustfall movement achieved its aim. this struggle is not unique to south africa. for instance, the blacklivesmatter movement has been taken up on us campuses because of the alienation black students have felt. a tactical problem as much as habib is convinced students have genuine grievances, he said strong questions were not being asked about tactics used by the student movement. some sections of the movement appeared bent on perpetuating the language of racism. munyaradzi makoni: global summit on student affairs and services 63 i worry about the politics of duplicity, where you say one thing in private and another in public. i’ve been accused for the last three to four weeks of refusing to meet students, yet out of seven to eight groups i’ve met six to seven of them, and every one of them says, “please don’t say publicly we are meeting you”. i’ve got on my cell phone somebody saying, “habibmustfall, you are a manifestation of liberalism”. then a minute later i get an sms saying, “we don’t really mean it.” if students continued with the politics of duplicity, they would repeat the mistakes of political parties. i worry about the politics of spectacle, where effectively what you want is to engage with the crowd, but use the crowd as a mechanism of silencing rather than opening up and democratising. habib is also concerned about the propensity for violence, and in the south african context the propensity to arson that has destroyed r1 billion (us$74 million) in educational infrastructure. no one can explain how you are advancing the cause of free higher education if you burn the very infrastructure required for that free education. he is aggrieved about the intolerance of the movement and the failure to understand that it had failed. reforms must be slow and consolidate an outcome that is accepted by society. habib recalled, after the #feesmustfall struggle exploded on campus, the tension when he met with students for 24 hours to seek a solution, as he felt theirs was a legitimate struggle. but as much as there is legitimacy, if you truly believe in the legitimacy of the ideal of fees must fall, then you must have the political courage to confront it when tactics are not conducive to realisation of that struggle. fixing the system it has been calculated that funding south african higher education in its entirety – tuition fees, accommodation and subsistence – would cost r50 billion a year. the next question, habib pointed out, would be: what of technical and vocational education and training, or tvet colleges. they could cost another r30 billion. “why are you putting r80 billion in higher education and tvet when you have four million [youths] unemployed and are not funding early childhood development?” he asked. research showed that quality early childhood education played a major role in achieving inclusive higher education. solutions on how to fund free education should be context-specific, habib said. looking at the issue as an ordinary citizen, a general call might be to tax the rich and put the money into higher education. but the money would not be generated immediately. 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 61–64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.9 he said the student movement had come up with proposals including to increase tax rates for the corporate sector by at least 2% and add to the skills levy. all proposed taxes would end up an additional 15% burden on the rich. while habib knew there was tax avoidance, if increased taxes resulted in a 20% contraction in gross domestic product “you have effectively lost out, you have less money”. it was important to operate based on a world that existed, rather than one people wished existed. one way was to start thinking of progressive reforms that would make free higher education possible, for instance a grant system must be available, but the rich should pay for higher education, and possibly a financing mechanism should be created for the middle class – bearing in mind the american problem of huge and mounting student debt. these examples do not argue for an end to free higher education calls, said habib, but for thinking about hard trade-offs – and such decisions should not only come from cabinet ministers or vice-chancellors or students, but from society as a whole. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 39–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.5 39 www.jsaa.ac.za * senior director strategic alliances and outreach at rutgers graduate school of education (gse), new brunswick, nj (usa). email: darren.clarke5@gmail.com reflective practice socialisation and professional identity: reflections of an administrator’s pathway into student affairs in the united states darren l. clarke* abstract pathways into student affairs careers may not always be clear or well defined. often, student affairs professionals experience unconventional beginnings. formal and informal relationships with faculty, staff and students in higher education may eventually inspire a career in student affairs. this process of socialisation positively influenced my development as a student and continues to shape my perspectives about college student development as a professional. my professional identity, influenced by the student affairs socialisation process and reflective practice as a professional in higher education, are discussed. keywords socialisation, professional identity, competencies an unconventional beginning professional journeys in student affairs are seldom direct or clearly defined. the pathways, however, are often filled with ongoing interactions and relationships with individuals in helping roles that serve to deepen understanding of the importance of student affairs professionals in the lives of students. for me, this realisation came about unconventionally, and eventually through ongoing dialogue with peers and mentors encountered as a student, and continues to be reinforced through reflective practice as a professional in higher education. the purpose of this article is twofold. firstly, the influence that student affairs professionals had on my career choice is acknowledged. secondly, the significance of the student affairs socialisation process in the development of professional identity is discussed. a phenomenological approach is used to explore the ways in which student affairs professionals impacted my overall learning and development. according to phenomenology, knowledge and understanding occur in the everyday world and meaning is made from our subjective experiences (byrne, 2011). using this qualitative approach, my “lived experiences” as a student and a professional in higher education are explored with the goals of identifying and describing lived experiences (schwandt, 2007). my awareness of student affairs began over thirty-five years ago when many institutions had not yet fully articulated or developed distinct academic programmes to educate student http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:darren.clarke5%40gmail.com?subject= 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 39–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.5 affairs professionals. while attending a four-year college, i worked part-time at a two-year community college, distributing attendance folders for faculty when they arrived to teach their evening courses. a benefit of this job was the opportunity to talk with faculty and staff who took an interest in me. my career path, at that time, was undecided even though my education, training and skills were directed toward a career in business. although i knew that my interests matched careers that would provide opportunities for me to interact with students, my knowledge base about student affairs and higher education administration as academic disciplines was non-existent. this lack of awareness made it difficult to ask questions about a major or a career that was unknown to me. furthermore, since i was a commuter student and worked off-campus, my involvement in on-campus activities was limited. tinto (2014) noted that many college students in the united states do not live on campus and are also employed full time, limiting student involvement in co-curricular activities. any involvement in supportive networks that i may have experienced occurred in the classroom through faculty and student interactions. therefore, my entry into the student affairs profession parallels discussions of professional pathways for student affairs practitioners in that, “people enter student affairs careers by accident or by quirk, rather than design” (brown, 1987:5). my introduction to student affairs and my entry into the student affairs profession may be considered an accident, but surely not a mistake. student affairs as a career option through my interactions with people working in student affairs at american colleges and universities, i felt the impact of caring administrators and staff on my overall development. i also realised the importance of the services that student affairs professionals provided to students on a daily basis and began to see myself in the role of a helping professional. although my interest in student affairs was emerging, several mentors encouraged me to seek further education towards a career in business. like many college graduates at the time, i was at a crossroads of career decision-making. the struggle to connect interests, education and skills with a professional career resulted in unanswered questions and some confusion. in reflecting on my discussions with faculty, i now realise that many people i met during those critical years were unaware of the path to becoming a student affairs professional. therefore, not only were they unable to suggest student affairs as a career option; they were also unable to suggest ways for me to explore my interests in ways that would assist with career decision-making. fortunately, things quickly changed when i was introduced to the dean of students at a large, private research university. my plan was to meet with the dean to discuss applying for a graduate degree programme in marketing or accounting; however, during our two-hour meeting my life was changed. not only did she learn about the work i had done with students and faculty at a two-year community college, she could see how excited i was when talking about these experiences. she talked with me about student affairs as a career and encouraged me to apply for the master’s degree in student personnel administration. my graduate education would begin my pathway into the student affairs profession. darren l. clarke: socialisation and professional identity 41 brown (1987) described a pattern in which the decision to pursue student affairs as a career choice tends to occur later in the college years or after the completion of a bachelor’s degree. exposure to the profession as a career possibility results from interaction with a mentor or role model (brown, 1987). in my case, the dean of students served as my mentor/ role model and exposed me to the student affairs profession as a more realistic choice for a career. key in this interaction was the time she devoted and concern she showed towards me, as well as her willingness to assist me in my development. when i began my graduate studies in student personnel administration, i was given the opportunity to learn about student development theory and practice. having a graduate assistantship in a residence hall was instrumental in helping me to connect student development theory learned in my classes with real-life experiences. i gained a wealth of knowledge by spending time with diverse students in the residence hall, where every day had its unique opportunities and challenges. this work experience also gave me the opportunity to build on-campus relationships that i had missed as a commuter student. having experienced student life both as an on-campus and commuter student increased my awareness of the needs of both student populations. i began to see how students’ needs differed depending on their life experiences and how their ability to connect with the campus environment was influenced by their perceptions of self and others. in my next graduate assistant position, i worked in a dean of students’ office assisting with student programming and working collaboratively with various student-serving units. these experiences helped me to gain invaluable skills as i began to understand the essential roles that admissions, financial aid, student activities, housing and residence life, student disabilities and career services played in student life. i also learned that student affairs professionals’ roles and responsibilities include addressing the needs of students on a daily basis through non-academic and out-of-classroom services, particularly services that foster academic and social integration. while this position spanned a two-year period which is relatively short in terms of engaging with the full scope of the large private university system, i gained a firm foundation for the launch of my professional career in higher education. the socialisation experiences i was exposed to in graduate school played a critical role in preparing me for my early career in student affairs. hirschy, wilson, liddell, boyle and pasquesi (2015) emphasised “the importance of authentic experiences that heighten self-awareness and a deeper understanding of themselves as practitioners in the profession” (p. 778). transferable skills in student affairs working in student affairs in several different college environments provided me with essential skills that i would later use in my career as a university administrator. with a master’s degree in student personnel administration, i obtained my first full-time job as an area coordinator in residence life at a private university with approximately 8,000 students. i lived and worked on-campus for three years, where my primary role and responsibilities were to help to instill positive norms and to foster a supportive campus environment for a population of diverse students living in the residence halls. i also assisted in providing 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 39–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.5 experiences for student learning outside of the classroom through student programming. learning quickly that student affairs professionals wear many hats, i also delved into the area of student conduct. working in student conduct was informative and taught me that this was not an area that i wanted to pursue. rather than adjudicating students who violated college norms, i knew i would rather provide students with learning opportunities that assisted in maximising their development as leaders in society. these experiences helped me to understand the importance of community and the need for students to value diversity, equity and social justice as important aspects of their collegiate learning and preparation to live in a global world. my career in student affairs advanced further when i was promoted to the position of assistant director in housing and residence life at a public university with approximately 10,000 students. it was in this position that i sought to expand my experience of working with on-campus students. consistent with wilson, liddell, hirschy, and pasquesi (2016), the role and responsibilities of my mid-level professional student affairs position focused on providing programmes and services that enhanced students’ educational and career goals. while in this position, i also managed a residence hall and served as a mentor to undergraduates, particularly students who worked as resident assistants (ras). as a result of interactions with student affairs mentors, many of these students chose student affairs as their profession. reynolds (2009) considered mentoring as an aspect of supervision an essential component of student affairs practitioners’ personal and professional development. looking to enhance my experience in residence life at the university, i became involved with a residential academic support programme where i assisted students who were on academic probation and at risk of being removed from on-campus housing. this experience broadened my interest in working full-time with students on academic and retention issues in college. i successfully transitioned from working in the area of student residence life to working as an academic counsellor at a public urban university with approximately 12,000  students, and subsequently as an assistant director of an academic support programme at a large research university with approximately 35,000 students. in these positions, i provided support to students in all phases of their daily campus life, which included recruitment and first-year orientation through matriculation and graduation. as a result, i was able to interface with many different student affairs/services such as admissions, housing and residence life, student activities, advising, career services, financial aid, registrar, bursar’s office, student conduct, student disabilities and campus police. the student affairs competencies and skills that i developed continued to guide my approach to working with students. i valued each student as an individual and recognised the potential impact of my role and responsibilities on his or her overall development. i was committed to serving students and helping to make their college experience rewarding no matter in which unit (student affairs or academic affairs) my position was situated. these experiences further strengthened my professional identity and my commitment to working as a member of a team of professionals in support of students. using the knowledge, skills and dispositions that i had developed as a student affairs professional and through my work in academic support services, i eventually obtained a director’s darren l. clarke: socialisation and professional identity 43 position managing off-campus continuing education programmes for a graduate school of education at a large public university with approximately 60,000  students. working closely with faculty and staff in developing and marketing programmes and professional development courses, i reflected back on my earlier professional experiences and how these experiences had influenced my personal and professional development. i had reached the point in my career where my education and training in business (marketing and advertising) dovetailed nicely with my current work. the culmination of my many years working in student affairs, managing programmes and effectively dealing with crisis situations, along with the opportunity to be entrepreneurial gave me a sense of work fulfillment. the skills i developed in my various positions and my commitment to support students had prepared me for the increased responsibility at each higher-level position. multiculturalism and global learning in integrating multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills necessary for effective student affairs work, pope and reynolds (1997) helped to advance the student affairs profession by conceptualising a dynamic relationship between seven core competencies that included: • multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills • helping and interpersonal skills • assessment and evaluation • teaching and training • ethical and legal experience • theory and translation • administrative and management skills these competencies were designed to more effectively assist students in understanding their culturally biased assumptions, and to work effectively with racially and culturally diverse students in addressing current social issues on campus. although all student affairs professionals should have basic awareness, knowledge and skills in the seven areas, some professionals will develop more expertise in a particular area than what would be described as the basic and expected competence (pope & reynolds, 1997:268–269). consistent with changing students’ needs, student affairs educators’ ten competencies have been revised and updated with social justice and inclusion now included among the domains of knowledge, skills and dispositions needed for effective practice (acpa/ naspa,  2015). given the diversity of today’s students, professionals may be expected to have several areas of competence in order to effectively address students’ needs. according to bresciani (2008), students must know themselves in order to work with culturally diverse others. to this end, reynolds (2009) stated, “cultural issues are central to most of the important conversations on our campuses, such as admissions policies, core curricula, campus violence, and how diverse students related to one another” (p. 111). through reflection of student diversity and the importance of community as central to 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 39–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.5 the collegiate environment, i decided to focus on creating learning opportunities that deepened cultural understanding. my interests were aligned with transformative learning, global education and study abroad for u.s. adult learners. to better understand issues of equity, power, privilege and oppression in society, i developed a special topics course for graduate students that evolved into the south africa initiative (sai). the components over the years have included a three-credit graduate cultural immersion course to south africa, a distinguished lecture series, community service-learning projects, and educational and infrastructure support for south african schools. as a result of these activities, partnerships were developed in south african townships and rural schools, with non-governmental organisations (ngos) and with several u.s. companies. through these collaborative efforts and intercultural exchanges, students were able to develop culturally relevant knowledge, skills and dispositions for community as well as global citizenship. the need to increase students’ cultural awareness, cultural knowledge and the development of cultural skills is evidenced with increased focus on the internationalisation of higher education (kortegast & boisfontaine, 2015). although the internationalisation of student affairs is relatively new, it has become well recognised (gansemer-topf, 2013). there is an increased focus on assisting u.s. students in graduate programmes to develop intercultural competencies in professional preparation and development (haber & getz, 2011). to this end, i developed a field placement to enable student affairs graduate interns to develop intercultural competencies through direct engagement in south africa. the field placement also provides students with the opportunity to develop core student affairs competencies and skills that assist with developing and administering study-abroad programmes. my interests remain focused on working with students who are engaged in study abroad in south africa. i also found that students’ experiences with multiculturalism and diversity from a global perspective were deepened with an international cultural exchange between south african and u.s. undergraduate student leaders. students from the united states and south africa attending the 2015 global leadership summit at the university of the free state and the 2016 leadership-for-change programme at rutgers university reported that lived experiences and direct cross-cultural interactions on each respective campus increased understanding and appreciation of the college student experience. with the increased cultural diversity of students on college campuses, multiculturalism, diversity and social justice must be an integrated component of college student learning and development. interacting with students at the various campus environments in south africa and the u.s. has increased my own cultural competence and enhanced my understanding of socio-cultural and identity factors influencing student development. conclusion: impact of socialisation and professional identity student affairs professionals play a critical role in developing the next generation of student affairs leaders. they are considered to be experts on student development and darren l. clarke: socialisation and professional identity 45 the environments where students are educated (unesco, 2002). socialisation into the profession can occur early in a college student’s life, influenced by meaningful interactions with student affairs professionals. these experiences can begin the minute a student steps onto the campus. our role includes recognising the students who might be able to contribute to the profession. years ago, it was the dean of students who recognised that i might be a person who could contribute to the field of student affairs. it only took that one meeting for me to connect my interests to a career in student affairs. as the student affairs profession has become more formalised with pathways into the career, it may be easier to help students to identify the degree programmes and training that will prepare them with the appropriate knowledge, skills and depositions for effective work with students. a professional identity as a student affairs educator has guided my work with students throughout my career in both student and academic affairs. my educational foundation and subsequent experiences in residence life prepared me with culturally relevant knowledge, skills and dispositions to work effectively in a variety of educational settings. these competencies and skills have kept me current with the changing developmental needs of today’s college students. my lived experiences and lessons learned on my professional journey continue to guide my relationships with students and with colleagues in higher education. along the way, there have been challenges, successes, and opportunities that allowed me to grow in my professional roles and take on increased responsibilities that support student learning and development. although my professional titles have changed over the years, my student affairs professional identity continues to shape my perceptions of my role as “helper”. i used personal narrative in this article to provide an in-depth understanding of the ways i was socialised into the student affairs profession. my reflection is based on my perspectives of an american student affairs practitioner who has worked in higher education in the united states. i continue to work to increase my cultural awareness, knowledge and skills through study-abroad projects in south africa and with international educational partnerships in higher education. while i have been able to make meaning of my experiences that have been relevant to my personal and professional development, i recognise that my subjective experiences may be biased based on my own limitations in interpreting my reality. my experiences and the way that i have made meaning from my interactions with others may not be generalisable to practitioners working in differing educational settings both locally and abroad. as the foundation of student affairs has become more well defined, and the profession is now internationalised, it may be interesting to explore the lived experiences of students who more recently have chosen student affairs as their profession. what were the key socialisation processes and what factors contributed to the development of professional identity? also, it may be interesting to examine whether there are similarities or differences in the lived experiences of student affairs professionals in different types of institutional settings. exploring the relationship between dimensions of personal identity (race, gender, 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 39–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.5 sexual orientation, etc.) and socialisation into the profession may also help to identify how meaning is made from one’s lived experiences. references acpa/naspa professional competencies for student affairs educators (2015). washington, dc: authors. bresciani, m. 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(2011). developing intercultural competence in future student affairs professionals through a graduate student global study course to doha, qatar. catholic education: a journal of inquiry and practice, 44, 463–486. hirschy, a.s., wilson, m.e., liddell, d.l., boyle, k.m. & pasquesi, k. (2015). socialization to student affairs: early career experiences associated with professional identity development. journal of college student development, 56, 777–793. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0087 kortegast, c.a. & boisfontaine, m.t. (2015). beyond “it was good”: students’ post-study abroad practices for negotiating meaning. journal of college student development, 56, 812–828. https://doi. org/10.1353/csd.2015.0091 pope, r.l. & reynolds, a.l. (1997). student affairs core competences: integrating multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills. journal of college student development, 38, 266–277. reynolds, a.l. (2009). helping college students: developing essential support skills for student affairs practice. san francisco, ca: jossey bass. schwandt, t.a. (2007). the sage dictionary of qualitative inquiry (3rd ed.). thousand oaks, ca: sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412986281 tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south africa lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2, 5–28. https://doi. org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 wilson, m.e., liddell, d.l., hirschy, a.s. & pasquesi, k. (2016). professional identity, career commitment, and career entrenchment of midlevel student affairs professionals. journal of college student development, 57, 557–572. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0059 united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programs and services. paris, france: unesco. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.37119873703 http://www.aornjournal.org/article/s0001-2092(06)61812-7/abstract http://www.aornjournal.org/article/s0001-2092(06)61812-7/abstract https://doi.org/10.1016/s0001-2092(06)61812-7 https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0087 https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0091 https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0091 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412986281 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0059 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 253-255 | 2307-6267   247 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds call for papers journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) 2023 towards engaged and student-centred african universities guest editors: prof. thierry m. luescher (hsrc/nmu) & dr somarie holtzhausen (ufs) in collaboration with prof. andre keet (nmu) & dr bernadette johnson (wits) how does an engaged, student-centred african university look? what theories and practices, implicit and explicit, are characteristic of engaged, student-centred universities relevant to the african context? in the context of the ongoing expansion of higher education in south africa and africa, student interventions to advance transformation and decolonisation, and the recent experience of the covid-19 pandemic, disruption, innovation, and complexity have greatly intensified in higher education. the increasingly hy-f lex provision of education further requires the centring of students and student support and other aspects of student success; it places technology-based learning and development in the spotlight and at the centre of the university; and it prompts a renewed commitment to the social responsiveness of the university, its embeddedness within local communities, anchoring role in its location, and overall progressive role in advancing development and social justice. understanding how these complex demands involved in notions of engagement and student-centredness interact with the leadership and management of universities, student affairs, and student development and success, what critical interventions and concrete experiences have been observed, and how they may be relevant to the development of engaged and student-centred african universities, are crucial dimensions of the current conversation in student affairs in africa. this guest-edited issue of the journal of student affairs in africa ( jsaa) is edited and published in association with universities south africa (usaf ) and the south african council on higher education (che). the issue builds on the joint usaf/che national higher education conferences of 2021 and 2022. the usaf/che national higher education conference of october 2021 focused on “the engaged university” and for 2022, the usaf/che higher education conference focused on “studentcentred higher education”. the proposed jsaa guest-edited issue will source papers primarily, but not only, from the two usaf/che conferences. other research-based papers that fit the topic of the guest-edited issue will also be considered. the papers for the jsaa guest-edited issue may be theoretical, empirical and case studies or practice-relevant ref lective contributions broadly dealing with the student affairs and relevant dimensions of university community engagement and studenthttp://www.jsaa.ac.za 248   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 253-255 | 2307-6267 centredness. the following provides a select list of student affairs topics within the scope of this jsaa issue: • student civic engagement, volunteerism, give-back • community engagement, social responsiveness, university anchoring • citizenship development, student leadership development, student movement • student governance, student organisations, student life • career development, entrepreneurship development • student development theory, student engagement, student experiences • higher education funding, student finances and financial aid • student communities, student living and learning • disability, diversity and inclusion • equity and social and epistemological access • student life cycle, student orientation, student transitions, transitions to livelihoods furthermore, the editors invite contributions that particularly advance african theory development and practice-relevant knowledge of student affairs in africa with respect to: • critical and theorical explorations and engagements with the notions of the african university, community engagement, student-centredness, and related notions • decolonial, intersectional, and fallist deconstructions and critiques of, and contributions to notions of engagement, student-centredness, the african university, social responsiveness, community engagement and related notions. about jsaa jsaa is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and ref lective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in african higher education. jsaa is published twice a year by the jsaa editorial executive in collaboration with the university of pretoria and african minds (publisher). the journal is full-text hosted on the website of the university of pretoria at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa, as well as co-hosted by ajol, doaj, and eric, and indexed in international indices including base, infobase index, worldcat libraries, sherpa/romeo, and google scholar. jsaa has an ibi factor of 2.2 (2019). jsaa is accredited by the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) as a subsidy-earning journal on the sa list of scholarly journals. authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa prof. thierry m. luescher, dr somarie holtzhausen, prof. andre keet & dr bernadette johnson: journal of student …   249 submission process and important dates abstract proposals (ca. 500 words): 28 february 2023 response on abstracts to authors: 31 march 2023 full papers due for editorial vetting and peer review: 15 june 2023 responses from editors/peer review process: 15 june – 31 july 2023 revisions from authors: 31 august 2023 galley proofs: 15 november 23 publication of guest-edited issue ( jsaa vol. 11, issue 2): december 2023 jsaa uses apa7 referencing style. please consult the jsaa author guidelines for information about formatting etc. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/ submissions please direct any queries and submit abstracts by email to: dr somarie holtzhausen, holtzhsm@ufs.ac.za https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions mailto:holtzhsm@ufs.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 101–103 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.149 www.jsaa.ac.za bitzer, e. (ed.). (2009) higher education in south africa: a scholarly look behind the scenes. stellenbosch: sun press. reviewed by annsilla nyar book review * director, south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition email: anyar@uj.ac.za it may be asked why a book on higher education in south africa, published in 2009, is included for review in a 2016 edition of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa). there are a couple of reasons why this book merits a review in 2016. many of the chapters in the book provide contextualisation of issues covered in this sanrc fye special edition of the jsaa. another reason for reviewing the book is that the book in its entirety allows for some critical thoughts on burning issues animating the field of higher education in south africa and the extent to which the content of the book, being a text on higher education, does justice to them. this is of particular relevance given the current proliferation of student protest and the turbulent state of south africa’s higher education environment. this book can be used as a useful resource for all education scholars and practitioners. any reader, whether a layperson or higher education specialist, is bound to appreciate the ‘scholarly behind the scenes’ perspective of the field. it is particularly appealing because of its line-up of diverse contributors, some of whom are key figures in south africa’s higher education sector and have the necessary gravitas to ‘sell’ the book. it is divided into six thematic sections: higher education policy; normative and epistemological issues; teaching, learning and the curriculum; professional development; structures and governance in higher education; and higher education research agendas. the different contributions are well arranged to reflect this structure. in terms of thematic coverage, it is certainly not expected that a single text on higher education in south africa can do justice to the multiplicity of debates and issues animating the sector or comprehensively analyse every aspect of higher education. to this end, a study of the state of higher education over the two decades of democracy in south africa is currently underway under the auspices of the council on higher education (che); the che report is expected to be published in 2016. however, when a book covers relatively sprawling academic terrain, it is always a curious matter to see how a reasonably balanced coverage of all the diverse issues under its ambit is ultimately achieved. therefore, it is a 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 101–103 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.149 point of concern that the book robustly embraces some key issues and concerns in the field of higher education in south africa (policy analysis, the kinds of knowledge being produced, curriculum design, etc.) and underplays others (student access and success, affordable education and concerns about the kinds of graduates exiting the system). for the purposes of the work of the south african national resource centre for the firstyear experience and students in transition (sanrc) in promoting student retention and success, specifically in the first year of study, a focus on the matter of student success would have been a welcome addition to the book. the centrality of the matter of student success to higher education in south africa is exemplified in educational wastage statistics in terms of dropping out, non-completion and delayed completion of degrees. these statistics represent a tragic loss of human potential that has been lost to south africa and underline the sanrc’s contention that issues of student success should rightly be at the centre of south africa’s higher education agenda. the matter of student success is scarcely addressed in the book. it is also curious that the concept of transformation, within which the matter of student success is deeply embedded, is not fully critically examined in the book. it is difficult to escape the salience of transformation and its relationship to matters of race and racism in the higher education sector, the realities of which continue to rage and fester to varying intensities in the national higher education environment and manifest in the form of waves of disruptive, and often violent, student protests in south africa’s universities. some space could have been allotted within the book to matters of student finance and the pressures faced by universities to make university education affordable to students. more broadly, the overall content of the book would have benefited from some conceptual direction as to the current and future path of transformation in higher education in south africa, as well as key exigencies such as the need to eliminate discrimination, change the demographic make-up of the academy, increase affordability and implement institutional cultures that are not alienating for black students. it is understood that changing demographics, improving pass rates and graduation rates, and pursuing and achieving race, gender and disability equity goals are important aspects of transformation. however, transformation is a much more expansive phenomenon, connecting to every aspect of the higher education environment, and a book on higher education in south african cannot hope to escape such complex, fraught and perhaps intractable issues and debates. there are some chapters in the book that address the issue of transformation, albeit in different ways, such as jansen’s dense and challenging chapter on the curriculum (“the curriculum as an institution in higher education”) and leibowitz’s insightful argument about positioning teaching and learning from a social justice perspective (“towards a pedagogy of possibility: teaching and learning from a social justice perspective”). however, the matter of transformation, and/or race, is not explicitly drawn out at any point in the book. a positioning for the issue could have been well located in le grange’s contribution about the space of transformation and “supercomplexity” (barnett, 2000) in which the contemporary south african university is currently located. le grange usefully critiques the kinds of knowledge being produced in south africa’s universities, but limits the analysis annsilla nyar: higher education in south africa 103 of transformation to that of the processes of research and journal publication. a single chapter that engages with ontological and epistemological issues in all their complexity – and the consequent implications for research, methodology, scholarship, learning and teaching curriculum and pedagogy – would have been a welcome addition to this book. in summary, the relative absence of important areas of analysis in the collection of contributions divests the book of a contemporary feel in terms of the broader contexts and concerns in which it places itself and perhaps even speaks to some blind spots within the academy itself. is higher education scholarship perhaps missing the mark in some ways? key scholarship in the field of higher education in south africa ought to be grappling with some of the most important challenges of the time, for example making university education affordable for south africa’s students and ensuring that educational success is within the reach of every student. the sense of higher education as a site of contestation and struggle is not fully reflected within the book, detracting in some ways from a balanced treatment of the field of higher education in south africa. reference barnett, r. (2000). realising the university in an age of supercomplexity. buckingham: open university press. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, vii–ix | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2477 vii www.jsaa.ac.za guest editorial special guest iasas edition: issues and challenges in student affairs and services around the world kathleen callahan* & chinedu mba** * dr kathleen callahan is lecturer for leadership studies at christopher newport university. email: kathleen.callahan@cnu.edu ** chinedu mba is english as a second language/english for academic purposes professor at algonquin college, ontario, canada. she also serves as student advisor and as member of the college’s academic advising steering committee. the mission of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) is to serve “as a global advocate for students in higher education, student affairs and services practitioners, and the profession itself ” (iasas, 2017). it seems appropriate that the special edition of jsaa focuses on issues and challenges in student affairs and services around the world. iasas was formed from the awareness of and need for a global network for student affairs and services. it was in the mid-90s that the leadership in professional associations and institutions, along with key individuals, began to recognise a need for growth. it was the leadership within iasas, specifically roger ludeman and his colleagues, who pushed for dialogue, connection, and networking around the world. since its establishment and the recognition of the internationalisation of higher education, we have seen an increase in literature, meetings, presentations, and a general interest in global issues within the field of student affairs and services. global professional organisations such as iasas are providing a space for professionals to engage with one another, to share common issues and concerns, and to dialogue with colleagues around the world. events such as the global summits that have taken place over the past few years and other national, regional, and international professional conferences are allowing the sharing of knowledge, ideas, and best practices. moreover, with journals such as jsaa, the field of student affairs and services is starting to hear more voices of professionals, and learn of both common and new issues and challenges within the field around the world. due to this growing shift in perspective, this issue highlights a few of those challenges as well as providing reviews of resources available to better our own understandings of student affairs and services around the world, and how we support our students. authors in this issue as well as scholars are discussing the topic of professionalisation, training of student affairs staff, and the continual emphasis on students. we received submissions from south africa, botswana, china, and the usa with a total of five articles and three reviews of seminal works. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:kathleen.callahan%40cnu.edu?subject= viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, vii–ix | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2477 these articles not only bring thought-provoking and original viewpoints to discourse on the practice of student affairs, they promote and stimulate new dialogue around these topics, especially in developing contexts. in their paper ‘professionalisation of student affairs educators in china: history, challenges, and solutions’, yongshan li and yuanyuan fang address issues of the apparent lack of a consensus on the required professional training/background of student advisors in universities and its effect on the profession; the roles of government and institutions, and applicability of north american theories and practices in china and other countries with different socio-political realities. the second article ‘advocating for standards in student affairs departments in african institutions: university of botswana experience’, by barbra pansiri and refilwe p. sinkamba of the university of botswana, underscores the benefits of having standards and functioning professional associations. the authors argue that ‘quality assurance’ should not be left to academic programmes but should be required of other units in institutions. according to them, the absence of professional associations responsible for accreditation and regulation of practice has been identified as a key challenge in botswana, thus requiring student affairs practitioners in tertiary institutions to constantly have to defend their role and importance in the student success cycle. from the usa, maria martinez and kevin colaner submitted a paper which has broader applications for institutions with different psychosocial and socio-political realities. their article which explores themes around the experiences of east asian international students in english-speaking countries suggests that the increasing diversity of student population in tertiary institutions has made meeting students’ needs more complex and complicated. they identify factors (psycho-social, institutional, socio-economic and linguistic) that affect students’. the case of east asian students as a case in point reaffirms the importance of role clarification, standards, and professionalism in serving international students well. another submission with equally global applicability is that submitted by munita dunn-coetzee and magda fourie-malherbe. titled ‘promoting social change amongst students in higher education: a reflection on the listen, live, and learn senior student housing initiative at stellenbosch university’, this submission shares an innovative initiative at the stellenbosch university, which demonstrates one of the institution’s more tangible efforts at addressing the struggle around access, success, and transformation. the listen, live and learn (lll) initiative is one way of becoming more relevant and participating more actively in graduating empowered citizens ready to contribute to building south africa. the final article comes from university of the witwatersrand. written by danie de klerk, linda spark, andrew jones and tshepiso maleswena, the paper ‘paving the road to success: reflecting critically on year one of an undergraduate student support programme at a large south african university’ is a reflective piece on the creation, execution, and results of a holistic student success intervention programme. like the others, the authors have very interesting and relevant content that add value to the discourse. the first review comes from an important contribution to the literature from editors roberts and komives entitled enhancing student learning and development in cross-border higher education. the second review is the second edition of supporting students globally in kathleen callahan & chinedu mba: issues and challenges in student affairs and services ... ix higher education from editors osfield, perozzi, bardill moscaritolo, and shea. this follows the first edition published 10 years ago in one of the first books published on the topic of internationalisation of student affairs and services. next, a review of the first volume of the asia-pacific journal for student affairs: the official journal of the philippine association of administrators of student affairs (paasa). and finally, this issue includes a reflection on the third global summit of student affairs and services that took place in south africa in 2016. we truly want to thank jsaa for allowing this guest edition and providing a wonderful publication that allows scholars and practitioners from around the world to contribute in meaningful work. and the authors for submitting thoughtful research and reflections that can contribute to a gap in the literature in many topical areas within student affairs and higher education. references iasas (international association of student affairs and services). (2017). about iasas. retrieved from http://iasas.global/aboutiasas/ http://iasas.global/aboutiasas/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 83–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.94 www.jsaa.ac.za internationalisation and the role for student affairs professionals: lessons learned from the international student engagement meeting initiative allen m. mcfarlane* reflective practice * allen m. mcfarlane is assistant vice-president for outreach & engagement, new york university, usa. email: amm1@nyu.edu. internationalisation in higher education is not new; as past studies indicate, it dates back to the beginning of formal higher education (bhandari & blumenthal, 2013, guruz, 2011). what is new is that it has intensified and, as a result, a growing number of universities and colleges in countries around the world are developing plans to increase international student enrolment. universities around the globe are thinking strategically about how best to attract and graduate international students, as reported in university world news and the chronicle of higher education. in fact, at the african higher education summit, claudia costin of the world bank said that, ‘higher education is growing globally and they are highest in africa.’ professional associations such as the nafsa: association of international student educators have long provided a forum for professional engagement and best practice with still more new emerging organisations that include the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). in the us, according to the institute of international education (2014) open doors report, almost 900 000 international students enrolled at colleges and universities. this number represents an 8% increase from 2012. this reflection piece presents some of the lessons learned from an initiative at new york university (nyu) that could be used by other student affairs professionals in other parts of the world, including africa. the vision and motivation to embark on such a path have been inspired, in part, by three major developments in higher education. the first and most recent has been the growth of the university by expanding its reach outside its own confines, extending its borders, and reaching across boundaries, as we have done at new york university with the establishment of two branch campuses in shanghai, china, and in abu dhabi, united arab emirates. the concept, albeit not new, has been elevated with the creation of stand-alone facilities, a defined school identity, and common-ground government partnerships. this is not common among universities in africa, even though the university of south africa has always operated beyond its country’s borders owing to the nature of its 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 83–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.94 programme offerings, and there is potential for other institutions to do the same, even if it is within the african continent. the second major development is the push for international student enrolment at home institutions, and this is encouraged among african universities through numerous agreements such as the establishment of the pan african university as well as the southern african development community (sadc) protocol on education and training. universities’ desire to create and implement proactive plans to increase international student enrolment in an effort to build a global community of learners and global citizens has taken on a sense of urgency. and, finally, it is no surprise that international student enrolment is indeed a source of revenue that remains hotly debated as a rationale for recruitment. the results of increasing revenue by way of an enrolment strategy devoid of strategic and shared outcomes for student affairs, campus stakeholders and, ultimately, the international student would be an opportunity lost by the institution. the tragedy would have a multitude of consequences, for example, it would be a failing in what we know and continue to discover with respect to the deliberate and determined mindset of international students studying in countries other than their own. new york university has committed to an increase in international student enrolment. in 2014, about 18% of our incoming undergraduate student body of 5 000 students is international. students come to our campus from more than 100 countries. the rise in enrolment at the nyu campus presents challenges and opportunities. as caretakers of students’ educational experience, institutions must address and embrace a greater level of expectation and engagement in order to positively affect student satisfaction. the options to engage in activities that affirm aspects of their cultural identity, introduce and broaden intercultural experiences, and provide resources to meet student needs will be a feature and responsibility of student affairs and services. when considering what is at stake in how we engage and support our international students, i am reminded of gordon brown, former prime minister of the united kingdom, speaking at nyu in his new role as distinguished global leader in residence in 2013. brown said that governments must think more about instituting or cultivating a ‘global dimension’. brown was questioning the motivation and the outcome of governments in their commitment and level of engagement to solve the world’s problems. he believes institutions of higher learning can and will play a huge role in how we help prepare our students to lead in a world that is fraught with challenges and unrealised potential that cross all of our borders (brown, 2013). where institutions enrol international students, inevitably such students will encounter student affairs programming, personnel and policies, and unbeknownst to the student, student affairs is charged with ensuring that the out-of-classroom experience, a student’s development, campus life and related activities complement the rigor and expectations of the classroom, the parish, county, province, village, town or city, and nation where the school resides. in preparation for an influx of international students at nyu new york1, including serving as a study-away site for enrolled nyu shanghai and nyu abu dhabi branch campus students, the university knew that being proactive in steps to position itself to discover the goals, motivation and challenges of new first-year students and transfer allen m. mcfarlane: internationalisation and the role for student affairs professionals 85 undergraduate international students enrolling at nyu new york would guide our thinking, and approaches and manage the complexity of student transition and mobility. finally, the university decided to place emphasis on being thoughtful and strive for innovation as well. as an institution, to think more intentionally about how to build a campus community with strong cross-cultural student engagement and highly developed intercultural competence is essential. the hope is that such an environment would lead to a transformative experience. the rise in enrolment at the nyu campus presents a multitude of challenges and opportunities. nyu student affairs has been proactive in addressing this change. the institution was concerned with how well prepared it was in the student affairs section of the university to manage the change in the student body. questions raised included how student affairs professionals would remain a step ahead and prepared to ensure a smooth and successful student transition to a new campus, climate, country and culture. what can we create, implement and learn that will help international students meet their goals for a total campus and community experience? what information and feedback are needed for thoughtful and well-informed practitioners? these and broader questions resulted in the establishment of the nyu division of student affairs international student engagement meeting initiative. approach launched in 2012, the international student  engagement meeting initiative includes conversations with approximately 800 international  students. i met with undergraduate first-year students and transfer students individually. we designed this project to include 20-minute individual appointments with a senior student affairs professional who was not a staff member of the international student affairs office (i.e. the nyu office of global services). additionally, this approach, to entrust this assignment to a colleague outside the international student office, was in direct response to the growing chorus that the responsibility of the international student office should be a campus-wide endeavour that exists in all corners of the institution. the questions i asked during the student meetings were designed in partnership and collaboration with the nyu division of student affairs, office of research and assessment. students responded to questions that addressed why nyu and new york city became their destination of choice, and the current state of their transition with regard to classes, friendships, activities and challenges. in addition, students were encouraged to ask questions and make recommendations to address current needs in support of their academic and student life goals. the students asked whether the meeting was mandatory. we were upfront and direct about the fact that the initiative was not compulsory. i explained that the meetings were an opportunity to share what is important to them at the present stage of their transition and goals. the meetings were intended as a moment to share information and make referrals, if needed, to a variety of resources, units, and personnel in support of their transition and needs. the final question asked of students is introduced at the beginning of each meeting as part of the introduction. i would ask if there is anything that they recommend that the university address to assist in their transition? in order to use time with students efficiently, 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 83–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.94 responses were recorded by using an ipad that captured responses for summary and analysis by the nyu division of student affairs, office of research and assessment. finally, i informed the students that their participation would result in the creation of a year-end report and recommendations submitted to the senior vice-president for student affairs. the project: the international student engagement meeting initiative at first glance, the nyu international student engagement meeting initiative may appear to be a complex strategic method. in reality, it was an earnest desire to learn what was on the minds of our new international students. our curiosity took hold, for it allows us to envision how what we learn can help us indeed manage the complexity that institutions hope will lead to a vibrant campus. we were concerned about the transition, adjustment and acculturation of our students. with the latest information in support of existing programmes, shortand long-term goals, and creating new initiatives, change, which is inevitable, could be managed. further, we wanted our colleagues in student affairs to have the latest knowledge on what our international students were thinking and experiencing as a source of support specific to a school, department and/or unit. we wanted to think about this as a project that could inform what we already knew about first-year students’ transition to college. from the outset, it was critical and essential to welcome our international students in a personal and thoughtful way, and with a focused intentionality, in order to better understand their goals, concerns and ideas about how we can make nyu a better place. with several goals and objectives in mind, the division of student affairs wanted to establish a welcoming experience that offered a more personal touch for students. in this way, we could discover personal goals and objectives the students had in mind for their time at nyu. the meeting could shed light on why they chose to come to nyu and new york city and position the university to respond quickly to any challenges they may have encountered. we could learn about challenges, career interests, academic pursuits, and their unique identity and global mobility experience. the lessons i learned from the project are outlined in 15 key areas. these areas provide a type of roadmap for the future of international student outreach and transition to college. the lessons reveal what mattered in the heart and mind of the international student, identified how we in student affairs should direct resources, enhance programme development, review policy, manage expectations, establish collaboration and improve the intercultural competence of staff, students, faculty and administrators. 1. international student community building on campus • establish campus traditions intended for international student community-building that utilise country and international region to foster connecting. the interest and recommendation of international students to meet other international students from their home country (and city/town) was a recurring theme in the student meetings. students are clear that this suggestion is not an attempt to become isolated but serves more as a bridge to transitioning to the new campus and new york city. allen m. mcfarlane: internationalisation and the role for student affairs professionals 87 students view the interaction as an opportunity not only to meet other students, but also, in particular, to meet upperclassmen who could be a source for developing informal mentoring and gaining knowledge from their experience. 2. cultivating friendships between international and domestic students • create co-curricular programming with outcomes that address friendship-building and networking. place emphasis on the spaces that students currently cite as the best places to make friends (classes, residences and clubs). international students are very interested in meeting and becoming friendly with domestic students. friendships are critically important and serve as a gauge for international students as to how well they are transitioning and functioning in their new environments. additionally, there is an awareness expressed by international students that domestic students are comfortable in the us yet overwhelmed by their own adjustment to college life. meeting an international student offers a complexity for domestic students in that domestic students, display a lack of competence or comfort level on which to engage (even mispronouncing a student’s name can alter first impressions). further, we have unintentionally labelled international students as educational transients and not as a vibrant and diverse community of fellow scholars and potential friends and networks. 3. intercultural competence and community building • for consistency, clarity, and unity, investigate the establishment of terms and definitions for intercultural competence at your institution. social norms, customs, behaviours and daily-living skills present a range of difficulties in the ways students engage one another in residences, classrooms, co-curricular activities and campus environments. acknowledging the diversity among residents is important, but cultivating a supportive and respected environment gets high marks from international students. there is the concern of offending a student (especially a domestic student) through a bias act or comment, thereby effectively derailing a student’s ability to establish friendships. additionally, defining terms such as social justice, human rights, community service, and diversity is where international students want to gain understanding. finally, a best practice that emerged was the mention of model united nations. students cited its success in bringing students from global backgrounds together, and those same students were planning on joining or have already joined, the model united nations student organisation at nyu. 4. academic advisement services • self-review of school policy, information, and outreach about high school/post-high school credit acceptance and communication with an academic advisor. academic advisors are, in many ways, first responders by way of an introduction to the 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 83–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.94 norms of academic choice and the fulfilling of requirements. be mindful, for themes may emerge that reveal the frustration with the process of acceptance of high school academic credit and/or post-high school credit for college. students find themselves caught in the middle because a conflict arises from the policies of the students’ schools in their home countries, a conflict which can last for months. in addition, most international students plan to study abroad. the result will place greater demands on academic advising to meet student expectations in providing a seamless and global academic experience. 5. mentorship from upperclassmen • create mentoring options for students. criteria for matching should place emphasis on transition, shared interests, adjustment, and home country/region/continent. international students have expressed the desire to have a mentor to enable them to navigate and become acquainted with their new surroundings. it appears that the peak time when mentoring is needed most is during the first semester after arrival. students have recommended that mentors be international upperclassmen or students trained in helping other students to transition to campus life. 6. career development, student health and wellness • the complexity of searching for employment, beginning especially with internships and remaining in compliance with us federal policies and the requirements of international student services offices, is confounding for many students. collaboration between the international student office, career development, and the study-abroad office can present a united front to help students understand the processes involved in a consistent way. for international students, minimising the challenge of having to visit several offices, and attend various programmes and sessions, would be liberating. collaboration may also offer units a way to maximise staff time and student participation. for further insights, i recommend the article published by my colleagues in the naspa leadership exchange magazine entitled international influx: student services go global (spring 2015). 9. dining services, options and schedule • dining services: investigate keeping facilities open and/or extending the hours during holidays in the fall, spring and winter breaks. with the increase in international students remaining on college campuses during the holidays, requests for extending hours and dates to cover these periods will be on the rise. additionally, there will be an increase in demand for a ‘taste of home’ by way of menu items and a variety of healthy food choices. finally, holiday home-stays (thanksgiving, us), with allen m. mcfarlane: internationalisation and the role for student affairs professionals 89 international students spending a portion of a holiday with domestic families will grow in demand, creating a shortage of families available. 10. international student transition consulting services • offer direct consultation to departments, units and committees at your university. as a result of the international student meetings, information learned is shared with a variety of units, departments and initiatives charged with the internationalisation of the campus. for example, at nyu, there was: an internationalizing washington square committee; the center for multicultural education & programmes: act institute (administrators cultural training institute) programme for staff intercultural competence training; the nyu student affairs staff development committee, and, of course, the office of global services (i.e. the international student services and scholars unit); and nyu schools that range in specialty from business to engineering and education. 12. financial aid • address the growing interest in financial aid, grants and scholarships. create resources and easy access to information and advisement. students in need of financial aid and other forms of monetary support will increasingly look to their university to provide the resources. the issue could become a source of frustration and be contradictory to the university’s mission if international students are excluded from forms of aid, but are expected to be full-fledged members of your global student community. clarity of services, awareness of shifting global economies, up-to-date information, new sources, and sensitivity are paramount when an international student is seeking financial aid. 13. the classroom, culture and environment • arrange tutorials, webinars and events that describe the classroom culture at your institution. students have commented that, if they knew more about how the us classroom functions, in advance of their first class, this might have decreased their anxiety and provided them with an advance look at what to expect and how to prepare. this service could prove to be an important tool in support of international student adjustment to the classroom culture and norms and create a foundation for making friends. for innovative ideas and resources, nafsa: the association for international educators is an essential source of best practices. 14. diversity in china • yes, there is diversity in china, india, canada, and peru… 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 83–91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.94 the countries that send the most international students to new york university are china, india, south korea and canada. when the topic of diversity in china was raised with a student from china, she raised her hands in agreement! there is a difference between citizens of shenzhen and beijing, boston and new york. (bostonians just raised their eyebrows.) students living in cities and those from rural communities have a language, idioms, lingo and culture that differ in certain respects, and this is a reminder that all communities are diverse. student affairs professionals must constantly be reminded that the ‘international student’ moniker tells only part of a student’s story. as third culture children, students with identities that reflect a diversity of places of birth, cultural identity, language and where they call home tells us that where a person calls home is subjective. as student affairs professionals, how best can we consider and discover the complexity of our international students and what can that knowledge provide us with in building a respectful and engaged student community, taking full advantage of what such a community has to offer? for further reading, i recommend the 2009 unesco framework for cultural statistics. 15. communications, language and cultural acquisition • these are acute and impact the classroom, student affairs, employment interests, friendships, and academic and research pursuits. students who learn english as a second language are in dire need of understanding the culture, historical context, idioms and slang. students are eager to learn, practise and understand the language, cultural norms and etiquette in a slower-paced environment where they can receive direct support, ask questions and receive explanations. plagiarism as a result of cultural differences in the gathering, dissemination and exchange of information may indicate that increased collaboration across units is needed. as writing centres are thriving, cultural-centered activities that promote opportunities to understand a culture are less of a responsibility of international student offices. conclusion when you reflect on the journey, figuratively and literally, of international students, the moment their sights are fixed on your part of the world, your institution, is the moment that they have made a courageous choice to entrust their hopes to the vision and mission your college holds most dear. it is known to student affairs professionals that the day a student arrives on campus, being admitted and entering the hallowed halls of your institution, brings joy that we wish could be maintained throughout their academic career. in reality, this joy can wane at times, buffeted by a new-found independence as a young adult. they are in a new and often strange place that can be frightening and then exhilarating, or they can be so experienced that you have ambassadors among you who can serve as catalysts for the community goals that you seek to achieve. what i discovered and learned doing this work is that the international student engagement meeting initiative offered the student a moment to reflect, check in, ask allen m. mcfarlane: internationalisation and the role for student affairs professionals 91 questions about the big picture, and share wonderful feedback that will no doubt make nyu a better place for international students, domestic students, faculty, staff and administrator alike. endnote 1. nyu new york is an improved designation, as the university now has in its portfolio a studyaway location in washington dc, as well as several overseas campuses. references belkin, d. (2014, 17 november). chinese undergrads help set a record. the wall street journal, p. a21. bhandari, r., & blumenthal, p. (eds.). (2013). international students and global mobility in higher education: national trends and new directions. new york: palgrave macmillan. brown, g. (2013). reinventing global public service. paper presented at the nyu wagner graduate school of public service, new york university, september 23, 2013. chun-mei, z., kuh, g., & carini, r. (2005). a comparison of international student and american student engagement in effective educational practices. journal of higher education, 76(2) , pp. 209-231. fischer, k. (2012, 14 june). many foreign students are friendless in the u.s. the chronicle of higher education. retrieved june 14, 2012, from http://chronicle.com/article/many-foreignstudents-find/132275/ fischer, k. (2014, 21 april). at black colleges, internationalization raises special concerns. the chronicle of higher education-global. retrieved may 7, 2014, from http://chronicle.com/ article/at-black-colleges/146079/ guruz, k. (2011). higher education and international student mobility in the global knowledge economy: revised and updated second edition. new york: suny press. institute of international education (2014). open doors 2014. reports and data. retrieved july 18, 2015, from http://www.iie.org/en/research-and-publications/open-doors markgraf, k. (2014, 21 february). internationalizing the campus one student at a time. university world news: global edition, issue 308. retrieved march 31, 2014, from http://www. universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140218160823499 mcgregor, k. (2015, 10 april). higher education is key to development–world bank. university world news. retrieved april 13, 2015, from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article. php?story=20150409152258799 mcmurtrie, b. (2012, 12 november). china continues to drive foreign student growth in the united states. the chronicle of higher education. redden, e. (2014, 20 february). at gathering of senior international educators, the integration of international students was the theme. inside higher education. retrieved march 31, 2014, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/20/gathering-senior-international-educatorsintegration-international-students-was www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 109 research article can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale clarisse van rensburg1 & karina mostert2 1 clarisse van rensburg, jobjack, cape town, south africa. email: clarisse0206@gmail.com. orcid: 00000003-4573-6575 2 prof. karina mostert, north-west university, potchefstroom campus, south africa. email: karina.mostert@ nwu.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0001-5673-5784 article history: received 1 november 2022 | accepted 31 may 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords satisfaction with life scale, item bias, differential item functioning, measurement invariance, firstyear university students, student affairs abstract student well-being has gradually become a topic of interest in higher education, and the accurate, valid, and reliable measure of well-being constructs is crucial in the south african context. this study examined item bias and configural, metric and scalar invariance of the satisfaction with life scale (swls) for south african first-year university students. a crosssectional design was used. a sample of 780 first-year south african university students was included. confirmatory factor analysis, differential item functioning measurement invariance, and internal consistency were tested. a one-factor structure was confirmed. item 1 of the swls was particularly problematic concerning bias (uniform and non-uniform bias). measurement invariance was established; however, item 1 was again problematic, resulting in partial metric and scalar invariance. the scale was reliable (cronbach’s α was 0.83; mcdonald’s omega (ω) was 0.83). this study contributes to the limited research on the specific psychometric properties of the swls in a diverse higher education setting. the results could assist with valid and reliable measurements when developing interventions to enhance student well-being. résumé le bien-être des étudiants est progressivement devenu un sujet d’intérêt dans l’enseignement supérieur, et la mesure précise, valide et fiable des constructions liées au bien-être est cruciale dans le contexte sud-africain. cette étude a examiné le biais des items et l’invariance de la configuration, de la métrique et de l’échelle de l’échelle de satisfaction de vie (swls) pour les étudiants de première année d’université en afrique du sud. une conception transversale a été utilisée. un échantillon de 780 étudiants sud-africains de première année a été choisi. une analyse factorielle confirmatoire, le fonctionnement différentiel des items, l’invariance de mesure et la cohérence interne ont été testées. une structure à un facteur a été confirmée. l’item 1 de la swls était particulièrement problématique en termes de biais (biais uniforme et non uniforme). l’invariance de mesure a été établie ; cependant, l’item 1 était à nouveau problématique, entraînant une invariance métrique et scalaire partielle. l’échelle était fiable http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za110 mots-clés biais des items, échelle de satisfaction de vie, étudiants de première année d’université, fonctionnement différentiel des items, invariance de mesure, œuvres estudiantines, services étudiants introduction life satisfaction is an essential indicator of individual and social well-being and includes the perception that one is moving towards accomplishing significant life goals (esnaola et al., 2019; jovanović, 2019). life satisfaction is also crucial to first-year university students, as they face a period of uncertainty in which they idealise the values of their lives, prepare for the world of work, and actively explore their adult roles (gökalp & topal, 2019). studies show significant relationships between high levels of life satisfaction, taking on more responsibility, experiencing less stress and emotional loneliness and more resilience in overcoming academic challenges (gökalp & topal, 2019; rode et al., 2005). there is also a relationship between life satisfaction and satisfaction with educational experiences, healthy relationships, self-esteem (chow, 2005), engagement, motivation and study satisfaction (lewis et al., 2011; wach et al., 2016). conversely, there are also associations between low levels of life satisfaction, perceived stress, anxiety, and burnout (alleyne et al., 2010; serin et al., 2010), higher levels of impaired concentration and deteriorated academic performance (rode et al., 2005). one of the most widely used scales in assessing life satisfaction is the satisfaction with life scale (swls) (diener et al., 1985). periodic assessments are needed to accurately establish and measure well-being in the higher education sector, including measures of life satisfaction such as the swls (băcilă et al., 2014). however, various factors challenge fair psychological testing in south africa, such as the distribution of socio-economic resources, diversity in culture and language, and education and employment statuses (foxcroft & roodt, 2009). psychological testing and other similar assessments are governed in south africa by the employment equity act no. 55 of 1998, section 8 (president of the republic of south africa, 1998), which states that assessments are prohibited unless they can scientifically be shown to be reliable and valid, can be applied fairly to all ethnic groups and cultures, and are not biased against any person or group. in addition, psychological assessments in south africa are controversial due to past unfair, undiscerning, and biased use (laher & cockcroft, 2014). historically, assessment practices in south africa have been known to use measurement instruments from western countries, often without any adaptation to south africa’s multi-cultural and diverse context (blokland, 2016). consequently, the majority of south africa’s population was excluded from these assessment practices, as they tend to cater mainly for the (l’α de cronbach était de 0,83 ; l’oméga de mcdonald était de 0,83). cette étude contribue à la recherche limitée sur les propriétés psychométriques spécifiques de la swls dans un contexte diversifié d’enseignement supérieur. les résultats pourraient aider à obtenir des mesures valides et fiables lors de l’élaboration d’interventions visant à améliorer le bien-être des étudiants. van rensburg, c., & mostert, k. (2023). can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale 111 western, educated, industrialised, rich, and developed population sectors (laher & cockcroft, 2013; laher & cockcroft, 2014). therefore, questions related to test bias and equivalence are raised when applying adapted and imported measurement instruments in south africa (teresi & fleishman, 2007; van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). it is essential to distinguish between the concepts of item bias and equivalence. bias refers to the presence of annoyance factors (items invoking added abilities or traits) when making cross-group comparisons (schaap, 2011; van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). in addition, another source of bias can be test items themselves – also referred to as item bias or differential item functioning (dif) (van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). item bias signifies that the meaning of one or more scale items is not being understood identically across groups, is not applicable to a specific group or that semantic differences are present in how items are conceptualised (cleary & hilton, 1968). when respondents have the same standing on the underlying construct and are from different cultures but have different mean scores on the item, this could reflect actual differences in the construct or that item bias is present (van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). a distinction should be made between uniform and non-uniform bias. uniform bias refers to the likelihood of similar responses for one group being systematically higher or lower at specific endorsement levels (the underlying construct) compared to other groups (swaminathan & rogers, 1990; teresi & fleishman, 2007). non-uniform bias refers to the difference in the likelihood of similar answers across groups varying across all levels of endorsement (swaminathan & rogers, 1990; teresi & fleishman, 2007). the most common sources of item bias include ambiguities in the original item, poor item translation, the influence of cultural specifics (connotations or nuisance factors) associated with the wording of the item, and low appropriateness and familiarity of the item content in some cultures (van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). invariance (or equivalence) indicates whether a construct is interpreted and understood similarly across different groups, which is essential for cross-group comparisons (mellenbergh, 1989; milfont & fischer, 2010; putnick & bornstein, 2016; van de schoot et al., 2012). configural invariance indicates the extent to which the factor structure of a measure can be replicated across different groups, which is crucial for meaningful comparisons (he & van de vijver, 2012; schaap, 2011; van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). metric invariance involves equal factor loadings, across groups, for similar items (i.e. when individuals from different cultures who speak different languages complete the same questionnaire and conceptualise the construct the same way) (milfont & fisher, 2010; morton et al., 2019). scalar invariance establishes whether a test score has a similar meaning in its interpretation regardless of cultural background (he & van de vijver, 2012; laher, 2008). in essence, concerning the psychometric properties of assessment instruments, item bias and invariance testing will aid in establishing whether measures are fair to use for different sub-groups in the specific south african context (schaap, 2011). therefore, this study emphasizes the concepts of bias and invariance testing to ensure the validation of existing instruments in cross-cultural groups to ensure meaningful comparisons across sub-groups (van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za112 while scholars recently investigated the psychometric properties of the swls among south african samples, including an adult population (schutte et al., 2021) and primary and secondary school teachers (pretorius & padmanabhanunni, 2022), studies testing item bias and equivalence are limited. the present study explores the psychometric properties, specifically item bias and invariance (configural, metric and scalar), of the swls in a sample of first-year south african students. literature measurement and psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale the swls measures a single life satisfaction construct that could indicate levels of satisfaction with life throughout one’s life span (tomás et al., 2015). the scale displays favourable psychometric properties, has been validated in various countries and is translated into numerous languages, including spanish, portuguese, dutch, and german (diener et al., 1985; gouveia et al., 2009). studies testing bias and invariance for the swls are scarce and report mixed results. regarding the item bias of the swls, a study conducted on a turkish university student sample concluded that the items of the swls are unbiased across gender groups (avcu, 2021). however, hultell and gustavsson (2008) found that item 4 and item 5 are sensitive to age. with regards to configural invariance, most researchers have found the swls to be invariant across gender, age (glaesmer et al., 2011; hinz et al., 2018; lorenzo-seva et al., 2019; wu & yao, 2006), and countries such as spain and portugal (atienza gonzález et al., 2016), germany (glaesmer et al., 2011), columbia (ruiz et al., 2019), the united states, and brazil (zanon et al., 2014). however, other studies report configural invariance for gender groups, albeit not for age groups (shevlin et al., 1998; wu et al., 2009). in addition, studies report metric invariance for different age groups (pons et al., 2000; glaesmer et al., 2011), gender groups (emerson et al., 2017; hinz et al., 2018; jovanović, 2019; moksnes et al., 2014; ruiz et al., 2019), and cultures (atienza gonzález et al., 2016; emerson et al., 2017; jovanović & brdar, 2018). however, zanon et al. (2014) presented evidence against metric invariance between undergraduates from the united states and brazil, specifically for items 4 and 5. studies on the swls support the notion that scalar invariance is supported across gender groups (clench-aas et al., 2011; hultell & gustavsson, 2008; shevlin et al., 1998; zanon et al., 2014), age groups (durak et al., 2010; gouveia et al., 2009; tomás et al., 2015; wu et al., 2009), and several european countries (e.g., austria, bosnia and herzegovina, croatia, montenegro, and serbia; jovanović & brdar, 2018). however, some studies reported insufficient evidence for scalar invariance across age groups (clench-aas et al., 2011; hultell & gustavsson, 2008) and countries (atienza gonzález et al., 2016; whisman & judd, 2016). van rensburg, c., & mostert, k. (2023). can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale 113 method research procedure and participants before data collection commenced, permission was obtained from the relevant university to conduct research. an ethics application was submitted and approved, focusing specifically on anonymity, confidentiality, and voluntary participation (ethics number: nwu-hs-2014-0165). a web-based survey link was sent via email and posted on the university’s online platform for first-year modules. the study’s goal, purpose, and value to the university were explained. the sample consisted of 780 first-year students aged 18 to 20. of the 780 participants, 38.8% indicated that they spoke afrikaans, 33.1% indicated that they spoke setswana, and 6.2% indicated that they spoke sesotho (three of the eleven official language groups in south africa). the sample consisted of three campuses: campus 1 (38.3%), campus 2 (50.5%), and campus 3 (9.7%). concerning gender, 61.8% of the participants identified as women, and 38.2% identified as men. measuring instrument the swls was developed by diener and colleagues (1985) and aimed to measure a single life satisfaction construct that could indicate levels of satisfaction with life throughout one’s life span (tomás et al., 2015). participants are asked five questions (e.g. “the conditions of my life are excellent”). a seven-point likert-type scale is used, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). pavot and diener (1993) confirmed the scale’s reliability, reporting cronbach’s coefficient alphas ranging from 0.79 to 0.89. statistical analysis the statistical analyses were conducted using mplus 8.6 (muthén & muthén, 2021). before bias and invariance were tested, confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) was used to confirm the one-factor structure of the swls. maximum likelihood with robust standard errors (mlr) was used in the cfa due to the small samples in some groups to supplement the item bias analyses. the following fit indices and cut-off scores were used to estimate the measurement model’s goodness-of-fit: the traditional chi-square (χ²) statistic, the comparative fit index (cfi), the tucker-lewis index (tli), the root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) and the standardised root mean square residual (srmr). values of 0.90 and above indicate an acceptable fit for cfi and tli (byrne, 2001). regarding the rmsea scores, various researchers suggest using a cut-off score below 0.05 as the ‘golden rule of thumb’ to indicate model fit; however, values between 0.05 and 0.08 are considered to be an acceptable fit (browne & cudeck, 1993; chen et al., 2008; hu & bentler, 1999; steiger, 1989). concerning srmr, a cut-off value of 0.05 was used (browne & cudeck, 1993; hu & bentler, 1999). differential item functioning (dif) was used to test for the presence of item bias by using the lordif package (choi et al., 2011) in rstudio (https://www.rstudio.com/). the following formulas were used and compared to test for uniform and non-uniform bias, using ordinal logistic regression to generate three likelihood-ratio χ² statistics (choi et al., 2011): journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za114 model 0: logit p(uⅈ ≥ k) = αk model 1: logit p(uⅈ ≥ k) = αk + β1 * ability model 2: logit p(uⅈ ≥ k) = αk + β1 * ability + β2 * group model 3: logit p(uⅈ ≥ k) = αk + β1 * ability + β2 * group + β2 * ability * group based on the formulas mentioned above, uniform bias can be indicated with a significant difference at p < 0.01 when comparing logistic models 1 and 2 (x212; df = 1), and non-uniform bias, when comparing models 2 and 3 (x223 df = 1) (choi et al., 2011). total dif is indicated with a significant difference at p < 0.01 when comparing models 1 and 3 (x213; df = 2) (choi et al., 2011). the magnitude of dif can be quantified using the pseudo-mcfadden r2 statistic, which can be classified as either negligible (< 0.13), moderate (between 0.13 and 0.26), or large (> 0.26) (zumbo, 1999). however, dif can be under-identified by only using the pseudo-mcfadden r2 statistic (jodoin & gierl, 2001; kim et al., 2007). therefore, to identify uniform dif, the difference in the coefficient from models 1 and 2 was used – with differences of 10% indicating a practically meaningful effect (crane et al., 2004; maldonado & greenland, 1993). lower than 5% and even 1% thresholds are also considered (crane et al., 2007). in this study, a threshold of 5% was considered. measurement invariance was investigated for three different groupings: (1) language (afrikaans, sesotho, and setswana, three indigenous south african language groups), (2) campus (three campuses were included), and (3) gender (men and women). a multi-group analysis framework was used to test for the configural invariance model (analogous factor structure), metric invariance model (similar factor loadings), and scalar invariance model (similar intercepts). cfi and rmsea values were used to indicate measurement invariance. cfi is considered a good fit with values > 0.90 and better if the values are > 0.95. regarding rmsea, cut-off values of 0.05 and 0.08 are considered acceptable (van de schoot, 2012). changes in cfi (δcfi) were used as they are less susceptible to the effects of changes in df (shi et al., 2019). a δcfi value (> -0.01; that is a worsening of the model fit according to cfi) between two nested models indicates that the added group constraints have led to a poorer fit; in other words, invariance has not been achieved, and the more constrained model is rejected. additionally, it is essential to note that there are many small variances among groups regarding factor loadings or intercepts; therefore, partial measurement invariance (whether metric or scalar) can be achieved by freeing the loading or intercepts of items (cheung & rensvold, 2002; preti et al., 2013; van de schoot et al., 2015). finally, the internal consistency of the swls was determined using cronbach’s alpha coefficients (mccrae et al., 2011; revicki, 2014). values where α ≥ 0.70 were considered acceptable (nunnally, 1978). in addition, mcdonald’s omega was calculated and reported for a more accurate estimation of internal consistency (cortina et al., 2020). reliability coefficients ≥ 0.80 indicate good internal consistency (kline, 2015). van rensburg, c., & mostert, k. (2023). can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale 115 results factorial validity before dif and invariance testing, the factorial validity of the swls was tested with confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) to determine the model’s goodness-of-fit. even though it is best practice to test alternative measurement models (marsh et al., 1998), given the limited items of the swls and based on the various studies supporting the five-item swls measuring one underlying factor, a one-factor measuring model was tested in this study. also, with only five items, two factors would have one just-identified factor (3 items) and another under-identified factor (2 items). the results indicate that the unidimensional structure of the swls is deemed to be a good fit for the data (χ² = 806.844; df = 10; cfi = 0.964; tli = 0.928; rmsea = 0.086; srmr = 0.035). the cfi value was the preferred index of choice to determine goodnessof-fit (shi et al., 2019). table 1 indicates the results for the standardised loadings of the items for the latent variables of the swls. table 1: standardised factor loadings for the latent variables of the swls item item text loading s.e. p item 1 in most ways my life is close to my ideal 0.543 0.037 0.001 item 2 the conditions of my life are excellent 0.831 0.024 0.001 item 3 i am satisfied with my life 0.879 0.016 0.001 item 4 so far i have gotten the important things i want in life 0.684 0.031 0.001 item 5 if i could live my life over, i would change almost nothing 0.533 0.035 0.001 notes: s.e. = standard error; all p-values < 0.001 factor loadings (λ) can either be classified as high (0.70), medium (0.50), or small ( 0.30) (shevlin et al., 1998). the results show that the factor loadings for the swls ranged from medium to high. item bias dif was used to determine the item bias of the swls. uniform and non-uniform bias were tested across different language, campus, and gender groups. table 2 indicates the dif of the swls. table 2 indicates that item 1 was problematic for language and campus groups, and item 3 for language groups. no dif was detected across gender groups. table 2 shows that item 1 has uniform, non-uniform and total bias, based on the likelihood-ratio χ² difference testing across models 1, 2 and 3 (p < 0.01). figure 1 illustrates the bias present in item 1 across the different language groups. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za116 table 2: summary of dif for the swls group item x212 x 2 13 x 2 23 β1 r 2 12 r 2 13 r 2 23 language item 1 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.2085 0.0673 0.0893 0.0220 item 2 0.7623 0.7867 0.5545 0.0030 0.0003 0.0011 0.0007 item 3 0.0000 0.0000 0.1010 0.0483 0.0135 0.0160 0.0025 item 4 0.6712 0.1448 0.0488 0.0020 0.0004 0.0036 0.0032 item 5 0.5904 0.7034 0.5706 0.0063 0.0005 0.0010 0.0005 campus item 1 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.1201 0.0459 0.0627 0.0167 item 2 0.6982 0.8404 0.7035 0.0001 0.0004 0.0008 0.0004 item 3 0.1220 0.2405 0.5263 0.0102 0.0031 0.0041 0.0010 item 4 0.4245 0.7227 0.8363 0.0013 0.0013 0.0016 0.0003 item 5 0.0446 0.1706 0.9105 0.0051 0.0037 0.0039 0.0001 gender item 1 0.0823 0.0202 0.0287 0.0052 0.0015 0.0038 0.0023 item 2 0.6606 0.8625 0.7482 0.0000 0.0001 0.0001 0.0000 item 3 0.9325 0.4037 0.1789 0.0000 0.0000 0.0008 0.0008 item 4 0.9949 0.9358 0.7158 0.0000 0.0000 0.0001 0.0001 item 5 0.0239 0.0772 0.8894 0.0004 0.0021 0.0021 0.0000 notes: = chi-square of model 1 compared to model 2; x 213 = chi-square of model 1 compared to model 3; x 223 = chi-square of model 2 compared to model 3; β1 = change in beta coefficient; r212 = pseudo-mcfadden r 2 of model 1 compared to model 2; r 213 = pseudo-mcfadden r 2 of model 1 compared to model 3; r223 = pseudo-mcfadden r 2 of model 2 compared to model 3 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 it em s co re theta pr(χ212,2) = 0, r 2 12 = 0.0673, δ(β1) = 0.2085 pr(χ213,4) = 0, r 2 13 = 0.0893 pr(χ223,2) = 0, r 2 23 = 0.022 afr sot tsw item true score functions – item 1 -2-4 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 it em s co re theta differences in item true score functions -2-4 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 pr ob ab ili ty theta item response functions -2-4 2.37, 0.33, 1.54 1.2, -0.58, 1.48 0.96, -0.86, 1.13 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 si ze theta impact (weighted by density) -2-4 figure 1: graphical display of item 1, which shows uniform and non-uniform dif for language groups van rensburg, c., & mostert, k. (2023). can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale 117 the top left plot in figure 1 indicates the item-true score functions based on groupspecific item parameter estimates. the slope of the function for the afrikaans group was significantly higher than that of the sesotho and setswana groups, indicating non-uniform dif. the bottom left plot in figure 1 compared the item response functions across the three language groups, which are noticeably different between the three language groups. the expected impact of dif on scores is indicated by the top left plot in figure 1 as the absolute difference between the item true-score functions (kim et al., 2007). a difference can be seen at approximately = 0.50; however, the densityweighted impact (as indicated by the bottom right plot) can be interpreted as small. even though the effect of bias can be regarded as small when taking the pseudo-mcfadden r2 statistics (r2 < 0.13) into account, the change in beta coefficient is larger than 5% ( = 20.85%), suggesting the effect is practically meaningful. item 1 was also problematic for campus groups. based on the results in table 2 and the plots in figure 2, all likelihood-ratio χ² tests were statistically significant (< 0.01; < 0.01; < 0.01), which indicates the presence of both uniform and non-uniform dif. similar to the results for dif between language groups, the results in table 2 and the graphs in figure 2 demonstrate that even though the impact of bias can be regarded as small (pseudo-mcfadden r2 statistics < 0.13), the change in the beta coefficient ( = 12.01%) indicates that the impact of the bias has a practically meaningful effect. in addition, statistically significant bias was detected in item 3 (figure 3) across the different language groups, with significant likelihood ratio χ² tests when comparing models 1 and 2 ( < 0.01) and models 1 and 3 ( < 0.01), indicating mainly uniform bias. noticeable differences between the language groups can be seen in the plots. however, 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 it em s co re theta pr(χ212,2) = 0, r 2 12 = 0.0459, δ(β1) = 0.1201 pr(χ213,4) = 0, r 2 13 = 0.0627 pr(χ223,2) = 0, r 2 23 = 0.167 afr sot tsw item true score functions – item 1 -2-4 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 it em s co re theta differences in item true score functions -2-4 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 pr ob ab ili ty theta item response functions -2-4 1.03, -0.79, 1.23 2.22, 0.18, 1.47 1.23, -0.03, 1.37 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 si ze theta impact (weighted by density) -2-4 figure 2: graphical display of item 1, which shows uniform and non-uniform dif for campus groups journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za118 regarding the magnitude of these items, the density-weighted impact seen in the bottom right plot and pseudo-mcfadden r2 statistic values < 0.13 and δβ1 coefficient smaller than 5% indicate that the significant practical effect is negligible. measurement invariance table 3 shows the measurement invariance across the language, campus, and gender groups included in this study. table 3: summary of measurement invariance analysis for the swls group χ2 df cfi δcfi rmsea δrmsea language configural 52.85 20 0.962 ― 0.102 ― metric 89.58 32 0.933 -0.029 0.106 0.004 scalar 178.36 44 0.843 -0.090 0.138 0.032 partial metric 60.67 31 0.965 0.003 0.078 -0.024 partial scalar 67.39 39 0.967 0.002 0.068 -0.010 campus configural 37.29 15 0.975 ― 0.076 ― metric 70.70 23 0.946 -0.029 0.090 0.014 scalar 154.54 31 0.861 -0.085 0.125 0.035 partial metric 47.84 22 0.971 -0.004 0.068 -0.008 partial scalar 50.28 25 0.972 0.001 0.063 -0.005 gender configural 41.36 10 0.963 ― 0.090 ― 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 it em s co re theta pr(χ212,2) = 0, r 2 12 = 0.0135, δ(β1) = 0.0483 pr(χ213,4) = 0, r 2 13 = 0.016 pr(χ223,2) = 0.101, r 2 23 = 0.0025 afr sot tsw item true score functions – item 1 -2-4 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 it em s co re theta differences in item true score functions -2-4 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 pr ob ab ili ty theta item response functions -2-4 5.16, -1.02, -0.68, -0.14, 0.9 2.91, -1.07, -0.7, -0.27, 0.6 2.6, -1.36, -0.83, -0.19, 0.59 420 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 si ze theta impact (weighted by density) -2-4 figure 3: graphical display of item 3, which shows uniform dif for language groups van rensburg, c., & mostert, k. (2023). can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale 119 group χ2 df cfi δcfi rmsea δrmsea metric 47.89 14 0.960 -0.003 0.079 -0.011 scalar 59.98 18 0.950 0.010 0.078 -0.001 notes: χ2 = chi-square; df = degrees of freedom; cfi = comparative fit index; δcfi = delta (change in) cfi; rmsea = root mean square error of approximation; δrmsea = delta (change in) rmsea first, configural invariance was tested. table 3 indicates that the swls has configural invariance, with cfi scores ranging from 0.962 to 0.975, meaning that the scale consists of the same factor structure across all language, campus, and gender groups. concerning metric invariance, the results in table 3 show that the swls has metric invariance across the gender groups (δcfi = -0.003) but not across the language (δcfi = -0.029) or campus groups (δcfi = -0.029). by releasing the intercept of item 1 in the afrikaans groups and campus 2, partial metric invariance was achieved for the swls across the different language and campus groups. concerning scalar invariance, table 3 indicates that the swls achieved scalar invariance across gender groups (δcfi = 0.010) but not across language (δcfi = -0.090) and campus groups (δcfi = -0.085). therefore, to improve model fit, the intercepts of item 1 and item 3 were freed for the afrikaans group to achieve partial scalar invariance. similarly, partial scalar invariance was reached across different campus groups by releasing items 1 and 5 intercepts for campus 1 and items 1 and 4 for campuses 2 and 3. internal consistency cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated as a measure of internal consistency. a cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.83 was found for the swls, indicating an acceptable internal consistency (α ≥ 0.70) (nunnally, 1978). in addition, mcdonald’s omega (ω) was 0.83, showing good internal consistency (kline, 2015). discussion essentially, any assessment used in a diverse and cross-cultural higher education institution must be tested and analysed to ensure the scale measures the same constructs across diverse groups to be considered fair and unbiased (hill et al., 2013). therefore, this study presented preliminary evidence on the psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale for first-year university students at a specific south african university, with a particular focus on item bias and invariance (including configural invariance, metric invariance and scalar invariance) between specific language, campus and gender groups. before differential item functioning and invariance testing, confirmatory factor analysis was used to provide evidence for a one-factor structure. this indicates that satisfaction with life can be measured as one general factor (diener et al., 1985). differential item functioning was used to test for uniform and non-uniform bias. item bias was detected in both language and campus groups but not across gender groups. item 1 (“in most ways my life is close to my ideal”) was problematic for language journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za120 and campus groups. uniform bias was present between the sesotho and setswana groups, which indicates that the probability of a specific response from these two language groups was systematically higher or lower across all levels of endorsement (swaminathan & rogers, 1990; teresi & fleishman, 2007). however, non-uniform bias was present in the afrikaans group, which indicates that at certain levels of endorsement, the relation between the afrikaans group and the response to the item was dissimilar compared to the sesotho and setswana groups (mellenbergh, 1989; sireci & rios, 2013). with regards to campus, the findings indicate that uniform bias is present between campus 1 and 3, with non-uniform bias being present for campus 2 – indicating that at specific levels of endorsement, the relation between campus 2 and the response to the item was dissimilar compared to those for campus 1 and 3 (mellenbergh, 1989; sireci & rios, 2013). in addition, uniform bias was observed in item 3 (“i am satisfied with my life”). even though this finding implies that the probability of a specific response to this item is found at all trait levels across the three language groups on a statistically significant level, based on the pseudo-mcfadden r2 statistic as well as the changes in beta coefficient, this impact was negligible and therefore not of practical significance (crane et al., 2007; teresi & fleishman, 2007). no bias was detected for any of the swls items for gender groups. measurement invariance included testing for configural, metric, and scalar invariance across the different language, campus and gender groups included in this study (preti et al., 2013). the results showed that the swls has configural invariance across the different language, campus, and gender groups, indicating that the same factor structure is present across the groups included in this study. regarding metric invariance, the swls has metric invariance across gender groups but not across language and campus groups. when full invariance was not achieved, partial metric invariance was tested by assessing the factor structure of the swls based on changes in cfi (δcfi) (clench-aas et al., 2011). partial metric invariance was achieved by freeing the loading of item 1 in both the afrikaans group and campus 2. although some parameters can vary across groups (rejected constraints), at least two intercepts and factor loadings should be equally constrained across groups to make valid inferences (byrne et al., 1989; laguna et al., 2017). therefore, factor loadings can still be fairly compared across language and campus groups with partial metric invariance (van de schoot et al., 2012). full metric invariance was achieved across the gender groups included in this study, which indicates that each item similarly contributes to the latent construct of the swls across gender groups (putnick & bornstein, 2016). evidence was found for scalar invariance across gender groups but not across language and campus groups; hence, partial scalar invariance was tested. constraints were rejected in both language and campus groups. concerning the language groups, the intercepts of both item 1 and item 3 were freed for the afrikaans group to improve model fit. regarding the campus groups, partial scalar invariance was achieved by releasing the intercepts of item 1 and item 5 for the campus 1 group as well as item 1 and item 4 for campuses 2 and 3. this implies that fair comparisons across language van rensburg, c., & mostert, k. (2023). can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale 121 and campus groups can still be made (van de schoot et al., 2012). full scalar invariance was achieved across the gender groups, which indicates that the factor loadings and intercepts of the five items of the swls can be meaningfully compared across gender groups (putnick & bornstein, 2016). these results are in line with other studies, where some items did not appear to be equivalent across cultures. more specifically, with regards to cross-cultural studies, variance was reported for item 2, item 3, item 4 and item 5 (atienza gonzález et al., 2016; dimitrova & domínguez, 2015; whisman & judd, 2016; zanon et al., 2014). cronbach’s alpha coefficients and mcdonald’s omega (ω) were used to test for the internal consistency (a measure of reliability) of the satisfaction with life scale. the findings indicate a cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.83 and mcdonald’s omega of 0.83, indicating that the satisfaction with life scale is reliable. limitations and recommendations the findings indicate that across the different language, campus, and gender groups included in the study, bias was detected in both item 1 (language and campus groups) and item 3 (language groups). in addition, evidence was provided for configural invariance across all groups but not metric and scalar invariance. as a result, partial, metric and scalar invariance was detected across language and campus groups (probably due to item 1 being problematic). although the swls has been validated across many countries, languages, and cultures, future researchers should validate the psychometric properties of the swls to ensure it is valid and reliable for use across different diverse groups and settings of university students. the present study serves as preliminary evidence of item bias and invariance of the swls. however, future research should focus on its differential prediction for different academic outcomes, such as test and academic performance, because the slope and intercept of relations still need to be determined (berry 2015; theron, 2006). furthermore, future research could inform the nomological network of the swls by exploring its relationships to other variables related to student well-being, success, and goal commitment (jonker et al., 2015; van lill et al., 2020). robust maximum likelihood (mlr) was used as the cfa measurement model’s estimation technique and to test the swls’s invariance based on the small sample sizes in this study. even though mlr has been introduced into cfa models when the normality assumption of data distribution is moderately violated, as can be the case when using small sample sizes (knief & forstmeier, 2021), future studies with sufficient sample sizes could use a weighted least squares with meanand variance adjusted (wlsmv) method of estimation when the data are of ordinal nature (see li, 2016). indeed, the results of the current partial measurement invariance might, with larger sample sizes in some groups, either reach the threshold of non-partial invariance or point out new nuanced differences in the interpretation of items between languages. practical implications globally, the multicultural nature of populations has become more salient (van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). for example, the increasing demographic diversity in the united journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za122 states has been well documented, specifically among the population that does not use english as their native or primary language (nwosu et al., 2014; pascarella, 2006). liu et al. (2019) stipulate that literature regarding language diversity among college students in the united states is scarce and under-researched – the reason being that students with diverse language backgrounds are often combined in the discussion of low-income students, racial minorities, and other underrepresented student groups (kanno & cromley, 2013). in addition, non-native english speakers’ cultural values and norms are not perfectly aligned with the english-only college environment (liu et al., 2019). through the two mentioned examples, educators and researchers should be cautious when applying any instrument, in our case, the swls, to university settings without paying special attention to student diversity and testing for psychometric properties like item bias and invariance. additionally, the current study only included afrikaans, sesotho, and setswana language groups; therefore, future researchers should include english as a language group for cross-cultural comparisons. on a practical level, psychologists and practitioners should take great care when applying concepts and instruments from western countries without testing the applicability of those measures in a diverse setting. without adequate testing, systematic measurement variability can cause several challenges, including flawed population forecasts, errors in hypothesis testing, planning and implementation of policies, and misguided research on discrepancies (perkins et al., 2006). instruments developed in other countries could either be culturally biased, produce inconsistent results when groups are compared, and might be unable to adequately measure a construct when the culture or language differs from the country of origin (blokland, 2016; moletsane, 2016; van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). therefore, it is essential to ensure equivalent measurement before comparing groups or individuals to avoid ambiguous comparisons (gregorich, 2006; teresi & fleishman, 2007). acknowledgement the authors would like to thank prof. l.t. de beer for his assistance with the statistical analysis and interpretation of the results. ethics statement the study was approved by the ethics committee, faculty of economic and management sciences (ems-rec) (ethics no.: nwu-hs-2014-0165-a4). potential conflict of interest the authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. funding acknowledgement the material described in this article is based on work supported by the office of the deputy vice-chancellor: teaching and learning at the north-west university, south africa; and the national research foundation, under reference number ra180103297058 van rensburg, c., & mostert, k. 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(2023). can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of south african first-year students? testing the satisfaction with life scale. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 109–128. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4327 https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2013.767621 https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2013.767621 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1434855 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1434855 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9184-6 https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v33i1.260 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.05.008 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.686740 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.686740 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01064 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01064 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0478-5 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 93–98 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 93 www.jsaa.ac.za interviews and dialogue understanding the role of fye resource centres annsilla nyar* & lebo mosebua** * dr annsilla nyar is director: south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), university of johannesburg, south africa. email: anyar@uj.ac.za ** lebo mosebua is administrator at the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), university of johannesburg, south africa. email: lebom@uj.ac.za dr tracy skipper is assistant director for publications at the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. she holds degrees in psychology, higher education, american literature, and rhetoric and composition. in addition to her writing and editorial work, she has served as a student affairs administrator and taught writing at college level. her most recent work is the edited collection, what makes the first-year seminar high impact? exploring effective educational practices. introduction lebo mosebua from the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) conducted an interview with dr tracy skipper from the sanrc’s u.s.-based partner organisation, the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition (nrc). dr skipper is the assistant director for publications at the nrc. given the leading role of the nrc in holding and disseminating resources and information about the first-year experience (fye), the sanrc sought ideas about how the nrc’s resource centre was built and how it is maintained. this interview focuses on the importance of resource centres, and provides information on how resource centres operate as well as on how to successfully establish one. mosebua: please give us some background information about the nrc and how it was set up, with particular reference to the ‘resource’ aspect of the centre and how these were gathered. skipper: the nrc is housed within the university of south carolina (usc). it was established as an independent unit in 1986 with a small grant from the state department of higher education. the center was established under the auspices of an academic programme, the university 101 course at the usc. this academic programme was http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:lebom%40uj.ac.za?subject= 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 93–98 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 designed to help students entering the university learn how to be successful students and to feel connected to the university. this spurred a series of conferences focusing on the first college year or the initial transition to college. at the time of the center’s founding, one of the initial goals was to create a literature base on the first year of college. our initial efforts focused on the founding of an empirical journal, now the journal of the first-year experience & students in transition, and a newsletter focusing on practice. monographs or books exploring curricular and co-curricular initiatives to support student learning, development and success came later. those longer publications also looked at groups of students who might be more at risk in the college environment, for example, students with disabilities, non-white students, students who come from economically deprived backgrounds, students with prior military service and lbgtq students. in the early 1990s, the nrc began looking at the transition out of college, what is called the senior year, and the second college year because we recognised that students were facing some unique challenges during those transition points; the center has also looked at students who transfer from one institution to another – a phenomenon that has become increasingly common in u.s. higher education. the center also began to connect with educators in other parts of the world to see how they might come together from sometimes very different educational contexts to address common problems experienced with helping students make a successful transition to higher education. additionally, one of the other aspects of our efforts that began early in the center’s history was that we launched a national survey to look at the first-year seminar course – essentially an inventory that described the goals, structure and administration of these courses at institutions across the u.s. that agenda has expanded to include landscape studies of initiatives for sophomore and senior college students and a student-level survey exploring peer support roles. international partnerships are also evident in the international survey of peer leaders (canada, u.k., australia/new zealand and south africa). so, i mention these three strands of our work – publications, meetings or professional development events, and research – because i think they are central to how we have defined ourselves as a resource centre. we certainly provide resources through our publications and research. we also see the creation and nurturing of networks of professionals who connect via our conferences and other professional development events or through our electronic email lists as an important resource. mosebua: is there a difference between a resource centre and a library? do they both serve the same purpose? skipper: yes, in the sense that both might serve as a repository for information, libraries and resources might serve similar purposes. in my mind what distinguishes one from the other is that the resource centre – at least as we have conceived it – is more than just an archive or collection of content on a given topic. we are actively engaged in the creation of that content. the definition gets fuzzy, especially in u.s. institutions, as we see libraries taking a more active role in curating content – which certainly has a creative function. we are also http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 annsilla nyar & lebo mosebua: interview with tracy skipper: understanding the role of fye resource centres 95 seeing some university presses being moved under the direction of libraries, which blurs those lines a bit and, as i mentioned earlier, i see the professional networks that we enable as being an essential part of the “resource” that we provide. mosebua: since the dawning of the digital age, the library has been transformed in its utility and role due to rapid technological advancements. how has technology influenced the way in which the nrc, traditional libraries and resource centres operate? skipper: one of the things that we are seeing in libraries in the u.s. – whether we are talking about local, public libraries or college/university libraries – is that as resources are converted from print to digital, the physical space of the library is being transformed. no longer a space for quiet, independent research and study, university libraries are being transformed into true academic meeting places, a centre for reflection and inquiry, and a marketplace for the exchange of ideas. public libraries are also taking spaces once occupied by books to allow for community gatherings, maker spaces, and social support functions. libraries are becoming really vibrant centers for individuals, community growth and development. i think the national resource center is really no different. for years, we maintained a physical resource library, and an occasional visiting scholar would make use of that library. but for the most part, it was inaccessible and as more resources became available electronically, it really didn’t serve much purpose for folks in our network. so now, we are much less about being a repository of static materials and more a space (both intellectually and physically) for the exchange, interpretation, and advancement of those ideas into practice writ large, into other settings, to affect change, to impact policy, and to advance the larger research agenda. technology has also broadened our community, making it much easier to exchange information and ideas and share the process of inquiry across countries and the globe. it also is a means to invite the numerous people who fall under the umbrella of fye work into the movement. mosebua: please briefly highlight some of the major challenges facing libraries and resource centres globally. for example, what are some of the challenges facing the nrc in its work? skipper: the information explosion of recent years – so much, so easily available that people may not see the value of the library; they no longer need the library to access information. i think resource centres are challenged by this as well – there are just so many players in the marketplace, and it becomes increasingly difficult to have your message heard. however, libraries and resource centres have an increasingly valuable role in curating that information and helping people evaluate what’s out there. at the same time, the sheer volume of information can make effective curation challenging – it requires robust, dynamic technological infrastructure – we’re trying to figure out what’s the best use of our resources with respect to this moving forward. as a resource centre, we’re not a membership organisation – we’re constantly having to re-establish and solidify members of our constituency. technology obviously helps with this, but getting the information to people who can affect change at all levels 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 93–98 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 (researchers, practitioners, academic leaders, and policy-makers) is a perennial challenge. one of the ways we’ve managed this has been through forging partnerships with other entities that ‘own’ smaller pieces of the larger first-year experience, student transitions, and student success landscape – national orientation directors association, national academic advising association, national institute for the study of transfer students, american college personnel association, and john gardner institute for excellence in undergraduate education among others. we’ve also created partnerships with regional and international groups focusing on these issues. the goal – and often the challenge – is to create partnerships that are collaborative rather than competitive. mosebua: a resource centre actively seeks to share the information that it contains. what steps have been taken by the nrc to ensure that its resource collection is accessible and widely used by all? skipper: while we have some infrastructure support from the university of south carolina, we are largely self-funded, which means we have to charge for many of our publications. but we are sensitive to those costs and do make an effort to offer resources where we can at no cost to researchers and practitioners who are invested in this work. for many years, we printed and mailed a practitioner-focused newsletter. to control costs, we moved to an electronic format but it was not highly subscribed or read. we ultimately made the decision that it was more important to provide this forum for sharing information about practice than it was to receive a steadily declining income from the publication. a couple of years ago, we moved this to a hosting platform that makes it easier for readers to share individual articles from that publication. we have been offering our journal in print and online for seven or eight years now and recently started offering online only subscriptions, which makes it more attractive for many libraries – especially those in international markets. we’ve also entered into some limited licensing agreements to make the journal more accessible via inter-library loan and as part of some international consortia deals. with respect to our books, we are way behind the curve in offering e-books. part of that has been the difficulty of negotiating contracts as a unit within a larger educational institution. we released the first one last year and added five more recently. this will make them more available and at a lower price point for our readers. with regards to the research produced by the center, we provide access to executive summaries on our website. as a team, we are engaged in making presentations, disseminating that research to a number of different audiences. we make those presentations available on our website. in addition, we solicit and make available presentation materials from sessions presented at the conferences we host. so we really have a good bit of information available, but as i mentioned earlier, curating that information, putting it into a dynamic, searchable framework, is challenging. that is one of the things we are currently working on – creating a framework that will make that information more readily searchable and therefore accessible to people. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 annsilla nyar & lebo mosebua: interview with tracy skipper: understanding the role of fye resource centres 97 mosebua: what advice can you give to the sanrc as it continues to develop its own resource collection? skipper: we often have to make sure that we are offering options for the dissemination of resources that fit with the promotion and reward structures of our constituents. journal articles and conference research presentations are what is meaningful to professors and researchers. the ability to share (either through presentations or newsletter blasts) “star programs” and build reputational capital for institutional successes is important to campus leaders and administrators. the chance to gather practical advice and suggestions for developing and implementing programmes is important to practitioners and directors. make sure that things are called what they need to be called to be professional ‘feathers in the cap’ or cv entries for the range of professionals in your constituency. that often requires supporting a range of resources at different levels of rigor and for different purposes. regardless, we have created systems for peer review for all our publications, even for pieces that are not expressly research publications. our conference proposals are also peer reviewed. peer-reviewed publications are more highly regarded than editorial-reviewed publications. again, i think this also takes some of the onus off the resource centre to be the expert on everything, especially when those reviewers have been carefully vetted. mosebua: who would you say are the likely partners and collaborators for a centre such as the sanrc? skipper: we have an apparatus in place for editing, designing, publishing, and distributing publications. many of our collaborators don’t have that; instead, they offer access to content expertise that we believe is valuable to our network. find the collaborators who can help you fill in the gap. if you are not ready to take the lead in producing a publication, who can you partner with to make that happen? mosebua: the majority of books found on local bookstore shelves are imported from the u.k. or the u.s. and as such, are highly taxed and hence prohibitively expensive. what would you say are some cost-effective measures which can be undertaken to ensure that books are easily obtained and made accessible to users? skipper: certainly e-books and digital journal repositories are important tools in the dissemination of books and journals. putting these materials in libraries also ensures a more democratic and widely accessible means of sharing information. mosebua: how can the sanrc/nrc encourage scholars and practitioners to use the information available in the resource centres? furthermore, how can they be stimulated to get involved in research initiatives that contribute towards the advancement of fye resources? skipper: scholars and practitioners have to be aware that the centre is there – the sanrc can exploit social media platforms to push out information on new resources and also have a mechanism for readers to receive content alerts. the sanrc can adopt a similar approach to the nrc. our editors regularly host sessions at conferences where 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 93–98 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 discussions are held on the various publishing options available through the center, as well as what makes a good submission for the various venues. the submission and review process is also discussed. we send out direct invitations to people – i just returned from a conference on tuesday. my editor and i will go through the conference programme and send personalised invitations to select presenters asking them to submit to our publications. sometimes, they will be directed to our journal. sometimes, they will be directed to a newsletter. it’s timeconsuming, but it serves the dual purpose of both making them aware of our resources while also potentially generating new contributions. we engage members of our network as reviewers for our journal, electronic newsletter, and for book proposals and books. we’ve been hosting a research grant for a number of years – we offer direct support for the kind of research we would like to see. going back to my earlier response, it’s important to host a variety of venues or opportunities for dissemination to engage the broadest possible network of collaborators in this work. mosebua: how can libraries and resource centres solicit feedback in order to improve on content and accessibility to information? skipper: the nrc periodically conducts readership surveys, especially for practitionerfocused newsletters; a range of questions are asked to help in determining whether the center is hitting the mark. additionally, the nrc has made use of data analytics collected online to learn more about how are publications are being read. we also use our advisory board as a sounding board, especially when seeking new directions. dr skipper provided important points of information for a developing centre such as the sanrc, which aims to make fye materials and resources widely available to all in the fye community, and indeed all higher education professionals. while resource centres are different from libraries, they have an interrelated function of ensuring that resources are available and accessible. dr skipper highlighted the importance of technology, and the need to utilise available tools such as social media and other innovative ways to ensure that stakeholders are reached. she emphasised the need to have a holistic view of the functioning of a resource centre and to take this into account when implementing a repository that will be of practical use to the fye community. it can be concluded that resource centres play an essential role in growing the fye community and ensuring the growth of fye as a welldeveloped field of study. how to cite: nyar, a. & mosebua, l. (2018). interview with tracy skipper: understanding the role of fye resource centres [09 november 2017]. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 93–98. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3068 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 145–148 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3698 145 www.jsaa.ac.za book review calitz, talita m.l. (2019). enhancing the freedom to flourish. london, u.k.: routledge. reviewed by monica mclean* * prof. monica mclean is professor in higher education in the centre for international education research, university of nottingham, united kingdom. email: monica.mclean@nottingham.ac.uk it is evident that, whatever the country and system, some students benefit from higher education more than others. talita calitz addresses the problem of equal participation with conceptual clarity and practical proposals which have global relevance. in my view, the outstanding achievement of her book is to replace the usual deficit view of students whose economic and social circumstances make it difficult for them to benefit from university education with a theory of participation which emphasises agency and inclusion. this achievement results from calitz’s combining a human development approach with insight from the life stories of eight students in a south african university who faced economic and academic barriers to equal participation. the book of eight chapters starts with two chapters presenting the big picture of inequalities in higher education and structural barriers to participating in it. the first chapter describes the global phenomenon of how family income, geographic location, race, gender and quality of schooling influence the capacity of an individual to benefit from higher education. across the world, low-income, working-class and academically underprepared students are more concentrated in lower-status universities and lower-status courses and find it more difficult to achieve the same outcomes as their more privileged peers. this situation is “intensified” (p. 7) in south africa where severe racial inequalities have persisted as a legacy of colonial rule and apartheid. the second chapter explains how university policies that align with neoliberal policies in the wider world not only jeopardise the integrity of academic life but offer little incentive to support more vulnerable students in effective and humane ways. rather, economic and regulatory pressures on universities contribute to a deficit approach which calitz defines as: [b]lam[ing] individual students for their failure without equal attention given to the role of institutional structures in enabling participation. the assumption that the individual is solely responsible for the motivation, academic effort and social adjustment needed to make the transition from school to university misframes students as academically underprepared, demotivated or culturally deficient. (p. 27) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3698 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:monica.mclean%40nottingham.ac.uk?subject= 146 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 145–148 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3698 from this point in the book, calitz keeps the reader’s attention on how universities fail to do justice to some students and what, as institutions, they might do about it. the first step is to recognise the resourcefulness and agency of students struggling to overcome structural barriers. having established the parameters of the problem of unequal participation in higher education, the third chapter introduces a tripartite conceptual framework, comprising the capability approach, founded by the economist amartya sen and the theories of nancy fraser. for the capability approach, “capabilities” are opportunities or freedoms to be or to do what any individual has reason to value, and “functionings” are the achieved beings and doings. the approach evaluates the justice of social and political arrangements in terms of human flourishing that arises from freedom and agency. using this approach, calitz conceptualises higher education as a site where well-being outcomes should be achieved. in this view, government and universities are responsible for arrangements that promote the freedom to flourish. nancy fraser’s egalitarian theory is used to show what kinds of redistribution, recognition and representation would address current structural inequalities; and paulo freire adds the idea of pedagogic arrangements that are participatory and directed towards the development of critical consciousness which equips students to question and transform society. chapters  4, 5 and  6 relate the eight student narratives, which constitute the heart of the book, analysing them in terms of the conceptual framework. the data for these chapters were produced by using participatory methods. chapter 4 introduces the reader to the students and explores their lives prior to university, showing how access to and use of resources at home and school enabled and constrained their agency and freedom. all the students brought resources to university and have clearly achieved the capability for entry to university, yet the combination of socioeconomic inequalities with constraining school environments put limits on their freedom to pursue alternatives. chapter 5 picks up the narratives once the students arrived at university. it discusses the students’ experiences of five factors which act as structural constraints on students’ capability to participate: individualising failure rather than recognising what arrangements the institution should make; failure to support students’ critical engagement with knowledge; lack of consultation with students; little contact with lecturers, resulting in alienation from them and other pedagogical arrangement; and misrecognition of students’ academic ability and resources, leading to a deficit view. the overall effect of these experiences was that students’ potential for full participation in and benefit from transformational learning was curtailed. in parallel with the constraining factors in chapter 5, chapter 6 discusses five factors that enable participation: building affiliative relationships with supportive lecturers; building affiliative relationships with peers; opportunities for having a voice; access to disciplinary knowledge and skills that could be converted into valued capabilities and functionings; and having capabilities recognised. pedagogical arrangements that promoted these factors increased students’ freedom to participate by supporting them to mobilise their agency to navigate the structural constraints depicted in chapters 4 and 5. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3698 monica mclean: enhancing the freedom to flourish 147 calitz shows that to effectively support more vulnerable students requires sophisticated understanding of how socioeconomic disadvantage accumulates if it is not disrupted and why transformed institutional culture and pedagogy and curricula are needed. chapter 7 draws on what her research – empirically and theoretically – indicates is possible when “students and staff enact agency and resistance, despite systemic inequalities” (p. 145). it is, therefore, the culmination of the book, aiming to “design capability praxis for higher education environments where students are vulnerable to unequal participation” (p. 147). here she proposes a capability list for equal participation: practical reason, critical literacies, undergraduate student research, deliberative democracy, critical affiliation and values for the public good. a final chapter is titled ‘creating just universities’ which makes suggestions about what a just university might look like from a capabilities perspective. in keeping with sen’s conviction that specific capabilities and social arrangement need to be locally debated and agreed upon, it is both unlikely and undesirable that calitz’s capability list and proposals for more just arrangements will be taken on wholesale anywhere. that said, what she offers in this rich book chimes internationally with other higher education research which focuses on social justice. moreover, it makes a significant conceptual and practical contribution to grasping the complexities of the kind of actions necessary to address what can often seem an intractable problem of some student groups systematically gaining less than they should from participation in higher education. how to cite: mclean, m. (2019). review on calitz, talita m.l. enhancing the freedom to flourish. london, u.k.: routledge.  (2019). journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 145-148. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v7i1.3698 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3698 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3698 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 209-223 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4369   209 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r eflective practice student affairs and services leadership in trying times: student social behaviour project and psycho-social support interventions at a comprehensive university in south africa sibusiso chalufu* & corrie rheeder** abstract the outbreak of covid-19 and the lockdown measures that were widely implemented in response to the pandemic forced many of the forms of engagement and activities promoted by student affairs and services staff among students at universities to be curtailed or transformed – at first, so that they entailed no interpersonal contact and later so that they took place in line with health and safety protocols restricting contact. the moment of crisis required decisive, innovative leadership from members of staff as they sought to help meet the needs of students who were now deprived of the benefits of the psycho-social, intellectual and physical engagements that had been provided by in-person contact on highly interactive campuses. accordingly, the student affairs and services staff at north-west university in south africa collaborated with students, leveraging their creative potential to reach out, create and implement new student support systems and programmes through structured activities that could take place online and in the form of strictly controlled contact sessions. in this context, two new initiatives were established at the university: a student behaviour project which sought to deploy student peers to promote adherence to covid-19 occupational health and safety protocols among the student population; and a raft of psycho-social support interventions, including webinars, cultural and sporting activities, and residence activities which promoted student welfare including by helping students to manage the realities of the pandemic more effectively. this reflective article, authored by two of the north-west university student affairs and services staff responsible for launching and leading these initiatives, considers the kinds of collaboration among university staff and with students that informed the establishment and implementation of these projects. focusing particularly on how these projects may have contributed towards increased levels of social capital among the students at the university at a moment of crisis, with a view to extract lessons that may be learned for the proactive development of student-support measures under similar conditions in future. keywords psycho-social support, social capital, student well-being, student social behaviour interventions, student affairs, student services leadership * dr sibusiso chalufu is executive director: student life at north-west university, south africa. email: sibusiso.chalufu@nwu.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-4578-7594. ** dr corrie rheeder is campus director: student life at north-west university, south africa. email: corrie.rheeder@nwu.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-2919-3005. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:corrie.rheeder@nwu.ac.za 210   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 209-223 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4369 introduction more than a decade ago, scholar of biological psychiatry, simon young (2008) postulated that human beings are social beings who require social contact and relationship-building through which trusting, cooperative and deep meaningful connections are established. conditions compelled by the recent advent of the covid-19 pandemic which initially spread during 2020 have served almost as a test case on a global scale of this proposal, since one of the main limitations produced by the outbreak were restrictions on social interactions. these efforts to control social activities and movement were introduced in attempts to stem infections; the unforeseen by-products of which included causing social isolation, which in turn undermined the power of social capital as a means to achieve business objectives; manage crises; mobilise resources; and implement effective leadership (wu, 2021). from a mental health perspective, there was a rise in anxiety and depressive symptoms and changes in sleeping patterns among the south african population (nguse & wassenaar, 2021) and among higher education students (deng et al., 2021), as well as a rise in suicidal behaviour, frustration and impulsivity (hossain et al., 2020). in response, there was a clear need for those in leadership to make and implement strong, compassionate and evidence-based decisions in an effort to halt the spread of the disease (binagwaho, 2020) and curb the negative impacts produced by the pandemic and the necessary disease-prevention responses to it. the covid-19 pandemic posed a particular challenge to higher education globally and in south africa, including in relation to the viability of existing teaching and learning practices and efforts to support socialisation among students. the education system had to rethink and re-strategise how to achieve its main goals in the new environment and in the context of limited access to resources (djidu et al., 2021); insufficient time to adjust its mode of implementation (daniel, 2020); and human capital shortfalls caused by increasingly glaring socio-economic stressors, instability, and inequality. poverty, limited access to electricity, limited online connectivity and a shortage of appropriate information and communications technology (ict) devices made it difficult for the higher education system to execute its goals among the tertiary student population (daniel, 2020). one of the reasons that students attend university is to obtain an education which will enable them to make a significant contribution to society and the economy. at the same time, the teaching, learning, research and community engagement functions through which students acquire this education are underpinned by social interactions. in addition, there is a broad sense in which universities also function as a place where students can reach out to people outside of their immediate family and community structures (botha & kourkoutas, 2016; neuwirth et al., 2021). in this regard, studies show that students not only focus on their academic goals and/or obtaining a qualification, they also have a need for student-life experiences, which may be enhanced by social bonding activities and mental-health initiatives provided by the student affairs and services (sas) divisions of higher education institutions (aristovnik et al., 2020; inazu, 2018; pfund et al., 2020). sibusiso chalufu & corrie rheeder: student affairs and services leadership in trying times …   211 a malaysian study found that the academic frustrations experienced by students at the height of the lockdown were mostly attributed to the new mode of online education delivery that had been deployed (sim et al., 2021). the students said that they felt overwhelmed and stressed by the way in which their academic workload was delivered online and further indicated that they struggled to maintain their concentration and focus when being taught online, compared with being taught in person (sim et al., 2021). it was also found that some students lacked the self-discipline and motivation to follow through with self-study work; and that the available resources were not conducive for online learning (sim et al., 2021). similar studies in the context of south africa (dube, 2020; joaquim et al., 2022; mhlanga, 2021) have reported similar findings. meanwhile, aristovnik et al. (2020) and wang et al. (2020), reporting on the inf luence of the pandemic on students’ mental health globally and in the united states (us) respectively, noted that the students described experiencing unbearable psychological pressure and feelings of boredom, anxiety, frustration and hopelessness. the point here is to note the potential negative short-term and longer-term impacts of the pandemic and the institutional responses to it on students’ education and mental health. many educational institutions and students refused to accept the status quo of the limiting, paralysing consequences and effects of the pandemic on them and demonstrated great resilience, creativity and innovation in the establishment and implementation of various social behavioural and psycho-social support interventions and activities that could improve their lot (funda, 2022; mahlaba, 2020; mestry, 2022). the effective deployment of leadership and social capital were crucial to such solutions, interventions and alternative modes and kinds of activities (shah et al., 2021), many of which were undertaken in the field of student affairs and services due to its centrality to the effective functioning of student life, education and development at university. against this background, the aim of this article is to describe and consider the processes, initiatives, and interventions that a comprehensive university in south africa, north-west university (nwu), followed in its efforts to manage the impacts produced by covid-19 and the lockdown restrictions implemented in response to the pandemic, with a specific focus on the social behavioural projects and psycho-social support interventions that were implemented to enhance the social capital of students and their well-being on campus from march 2020. the article highlights the leadership role played by student affairs and services staff and students in addressing the challenges that the university faced during this period; and also considers the lessons learned from these efforts. literature review social capital humans have an inherent need to socialise and form part of a group or community with shared interests, hobbies, and passions (harro, 2000). there is a need to share experiences and activities which produce individual memories and through which one 212   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 209-223 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4369 is seen as part of a complete system (kovacheva & lamberton, 2018). there is a need for well-grounded relationships and friendships as a basis of such shared experiences (firth, 2008). the philosopher aristotle noted: “in poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. they keep the young out of mischief; they comfort and aid the old in their weakness; and they incite those in the prime of life to noble deeds.” (brannan & mohr, 2022, p. 5). steadfast reciprocal relationships bring many benefits to the individual, ensuring that the person is tended to emotionally and/or that there is space provided in which one can talk about one’s frustrations and be exposed to others’ ideologies (seeman, 1996). valuable social and soft skills are developed and fostered in such relationships which offer a form of intimate accountability to someone else through which one’s own behaviour and actions, and the consequences thereof, may be deciphered (marquart et al., 2021). such accountability partnerships foster growth and progress towards shared and individual goals and make the tasks of life easier (fuller, 2017). in this context, the concept of “social capital” bears some consideration. social capital, in its purest form, refers to “the by-product of social interactions that are embedded in and accessed via formal and informal social relationships with individuals, communities and institutions” (hawkins & maurer, 2012, p. 356). social capital is a term used to describe the various networks through which people can establish meaningful connections and collaborative relationships (pitas & ehmer, 2020). social capital is deployed and acquired through the development or establishment of social relations and ventures, which are beneficial and productive to all parties involved, fostering the achievement of collective goals. bourdieu and wacquant (1992, p.  119) describe it as “the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalised relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition”. social capital needs to be cultivated as it brings about many benefits. it can enable one to obtain valuable, reliable and current data and evidence that can inform decisionmaking (aldrich, 2017). some studies have found that social capital may help foster resilience in difficult times (aldrich, 2017). through the use of technology, new kinds of social capital have been created and new forms of collaboration have been identified which enable quicker achievement of goals (deepak et al., 2016). social capital has been linked to economic performance and productivity (dasgupta, 2001). among university students, social capital has been found to enable engagement in learning that leads to improved academic performance (deepak et al., 2016); and has been linked to creativity (gu et al., 2014). three main types of social capital that may be considered of relevance to university students have been identified: bonding, bridging and linking (aldrich, 2017). bonding capital refers to the close relationships among friends and families through which emotional support is provided and group cohesion is encouraged (laser & leibowitz, 2009). bridging capital refers to social connections among individuals from sibusiso chalufu & corrie rheeder: student affairs and services leadership in trying times …   213 different backgrounds and ethnic groups and who adhere to different societal norms and beliefs. such capital forms a bridge among numerous social networks (claridge, 2018). linking capital refers to the establishment of social connections between particular entities or individuals and figures of power and authority who have decision-making inf luence (claridge, 2018; hawkins & maurer, 2012). the authors of this study believe that all three of these types of social capital were deployed among university students under pandemic conditions at the nwu as they sought to make sense of the “new normal” and go about their lives as students. the covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns caused a major shock to the existing system of social capital, limiting the in-person interactions that had underpinned this system and producing a shift to virtual and restricted forms of social connection as a new dominant modus operandi (zheng et al., 2020). in this context, universities and students were creative and innovative in rethinking the ways in which social capital could be fostered and how student social behaviour could adapt accordingly (gu et al., 2014). student well-being in addition, universities implemented a number of ideas to help buffer the severe impacts that covid-19 and the resulting lockdown measures were having on the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the students (kele & mzileni, 2021). the closure of academic institutions in south africa from march 2020 impeded academic performance and success for many students. the restricted access to and cessation of numerous psycho-educational and social development activities at these institutions caused turmoil among students (lederer et al., 2021). the students at the nwu were not spared from these negative impacts. as much as young people like to use new technologies and online social media platforms, they mostly prefer their social connections and shared experiences to be in-person and spontaneous (neuwirth et al., 2021). many students attend university for the spontaneous, exciting happenings which are available on campus and which contribute to their own personal growth and development (dodd et al., 2021). from anecdotal evidence and based on our interactions with students at the nwu, students report that they feel a sense of belonging and that they are part of a community, as well as a sense of purpose, when they participate in events, particularly in-person ones. once these kinds of events were put on hold or restricted, many students said that they did not know what to do with their time, talents, and creative energies. in addition, some student leaders reported a sense of loss as they were now unable to execute their portfolio-specific duties and activities effectively (alaali, 2022). the result was something of an existential crisis among the youth at universities (lee & jung, 2021). student affairs and services staff at various higher education institutions in south africa reported increasing requests for emotional support from students (brodie et al., 2022; naidoo & cartwright, 2020). at the nwu, student wellbeing came under 214   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 209-223 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4369 threat in a number of ways (kruger & kok, 2020). many students struggled with the idea of catching the virus, especially those who were living in communal spaces with other individuals. these students reported that although they complied with covid-19 regulations and protocols, they were unable to control the behaviours and actions of others with whom they were living. a swiss study reported an increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms, with some students reporting feelings of loneliness and isolation (volken et al., 2021). another study found that many students felt vulnerable with insufficient resources available to help them cope and that, as a result, they reverted to unhealthy mechanisms for coping such as alcohol and substance abuse; high risk behaviour, such as drinking and driving; and anger and aggression (charles et al., 2021). some students at the nwu were similarly affected. nevertheless, and despite the severe challenges posed by covid-19, most of the students at the nwu showed great creativity and resilience in their efforts to counter the negative effects of the pandemic on their well-being (motswenyane, 2020). student social behaviour and psycho-social support the apa dictionary of psychology (2022, para. 1) defines social behaviour as “any action performed by interdependent conspecifics (members of the same species); in humans, an action that is inf luenced, directly or indirectly, by the actual, imagined, expected, or implied presence of others; any one of a set of behaviours exhibited by gregarious, communal social species, including cooperation, affiliation, altruism.” research indicates that students are social beings who continually challenge themselves to grow and develop, including in environments that may not be conducive to healthy practices. research has reported that students’ learning experiences are inf luenced by the ways in which the social systems of which they are part function (nandy et al., 2021). this includes the impacts of financial barriers within those systems, and how those systems may inf luence their mental health and, potentially, undermine their sense of social balance (hagedorn et al., 2021). such impacts can cause certain discrepancies in students’ development which, in turn, necessitate the provision of appropriate psychosocial support and guidance. psycho-social support is described by the apa dictionary of psychology (2022, para. 1) as “a broad term describing a range of services offered by mental health professionals to those in pressing need. whether designed to help individuals cope with a serious illness or to alleviate distress in whole communities following a disaster, such services may range from mental health counselling, psycho-education, and group support to spiritual support and other assistance which is provided by psychologists, social workers, and pastoral counsellors, among others. studies have found that student social behaviour and the availability of psycho-social support may have both positive impacts, for example, in relation to academic performance and negative impacts, such as in terms of fostering crime; substance abuse; and peer relationship problems, on students’ overall well-being (armstrong, 2011). sibusiso chalufu & corrie rheeder: student affairs and services leadership in trying times …   215 methodology the current study describes some aspects of a social behavioural project and some of the psycho-social interventions adopted at the north-west university in response to the imposition of lockdown measures under covid-19 from march 2020. the authors of this study, who played a leadership role in establishing and implementing these programmes, consider the contribution that they, and more generally, student affairs and services staff, made to the operational integrity of the university at the height of the pandemic; as well as the potential role of these programmes in fostering “social capital” among the students involved. prior to the establishment of these initiatives, data were gathered on the intermediaries responsible for communicating and engaging with students – for example, peer helpers; house committee members; radio station volunteers; students’ campus council members; and faculty – the modes of communication deployed by these intermediaries; and their effectiveness in reaching a broad swathe of the student community. the aim being to establish a system of communications that would be effective under covid-19 and lockdown conditions. these data were used for this study. this study considers the processes which led to the establishment of the social behavioural project and a series of virtual programmes in support of student social engagement, particularly during hard lockdown levels 4 and 5 in south africa. these programmes focused on sport and wellness, including e-sports and virtual training and exercises; arts and culture, including virtual art exhibitions, virtual arts and musical performances (such as by a choir, “harmonists” and a symphony orchestra), virtual art collections and digital jigsaw puzzles; psycho-social support in the form of webinars, podcasts, weekly content dissemination, and mental health challenges; and entertainment provided primarily via the various campus radio stations. in this regard, this study draws on data on the various offerings which were implemented among the students by sas staff and the students themselves. discussion interventions to enhance student well-being and social capital student social behaviour project at the height of coronavirus infections across south africa, a student social behaviour project was implemented by staff members of the student life department and the campus protection services division at the north-west university to address concerns that had been raised by the university’s covid-19 response team (c-19 rt) about a lack of student adherence to covid-19 protocols and regulations. a campaign was launched on all three of the university’s campuses deploying a cohort of student volunteers dubbed “covid-19 compliance buddies”, with a view to educating and raising awareness among students, and monitoring and recording instances of non-compliance by students. rather than using punitive measures to address instances of students f louting covid-19 protocols and regulations, the 216   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 209-223 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4369 compliance buddies, working in collaboration with and under the supervision of student affairs and services staff, engaged with students to understand if and why they were not complying with appropriate rules and protocols. based on these engagements and the observations of the compliance buddies, reports were submitted to the c-19 rt through the office of the executive director: student life, with a view to establishing trends – both in terms of student behaviour and common areas of non-compliance – and making recommendations for ameliorative action. for example, based on the reports from compliance buddies, it was established that the university needed to reconsider its communication strategy and re-package its messaging. in essence, the idea was to focus on how the university could communicate important safety and practical considerations with regards to the threat posed by the pandemic, as well as the efforts that could be taken to prevent its spread. these reports to the c-19 rt also led to the development of other innovative intervention measures and strategies. psycho-social support interventions despite the restrictions imposed in relation to the covid-19 pandemic, student affairs and services staff at the university continued to implement various psycho-social interventions on a number of levels. table 1 below provides an overview of the various interventions implemented. table 1: psycho-social interventions and social events intervention description psychoeducational webinars and content the university hosted online psycho-educational webinars on a bi-weekly basis in order to address the mental health needs of the students. the content for these webinars was developed by registered psychologists, social workers, and counsellors from the university’s student counselling and development divisions, who also presented these virtual meetings. psycho-educational content was also distributed to the students via the university’s online platforms and various social media platforms. psycho-educational themes addressed by the content on offer included: depression; motivation; goal setting; healthy relationships; gender-based violence; and examination preparation. continuation of student residencelife activities in a safe, controlled environment a need for residence activities was voiced by residence students and student residence leaders (house committee members). accordingly, a number of proposed activities were presented at the c-19 rt and approved for implementation. subsequently, a number of residence activities, such as residence meetings; religion-related engagements; and recreational and sport activities, resumed on a smaller scale in line with the institution’s covid-19 occupational health and safety (ohs) guidelines. house parents and house committee members acted as compliance officers to ensure adherence to protocols in the course of these activities. sibusiso chalufu & corrie rheeder: student affairs and services leadership in trying times …   217 intervention description student wellness intervention measures project born of a need to attend to the well-being of students who had chosen to remain at university residences and in an effort to keep them engaged, a student wellness intervention measures project (swimp) was developed and led by student life staff through the department’s various divisions responsible for student counselling and development; sport; and arts and culture. the project emanated from discussions in the c-19 rt which raised concerns about the students’ mental health and the possible devastating effects of the new lockdown measures on overall student wellness, particularly during the recess period when most students could not return to their homes. e-sport in response to covid-19 restrictions prohibiting contact sport events, the university’s sport division devised a number of new e-sports events such as local area network (lan) leagues and online chess, as well as virtual training and exercise activities. arts and culture events the university’s arts and culture division hosted a number of in-person arts and culture events such as “covas” – a play on “canvas” and covid-19. (before covid-19, the university hosted an event known as “canvas” at which students participated in a mural painting event using the wall in the student centre precinct as their canvas. with the advent of the pandemic, students’ creative thinking led to the event’s name being changed to “covas”.) other events included debates, and student serenading (sêr), in line with covid-19 protocols. covas was the first competitive student event hosted by the students’ campus council (scc): arts council since the start of the pandemic in 2020. the goal of covas was to offer students a platform to voice their opinions in creative and constructive ways. community involvement students took part in a number of activities organised by the student rag community service (srcs) such as barefoot day and virtual bus tours of local community projects. leadership development training and development officers in the student counselling and development division, with the approval of the c-19 rt, coordinated and conducted a number of online and controlled in-person leadership and support sessions for student leaders. the role of student affairs and services staff at the onset of the national lockdown in march 2020, the university established a covid-19 response team to ensure operational continuity in the context of the major restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic, including lockdowns at a range of levels. initially, student life staff members were not included on this team, raising the spectre of the marginalisation of the student affairs and services staff in the university’s operations at this critical juncture. 218   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 209-223 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4369 however, this omission was quickly rectified and sas staff went on to make a significant contribution to operational continuity and the completion of the academic year at the university, and also played a pivotal role in helping to create a vibrant, safe and supportive environment for students in the midst of the pandemic. for example, the campus health care centres (chccs), which fall under the remit of the student life department at nwu, were responsible for the quarantine and isolation site that was established under covid-19; for managing reported positive covid-19 cases; and for conducting regular contact tracing. they also promoted awareness of the pandemic and related health concerns, holding webinars on these topics, while continuing to attend to their primary healthcare responsibilities. in addition, student life staff, comprising a multi-disciplinary team of psychologists, social workers, counsellors, nursing practitioners, contracted doctors, general staff, sport scientists and managers, and radio station staff and managers provided psycho-social and other forms of support in an effort to promote the holistic well-being of students, thus enabling them to complete their academic work. student life staff also sought to engage students in co-curricular activities, including in the areas of arts and culture, sport, community engagement, and student governance and leadership. standard operating procedures (sops) for various activities were developed to ensure that they took place in a safe environment and with a view to curbing the spread of the coronavirus. the authors of this article led these endeavours in their capacities as executive director and campus director in the university’s student life department. a key goal for the leadership of the student life department in advocating for the student social behaviour project and the psycho-social interventions was to promote forms of on-campus social engagement which would dissuade students from going off-campus where there was no guarantee of effective covid-19 preventative measures being in place, and then returning to campus and potentially spreading newly acquired infection. skills development the establishment and implementation of the student social behaviour project and the psycho-social interventions were undertaken in collaboration with the students themselves, who provided a number of recommendations for the kinds of wellbeing initiatives that should be promoted, and also shaped the nature and the form of the resulting activities through their participation. this collaboration fostered the establishment of meaningful engagements and connections within a supportive environment, resulting in an increase in social capital among the student population and in the overall university environment. students at the university deployed a number of creative, critical-thinking and innovation skills in collaboration with sas staff in helping to establish and implement the various psycho-social interventions and co-curricular initiatives that were undertaken. they collaborated with a range of stakeholders on campus, including in the sibusiso chalufu & corrie rheeder: student affairs and services leadership in trying times …   219 occupational health and safety division; at the various facilities; at the campus health care centres; and in the student support services division. the students helped to conceptualise, plan and implement new activities and interventions within the necessary occupational health and safety protocols and guidelines. under a constantly shifting covid-19 regulatory framework, the students, with the support of sas staff, developed crisis-management skills and demonstrated their adaptability to new circumstances. their engagement in forging and implementing the new initiatives also entailed honing their networking and negotiating skills and developing an understanding of the workings of institutional processes and how these processes may fit into realizing the bigger mission and vision of the university, including, in this instance, in a time of a global crisis. accordingly, the student involvement in the initiatives led by student life to promote their social engagement and psycho-social well-being on campus may be viewed as having made a significant contribution to their own social capital. lessons learned it was found that it is possible to produce effective forms of student engagement beyond those conventionally produced through face-to-face interaction, particularly if such engagement is driven by effective collaboration and partnership between students, staff and management, as well as external stakeholders, on campus. moreover, the adoption of a hybrid face-to-face and online model could allow for the implementation of multi-faceted initiatives. in this regard, the use of streaming to broadcast events, which was something of an innovation, enabled large numbers of students at the nwu to “experience” events from a distance. further, the establishment of a multi-disciplinary team, comprising students, staff, management and external stakeholders, was important to ensuring effective planning and implementation of interventions and initiatives. as part of such a team, it was found that student affairs and services staff have a crucial role to play in supporting university operations in times of crisis. in this context, there is a need for future research to extrapolate the lessons that may be learned from the experiences of sas practitioners during hard times, such as those occasioned by the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. conclusion notwithstanding the damaging impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on the higher education sector in general and the work of student affairs and services staff in particular, a number of measures were implemented to ensure operational continuity at various institutions of higher learning, including the nwu, with some success. this article has described the leadership role played by student affairs and services staff at the nwu in collaboration with other university departments in support of student engagement and psycho-social well-being at a time of crisis, including in the context of how this 220   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 209-223 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4369 work supported the institution’s operational integrity and fostered social capital among the students. references alaali, m. a. 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(2022). student affairs and services leadership in trying times: student social behaviour project and psycho-social support interventions at a comprehensive university in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 209-223. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2. 4369 https://doi.org/10.2196/22817 https://doi.org/10.1080/21620555.2020.1814139 http://dx.doi.org/10.4304/jltr.4.1.176-185 http://dx.doi.org/10.4304/jltr.4.1.176-185 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105694 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105694 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 47‑59 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 47 www.jsaa.ac.za research article #feesmustfall: lessons from the post‑colonial global south sipho dlamini* abstract the protests that engulfed south african universities in 2015 and 2016 revealed a dissatisfaction by students with regard to higher education fees. this article looks at some of the lessons that could assist south africa in understanding the role of universal fee‑free higher education or fee‑free higher education for the poor. most countries in the post‑colonial global south indicate a shift to cost‑sharing as mounting financial pressures on state budgets make universal free education unsustainable. the current study shows that the cost‑sharing model in south africa has not resonated with students and may also be exclusionary to poor students. the lessons from the post‑colonial global south show that the trend in higher education is that the poor are often left out of most fee structures – including dual track, universal fee‑free, and cost‑sharing models. the current study explores some implications and considerations of the current means test model that has been introduced by the current south african president, while using the global south as reference point for the implications of this fee structure, particularly in relation to poor and working‑class students. keywords cost‑sharing; funding; #feesmustfall; global south; higher education; students; student movement; student politics introduction south africa’s achievement of a democratic dispensation in 1994 meant all south africans could have equal participation in the country’s governance choice and saw the doors of all higher education institutions being opened for everyone, regardless of race or gender. by the time south africa had to some extent freed itself from the subjugation of the minority population, most african countries had achieved independence from colonial rule, and had begun engaging with the difficult questions of nation building, and higher education became a focal point of how to achieve this. towards the end of 2015, the south african university landscape saw a number of student‑led protests that demanded fee‑free higher education (mbembe, 2016; pillay, 2015). however, it is worth noting that the demands made by students were not limited to fee‑free education as there was a resurgence in the demand for a decolonised higher * mr sipho dlamini is a phd candidate at the institute for social and health sciences, university of south africa, violence, injury and peace research unit, samrc-unisa, south africa. email: sipho.dlamini@mrc.ac.za https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:sipho.dlamini%40mrc.ac.za?subject= 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 47‑59 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 education system (mbembe, 2016; pillay,  2015). the movement that would come to be known as #feesmustfall (#fmf) effectively used social media to galvanise support and was intertwined with #rhodesmustfall (university of cape town), #openstellenbosch (stellenbosch university), black student movement ([university currently known as] rhodes university) and a host of other movements through which students’ sought to transform particularly historically white institutions (hodes, 2016). the #fmf student movement showed some variation with regard to what fee‑free education would entail in the south african higher education sector. in this regard, institutions such as the university of johannesburg (uj), university of pretoria (up), durban university of technology (dut), university of the western cape (uwc), and cape peninsula university of technology (cput) all called for free education (moosa,  2016). the university of the witwatersrand (wits) students called for universal free education, while at the (university currently known as) rhodes university students called for free education for the poor and the “missing middle”, i.e. those students whose parents earn a combined family income of r123 000 up to r600 000 (moosa,  2016). in general, the students appeared to have made the decision that fee‑free higher education is an important aspect of higher education provision that is fair and equitable (naicker, 2016). the #fmf movement’s demands of fee‑free education were not met by then president jacob zuma as he only conceded to a 0% fee hike for the 2016 academic year (naicker, 2016). he established the fees commission under the auspices of the department of justice (doj) in january of 2016 to investigate how higher education could be funded going forward (doj, 2016). the commission was set to conclude its work in eight months; however, by the time the second round of protests began in 2016, it was largely on the basis that universities were set to increase fees in the 2017 academic year, and the commission had not concluded its work (department of higher education and training [dhet], 2016). the state announced through the minister of higher education and training that there would be no fee increase for those whose families have a combined income of r122 000 and below, while those identified as the “missing middle” would also not incur a fee increase as the state would cover the shortfall (dhet, 2016). the demands made by students reflect democratic south africa’s struggle to alleviate poverty and create an environment conducive to sustainable development. for the majority of the country’s population, obtaining a university degree does not only mean better job opportunities but also a drastic shift in social mobility for an entire generation. the importance of an educated society cannot be overstated, particularly in south africa with its recent history of subjugation and intentional underdevelopment of the large majority of the people. according to albach, reisberg and rumbley (2009), higher education has been recognised globally as a means for people to access higher‑paying work, and as an important economic driver. additionally, bloom, canning and chan (2006) have argued that investing in higher education for any society has a direct impact on economic growth (see also kapur, & crowley, 2008). the fees commission released an interim report towards the full report in 2017, after handing the report to the president. the fees commission had a number of https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 sipho dlamini: #fees mustfall: lessons from the post‑colonial global south 49 recommendations, most notably that students from poor and working‑class families be given income contingent loans through private banks that would be guaranteed by the state (doj, 2017). the presidency announced that in the university sector poor and working‑class students would be considered as families with an annual combined income of r350 000 and below, and these students would therefore receive fully subsidised higher education including accommodation, study material and transport costs, while those who are above this new threshold up to r600 000 would incur no fee increase as the state would again, for the academic year 2018, provide for payment of the shortfall (the  presidency, 2017). this is a fundamental change in the higher education landscape and surely meets the demands made by students from the 2015 and 2016 protests. this article deals with the issue of free education and how this may have an impact on the structure of higher education and, by extension, society, with regard to the class distributions. the focus is on what lessons can be learnt from other post‑colonial countries. given the legacy of apartheid and colonialism in south africa it is imperative that we ask: how does south africa reshape the higher education landscape to be more inclusive of both class and race? are there lessons to be learnt from other post‑colonial countries? does fee‑free higher education allow greater access for the poor and working classes or is the trend towards higher education to remain the privilege of the middle to upper classes? these are important questions to ask in an attempt to democratise higher education and include those who are often left in the margins of a modernising society. the south african condition due to south africa’ s racialised past, it is important to keep in mind the role that class plays in racial disparities and the role that race plays in creating class disparities (young & braziel,  2006). mbeki and mbeki (2015) highlight that there is a growing class issue, particularly between those at the top of the economic strata and those at the bottom, that may not necessarily be race based. it is, however, still the case that class cannot be spoken about without speaking about race. south africa is rated amongst the most unequal societies out of 120 countries in the world using the gini coefficient1 (the world bank, 2017). mbeki and mbeki  (2016) demonstrate that a large proportion of south africa’s population lives in dire poverty. estimated at 23.6 million people, they have termed this category the “underclass”. they note that the underclass is largely occupied by black people, while the white population group lives mostly in the middle and upper economic strata, though the top one percent of south african society is mixed in terms of racial demographics (mbeki & mbeki, 2016). these numbers are not new in the south african public domain as the former president of south africa, thabo mbeki, argued in what has come to be known as the ‘two worlds’ speech (mbeki, 1998). amongst the things the former president was referring to was the south african economic divide which was (is) based on race, with the white minority 1 measures relative wealth in society (see the world bank, 2017). this was rated at 0.69 in 2014 and may continue to rise if we consider that the unemployment rate has increased to 27.1% (statssa, 2017). 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 47‑59 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 having the lion’s share of the country’s wealth, while the black majority live in dire poverty (mbeki,  1998). this assertion was not without dispute as nattrass and seekings (2001) proposed that the south african socioeconomic landscape was not highly skewed in favour of the white minority. however, the position of this article is such that the inequalities of south african society have persisted well into the 24‑year‑old democracy and are very evident even in higher education. according to the dhet (2015), in 2013 the african population group made up 68% of all students registered in contact universities; however, the dhet does not make a case for the socioeconomic status of the african students. this leaves the question of the socioeconomic background of the students being unknown or, worse yet, the unverified assumption is that a large proportion of these students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. the conflation of socioeconomic status and race often leads to false conclusions about the class struggle in south african society. amongst these is the idea that a much greater number of the people on the lower end of the socioeconomic strata are gaining access to the higher education system, particularly university education, than may be the case. the 2016 general household survey (statistics south africa [statssa], 2017, p. 17) indicated that the participation rates in higher education amongst african and coloured population groups (aged 18 to 29 years) were the lowest with 3.3% and 3.5% respectively, compared to the participation rates of indian (18.8%) and white (17.5%) population groups. the low participation rates of african and coloured population groups are concerning as these groups are most affected by poverty and deprivation (statssa, 2012; mbeki & mbeki, 2016). although the african population groups may have the highest numbers with regard to people within the higher education sector, this appears to be a disproportionate representation. additionally, while the evidence presented by statssa (2017) offers much about race participation, the question of class remains unanswered. a recent study conducted at a historically white university (hwu) on factors affecting academic performance included an array of factors such as race, class, age, gender, previous type of high school, social capital, locus of control, well‑being, international status, language, and frequency of lecture attendance, noted an interesting trend between race and class (dlamini, 2016). the research did not intend to highlight participation with regard to race and class. however, many of the participants indicated that they came from homes that fall within the middle to upper strata of south african society with regard to family income and the type of high school they had attended, which were mostly former model c and private schools (dlamini, 2016). if we consider the results of dhet (2015) and the study by letseka, breier and visser (2010), the african population group makes up a larger proportion of the students enrolled in the university system (66.4%), although they constitute the smallest relative to the population size (statssa, 2017, p. 16). there thus appears to be a disproportionate participation rate with regard to the economic class within the sector. to fund students coming from lower‑income homes, the state created the national financial aid scheme (nsfas) (nsfas act no. 56, 1999). nsfas is a loan that is provided https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 sipho dlamini: #fees mustfall: lessons from the post‑colonial global south 51 to students who come from households where the combined family income is less than r122 000 per year. the final year of the loan can be converted into a bursary provided the student finishes their degree in the requisite time; however, the rest must be paid back to the state (dhet, 2015). the increase in the student numbers in the early years of the millennium saw nsfas come under pressure to fund more students. however, the nsfas budget has increased substantially between the time the scheme was introduced in 1999 and the 2015 academic year, from a budget of r441 million in 1999 to r9 billion in the 2015 academic year (nsfas, 2015). the 2014/2015 nsfas  report (2015) indicates that the government scheme had funded 42% of students in the higher education system, though this number was inclusive of students in technical and vocational education training (tvet) colleges and could be significantly lower if only universities are considered. according to the centre for higher education (che, 2016), in  2011, nsfas funded 31% of students, and 24% of the students in the year 2013 in the country’s universities. the authors can only speculate that the marked decrease can be attributed to the increase in the university fees and an increase of the student numbers – although the effect of the latter can be considered to be minimal. the recent announcement by the presidency on the structure of university fees included a restructuring of nsfas. the presidency outlined that all students currently registered at a university and whose fees are being paid for through nsfas will be given grants rather than the current loan system (the presidency, 2017). in line with this announcement is that education will be fee‑free for those at tvet colleges, while those who are classified as working class or poor will also not pay for university education. what remains to be seen is the effects this will have for students who are accessing higher education for the first time starting in 2018, that is to say whether class disparities will be alleviated within the higher education sector. the protests that engulfed the south african higher education sector in 2015 and continued, to an extent, in 2016, indicated that students were unhappy with the state funding in higher education (naicker, 2016; hodes, 2016; motlalepule & smith, 2017). they also indicated that even though nsfas has had a fundamental role in allowing those who were previously marginalised to attend higher education institutions, and particularly universities, students still felt that there was more that could be done, as evidenced by the protests in 2015 and 2016. the issue of the majority of african students’ participation in the higher education sector has been a point of focus because of the country’s history of racial division which resulted in the majority of the country’s population being left out of the formal economy (seedat, 1998; mbeki, 1998). it is important to note that in as much as university participation is a matter of redressing the injustices of the past that have left a legacy of a racialised economy (mbeki, 1998) and higher education sector, issues of class participation need careful monitoring as they may create two worlds in south african society. further, south african democracy is fairly young if looked at in terms of participation for all who live in it, and the current article posits that there are valuable lessons that can be learnt from other post‑colonial countries that have grappled with the issue of an inclusive 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 47‑59 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 economy. failures and successes in this regard offer an important way to shape the higher education sector, particularly with the demands for free universal or free education for the poor – that are made by students in universities (moosa, 2016). these lessons can offer a way to understand some of the implications that such a system can have in the higher education sector, particularly for the millions of south africans living in poverty, and whose hopes for a better future rest with the children who may have access to a university education. post‑colonial trends in higher education universal fee‑free education the issue of access to higher institutions of learning for the poor in the post‑colonial world is one that has become a point of contention. bloom et al. (2006) argue that there is a clear link between a country’s economic development and a well‑functioning higher education sector. mamdani (2008) argues that higher education is an important sector as it is where teachers are trained, where curricula are developed, and where the leaders of a society are cultivated. for instance, the colonial period did not yield the number of graduates required for the newly independent countries to be able to function at optimal level (mamdani, 2008; teferra & albach, 2004). as such, the post‑colonies carry the enormous challenge to reverse the effects of colonisation and offer people in those countries opportunities for a better life. cloete (2015) makes the point that “free higher education sounds revolutionary … but in a developing country it is financially, empirically and morally wrong” (p. 11). this argument is based on the idea that in a post‑colonial country such as south africa, the rich are often the beneficiaries of a universally free higher education system. this article postulates that the current fee‑based higher education system is not only benefiting the upper class and the middle class, but a higher education system that is universally fee‑free will only serve to entrench this further. as cloete (2015) puts it “for the rich, higher education in south africa is a bargain, for the gifted poor it is affordable through financial aid …” (p. 11). oketch (2003) argues that the calls for tuition‑free higher education in countries such as kenya, uganda and zambia were based on the notion that tuition is prohibitive to those who cannot afford higher education, which led to protests by students in the 1990s for higher education to be tuition free. south africa has had to deal with the same kind of protests in 2015; as noted earlier, students have made similar arguments with regard to fee‑free higher education in south africa (moosa, 2016). the idea that the current model is exclusionary has taken hold in south africa and, as demonstrated by the results of dlamini (2016) at a hwu, this may well be true. however, it does not appear that a tuition‑free higher education system will have the benefits of equality that the students are seeking (oketch, 2003). the benefits of a fee‑free education may not accrue to the poor and working class as can be seen in the case of brazil, which has universal free education for its student population (brotman & pollack, 2017; johnstone, 2004). however, this has not lead to equitable participation of the classes in higher education. kapur and crowley (2008) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 sipho dlamini: #fees mustfall: lessons from the post‑colonial global south 53 indicate that in brazil 65% of the students attended private basic education and a more indicative statistic is that 66% of the student population come from the top 20% of the socioeconomic strata. this indicates that a universally fee‑free education serves to benefit those who come from the upper economic strata of society, and who then have the upper hand in entering higher education. in this way public universities become a space to reproduce privilege by giving access to the valuable resource of university degrees to those who already occupy a privileged position in society. cost‑sharing according to johnstone (2004), a number of countries have introduced some kind of cost‑sharing that is “a shift of the higher educational cost burden from exclusive or near‑ exclusive reliance on government, or taxpayers, to some financial reliance upon parents and/or students …” (pp. 403‑404). mamdani (2008) notes that it was the world bank that urged the post‑colonial countries, particularly those in africa, to move towards a cost‑sharing model as higher education was seen as a private good in comparison to basic education which was seen as a public good (see also oketch, 2003). the private versus public good debate is a problematic one as the distinction is arbitrary and seeks to create a binary where none exists. this is to say that there is both a private and public good in higher education as the individual who gains a university degree is able to access higher paying jobs, resulting in taxes from which the public also benefits. in other post‑colonial countries such as uganda and tanzania the cost‑sharing model that has been used is the dual‑track system, which means having fee‑free institutions and having privately sponsored students (ishengoma, 2004; marcucci, johnstone & ngolovoi, 2008). marcucci et al. (2008) argue that even though there is a dual‑track system in these countries, there is still unequal access to higher education, particularly because of the stringent access requirements. as is the case in brazil, most students who attend the universities in east africa – which includes countries such as kenya – come from private schools, while families who cannot afford a private education have no option but to place their children in dysfunctional public schools and, as a result, access has been in favour of those in the upper strata of the socioeconomic ladder (see kapur & crowley,  2008; marcucci et al., 2008). what this highlights is a concern that even though higher education is fee‑free for the majority of students, because the public basic education system in those countries does not ensure student success in entering higher education, the result has been that those who can afford the fees for private basic education are still populating the higher education space (kapur & crowley, 2008; marcucci et al., 2008). further, according to kapur and crowley (2008), in asian countries such as china and india where university education is state funded, there is heavy regulation that seeks to limit the expenditure on universities. however, the imposed regulations have also had an effect on the quality of education provided and decreasing academic freedom. institutional autonomy is a vital part of many academic institutions that operate at optimal level around the world. in south africa, the state has allowed institutions autonomy to choose their 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 47‑59 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 pedagogical and research direction, and even set the fee scale according to the needs of each institution (che, 2016). what is concerning, however, are the disruptions in keeping the higher education sector financially viable, which often have negative consequences for achieving these research objectives as seen in places such as uganda (see mamdani, 2008; bloom & canning, 2006). the reduction of research outputs from sub‑saharan africa – with the exception of south africa – and the rest of the developing world is of particular concern, and the government of south africa, along with the higher education sector as a whole, recognises this component. most post‑colonial countries have faced the challenge of being unable to achieve the desired goal of equitable access through cost‑sharing methods. rather cost‑sharing appeared to entrench the inequalities, with a further effect on teaching and learning within higher education institutions (mamdani, 2008). the same can be seen in the cost‑ sharing method that south africa was using up until 2017 as it was not achieving the goal of class access and, to an extent, the goal of racial demographic access (statssa, 2017; dlamini,  2016). although cost‑sharing appears to make a case for the fact that higher education is both a public and private good, what this kind of structure fails to recognise is the problematic manner in which cost‑sharing often excludes those who cannot afford university fees. in south africa, it must be said, nsfas, has to some degree been able to mitigate this. however, other challenges faced by students who come from working‑class and poor families, including transportation, food and accommodation, have resulted in a high dropout rate amongst these students. intergenerational poverty often results in students having to leave, particularly contact universities, so that they may be able to provide financial support to families. cost‑sharing appears on the face of it to allow equal access for everyone in a society; however, the result is often that there is an undue burden placed on individual families whose circumstances are affected by the history of the systematic racism of apartheid and colonialism. the call for free education by south african students can be seen as a move in the opposite direction of most african countries. while other countries are looking at cost‑ sharing, south african students are calling for fee‑free education. south africa, upon achieving democracy in 1994, had already had a cost‑sharing method whereby the government subsidised students but students in higher education were (are) required to pay a fee. the south african government’s current role is mainly in issuing what is known as ‘block grant’ funding that differentiates teaching input (enrolments), teaching output (graduation rates), research output (advanced postgraduate research degree graduates, and publications by staff and students) and lastly institutional factors (based on size and proportion of students from historically disadvantaged populations) and so‑called ‘earmarked’ funds (che, 2016). it can be argued that the south african government views the higher education system as both a private and public good, through which cost‑sharing mechanisms have been maintained. following the protests in 2015, the then minister of higher education and training in south africa, blade nzimande, maintained that the state was “committed to progressively realise free post‑school education for the poor and the working class … and to assist https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 sipho dlamini: #fees mustfall: lessons from the post‑colonial global south 55 middle‑class families who are unable to pay” (dhet, 2016, p. 1). it appears that the state at this point was leaning towards a system in which the poor and the working class could have fee‑free education while the middle and upper class would engage in some kind of cost‑sharing. the announcement by the presidency in december of 2017 was in line with the commitment made by the minister two years prior, as higher education will be free for those coming from poor and working‑class backgrounds, while those who come from the middle to upper classes will contribute in a cost‑sharing method (the presidency, 2017). future considerations for south africa the current analysis of some of the trends in the global south indicates what cloete (2015) points to about universal fee‑free education being more beneficial to the economic elite than it is to the poor and the working class. however, the trends also indicate that cost‑ sharing mechanisms are not the solution that they may appear to serve, specifically to the poor and working class, as cost‑sharing often means that the individual student must be in an economic position to pay for fees. it is clear that the introduction of fee‑free higher education in south africa must be carefully monitored in order to ensure that there is an increase in the number of students from poor and working‑class families who access university education. the introduction of a holistic funding system can serve as a deterrent for the high attrition rates amongst working‑class and poor students. it is important to note here what oketch (2003) argues about students in countries such as zambia, uganda and kenya who tend to stay longer in the education system when a holistic funding system is introduced. the issues of throughput are well documented in south africa as being a result of a multitude of factors acting against students who come from working‑class and poor families. some of these include student well‑being (young & campbell, 2014), institutional culture (matthews, 2015) and even first‑generation status (hlatshwayo, 2016), which all intersect to produce low throughput rates. the issue of attrition, however, serves as a vital point when holistic support is considered with studies showing that students either do not finish their degrees in the required time frame or drop out completely, leaving university without acquiring even the basic degree (letseka et al., 2010). it is in issues of attrition and throughput that studies investigating the reasons for this high attrition rate should become an imperative for the sector with regard to funding, as they can better illuminate the challenges faced by students. it is worth noting, however, that existing literature in this field, such as the landmark study by letseka et al. (2010), shows that those students who come from poor and working‑class families are the hardest impacted by attrition rates for a variety of reasons such as those that were investigated by dlamini (2016). given that the financial constraints can be mitigated by means of fee‑free education, what still bears mentioning here are the effects of the basic education system on access and success. even though students from working‑class families can apply for a state grant and not pay fees for university in other post‑colonial countries such as brazil and uganda, students who come from private basic education still are the beneficiaries (kapur & crowley, 2008; 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 47‑59 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 oketch, 2003). the difference in south africa is that fee‑free higher education is based on a means test; however, this does not mean that those from the lower economic strata are going to populate universities, as one of the most important requirements is still grade 12 results. it  is in this way highly important that the inequalities in the quality of basic education are fast eradicated to ensure that the inequalities in higher education are not further entrenched. at this point in the country’s policy development, it has become necessary that research focusing on attrition and throughput influences the direction that the higher education system takes. mamdani (2008) notes that higher education is a great public good when it is applied in this way. stated differently, higher education is not just a place where people can gain skills that ensure social mobility, but the research that is produced in academic spaces can and should influence the country’s policy in some form. it is worth repeating that the climate in which students do not complete their degrees on time will put a heavy burden on an already overly extended fiscus, in which the state has other competing social problems such as the social grants that are now being provided to over 17 million people. south africa’s slow economic growth and low employment rate can result in the inability of the state to shoulder financial responsibility for the higher education sector. this conundrum is seen in other post‑colonial countries, as noted by oketch (2003) and johnstone (2004), and may very well become a south african reality. mayanja  (1998) argues that the state should remain the primary funder of the higher education system in uganda. however, there should be increased sensitivity to equality, with an element of positive discrimination. for south africa it is important that we take cognisance of the concerns raised by mamdani (2008), johnstone (2004) and kapur and crowley  (2008) about post‑colonial states’ capacity to maintain the costs of higher education. another alternative to consider in the future should south africa not be able to maintain free education is what has been implemented in scotland – although not necessarily a former colony. the country has done away with upfront fees to higher education and instead has introduced the scottish endowment fund, wherein former students contribute in the form of taxes to the sustainability of the system (johnstone,  2004). there are concerns with this as it puts an increased burden on the young black graduate who often has to pay the current income‑based tax and living expenses while supporting unemployed (and underemployed) family members (mbeki & mbeki, 2016). this has been a criticism with regard to nsfas repayment, which takes into consideration affordability but is often an expense that such a graduate cannot afford in real terms. for this reason – and also lack of employment opportunities – nsfas repayment has been rather slow (nsfas, 2015). conclusions south africa is in a unique position in that it can learn from other post‑colonial countries with regard to what to do with the resource of higher education. the developmental agenda that south africa is currently engaged in does not exclude an effective higher education system. there are matters that appear to have more pressing urgency than that of https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 sipho dlamini: #fees mustfall: lessons from the post‑colonial global south 57 higher education, and this is not unique to south africa (see johnstone, 2004; kajubi, 1992; mamdani, 2008; oketch, 2003). this article has focused on whether there could be lessons learnt from other post‑colonial countries on the issue of fees in higher education. the trend in the global south has been to move from no fees to some fees being charged for obtaining a higher education qualification; this has been largely due to constraints on financial resources (kapur & crowley; oketch, 2003; kajubi, 1992; mayanja, 1998). equality with regard to socioeconomic class has appeared an elusive concept in higher education institutions in the post‑colony, and in south africa the conflation of race and class has also proven to make this goal even more difficult to attain. it is important that we highlight the racial disparities in higher education if we are to properly redress the challenges currently facing the country. however, in so doing, we cannot create a classist society. the ‘two worlds’ that former president thabo mbeki spoke about will be maintained if  the country does not take into consideration issues of positive discrimination with regard to not only race but also class. the understanding that higher education offers an opportunity for class mobility in a world where knowledge and skills are increasingly valuable should be paramount in the analysis of higher education (johnstone, 2004; teferra & albach, 2004). acknowledgements i would like to thank prof. charles young of rhodes university for his earlier contributions and guidance in the formulation of this article. i also greatly appreciate the reviews from abigail simons of the violence, injury and peace research unit at samrc‑unisa, dr  mlamuli hlatshwayo of the university of kwazulu‑natal, and prof. sally matthews of rhodes university. references akalu, g.a. 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(2019). #feesmustfall: lessons from the post‑colonial global south. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 47‑59. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1003238928267 https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022215618513 http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/students-demanding-feesmustfall http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/students-demanding-feesmustfall https://doi.org/10.1332/204986017x14835300150779 https://doi.org/10.1177/2455747116640434 https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327930pje7803_05 http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/downloads/nsfas%20act.%20no%2056%20of%201999.pdf http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/downloads/nsfas%20act.%20no%2056%20of%201999.pdf https://doi.org/10.1177/008124639802800204 https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-25-feesmustfall-protests-disrupt-exam-at-uct-but-var https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-25-feesmustfall-protests-disrupt-exam-at-uct-but-var https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-25-feesmustfall-protests-disrupt-exam-at-uct-but-var https://doi.org/10.1023/b:high.0000009822.49980.30 http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/release-report-commission-inquiry-feasibility-makin http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/release-report-commission-inquiry-feasibility-makin http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/release-report-commission-inquiry-feasibility-makin http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southafrica/overview http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southafrica/overview https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2013.779638 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3692 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 43–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.69 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za speckman, m. & mandew, m. (eds.) (2014). perspectives on student affairs in south africa cape town: african minds munyaradzi madambi* book review * dean of students, university of zimbabwe. email: mmadambi@hotmail.com there is an aphorism that i often share with my students, as dean of students at the university of zimbabwe, which quickly came to my mind as i read perspectives on student affairs in south africa. the aphorism says, “every morning in africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. every morning a lion wakes up it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. it doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle … when the sun comes up, you better be running.” this aphorism is used to assure students that the student affairs division is there to support them in all their noble and constructive endeavours; and that their success, whether ‘running away from danger’ or ‘running after prey’ is our ultimate goal. consistent with this aphorism as it applies at the university of zimbabwe, perspectives on student affairs in south africa is a comprehensive exposé of the broad scope of how universities can create, facilitate and advance opportunities for student growth and success in south africa. this volume of articles from seasoned and well-accomplished south african student affairs practitioners is a must-read for student affairs practitioners, heads of colleges and universities, scholars and researchers in the area of higher education. the volume has eight well-researched and painstakingly written articles, paying rapt attention on student affairs practices in south africa, invariably comparing and contrasting these with best practices elsewhere in the developed and developing countries. perspectives on student affairs in south africa is a remarkable demonstration of absolute limits of excellent research, mastery and specialisation in the student affairs discourse, a passion for the profession, and an insatiable knowledge-based zeal to see student affairs transformed into a vehicle of not only student growth, but also for the development of africa. the clarion call that echoes through and transverse the whole volume is the need for a proper understanding of the place and role of student affairs, its philosophical foundations in education, which then inform the ethos and practices in student affairs, as well as its possible professionalisation. student affairs management efficiency, effectiveness and relevance in pursuit of student development and success receive appropriate attention in the volume. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2015, 43–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.69 what makes this work great reading for all student affairs practitioners and educational administrators is that it is written by scholars and student affairs practitioners who come from a complex and fascinating working environment: south africa. this is a country that has a fair share of socio-economic and political dynamics with a very high propensity to keep student affairs practitioners busy. dynamics in south africa require student affairs practitioners that are creative, innovative and inventive. south african universities’ catchment areas for students are characterised by interesting bipolar extremes: peace and violence, opulence and poverty, health and pandemics, social systems breakdown against a backdrop of the first world in sections of society, etc. south africa boasts of some of the best universities on the continent, yet it also has universities that julius malema labled “glorified high schools”. the “rainbow” nature of south africa also poses serious cultural challenges to student affairs practitioners because it is not always easy to come up with a student affairs model and intervention strategies that can satisfy the diversity of cultures therein. handling student affairs issues in a country where violence has become endemic and drug abuse prevalent is not a stroll in the park. this background makes perspectives on student affairs in south africa imperative. and the authors do not disappoint. among the major issues articulated in perspectives on student affairs in south africa, the need for a clear philosophical framework for student affairs is one of the highlights. it is true that without clear metaphysical, epistemological and theoretical foundations underpinning the ethos and practices of student affairs, it is difficult to even conceptualise and articulate the institutional vision, mission, values and mandates. benchmarks and outcomes of educational goals in general and student affairs in particular have to be informed by the institution’s philosophy of education. the lack of a normative metaframework for student affairs, which is not peculiar to south africa alone, creates a plethora of challenges. as birgit schreiber rightly notes, the lack of a proper philosophical foundation for student affairs leads to a lot of second order-level problems. without an appreciation of the philosophical and educational foundations of student affairs, it is hardly possible for macrolevel administrators in educational institutions to adequately plan and budget for student affairs-related issues. deployment of adequate and appropriately qualified human resources to student affairs is also highly unlikely when top administration does not understand the role, place and significance of student affairs. the volume, however, rightly concedes that, as much as we want clear philosophical foundations for student affairs, it is not always easy to have a universally accepted position on what constitute educational goals, values and best practices. the work under review posits that failure to reflect on local best practices or produce new knowledge can open up gaps for the proliferation of foreign models and theories of student affairs management. reflection on this aspect as presented in the work under review shows that cultural diversity in a “rainbow nation” like south africa, can lead to paradigm paralysis and/or ambivalence in student affairs. cultural relativism, a view that “moral or ethical appropriateness of a belief or practice depends on cultural contexts”, has serious implications for many aspects in student affairs. for example, the cross-gender student housing model in south africa, america, europe and australia would not appeal to strongly conservative countries like zimbabwe and botswana. counselling, therapy and a host of student advisory services are munyaradzi madambi: perspectives on student affairs in south africa 45 new to some parts of africa, and students sometimes shun them because, culturally, seeking therapy is a sign of weakness, especially to a man. more work needs to be done on these culturally specific, sensitive issues with the view to engendering tolerance and adaptability, if we are to achieve the goal of nurturing global citizens through education. another area of utmost importance raised in the volume is the issue of student governance. the question as to whether universities are doing enough to nurture student leaders is pertinent. are institutions happy with the emerging of prolific, dynamic and critical student leaders? are legal frameworks and ordinances for student conduct designed to promote growth or to stifle student development? can student politics be divorced from national politics? do we have good examples for our students who can provide examples and benchmarks for democratic leadership in africa and beyond? can african students admire and/or adopt western democracy without their leaders accusing them of succumbing to neo-colonialism? it is not only in south africa that such questions are raised and where relationships between administrators and students may come to be characterised by suspicion, malice, vengeance and contempt. student leadership and student governance require more attention because this is where the future leadership of nations is nurtured. the volume also alludes to three phases of development in student affairs, i.e. the parenting phase, the student development phase and the integrated support phase. in my view, the “integrated support phase” needs greater attention in many african institutions because this is the model closest to many philosophies of education, be they african, european, american or asian. several features are common about education regardless of background, but the following tend to be very conspicuous when we look at the philosophy of student affairs: firstly, that education is a value-laden, axiological concept; and secondly that students tend to take the character traits and value systems of their professors (people that they admire) and those who spend a lot of time with them. martin mandew’s calls for collaboration and cooperation between academics can, therefore, not be overemphasised. i fully agree with the notion that there is a very thin line between the academic development and the social development of students. classical philosophers and educational sociologists such as socrates and immanuel kant, and contemporary scholars such as richard s. peters, lawrence kolberge and jean piaget, present compelling arguments to the effect that intellectual and social development take place concurrently. another message that comes out strongly in this volume concerns the need to come up with relevant student affairs methodologies that respond to the needs of certain specific conditions and cultures. there is a strong argument for home-grown resources for counsellors to “strike the right code”. the volume also rightly advocates the need to design systems, mechanisms and strategies for specific target groups, appreciating that “human behaviour is often influenced by material conditions in a given environment”. what this then means is that student affairs practitioners at universities like stellenbosh and those at the university of the limpopo may need to vary their approaches and contents of student development. for example, the range of lifeskills and soft skills required by students at these two institutions may differ quite significantly because the areas of focus and levels of engagement will differ depending on students needs’ and past experiences. 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2015, 43–46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.69 another talking point raised in this work is the issue of synergies, not only between student affairs and academics, but also with other institutions designated for youth development. in the case of zimbabwe where i come from, we have organs such as the zimbabwe youth council; the ministry of youth, gender and indigenisation; the national youth service, etc. the question here is, “how does the national youth development policy influence student affairs development in universities? how are student affairs practitioners influencing national youth development policies?” the need for student affairs practitioners to spread their wings wider cannot be overemphasised. the issues of material support to, and access into, universities by people from poor and disadvantaged areas are areas of serious debate especially in developing countries. apart from grappling with issues of paternalism, dependency and entitlement, there are also issues of dehumanisation, confidence and self-efficacy. what intervention strategies are necessary and effective for students who survive through university on handouts? does the quality of handout really matter to students who have no options? how should a government disburse resources to underprivileged students where there is no accurate means test? do students on government support have any obligation to the state upon completion? are governments that benefit from poor countries’ brain drain obliged to compensate the country of origin for the investment made in the graduates? perspectives of student affairs in south africa is a must-read. its literary impact will certainly be felt as it makes its way into libraries and offices of student affairs practitioners. authors and editors of this volume deserve commendation and appreciation for a job well done. their efforts have gone a long way in expanding frontiers of knowledge in this area where not much research has been carried out. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 55 www.jsaa.ac.za research article academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal: a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles, 2010–2015 vino paideya* & annah bengesai** * dr vino paideya is a lecturer in the college of agriculture, science and engineering, school of chemistry and physics, university of kwazulu-natal. email: paideya@ukzn.ac.za ** dr annah bengesai is the head: teaching & learning unit, college of law and management studies, university of kwazulu-natal. email: bengesai@ukzn.ac.za abstract the aim of this systematic review was to examine research studies which focus on effective student support practices and show evidence of credible assessment. to identify effective student support practices, and also to provide a contemporary picture of effective support practices at the university of kwazulunatal, 24 studies which met the inclusion criteria were reviewed and analysed in terms of: (i) aims, (ii) main participants, (iii) methodology used and (iv) the main outcomes emerging. the findings from the review indicate that there is a diversity of available evidence, ranging from assessment of peer support programmes, alternative access programmes to curriculum-based interventions. however, most of these studies are cross-sectional qualitative studies, which also draw from relatively small samples. this suggests that more large-scale studies are needed in the field in order to provide greater insight into effective student support practices. in addition, research which examines academic support programmes over long periods of time while also controlling for programme effects is recommended. keywords student support; academic monitoring and support; systematic review introduction retention and throughput in higher education is a global problem. in the south african context, the literature available (see cloete, 2016; scott, yeld & hendry, 2007) indicates that high attrition rates are severe for the “previously disadvantaged” students. whilst access to higher education has improved for these students, it is widely believed that in terms of progression, students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds continue to lag behind their counterparts from the more advantaged contexts (fisher & scott, 2011; scott et al., 2007). at the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), such concerns have led to the establishment of the academic monitoring and support (ams) policy framework which was implemented in 2006 with the principal aim of enhancing the quality of teaching and http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:paideya%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= mailto:bengesai%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 learning. from this broad policy, all four colleges1 at the university of kwazulu-natal have since 2009 developed innovative strategies for implementation of interventions for academic success, funded to a large extent through the teaching development grant from the department of higher education and training (dhet) (university of kwazulu-natal quality enhancement project report 2015). the 2010 academic monitoring and support (ams) report revealed that academic support interventions were compulsory for all students at the ukzn and most colleges made extensive use of the academic development officer (ados) in their monitoring and support activities. however, of concern was the relative “instability” of the support system because it was primarily staffed by ados on short-term contracts. it was also found that despite the substantial investment and the institutional support for academic monitoring and support, the graduation rate had continued to decline from 20% in 2006 to 17% in 2009 with some academic programmes experiencing higher dropout and exclusion rates than graduations. in 2011, the quality promotions and assurance (qpa) office together with external evaluators conducted an audit of the ams programmes at the university. the report highlighted several functional systems and practices in place in the four colleges. these included the positive attitude, dedication and commitment of the staff involved in the ams programmes, every college having some form of mentorship system and the contribution of senior academic staff to the ams programme at both school and college level. however, substantial variations were also reported with respect to practices, and the conceptualisation of some of the roles and responsibilities of ams personnel. according to hammond, thorogood, jenkins and faaiuas (2013), supporting and enhancing the diversity of our students requires that all of our institutional aspects – philosophies, strategies and structures, policies, processes and practices, and particularly our learning and teaching approaches and related support delivery – are integrated, coordinated and intentional in aid of student learning, engagement and success. however, the evidence that supports and informs student support interventions and innovations remains largely theoretical (boughey, 2010), while the available empirical evidence is dispersed across several fields. thus, it is unclear which of these approaches to student support may have efficacy or impact (mann, gordon & macleod, 2009). to address these concerns, this study aimed at identifying and bringing together evidence of academic support practices in the four colleges at ukzn that show promise of good practice, credible assessment and have a positive impact on student success. it is anticipated that the results of this review will inform the development of a more coherent institutional academic support programme where colleges can adapt to/adopt other learning contexts or colleges’ support structures while maintaining their autonomy and flexibility. the specific question that this review sought to answer is: what are the credible and effective student support practices at ukzn that have inculcated assessment into support practice/programmes? 1 there are four colleges at the university of kwazulu-natal. these are the college of agriculture, engineering and science (aes); law and management studies (lms); health sciences (hs) and humanities. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 57 systematic review as conceptual and methodological framework denyer and tranfield (2006) state that the need for research synthesis can only be appreciated when one understands that for gains in scholarship to be cumulative, there must be a link between past and future research. this is what this study sought to accomplish by bringing together research on academic support in an effort to better understand, and also provide a link between past and future research. a systematic literature review can be defined as a method of critically appraising, summarising and attempting to reconcile existing research on an issue of concern (hallinger, 2013). hence it is a “secondary research activity which reviews primary and secondary research in attempt to take stock of what is known in a particular field,” (andrews, 2005a, p. 207). literature reviews have been used in research for many years and have formed part of every sound research project (berg, 2007). however, what distinguishes a systematic literature review is that it is a review of the evidence from clearly formulated questions that uses systematic and overt methods to identify, select and critically appraise relevant primary research in a way that is explicit, transparent, replicable, and accountable (andrews, 2005a, 2005b). a more general literature review on the other hand, uses selective, less systematic approaches to identify relevant sources and to extract and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review (andrews, 2005b). research reviews play a crucial role in the advancement of knowledge by highlighting milestones of progress along particular lines of inquiry (hallinger, 2013). it is argued that well-crafted reviews identify blind spots, blank spots and intellectual “dry wells” in the landscape of theory and empirical research (see andrews & harlen, 2006; hallinger & heck, 1996; bridges, 1982). in summary, research reviews enhance the quality of theoretical and empirical efforts of scholars to contribute to knowledge production (degeest & schmidt, 2010; shemilt, mugford, vale, marsh, donaldson & drummond, 2010; gough, 2007). need for undertaking the review boughey (2010) notes that although great strides have been made in academic development over the past 25 years, there has been a tendency to rely on common sense rather than theory and evidence when it comes to forms of support available. this is mainly because academic support/development is an under-researched field which is often located on the periphery of institutional life. in other words, academic support is a shadow world in higher education which often goes unnoticed, yet, the findings from this research have potential benefits for student retention and success. boughey (2010) further notes that the field has been highly contested and continues to evolve in line with the changing nature of higher education. the four ams colloquia conducted at ukzn since 2013 have also revealed that there is fragmentation in roles and responsibilities of ams staff as well as in the ams activities. this fragmentation is worsened by the fact that there have not been rigorous evaluations of the ams activities, a situation which has limited the impact of support interventions to contribute to the improvement of the teaching and learning context. moreover, there are concerns that many students do not in fact graduate, either dropping out, or being excluded due to finances or exceeding the limit of enrolment for 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 their programme (pocock, 2012). this makes it all the more urgent to initiate a study which consolidates all the studies in the field in order to identify the gaps in the field. in essence, this study is accordingly an attempt to provide an authoritative synthesis of research that can be used to inform academic support. selection of interventions a defining feature of a systematic review is that it uses transparent procedures to locate and appraise research. the parameters and procedures must be clearly defined beforehand to ensure that they can be replicated. in this way, systematic reviews have the potential to minimise bias (bearman & phillip 2013; petticrew & roberts, 2006). the studies included in the review are screened for quality, so that the findings of many studies can be combined. for this review, we defined “academic support” as interventions by staff categorised as ams staff, or by mainstream academics meant to improve students’ academic performance. we assessed academic support research in terms of: • what kinds of support are being provided? • where is the support provisioning happening (location, discipline)? • who is receiving the support? • how is the efficacy of the support being assessed? • how is the support positioned in relation to the curriculum? data was extracted from peer-reviewed journal articles written between 2010 and 2016. in scanning the literature on credible support practices, the following were taken into consideration: • efficacy/reliability of the programme. • clarification of good practices at institutional level/college level. this was considered in terms of how institutionaland college-level practices compare. the following databases were utilised in scanning literature on student support: sabinet, ebsco host, jstor. the key words for database search were: “ukzn and student support”, “ukzn and academic support”, and “ukzn and academic support and student support and student success”. a general principle in a systematic review is to set criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of studies. this helps to define the parameters of the research, thereby avoiding straying into areas that are off-centre and closing other areas that might have been relevant (andrews, 2005a). accordingly, the following eligibility criteria (for selection of literature) were exploited in searches: • english • peer-reviewed journal • ukzn based • 2010–2016 • both quantitative and qualitative studies • ukzn undergraduate and postgraduate students http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 59 both authors of this paper also reviewed and checked the journal articles. to avoid bias, a third reviewer was engaged to review articles that were written by the authors. the third reviewer also acted as a moderator in cases where there was disagreement in the interpretation of the findings of the studies. we anticipated gaining knowledge with respect to support practices at ukzn, particularly in regard to gaps and areas of over-subscription in the provision of support, new types of practices and/or development of assessment capabilities. we also expected that this systematic review of literature would reveal the most likely points of integration in developing a coherent student support programme at ukzn. results and discussion search results our initial search using the keywords located 269 studies. after reading the abstracts, 220 studies were excluded because they were either not located at ukzn, or did not fit the strict definition of support as adopted in this study. hence, 49 articles remained after abstracts were screened. the next step was to read the methodology and results sections of the studies. this led to a further exclusion of 25 studies which were either theoretical papers, did not focus on an intervention, or simply provided a descriptive analysis of students’ performance. thus, the final sample of included studies was 24 as shown in table 1. overview of studies table 1 provides a summary of the interventions available in the four colleges at the ukzn. the analysis is organised into five components. • study population • description of the interventions • methodological aspects • positioning of interventions in relation to the curriculum • evidence of strengths and limitations study population the included studies reported interventions for students at different levels of study as well as academic performance. some focused on ‘at-risk students’, postgraduate students or undergraduate students taking different modules in specific academic programmes. only a few of the studies (seven) did not mention the number of subjects sampled. what kind of support is being offered? the studies reviewed demonstrate that academic support programmes have been used extensively in all the four colleges at ukzn. specific interventions include: (i) peer learning-based interventions (ii) alternative access interventions 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 (iii) curriculum-based interventions (iv) professional discipline (i) peer learning-based interventions the key support programme in the college of agriculture, engineering and science is the supplemental instruction (si) “which is a peer facilitated academic support programme that targets historically difficult courses so as to improve student performance and retention by offering regularly scheduled out of class review sessions,” (umkc si homepage). a  modified version of the programme – peer teaching/learning experience programme (ptlep) – has also been introduced in the school of life sciences, college of aes. both the si and ptlep programmes have been extensively evaluated through journal publications (five articles). most of the evaluations have focused on students’ perceptions and experiences of si (bengesai, 2011; paideya, 2011), si as a social learning space (paideya, 2011; paideya & sookraj, 2011), as well as the efficacy of the intervention as measured by pass rates and students’ perceptions (hakizimana & jurgens, 2013). attendance patterns have also been explored (bengesai, 2011). taken together, this research has shown that peer-based learning encourages collaborative learning and provides a conducive and non-threatening space for student engagement. (ii) alternative access programmes the alternative access programmes cater for students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds whose matriculation points or maths and english grades are slightly lower than the entry requirements (maphosa, 2014). these programmes have been necessitated by the changing nature of higher education which has seen non-traditional students gaining access to higher education. there are different forms of access programmes such as ‘bridging or foundation programmes; add on or augmented programmes’ (maphosa, 2014; boughey, 2010). in the augmented programmes, students are admitted into the first-year bachelor’s programme which is spread over two years. hence, they register for both the mainstream programme and additional (augmented) modules, but the duration of the programme is made longer because of additional academic interventions (zikhali & bokana, 2013). thereafter, students carry the normal load for their degrees. in other words, students will take a minimum of four years to complete a three-year bachelor’s degree. the foundation or bridging programme aims to provide a foundation for students with lower matric points. the aim is to facilitate access to tertiary education for motivated learners who have the will and potential to succeed (national plan for higher education, department of education, 2001, p. 23). unlike the augmented programmes, foundation programmes are adjunct, pre-first year and separate from the mainstream programme (maphosa, 2014). the curriculum content is preparatory to the regular first year level courses in the mainstream and students take modules which assist in the development of academic literacy, as well as other skills required in subsequent first year level modules. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 61 in the papers reviewed, four (4) alternative access programmes were investigated. these are the bachelor of science (bsc) foundation programme (kirby & dempster, 2011); bachelor of science augmented programme (chetty, 2013), the bachelor of commerce (bcom) augmented programme (zikhali & bokana, 2013; wildsmith-cromarty & steinke, 2014). govender (2014) investigated successful students who started their university education through different access programmes at the university of kwazulunatal, including the humanities access programme. the focus of two (2) of the studies which investigated alternative access programmes has been on specific interventions within the curriculum – problem-based learning, (pbl) in bsc augmented physics (chetty, 2013), and evaluation of a teaching methodology in the bsc foundation biology (kirby & dempster, 2011). zikhali and bokana’s study compared the performance of bcom augmented students with mainstream students and concluded that their performance was not significantly different from the mainstream students. the focus of wildsmith-cromarty and steinke’s study was on the efficacy of an academic literacy intervention in improving students’ reading abilities. (iii) curriculum-based interventions academic support has always been on the margins of institutional life with support being provided by practitioners who are not mainstream academic staff (boughey, 2010). this has created historical divisions between mainstream academics and academic support staff. while academic support has provided greater access, there have been concerns that this has not translated into greater success for students. consequently, there have been calls for a shift away from academic support as marginal to the curriculum to interventions that are embedded in the curriculum (maphosa, 2014) since the curriculum is situated within a discipline which determines the socio-cultural, cognitive, and disciplinary norms and values. at the university of kwazulu-natal, curriculum-based interventions have been supported through the university’s teaching and learning office’s (utlo) competitive research grant (ukzn qep survey, 2015) which has seen mainstream staff designing innovative strategies to improve teaching and learning. further, the launch of the university teaching and learning conference in 2006 has resulted in the development of the scholarship of teaching and learning within the university, and encouraged academics to conduct research on their teaching. curriculum-based interventions have been investigated in management studies (arbee & samuels, 2015; tang, 2011; ranjeeth et al., 2011); engineering (jairos et al., 2013); physics (chetty, 2013) and humanities (govender & dhunpath, 2011; de lange et al., 2011). in engineering and physics the focus has been curriculum re-design to meet students’ and industry needs, while in management studies, arbee and michaels’ study focused on the impact of the writing centre on students’ academic writing. tang (2011) and ranjeeth et al. (2011) both adopted innovative teaching methods in existing curricula to help students better understand the curriculum. two studies focused on postgraduate support, (de lange et al., 2011; govender & dhunpath, 2011). both these studies investigated the effect of the 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 cohort model of supervision on developing scholarship and reflective practice among phd candidates in the college of humanities. innovative teaching methods have also been implemented in the college of health sciences and evaluated through peer-reviewed research. the interventions that have been researched include the use of isizulu videos (diab et al., 2016) and tutorial groups in a problem-based learning (pbl) environment (singaram et al., 2010). diab et al. investigated medical students’ perceptions of simulated isizulu videos in the development of communicative competence in isizulu. in the medical field, communication between patients and medical professionals is imperative and hence practitioners should be proficient in the language understood by the patient (diab et al., 2016). apart from language acquisition, diab et al. found that the simulated videos also led to cultural awareness, which is also important in patient-doctor relationships. the study by singaram et al. found that while pbl had the potential to facilitate collaborative learning, it also presented a challenge to some students who struggled to cope with the diversity in the groups. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 63 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 1. n . c h et ty (2 01 4) a u gm en te d/ a dd o n pr og ra m m e c o lle ge o f a e s 70 b sc a u gm en te d st u de n ts • p as s ra te s • e va lu at io n o f pr og ra m m e • p re -t es t, po st -t es t • l o n gi tu di n al • q u an ti ta ti ve in tr acu rr ic u la r • id en ti fi ca ti o n o f pr o bl em ar ea s fo r st u de n ts • im pl em en ta ti o n o f m ea su re s to a dd re ss t h es e pr o bl em s • im pr ov ed p er fo rm an ce o f st u de n ts 2. s. h ak iz im an a & a . j ü rg en s (2 01 3) p ee r t ea ch in g/ l ea rn in g e xp er ie n ce p ro gr am m e (p t l e p ) c o lle ge o f a e s 2 69 8 (r ep ea t en ro lm en ts ) • p as s ra te s • a tt en da n ce • su rv ey • c la ss ro o m o bs er va ti o n s • l o n gi tu di n al • q u an ti ta ti ve c o -c u rr ic u la r p ee r te ac h in g/ le ar n in g im pr ov es a tt en da n ce pa tt er n s, en co u ra ge s st u de n t pa rt ic ip at io n , m o ti va te s st u de n ts , a n d im pr ov es pa ss r at es . 3. s. b . h ig gi n so pi tz & m . t u ft s (2 01 4) e ar ly id en ti fi ca ti o n o f at -r is k st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h s 21 4 st u de n ts p ro fi lin g ba ck gr o u n d fa ct o rs i m pa ct in g o n a ca de m ic pe rf o rm an ce • p re -t es t, po st -t es t • su rv ey • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al • q u an ti ta ti ve in tr acu rr ic u la r st u de n t pe rf o rm an ce i n t h e fi rs tcl as s te st i s a va lu ab le to o l to i de n ti fy s tr u gg lin g st u de n ts a n d sh o u ld b e h el d as e ar ly a s po ss ib le . 4. m . j ai ro s, d . s tr et ch & c . m cl eo d (2 01 3) c u rr ic u lu m re de si gn c o lle ge o f a e s st u de n ts t ak in g th e c iv il e n gi n ee ri n g d es ig n p ro je ct m o du le m o di fi ca ti o n o f cu rr ic u lu m t o m ee t in du st ry n ee ds a n d co m pl y w it h re gu la to ry b o dy • d es ig n • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al in tr acu rr ic u la r e xp o si n g e n gi n ee ri n g gr ad u at es t o a d ee pe r co n ce pt u al a pp ro ac h to e n gi n ee ri n g de si gn ad dr es si n g so ci al , e th ic al a n d en vi ro n m en ta l co n ce rn s. 5. v . p ai de ya (2 01 1) su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n c o lle ge o f a e s f ir st -y ea r st u de n ts at te n di n g c h em is tr y 15  s i  se ss io n s h ow d o es si  l ea de r in te rv en ti o n en h an ce f ir st ye ar e n gi n ee ri n g st u de n ts ’ “ cr it ic al th in ki n g sk ill s” in c h em is tr y le ar n in g • d es ig n re se ar ch m et h o do lo gy • o bs er va ti o n s c o -c u rr ic u la r si e n co u ra ge s co lla bo ra ti ve le ar n in g en ga ge m en t, en co u ra ge d st u de n ts t o re fle ct o n c o n ce pt s le ar n t an d cr ea te s so ci al s pa ce s w h ic h a re c o n du ci ve f o r le ar n in g 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 6. a . b en ge sa i (2 01 1) su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n c o lle ge o f a e s 15  e n gi n ee ri n g st u de n ts e n gi n ee ri n g st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s o f su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n • q u al it at iv e • in te rv ie w s • a tt en da n ce re gi st er s c o -c u rr ic u la r si c an p o te n ti al ly p ro vi de po si ti ve s o ci al l ea rn in g sp ac es , e n co u ra ge co lla bo ra ti ve l ea rn in g an d en ab le s tu de n ts t o e ff ec ti ve ly en ga ge w it h c o n te n t. t h e pr og ra m m e al so h as t h e po te n ti al t o c re at e ov er re lia n ce o n s u pp o rt . 7. v . p ai de ya & r . s o o kr aj (2 01 1) su pp le m en ta l in st ru ct io n c o lle ge o f a e s f ir st -y ea r st u de n ts at te n di n g c h em is tr y 15  s i se ss io n s st u de n t en ga ge m en t in si  s es si o n s • d es ig n re se ar ch m et h o do lo gy • o bs er va ti o n s c o -c u rr ic u la r si c re at es s o ci al l ea rn in g sp ac es w h ic h e n co u ra ge st u de n ts t o a sk q u es ti o n s, an d se ek e xp la n at io n s an d co n ce pt u al u n de rs ta n di n g. it a ls o e n ab le s re fle ct iv e th in ki n g. 8. s. p ill ay & a . m ah ar aj (2 01 1) c o lla bo ra ti ve le ar n in g c o lle ge o f a e s f o u n da ti o n st u de n ts st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al • in te rv ie w s in tr acu rr ic u la r t h ro u gh c o lla bo ra ti ve le ar n in g, s tu de n ts d ev el o p so ci al a n d te am l ea rn in g sk ill s. f u rt h er , t h e in te rv en ti o n i s lin ke d to im pr ov em en t in s tu de n t pe rf o rm an ce i n m at h s. 9. d . s ib an da & k . j aw ah ar (2 01 2) c la ss ro o m ba se d m en to ri n g c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 16 3  in -s er vi ce te ac h er s t h e im pa ct o f th e sc h o o l vi si t m en to ri n g su pp o rt • q u es ti o n n ai re , w ri tt en su bm is si o n s • c la ss ro o m o bs er va ti o n s c o -c u rr ic u la r t h e sc h o o l vi si t m en to ri n g pr og ra m m e en h an ce d in -s er vi ce t ea ch er s’ te ac h in g sk ill s in m st s u bj ec ts . 10 . j. z ik h al i & k . b o ka n a (2 01 3) a u gm en te d/ a dd -o n pr og ra m m e c o lle ge o f l m s 95 b c o m a u gm en te d st u de n ts p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n • se co n da ry an al ys is o f pa ss ra te d at a • l o n gi tu di n al p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n t h e pe rf o rm an ce o f st u de n ts w h o c am e in to u n iv er si ty th ro u gh t h e a u gm en te d/ al te rn at iv e ac ce ss p ro gr am m e is n o t si gn if ic an tl y di ff er en t fr o m t h o se w h o e n ro lle d in th e m ai n st re am p ro gr am m e. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 65 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 11 . z . b u lb u lia & j. w as se rm an n (2 01 5) u se fu ln es s o f t w it te r in h ig h er ed u ca ti o n c o lle ge o f l m s 21 s tu de n ts u se fu ln es s o f t w it te r in h ig h er e du ca ti o n • d es ig n -b as ed re se ar ch . c o -c u rr ic u la r t h er e w as a l ow u pt ak e o f t w it te r as a n a lt er n at iv e m et h o d o f ac ad em ic s u pp o rt , su gg es ti n g st u de n ts p re fe r m o re t ra di ti o n al f ac eto -f ac e fo rm s o f ac ad em ic s u pp o rt . 12 . m .j . s av ag e, m .g . a br ah a, n .c . m oy o & n . b ab ik ir (2 01 4) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g m et h o ds c o lle ge o f a e s 63 s tu de n ts t o e n h an ce te ac h in g an d le ar n in g in ag ro m et eo ro lo gy an d al lie d di sc ip lin es , a w eb -b as ed d at a an d in fo rm at io n sy st em w as de ve lo pe d • a n o pe n en de d qu es ti o n n ai re in tr acu rr ic u la r w eb -b as ed t ea ch in g en co u ra ge s st u de n ts t o le ar n m o re q u ic kl y, im pr ov es v is u al l it er ac y, an d im pr ov es t h ei r ab ili ty to m an ip u la te d at a. 13 . a . a rb ee & m .a . s am u el s (2 01 5) w ri ti n g ce n tr e a ca de m ic lit er ac y c o lle ge o f l m s 36 8 st u de n ts m ea su ri n g th e im pa ct o f w ri ti n g pl ac e su pp o rt o n s tu de n t pe rf o rm an ce l o n gi tu di n al q u an ti ta ti ve p as s m ar ks a tt en da n ce re gi st er s in tr acu rr ic u la r w p u se rs p er fo rm ed be tt er o n a ve ra ge t h an w p n o n -u se rs . 14 . c .r . k al en ga & s. m n go m ez u lu (2 01 5) a tri sk st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 10 7 st u de n ts p sy ch o -s o ci al ch al le n ge s fa ce d by s tu de n ts a t ri sk o f ac ad em ic fa ilu re c ro ss se ct io n al q u al it at iv e in te rv ie w s c o -c u rr ic u la r p sy ch o so ci al p ro bl em s ar e as so ci at ed w it h s tu de n ts ’ at -r is k st at u s. h ow ev er , w it h p ra ct ic al i n te rv en ti o n st ra te gi es , t h es e st u de n ts ca n i m pr ov e th ei r ac ad em ic pe rf o rm an ce . 15 . s. m n go m ez u lu & l . r am ra th an (2 01 5) a tri sk st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 12 s tu de n ts ‘a tri sk ’ st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s o f ac ad em ic su pp o rt • c ro ss se ct io n al • q u al it at iv e • in te rv ie w s c o -c u rr ic u la r b ei n g n o ti fi ed o f ri sk s ta tu s ca u se s a flu rr y o f em o ti o n al an d ps yc h o lo gi ca l re ac ti o n s in s tu de n ts s u ch a s sh o ck , di sb el ie f, de m o ti va ti o n , an d  an ge r. 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 16 . s. g ov en de r (2 01 4) a cc es s pr og ra m m es u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu n at al 16 s tu de n ts su cc es sf u l st u de n ts w h o st ar te d in a cc es s pr og ra m m es • c ro ss se ct io n al • q u al it at iv e • in te rv ie w s p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n k n ow le dg e an d sk ill s th ey h ad l ea rn t du ri n g th e ac ce ss pr og ra m m e h ad e n h an ce d th ei r re ce pt io n o f th e m ai n st re am m o du le s. 17 . n .f . k ir by & e .r . d em ps te r (2 01 1) b sc f o u n da ti o n pr og ra m m e c o lle ge o f a e s b sc f o u n da ti o n st u de n ts p h ilo so ph ic al an d pe da go gi ca l ap pr o ac h es i n f o u n da ti o n pr og ra m m e • t h eo re ti ca l st u dy p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n c u rr ic u lu m d ev el o pm en t in t h e f o u n da ti o n pr og ra m m e sh o u ld t ak e o n a m o re r ef le xi ve ap pr o ac h , w h ic h t ak es i n to co n si de ra ti o n f ee db ac k fr o m al l st ak eh o ld er s, in cl u di n g st u de n ts . 18 . n . d e l an ge , g . p ill a & v . c h ik o ko (2 01 1) su pp o rt f o r po st gr ad u at e st u de n ts c o lle ge o f h u m an it ie s 35 s tu de n ts c o h o rt m o de l o f su pe rv is io n • l o n gi tu di n al • q u al it at iv e • p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n fo rm s in tr acu rr ic u la r t h e co h o rt m o de l is a su pp o rt iv e pr ac ti ce w h ic h e n co u ra ge s ac ti ve pa rt ic ip at io n a n d re la ti o n sh ip bu ild in g, d ev el o ps r ef le ct iv e sk ill s an d be lo n gs t o a co m m u n it y o f pr ac ti ce . 19 . v . t an g (2 01 1) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g c o lle ge o f l m s 20 5 st u de n ts e ff ec ti ve n es s o f a co gn it iv eco n st ru ct iv is t ap pr o ac h to t ea ch in g an d le ar n in g ec o n o m ic co n ce pt s • l o n gi tu di n al • q u an ti ta ti ve • c la ss o bs er va ti o n s • e xa m in at io n re su lt s an d qu es ti o n s • su rv ey in tr acu rr ic u la r t h e ap pr o ac h r es u lt ed i n m o re s tu de n t en ga ge m en t an d al so i m pr ov ed t h ei r an al yt ic a n d cr ea ti ve s ki lls . 20 . s. r an je et h , a . m ar im u th u & m . m ah ar aj (2 01 3) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g l m s 13 5 st u de n ts p ed ag og ic al im pl ic at io n s o f u si n g th e ag ile ap pr o ac h a s pa rt o f an a ca de m ic pr og ra m m e • c ro ss se ct io n al • su rv ey • q u an ti ta ti ve st u de n ts ’ ev al u at io n o r te ac h in g m et h o d t h er e w as h ig h a cc ep ta n ce o f th e pe da go gi ca l as pe ct s o f th e te ac h in g m et h o d am o n g st u de n ts . http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 67 t ab le 1 : e v id en ce m ap o f p u b li sh ed r es ea rc h o n a ca d em ic s u p p o rt a t th e u n iv er si ty o f k w az u lu -n at al , 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 6 r ef a u th o rs in te rv en ti o n s et ti n g p o p u la ti o n s tu d y f o cu s s tu d y d es ig n c o -c u rr ic u la r/ in tr acu rr ic u la r o u tc o m es 21 . p. d ia b, m . m at th ew s & r . g o ko o l (2 01 6) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g h s f in al -y ea r st u de n ts i n th ei r f am ily m ed ic in e ro ta ti o n t o e xp lo re st u de n ts ’ vi ew s o n t h e u se o f vi de o s o f si m u la te d cl in ic al s ce n ar io s fo r is iz u lu co m m u n ic at io n an d la n gu ag e te ac h in g, a n d th e de ve lo pm en t o f cu lt u ra l aw ar en es s • c ro ss se ct io n al • v id eo s • st u de n ts ’ co m m en ts in tr acu rr ic u la r t ea ch in g w it h s im u la te d vi de o s n o t o n ly i m pr ov ed m ed ic al s tu de n ts ’ co m m u n ic at iv e co m pe te n ce , it a ls o h ad t h e ad de d be n ef it o f h el pi n g th em d ev el o p cu lt u ra l aw ar en es s. 22 . v .s . s in ga ra m , c .p .m . v an de r v le u te n , f. . s te ve n & d . d o lm an s (2 01 0) in n ov at iv e te ac h in g m et h o ds h s 31 ( 11  t u to rs an d 20  s tu de n ts ) st u de n ts ’ pe rc ep ti o n s o f pr o bl em -b as ed le ar n in g • f o cu s gr o u p in te rv ie w s • q u al it at iv e in tr acu rr ic u la r w h ile c o lla bo ra ti ve l ea rn in g en h an ce s st u de n t in te ra ct io n , th e h et er og en ei ty m ak es so m e st u de n ts f ai l to c o pe w it h t h o se d if fe re n t fr o m th em . 23 . k . g ov en de r & r . d h u n pa th (2 01 1) su pp o rt f o r po st gr ad u at e st u de n ts h u m an it ie s 12 s tu de n ts st u de n ts ’ ex pe ri en ce s o f th e p h d c o h o rt m o de l • c ro ss -s ec ti o n al • se m in ar se ss io n s • q u es ti o n n ai re re sp o n se s • f o cu s gr o u p di sc u ss io n s p ro gr am m e ev al u at io n c o h o rt p ro vi de d o pp o rt u n it ie s fo r de ep re se ar ch l ea rn in g, su pe rs ed in g th o se p ro vi de d by t h e tr ad it io n al m o de l al o n e. s tu de n ts e xp er ie n ce po w er d yn am ic s be tw ee n su pe rv is o rs i n t h e co h o rt . 24 . r . w ild sm it h c ro m ar ty & k . s te in ke (2 01 4) a l i n a n ac ce ss pr og ra m m e h u m an it ie s 10 s tu de n ts e ff ic ac y o f r 2l a pp ro ac h in a n a cc es s pr og ra m m e • p re -t es t, po st -t es t in tr acu rr ic u la r r 2l c an m ak e a di ff er en ce to t h e ac ad em ic l it er ac y le ve ls o f st u de n ts a t te rt ia ry le ve l. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 (iv) professional discipline most of the academic support programme interventions reviewed through research are in the college of agriculture engineering and science. nine of the twenty-four papers reviewed reported interventions in engineering (4); physics (1); agrometeorology (1); life sciences (2); and mathematics (1). three of the studies were located in the college of health science, five in management studies and six in humanities. only one study focused on a university-wide intervention (govender, 2014). methodological quality of the studies study aims although all the studies reviewed stated their aims, some were stated quite broadly (for example, to revisit the philosophical and pedagogical perspectives upon which a curriculum is based, e.g. kirby & dempster, 2011; or to broaden the conceptual approach to engineering design, jairos et al., 2013). some of the studies, however, provided specific objectives and research questions, for instance: the use/non-use of the writing centre is linked to students’ grades on an assessment task (arbee & michael, 2015); to evaluate whether the initiative improved the attendance (hakizimana & jürgens, 2013). it is also important to note that most of the studies located their work within a conceptual or theoretical framework, primarily drawing upon principles such as collaborative/peer learning, curriculum design, and reflective practice. study design of the 24 papers reviewed, six (6) were longitudinal studies and 18 cross-sectional studies. two (2) employed a pre-testpost-test design, four (4) a design-based design, while the rest used qualitative interviews, questionnaires, or classroom observations. data collection methods methods to evaluate academic support programmes included questionnaires to assess attitudi nal and cognitive change, classroom observations, and archival data such as attendance registers and test/exam scores, as well as interviews. questionnaires (6) were the most popular method of data collection, although this was used in conjunction with other methods. this was followed by interviews (used in six studies). four studies included classroom observations. however, in most of the studies, the response rates or samples were too low to provide generalisable findings. positioning of interventions in relation to the curriculum another way of evaluating academic support programmes is to consider their positioning in relation to the curriculum. in this study, we have identified two categories of academic support programmes, i.e. those which are intra-curricular – located in the curriculum, or co-curricular – defined by their separation from academic courses. out of the 24 studies reviewed, eight (8), (mngomezulu & ramrathan, 2015; kalenga & mngomezulu, 2015; bulbulia & wassermann, 2015; hakizimana & jürgens, 2013; sibanda & jawahar,  2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 69 paideya, 2011; bengesai, 2011; paideya & sookraj, 2011) were classified as co-curricular as they focused on interventions such as supplemental instruction, peer-based learning and academic and psycho-social support for ‘at-risk’ students. twelve (12) of the studies (diab et al., 2016; arbee & samuel, 2015; savage et al., 2014; wildsmith-cromarty & steinke, 2014; wildsmith-cromarty & steinke, 2014; higgins & jurgens, 2013; chetty, 2013; jairos et al., 2013; ranjeeth et al., 2013; tang, 2011; de lange et al., 2011; pillay & maharaj, 2011; singaram et al., 2010) can be classified as intra-curricular as the interventions focused on redesigning the curriculum, use of innovative teaching methods or profiling students within the curriculum. the high number of studies classified as intra-curricular can be attributed to ukzn’s teaching and learning office’s focus on the development of academics as teachers and researchers (qep ukzn report, 2015). the establishment of the teaching and learning as a cross-cutting executive portfolio, elevates teaching as a key and central pillar of the university on par with research (qep ukzn report, 2015, p. 7). there were also studies that could neither be described as co-curricular nor intracurricular. these studies focused on evaluating a programme (govender, 2014; zikhali & bokana, 2013; kirby & dempster, 2011; govender & dhunpath, 2011). two of the studies evaluated access programmes in science (govender, and kirby & dempster) and law and management studies (zikhali & bokana). govender and dhunpath’s study focused on the cohort programme for the phd programme in the college of humanities while govender’s study examined the extent to which access programmes were preparing students for mainstream studies. table 2: summary of evidence of impact on student success and engagement impact on student success strengths studies are practical and applied. studies are exploratory, practical and applied. promising evidence limited evidence based on pass marks and small numbers. limited evidence limited evidence based on students’ perceptions of their own performance. more needed more research is needed to understand the impact of academia on student success. there are vast amounts of data that are often collected in ams programmes such as attendance data which can be supplemented with institutional data available through institutional systems. impact on student engagement strengths si/peer learning provides a social learning space where students can engage with and gain better understanding of concepts. studies are exploratory, practical and applied. promising evidence ams programmes (such as star programme, si, ados) provide a space for students to interact with their peers. limited evidence determinants of student participation in ams. more needed rigorous evaluation of programmes to look at diverse factors impacting on student engagement, e.g. self-selection, and more quantitative analyses. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 55–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 table 2 maps the evidence derived from this review under two broad categories: (i) impact on student success, and (ii) impact on student engagement. strengths of the study the strength of findings was rated using the following specific anchors: clear conclusions stated and can be drawn from the findings, methods are clear and the sample is representative. looking at the available evidence (table 1 and 2), the following strengths can be identified. 1. there is a diversity of studies that have evaluated academic support programmes at the university of kwazulu-natal since the inception of the ams policy. this diversity of studies from the four colleges provides a methodological and research focus foundation from which future research can improve. 2. there is adequate evidence of the efficacy of peer-based interventions in supporting student learning, although the evidence base has been mainly qualitative. 3. there is evidence of programme evaluation from which other academic support programmes in the university can learn. the available evidence focuses mainly on the alternative access programmes. 4. most of the research reviewed is applied and practical. hence, the studies provide tangible measures of the impact of the interventions on students’ success. limitations of the study the present study made use of secondary data in the form of journal articles. although the authors endeavoured to locate all articles on academic support published during the time frame given, there is a possibility that some articles that did not have the keywords used in the search criteria were omitted. moreover, the studies included were written between 2010 and 2016. therefore, studies on academic support published prior to this period were omitted. another limitation in this study relates to the small sample size (24 journal articles). this small sample makes it difficult to sufficiently identify trends in academic support research. hence there is need for more research that will include other forms of publication such as conference proceedings, theses and dissertations, and college-based reports. the limitations are as follows: 1. most of the studies are small scale and focus on individual interventions with small groups of students. ten out of the 24 studies had samples of less than 100 students, with some as low as 10 students, while in seven of the studies the sample is not mentioned. 2. while there is diversity in study focus, this is counterbalanced by the fact that most of the studies use the same methods (interviews or questionnaires). 3. most of the studies are cross-sectional studies, which makes it difficult to measure the impact of the programmes over a long period. 4. the available evidence highlights the effects of the programmes and not the changes resulting from the intervention. this is largely because there are no baseline measures (such as pre-tests, only two studies had baseline measures) from which to explore. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 vino paideya & annah bengesai: academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal ... 71 5. most of the available support focuses on learning, and there is silence on teaching. 6. there is little evidence regarding the wider factors influencing students’ uptake of academic support or the success of an academic support programme. future research • the capstone academic support programmes at the ukzn are the ado initiative and peer learning (qep report 2015). there is a need for research that investigates the former, examining the effect of academic counselling on student support. • research needs to move away from snapshot measures of efficacy to more longitudinal assessments of support. • there are vast amounts of data produced through the institution’s information systems which can be used to complement data gathered through academic support programmes. through these data, the efficacy of ams can be examined to provide university-wide measures of what works. conclusion the purpose of this review was to examine research studies which showed evidence of credible assessment of academic support programmes at ukzn. the sample was taken from studies conducted between 2010 and 2016. the findings show that there is a diversity of available evidence, ranging from assessment of peer-support programmes, alternative-access programmes to curriculum-based interventions. however, most of these interventions are located in one college. the assessment is also largely based on small cross-sectional studies with no evidence of baseline measures (except for two studies). there is need for research which focuses on examining programmes over a long period of time while also controlling for programme effects. references andrews, r. 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(2011). the (re)construction of a philosophical and pedagogical position for the foundation programme at ukzn with particular reference to the biology module. south african journal of higher education, 25(6), 1103–1124. mngomezulu, s. & ramrathan, l. (2015). academic intervention experiences of ‘at-risk’ students in a south african university. interdisciplinary journal for the study of the arts and humanities in southern africa, 17, 116–141. paideya, v. (2011). engineering students’ experiences of social learning spaces in chemistry supplemental instruction sessions. alternation, 18(2), 78–95. paideya, v. & sookraj, r. (2011). exploring the use of supplemental instruction: supporting deep understanding and higher-order thinking in chemistry. south african journal of higher education, 24(5), 758–770. ranjeeth, s., marimuthu, a. & maharaj, m. (2013). a pedagogical intervention based on agile software development methodology. alternation, special edition 8, 225–250. savage, m.j., abraha, m.g., moyo, n.c. & babikir, n. (2014). web-based teaching, learning and research using accessible real-time data obtained from field based agrometeorological measurement systems. south african journal of plant and soil, 31(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.108 0/02571862.2014.878757 sibanda, d. & jawahar, k. (2012). exploring the impact of mentoring in-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics, science and technology education programme. alternation, 19(2), 257–272. singaram, v.s., van der vleuten, c.p.m, steven, f. & dolmans, d. 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(2013). critical ref lections on management studies’ access initiative. in: r. dhunpath & r. vithal, alternative access to higher education: underprepared students or underprepared institutions? (pp. 149–165). south africa: pearson press. how to cite: paideya, v. & bengesai, a. (2017). academic support at the university of kwazulu-natal: a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles, 2010–2015. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 55–74. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 https://doi.org/10.5785/30-1-570 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2702 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 143‑144 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3830 143 www.jsaa.ac.za s on campus iasas student leader global summit 2019 lisa bardill moscaritolo,* rozanne engel** & tonia overmeyer*** * dr lisa bardill moscaritolo is the vice-provost for student life at the american university of sharjah, united arab emirates. email: lmoscaritolo@aus.edu ** ms rozanne engel is a journalist and copywriter in the corporate communication division at stellenbosch university, south africa. email: rengel@sun.ac.za *** ms tonia overmeyer is the director of the centre for student leadership and structures, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: toniaovermeyer@sun.ac.za leadership and mental health came under the spotlight when more than 50 student leaders from all over the world met at stellenbosch university (su) from 23 to 26  june  2019 for the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) student leader global summit. it was the first time that su hosted this global summit for student leaders. iasas is a non‑profit organisation that was founded in belgium in 2013. it is a worldwide association of university professionals working in the area of student affairs and services. iasas has more than 1 400 individual, institutional and association members representing over 90 countries on five continents. the fourth iasas student leader global summit (slgs) welcomed 45  students from 14  countries across the world. the slgs provides a global platform for improving multi‑ and intercultural communication and understanding amongst students. the goal of the summits is to bring student leaders from different parts of the world together to discuss student governance, leadership, social justice and other topics of shared interest. with this year’s summit focusing on leadership, mental health and well‑being, participants discussed the what, why and how to cultivate behaviours, and develop skills and campaigns that enhance and support mental well‑being in general and in their specific communities. during the opening session on monday, 24 june 2019, dr birgit schreiber (vice‑ president of iasas) from south africa, along with dr lisa bardill moscaritolo (iasas general secretary) from the united states, and damian medina (iasas social media coordinator) from china, shared some insights into the initiatives and outcomes regarding mental health and well‑being support at their respective universities. students gave feedback and asked questions on their presentations and later discussed the topic further in groups. the issue of mental health and well‑being had already been a highly suggested topic of discussion during the first summit, which was held in montreal, canada, in march 2016. exploring this topic in more detail provided for a rich discussion. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3830 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:lmoscaritolo%40aus.edu?subject= mailto:rengel%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:toniaovermeyer%40sun.ac.za?subject= 144 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 143‑144 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3830 in her opening comments, dr schreiber, senior student affairs director at su at the time, reminded the students how important the summit was in helping to prepare future leaders of the world. “this is a coming together of international students from various countries and multiple regions of the world. it is very important that we come together and develop shared and sustainable solutions that work for everyone, locally relevant and globally sustainable. it is very important that we speak about leadership in a context of collaboration and cooperation,” said schreiber. over the course of the summit, students also had the opportunity to connect with other student leaders and to have group discussions, where they explored their own understanding of leadership and gained insight into mental wellness, meditation, and the role that student leaders play within an ecosystem of support. they also built collaborations and teams, identified resources and strategies that support mental well‑being, engaged collaboratively across their differences, and developed a micro‑campaign suited to their unique context. this affirmed the importance of developing relevant and impactful interventions at local level. as professionals, we are helping students to be successful not only in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom. the opportunity for students to gain from this experience and to apply it at their universities is at the heart of the slgs. many of the students stay in contact through a what’s app group and share successes on the ideas they implemented on their campuses, topics around mental health and well‑being, as well as the difficult times they may be facing as leaders. the supportive nature of the messages demonstrates the strong community created in just three days. the next student leader global summit in 2020 will be on sustainability at the university of new south wales in sydney, australia, at the end of june 2020. for more information on upcoming events and the next slgs, visit the iasas website at http://iasas.global/http‑2018‑student‑leader‑global‑summit/ how to cite: bardill moscaritolo, l., engel, r. & overmeyer, t. (2019). iasas student leader global summit 2019. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 143‑144. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3830 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3830 http://iasas.global/http-2018-student-leader-global-summit/ https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3830 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 257-258 | 2307-6267   251 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds call for papers globalisation, societies and education special issue: student activism, translocality, and social justice guest editors: gritt b. nielsen* and thierry m. luescher** in many countries and universities, students engage in activities to promote social justice through inclusion, diversity, epistemic freedom and decolonisation, paying renewed attention to intersectionalities of race/ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality. in this special issue, we seek to focus on the translocal dimensions of student activism for equality and greater social justice. we understand ‘activism’ quite broadly to include student-led activities – ranging from small-scale mundane initiatives to large-scale protest events – that aim to change everyday life, practices or norms at the university and beyond. students’ activist engagement is often shaped in and through translocal/ transnational/international/global spaces in which geo-political imaginaries, academic theories, actionable knowledge or symbols, hashtags, materiality and people circulate and move across socio-political contexts. struggles are connected across multiple scales, and partially common worlds and horizons are created. furthermore, public debates and political interpretations of student engagement for social justice also tend to be shaped in and through translocal spaces. student activism in one country is compared to and understood in light of the political situation elsewhere, giving rise to political pressure or decisions that can restrict or encourage student political engagement in different ways. this special issue offers an opportunity to explore the multiple ways in which translocal interconnectivities work to shape students’ political engagement to promote social justice within their universities and/or society writ large. there is a growing literature on transnational social movements, although literature on student movements tends to focus historically and currently on the national scale and/or on campus level activism. similarly, while there is a growing literature on the role of the internet and social media in creating and sustaining translocal networks and solidarities in the form of networked social movements, thus facilitating translocal connective political action, literature on internet-age networked student movements * prof. gritt b. nielsen is associate professor in educational anthropology and globalisation, dpu danish school of education, aarhus university, denmark. email: gbn@edu.au.dk ** prof. thierry luescher is strategic lead in the human sciences research council, cape town, adjunct professor in the chair of critical studies in higher education transformation, nelson mandela university, and a research fellow in higher education at the university of the free state, south africa. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za http://www.jsaa.ac.za 252   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 257-258 | 2307-6267 such as #feesmustfall remains scant. further analysis is also needed of the translocal dimensions of the more subtle forms of students’ everyday activism, including the ways in which negotiations over use of language or particular practices resonate with or are shaped by, for example, wider social movements, international academic literature or public debates. we invite contributions based on original empirical research that discuss the translocal dimensions of students’ political engagement. this can include, but is not restricted to, analyses of student activism in relation to: • the role of social media, e.g. hashtag movements and campaigns, that resonate across institutional/national/local contexts • questions of epistemic (in)justice and how knowledge/curriculum is negotiated in relation to e.g. national/international/global contexts or standards • the production of socio-political imaginaries and horizons (e.g. decolonial, anti-racist, anti-wokeist) • converging transnational social movements, including black lives matter and #metoo • the shaping of policies, reforms, public debates within and across specific contexts. • the incorporation/negotiation of particular kinds of vocabulary/ phrases/ languages that relate to a wider translocal (e.g. cultural, political, historical) context submissions can also engage in conceptual discussions and theorisation of the role of translocal interconnections in student movements, moving beyond dichotomies of global–local to concepts like global forms and assemblages, translocal/transnational, networks, diffusion, scale shift, internalization/externalization, scaling, worlding, resonance. submission process and important dates abstract deadline: 15 december 2022 manuscript deadline: 15 june 2023 for details please contact the editors after you have consulted the journal website at: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/cgse20. https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/cgse20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 33 www.jsaa.ac.za research article student academic monitoring and support in higher education: a systems thinking perspective vino paideya* & rubby dhunpath** * dr vino paideya is a lecturer and first-year coordinator in the school of chemistry and physics at the university of kwazulu-natal, westville campus, south africa. email: paideya@ukzn.ac.za ** dr rubby dhunbath is director of teaching and learning at the university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: dhunbath@ukzn.ac.za abstract this article interrogates an academic monitoring and support system (ams), which was designed to enhance first-year student progression at a south african university. institutional research evidence produced through engagement with ams practitioners and university leadership, analysed through the lens of systems thinking, reveals a well-intentioned system, whose efficacy is compromised by systemic incoherence. the data suggests that loosely defined roles and responsibilities of ams practitioners, their level of preparedness to provide academic support, their conditions of employment and job profiles, all act in concert to compromise the intended outcomes of the programme. the authors contend that opportunities do exist to re-engineer the academic development system to provide coherent, effective and sustainable support for students ‘at risk’. keywords academic monitoring, systems thinking, sustainable academic support, higher education. introduction the widening articulation gap between schooling and higher education (che,  2013) necessitates alternative forms and models of student support in promoting student success. in response, universities have instituted academic monitoring and support programmes (adams, 2006; mngomezulu & ramrathan, 2015) which find expression in a wide range of student-focused support systems and learning environments to reduce attrition. one such system is the academic monitoring and support system (ams) offered by the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), located on the east coast of kwazulu-natal. a key principle underlying the ams at ukzn is an acknowledgement that higher education no longer enjoys the luxury of ascribing its performance (or lack thereof), to the underperformance of the schooling sector and the alleged under-preparedness of students (monnapulamapesela, 2015). based on evidence derived from research at the selected university and other south african institutions (see dhunpath & vithal, 2012), the authors contend that universities must accept that they are, at least in part, the source of under-preparedness: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:paideya%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= mailto:dhunbath%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 ideologically, structurally, and pedagogically, particularly, since organisational cultures often alienate students by failing to enable epistemological access (morrow, 2009). this realisation is beginning to inscribe a consciousness amongst members of the higher education community: that it can no longer defend the perpetuation of a university system that is structurally designed to fail the majority of students. (dhunpath, mtshali & reddy, 2013) this is evident in the unsustainably low graduation rates which indicate that more than 24% of students ‘drop out’ of university after their first year, 14% graduate in three years, and approximately 52% graduate with their first degrees after an average of seven years, while 48% of the group never graduate (dhet, 2015). the latter 48% that never graduate is a matter of concern for the higher education sector, which warrants introspection. the emergent consciousness around institutional under-preparedness is reflected in the variety of student support programmes developed over the past few decades in response to the exponential growth and diversity of the student body, changing learning needs, and highlighting the need for non-traditional approaches that transcend the tendency to pathologise students as carriers of academic deficit. yet, in spite of the abundant attention lavished and support provided in the selected university, it has not witnessed a concomitant impact on the stubbornly high attrition rates. the question that plagues the academic community is: why do students continue to fail in spite of the interventions that are meant to help them succeed? in attempting to answer this question, the literature is brimming with allusions to gaps in students’ linguistic and numeric proficiency (jaffer & garraway, 2016); inadequate resources (jaffer, ng’ambi & czerniewicz, 2007); inappropriate environmental conditions (al-zoubi & younes, 2015) and outmoded learning spaces (temple, 2007; brooks, 2011). more recently, attention is being directed to the persistence of colonial pedagogies which fail to enhance student learning (de lissovoy, 2010) while increasing and sometimes ambiguous calls for transformation have typified the higher education discourse. the south african university selected for the site of this study, referred to hereinafter as ukzn, has a senate-approved academic monitoring and exclusions policy, which requires the university to provide appropriate support systems that are able, in the first instance, to alert students to their academic progression status or their potential risk status. thereafter, the early-warning indicators are expected to invoke appropriate interventions to prevent students from being relegated to ‘at risk’ status, from which rehabilitation is often difficult. according to the university’s teaching and learning unit’s report on academic monitoring and support (2013, p. 4), “academic monitoring and support (ams) is a key strategy in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning as a mechanism to improve student performance in undergraduate programmes”. the support programmes cited above, developed organically over several years in response to contextual needs of each of the four colleges (college of science; college of humanities; college of health sciences; college of management sciences), are expected to reduce exclusion and dropout rates and improve throughput and completion rates. to  achieve this aspiration, students have the reciprocal responsibility of committing http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 vino paideya & rubby dhunpath: student academic monitoring and support in higher education … 35 themselves to their studies by monitoring their performance and accessing the available support, which typically takes the form of academic counselling and academic literacies support, as well as career and personal counselling. a more ambitious outcome of ams is that students would be supported to successfully complete their studies in the minimum time specified for the particular qualification. ukzn’s response to the access for success discourse is articulated in the academic monitoring and support (ams) programme for ‘at risk’ students (2009), the key features of which are articulated below: … academic monitoring and support [ams] is important to retain students through a wide range of student-focused support systems and learning environments that enable them to complete their studies successfully. students will only be excluded on account of poor academic performance as a last resort after all other avenues have failed to restore their academic performance to the required level. the policy commits the university to identifying under-performing students [at risk] timeously and providing the necessary academic support to assist students to graduate in the minimum time possible or redirect them and obligates students to attend and participate in the range of support that is made available. (ukzn, academic monitoring and exclusions policy and procedures, 2009, p. 1) the mandatory senate-approved ams system, intended to be a holistic support programme, comprises several allied components including the availability of the early-warning system to identify ‘at risk’ students. noting the underlying principles of the ams programme and its espoused design features, this paper interrogates the programme through a systems analysis (senge, 1990; banathy, 1991; kim & senge, 1994). we place under the spotlight the structure, design and delivery of the ams programme, interrogating the efficacy of its systems through the lived experiences of ams practitioners. to this end, we reflect briefly on the historical development of academic monitoring and support as a construct that emerged out of a systems perspective on student support, which sought to mitigate the tendency to provide episodic and often incoherent interventions, which had minimal impact on student outcomes. we then subject ams in the four colleges and the university as a whole, to a systems analysis, to appraise the extent to which the ams programme approximates the core tenets of systems thinking (kim & senge, 1994) which theoretically grounds the article. we do this because we believe it has the potential to transcend reductionist thinking on how component parts of a system work to deliver system-wide outcomes. finally, we demonstrate through an analysis of data, that although the ams programme is conceived on an awareness that nothing less than a coherent systemic response is required to shape institutional behaviour, at least as it relates to students at risk, the theoretical principles do not find adequate expression in practice. the paper argues that given the resources invested in the ams initiative, its leaders have an obligation to advance scholarship in ams, through an evidence-based approach, which is more holistic, and resonates with the key principles of systems thinking. 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 this paper directs its attention to three concerns: what accounts for the shape and form of ams in relation to its historical trajectory? how do academic monitoring and support practitioners enact their roles and responsibilities in the different schools and colleges? and, what is the effect/impact of their modus operandi on student success, particularly for students classified as ‘at risk’? academic monitoring and support: the historical context shortly after the ams programme was implemented in 2008, internal and external evaluations were conducted in the four colleges: college of science; college of humanities; college of health sciences; college of management sciences. the evaluation reports indicate that the university has developed innovative intervention strategies for success, funded primarily through the teaching development grant (tdg) sourced from department of higher education and training (dhet). the 2010 academic monitoring and support (ams) report reveals that in most colleges, the interventions were compulsory for all students. most colleges made extensive use of academic development officers (ados) in their monitoring and support activities, including academic literacies development and psychosocial support (paideya, 2014). as early as 2010, concern was raised about the relative ‘instability’ of the support system, primarily because the programme was funded through the dhet grant, and consequently, it was staffed largely by ados on short-term contracts. systems data from the ukzn’s 2014 data repository reveals that despite the substantial investment in academic monitoring and support, the graduation rate continued to decline from 20% in 2006 to 16% in 2014, with some colleges experiencing higher dropout and exclusion rates than graduations in some programmes. in 2011, the quality assurance unit at the university, together with external evaluators conducted an audit of the ams programmes. the report highlighted a number of functional attributes and practices available in the four colleges. these included the positive attitude to ams, dedication and commitment of staff involved in the ams programmes, the availability of some form of mentorship system and the involvement of senior academic staff in the ams programme at both school and college level. however, substantial variations were reported relating to the conceptualisation of the roles and responsibilities of ams personnel and their practices. the teaching & learning portfolio cautioned in 2010 that unless the provision for academic monitoring and support was integrated into their mainstream budgets (as core business), the policy aspiration of a stable institutionalised and sustainable system rather than one subject to the vagaries of external funding, would be an elusive dream (ams, 2013). academic monitoring and support: through the lens of systems thinking there is a growing recognition that our ability to address the academic needs of students requires that we do more than “simply tinker at the margins of our educational practices” (tinto, 1999, p. 13). consonant with tinto’s notion of tinkering at the margins, the authors contend that for a systemic institutional strategy to develop traction, it requires systematic organisational support, which is adequately resourced and regularly monitored. it further http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 vino paideya & rubby dhunpath: student academic monitoring and support in higher education … 37 requires a collaborative effort or a “partnership approach” which “contributes to a cultural shift by bringing students, teachers and academic developers together” to support student learning (barrineau et al., 2016, p. 79). ever since aristotle’s claim that knowledge is derived from the understanding of the whole and not that of the single parts (aristotle’s holism), researchers have been struggling with systems, their component parts and their relative dynamics (mele, pels & polese, 2010). systems thinking is an interdisciplinary heuristic, which allows us to examine phenomena through a macro lens (capra, 1997). it incorporates a wide field of research with diverse conceptualisations and areas of focus (boulding, 1956; maturana & varela, 1975; senge, 1990; jackson, 2003). for the purpose of this paper, we have chosen senge’s (1990) conceptualisation of systems thinking to understand the functionality of the academic support system at the university. we believe that systems thinking has the potential to explain the constituent components of ams and the extent to which these coalesce to provide coherence, continuity and sustainability in a large learning organisation. systems thinking, as advocated by senge (1990), is premised on five basic components for a learning organisation: 1. systems thinking, which views the organisation as a living entity that enables or inhibits organisational success; 2. personal mastery, where individuals are inspired to create conditions which generate successful outcomes; 3. mental models, which require practitioners and managers to disrupt rituals of practice to envision new possibilities for success; 4. shared vision, where individuals embrace the vison of the collective, rather than aspire to pursue individual interests; and 5. team learning, which requires consistent interrogation of practices, critical dialogues aimed at enhancing successful practices. senge (1990) articulated basic principles of the learning organisation that may be restated as the need for organisational members to: (i) suspend traditional modes of thinking (mental models); (ii) engage in an open and transparent dialogic manner (personal mastery); (iii) have a clear grasp of how an organisation works (systems thinking); (iv) devise a plan that enjoys relative consensus (shared vision); and (v) apply the plan in a concerted and systematic way to pursue the vision (team learning). a key impediment to achieving the ideal articulated above is that what is written and done in the name of effective management is that simplistic frameworks are applied to what are complex systems. here, the focus is on the parts rather than the whole, and this accounts for the failure to see the organisation as a dynamic process. ivanov (2011, p. 94) argues that “organizations often fail because of catastrophic malfunctions in structure” and that “these malfunctions are difficult to notice because of time delay in organizational cause and effect”. ivanov goes further to add that “time flows differently in organizations than in 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 the physical world” (2011, p. 94). kim and senge (1994, p. 278), suggest that “organizations are in great need of new learning capabilities if they are to thrive in an increasingly complex, interdependent, and changing world”. they assert that managers’ attention is naturally focused on addressing their most important practical problems. even though these problems might be resolved successfully, there is little to guarantee that new capabilities have been developed to address similar problems more effectively when they emerge in the future. to mitigate the effects of mission drift amongst leaders, kim and senge (1994) advocate decentralising the role of leadership to harness the capacity of organisational members committed to common goals. hence, while all individuals have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. furthermore, practitioners may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face. in a learning organisation, leaders are designers, stewards and teachers (senge, 1990). they are employed, ostensibly, for their capacity in  building organisations,  where members continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models. banathy (1991), applying systems thinking to examine the design of educational systems, suggests systems analysis through three lenses: a “still picture lens”, used to understand the components comprising the system and their relationship; a “motion picture lens”, used to understand the processes and dynamics of the system and a “bird’s-eye view lens”, used to understand the relationships between the system and its peer and supra systems. banathy (1991) identifies five reasons why our efforts to effect transitions in educational systems have been met with so little success. first, improvement efforts can be viewed as “piecemeal” or through “an incremental approach”. these can be considered as improvement efforts lacking quality and coherence with little to guarantee that new competencies have been developed to address similar problems more effectively in the future. second, there is “failure to integrate solution ideas” (ibid., pp. 38–41) into action plans. here, various recommendations and reports are proposed as improvement ideas, but these fail to be organised into a comprehensive system of reform. the failure to connect again harks back to a lack of systemic reform. third, a “discipline-by-discipline study” is adopted rather than a systemic view, where we fail to recognise the complexity of current concerns surrounding higher education and have not grappled with the nature of education as a societal system, a system interacting with other societal systems embedded in a rapidly and dynamically changing macro society. fourth, a “reductionist orientation” is adopted where complex situations are reduced to manageable pieces and solutions to each are sought. this promotes insular thinking typified by “staying within the boundaries of the existing system” (not thinking ‘out of the box’), where improvements and reform initiatives have focused on the system as it exists and have stayed within its boundaries, with only occasional attention to broader societal issues. all five are examples of paradigm paralysis, or “mumpsimus” – defined as “persistence in a mistaken belief ” (betts, 1992, p. 38), an attempt to interpret current experience using old models and metaphors that are no longer appropriate or useful. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 vino paideya & rubby dhunpath: student academic monitoring and support in higher education … 39 we have chosen to deploy systems thinking as a lens to interrogate ams practices in an attempt to provide useful indicators of potential slippages and fractures impeding the optimal functionality of ams as a systemic institutional strategy, particularly the stubborn adherence to fragments rather than the adoption of a holistic, systems thinking approach to institutional development. the question that remains unanswered is: how do we re-engineer the ams system to be proactive rather than reactive, when dealing with student progression? does systems thinking, as a conceptual lens, provide the academy with a global view of student progression? does it allow for proactive solutions and mechanisms for early-warning tracking which inform appropriate action? in the section that follows, we interrogate the efficacy and actual outcomes of the ams programme by examining the profiles, roles and responsibilities of the ams practitioners in each of the four faculties at ukzn. producing the evidence design this paper sought to understand the existing academic monitoring and support structures within the university. a mixed methodology approach was adopted and data was collected via a questionnaire (n = 50) and semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 2) between 2013 and 2014. to gain access to the ams practitioners in each of the four faculties, the academic leaders of teaching and learning in each of the schools were contacted to identify the respective ams practitioners. different categories of ams practitioners were targeted for the study, namely, academic development officers (ados), academic development coordinators (adcs), academic leaders (al) and supplemental instruction leaders (si). the data generated from questionnaires were analysed statistically, to produce emerging trends and patterns while data obtained from interviews were thematically analysed. the two sets of data were triangulated to ensure validity and reliability. requisite gatekeeper and participant ethical clearance and consent were obtained. data collection fifty out of a total of sixty-seven ams practitioners from across faculties responded to the questionnaire, which included biographical data and a detailed account of their job profile. responses were analysed and clustered thematically. the emergent data was complemented by two focus group interviews with between six and eight ados and/or adcs from each of the faculties in each focus group. the college adcs/ados were interviewed to obtain a clearer understanding of the nature of academic support and monitoring work which informed their different roles and responsibilities as ams practitioners. in addition, the focus group interviews were undertaken to ensure trustworthiness of the questionnaire data and veracity of the conclusions reached. further, the focus group interviews were utilised to clarify certain aspects of the questionnaires data and determine how ams practitioners interpret their roles and responsibilities in relation to the official university policy. 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 findings and discussion three main themes emerge from the two data sets, namely, lack of coherence, lack of consistency and considerable variance of ams practices, profiles and functions of ams personnel. these are analysed below under the categories: nature of employment; remuneration ranking; gender distribution; and job profiles. 1. nature of employment the data suggests that there are significant variations in nomenclature of ams personnel in each of the faculties who perform the roles of ado (academic development officer), adc (academic development coordinator), al (academic leader), ams (academic monitoring and support staff) and si leaders (supplemental instruction leaders). this variation in the existence of multiple nomenclatures or descriptors in the field of academic development is acknowledged by ouellett (2010) and kensington-miller, renc-roe and moron-garcia (2015). kensington-miller et al. (2015) claim that the categorisation of the role of academic developers can impact on their ability to do their job, resulting in the undermining of their credibility. hence, understanding the effect of the variations in the categorisation of their roles and their tenure is significant in this study. the theme – nature of employment – evolved from the data that presented variations in the classification as well as the duration of ams practitioners’ employment contracts. table 1: nature of employment nature of employment contract period adc ado al ams counsellors si leaders permanent 1 1 2–3 years 1 3 1 1 year 3 9 10 months 8 2 >10 months 5 16 table 1 (above) indicates that the majority (86%) of the ams practitioners had a one-year or shorter contract position and that there were only two permanent positions out of the 50 analysed questionnaires. the two permanent positions were that of the academic leader of teaching and learning in health sciences and an adc in the college of management sciences. this enables one to understand the type/nature of academic monitoring and support programmes offered by each of the faculties. according to tinto (2005, p. 5), “institutional policy must provide for incentives and rewards for faculty, as well as staff, to work together to construct educational settings” that promote effective learning for all students. the fact, however, that 86% of the practitioners were on one-year contracts or less makes one question how ados develop adequate competencies in these positions to enable them to support at-risk students. banathy (1991) refers to these efforts to improve and change as part-orientated and a fragmented approach arising out of a reductionist http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 vino paideya & rubby dhunpath: student academic monitoring and support in higher education … 41 scientific view. with this in mind, one has to ask: what impact do short-term contracts have on the ams programme as a whole? the data reveals that employing ams personnel for short periods does not allow for proper support and training of these personnel so as to enable them to fully integrate into the ams programme in support of students’ academic success. senge (1990) argues that we tend to think that cause and effect will be relatively near to one another. typically, we look to actions that produce improvements in a relatively short time, such as short-term contracts and externally funded just-in-time programmes. however, when viewed through the lens of systems thinking, short-term improvements often involve very significant longterm costs, such as the failure to yield significant improvements in student outcomes as evidenced in the declining ukzn graduation rates from 20% in 2006 to 16% in 2014. 2. remuneration ranking the data (see table 2, below) shows a variation in the four faculties with respect to the different ranking of ams practitioners in terms of their status and remuneration structure at the university. table 2: staff rank staff rank adc ado al ams counsellors si leaders professor 1 senior lecturer 1 lecturer 3 3 1 tutor 1 18 2 16 unknown 1 3 table 2 suggests that more than half of the ams staff are ranked at tutor level (74%) followed by 7 practitioners (14%) at lecturer level with respect to remuneration ranking. consequently, the majority of staff are ranked at tutor level, despite their qualifications, which ordinarily would see them appointed at higher levels in the academic career trajectory. here, academic rank is determined by the funding source which in turn determines monetary reward, which is linked to status and value of academic development labour. kensington-miller et al. (2015) claim that the role of the academic development practitioner has a liminality ‘more to do with paradoxical and often disempowering institutional positions and cultures’ to which they need to adapt and which may cause their existence and roles to be delimited. kim and senge (1994) suggest that when adopting a systems view, the essential quality of the parts resides in its relationship to the whole. in other words, if the majority of the ams personnel are ranked at tutor level, there should be adequate support for the progression of these individuals so that the entire system benefits. it is questionable whether university leadership has recognised the complexity of the human activity systems in which human beings are the most valued; and the ones to be served by the system in order for the system to develop (banathy, 1991). 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 3. gender distribution another significant finding in this research was evidenced, as shown in figure 1 (below), in the dominance of females in the ams programme in all four faculties, suggesting that ams is gender-biased. female = 71% male = 29% 71% 29% gender distribution female malefemalemale figure 1: gender distribution figure 1 reveals that of the 50 ams practitioners surveyed, 71% were female while 29% were male. these results prompt the question of whether ams is gendered by design and considered a ‘nurturing’ programme and hence dominated by females. a more cynical analysis would signal a marginalisation of women academics to the periphery of mainstream academic activities, which might actually have unintended consequences, particularly as it relates to the help-seeking behaviour of men, which makes for a useful study outside the scope of this paper. understanding embedded cultures could assist in improving the success of ams programmes as it would reveal the ams organisational culture and the mechanisms and processes it produces that are not necessarily readily observable, but often reside within the gaps between policies and practice. 4. job profiles the data suggests that the ams practitioners perform several roles within the ams programmes which is evident in figure 2. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 vino paideya & rubby dhunpath: student academic monitoring and support in higher education … 43 coordinati skills develo skills develo skills develo content su 50 10% 16% 24% 18% 32% 5 8 12 9 16 10% 16% 24% 18% 32% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% coordination skills development/ coordination/ counselling skills development/ counselling/ content support skills development/ counselling content support figure 2: role of ams practitioners (n = 50) when asked what ams personnel’s key role function was, 32% of respondents indicated that they provided academic content support and therefore are probably disciplinary experts in their related fields. the main role of ams personnel would seem to be a combination of academic skills development, academic counselling and content support, which is represented by 24% of the responses. this explains why only 32% of the ams personnel are involved with content support. it is apparent that 10% of the ams personnel have only a coordination role of ams programmes within the different colleges. the focus group interviews reveal that ams coordinators are expected to oversee the scheduling of the different ams activities, provide support to the tutors involved with academic support and monitor ams programmes in faculties. a further layer of complexity is the different colleges’ interpretation of the ams policy, resulting in varied roles and responsibilities of the ams practitioners. this variation in the roles and responsibilities of ams practitioners in each of the four colleges may be explained by banathy’s (1991) assertion that a “discipline-bydiscipline” study of education involves staying within the boundaries of existing systems. such improvements produce changes at the margins but fail to recognise the complexity of current arrangements surrounding higher education systemically, signalling the need for a developmental approach, which takes into consideration recommendations and reports proposed for improvement of practices. considered collectively, the four broad themes, namely, nature of employment, remuneration ranking, gender distribution and job profiles highlight how academic monitoring and support practitioners enact their roles and responsibilities in the different schools/colleges, which might be at odds with the original conception of the ams programme as a holistic, coherent, systemic intervention. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 fractures between policy and practice analysis of focus group interview data with ams practitioners suggests noteworthy findings: several ams personnel bemoaned the marginal status of their work in relation to the core business of teaching, learning and research. despite the espoused policy, which deems the ams programmes to be institutionalised, the actual position as experienced by practitioners suggests that the programme has not been sufficiently incorporated into the school or college structures, leaving ams practitioners to function in isolation relative to the college’s de facto core business. tinto (2005, p. 2) emphasises that “institutional commitment is more than just words, more than just mission statements” but is “willingness to invest the resources and provide the incentives and rewards needed to enhance student success”. relegating the programme to the periphery of the academy limits the systemic impact of the initiative or as banathy (1991) suggests: the lack of commitment to participation results in “failure to integrate solution ideas”. this proposition is evident in the ams practitioners’ claim that “numerous reports and recommendations are suggested through different avenues (meetings, workshops, colloquiums etc.), however, these are not sufficiently embraced and acted on to produce a coherent and comprehensive system”. to accentuate the relegation of ams programmes as ‘unofficial’ business, academic support practitioners claim that they are typically “not regarded as scholars with the obligation to research and advance the scholarship of teaching and learning (sotl)” in their academic domains. this relegation results in programmes being perceived as an alternative space “where students go to get band aid” rather than an institutionalised, evidence-led programme that is an integral part of the curriculum (phillips, 1993). the fact that ams programmes in the majority of colleges are externally funded in their entirety and the majority of personnel are contract staff leads to the assumption that such programmes are not seen as core business and could abruptly be terminated. academic development coordinators (adcs) reported that they felt they were not being as effective as they could to be because of time constraints accruing from having to support and mentor tutors and students from two or more campuses. this argument again coheres with banathy’s proposition (1991, p. 149), that “piecemeal” interventions or “an incremental approach” to change precipitates failure, since resources are being spread so thinly that their effectiveness is being compromised, resulting in a dilution of quality and coherence with little to guarantee of future reward in student progression and quality of outcomes. this absence of substantive support is exacerbated by the organisational structure of the university, which accords responsibility for academic development to academic leaders  (al). academic leaders, located at the level of the school within the college, are expected to provide pedagogic leadership for ams within their particular disciplinary cluster. while structurally this location of leadership is potentially effective in identifying and signalling at-risk students for coordinated support, this is undermined by the rapid turnover of academic leaders (al). the turnover is ascribed to the blurring of boundaries between academic, administrative and reporting responsibilities. consequently, many als find the sheer volume of the workload and the absence of concomitant reward a disincentive to continue in leadership positions, as noted by practitioners: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 vino paideya & rubby dhunpath: student academic monitoring and support in higher education … 45 constant change in academic leaders of teaching and learning who came with different leading styles and different understanding of the ams programmes has been very challenging. the adcs/ados again bemoaned the lack of support or ineffective support they receive, impeding their progress and success within ams programmes. kim and senge (1994) and banathy (1991) concur that most often, improvement efforts lack quality and coherence where individuals lack the tools and managerial skills to understand the complexities of situations they face. the efficacy of the initiative is compromised as the structures in which they have to function are not conducive to engagement and reflection. this leads to the inability and paralysis in attending to the learning of individuals or groups in the organisation. a key finding from the analysis of ams practitioner roles and responsibilities is that there appear to be considerable variations across four faculties with regard to nomenclature of ams personnel, variations in ams personnel’s qualifications, variations in duration of contracts and variations in job profiles. this is typified in the varied key role functions that ams practitioners occupy, with some offering content support and others concentrating on soft skills. yet others assume a pastoral/academic counselling role. the inclusion of the pastoral/academic counselling role in ams satisfies the monitoring aspect in the ams policy, providing students with counselling support and guidelines on how to conduct themselves in academia (barrow, 1999), but adds a further layer of responsibility, which should ordinarily be devolved to specialist counsellors. a further area of concern emerging from the data, which accounts for the relative instability of the system, is the ad-hoc staffing arrangements, with only 2 out of 50 respondent ams practitioners employed in permanent positions – where the majority of the ams practitioners (40 out of 50 responses) are post-graduate students. typically, they take up ams roles to ‘support’ themselves while completing their studies. thus, inadvertently, support is redirected from students to practitioners. a closer look at the interview excerpts reveals that the ams practitioners were preoccupied with personal concerns such as job security and job satisfaction. it could also be argued that by employing staff on short-term contracts, the institution is adopting what banathy (1991) regards as a reductionist orientation: of providing ad-hoc solutions to an enduring systemic problem. while the institution has recognised the problem of unsustainable student progression, there is little correlation between the problem and the attendant solutions, particularly the absence of a systems orientation in conceiving of effective solutions. aptly articulated by one dean of teaching and learning: “we have now reached a stage where, given the resources we invest in the programme, we must recognise the need for institution-wide approaches to enhancing ams” (personal communication, 2016). concluding comments the institutional research into the academic monitoring and support programme at ukzn was prompted by the persistently high dropout rate and the low success rates, especially in 3-year degree programmes, despite the declared institutionalisation of the 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(1) 2018, 33–48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 ams programme which was designed to ameliorate the problem of student progression. in summary, ams practitioners’ roles and responsibilities are mediated by the fact that despite the official senate policy, which provides for the institutionalisation of ams, it has not been sufficiently embraced, integrated and systematised at ukzn. notably, as asserted by banathy, (1991, p.  5) a “reductionist orientation” is applied to a complex academic environment, evident in the leadership’s partial understanding of the role of student support as core to the university’s mandate in promoting student success. the dissonance between leaderships’ partial interest in ams seems to have resulted in ams practitioners feeling undervalued and marginal to the university’s mainstream activities. this is intensified by their predominantly short-term contract positions, which mitigate against substantive development of their skills and their capacity to deploy these skills productively. the data further indicates that quality and coherence within the ams system is compromised by unstable leadership and requisite resources being spread thinly, diluting the quality and efficacy of support. given the extent of the problem of student attrition, and the considerable human and material resources invested in the ams initiative, a key question that we raise is whether ams practitioners and those who provide leadership have the obligation to advance scholarship in ams, through an evidence-based approach, based on the principles of the scholarship of teaching and learning (sotl). if the university seeks to gain traction in sotl, then the university has a pristine opportunity to design a coordinated research agenda, where making praxis public is valued as the raison d’être of practitioners who are constantly reflecting and innovating to enhance the quality of teaching and learning and student outcomes. this, the authors contend, is less reductionist, less interventionist and more scholarly an 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(2014). institutional project report – identifying the roles and responsibilities of academic monitoring and support practitioners. university of kwazulu-natal. unpublished paper. phillips, m. (1993). too many institutions still taking band-aid approach to minority student retention, experts say. black issues in higher education, 9(24), 24–26. quality promotions and assurance office, (2011). report of the external review of academic monitoring and support. university of kwazulu-natal. senge, p.m. (1990). the fifth discipline, the art and practice of the learning organization. new york: doubleday. temple, p. (2007). learning spaces for the 21st century: a review of the literature, higher education academy, london. retrieved from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/research/learning_ spaces_v3.pdf tinto, v. (1999). adapting learning communities to the needs of development education students. paper presented at the national center for postsecondary improvement, stanford university. tinto, v. (2005). taking student success seriously: rethinking the first year of college. syracuse university. retrieved from http://fdc.fullerton.edu/events/archives/2005/05 ukzn (university of kwazulu-natal). (2009). academic monitoring and exclusions policy. ref: co/06/0412/09. university teaching and learning office. (2012). report on academic monitoring and support. university of kwazulu-natal. university teaching and learning office, (2013). external evaluation report on academic monitoring and support. university of kwazulu-natal. how to cite: paideya, v. & dhunpath, r. (2018). student academic monitoring and support in higher education: a systems thinking perspective. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 33–48. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v6i1.3064 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/research/learning_ spaces_v3.pdf http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/research/learning_ spaces_v3.pdf http://fdc.fullerton.edu/events/archives/2005/05 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 99–113 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 99 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice holistic health, disadvantage, higher education access and success: a reflection angela a. morris-paxton,* johanna m. van lingen** & diane elkonin*** * dr angela a. morris-paxton is a research associate, faculty of health sciences, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. email: anja.morris-paxton@mandela.ac.za ** dr johanna m. van lingen is a senior counsellor, student counselling, career and development centre, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. email: hanna.vanlingen@mandela.ac.za *** prof. diane elkonin is a research associate, department of psychology, faculty of health sciences, nelson mandela university, port elizabeth, south africa. she recently retired as head of the department. email: diane.elkonin@mandela.ac.za abstract the objective of this article is to reflect upon the relationships amongst health, disadvantage, educational opportunities, and higher education access and success. this is a reflective article taken from the literature review of a doctoral study on the relationship between health, access to, and success within, higher education. the importance of health in education and the practical implementation of programmes resulting in enhanced health and academic success amongst higher education students is reviewed. literature for the doctoral study on which this reflection was based was sourced predominantly from pub-med central, the u.s. national institute of health national library of medicine and the south african south-east academic library services. from this discussion, the rationale for a holistic health promotion programme within the higher education setting, for students from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds, is given. the problem of educational failure of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds in higher education could be lessened by instituting a holistic health promotion programme within the first year of study. evidence suggests that such a programme would have both health and educational advantages. keywords disadvantage; health; higher education; holistic health promotion; student success introduction educational opportunities have been greatly expanded globally, and there is no more powerful a force for the eradication of poverty and the deepening of sustainability than to build a better future for all (unesco, 2015). unfortunately, educational attrition, especially at the tertiary educational level, is a global problem that increases unemployment, decreases economic stability and compromises sustainable development (unesco,  2015). this problem of educational attrition compromises especially the middleand lower-income countries who cannot afford the wasted expenditure and curtailed development arising from it. research https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anja.morris-paxton%40mandela.ac.za?subject= mailto:hanna.vanlingen%40mandela.ac.za?subject= mailto:diane.elkonin%40mandela.ac.za?subject= 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 99–113 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 findings indicate that education confers better health which, in turn, increases educational opportunities (cohen, rai, rehkopf & abrams, 2013). an individual’s level of health, in turn, affects educational development (ansari & stock,  2010). the relationship between holistic health, access to and outcomes of educational development is the focus of this reflective article, which has been taken from a doctoral study into the relationship between health and educational outcomes of disadvantaged students. all attempts to mitigate the problem of educational attrition and promote global educational and economic success benefits all concerned, from the individual learner through to regional, national and global socioeconomic well-being and long-term stability. for the purposes of this reflection health takes the holistic definition of the world health organization (who) in that: health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition. (world health organization, 2006) the purpose of this reflection is to draw attention to the fact that in the current practice in higher education, educational opportunities may have been adversely affected due to compromised levels of health, both in the wider and localised contexts. this results in high educational attrition amongst those who are disadvantaged, resulting in further socioeconomic disadvantage. the authors put forward the view that improving health in higher education students may improve both health and education outcomes. a discussion of the overall relationship between health and education globally, beginning with the link between socioeconomic disadvantage and poor health, will follow. these circumstances translate into insufficient education which, in turn, leads to the inability to make appropriate health-related decisions, or inability to improve one’s overall level of health and lifestyle circumstances. additionally, there are complex healthrelated problems experienced by populations in socioeconomic developmental transition, which applies to southern africa in general and south africa in particular (allender, wickramasinghe, goldacre, matthews & prasad, 2011; campbell & campbell, 2007; day et al., 2014; williams, grier & seidel, 2008). these issues are discussed before moving on to how such transitional health-related problems affect the population in the local area of the eastern cape province. the authors continue with a discussion of how we mitigate this problem and the relationship between education and health; in addition, how health promotion and better health can translate into academic success, will be reviewed. thereafter, the outcome of studies relating to the impact of health on education within the southern african region will be discussed. to conclude, the authors rationalise the use of a holistic health promotion programme in the first year of higher education learning to promote both health and academic success. literature for the doctoral study on which this reflection was based was sourced predominantly from pub-med central, the u.s. national institute of health national library of medicine and the south african south-east academic library services. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 angela a. morris-paxton, johanna m. van lingen & diane elkonin: holistic health, disadvantage … 101 the relationship amongst health, education and disadvantage in the international context the millennium development goals (mdgs) in respect of health, which were agreed upon by the united nations member states, were supposed to be met by 2015; however, for most of the lower-income developing countries and many of the middle-income countries, including south africa, many of these goals have not been met (buse & hawkes, 2014; day et al., 2014; shaikh, 2014). for some lower-income states and in poorer areas of wealthier nations, the goals are unlikely to be met in the near future (shaikh, 2014). additionally, the mdgs did not set specific goals for non-communicable diseases (buse & hawkes, 2014). in developing nations and poorer areas of middle-income countries, the finance, manpower and technology required to support a health system that has a disease-focused approach, are far less than those of developed nations, which have greater resources (shaikh, 2014). in the opinion of shaikh, a re-think is perhaps required, in terms of how health-related resources are utilised (shaikh, 2014). shaikh maintains that a more holistic and decentralised approach to community health may serve to improve well-being sufficiently for it to positively affect the other mdgs, such as improvement in education, hiv management and the eradication of poverty (shaikh, 2014). day and her colleagues (day et al., 2014) contend that, with respect to south africa, what is needed to maintain the mdgs met so far, and to meet those unmet goals with respect to health, is a post-2015 workable disease-prevention plan. although compromised levels of health in childhood is often a consequence of socioeconomic disadvantage; repeated illness and chronic conditions during childhood and adolescence have lasting educational and socioeconomic effects (jackson, 2009). those with health-related problems may be disadvantaged with respect to receiving adequate education (cohen et al., 2013). young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular, those from homes where there is financial hardship, or whose parents have not had a tertiary education, do not have an equal chance of entering university due to socioeconomic-related conditions, and compromised levels of health and nutritional status (baraldi & conde, 2014; guimaraes, werneck, faerstein, lopes & chor,  2014; jackson, 2009; kestilä, martelin, rahkonen, härkänen & koskinen, 2009; koivusilta, west, saaristo, nummi & rimpelä, 2013; labadarios et al., 2011). moreover, when students from deprived backgrounds do attain sufficient secondary education to permit entry into the higher education environment, their participation is compromised due to socioeconomic and health-related disadvantages (jackson, 2009; scott, yeld & hendry, 2007; stephens, hamedani & destin, 2014). conversely, students who enter higher education and succeed, tend to come from a background where parents have been better educated, have skilled employment and more positive health behaviours (jackson, 2009; kestilä et al., 2009; koivusilta et al., 2013; stephens et al., 2014). ultimately, this leads to better health and higher than average living conditions (jackson, 2009; kestilä et al., 2009; koivusilta et al., 2013; stephens et al., 2014). getting learners into education is not enough; the playing field has to be levelled and learners, regardless of socioeconomic background, must be aided to succeed in the 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 99–113 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 compulsory and post-compulsory education system if the long-term global goals of education, development and sustainability are to be achieved (unesco, 2015). the link between disadvantage and poor health in poverty-stricken and under-resourced developing countries where most of the population lacks access to higher education, there appears to be a strong link between poverty, lack of education and chronic disease (ignacio et al., 2015). this problem, however, is not a new one: from as early as 2002 the links between lifestyle-related behaviour, disease and poverty were identified in the who report of that year (world health organization,  2002). the main factors that were linked to poor health were those of malnutrition (including under-nutrition, obesity and nutrition-related hypertension), unsafe sex, unsafe water consumption, insufficient hygiene, indoor air pollution, tobacco and alcohol consumption (world health organization, 2002). these same factors were directly linked to both poor health and poverty because of poor choices regarding expenditure and reduced income due to poor health (world health organization, 2002). the catchphrase “enemies of health, allies of poverty” was coined in the report (world health organization, 2002, p. 8). in a report the following year, inappropriate dietary patterns and an increase in nutrition-related diseases of lifestyle were identified as a major health threat to both developed and developing countries, which the developing economies could not afford (world health organization, 2003). this is due, in part, to governmental inability to fund health-promotion programmes adequately in developing economies (world health organization, 2003, 2013). given that these very same countries, in general, have the lowest household incomes and the largest out-of-pocket health expenses, in terms of the who, this situation constitutes ‘catastrophic health expenditure’ exacerbating existing poverty (world health organization, 2013, pp. 13, 18). in developed countries, the poorer sectors of society may not fare better than those in developing countries, as they tend towards health-compromising behaviour, which negatively affects education and further compromises socioeconomic status (koivusilta et  al.,  2013). a study conducted in finland found that young people from single-parent families, whose parents had not attained higher education, demonstrated higher levels of health-compromising behaviour (koivusilta et al., 2013). these adolescents also fared less well in the educational system (koivusilta et al., 2013). this, in turn, perpetuates a lower socioeconomic standard, and further health-compromising behaviour in adulthood (koivusilta et al., 2013). a study conducted in spain revealed similar results amongst adults of lower socioeconomic status, who were found to have higher rates of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (niddm) and cardiovascular disease (cvd) than those who were educated and regularly employed (palomo et al., 2014). an identical situation played out in new zealand, where the poorer sectors of society with lower socioeconomic status and financial restraints had poor diets, poor lifestyle and poor health outcomes in the long term (wilson, gearry, grant, pearson & skidmore, 2014). deprivation, lack of good health, insufficient education and their combined consequences result in a vicious https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 angela a. morris-paxton, johanna m. van lingen & diane elkonin: holistic health, disadvantage … 103 cycle that always leads back to poverty and deprivation (jackson, 2009). the morbidity and mortality statistics do not always correlate with self-rated health when the latter is skewed by higher or lower expectations of the population concerned (delpierre  et  al.,  2012). in  essence, the poor expect less when it comes to health, report better subjective health and often fail to ask for, or receive, preventative care or educational information, whilst those with a better education and higher socioeconomic position may be more demanding (delpierre et al., 2012). insufficient education and the inability to make health-related decisions as much as poor health behaviour and poor health-related decision-making are a cause of socioeconomic disparity, the same socioeconomic disparity is also a cause of poor healthbehaviour (mulder, de bruin, schreurs, van ameijden & van woerkum, 2011). people with lower levels of education, higher levels of daily stress and fewer resources, including perceived lack of life-control, tend towards more health-compromising behaviours and do not have the psychosocial resources to manage health-related change (mulder et al., 2011). breaking this cycle of poor health and poor education may not have the desired results if the benefactors are not able to make appropriate economic and health-related decisions (kestilä  et  al.,  2009). those with reduced educational and economic opportunities may also have lower expectations of educational attainment, or may believe, due to a healthrelated condition such as asthma or depression, that they cannot be expected to achieve academically (jackson, 2009). increasing the perception of an internal locus of control, alongside social support and social cohesion, is important in building the capacity to make appropriate health-behaviour decisions (mulder et al., 2011). the effect of education on health disparities narrowing the gap in health disparities between the better-off and poorer populations may be achieved by placing a higher premium on health as a contributor to increased socioeconomic status (cohen et al., 2013). health literacy and health behaviour, however, along with empowerment and change in the locus of control from health information provider to health information consumer, may also be determining factors in health outcomes (cohen et al., 2013). to be acknowledged, there is the problem of poverty accompanied by insufficient knowledge and impetus to improve health (cohen et al., 2013). for those who have managed to break the poverty-low-educationillness cycle, however, there lies a better future. there is evidence that adolescents from two-parent families, whose parents had skilled white-collar employment, were more likely to engage in health-enhancing behaviour (koivusilta et al., 2013). these adolescents were more likely to successfully complete their own education, attain a higher level of socioeconomic status and better health as adults (koivusilta et al., 2013). in the u.s. it was also found that those who had a better education and higher socioeconomic status had higher expectations of life in general and health in particular (delpierre et al., 2012). in short, education has been positively linked to 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 99–113 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 health outcomes in developed countries (baker, leon, greenaway, collins & movit, 2011; cohen et al., 2013; rosenbaum, 2012). the vast majority of research findings on the link between health and education have indicated that education itself is a strong and enduring mediator of health (baker et al., 2011). with the institution of community colleges, further education colleges and other intermediary educational opportunities, for those who would not normally enter higher education, health disparities may be mitigated by the opportunity to obtain a higher qualification, thus changing the socioeconomic perception and identification of those taking part (rosenbaum, 2012). the relationship amongst health, educational outcomes and disadvantage in the southern african region within the southern african region, there has been little research on the effect of poor health on education in general, or within the university setting. adverse effects of ill health on the socioeconomic development of the population appear to follow similar patterns to those of other developing and rapidly urbanising countries (delisle, agueh & fayomi, 2011; kengne, awah, fezeu & mbanya, 2007; kirigia, sambo, sambo & barry, 2009; micklesfield et  al.,  2013; vorster, kruger, venter, margetts & macintyre, 2007). these health-related problems, such as obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are increasing, more so in late adolescence and early adulthood (kengne et al., 2007; kirigia et al., 2009; sodjinou, agueh, fayomi & delisle, 2008; vorster et al., 2007). in southern africa the health and education systems have to contend with both the emerging problems of lifestyle-related disease, as well as enduring problems of lack of food security and disparities in access to health care (world health organization, 2010). additionally, this region has the world’s highest incidence of infection with hiv and tb often occurring concurrently (world health organization, 2009). the predominant adverse effect of ill-health on education in southern africa concerns the dual burden of hiv with other opportunistic infections and the concurrently rising, opportunistic tb infections1 (boutayeb,  2009). survival to older childhood with vertically acquired hiv infection is rapidly becoming the norm rather than the exception (ferrand et al., 2010). additionally, these youngsters may have developmental and educational challenges that are unique to their situation (pufall et al., 2014). as these young people progress through the education system, the system itself may find itself ill prepared for their needs (ferrand et al., 2010; pufall et al., 2014). the relationship between health, educational outcomes and disadvantage in south africa south africa has many higher education students who come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. poverty and the resultant poor health experienced during 1 tb infections may be single-site bacterial, or multi-site bacterial, either of which may be treatable by conventional means; or possibly single-drug-resistant, or multi-drug-resistant. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 angela a. morris-paxton, johanna m. van lingen & diane elkonin: holistic health, disadvantage … 105 childhood and adolescence have far-reaching economic and educational consequences (guimaraes et al., 2014; jackson, 2009). there appears to be a relationship between early life levels of health and later educational success. there is emerging evidence which suggests that the use of a holistic health education programme in the first year of higher education learning, could serve to address the problem of ill health, which negatively affects students’ academic development (ansari & stock, 2010; ansari et al., 2011). south africa follows a similar pattern of both health and the relationship between health (or lack thereof) and education to that of many other emerging middle-income, rapidly urbanising economies (allender et al., 2010; campbell & campbell, 2007; day et al., 2014; delisle et al., 2011; kengne et al., 2007). non-communicable chronic diseases of lifestyle are on the increase, requiring both national planning and national educational interventions (day et al., 2014; de villiers et al., 2012). contrary to the previous two decades where hiv was the predominant cause of death in sub-saharan africa, in some areas, years of life lost due to preventable lifestyle-related diseases have overtaken those of hiv and tb combined (day et al., 2014). this is especially the case where antiretroviral therapy has been instituted at a relatively early stage and the long-term outcome of the hiv infection is now one of chronic disease management (degroote, vogelaers & vandijck, 2014). in this emerging scenario, the health care focus needs to be the long-term maintenance of quality of life (degroote et al., 2014). against this background, socioeconomic determinants of self-rated health play a major role in south africa (cramm & nieboer,  2011). the disadvantaged members of society have the most to lose with respect to poor levels of health and inadequate education (cramm & nieboer, 2011; de  villiers et al.,  2012). in turn, poor levels of education and unemployment contribute to poor health outcomes, thus creating a cycle of poor health, poor education outcomes, ongoing poverty and low standards of living (cramm & nieboer, 2011) despite being a middle-income country2 with many aspects of first-world development, there are nonetheless pockets of poverty in south africa and a wide disparity between the haves and have-nots, that manifests in adverse outcomes in respect of health (ataguba, akazili & mcintyre, 2011). this is similar to other middle-income and southern hemisphere countries, as well as minority groups within developed countries, in respect of both demographics of the population that experience the disadvantage and the nature of the disadvantage itself (friel et al., 2011; guimaraes et al., 2014). education has the potential to mediate this problem and a better education has been linked to better health outcomes (baker et al., 2011; cohen et al., 2013; rosenbaum,  2012). international research has demonstrated that the educational aspirations of adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds, if accommodated, could compensate over the longer term for the socioeconomic disadvantage (madarasova geckova, tavel, van dijk, abel & reijneveld, 2010; noble & henderson, 2011). as socioeconomic status is generally linked 2 per the world bank data indicators for 2014 south africa’s gni was us$ 6 800 per capita against a world average of us$ 10 787. south africa is listed as a middle-income country. http://data.worldbank.org/ indicator/ny.gnp.pcap.cd http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gnp.pcap.cd http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gnp.pcap.cd 106 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 99–113 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 to health status and long-term health outcomes, providing a means for adolescents to realise their academic aspirations can improve both the socioeconomic standing and the health prospects of a disadvantaged population (madarasova geckova et al., 2010; noble & henderson,  2011). in this respect, the need to improve higher educational outcomes amongst those from disadvantaged backgrounds has become paramount in south africa (scott et al., 2007). the relationship amongst health educational outcomes and disadvantage in the eastern cape the eastern cape province is the second-poorest province in south africa; additionally the wild coast and surrounding rural area, which is the main catchment area for students attending two of the province’s three universities, is one of the most socioeconomically deprived in the province (mitchell & andersson, 2011). as of 2016, 18.7% of the population of the eastern cape higher education catchment area was living on or below the poverty line (statistics south africa, 2016). students from this area are less likely to have secure or clean water sources, household food security or parents who are educated beyond secondary school (mitchell & andersson, 2011). despite the disadvantages, there were indications of a correlation between higher scores on a wellness questionnaire and better academic outcomes (van lingen, douman & wannenburg, 2011). in this respect, an undergraduate nursing programme in the eastern cape that incorporated counselling on holistic health improved student scores on a wellness questionnaire and academic outcomes overall (van lingen et al., 2011). current policy and practice in health education in south africa in 2003, south africa instituted a national policy on school health services; this focused, however, on the provision of a school nurse for basic education institutions, and in the higher education sector, the provision of an on-site health clinic (subedar, 2011). in the re-engineering of the primary health care sector in south africa, these services will be strengthened in the poorest areas and will be specifically focused on the needs of the area concerned (subedar, 2011). there is no provision in the primary health care sector for educational policies, although secondary education incorporates life skills, which focuses predominantly on psychosocial health and hiv education (lai et al., 2013). to date there is no statute policy on health education beyond secondary school in south africa. the department of higher education and training (dhet) makes provision for continuing life skills/health promotion in the new four-year extended curricular programme (dhet, 2012). as there is no national policy on the educational content of life skills education, universities that offer life skills or health-promotion programmes have generally tailored the content to their respective institutional requirements. the authors could find no evidence of comparative research on university health-promotion offerings in south africa. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 angela a. morris-paxton, johanna m. van lingen & diane elkonin: holistic health, disadvantage … 107 the rationale for holistic health promotion in higher education in south africa the higher education system in south africa has increasingly attempted to redress the high level of attrition with regard to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, by instituting an additional year of study for those who seek to further their education, thereby improving their future socioeconomic standing (dhet, 2012, 2013). changes in policy and the introduction of four-year extended programmes led to a widening of higher education access (dhet, 2012). due to the widening of access to university even more students will enter the system with a double set of challenges – those of educational disadvantage and a concomitant health disadvantage (dhet, 2012; scott et al., 2007). higher education brings with it its own stressors such as living away from home, dealing with financial constraints and taking more personal responsibility, over and above those of academic challenges (welle & graf, 2011). students who possess better coping skills are less likely to drop out of higher education and have a greater chance of overall success (welle & graf, 2011). stress intervention programmes for those struggling to cope may not be as effective as imparting the skills required to understand and personalise one’s own stress-management strategy (welle & graf,  2011). there is evidence that a holistic health-promotion programme offered to students in higher education has the potential to build the fundamental skills required for voluntary, positive and successful health behaviour change (ansari & stock,  2010; brookins-fisher, o’boyle & ivanitskaya, 2010) and with that, as will be discussed below, a marked increase in academic success. few studies have been conducted within the higher education sector on the effects of health education and health-management programmes. these studies have demonstrated that health per se, and health-promotion programmes in particular, have had a positive effect on academic outcomes (ansari & stock, 2010; ansari et al., 2011; deasy, coughlan, pironom, jourdan & mannix-mcnamara, 2014; fernandez, salamonson & griffiths, 2012; flueckiger, lieb & meyer, 2014; gwandure, 2010; van lingen et al., 2011). given the opportunity to engage in a health-promotion programme, higher education students have the potential to develop the skills required to make their own decisions with respect to health and bring about the kind of positive change that enhances their individual chance of success (brookins-fisher et al., 2010; gwandure, 2010). inequity of access to preventative measures and health promotion has been identified as one cause of inequity in health outcomes (mitchell & andersson, 2011; vearey, 2011). ignorance may well have a negative effect on the statistical outcome of preventable disorders of lifestyle; however, lack of knowledge is not the sole problem. the way knowledge is imparted plays a major role in its implementation. provision of written material, individualised goal-setting and opportunities for monitoring and counselling, appear to be more successful than information alone (berry & mirabito, 2011). restructuring information to allow the recipient to become part of the decision-making process can be more successful if a concordance model is applied (fraser, 2010; gucciardi, cameron, liao, palmer & stewart, 2007; hoddinott, allan, avenell & britten, 2010). in the opinion of the 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 6(2) 2018, 99–113 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 authors embedding a holistic health-promotion programme within the higher education curriculum could potentially contribute towards improved health, educational success and socioeconomic enhancement in south africa. conclusion this reflection drew attention to the fact that in the current practice in higher education, educational opportunities may have been adversely affected due to compromised levels of health, resulting in a high educational attrition amongst those who are disadvantaged. the relationship amongst health, disadvantage and education is unequivocal as an increased standard of education has been found to lead to higher levels of health and better health affords greater participation in the education system, which in turn affords better socioeconomic opportunities. prospective students who come from compromised backgrounds, however, may fail to access higher education and, when they do, they may be less well prepared than their better-off middle-class counterparts. evidence suggests that the use of a holistic health education programme in the first year of higher education learning could serve not only as a health-enhancing intervention but also to improve students’ holistic development and academic success. the authors put forward the view that improving health in higher education students may improve both health and education outcomes. the higher education system itself may benefit disadvantaged students by providing holistic health-promotion courses within the university’s first-year curriculum. a built-in compulsory credit-bearing holistic health-promotion course stands a better chance of being effective due to the increased opportunity for participation and retention. in the eastern cape province, which is particularly disadvantaged, evidence suggests that such a programme would have both health and educational advantages. funding the research on which this article is based is in fulfilment of a doctoral study. the intervention was supported by walter sisulu university centre for learning and teaching development. there was no external grant or funding received for this project. conflict of interest the authors declare that there was no conflict of interest. references allender, s., lacey, b., webster, p., rayner, m., deep, m., scarborough, p., arambepola, c., datta,  m. & mohan, v. 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http://www.who.int/whr/2010/en/ http://www.who.int/whr/2013/report/en/ https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3312 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 33-44 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134 www.jsaa.ac.za perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners about academic development classes at a university of technology thembeka g.c. shange* research article * thembeka g.c. shange is a student development and support practitioner and d.tech candidate at tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. email: shangetgc@tut.ac.za abstract with the increase in student enrolments in higher education, which has resulted in changes to student profiles, academic development has become important in terms of students’ success. this article is a report on a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews to investigate the perceptions of engineering students and staff to academic development classes at a university of technology (uot) in south africa. the students’ feelings concerning the need for academic development to continue beyond their first year of study was of particular interest. participants included five lecturers from the engineering faculty and four academic development practitioners, who were all purposefully selected. the sample consisted of men and women who were interviewed individually. interviews were also conducted with ten first-year engineering students and ten second-year students, who were randomly selected on the grounds of having been involved in the academic development programme during their first year. the responses of the lecturers were compared with those of the academic development practitioners and the firstand second-year students’ responses were compared. it emerged that academic development was considered questionable as it did not seem to be structured and that the academic development curriculum, itself, was problematic. keywords academic development, engineering education, scaffolding, self-regulated learning, students. introduction students from previously disadvantaged schooling backgrounds entering university often have a negative perception of academic development (ad) classes. the council on higher education (che, 2013, p. 72) suggested a limitation in ad programmes, such as extended foundation programmes within ad units, as they are seen to have a low status and are, consequently, often marginalised academically and administratively. furthermore, students 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 33-44 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134 in extended programmes have been affected by the perceived status of the intervention. according to the che (2013, p. 72), research indicates an ambivalence in student attitudes where recognition of the programmes’ value is often tempered by the threat of stigma and stereotyping. different authors show that, when students enter university, they are often underprepared for the demands of higher education and, therefore, have a need for some kind of intervention. the establishment of academic support programmes in institutions was an initiative to assist students who, in addition to being socio-economically disadvantaged, had been systematically underprepared for university. the che (2013, p. 57) maintains that the dominant view for underperformance in higher education is that a high proportion of students are underprepared for study at university level. in this uot, a student academic development approach is used to assist students with curriculum strategies that enhance their teaching and learning, and this is the function of the student development and support unit. this is done through various strategies, including academic development classes. i have, however, observed that often students in their first year of study absent themselves from the ad classes that i teach, but when they are in their second or third year of study, they frequently consult academic development practitioners (adps) on various issues, such as note-taking, study skills, reading and writing, time management and examination preparation. it is puzzling why they absent themselves from these classes in their first year and, instead, choose to seek help voluntarily in subsequent years with issues that are part of the ad curriculum. this situation challenges adps to maintain a high attendance rate in ad classes for a number of reasons, which are explored in the discussion section. lecturers encourage their students to make use of services offered by student development and support (sds) as soon as they identify the need for them to do so. researchers have indicated that scaffolding at university level should extend beyond the first-year level and continue until the student feels confident to tackle his/her studies without any support. baleghizadeh, memar and memar (2011, p. 44) understand scaffolding as a knowledgeable participant creating supportive conditions in which the novice can participate and extend his/her current skills and knowledge to a higher level of competence. donato (1994) and schumm (2006, in baleghizadeh et al. 2011, p. 44) emphasise that scaffolding provides support for students, which gradually diminishes as students become more independent. many definitions highlight support ‘by the other’ and maintain that, at some point, scaffolding needs to be reduced to allow learners to become independent. it is likely that this would be the case when students achieve higher levels of competence. i support this view, having observed the practice of some engineering students who come for support in their second year of study. additionally, this corresponds to the aim of this article, which is to examine the perceptions of engineering students to ad classes whose absenteeism was prominent in their first year and some of whom then consulted adps in their second or third year of study. the purpose of this article, therefore, is to examine engineering students’ perceptions in relation to the ad classes at the uot. to achieve that, the current ad model at this institution will be discussed within the relevant literature for existing information on ad, thembeka g.c. shange: perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners 35 both nationally and internationally. the methods used to gather information will then be given, followed by the results and a discussion of the issue of concern. the concept of ad as more and more underprepared students from previously marginalised communities gain access to, and enrol at, tertiary institutions, they fail to cope with the rigour of the programmes as they are faced with a variety of problems and challenges that need immediate intervention in the form of ad. this is the case in south africa and elsewhere in the world; the concept of ad is not unique to south africa, but it is found all over the world. thayer (2000, p. 3), confirms that there is a growing awareness of effective interventions that increase student persistence. what is academic development? the use of phrases like ‘students at risk’, ‘students with poor english’ or ‘students with deficiencies’ relates to the sensitive matter of students who need extra support to succeed in tertiary education. scott (2001, p. 3) maintains that there is no official definition of the term. he is of the opinion that ad refers to the design and implementation of educational processes and initiatives that are intended to promote equity and to redress historical inequalities in student access to, and success in, higher education. baume (2002, p. 110) asserts that ad is concerned with the improvement of processes in higher education, educational development and enhancing the capabilities of those who directly support learning in higher education. underprepared students who enter university sometimes display a mismatch between the requirements for admission to higher education and their actual preparedness for it. fisher and scott (2011, p. 12) confirm the negative effect of this mismatch when they suggest that there is no single solution for addressing the articulation gap between secondary school and higher education; instead, they support a combination of approaches and strategies. this seems to be a move from the past when low-performing students were labelled ‘educationally disadvantaged’ in south africa and ‘disadvantaged minorities’ in north america, as stated by lillis (2001) in zengele (2006, p. 18). fisher and scott (2011, p. 13) cite the following strategies for addressing the articulation gap: 1) improving the academic preparedness of first-time-entering students by raising the quality of school learning outcomes; 2) providing alternative entry routes into higher education through a college system and/or alternative and ‘second chance’ entry routes; 3) expanding private provision of tertiary education and creating new public institutions; and 4) improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning in higher education itself, particularly by adjusting the curriculum at entry level to meet the capacities of incoming students. the different approaches and strategies are an indication of the complexity of the problem, but this discussion focuses mainly on the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education. according to fisher and scott (2011, p. 25), the constraints of the 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 33-44 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134 mainstream curricula have particularly severe consequences for disadvantaged students and, in their opinion, there is effectively no space for these students to attain the conceptual development, learning approaches and academic literacies needed for success in advanced studies. zamel (1998) in zengele (2006, p. 18) maintains that students entering a new community must take on its ways of knowing and its ‘ways with words’. gee (1996) notes that there are particular literacies, social languages and discourses that are operational in these new communities that may pose a threat to someone who has not been adequately prepared for this kind of environment. furthermore, gee (2012, p. 158) explains ‘discourse’ as a socially accepted way of using language and other symbolic expressions; of thinking, feeling, believing, valuing and acting as well as using various tools, technologies or props that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or ‘social network’; and as signalling (that one is playing) a socially meaningful ‘role’ or that one is filling a social niche in a distinctively recognisable fashion. for students entering university for the first time, there may be challenges in respect of whether they possess the relevant discourses that may assist them to cope within a new discourse community. for fisher and scott (2011, p. 25), this may be more problematic if english, which is the dominant language of instruction, is not students’ mother tongue. a variety of interventions have been introduced in response to the changing student profile, where students may not possess the relevant discourses for university education. for example, ad interventions have evolved from academic support in the 1980s to academic development and student development in more recent years. some of the strategies mentioned by fisher and scott (2011, p. 25) are current interventions that involve supporting students in the mainstream curriculum through supplementary tutorials, mentoring schemes and study skills programmes, among others. with regard to these interventions, fisher and scott (2011, p. 25) believe that there has been limited success because they operate under flawed assumptions about students’ academic preparedness and prior learning and such interventions further overload the students who are most in need of support. another intervention, which is supported by fisher and scott, is that of extended programmes, which are degrees or diplomas of increased duration. according to fisher and scott (2011, p. 28), these programmes – some of which may have been developed from stand-alone foundational programmes into integrated degree or diploma programmes – provide sufficient additional curriculum space to address the articulation gap; address the gaps in subject knowledge and an inadequate grasp of concepts; and develop academic language skills, quantitative computer and information literacy skills, and teaching and learning approaches appropriate to higher education. ad model at the university of technology (uot) presently, ad is provided by sds at the uot. as a response to the institution’s vision and strategic goals, the sds unit has a task of providing a holistic student development approach that enhances the quality of teaching and learning for holistic student support. the service portfolio includes life skills, english proficiency interventions, personal and career counselling, writing skills, psychometric testing for placement and diagnostic thembeka g.c. shange: perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners 37 purposes, mentorship, and attention to students with disabilities. ad classes involve the facilitation of life skills and writing skills, which are credit-bearing. in the engineering and ict foundation curricula, life skills is compulsory and, therefore, examinable, while writing is also credit-bearing for education studies. in other faculties, students are identified by their lecturers and sent to the sds for intervention, depending on the students’ specific challenges. the sds then uses diagnostic tools like lassi (learning and study strategies inventory) and risk profiling, which focuses on the early identification of a student at risk of being unsuccessful in his/her studies at the uot because of inadequate skills, underdeveloped emotional intelligence, career orientation or a lack of english language proficiency. the results of the assessments point to the relevant interventions required to address the identified needs. as part of the available interventions, once-off workshops on examination preparation, study techniques, reading skills, etc. are conducted per department. the sds also receives ‘walk-in’ students who come for individual study counselling. another group of students consists of those who are put on probation by their departments due to poor performance and who may be denied re-admission unless they submit reasons for their poor performance, backed up by authentic evidence. a diagnostic test is first conducted with students in this group before they are referred for appropriate interventions, such as study counselling, personal counselling, or dealing with assessment and reading and writing skills. the targeted students are mainly foundation and first-year students from all the faculties, so that they can be identified at entry level if they need intervention. research design this study falls within the qualitative descriptive paradigm. flick (2009), in ormston et al. (2014, p. 3), describes qualitative research as a naturalistic, interpretive approach concerned with exploring phenomena from the inside and using the perspectives and accounts of research participants as a starting point. mcmillan and schumacher (2001, p. 283) see a descriptive research as one that concerns itself with the current or past status of something. this study of engineering students’ experiences and perception of the ad programme is to understand why the students do not use the service that is there to help them improve their results. the target population of this study has two components: engineering students, both male and female, ranging from 18 to 21 years of age who had participated in the programme, and both male and female lecturers who taught those students. the sampling method is purposive and, according to ritchie, lewis and elam (2003, p. 78), it involves selecting individuals based on particular features or characteristics that will enable detailed exploration and understanding of the central themes and puzzles that the researcher wishes to study. having identified the targeted population through purposive sampling, i had to ensure that the research was seen as a true reflection of the problem being investigated. morse et al. (2002, p. 1) maintain that without rigour, research is worthless, becomes fiction, and loses its usefulness. in order to ensure trustworthiness, the research questions for the student interviews were piloted with ten students who had been through the ad programme in previous years, as well as lecturers who were not part of the interview 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 33-44 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134 process. this was done to ensure that the questions asked elicited the information that i was looking for. in order to examine the students’, engineering lecturers’ and adps’ perceptions of the ad classes at this uot, semi-structured interviews were conducted. the key questions to answer were: what are the perceptions of firstand second-year engineering students of the ad classes at the uot? what are the lecturers’ and the adps’ perceptions of the ad classes? results the responses of the lecturers, the adps, and the firstand second-year students will be presented according to identified key themes. responses from adps and lecturers 1. differing perceptions of what academic development classes are for in response to the question about what they thought ad classes were for, the majority of the lecturers said they thought these classes were intended to develop lecturers’ skills. one lecturer emphasised the development of skills among the academic staff; he made four references to the idea that lecturers also needed to be equipped with skills to develop their students. he commented that academic development was “to develop me to give better service to my students and to the university of technology, in general” (1 september, 16.00, office). another lecturer said ad was “to uplift us, to sort of make sure, to check on what we are doing”.in response to the same question, half of the adps said that ad provided help for both students and lecturers. the minority of the adps said that, for them, ad classes were there “for supporting students” and “to help lecturers to identify students who [were] not performing well”. a number of adps felt that ad was there to provide students with “coping skills”. one adp said that academic development gave students “the necessary support to cope and come up to expected level”.the responses from the different groups were not the same. the lecturers from the engineering faculty focused on staff development and the adps focused on student and staff development. both agreed that ad plays a supportive role for two types of learners: those who are underperforming for various reasons and those who “are on the right path” – as one adp observed – and who need to improve their level of performance. one adp said that “academic development is to help students reach their full potential as far as academic studies are concerned”, while one of the lecturers said that “academic development is maybe to help students who have some inefficiencies to cope with the amount of work”.there was a general awareness among both lecturers and adps that some students enter tertiary institutions less prepared and that they lack the necessary skills that enable them to cope well with their studies. some adps considered ad classes to be “remedial” because they provide interventions for the underprepared learners; one commented that “academic development classes are remedial in a way because we’re trying to fix problems that schools didn’t diagnose and fix”. the main attitude of the adps was that ad classes should develop students’ academic skills and address the needs of staff so that lecturers are equipped to hone these skills thembeka g.c. shange: perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners 39 during their own teaching. the lecturers concurred with the view that the department of teaching and learning development has the overall responsibility for the development of academic staff in academic-related fields and that the adps are responsible for catering for the needs of academics. the majority of the lecturers strongly felt that they needed help with their own teaching. this was in contrast to the adps; of the ones interviewed, only a small minority made mention of the need to equip staff with the skills to provide academic development in their own classes. 2. teaching and learning issues that should be dealt with in academic development classes the second part of the question sought to establish which teaching and learning issues needed to be dealt with in ad classes. as it stood, this question explored the pedagogical issues related to ad and what teaching and learning actually means to these two groups of people. most of the adps and lecturers indicated that there was “no relationship” between what lecturers do in the classroom and what the adps do with learners. one lecturer commented that “students must be aware that besides lecturers there are other people who are going to help them”. the need to integrate academic development into mainstream courses appears to be crucial for both adps and lecturers, which seems to be a major problem at the institution as there is no clear link between academic development and mainstream subjects. another lecturer felt that ad was non-existent at the institution, commenting: “i feel it is there; in a way it’s not there; it feels like nothing is happening”. this attitude suggests a serious challenge for the integration of ad into mainstream courses if some lecturers do not even recognise its existence or “feel it is there” but do not have a strong sense of what it is there for. it seems that lecturers see adp visibility in the classrooms as a major issue. this is supported by comments like “there should be enough visibility” and “academic development practitioners should be seen in the classroom set-ups”, which means that they would like to see adps in class more often for them to have an impact on the students’ performance. lecturers’ attitudes are that they are subject specialists and not “teachers”; this implies that they should not be expected to attend to academic development because they are not trained as teachers. however, there is a contradiction in this regard because some lecturers agreed that “[w]e come straight from industry and we walk into a class and we think we can teach”. another lecturer scornfully commented: “you guys are outside architecture; you guys are outside electrical; and what is it that you guys can tell us?” it is possible to conclude that there is an us-and-them attitude in the sense that lecturers may not see ad as part of their own problem and responsibility, but rather that of the adps; if this is the case, then teamwork among lecturers and adps may be negatively affected. this will have consequences for students’ learning. a similar attitude is confirmed by lewin and mawoyo (2014, p. 92) when they state that ad staff are, generally, viewed as being on the periphery or seen as “outsiders” and that this has an impact on the relationship between lecturers and adps. 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 33-44 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134 the majority of lecturers recognised the gap between high-school learning and higher education. they saw academic development as bridging the gap between further education and training and higher education. they felt that it was the responsibility of the adps to bridge this gap so that students could adapt to, and cope with, tertiary education. one lecturer maintained that students “need someone who can help bridge the gap” while another suggested that “we need people who can help to bridge the gap for them”. this “bridge” that may be problematic for new students could have something to do with feelings of loneliness and alienation brought about by a mismatch between the student and the environment in which he/she finds himself/herself. in such instances, an early relationship between an adviser and a new student should be established. this is where adps play a role in ensuring that students cope with the new climate and helping to bridge the gap to which the lecturers alluded. 3. perceptions about whether academic development classes are succeeding in achieving their objectives most of the adps feel that ad classes are not achieving their intended objectives. although there is a general belief from both groups that ad is important, lecturers and adps agree that some improvements need to be made so that ad meets the objectives as mentioned by niezen and soer (undated article, p. 11). 4. the role that lecturers play in academic development the comments of some lecturers and adps show different perspectives on the role that lecturers should play in ad. there seems to be some uncertainty and confusion among lecturers about the purposes and intentions of academic development and this does not seem to be unique to the uot. dison and rule (1996: 85) point out that the focus on developing academic skills as the primary function of adps is also potentially reductive. in other words, this approach suggests that the function of the adp goes only as far as skills development. while some lecturers think that ad is solely the duty of adps, some adps feel that lecturers need, also, to play a vital role in terms of encouraging students to attend ad classes. responses from students 1. students’ understanding of the term ‘academic development’ both groups of students who were interviewed had participated in ad during their first year of study. however, one first-year student initially denied having taken part in ad and seemed to be more comfortable with the term ‘life skills’. he admitted: “yes, i have attended life skills classes”. when asked how they knew about academic development classes, all the second-year students who were interviewed said that they had just found ad on their timetables. one student said: ok. firstly, i didn’t attend the orientation. it was there in my timetable that you have to attend ad and they asked us whether we wanted to attend or what because we ain’t gonna write about it. we ain’t gonna do anything about it. (25 august, 12.00, boardroom) thembeka g.c. shange: perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners 41 all the second-year students agreed that they had the freedom of choice to participate or not to participate in ad, reflected in comments like “it was a matter of choice, it was up to you”. half of the second-years maintained that ad was not part of their diploma and this might have been the reason why one of them made the comment: “we ain’t gonna write about it; we ain’t gonna do anything about it” (24 august, 13.00, boardroom). this suggests that students might have taken life skills seriously if they were assessed on it – otherwise, they did not see the need to do it. another second-year student said that he had heard about ad from friends. the first-year students painted a totally different picture. the majority of them agreed that ad was part of their curriculum. one student said: “it’s part of my academic; it’s part of my subjects” (28 august, 12.00, boardroom). half of the first-year students had heard about ad on registration while the other half said that these classes were introduced to them “by management”. this suggests a shift in attitude over the two years – if ad is part of the students’ curriculum, they tend to take it more seriously. the responses of the second-year students indicated poor attendance of ad classes. one student said: “sometimes maybe we are writing”, which shows that this student only saw the need to attend academic development classes if he was to sit for a test. another second-year student considered this to be “too much work”. no second-year student admitted to having attended all the ad classes; one reason for this might be that they were neither compulsory nor credit-bearing. 2. students’ participation in, and knowledge about, academic development classes only half of the first-year students had attended all of the ad classes. one student commented: “in my first year i thought life skills, why life skills? why do i have to attend life skills?” this comment reflects confusion between ad classes and the life skills that he had attended and, as a result, he did not see any reason for attending these classes. a secondyear student who had done badly in his first year associated this with the fact that he “didn’t take things seriously” and questioned ad’s validity with the question, “why do i have to attend? i don’t have to write”. the student maintained that he did not have to attend ad classes because he did not have to write an examination in it. he continued by saying: “in my second year i saw that things they were teaching at academic development were helping; after that i passed all my subjects” (28 august, 12.00, boardroom). he associated his success with his participation in ad classes. 3. parts of the programme in which students participated it was noted with interest that the commonalities of both groups during ad classes in their first year is note-taking. aside from this, students mentioned various themes and topics that they had learnt about during ad classes. from the responses of the first-year students, their list included the following: trauma, time management, hiv and aids, dealing with stress, drug abuse and racism. 50% of the first-year students emphasised that they had talked about hiv and aids. a further 50% of the first-year students also made reference to trauma as one of the aspects that they had learnt about during ad classes. these were some of the muchneeded psychological aspects that were dealt with during ad classes. 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 33-44 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134 some second-year students mentioned aspects like understanding sentences, listening skills, group work, attitude towards classes, study skills, reading, passing tests, submitting assignments and achieving high marks. one second-year student actually emphasised the importance of group work by making comments like “portray yourself in a group of people” and “how to relate to groups”. the majority of the first-year students knew that ad was part of their curriculum and this could have had an impact on their attendance of ad classes. most of the students who had not attended all of the ad classes regarded these as an extra burden because of the lack of assessment. they were of the opinion that they would focus on tests and examinations rather than attending ad classes. this attitude agrees with that of fisher and scott (2011, p. 25), who maintain that such interventions further overload the students who are most in need of support. second-year students who had taken ad classes for granted and did not see the need to attend them in their first year suddenly had the following to say: “in my second year i saw that things they were teaching at academic development were helping; after that i passed all my subjects” (25 august, 1.00, boardroom). bjork, dunlosky and kornell (2013, p. 419) speak about becoming “truly sophisticated” as a learner, and some of the things they cite in becoming truly effective as a learner include knowing how to monitor the state of one’s learning activities and understanding certain biases that can impair judgements of whether learning will support later recall and transfer. of interest is the correlation that zumbrunn, tadlock and roberts (2011, p. 10) have noted in self-motivated, self-regulated learners who tend to be autonomous. they believe that such learners are more likely to persist with difficult learning tasks and often find them gratifying. some of these learners frequently seek help when necessary and this could apply to second-year students who consult adps of their own free will, which may be an indication that they have achieved a certain level of self-regulation. conclusions and recommendations the purpose of this article was to examine the perceptions of engineering lecturers and students of the ad classes at a university of technology. the students themselves admitted that they perceived these classes as too much work. there also seemed to be a misunderstanding with regard to the purpose and the naming of the ad classes as students thought these were different from life skills. the same applied to lecturers who thought that ad should be the responsibility of the adps. it would be recommended that the uot reconsiders its ad model so that there is integration between normal teaching and academic development. thembeka g.c. shange: perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners 43 references baleighzadeh, s., memar, a.t. & memar, h.t. (2011). a sociocultural perspective on second language acquisition: the effect of high-structured scaffolding on the writing ability of efl learners. reflections on english language teaching, 10(1), 43–54. baume, d. (2002). scholarship, academic development and the future. the international journal for academic development, 7(2), 110–111. bjork, r.a., dunlosky, j. & kornell, n. (2013). self-regulated learning: beliefs, techniques and illusions. the annual review of psychology, 64: 417–444. retrieved 1 july 2015 from psych. annualreviews.org boughey, c. (2003). academic development in south africa: from social reproduction to capitalist expansion. proceedings of the saada conference, 2003, cape technikon. council on higher education. (2013). report of the task team on undergraduate curriculum structure. discussion document. pretoria, south africa. denzin, n.k. (2009). the elephant in the room: or extending the conversation about the politics of evidence. qualitative research, 9(2), 139–160. dison, l. & rule, p. (1996). bridging the subject-student divide: an integrated approach to developing foundational curricula. academic development, 2(2) 83-97. fisher, g. & scott, i. (2011). closing the skills and technology gap in south africa. background paper 3: the role of education in closing the gap in south africa. human development group, africa region. pretoria, south africa. gee, j.p. (1996). social linguistics and literacies. london: routledge. gee, j.p. (2012). social linguistics and literacies: ideology in discourses. fourth edition. usa: routledge. lewin, m. & mawoyo, t. (2014). student access and success: issues and interventions in south african universities. cape town: inyathelo, the south african institute for advancement. mcmillan, j.h. & schumacher, s. (2001). research in education: a conceptual introduction (5th ed.). new york: addison wesley longman. makoni, s. (2000). ‘great expectations’: the professional and institutional demands of higher education in southern africa. in makoni, s. (ed.). improving teaching and learning in higher education (pp. 1–9). johannesburg: wits university press. morse, j., barrett, m., olson, k. & spiers, j. (2002). verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. international journal of qualitative methods, 1(2), 1–19. niezen, j.p. & soer, j.w. (no date). evaluation of the selection criteria and potential development programme in the department of electrical and mechanical engineering at technikon northern gauteng: a historical perspective. unpublished article, technikon northern gauteng. ormston, r., spencer, l., barnard, m. & snape, d. (2014). the foundations of qualitative research. in qualitative research practice. (2nd ed.). london: sage publications. ritchie, j., lewis, j. & elam, g. (2003). designing and selecting samples. in ritchie, j. & lewis, j. (eds). qualitative research practice. london: sage publications. scott, i. (2001). public funding for academic development: analysis and proposals. individual submission to the ministry of education in response to the 2001 discussion document, funding of public higher education: a new framework. cape town: uct. starfield, s. (1994). multicultural classrooms in higher education. english quarterly, 26(3), 16–21. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(2) 2015, 33-44 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.134 thayer, p.b. (2000). retention of students from first generation and low income backgrounds. washington, dc: council for opportunity in education. zengele, t.c. (2006). attitudes of engineering students and staff to academic development classes at tshwane university. unpublished masters research report submitted to the university of witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of a masters degree in english language education. zumbrunn, s., tadlock, j. & roberts, e.d. (2011). encouraging self-regulated learning in the classroom: a review of the literature. virginia: metropolitan educational research consortium (merc), virginia commonwealth university. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3820 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial living communities birgit schreiber,* thierry m. luescher** & teboho moja*** * dr birgit schreiber is vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and for stellenbosch university, south africa. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za ** prof. thierry m. luescher is research director in the human sciences research council, cape town, and associate professor of higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung/ bloemfontein, south africa. he is a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za *** prof. teboho moja is professor and program director, higher education program, new york university, u.s.a., visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa. and extraordinary professor in the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu we want to open this issue with special aknowledgement of prof. teboho moja, our editor-in-chief, who has been recognised and esteemed with a number of national and international awards. prof. moja has been honoured in 2019 with the south african national research foundation’s lifetime achievement award, the women in international education award as teacher/academic director of the year, and the martin luther king, jr. faculty award. prof. moja has committed her career and life to the development of higher education with special focus on south africa and africa. she has been absolutely instrumental in strengthening student affairs in africa as a field of knowledge and as a practice domain. all the editors, reviewers and authors who have published in the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) have benefitted from her guidance, vision and encouragement and we continue to be grateful for her tireless contributions to higher education in africa. most open access academic publications, and particularly open access academic journals that publish following a regular schedule, face the challenge of securing sufficient funding to finance the basic processes for publication. the jsaa is intentionally open access – for both readers and authors – which means there are neither page fees for publishing nor fees for accessing our articles. we deliberately designed our journal publishing model in this way from the inception of the journal in 2013 as we want to promote wide and open access by and from our readers and authors. it is obvious that financial sustainability is this model’s weakness, hence we are always grateful to the sponsors of special issues and to our host institution for supporting the publishing costs of open submission issues. this issue was generously supported by the division student affairs, stellenbosch university, with special support by the senior director student affairs, dr choice makhetha. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3820 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:tluescher%40hsrc.ac.za?subject= mailto:teboho.moja%40nyu.edu?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, v-vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3820 we are grateful for sharing our vision for the professionalisation of student affairs in africa and her unconditional support of the journal. we are also grateful for the enthusiastic contribution of our journal manager, maretha joyce, who has taken on the pre -publishing aspect of the work. she is supported by stellenbosch university and we are grateful for this support. again, sustainability is an area that the jsaa will need to consider much more critically in the future. in this issue three themes are the focus of this issue of the jsaa, all within the core focus areas of student affairs and services as understood across the globe. the first theme is student residences and student living communities, and how residences policy, and living and learning experiences play a role in institutional and student success. the second theme is the focus on disability in higher education, and the third is the experience of first-year students and their adjustment to the new challenges in higher education and the political pressures on campus. the articles present a collective theme on the importance of student affairs in shaping an environment that is conducive to institutional and student success. this issue illustrates that it is not one approach or one intervention that creates a change in status quo, but a joint and collaborative approach and a systemic understanding of what makes a successful or less successful living and learning environment. this is a finding that has repeatedly been made in past articles published in jsaa. in this issue, groenewald and fourie-malherbe emphasise a ‘holistic and integrated’ approach to make a difference in the living and learning environments when it is conceived as the partner site to in-classroom learning. they emphasise that a holistic approach is as much about a skill set and relevant competencies of staff as it is about the essential nature, the ‘being’, of staff and of the institution. xulu-gama, in the second article, employs an ethnographic methodology to conclude along similar lines of groenewald and fourie-malherbe, namely that the “strategic positioning of student housing in building sustainable communities of living and learning uncovers the often not-so-obvious connections between academic success and students’ socioeconomic backgrounds and their psycho-social issues”, which emphasises the influences within the broader context as contributing towards a holistic understanding of the factors which impact on success. the next four articles focus on various aspects of disability and jointly argue for the value of learning communities as supporting agency and participation in the learning process of students with unique needs. the voices of students, in the qualitative articles, speak for themselves when they point out the subjective experience and sense-making in the living and learning context for students with different needs. what is particularly interesting about this section is that we have articles from south africa (including venda) and zambia, bringing a unique richness to the discussion of this theme from across africa. the next two articles on particular experiences of first-year students focus, on the one hand, on intervention frameworks and, on the other, on the subjective adjustment aspect of first-year students. the article on the political climate on ghanaian campuses concludes our set of research articles. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3820 birgit schreiber, thierry m. luescher & teboho moja: living communities vii the issue is rounded off with a wonderfully rich review by vicki trowler of the book, decolonisation in universities: the politics of knowledge, edited by jonathan jansen and published in 2019 by wits university press. we wish the readers of this issue much enjoyment and use of the articles, and thank all our reviewers who have contributed tirelessly with very helpful and developmental reviews. how to cite: schreiber, b., luescher, t.m. & moja, t. (2019). living communities. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), v-vii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3820 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3820 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 www.jsaa.ac.za the zimbabwe student movement: love-hate relationship with government? blessing makunike* research article * dr blessing makunike is the director of quality assurance at the university of zimbabwe, harare. email: bmakunike@admin.uz.ac.zw. abstract the purpose of the article is to trace the development of student unionism in zimbabwe. on the basis of a discussion of the nature of the university, the article argues that because the university environment tolerates and promotes academic freedom and liberal values, it provides an environment conducive to critical thought and oppositional politics, while the university quite often itself becomes the target for student attack. student representation during the pre-independence period in zimbabwe sought to engage the institution in its effort to re-order society at a time of racial struggle and class conflict. after independence, student representation was in support of government efforts to create a better zimbabwe and to consolidate the gains of independence. however, after the first decade of independence, the relationship between students and government soured due to students’ opposition to the one-party system as well as the university of zimbabwe amendment bill, among other issues. this article thus documents and analyses the relationship between students and government with reference to three periods and two key moments: the 1973 protests against racial discrimination in the pre-independence phase and the post-1990 developments in zimbabwean national and university politics. keywords higher education; student unionism; student activism; national politics; zimbabwe. introduction zimbabwe attained independence on 18 april 1980 after a protracted armed struggle. this article discusses three important phases of the development of student representation and unionism in zimbabwe. the first is that students were an important part of the pre-independence nationalist struggle in zimbabwe. through the university of rhodesia and nyasaland students’ representative council (src), students belonged to the 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 intelligentsia, which assisted in mobilising and disseminating information on the struggle. during the 1970s when the liberation war was being waged from outside the country and when most political leaders had gone into exile, the student unions filled the vacuum. other social groups had professional, organisational and political weaknesses. the university campus became a breeding ground for political leaders where democratic struggles found a voice. the attainment of independence heralded the second phase in the development of student unionism. srcs at the university of zimbabwe and at a handful of higher education colleges were transformed by the authorities into institutional bodies with recognised responsibilities. they became involved in programmes that focused on students and their experiences, including social advisement, student health, recreation, alumni and fundraising, etc. student representative bodies ceased to be part of a political vanguard contesting state authority in order to become part of the project of national healing, reconstruction and development. because of their elitist appeal, the student representative bodies became ‘privileged actors’ in the state-led thrust for national development. through the zimbabwe national students union (zinasu), students became a key stakeholder in government planning and policy implementation. the government also rewarded students with grants and loans to finance their studies. with the collapse of the soviet bloc, the government of zimbabwe’s socialist rhetoric toned down in the late 1980s in favour of capitalism. zimbabwe, which was literally ‘orphaned’, was ‘adopted’ by the bretton woods institutions, leading to the introduction of the economic structural adjustment programme (esap) in 1990, which coincided with the third phase in the development of student representation in zimbabwe. esap eroded the expectation of good jobs and high status for students after graduation. government cut back on social spending. although students clung to a self-conscious elitism, the austerity imposed by esap resulted in financial problems and poverty for students. confrontation and upheavals characterised university and college campuses. criticism of the shift in government policy saw the student representative bodies aligning themselves with trade unions and opposition parties. student bodies began to use any political event perceived to be unpopular, in order to vent their anger at the authorities. methodology this study was carried out between june 2014 and august 2014 at the university of zimbabwe. it employed a qualitative research methodology involving both primary and secondary data, interviews and discussions, and participant observation. the body of historical information was obtained by consulting archival files. these yielded newspaper cuttings, which, however, had some gaps. the tragedy of government departments is poor record keeping. open-ended interviews without a structured or formal questionnaire were done with randomly selected senior administrators at the university of zimbabwe. this was deliberate in order to encourage cooperation, because previous attempts to document student unionism through questionnaires was not readily embraced. the tendency is to associate student unionism with radicalism. discussions were blessing makunike: the zimbabwe student movement: love-hate relationship with government? 37 held with the 2014 academic year src members. participatory observation also helped to fill some of the gaps in the information. the author has been part of the university community since 1994. apart from the recent work by zeilig (2007) and chibango and kajau (2010), there have been few attempts to properly document student unionism at the university of zimbabwe. furthermore, the study has limitations owing to the attitude of key informants: students who were interviewed regarded themselves more as recipients than as sources of information, and university officials in central administration and the student affairs division who were interviewed treated the study with suspicion, as ‘inquisitiveness’ and ‘adventurism’ on the part of the researcher, as opposed to contributing to knowledge on institutional history. the university: a conceptual framework according to owolabi (2007), the idea of the university refers to that apex institution of learning devoted to the objectives of knowledge and culture production. this resonates with the 1962 (united nations educational, scientific and cultural organizations unesco) declaration which gives the university the responsibility to advance the frontiers of knowledge through teaching and research. these traditional functions are basic and they are the pillars of the academic life of the university. the university is thus expected to engage in critical inquiry into the nature, culture and essence of humans and the environment they inhabit. it should acquire information and develop it into a body of knowledge to be disseminated for improving the conditions of humanity and addressing challenges facing society. knowledge, in this context, is typically defined as ‘those ideas that are universally valid and relevant’ (owolabi, 2007, p.71). in essence, owolabi (2007, p. 71) sees two roles emerging. the first is that of universal development of human knowledge, while the second is that of applying this to the production of a culture that will meet with the demands and aspirations of the society where the university is located. ngara (1995) provides a useful contribution to a conceptual framework for understanding the nature of the university. he concurs that the university stands at the apex of the education system as a place for the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge. he, however, suggests that there are three characteristics which distinguish the university from the point of view of its nature rather than its functions. firstly, a university has both a local and an international dimension; it is characterised by particularity and universality. secondly, a true university enjoys a high degree of autonomy and academic freedom. thirdly, a university is a self-motivating and self-perpetuating institution (ngara, 1995, p. 6). the nature of a university is determined by history and the environment which it finds itself in. ngara (1995) cites examples of land grant universities in the united states, such as michigan state university, which were meant to play a pivotal role in agricultural and industrial development. further examples are the imperial college of science and technology in london, which was a key factor in britain’s military strategies and successes in the first and second world war, and the university of london, which reflected the interests and character of the british empire and, consequently, had a significant influence 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 in the development of education in britain and in the colonies. owolabi (2007, p. 77) observes that, in this age of globalisation, the university – particularly in the african context – is faced with the dilemma of reconciling two roles: attending to the practical needs of society and modernisation. it is torn between the demand to serve humanity in general and the interests of its host community. a university has to establish and maintain links with global trends and development; it has to reassert traditional values but also enter the main stream of global culture. another important aspect of ngara’s (1995) conceptualisation of a university is that it must enjoy autonomy and freedom. he observes that, for the university to perform key functions such as sharpening consciousness, developing intellectual faculties and developing skills, a stimulating and free environment unfettered by government rules and regulations should be created. in addition, a university should be a self-evaluating and self-renewing institution; it should be responsible for maintaining and improving itself. by his own admission, ngara (1995, p. 15) points out that, often external pressures affect the entire fabric of the university system, such as government demands which can come in the form of promulgating acts of parliament that affect the operations of universities or alter modes of financial support. in the light of the foregoing framework, the article traces the historical development of the relationship between the university and students in zimbabwe with the theoretical lens that the university must enjoy freedom to advance the frontiers of knowledge in the context of its historical and environmental – especially its macropolitical – setting. it takes as its starting point that the principles of academic freedom to inquire, to debate, and to acquire and to disseminate knowledge in its many ramifications should not be constrained for students, staff and members of the university community. against this, students emerge as critical thinkers and have the right to contribute to advancing and disseminating this knowledge. as will be shown below, as the good intentions of the university drew it into the vortex of political and community life, student unionism emerged in zimbabwe. consequently, the university had to grapple with student unionism in areas such as freedom of speech, racial discrimination, freedom of association, and many other rights. student unionism in zimbabwe involves, amongst others, that students come together to express their dissatisfaction and disaffection with current problems affecting society, seeking to eliminate poverty and inequality, and holding institutions accountable to the needs of the people. it is therefore important to underline that student unionism manifests itself in an oppositional manner which is usually dependent on the pressures of the day. student unionism ought to be understood and not condemned. this emerges from the conceptualisation of a university as a bastion of truth and sharpener of consciousness. for purposes of accomplishing their goals and objectives, student unions have always sought to direct confrontation with the authorities and law enforcement agents. confrontation, it was believed, would result in police overreactions and excesses, a situation most beneficial to the success of their cause. they expected the press to see and record a person being injured in order to discredit the police role of law keeping or enforcing agent, blessing makunike: the zimbabwe student movement: love-hate relationship with government? 39 depending on which title best suited the situation. also the quickest method to create confrontation was the issuing of impossible ultimatums or demands. prior to independence in zimbabwe, student leaders thrived on grievances. this will be illustrated latter though quotes and excerpts from the 1970s. errors of government provided the opportunity around which to articulate these grievances, which revolutionaries seldom ignored. the goal was to inflame passion, incite violence, and foment disorder in the hope that this would lead to more violence until authority was undermined and delegitimised and government was viewed by citizens as the enemy (mutape, n.d.). the university of zimbabwe: a historical note the university college of rhodesia and nyasaland, which became the university of rhodesia on 1 january 1971 and later the university of zimbabwe in 1980, was incorporated by royal charter on 11 february 1955. the original impetus for the founding of the university was given by mr j.f. kapnek, who, in 1945, donated gbp20 000 for such a purpose. mr l.m.n hodson, who was a member of parliament, gathered a group which called itself ‘friends of the university of rhodesia’ to publicise and foster the idea. the group later changed its name to ‘the rhodesia university association’. on 26 october 1946, the legislative assembly of southern rhodesia accepted a motion, introduced by mr hodson as a private member, that a university should be established as soon as practicable to serve the needs of rhodesians and neighbouring territories and that a board of trustees be appointed. on 19th may 1947, his excellency the governor of southern rhodesia established by trust deed the rhodesia foundation fund and appointed as trustees the minster of internal affairs, the secretary for internal affairs and mr hodson (university of zimbabwe, 1991, p. 61). on 13 july 1953, her majesty queen elizabeth the queen mother laid the foundation stone at the present mount pleasant site. the new university college was admitted to the scheme of special relation with the university of london. except for the faculty of medicine, which was affiliated to the university of birmingham, the students were registered and prepared for university of london degrees. in november 1953, dr william rollo, formerly professor of classics at the university of cape town, was appointed interim principal for two years; he was succeeded in december 1955 by walter adams, formerly secretary for the inter-university council. after the dissolution of the federation of rhodesia and nyasaland at the end of 1963, it was agreed at meetings between governments of the united kingdom and southern rhodesia that the university college should continue as an independent institution of learning, open to all races and serving and contributing to the advancement of knowledge within the international community of universities. in january 1970, the university college and the university of london agreed to a phased termination of the scheme of special relation so that the last intake for degrees of the university of london was in 1970. in april of the same year, the formal association with the university of birmingham was also terminated and the last intake for medical degrees of the university of birmingham was that of 1970. in september 1970, the university 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 college council enacted new statutes in terms of the charter establishing the university of rhodesia, governed by a council and a senate. full university status was achieved on 1 january 1971. on the independence of zimbabwe in 1980, the university of rhodesia became the university of zimbabwe. in 1982, a bill to make further and better provisions for the governance of the university was enacted by the zimbabwean parliament, thereby replacing the royal charter (university of zimbabwe, 1991, p. 62). demonstrations: pre-independence era the university of rhodesia and nyasaland opened its doors as a teaching institution in march 1957. this coincided with the rise of african nationalism in southern rhodesia. the goals of african nationalism therefore received maximum attention from the student community. students, being familiar with the ideals legitimised by the united nations, such as human rights and opposition to discrimination and segregation, expressed full acceptance of the aims and tactics of the african nationalists. their approach to issues was marked by insistence on moral solutions. cefkin (1974, p. 145) further observes that issues which affected campus life were essentially the same issues facing the country, and that the political organisation of students reflected parent political groupings in the country. in 1963, african students formed the national union of rhodesian students (nurs). this was necessitated in part by the need to continue with activities of nationalist parties which had been banned under the law and order maintenance act, and also as an alternative to the mainstream students’ representative council (src) which had negligible african representation. the split in the zimbabwe african people’s union (zapu) in 1963 elicited a lot of interest on campus. since the split arose over a conflict of leadership within nationalist ranks rather than over principles, a good basis remained for student support through the nurs. the nurs invited the leaders of zapu and the newly formed zimbabwe african national union (zanu) to address students on campus and answer their questions. on 11 november 1965, ian d. smith issued the so-called unilateral declaration of independence (udi) from britain. according to cefkin (1974), this was at a time when students were writing end-of-year examinations and hence there was no immediate reaction from students. however, when campus reopened the following year, on 16 march 1966, there were demonstrations on campus. students demanded that the college should denounce the udi and condemn restrictions and harassment of students by law enforcement agents. nine lecturers and nine students were arrested and expelled from the country because of the demonstrations and class boycotts. student unionism and the associated disturbances in pre-independence zimbabwe were political in the sense that they were more of an ideological follow-up of events than based on the practical needs of an academic nature. from its conception, a university should be regarded as part of the society in which it is located. it follows therefore, that, since the university of rhodesia and nyasaland was multiracial, it was bound to be faced with many controversies. as cefkin (1974) notes, segregation and racial conflict clearly became a function of the polarisation in the larger society. student protests and demonstrations blessing makunike: the zimbabwe student movement: love-hate relationship with government? 41 signified a moral outrage and moral pressures affecting society. authorities were expected to, and should be rightly challenged to, take a second look at their decisions and policies. from the archival files which were accessed, the following selected incidents at the university college of rhodesia and nyasaland can be noted, with a specific focus on the 1973 racial conflicts: 5 july 1973 the president of the students’ representative council (src), mr witness mangwende, had applied for a rhodesian passport so that he could attend the conference of the southern african students movement from 25 to 28 june, 1973. mr mangwende was among those students who had signed a recent letter sent to the british newspapers asking for the withdrawal of the invitation to the university of rhodesia to send representatives to the 11th conference of the association of commonwealth universities to be held in edinburg. it was not clear if mangwende’s views were known to the government before the passport was denied. although the invitation was not withdrawn, the university of rhodesia did not attend because opposition to the university’s presence from some students in britain and some commonwealth countries made it impossible for the congress to be held if the rhodesian delegation attended (rhodesia herald, 5 july 1973). 27 july 1973: unity with whites students from the university of rhodesia held a demonstration outside the houses of parliament and the office of the prime minister to protest against allegations made in the house of assembly by a white lawmaker that black students were not using ablution facilities, resulting in filthy conditions. about 200 students, all but half a dozen of whom were blacks, waved placards and clenched fists in black power salutes in the peaceful demonstration lasting about half an hour (the umtali post, 27 july 1973). 29 july 1973 two hundred african students occupied parts of the administration block at the university of rhodesia hours after the demonstration outside parliament. among their demands was that 50% of all administrative and teaching posts at the university be filled by africans (the sunday mail, 29 july 1973). 4 august 1973 african students wielded tools and other equipment collected in the raids on dining halls, residences and faculties in demonstrations over rates of pay and conditions of black workers at the university, described as the ‘pots and pans’ protests. two cars belonging to white students were stoned (the rhodesia herald, 4 august 1973). 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 7 august 1973 about 150 african students staged a protest at the university of rhodesia, while 20 of their colleagues were appearing before a disciplinary committee charged with taking part in a demonstration at the multiracial university against the wage levels of employees there (evening standard, 7 august 1973). 8 august 1973 after rioting following the expulsion of six students, 155 african students were arrested (the times, 8 august 1973). 17 august 1973 racial discrimination had intensified since 1965 and there was now talk of segregation in higher education to increase opportunities for white school leavers and thus help solve rhodesia’s acute shortage of skilled and professional – and, of course, white-workers. recently, there had been calls in the rhodesian parliament for the expulsion of self-styled ‘african nationalists’ from the university and the restoration of ‘normal standard of decency and hygiene’. one government backbencher even called the university of rhodesia, ‘with its ambivalent multi-racialism, an ulcer on society’ (the times higher educational supplement, 17 august 1973). 17 august 1973 the majority of african students at the university of rhodesia boycotted classes on the grounds of discrimination. the university principal, professor robert craig, said this when 37 students appeared in court on a charge of public violence. another 62 appeared on the same charge later in the day. all 99 pleaded guilty (rhodesia herald, 17 august 1973). the unrest on the campus of the university of rhodesia could not be dissociated from the wider political context. it was in response to attacks from a government minister that students held their first demonstration. the university’s actions towards black students revealed a strong identification with white rhodesia. its inability to adjust to changing circumstances, the expressed determination not to compromise, and its dependence on the armed police force were all important characteristics of settler colonialism. 1 november 1973 ninety-eight african student rioters were banned from entering the city of salisbury. these restriction orders were served as the students were released from prison and barred them from coming within a 20-km radius of the city. the students’ representative council immediately condemned the government action (the rhodesia herald, 1 november 1973). blessing makunike: the zimbabwe student movement: love-hate relationship with government? 43 14 november 1973 society benefited from people with iniversity education and it was harsh for a judge to say that it was a privilege to attend an institution whose capital costs were met, in the main from public funds – defence counsel said this at the trial of university of rhodesia students (the rhodesia herald, 14 november 1973). 19 november 1973 herbert makoni, peter molife and eveready changata, who were expelled from the university of rhodesia earlier in the year for leading a demonstration against racial discrimination on campus, began a campaign to have the university thrown out of the commonwealth universities association. if the campaign succeeded, it could mean that rhodesian degrees might no longer be recognised internationally. (guardian, 19 november 1973). 22 november 1973 another african student from the university of rhodesia, mr davis karimanzira, was restricted to highfield township, salisbury. he became the 104th african student to be served with restriction orders following riots on campus (the rhodesia herald, 22 november 1973). these excerpts from newspaper clippings were the most relevant ones, relating to students, in the archival file on the university of rhodesia before 1980. they were selected, firstly, to show the problems which arose when members of the university community felt that the government of the day was not doing enough to address societal problems. in such instances, students, who commonly refer to themselves as ‘the voice of the voiceless’, and in the name of academic freedom, openly challenged the government. secondly, they demonstrate that the relationship between students and government is shaped by circumstances and events of the day. thirdly, the excepts help to illustrate how government reacts when it is directed by members of the university community, who view themselves as critical thinkers, on how to conduct its affairs. but, more importantly, and with reference to the conceptualisation of the university, the excerpts help in locating the university as an integral part of the community, yet it uses the freedom, from a point of objectivity, to criticise the very same society which it is part of. students in independent zimbabwe students (and graduates) possessed one of the resources of greatest relevance for obtaining elite status in post-independence zimbabwe: the credential of an advanced western education. university graduates had prestige and influence that would otherwise have been impossible to obtain at their age. graduates were treated differentially and were granted concessions that their less educated counterparts would not receive. for example, a university student or graduate-returning to his or her home in the country-side would be greeted as a ‘god’; they were approached, admired, and flattered, and they were subject 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 to no restraints, except perhaps an overly solicitous protection from harm. this deference led to influence within many segments of society; at the extreme, students were touted as the future leaders of the country. even if it was not probable that every university graduate would become a member of the ruling elite, it was quite likely that the future political elite would include many former university students. it is also important to note that students had international and western frames for judging their own country’s standing and progress. students were therefore acutely aware both of the gap between international modernity and national reality and of the potential of political action. students often believed that their leaders should do better and they also often thought that it was their responsibility to lead public opinion. independence also bequeathed a tradition of activism and oppositionalism among student bodies. this is because students were part of the broader movement which opposed injustice, and their focus now shifted to critically assessing the performance of the new, independence government. this tradition had its roots in the colonial era when nationalists opposed foreigners in their quest for independence and where opportunities for upward mobility were restricted on racial grounds. although independence moderated oppositionalism, this was short-lived. oppositionalism was sustained by the students’ disillusionment with the slow pace of development in communities and with the human weaknesses which appeared to be at fault, bearing in mind that, at independence, many administrative appointments were filled before there was an adequate pool of well-trained and educated africans. another factor which made students potentially important in the political life of their society was that the university brought intellectuals together physically, which made it easy to communicate with one another and to organise for political purposes. youthful exuberance is also another propitious condition for oppositional activities. generational conflict usually exists between older political leaders and the youthful university students. students and politics in the first decade of independence zimbabwe attained independence from britain in 1980 and the university of rhodesia was renamed the university of zimbabwe. the euphoric crowds which celebrated independence included graduates from the university and those from foreign universities who had come back to assist in rebuilding the newborn country. also present were young men and women who had left high school and others university to join the war, whose feeling was that they had played a significant role in the attainment of independence and that it was their responsibility to consolidate it and contribute to the prosperity of the nation. the new government immediately declared a marxist-socialist ideology and a leadership code which meant that the people were their own government. the government was inclined to treat students with care and respect in order to prove that it was different from the colonial regime (chibango & kajau, 2010, p. 20). chibango and kajau (2010) note that the removal of bottlenecks in the education system resulted in an increase in enrolment at the university of zimbabwe, which would blessing makunike: the zimbabwe student movement: love-hate relationship with government? 45 be a source of problems in the future. the increase in enrolment meant an increase in campus accommodation on which, in turn, spurred on student unionism. indeed, the first demonstration in 1981 by students against racism saw the resignation of professor lewis and ushered in professor kamba as the first black vice-chancellor of the university of zimbabwe. the university of zimbabwe act 27 of 1982 provided for the establishment of an association of students to be known as the ‘students union’. the aims and objectives of the union were: • to provide for the representation of students in matters that affected their interests both as individuals and as a body in the pursuit of academic freedom; • to promote intellectual, scientific, artistic, cultural, athletic, political, religious, social and economic activities arising among its members, and to promote their general welfare; • to provide, encourage and develop among its members the formation, organisation and operation of clubs and societies for such purposes as mentioned above; • to provide an effective channel of communication between the student body and the university authorities and the people of zimbabwe in general; and • to organise students on the basis of a love for peace, democracy and progress, as well as the elimination of racism, tribalism, regionalism, nepotism and imperialism. (university of zimbabwe, students union constitution, as amended 1997) the student union was led by the src, which consisted of the student executive council (sec) and the students representative assembly (sra). the sec exercised the administrative functions of the src, and, in the exercise of its powers, was directly accountable to the sra and, by means of a general meeting, to the students union. the ordinary general meeting of the students union was held at least once every academic semester. the sec was composed of ten members elected by the whole students union. there was a president, a vice-president, a secretary-general, a treasurer and six other members. each of the six would discharge their duties in terms of different offices, for example: transport and non-resident students’ secretary; social welfare secretary; academic and legal affairs secretary; sport and entertainment secretary; external, publicity and information secretary; and properties secretary. the sra was composed of three representatives from each of the ten faculties of the university of zimbabwe, voted for by students in their faculties. there were also two seats each reserved for the physically challenged and the visually impaired. the university of zimbabwe act of 1982 was also significant in shaping the relationship between government and students in the future. the act had a provision which made the state president the chancellor of the university. however, during this period, the office of the president was ceremonial and so this did not affect anything until 1987 when the constitution of zimbabwe was amended to create the executive president. there was now increased government control of the university. thus, the appointment of the vice46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 chancellor and pro vice-chancellors by the university council was now subject to approval by the responsible minister. the executive president’s influence on ministerial decisions also increased. this created divergent views between the government and students on issues such as government corruption, academic freedom, university decision-making and financial support for students. the second decade of independence: a relationship gone bad after the first decade of independence, the hitherto cordial relationship between government and students began to freeze. the year 1989 saw the birth of the first opposition political party in zimbabwe, namely the zimbabwe unity movement (zum). this party was formed by a former secretary-general of zanu (pf), edgar tekere, in protest against corruption and divergence from socialist tenets. students were enthused by the formation of this new political outfit. the local crescendo of student activism in the second decade of independence was the formation of a national union of students, namely the zimbabwe national students union (zinasu), in 1989. its objective was to create a platform for students to lobby and advocate for good governance, human rights and the empowerment of the youth. it became a member of the southern african students union, the all africa students union, and the international union of students. it began mobilising and participating in civic issues under the moto ‘struggle is our birthright’. with the collapse of the soviet bloc, students became particularly opposed to the one-party ideology. it was felt by the students that the one-party ideology led to a cult of personality, politics of domination, inefficiency, corruption and primitive accumulation (chibango & kajau, 2010, p. 32). student unionism filled the gap created by weak and disorganised workers, peasants and others. students observed and scrutinised all the activities of government and began to question the responsibility of government towards its citizens and its intolerance of criticism. students became aligned to opposition politics and zum became popular. eventually, the introduction of the economic structural adjustment, the tabling of the university of zimbabwe amendment bill in october 1990, the arrest of student union leaders, and the arrest of zimbabwe congress of trade unions (zctu) secretary-general, morgan tsvangirai, marked the divorce between students and the government. the src, led by arthur mutambara, turned to demonstrations to express disapproval of government policy. the university of zimbabwe amendment bill, which curtailed academic freedom, was particularly vigorously resisted by students. of particular interest in the bill were the rules on student conduct and the powers vested in the vice-chancellor to discipline students. a section of the bill empowered the vice-chancellor to discipline students deemed to have disrupted normal business on campus. indeed, in the past, students had disrupted official university meetings and barred invited speakers of the university. it also empowered the vice-chancellor to suspend any student or staff member as deemed necessary pending a disciplinary hearing. this bill was seen as taking away academic freedom and at the same time magnifying the powers of the vice-chancellor. students felt that they had a right and blessing makunike: the zimbabwe student movement: love-hate relationship with government? 47 deserved to speak out on issues affecting society. the vice-chancellor at the time, professor walter kamba, also felt that the bill had the effect of putting too many fingers in the running of the university. in protest, he went on early retirement. eventually, together with other civic and workers groups, zinasu participated in the formation of the opposition party, movement for democratic change (mdc), in 1999. several former leaders of zinasu moved from representing students to become political leaders of the opposition in the parliament of zimbabwe. conclusion from its conceptualisation, a university is a community of members who are engaged in seeking the truth. in so doing, a university is granted the privilege of academic freedom. the primary concern for the university should therefore be scholarly and only secondarily reformist. the starting point for judging a university should be its academic prowess in terms of generating and contributing to the advancement of knowledge. however, an inevitable product of knowledge and enlightenment is the desire to bring change to the status quo in society. in the same vein, student politics in rhodesia mirrored the national politics of the day. the essential facts about everyday life in rhodesia impinged upon student representation and political activities. at the same time, the enduring culture of revolutionary protest can best be summed up by karl marx’s observation that the history of society is indeed a history of class struggle. in a way, students viewed themselves as a class, with a special identity, place and role to play in society. for zimbabwe, the first decade after independence was a honeymoon period in the relationship between government and students. having had a marriage of convenience during the liberation struggle forged in their shared disdain for colonial rule, this marriage of convenience was to collapse in the second decade after independence. thus, student unionism’s dominant characteristic throughout the pre-independence and postindependence history of zimbabwe can be defined as a product of reactions to perceived government shortcomings. this article has outlined this argument in relation to three periods and with specific reference to two moments in the history of the zimbabwe student movement and its relationship with government. endnotes 1. the neo-liberal agenda of the international monetary fund (imf) and the world bank suggested that, in africa, the returns on investment in university education were too low and unjustifiable. the zimbabwe government working under the imf and world bank conditionalities also found it difficult to finance universities. references cef kin, j.l. (1974). rhodesian university students in national politics. in hanna, w. j. (ed.), university students and african politics, (pp. 135-165). new york & london: african publishing company. chibango, c., & kajau, g. (2010). voice of the voiceless – student activism in zimbabwe. harare: silvera house social series no. 23. 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 3(1) 2015, 35-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v3i1.91 hanna, w.j. (ed.) (1975). university students and african politics. new york & london: african publishing company. mutape, b. (n.d.) student politics. unpublished paper. negombwe, f. (2012). nature and dynamics of student activism at the university of zimbabwe. unpublished paper. ngara, e. (1995). the african university and its mission. maseru (lesotho): institute of southern african studies. owolabi, k.a. (2007). knowledge production, cultural identity and globalisation: african universities and the challenges of authenticity and transformation in the twenty-first century. in j. kenny. (ed). the idea of an african university, the nigerian experience. (pp.71-84). washington, d.c: the council for research in values and philosophy. unesco. (1962). the development of higher education in africa. report of the conference on the development of higher education in africa, paris. university of zimbabwe. (1997, august). students union constitution, amended. university of zimbabwe. (1991). university calenda.r harare: university of zimbabwe publications. zeilig, l. (2007). revolt and protest, student politics and activism in sub-saharan africa. london & new york: tauris academic studies. newspapers the evening standard, 7 august 1973, london the times, 8 august 1973, london the times higher educational supplement, 17 august 1973, london the rhodesia herald, 5 july 1973, rhodesia the umtali post, 27 july 1973, rhodesia the sunday mail, 29 july 1973, rhodesia the rhodesia herald, 4 august 1973, rhodesia the rhodesia herald, 17 august 1973, rhodesia the rhodesia herald, 1 november 1973, rhodesia guardian, 19 november 1973, london the rhodesia herald, 14 november 1973, rhodesia the rhodesia herald, 22 november 1973, rhodesia journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 47–51 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.6 47 www.jsaa.ac.za * dr eva-marie seeto is the iasas regional coordinator, oceania, and director, community engagement, university of the sunshine coast, australia. email: eseeto@usc.edu.au reflective practice professional mentoring in student affairs: evaluation of a global programme eva-marie seeto* abstract in january 2016, the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) offered a global professional mentoring programme that would link student affairs leaders internationally with new graduates and early career professionals in student services. protégé participants were primarily new graduates of preparatory programmes in student affairs, or practitioners with less than two years’ experience in roles ranging from international services and admissions, academic success, student advising and career services, to new student services directors. this paper presents the outcomes of the evaluation of the 2016 pilot programme, and recommendations for development of this mentoring initiative. it argues that the programme successfully contributes to advancement of the student support and enrichment components of higher education worldwide, and provides an excellent mentoring experience for the professionals who are shaping the future of student affairs globally. keywords mentoring, professional development, student affairs, global programme, capacity building background the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) was officially founded in 2010, with the purposes of promoting international standards for student services, professional growth of practitioners, and development of students in higher education. it provides a platform for the global sharing of best practice, internships, conferences and research, and has assisted developing countries as they create their student services systems. iasas was formally chartered in 2013, under the european union in belgium. towards achieving its aspirations to develop the student affairs profession globally, a multinational research report was released in 2014 profiling the educational backgrounds, functional roles and professional development of student affairs practitioners from 36  countries (seifert et al., 2014). respondents across all regions reported that they primarily engaged in conferences and workshops, and utilised online resources to maintain currency with developments in student affairs. also notable was the consistent reference to http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:eseeto%40usc.edu.au?subject= 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 47–51 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.6 networking, the importance of connection with colleagues, and the role that professional associations play in providing those essential contacts and peer learning opportunities. the practice of e-mentoring for continuing education and to facilitate global communities of practice and development is increasingly well documented (botero, 2015; hines, 2007; singh, 2010). in 2015, the iasas board resolved to establish an international mentoring programme that would connect student affairs colleagues across the world, and overcome issues of practice isolation due to remote locations or few local professional peers. new and early career practitioners would be linked with established student affairs leaders internationally, utilising online mentoring, video chat, social media, email and/or telephone for regular connection that would enhance participants’ experience and understanding of international issues in the global workplace. participation the new global ementoring programme was broadcast on the iasas website and via email to members, for commencement of a pilot programme which would run from january to june 2016. this was met with a positive response worldwide, and over 40 applications were received from prospective mentors and mentees, with 20 pairings achieved. tips for successful partnerships were included in a set of brief programme guidelines on the iasas website, and the multiple mutual benefits of mentoring were promoted, including: • linking with an experienced and collaborative network of peers who are knowledgeable experts interested in developing the skills, capability and confidence of emerging student services leaders; • increasing personal effectiveness and success; • exploring career advancement opportunities and ideas; • accessing different perspectives around strategic issues based on the career experiences and professional insight of peers; • guidance in specialised fields or technical disciplines; • being challenged to develop or integrate new practice. although computer-mediated, the pilot programme was intentionally low-tech, informal and unstructured. it was guided by the diverse personal backgrounds, locations, expectations, digital resources and capacity of both individuals in the mentoring partnership. mentors were required to have at least five years’ relevant experience, be interested in developing emerging student services leaders, and available to volunteer for regular mentoring communication. over 20 mentor applications were received from student services professionals at higher education institutions in america, australia, canada, egypt, england, greece, kuwait, liberia, new zealand, pakistan, the philippines and qatar. the mentors came from a variety of top institutional leadership posts across the globe. many mentors had over 20 years’ career experience and were either past or current serving vice-presidents for student affairs, dean of students, or student services directors. this provided an exceptional resource of professionals to draw on, bringing rich experiences and perspectives to their mentoring partnerships. eva-marie seeto: professional mentoring in student affairs 49 mentees were required to be new student services/affairs graduates or early career practitioners, typically with less than five years’ related experience, and seeking personal and career development and growth through partnership with a professional mentor. over 20 mentee applications were received from iasas members in america, cambodia, canada, lithuania, nepal, nigeria, pakistan, the philippines and qatar. graduate students comprised 35% of the applicants, with a further 35% having two years or less experience in their current student affairs positions. they ranged from roles in international services and admissions, academic success, student advising and career services to new student services directors. evaluation following conclusion of the iasas ementoring programme in june, mentors and mentees were invited to provide anonymous feedback about their experience in the pilot programme and suggestions for future improvements. a brief online survey, with two freetext questions, was distributed via email link. in particular the two questions were: • questionnaire question 1: what were some positive outcomes for you? • questionnaire question 2: how can we improve the iasas ementoring programme in the future? responses were received from 16 participants in total (40%). of these, the majority had initially heard about the ementoring programme via email from iasas, rather than other promotional avenues such as social media, the website, or print material. ten mentors, constituting a sample of 50% of the total mentors who had participated in the ementoring programme, provided feedback about their experiences. while their responses were predominantly positive, it was apparent that some partnerships had experienced difficulty due to mentees being unclear about the outcomes they sought from the mentoring partnership. for around half of these respondents, where commitment to the programme was not strong, or time differences made synchronous connections difficult, the frequency of mentorship meetings was less than once a month. only 40% of respondents felt that their mentees had clear goals in mind. this can be illustrated by means of the following quotes from the survey. ementees should be encouraged to have clear goals for participation; we should have guidelines for ending and or continuing the e-mentoring relationship. i suggest having more deliberate items to accomplish, that way both can feel they benefited from the programme. have mentees identify as part of the application process what goals and outcomes they hope to accomplish and sharing these with the mentor upon pairing. although mentees were asked in the application form to broadly articulate why they were interested in the global professional mentoring programme, key outcomes were not requested. in the future, determining specifically what a protégé would like to learn, and 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 47–51 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.6 how a mentor could best assist them, will also facilitate matching them with the ideal person for a successful mentoring partnership. mentoring is a mutually beneficial relationship, and its value through the exchange of objective insights and perspectives can be a key element to professional growth and job satisfaction for student affairs practitioners (clifford, 2009). mentors were asked to provide comment about how the programme provided value for them in their established careers. while the motivation for participating in the programme was to ‘pay it forward’ and support less experienced colleagues, what mentors learnt from mentees was also significant. mentors felt that their skills in supervision were enhanced, they reflected on their own professional pathways and future, and they broadened their understandings of student services in the international context. six mentees (30% of mentees participating in the programme) completed the feedback survey. the lower response is likely a reflection of the varied levels of commitment of mentees (as noted by some mentors): only three respondents recorded that they had had definite goals in mind for their mentoring partnership. half of the mentees reported meeting with their mentors more than twice per month, and these mentees also rated their overall experience of the programme a staggering 9.6 out of 10. they reported that they had achieved the following aspirations: • learning more about student services practices in other countries; • connecting with professional colleagues globally; and • gaining guidance in navigating the higher education sector and career opportunities. one mentee reported that he had been invited overseas to shadow his/her mentor in the workplace. the sometimes polarised experiences that were described by the protégés are consistent with assessments of other professional mentoring programmes. one of the key learnings for hines (2007), in a review of librarian mentoring, was the acknowledgement that (like mentors) protégés are busy people with complex lives too, and this can impact on their participation and commitment to the partnership. new practitioners in resource-limited settings are keen for connection with the global student affairs community. this was demonstrated in a most telling comment responding to how the mentoring programme could be improved: by connecting aspiring members from developing countries more and more, and helping them to participate in international conferences. this recognition of the capacity-building potential for the mentoring programme emphasises the value of the new initiative. it is making an important contribution to the core goals of iasas, through fostering and enabling inclusive collaboration in the practice, scholarship and professionalisation of student services. notably, the mentor and mentee groups were in accord regarding two issues. the first, timing of the programme – both groups were equally divided when asked about the eva-marie seeto: professional mentoring in student affairs 51 ideal timeframe for a professional mentoring partnership. half felt that six months was appropriate, with the remainder preferring an extended programme of twelve months. the second, both groups gave an overall rating of 6 on a likert-type scale of 10 for the pilot programme – a positive experience but leaving room for improvements – with the highest scores (10) provided by respondents who had identified clear goals for their mentorship. mentorship for enhancing professional development: recommendations the iasas pilot programme attracted mentee applications from key target groups where iasas seeks to build professional and community capacity: early career practitioners, and institutions developing their student affairs and services systems. to enhance the ementoring programme in its next iteration, the evaluation of the pilot programme suggests the following improvements as recommendations: • the time period for the mentoring programme should be extended to eight months. • mentees ought to articulate clear goals for participation in their application form. • a structured discussion guide should be provided to mentors and mentees for the initial meetings and goal setting. • the coordinator of the ementorship programme should have regular contact with the programme participants in the first months of pairing. overall, both mentors and mentees indicated that the programme was valued and worthwhile; however, many participants felt that clear goals and greater structure were required for them to maximise the partnership. the requests for structure could indicate benefit in utilising a formal computer-based mentoring platform in the future. overall, the enthusiastic international response to the programme, and feedback obtained from this initial mentoring experience, have provided valuable insights that will inform improvements responding to universal accessibility, and mentor and protégé aspirations. references botero, j.m. (2015). e-mentoring across national boundaries. review of disability studies: an international journal, 11(3), 22–37. clifford, m.w. (2009). exploring mentoring experiences in college student affairs: a q methodology study. unf theses and dissertations. doctoral dissertation paper 201. retrieved 12 november 2016 from http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/201 hines, s. (2007). adventures in online mentoring: the new members’ roundtable career mentoring program. journal of web librarianship, 1(4), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/19322900802111411 seifert, t., perozzi, b., bodine al-sharif, m.a., li, w. & wildman, k. (2014). student affairs and services in global perspective: a preliminary exploration of practitioners’ background, roles and professional development. toronto: international association of student affairs and services. singh, g. (2010). we write better together: e-mentoring to induct developing country researchers into scientific literacy practices. paper presented at the fifth international conference of learning international networks consortium (linc). retrieved 12 november 2016 from http://linc.mit.edu/linc2010/proceedings/session12singh.pdf http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/201 https://doi.org/10.1080/19322900802111411 http://linc.mit.edu/linc2010/proceedings/session12singh.pdf journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 101‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 101 www.jsaa.ac.za research article it’s time to unite: a collaborative approach to addressing the needs of graduate students of colour travis c. smith* & emily e. virtue** * mr travis c. smith is a phd candidate in educational leadership (higher education) at clemson university, south carolina, u.s.a. email: travis8@g.clemson.edu ** dr emily e. virtue is a graduate assistant at clemson university, south carolina, u.s.a. email: evirtue@g.clemson.edu abstract higher education administrators often speak of the value of collaboration between student and academic affairs yet there is little empirical evidence of such collaboration. as such, graduate school services and programmes traditionally receive less attention and support than undergraduate programmes. arguably, deficiencies in those services and programmes expose a need for collaboration, specifically for students of colour. this article explores the experiences of graduate students of colour while examining the barriers in place that tend to hinder their success in graduate school. by addressing these barriers, we present a justification for the need for collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs within graduate education. keywords academic affairs; collaboration; graduate students of colour; student affairs; support introduction in her 2001 piece, adrianna kezar explains that while a great emphasis has been placed on collaborations between student and academic affairs, almost no empirical evidence exists to corroborate the assertions that collaborations are worthy endeavours (p. 39). while a national study was conducted to learn more about collaboration, more than fifteen years later, kezar’s statements ring eerily true: institutional leaders discuss the benefits of collaboration between the two “branches”, yet little hard evidence (in the form of empirical data) exists to support such practices. there are a variety of factors that suggest collaboration is needed on college campuses. financial responsibility, reducing duplication of efforts, and meeting the needs of diverse populations are three notable areas that collaboration can address. this article will use the goal of meeting the needs of diverse populations (especially marginalised populations) as a framework for discussing collaboration. specifically, we will explore the experiences of graduate students of colour while examining the barriers in https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:travis8%40g.clemson.edu?subject= mailto:evirtue%40g.clemson.edu?subject= 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 101‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 place that tend to hinder their success in graduate school. by addressing these barriers, we present a justification for collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs within graduate education. history of student affairs the practice of student affairs has been present on college campuses for nearly a century. in the last 90 years, institutions of higher education have transitioned to a more concerted effort to support not only students’ academic pursuits but their overall well‑being. as colleges and universities shifted from paternalistic, controlling treatment of students to a more personalised approach, undergraduate students’ well‑being became a primary focus. by the late 20th century, numerous professional organisations for student affairs formed, giving further guidance to professional efforts to support students on college campuses (schwartz & stewart, 2017). during the early decades of the student affairs profession, the responsibilities of student affairs professionals were distinctly separate from academic affairs. administrators leaned on student affairs professionals to handle personal issues that arose for students while all issues related to academic success were handled by faculty and academic deans. while the student personnel point of view documents (american council on education, 1937, 1949) outlined the principles and philosophical development of the profession and how it relates to student academic success, many in the academy experienced (and perhaps encouraged) a sort of separation of powers. as political climates and world events changed, the demographics of enrolled college students changed and leaders of academic and student affairs divisions began to work more closely together. colleges and university officials realised that more needed to be done with fewer resources and collaboration between the two units became a more pressing demand (schwartz & stewart, 2017). kuh, schuh and whitt (1991) demonstrated the need for collaboration between units to better promote student learning and development. likewise, pascarella and terenzini (1991) outlined the impact of college in various measures including positive cognitive, financial and developmental outcomes. at the turn of the 21st  century, collaboration between the two divisions increased, yet very little has been explored empirically. there is some empirical and much anecdotal evidence that collaborations exist. kezar (2001, p. 40) noted that every institution engaged in the national survey on collaboration indicated some form of collaboration, many of which identified their efforts as moderately to very successful. the research on student affairs and academic affairs collaboration is sparse. discussion of this trend began in earnest in the early 2000s and then waned. research and interest has grown more recently. due to the lack of empirical research on collaborations, this article will contain references to what is available in the literature from 2000 to the present. what is demonstrable in the literature is that nearly all efforts at collaboration are done with undergraduate students in mind. we argue that not only does collaboration need to exist (and be researched), but such efforts need to focus on the well‑being of graduate students in addition to undergraduates (the demographic that most noticeably benefits from such efforts). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 travis c. smith & emily e. virtue: it’s time to unite … addressing the needs of graduate students of colour 103 the need for collaboration while many note the need for collaboration on campuses, bourassa and kruger (2000) point to the one‑sided nature of this need, stating that professionals in student affairs are more vocal about the need compared to their counterparts in academic affairs. indeed, the increased effort on the part of student affairs professionals to work towards supporting learning environments on campus signalled both the desire and the need for collaboration. for example, joint efforts from the american college personnel association (acpa) and the national association of student personnel administrators (naspa) led to guiding documents such as the student learning imperative and learning reconsidered (bourassa & kruger, 2000, p. 10) which stress the ways in which student affairs programmes and services can augment academic experiences. the nature of collaboration is particularly difficult when stakeholders do not value the contributions each may bring to the table. philpott and strange (2003, p. 81) characterised the relationship between academic and student affairs professionals as “second cousins of the academy”, implying that while related, their identities are not fully known and valued. as such, collaboration can be difficult. numerous articles in the 1990s and early 2000s point to “turf wars” and the stepping‑on of toes as significant reasons why collaboration is not successful or sometimes even desired (love, kuh, mackay & hardy, 1993; matthews, 1997). negative beliefs about the abilities of student affairs professionals abound as they are often not considered (by faculty) to be academics in their own right and their services are largely unknown or misunderstood (kezar, 2017). these misperceptions (despite the increased requirement for advanced degrees in the field of higher education) can lead to a belief that student affairs professionals are unworthy of garnering credit equal to academics for their work with students. one way in which student affairs professionals have sought to ensure their work is research‑based and developmentally appropriate for students was the development of the council for the advancement of standards in higher education (commonly referred to as cas standards). cas standards were developed in 1986 to guide professional preparation for students in master’s level student affairs programmes (young & janosik, 2007, p. 342). since the introduction of cas standards, numerous studies have been completed to assess effectiveness, learning outcomes, and specific competency outcomes (harrow & mann, 1996; herdlein, klein, boquard & haddad, 2010; young & elfrink, 1991). yet, while the cas standards guide the preparation of student affairs professionals, young and janosik (2007, p. 361) note that little time in graduate study is given to research and that “most programs require no more than one introductory research class”. the lack of preparation for understanding and utilising research can cause campus partners (particularly faculty) to feel as though their peers are less qualified to serve students. student affairs professionals may believe they are competent in providing services but may not feel prepared to assess need or research appropriately to address needs when they are found. this suggests that while there may be a desire to help students, professionals may not be adequately equipped to determine what students’ needs are or how to address them. here, a collaborative partnership might alleviate where student affairs professionals may fall short. 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 101‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 collaboration as a benefit to graduate students of colour not all college students share the same experiences, especially students of colour pursuing graduate degrees (flynn, sanchez & harper, 2011; gildersleeve, croom & vasquez, 2011; twale & weidman, 2016; ingram, 2013). maton, et al. (2011) supported previous findings when they examined the similarities and differences between the experiences and perspectives of students of colour and european american students in psychology graduate programmes. unfortunately, the authors found that students of colour faced greater barriers than the european students, while the african american students reported greater barriers and less cultural diversity than all other groups. furthermore, maton, et al. (2011) reported students who were more satisfied identified academic support, access to mentoring, greater cultural diversity in their academic environment and more confidence in obtaining employment as reasons for their satisfaction. these findings show a distinct difference amongst graduate student experiences. on one hand, some students are thriving and actively supported by their professors, peers, departments and universities. yet, the other populations are experiencing a different world with the lack of support that creates barriers and reinforces systems of oppression. similar to the maton et al.’s (2011) study, henfield, woo and washington  (2013) identified challenges of african american graduate students in counselling education programmes. the authors also sought to examine the different aspects that promote successful retention and matriculation. as such, they reported three findings: feelings of isolation, disconnected peers and lack of cultural understanding. in this case, isolation was birthed from the lack of diversity in the student and faculty population. students spoke of feelings of being alone and being the only one in their setting. in regard to disconnected peers, the participants spoke directly to orientation and the lack of cohesion from the start of the cohort. orientation, for some students, sets the stage for peer interaction. however, the students expressed their concerns that orientation was primarily used for faculty introduction. finally, the students reported a lack of cultural understanding from their faculty members. these concerns were rooted in misunderstandings of how the students dressed and the differences in value systems. hence, academic affairs should partner with student affairs to offer programmes that address these barriers throughout the year. we note that this is only a temporary fix to a deeper systematic issue. if we plan to eradicate the cause of the barrier then both academic affairs and student affairs must work closely with graduate students to change and implement policies that deconstruct the root causes that are embedded deep within the policies of the departments and institutions. similar to maton, et al. (2011), haskins et al. (2013) sought to identify the experiences of students of colour enrolled in a master’s counselling programme at a predominately white institution. the authors reported five thematic trends as a result of the study: a)  isolation as a black student, b)  tokenization as a black student, c)  lack of inclusion of black counselor perspectives within coursework, d) differences between support received by faculty of color and support received by white faculty, and e)  access to support from people of color and white peers. (haskins et al., 2013, p. 168) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 travis c. smith & emily e. virtue: it’s time to unite … addressing the needs of graduate students of colour 105 these findings reflect the narrative of some students of colour across the country in graduate education. particularly in this study, the students reported isolation as a result of being under‑represented or not fitting in. they also alluded to not being supported and not having a community to belong to. again, we see the of lack of support and community arise. this continues to be the trend across higher education for students of colour. in turn, administrators are becoming more aware of this trend and are calling for more collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs in graduate education. collaboration between the two would assist in providing safe spaces and support for these students. we acknowledge that graduate education differs vastly from undergraduate education. yet, the need to support students remains the same. we argue that because student affairs can collaborate with academic affairs on the undergraduate level, the same takes place at the graduate level, albeit with the academic and social needs of the graduate student population in mind. these partnerships should play on the expertise of both faculty and staff. for example, some student affairs professionals have a thorough background in a wide array of student development theories. as such, faculty could partner with these professionals to better understand the holistic student and how they operate outside of an academic setting. social experiences and development of graduate students of colour have been studied and can promote better faculty understanding of student needs. johnson‑bailey, valentine, cevero and bowles (2009) researched the types of social experiences of black graduate students at u.s. research institutions. the authors explored the formal and informal interactions between students and their faculty, the reception of the students on campus, and prominent memories of being a graduate student. unlike the previous studies mentioned, this study included alumni over a 40‑year span. therefore, the authors were able to thoroughly examine the culture and climate of this institution in relation to their graduate students of colour. johnson‑bailey et al. (2009) reported that students experienced isolation from the university community and programme, routine discrimination, underestimation of academic ability, and loneliness in graduate life. these findings are similar to the current and past trends that have been reported in the literature. furthermore, the negative experiences from this particular study affected the idea of legacy within a university. the participants commonly expressed their disinterest in sending their children to the university. these results strengthen our assertion that more emphasis should be placed on the collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs. some of the negative experiences reported in johnson‑bailey et al. (2009) may have been alleviated by concerted efforts for collaboration of services to graduate students of colour. johnson‑bailey et al.’s (2009) findings suggest that services in the form of programming could have changed the outcome for graduate students of colour. according to pope’s (1995) multicultural change intervention matrix, change is the third level of the first order directly following awareness and membership. as noted in pope’s matrix, programming is a function of the institution. the findings of johnson‑bailey et al.’s (2009) study should be used to implement collaborative programming between student affairs and academic 106 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 101‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 affairs such as creating academic support groups, introducing social clubs, enforcing cultural trainings for departments, and providing safe spaces for these students. graduate education has become increasingly isolated because all of the student support is expected to come from the faculty. this unfair expectation is merely a setup for catastrophe. faculty members can only do so much given their expectation of writing for publication while maintaining advisor roles, teaching loads, and serving the institution and professional organisations. if we want to truly provide better experiences and more support for our graduate students of colour, then we must promote collaboration across campus lines. opportunities and direction for collaboration as kezar (2017) explains, the most common place to find collaboration is in programmes related to a student’s first year: recruitment, orientation and first‑year seminars rely heavily on collaboration to succeed. yet growth in collaboration is evident in such programmes as learning communities, living‑learning environments, senior capstone projects and citizenship education (kezar, 2017, p. 96). interestingly, kezar’s (2001) earlier work pointed to counselling being an area of commonly successful collaboration (p. 41). many of these areas have a clear commonality in that they are all focused on the student transition, a time that is stressful for many and requires extensive planning and preparation for administrative staff and faculty alike. it is likely that these collaborations will continue as colleges and universities put great emphasis on recruiting and welcoming students in the hope that these students will be retained until graduation. however, institutional leaders must consider their graduate students and students of colour who are also in transition. to make collaboration successful polnariev and levy (2016, p. 136) argue that collaborations must come after strategic planning: the strategic plan is an ideal forum to more cohesively unite activities – pulling them further away from silos and strengthening their connections to other departments and divisions. effective strategic planning necessitates broad participation and reflects a continuous commitment to collaboratively lead the institution toward achieving its aspirations. to commence collaboration without first identifying specific outcomes, measures and benchmarks is a disservice to students, staff, and faculty alike. similarly, strategic planning will build faith in the project, allow stakeholders to address concerns, and ideally serve as a means to create trust amongst members from both sides of the institution. as assessment continues to drive both academic and student affairs endeavours, strategic planning will serve both the short‑ and long‑term needs of the institution. to respond to the needs of graduate students of colour, assessment and strategic planning must demonstrate a commitment to collaboration. evans and devita (2017, p. 70) assert that “college campuses produce ‘chilly’ climates for racial and ethnic minorities that contribute to feelings of isolation and loneliness”. such climates must be addressed by administrators in both academic and student affairs. rather than quickly and haphazardly https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 travis c. smith & emily e. virtue: it’s time to unite … addressing the needs of graduate students of colour 107 responding to immediate needs, faculty and administrators need to come together to better serve this student population. as the literature on collaboration continues to grow, tools for successful collaboration will ensure that positive outcomes are possible. while there is no one‑size‑fits‑all solution, there are steps that can be taken to help alleviate some of these persisting issues. for example, clemson university has implemented a new initiative, titled grad 360. this initiative focuses on nine core areas that are designed to “strengthen your existing skills and develop new competencies relevant to your academic and professional goals” (grad 360, 2017, para. 1). the programme is housed in the graduate school yet the sessions are outsourced across campus, from academic and student affairs professionals. the nine components of this programme are: career development and exploration; social and global responsibility; research and innovation; professionalism and ethics; leadership and management; teamwork and collaboration; teaching and learning; oral, written and intercultural communication; and personal health, wellness and financial literacy. programmes such as grad 360 can offer a place outside of classrooms and departments in which students can seek support. although there has not been any substantial research conducted on the outcomes of this particular programme, we see this initiative as a prime example of collaboration. challenges to collaboration kezar (2001, p. 47) noted that the largest challenges to collaboration are lack of faculty and staff time, disciplinary ties, faculty resistance and lack of established goals. depending on the campus culture, such challenges may be overcome or serve as an impasse. cho and sriram (2016) noted that while the competency level of student affairs staff does not significantly impact the collaboration process, the culture of collaboration on a campus could predict the outcome. for example, on campuses where collaboration has been established for some time or valued in even small efforts, larger collaborations might be more welcomed by stakeholders. cho and sriram (2016) also noted that institution type may play a role in whether collaboration efforts are effective. the recent literature on student affairs and academic affairs collaboration suggests that certain institution types may lend themselves to collaboration better than others. this is certainly reflected in literature related to collaboration at community colleges (frost et al., 2010; gulley & mullendore,  2014; gulley,  2015; ozaki & hornack, 2014). in addition to institutional type, budgetary concerns may foster greater collaborative efforts. as recent studies have shown, funding for higher education, specifically state‑level funding, has decreased significantly in the last decade (mitchell, palacios & leachman, 2014; oliff, palacios, johnson & leachman, 2013). though american institutions of higher education are now rebounding from recession cuts, some states have failed to increase budgets and, in some cases, continue to cut funding (mitchell et al., 2014). thus, those working in both academic and student affairs are continually pressured to do more with less. collaboration efforts that address not only student needs but budgetary considerations might find favour amongst more leaders in divisions that often do not work well together. 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 101‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 assessment of services and programmes offered across campus would shed light on where efforts to support are duplicated, demonstrating where financial cuts may be made without loss to the student experience. leaders on campus might consider how combining efforts might better serve not only their students but also their budgetary bottom line. as the literature on collaboration continues to grow, tools for successful collaboration will ensure that positive outcomes are possible. faculty and staff should partner together to create intentional programmes that serve as interdisciplinary support hubs for students. these collaborations could be done in a variety of ways such as writing groups across disciplines; interdisciplinary lunch and lectures to discuss current innovative research happening throughout the campus; interdisciplinary creative inquiry teams to work on grant proposals; or even social networking events in conjunction with the various commissions and professional entities on campus. these programmes should create a welcoming space for all students regardless of their discipline. should this happen, departments would no longer have to bare the total fiscal responsibility for programming. by partnering together, departments should be able maximise the use of departmental funds, thereby expanding the number of programmes and services offered to graduate students. conclusion the need for collaboration between student and academic affairs will only continue over time. as resources dwindle, expectations for institutions increase and student needs change. collaboration could very likely be a factor that keeps institutional doors open. while all students can benefit from increased collaboration, it is crucial that institutions remember their graduate student populations as deserving of services. the potential loss of the often‑forgotten graduate student population could have dramatic effects on an institution. if graduate students do not feel supported and heard, they will take their growing expertise and gifts elsewhere (johnson‑bailey et al., 2009). institutions of higher education that wish to keep their doors open to all students would do well to support those who may become future leaders in higher education. as institutions work to better support graduate students of colour on campus, systemic and historical practices of institutions must also be considered. collaborative efforts can only go so far: graduate students and students of colour must also see institutional dedication to eradicating the systems in place that prevent their full engagement on campus. references american council on education. (1937). the student personnel point of view. a report of a conference on the philosophy and development of student personnel work in college and university. http://www. myacpa.org/sites/default/files/student‑personnel‑point‑of‑view‑1937.pdf american council on education. (1949). the student personnel point of view. revised report. https://www. naspa.org/images/uploads/main/student_personnel_point_of_view_1949.pdf bourassa, d.m. & kruger, k. (2001). the national dialogue on academic and student affairs collaboration. new directions for higher education, winter(116), 9‑38. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.31 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 http://www.myacpa.org/sites/default/files/student-personnel-point-of-view-1937.pdf http://www.myacpa.org/sites/default/files/student-personnel-point-of-view-1937.pdf https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/student_personnel_point_of_view_1949.pdf https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/student_personnel_point_of_view_1949.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/he.31 travis c. smith & emily e. virtue: it’s time to unite … addressing the needs of graduate students of colour 109 cho, r.a. & sriram, r. (2016). student affairs collaborating with academic affairs: perceptions of individual competency and institutional culture. college student affairs journal, 34(1), 56‑69. https://doi.org/10.1353/csj.2016.0003 evans, n.j. & devita, j. (2017). diversity in higher education. in: t.l. hogan (ed.), student affairs for academic administrators (pp. 61‑86). sterling, va: stylus. flynn, a.m., sanchez, b. & harper, g.w. (2011). an ecological analysis of research examining the experiences of students of color in graduate school. journal of diversity in higher education, 4(1), 1‑11. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021506 frost, r.a., strom, s.l., downey, j., schultz, d.d. & holland, t.a. (2010). enhancing student learning with academic and student affairs collaboration. community college enterprise, 16(1), 37‑51. gildersleeve, r.e., croom, n.n. & vasquez, p.l. (2011). “am i going crazy?!”: a critical race analysis of doctoral education. equity & excellence in education, 44(1), 93‑114. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665 684.2011.539472 grad 360 (n.d.). retrieved from https://grad360.sites.clemson.edu gulley, n.y. (2015). a matter of institutional size: a comparative case study of collaborations between academic and student affairs in community college settings. journal of applied research in the community college, 22(1), 35‑42. gulley, n.y. & mullendore, r.h. (2014). student affairs and academic affairs collaborations in the community college setting. community college journal of research and practice, 38(7), 661‑673. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2011.585115 harrow, a.j. & mann, b.a. (1996). ethics and inquiry: a graduate course in higher education leadership. college student affairs journal, 15, 58‑63. haskins, n., whitfield‐williams, m., shillingford, m.a., singh, a., moxley, r. & ofauni, c. (2013). the experiences of black master’s counseling students: a phenomenological inquiry. counselor education and supervision, 52(3), 162‑178. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556‑6978.2013.00035.x henfield, m.s., woo, h. & washington, a. (2013). a phenomenological investigation of african american counselor education students’ challenging experiences. counselor education and supervision, 52(2), 122‑136. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556‑6978.2013.00033.x herdlein, r., kline, k., boquard, b. & haddad, v. (2010). a survey of faculty perceptions of learning outcomes in master’s level programs in higher education and student affairs. college student affairs journal, 29(1), 33. ingram, t.n. (2013). fighting fair (feelings of alienation, isolation, and racism): using critical race theory to deconstruct the experiences of african american male doctoral students. journal of progressive policy & practice, 1(1), 1‑18. johnson‑bailey, j., valentine, t., cervero, r.m. & bowles, t.a. (2009). rooted in the soil: the social experiences of black graduate students at a southern research university. the journal of higher education, 80(2), 178‑203. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11772138 kezar, a. (2001). documenting the landscape: results of a national study on academic and student affairs collaborations. new directions for higher education, 116, 39‑52. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.32 kezar, a. (2003). enhancing innovative partnerships: creating a change model for academic and student affairs collaboration. innovative higher education, 28(2), 137‑156. https://doi.org/10.1023/ b:ihie.0000006289.31227.25 kezar, a. (2017). collaboration. in: t.l. hogan (ed.), student affairs for academic administrators (pp. 89‑106). sterling, va: stylus. https://doi.org/10.1353/csj.2016.0003 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021506 https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2011.539472 https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2011.539472 https://grad360.sites.clemson.edu https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2011.585115 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2013.00035.x https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2013.00033.x https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11772138 https://doi.org/10.1002/he.32 https://doi.org/10.1023/b:ihie.0000006289.31227.25 https://doi.org/10.1023/b:ihie.0000006289.31227.25 110 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 101‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 kuh, g.d., schuh, j.h. & whitt, e.j. (1991). some good news about campus life: how “involving colleges” promote learning outside the classroom. change: the magazine of higher learning, 23(5), 48‑55. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.1991.9939880 love, p.d., kuh, g.d., mackay, k.a. & hardy, c.m. (1993). side by side: faculty and student affairs cultures. in: g.d. kuh (ed.), cultural perspectives in student affairs (pp. 37‑58). landham, md: american college personnel association. maton, k.i., wimms, h.e., grant, s.k., wittig, m.a., rogers, m.r. & vasquez, m.j. (2011). experiences and perspectives of african american, latina/o, asian american, and european american psychology graduate students: a national study. cultural diversity and ethnic minority psychology, 17(1), 68‑78. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021668 matthew, a. (1997). bright college years: inside the college campus today. new york, ny: simon & schuster. mitchell, m., palacios, v. & leachman, m. (2014). states are still funding higher education below pre‑recession levels. center on budget and policy priorities. retrieved from https://www.cbpp.org/ sites/default/files/atoms/files/5‑1‑14sfp.pdf oliff, p., palacios, v., johnson, i. & leachman, m. (2013). recent deep state higher education cuts may harm students and the economy for years to come. center on budget and policy priorities. 19 march. retrieved from https://www.cbpp.org/research/recent‑deep‑state‑higher‑education‑cuts‑may‑ harm‑students‑and‑the‑economy‑for‑years‑to‑come ozaki, c.c. & hornak, a.m. (2014). excellence within student affairs: understanding the practice of integrating academic and student affairs. new directions for community colleges, 166, 79‑84. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20104 pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (1991). how college affects students. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. philpott, j.l. & strange, c. (2003). “on the road to cambridge”: a case study of faculty and student affairs in collaboration. journal of higher education, 74(1), 77‑95. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2003.0003 polnariev, b.a. & levy, m.a. (2016). collaborative strategic planning. in: m.a. levy & b.a. polnariev (eds.), academic and student affairs collaboration: creating a culture of student success (pp. 135‑160). new york, ny: routledge. pope, r.l. (1995). multicultural organizational development: implications and applications for student affairs. in: j. fried (ed.), shifting paradigms in student affairs: culture, context, teaching, and learning (pp. 233‑250). washington, dc: american college personnel association. schwartz, r. & stewart, d.l. (2017). the history of student affairs. in: j.h. schuh, s.r. jones & v. torres (eds.), student services: a handbook for the profession (pp. 20‑38). san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. twale, d.j., weidman, j.c. & bethea, k. (2016). conceptualizing socialization of graduate students of color: revisiting the weidman‑twale‑stein framework. western journal of black studies, 40(2), 80‑94. young, r.b. & elfrick, v.l. (1991). values education in student affairs graduate programs. journal of college student development, 32, 109‑115. how to cite: smith, t.c. & virtue, e.e. (2019). it’s time to unite: a collaborative approach to addressing the needs of graduate students of colour. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 101‑110. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.1991.9939880 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021668 https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/5-1-14sfp.pdf https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/5-1-14sfp.pdf https://www.cbpp.org/research/recent-deep-state-higher-education-cuts-may-harm-students-and-the-econ https://www.cbpp.org/research/recent-deep-state-higher-education-cuts-may-harm-students-and-the-econ https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20104 https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2003.0003 http://10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3695 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, v-viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4362   v www.jsaa.ac.za african minds editorial collaborative approaches to scholarship in student affairs birgit schreiber,* teboho moja** & thierry m. luescher*** jsaa 10(2) is guest-edited by the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) and matete madiba led this effort. the collaboration between the south african association of senior student affairs professionals and the journal of student affairs in africa ( jsaa) has been a longstanding one. indeed, it was in the wake of the 2011 saassap conference at stellenbosch university in south africa that the idea of creating a platform for publishing the conference proceedings of student affairs conferences in africa was mooted. in the course of 2012 and 2013, jsaa was conceptualised by its original editorial team, but particularly dr birgit schreiber, dr thierry luescher and ms tonia overmeyer. it became a reality with the help and leadership of prof. teboho moja. many members of the south african student affairs leadership and saassap members have contributed to the journal over the years and have contributed and collaborated to strengthen student affairs scholarship. this second issue of volume 10 of jsaa is the first formal collaboration; a guest-edited issue conceived and implemented under the leadership of dr matete madiba, saassap research and development officer and director: student affairs of the university of pretoria in south africa and dr birgit schreiber of the jsaa editorial executive. this is an issue rich with papers ref lecting the diversity of voices and issues in student affairs in south, southern and continental africa. the issue ref lects how we are still grappling with, ref lecting on, researching, and writing about the #feesmustfall student activism of 2015/16, and also continue to * dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwig universität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management, south africa. email: birgitdewes@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504. ** prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education, new york university, usa. she is also a visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa, and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. email: tebohon.moja@nyu.edu. orcid: 0000-00016343-3020. *** prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and associate professor of higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung/bloemfontein, south africa. he is a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-6675-0512. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitdewes@gmail.com mailto:tebohon.moja@nyu.edu mailto:tluescher@hsrc.ac.za vi   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, v-viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4362 discuss the impact the 2020/21 covid-19 pandemic outbreak has had on our practice and theorising of student affairs. this issue is also a ref lection of jsaa’s commitment to promoting collaborative research in student affairs. this issue in particular, has a noticeable number of articles that are co-authored and/or based on collaborative research and the resulting co-authorship is becoming, one hopes, the standard. this is a trend that was described already by hunter and leahey (2008), who found that collaborations in research were on the increase, and that co-author prestige was higher than that of sole-author, and only male sole-authorship remained, at least at that time, most common. in healthcare research, for example, collaborative interdisciplinary research also enjoys higher publication rates of high quality than single authorship (bruzzese et al., 2020). this guest-edited issue is also a great example of collaboration in a further way in that it is made up of two parts: one part are the articles edited by the guest editor, dr matete madiba, and the second part are articles from the open submission pool of manuscripts that were edited by the jsaa editorial team. the articles that fall into this second category include the following: in this issue dick, malefane and müller explore the experiences of student peer leaders using arts-based ref lections to complement a qualitative methodology. they explore the intersection of multiple roles of students as peer educators, student leaders, activists, and residents in a student community. the study highlights the complexities emerging from navigating these different challenging roles. govender, reddy and bhagwan explore the impact of covid-19 on a group of students and discuss the emerging themes, using the online platform microsoft teams as research medium – a medium that has become normalised since the advent of covid19. the emerging themes include the need for students to understand the transmissions processes of the virus, mental health issues, and financial stresses. the article by machaba and mostert uses statistical research methods with a large sample (n=1,211) to explore first year students’ fit with their course of study. the article highlights the importance of course choice for students and the role that high schools and universities can play in preparing students for making meaningful and good-fit choices, given that a change of faculty and course is difficult in the current rigid degree structures at universities in south africa and other countries in africa. the article highlights the kinds of changes required at structural degree and programme level at universities to support student success. another article exploring the first-year student experience (fye) during covid-19 is authored by bengesai, paideya, naidoo and mkhonza. they conclude that the contact with, and support from the university in the form of the fye transition programme was experienced as positive by this sample of first year students. de klerk discusses notions and constructions of students as contextualized learners and how this understanding changes the nature and focus of academic advising. the author argues for a broader lens and that deeper contextualization of students is required birgit schreiber, teboho moja & thierry m. luescher: collaborative approaches to scholarship …   vii to include a consideration of the socio-economic challenges and constrains into which many students are embedded. the next article is co-authored by matlala, pila-nemutandani and erasmus and they explore the impact of peer pressure on alcohol use in students’ lives. matlala et al. find that many factors, especially the inf luence of family, play a significant role in mediating the impact of peer pressure. mcconney and fourie-malherbe focus on the fye and the role and impact of peer mentoring. they find that multiple factors in the peer mentors themselves, and in the quality and frequency of the mentoring process, play a significant role in increasing the positive outcomes of a peer mentoring programme. the final article in the research section of this issue is authored by ntema who employed data mining to advance a predictive model of students who are at-risk of dropout. he identified that the carry-over of failed courses is a reliable predictor of high risk of de-registration of a student. we have three book reviews in this issue, and each of them reviews a significant and outstanding book. cunningham reviews torabian’s book wealth, values, culture and education: reviving the essentials for equality and sustainability and highlights the multi-disciplinary lens dr juliette torabain employed to illuminate the intersection of factors that derail and advance access to education. dipitso reviews walker et al.’s book entitled low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa opportunities, obstacles and outcomes published by african minds, which provides critical insight into equity and access of low-income students to higher education in south africa. moletsane reviews #feesmustfall and its aftermath: violence, wellbeing and the student movement in south africa, by luescher, wilson fadiji, morwe, et al., published by the hsrc press. this extended visual essay and its accompanying exhibition of photographs and narratives generated by photovoice has become a topic of discussion on many campuses where the exhibition has been held. it provides the frame for ref lection on the well-being impacts of violence in the context of the student movement in south africa. this issue would not have been possible without the tireless support of bronwin sebonka, our journal administrator at the university of pretoria, and the meticulous work of imkhitha nzungu at our publishing house, african minds. in addition, we thank our expanded editorial team for their sterling work. as customary, all the reviewers of the past volume and related manuscripts are gratefully acknowledged in the ‘thank you to our reviewers’ included in this issue. references bruzzese, j. m., usseglio, j., goldberg, j., begg, m. d., & larson, e. l. (2020). professional development outcomes associated with interdisciplinary research: an integrative review. nursing outlook, 68(4), 449-458. viii   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, v-viii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4362 hunter, l., & leahey, e. (2008). collaborative research in sociology: trends and contributing factors. the american sociologist, 39(4), 290-306. doi: 10.1007/s12108-008-9042-1. how to cite: schreiber, b., moja, t., & luescher, t. m. (2022). collaborative approaches to scholarship in student affairs. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), v-viii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4362 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 115‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 115 www.jsaa.ac.za literature review recommended reading list: residential life nupur goyal* * dr nupur goyal is director of residential life and university community standards, new york university, shanghai. email: ng25@nyu.edu this list is a curated compilation of articles and books that are recommended reading for pertinent topics within residence life. these readings were chosen as they provide a historical perspective of housing and residential life systems at colleges and universities as well as their adaptation in the united states, elaborate on the diverse aspects of residence life, and highlight the many benefits of living on campus. this list further highlights readings that discuss diverse aspects of residence life like staffing needs, living‑learning communities, expectations for student conduct, us‑based literature, and more. by no means is this an exhaustive and all‑encompassing list on topics related to residence life. however, it is a good starting point that spans a significant period of time and offers key insights. unfortunately, much of the research and publications on this topic discuss aspects of residence life in the united states. some noteworthy readings in this list include the book the resident assistant: working with college students in residence halls, authored by blimling and miltenberger (1981), which describes the history of residence halls, starting with early models for housing from the united kingdom and their gradual adaptation in the united states. this book also illustrates frameworks like in loco parentis, the student personnel point of view, the student development approach, and the rationale behind colleges and universities focusing on the holistic development of the undergraduate student. next, the publication learning reconsidered 2 by richard keeling (2006) was an important document that convinced readers that the construction of meaning in a college setting no longer occurs only in the academic context. this document emphasises that academic learning and undergraduate student development processes come together in a format that requires all the resources of the college to function together in an integrated manner. furthermore, residence halls were considered an important venue for this form of student learning and development. in learning reconsidered 2, keeling shares that successful integration of academic and co‑curricular student learning experiences result in the student achieving many gains like orientation to their college environment, success in their studies, achieving a sense of belonging to the college, progressively understanding themselves, developing lively https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:ng25%40nyu.edu?subject= 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 115‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 and significant interests and goals, learning to live with others, developing individuality and responsibility, and ultimately preparing for constructive career goals. for these key takeaways, learning reconsidered 2 is a seminal document for readings on the topic of residence life. the article by a.w. astin (1973) established early on that undergraduate students in residence halls expressed more satisfaction with student friendships, faculty–student relationships, institutional reputation, and social life and that students were less likely to drop out and more likely to attain a baccalaureate degree in four years. astin also shares that living in a residence hall during the first year was the most important environmental characteristic associated with finishing college. these factors made the development and success of residential campus living a crucial goal for colleges and universities. the positive impact of residence halls is further explained in the book realizing the educational potential of residence halls by schroeder and mable (1994). this book addresses the need for integrating students’ formal academic experiences with their informal out‑of‑ class experiences within the residence halls. this book focuses on the role of residence halls in student development, describes various programmes and initiatives for promoting student learning in residence halls, and illustrates the educational impact of college residence halls in detail. the book residence hall assistants in college by m.l. upcraft (1982) also affirms the important function of college residence halls to positively impact the academic performance of students living in the halls. similar to blimling and miltenberger, upcraft (1982) also provides a historical timeline for the resident assistant position within us colleges and universities and articles by pike (1999) and pike, schroeder and berry (1997) confirm the importance and prevalence of the educational impact of residence halls. next, blimling and miltenberger  (1981) discuss the staffing needs of residence halls and the development of the resident assistant role and professional staff needs. the resident assistant role is a common factor amongst most colleges and universities and is being developed, adapted and finessed since its inception. in 2017, authors beeny, kolkmeier and mastronardi fisette produced tools for residence life staff for use in their everyday work with students. these modern tools are extremely helpful in designing intentional and impactful services, programmes and initiatives for residence life. in his recent book, student learning in college residence halls: what works, what doesn’t, and why, gregory blimling (2015) discusses how the peer environment in residence halls advances student learning through best practices for community building and designing environments that produce measurable learning outcomes. in their book living-learning communities that work: a research-based model for design, delivery, and assessment, authors kurotsuchi inkelas, jessup‑anger, benjamin and wawrzynski examine the research on the design, administration and assessment of living‑learning communities. this book highlights the importance for structuring the peer environment in college residence halls to advance student learning and how these practices support student retention, learning and success. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 christopher j. stipeck: a suggested reading list for residential life and housing research 117 apart from all the positive outcomes of living in the residence halls, the book conduct and community by hudson, holmes and holmes (2018) analyses several case studies and the experiences of experienced professionals to develop a practical resource for higher education professionals about student conduct in the on‑campus residential setting. while earlier publications emphasised the positive correlation of on‑campus living with gains for students, this book examined various aspects of student conduct in the residence halls and its impact on the experience of college students. the final three chapters and books mentioned in this reading list include comprehensive literature on the influence of residence halls on students (blimling, 1993), the process of creating campus environments that bolster student success (strange & banning, 2015) and a detailed discussion about student housing and residential life (winston, anchors & associates, 1993). this reading list offers evidence that students who have lived in college residence halls had a more enriched student learning experience, exceeded their predicted learning and development, were more involved in academic, extracurricular and social activities, and earned higher grade point averages, despite differences in ability (upcraft, 1982). moreover, there is a call for increasing internationalisation of college campuses to support the large and growing international student population in the united states, who often choose to live in the campus residence halls. this reading list will be beneficial to faculty and administrators who work with residential students and will help these stakeholders to understand the philosophy behind the work being done and to design services and programmes that support their vision. history of residence life astin, a.w. (1973). the impact of dormitory living on students. the educational record, 54, 204‑210. blimling, g.s. & miltenberger, l.j. (1981). the resident assistant: working with college students in residence halls. dubuque, ia: kendall‑hunt. keeling, r. (2006). learning reconsidered 2: a practical guide to implementing a campus-wide focus on the student experience. american college personnel association, the association of college and university housing officers – international, association of college unions international, national academic advising association, national association for campus activities, national association for students, personnel administrators and the national intramural‑recreational sports association. schroeder, c.c. & mable, p. (1994). realizing the educational potential of residence halls. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. upcraft, m.l. (1982). residence hall assistants in college. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. student learning in residence halls beeny, c.k., kolkmeier, k. & mastronardi fisette, d. (2017). learning reconsidered: making a case for basic. columbus, oh: the association of college and university housing officers‑international. blimling, g.s. (2015). student learning in college residence halls: what works, what doesn’t, and why? san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119210795 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119210795 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 115‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 living-learning communities kurotsuchi inkelas, k., jessup‑anger, j.e., benjamin, m. & wawrzynski, m.r. (2018). living-learning communities that work: a research-based model for design, delivery, and assessment. sterling, va: stylus publishing. pike, g.r. (1999). the effects of residential learning communities and traditional residential living arrangements on educational gains during the first year of college. journal of college student development, 40(3), 260‑284. pike, g.r., schroeder, c.c. & berry t.r. (1997). enhancing the educational impact of residence halls: the relationship between residential learning communities and first‑year college experiences and persistence. journal of college student development, 38(6), 609‑621. student conduct in residence life hudson, j., holmes, a. & holmes, r.c. (2018). conduct and community. columbus, oh: the association of college and university housing officers‑international. general readings blimling, g.s. (1993). the influence of college residence halls on students. in: j. smart (ed.), higher education: a handbook of theory and research, 350‑396. new york: agathon. strange, c.c. & banning, j.h. (2015). designing for learning: creating campus environments for student success. second edition. san francisco, ca: john wiley & sons. winston, r.b., anchors, s. & associates (1993). student housing and residential life. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. how to cite: goyal, n. 2020. recommended reading list: residential life, journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 115‑118. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 15‑25 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 15 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article the role of student housing in student success: an ethnographic account1 nomkhosi xulu‑gama* * dr nomkhosi xulu‑gama is honorary research associate at durban university of technology and a senior researcher at chris hani institute, south africa. email: nomkhosix@dut.ac.za abstract the role of university student housing in the lives of undergraduate students has changed. while student housing used to be understood only as a space to accommodate students who primarily come from out of town, now universities have started using student housing strategically to advance the success of the students. student housing is now used to build sustainable living and learning student environments in the interests of promotion of student access and success. through an ethnographic account, where the researcher spent two consecutive semesters living in an undergraduate university residence which accommodates 577 students, the article provides an ‘insider-outsider’ interpretation of students’ context for success from one of the south african university student residences. this article uses tinto’s theory of student integration model to frame an understanding of students’ experiences and perceptions of success. it further highlights socioeconomic hardships as well as stories of caring and partnerships that students experience in their journeys towards success. these student experiences are very relevant to their integration into the university culture and systems and are critically important to the success of the student. this article concludes that the role of student housing is key to student success as it provides various opportunities for support from fellow students and staff. keywords ethnography; student experiences; student housing; student success; university residence introduction this research has been conducted in response to the dearth of research in the field of student accommodation in south africa, as noted by the ministerial report (dhet, 2011). it is also part of the siyaphumelela (“we succeed”) research project, titled who are our students? investigating access and success of undergraduate students (xulu‑gama, nhari, alcock & cavanagh, 2018). it is in line with one of the durban university of technology’s four strategic focus areas as documented in the strategic plan, 2015‑2019 (dut, 2015). this 1 i would like to thank professor gillian hart, professor babatunde agbola and ms aisha lorgat for their comments on the drafts of this article. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:nomkhosix%40dut.ac.za?subject= 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 15‑25 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 strategic plan addresses how the university should actively work on building sustainable student communities of living and learning so that students can succeed. conducting ethnographic research attempts to bridge the gap in institutional data by presenting a qualitative context of the students who are living in the university student housing/ residence.1 methodologically, the researcher lived for one academic year with the students in one particular residence in order to observe their day‑to‑day experiences and activities. ethnographic methodology allowed access to the ‘inside’, hence providing a specific vantage point from which to understand points of success and challenges for the students towards their stories of success or failure. the main argument of this article is that student housing plays a key role as a conditioning context for student success. the article argues that as a result of being based in a residence, the students benefit from an extra set of people (staff members and senior students or peers) who look out for their academic and social needs. moreover, it argues that students at university residences have more chances of succeeding socially and academically because of the additional resources and conducive environment which are offered by the department of student housing and residence life working in collaboration with various departments of the university, as a way of building a living and learning environment for students’ success. over the past two decades, student housing has experienced rapid growth which has been driven predominantly by increased student enrolments across the globe (najib, yusof & tabassi,  2015; mccubbin, 2003). student housing departments broadly have been under enormous pressure to respond to the massification of higher education in south africa. this, in turn, has resulted in changing demographic trends (jones lang lasalle, 2016). in line with most previously black south african university residences, race and gender demographics show that black females are in the majority in student housing (parliamentary monitoring group, 2012; dhet, 2011). amongst many other things, the quality of student life as well as housing still need improvement (che, 2016). although the number of previously disadvantaged students registering at universities has increased drastically in post‑apartheid south africa, jaffer and garraway  (2016) and tinto (2014) argue that the throughput rate remains low. van  zyl  (2016) concurs that students in south african higher education find it hard to succeed. jama (2016) found that access with success has not been achieved in the south african universities. xulu‑gama, nhari, alcock and cavanagh (2018) document the experiences of access and success of students, although excluding university residence experiences. research on university residences has found a shortage of at least 207 800 beds nationally (dhet,  2011). living at university on‑campus accommodation is a privilege of the few (tinto, 2014). research points to the importance of the interaction between students and further shows that student satisfaction with student housing is a critical factor in success and retention in the campus environment (clemons, banning & mckelfresh, 2004). 1 ‘student housing’ and ‘student residence’ will be used interchangeably in this article. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 nomkhosi xulu‑gama: the role of student housing in student success … 17 there are many positive educational and social ways in which students benefit from living in a university residence. najib, yusof and abidin (2011) and godshall (2000) draw our attention towards the importance of the role played by student residences in expanding intellectual capacities and achieving educational objectives. scholars argue that student housing plays a vital role in the social and academic success of the students (clemons et al.,  2004; christie, munro & rettig, 2002). najib, yusof and tabassi (2015) argue that student housing providing high‑quality services has a positive influence on students’ behavioural intentions as well as their personal attainments. student housing policies can impact student success in academic programmes (sebokedi,  2009). case (2015) argues that the traditionalist view focuses on student difficulties in isolation from the broader conditioning context. pansiri and sinkamba (2017) and tinto (2014) accordingly advocate for the programmes aimed at student success to be extended beyond the classroom. they further argue that this should be done as part of the university’s goal of improving student experience. there is an acknowledgement of the importance of knowing who our students are and this is indicated by the growing literature in this area (xulu‑gama, et al., 2018; taylor & sobel, 2011; kangas, budros & yoshika, 2000). dixon and durrheim (2000, p. 27) discuss questions of ‘who we are’ and how that is often intertwined with ‘where we are’. this knowledge is seen as important as it then informs educational practices, university systems and processes as well as academic development initiatives (kangas et al., 2000; taylor & sobel, 2011). tinto (2014) argues that providing student access without support does not constitute an opportunity (jama, 2016). durban university of technology has a residence educational programme (rep) which is driven by the centre for excellence in learning and teaching (celt) and the department of student housing and residence life. the rep forms part of the process of building sustainable student communities of living and learning so that students can succeed. it is an intervention aimed at increasing and enhancing holistic student success. the contribution of tutors, mentors and advisors (tmas) is designed to complement formal lectures where meaningful interaction between lecturer and students is often limited. this programme is rolled out to all university residences, taking different forms and activities, according to the needs of the residence as identified by the ra (residence advisor) working in collaboration with the department of student housing and residence life. tinto’s theory of student integration is based on the idea that a student has to have a reasonable level of integration both socially and academically at the university. he argues that a lack of proper integration in either can result in the student dropping out of the university. he also maintains that too much integration on either the social aspect or the academic aspect can also result in an unbalanced university life, leading to the student dropping out. the student needs to be able to maintain a balance between these two aspects (tinto, 1975). the major criticism of this theory is its failure to recognise the individual psychological features that could expose the student to giving up (mccubbin,  2003). 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 15‑25 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 according to tinto  (1975), academic integration directly influences the student’s goal commitment while social integration directly influences his (or her) commitment to the specific institution (see also mccubbin, 2003). mccubbin (2003) further claims that tinto’s student integration model is too ambitious in trying to explain a full range of student attrition behaviour. this article, through ethnographic research, documents the context and experiences of students which are part of their journey to success at university. it focuses on the key issues of student housing in relation to their conditions for success, survival strategies and family relationships. the researcher’s epistemic and cultural access provides vantage points from which data has been accessed and analysed. the researcher, an academic staff member of the university, played the role of ra with the intention of collecting data through ethnography for this particular study. this was made known to the department of student housing and residence life at the time of the application for the ra position. the core business of the ra is to assist, mentor, advise and monitor the social and academic progress and success of students in residences. research methods this study employed a qualitative research paradigm specifically using ethnography and participant observation as data collection methods. ethnography is about maintaining physical and social proximity to the people as they go about their everyday activities. the researcher enters the research site with the intention of getting to know the people and of developing an understanding of the meanings and the values that they attach to their everyday lives (emerson, 1995). it allows the researcher to provide an insider‑outsider interpretation of their everyday lives. participant observation is a research instrument that is engaged by ethnography (herbert, 2000). it is a process whereby the researcher enters a community in its natural setting for the purpose of developing a scientific understanding of the lives, systems and values of the people in that community. ethnographers unearth what people take for granted (herbert, 2000). ethnography, while it involves no systematic method at all, produces an in‑depth understanding of real‑world social processes (forsythe, 1999). ethnography was conducted in one of the university residences, ngunyeweni residence (pseudonym). ngunyeweni is located on the periphery of the city and it accommodates 577 male and female african undergraduate students. it has 210 rooms, each of which is shared between two to four students and the sizes of the rooms differ accordingly. ngunyeweni residence should be understood as a vantage point from which we can begin to understand some of the key threads of student lives leading to or failing to lead to success at the universities’ student housing. ethnography has been used, with full consciousness of the major criticism against it, such as the claim that it is unscientific, that it is too limited to enable generalisations and that it is not representative (herbert, 2000). however, using ethnography is learning to see (original emphasis) social institutions in a way that problematises certain phenomena. ethnography is an exercise of epistemological discipline (forsythe, 1999). emerson (1995, p. 3) encourages us to understand that https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 nomkhosi xulu‑gama: the role of student housing in student success … 19 “consequential presence” should not be seen as “contaminating” what is observed and learned but rather as a revelation of ongoing patterns of social interaction. there is a need to understand the contexts at the micro‑level in which our students live. analysis of large sets of institutional quantitative data is never fully complete without access to the qualitative data. researchers are becoming more aware and beginning to appreciate that there is a story behind every number. this understanding allows us to delve into certain complexities which are easier to comprehend once one understands the context (santhanam, ashford‑rowe & murphy, 2017). research findings conditioning context for student success residence life is a unique student experience associated with special benefits (radder & han,  2009). residence becomes a new temporal home for many students who have to leave their homes in order to be closer to campus. a home is an environment that can exhibit a sense of place for the student (clemons et al., 2004). cuseo (2007) notes that student success is enhanced by human interaction, collaboration and formation of interpersonal connections between students and other members of the university. student housing programmes provide students with opportunities to participate in different leadership structures (swartz, 2010). at ngunyeweni residence, amongst many other essential structures, there is a house committee, which is composed of students who are elected and this excludes first‑year students. the committee and the ra are provided with various training programmes to help carry out their roles and responsibilities. the house committee along with the ras respectively develop a plan of action, which needs to be approved by the senior residence life officer. programmes need to be inclusive of academic and social activities and aimed at student integration and success. they are prepared partly in consultation with students and in response to their social and academic needs. for most students, campus is the only place where they meet and engage (tinto, 2014). however, by the mere fact of being accommodated at a university student residence, students have more time to meet and get to know each other. for study purposes, this is more beneficial for students who are registered in the same programme. being based at a student residence improves access to university facilities such as the library for research and study purposes. the library closes at 10:00 p.m. every day from monday to thursday and hours are extended during the examination period. there are buses that transport students in the evening from residences to campuses and back from monday to thursday at 6:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. students use this time for either individual, formal or informal group study on campus. travelling by bus to campus in the evening is preferred by those students who do not wish to use residence study areas. students who do not have computers or laptops also have easier access to computer laboratories on campus. students living at residences have access to additional evening tutorial classes. they can choose which specific subjects they feel they need more support with. these tutorial classes 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 15‑25 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 are voluntary and there is no limit to their choice of subjects. celt, through rep, allocates students into groups accordingly and generates a timetable for those extra evening tutorials. ras assist in facilitation of the logistical arrangement of these classes. being based at a university residence means continuous wi‑fi access for students’ online learning and research. students are demanding more comfort and creative features in their residences, dstv connection, more heating or cooling systems. they are claiming those things which they believe they have a right to. department of student housing and residence life gives students more opportunities to participate in various recreational, cultural and spiritual activities. students are confronted with diversity and opportunities to integrate at many levels (najib et al., 2011). the actual individual residences are also pots of diversity with differences in gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, language, religion and qualification registered for. travelling from student residences to campus and back takes less time than moving from off‑campus residences or family homes to campus. students in residence can save up to three hours of travelling, which they can use towards their studies or relaxing. this also means that no funds are directly spent on bus fare. less time is spent on house chores, which most students understand take a lot of time, especially female students living in their family homes. this directly translates to saving time and having more time to relax, study or socialise. social integration as conditioning context for student success being in residence for students, creates not only physical distance but also psychosocial distance from their families. when students get to residence, they have to create new associations and also find new and different survival strategies from the ones they were using while at high school or at home. students made various positive references to the supportive and mutual relationships they have with their fellow students, who are also their friends and with whom they live together in residence. most students claimed that their friends are more important than their families. “a friend is a person who knows and understands you better than your family,” one student uttered. more than one student made reference to how there is always judgement coming from family, whereas a friend does not judge but rather supports you in all you do. family is seen as a selfish circle of support as they expect students to do things according to family values in terms of aspects such as sexual orientation, substance abuse and career choice. on the other hand, by virtue of the mere fact of being in residence, students have an opportunity to reconstruct their identities based on their own preferred values and beliefs. the idea of having friends at a university residence is important for this study because it speaks to the social integration of tinto’s student integration model. tinto (1975) argues that if a student is socially well‑integrated within the university system, there is a greater chance of academic integration and success. for the purposes of this study, having a good circle of friends (as defined by students) at university is interpreted as an indication of some degree of social integration into the university system. for students in residences, the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 nomkhosi xulu‑gama: the role of student housing in student success … 21 kind of friendships are mostly along the lines of roommates, floor or residence mates. the other set of friends are the ones with whom one studies the same subjects, or who come from the same geographical origins, especially the rural areas. sometimes these categories of friendships are intertwined. these are important sets of people who are in a position to assist academically and socially. one student explained that friendship is not always about influencing each other, it is often about supporting each other in whatever each one likes, as part of proclaiming their identity. she argued that one must appreciate the other’s differences and learn from each other. another student maintained that a friend is somebody who actually feeds you, not only with food when you are hungry, but also with drugs when you are in need of intoxication. a number of students admitted to being addicted to various substances, such as dagga and codeine. they offered different explanations about how or why they became addicted. some use these substances to deal with the harsh home environments that continue to confront them even when they are in university residence. some use them as a way of dealing with the academic pressure as well as peer pressure associated with being a university student. in the midst of such pressure, friendships are very highly valued by students because friends do not judge each other in situations where families would be inclined to reprimand them for their choices. this study, through participant observation, confirmed the widespread presence of hungry students at university residences. so, while students can miss opportunities to be fed by certain organisations of the university, because of fear of stigmatisation, they can never hide the reality of not having food from their roommates. the reality of hungry students2 was always brought to the attention of the ra not by the hungry student, but by roommates. discussion the university has a responsibility and has committed itself to building a sustainable living and learning environment for students which, for the purposes of this article, is understood as a conditioning context for success. unlike in the past, where university residence was just a place for students to be accommodated so that they could be geographically closer to the campus environment, student housing is now a place where students live and learn. the learning, as much as the living, is facilitated by the university. this research shows that the university has done well in providing human resources, as has been shown in the roles played by the ra, house committee and tmas, which maintain an environment 2 some students have to work while studying in order to be able to feed themselves while at residence. a few students have to work to supplement payment for their tuition fees. some have to work to support the families they left at home. some have to work because they are parents themselves. they need to support their children, who remain at home with their parents or relatives. some students are orphans and have to play the role of household head to their younger siblings. most students get support from their grandparents, especially grandmothers, who primarily rely on the social grant for the elderly. while they are at university fighting their challenges on campus and at residence, they still have to deal with socioeconomic difficulties at home. 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 15‑25 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 conducive to success for students. all their programmes are designed in response to students’ needs, e.g. substance abuse. furthermore, the election of second‑, third‑, or fourth‑year students into the house committee and to be tmas allows them an opportunity to share their experience and knowledge acquired in the previous year(s) with all students. so the students get a chance to learn from the house committee members about matters that are both academic and social in nature. the university has provided facilities for students to pursue their academic goals at the university. some of those resources are as follows: bus transportation, computer laboratories, library, sports, tmas programmes, leadership and entrepreneurial programmes as well as cultural activities. however, when it comes to social integration as a conditioning context for success, the findings above demonstrate that this is a complex area. individual students have personal reasons regarding why they become friends with some and not with certain other people; why they would come forward when hungry or why they would not. previous research (de  klerk, spark, jones & maleswena, 2017; manik, 2015; dhet, 2011) had already established that there are hungry students at universities. it had further been established that students are reluctant to respond to the programmes for the hungry students because they do not want to be seen as poor (manik, 2015). hungry students are one big challenge that the universities possibly will not be able to prevent because of the varied family backgrounds from which south african universities continue to receive students. gofen (2009) refers to families’ habits, priorities, belief systems and values as non‑material resources with which previously disadvantaged families provide their first‑ generation students on their journeys at university. he further argues that although students face many challenges, their families are often facilitators of their success. while gofen’s research might be true, the findings of this study provide a different lens through which one can look at the non‑material support that families give students, with specific reference to those at residences. students are actually challenging that part of what we mostly see as support but which they see as selfish acts by their families. students’ base at the residence gives them freedom to become who they want to be and free to choose how to deal with pressing circumstances. conclusion student success is broader than academic success, with the latter normally narrowing to the end‑of‑semester or end‑of‑year results. student success speaks to the rounded identity of the student as a responsible citizen, inclusive of cultural, leadership, social and academic qualities. using tinto’s theory of student integration, this study has focused more on the social integration of students because university residence was chosen as a research site. the intention of the study was also to focus on the qualitative data by the use of ethnography as a data collection method on student success versus the institutional quantitative data on student success. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 nomkhosi xulu‑gama: the role of student housing in student success … 23 this research has shown that student housing gives students the freedom to explore and determine their own identities away from familial and home pressures. it has shown that the perceived unconditional family support actually has strings attached. the support provided by the university in the form of resources also allows students to develop alternative social support systems in the form of friendships. it can be concluded that the lives of students in residence are not linear, which would often assume that their academic lives are not affected by other associations in their lives. the success of the student is made up of a mix of healthy and sometimes unhealthy relationships. the strategic positioning of student housing in building sustainable communities of living and learning uncovers the often not‑so‑obvious connections between academic success and students’ socioeconomic backgrounds and their psycho‑social issues. these findings have cautioned us that we should never take for granted the role of the family and friends in the student’s life. as varied and complex as are the student backgrounds, so are the kind of relationships they have with their families and friends. these findings have also shown that integration should not only be regarded as positive as it can also enhance peer pressure, e.g. in substance abuse. from the initiatives of the university of building a living and learning student environment, a one‑size‑fits‑all approach in supporting students cannot work 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(2010). presentation to the national conference of the south african chapter of the association of college and university housing officers international. unpublished powerpoint presentation, durban. taylor, s. & sobel, d. (2011). culturally responsive pedagogy: teaching like our students’ lives matter. bingley, u.k.: emerald. https://doi.org/10.1163/9781780520315 tinto, v. (1975). dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research. review of educational research, 45(1), 89‑125. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south african lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5‑26. https://doi. org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 van zyl, a. (2016). the contours of inequality: the links between socio‑economic status of students and other variables at the university of johannesburg. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(1), 1‑16. https:// doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 xulu‑gama, n., nhari, s.r., alcock, a. & cavanagh, m. (2018). a student centered approach: a qualitative exploration of how students experience access and success in a south african university of technology. higher education research & development, 37(6), 1302‑1314. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 07294360.2018.1473844 how to cite: xulu‑gama, n. (2019). the role of student housing in student success: an ethnographic account. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 15‑25. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 https://doi.org/10.1163/9781780520315 https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1473844 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1473844 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3822 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 79-94 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3596   79 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article an exploratory study of the effects of the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown on the emotional and social wellbeing of students enrolled at a university of technology nalini govender,* poovendhree reddy** & raisuyah bhagwan*** abstract this qualitative descriptive study explored the effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on the emotional and social well-being of students enrolled at the durban university of technology, south africa. a sample of students was selected across all levels of study ( first, second and third years and postgraduates), using convenience sampling. data saturation was reached after interviewing the fifteenth participant on microsoft teams. the interview schedule included details on understanding how the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown affected students’ emotional and social well-being. interviews were recorded, transcribed and subjected to content and thematic analyses. four broad themes emerged, viz., fears associated with coronavirus and its transmission; the lockdown experience; personal anxiety and mental health; as well as financial distress. our study highlights the potential risks associated with the emotional and mental health status of our cohort in the advent of the covid-19 lockdowns that characterised the immediate responses of the south african government and institutions of higher learning to the pandemic outbreak. these data may assist our understanding of the possible adverse effects on emotional and social well-being amongst a university population. these are important factors for higher education institutions to consider in order to provide better mental health support to students. keywords coronavirus, transmission, lockdown, personal anxiety, mental health, financial distress introduction the recurring f luctuations in covid-19 infection rates have seen many countries shift between varying levels of “lockdown”. while the lockdown strategy has been essential in curbing the exponential rise of covid-19 cases, it has increased anxiety and adversely affected mental strength (shigemura et al., 2020). university students * nalini govender is senior lecturer in the department of basic medical sciences at the durban university of technology, south africa. email: nalinip@dut.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-4047-6340. ** professor poovendhree reddy is full professor and senior lecturer in the department of community health studies at the durban university of technology, south africa. email: poovier@dut.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-0197-8951. *** professor raisuyah bhagwan is full professor in the department of community health studies at the durban university of technology, south africa. email: bhagwanr@dut.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-15849432. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:nalinip@dut.ac.za mailto:bhagwanr@dut.ac.za 80   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 79-94 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3596 are prone to loneliness, characterised by a psychological state that predicts poor mental health outcomes (auerbach et al., 2016; bruffaerts et al., 2018; hunt & eisenberg, 2010; vasileiou et al., 2019). the current pandemic adds to the academic, social and personal stresses that this population is subjected to and may substantially impact the academic and mental health of the university milieu in the longer term (araújo et al., 2020; sahu, 2020). the suspension of in-person classes by universities in efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus resulted in students expressing concerns regarding their education, socioeconomic issues, the safety of their families, and their education, thereby predisposing them to increased anxiety (zhai & du, 2020). high anxiety levels amongst a chinese medical college student cohort were significantly correlated with factors such as being in contact with a covid-19 positive patient (cao et al., 2020). in albania, quarantine procedures significantly inf luenced depression levels amongst nursing and midwifery university students and their families, emphasising the necessity of mental health service provision during quarantine (mechili et al., 2021). depression levels increased to almost 60.9% during the lockdown among a greek university cohort (kaparounaki et al., 2020). in china, no change was noted in the incidence of depression or other mental health issues amongst those resuming face-to-face employment during the pandemic, which may be attributed to renewed self-assurance achieved during psychoneuroimmunity prevention practices prior to work recommencement (tan et al., 2020). in a spanish university group, however, covid-19 quarantine measures resulted in higher impact of event scale (ies) scores associated with anxiety, depression, and stress amongst students (odriozola-gonzález et al., 2020). it is possible that the high ies scores observed may be attributed to a more pragmatic attitude and the varying discipline-specific training students receive. similarly, wang and colleagues demonstrated significant emotional and adverse mental health symptoms associated with anxiety, stress, and depression, albeit in a general population in china (wang et al., 2020). the consequences linked to academic progress is likely to adversely affect the emotional and mental health status of students. an exploratory report evaluating changes in social networks and mental health in swiss undergraduates identified covid-19 related stressors, such as physical and societal isolation and limited emotional assistance, as significant correlates with negative mental health symptoms (elmer et al., 2020). limited physical access to universities and social distancing may contribute negatively to the social integration of the student, resulting in feelings of isolation and increased vulnerability to further emotional and mental health symptoms. due to the national lockdown associated with the covid-19 pandemic, the emotional and mental health of south african youth aged between 18–35 years was also evaluated using the 10-item centre for epidemiological studies on depression scale (mudiriza & de lannoy, 2020). findings from this web-based cross-sectional investigation demonstrated a 72% prevalence of depressive symptoms amongst this age group. the findings indicate that mental health issues among youth require closer scrutiny (mudiriza & de lannoy, 2020). nalini govender, poovendhree reddy & raisuyah bhagwan: an exploratory study of the effects …   81 it is also important to understand the lived experiences of students from africa, more specifically south africa, with regard to lockdown, as limited resources and infrastructure may adversely impact on emotional and social well-being. of note, approximately 89% of the south african learners lack the basic online learning necessities such as personal computers, laptops and/or internet access, consequently reducing the success rates of remote learning (mhlanga & moloi, 2020). despite the support received from the south african government regarding the continuation of teaching and learning amidst the covid-19 lockdown (dube, 2020), the limited access to information and communication technologies (ict) and personal electronic tools remains a major issue for many, which can adversely impact the emotional and social well-being of the student (dube, 2020). based on the quantitative findings reported by dube (2020), it was prudent to undertake a qualitative enquiry to understand the underlying reasons for this decline in the mental health and social well-being of this vulnerable population. hence, we explored the impact of the pandemic and the lockdown on the emotional and social well-being of students enrolled at a university of technology (uot) in an attempt to understand the possible ramifications on their mental health. methods research design this study adopted a descriptive qualitative design. the study was exploratory in nature, with the objective of understanding the experiences of students related to the covid-19 pandemic. the study took the position that students’ experiences related to the pandemic were important, given that it could enhance knowledge related to the psycho-social effects of covid-19 on university students. the use of semistructured one-on-one interviews was considered most appropriate, given the pursuit of the subjective experiences and situational meanings of the participants’ experiences (liamputtong, 2010). taking an interpretivist position, these methods were used to reveal participants’ subjective life experiences, regarding the covid-19 pandemic. study participants the participants were drawn from the faculty of health sciences at a uot in durban. the researchers approached the executive dean of the faculty for permission to recruit students to participate. given that this was an exploratory study, non-probability sampling strategies, specifically convenience sampling was used to guide sample selection. convenience sampling is a type of non-probability or non-random sampling where members of the target population that meet certain practical criteria, such as easy accessibility, geographical proximity, availability at a given time, or the willingness to participate, are included for the purpose of the study (dörnyei, 2007). participants were recruited from three different departments in the faculty and included both undergraduate and postgraduate students. fifteen students participated in the study, 82   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 79-94 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3596 with the majority aged between 19–25 years, of which 14 were females. data collection continued until saturation was achieved with the fifteenth participant. data collection data was collected between july and august 2020. students were recruited through liaison with the department heads in the faculty of health sciences. to achieve the study objectives, the interviews were semi-structured in nature which allowed f lexibility in data collection. a pre-determined interview schedule was used to facilitate the same. the interview guide (table 1) was developed by the team of researchers in accordance with the objectives. since this was a qualitative study, the guide was not pilot tested as it allowed for f lexibility in terms of adding probing questions. the advantage of semi-structured interviews is their capacity to invite the interviewee’s experiences and encourage broader dialogue, while remaining confined to the focus of the research (brinkmann, 2014). interviews were held online via microsoft (ms) teams due to lockdown regulations. interviews lasted between 30 and 60  minutes and were audio recorded. table 1: interview guide questions that guided the interview 1. can you share with me how you experienced the covid-19 pandemic? 2. probe: did you understand the physical aspects of its transmission and its effects? 3. can you describe how you understood the lockdown … (probe: where was this)? 4. can you share with me what the experience of the lockdown was for you and your immediate family? 5. what were some of the anxieties and stresses you experienced a) personally, and b) academically? 6. can you describe some of the most challenging moments for a) yourself, and b) your family? 7. what was the experience of being disconnected from normal university life and how did it affect you and your studies? 8. what are some of the ways that the university can support you once normal campus activity resumes? ethical considerations the study was approved by the durban university of technology institutional research ethics committee (irec 061/20). informed consent was obtained from the students prior to their participation (kendrick et al., 2008), with written information regarding the study provided in english. volunteers were also given choice around participation, including the time of interview and audio recording. participants were clearly informed of the non-compulsory nature of the research, and that they could withdraw and/or cease from participating at any time, thereby minimising the potential for coercion. nalini govender, poovendhree reddy & raisuyah bhagwan: an exploratory study of the effects …   83 strategies applied to enhance trustworthiness the four criteria of credibility, dependability, conformability, and transferability were used to ensure the trustworthiness of the study (guba & lincoln, 1994). credibility was ensured as all three researchers were employed at the university and were familiar with the culture of the setting. participants were asked to provide honest responses, by reassuring them that there were no “correct” responses to any questions. those who agreed to participate were further allowed to refuse participation, such that data collection included only those willing to partake and offer data freely. data analysis was undertaken by an experienced qualitative researcher and involved individual analysis together with group discussion and interrogation of the emerging categories with two other researchers. hence credibility was achieved as the themes and conclusions were confirmed by three researchers from different disciplines. transferability was achieved by providing a description of the higher education context to allow sufficient detail for the reader. a detailed description of the research process has been provided to assist with dependability. confirmability was achieved through keeping records and transcripts of all interviews. data analysis data analysis first involved completing a data extraction table to record key participant data including age and gender. interviews were transcribed verbatim which formed the corpus of data that underwent analysis for this study. data were analysed for coding by a team of three co-coders and the thematic analysis process drew on the work by braun and colleagues (braun et al., 2019). analyses involved familiarising the researchers with the data, which was achieved by listening to the audio tapes several times. this was followed by a reading of the verbatim transcriptions, discussions, ref lecting on the data and re-reading of the transcripts. initial codes were developed to encapsulate and mirror important concepts and participant experiences in the data (flynn & mcdermott, 2016), followed by a broader search for themes and relationships. this process was essentially inductive, with the intent of keeping analysis close to participants’ experiences that were significant and meaningful to them (boyatzis, 1998). results and discussion we sought to understand how the pandemic and lockdowns inf luenced the emotional and social well-being of uot health sciences students. current challenges experienced by university students may be seen as existing on a continuum. the pandemic intensified existing social and economic inequalities amongst vulnerable and marginalised groups, while creating new challenges related to wellness and mental health (naidoo & cartwright, 2020). four broad themes emerged in the data, viz., fears associated with coronavirus and its transmission; the lockdown experience; personal anxiety and mental health; and financial distress. for all themes, direct participant quotes are italicized and are described. 84   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 79-94 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3596 theme 1: fears associated with coronavirus and its transmission theme 1 highlighted the limited understanding regarding transmission, spread and impact of the coronavirus on personal health. seemingly, students’ risk perception was inf luenced by an initial lack of understanding of covid-19 and the transmission process. this uncertainty may have contributed to increased fear and worry and stricter self-isolation, which could lead to feelings of loneliness and despair. participant 2, 3 and 4 shared similar accounts: i was really scared to travel because the same transport we are using maybe there is a person who is positive since it can be easily transmitted. (p2) i try by all means to make sure that i don’t get exposed to the outside world. (p3) i was really afraid to go out because in the beginning they weren’t even sure about how the virus is being transferred ... someone saying you can get it through the air, some were saying not. (p4) in the faculty of health sciences, students who needed to complete laboratory practicals and clinical work were eventually allowed back on campus into specific residences under covid-19 protocols. however, insecurities relating to coronavirus transmission led to increased anxiety among many students returning to campus after the lockdown: it can be easily transmitted because we are using the same bathroom, using the same sink, we are using most of the things that we have … in my residence, in my room, we are sharing them ... it’s highly transmissible to us since we are like four. (p2) this virus is very different from the other viruses because you could be walking around with this virus and you could be asymptomatic ... you don’t show any symptoms, but you could be infecting ten other people, you know. (p5) a limited knowledge about covid-19 is reported to worsen mental health by increasing anxiety, depression, interpersonal problems, and substance use (; zhao et al., 2020; zhong et al., 2020). self-imposed isolation represents an extreme disruption to social life and can aggravate loneliness (killgore et al., 2020), as well as prevent student access to emotional and psychological support, even if it is peer support. during the pandemic, electronic/social media contributed to an exponential growth in individual knowledge regarding the virus, resulting in an “infodemic” as well as dissemination of inaccuracies regarding the spread and treatment of covid-19. moreover, the fear emanating from the “infodemic” escalated anxiety, predisposing many to mental ill-health. hence, it is possible that this information overload can result in fear and distress associated with feelings of hopelessness. i think they overwhelmed us with information they gave. they put too much pressure on the topic. and it wasn’t healthy. so i think they should have limited the amount of information they were putting out because some of them weren’t even legitimate and they were scaring everyone. (p4) dealing with self-quarantine, panic associated with becoming infected and the stigma of being infected thus increased the risk of stress amongst many. findings from a south nalini govender, poovendhree reddy & raisuyah bhagwan: an exploratory study of the effects …   85 african university highlight the discomfort experienced by many students during the lockdown, and the consequent feelings of social disconnection and adjustment issues associated with academia (visser & law-van wyk, 2021). moreover, first-year students in their cohort seemed to experience greater emotional struggles than older students, possibly because of inadequately developed coping skills. when i heard about the virus, i just couldn’t believe it, i just thought that everything is going to end ... we just going to die and having to realize that so many people around the world are affected by this. being in a developing country, i actually just thought everything is going to be havoc after that. (p8) in china, an increase in stress levels was also associated with concerns about family members contracting covid-19 (charles et al., 2021). consequently, constant fears and misconceptions about covid-19 may have resulted in emotional disorders (akdeniz et al., 2020). in our study, major concerns over loved ones, especially for the elderly, parents and family with pre-existing comorbidities, was shared by participants. my mom also happens to be a frontline worker ... one of her challenges is being able to fulfil all those work hours, but also making sure that she’s not contracting the virus and making sure she’s maintaining a social distance at work. (p7) my sister happens to be type one diabetic with renal complications. and so one thing i was constantly concerned of was if it had been transmitted from me to her, if i was infected, my biggest concern and still is giving the virus to someone else, whether that be a family member or someone else. (p7) theme 2: lockdown experience in theme 2, the stress associated with experiencing the lockdown and consequences for personal health were highlighted. the abrupt shutdown of south african higher education institutions and student confinement to their homes under national lockdown regulations, represented a profound loss of freedom and autonomy for students (naidoo & cartwright, 2020). the academic infrastructure provided by universities (i.e. access to libraries and internet connectivity) supports students’ ability to meet academic requirements. the sudden and enforced move back to their homes, however, created major distress as, for many, their home environments were not conducive to learning activities. students may have overlooked the severity of the threat of covid-19 while still at university prior to the lockdown. however, as soon as they were forced to leave the university due to the lockdown restrictions, the personal impact was felt and they began to acknowledge the crisis. participants 8 and 9 share similar accounts: firstly, i don’t want to go home because all of a sudden you just told to go home with all the plans that you have made. but then on the other hand, you also fearing that maybe this is actually more serious, than you actually think. (p8) it was a bad experience because first of all, we were not aware of it and it inf luenced us badly because now we had to leave school and go back home and the lockdown restricted us to do the things that we had to do before. (p9) 86   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 79-94 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3596 the lockdown was an important strategy to break the chain of transmission, but it also created restlessness and boredom. domestic confinement appears to be more difficult for impoverished students living in homes with poor infrastructure, overcrowding, and severe spatial constraints with limited privacy and/or opportunities for studying and relaxation (naidoo & cartwright, 2020). the confinement left some feeling isolated and stressed, socially disconnected. the most difficult parts now because you see we are from rural areas. so definitely no one wants to be stuck in rural areas because there are no facilities for us as young children as young adults. (p3) we are not really from an advantaged background, its really disadvantaged. so you see we have to share bedrooms and all that. so now having to have my quality space or some quiet space, it’s really difficult because we are sharing a room. (p3) we were so stressed that we were not even going out of our yard. when they said lockdown all of us were just in our house. but then we started to realize that what it means is that you just don’t go to public gatherings and go out to. (p5) participant 11 voiced her concern about the implications of the lockdown restrictions for families with issues such as domestic violence and abuse. the notion that such victims remained trapped in their abusive environment, with limited recourse for outside assistance bears reference to the ongoing discussion about gender-based violence during the lockdown periods and beyond. lockdown meant no contact with the outside world. we should remain isolated with our families. that being said, i also thought what would happen to those who have to be forced to stay indoors in an environment where they are subjected to abuse, violence or depression. for us it was okay because it was time we could use to spend with our families, but for others the circumstances could not have been the same. it would have been their worst nightmare that no one could really help them with. (p11) theme 3: personal anxiety and mental health mental health support during public health emergencies is imperative. this theme highlighted the impact of the pandemic on personal mental health and well-being. the mental health status of university students during the covid-19 pandemic should be prioritised, particularly as mental disorders that first appear during young adulthood can negatively impact developmental trajectories through reduced educational achievement, increased substance use, and poor health behaviours (sun et al., 2021). participant 2, 5 and 9 reported: i was really scared because you can’t see if a person is positive with this virus, you can’t see the person. (p2) it was very stressful because, remember, the only thing we did, we were watching news because it’s something that’s unprecedented. it’s never happened before. so we take so much of uncertainty, you know, so we just sit and watch the news and check updates on the virus and how many people are infected and how many people died. (p5) nalini govender, poovendhree reddy & raisuyah bhagwan: an exploratory study of the effects …   87 i’m so scared of covid-19 because people are dying. so, i was so stressed because i didn’t even know what’s going on. so, the first time that i experienced the lockdown in my whole life so i was so stressed. (p9) findings from a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies exploring the link between covid-19 lockdown and mental health, confirms a disparate psychological impact within various social clusters, settings, and nations (prati & mancini, 2021). these findings, however, cannot be generalised across countries, as data from various geographical regions like south america and africa were unavailable for interrogation in the meta-analyses. in south africa, mental health support is essential since students are already navigating multiple challenges including difficulties with finances, depression, sleeping, family and personal relationship problems, anxiety, as well as academic issues (bantjes et al., 2019; laher et al., 2021; schreiber, 2007). notably, the south african national lockdown associated with the covid-19 pandemic negatively inf luenced both academia and the physical health of socioeconomically disadvantaged students registered at a university based in a rural area (makgahlela et al., 2021). students there reported experiencing major challenges in accessing remote learning because of inadequate access to ict tools, data and internet connectivity. these findings confirm that rural-based universities require major support from both government and private sectors to improve ict infrastructures and provide physical and mental health support to maintain their basic right to teaching and learning (makgahlela et al., 2021). tellingly, university healthcare services were identified as convenient medical care access sites for many students, access to which was thus compromised by the lockdown, leaving the general physical health needs of such students neglected. feelings of depression and the sense of heading towards mental breakdown were also reported, although none sought professional assistance. the excerpts below are self reported: days became weeks and weeks became months up to a point where i actually had a breakdown. (p8) i was so depressed. first of all, it was schoolwork because, since i’m doing my last year, i was worried when i’m going to start my research, my master’s, and i was also worried about home since my mom and dad was not working anymore on how we were going to survive. (p9) zhai and du (2020) highlight the effectiveness of health-support mechanisms such as online counselling support via social media (zhai & du, 2020), a practice which is corroborated by others (cao et al., 2020; irawan et al., 2020) as a major support structure. online counselling support thus holds the potential of contributing towards improving teaching and learning, as well as the physical, social and mental health of students during the pandemic and in their emergence from the lockdown. anxiety, fear and feelings related to stress and depression emerged from several participants. students worried about becoming infected, and the media updates seemed to exacerbate their 88   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 79-94 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3596 anxiety levels. it is possible that following new case (incidence) and death (mortality) counts updated on a daily basis may be associated with increased levels of fear and anxiety. medical students are reported to have experienced unparalleled levels of depression and anxiety under the prevailing global pandemic situation (islam et al., 2020), which may be attributed to their anxiety about their future roles as frontline healthcare professionals (rakhmanov & dane, 2020). in our study, participants shared feelings of fear and anxiety as well as sustained sleep loss: i could barely sleep. i couldn’t do anything because there was this uncertainty. all the time you thinking about this and especially the death rates, the death, every time you’re hearing someone die. (p4) i went to a general practitioner, i had difficulty sleeping. i told her with the virus outbreak, i actually saw the end of everything because this was supposed to be my last year in a varsity, where i actually next year wanted to get a job and also pursue with my studies further. so, i just saw everything [as] pointless. so it was rather emotional and hard to accept. (p8) sleep disturbances together with somatic complaints such as back pain, eye strain, increased headaches, migraines and stomach cramps associated with the covid-19 pandemic was also reported by another student cohort (laher et al., 2021). in our study, a major concern reported was the fear associated with inadvertently transmitting covid-19 to others and bearing the guilt and responsibility for transmission: the biggest concern that i had was that fear. i was just very concerned about being the one that, you know, spreads that to someone else, whether it be a stranger or a family member. i have a real fear that i’m going to make someone else sick and be blamed for someone else’s death. (p7) stigma and discrimination has been associated with covid-19, particularly during the initial stages of the pandemic. we learnt from south africa’s public health responses to hiv and the hiv/tb co-infection that stigma and social isolation negatively impact prevention campaigns and may cause reluctance to get tested (padmanabhanunni & pretorius, 2021). a similar pattern has been observed with covid-19, and needs addressing through community outreach and support programmes, as well as increased information literacy. students in this study also shared their concerns related to social isolation. simple everyday tasks such as shopping or using public transport (e.g. taxis) created episodes of fear and anxiety related to contracting covid-19. in spite of the fearfulness, the level of understanding and knowledge related to the transmission and prevention of covid-19 was good; however, panic associated with “knowing too much” may have aggravated fear. fear emanating from the information overload exacerbated feelings of anxiety amongst many as they continued with daily activities such going out to buy basic necessities. whenever i would go out to the shops and stuff, we’d always be left on panic mode, you also very stressed out. and when you go out, you know, so most of the anxiety was related to that going out and hoping that you don’t mistakenly touch something, because i have a very bad habit of touching nalini govender, poovendhree reddy & raisuyah bhagwan: an exploratory study of the effects …   89 my face. it’s sometimes … an involuntary action, you know ... my fiancé is an essential worker. so personally i was very stressed out because he would be out there. (p5) so it’s been stressful because some of the people do not wear their mask even the taxi drivers, their helpers do not wear a mask. they will take full loads of people without making sure that everyone is safe and giving them sanitizer when they’re in the taxi. so you have to think a lot when have to go out of what to do and how to make sure that you are safe at all times. (p6) university students experienced disruptions in their living situations, financial status, education and social lives. participants shared concern about their academic progress and employment and referred to these as additional sources of distress. feel overwhelmed and scared at the same time? i’m asking my friends who were job hunting and some of them are saying they actually don’t want a job right now, their lives are going to be in danger. (p4) given that approximately 20% of college students are reported to have a mental health disorder, though many go untreated (auerbach et al., 2016), the advent of the covid-19 pandemic has left this population at particular risk (charles et al., 2021). a global study examining experiences of students in 62 countries found that students expressed concerns about their academic and professional careers, as well as feelings of boredom, anxiety and frustration (browning et al., 2021). increased anger, sadness, anxiety and fear were also reported by students in china (cao et al., 2020). students in switzerland reported a decrease in social interaction and higher levels of stress, anxiety and loneliness (akdeniz et al., 2020). providing space for mental self-care in the curriculum may help unpack issues that normally seem taboo, so that students are not afraid or embarrassed to seek assistance when required. moreover, universities should consider disseminating webinars on mental health education and self-care programmes, with support and/or referral being readily available after the presentations. these initiatives may enhance students’ wellbeing and positively impact their academic success, developing graduates with adequate attributes for our future work force. theme 4: financial distress the pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the economy by decreasing employment levels and thus livelihoods. mental well-being is almost irrevocably tied to an individual’s financial well-being. the financial stresses caused by the pandemic and its impact on the students’ well-being were emphasised in theme 4. students spending more time at home have experienced their families’ financial trials first-hand, as shared by participants 3, 10 and 11: you have to stay with your parents 24/7 and now i can see that they’re actually taking a lot of strain financial-wise and also psychological because you see when you actually staying with your kids and now there’s no income and all that so you can see that they are stressed but on the other hand there are trying to hide this from us. (p3) 90   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 79-94 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3596 it caused a lot of financial strain. we have a very minimal financial support coming from one person to sustain the whole family. eating was the most common activity which required the purchase of groceries more than usual. however, it did strengthen bonds as a lot of games, talks and family time was had. (p10) my sister and brother have lost their jobs and we are now stressed due to the economy going downhill and will they be able to get jobs again soon. (p11) besides fear and anxiety, the threats of not being able to access basic needs like food and shelter have perpetuated psychological manifestations. the informal sectors have been most affected, and the consequent uncertainty as they struggle for their livelihoods leads to depression and/or suicidal ideation, and even suicide (kumar & nayar, 2020). participant 3 shared how her parents were affected: the main strain they are actually facing [is] just the financial strain as i’ve said because well, they’re not working currently like we do have a … we have a small bottle store, it’s a tavern actually so it was closed from march up until late june. (p3) our findings corroborate the report by charles and colleagues that the continuous spread of the pandemic, strict isolation measures and delays in getting back to “normal” in universities, has significantly impacted the mental health and well-being of students (charles et al., 2021). this situation is likely to worsen before it stabilises, as insecurities about future employment and financial stability also contribute to the mental health burden. practical implications and recommendations the findings of this study may be used to inform relevant university stakeholders on the emotional and social well-being of our students, particularly those with limited resources, so that they may assist in future preparedness for outbreaks of pandemics such as covid-19. while professional help may not be readily available to all students (access may be restricted by stigmatisation and financial barriers), it is prudent that students are advised of personal coping strategies to avoid negative psychological impairment (charles et al., 2021). some strategies include avoiding excessive exposure to covid-19 media coverage but simultaneously ensuring one is well-informed via reliable sources; enhancing and/or maintaining physical health; seeking out safe (e.g. virtual) ways to obtain social support; maintaining daily routines; and engaging in relaxation techniques to reduce stress. in south africa, universities can assist by providing some of these options through webinars and virtual programmes that promote mental health; including mental and emotional health topics in mainstream curricula, where students would be encouraged to engage with such issues. universities can also provide links to telehealth networks facilitated by their campus clinics. fruehwirth et al. (2021) have aptly written that students must “maslow before they can bloom” (i.e. their basic physiological, psychological, and safety needs must be met prior to their focusing on academic life). nalini govender, poovendhree reddy & raisuyah bhagwan: an exploratory study of the effects …   91 thus, universities should provide support for student mental health and well-being, before expecting throughput and output, in a manner that promotes academic recovery in order to produce balanced graduates. greater experience sharing and support seeking among peers could be established and supported by “student ambassadors” or “buddies” (vasileiou et al., 2019). it would be overly optimistic to suggest that professional help is made available to all students, as such services are under-resourced in our universities. sensitising academic tutors and supervisors to identify signs of loneliness and signpost students at risk may improve their chances of referral to suitable support services (vasileiou et al., 2019). thence, the provision of suitable and relevant online coping strategies, educational, psychological and peer support by the university healthcare services is vital in developing academic resilience in students, maintaining their mental health and improving their adjustment during future public health crises. conclusion our data highlight the potential risks associated with the emotional and mental health statuses of our student cohort. the pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the economy, by increasing unemployment and decreasing livelihoods. universities are required to take into consideration issues pertaining to financial support and the subsistence of disadvantaged students, as well as regularly providing online mental health support, which may improve the overall well-being of our students. our data may assist in mitigating possible adverse complications on mental health, including the emotional and social well-being, of a university population. acknowledgements the authors wish to thank ms n. munshi for her assistance in transcribing the data. conflict of interest none. funding this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. references akdeniz, g., kavakci, m., gozugok, m., yalcinkaya, s., kucukay, a., & sahutogullari, b. 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(2022). an exploratory study of the effects of the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown on the emotional and social well-being of university students enrolled at a university of technology. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 79-94. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v10i2.3596 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 15-26 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2479 15 www.jsaa.ac.za research article experience of international education of east asian students in english-speaking countries: a four-dimensional approach maria l. martinez* & kevin t. colaner** * dr maria l. martinez is the associate vice president of enrollment management at san francisco state university. san francisco ca, usa. ** dr kevin t. colaner serves as the associate vice president for student services at california state polytechnic university, pomona. pomona ca, usa. abstract global participation in international education in the last two decades has increased exponentially. international students face difficulties in adjusting to the culture of their host country due to their unique needs (bertram, poulakis, elsasser & kumar, 2014). this article presents themes comprising the international education phenomenon involving the experiences of east asian international students in english-speaking countries. the literature reviewed for this article pertains to many aspects of international education, covering the factors that influence the decision to embark on the international education journey to the adjustment experienced by students to the host culture. the authors suggest that the international education experience is comprised of four dimensions: structural, linguistic, internal, and external. we also posit that confucianism, which many east asian students follow, influences not only the psycho-social dimension of the international education experience but also their instructional preferences within the structural dimension. we further contend that students’ actual and perceived proficiency (or the lack thereof) in the host country’s language greatly shapes all aspects of the student’s international education experience, which then determines the degree of acculturative stress involved and plays a key role in each of the three dimensions. because of the anticipated continued growth in the number of international students from east asia attending higher education institutions in english-speaking countries such as the united states, australia, canada, and parts of africa, it is important to examine how each of the dimensions proposed impact each other. approaching the study of the international education experience one dimension at a time, as many scholars have done, does not completely address all of the unique needs of international students. we suggest that research in this area be conducted holistically by exploring the ecology surrounding the international student. taking this ecological approach will help clearly define the role that home and host countries and host higher education institutions must take in serving the international students well. keywords acculturation, campus climate, confucianism, engagement, international education, language, psychosocial, student development http://www.jsaa.ac.za 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 15–26 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2479 introduction the body of knowledge on international education is broad and multi-faceted. while varied in theoretical approach and focus, an over-arching theme that binds these works is the recognition that, because of their unique needs, international students face difficulties in adjusting to the culture of their host country. in addition to this theme, a deficit model appears to undergird the exploration of the experiences of international students. east asian students attending universities in english-speaking countries are particularly painted in a deficient way, often subject to acculturative stress due to difficulties in adjusting to the host country’s culture and language. in understanding this sub-group of international students attending universities in english-speaking countries, it is important to note their confucian traditions and that instilled in their behaviour is the value of harmonious integration of opposites. characterised by the popular ‘yin and yang’ concept, confucianism, as it relates to learning, includes: placing a very high value on education for the purpose of gaining knowledge (more so than practicality and work experience); seeing learning as a moral duty; knowing that learning involves reflection and application; studying hard as a family responsibility; respecting teachers and knowing that they care about their students; and seeing teachers as models of morality and knowledge (mcmahon, 2011). this mindset shapes how international students with confucian traditions experience international education. relative to their confucian tradition, this paper presents the themes, as gleaned from the literature, comprising the international education phenomenon involving the experiences of east asian international students in english-speaking countries such as the united states, united kingdom, parts of africa, and canada. we posit that these themes reflect the dimensions of the international education experience. shown in table a, these dimensions are the internal or psycho-social, the institutional or structural, the external or socio-economic, and the linguistic dimensions. following the discussion about these dimensions are recommendations offered to improve the international student experience, particularly for the aforementioned east asian international students in english-speaking countries. these recommendations are borne out of our extensive experiences as student affairs professionals in various universities in the united states that host large numbers of east asian international students. maria l. martinez & kevin t. colaner: experience of international education of east asian students ... 17 table a internal (psycho-social) structural (institutional) external (socio-economic) personal values and culture influence experience institutional support enhances learning and development socio-economic forces influence student mobility (push-pull) positive personal attributes moderate acculturative stress social interaction shapes experience tension between native values and host values confucian philosophy’s emphasis on harmony can lead to adaptability in instructional preferences linguistic language proficiency moderates acculturative stress internal: psycho-social quadrant the study of international education cannot be done without discussing culture. hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions is used (gahan & abeysekera, 2009; tan & liu, 2014) to provide context to the native traits of international students that influence their ability or inclination to adapt to foreign ways of behaving and thinking. a number of studies (bertram, poulakis, elsasser & kumar, 2013; broesch & hadley, 2012; falcone, espi, ashai, butler & franco, 2013; pritchard, 2011) use the sociological perspective of acculturation theory (berry, 2008) to explain the different orientations to acculturation that students may adopt during their sojourn. understanding this concept is important given that east asian international students, who struggle to adjust to the individualistic orientation of western pedagogy and student development programmes (mcmahon, 2011), compose the largest sub-group of international students in the united states. according to mcmahon (2011), chinese students attending universities in the united kingdom experience culture shock with regard to the student-instructor relationship. in their host country, this relationship is normally more structured and is bound by curricular or professional needs and interests whereas at home, there is more extra-curricular mentorship that extends to personal matters. the process that sojourners go through to deal with these differences is known as acculturation. research on international education reveals the fundamental role of acculturation in the experience of international students. “in broad terms, acculturation refers to an immigrant’s process of cultural, psychological, and social adaptation to the culture” (martinez, 2016, p. 44) of the host country. acculturative stress arises from problems with psychological, cultural, and social adaptation (yakunina, weigold, weigold, hercegovac & elsayed, 2013). studies using the construct of multicultural personality, assertiveness, and academic self-efficacy (lee & ciftci, 2014; roesch, wee & vaughn, 2006) explain why some students adjust to their foreign environment better than others. using the psychological 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 15–26 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2479 perspective, these studies identified the factors influencing the way a sojourner experiences international education. two of these factors are explained here. one, possessing the personal characteristics of universal-diverse orientation, personal growth initiative, and hardiness with the student’s adjustment enables an international student to have a less stressful and less challenging adjustment to the new environment (yakunina et al., 2013). these personal characteristics reduce the degree of acculturative stress encountered by these students. two, personal values influence the way international students experience the unfamiliar world around them. as part of one’s culture, personal values “are students’ individual value characteristics that shape their evaluation of the factors related to the internal and external learning environments, thus influencing student experience and satisfaction” (arambewela & hall, 2013, p. 976). arambewela and hall’s (2013) study of the relationship between students’ onand off-campus environments and their satisfaction of the international education experience, shows that respect for self and from others, self-fulfillment, belongingness, security, accomplishment (which make up selfefficacy) and the sense of fun and excitement (which make up the hedonism construct) have a mediating influence on student satisfaction. in particular, there is a positive relationship between students’ self-efficacy and satisfaction with their learning environment within the university. “students with greater self-efficacy attributes are motivated to maximize the benefits of the services and facilities within the university environment” (arambewela & hall, 2013, p. 982). while a positive relationship between self-efficacy and satisfaction exists, arambewela and hall (2013) also suggest a negative relationship between hedonism and student satisfaction. given the primary goal of east asian international students to study and achieve academic success, “if international students have too much fun and enjoyment in community life, their academic achievements are likely to be less satisfactory” (arambewela & hall, 2013, p. 982). awareness of how the hedonistic construct impacts student satisfaction has implications for the policies and procedures surrounding the provision of student services to ensure student success. other studies suggest that the engagement of east asian international students in leisure is not altogether detrimental to their success abroad. their participation in onor off-campus campus leisure activities facilitates their acculturation and adjustment to college (gomez, urzua & glass, 2014). attendance at social events or engaging in sports with other students is a way for them to establish a strong social network. their interactions with host nationals or other international students provide them a sense of belonging and security that motivates them to venture outside their comfort zones and engage in unfamiliar activities (glass, 2012). the significance of engaging in these activities is especially highlighted by pre-arrival notions shaped by western movies. college life in the west is depicted in movies as primarily about having fun (bourke, 2013). given this delicate relationship between their academic success and acculturation, higher education administrators and staff responsible for providing guidance to international students must be aware of the importance of striking a healthy balance between encouraging students to enjoy the cross-cultural experiences their host country offers and the need to focus on their studies. awareness of the interplay between these psycho-social factors within the internal maria l. martinez & kevin t. colaner: experience of international education of east asian students ... 19 dimension of the international education experience can help student affairs professionals in developing programmes that will enhance the acculturation of international students. the next section discusses the factors located in the institutional quadrant of international education. institutional: structural quadrant institutional support in the form of curricular and co-curricular activities that facilitate student learning and development is crucial to the academic and personal success of students. as suggested by chuang (2012), being innovative in providing instruction to east asian international students aligns with the capacity of this group to adapt to various approaches to instruction. this openness and flexibility in learning styles is attributed to the confucian values of harmonious integration, virtuous behaviour, and respect for authority which chuang (2011) found to intensify, rather than diminish, as asians acculturate to the western society. in addition, there are positive findings in other areas. zhao, kuh, and carini’s (2005) study indicates that international students engage with their faculty, accept academic challenge, and use computer technology (which is an important skill in the 21st century) more than their domestic counterparts. as it relates to east asian students that have a confucian orientation, mcmahon’s (2011) research shows they are more accustomed to having a close mentee-mentor relationship with faculty members because, from their confucian point of view, teachers serve as mentors to students. these expectations impact the level of satisfaction international students experience in their academic environment. purveyors of international education should be interested in increasing the satisfaction of this sub-group with their experience on-campus. universities in the united states conduct programmes geared toward enhancing the freshman experience. new student orientations and first-year experience classes have become common practices geared toward facilitating the transition of students from high school to college life (terenzini & reason, 2005). first-year classes designed for international students can potentially provide similar transitional assistance. as seen in kovtun’s (2011) study, those who participate in first-year classes (1) gain understanding of social diversity in the united states, (2) improve their skills in writing, oral presentations, and research, and (3) enhance their psychosocial development (i.e., balance, persistence, optimism, strong will, resilience, diligence, self-confidence, and positive attitude). these are examples of how institutional structures can benefit international students. extending learning beyond classrooms, student affairs professionals, evident in the work of american organisations such as the naspa: student affairs administrators in higher education and the global community for academic advising (nacada), focus on providing programmes and advice services that foster lifetime growth and development in students. the co-curricular activities they offer, i.e., on-campus socials, athletic events, student organisations, service learning, and leadership programmes, provide the social context that international students need to engage with the domestic as well as other international students to explore and challenge their belief systems and cultural practices. participation in such programmes impacts the development of a global 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 15–26 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2479 perspective of international students and others who engage with them (chickering & braskamp, 2009). multicultural curricular and co-curricular activities enhance the student participant’s sense of belonging which has been suggested to have a buffering effect against negative experiences of discrimination and to constitute a contributing factor to positive academic outcomes (glass & westmont, 2014). these positive outcomes rest, however, on the international students partaking in activities developed for them. as yan and berliner (2011) reported, international students tend to not interact with americans and typically confine their social interactions within circles composed of their co-nationals. this behaviour further isolates this group from the mainstream which potentially impacts their psychological health in a negative way. exacerbating the problem arising from isolation from the mainstream is the reluctance to use services available on-campus. in spite of the known acculturative stress they face, the number of international students seeking assistance from university counseling centers is low, suggesting that their first choice of support for their mental health needs are their friends, family members, clergy, and physicians (yakushko, davidson & sanford-martens,  2008). this issue has been raised in the international education arena. in internationalization in us higher education: the student perspective, mazon (2010) calls for the bridging of the gap between traditional student affairs professionals and international student affairs professionals “so that all students have an enhanced opportunity to take advantage of international programming that is less isolated, and more integrated into students’ broader campus experiences. in this way, international students will be more fully integrated into the campus” (p. 208). thus far, findings of the studies we have cited underscore the importance of actively engaging the academic community in the conversation about the unique need of international students. in the next section, we discuss how external factors impact their motivations and dispositions abroad. external: socio-economic quadrant research on what drives student mobility points to ‘push’ factors within the student’s home country. factors that lead student decisions to participate in international education include economic, social, and political forces (biao & shen, 2009; yan & berliner, 2011). for example, for families and students from mainland china, the decision to embark on international education is attributed to the disparities in access to higher education, goods, and career opportunities at home. inadequate supply of higher education institutions in their country, immigration prospects, and better employment ‘push’ students to go abroad. parents of these students willingly take on the financial burden imposed by this crossnational educational venture in order to attain the goals of economic progress they have set for their children (bodycott, 2009). embarking on international education, despite the stress that goes with it, is a way to improve their opportunity to improve their situation. although considerably motivated by these push factors, the acculturative stress felt by international students does not become any less because of the lack of social support abroad (bertram, poulakis, elsasser & kumar, 2014). acting upon the confucian philosophy’s maria l. martinez & kevin t. colaner: experience of international education of east asian students ... 21 emphasis on education and the value of filial piety that closely binds the students to their families back home, they feel immense pressure to succeed as international students. with chinese students, “parents place great emphasis on the academic achievement of their children … and receiving higher degrees from the united states brings honor to the family … [and is] a guarantee of social and economic ascent either in china or in the us” (yan & berliner, 2011, p. 179). the expectation that the investment in one’s international education will generate income and lead to economic progress for the family places enormous stress on the international student. while stress to perform well in school is natural, this stress is compounded significantly for international students who also face intercultural challenges. from their study, mitchell, greenwood, and guglielmi (2007) posited that “the actual academic performance of international students was not significantly different from that of the u.s. students. however, the anxiety about academics may be due to the unique demands of studying in a foreign country” (p. 127). their stress cannot be ignored and must be planned for by the universities they attend. similarly, as discussed next, the importance of services geared toward the development of their english language proficiency must be addressed. linguistic quadrant underlying the three dimensions that have been discussed is linguistic proficiency. millercochran (2012) describes a number of innovative approaches to teaching english to second-language learners. the role of language is central to the experience of east asian international students in english-speaking countries. in order to gain admission into universities in english-speaking countries, as non-native english speakers, international students must demonstrate proficiency in the english language through the test of english as a foreign language (toefl) and international english language testing system (ielts) that predict their academic performance. satisfactory scores in these tests do not however automatically translate to language proficiency once in the host country. as second-language learners, these students have to spend more time studying compared to their domestic counterparts primarily to overcome language difficulties (daller & phelan, 2013). international students placed in english remedial classes are less likely to persist in their freshman year than those who are non-remedial students (mamiseishvili, 2012). the language challenge is exacerbated by differences in academic training. for example, based on coates and dickinson’s (2012) study, international education scholars learned that east asian postgraduate students come without prior experience in report writing and constructing “english essays of more than 1 000 words” (p. 299). this difference in academic training poses immense challenges which, when not overcome, may result in other non-academic issues. inability to overcome the language barrier does not only lead to poor academic performance (fassholmes & vaughn, 2014) but also leads to diminished self-reliance (hung & hyun, 2010), and increased perception of discrimination (karuppan & barari, 2011). more serious psychiatric issues have been linked to academic difficulties and poor language skills among 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 15–26 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2479 east asian students (mitchell, greenwood & guglielmi, 2007). the following describes the depression experienced by international students who struggle with the english language: school was really … it was really terrifying. i was barely speaking (english) when i came … trying to keep up with the notes and other things in class. i didn’t have the opportunity to learn english in [my] school. i was feeling really bad about that. i was kind of … i balanced my depression at the time because i think everyone gets depressed the first time they come here [usa] … depressed because, umm, it happens … people get depressed. (mclachlan & justice, 2009, p. 30) acculturative stress arising from lack of proficiency in english impacts the east asian students’ ability to have a full international education experience. the perception of having limited communication skills hampers positive socialisation. non-citizen students in english-language countries (sawir, marginson, forbes-mewett, nyland & ramia, 2012) who are unable to communicate in english feel they lack human security. without the feeling of security, international students will avoid participation in activities involving non-western individuals and confine their socialisation within groups of co-nationals. the studies discussed here demonstrate the need to approach these complex and interconnected challenges with an equally compelling and interconnected array of solutions. we recommend an ecological approach that addresses these four dimensions. recommendations for practice: an ecological approach numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between international student satisfaction and various factors that include campus climate (glass, 2011), ability to gain proficiency in the english language (fass-holmes & vaugh, 2014), and engagement with host nationals (glass & westmont, 2014). studies also indicate the benefits of institutional support to international students. given these factors that impact the international student’s experience, the outcome of the international student’s academic pursuits largely depends on what higher education institutions do to facilitate their success. referred to as the internationalisation of higher education, this trend is not achieved simply by increasing the number of international students enrolled in the universities. rather, it requires a more comprehensive approach that involves increasing the cultural intelligence and sensitivities of faculty, students and professional staff. we offer the following recommendations on how internationalisation of higher education can be achieved in universities. first and foremost, we must acknowledge and account for cultural influences impacting traditional student development theory application. recognising the tension between native values and beliefs and those of the host country, it is essential that we concede that the values and cultural beliefs of the international students will influence their experience, and therefore we should adjust our programmes and services to honor this reality, thereby diminishing this tension. this adjustment requires an openness to learn from our international students and a willingness to embrace ideas and beliefs that may be maria l. martinez & kevin t. colaner: experience of international education of east asian students ... 23 foreign to our way of being. we must also help our international students to identify and reflect upon their personal values and goals for their international experience and connect traditional co-curricular and social activities to international students’ values of community and belonging, rather than notions of fun and social excitement. self-awareness and cultural awareness among student affairs professionals are crucial to their ability to empathise with the challenges faced by international students from non-english countries. next, we need to improve institutional structures to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for our international students. this can be achieved by creating spaces and opportunities to shape social interactions that promote and enhance learning and development. expanding existing first year experience programmes for international students by emphasising their strengths in using technology and their desire for greater academic challenge can be achieved by incorporating a focus on the history of higher education in the united states and the role that international students have played in that history. institutions must find ways to encourage social integration of international and domestic students on campus. peer support and mentoring programmes can fulfill the dual role of reducing the acculturative stress of international students while building the cultural competency and perhaps language skills of both the domestic host students and their international counterparts. incorporating a confucian philosophy which emphasises balance and harmony in our practice can assist students in finding a balance between the push and pull factors, thereby helping to alleviate stress and improve the collegiate experience for our students. knowing the incredible amount of stress our international students carry as a result of the personal and financial investment they and their families have made in their education, we are obligated to offer counseling and support services in a manner which our international students will find welcoming and accessible. this may require special outreach efforts, ensuring our staff is diverse, aware and trained in cultural issues, and even investing in bilingual counselors or language translation services as it may be especially difficult to make meaning of and communicate feelings when your vocabulary is limited. finally, the impact of lack of english proficiency leads to other more serious problems of safety, self-esteem, and limited socialisation. in order to foster the success and development of our international students we must address the language issue in all aspects of our programmes and services. acknowledging the multi-linguistic abilities of our students, we can learn a few key phrases in order to welcome them and show a sign of respect. creating “language partners” can help international students practise their english speaking skills in a non-threatening environment and enhance their socialisation to our campus. we should also acknowledge the need for and a place where international students can engage in their native tongue free of judgement and stress. we must acknowledge that language is key to the success of these students and set high expectations for advancement in this area while simultaneously granting them both the patience and support for them to improve their language acquisition. 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 15–26 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2479 conclusion the international student experience can be viewed through four interrelated dimensions: internal (psycho-social), structural (institutional), external (socio-economic), and linguistic. scholars of international education use theories pertaining to acculturation and student development to understand how international students experience these dimensions. the underlying philosophy of confucianism of seeking balance and harmony serves as a unifying factor across these dimensions. as the participation of east asian students in international education continues, the need to understand this particular international student experience and their corresponding needs becomes greater and more urgent. the multi-dimensional nature of this challenge calls for a holistic approach to student services. this article provides strategies for student affairs professionals to improve campus climate and enhance linguistic proficiency through programmatic efforts that attend to the acculturative stress experienced by east asian students. as a relatively new trend in higher education, universities need time to develop the strategies and means to deliver culturally responsive student services. while few, there is evidence that universities in the western hemisphere are recognising this unmet need and have started to invest resources in this arena. references arambewela, r. & hall, j. 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(2005). a comparison of international student and american student engagement in effective educational practices. the journal of higher education, 76(2), 209–231. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2005.0018 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1882.2007.tb00012.x https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315310365541 https://doi.org/10.1080/00207590544000112 https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315311435418 https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315309357940 https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315309357940 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.08.011 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.08.011 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00088.x https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00088.x https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1882.2008.tb00020.x https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-010-9117-x https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2005.0018 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 41–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2481 41 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice professionalisation of student affairs educators in china: history, challenges, and solutions yongshan li* & yuanyuan fang** * dr yongshan li is the deputy director of the department of educational administration and dean of humanistic quality education center, hefei university of technology, hefei, anhui, china. ** dr yuanyuan fang is associate professor of the school of foreign languages, hefei university of technology, hefei, anhui, china. abstract student affairs administration in chinese universities is characterised by a dual-layer system of governance, with student affairs practitioners, i.e. advisors to students, being supervised by either central university administration or by affiliated colleges. in the last decade, government-oriented developments have achieved great success in china. this paper introduces the background and major strategies adopted by the chinese government in professionalising university advisors. major challenges are analysed, and solutions to address these challenges are proposed. keywords student affairs educators, professionalisation, professional development, higher education, china historical development of university advising in student affairs professional student affairs management in china can be traced back to the year of 1956, when the then president of tsinghua university, jiang nanxiang, set up the first political advisor position. at that time, political advisors were senior undergraduates or young teachers, that is, they served in two roles: as students and advisors of other students (as peer counselors), or as teachers and advisors (similar to the tutorial system in british universities), and involved in both the ideological and political education of students, and learning or teaching, and doing research themselves. this practice was believed to be politically incorrect and was discontinued by the revolutionary committee of tsinghua university during the great cultural revolution (1966–1976) (lin & peng, 2003). after 1978, the practice was resumed in universities throughout china. since then, and gradually, the position of “advisor” (i.e. student affairs practitioner) has become a full-time job. the advisors serve as educators, academic advisors, psychological counselors, administrators, and service providers. the development of a class system is a unique feature of early american college life. in the earliest days, all students who entered the university at the time were considered members of a single “class” (equivalent to “cohort” as used today in the west) and http://www.jsaa.ac.za 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 41–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2481 continued so for instructional and administrative purposes throughout their college career (brubacher & rudy, 1977). chinese universities follow a similar practice except that students who enter at the same time are further organised and managed in groups of about 30 to 50 students based on their major discipline. each advisor would take charge of several such groups, usually totaling 150 to 200 students. both central university administration and affiliated “schools” (equivalent to “colleges” and/or “faculties” of academic disciplines) are in charge of student affairs management. hence, student affairs practitioners in chinese universities may either be supervised by the “student affairs office” of the central university administration, or by the deputy dean in charge of student affairs in affiliated “colleges” (in this paper we mainly focus on the latter). in 1984, the ministry of education of china initiated a new academic discipline, namely, “ideological and political education,” in 12 universities. this is believed to be the very beginning of “professionalised” training of university advisors. however, these positions were met with challenges of low professional recognition among other university positions, discouragingly low pay, and high turnover rate, among others. though a position of political superiority, it is widely perceived, even by the college deans, that being an advisor is not a lifelong professional career. as zhan (2004) observed, quite a number of student affairs practitioners enter this profession only to use it as a stepping stone to their intended position of choice in the academic or administrative divisions. thus, they have little investment in this career, nor possess any sense of responsibility towards their work. there is not much interest in furthering their career in student services. a survey of 601 advisors (peng & wang, 2008) revealed that about 60% of them felt reluctant to remain in the job long term, and most of them were disappointed by an occupation that both lacked specific professional goals and the future of which was obscure. all such challenges were related to the low level of professional training and development at that time (feng, 2007). large-scaled enrollment expansion in china began in 1998, and by 2005, the admission rate reached 21%, compared to 9% in 1997. this marked the massification of higher education in china. however, issues also emerged with expansion, especially those related to university student services. among them, the biggest challenge is recruiting new staff members with potential skills or professional experience of student affairs work. for instance, in 2004, gang feng, an officer of the chinese ministry of education (moe), conducted a survey that showed that many universities did not provide full-time positions for advisors, and one extreme example revealed that one advisor was in charge of a total of 1,500 students from 38 different classes in that university. hence, moe undertook several systematic measures to promote professional training of university advisors. these strategies were divided into five actionable areas. first, policies to support development of advisors were established. in may of 2006, the ministry released the “university advisor development regulations” under which the selection, allocation, training, development, management and evaluation of advisors were specified. the regulations mandated an allocation of at least one full-time advisor for every 200 students. second, in-service training and education of ph.d students in the field was promoted. since 2006, the moe successively enacted two five-year plans aimed at promoting training of advisors. yongshan li & yuanyuan fang: professionalisation of student affairs educators in china ... 43 twenty-one training and research centers were set up in higher education institutions capable of granting ph.d degrees in student affairs. third, exchange platforms for professional development were established. in 2008, the university advisors board was set up, and moe sponsored two academic journals in the field: the journal of university advisor and the college advisor in 2009. next, funding for relevant research projects and training programmes was created to enhance research and increase work efficiency. and finally, an interim list of career qualifications of university advisors was enacted in 2014. this list provided standards for various levels of in-service training, professional competence recognition, and talent cultivation of professionals. the ministry of education continues to promote, among all universities in each province in china, the professional development of advisors. a series of supporting measures were implemented to help establish policies, funding and training opportunities. for example, in liaoning province, full-time university advisors enjoy extra subsidies of 200 rmb in addition to their basic salary and position allowance. a quota policy is used to promote full-time advisors and grant tenureship through an application process. nominating excellent faculty and staff members, including full-time student affairs advisors, of the university is another policy adopted. excellent full-time advisors will be trained by a special “successor programme” (a programme aimed at training potential leaders in the field), and promotion by exception may apply to them. another example is located in the shaanxi province where universities were asked to allocate at least one advisor for every 200 students in 2015, and 1,763 vacancies in 41  provincial universities were assigned to full-time advisors. a quota system is also employed in this province, and a special channel for promotion and tenure application is set aside for full-time advisors so as to guarantee a reasonable and longer lasting professional team structure. each advisor can enjoy a working allowance of 3 rmb per student per month. moreover, funds are set aside to reward advisors serving in the post for more than 12  years. each year at least 1,000 rmb would be assigned to each advisor to offset the training cost. all these incentives contributed to the developmental goals of advisors, who are provided with comfortable working conditions (e.g. large offices, better office furniture and air conditioning, etc.), better pay, and a promising career (feng, 2015). during the initial stage of developing student affairs as a respectable profession, the effort relied on a “top-down” approach from the government to the universities. this strategy seemed to have worked and achieved great success in china. however, after years of developmental efforts, deep-seated problems began to emerge (gao, 2012). challenges mainly come from three areas: (1) a large proportion of young and inexperienced advisors may overload the current capacity in personnel training; (2) a systematic academic or preparatory programme specifically designed for student affairs administration is still elusive; and (3) personnel policy reform fails to conform to the dual career track system (supervision of positions by university administration and colleges) of advisor governance and promotion (gao, 2012). 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 41–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2481 challenges in the professionalisation of university advisors emphasis on quality professionalisation of university advisors parallels the popularisation of higher education in china, and demonstrates the practical needs for the professional development of student affairs practitioners. it also guarantees the stability of university development and talent cultivation goals. during the following five years from 2016, “quality” will become the “buzz” word in higher education. the new phase of professionalisation of student affairs will put more focus on the cultivation of students’ social responsibilities, innovation, and practical abilities in solving problems. as an important component of talent/staff training, student affairs practice should also emphasise the promotion of quality of programmes and services. such enhancement relies mostly on the professional level of currently seasoned student affairs practitioners. therefore, clarifying and solving the problems in professionalisation serves as the premise and foundation in this process. theories in student affairs due to historical and traditional factors, establishing a major discipline in ideological and political education has been the means used for training university advisors in china. however, as a discipline, for the last 30 years, it has failed to provide plans focusing on “personal, interpersonal and advisory skills” training of advisors (xu & zhao, 2011). with the massification of higher education, the functions of the advisors have been expanded from traditional student education and management to include various other duties, e.g. academic advice, employment guidance, psychological counseling, financial aid counseling, college life guidance, orientation, and so on. under the current practice, the university advisors have to undertake various tasks from both university administration and the affiliated colleges. subsequently, diverse professional knowledge and capabilities are required for the job. a gap needs to be bridged between the job training and position qualifications. as a matter of fact, it has become apparent that the advisors’ professional knowledge and capabilities failed to meet the new needs in some new areas (qi, 2016). it is realised that training of professional advisors should be supported by a multi-disciplinary approach, e.g. disciplines in education, psychology, management, sociology, law, and politics. the urgent problem to be addressed is how to build a systematic and detailed theoretical foundation for the professionalisation process. however, no consensus has been achieved to that end. in 2015, the shanghai education commission started the training plan that aimed to train students from various majors, like philosophy, law and politics, sociology, education, psychology and public administration, aside from ideological and political education, to become skilled advisors to students of the next generation, possibly with a ph.d degree conferred upon graduation. continuing professional education of university advisors universities in china currently fail to reach consensus on the professional background that an advisor should possess. three representative views co-exist as proposed by chen yongshan li & yuanyuan fang: professionalisation of student affairs educators in china ... 45 and zhu (2014) based on their investigations: (1) the professional background is not important at all; (2) the advisors should have a degree in humanities and social sciences; and (3) their major should be consistent with the students they advise. the three views are well supported in research literature, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. due to this lack of qualifications, graduates from diverse majors and with different degrees entered the field of student affairs. by the year 2015, full-time advisors in chinese universities had grown from 40,000 in 2005 to 137,000 in accordance with the governmental regulation that mandates at least one advisor for every 200 students and an explosive growth in university enrollment. among them, 42% have a master’s degree or above, and 53% are still in their twenties (feng, 2015). as mentioned above, the ministry of education had previously established 21 training centers that provide training courses annually. since these centers are located in specialised institutions, and training is theory-oriented, such training has failed to cover the practical issues and problems in the field of student affairs. the training courses provided by the universities also lack systematic and consistent procedures and contents. a survey of 16 universities in guangdong in 2016 revealed that almost 67.7% of the advisors claimed that they had never been asked about their training needs; 73.4% of the interviewees believed the training courses failed to adapt to their specific educational backgrounds, majors, job requirements, or advisors’ skills. only 38.7% believed that the training courses were effective (xie, 2016). four factors caused the unsatisfactory phenomenon: (1) training courses failed to solve practical problems; (2) training methods lack creativity and practicality; (3) courses were not well planned or organised, and (4) training content was routine and simplified. therefore, the major challenge for the continuing professional education of university advisors is how to customise systematic in-service training of advisors from various professional backgrounds in order to guarantee the quality and effectiveness of the courses providing the necessary knowledge and skills. professional motivation of the university advisors in universities in china, advisors are either faculty members or administrative staff. therefore, they can flexibly choose their promotion track. such flexible career track aims to appeal to more staff. it is hoped that the two options could help avoid career impediments, and show that the goal of the government is to keep a stable job market and a harmonious team (qi, 2016). however, due to the fact that the advisors are from various professional backgrounds, they tend to have low motivation to do research or write academic papers needed for promotion and tenure and required of academic professors. eventually, they hardly devote any time or effort to professional research (chen, le & chen, 2014). in practice, they scarcely choose any professional enhancement during their tenure as advisors. instead, they tend to seek promotion within the central university administration which has lower requirements regarding professional background. this preference inevitably eliminates their inner motivation for professional development and serves as an impediment to the professionalisation of the advisors. consequently, the professional recognition and career loyalty of the university advisors remain comparatively low (zhu, 2016). 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 41–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2481 carpenter, miller and winston (1980) suggested five propositions for a model of professional development in student affairs. first, professional development is continuous and cumulative in nature, and moves from simpler to more complex behaviour. secondly, optimal professional development is a direct result of the interaction between the total person striving for positive professional growth and the environment. next, optimal professional preparation combines mastery of a body of knowledge and a cluster of skills and competencies within the context of personal development. fourth, professional credibility and excellence of practice are directly dependent upon the quality of professional preparation. finally, professional preparation is a lifelong learning process (carpenter, miller & winston, 1980). therefore, the speed and degree of the professionalisation of university advisors must rely more on their self-consciousness and motivation than on the priority or policy established by the government. professional development is in essence personal and advisors should be responsible for their own professional development. clear goals and powerful motivations outweigh policies and guaranteed supports from the government, which only help to construct favorable external conditions. low recognition by other academic colleagues, high turnover rate, inconsistent developmental goals and lack of personal passion may all lead to a failure of the professional development of advisors. not until the advisors themselves have a clearer understanding of their own professional goals, can they begin to assess their knowledge, evaluate their capabilities and reflect upon their personal values. they will be unable to focus on professional study for enhancement, nor will they initiate any professional development that becomes truly an “internal and organic part of the higher education, hence acquiring more developing space and stronger voice in the field” (yang, 2016, p. 15). proposals for promoting professionalisation of university advisors during the past decade, university advisor team building in china has achieved a great deal and it has laid a solid foundation for the future development of student affairs as a profession. however, with the dramatic changes in higher education in china, new challenges and conflicts also emerged. experiences from student affairs development in us universities reveal that these are common for the transitional stage moving from the primary to the advanced level, and that these problems need to be handled if professionalisation is to be pursued. therefore, in the new phase of development, chinese student affairs advisors need to strengthen their goals for professionalisation, learn from experience, and employ new strategies to solve the deep-rooted problems, in order to optimise the development process. establishing a steering committee for university advisor professionalisation “professional associations have an obligation to ensure the quality of professional preparation and practice, to provide continuing professional education, and to recognize those practitioners who take steps to improve their knowledge and practice” (janosik, carpenter & creamer, 2006, p. 228). at the early stages of university advisor professionalisation, the small numbers of associations in the field of student affairs failed to play their leading role in professional yongshan li & yuanyuan fang: professionalisation of student affairs educators in china ... 47 development. meanwhile, the faculty in relevant majors scarcely put their minds to the theories and practice of student affairs due to their lack of practical experience. for instance, of all the 18 supervisors of master’s and doctoral programmes in the field of ideological and political education in wuhan  university, 14 have never undertaken such administrative duties concerning co-curricular education and personal development of the students. therefore, electing experts in student affairs nation-wide and establishing a national steering committee for professional advice and leadership in the professionalisation process might counter the insufficient role played by student affairs associations in china. the core tasks of the national committee should be: 1. to enact or modify professional standards and qualifications; 2. to provide professional advice for professional development; 3. to organise and undertake theoretical and practical research; and 4. to assess and evaluate student affairs practices. modifying the dual career track system dual career tracks system of university advisors is unique to chinese higher education. however, due to the fact that faculty and administrative staff are obviously different in terms of each of their own career culture, professional assessment and promotion requirements, the system has failed to motivate the advisors in their own professional development. in 2014, the ministry of education released higher education advisor qualifications (interim regulations) which put advisors into three qualification levels – primary, intermediate and advanced level – with clarification of the basic knowledge and capabilities each level should possess. the “levels” illustrate the progressive stages the career entails, illuminates the match between promotion and qualifications, and helps to avoid previous disadvantage of implicit policies in career development. moreover, it helps the advisors to gain a better understanding of their professional status, the necessary qualifications and the specific goals they should set based on their years of service. modifying the system design of dual career tracks, especially in terms of the promotion and the salary systems, based on the professional qualifications, is aimed at inspiring the advisors’ internal motivation to seek advancement in the profession. promoting interdisciplinary studies on chinese college student development currently, diverse activities are employed in developing student affairs professionally. these activities are mainly drawn from experiences in past practices, but they are scarcely directed by student development theories in design. although the practitioners in the field have come to realise the importance of interdisciplinary theories (e.g. of education, psychology and sociology) in directing the design of student affairs professional development, most experts in the relevant majors care more about their own professional development, and scarcely focus on the student affairs practices. the limited research findings were scarcely used in designing their activities. although college student development theories in the us could be used, most are not applicable in the chinese context due to differences in 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 41–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2481 social reality, history, culture, and political orientation. therefore, interdisciplinary studies on college student development based on the unique socio-political structures and cultures of china will be more appropriate. establishing developmental theories in accordance with the laws pertaining specifically to chinese university students will help promote the student affairs practice from experience-based to scientifically-based. developing professional associations in particular functional area the role that professional associations play in staff development is “to advance understanding, recognition, and knowledge in the field; to develop and promulgate standards for professional practice; to serve the public interest; and to provide professionals with a peer group that promotes a sense of identity” (nuss, 1993, p. 365). with the functional expansion of student affairs in chinese universities, a dozen functional areas have been formed. we can take advantage of the us experiences in student affairs professional development, and promote the development of professional associations by functional areas to cultivate the function-specific skills. this is a key step for the professionalisation of student affairs in china. more specifically, plans should be made to establish professional associations in selected functional areas on the basis of criteria established by the national college advisor association in china. secondly, missions and tasks should be set and regulations and rules should be laid down for the smooth operation of the professional associations and for strengthening the ethical responsibility and behavioural norms of the staff involved. moreover, efforts should be made to help professional associations plan and organise academic research and exchanges, professional training activities, and publication of academic journals in the field. finally, management level should be promoted in various associations by regular evaluations and assessments, and by holding international exchanges. conclusion chinese universities enjoy a good tradition of focusing on the ideological and political education of students in their education system, which serves as the social background of professionalisation and development of advisors. meanwhile, the massification of higher education and increasing diverse needs of college students, as well as higher expectations and demands for talents from the society, call for further development and professionalisation of the advisors. this trend is similar to the professional development of advisors in the us, and in other countries around the world. however, chinese universities still remain at the primary stage, and the achievements accomplished by chinese university student affairs have mainly relied on central governmental support. to seek further development, chinese universities need to take their current conditions into consideration, and refer to successful experiences from other countries, especially the advanced experiences from the us and other western countries. by combining governmental support with advisors’ selfmotivation and personal efforts, professionalisation of student affairs advisors in chinese universities will enjoy a prosperous future. yongshan li & yuanyuan fang: professionalisation of student affairs educators in china ... 49 acknowledgements thanks go to dr howard wang, associate dean of duke kunshan university, for his insightful advice in the writing and modifying of the paper. we also thank the reviewers for their valuable revision suggestions. references brubacher, j.s. & rudy, w. (1977). higher education in transition: a history of american colleges and universities (4th ed.). new brunswick, nj: transaction. carpenter, d.s., miller, t.k. & winston jr., r.b. (1980). toward the professionalization of student affairs. naspa journal, 18(2). chen, y. & zhu, p. (2014). exploration into the professional backgrounds of university advisors. leading journal of ideological & theoretical education, 11, 118–121. chen, j.r., le, c. & chen, y. (2014). analysis of the research abilities of university advisors and proposals for improvement. journal of college advisor, 4, 17–20. feng, g. (2007). training and professionalization of university advisors. studies in ideological education, 11, 13–15. gao, d.y. (2012). ref lections on the development of university advisors. social sciences in chinese higher education institutions, 9, 53–54. janosik, s.m., carpenter, s. & creamer, d.g. (2006). beyond professional preparation programs: the role of professional associations in ensuring a high quality workforce. college student affairs journal, 25(2), 228–237. li, t. (2014). current status of university advisor professionalization and developing strategies. journal of college advisor, 1, 14–17. lin, t. & peng, q. (2003). the characteristics and development of the system of political advisor at tsinghua university. journal of tsinghua university (philosophy and social sciences), 6, 85–90. liu, y. ( july 16, 2005). second to none for the university advisors in liaoning province. china education daily. ministry of education of the people’s republic of china. double guarantees for advisors’ development in shaanxi province. retrieved 18 may 2016 from http://www.moe.gov.cn/s78/a12/ moe_2154/201605/t20160518_245013.html nuss, e. m. (1993). the role of professional associations. in: m.j. barr (ed.), the handbook of student affairs administration (pp. 364–377). san francisco: jossey-bass. peng, q.h. & wang, y. (2009). challenges and solutions for university advisors’ professionalization. proceedings of university advisors’ forum (pp. 342–352). beijing: china renmin university press. qi, m. (2016). professionalization of university advisors: challenges and new tasks. ideological & theoretical education, 8, 22–25. xie, q. (2016). university advisor training problems and solutions: a case study of 16 universities in guangdong. journal of college advisor, 1, 42–45. xu, y.j. & zhao, x. (2011). oriented training of ideological and political education majors. ideological and political education research, 6, 5–8. yang, j.y. (2016). professionalization of university advisors: review and prospect. ideological & theoretical education, 8, 17–21. http://www.moe.gov.cn/s78/a12/moe_2154/201605/t20160518_245013.html http://www.moe.gov.cn/s78/a12/moe_2154/201605/t20160518_245013.html 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 41–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2481 zhu, l.p. (2004).ref lections on the establishment of college counselor in jilin province in the new era. modern education science, 5(185), 109–111. zhu, h.j. (2016). university advisor team building design: a multi-dimensional perspective. studies in ideological education, 4, 106–110. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 49-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367   49 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article developing online student leadership training interventions so that disadvantaged black students may enjoy a seat at the proverbial table juan-pierre van der walt* abstract the advent of covid-19 and the consequent imposition of a national lockdown from march 2020 in south africa spurred south african universities to introduce new remote ways of delivering their curricula and offering extra-curricular activities. some of these new modes of delivery tended to disadvantage already socio-economically disadvantaged black students whose lack of access to appropriate equipment, tools and data prevented them from properly accessing and fully utilising the new forms of e-learning on offer. in this context, this article considers the challenges faced by student affairs professionals at the university of pretoria in offering new, inclusive forms of online leadershipdevelopment training to students in leadership positions at the institution. it analyses data collected from student leaders between 2016 and 2020 at the university which indicated that there had been a lack of leadership development among disadvantaged black students at high school level compared with that on offer to white students in high school. in this context, this article describes how student affairs professionals at the university of pretoria sought to translate face-to-face leadership training into online initiatives that would ensure that already disadvantaged black students would not be disadvantaged further through differential access to leadership-development training, particularly given their greater need for such support due to their relative previous lack of exposure. this article further places black students’ needs for equitable access to leadership training in the context of the individual and structural advantages that can accrue from such training, including in relation to career development and occupying leadership positions in the economy and society. keywords student development, whatsapp, student life, student leadership, student development, training, student leadership development, covid-19 introduction as south africa entered a government-mandated lockdown imposed in march 2020 in response to the covid-19 pandemic, academic and professional staff members of residential universities were faced with a highly complex predicament: how to continue academic and extracurricular programmes while face-to-face contact was * juan-pierre van der walt is coordinator: day houses and manager of src sub-committees in the department of student affairs, student development unit, at the university of pretoria, south africa. email: juan.pvdwalt@up.ac.za. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 50   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 49-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367 impossible? under various levels of lockdown, the problem persisted for most of the 2020 academic year. in response e-learning1 as an emergency measure became a priority in tertiary education (mpungose, 2020) and budgetary and development resources were deployed accordingly. at the same time, extracurricular programmes, such as student development, were placed on hold at many institutions, including at the university of pretoria. at the universities where these programmes continued, they were deprioritised and resources were funnelled elsewhere towards the curriculum. deprioritising critical extracurricular programmes became part of the devastating collateral damage caused by the pandemic. as the academic year continued and the situation in countries such as south africa showed little sign of significant improvement, student affairs professionals faced the challenge of re-establishing extracurricular activities and training in what had now become a predominantly online environment. as a student affairs professional who specialises in leadership development within the university of pretoria, i have first-hand experience of the challenges that were faced at this time. this article considers the vital role of universities in exposing students to leadership development, with particular reference to the exposure of black students to such development and their need for such training, as shown by the quantitative analysis of data gathered from student leaders at the university of pretoria. the data, which were collected via a number of surveys of student leaders at the university with the purpose of improving the training on offer, were interpreted with reference to these students’ previous experience of leadership development at school and their resulting needs in occupying leadership positions at the university. it was found that there had been no leadership training for many black students at school; while almost all the white students had been exposed to such training. in this context, this article considers how the university’s department of student affairs sought to provide inclusive virtual leadership-development support under covid-19. in particular, the article focuses on the department’s efforts to close the existing gap in leadership-development between the white and black students, instead of allowing it to deteriorate due to a lack of access to data and equipment among disadvantaged black students. student leadership development the student development model adopted by the department of student affairs (2016) at the university of pretoria places emphasis on the development of students as the leaders of extracurricular activities and student life at the university. the institution is structured in such a way that the student representative council (src) and its subordinate structures are mandated to (among other responsibilities) ensure a healthy and diverse student life. this mandate is implemented through an intricate leadership structure of executive committees operating in the various areas of student life. 1 e-learning refers to education that takes place over the internet. it has become an umbrella term for non-face-to-face learning platforms (mpungose, 2020). juan-pierre van der walt: developing online student leadership training interventions …   51 comprising about 280 selected and elected student leaders every year, the student leadership cohort promotes stability on campus. including by playing a crucial role in managing the implementation of extracurricular activities. in an effort to help these students perform their roles effectively, the department of student affairs, mainly but not exclusively through its student development unit, contributes leadership-development support. a crucial aspect of this work is to ensure that the support on offer addresses the variable exposure of students to leadership development before university. the students on the various student leadership committees form the basis of the sample for this study. table 1 below indicates the extent of leadership training received before entering university as reported by incoming black and white student leaders between 2016 and 2020. the information in this table was sourced from successive annual student leadership development initiation surveys undertaken by the student development unit after the election of incoming student leaders every september from 2016 to 2020. this survey was designed to indicate, through self-identification, the leadership background of the new student leaders. the aim of this survey is to provide data so that student development initiatives and training are of relevance and meet identified needs. one of the questions student leaders were asked was: “have you received leadership training or development in high school?” a follow-up question for students who replied “no”, was: “did your high school provide leadership development and training?” table 1: responses to student leadership development initiation survey conducted from 2016 to 2020 on high-school leadership-development experience, by race. students who had received student leadership development in high school students who did not receive student leadership development in high school schools that provided student leadership development schools that did not provide student leadership development racial demographics black white black white black white black white 2016 31% 98% 69% 2% 38% 100% 62% 0% 2017 34% 94% 66% 6% 41% 100% 59% 0% 2018 35% 97% 65% 3% 40% 99% 60% 1% 2019 30% 97% 70% 3% 43% 100% 57% 0% 2020 31% 98% 69% 2% 37% 99% 63% 1% table 1 indicates that black students were much less likely to have received leadership development training at their high schools than white students. this article does not aim to research the background of leadership development in south african high schools and the reasons for the differential provision thereof. however, the results of the student leadership initiation surveys undertaken at the 52   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 49-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367 university of pretoria indicate that a lack of pre-university leadership development among black students might be an issue worth further study. in the context of this proviso, table 1 indicates that black students were much less likely to have received leadership development training at their high schools than white students, most of whom had participated in some form of leadership development at high school. the data in table 1 further indicate that not only had most of the black students lacked exposure to leadership development, they had also been denied the opportunity of such exposure since their schools had offered no such programme. participating in leadership development at high school level can foster greater understanding among the students interested in assuming positions of leadership at university level of what such roles are likely to entail. in this regard, annual student leadership development conclusion surveys conducted as the student leaders came to the end of their terms in office from 2016 to 2020, asked: “at the beginning of your leadership term, did you have an accurate idea of what the term [in office] will entail?” table 2: results from student leadership development conclusion surveys conducted from 2016 to 2020 on expectations of leadership, by race. students who had an accurate idea of what their term in office would entail students who did not have an accurate idea of what their term in office would entail racial demographics black white black white 2016 43% 74% 57% 26% 2017 40% 71% 60% 29% 2018 39% 77% 61% 23% 2019 39% 76% 61% 24% 2020 37% 77% 63% 23% this survey, which was conducted among the same student leaders who had been surveyed at the beginning of the year, implies that far fewer black than white students knew what they were letting themselves in for when they became leaders, which would have had a significant effect on their understanding of the impact that student leadership would have on them, including on their academics. the data from the various student leadership development surveys conducted from 2016 to 2020 indicate that black students at the university of pretoria were more likely to lack exposure and opportunities for leadership development at high school than white students, which implies that the university provided the first opportunity for many black students to gain exposure to leadership development. against this background, gott et al. (2019) note that experience in leadership development during the course of one’s education can foster substantial future career-development opportunities. in this context, the university should focus on developing the leadership skills and understanding of disadvantaged students as part of its mission to make all students more juan-pierre van der walt: developing online student leadership training interventions …   53 employable and more likely to lead the society and economy of the future (department of student affairs, 2016). leadership development and the covid-19 challenges under covid-19, the challenge of ensuring equitable access to leadership skills and the need to support black student leaders in this respect was compounded by the shift to e-learning (mpungose, 2020), which generally further disadvantaged students from already disadvantaged backgrounds. previously, leadership development efforts had either taken the form of face-toface interventions or had been implemented using a hybrid approach offering learning content both face-to-face and online. access to the training on offer had been partial prior to the pandemic outbreak. for example, student leaders whose transport options were limited could not take advantage of the leadership-development support that was on offer as effectively as the others. however, with the complete shift to online interventions during the covid-19 pandemic, the split between privileged and underprivileged students became even clearer, with many disadvantaged black students unable to access the interventions provided, as was found by mpungose (2020). much of the online content previously made available by the student development unit at the university of pretoria had been forged on the understanding that it would be fully accessible to students deploying the wi-fi and digital devices available on campus, the assumption being that students spend most of their time on campus and could therefore access these resources at will. however, under lockdown and with the closure of residential campuses, such access was no longer possible. in addition, it soon became apparent that the online interventions that had previously been made available to support access to learning and extracurricular activities were insufficient to meet the needs of the new situation. the main stumbling block for many students without access to internet via either wi-fi or lan was inadequate access to sufficient data packages to use the online services. although institutions provided data and zero-rated internet resources, such resources were quite limited. given the need to prioritise data use, students tended to reserve data for online learning and other academic endeavours. students from disadvantaged backgrounds also had lacked adequate access to smart devices, such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, preventing some of them from accessing any form of online learning. although higher education institutions did their best to assist students, limited resources remained the reality. in this context, extracurricular activities were not prioritised by institutions and became inaccessible to disadvantaged students facing data and equipment shortfalls. a number of further challenges in producing appropriate online versions of curricula and training were identified. in particular, syllabi that had been delivered face-to-face or in hybrid form were not that easily translated into content that could be distributed online. for example, many materials could not simply be translated into videos and slideshows in relation to the leadership development training offered by the university of pretoria. in addition, it was difficult to assess how much time students had 54   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 49-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367 at their disposal to engage in this training under the new online conditions for learning. in this regard, time and resource constraints among students led to the syllabus being redesigned, so that essential parts of the training were covered first. however, in seeking to redesign the leadership-development syllabus, the student development unit also had to take account of the different kinds of training required by the student leaders at the various stages of their leadership. furthermore, given that much time had already been lost due to initial uncertainty around the pandemic and its likely impacts, there was a need to condense the information that was to be made available without rendering it inaccessible or less meaningful to students who had previously had little to no previous interaction with, or exposure to, student leadership development. at the same time, many of those in student leadership positions who had been elected or selected in september, which is when the university’s one-year term in office for such positions starts, had already undertaken the first part of their training in 2019, and were already halfway through their term in office when the south african lockdown was announced in march 2020. this bought the student development unit some preparation time, since only the supplementary and additional parts of the training had to be redesigned and presented in the immediate future. however, in the medium and longer term, it became apparent that the likelihood of contact sessions resuming by the time of the next round of leadership elections and selection in september 2020 was extremely low. this prompted a rush to redevelop and adjust the syllabus and interventions in such a way that incoming leaders would receive the necessary training. this was a challenge that created significant uncertainty as such had never before been attempted at the institution. there also arose a moral question about equitable access to extracurricular student development under lockdown. given the inability of some students to participate in, and make use of, student leadership development resources as a result of socio-economic constraints and limited access to the necessary resources, a new threat had emerged: that advantaged students would be further privileged by their ability to access online leadership interventions, placing already disadvantaged students at a further disadvantage as a result of their inability to strengthen their capacity through such training. in this context, it was asked: should student development be continued with those who had access at the cost of those without access? in response, it was decided by the student development unit that students could not be left behind because of their socio-economic status and inability to access online training. so, the question then became: how to find a way to allow all students to enjoy the benefits of extracurricular student development? in this context, it became quite clear that the form of online engagement undertaken prior to lockdown was insufficient for the new situation and that the form and content of this engagement had to be rethought and redesigned to create accessible, efficient, inclusive platforms for student leadership development. juan-pierre van der walt: developing online student leadership training interventions …   55 redesigning student leadership development to meet covid-19 challenges identifying needs the first challenge in redesigning student leadership development under covid-19 entailed identifying the needs of the students who were no longer on campus, some of whom were also experiencing limited online access. in the past, student development surveys had offered quick and easy means of gauging information and making informed decisions. however, under the pandemic and conditions of limited online access for many students, it was realized that any information gathered online would be skewed towards those students who had access to data and devices. therefore, the establishment of more widely accessible contact and communication lines became the priority. given that the cohort of students in leadership positions was relatively small (about 280), it was decided that each of these students could be contacted via telephone by staff members of the student development unit in order to gather information on the best way forward for establishing a scalable, sustainable communication channel. from the telephone survey, it became clear that most students, black and white, had access to some form of smart device, predominantly smartphones, but very few black students (18%) and a significant proportion of white students had quite limited access to data. this meant that many of the students would not be able to access data-heavy training videos or spend significant time on online training platforms. however, from the telephonic survey, it also became clear that every student in the cohort had access to the whatsapp communication platform. table 3: student leader data and device requirements students who required data students who required devices racial demographics black white black white 2020 82% 17% 4 0% 2021 71% 22% 1% 0% choosing a communications platform the whatsapp platform thus became the clear front-runner for communication. with its relatively low data-consumption rate compared with, for example, web-based communication platforms, and with the added benefit of low device requirements, it became the platform of preference for student leaders in the cohort. deploying the programme’s functionality, it also became easy to group students together and tailor communications to meet individual needs. furthermore, various communication providers had data plans that dedicated data specifically to the whatsapp platform. it was therefore agreed that whatsapp would be the predominant communications medium for the student leadership cohort. 56   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 49-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367 with lines of communication established in the form of various small, specific whatsapp groups, a quick, responsive process of establishing student leaders’ needs regarding training, and communication and access requirements was put in place. this provided the data required by the student development unit in its efforts to understand how the university’s leadership-development initiatives should be redesigned to align with the students’ identified needs and the communications platforms at their disposal. redesigning the form and content of the training listening to the expressed views of the student leaders, the student development unit realized that long videos exceeding two minutes in length were inefficient, and that any intervention that required downloading or printing was out of alignment with the resources and equipment to which many of the students had access. in this context, significant parts of the content developed and adjusted over the years of the leadership development programme became obsolete, as the focus turned to producing a solution designed around the media and resources to which the students had access. accordingly, the first step was to redesign the curriculum to include short, highimpact interventions through which the student development unit focused on engaging student leaders with questions that could be answered quickly and directly. a rapid redesign of the syllabus content also had to take place. in this regard, the student development unit moved away from long, text-heavy slideshows to making use of small, low-resolution infographics. a focus on systematic f low and core information replaced the deployment of heavily contextualized settings and imageand text-heavy content. the emphasis was on producing clear summaries of the key content and presenting these in a simple way that did not require the use of large amounts of data or complex software. an added benefit of the new form for the content was that it spoke to the image literacy of the student cohort. once the information presented in support of student-leadership development had been condensed, it became that much easier and quicker to present, addressing the challenge of student time constraints which had previously been identified. at which point the main outstanding challenge remained that of the platform that should be chosen to communicate the syllabus. a two-pronged approach a two-pronged approach was adopted in relation to the question of which media to use. the first prong was to replace the video content that had previously been provided before the pandemic with discussions held on the various whatsapp groups that had now been established among the student leadership cohort. expert trainers were scheduled to present the content in summary form, deploying low-resolution images and short voice notes as required. in the smaller groups, student leaders could then engage and question the presenters, and a fast, responsive form of engagement was created. the learning environment that was created in this way proved to be a robust one which had the added advantage of linking student leaders together to further their learning process juan-pierre van der walt: developing online student leadership training interventions …   57 through the deployment of various supplementary resources. student leaders were able to lead the communication and interaction process, guiding the topics under discussion so that they addressed their actual training and capacity-building needs. the whatsapp approach also fostered quite strong participation among the students, presumably because the discrete groups that were formed tended to protect participants from the greater exposure that they would have faced had they engaged in discussion on a larger public platform. the second prong was the university of pretoria’s online blackboard learning programme, clickup – which, like whatsapp, has a zero rating. this was deployed to provide supplementary resources. the students were already familiar with this easily accessible platform, which meant they could spend their time on understanding the content being presented, rather than on orientating themselves to the platform. the deployment of whatsapp and clickup allowed the discussions and content disseminated via these platforms to remain available for future reference. in addition, the emphasis on engagement produced by the deployment of these platforms encouraged continued learning among the student leaders. by enabling the establishment of smaller groups, the use of whatsapp also facilitated a more focused form of engagement and an approach better suited to the specific student leadership structures to which the students belonged, allowing leadership development that had never been previously possible during face-to-face training. at the same time, a number of students were unable to access these platforms because they lacked either data or devices, which posed a challenge that had to be overcome by the student development unit in its quest to ensure that no student would be disadvantaged in the new training environment. equitable access to devices and data although the cohort had access to whatsapp, some students did not have a sustainable source of data or lacked appropriate devices. in the context of institutional budgetary constraints under which funding for academic programmes was prioritised, this posed a significant challenge. in part, this was addressed by a scheme under which the university loaned devices to students in need. in addition, the student development unit sought to help students receive devices via donations. addressing the issue of access to data, the student development unit found that only 5gb or less of data was required for the redesigned student-development training curriculum. the relatively low levels of data required meant that students who were identified as being in need could be assisted quite easily via various fundraising initiatives which led to the data being delivered directly to their devices. sustainability the final challenge that needed to be addressed was the long-term scaling and sustainability of the newly developed training process. in this regard, the problem of access to devices seemed to have been addressed by the widespread provision of these to students in need 58   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 49-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367 by higher education institutions keen to ensure continued learning via online media. this placed the student development unit in the strong position of being able to leverage this provision to further students’ extracurricular learning at the institution. the long-term sustainability of providing sufficient data for the leadershipdevelopment training was less assured in the context of the fundamental uncertainty of funding provision. however, given the relatively small size of the student leadership cohort and the low data-consumption requirements of the new training programme, the risk of the necessary data costs not being covered from the internal budget and donations was considered minimal. monitoring and evaluation although measurement of the impacts of the new leadership-development programme was incomplete at the time of publication, preliminary monitoring indicated positive results. at the same time, it should be noted that the cohort surveyed soon after lockdown was implemented had previously received initial face-to-face training at the beginning of their terms in office in september 2019. furthermore, the second cohort, that entered office from september 2020 and was trained exclusively online, was still in office at the time of the preparation of this study and the process of measuring the impacts of the new low-data, online leadership-development programme on them was still under way. nevertheless, it would seem that the initiative has proven successful on a practical basis insofar as the student leaders have continued to function at the expected level, although exploration of the longer-term effects of the new training programme would require further research and data collection. providing black students a seat at the table in the aftermath of the fallist student protest movements which erupted across south africa from 2015 (lester et al., 2017), the challenge of access to universities, particularly for black, disadvantaged students has been a recurrent theme in the discourse and remains a key issue of contention (nkanjeni, 2021), as was made clear when national protests against tuition and accommodation fees and financial and academic exclusions at south african universities broke out once again early in 2021. in this context, the lockdowns imposed in response to covid-19 from march 2020 highlighted and exacerbated inequity in the provision of higher-education services to students – inequity that has been shaped by a legacy of oppression on the basis of race which has continued to deny poor, black students the same opportunities as white students. so, for example, table 1 above shows that almost all of the surveyed student leaders who had not previously participated in a leadership-development programme at school were black, ref lecting the disadvantaged background of many black south africans (cejas, 2007). in this context, institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to provide disadvantaged students with platforms and access to training and experience that can help to negate the legacy of inequity (nathane & harms smith, 2019). this responsibility juan-pierre van der walt: developing online student leadership training interventions …   59 extends beyond simply providing black students with access to academic qualifications. it should also entail offering them extracurricular development and, in particular, leadership training which can not only enhance their employability (speckman, 2015), but also equip them with leaderships skills and experience to which they previously had no access in high school (gardner-lubbe et al., 2016). before the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns in south africa, students were able to access equipment and the internet on campus. however, under lockdown, students no longer had access to these resources, placing a responsibility on institutions of higher learning to redesign and foster student leadership-development and other extracurricular activities in such a way that all students could access them. the provision of equitable access to leadership development programmes should be considered as crucial given the impacts of such programmes in equipping student leaders with the confidence, the eloquence and the voice to represent the interests of their student peers and to claim and insist on opportunities that foster their own economic and social betterment. such betterment may take the form of enhanced career opportunities for the particular student leader, including in the shape of a relatively high income and senior managerial position. in addition, promotion into managerial positions would enable these individuals to make decisions and implement changes at a high level, potentially shaping the future of south african society and the country’s economy. thus, leadership-development training can offer students, in particular disadvantaged, black students, a seat at the table. in this context, the student development model adopted at the university of pretoria (department of student affairs, 2016) includes a mandate to help students to develop themselves as potential future managers and leaders in an equitable way. such efforts entail ensuring that the provision of leadership-development opportunities must not be to the detriment of a particular group, which is an issue that requires constant attention. in this regard, responsible, equitable innovation in the area of student development, including in relation to the deployment of institutional resources and the creative use of accessible platforms, should be promoted. in this context, the case study described in this article may serve as an example of how a student leadership-development programme may be adapted creatively and in an innovative fashion to ensure equitable provision under difficult circumstances. it further indicates the importance of producing individual, tailored approaches in response to student needs and specific resource constraints. student development professionals should not be afraid to redesign and adapt approaches away from the norm to ensure that individual needs are met and to ensure that all students enjoy a seat at the table regardless of their socio-economic background. this case study also indicates the importance of adopting new media and different approaches to addressing student needs. in particular, it illustrates how, in an age of fast-paced, interactive communications, the students themselves may be best placed to advise on how their needs may be most effectively met, as long as student affairs and development professionals are prepared to listen to and learn from them. 60   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 49-60 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367 conclusion the participation of black student leaders at the university of pretoria in school leadership-development programmes was found to be much more limited than that of white student leaders, placing black students at a significant disadvantage in terms of leadership skills and experience. in addition, black students had less access to communications devices and, in particular, internet in their home spaces. it is therefore essential, in an effort to ensure equity, that institutions of higher learning employ creative methods to overcome the legacies of inequitable access to opportunity, as well as current impediments to access, which may be faced by black students in relation to leadership development training (as well as other extracurricular activities). this became quite evident during the covid-19 pandemic, when lockdown restrictions on movement highlighted and exacerbated the challenge of inequitable access, leading student affairs professionals at the university of pretoria to address this problem in new ways. in this regard, institutions of higher learning had, and continue to have, a particular responsibility to foster the leadership abilities of black students so that they can enjoy a seat at the table of socio-economic power and inf luence on an equitable basis. references cejas, m. i. (2007). racial discrimination in post-apartheid south africa: a new irreducible “other”? safundi, 8(4), 473-487. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533170701635394. department of student affairs. (2016). student development model. university of pretoria. https://www. up.ac.za/media/shared/385/zp_resources/student-development-model.zp168944.pdf. gardner-lubbe, s., brouze, k., & mulenga, c. n. (2016). student leadership training as a stress reduction strategy at a south african university. south african journal of higher education, 30(5), 141-156. https://doi.org/10.20853/30-5-602. gott, t., bauer, t., & long, k. (2019). student leadership today, professional employment tomorrow. new directions for student leadership, (162), 91-109. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.20336. lester, c., osborne, c., & smith, m. n. (2017). falling rainbows: anatomy of a false choice. new agenda: south african journal of social and economic policy, 64, 36-38. mpungose, c. b. (2020). emergent transition from face-to-face to online learning in a south african university in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. humanities and social sciences communications, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00603-x. nathane, m., & harms smith, l. (2017). #feesmustfall #decolonisededucation frontline. critical and radical social work, 5(1), 115-118. https://doi.org/10.1332/204986017x14835300150779. nkanjeni, u. (2021). fees protests to continue: here is what you need to know. timeslive. https://www. timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-03-16-fees-protests-to-continue-here-is-what-you-need-toknow/ speckman, m. g. (2015). student leadership and advocacy for social cohesion: a south african perspective. african journal on conflict resolution, 15(3), 61-84. how to cite: van der walt, j-p. (2022). developing online student leadership training interventions so that disadvantaged black students may enjoy a seat at the proverbial table. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 49-60. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4367 https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.20336 https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00603-x https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-03-16-fees-protests-to-continue-here-is-what-you-need-to-know/ https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-03-16-fees-protests-to-continue-here-is-what-you-need-to-know/ https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-03-16-fees-protests-to-continue-here-is-what-you-need-to-know/ 136 publications by african sun media fault lines: a primer on race, science and society by jonathan jansen & cyrill walters (eds.) (2020) what is the link, if any, between race and disease? how did the term baster as ‘mixed race’ come to be mistranslated from ‘incest’ in the hebrew bible? what are the roots of racial thinking in south african universities? how does music fall on the ear of black and white listeners? are new developments in genetics simply a backdoor for the return of eugenics? for the first time, leading scholars in south africa from different disciplines take on some of these difficult questions about race, science and society in the aftermath of apartheid. this book offers an important foundation for students pursuing a broader education than what a typical degree provides, and a must-read resource for every citizen concerned about the lingering effects of race and racism in south africa and other parts of the world. isbn 978-1-928480-48-8 r375 302 pages isbn 978-1-928480-49-5 r300 (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781928480495 scholarly engagement and decolonisation: views from south africa, the netherlands and the united states by maurice crul, liezl dick, halleh ghorashi & abel valenzuela jr. 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(2020) considering that one of the core tasks of academia is to provide social critique and reflection, universities have an undeniable role to formulate the contours of a more inclusive academia in contrast to visible and normalised structures of exclusion. translating such ambitions into transformative practices seems to be easier said than done. the authors mirror the challenges and achievements of academics and practitioners in three national contexts, which could serve as a foundation for academia to move towards dismantling elitist and privileged-based assumptions, and formulating new forms of knowledge production and institutional policies, inside and outside academia. isbn 978-1-928314-56-1 r430 406 pages isbn 978-1-928314-57-8 r350 (e-book) doi: 10.18820/9781928314578 african sun media is an integrated content manager and specialist supplier of publishing and printing services for the higher education market and the private sector. we publish under the imprints sun press, sun media and sunlit. most of our publications are available in electronic and print formats at: orders@africansunmedia.co.za amazon kindle & paperback africansunmedia.store.it.si (e-books) google books | takealot | facebook visit www.africansunmedia.co.za for more information. https://bit.ly/3fii9c2 https://bit.ly/2x7tbn8 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928480495 https://bit.ly/3dueljd https://bit.ly/2n1kass https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928314578 mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= https://amzn.to/2ktlpkl https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za/home https://bit.ly/2k1uilm https://www.takealot.com/seller/african-sun-media?sellers=12458 https://www.facebook.com/pg/africansunmedia/shop/ https://www.africansunmedia.co.za/publish journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 111‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 111 www.jsaa.ac.za research article presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures in the development and maintenance of transformative curricula stephen steyn* * mr stephen steyn is a lecturer in the department of architecture, tshwane university of technology, south africa. email: steynsp@tut.ac.za abstract in this article it is argued that, through adjustment of the point of view from which history is taught and theorised in architecture schools, grand narratives of progress can be critiqued and manipulated at a structural level. this could provide more lasting transformative practices than those produced by attempts to subvert such narratives by slotting alternative details into the existing structure. the restructuring of points of view in history curricula is approached from critiques of two devices through which historical events are considered to be of objective significance: the canon and the timeline. the fundamental definitions and justifications of these devices are briefly unpacked, after which a proposal is made for alternative structures in the production of content for history and theory modules at university level. a brief description of some of the structural teaching and learning devices of studio-based design courses serves to illustrate the diversity of modes of engagement available to managers, teachers and students in the discipline. some of those devices are then transposed onto more conventional teaching and learning structures in order to test new possibilities for history and theory curricula. the possible outcomes of a restructuring is briefly illustrated through an example of resulting ‘other timelines’ which are functional at the level of rendering history legible and comprehensible as a subject of study, but which could simultaneously move narratives of progress out of history and into the personal experience of students and tutors. keywords academic development; architectural representation; chronology; curriculum; decolonisation; history and theory; timelines; transformation firing a canon whenever one reads a text, one is by definition not reading a very large number of other texts. one is at all times selecting from a nebulous and interconnected field of texts because all subject matters, regardless of how clearly defined or autonomous they may appear, are connected to many others which, to compound the problem, are themselves connected to many more subjects and matters in their turn. the most common solution to this problem https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:steynsp%40tut.ac.za?subject= 112 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 111‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 (that of defining the boundaries of a field of study) is the establishment and maintenance of a canon, a selection of particular examples that define an area. through anchoring with examples, the canon can define a vague boundary which is simultaneously strong enough to identify all those texts that would fall inside its territory while also being diffuse enough to expand should a new anchor appear near or in its periphery. this quality has made the canon an enormously successful device in the production of order in the industries and faculties of knowledge. since much of what we consider canonical in any field, however, is a historical inheritance, it becomes subject to renewed critical scrutiny in the south african context, where the call for the decolonisation of university curricula presents opportunities for the reinvention of the canons that define the activities of our fields. although decolonisation debates have already been substantially formed and interpreted by a large number of scholars and theorists, both globally and in africa – biko, fanon, said, wa thiong’o, spivak and bhabha are probably the most well‑known amongst them – its specific relevance in the design and delivery of university curricula was highlighted in south africa during the popular political movements initiated by #rhodesmustfall in  2015. this resistance movement followed, generally, two lines of critique. firstly, it argued that universities are perpetuating inequality through financial exclusion (naicker,  2016), and secondly that, through teaching content that is primarily a colonial inheritance, students may be alienated from their own experience and that values true to this time and this place are thereby either eradicated, or rendered invisible (pillay, 2016; nordling, 2018). the successes of that movement were most immediately felt in the first line of critique, which came to be known as #feesmustfall. since financial models of exclusion and access have a substantial recorded dimension, in the form of statistical records of disbursement, they are comparatively easier to adjust than curricular content (the second line of critique). unlike financial bookkeeping, the records for curricular content are distributed amongst an enormous quantity of incompatible documents, presentations, texts and, often, the memories of individuals involved in teaching. the second branch of the movement is therefore significantly more complicated to untangle. this complication was made evident by the wide‑ranging online mockery of the component of #feesmustfall that splintered off in the form of #sciencemustfall (ally & august, 2018). intended to critique the predominance of western lenses on african subjects, the respondents often found themselves in the unfortunate position of having to recommend content to replace knowledge inherited from colonial sources. the direct engagement with content outside of one’s field is evidently a dead end (science must fall?, 2016). it remains possible, however, for any number of disciplines to analyse and comment on the structural conditions of a field of knowledge. it is possible to study science, for example, historically and philosophically (latour, 1993). in search of new canons, it may thus be useful to not only look at specific interventions in content, but at the underlying structure of a field. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 stephen steyn: presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures … 113 deconstructing the timeline amongst the most sensitive subjects in relation to decolonisation as a mandate, alongside the sciences, is the teaching and production of history. the proponents of decolonisation are operating with the awareness that the trajectories traced by the past through the present and into the future can be manipulated not only by speculative projections of what the future should be, but also by repositioning knowledge of history – the conceptual starting point of a trajectory, a timeline. the timeline is to history curricula what the scientific method is to science – a fundamental ordering device. the vicissitudes and implications of the idea of the timeline are elaborated in figure 1. figure 1: some diagrammatic conceptions of conventional timelines (source: author, 2018) the convention of reading from left to right is maintained in the descriptions that follow. the present is represented by a circle with the past to the left and the future to the right. in the diagram on the far left, we are presented with the simplest conception of time in which the present straddles a known past and an unknown future. the past and the present appear to have a relationship, since the rationale of the line is maintained in spite of crossing through the circle. in the second diagram, the idea is more complex and is represented through a crude summary of the concept of the rhizome developed by gilles deleuze and felix guattari in a thousand plateaus: capitalism and schizophrenia (1987). accordingly, the future is represented not as a line but as a field of possibilities. in the diagram three lines are drawn but in reality, to the right of the circle is an infinitely dense field which could not be represented as a line. the function of the dotted line here is to indicate the paths that the present could follow through that field in defining the events that do occur, and separating them conceptually from the field of potentiality and the mass of possibilities that do not occur. events are thus conceived to move from potentiality to actuality through the present moment. in the idea of building, steven groák elegantly spatialises this conception of the relation between the past and the future through an analogy with the body when he cites an unidentified south american language in which “the word for ‘the front of the body’ is the same as the word for ‘the past’, and the word for ‘the back of the body’ is the same as the word for ‘the future’. they picture themselves walking backwards into the future, able to see the flow of what has happened, incapable of conceiving what is to come” (1992, p. 182). 114 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 111‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 the spatial nature of history (alluded to by the fact that events take place) means, however, that the past too must be represented as a dense field. in this instance, it is a field of the endless number of different places in which events have occurred (massey, 1992). the third diagram illustrates such a dynamic environment for the past. it is now more dense, less like a line and more like a field due to the number of events that have taken place simultaneously (žižek, 2014). in order to accommodate that representation, the present is now drawn as a vertical line separating two fields of possibility – a field of places to the left and a field of possible events to the right. the present is thus drawn as the intersection of space and time. since the present can redirect the movement of events at any moment, the past and the future are not represented as logically consistent in the third diagram. it is not assumed that there is a direct connection between events in the past and those in the future. while it may be true to say that the logic is very complex and thus generally unpredictable, it would be obtuse to argue that that means that there is no logical consistency in the passage of time. accordingly, in the fourth diagram, continuity between the past and the future is restored, but the conventional hierarchy of known and unknown is reversed for the purposes of illustration. the past and the future are thus not considered to be entirely independent (though it remains possible in the present, through agency or coincidence, to redirect the path at any moment) and there is generally still understood to be a flow from the one side to the other, which happens in a more or less comprehensible or logical fashion. one could now theoretically select or follow a trajectory through the field of the past in order to change the future or one could speculate on a future, and find a past (or a place) for it that would make it logically consistent with reality. the problem with the simplicity of these diagrams is apparent: the representation of a four‑dimensional reality (massey, 1992) in the two‑dimensional medium of the drawing severely limits that which can be represented. more complex forms of representation may be useful in the production of alternatives. one of the most evocative timeline drawings in architectural history was revealed in charles jencks’ expertly timed mid‑2000 publication of a drawing titled the century is over, evolutionary tree of twentieth century architecture. in it, jencks summarises many of the movements in architectural thought throughout the twentieth century along a semi‑organic, blob‑like construction containing ideas, their proponents and example buildings. the representation is remarkably complex, containing multiple values and their interactions such as the relative impact of ideas (through the blob size in the vertical dimension), their duration (blob length and colour), the relative impact of individuals, examples and key terms (through variations in the text size). in jencks’ words: as can be seen in the classifiers to the extreme left of the diagram, it is based on the assumption that there are coherent traditions that tend to self‑organize around underlying structures. these deep structures, often opposed to each other psychologically and culturally, act like what are called, in the esoteric science of nonlinear dynamics, ‘attractor basins’: they attract architects to one line of development rather than another. (2000, p. 77) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 stephen steyn: presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures … 115 frame/work what jencks attempts with remarkable success in that exercise is a more or less definitive illustration of the content of a century of architectural history. that is not what this project is attempting, but the limits of that diagram can be taken as the start of another project, one where representation leaves the space of images, and enters the four‑dimensional space of organisations (which includes images, persons and events). this is an attempt to develop what fanon called the “the framework of an organization” when he said that “[a]ll this taking stock of the situation, this enlightening of consciousness, and this advance in the knowledge of the history of societies are only possible within the framework of an organization, and inside the structure of a people” (1963, p. 142). jencks’ exercise is useful because it points to the limits of definitive illustrations and shows some of the values that can be created by manipulating the limits and depths of both the canon and the timeline. it is through these devices that history takes on the appearance of objectivity and inevitability. but through the manipulation of those devices, and critique of categories like “other” (zizek, 2014) – or what jencks calls, in that diagram, “unselfconscious” – it can be made apparent that it is, in fact, politically constructed, subjective and retroactively malleable. what this project is proposing is to describe the structure of an organisation which produces critiques of history through the exploration of alternatives to these devices. in this proposal it is recommended that, rather than positing specific content as anchor points for new canons, the details be almost entirely dictated by the idiosyncratic and unpredictable expertise and proclivities of individuals appointed to study and teach individual history and theory subjects, the framework being used only to determine the relative position of students and teachers. a more idiosyncratic order is succinctly defended by søren kierkegaard when he states that ‘[w]hen a classification does not ideally exhaust its object, a haphazard classification is altogether preferable, because it sets the imagination in motion (cited in žižek, 2014, p. 36). similarly, in a review for the new yorker magazine, christine smallwood (2014) speculates on a variety of means of ordering the multiplicity of mutually exclusive possibilities involved in the activity of reading while subverting the canon. smallwood describes a number of unusual methods for dislodging the prejudice of importance set by existing canons. one technique involved the apparently arbitrary selection of a shelf from the new york society library and completing all the books on it. another, perhaps more poetic technique, is to rely on the chance meetings of the past and the idiosyncrasy of the books one has selected to purchase, but not yet read. such techniques, while they may seem somewhat whimsical on the surface might be of use in the reconsideration of historical curricula. logic and coherence do, however, remain imperative. should the structure be based on a truly arbitrary selection, it will be impossible to describe and summarise content for an audience interested in taking a course. in other words, if the only way to understand the content of the course is to take the course, it becomes impractical to implement as a university subject where content needs to be communicated at varying degrees of complexity depending on the audience for the information. the function of the course programme (or curriculum) could, however, 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 111‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 be shifted from the description of required content, to the production, maintenance and description of structures which make space for difference. they should ideally be well‑ defined and lend themselves to summary understanding while describing value clearly without either going into excessive detail or restricting the complexity or nature of the content that they contain. such a structure could also be called an architecture. in order to teach history and theory of architecture, in other words, we first need an architecture of history and theory. reflexive traditions in architectural education architecture is a text, but it is also a technology and a social service. its pedagogy has therefore always performed complex manoeuvres between satisfying the demands made upon it by a profession, the academy, the expectations of students (and their benefactors) and a historically grounded, cultural discipline. the most potent medium for the production of these manoeuvres is the design studio. as a medium of instruction, the studio is non‑directional (or, rather, re‑directable) making it more dynamic than traditional auditorium‑style lecturing. the classroom setting within which lectures typically take place has a clear and often very useful directionality and hierarchy, which is balanced by the architectural studio where freedom of movement leads to more reflexive teaching and learning practices. what students learn in a studio setting is determined through the interaction of lecture content, briefs, their own interests and talents, as well as the proclivities, talents and frames of reference of tutors and fellow students. any canonical development is thus necessarily filtered and manipulated in real time, making it an ideal format for decolonising curricula. it is, however, highly laborious and expensive to teach in this medium since it generally takes on a format that approximates that of a conversation, which is highly limited in the possible number of participants. though techniques for economising these conversations abound (group work, elaborate briefs, reading lists and critique) such instruments tend to be poor substitutes for inclusive and reflexive conversations between tutors and students. therefore, though it may be tempting to simply absorb history and theory completely into design studios, the purpose of this article is rather to speculate instead on some of the means by which reflexivity can be increased within more conventional lecture settings. the requirement for increased dynamism in the programme derives from a specific problem that arises when history and theory are taught as subjects parallel to the design studio. while architecture can be studied as a historical phenomenon, it is no longer considered appropriate that it be practised historically. in other words, in the studio, the logic of instruction is a‑historical – students require and benefit from expansive frames of reference, but they are never (or almost never) mimicking historical forms in their exercises. their experience with the production of form is always contemporary because, through the medium of the studio, students are active participants in the development of the discipline and historical forms are not given superior status. though the historical practice of architecture is possible, and was popular during the prominence in the 1980s and 1990s of the style of architecture generally known as ‘postmodernism’, it is now understood that https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 stephen steyn: presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures … 117 one loses substantial opportunities for new identity formation. in addition, it produces a problematic dualistic hierarchy between theory and practice. in the first instance, one cannot study architectural history until one can ‘do’ architecture and in the second instance, one cannot ‘do’ architecture without knowing the selected history. keeping in mind the means of identity production described by michael smith when he stated that “identity and difference are socially produced in the here and now, not archaeologically salvaged from the disappearing past” (1992, pp.513), the department of architecture at the tshwane university of technology (tut) is in the process of testing and developing a series of new and reconsidered structures in the history and theory subjects. the descriptions that follow are the first iterations of these structures and the first speculations on how new structures can be represented and implemented. theoretical structures the theory and history programme at tut is divided, according to long‑standing and deeply ingrained traditions, into horizontally stratified layers of one year’s duration each. this structure is not in question since disrupting it would prove too substantial in its consequences for other structures extant in the system. the proposed new structures at tut will allow for the essential, underlying principle of an incremental increase in complexity to remain the order of the field, but the timeline is radically transformed and the grand narrative of progress is removed. the effects of any structural changes to an organisation will only be evident over time, and are therefore described and approached as a project, rather than a curriculum. with close observation and minor adjustments, the proposal will be refined in real time while quality‑control procedures such as peer review, regular reports and substantial feedback sessions will help to prevent illegibility. content that does not fit into the incremental, horizontally stratified structure can be resolved either by adjustments to the structure, or by circumventing the stratification through, for example, guest lectures in some years from tutors who primarily manage and develop other years. the first structural/chronological adjustment to the history and theory programme at tut is an alteration of the title. architecture schools, when they don’t attempt to separate history and theory entirely into autonomous subjects, tend to name their history and theory programmes just that – history, then theory. a switch to theory and history marks a reversal in the order and an important re‑conceptualisation of the programme, shifting focus from the history of architectural theory to the theorising of history through the medium of architecture. in other words, theory is not seen as an object of study parallel to history but is instead considered technologically, as a device through which to view, approach and appropriate history. another adjustment involves the use of some techniques derived from studio‑based teaching in the development of organisational structures. since it is not practically feasible at this point for each student to construct her or his own theoretical structure and historical narrative, the proposed structure focuses its attention instead on the relationship between tutors and the content that they teach. occasionally, it appears that the content of a course 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 111‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 could be objectified (through lecture notes, slides, course guides and even essays) which would institutionalise the intellectual property produced by employees of the university, and would make tutors somewhat interchangeable. the reality is, however, that the notes and slides are highly specific to the person who developed the course, and can be esoteric and inaccessible for anyone tasked with replacing them or standing in for them. this would be interpreted as a weakness by more bureaucratically and economically minded managers, but it also presents an opportunity in the context of transformation, where bureaucratic instruments themselves become subject to critique. the task at hand, then, is to develop a structure that allows for individual idiosyncrasy which would, in turn, more or less automatically transform the content. it requires a substantial amount of curricular invention from individual tutors, but allows each tutor to exploit her or his strengths in the production of order in order to compensate for the possible lack of continuity, or reduced continuity. the etymological origin in english of the word theory links it to concepts of vision and manners of seeing (theatre is derived from the same root). in keeping with this original conception of theory, the first four years of study serve as an introduction and investigation of means of constructing and wielding different lenses on history. the lenses are named and conceptualised as representative of an incremental increase in complexity but reflect the idea that that which increases in complexity is not the object which is viewed, but the viewer or the lens through which the object is viewed instead. accordingly, a student may progress through ‘levels’ of knowledge of increasing complexity, but history is no longer assumed to be a narrative of ‘improvement’. the first four years are thus named using adjectives rather than nouns, and describe a way of seeing – an order, rather than an object which is viewed. in the fifth year, the focus shifts from the construction of lenses (or perspectives, and/or points of view) by tutors to the self‑conscious construction and manipulation of perspectives by students themselves in preparation for a minor dissertation in the sixth year. as an example of how this would translate into teachable content, a brief unpacking of some possibilities from each year will serve as examples. in the first year, the lens is called geometric. this does not mean that students only study the geometries prevalent in architectural history, but instead that the order by which the content is arranged is a geometric order. in other words, should one take the example of the circle as an ordering device, one could place architectural artefacts from the renaissance next to iron age circular settlements of southern africa or circular buildings in the 21st century in the same lecture, providing students with context for each, and allowing them to mix intuitively as a montage. this a‑temporality will resolve many conflicts between the history subjects and those in the fields of design and construction, while simultaneously opening up history courses to minor insertions of radical novelty in the production of content. the course progresses from this very broad introduction to an elemental conception of architecture in the second year, based on the extensive work by the office for metropolitan architecture (koolhaas, 2014) in which architectural elements are dislodged from one another and each is studied in the context of its own history as a technology, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 stephen steyn: presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures … 119 rather than within the generic context of political history or styles of architecture. what exactly is considered to count amongst the ‘elements of architecture’ will, however not be dictated by that text and will instead be decided, studied and expanded by tutors and students. in the third year, elements are given order through the investigation of sequential techniques. there, time, and its relation with space, become the background for investigations of, for example, literature, cinema and film making, music and its notation, or the plan as an essentially sequential device. in the fourth year – the exit level for an undergraduate degree – students study the history of architecture through a political lens. here, architecture could be studied in its relation to power, identity, and/or the idea of a nation or city (urban design is explicitly introduced into the design curriculum at this time) with the background of an awareness of architecture as an embodiment of relationships and hierarchical values. the fifth year is the first year of postgraduate study. it precedes a one‑year thesis in which theory, construction and design are fully integrated. titled organization it allows for the lens to become a self‑conscious object of study as students begin to experiment explicitly with the production of visualised points of view through analysis of architectural representation and its histories, taking the previous four years into account. the example above is based on the current staff distribution of the department and their expressed research interests. it will be updated as staff join the department, leave it, or change the trajectory or framing of their research. other timelines each of the lenses outlined above will produce a different concept of the timeline. it is not within the scope of this text to describe any course content in detail, or to draw a comprehensive representation of any of the courses, their content, or resulting timelines. as illustration, however, figure 2 serves to summarise roughly the type of timeline that a lens like the geometric (left) and elemental (right) could produce. figure 2: a multiplicity of coexistent histories are revealed when the primary order of history is adjusted to an a‑temporal mode such as geometric shapes in architecture (left) or architectural elements (right). 120 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 111‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 in the alternative timelines above, the convention of reading from left to right has been retained, meaning that the past is generally to the left and the future to the right of the present which is described by a vertical line. each arrow in the frame on the left represents an architectural artefact, event or person. the logic of the relations between individual artefacts is determined idiosyncratically through association with geometric shape, in the production of each lecture and its content, and they are placed in a three‑dimensional space according to the order of that logic. the duration, intensity and impact of individual geometric components (circles, squares, or spirals, for example) vary somewhat, depending on the subjective will of the tutor and students. in the diagram to the right, the timeline resulting from the second‑year course, elements, is roughly described. in it, the different artefacts of study maintain their own relative timelines and are located in a field from which the tutor selects details to discuss in class. they have different trajectories, lengths, pasts and futures and are relatively independent of one another in the abstract space of the diagram. in both images, the present is drawn as a vertical line, introducing the explicit study of possibilities for the future. the study of history is thereby reframed as a study of the past, present and future – as well as their interactions. identity and continuity architecture schools are in a continuous process of negotiation between the mutually exclusive and competing possibilities of a well‑defined and well‑illustrated identity on the one hand and the mandate to conform to predictable and consistent standards on the other. standardisation allows interoperability between institutions while identity allows unique, place‑based education. the drive towards standardisation is a response to artificially produced, place‑based inequalities which will be perpetuated if left to develop naturally and so should not be dismissed. architecture is, however, a place‑based discipline (buildings, like events, take place) and the productive potential of place‑based identity also should not be dismissed. in order to tread the fine line between equality and difference (and, for that matter, possibility and definition) one could focus on the dual nature of architecture for at least a conceptual solution. the moveable components of architecture tend to be its conceptual dimension, which is mutable through reinterpretation and description, as well as its organisational component (people arrive at and leave architecture, defining it as they occupy it). by focusing on giving definition to these immaterial components of architecture (people, procedures and concepts), architecture schools may be able to not only bridge discrepancies between bureaucratic processes and practical reality in its own curricular programmes, but could also contribute more broadly to debates in education and politics. architectural thinking can contribute recommendations for changes to the procedures by which rules (form) are followed, when not making recommendations for new rules. to say, in other words, what is in the book but not to say it by the book. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 stephen steyn: presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures … 121 references ally, y. & august, j. (2018). #sciencemustfall and africanising the curriculum: findings from an online interaction. south african journal of psychology, 48(3), 351‑359. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246318 794829 deleuze, g. & guattari, f. (1987). a thousand plateaus: capitalism and schizophrenia. minneapolis,  mn: university of minnesota press. fanon, f. (1963). the wretched of the earth. c. farrington (transl.). new york, ny: grove press. foucault, m. (2002). the order of things. new york, ny: routledge. groak, s. (1991). the idea of building: thought and action in the design and production of buildings. new york, ny: e & f spon. itten, j. (1975). design and form: the basic course at the bauhaus. london, u.k.: thames and hudson. jencks, c. (2000). ‘jencks’s theory of evolution’. the architectural review, july(1241), 76‑79. koolhaas, r. (2014). elements. venice, italy: marsilio publishers. latour, b. (1993). we have never been modern. c. porter (transl.). cambridge, mass: harvard university press. massey, d. (1992). politics and space/time. new left review, 1(196), 65‑84. naicker, c. (2016) ‘from marikana to #feesmustfall: the praxis of popular politics in south africa’. urbanisation, 1(1), 35‑61. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455747116640434 nordling, l. (2018) south african science faces its future. nature, 554, 159‑162. https://doi.org/ 10.1038d41586‑018‑01696‑w pillay, s. (2016). silence is violence: (critical) psychology in an era of rhodes must fall and fees must fall. south african journal of psychology, 46(2), 155‑159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246316636766 rorty, r. (1991). feminism and pragmatism. radical philosophy, 1(59), 3‑14. sartre, j. (2006). colonialism and neocolonialism. new york, ny: routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780 203826577 smallwood, c. (2014). ghosts in the stacks: finding forgotten books. the new yorker, 9  and 16  june. new york, ny: conde nast. smith, m. (1992). postmodernism, urban ethnography, and the new social space of ethnic identity. theory and society, 21, 493‑531. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00993487 science must fall? (2016). youtube. 12 october. viewed on 1  may  2019 at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=c9sirnibd14 žižek, s. (2014). event. london, u.k.: penguin. how to cite: steyn, s. (2019). presenting history: the manipulation of chronological structures in the development and maintenance of transformative curricula. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 111‑121. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246318794829 https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246318794829 https://doi.org/10.1177/2455747116640434 https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-01696-w https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-01696-w https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246316636766 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203826577 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203826577 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00993487 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9sirnibd14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9sirnibd14 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3696 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, ix–x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4445 ix www.jsaa.ac.za guest editorial south africa’s first-year experience: consolidating and deepening a culture of national scholarship annsilla nyar* * dr annsilla nyar is director of the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) at the university of johannesburg, south africa. email: anyar@uj.ac.za this special edition of journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) represents an important milestone for south africa’s first-year experience movement. this milestone is about reaching a particular stage of maturation in the drive to cultivate national first-year experience scholarship. it also shows the importance of the continued development of south africa’s only dedicated national centre for first-year experience, i.e. the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience (sanrc), in terms of helping grow and nurture scholarship in the field. having once described the field of south africa’s first-year experience scholarship as “an aspiring academic community that is poised for future development” (nyar, 2018, p. ix), it is now possible to say that the first-year experience is no longer at a developmental stage in south africa. the collection of articles assembled in this special journal edition bear testimony to a now-thriving culture of scholarship, which helps define and consolidate south africa’s first-year experience as a coherent field of study and most importantly, ultimately helps academics and practitioners to better serve south africa’s student population. a diverse range of topics are presented in the contributions chosen for this journal. this special edition begins with an important aspect of the first-year experience: the examination of stress, coping and adjustment strategies of first-year students by scholars engelbrecht, mostert, pienaar and kahl. though limited by a small sample size, this study offers valid insights about the complex nature of the stressors associated with the adjustment of first-year students to university. the article invites serious questions about how best to effectively support students at this stage of their transition to university. scholars mcghie, venter and dos reis address the problems confronting business education learners in the further education and training (fet) phase of their education through a case study of two western cape schools. through adopting a longitudinal research approach, they argue that the development and application of a south african readiness model for learners would make a significant contribution towards helping resolve some of the problems in south africa’s schooling system. this article is particularly distinguished by its strong engagement with relevant literature. scholars combrink and oosthuizen insert the covid-19 theme into this special edition in a timely fashion through their thoughtful account of the effect of the covid-19 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4445 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, ix-x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4445 pandemic on first-year students at university of the free state (ufs). this article presents some serious questions about the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on first-year student transition. the article by scholars kapp, mostert and de beer sets out to address the all-important question of student motivation through an analysis of the psychometric properties of the academic motivation scale-college version for south african first-year university students. the authors conclude that the scale holds value as a means to better understand the relationship between student motivation and academic success. the article by van zyl, dampier and ngwenya proposes a model of student success intervention through a case study of the integrated student success initiative (issi) at university of johannesburg (uj). the issi is an interesting institutional initiative that uses data to identify at-risk students, design interventions, and evaluate associated outcomes. scholars motsabi, van zyl and diale present intriguing insights in terms of research on first-generation students, and further, those whom the authors deem as black african first-generation students. it is hoped that research of this calibre will help stimulate muchneeded national conversations about the necessary support systems and structures for first-generation students. the academic contributions in this journal reach a significant level of sophistication through the work of tshwane university of technology (tut)-based scholar, mason. mason’s two articles “towards a learning mindset: first-year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude in the context of learning effort” and “my name is matshepo … mother of hope: examining hope amid the first-year experience” situate traits such as gratitude and hope as intriguing ‘new’ factors that can contribute to student success. mason’s scholarship prompts us to re-examine our existing narratives of student success, and opens up possibilities of a whole new field of enquiry around the implications for practice. orientation practice is often not conceded the critical attention that it deserves in the broader context of first-year experience and student transitions, more broadly. this edition concludes with the only reflective practitioner account in the form of a considered account of how to improve existing orientation practice at a national level. this article presents seven good practice strategies, as a means of helping improve national orientation practice. i am confident that this journal edition contains some of the best, most readable and most stimulating articles on the subject of south africa’s first-year experience. the articles in their entirety serve as worthy reminders of the path that south africa’s first-year experience has and is taking, in the course of helping to change the futures of the country’s students. it is anticipated that, with continued encouragement from the sanrc, further scholarship will emerge to ‘drill deeper’ into the many areas of possible analysis raised herein and provide finer-grained insight into the national fye. it is also hoped that the contents presented here will inspire more contributors, particularly young and emerging scholars, to make future submissions to this journal and others, addressing topics of south africa’s first-year experience. how to cite: nyar, a. (2020). south africa’s first-year experience: consolidating and deepening a culture of national scholarship. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), ix-x. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4445 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4445 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4445 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 47–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.70 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za pascarella, t. and terenzin, p. (2005). how college affects students, a third decade of research (2nd ed.) san francisco: jossey-bass randall s. lange* book review * higher education master’s in africa student, university of the western cape. email: randalllange@webmail.co.za how college affects students is one of the most authoritative and most cited publications in student affairs. it is authored by ernest t. pascarella and patrick t. terenzini. at the time of writing, pascarella served as professor of educational psychology at the university of illinois, chicago and as an associate director for research at the center for instructional development at syracuse university. the main focus of his research deals with the impact of college on students and student persistence in higher education. terenzini served as professor of higher education and senior scientist at the center for the study of higher education at the pennsylvania state university. he was also professor of higher education at the institute of higher education of the university of georgia from 1986 to 1989 and an assistant to the president for planning and director of institutional research at the state university of new york, albany. he has received the sidney suslow award and two forum best paper awards from the association for institutional research. in 1991 pascarella and terenzini published a first volume of the book entitled how college affects students. the original publication reviewed a vast and complex body of existing literature – from the 1960s through to the late 1980s – that focused on trends in college student development in american higher education. in the american context, “college” refers to undergraduate studies at university level and does not refer to technical and vocational (further education) colleges as is the case in south africa. in 2005 pascarella and terenzini released an updated and expanded second volume of the book, which reviews what has been learnt in the last decade and introduces more theories involving the overall effects of college on students. it also provides a more detailed view concerning the factors that may play a role in how life at university affects students’ development. the structure of the second edition does not differ much from the 1991 edition; the sections of the original have been retained. it builds on existing knowledge obtained in the first edition and looks at various kinds of effects of college focused on the same six questions that were posed in the 1991 version. these questions deal with change during college, the net effects of college (which deals with how changes in students can be attributed to the college experience), between-college effects, within-college effects, 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 47–50 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.70 conditional effects of college (which deals with how the effects of college vary among different types of students) and the long-term effects of college. however, provided that higher education has changed since 1991, the focus of the research in the second volume has also been adjusted; key among those changes is the composition of the student body in undergraduate education, which has become more diverse. research was also done focusing on aspects such as teaching and learning; and how students’ out-of-class involvement impacts on their development, and this is reflected in the second volume. it would be impossible to discuss the wealth of knowledge contained in the book. generally speaking, the book provides an expanded view of how student learning takes place within higher education and is therefore invaluable. within each chapter, the authors provide a brief summary of the findings in the 1991 work and thereafter provide the new findings, which is helpful to the reader as it assists both in making comparisons and identifying how trends have changed since 1991. each chapter ends with a summary dealing with the six questions mentioned above and places the new findings in context. in particular, chapters 1 and 2 provide an introduction, conceptual framework and overview of the volume. chapters 3 to 9 address student outcomes, whereby each chapter focuses on a specific college outcome. the outcomes that are addressed include students’ personal growth and change; their cognitive skills and intellectual growth; verbal and subject matter competency; moral development; career and economic impacts; psychosocial change during college; educational attainment and persistence; as well as attitudes and values. these chapters focus on students’ overall development as well as the interconnectedness of students’ inand out-of-class experiences as part of this development. one of the most important conclusions drawn from these chapters is that students have to be fully engaged in college life in order to gain the most benefit from the college experience. this engagement refers to ways in which students are involved in various activities during the undergraduate experience, especially the time and effort they put into their education; it deals with how they interact with their peers and teaching staff and to what extent the university provides a conducive environment. it also looks at innovative teaching approaches that move away from the idea of simply having teachercentred lectures and instead support active engagement of students in the learning and teaching process. chapter 10 deals with the quality of life of students after college, while chapter 11 provides a summary of how college affects students. chapter 12 discusses the implications that there may be for policy, practice and research. it looks at new directions for research, research designs, analytical approaches, as well as to the implications of research for public policy and institutional practices and policy. there are many sections in this book that are relevant to african higher education. these include diversity issues, new information technologies, access to higher education and programme completion, teaching and learning issues as well as the impact of organisational structures and institutional policy. a number of universities in africa have started to conduct student engagement/student experience surveys. this volume provides the theoretical underpinning for it while outlining how these theories were arrived at in the first place. however, a potential weak point of the book lies in its organisation. the randall s. lange: how college affects students, a third decade of research 49 book is organised in terms of the different types of college outcomes (such as cognitive development, values and career). instead, it could have focused on what it is in the college experience that may have an influence on these outcomes, such as a students’ choice of major subject or particular sets of activities and best practices. another disadvantage is that the book focuses on colleges in the united states that offer liberal, undergraduate degrees. insofar, it is bound to ignore the contextual issues and the fact that the book attracts an audience beyond the borders of the united states where, as is typical in most african higher education, students enrol in career-specific undergraduate degree programmes which do not necessarily offer the same potential for developing the general student attributes and skills mentioned in the book. overall, pascarella and terenzini’s second volume is a key reference for those wanting to learn more about how undergraduate education impacts student development. the findings of a large number of studies are synthesised and discussed and the book thus provides an important contribution to the field of higher education studies and student affairs. moreover, for professionals involved in student affairs and others responsible for student learning the book provides a starting point to decide how and where to focus their attention and practice in relation to improving the attainment of particular college outcomes. www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 1 special issue: reflective practice developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years thierry m. luescher,1 henry mason,2 teboho moja,3 annsilla nyar-ndlovu,4 birgit schreiber5 & angelique wildschut6 1 prof. thierry m. luescher, human sciences research council, cape town; nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. jsaa editorial executive. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-6675-0512 2 dr henry mason, tshwane university of technology, south africa. jsaa editorial board member. email: masonh@tut.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-3966-9970 3 prof. teboho moja, new york university, usa; visiting research fellow at the university of pretoria; university of the western cape, south africa. jsaa editor-in-chief. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu. orcid: 0000-00016343-3020 4 dr annsilla nyar-ndlovu, university of johannesburg, south africa. jsaa editorial board member. email: anyar@uj.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-0535-505x 5 dr birgit schreiber, alberts-ludwig-universität freiburg, germany; iasas vice-president of iasas; jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitdewes@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504 6 dr angelique wildschut, human sciences research council; university of pretoria, south africa. jsaa editorial board member. email: awildschut@hsrc.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-0361-3702 abstract the 10th anniversary of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) is a good occasion to ask in what ways the editors of jsaa think they have contributed to achieving the journal’s aim to contribute to professionalizing student affairs in africa. using four reflective accounts of six editors of the journal, this article analyses the editors’ reflections on their professional pathways and the role the journal played in them; how they contribute to the professional development of their peers by means of their editorship; the challenges they encounter and lessons they have learned; and the visions they have for the future of the journal. by applying evetts’ (2003) notions of professionalism, we identify different types of professionalism signified in the reflective accounts. we find that the agency of the editors combines standards, ethics, and operating procedures of publishing with principles and commitments indigenous to african student affairs. in this regard, the jsaa-led professionalization process combines both elements of professionalism ‘from within’ and ‘from outside’. we further highlight commitments of the editors to well-being (of students, staff, and communities), professional development and excellence, deliberate inclusivity and social justice, and a focus on relevance in the african student affairs context. article history: received 23 june 2023 | accepted 10 july 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords academic publishing, higher education, professionalism, professional development, scholarship of practice, student affairs, reflective practice résumé le 10e anniversaire du journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) constitue une bonne occasion de demander de quelle manière les rédacteurs du jsaa estiment avoir contribué à la réalisation http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za2 mots-clés publication académique, enseignement supérieur, professionnalisme, développement professionnel, recherche sur la pratique, services aux étudiants, pratique réflexive introduction the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) was established in 2013 and is currently one of the few specialist journals on higher education in africa. whereas research into higher education in africa, and specifically in south africa, has a relatively long history dating back over 100 years and the south african journal of higher education was established as early as 1987, the overall number of publications on higher education in africa has greatly increased since 2001 (zavale & schneijderberg, 2022; bitzer & wilkinson, 2009). the journal was established to deal with the dearth of student affairs publications and the slow pace of the professionalization of student affairs in africa. a specialist journal was seen as “an opportunity for developing and sustaining a student affairs profession […] whose time has come” (tshiwula, 2013, p. v). these comments of the first patron of the journal, prof. lullu tshiwula at the university of the western cape, south africa, reflected the vision and mission of the founding editors, who stated boldly on the journal’s website: jsaa aims to contribute to the professionalisation of student affairs in african higher education. it strives to be the foremost academic journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in universities on the african continent […]. (jsaa, 2023) with the declared purpose of the journal to contribute to the professionalization of the field of student affairs, several questions arise: what is the meaning of professionalization? by what process do the editors of the journal hope to contribute to achieving this? what forms and levels of professionalism are envisioned that would signify professionalization of the field? de l’objectif de la revue visant à professionnaliser les œuvres estudiantines dans les universités africaines. en utilisant quatre récits réflexifs de six rédacteurs de la revue, cet article analyse les réflexions des rédacteurs sur leur parcours professionnel et le rôle joué par la revue dans celui-ci; comment ils contribuent au développement professionnel de leurs pairs grâce à leur poste de rédacteur ; les défis auxquels ils sont confrontés et les leçons qu’ils ont apprises ; et les visions qu’ils ont pour l’avenir de la revue. en appliquant les notions de professionnalisme d’evetts (2003), nous identifions différents types de professionnalisme exprimés dans les récits réflexifs. nous constatons que l’action des rédacteurs combine les normes, l’éthique et les procédures opérationnelles de publication avec des principes et des engagements propres aux services aux étudiants africains. à cet égard, le processus de professionnalisation dirigé par le jsaa combine à la fois des éléments de professionnalisme « de l’intérieur » et « de l’extérieur ». nous soulignons en outre les engagements des rédacteurs envers le bien-être (des étudiants, du personnel et des communautés), le développement professionnel et l’excellence, l’inclusion délibérée et la justice sociale, ainsi que l’accent mis sur la pertinence dans le contexte des services aux étudiants africains. luescher, t. m., mason, h., moja, t., nyar-ndlovu, a., schreiber, b., & wildschut, a. (2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years 3 an underlying premise of professionalization is that for a field of practice to be considered a profession, there are certain requirements for the knowledge base, and importantly, the professionalism expected of its practitioners. editorship represents a very specialized role within a profession; in the context of jsaa, it involves being an actor in the process of professionalization itself. at the same time, editorship comes with its own challenges and needs for professional development to be capacitated for this role. taking these questions as points of departure, this article presents and analyses a set of reflective accounts by some of the editors of jsaa. professionalization and professionalism the sociology of professions distinguishes conceptually between professionalization ‘from within’ and professionalization ‘from above’ (mcclelland, 1990) to signal that professionalism can be internally enacted to assert the autonomy of a group of practitioners and contest the power of bureaucracy (fournier, 1999), or it can be externally imposed (e.g. by regulatory authorities and standard setting bodies) as a means of control. traditionally, the process of professionalization from within is seen as a more legitimate form of ‘professionalism’ (mcclelland, 1990) as it is driven by practitioners and their clients in a context of professional autonomy. meanwhile professionalization from outside or ‘above’ is seen as a method of control, involving the imposition of external standards on a practice and thus limiting autonomy for the benefit of external accountability. as evetts (2003, p. 408) outlines, where the appeal to professionalism is made and used by the occupational group itself, ‘from within’, then the returns to the group can be substantial… however, when the discourse is constructed ‘from above’/ [‘the outside’], then often it is imposed and a false or selective discourse… used to promote and facilitate occupational change (rationalisation)… a disciplinary mechanism of autonomous subjects exercising appropriate conduct. in accordance with more recent scholarship (wilkesmann et al., 2020), these two forms of professionalism are not necessarily seen as dichotomous. taking the reflections of jsaa editors as data, it should be interesting to show how in an emerging profession the dichotomy between professionalism from within as against professionalism from above/ outside is reflected. reflective practice as method among the different modalities of publishing in jsaa is the reflective practitioner account, which is defined as an article that intentionally reflects on professional practice and does not need to include detailed consideration of theory and literature, but should rather focus on ‘learnings’ (jsaa, 2023). in keeping with luescher’s (2018) proposal for how to structure reflective practitioner accounts for jsaa, this article has the following intentions: first, we seek to understand the background of editors, their professional pathways, and their entry into the role of editorship as a process of professional journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za4 development. we also want to understand their reflections on editing a journal as professional practice and agency in a professionalization process. in this respect, a few current editors of jsaa were asked to produce personal reflective accounts against the following parameters: 1. professional history and interest in african student affairs research and publishing. 2. first contact with jsaa and professional journey with the journal. 3. reflection on key personal experiences, lessons learned, and challenges encountered as editor of jsaa. 4. vision for the journal. by giving only these pointers (and a word limit), the idea was that, relatively unfettered and unobstructed by existing scholarly and professional literature, the editors would be able to reflect on their professional pathways and roles as journal editors of jsaa. they would thus give a personal and frank account of their professional backgrounds and journeys into and through the practice of scholarly editing, for their own benefit, that of their peers elsewhere, and that of future editors. four reflective accounts from six editors were received, comprising of one joint reflection by the founding editors and current editorial executive, prof. teboho moja, prof. thierry m. luescher and dr birgit schreiber, as well as three individual reflections by dr annsilla nyar-ndlovu, dr henry mason, and dr angelique wildschut respectively. they are presented in full below, followed by an analysis guided by the four original reflection parameters, as well as an interpretation of the findings in terms of the question of what type of professionalization process the agency of the editors signifies. reflection 1 by prof. teboho moja, prof. thierry luescher and dr birgit schreiber: the transformative journey of building a journal: encouraging others to reflect, research, and publish as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our journal of student affairs in africa, it is an opportune moment to reflect on our achievements and outline our vision for the future. over the past decade, our journal has been dedicated to exploring the unique challenges and opportunities facing students and institutions in africa, promoting inclusive practices, and driving positive change in higher education. we are writing this reflection jointly as we have been working together for a decade to develop the journal to this point in our aim to contribute to the professionalization of student affairs in africa and student and institutional success. conceptualising the journal and constituting the executive in the beginning, it was birgit and thierry, supported by tonia overmeyer at the university of the western cape, who jointly developed the idea and conceptualised a first business and launch plan for a journal. the original idea was to develop a platform to publish the proceedings of the 2012 annual conference of the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap). however, this idea rapidly luescher, t. m., mason, h., moja, t., nyar-ndlovu, a., schreiber, b., & wildschut, a. (2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years 5 evolved and jsaa was born in the course of 2012/13 with the realisation that the time for such a specialized journal had come. teboho joined the team soon after the basics of jsaa were conceptualised. she says it was easy to join this endeavour as she had been working in the field for decades and had become a professor of higher education and student affairs at new york university in the early 2000s. she knew a lot about the profession of student affairs internationally, in africa, and in south africa. to her, the idea of encouraging african practitioners in the field to publish was clearly appealing as it advances the practitioners, the students, and institutional success. in this manner, the ‘core’ of the first editorial executive of jsaa was constituted, with teboho as editor-in-chief, birgit as book review editor, and thierry as journal manager. in this triumvirate, each of us brought their respective strengths to bear. teboho brought her strategic leadership skills, her ability to prioritise, focus the team, her seniority in the field, and her extensive international network. as a senior south african student development professional in the field, birgit brought her network to the team, her incredible capacity to get tasks done at the highest level of professionalism, and her ability to mobilise resources and strategically employ them. having published and knowing the student affairs literature to a t, birgit also became the book review editor of the journal. finally, as a trustee of an academic publisher, thierry brought his interests and publishing skills to jsaa. having trained under a political philosopher and worked in the higher education policy sector he brought both rigorous academic training with him as well as writing for policy and practitioner audiences. he became the journal manager and thereby assumed responsibility for the day-to-day running of the journal, linking up with the technical teams, and triaging all manuscripts from submission via the editors towards publication. in the editorial executive that was formed in this manner with our diverse origins, skills, experiences, and interests, we have worked together for over a decade to move the journal from an idea to becoming a respected, accredited and indexed, specialized journal in the field of higher education in africa (google scholar, 2023; zavale & schneijderberg, 2022). developing leadership skills and mastering the process of knowledge production in africa the journey of leading and developing a professional and scholarly journal from scratch is a daunting one, full of challenges and learning. each of us in the editorial executive have had similar and unique experiences. teboho describes stepping into the role of editor-in-chief as an exhilarating and challenging experience and notes how she has come to appreciate the profound impact taking this role can have on one’s professional path, whereby the role of an editor moulds individuals into well-rounded leaders, offering a unique platform for personal and professional development. each of us has gained immense insights into the complex and challenging process of hand-holding and mentoring budding authors and their submissions to publication. it has been our practice to develop, coach, and mentor practitioners and emerging journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za6 researchers into published authors. our developmental approach has grown the knowledge base and the pool of researchers and authors on student affairs in africa, but mainly in anglophone africa. it is our goal to expand access for scholars in francophone, lusophone, and arabic africa as well. we have worked tirelessly with emerging authors and have enabled a platform for practice – not only as content and knowledge generation in the field of professionalization, but also as practice for reflection, research and writing for publication about the field of professionalization. at the same time, the process has been transformative for us and left an indelible mark on our respective professional paths. successfully starting and developing a journal to this point acting as editors, has given us new knowledge and skills in the editing and publishing field, leadership and management skills, and it has greatly expanded our understanding of the profession and our networks within it – in south africa, africa and the world. in 2022, we presented a paper at an international conference about the opportunities and pleasures of knowledge creation, editing, and journal management, in the african context, and also reflected on the hurdles and enablers. while much has become easier, especially with open-source knowledge sharing platforms such as the open journals system, it is the laborious process of attracting and encouraging researchers and mentoring them towards final publication that has challenged but also enriched us. and then there are the perennial financial woes. to have done this while upholding gold standard open access has been a formidable task. a vision for the future: developing skills, fostering excellence, and prioritising diversity over the past decade, jsaa has evolved into a trusted source of knowledge and platform for fostering intellectual discourse that is high in demand as evident in the number of publication requests we receive and the article downloads we record. it has also become a platform in the profession to hone the skills of authoring, reviewing, and editing research in student affairs in africa. over the years there have been a dozen guest editors, over a hundred authors and peer reviewers, almost a thousand registered users, and several thousand readers. the journal has recorded over 1,700 citations in the past ten years. looking forward, our vision is to continue pushing boundaries, encouraging research, mentoring authors and supporting their publications, and solidifying the position of jsaa as a beacon of excellence and relevance in our field. this ten-year celebration gives us an opportunity to invite the professional community to join us to shape a future that is driven by a commitment to intellectual curiosity, inclusivity, and societal impact. our aims and ethical commitments remain relevant and shape our vision for the future: diversity and inclusion are cornerstones of a vibrant and equitable academic community. in the coming years, our journal will prioritise showcasing diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences. we will continue to actively seek contributions from underrepresented groups and regions, amplifying marginalized voices and promoting inclusivity within and access to our pages. we will also continue to struggle to keep luescher, t. m., mason, h., moja, t., nyar-ndlovu, a., schreiber, b., & wildschut, a. (2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years 7 the journal open access for all, so that the ability to pay does not become the criterion of whether a colleague can publish or read jsaa. furthermore, we continue to work towards enhancing diversity within our editorial board, ensuring that it reflects the richness and complexity of the south african, african and global community of student affairs research and practice. as a journal committed to intellectual and relevance enquiry, we recognise our responsibility to drive positive societal impact. we will actively seek research that is relevant and addresses pressing social issues in our academic community, issues facing diverse students in diverse contexts, the problems and solutions faced by student affairs professionals across africa and the world. we want to encourage evidence-based policymaking and its implementation, and contribute to sustainable development. our goal is to bridge the gap between theory and practice, academia and profession, as we continue to support efforts that contribute to wholesome student experiences, student development and success. student affairs professionals are the lifeblood of student living and learning on and beyond our campuses. over the next decade, our journal will establish mentorship programmes, provide dedicated support, and create platforms for networking and professional development. we will prioritise publishing and promoting the work of african student affairs professionals, recognising their contributions and nurturing their growth. by fostering a supportive environment for professionals in the field, we aim to cultivate the next generation of thought leaders and ensure the longevity of a professionalized community of practice. with all this in mind we are particularly proud of the impending establishment of the ‘community of practice: student affairs in africa research’ spearheaded by jsaa with support from the human sciences research council, saassap and colleagues of the higher education leadership and management (helm) project of universities south africa (usaf). our journal’s vision is rooted in our commitment to excellence, inclusivity, access, professionalism and societal impact. jsaa will continue to prioritise amplifying african voices in the field of student affairs. we will actively seek contributions from scholars, practitioners, and graduate students across the continent, fostering a diverse range of perspectives and experiences. by highlighting african scholarship, research and practice, we aim to shed light on the unique challenges, innovative practices, and success stories in student affairs that are specific to africa. this focus will not only contribute to knowledge production but also foster a sense of pride, ownership, and relevance within the african higher education community and will inspire student affairs practitioners, students, and institutions across the globe. reflection 2 by dr annsilla nyar-ndlovu: there is significance in being a journal that represents african higher education my first contact with the journal of student affairs in africa was facilitated through dr birgit schreiber, then based at stellenbosch university, and a stalwart in the field of student affairs. the journal was then hosted by african sun media, a stellenboschbased publishing house. i served as a guest editor for the journal in 2016, 2018 and journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za8 2020. as such, i went on to develop a cordial relationship with african sun media. i was able to supplement my own knowledge about the finer-grained aspects of the editorial process. i also realised the importance of support for the editorial process. in particular, i benefitted from exchanges with ms davida van zyl, who proved to be as detail-oriented as i myself am – all in the quest to produce high-quality writing that is as reasonably error-free as possible. when the journal moved to the university of pretoria (up), i also benefitted from the support of colleagues such as ms heather thuynsma and ms makone maja. ms maja was unfailingly patient during my initial (clumsy) attempts to navigate and master the online journal management system. ms maja has regrettably since moved on from the journal. i am grateful for all the assistance that i have received thus far from the university of pretoria. first-year experience falls within the aims and scope of the journal of student affairs in africa. as i work primarily in this field, many of the submissions to the journal of student affairs in africa that are related to this burgeoning field of study, have been assigned to me. first-year experience may be defined as a field of study which focuses on efforts made by institutions of higher education to ease issues of transition and offer various means of support for university students in their first year of study and beyond. such efforts often take the form of programmes, which are intended to help students excel both socially and academically in the first year of study and beyond, with the overall aim of systematically addressing high rates of student attrition (barefoot & gardner, 2018; greenfield et al., 2013; tinto, 1993). while the field is well-established internationally, it is less developed in south africa. accordingly, an important part of my work with the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition is to deepen and strengthen research and scholarship in the field of first-year experience at a national level. my association with the journal has been helpful in terms of my own professional position in the field of first-year experience. i am able to remain engaged with much of the emerging national literature that is often submitted to the journal for possible publication. i have also been able to bring my own network of first-year experience scholars, both national and global, to the journal. i am glad that the work of two leading global first-year experience scholars, viz. jennifer keup and dallin george young (both us-based), has been featured in the journal. having served as a member of the journal’s editorial board for two years now, i am able to critically reflect on some of the learning that has taken place for me. i have long wrestled with the idea of a coherent identity for african scholars, given the sheer diversity of the continent and the longstanding divisions between scholars on the continent. there is no or little established tradition of collaboration at a continental scale. at best, collaboration happens between different regions and not at the broader level of the continent. one may ask: what does it mean to be a journal in africa, and as such, what does it mean to be an african journal? what would it mean for the journal to have a modern african identity? luescher, t. m., mason, h., moja, t., nyar-ndlovu, a., schreiber, b., & wildschut, a. (2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years 9 one may refer to the debate about higher education in africa needing to reinvent itself with its own unique historically based identity (cross & govender, 2021; cross & ndofirepi, 2017; letseka, 2019; adésínà, 2005). most universities in africa are currently not fit for purpose. in fact, the key role of many african universities was historically about the creation of civil servants for colonial regimes (zeleza & olukoshi, 2004). this was the classical role for many african universities, and this now needs to change to one that is defined and conceptualised by the continent and those universities themselves. in this way, perhaps the goal of defining and becoming ‘african universities’ rather than ‘universities in africa’ (ndlovu-gatsheni, 2016, p. 50) can go some way toward being realised. regretfully, the submissions from the rest of the african continent have thus far been somewhat limited. this has also made me acutely aware of the need to bring an african perspective to the field of first-year experience, as well as to critically unpack the contours of an african perspective on higher education on the continent. the reality is that much of the leading published literature (i.e. that which is extensively cited and quoted), originates from outside the african continent. now this is true not only of the field of first-year experience, but of the field of student affairs and higher education more generally. to my mind, this is only a matter of time. in time, the journal is certain to attract more african contributions. however, this is also about the editorial board being focused and intentional about developing a journal that is more uniquely ‘african’ (i.e. investing sufficient time in encouraging african contributions, reaching out to various african research consortia, becoming involved in african research networks, and making good use of the existing networks that members of the editorial board already have). i see value for the journal in serving the interests of african scholarship and representing african higher education. the journal can also do much to convey the reality of african student affairs and higher education as it exists in multiple countries and higher education contexts. unfortunately, despite many decades of research, literature and activism in the field of decoloniality, the continent still tends to be seen in terms of sweeping generalisations and stereotypes. two competing discourses about the continent tend to dominate (i.e. that of the ‘hopeless continent’, characterised by civil war, corrupt leadership, disease, suffering, and then, of late, the resurgence of an ‘africa rising’ narrative which uncritically extolls the continent’s supposed potential for growth and development). this journal, with its emphasis on critical scholarship and research, can help to eventually steer away from problematic discourses, in order to understand the multi-faceted reality of student affairs, and higher education on the continent. it is hoped that in time the journal can be seen as an epistemic base from which africans view and understand student affairs and higher education on the continent, particularly in a cross-disciplinary way. the developmental mandate of the journal is also admirable. thus far the journal has seen a range of contributions from authors in various fields, locations and career stages. it is possible that in time students and junior scholars will be intentionally journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za10 invited to submit their work, and develop further experience in the world of research, scholarship and publishing. in summary, it may be worth noting that during my time with the journal, i have also had some personal introspection about the benefits and drawbacks of open access publishing. my personal opinion is that open access publishing is undoubtedly the way of the future. for those of us who are middle-aged higher education professionals, it feels like we have lived through a revolution in academia, and there is undeniable appeal in the widely expanded access and the lack of associated prohibitive costs that comes with open access publishing. however, having observed firsthand the immense labour involved in academic research and publishing, one wonders if it will be possible in the long term to continue to operate without costs. or if the journal should be considering the pursuit of alternative operating models. perhaps the ten-year anniversary of the journal might be an opportune time to start this conversation. reflection 3 by dr henry mason: lighting a fire: a personal reflection on the role of student affairs and the jsaa in enhancing holistic student success as i reflect upon my experience in the field of student affairs, i am reminded of the proverb coined by william butler yeats: “education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” in my professional journey starting from when i completed my internship at the tshwane university of technology (tut) in 2003, i have held steadfast onto the belief that student development and support (sds) is integral to enhancing student success. moreover, student affairs is critical if we hope to play a part in preparing future-ready graduates. when we consider that higher education allocates life chances but that only a small percentage of south african adults have a tertiary education, one of the lowest on the african continent, the enormity of our responsibilities as student affairs practitioners becomes palpable (dhet, 2013; van zyl, 2016). hence, delivering impactful services to support students is non-negotiable (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; scott, 2018). my journey as scholar of counselling and development as a reflective practitioner who adopts an empirical stance, i draw heavily on scholarship of teaching and learning (sotl) (hutchings, & shulman, 1999). sotl involves conducting research focused on practice, thereby understanding and improving student learning experiences, which are then disseminated, contributing to the broader body of knowledge. in line with the basic tenets of sotl, i approach my work from the vantage point of scholarship of counselling and development (socd), which provides a framework to bridge the apparent divide between academic and practitioner work and nurture an environment where students’ personal and academic development needs intertwine with empirically informed practice (cilliers, 2014). in other words, my work within the student affairs milieu combines research (scholarship) and practice (counselling and development) to foster holistic student success and emphasizes subsequent dissemination of empirical findings. luescher, t. m., mason, h., moja, t., nyar-ndlovu, a., schreiber, b., & wildschut, a. (2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years 11 the notion of holistic student success assumes that students are holistic beings and that efforts to offer sds-related support ought to address the person as a whole (cilliers, 2014; sinclair, 2019). the former implies, inter alia, that one should support students in developing cognition-oriented skills to enhance academic success while also considering non-cognitive factors, such as hope, optimism and resilience, as critical metrics within the academic project (eloff & graham, 2020; van wyk et al., 2022). student affairs has been described as existing on the periphery of the academic project (peltier, 2014). against such a backdrop, a respected educational and empirical outlet, such as jsaa, creates the launchpad for practitioners to embody practitionerresearcher roles and validate their work via peer-reviewed publications. engaging with jsaa during the latter part of my academic journey, jsaa has been an invaluable resource. my association with jsaa, as a published author and an editorial board member, has been enriching. engaging in critical discourse and learning from fellow researchers in the field has broadened my perspective and enhanced my scholarship. the journal serves as a conduit for exchanging innovative ideas, best practices, and empirical research, further advancing the student affairs academic project. navigating the additional workload of editorial tasks alongside my existing workrelated responsibilities has been challenging. however, the rewards outweigh the challenges, as contributing to the jsaa allows me to contribute to the field’s growth and address the evolving needs of practitioners, researchers and students. my vision for the jsaa is to become the journal of choice for individuals working in the south african, african, a broader student affairs context. by expanding its publication frequency, the journal could deliver a higher volume of quality reflective and empirical work each year, ensuring its relevance to practitioners and students alike. in conclusion, my academic journey reaffirmed the significance of student affairs in promoting holistic student success. as an advocate for the socd, i firmly believe that student affairs plays an integral role in shaping students into well-rounded individuals who can serve and offer the solutions we, as a country, continent and world, require. for me, jsaa has fostered professional growth, facilitated critical dialogue, and disseminated knowledge. moreover, it has forced me out of my comfort zone to consider alternative perspectives and embrace challenges in the field as opportunities for growth. by addressing the challenges and expanding the journal’s reach and impact, we can collectively elevate the field of student affairs and meet the diverse needs of our students. as we continue this journey, may we remember that student affairs is not a peripheral endeavour. also, let us be reminded that students are not mere metaphorical buckets we aim to fill with facts and figures; instead, we ought to strive collectively to light a flame that ignites the path to educational excellence among student affairs practitioner-researchers and students alike. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za12 reflection 4 by dr angelique wildschut: professionalization with purpose: a personal reflection on the role of jsaa in professionalizing student affairs and services as a recent addition to the jsaa editorial team, i feel quite privileged to offer some fledgeling reflections on my involvement in the publication. i was approached to consider joining the editorial team only two years ago and i had no hesitation in confirming my willingness to be a part of jsaa. as a sociologist of professions, i was especially interested to engage in one of the key objectives of the journal, which is the professionalization of the field of student affairs and services. as stated, the journal “aims to contribute to the professionalisation of student affairs in african higher education by publishing high-quality scholarly articles, research and reflective discussions by academics, professionals, researchers and students about student affairs and services in african higher education” (jsaa, 2023). in this regard ludeman and schreiber (2020, p. 62) also note that “professionalisation is one avenue for the domain of student affairs and services (sas) to develop its identity and strengthen its impact in he in the service of student and institutional success in regions globally”, furthermore and almost most more importantly they recognise that “sas needs to develop local and embedded professionalisation approaches … to inform discourse, theory and practices nationally and internationally”. my journey in relation to sas my professional journey has involved scholarship on higher education, particularly in relation to equality of access and labour market outcomes within the south african context. here the perpetuating disparities in access, navigations through higher education and into the south african labour market have been laid bare multiple times and in multiple ways. in my short three years of experience as research manager in the national student financial aid scheme in south africa, research consistently highlighted that while there has been significant progress in extending access to students from the most disadvantaged households, this disadvantage follows these students in the system throughout their higher education experience. this stark reality is true for their academic performance (wildschut et al., 2020) and in their transitions to the labour market (wildschut et al., 2019). finding persisting inequalities in labour market outcomes corresponding with a hierarchy among higher education institutions in south africa, even while controlling for race and gender, confirms that social inequalities continue to shape access to the best universities as well as the labour market returns to higher education. it is urgent to ensure that all higher education institutions offer quality education to all students. as marginson (2016, p. 430) notes in highly unequal contexts, such as south africa, the role of higher education in promoting social mobility requires a “much stronger focus on building more equal institutions with broadly allocated social value”. for me this has put into perspective the critical role of a strong and empowered student affairs and services profession that can act as catalyst for changing the way in which marginalized students are supported across institutions, but also to feed into luescher, t. m., mason, h., moja, t., nyar-ndlovu, a., schreiber, b., & wildschut, a. (2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years 13 processes to change institutional cultures that monopolise advantaged outcomes for some and not others. engaging with jsaa i think the editorial executive felt that my experience in the sociology of professions could also contribute to the journal’s development. since joining i have contributed two pieces to this scholarship together with thierry luescher: one to this issue of jsaa, and the other to a chapter in an upcoming edition of new directions in student services series. this exercise allowed me the opportunity to delve deep into the discourse of student affairs as profession and the professionalism established through jsaa over the ten-year period of jsaa’s existence. our study reflecting on the role that jsaa is playing in the professionalization of student affairs in africa illuminated two core aspects that i feel can guide the journey for the next few years. importantly, in our study we found a strong social justice discourse in the journal (stronger than that of profession and professionalism) that undoubtedly draws from and aligns with student affairs’ declared developmental and social justice aims (ludeman & schreiber, 2020; schreiber, 2014). at the same time, we also found that the discourse on profession and professionalism draws much more on the traditional notions associated with professionalization (high-skills, knowledge, qualifications, quality assurance, standards) and less so on the notions associated with social justice. i think the journal has a strong thought-leadership and legitimating role to play in the professionalization of the field. in this regard it is imperative to expand the discourse of professionalization, not only by virtue of empirical and vetted knowledge on student affairs across the world but, as we argue, strengthened critical engagement of the notion of profession and the kind of professionalization that the field wants to reflect. thus, we urge the journal to robustly engage on the traditional notions of professions and professionalism and how it can be shaped by the social justice context and realities of africa. a recent article in the jsaa aims to do exactly that in arguing for a more collaborative and democratic view of professional work that would be a counterpoint to the traditional notions of professionalism that are elitist, paternalistic, authoritarian and detached (holtzhausen & wahl, 2022). such scholarship can help shape and be more reflective of the type of professionalization we seek for student affairs in southern contexts, a professionalization guided by social justice and not social closure, which tends to be the hallmark of professions the world over. discussion: professionalization through publishing the unique personal histories, reflections on their careers and pathways, and perspectives on their roles as editors and the contributions that jsaa can make to student affairs in africa, bring to light the complexities of the student affairs professionalization process. professionals need to engage with a multiplicity of views and perspectives to move beyond partial truths and embrace a more holistic conceptualisation of student affairs. through the shared space of a publication like jsaa, student affairs professionals from journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za14 diverse backgrounds can identify, address, and create awareness of critical realities affecting staff and students within the african higher education milieu. as a collective, the editors agreed that the ten-year anniversary of jsaa should highlight unique insights and establish a new foundation in their quest to unify diverse role players under the student affairs umbrella to enhance students’ well-being and success. the editors’ reflections show in various ways how they view the journal’s contributions in this regard, by means of professional development, commitments to peer support in a context of ‘excellence’, deliberate inclusivity and social justice, and a focus on relevance in the african student affairs context there is a strong sense of mutual learning in the process of taking the role of editor in all four reflections. teboho moja, with all her experience and seniority as a professor of higher education, refers to the immense and transformative experience of serving as journal editor while engaging with emerging and established researchers and practitioners. jointly with the other two editorial executives, they note how acting as editors has given them “new knowledge and skills”, “expanded [their] understanding of the profession” and enhanced “[their] networks within it”. likewise, annsilla nyarndlovu indicates how she benefitted from her association with the journal in her own professional position in the field. she speaks of being able to engage with “the emerging national literature” even prior to its publication and having been able to bring her “network of first-year experience scholars, both national and global” to the journal. she also notes how she started out navigating the daunting journey of editorship by learning on the job and receiving guidance and support from publishing professionals, while supporting others in their journeys towards publishing. henry mason emphasizes the importance of sotl and sosd as avenues to augment practice with rigour through scholarship. as a reflective practitioner, he notes how jsaa has been “an invaluable resource” and describes his work with jsaa as “enriching” through broadening his perspective and enhancing his scholarship. in all cases the learning associated with being an editor required learning about the ethics, standards, and established processes of editorship, the rigours of academic publishing, key processes such as peer review, and so forth, requiring an assimilation into the professional culture characteristic of genuine scholarly publishing. the other side of the coin is how the editors speak of the developmental mandate of the journal and their role of encouraging and supporting prospective authors to bring a manuscript to the point of publication. luescher notes how being part of the process of building a field, professionalizing student affairs through research and publication, was appealing to him. birgit schreiber and her colleagues aver that they “worked tirelessly with rising authors” in order “to develop, coach, and mentor, practitioners and emerging researchers into published authors”. angelique wildschut highlights how her motivation as editor is grounded in a commitment to help redressing the legacy of inequality by building “a strong and empowered student affairs and services profession that can act as catalyst for changing the way in which marginalized students are supported across institutions”. at the same time, the added responsibility of pro bono editing also requires significant sacrifice from the editors. although not explicitly stated, much of the luescher, t. m., mason, h., moja, t., nyar-ndlovu, a., schreiber, b., & wildschut, a. (2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years 15 editorial work occurs after hours and is, to a great extent, a labour of love, and an ethical necessity for the editors. regarding a vision for the journal, the contributors agree on their commitment to the professionalization of student affairs, highlighting african concerns, taking a developmental stance, and the importance of indigenous knowledge being produced via student affairs research and scholarship. they reaffirm their commitment to excellence, inclusivity and open access, professionalism, and societal impact. with respect to the journal’s africa-focus, nyar-ndlovu critically asks about the journal’s identity: what is involved in being a journal “in africa” and being an “african journal”? she argues: i see value for the journal in serving the interests of african scholarship and representing african higher education. the journal can also do much to convey the reality of african student affairs and higher education. finally, mason suggests that a greater impact can be made by increasing the number of issues jsaa publishes a year, and moja, luescher and schreiber’s reflection envisions jsaa becoming a platform beyond its current format. they commit jsaa to hosting a community of practice on african student affairs research in the next decade. overall, the reflections of the jsaa editors also show how in an emerging profession the dichotomy between professionalism ‘from within’ and professionalism ‘from outside’ (or above) can be complementary. on the one hand, there are the insights and learnings the editors gain by working with manuscript authors in the editing process, their commitment to developing their upcoming and established peers, developing the knowledge base of the field while assimilating and upholding the high standards required from scholarly publishing. on the other hand, they also talk of their commitment to the ‘clients’ of student affairs, namely students, and particularly to student well-being and student success as a greater purpose. they refer to their commitment to professional ethics, professionalism in service to the students, communities and society, as well as the social justice mandate of student affairs, diversity and the journal’s africa-focus. conclusion this article reflects on a collective aim from a multiplicity of perspectives: the quest of the journal of student affairs in africa to contribute to the professionalization of african student affairs. it does so from the perspective of the specialized role of editorship in a scholarly journal within an emerging profession. through four reflective contributions by six of jsaa’s editors, this article shows that editorship comes with a range of challenges and needs for professional development to be capacitated for this role. at the same time, the editors also show how their role is enriching and rewarding, and essentially one of helping their emerging and established peers to become accomplished in an important facet of professional life: conducting research, authoring scholarly articles, and publishing in their field. the reflections contribute to an understanding of the professionalization process of which jsaa is part involving both forms of professionalism – from within and from outside. as profession insiders, the editors and their journal operate from within and journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za16 using an indigenous process to professionalize the field. however, they do not only refer to values, commitments and processes indigenous to student affairs in africa. they also talk of processes and standards applicable to scholarly editing and publishing that are more or less universal, and professional ethics from beyond the african context. thus, the multiple learning processes referred to in the reflections are both indigenous and exogenous, involving intrinsic and extrinsic values, principles and commitments. the jsaa-led professionalization process is therefore neither a case of professionalism ‘from above’, nor one that would be complete if guided only ‘from within’ (evetts, 2003). both have a legitimate role to play as professionals find ways of engaging both external standards and control with an internal improvement drive, here at the case of developing professionalism through publishing. an underlying emphasis on promoting well-being for all emerged strongly from the editors’ reflections. in this context, the concept of well-being should be understood broadly as a positive state experienced by individuals and societies or, with reference to this article, more especially by students and the university community, the local communities they serve and society, to be able to function and flourish. well-being ought to be conceptualised holistically and emphasize inclusivity; 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(2023). developing professionalism from within and outside: reflections of editors of the journal of student affairs in africa at 10 years. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 1–18. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4660 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00450-z https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00450-z https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00649-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00649-5 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 www.jsaa.ac.za peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice: an exploratory study of the american experience jennifer r. keup* research article * director of the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition and an affiliated faculty member in the department of educational leadership & policies at the university of south carolina, columbia, sc, usa. email: keupj@mailbox.sc.edu abstract given the powerful and ubiquitous qualities of peer influence, higher educators have begun to harness this resource in student support and service delivery by using undergraduates as leaders, mentors and educators for their fellow students. this paper analyses data from 1 942 students from 142 institutions in the united states who responded to a national survey of peer leaders administered by the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition in 2009. descriptive and inferential analyses indicate that survey respondents often hold more than one peer leader position, academic positions were the most common peer leadership experiences, and they receive extensive training for their peer leader roles in the form of initial training, ongoing support and supervision by professional staff. further, the overwhelming majority of survey respondents felt that their peer leadership experience was highly beneficial to their skill development, nature of interactions and campus integration. students engaged in community service peer-leader roles reported positive change on more outcomes than peer-leader roles in academics, residence halls and orientation and peer leaders who received financial compensation reported positive differences on a wider range of self-rated outcomes than those students not receiving remuneration. in sum, the examination of peer-leader structures and outcomes provide suggestive evidence that peer leadership meets many of the criteria to be considered as a high-impact practice. keywords higher education, peer leadership, high-impact practice, first-year student experience, united states. introduction one of the most profound influences on the human experience is the interaction with other individuals, especially among adolescents and particularly within an educational setting. within the field of education in america, the role of peers in the development, learning, transition and success of fellow students is widely noted in the literature on the intellectual and personal development of undergraduates, the impact of college on students, and leadership and career development (e.g. astin, 1993; evans et al., 2010; pascarella & terenzini, 1991, 2005; skipper, 2005). in a summary of this body of scholarly work, pascarella and terenzini (1991) highlight 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 the degree and scope of the impact of undergraduates upon one another in their statement that “students’ interactions with their peers … have a strong influence on many aspects of change during college, [including] intellectual development and orientation; political, social, and religious values; academic and social self-concept; intellectual orientation; interpersonal skills; moral development; general maturity and personal development; and educational aspirations and educational attainment” (pp. 620–621). given the power and prevalence of student influence on other students, colleges and universities in many countries and various higher education contexts have begun to employ peers in key leadership roles and as a resource in the delivery of undergraduate services and support programmes. students may be engaged in elected or appointed leadership roles or as individual mentors, group facilitators, or instructors, and as instruments of support, resource or referral (cuseo, 2010a; keup, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). students also may be used in various domains of the institution. peer leadership has a long history in co-curricular support and student activities, has more recently gained traction in campus governance and in the classroom, and the number of campus settings that engage students as peer leaders is likely to continue to increase (ender & kay, 2001; keup, 2012). further, student peer leaders may be useful in contexts that range from individual interaction, such as a mentoring relationships or one-on-one peer advising, to leadership in a group, organisational, or community setting. regardless of the role, domain, or context, peer leader roles share several common features, including intentional selection, formalised training and support, authority endorsed by the college or university, a role that is intentionally designed to serve other students, and a degree of accessibility that makes them a less intimidating resource to fellow undergraduates than professional staff or faculty (cuseo, 1991, 2010a; greenfield, keup & gardner, 2013; hart, 1995; newton & ender, 2010). research has yielded substantial evidence to support the decision to use peer leaders in higher education and in a wide array of roles and settings. those students who are the beneficiaries of peer leadership, mentorship and education have garnered a wide range of positive benefits from the experience, including increased engagement (black & voelker, 2008), more timely and focused utilisation of campus services (cuseo, 1991; grosz, 1990; kram & isabella, 1985; sharkin, plagement & mangold, 2003), enhanced academic skills and performance (astin, 1993; landrum & nelson, 2002; lewis & lewis, 2005), feelings of support and sense of belonging (colvin & ashman, 2010; hill & reddy, 2007; jacobi, 1991; light, 2001; nora & crisp, 2007; yazedijian et al., 2007), and retention (cuseo, 2010b; schwitzer & thomas, 1998; tinto, 1993). to complement this body of scholarship and to further support the impact of peer leadership, more recent research has shown that peer leaders gain as much, if not more, value from the experience than the students they serve. more specifically, students in these leadership roles report: development in their communication and leadership skills; integrative and applied learning; knowledge of campus resources; interaction with faculty, staff, and peers; critical thinking, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking skills; the ability to work under pressure; interpersonal skills; and an awareness and appreciation of diversity (astin, 1993; newton & ender, 2010; russel & skinkle, 1990; wawrzynski & beverly, 2012). furthermore, there is evidence of enhanced ability to manage groups, jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 33 empathise with students and facilitate learning (harmon, 2006). given the mutuality and breadth of benefits to both the students being served and the undergraduates assuming the leader roles, peer leadership has been identified as an emerging high-impact practice (bunting, 2014; keup, 2012,). despite these potential benefits to both the students being served and the peer leaders providing the support, as well as the growing use of these programmes on campuses across the country, the body of research on the effects of the peer leadership experiences on the peer leaders themselves is still relatively underdeveloped. further, the existing studies are limited by small sample sizes and single institution accounts (wawrzynski & beverly, 2012). the current study seeks to add to this nascent body of literature and attempts to explore the experiences and outcomes of peer leaders on a broad level via data drawn from a national survey of peer leaders conducted by the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition in the united states. analyses of the data will attempt to explore the following research questions: (1) what are the structural characteristics of peer leadership programmes in higher education? (2) what are the outcomes of the peer leader experience for the students in these roles? and (3) how do the outcomes of peer leader experiences vary by the structural characteristics of these programmes? conceptual framework recently, the association of american colleges and universities (aac&u) identified four essential learning outcomes for the 21st century. these outcomes include global and intercultural competence, intellectual and practical skill development, personal and social responsibility, and integrative and applied learning (brownell & swaner, 2010; kuh, 2008). in addition, aac&u identified ten high-impact practices that facilitate student progress towards these 21st-century learning outcomes and provide essential preparation to address the personal, civic, economic and social challenges that individuals are facing in society today. high-impact practices are defined as “teaching and learning practices [that] have been widely tested and have been shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds [and represent] practices that educational research suggests increase rates of retention and student engagement” (kuh, 2008, p. 9). the ten educational strategies and programmes identified by the aac&u as highimpact practices (hips) are as follows: first-year seminars and experiences; common intellectual experiences; learning communities; writing-intensive courses; collaborative assignments and projects; undergraduate research; diversity/global learning; service learning and community-based learning; internships; and capstone courses and projects (kuh, 2008). these ten hips can be viewed as an aspirational checklist of approaches to student success and guideposts for best practice in higher education. moreover, the elements that make them impactful provide a theoretical foundation for understanding, examining and delivering a high-quality undergraduate experience. specifically, these high-impact practices share a set of common characteristics that include an investment of time and energy, substantive interaction with faculty and peers, high expectations, a robust feedback loop, exposure to diverse perspectives, reflection and integrated learning, discovery of relevance through realworld application, and accountability (kuh, 2008; kuh & o’donnell, 2013). 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 while these characteristics are shared features across high-impact practices, they are not unique to them. in fact, kuh (in brownell & swaner, 2010) posits that “these key conditions can be adapted and incorporated into any teaching and learning situation inside or outside the classroom to promote higher levels of student performance” (p. xi). thus, the potential exists for any student experience to emerge as a high-impact practice if these characteristics are embedded therein. therefore, these foundational features of high-impact practice provide a conceptual framework to examine the structural characteristics and outcomes of peer leader experiences as a potential high-impact practice and as a component of a highquality undergraduate experience. method data source and sample the data for this study were drawn from the 2009 peer leadership survey sponsored by the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition in the united states. this student-level survey contained items that measured student demographics, experiences of peer leaders, structural characteristics of peer leader roles and programmes (such as training opportunities and remuneration packages), and selfrated change as the result of peer leader experiences. the survey also included open-ended items to capture students’ perceptions of their experiences as peer leaders. the survey was administered as an online questionnaire in spring 2009, and its recruitment represented a two-step process. institutional representatives were recruited via invitations sent to 3 733 subscribers to the five listservs sponsored by the national resource center at that time. these invitations included a description of the study, a request to forward an invitation to participate in the survey to “undergraduate students who hold or have held a peer leader position on your campus”, a survey link, and a template for an invitation letter to students. institutional representatives then forwarded the survey invitation and link to their respective networks of student peer leaders on their campuses. completed surveys were submitted directly to the online data repository for the national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. survey recruitment efforts yielded responses from 1 972 students from 142 institutions who submitted usable data via the online instrument. listserv subscribers who were sent the survey information included more than one individual per campus and campus representatives were not required to report the number of students to whom they forwarded the survey instrument, so institutional and student-level response rates cannot be calculated. given the exploratory nature of this study, national representativeness was not a goal and the inability to calculate a response rate from what was a snowball method of recruiting participants is a limitation of the study. characteristics of survey respondents on several background and academic characteristics are summarised in table 1. these analyses suggest that the survey sample is skewed towards female students and high academic performers (79.6% reported a gpa of 3.0 or above) but contains a reasonable representation of respondents by race/ethnicity, class standing jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 35 (first-year, sophomore, junior and senior), in-state and out-of-state status, and residential vs commuter students. while the sample is not representative, it represents the first national survey that focuses, in detail, on american college students’ peer leadership experiences. table 1: characteristics of survey respondents characteristic per cent gender women 74.1 men 25.6 other/did not report 0.3 race/ethnicity (“mark all that apply”) white 72.8 black or african-american 14.9 prefer not to answer 7.7 hispanic/latino 6.8 asian 6.0 american indian or alaska native 1.4 native hawaiian or other pacific islander 0.7 residency status in-state student 70.1 out-of-state student 27.7 international student 2.2 housing location on campus 62.0 private housing off campus 34.7 university-sponsored off-campus housing 3.3 class standing first-year student 10.8 second-year student 31.4 third-year student 30.0 fourth-year student 24.2 fifth-year student 3.6 grade point average no grades 0.6 1.5 or lower 0.7 1.6–2.0 0.6 2.1–2.5 3.5 2.6–3.0 15.3 3.1–3.5 34.6 3.6–4.0 44.9 n = 1 972 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 measures since the primary focus of interest for this study is participation in peer leader experiences, survey participants were recruited based upon their participation as a peer leader. however, the questionnaire also contained an item to verify their involvement as “an undergraduate student who has been selected to serve as a mentor or peer educator to other students through a position with a school-run organization”. as indicated by the research questions outlined earlier, this study was interested in exploring the various characteristics of the peer leader experiences. therefore, a notable measure of interest was the campus unit that sponsored the experience, which, in turn, would set the expectations and context for the peer leader roles and responsibilities. this information was collected via a question on the survey that asked respondents to “please indicate the type of campus-based organization that you work or worked for as a peer leader”. thirteen response options for this question were available to respondents as well as an “other” category with a prompt of “please specify” and room for narrative feedback. respondents were asked to “check all that apply”, so responses to this survey item were not independent and were recoded into separate dichotomous variables for the analyses. similarly, quantitative measures of other key characteristics of peer leader experiences represent important independent variables for the study. students were asked to report the number of peer leader positions that they currently held as well as the number that they had held throughout their undergraduate experience thus far. these two survey items provided five response options that ranged from “1” to “5 or more”. measures of compensation included separate categories for course credit, financial remuneration, none (i.e. “i volunteer as a peer leader and do not receive any compensation”), and an “other” category with an option for narrative feedback. another category of measures accounted for the provision of training (dichotomous measure) and the duration of training for peer leaders, which contained six separate response options that ranged from “half day or less” to “1 week” and a seventh response category of “other” with the option for narrative feedback. both the compensation and training items were structured in such a manner that respondents were able to mark all response options that applied to their experience in order to capture the various types of compensation and training that may have been associated with different peer leader experiences. thus, each response category for these items was coded as a dichotomous variable for the analyses. two classes of outcome variables served as important measures of potential impact of peer-leader experiences. both types of outcome variables were worded on the survey as self-reported gains, thereby representing perceived measures of change rather than direct gauges of difference or development. the first set of outcomes included six measures of self-reported gains in skill areas: time management; organisation; written communication; interpersonal communication; presentation; and academic. respondents were asked to indicate their self-rated change on a five-point scale – “much weaker”, “weaker”, “no change”, “stronger”, “much stronger” – and an additional category of “unable to judge”. a second set of outcomes included eight measures of self-rated change in undergraduate jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 37 experiences, such as meaningful interaction with various campus constituents (i.e. faculty, staff and peers), diversity (i.e. both interaction with and understanding of people with backgrounds different from their own), knowledge of campus resources, sense of belonging at the institution, and desire to persist at the institution. response options for these items were coded on a three-point scale – “decreased”, “no change” and “increased” – and the option to mark “unable to judge”. the structure of these measures on the survey represents one of the primary limitations of the scope of this research. most notably, the wording of the outcomes of interest for peer-leader involvement as self-rated measures limits the scope to draw conclusions about true impact; it restricts the interpretation of analyses containing these measures as perceived measures of change and development. further, survey respondents were allowed to mark “all that apply” on a number of items, thereby capturing the wide range of peerleader sponsors, training models and remuneration plans. while this method of response enhanced the descriptive capabilities of these data, they yielded variables that were no longer independent and disrupted the continuous scales of some of the items, most notably training. therefore, this study is unable reasonably to examine the relationships between certain structural characteristics of peer-leader experiences and self-rated outcomes. analyses the quantitative data generated via this survey were used in descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to address the research questions for this exploratory study. in order to prepare items for analysis, all categories of “unknown” and “unable to judge” were recoded or removed. means and frequency distributions were conducted for all items on the survey. cross tabulations and mann–whitney u tests were the foundation of comparative analyses between groups, most notably with respect to the examination of structural characteristics of peer-leadership experiences and self-rated outcomes of those experiences. correlations were conducted for analyses where both classes of variables under study were continuous measures (e.g. outcomes and number of peer-leader positions). findings given the survey recruitment parameters, it is not surprising that 89.5% of respondents indicated that they held a student position that met the description of a peer-leader position (i.e. “an undergraduate student who has been selected to serve as a mentor or peer educator to other students through a position with a school-run organization”). survey data also revealed that these peer leaders often hold more than one position mentoring, educating or leading other undergraduates. more specifically, 43.6% served in more than one peer-leader position at the time they completed the survey and 7.9% held four or more peer-leader positions at the time of survey completion. further, students held several different peer-leader positions throughout their time in college; students reported an average of 2–3 positions (µ = 2.67; sd = 1.43). 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 structural characteristics of peer leadership experiences the survey also asked students to identify the type of campus-based organisation or institutional area for which they currently or previously worked as a peer leader (table 2). while past research showed that academic peer-leader positions were less frequent than other types of roles (ender & kay, 2001), academic positions were the most common peer-leadership experiences for the students in the current study. students’ responses to an open-ended question about their peer-leader title also showed many academic roles, including first-year seminar peer leader, tutor, academic mentor, peer advisor and teaching assistant. positions in orientation programmes, residence halls and community service were also common among the students surveyed in this study. responses showed lower levels of peer-leader participation in student government, athletics, religious organisations, multicultural organisations and counselling or mental health – although these response options may also represent emerging areas of peer-leader involvement. finally, fewer than 5% of survey respondents indicated that their peer-leader positions were in student productions, physical health programmes, judicial affairs and study-abroad programmes. open-ended responses to the “other” category also showed participation in opportunities sponsored by campus organisations and units that were not included on the list such as admissions, first-year experience (fye) programmes, student media, fraternity and sorority life, and formalised leadership curricula. while some of these write-in responses represent long-standing areas of involvement and an oversight on the survey construction (e.g. fye and greek life), other responses indicate innovative ways for peer leaders to engage in the campus environment. table 2: sponsor of peer leadership experience campus-based organisation per centa academic (e.g. tutoring centre, first-year seminar) 58.6 orientation 31.6 residence hall 29.6 community service 25.2 student government 11.6 athletics 8.6 religious 8.2 multicultural 7.4 counselling or mental health 7.0 student productions 4.6 physical health 3.4 judicial 3.0 study abroad 2.5 other 14.8 n = 1 748; percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were asked to “check all that apply”. jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 39 training is a vital component of most peer-leader programmes and what differentiates this role from informal peer-to-peer interactions (hamid, 2001; keup, 2012; newton & ender, 2010). as such, it was not surprising that 86.3% of survey respondents who participated in peer-leader roles reported that they received training for their positions. further analyses indicated that peer leaders reported fairly consistent patterns of training across positions, although training was reported at a slightly higher level (i.e. greater than 90%) for students who identified counselling or mental health, orientation, physical health and residence halls as the sponsoring organisation for their peer-leader position. conversely, just under 80% of students with peer-leader positions in religious organisations, student government and student productions reported that they participated in training, a finding that indicates areas where additional professional development and support may be necessary. as shown in figure 1, the duration of training for peer leaders varied. the figure shows that 42% of respondents reported that they participated in training that was two days or fewer in duration. on the other side of the spectrum, nearly one quarter of survey respondents reported that their training lasted one week. over one third reported some other amount of training. narrative feedback to an open-ended item asking for additional information about this response option indicated that nearly all of the respondents in the “other” category experienced training that was longer than one week. in fact, these “other” training modules often represented sustained professional development and support throughout the peer-leader experience (e.g. a leadership course, ongoing workshops, supervision) rather than just an initial infusion of training before or at the outset of the peer-leader experience. figure 1: amount of training for peer leaders (percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were asked to “check all that apply”.) 13.8 24.8 36.6 6.5 9.6 15.3 12.9 half day or less 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 1 week “other” 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 the survey also inquired about compensation models and rewards for students in these peer-leader positions. nearly two thirds of respondents (65.1%) reported that they received financial compensation for their peer-leader position and 21.9% indicated that they received course credit instead of, or in addition to, being paid. however, it appears that many peer leaders are also motivated by the intrinsic rewards of the experience as 50.5% stated that at least one of their peer-leader positions was on a volunteer basis. perhaps given their long history as paraprofessional positions, peer-leader roles in residence halls and orientation tended to report being rewarded with monetary compensation at a higher rate (77.4% and 70.5% respectively) than other positions. academic peer leaders were much more likely to receive course credit for their service than other positions (30.3%). outcomes of peer leadership experiences in addition to providing national data about the structure and characteristics of peer-leader programmes, the survey also asked students to rate the outcomes of their leadership experience. table 3 shows self-rated change in six skill areas and table 4 shows self-rated change in eight undergraduate experiences. overall, these data indicate that survey respondents believe that their peer-leadership experience was highly beneficial to their skill development, nature of interactions and campus integration. over 90% of the peer leaders in the current study reported that they became “stronger” or “much stronger” in their interpersonal communication skills and perceived particular gains in meaningful interaction with peers, staff and faculty. an overwhelming majority of survey respondents also reported an enhanced understanding of campus resources, a greater sense of belonging, as well as increases in experiences with, and understanding of, students from different backgrounds from their own. further, over three quarters of peer leaders in the study reported positive gains in organisation, time management and presentation skills. in addition, 70% of respondents indicated that their peer-leader experience “increased” their desire to persist at the institution. given the high number of survey respondents engaged in academic peer-leader roles, it is interesting to note that the proportion of survey respondents reporting gains in academic skills was the lowest of all areas. however, when coupled with the fact that 97.7% of peer leaders in this study report that they would recommend being a peer leader to other students, these data provide evidence that students generally perceive that peer-leadership experiences are positively associated with student development and important college outcomes. table 3: self-rated change in skills as the result of peer leadership experience skill % reporting “stronger” or “much stronger” interpersonal communication 93.8 organisation 80.7 time management 79.5 presentation 79.2 written communication 60.7 academic 51.2 n = 1 654 jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 41 table 4: self-rated impact of peer leadership on undergraduate experience experience % reporting “increased” knowledge of campus resources 91.1 meaningful interaction with peers 89.1 meaningful interaction with staff members 85.6 meaningful interaction with faculty 82.8 feeling of belonging at institution 80.7 understanding of people from different backgrounds 78.5 interaction with people from different backgrounds 78.1 desire to persist at institution 70.7 n = 1 654 relationship between structural characteristics and outcomes data on the structural characteristics of peer-leader programmes offer a greater understanding of the range of administrative models for these programmes. students’ selfreported gains in skill areas and of perception of impact provide suggestive evidence of peer-leader outcomes. however, when these two aspects of peer-leader programmes are examined together via inferential statistics, they provide even richer data on the relationship between programme characteristics and self-rated outcomes. for example, the results of correlations between the number of peer-leader positions currently held by students and self-rated skill development reveal uniformly weak (r < .20) but statistically significant (p < .001) relationships. the strongest relationships between current number of peer-leader positions held and self-rated improvement in skill areas are for self-rated change in time management (r = .201, p < .001) and self-rated change in writing skills (r = .210, p < .001). when these same self-rated skills were correlated with the total number of peer-leader positions held during the student’s college career, a similar pattern emerged, but the correlation coefficients were slightly stronger overall and selfrated change in time management yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.245 (p < .001). when similar correlation analyses were conducted between the number of current peerleader positions and the self-rated impact of peer leadership on undergraduate experiences, as well as the total number of peer-leader positions on these same outcome variables, very few correlation coefficients were statistically significant and larger than 0.15. only one approached 0.20, which is the threshold for even a weak correlation: the desire to stay at the institution and graduate. the correlation of this outcome with the current number of peer-leader positions yielded a coefficient of 0.192 (p < .001) and a similar analysis with total number of peer-leader positions resulted in an even weaker relationship (r = .168, p < .001). mann–whitney u statistics were used to explore the relationship between self-rated outcomes of peer leadership experiences and the four most common sponsors of peerleader experiences: academic, orientation, residence halls and community service. since students could indicate more than one peer-leader experience with different sponsors, respondents for each of these four peer-leader experiences were not independent and separate analyses were conducted for each experience and the outcomes. consequently, the 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 categories examined with each mann–whitney u analysis included students who engaged in that specific peer-leadership experience as compared to those who did not and, thus, represented independent categories. table 5 indicates a summary of the z statistics and their statistical significance and indicates patterns of results. the results in table 5 show that academic peer-leader experiences yield fewer statistically significant differences with respect to outcomes when compared with other peer-leader experiences. additionally, other than self-rated change on academic skills (u = 261342, z = -5.054, p < .001), the statistically significant differences between academic peer-leader experiences and those with other sponsoring units (i.e. in orientation, residence halls and community service) were comparatively small (i.e. z statistics between 2.000 and 2.999). overall, peer-leader experiences in residence halls yielded more positive differences on self-rated outcomes between that group and other peer-leader sponsors than did these same comparisons for academic peer-leader experiences. the largest positive difference for peer leaders in residence halls emerged for self-rated change in time management skills (u = 242540, z = -4.975, p < .001.). gains for residence-hall peer leaders were slightly more consistent for self-rated change in skill development areas than for the outcomes related to undergraduate experiences; all of the self-rated skills were statistically significant, whereas only half of the undergraduate outcomes were. table 5: student self-rated outcomes by sponsorship of peer-leadership experience   academic residence halls orientation community service outcomes z sig z sig z sig z sig time management +++ *** + * +++ *** organisation + ** + ** +++ *** written communication + * + ** +++ *** interpersonal communication + * ++ ** ++ ** presentation + ** ++ *** ++ ** academic +++ *** ++ *** ++ *** meaningful interaction with faculty + ** + ** +++ *** + ** meaningful interaction with staff members ++ *** +++ *** + ** meaningful interaction with peers + * + * diverse interactions ++ *** ++ *** understanding of diversity ++ ** ++ *** ++ *** knowledge of campus resources + ** ++ *** ++ *** feeling of belonging at institution + * +++ *** + * desire to persist at institution         +++ *** ++ *** notes: n = 1 654; + z statistic 2.000–2.999; ++ z statistic 3.000–3.999; +++ z statistic > 4.000 * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001 jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 43 conversely, peer-leader experiences in orientation as compared to peer-leadership experiences sponsored by other campus units yielded uniform differences on self-rated change in all six measures of undergraduate experiences, but only four measures of selfrated change in skill areas had statistically significant results. differences between peer leaders in orientation as opposed to other areas were especially noteworthy for feeling of belonging at the institution (u = 259314.5, z = -5.753, p < .001.), meaningful interaction with faculty (u = 262196, z = -5.392, p < .001.), desire to persist at the institution (u = 261784.5, z = -4.340, p < .001.) and meaningful interaction with staff (u = 270474.5, z = -4.206, p < .001.). even though only one quarter of respondents indicated that they engaged in peerleader roles in a community service capacity, results of the mann–whitney u analyses indicate that these experiences were connected to more outcomes than peer-leader roles in academics, residence halls and orientation. comparisons between peer leaders in community service and other leadership experiences yielded statistically significant positive differences on all but one of the self-rated outcomes (knowledge of campus resources), thereby suggesting that this form of peer leadership is especially impactful on students’ perceptions of gains. the most substantial positive differences occurred with respect to three skill areas: written communication (u = 207954.5, z = -5.874, p < .001.), organisation (u = 220502, z = -4.761, p < .001.) and time management (u = 222080.5, z = -4.599, p < .001.). a final series of analyses between structural characteristics and outcomes explored the relationships between form of compensation for the peer-leader experience and selfrated outcomes, which also employed mann–whitney u statistics. as noted above, survey respondents reported whether they received financial compensation (65.1%), course credit (21.9%), or no compensation (50.5%) for their service as peer leaders. again, students were invited to mark all the compensation options that applied to the range of peer-leader positions in which they serve(d) and, thus, the responses for each of the three compensation categories were not independent. therefore, in order to create compensation categories that were independent, separate analyses were conducted for dichotomous measures of each form of compensation (as compared to the other two) and the outcomes. table 6 indicates a summary of the z statistics and their statistical significance, and highlights patterns of results. results of these analyses indicate that peer leaders who received financial compensation reported positive differences on a wider range of self-rated outcomes than those students not receiving remuneration for their service in these roles. the significance of these relationships was especially consistent for self-rated changes in skills, particularly for time management. in fact, only one category of self-rated skills – academic –  did not yield a statistically significant z-statistic. analyses showed that peer leaders who were paid also reported substantially greater levels of meaningful interaction with staff members and knowledge of campus resources as well as moderately greater levels of meaningful interaction with faculty than peer leaders who did not receive financial compensation. considering that these student paraprofessionals were likely to go through in-depth 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 training and be supervised by professional staff at the college or university, it is not surprising that they would report development in these areas. further, the receipt of financial compensation could be interpreted as the compensation category with the highest level of accountability of the three; students who receive payment for their service as a peer leader may feel a greater obligation to demonstrate proficiency in the skill areas related to their position. it is also worthy to note that these findings are consistent with those reported for student leaders in residence halls and orientation (table 5), which are the most common areas of peer leadership that receive remuneration for their service. table 6: student self-rated outcomes by sponsorship of peer-leadership experience   financial course credit none/volunteer outcomes z sig z sig z sig time management +++ *** organisation + ** + ** written communication ++ *** ++ *** + * interpersonal communication ++ *** presentation ++ *** + * academic +++ *** meaningful interaction with faculty + * ++ ** meaningful interaction with staff members +++ *** meaningful interaction with peers ++ *** diverse interactions understanding of diversity knowledge of campus resources ++ *** feeling of belonging at institution desire to persist at institution         ++  ** notes: n = 1 748; + z statistic 2.000–2.999; ++ z statistic 3.000–3.999; +++ z statistic > 4.000 * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001 although the allocation of course credit could be interpreted as another area of accountability, students who received course credit as compensation for their peer-leader roles showed fewer statistically significant relationships with self-rated outcomes than for the analysis of financial compensation. those students who reported receiving course credit were more likely to report gains in academic skills, written communication, presentation skills and meaningful interaction with faculty, which are consistent with the structure and interactions of a classroom-based environment that would be the foundation of awarding course credit. again, there is overlap between these findings and those for students in peerleader positions sponsored by academic units on campus as noted above. jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 45 finally, analyses of students who reported that they volunteered for their peer-leader positions and did not receive compensation resulted in statistically significant positive relationships for meaningful interaction with peers, desire to persist at the institution, organisation skills and written communication. it is interesting to note that volunteer peer leadership was the only compensation category that yielded an association with desire to persist at the institution. however, one needs to be cautious about the issue of directionality when interpreting this finding; it is very likely that more involved students who are already more likely to persist are the ones who are most inclined to volunteer their time in these peer-leader positions. significance and implications the findings of this study have the potential to impact educational research and practice. the results of this study provide the first national portrait of the structure and characteristics of peer-leader programmes, training and compensation, which can provide a context in which to guide decisions on the institutional level, identify prominent and emergent models, and suggest trends for the development, delivery and administration of peer-leader programmes. these data show that residential life and orientation remain strongholds of activity for peer leadership in higher education and that community service is another common location for peer-leadership activity. further, responses to the survey items suggest that student media, first-year experience and formalised leadership curricula are emergent areas of peer leadership that could represent opportunity for development on a practical level and for future research studies. the most substantial finding from this sample regarding sponsoring organisations for peer leadership was the position of academic-sponsored peerleader roles as the most common among the respondents in this sample. given that academic and instructional roles for peer leaders have historically been the least common in american higher education (ender & kay, 2001), the results of the current study suggest the potential for a substantial paradigm shift in peer-leader programmes and research in the united states. this finding may result from the development and expansion of roles for peer leaders in first-year seminars, supplemental instruction, peer advising, and tutoring. however, these findings may also be the result of a more collaborative relationship between academic and student affairs in the delivery of student services such that peer roles that have been solely the province of student affairs (e.g. residential life and orientation) may now also include academic support responsibilities. the examination of peer-leader roles that represent horizontal structures across student and academic affairs would be a topic worthy of exploration in future research. in addition, this study provides different models and emergent trends in the area of peer-leader compensation and rewards. while there may be pressure to focus on remuneration and credit-bearing alternatives, it appears that a large proportion of students are engaged in peer-leader opportunities on a volunteer basis, which will continue to make them a valuable and cost-effective support structure in resource-sensitive times. yet, an analysis of the relationship between compensation models and outcomes show preliminary evidence that compensation models do seem to affect student leaders’ self-rating of gains 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 in skill development and perception of impact on the undergraduate experience. most notably, students in paid peer-leader positions report gains across more self-rated outcomes and especially for skill development than those not receiving remuneration for their service. however, compensation models that included course credit and volunteer peerleader positions were associated with some self-rated gains on associated outcomes such as academic skill development for peer leaders who receive course credit, and meaningful interaction with peers and a desire to persist at the institution for students who volunteer. thus, while financial compensation may yield the greatest range of outcomes, other more fiscally conservative and financially manageable compensation models also appear to generate meaningful experiences for the students serving in these roles. these data also offer a current empirical picture of peer-leader training tactics. more specifically, findings from the current study indicate that peer-leader training is often longer than one week in duration and suggest an emergent model of best practice for peer-leadership training that represents a sustained professional development programme inclusive of initial training, ongoing support and supervision by professional staff. unfortunately, the structure of these items on the survey did not allow for meaningful analyses of training modules or duration and the relationship with self-rated outcomes measures, which suggests an area for future study in the peer-leader research agenda. the current study also indicates that student peer leaders do, in fact, perceive benefit from their service in these roles in both skill areas and enhancements to their undergraduate experience. peer leadership seems an effective tool for forging connections with campus constituents (i.e. faculty, staff and peers) and enhancing a sense of belonging. further, it provides a valuable means to advance diversity skills and intercultural competence in a way that is more organic and less socially engineered than more formal curricula and events about the topic of cross-cultural awareness and interaction. the fact that academic outcomes are last among the areas of perceived benefit is interesting, especially given the expansion in academic areas as a sponsor for these opportunities. this begs for additional research to examine this disconnect, as well as for the educators who oversee peer-leader programmes to place greater focus on the enhancement of academic skills as an outcome of students’ service in this role. the examination of outcomes by peer-leader role offers additional information and suggestive evidence about how to leverage these programmes and focus future efforts. again, academic peer-leader programmes were found to be the least influential when examining students’ self-ratings of outcomes. conversely, peer-leadership programmes sponsored by community service were especially impactful across both skill areas and experiential outcomes; this suggests that there is great potential in expanding peer-leader opportunities in this area to more than one quarter of the student population. peer-leader roles in both orientation and residence life also yield significant returns. however, peer leaders perceive that their service in a residential setting is slightly more beneficial to the development of their skill-based outcomes whereas orientation leaders yielded slightly greater benefits across experiential outcomes. whereas this may be appropriate to the scope of responsibilities for these respective roles, these results provide a framework for educators jennifer r. keup: peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice 47 to examine these peer-leader positions to expand their range of impact, to communicate to current and potential peer leaders the developmental areas associated with their service, and to identify outcomes for future research on the most common peer-leadership roles. finally, the examination of peer-leader structures and outcomes provides suggestive evidence that peer leadership meets many of the criteria to be considered as a highimpact practice. for instance, the number and wide range of peer-leader positions held by students indicates a strong investment of time and energy. the positive results of selfrated measures on faculty, staff and peer interaction indicate high levels of meaningful contact. further, the high self-ratings on interaction with, and understanding of, people from backgrounds different from their own illustrate the potential for peer leadership to expose students to diverse perspectives. the more sustained model of peer-leader training and the initial evidence of supervision as a substantial part of peer-leader training are important vehicles for communicating high expectations and providing frequent feedback. training and rewards structures for peer-leader programmes also represent a means of creating accountability loops. the quantitative data drawn from the current study did not directly address reflection, integrated learning, or discovery through real-world application. however, these may be considered in future examinations of data drawn from the openended items included in the survey and guidelines for the examination of those qualitative data in future research. these results suggest that peer leadership is an emerging highimpact practice and, thus, a valuable tool toward the advancement of 21st-century learning outcomes. in sum, the findings of this study have the potential to impact educational research and practice in several ways. first, the diversity and relative size of the sample allowed for an exploration of a wide range of peer-leader experiences as well as the structure and outcome of these experiences and, thus, represent a unique opportunity to explore and capture a more comprehensive picture of peer-leadership programmes and outcomes than has been achieved in past research. results of this examination include a national portrait of the characteristics of peer-leader programmes, training and compensation; the expanding use of peer leaders in academic programmes; and the important benefits and potential challenges that peer leaders report as the result of these experiences. second, the exploration of the interrelationships between structural characteristics of peer-leadership experiences and their outcomes lends important empirical support for the nature, structure, area of focus and impact of peer-leader experiences, which can help institutional efforts to develop and support peer-leader programmes as a cost-effective means of student support for both the curricular and co-curricular student experience. third, these data identify common structures for peer-leader recruitment and training and suggest ways to enhance the effectiveness of these methods, which is one of the most important components of peer-leader success (hamid, 2001). as such, these data represent the first national portrait of peer-leader programmes and have the potential to enhance the recruitment, preparation and continued support of peer leaders as well as significantly to advance the research agenda on this important undergraduate experience of and for students. 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 references astin, a.w. 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(2nd ed.). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. greenfield, g.m., keup, j.r. & gardner, j.n. (2013). developing and sustaining successful first-year programs: a guide for practitioners. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. grosz, r.d. (1990). suicide. journal of college student psychotherapy, 4(3), 304–319. hamid, s.l. (ed.). (2001). peer leadership: a primer on program essentials. monograph no. 32. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. harmon, b.n. (2006). a qualitative study of the learning processes and outcomes associated with students who serve as peer mentors. journal of the first-year experience and students in transition, 18(2), 53–82. hart, d. 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(2010). students helping students: a guide for peer educators on college campuses. (2nd ed.). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. nora, a. & crisp, g. (2007). mentoring students: conceptualizing and validating the multidimensions of a support system. journal of college student retention: research, theory & practice, 9, 337–356. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (1991). how college affects students: findings and insights from twenty years of research. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (2005). how college affects students: volume 2, a third decade of research. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. rose, g.l. (2003). enhancement of mentor selection using the ideal mentor scale. research in higher education, 44(4), 473–494. russel, j.h. & skinkle, r.r. (1990). evaluation of peer-adviser effectiveness. journal of college student development, 31(5), 388–394. schwitzer, a.m. & thomas, c. (1998). implementation, utilization, and outcomes of a minority freshman peer-mentor program at a predominantly white university. journal of the first-year experience & students in transition, 10(1), 31–50. sharkin, b.s., plageman, p.m. & mangold, s.l. (2003). college student response to peers in distress: an exploratory study. journal of college student development, 44(5), 691–698. skipper, t.l. (2005). student development in the first college year: a primer for college educators. columbia, sc: university of south carolina, national resource center for the first-year experience and students in transition. tinto, v. (1993). leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. (2nd ed.). chicago: the university of chicago press. wawrzynski, m.r. & beverly, a.m. (2012). realized benefits for first-year student peer educators. journal of the first-year experience & students in transition, 24(1), 45–60. 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 33-52 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143 yazedijian, a., purswell, k.e., toews, m.l. & sevin, t. (2007). adjusting to the first year of college: students’ perceptions of the importance of parental, peer, and institutional support. journal of the first-year experience & students in transition, 19(2), 29–46. i recall the day the journal planners came to discuss the possibility of this journal with me. i welcomed it, because i was, and still am, convinced that this initiative will serve as a platform for student affairs in contemporary higher education to write about the scope, mandate and its focus, the idea being to look at the intersection between the curricular and co-curricular in the context of student learning and development. in africa, there is still an opportunity for developing and sustaining a student affairs profession, and this idea whose time has come should be welcomed as part of the contribution to human development. globally, this is a fully-fledged field where students pursue either a masters degree or doctoral studies. i would imagine that even though the journal’s title is journal of student affairs in africa, this is not at the exclusion of others who might have valuable contributions to make as student affairs professionals in other countries. as the journal infers, there is a dearth of student affairs professionalisation in africa, as most student affairs leaders on the continent have come to this area through other professional routes and, if they have a qualification in student affairs, they have acquired such training from countries such as the us or through other training . some student affairs professional groups have sought to collaborate with us counterparts in developing student affairs capacity through lifelong learning short courses at given intervals, as well as sharing knowledge through conferences. there are also universities in the south, such as the university of the western cape (uwc), whose collaboration with california state university, fullerton culminated in the introduction of the first phd programme in student affairs at uwc since 2010, driven by the division of student development and support, with academic coordination from the faculty of education. looking at contributions in this inaugural journal, it is worth noting that the theme is “the professionalisation of student affairs in africa”. this should serve as part of knowledge creation, addressing some complex challenges and engaging in discussions about student affairs, its place in higher education and its contribution to a wider society. it is appropriate for the continent to examine its own position in light of the diverse population of african students who access higher education. editorial preface by journal patron lullu tshiwula* * deputy vice-chancellor: student development and services, university of the western cape african minds www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, v–vi | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.19 vi this journal should provide a space for conversations on matters relevant to student affairs – for example, how different african regions respond to their contextual realities – and reflect on those lessons for others to learn from. it would be interesting, for example, to read about how policy influences higher education, specifically student affairs, and what students’ experiences are on the african continent. as citizens of this continent, there is a general awareness that resources are stretched very thin among each country’s priorities. and despite this reality, students show resilience towards their studies. it is envisaged that this journal will contribute to a further development of theoretical frameworks that are informed by an african reality and an understanding of the myriad challenges facing students. the role of student affairs is to create spaces of enabling development and support, to produce a graduate capable of functioning globally without losing a sense of local and national realities and perspectives, specific to the advancement of the african continent. the space for this journal in the theatre of ideas is long overdue, and its potential for growth in the intellectual space is immense. planners and the executive committees are encouraged to move forward unafraid of any challenge. prof. lullu tshiwula deputy vice-chancellor: student development and services university of the western cape vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, v–vi | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.19 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 13-24 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.3 13 www.jsaa.ac.za research article academic guidance for undergraduate students in a south african medical school: can we guide them all? mpho p. jama* * dr mpho p. jama, division student learning and development, office of the dean of health sciences, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. email: jamamp@ufs.ac.za abstract higher education institutions, including medical schools, still grapple with the challenge of poor academic performance of students. some studies report the positive results of providing academic guidance for common challenges such as poor and/or ineffective time management, study methods, testand exam-taking techniques and management, and the high academic workload of undergraduate medical students. however, limited detailed insights and understanding of medical students who experience more complex challenges are available. this study was conducted at a medical school in south africa to determine undergraduate medical students’ perceptions of factors affecting their academic performance. a total of 89 semi-structured interviews were held with undergraduate medical students who were identified as having academic problems between 2012 and 2015. according to the results, more blacks, males and firstand secondyear students experienced poor academic performance. prominent findings included the harsh realities and implications of lack of accommodation for black students; how poor academic performance can lead to an array of other social and psychological problems, such as withdrawal of bursaries and negative achievement emotions that some students experience. compared to the usual objective measures of individual ability, the rich qualitative data of cases presented in this study reveal critical, real insights and understanding of students’ challenges from their own perspective. keywords academic guidance, academic performance, academic self-perception, student challenges, student experience, student development, student success, undergraduate medical students introduction in general, studies regarding factors affecting the academic performance of students worldwide have mainly focused on social and academic variables affecting students from disadvantaged school and family backgrounds, often referred to as non-traditional students. in medical education, studies have reported on academic and non-academic factors such as the increased volume of complex material, ineffective time management and study skills, long hours and limited time for self, as well as personal and exam problems that affect the http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jamamp%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 13–24 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.3 academic performance of undergraduate medical students (alfaris et al., 2014; artino, la rochelle & durning, 2010; cleland, arnold & chesser, 2005; salem et al., 2013; sayer, chaput de saintonge, evans & wood, 2002; sohail, 2013; west & sadoski, 2011). one of the key aspects of addressing this challenge is to teach time-management principles, such as avoiding procrastination, previewing information, reviewing material shortly after presentation, prioritising items, managing study periods and making time for other commitments (west & sadoski, 2011). with regard to gender, it has been reported that male students perform poorly academically compared to female students (algan, cahuc & shleifer, 2013; fortin, oreopoulos & phipps, 2015). in medicine, a south african study by moagi-jama (2009) reported the same findings among undergraduate students. salem et al. (2013) also found a similar trend in a saudi medical school. with regard to racial comparisons, woolf, potts and mcmanus (2011) reported that non-black medical students had better throughput rates than their black counterparts. in south africa, lehmann, andrews and sanders (2000) and moagi-jama (2009) also reported high attrition rates among black undergraduate medical students. in the united kingdom, esmail and roberts (2013) found that the pass rates of both british black and minority ethnic graduates and international medical graduates were lower than the pass rates of white uk graduates. generally, in higher education, research has shown that the majority of students leave university during the first year of study, with most experiencing emotional challenges that in turn affect their academic performance (sperry, 2015). in medicine, the results of studies regarding poor academic performance of students during the second year have been reported by lehmann et al. (2000) and moagi-jama (2009). a common assumption is that medical students are predominantly high-functioning and successful, and possess inherently strong motivational beliefs and advanced coping mechanisms that will help them to deal with negative achievement emotions. regrettably, this is not the case because medical students are not immune to such emotions (artino et al., 2010). although numerous studies have reported on the challenges of medical students, todres, tsimtsiou, sidhu, stephenson and jones (2012) noted that little is known about their own perceptions of factors that affect their academic performance. given the consequences of not detecting the problems of students who go on to either fail, drop out or qualify as problem doctors, medical teachers and advisors must know what to look out for in their medical students (artino et al., 2010) and develop a deeper understanding of their challenges. hence the importance of this study, the aim of which was to determine the students’ own perceptions of factors affecting their academic performance in an attempt to provide a deeper understanding of some aspects of the web of complex challenges that they face. context undergraduate medical training in the school of medicine in the faculty of health sciences of the university of the free state (ufs) in south africa is offered in a programme mpho p. jama: academic guidance for undergraduate students in a south african medical school 15 for professional medicine leading to conferral of the degree medicinae baccalaureus and chirurgiae baccalaureus (mbchb). the programme is structured in three phases and spans a minimum of five years of full-time study. phase i commences in year 1 semester 1; phase ii commences in year 1 semester 2 to year 3 semester 5, with phase iii commencing in year  3 semester 6 up to year 5 semester 10. in phases i and ii, the content of the curriculum is arranged in thematic or system-based modules, while phase  iii is devoted to clinical medicine. students commence their clinical training in year 3 semester 6 and continue to year 5 (final) semester 10. a programme director manages the programme with the assistance of phase chairpersons for each of the three phases. furthermore, each module has a module leader. the total number of students (1st to 5th year) in a year is approximately 750. the main focus in the division of student learning and development (dsld) in the faculty of health sciences is to contribute to the academic success of students and this is achieved by designing and implementing programmes, strategies and mechanisms to develop and support students. the development and support is provided by an academic staff member referred to as the student support practitioner. methods process of identifying students with academic problems the following process is followed to identify students in the school of medicine who have academic problems: (i) the phase chairpersons and module leaders send all test and exam results to the programme director; (ii) after receiving the results, the programme director notifies all students with a mark below 55% to consult a student support practitioner; (iii) at times the module leaders also refer students with academic problems directly to the student support practitioner; (iv) the student support practitioner conducts academic guidance interviews with the students referred by the programme director and/or module leaders. (v) students can also decide by themselves to visit a student support practitioner. academic guidance interviews individual interviews were held with all the students who were referred and provided with academic guidance by the student support practitioner. an interview guide was used to capture the following data: gender, race, year of study, previous and recent tests and examination results, and students’ own perceptions of their academic performance. the main focus during the interviews was on the students’ self-perception with regard to reasons for poor academic performance. according to meltzer, katzir, miller, reddy and roditi (2004), the term ‘academic self-perception’ is sometimes used interchangeably with other terms such as ‘academic self-concept’ and ‘academic self-efficacy’, to refer to variables such as, among others, academic success or failure. during these interviews some ’cues’ were given to encourage students to reflect further (denison, currie, laing & heys, 2006) on their perceived reasons for poor academic performance. as reported by saunders, davis, williams and williams (2004), there is a positive relationship between self-perception and academic outcomes. importantly, students’ self-perceptions are better 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 13–24 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.3 predictors of academic performance than objective measures that determine their academic ability (colbeck, cabrerra & terenzini, 2001). according to balmer, richards and varpio (2015), these self-perceptions are real. for this study, academic self-perception refers to undergraduate medical students’ own perception of factors that contributed to their poor academic performance as reported during the interviews with the student support practitioner. although students are referred according to the process explained above, not all of them sought the services of the student support practitioners for academic guidance. according to the records, 168 of the 750 (22.4%) undergraduate medical students were referred between 2012 and 2015. only 89 of the 168 (52.9%) requested academic guidance. semi-structured individual academic guidance interviews were held with the students who were identified as having academic problems. in terms of the ethics of the study, the research formed part of an ongoing research project registered with the ethics committee of the ufs faculty of health sciences (etovs 154\06). the participants gave consent before the interviews, participation was voluntary and they were informed that all personal information would be kept confidential. all the names used in the article are pseudonyms. the main aim of the interviews was to determine students’ perceptions of factors that affected their academic performance. results and analysis although the main aim of the interviews was to determine students’ perceptions of factors that affected their academic performance, it was also important to identify their biographic profile. most of the results emanating from the interviews confirmed the same biographic variables regarding the academic performance of students. firstly, 61% of the students with poor academic performance were male. secondly, more black students (59%) were provided with guidance for poor academic performance. these findings show that the notion ‘access with success’ for black students still has not been realised in higher education in a developing country such as south africa and in developed countries. lastly, most students who reported academic challenges were in the first and second year of study (41% and 47%, respectively). the qualitative responses from the reports of interviews were read and re-read to get an overall understanding and sense of the data, thus discovering meanings, patterns and connections (bradley, curry & devers, 2007; de vos, 2005). in addition, the researcher’s own thoughts, reflections and intuition were used to discover meanings, patterns and themes, which was possibly due to the researcher’s 16 years of experience working as a student support practitioner in the faculty of health sciences. furthermore, tinto’s theory of academic and social integration (tinto, 1975, 2014) was used as a guide to develop themes to determine factors affecting the academic performance of these students. the purpose of using a theory was to guide further outcomes and interventions. using the identified themes assisted in characterising the experiences of the students from the whole data (bradley et al., 2007). finally, data were conceptualised and linked to actual students’ responses as written in the records of interviews (niewenhuis, 2007). mpho p. jama: academic guidance for undergraduate students in a south african medical school 17 the following three main recurring themes that were identified in the analysis of data were also not surprising, although the rich data of the students’ own perception of factors that affected their academic performance provided more critical insights and understanding: academic, social and psychological. academic factors most students felt that one of their challenges was the unmanageable academic workload, with one student stating that she was “struggling to get through the massive content”. in addition to the academic workload, some students reported a challenge with managing their time effectively. a notable finding was that students seemed to struggle to answer integrated questions as the school of medicine has adopted an integrated medical curriculum (imc). unlike the traditional methods of assessment, the assessment in the imc consists of an integrated medical assessment (ima). instead of the usual test and exam covering the work dealt with in one particular module, the ima questions integrate the content of three to four modules in one paper, thus requiring a student to study the content of all these modules when preparing for an assessment. for example, in the first year of study, one of the ima question papers consists of four modules, namely general skills, psychology, community health and concepts of health and disease. social factors as expected, students reported social factors such as deaths in the family, financial problems and involvement in extracurricular activities in residences. one black female student reported that her mother had been a domestic worker and they were both living in a one-room dwelling at the back of the employer’s house. in a country such as south africa, an employer in such a case is usually a white person and the employee is a black person. among the many other problems that this student shared was an incident in which she forgot to close the main gate, and her mother’s employer shouted at her and made utterances such as she “doubts if she will be a good doctor if she cannot even follow a simple instruction such as closing a gate”. according to this student, this statement had remained in her mind, made her doubt her intellectual ability and consequently, she developed low self-esteem. another case is that of a black male student who came from a small rural town and could not be accommodated in the university residences. eventually he also went to stay in a one-room dwelling at the back of an uncle’s house. unlike the previous student, this particular student stayed with a family member. however, the problem was that the uncle was selling liquor and his ’customers’ were noisy, and therefore the student could not study effectively. psychological factors once again the most common psychological factors that students mentioned were feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, panic attacks, negative feelings, loss of self-esteem, loss of 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 13–24 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.3 motivation and sleeplessness. what was striking was a student who reported that she was ‘bulimic’ for over three months and did not want her mother to know because she was depressed due to her parents’ marital problems. this student’s behaviour was consistent with the findings reported by chew-graham, rogers and yassin (2003) that medical students do not seek support for psychological problems. deeper insights and understanding of students’ challenges the following cases provide deeper insights into and understanding of the type of challenges that could not be resolved by intensive academic guidance. the names that are used are pseudonyms. mixed ethnicity male cecil cecil was referred for academic guidance because he had failed four modules in the first semester of his first year. during the interview he stated that he only failed the first test. no academic guidance was provided because he stated that he had no problems. he actually gave an assurance that “everything is under control” and promised to come back and report on his progress regarding his studies. cecil never came back to do this and the student support practitioner sent him a message to come for academic guidance to which he did not respond. according to the assessment regulations of the school of medicine, cecil could not write exams and failed his first year. he wrote a letter to the appeals committee requesting the opportunity to write the exams. in the appeal letter, he stated that he had minor problems at home and thought they would be resolved. his appeal was not successful. subsequently he came back with his mother to enquire why his appeal was not successful. the programme director explained the regulations to both of them. on further enquiry as to why he did not make use of other support services such as tutoring and mentoring, he stated that he did not make any effort to find out about them. this was not true because all the first-year students are provided with information about these services at the beginning of the year and reminded to use them regularly by the programme director, module leaders and lecturers. cecil’s case might be a symptom of students who cannot regulate their own learning. these are students who lack the “will” and “skill” to take responsibility for their own learning (sandars, patel, steele & mcareavey, 2014). white male stefan stefan was also a first-year student who was referred for academic guidance because of his poor academic performance. during the first interview he admitted that he had always struggled with low self-esteem, felt negative and pessimistic about everything in life and struggled to maintain personal relationships. stefan was referred to a psychologist and encouraged to attend academic guidance sessions as well. according to a report from the psychologist, he never attended all his sessions despite the reminders that were sent to him. with regard to academic guidance, he also never reported back. these two interventions did not help him and he failed his first year of study. stefan’s case is the same as the case mpho p. jama: academic guidance for undergraduate students in a south african medical school 19 of cecil mentioned earlier. he had psychological problems and did not use the support services effectively. black female neo neo failed her examinations at the end of the first semester of her first year and, according to the rules, was admitted to a remedial programme during the second semester. no academic guidance was provided during the first semester because she was performing well before the exams. during the first academic guidance interview in the second semester, neo stated she failed because she underestimated the academic workload. she passed all her modules in the remedial programme and was re-admitted the following year. unfortunately, her bursary was suspended because she failed and her mother took a loan to pay for her studies. as is the case with most loans, the amount of money was not sufficient to pay for all expenses. although neo was repeating her first year, her performance was still not satisfactory. she was referred for academic guidance. during the interview, she reported that she was struggling with her “thought processes” and was afraid that she would fail again. neo was referred to a psychologist. fortunately, she passed her first year. during her second year she continued to struggle with her studies. during the interview she reported that she had personal problems and feelings of anxiety. despite psychological intervention and further academic guidance she failed the second year. neo’s case provides insights into a student whose problems started as academic but escalated to psychological and social problems. black male tsepo tsepo was referred for academic guidance during his first year of study. during the interview he stated that after completing high school, he studied economics for three years. he did not obtain a qualification because he “felt that economics was not for him”. the following year he worked at a retail store but found it “depressing” and left to pursue part-time studies in accounting, which he never completed either. in the following, year he registered as a part-time student to improve his chemistry, physics and biology high school marks in order to apply for medicine. he was successful and was admitted as a medical student. tsepo stated that he always knew that “he was not cut out for the corporate world because he was very compassionate”. on enquiring about his own perception of his poor academic performance he mentioned the following: (i) he always had a “depressive personality and suffered from chronic depression his whole life” but was never treated; (ii) he had an abusive childhood because his mother was a “monster” and his father was a “ghost”; (iii) he did not have a close friend or a girlfriend; (iv) he was impatient with “lesser” people who he explained as those who were ignorant and illiterate; and (iv) he was at that time writing a short story. tsepo was referred to a psychologist but did not complete his sessions. he failed his first year of study, could not be admitted into the second semester remedial programme according to the regulations and was advised to reapply after successful counselling. tsepo was one of the multifaceted cases requiring multiple interventions that could not be provided. 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 13–24 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.3 black male lebo lebo failed his first year of study as well, was admitted to the remedial programme and repeated his first year the following year. he passed and proceeded to the second year. once again lebo failed during the first semester of the second year. he was allocated a personal mentor and was urged to attend regular academic guidance during the second semester, which he did attend. lebo passed and proceeded to the third year of study. as is the case with most students who fail, his bursary was suspended. at the beginning of the year he struggled to get accommodation and stated that he was “squatting illegally” and slept on the floor in one of his fellow student’s rooms in the university residence. his parents managed to pay for his registration, but he continued to struggle with other living expenses such as food and books. during this period, lebo continued with academic guidance sessions with the mentor. however, his performance did not improve because of the following academic problems: (i) not being able to answer case study questions that required him to apply theoretical knowledge; (ii) inability to manage multiple-choice questions in one of the tests; and (iii) not following instructions in one of the question papers, stating that he “missed the integrated questions”. additional support was provided by some lecturers who, for example, discussed question papers and his answers and spent time with him in the museum and dissection room to help him understand anatomy. at one stage lebo failed to write one test claiming that he had overslept. because of his particular circumstances he was allowed to write a special test. once again he did not perform well in his formative assessment. because of the regulations he could not write his exam at the end of the third year. he wrote a letter to the appeals committee requesting permission to write exams. in the letter he stated that he had financial problems and was not satisfied with how marks were allocated for some of his tests. after consideration, his appeal was not successful. eventually he dropped out of medicine. lebo is one of the cases with multiple problems and intensive academic interventions that could not help him. unfortunately some of the medical programmes in south africa do not have an exit level that can allow a student to be awarded a qualification or certificate for the number of years he or she has spent studying. discussion despite being provided with information and constantly encouraged to make use of the services of the dsld, some students did not make use of these services at all or did not use them effectively. one of the reasons for that was some of the students’ perception that they would cope and did not need these services. students such as cecil, stefan and tsepo are typical examples of students who do not use support services (jiménez et al., 2015). another concern is that the attendance of support programmes is voluntary and in most cases these are attended by motivated students who are performing well (dancer, morrison & tarr, 2015). other students’ perception of factors that affected their academic performance was the unmanageable volume and underestimation of the high academic workload. coupled mpho p. jama: academic guidance for undergraduate students in a south african medical school 21 with the workload were the complicated ima tests and examinations, which together usually constitute one of the challenges faced by medical students (sandars et al., 2014). this provides a deeper understanding of the assessment challenges that this group of students experience. in the case of students’ perceptions of social factors that affected their academic performance, one of the challenges was accommodation. the comments made by the two students who mentioned accommodation difficulties provided a deeper understanding of this type of challenge. unfortunately, not all higher education institutions are able to accommodate students in their on-campus residences; hence students resort to unsuitable places for accommodation. in the usa, only 20% of students live on campus (tinto, 2014). also, students such as these cannot afford decent accommodation because of financial problems. therefore, typical academic guidance on time management, study methods and test and exam techniques cannot help such students until the social problems such as accommodation are resolved. the two important closely related dimensions of students’ challenges with regard to their academic performance and support as described above are academic and personal (sandars et al., 2014). in this study, the psychological dimension was also interrelated to these two issues. for instance, some of the students’ perceptions of factors that affected their academic performance in the psychological dimension were, among others, feelings of hopelessness, anxiety and negative emotions. in some instances, as was the case with tsepo and stefan, the psychological problems preceded the academic problems, while in other cases, such as neo’s, the academic and social problems preceded the psychological problems. conclusion as compared to the usual objective measures of individual ability, the rich qualitative data presented in this study revealed critical and real insights and understanding of students’ challenges from their own perspective. every institution has an obligation to provide academic, personal and financial support to the best of its ability once a student is admitted. sometimes it can be easy to identify students’ challenges, but provision of the relevant support can be more challenging. although institutions aspire to guide all students to succeed, the unavoidable fact is that they have little control over some of their many challenges as revealed in this study. also, some of the common initiatives are not always grounded in complete understanding of and insight into the social structures (balmer et al., 2015) and challenges of the students as revealed in this study. as asserted by sandars et al. (2014), academic problems are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ and there is no simple solution or magic bullet (tinto, 2014) for student support and guidance. hence, supporting students with the challenges described in this study requires more than academic guidance. for instance, it is common knowledge that one of the main challenges facing students is finances. funding for tertiary education has become more challenging because globally most countries are facing economic crises. some of the firstworld countries cannot support developing countries such as south africa, which is now perceived as one of the first-world countries on the african continent. consequently, most of the funding from first-world countries goes to underdeveloped countries. for students 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(2) 2016, 13–24 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.3 who ultimately receive a bursary, as was the case with the students referred to, sponsors have requirements that do not consider other challenges that students face and they ultimately terminate or suspend funding. eventually, this leads to an array of other social and psychological problems. it is evident that the students described here required holistic support for the complex web of challenges that they faced. this type of support should be provided in a trusting and supportive environment where students can freely talk about their problems rather than only explaining the web of challenges when they are identified as experiencing academic problems. acknowledgements the author would like to thank the students who participated in this study, and dr daleen struwig, faculty of health sciences, university of the free state, for technical and editorial preparation of the manuscript. declaration of interest the author reports no conflict of interest. the author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article. references alfaris, e.a., naeem, n., mcaleer, s., qureshi, r., van der vleuten, c., irfan, f. & jamal,  a. 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(2015). predicting first-year student success in learning communities: the power of pre-college variables. learning communities research and practice, 3(1), article 2. tinto, v. (1975). dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research. review of education research, 45(1), 89–125. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south african lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2):5–28. doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 todres, m., tsimtsiou, z., sidhu, k., stephenson, a. & jones, r. (2012). medical students’ perceptions of the factors inf luencing their academic performance: an exploratory interview study with high-achieving and re-sitting medical students. medical teacher, 34(5), e325–e331. https://doi. org/10.3109/0142159x.2012.668626 west, c. & sadoski, m. (2011). do study strategies predict academic performance in medical school? medical education, 45(7), 696–703. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2011.03929.x woolf, k., potts, h. w., & mcmanus, i. c. (2011). ethnicity and academic performance in uk trained doctors and medical students: systematic review and meta-analysis. british medical journal, 342, 901. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d901 https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159x.2012.668626 https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159x.2012.668626 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2011.03929.x https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d901 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 145–148 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 145 www.jsaa.ac.za book review jansen, jonathan d. (ed.) (2019). decolonisation in universities: the politics of knowledge. johannesburg, south africa: wits university press. reviewed by vicki trowler* * dr vicki trowler is a researcher in higher education at the university of huddersfield, united kingdom. email: v.trowler@hud.ac.uk in my day job as a researcher of higher education, one of the topics i have studied and written about is student engagement. engagement of, and by, students is now universally held to be central to student success (trowler, 2010) and all of us working in this arena grapple with ways to facilitate this. kahu and nelson (2018) argue that an alignment of institutional and student factors unlocks student engagement, and thus learning. specifically, when the curriculum is aligned with students’ interests, experiences and “future selves”, students will engage on an emotional level, so learning can take place. preparing slides ahead of an undergraduate lecture, i sit staring at my computer screen, wondering as does every other lecturer preparing to teach, how best to make the material engaging, accessible, relevant. how do we best speak to not just the students’ past, current and “future selves”, but also their possible selves, subverting the predictions of “differential outcomes” that doom students from certain backgrounds (categorised by “race”, ethnicity, gender, social class, disability status, geography and the other cleavages to which inequality clings persistently) to lesser attainment? questions of social justice arise in all contexts, but persist perniciously in south african higher education 25 years after the transition to democracy. these concerns, while never absent during that time, nonetheless ruptured forth during the #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall (and other associated) movements in 2015, wrenching attention onto injustices not only of redistribution (#feesmustfall) but also of recognition (#rhodesmustfall) (fraser, 2008; fraser & honneth, 2003). those students did not draw their inspiration from the mandelas or the mbekis, but from the bikos, the cabrals, the fanons, and with that they returned to public consciousness the discourse of decolonisation. as noted by jansen in the introduction to this volume, this term had not enjoyed significant currency in south africa up to that time – its roots lay elsewhere on the african continent and beyond, in a time predating their birth (and possibly the birth of their parents). yet within months, it was a term that shaped the discourse from twitter to senior leadership group agendas and curriculum working groups at higher education institutions across the country. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 mailto:v.trowler%40hud.ac.uk?subject= 146 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 145–148 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 numerous discussions have been undertaken since then as to what exactly, in this place, at this time, it is understood to mean; how that translates into a programme of action for “transforming” institutions; what that means for staffing, for students, for curriculum  … with, as yet, no single emergent consensus. and then, into the fray, dropped this edited collection. given my research and personal interests, i welcomed the opportunity to immerse myself in this volume not only because of the content, but also because of the expertise and authority of the contributing authors. representing a diversity of views on decolonisation, or more accurately the need for and means of decolonisation at this moment in this place, this collection is edited and introduced by professor jonathan jansen, whose earlier analysis of south african vice-chancellors to the #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall (and associated) movements has been reviewed previously in this journal (trowler, 2018). the collection is organised dialectically, with the first two chapters (authored by mahmood mamdani and lesley le grange, respectively) presenting the case for decolonisation. this is followed, antithetically, by three chapters (authored in turn by jonathan jansen, lis lange, and ursula hoadley and jaamia galant), which consider constraints, problems and the politics around the decolonisation agenda. as synthesis, the following sections consider the process of “doing decolonisation” (three chapters, authored by jess auerbach, crain soudien, and yusuf sayed, tarryn de kock and shireen motala) and “reimagining colonial inheritances” (four chapters, by brenda schmahmann, andré keet, piet naudé, and achille mbembe, respectively) before concluding with an afterword by grant parker. the focus of the book, as is made explicit in the subtitle, is on knowledge – what knowledge, whose knowledge, and how that knowledge is constructed, conceived, accessed and rendered – and how such knowledge might translate into curriculum. the chapter by mamdani, originally presented as an invited lecture at the university of cape town (uct), locates the discussion within two competing drives – for “excellence”, or for “relevance” – which mamdani frames as a false dichotomy, illustrated by the juxtaposed trajectories of two institutions (makarere and dar es salaam) and two scholars (mazrui and rodney). arguing that theory requires reference points, mamdani calls for new and multiple reference points, beyond europe and the west, forged authentically in conversations with the global and the local, the public intellectual and the scholar, excellence and relevance – recognising that these are both components of the same pursuit of knowledge. mamdani appears himself as a character in other chapters’ discussions of attempts to retool curriculum since 1994 – the so-called “mamdani affair” at uct where his radical proposal for a compulsory first-year “introduction to africa” course was subsequently diluted and reframed, illustrating both that the impetus to recurriculate is not new, but that the institutional context in which this takes place constrains the possibilities for doing so. lange refers to this, in her chapter, as “institutional curriculum”, in opposition to “academic curriculum”. at issue, she notes, was a question of epistemology: not only what constituted valid knowledge, but how that was defined and whose knowledge was deemed valid. she positions a protesting student with a poster calling for recognition as the essence of the impetus behind the current calls for decolonisation. httpd://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 vicki trowler: decolonisation in universities: the politics of knowledge 147 hoadley and galant pick up on the tension between the “who” and the “what” in contestations around curriculum, using the work of bernstein to consider the visit (and subsequent debates) of professor raju to uct. they distil raju’s position, and by extension a significant thrust driving the decolonisation agenda, as being about the “who” rather than the “what” – whose voices, presence, recognition or authority are excluded from curriculum, even when criteria for inclusion are (at least on the face of it) met. this question of identity emerges in a number of the contributions – the lack of recognition in the existing (colonial) curriculum of the identity and essence of the students being taught and their contextual location in south africa, as well as the epistemicide of indigenous knowledge. this raises the difficulty, mooted by mamdani, of imagining the decolonial from within coloniality – to quote audre lorde, “… the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. they may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.” the centrality of discourse, and language, is foregrounded here in a number of contributions – the need to construct knowledge, and curriculum, through indigenous languages (with the examples of kiswahili and afrikaans cited, as well as the work of neville alexander’s national language project). this, however, is a long-term project, and requires sustained systemic support which, in a global neoliberal context in which english has emerged as the de facto lingua franca, may seem wishful. it is necessary to note at this point that none of the contributors are opposed to decolonisation – or rather, that none of them are in favour of a curriculum that remains static and unresponsive to context, whether or not they believe that the current impetus for decolonisation as embodied in the fallist movements will be successful, or sustained, or most appropriate to the needs for the current context. the most optimistic voice in the collection may be mbembe’s, while the most pessimistic voice in this regard is jansen, whose argument considers the successive knowledge regimes which have shaped the higher education curriculum landscape in south africa, noting how each in turn is supplanted but how each successive knowledge regime retains vestiges of those that preceded it – thus, there can neither be a “clean break” with the past nor can there be a replacement that will not itself, in turn, be supplanted by something else. the “decolonial moment”, he argues, will pass because it does not engage fully with the complexities of the educational context, and because the sheer weight of institutional inertia largely results in innovative practices snapping back into old ways of being and doing. and that, perhaps, is the most glaring omission in this collection: the lack of a persuasive theory of change. while convincing arguments are presented for the need for decolonisation, and in some cases instances presented of ways in which decolonisation could be said to be underway, these case studies are limited and isolated. indeed, as sayed, de kock and motala note in their chapter, decolonisation requires an “eco-systems” approach (though unfortunately no further details of how this might sustainably happen are provided) rather than intervening at a single point in the system. mamdani notes that theory emerges from comparison, and knowledge through classification and ordering, inevitably using one’s own position as a reference point. this process of engagement invokes resonances with processes such as those alluded to in the 148 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 145–148 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 sayed, de kock and motala chapter of curriculum co-construction, a frequent subject in the literature on student engagement or student partnerships. sayed, de kock and motala propose an “eco-systems approach”. if we were to take this further and consider engagement in its fullest sense – engagement of and by not just students but also civil society at all levels – might we not make some progress towards an emerging consensus about what knowledge and whose knowledge should be instantiated in curriculum, and what form this might take? drawing in a range of voices representing diverse perspectives may be of benefit – and this collection represents a valuable step in this process. references: fraser, n. (2008). adding insult to injury: nancy fraser debates her critics. london, u.k.: verso. fraser, n. & honneth, a. (2003). redistribution or recognition? a political-philosophical exchange. london, u.k.: verso. jansen, j. (2019). decolonisation in universities: the politics of knowledge. johannesburg, south africa: wits university press. https://doi.org/10.18772/22019083351 kahu, e.r. & nelson, k. (2018). student engagement in the educational interface: understanding the mechanisms of student success. higher education research & development, 37(1):58-71. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/07294360.2017.1344197 lorde, a. (2018). the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. london, u.k.: penguin. trowler, v. (2010). student engagement literature review. york, u.k.: higher education academy. trowler, v. (2018). review on jansen, j. as by fire: the end of the south african university. pretoria, south africa: tafelberg. (2017). journal of student affairs in africa, 6(2):131-136. https://doi.org/10.24085/ jsaa.v6i2.3316 how to cite: trowler, v. (2019). review on jansen, jonathan d. decolonisation in universities: the politics of knowledge. johannesburg, south africa: wits university press. (2019). journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 145-148. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 httpd://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 https://doi.org/10.18772/22019083351 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1344197 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1344197 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3316 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3832 _goback www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 151–152 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4693 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 151 book review crossing borders, bridging cultures: the narratives of global scholars by u. gaulee, k. bista, b. zhang & b. schreiber (eds.) (2023). baltimore, usa: star scholars. reviewed by patricia c. timmons1 & rajendra bista2 1 patricia c. timmons, morgan state university, maryland, usa. email: patim1@morgan.edu 2 rajendra bista, morgan state university, maryland, usa. in an increasingly interconnected world, the importance of understanding and engaging with diverse cultures and perspectives cannot be overstated. as educators, researchers, and students strive to navigate the complexities of academic life in an ever-changing landscape, stories of resilience, adaptation, and growth are both inspiring and instructive. crossing borders, bridging cultures: the narratives of global scholars provides a valuable and timely resource in this regard, offering a collection of firsthand accounts of international scholars as they traverse the boundaries of cultures, languages, and academic environments. the edited volume, comprising 20 chapters, is skillfully compiled by uttam gaulee, krishna bista, bo zhang, and birgit schreiber, all of whom have extensive experience in international education and research. the book begins with a poignant reflection on the notion of ‘un/mooring’, exploring the dual sense of attachment and detachment that often accompanies individuals as they move between cultures and academic spaces. this theme resonates throughout the book, as the subsequent chapters delve into various aspects of the international scholars’ experiences, such as workplace cultures, relationships with colleagues, and the challenges of studying or working in a foreign language. notably, the book emphasizes the power of small gestures, such as hugs, in fostering a sense of belonging and community among scholars, regardless of their cultural background. one of the strengths of this collection lies in the diversity of the authors’ experiences and voices, as they hail from a wide array of countries and academic disciplines. this is evident in chapters such as ‘a lotus flower from the east’, which offers insights into the personal journey of a chinese scholar in a western academic environment, and ‘moscow never sleeps’, which shares the unique perspective of a russian scholar navigating the intricacies of a bustling metropolitan city. the book also addresses the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on academic life, with chapters such as ‘pandemic abroad’ and ‘story of an academic advisor during covid-19’ highlighting the challenges and opportunities that have arisen during these unprecedented times. one particularly powerful aspect of the book is its engagement with issues of race and social justice, as exemplified by the chapter ‘race matters’. here, the author shares http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 151–152 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4693 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za152 their experience as a scholar of colour in a predominantly white academic environment, shedding light on the unique challenges they faced and the importance of representation and inclusivity within academia. this theme is further explored in the chapter ‘no one culture is superior!’, which underscores the value of embracing diversity and fostering mutual understanding among scholars from different backgrounds. the book also includes several chapters written in german, such as ‚wage den schritt!‘, ‚sonne, stärke und tausendundein liter sand!‘, ” voll“ er neuer erfahrungen‘, and ‚so nah, doch so fern‘. these chapters not only contribute to the linguistic diversity of the collection but also provide an opportunity for readers to engage with the narratives of scholars from german-speaking countries. the editors are to be commended for their inclusive approach in curating this collection, which serves to underscore the importance of multilingualism and transcultural communication within the global academic community. crossing borders, bridging cultures is a thought-provoking and inspiring read that invites readers to reflect on their own experiences and assumptions, while fostering empathy and understanding for the diverse stories and perspectives of others. the editors have succeeded in creating a cohesive and engaging collection that illuminates the myriad challenges and triumphs faced by international scholars, and in doing so, emphasizes the importance of cultivating a supportive and inclusive environment. the global essay project seeks to illuminate the myriad ways in which studying or working outside one’s country of birth can shape one’s personal and professional journey. essay submissions are encouraged to focus on moments, encounters, and experiences that capture the essence of being an international student, scholar, or faculty member. topics may include friendship, service, freedom, discrimination, injustice, activism, belonging, family, courage, resilience, citizenship, academics, spirituality, parenthood, discovery, inclusion, self-discovery, growth, and more. in conclusion, crossing borders, bridging cultures: the narratives of global scholars is a significant contribution to the field of international education, offering powerful insights into the experiences and perspectives of scholars from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. as a part of the broader global essay project, this book exemplifies the power of storytelling in fostering understanding, empathy, and collaboration within the global academic community. readers, be they students, researchers, or those simply interested in the human experience, will undoubtedly find inspiration and enlightenment in the pages of this compelling and thought-provoking collection. project link: https://starscholars.org/lanterns-across-the-sky/ how to cite: timmons, p. c., & bista, r. (2023). review of crossing borders, bridging cultures: the narratives of global scholars by u. gaulee, k. bista, b. zhang & b. schreiber (eds.). journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 151–152. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4693 https://starscholars.org/lanterns-across-the-sky/ https://starscholars.org/lanterns-across-the-sky/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 225-230 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4370   225 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r eflective practice building capabilities and leadership for youth development: nelson mandela university’s approach luthando jack,* ayanda mlatsha** & buntu mnyaka*** introduction the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) hosted a three-day conference on “ramping up engaged scholarship, gender equity, and enhancing leadership in student affairs practice” at nelson mandela university, port elizabeth (gqeberha), from 2 to 4 december 2021. the meeting, which was attended by student affairs leaders from south african higher education institutions, was a first of its kind, hybrid-level interaction for saassap and affiliated stakeholders since the global outbreak of the coronavirus and the disease it causes, covid-19, in 2020. the conference’s programme, which sought to address current challenges and social injustices affecting students in south africa, provided student affairs professionals with an opportunity to consider and guide the processes of change required to enrich student growth and development nationally and further afield. the conference took place at a time when the higher education landscape had been greatly affected by the uncertainties produced in the advent of covid-19. the pandemic and the lockdown measures that were implemented in response to it exacerbated several pre-existing student stressors, including the financial burden of higher education; impaired mental wellness; social concerns; and loss of identity. the pandemic also had a direct impact in terms of illness and death among the student cohort, their families, and communities, as well as an indirect impact in terms of the adoption of new learning and teaching strategies under lockdown. the resulting challenges led to a close-up critique and redesign of existing policies and strategies in the field of student affairs, including in relation to leadership and scholarship. against this background, the saassap conference hosted scholars sharing innovative papers and keynote speakers who addressed the audience on patterns of best practice. the meeting also enabled participants to engage in thought-provoking conversations as part of a student-centric learning experience. the speakers included professor cheryl foxcroft, deputy vice-chancellor of learning and teaching at nelson mandela university (nmu), who talked about the importance of the notion * luthando jack is dean of students at nelson mandela university, south africa. ** ayanda mlatsha is a student development practitioner and youthlab coordinator at nelson mandela university, south africa. email: ayanda.mlatsha@mandela.ac.za. *** buntu mnyaka is an assistant researcher and youthlab coordinator at nelson mandela university, south africa. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 226   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 225-230 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4370 of engaged scholarship as a crucial element of learning and teaching. she cited boyer’s (1990) theory on what is meant by engaged scholarship, saying: “engaged scholarship is described as teaching and research that connects the rich resources of the university to our most pressing civic and ethical problems.” she further emphasised the relevance of the conference’s theme insofar as it was linked to how institutions of higher learning produce value by giving back to societies and communities. foxcroft further argued for an expanded notion of what is meant by scholarship, opposing the idea that something should be considered “scholarly” only if “it is published in a journal”. instead, she said, student affairs professionals need to search for other innovative ideas that could be considered scholarly which may take a range of forms beyond journal articles, such as videos in which the researcher expands on a topic, or new programmes which seek to realize approaches to student affairs promoted in the literature. nmu panel on student development on the second day of the conference, an nmu panel ref lected on the approach used by nelson mandela university in building capabilities and leadership for youth development. the panel referenced the complexity of universities as microcosms of society. douglas (2005, p. 1) argues that the complexity of these institutions is informed by the market; government interventions; changes in learning and teaching; and the type of students who enrol. douglas is of the view that the challenges arising from these factors must be perceived as positive since, in addressing them, universities increase their relevance to society. in other words, the nature of the institutional culture and posture at universities should be informed by the constant changes that occur within society. this can then lead these institutions to ref lect on whether the current education and environment that they are providing for their students are adequate for fostering the democratisation and transformation of society. in this context, one of the speakers on the panel, ayanda mlatsha, a student development practitioner and youthlab coordinator at nmu, noted that it was only through intense observation, research, and constant engagements with students on the ground that the nelson mandela university was able to understand the calibre and characteristics of the current generation of students. rather than being intimidated by the awareness that a constantly changing society requires a constantly changing university, the student affairs professionals on the panel said that their university had taken a conscious decision to embrace these changes and, accordingly, had encouraged the development of relevant, unique communities within the institution. communities that embraced each student’s background through their ethos and activities and upheld african values in the university’s various structures. in support of this approach, nmu has adopted a humanizing pedagogy, arguing that, as part of its public-good mission, higher education should practise humanizing ethics that promote fairness and opportunities for students about “what students are able to do and to be in and through higher education” (walker, 2018, pp. 556–557). the approach is one that is centred on producing solutions to the challenges that face society and transforming the thinking of those within society and the world accordingly. locatelli (2018, luthando jack, ayanda mlatsha & buntu mnyaka: building capabilities and leadership for youth development …   227 p. 10) argues that, in service to society and as a public good, education must be relevant to people’s lived realities and should embrace inclusivity, empowerment, innovation and the need to improve living conditions in society. one of the panellists, buntu mnyaka, an assistant researcher and youthlab coordinator at nmu, noted that while the adoption of this approach at nmu had not been smooth sailing, there had been constant progress. according to ayanda mlatsha, a key aspect of seeking to promote this approach has been the university’s drive to transform leadership, including student leadership, at the institution. she emphasised the importance of guiding and mentoring young leaders in the context of a world facing economic strain in which there is inadequate leadership and a lack of appropriate role models. in this context, and as part of higher education’s engagement with local communities, student affairs professionals should seek to empower student leaders who can help to transform their communities and societies, as well as their universities. accordingly, the student governance and development department at nmu seeks to establish platforms and an overarching environment that foster critical thinking and tolerance for all and promote citizenship, academic success, and engagement among the students (nelson mandela university, 2021a). the university offers student leaders the opportunity to become involved in university decision-making, thus enabling them to acquire transactional and transformational leadership skills and knowledge and fostering their dynamism. in this way, the students can develop as individuals, while becoming effective leaders and agents of broader change. in this context, the students can benefit from programmes such as the ndingumntu nam (“i am human too”) mental health awareness campaign which allows them to acknowledge their backgrounds and foster the realization that they are human beings first before they are graduates or scholars. such programmes enable all students, including student leaders, to embrace their own identities and encourage openness towards other student identities and cultures. in this way, an inclusive environment is created in which students not only develop their academic skills but also become productive members of society. in addition, such self-acknowledgement produces a sense of belonging and makes it easier for student leaders to reach out to others, enacting the concept of ubuntu, “i am because you are”, which is the basis of many communities in africa. the concept of humanizing pedagogy espoused by the university also enables it to perceive its academics holistically, producing the understanding that, like the students, they are members of society before they are members of the institution, said ayanda mlatsha. another noteworthy practice established at nmu is that of regular “neighbour checks”, which encourages students to check up on one another’s well-being. this practice proved particularly effective under covid-19 lockdown when student isolation led to an increase in mental illness. more broadly, the neighbour checks operate as a channel for mutual caring, fostering self lessness and a spirit of ubuntu among the students. ayanda mlatsha said that this practice, which is based on the values of the university, had cultivated a culture of ubuntu among students suffering from mental illnesses, post-trauma as a result of the pandemic, and social injustices. 228   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 225-230 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4370 during the pandemic, it became clear that the support offered by nmu’s leadership to student affairs professionals in their efforts to mentor and guide the students was made possible as part of a larger institutional commitment to practising ubuntu and a humanizing pedagogy. in this context, luthando jack, the dean of students at nelson mandela university said: part of our efforts in truly becoming an african university that is rooted in its local community entails being able to harness and underpin the canon of our education with the philosophy of ubuntu. the new kind of graduate the university will send to society ought to be imbued with the intrinsic value of placing the community above the self. ( jack, 2019) the panellists at the conference also mentioned nmu’s madibaz youthlab initiative. the platform seeks to establish spaces in which students come together to address the complex social challenges and injustices that confront the youth of south africa and beyond (nelson mandela university, 2021b). this initiative seeks to promote a humanistic solution-orientated approach to addressing the challenges that face society, including by transforming people’s thinking. nelson mandela university’s embrace of this ethos is demonstrated by its motto: “change the world”. in this regard, former nmu vice-chancellor, professor derrick swartz, speaking at the launch of the university’s name change in 2017, said that being named after nelson mandela: … means of course our students must be activists, not necessarily in a party-political sense, but must advocate for change, must work towards freeing up society so that we have a better world as well … we have to teach a curriculum that can equip our students with the best of tools and the knowledge to change the world. it has to be a radical transformation, and a call to that is the curriculum, what happens in the classroom, what knowledge comes through your mind. if you are not challenged with new skills and knowledge, you didn’t even know alternatives to the world that has been handed by history to our society. but the power of education is to change the world. (swartz, 2017) professor sibongile muthwa expressed similar sentiments at her inauguration as incoming vice-chancellor of nelson mandela university in 2018: student life at mandela university will centre the student. it will thoughtfully involve and connect our students into the full life and promise of the university and its interconnection with wider society. fashioned in an integrative way, student life should stimulate not only student development, social solidarity, multi-culturalism and diversity – through the execution of excellent and vibrant intellectual, social, cultural, sport, recreational and other value-adding programmes on campus … it will promote active student engagement in communities aimed at solving the challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. (muthwa, 2018) the point being made by both swartz and muthwa is that the institutional culture of the university is student-centric with the aim of producing an institution that is a luthando jack, ayanda mlatsha & buntu mnyaka: building capabilities and leadership for youth development …   229 public good and serves society. in addition, there is an emphasis on the university’s role in local communities. the vision is of an institution that fosters transformative and transformational capabilities and leadership – attributes which may also characterise its graduates. in this regard, the university prides itself on instilling its graduates with a capacity for interand trans-disciplinary thinking which can contribute to solving complex problems and challenges (nelson mandela university, 2021c, pp. 46–47). in summary, nelson mandela university seeks to promote the philosophical concept of ubuntu, “i am because you are”, as a core value and embed this in a humanizing pedagogical approach. the narrative of higher education institutions which promotes the separateness of learner and lecturer persists. however, under ubuntu the two are considered symbiotic. furthermore, wilkinson (1994, p.  327) argues that higher education institutions have always been forces of progress since their inception, including by fostering major developments in science, and by inf luencing culture and the development of ideologies and concepts. moreover, moscardini and strachan (2020, pp. 10–11) state that, as society has changed, so must universities if they are to remain relevant to societal development. accordingly, universities should seek to meet the needs of local communities and contribute to national development. such is the thinking that provides the frame of reference for nmu’s efforts to operate as a public good; be of service to society; and function as a space of transformation in developing communityorientated graduates. other presentations at the conference there were a number of other presentations at the conference, including an address by dr neo pule, yeki mosomothane and dr grey magaiza from the university of the free state (ufs) on “student leadership engagement in institutional transformation: a model for leadership building and engaged scholarship”. dr bernard sebake of the national association of student development professionals, presented under the theme “rethinking capabilities of student affairs professional practice: ref lecting on constantly emerging paradigms”. bonolo makhalemele and ester mahlatsi presented a ref lection on “finding engaged scholarship in everyday living”. professor thierry luescher from the human sciences research council (hsrc) delivered an address on “the photovoice project: violence and student wellbeing”. dr ramneek ahluwalia from higher health presented on the state of health worldwide and how this impacts african higher education institutions. tshegofatso mogaladi from the university of the witwatersrand (wits) addressed the audience on “the efficiency of student affairs departments in south african higher education: a conceptual analysis”. the second day ended with a productive annual general meeting (agm) of saassap members. the third day of the saassap conference opened with a ref lective session offering attendees an opportunity to connect with and assimilate some of the key points made during the proceedings. then, dr thandi lewin, acting deputy director general: university education in the department of higher education and training, considered 230   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 225-230 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4370 the work of the department. lubabalo ndzoyiya, president of the south african union of students (saus), considered the work of the union. dr birgit schreiber and sindi kayi spoke about the work of the higher education leadership and management (helm) programme being implemented by universities south africa (usaf ) as part of the department of higher education and training’s university capacity development programme. dr neo pule from the department of psychology at ufs presented on the “advantages of engaged scholarship: a systemic and multi-level co-curriculum toward collective impact”. dr matete madiba, research and development officer at saassap, talked about scholarship opportunities offered by the association. references boyer, e. l. (1990). scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate. a special report. the carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching. princeton university press. douglas, p. (2005). higher education: a complex microcosm of complex society. higher education research and development society of australasia (herdsa). jack, l. (2019, september 30). umntu ngumntu ngabantu – a person is a person through other people. discourse of student life. https://studentaffairs.mandela.ac.za/discourse-of-student-life/ september/umntu-ngumntu-ngabantu-%e2%80%93-a-person-is-a-person-thro. locatelli, r. (2018). education as a public and common good: reframing the governance of education in a changing context. education, research and foresight: working paper. united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (unesco). moscardini, a. o., & strachan, r. (2020). the role of universities in modern society. studies in higher education, 47(2), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1807493. muthwa, s. (2018, april 17). taking nelson mandela university boldly into the future in service of society [address]. vice-chancellor’s inaugural address. https://crishet.mandela.ac.za/ getmedia/1f22d63285d74c4ba45531b0dd1220e8/muthwa-taking-nelson-mandela-universityboldly-into-the-future-in-service-ofsociety?disposition=attachment nelson mandela university. (2021a). leadership training and development. https://studev.mandela.ac.za/ leadership-training-and-development nelson mandela university. (2021b). what is the madibaz youthlab? https://studev.mandela.ac.za/ madibaz-youthlab/what-is-the-madibaz-youthlab nelson mandela university. (2021c). nelson mandela university vision 2030: change the world. policy document. https://www.mandela.ac.za/wwwnew/media/store/documents/leadership/v2030/ mandela-uni-v2030-strategy-march-2021.pdf swartz, d. (2017). nelson mandela university new name launch [speech]. walker, m. (2018). dimensions of higher education and the public good in south africa. higher education, 76(3), 555-569. wilkinson, d. (1994). transforming the social order: the role of the university in social change. sociological forum, 9, 325-341. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01466313. how to cite: jack, l., mlatsha, a., & mnyaka, b. (2022). building capabilities and leadership for youth development: nelson mandela university’s approach. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 225-230. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4370 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1807493 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01466313 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 137‑140 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 137 www.jsaa.ac.za on campus experiential education conference at stellenbosch university, south africa, 10–11 november 2020 ruth andrews* * ruth andrews is an experiential educator and heads the experiential learning project in the centre for student leadership experiential education and citizenship at stellenbosch university, south africa. email: rutha@sun.ac.za experiential education as pedagogy for social justice, praxis and practice for shaping 21st‑century global citizen leaders stellenbosch university’s division student affairs, centre for student leadership, experiential education and citizenship’s co‑curriculum office, presented the stellenbosch university experiential education conference (sueec) from 10 to 11 november 2020. this was stellenbosch university’s first online conference and a first in south africa and africa focusing on experiential education and social justice. this two‑day virtual higher education conference was collaboratively designed with experiential educators in civil society, university student affairs practitioners, and academics from across the world. the conference theme of ‘experiential education as pedagogy for social justice: praxis and practice for shaping 21st century global citizen leaders’ emerged even more pertinent at a time of mass global upheaval, uncertainty and humanitarian crises. the intention of the sueec was to spotlight emerging trends and transitions in the higher education experiential learning domain and the intersections thereof with social justice and the formation of the global citizen leader. to accomplish the above entailed inviting world renown keynote speakers and subject matter experts, and to call for abstracts, master classes and exemplars (examples of best practice in experiential education). the conference was designed for higher education experiential educators, student affairs practitioners, university academics, researchers, social justice educators and practitioners, and all who are interested in embedding social justice frameworks within higher education experiential learning opportunities. the sueec offered a unique opportunity to contribute to and engage with diverse views and collective envisioning of shaping pathways for transformative teaching and learning. a total of 221 participants attended the sueec, representing 40 institutions from 14 countries: germany, united arab emirates, kenya, namibia, nigeria, ghana, philippines, united states of america, singapore, spain, united kingdom, turkey, hawaii and south africa. the sueec invited experiential educators to explore the notion of experiential education as pedagogy for social justice through the lenses of the five conference tracks: experiential education and student transformation; emerging social justice frameworks https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:rutha%40sun.ac.za?subject= 138 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 137‑140 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 in higher education; global citizen leadership; internationalisation in higher education, and research and innovation in experiential education. the sueec was designed as an experiential learning journey integrating participant engagement, exemplars of best practice, keynote addresses and master classes, as well as a research focus through virtual paper presentations. the sueec’s design was theoretically grounded in the work of dewey and david kolb, and drew on paulo freire’s pedagogy of social justice, which states that learning as transformation carries the potential to become a mechanism for affecting social justice. reflecting the understanding that experiential learning is a philosophy rather than a methodology, the sueec emphasis was on exploring experiential learning as lived reality in various contexts from across the world. the two‑day experiential learning journey was mapped to a praxis element led by alice kolb and a practice element led by george kuh. therefore, day 1 focused on the praxis of experiential learning and the various discourses surrounding experiential learning as a philosophy, as well as on how this finds expression in various contexts. day 2 focused on the practice of experiential learning and what is being done and needs to be done to realise the transformative power of experiential education towards creating a more equitable society. the sueec offered two online modalities: video‑streaming of pre‑recorded content, and live‑streaming of live‑recorded engagement. participants had the following to say about the design: i appreciated the distinction between day 1 and day 2 in terms of the reflecting/reconnect ing on day 1 and on day 2 revisioning/repositioning and recalibrating. having had some time to reflect on the 2 days, i can truly say my experience resonates with these descriptors. the following highlights made sueec an extraordinary event in extraordinary times as expressed by participant feedback below. the themes for sueec day 1 was reflecting and reconnecting and the opening conference sequence featured the world renowned stellenbosch university choir and a warm welcome by the rector, prof. wim de villiers. keynote 1: alice kolb in panel conversation, together with an inter‑generational panel of experiential educators, unpacked the six principles of experiential learning. this session was foundational to the understanding of experiential learning as a philosophy and set the tone for the day in terms of exploring the praxis of experiential education. i found keynote #1 experiential education and transformative learning: principles and practices prof. kolb in panel conversation to be exceptionally thought-provoking as it included students, staff and experts. was really engaging and enlightening. the sueec showcased experiential education exemplars that demonstrated the sueec conference tracks. the exemplars presented an opportunity to experiential educators to share examples of experiential learning best practice that have led to transformative learning in institutions. the exemplars were an informative experience. i never heard about the name of such a method. so i learned how to call them and also the examples were so relevant to give the participants a deeper insight. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 ruth andrews: experiential education conference at stellenbosch university, south africa, 10–11 november 2020 139 keynote 2: thuli madonsela and choice makhetha in conversation addressed the issue of social justice frameworks in higher education. the keynote speakers focused on student activism and how this finds expression in higher education such as gender‑based violence, racism and issues of access and redress. the most helpful are experiential education and transformative learning, as well as emerging social justice frameworks in higher education. the first two rendered me an opportunity to learn new things. conference participants had the opportunity to attend two master classes to develop skills and capabilities towards designing transformative experiential learning opportunities. the master classes provided interactive engagement, deep learning and reflexivity. master class 1 led by mustafa erdogan focused on the praxis of experiential learning as pedagogy for social justice. erdogan drew on case studies to illustrate how the experiential educator’s world view influences the praxis and practice of experiential learning. the work of paulo freire formed the framework of integrating experiential learning and social justice in the design and development of experiential learning processes. mr mustafa erdogan’s master class really gave a grounded approach to experiential learning. the conference themes for day 2 were revisioning, repositioning and recalibrating. the highlights of sueec day 2 were as follows: keynotes 3 & 4: jonathan jansen and hester klopper approached the topic of internatio‑ na lisation in higher education from two distinct vantage points of social justice and transformation, with klopper viewing the topic from the su institutional perspective. the participants’ views of their experiential learning are reflected below: prof jansen’s session on ‘internationalisation in higher education: a view through the social justice lens’. this session was meaningful to me as prof jansen covered pertinent societal challenges that speak to the african and south african context. prof hester klopper’s session outlined the challenges we face and what higher education and our students could gain from incorporating experiential training within higher education. sueec day 2 provided participants an opportunity to attend virtual paper presentations that focused on the five conference tracks. selected abstracts were double‑blind peer reviewed by an abstract review panel. authors were granted the opportunity to amend their virtual submissions based on feedback before final submission of a video‑streamed paper presentation. a total of 20 presenters with 11 virtual papers covering the five conference tracks showcased their research efforts in the area of experiential education. for many researchers, it was a ‘first’ in terms of presenting a virtual paper and engaging in a live‑ streamed q&a session. keynote 5: george kuh and arnold schoonwinkel were undoubtedly the highlight for many of the participants as they presented synthesis of the experiential learning journey. this is what participants had to say about the session: schoonwinkel and kuh – seasoned teachers – excellent presentation, insightful, detailed, relevant, learnt a lot. 140 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 137‑140 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 this session made me aware that if we the curriculum designers and developers are on the same page and have the same shared understanding, it would be smoother to change the curricula in every field to consider the required experiential exposure for each field or career. sueec master class 2 led by kuh demonstrated the power and efficacy of impact practices and precisely how and why these work. kuh presented participants with valuable evidenced‑based learnings and techniques that could be applied in various learning contexts. the research and innovation track was demonstrated when kuh shared new research on peer‑to‑peer learning. last master class, i learnt a lot of relevant information; the session from prof. kuh was excellent. both masterclasses were superb!! they encouraged critical thinking and offered so many useful practical strategies. keynotes 3 & 4 shared a joint moderated q&a session, while keynote 5 and master class 2 shared a q&a session. both sessions were well received with high levels of engagement, and the diversity of thinking and experience was appreciated by the participants. the primary focus of the final session, led by kay peterson from the institute for experiential learning (usa), was to begin the conversation on starting an intercontinental community of practice. the date for the first conversation is set for 10 december 2020. the conference proceedings drew to a close on day 2, beginning a new experiential learning journey, continuing the work in the form of an experiential learning community of practice. we look forward to reporting on this new experiential learning chapter in the near future. participant feedback in the form of appreciation and reflections of experiential learning are clear indicators of a conference that achieved its purpose and objectives. i will integrate the master class materials in my daily practices and i will review my praxis of experiential learning. i will add some of the tips to my facilitation toolkit. i have been challenged to think differently about my role as an educator and the power dynamics at play. first, i am in charge of faculty affairs and responsible of lecturer professional development in my university and hence i will consider ways to train more lecturers to be able to incorporate experiential learning practices in their courses. i am going to integrate my sueec experiential journey in my professional journey through the review of program units and more specifically, the learning outcomes, mode of delivery and student activities. i will think more critically about kolb’s learning styles and experiential learning cycle and kuh’s high impact activities. how to cite: andrews, r. 2020. experiential education conference at stellenbosch university, south africa, 10–11 november 2020. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 137‑140. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v8i2.4453 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4453 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 79‑91 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 79 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article finding common ground towards progressive transformation in student residence spaces: residence committee members as bricoleuric brokers neo pat maseko* & shawn stützner** * dr patricia barbara neo (neo pat) maseko was previously (and at the time of submission) a postdoctoral research fellow at the university of the free state. she is currently a research associate at the global research centre in gauteng, south africa. email: neomaseko9@gmail.com ** mr shawn stützner was senior officer: residence head & residence dialogues coordinator, university of the free state, south africa, at the time of submission. email: shawnstutzner@gmail.com abstract this article stemmed from discussions related to residence committee members and their role as leaders within their communities. the ideas presented during these conversations gave rise to a research interest for a conceptual exploration of collaborative and progressive social transformative brokering within a complex context. in particular, the identified interest within this context relates to finding common ground, between, inter alia, student affairs management, and residence committee (rc) management in residence spaces. the specific focus is the rc leadership team as strategists who are positioned to deal with potential conflict resolution in policy interpretation and enactment. the argument presented here has to do with the extent to which they can do this in a manner that facilitates the collegial and amicable interpretation of policy in residence communities. inherent within this is the notion of managing the potential disjuncture between policy formulation and policy implementation. the primary question about this concern finds expression in how rcs move from being part of active cultural residence spaces to critical participants in dialogic conversations as part of a multi-perspectival progressive transformation strategy. indeed, while bringing about transformation, the dynamic issues of brokering cohesion within a context of ideological and political complexity remain. given the inherent situational complexities, the article adopts a bricoleuric theoretical thread that requires a multiperspectival orientation. in this regard, appropriate components of critical complexity theory, critical system theories, transformative learning, and hope theory account for this theoretical approach. a further consideration is that of a positionality of finding progressive and transformative common ground. in this regard, the argument revolves around examining the systemic factors that bear relevance for actualising the envisaged intention, that is, common ground in the interests of the common good. at stake in this argument is the notion of rc identity and their role in building a values-based residence system of policy interpretation and enactment, while bridging the ideological divide and finding common ground between the expectations of student affairs management and the residence community. keywords bricoleuric approaches; common ground; complexity theory; dialogic; hope theory; identity; management; progressive; student transformation; system theories; transformative learning https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:neomaseko9%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:shawnstutzner%40gmail.com?subject= 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 79‑91 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 introduction this article is the result of an invitation to participate in an informal information‑sharing session with the residence committee (rc) members of a south african institution of higher learning. the leadership structures of an rc represent residences and their constituents, the students. there are over 28 residences on the campus, each led by a residence head (rh) managing the rc and the residence space. the discussions involved 9 rcs and the rh who oversee a residence of over 180 students. the dialogue revolved around the role of the rcs as emergent leaders with a background of student activism, particularly non‑violent radicalism, and their ideological navigation of this context. it became apparent, through the discussions, that there was an underlying tension, which gave rise to an existential identity dilemma. the aforesaid emanated from their dual role as student representatives on the one hand and representatives of management structures on the other. the point of departure of this exploration was a realisation that there was a need for a navigational tool for finding common ground for common good within the complex terrain of student affairs management and rc management. this dual role would also entail recognising that residence communities and spaces encompass a broad spectrum of elements. the rc’s ability to navigate the divide between the expectations of student affairs management and the residence community members is a significant factor. it is necessary to appreciate the complexities of creating a common good between the rc’s identity and their managerial and leadership role, and in building a values‑based residence system. what is worth noting here is the extent to which rcs can progressively manage the holistic philosophical tension between their role‑function as rcs and them representing the residence community. this article explores the role of residence committees as agents of transformation in the implementation of policy dictates. appropriate attention to the issue of cultural identity in contexts of progressive transformation is essential. in this regard, the bricolage1 and its key components, namely, complexity theory, critical systems theory, transformative learning, and hope theory, are presented as critical elements of navigating the complex contexts of residence spaces for the attainment of the common ground of progressive transformation. the rcs as transformative brokers of policy dictates the specific focus of this conceptual article is the nature and extent of the rc management and student engagement space as that of transformation brokering in a context of policy enactment and its impact upon residence communities. of significance in this encounter is the implicit or explicit implications it carries for the well‑being of 1 the french word bricolage “consists of the adaptive processes by which people imbue configurations of rules, traditions, norms, and relationships with meaning and authority. in so doing, they modify old arrangements and invent new ones, but innovations are always linked authoritatively to acceptable ways of doing things. these refurbished arrangements are common responses to changing circumstances” (cleaver, 2012, p. 34). in a qualitative‑inquiry‑as‑bricolage, the intention is to look at the research question from multiple disciplinary perspectives (hammersley, 2008, p. 65; joshee, 2008, p. 641). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 neo pat maseko & shawn stützner: finding common ground towards progressive transformation … 81 residence communities. at the time of the informal discussions and at the time of writing this article, the student leadership development programmes of the institution seemingly touched on four categories: generic, specialised leadership forum training, mobilisation, and ad hoc training (student support). all these forums play a critical role in student leadership development. in this article, specific attention focuses on supporting the role of rcs as holistic, beneficial policy brokers who serve the interests of both management and residence communities. strengthening the capacity of rcs informs the expectation of a cultural shift from positions of student activism (koen, cele & libhala, 2006) as members of residence community spaces, to positions of leadership (nel, 2016) as facilitators and co‑creators of potential pathways to a functional common ground. the view espoused here is that there is a need to re‑envision the role of rcs as supportive policy brokers who serve the interests of both management and residence communities. in an approach of student leadership development, the presupposition is towards a paradigmatic shift from a position of radical rc activism (as student leaders, serving the sole interests of students) to non‑radical activism from the perspective of simultaneously being members and representatives of leadership. here, the distinction between radical and non‑radical activism is that the former often resorts to drastic (and sometimes violent) measures to bring about change. radical activism has, in recent times, also manifested itself in what has become known as fallism2 (hendricks, 2018). conversely, non‑radical activism recognises the need for a process that takes current situational dictates into account, which might require time to effect the desired transformation. it should be noted that, in this instance, transformation refers to significant structural, systemic and ideological changes (speckman & mandew, 2014, p. 47). finding the middle road between the two poles of the spectrum (radical and non‑radical activism) is presented as part of a strategy to facilitate the creation of a transformative common ground between student affairs management committees and student residence communities. cultural identity within spaces of progressive transformation of critical importance, within the context of this discussion, is the assertion that, while facilitating and contributing towards the envisaged transformation, the dynamic issues of ideological and political complexity remain the primary question in this regard focuses on how rcs move from being part of active cultural identity spaces within residences to engage in dialogic mediatory conversations as leaders. accordingly, dialogic engagement is a part of a multi‑perspectival and multi‑cultural progressive transformation strategy. a subsidiary question to this would be what navigational tools the rcs use to facilitate the requisite ability and agility from being a constituent of the collective residence community towards being a part of rc management as part of leadership structures. inherent in these questions are issues of dialogism, identity and progressive transformation (price, wallace, 2 “fallism was coined as a term to describe the ideological drive of disruption, and seeing the fall of something in mobilising around the symbolism of oppression and struggle, most notably challenges continued discrimination and exclusion on the basis of race, class, sex and the exclusionary nature of capitalism and the commodification of higher education” (kotze, 2018, p. 112). 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 79‑91 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 verezub & sinchenko, 2019; louw, 2012). a progressive transformation that implies, amongst other things, the attainment of common ground. in this instance, the interpretation and enactment of policy dictate the conceptualisation of common ground. the ability to create conditions that are conducive to amicable co‑existence, such as negotiation skills, is viewed as part of the envisaged progressive transformation, irrespective of the undercurrents of potential conflict. this article thus presents the bricoleuric theoretical orientation (lévi‑strauss, 1966; kincheloe, 2001; kincheloe, mclaren & steinberg, 2011; kincheloe, 2011; mclaren & kincheloe, 2007; denzin & lincoln, 2005) as a tool to conceptualise and actualise the complexity of finding common ground and attaining progressive transformation. associated theoretical approaches and considerations of the bricolage this section focuses on theoretical approaches about a terrain characterised by contextual complexities. this issue addresses a noteworthy theoretical lens appropriate for an exploration of these new complex multiple dimensions. given the attendant complexities of the setting of student residence spaces, the article adopts a bricoleuric theoretical approach that requires a multi‑perspectival orientation. the metaphor of a jazz ensemble or that of a colourful tapestry is often used to depict the multi‑logical and multi‑perspectival nature of the bricolage (kincheloe, 2008; kincheloe & berry, 2004). in the instance of this article, the bricoleuric theoretical approach comprises critical complexity theory, critical system theories, transformative learning and hope theory (lévi‑strauss, 1966; denzil & lincoln, 2005; kincheloe, 2001, 2011). the context of this discussion engages in the interaction commonly understood as the bricolage within bricoleuric research. the research builds from postmodern understandings and multiple disciplinary perspectives, employing multiple methods of inquiry as well as diverse theoretical and philosophical underpinnings (given, 2008, p. 641). bricoleurs examine the “complex, dense, reflexive, collage‑like creation that represents the researcher’s images, understandings and interpretations of the world or phenomenon under analysis” (denzin & lincoln, 2005, p. 6). we fully recognise the delimitation of sources supporting diversity and inclusion on gender‑neutral terms relating to bricoleuric research. however, with the feministic voices of contestation around the engendered use of this non‑gender‑neutral term (wheeler & bangor, 2015, p. 8) and within the context of this discussion, we present the terms bricoleur (male) and bricoleuse (female) to represent those who engage in this type of research. of further note is the fact that the rc members, as potential brokers of peace in a complex and potentially conflictual space, could also be labelled as potential bricoleurs and bricoleuses (wheeler & bangor, 2015, p. 8). complexity theory within a terrain of complexity the bricolage, as a multi‑perspectival lens that is “grounded on an epistemology of complexity,” kincheloe’s (2011, p. 254) is an appropriate multi‑perspectival lens for this terrain of complexity because it takes into account the complexities of the lived world. within this context, bricoleurs and bricoleuses move into the domain of complexity https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 neo pat maseko & shawn stützner: finding common ground towards progressive transformation … 83 that transcends mono‑dimensional reductionism. bricoleurs/bricoleuses, acting on the complexity principle and operating in the complexity zone, understand that in its embrace of complexity, the bricolage constructs a far more active role for humans. complexity occurs both in shaping reality and in creating the research processes and narratives that represent it. such an active agency rejects deterministic views of social reality that assume the effects of particular social, political, economic and educational processes. at the same time and in the same conceptual context, this belief in an active human agency refuses standardised modes of knowledge production (kincheloe, 2011, p. 255). of relevance to this discussion is the fact that residence spaces lend themselves to complexity because of the heterogeneous composition of all parties. complexity theory as it pertains to residence communities bricoleurs/bricoleuses operating in a terrain of complexity understand that they must transcend the tendency of reductionism and struggle to comprehend the processes of complexity. for example, the central focus of the relationship in being an rc considers the dynamics of the self, being an rc representative within the residence culture, and holding a managerial element of leadership. who we are as human beings is dependent on the nature of such relationships and connections. of significance for this discussion is the fact that bricoleurs/bricoleuses understand that in such complex contexts, diverse epistemologies will develop as a result of different historical and cultural locales, within and outside of self. the issue of multiple epistemologies emerges in these locales of complexity (stewart, 2001; wolf‑bronwyn, 2013). depending on where stakeholders and role players stand in the multi‑dimensional and complex web of reality, they will come to see and understand different phenomena in different ways (kincheloe, 2011; denzil & lincoln, 2005). the fundamental idea to understand complexity is the notion that all narratives obtain meaning not merely by their relationship to material reality but from their connection to other narratives (kincheloe, 2011). concerning the context of this discussion, the interactions of residence committees and residence communities constitute a complex terrain. concomitant to this idea of complexity is the notion of the “literacy of complexity” that understands the intersecting roles and social locations of all human beings and the multiple layers of interpretations of self, contexts and social actors involved (kincheloe, 2011, p. 257). adding to this complexity is the layer of the intricate power relations of the dialogical practices within the three‑layered complex contexts comprising, in this case, management, student residence committees and communities that fall under the scrutiny of this discussion. what is of significance in these contexts is the idea that there are fictive elements to all representations and narratives.3 in other words, the contextual fields that form the 3 the attribution of fictive elements, namely, romance, tragedy, satire, comedy, and absurdism, will not sit well with some researchers. kincheloe (1997, pp. 66‑67) explains, however, that the fictive mechanics furnishes the foreclosure of worldview in the triad of reality‑ficition‑imaginary synergy, explaining that it endows the creative imaginary with an enunciated grounding. he says the recognition of the synergy produced in this relationship is a key to the reconceptualisation of qualitative research narratives. 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 79‑91 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 foci of this discussion highlight fictive dimensions that may be influenced by a variety of forces, including linguistic factors, narrative employment strategies and cultural prejudices (kincheloe, 2011, p. 259). the narratives that stem from cultural biases towards the ‘other’ are a further consideration in the specific ways in which these cultural biases and assumptions shape and interact with knowledge reception and production – thus drawing attention to the possible fictive (and possibly distorted) representations and constructions of the other narrative from a different perspective. those, as mentioned above, are often the constituent (mis)representations and (mis)interpretations that give rise to conflict and act as a barrier to finding common ground in contexts of the complexity such as the context of residence spaces. bricoleurs/bricoleuses operating in the complexity zone understand that knowledge can never be autonomous or be complete in and of itself. within the context of this discussion, the residence management, rcs and residence communities are the intersecting contextual fields. viewing the world from a mono‑dimensional perspective is too complex (from an exclusionary perspective) to facilitate the attainment of common ground (denzin & lincoln, 2005), and bricoleurs/bricoleuses are opposed to what could constitute reductionist monological knowledge. in understanding new ways of dealing with the complications of the social, cultural, psychological, and educational life within the structures of residence communities is at the forefront of complexity. of particular interest is the interpretation and enactment of policy to find common ground within the context of this discussion. finding common ground brings into view the issue of knowledge production (and reception), which is a far more complicated process, with more impediments to the act of making sense of the world. this logic aligns with lévi‑strauss’ (1966) initial conceptualisation of the bricolage. his concept originated from an understanding of the complexity and unpredictability of the cultural domain. with this in mind, the central issue straddling the divide between cultures is the position of the rcs. that is, balancing the culture of the residence systems from which their positions of power accrue, and the committees to whom they are accountable as part of the leadership structures. critical systems theory and thinking within the bricolage systems thinking emerges because of the interplay of the residence structure and its constituents. in this instance, the network comprises relevant members of institutional management, rcs, student residence members and numerous stakeholders. it is, therefore, essential to take note of the different elements within these roles. a further consideration is a cognisance of how a system functions. an analysis in this approach seeks to understand the role of the different elements and behaviour of each component with specific regard to practical systemic functionality. finally, systems thinking entails the aspect of synthesis that is about appreciating the interrelated components of a network. being able to learn about the interlinking dynamics and combining that knowledge with how it behaves amongst other interrelated systems, helps to identify better solutions for a problem (stroh, 2015). in this https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 neo pat maseko & shawn stützner: finding common ground towards progressive transformation … 85 context, this knowledge implies the ability of the rc to broker a peaceful interpretation of policy implementation within residence communities. a central assumption of systemic thinking is put forward by campbell, coldicott and kinsella (1994, p. 16); louw (2012, p. 14) and gharajedaghi (2011, p. 89). they argue that human systems operate because of the meaning that members ascribe to the activities around them. indeed, this dynamic is always purposeful towards decision‑making and wise repositioning that can cause attitudinal change. furthermore, systemic thinking focuses on holistic thinking to avoid monolithic views and reductionism and what the bricolage seeks to avoid (kincheloe, 2011, p. 266). when rcs entangle the culture, activities of the residence space, and the policy of management, they place a certain meaning to the problem in how they represent the students and management. for instance, out of fear of the expectations of management’s policy, the meaning may be: “i will turn my attention away from the students caught drinking in their bedrooms so that i can remain part of the culture of the residence.” in this case, their allegiance to the culture of the residence might supersede their management identity. the potential outcome of such action hampers a collaborative approach in the interests of progressive transformation and cultural competence. systems thinking thus necessitates a transformative dialogic. transformative learning as a pivotal part of conciliatory cultural proficiency a dialogic that takes the theoretical underpinnings of transformative learning into account (mezirow, 1991; 1998; 2006) is imperative in the pursuit of common ground. the tenets of transformative learning are constructivist in orientation. in reality, interpretation implies how things appear in an individual’s experience and are central to how they make sense of them. the interpretation of meaning has to do with perspectives and schemes. perspectives entail “broad sets of codes, namely sociolinguistic codes, psychological codes, and epistemic codes” (mezirow, 1994, p. 223). individuals’ socialisation, dispositions, and meaning‑making regimens influence perspectives. schemes have to do with “the constellation of concepts, beliefs, judgements and feelings which shape a particular interpretation” (mezirow, 1994, p. 223). a key component of transformative learning is the ability to change one’s perceptions and schemes through reflection. the relevance of this is that reflection lays the foundation for transformative cultural proficiency (arriaga & lindsey, 2016, p. 18). transformative learning requires that rcs reflectively familiarise themselves with systemic factors, including their interpretations and proclivity towards these factors that get in the way of progressive transformation. critical questions in this regard are: what elements could we foreground that can help all stakeholders to get to the destination that breaks the cycle of that which carries the potential of anarchism? a further critical question in this regard is: what poses the possibility of dictatorial authority? inherent in these questions and assumptions are issues of dialogism and progressive transformation, to find a middle ground. in this regard, facilitation skills are critical in the dialogic encounter because they can break the cycle of mono‑dimensionalism in relation to perspectival positions (berry, 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 79‑91 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 2011, p. 282). it is interrupting this sequence that ties in well with the views espoused by bricoleurs and bricoleuses who are averse to reductionist views, which preclude other aspects of the system under scrutiny. given this, such aversion opposes views and values regarded as divergent and conflictual. in the process, it shifts away from not acknowledging or allowing for difference and diversity. here, it is necessary to point out that the rcs, as brokers of peaceful policy implementation, should display the ability to recognise that difference should refrain from adopting a position of animosity. in this regard, one of the traits of conflict resolution is negotiation skills that assist with the navigation of potentially explosive situations (havelock & zlotolow, 1995, p. 10). additionally, the ability of the rc to be well versed in the culture of residence spaces and the training they have of the policy of the university enables them to mitigate against negativity (moloi, 2016). an attendant result is that they are a valuable resource concerning institutional memory, which equips them with navigational skills for traversing between two (or more) cultures. for example, a student leader from a south african campus has mentioned how residences are significant to the student community. essentially, rcs in residences give students a sense of ownership, citizenship and identity. moloi (2016) explains how residence primes are, at times, more influential than most src officers. the reason is that they champion the aspirations of their residences and serve as the link to management. in other words, considering the rcs privileged position, they can navigate a space that straddles two cultural divides – these are the culture of management and the culture of residence communities. furthermore, in this way, they carry the potential for cultural proficiency as envisioned by arriaga and lindsey (2016). in other words, rcs can potentially be resource providers for transformative and progressive purposes. therefore, the inferred view is that, as transformation agents, they have the potential to use the cultural capital they have from both sides of the divide – that of the residence committees and communities – for transformative purposes. within the context of our work and experience the rcs are student representatives appointed by the residence students. as representatives, they communicate information from management to the residence. in certain instances, rcs relay information from the perspective of being a student and not from their leadership position. the differences between the expectations of students and management are, at times, so disparate that they cause desperation and endless conflicting agendas. indeed, rcs serve as a conduit between residences and management regarding the implementation of policy dictates. very often, rcs are student representatives appointed strategically by students. the students’ approach is for the rcs to represent them by being faithful to the traditions of the residence. in truth, living in the same residences while still holding on to the same cultural identities before their election into leadership consequentially keep rcs intact with their fellow residence community members. it is through these traditions that rcs communicate information from management to students. however, facing a new challenge of paradigm‑shifting to assimilate the new ‘double‑identity’ of being student residence representatives while simultaneously serving as representatives of management remains a key issue. the main objective in this second identity, namely, that of occupying positions of https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 neo pat maseko & shawn stützner: finding common ground towards progressive transformation … 87 leadership, is that they are also expected to contend with executing the policy, which is an execution of finding common ground rooted in hope. the role of hope theory in conflict resolution meaningful dialogue requires motivation between students, rcs, and management. as rcs still living within their robust cultural residence spaces and management requiring the implementation of policy, it can constitute a slippery and complex navigational terrain. the precedent necessitates a more collaborative approach between these stakeholders for the actualisation of common ground. it is envisioning the consensus as a focal point for looking at the complexities of diversity from a conciliatory and systems perspective that augur well for progressive transformation. the assumption is that systemic success stems from holism, where the notion of differences should not translate into counter‑productiveness, but rather, it should foster the facilitation of a common consensus. when looking at the scenario above, it becomes evident that the attempts at brokering sustainable progressive transformation have implications for communal and social transformation. without transformation based on a theory of hope, the following three often manifest: “revenge/retaliation, excuse/apology/denial, and hatred/violence/ destruction. all three attack the realm of human dignity and integrity” (louw 2003, p. 396). in this regard, the collaboration can be carried further to broker peace through goals and pathways of hope. accordingly, snyder (2002) distinguishes between high hope and low hope, with the former being the best positioned for achieving the desired results wherein progressive transformation attains a common ground. contrary to the above, low hope is a state of being that is affected by negative contexts, whereas high hope can transcend and counter various contexts of difference. in the context of this discussion, this starts within specific residence spaces, moving internally into the general university community and outwardly into communities. these attempts are, therefore, intended to serve the interests of the common good within and outside of the institution. the essential argument here is that the relationship dynamic between student affairs management and the rcs carries far‑reaching implications for sustainable hope in residence communities, with implications for community development and civic leadership engagement. notably, rcs, transitioning between students’ interests and management policies, need to strengthen a clear sense of identity within the complexity of this space. the issue of identity comes into play concerning the dilemma of the rcs in straddling the divide between a residence culture that embraces a certain ideology and their position as leaders who have to abide by and apply institutional policy dictates. the argument of hope connected to identity can indeed be that the value of inter‑ and intra‑human communication impacts the relational dynamic of human dignity (louw, 2012,  p. 55). substantially, the challenge for the rcs is the responsibility of negotiating a collaborative space – firstly, from an internal dialogical space to create communicative linkages that counter difference and secondly, to create an enabling environment for diversity and 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 79‑91 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 cultural competence (arriaga & lindsey, 2016). therefore, the argument presented here is that identity and human dignity are critical components in a collaborative and progressive transformation of hope towards finding common ground. for example, mcgeer (2004, pp. 101, 102) explains that hope involves a complex dynamic of attitude, emotion, activity and disposition because it is, more deeply, a unifying and grounding force of human agency. that is, both conceptually and developmentally, human agency must primarily and distinctively feature hope. she quotes snyder (1995, 2000) by explaining that indeed, hope is a cognitive activity that involves setting concrete goals, and negotiating and navigating pathways of hope to achieve those goals through one’s willpower or agency. discussion the pursuit of common ground points towards the need for a dialogic encounter in which the rc members can help the students and management find and make the best use of strengthening capacity. these resources entail a bricoleuric dialogic encounter of collaboration. this article argues, therefore, that dialogue should have a critical space in residences as it opens up the process for talking about tensions in symbols, traditions and systems. for example, schirch and campt (2007, p. 68) emphasise that dialogue is a process for talking about tension‑filled topics and that it is increasingly apparent that people are seeing the need for better ways of talking. for that matter, it is essential to point out that both formal and informal dialogue, without the guidance of a facilitator, can lead to subjective opinions. indeed, the diverse contexts of residence spaces give rise to patterns of behaviour which are ideological, cultural and political within the broader residence community. a study conducted on student interaction based on residence design reveals that residence contexts carry the potential for conflict. their findings reveal that many students have interactions in close proximity to their own room and in their respective corridors (brandon, hirt & cameron 2008, p. 70). however, it is in these spaces that the policy is deemed to restrict the students’ personal space. for example, there are limitations on students as to how much noise they can make and that they cannot smoke in their room or corridor. fines apply if they are caught drinking alcohol in their rented space or if they have guests sleeping over or doing anything that would be regarded as a contravention of policy dictates. the assumption is that the ground for tensions may include the notion that policy enforces unfair living conditions on students. this is often related to the lack of residence spaces for student interaction. however, it is in these spaces that the policy is deemed to restrict the students’ personal space, thus creating a paradoxical situation. caught in this potentially conflictual dialogic encounter between students and management are the rcs. in rcs avoiding cutting corners in their responsibilities, it draws attention to the need for effective dialogue between people of diverse experiences and beliefs, which usually requires a process that should be guided by a facilitator (schirch & campt, 2007, pp. 114‑115). it is increasingly apparent that people are seeing the need for better ways of talking. in this regard, the dialogue is a process for talking about tension‑filled topics https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 neo pat maseko & shawn stützner: finding common ground towards progressive transformation … 89 (schirch & campt, 2007, p. 68). for example, it is accepted in residence for fellow students to consider behavioural patterns that are reflective of ideological, cultural and political nuances within the broader residence community. at stake is residence dialogue that conflicts with policies that universities stipulate for such spaces. in this regard, there are forms of dialogue in which residence students protest against these policies. consequently, the rc’s quality of leadership captures the conflictual dialogic encounter between students and management. indeed, what is commonly found in this dialogic encounter is the conflictual dialogue between diverse cultural identities, experiences and belief systems needing more dialogic peaceable means. we argue here that collaborative and progressive social transformation calls for a dialogic approach aimed at drawing together different pathways into common perspectival positions of hope. conclusion to this end, the argument presented here is that the rcs have an obligation as student leaders to find and agree upon a common consensus of eliminating every obstacle that would threaten or hinder the attainment of the objective of academic success and overall multi‑layered wellness. a significant step in this process is a shared understanding of the terms and rules of engagement in this journey of finding common transformative ground. for example, the interpretation and implementation of the policy should be carefully considered in a multi‑perspectival process. in this regard, a bricoleuric approach that encompasses emergent complexity theory, critical systems theory, transformative learning and hope theory, as presented, are useful navigational tools. this approach, we conclude, will augur well for a transformative unifying common ground that will be progressively cognisant of the multi‑dimensional nature of residence spaces. this approach would be to find a middle ground that equips the rcs 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(2013). using complexity theory for research and program evolution. oxford: oxford university press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199829460.001.0001 how to cite: maseko, p.b.n. & stützner, s. 2020. finding common ground towards progressive transformation in student residence spaces: residence committee members as bricoleuric brokers. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 79‑91. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 mailto:/10.1177/074171369404400403?subject= mailto:/10.1177/074171369804800305?subject= mailto:/10.1177/074171369804800305?subject= https://bit.ly/313jixq mailto:/10.1080/0309877x.2018.1425379?subject= mailto:/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1995.tb01764.x?subject= mailto:/10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01?subject= mailto:/10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01?subject= mailto:/10.1177/004839310103100303?subject= https://bit.ly/2yuzidr https://bit.ly/2yuzidr mailto:/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199829460.001.0001?subject= 153 author biographies dr lisa bardill moscaritolo is the vice provost for student life at the american university of sharjah, united arab emirates. dr bardill moscaritolo is the secretary general of iasas. she is a passionate student affairs and services leader with extensive experience in aligning strategic goals with the university’s vision and mission within a variety of functional areas. she fosters student engagement and fosters an environment of inclusion through innovative programming and open communications. lisa promotes a strong sense of community and collaboration among faculty, students and staff and designs, implements, and measures student services and learning outcomes based on best practices in student affairs. she also leads numerous global projects in student affairs throughout various overseas locations as well as international publications. dr moses basitere is a senior lecturer in the academic support programme for engineering (aspect) at the university of cape town, south africa. he teaches physics and holds a doctoral degree in chemical engineering and a postgraduate diploma in higher education for academic developers. he has a keen interest in engineering education research with a special focus on the integration of emerging technologies to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and physics. moses’s other research interests are in water and wastewater treatment, and he is a member of the water research group at uct civil engineering. prof. raisuyah bhagwan is a full professor in the child and youth care department of the durban university of technology, durban, south africa. she is an active researcher who has published widely on social work, spirituality and community engagement. rajendra bista is a graduate student in the school of education and urban studies at morgan state university, baltimore in the united states. dr kathleen ‘kat’ callahan is a senior lecturer of leadership studies at christopher newport university. she serves as the director of the student leader global summit for iasas. she has worked in higher education for almost 20 years in student affairs and academic affairs with expertise in internationalization of student affairs, history of higher education, and leadership education and development. prof. ronelle carolissen is a clinical psychologist and full professor of psychology in the department of psychology at stellenbosch university. she is an nrf-rated researcher. her research expertise and publications explore feminist decolonial pedagogies and critical community psychology perspectives on equity in general, and youth citizenship in higher education contexts. she is a fulbright research scholar alumna (2021–2022) and a member of assaf (academy of science of south africa). 154 gian luca giovannucci is president of the european university and college association, and treasurer of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). ’mateboho green has been a manager in corporate communication at universities south africa (usaf) from april 2013. usaf is a representative body of south africa’s 26 public universities. green holds a ba in journalism and communication from concordia university, canada (1992), an honours in communication management from the university of pretoria, south africa (2001) and a master’s in development and management from north-west university, potchefstroom campus (2019). she is passionate about stakeholder engagement in a national development context and enjoys writing about human transformation. dr naseem haniff is a registered hpcsa counselling psychologist and experienced professional with extensive knowledge of the higher education arena. she obtained her phd in leadership and systems thinking, with her research entitled ‘distributed leadership at a south african university of technology: a multi-stakeholder model’. her ma (counselling psychology) was obtained from the university of durban -westville. since 2010, dr haniff has been director: wellness centre (counselling and health) at the durban university of technology, durban, south africa. in addition to her registration with the health professions council of south africa (hpcsa), she is also a member of the psychological society of south africa. dr haniff has supervised and has oversight of the counselling psychology internship programme at the durban university of technology. reggiswindis thobile hlengwa has practised child and youth care in various residential settings from 1991 to 1998. she is registered as an assessor with the health and welfare sector education and training authority (hwseta). in 2004, she obtained a b. tech degree in child and youth development at the then durban institute of technology (dit). she has an honours degree in social development from the university of cape town (uct) and a master’s degree in education (higher education) from the university of kwazulu-natal. her research interests include child and youth care practice and issues affecting students in institutions of higher learning. ms hlengwa has been a lecturer in the child and youth care programme at the durban university of technology since 2007. prof. eunice ndeto ivala is an associate professor and director of the centre for innovative educational technology, cape peninsula university of technology located in cape town, south africa. eunice is passionate about staff development in mainstreaming technology in learning and teaching and her training philosophy is informed by designbased research, design thinking, participatory methods, and reflective and reflexive pedagogies. her research focus is on ict–mediated teaching and learning in developing contexts. she has published/co-published more than seventy research papers and co-edited/edited two conference proceedings and five books. she won an award for 155 excellence in e-learning from global learn tech for her research impact on changing educational and individuals’ practices prof. mpho p. jama is a research fellow at the university of the free state (ufs) in bloemfontein, south africa, and a fulbright research fellow and exchange alumna in the us. prior to this, she was the head of department in the division student learning and development in the faculty of health sciences and a residence head in student affairs at ufs. her research niche and scholarship has always been on student development and support, with a focus on programmes/strategies that promote a humanistic approach. she is currently writing a book titled ‘towards a humanistic pedagogy: teaching students in complex and demanding academic environments’. prof. thierry m. luescher is strategic lead: equitable education in the equitable education and economies research division of the human sciences research council, cape town, south africa. he is also adjunct professor of critical studies in higher education transformation at nelson mandela university, gqeberha, and a research fellow in higher education at the university of the free state, south africa. prof. luescher has been awarded international excellence awards for his research on student affairs by nascpa and acpa. he is an nrf-rated researcher and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. dr henry mason (d litt et phil) is registered with the health professions council of south africa as research psychologist and psychometrist. he is a past president of the southern african association for counselling and development in southern africa and serves on the editorial board of the jsaa. henry is employed at the directorate of student development and support, tshwane university of technology, and manages the academic assessment unit specializing in conducting psychological assessments to enhance student access and success. he has served on the tut research ethics committee for nine years as chairperson, vice-chairperson, and qualitative research expert. in addition to holding an nrf research rating, henry has published in national and international scientific journals. andile samkele masuku holds a bachelor’s degree in child and youth care and a master’s degree in health sciences. he is registered for a phd in health sciences in the faculty of health sciences at the durban university of technology. his research focuses on social issues affecting high school learners and students in higher education. andile is currently employed as a student development officer in the department of student governance and development. in 2021, he was recognised as one of the top 18 impactful and influential visionaries by enable youth organization. dr angelique mcconney is a registered clinical psychologist with 15 years of experience in the higher education sector. she is currently working as a senior clinical psychologist 156 at emthonjeni student wellness, nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. in her current role she also coordinates the emthonjeni peer help programme. her research interest is on student adjustment, wellness and success, with a special interest in support initiatives and peer-led support aimed at facilitating these. achim meyer auf der heyde is a retired general secretary of the deutschen studentenwerks (dsw) who currently serves as president of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). dr vuyokazi mntuyedwa is an academic literacy lecturer at cput. she holds a phd from the university of the western cape master’s degree from stellenbosch university and was a visiting scholar at the cali-state university fullerton during her phd studies. mntuyedwa likes to develop herself and always looks for opportunities to grow her academic career. as a mentee, she benefits from her institution's mentoring programme, which is meant to develop young emerging researchers where they are guided for publication to boost her academic profile. she has developed a multilingual booklet to assist first-year students who are struggling with academic writing. the booklet can be accessed here: https://www.cput.ac.za/newsroom/news/article/4415/multilingualsmart-writing-guide-for-undergraduate-students. she is working on publications base on her doctoral thesis to boost her academic profile as an emerging scholar. mntuyedwa is passionate about writing on the first-year experience, which was also the subject of her doctoral thesis. dr disaapele mogashana is currently a senior lecturer and in the department of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at the university of pretoria, south africa. she was formerly a lecturer and researcher at the institute for science and technology education (iste) at unisa and a lecturer in the academic support programme for engineering in cape town (aspect) at uct. she holds a phd in engineering education, mphil, and bsc (chemical engineering) from the uct. her research interests are in engineering education, student success and first-year experience. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education, new york university, usa. she is also a visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa, and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. prof. moja is a recipient of the lifetime achiever award of the national research foundation of south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. prof. karina mostert is a professor in industrial psychology in the faculty of economic and management sciences at the north-west university, potchefstroom campus, south africa. she conducted research on the subject of occupational health and well-being and focused on subjective well-being, burnout, engagement, work-home interference, 157 and strengths use. her research focus shifted to the health and well-being of university students, with a specific focus on their experiences, engagement and psychological resources that can assist in optimal functioning and performance. she is leading the project studywell: student well-being and success at the north-west university. the project aims to develop a valid, reliable, culturally sensitive monitoring tool, informed by in-depth qualitative investigation, to assess and proactively monitor the study climate, individual traits, states and behaviours of students to inform targeted and cost-effective interventions. charmain naidoo has been a journalist for 35 years, during most of which she worked for africa’s largest sunday newspaper, the sunday times. during her time in newspapers she worked as a foreign correspondent in london and new york. she also edited both the weekend post and the herald newspapers in gqeberha. she currently works as an independent freelance specialist writer and is based in johannesburg, south africa. she lists her hobbies as travel and going to the theatre. dr annsilla nyar-ndlovu is based at the university of johannesburg (uj) in south africa, where she leads the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc). she is a seasoned higher education professional, with over two decades of high-level senior management experience in south africa’s higher education sector. her recent senior management positions include senior researcher at the gauteng city-region observatory (gcro), a partnership between the gauteng provincial government, uj and the university of witwatersrand (wits); research manager at higher education south africa (hesa), now universities south africa (usaf) and currently, she is director at the sanrc. dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwig-universität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and onthe jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and vice president of iasas. dr schreiber received the noam chomsky award in 2022 and has been awarded international excellence awards for her research on student affairs by naspa and acpa. prof. maureen nokuthula sibiya is deputy vice-chancellor: research, innovation and engagement at mangosuthu university of technology, umlazi, south africa. she has previously served as deputy vice-chancellor: teaching and learning at the durban university of technology and as head of the nursing department from 2011–2017. during the last year of her head of department tenure, the nursing education association (nea) awarded prof. sibiya an excellence award for leadership in nursing education. prof. sibiya is a full professor and an nrf-rated researcher. 158 patricia c. timmons is a doctoral candidate in the community college leadership program at morgan state university, maryland, in the united states, where she focuses her research on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, as well as college student experiences with student mobility, mental health, and student success and access. currently, she is engaged in her dissertation project, investigating the experiences of african-american community college students with global student mobility and its impact on their personal growth, academic and professional careers. patricia holds a master of education degree in school guidance counseling from cambridge college and a bachelor of science from coppin state university. alongside her scholarly pursuits, she brings her expertise to the role of area administrator at the harvard kennedy school in cambridge, ma. with a passion for fostering inclusive environments and supporting students’ holistic development, patricia is dedicated to advancing knowledge and practice in higher education. dr nokuthula tlalajoe-mokhatla is an academic head and senior lecturer in the division of student learning and development in the faculty of health sciences at the university of the free state in bloemfontein, south africa. her research interests around student support, development and leadership focus on social learning, social integration and transitioning into higher education. through credit-bearing modules, she also helps undergraduate health sciences students develop essential lifelong learning skills and graduate attributes. prof. lynette j. van der merwe is a medical practitioner specialized in health professions education and leads the division health sciences education at the university of the free state in south africa. she is involved in health professions education research, postgraduate training and supervision and faculty development. her research interest is the holistic development of current and future healthcare professionals. clarisse van rensburg is a registered industrial psychologist currently employed at jobjack – an online platform that offers a groundbreaking automated solution for entrylevel recruitment. she completed her industrial psychology internship at spar, a large retail company in johannesburg, south africa. she completed her master’s degree in industrial and organisational psychology at the north-west university (potchefstroom campus), south africa. her research interests are in life satisfaction, first-year students and psychometrics. dr angelique wildschut is chief research specialist in the equitable education and economies research division of the human sciences research council and a research associate in sociology at the university of pretoria, south africa. her expertise is in the sociology of professional groups with a specific focus on the medical and nursing professions, artisans, and gender. she has studied different forms of social and structural exclusion and access as they translate in the transition from higher education into 159 the world of work, analysed by the variables of gender, race, sex, identity, skills and capabilities. relatedly, her work has dealt with the role of occupational milieus and identities and the construction of symbolic boundaries by different occupational groups to establish and maintain privilege in society. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 57 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities at institutions of higher learning in south africa: a case study of the university of venda tshifhiwa mbuvha* * dr tshifhiwa mbuvha is head of department at the centre for higher education and learning: disibility unit, university of venda, thohoyandou, south africa. email: mbuvhat@univen.ac.za abstract more and more tertiary institutions are now focusing on the mainstreaming and inclusion of students with disabilities. some higher education institutions (heis) in south africa have established so‑called disability units (dus) to offer specialised services to students with disabilities, to facilitate access and integration of these students at their institutions. for many students with disabilities, the du services are the first point of contact. these units work to facilitate access and ensure participation in the university for students with disabilities. this involves making “reasonable adjustments” and providing support for students with disabilities to ensure full participation and equal opportunities. students with disabilities who will need support and alternative arrangements range from students with hearing impairments, visual impairments, physical impairments, health impairments (such as chronic illness), learning impairments, or psychiatric disabilities. although universities, both locally and internationally, may systematise support in slightly different ways, many universities follow similar trends to accommodate and support students with specific disabilities as per their needs. appropriate support systems in teaching and learning are vital in ensuring equal access for students with disabilities. the commitment of the institution to facilitating support and participation depends on its willingness to change admission, curricular and assessment procedures, as well as physical accessibility of the institution. we have seen from the literature that support for students with disabilities varies from country to country (lane, 2017; mantsha, 2016). we followed a qualitative research approach and adopted a case study research design to understand the phenomenon of student support better. we used classroom observations, document analysis and focus group interviews to collect data. ten students with disabilities participated in the study. the study found that the du of the university played an important role in supporting their studies. however, the students did not receive adequate additional support from their lecturers such as tutorials and differentiation of the curriculum. shortage of learning materials specifically adapted for students with disabilities was mentioned as a weakness. the study recommends that lecturers should be trained on how to teach and support students with disabilities as this will enhance the quality of teaching and learning for these students. other recommendations include that the du should establish an online interactive portal for its registered students to increase communication between students and the university. keywords disability; educational support; higher education institutions; inclusive education https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mbuvhat%40univen.ac.za?subject= 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 introduction in the past two to three decades, there has been a large influx of students with disabilities into institutions of higher education worldwide (crous, 2004). in south africa, information on the intake of students with disabilities was not recorded in the past three decades as services of this kind were not institutionalised. more and more tertiary institutions are now focusing on the mainstreaming and inclusion of students with disabilities. some heis in south africa have established so‑called disability units (dus) to offer specialised services to students with disabilities, to facilitate access and integration of these students at their institutions (mayat & amosun, 2011). for many students with disabilities, the du is the first point of contact. these units work to facilitate access and ensure participation in the university for students with disabilities. this involves making “reasonable adjustments” and providing support for students with disabilities to ensure full participation and equal opportunities. students with disabilities who will need support and alternative arrangements range from those with hearing impairments, visual impairments, physical impairments, health impairments (such as chronic illness), learning impairments, to psychiatric disabilities (crous, 2004). although universities, both locally and internationally, may systematise support in slightly different ways, many universities follow similar trends to accommodate and support students with specific disabilities as per their needs. cheausuwantavee and cheausuwantavee (2012) argue that appropriate support systems in teaching and learning are vital in ensuring equal access for students with disabilities. the commitment of the institution to facilitating support and participation depends on its willingness to change admission, curricular and assessment procedures, as well as physical accessibility of the institution. we have seen from the literature that support for students with disabilities varies from country to country (lane, 2017; mantsha, 2016). in south africa, the university of the witwatersrand (wits) in johannesburg seems to be ahead in supporting students with disabilities (university of the witwatersrand, 2010). besides their outstanding assistive technology services, some of their best practices include continual quality checks of scanned or edited student material, continually looking at adding to or improving their services and technology or adaptive devices, and annual evaluation forms to be filled out by their disability unit students. moreover, what is quite impressive is the sensitisation and empowering of their students. for instance, the disability unit hosts teaching workshops to sensitise and educate university lecturers about teaching disabled students, organises a disability awareness week to create awareness amongst the university population, encourages disability unit students to introduce themselves to and liaise with their lecturers (using a letter of accommodation as a starting tool), and encourages disability unit students to attend various university workshops (e.g. cv‑writing workshops) to aid them in their personal development. from my experience, wits is currently using the higher education disability services association (hedsa) as a forum for benchmarking best practices for dus in south africa. many services available at wits are now available in other universities as well, though it must be borne in mind that services differ from institution to institution. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 tshifhiwa mbuvha: kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities … 59 several studies have identified the types of services provided in postsecondary institutions (tagayuna, stodden, chang, zeleznik & whelley, 2005; pingry, 2007; michail, 2010), and these are summarised below. students with disabilities encounter more academic, attitudinal, and physical barriers while attending lectures than students without disabilities. specifically, they are more likely than their non‑disabled peers to have difficulty in the following areas: study/test skills, note‑taking, listening comprehension, organisation skills, social skills, self‑esteem, and reading/writing deficits (pingry, markward & french, 2012). students also have concerns about the ability of the institutions to modify classroom environments to meet their needs. in this regard, students with physical disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs, have considerable difficulty negotiating many campus environments/ classroom accommodations. classroom accommodation allows for student physical accessibility. accommodation provided may include preferential seating, accessible seating, table‑top desks, lap boards, and requests to academic departments for a class to be relocated to an accessible location. this was emphasised by greyling (2008) when she stated that lecturers needed to consider external environmental conditions such as well‑circulated ventilation for students with asthma, extra space in the classroom to manoeuvre wheelchairs, the desk size and level, and the seat itself to ease writing, especially for those using laptops to write notes. accommodation may also provide students with disabilities the option to take frequent breaks or the ability to stand up or lie down during class (council on higher education [che], 2005; mole, 2012; pingry, 2007). most buildings that were built prior to 1994 are not easily accessible to those with disabilities and institutions are building ramps and lifts to make the buildings more accessible. according to the social model, a building should be designed in a way that it is accommodating of people with different abilities. the social model sees the disabling practices of society as the cause of disability rather than the individual with the impairment (oliver, 1998; barnes, mercer & shakespeare, 1996). where society puts up barriers, like stairs for wheelchair users or exam time constraints for people with learning difficulties, it produces disability. if educational institutions design spaces, lectures or activities to incorporate people with impairments, then these people will not be disabled but included. thus, unsafe environments for students with disabilities are deliberate in this model according to becker, martin, wajeeh, ward and shern (2002). reasonable accommodation includes accessible residences for students with disabilities. this is only a problem in the old buildings which were built before the enforcement of the building regulations. for the inaccessible buildings, students who need assistance in the performance of activities of daily living are afforded the opportunity to participate in training to improve their knowledge and skills in independent living. they are empowered by the responsibility which they share with the residential administrative team for hiring, training, scheduling, managing, and evaluating personal attendant staff. in my university, not all residences are accessible and that leaves students with disabilities with limited choices in terms of where to stay. ultimately, there are residences for students with disabilities or where 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 a certain category of disability is dominant. the new approach (social model) to service provision requires providers to change their approach. instead of looking at students with disabilities and seeing a deficit that needs to be accounted for by providing accommodation and negotiating different treatment (medical model), they are now looking at the campus and learning environments as factors for disablement. they need to be knowledgeable about physical, instructional and curriculum barriers (mole, 2012). transportation services should provide accessible university transportation to students with disabilities through the university disability office (pingry, 2007). i have seen the importance of adaptation of university transport as part of supporting students with disabilities. in many instances, students with physical disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs, are likely to be excluded from educational tours because university transport has not been adapted to their needs. educational tours also include work intergrated learning (wil) which is compulsory for all students. in terms of adaptations, mole (2012) argues that a key tool for implementing social model approaches to disability service provision is the concept of universal design (ud). ud is an architectural paradigm that provides seven principles of design. she further says, the design of products and environments should be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design. universal design for learning (udl) is an educational approach to teaching, learning, and assessment that allows us to respond effectively to individual student differences (wilson, 2017). this idea takes ud in the physical space to a teaching and learning level. udl concepts have become more common in higher education. at its core, udl encompasses three principles that lecturers should abide by in order to provide students with multiple means of representation, expression and engagement. this means that, to the extent possible, lecturers should provide content or materials in multiple formats, give students multiple ways to show what they know, and use multiple methods of motivating students (kelly, 2014). wilson (2017) adds that udl acknowledges the unfairness of using one teaching approach, one form of assessment, or one type of curriculum that tends to privilege one type of student. by incorporating udl into lecturing, higher education lecturers can create learning space and online learning environments that are more inclusive of all students. udl strategies often include but also go well beyond accommodations for students with disabilities, which become part of a larger strategy to meet all students’ learning needs by providing materials in multiple formats (pacansky‑brock, 2013). for example, captioned videos support not only students who are deaf and hard of hearing, but also english language students. many students value having access to multiple formats, as demonstrated in a study of community college students. when gathering information about students’ preferences for consuming course content, pacansky‑brock found that 40 per cent chose to read the lecture, 15 per cent listened to the lecture, 30 per cent did both (often at the same time), and 15 per cent toggled between reading and listening throughout the semester (pacansky‑brock, 2013). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 tshifhiwa mbuvha: kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities … 61 studies (pingry, 2007; dell, newton & petroff, 2011) argue that accommodating students with learning disabilities provides them with the option to receive alternative format tests or assignments. examples of alternative format testing or assignments may include an essay examination as a substitute for a multiple‑choice examination, or a written paper as a substitute for an oral presentation. alternative service includes converting study material into a more accessible format, scanning and editing of material, and conversion into braille and electronic format (moon, todd, morton & ivey, 2012). if altering the test format fundamentally alters the nature of the course, this accommodation is not appropriate. in this regard, academics need to be trained on how to modify tests by not compromising the quality of the test. for example, if the test has a map that needs to be labelled, the question should be framed in such a way that it gives the same answer for both sighted and blind students (mole, 2012). vogel, leyser, wyland and brulle (1999) find that most faculties had no or very limited training around disabilities, and almost half indicated that they had limited knowledge and skills to provide requested educational support for students with disabilities. interestingly, despite the limited knowledge base, a large majority of faculty expressed a supportive attitude towards students with disabilities by indicating their overall willingness (behavioural intent) to facilitate needed classroom accommodation in their courses. in fact, almost three‑quarters of the faculty indicated that the average time they spent in accommodating disabled students was less than 30 minutes per week. it might be argued, therefore, that the limited time spent in accommodating disabled students is all that is necessary to meet the needs of students who requested such adaptations. where udl is not implemented, there will be a need to provide distraction‑reduced testing environments to students who have significant difficulty with concentration, or are highly distractible, or to avoid employing test strategies that may be distracting to those around them (crous, 2004). pingry et al. (2012) suggest that students with disabilities may greatly benefit from settings that minimise extraneous stimuli, and this may be especially true for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) and mental disorders. some students with physical disabilities may need a separate room to lie down or stand up to manage pain or muscular conditions. in my institution, we provide separate venues for tests and exams, and these venues are fully accessible. distraction‑reduced testing accommodation allows students with disabilities to have an extended amount of time to complete tests. extended time is recommended for students whose performance is compromised by a physical or cognitive disability that causes significantly slower reading, writing, recalling or organising. students may be eligible to receive time and a half, double time, triple time or unlimited time. not all students with disabilities need extra time. bell (2013) states that students with hearing impairments are often eligible for additional time during assessment/examination periods. these arrangements may include extra reading time (usually 10 to 15 minutes per hour). in my institution, students get this kind of support. in most cases, they are given fifteen minutes per hour. from my experience extended time has its own challenges in that some students may require more than the postulated time depending on the type of disability. 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 pingry et al. (2012) conclude that students whose disabilities fluctuate (depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes) may request a test date or an assignment date change so that they can complete the assignment/test when interference from their condition is minimal (pingry, 2007). students are expected to complete the assignment and tests within a reasonable amount of time from the test date and to notify the lecturer of the request in a timely manner. i think this still requires some training for academics to show them how to be flexible with regard to due dates for assignments and tests given to students with disabilities. the practice in heis is that if students miss test dates, they should apply for a special test provided they have a medical report or evidence for the absenteeism. when looking at the support offered by the disability unit, one cannot ignore the use of assistive technology. assistive technology is available to students to maximise their ability to effectively complete course requirements. dell et al. (2011) define assistive technology as any item, piece of equipment, or product system, modified or customised to increase functional capabilities of students with disabilities. some of the adaptive resources and services include adaptive computers, tape recorders, talking calculators, sound amplification systems, television enlargers, voice synthesisers, specialised gym equipment, calculators or keyboards with large buttons, switches, and technology assessments and evaluations. text conversion is also classified under this category. text conversion includes the provision of textbooks and other course materials in an alternative format such as electronic/audio text, enlarged text, braille, and raised graphics. i have noted that e‑learning is gaining momentum in heis nationally and internationally. kahiigi (2013) defines e‑learning as any learning method that uses information communication technology (ict) to support students in achieving their learning outcomes. kahiigi comments that e‑learning and disability in higher education is evaluating current practice and exploring the tools, methods and approaches available for improving access to online learning. most people working within the higher education sector understand the importance of making e‑learning accessible to students with disabilities, yet it is not always clear exactly how this should be accomplished (seale, 2013). seale mentions lecturers, professors, classroom designers, learning technologists, student support services, staff developers, and senior managers and administrators as the key stakeholders that should be involved in e‑learning. univen has state‑of‑the‑art adapted technology laboratories within the du. one of the most prominent findings that emerged from giangreco, prelock and turnbull, (2010) was that classroom assistants were in close proximity on an ongoing basis to students with disabilities. evidence of this is seen in by (i) the classroom assistant maintaining physical contact with the student (e.g. shoulder, back, arms, hands) or the student’s wheelchair; and (ii) the classroom assistant sitting in a chair immediately next to the students. this accommodation applies to students who require an in‑class assistant or an assistant at the campus library to complete course requirements. classroom assistants may include a scribe, reader, lab assistant, library assistant or mobility assistant. a library assistant for students with disabilities is available at univen and there is a special designated area https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 tshifhiwa mbuvha: kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities … 63 where students can access adapted technology. classroom assistants should be provided with competency‑based training that includes ongoing, classroom‑based supervision by academics. classroom assistants can also include tutor and study skills assistance. this service provides one‑to‑one weekly, biweekly or, as needed, appointments with the learning disabilities specialist to work on strategies for test preparation, test‑taking, reading comprehension, written expression, organisation, goal setting and achieving, and problem solving/crisis management (peña, 2014). univen is using mentoring and tutoring systems to support students with disabilities. a note‑taker service is another form of classroom assistance. faculty members may provide students with a copy of their personal lecture notes. when faculty members are unable to provide notes, the du or the professor should recruit individual note takers – ideally, teacher assistants or other students in the classes. faculty members are notified of students’ eligibility for note takers in the form of accommodation agreements, which are mailed or student delivered. requests for this service must be supported by appropriate professional and reasonably current documentation. interpreting services are available to students who have a documented profound hearing loss or deafness. these services are available in the classroom and for university‑ sponsored events that require an interpreter. bell (2013) argues that registered students with a hearing impairment at stellenbosch university do not make use of the south african sign language (sasl) but this changed in 2017 when the 2016 language policy of stellenbosch university included sign language as a medium of communication for deaf students who have sign language as their language of learning. since 2017, there are two sasl interpreters for two deaf students who use sasl as the language of learning (muller, 2017). my observation is that students with deafness find it difficult to access heis in south africa because of their poor matric results. to improve the situation, the limpopo department of education is offering training on sasl to special school educators. at present, students who are accessing heis are those with profound hearing loss and who have attended regular classrooms. counselling services are also an important part of academic support and classroom assistance in hei settings. this service includes student participation in individual counselling and/or support groups provided by the university disability office. support groups are available to students with adhd, learning disabilities and students with mental disorders (greyling, 2008). these support groups meet on a regular basis and provide students with support, social interaction and problem‑ solving strategies. physical therapy and sports training services provide students whose disabilities significantly limit the effective utilisation of the fitness and recreational resources and programmes which are otherwise available to students, with an opportunity for strength development, physical conditioning and functional training. through participation in different sporting codes, students with severe physical disabilities are afforded an opportunity 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 to maximise their functional potential, relieve stress and increase their tolerance relative to the rigorous demands of campus life through the milieu of adaptive exercises. participation of students with disabilities in different sporting activities is decreasing at univen. the reason behind this might be lack of staff members who are knowledgeable about different sporting activities that students with disabilities can participate in. physical therapists and graduate assistants aid students in developing and implementing personal exercise programmes, particularly for developing and maintaining a range of motions, strength and conditioning. staff can also assist students with a transfer of skills, for example, getting back into a wheelchair from the floor, manual wheelchair skills, and gait training with or without assistive technology (fuller, healey, bradley & hall, 2004). supplemental to the active therapy programme, a limited number of physical agents is available for the treatment of acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries and dysfunction. there is a critical lack of funds to support students with disabilities in higher education in south africa, both for the individual student and the institutions. institutions are currently not meeting their human rights responsibilities because of the high financial cost of supporting students with disabilities. nsfas is currently the only state funding body in south africa and, therefore, very few students can access higher education and succeed in their studies (che, 2005). nsfas guidelines are formalised and geared towards the payment of assistive technology. the revised nsfas guidelines do fund human support (scribes, sign‑language interpreters and note takers, etc.) to the same value per year that they fund assistive technology for students who need these. intensive lobbying by hedsa enabled this broader view of support to students, instead of the narrow view that assistance only comes in the form of assistive technology. methodology since we sought to explore the phenomenological experience of how students with disabilities see the educational support they receive from this university, we followed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (ipa). this approach helped us understand the experiences from the perception of the students themselves, based on a paradigm of personal knowledge and subjectivity (smith & osborne, 2008; smith, flowers & larkin, 2009). thus, rather than looking at generalising the findings (as is the case with quantitative studies), or attempting to produce an objective record of a phenomenon or observation, within this paradigm we adopted an idiographic and hermeneutic mode of inquiry, where we focused on the importance of bringing to the fore their in‑depth experiences (kidd & kaczmareck, 2010; reid, flowers & larkin, 2005), whilst at the same time attempting to make meaning out of their lived experiences through own interpretation (smith & osborne, 2008). sampling to elicit in‑depth data from an insider perspective of the educational support offered to students with disabilities, we purposively selected only a small number (10) students (creswell,  2013). a purposive sampling strategy allowed us to find only a defined group https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 tshifhiwa mbuvha: kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities … 65 (students with disabilities) for whom the research problem was relevant and of personal significance. in addition, the strategy allowed us to address (i) interpretative concerns (degree of similarity or variation that can be contained in the analysis of the phenomenon), and (ii) pragmatic considerations (ease or difficulty of contacting potential participants, and relative rarity of the phenomenon) (pietkiewicz & smith, 2014). moreover, this small number helped us: (i) to do an in‑depth analysis of those students who were educationally supported; (ii) to gauge the richness of the individual cases, within the focus group; and (iii) to take advantage of an opportunity to examine similarities and differences between individuals, whilst keeping the amount of qualitative data within reasonable limits. data collection the study used three methods of data collection: observations, focus group interviews, and document analysis. observations we spent some periods in lecture halls where students with disabilities attended lectures to observe how they were supported during these. we began by planning and having informal discussions with the lecturers of the respective modules to explain the project and to familiarise ourselves with the lecture halls and the library. also, these informational discussions were meant to clarify any misunderstanding of the project. secondly, it was to encourage the students to feel free to talk. during these visits we observed a variety of activities, including the learning environment (classrooms, toilets, sporting facilities, etc). after the informal discussions, we made formal appointments to visit the classrooms for observation of lessons and interviews with two teachers in each of the four schools. we adopted the participant‑observer stance because it enabled us to see how things were organised, prioritised, and how lecturers related to all students in the lecture halls throughout the university. the approach also helped us to become acquainted with their cultural nuances, which assisted us a great deal in easing tensions and making the research process easier and better. three lessons were observed with each lecturer, and after every observation we engaged the lecturers in unpacking some of the engagements we noted during the lessons and in the physical environment. focus group interviews we used the research questions to guide the interview process. thus, although the research questions were established prior to the interview sessions, we allowed the participants the latitude to supply the depth and breadth of information they were willing to divulge with very minimal interruptions. this form of interviewing enabled us and the participants to engage in a constructive dialogue whereby initial questions were modified in the light of their responses. this also allowed us to probe interesting and important areas that arose, whilst we kept their interest and concerns in mind (smith & osborne, 2008). 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 document analysis the document analysis entails a scrutiny of relevant documents, which can be a valuable source of information (henning, van rensburg & smith, 2004). document analysis involved looking at national and institutional policies on disability, the teaching and learning policy, assessment policy, tutoring and mentoring policy, learning materials and timetables. creswell (2013) points out that one of the limitations of using documents is incompleteness of many reports, statistical records and historical documents, with gaps in the database that cannot be filled in any other way, as well as bias in documents not intended for research. nevertheless, i used the documents to verify the data collected through focus group interviews and observations. a combination of procedures enabled me to validate and cross‑check the findings. since each data source has its own strengths and weaknesses, the strength of one procedure can compensate for the weakness of another (patton, 2002). data analysis we used a model of observation to generate the data. the model followed bronfenbrenner’s bio‑ecological theoretical framework. we started by doing a pre‑observation conference where we first discussed teaching and learning for students with disabilities with the lecturers and students in the sample. this was then followed by the actual observation and finally a post‑observation conference where the observed lessons were discussed. the lessons were video recorded for reflective deliberations. more specifically we observed: first, whether the physical environment was conducive for learning or not. second, how the curriculum was adapted and differentiated to make the lecture rooms more inclusionary. third, we wanted to see if lecturers paid any individual attention to those students who experienced barriers to learning. we used the ipa framework to understand how students with disabilities are supported. analysing qualitative material using the ipa framework was quite an inspiring activity, although fraught with complexities, and was time‑consuming (smith & osborne, 2008; smith, et al., 2009). it allowed us to move between the emic and etic perspectives (pietkiewicz & smith, 2014). we achieved the latter by looking at the data through a psychological lens, interpreting it with the application of psychological concepts and theories which we found helpful to illuminate the understanding of how the students with disabilities experienced educational support. but, to guard against any form of reductionism, we allowed the data to talk to us. on the other hand, by looking at data from an outsider’s perspective, we had a chance to develop a theoretical understanding. whilst adopting these techniques, we were cognisant of the fact that within the phenomenological paradigm there are no prescriptive methods for data analysis, since ipa studies are generally context‑specific and subject to the research objectives. this allowed us to be inductive (smith et al., 2009) as we allowed for movement from what is unique to a participant to what is shared amongst the participants of the focus group. we also moved from the description of the experience to an interpretation of the experience and strove for commitment to understanding the viewpoints of the different participants in the focus group. finally, we focused on personal meaning‑making within the group. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 tshifhiwa mbuvha: kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities … 67 within these guidelines, we based our data analysis and interpretation on a seven‑ step analysis comprising: (i) transcription; (ii) reading and re‑reading; (iii) initial noting; (iv) developing emergent themes; (v) searching for connections across emergent themes; (vi) analysing subsequent cases; and (vii) looking for patterns across cases (pietkiewicz & smith, 2014), which we briefly outline hereunder. during the initial step audio recordings were transcribed and textual data were analysed. but, before the actual transcription, we listened to the audio recording of the interview session repeatedly. this enabled us to immerse ourselves in the data and it helped us recall the atmosphere of the interview and the setting in which it was conducted. field notes we made during the interview sessions were equally incorporated in the transcription process (pietkiewicz & smith, 2014). findings and discussion the participants were asked to share their experiences on the support offered by their institution/du. the overall impression was that the services offered by the dus are well received by students and positive comments about dus (with some exceptions) were received. six students with various disabilities agreed that the du was giving them academic support to succeed in their studies. this was clearly stipulated in the univen disability policy draft (2013) in section 6(e), which stipulates that the du provides a number of services including computer facilities, brailled exam papers and notes, and lending assistive technology to students with disabilities. the policy further states that the existing levels of service will be maintained within resource constraints and subject to annual reviews. univen disability policy draft (2013) was affirmed by the following statements: our university built us a du that supports us with materials. for instance, they converted my materials from sight to braille. i access the computer whenever i want, during the day. and also, the university understands that i can’t stay in a double room, so they gave me a single room. (participant 8) participant 3 commended the du for the support they give by saying: du offers certain devices to all disabled students. this was further confirmed by participant 5 when she said: i was grateful this year. the du offered me a pebble handheld magnifier to read any font size that i want to read. so, it makes things easier. they also gave me a plexitalk to enable me to record my lecturers. i can play the recorder before i sleep or before i go to the library. i can also make notes of everything that was done in class. i don’t rely on other students to get information for me. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 similar comments were uttered by participant 2: the du is certainly working. they offered me a purple reader, something that i use when studying, like when i can’t see the font size. this eases my studies. although the service offered by du is commendable, the early closing times of the lab are a problem to students with disabilities. this was evident in the words of participant 10: i think the disability unit offers good service, but my problem is that the lab closes too early. sometimes you will find that we have many classes during the day, and when you want to go to the lab it’s closed. i suggest that the lab times be revised to allow students to do their work. sometimes it becomes difficult when you want to finish your assignment which is due the next day. the participants pointed out that there were only two adapted labs on the campus, one in the library and another one in the du, but they all close at the same time. participant 1 added that: also the closing time of our library section is not appropriate. the library closes the same time as the lab. they both close at the same time at 16:45. so if the library section can function during the normal library hours it would make the work of many disabled students easier. students were then asked to comment on the additional support they would want the institution to offer. they had to identify the gaps in the support offered by du in relation to their disability needs. literature showed that “nothing about us without us” (fotim, 2011). the participants commented that they needed extra classes in difficult courses, mostly those that involved calculations. participant 2 shared his experiences: eh, for me because some of us are doing courses like economics, accounting, and they involve a lot of calculation and numbers, i just feel that they should have additional classes for people like us because you can’t see what the lecturer is writing on the board, even when we’re seated in the front row; it is just a waste of time, really. they must schedule additional classes for us so that they can help us, so that we feel accommodated. what happens to most of us now is that we must rely on our friends or colleagues. most of the time you have to beg them. consultation of lecturers by students with disabilities was raised as another problem that heis should also look at. students with visual impairments cannot access offices as there are no office numbers in braille. participant 8 added: ok, let me not complain and say it straight. the offices of our lecturers must be identifiable, ma’am. i  don’t want to ask someone to read the name on your office, ma’am mbuvha. i  must do it myself. they must write their names also in braille so that i can go to the lecturer any time i want. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 tshifhiwa mbuvha: kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities … 69 teaching and learning was also identified by participant 5 as a problem that needs attention: eh, as a history student when you get to the lecture hall, the lecturer will just teach, maybe write some notes on the board and she will say, there are prescribed books, you must go to the library and get them. ok, as a good student i go there, but only to be told that the books are only three in the library and that they have all been taken. so, you must wait for two weeks for the books to come back. the assignment might be due tomorrow and when you go back to your lecturer to ask for extension maybe she will agree. if she agrees, you go back to the library get the book and you find that the book is scratched, marked and there are pen marks all over the book, so it makes it difficult for you to scan and read the book. so i’d like to suggest that possibly the library should hand over some books to the du. participant 2: i think at the beginning of the year you should compile all the books we will need during the first semester and second semesters. then these books are requested from the library so that when the students want a chapter from the book as prescribed by the lecturer, they get it from here and everything is done here. in this ways, the book will be safe there won’t be any torn pages and stuff like that. participant 1 added: … or the books should be kept in our library section in the library, since we’re the only ones who are allowed to get in there. knowing that there are students who can’t see, our colleagues will not mark these books or tear the pages. they’ll keep the books clean at all times. participant 5 suggested the following: i was suggesting that du should compile the prescribed books we are going to need. maybe the students must submit their course outlines to the dsu so that these prescribed books can be brought down here, because sometimes even though they can take it to the books to the lab in the library, you will find that you will have to scan them out in the library and bring them here and it is time‑consuming. but when these books are around here i can come to a staff member in the du and say i need this book and he or she will be able to go take it and scan it. participant 8 added: … still on the issue of books, it seems to be a big issue all along. i mean the disabled students have been here for more than two decades now, so i think that the du must not delete the books that have been scanned. the books must be there in the system so that the other students can get the materials. it is also easier that way rather than students scanning the same book every year. if such books are saved, it’ll be easier for the students to get them. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 57‑73 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 participant 2 suggested the following: you can also ask the library if possible to ask the publisher to deliver the books with software, link the books (the book in a software format) so that it will be easy for the dsc to access the book without taking the physical copy. on the question of learning materials, participant 8 concluded that: because of the use of braille books, i depend more on du to be more friendly. i take the book there and they are able to braille it. i don’t know, maybe our library does not have good ties with the braille service, but what we experienced in my special school is that they had a machine which was able to braille books and they were even brailing books for some schools. i don’t know if the university can stretch further and buy that kind of machine and hire a person to braille books because ma’am, blind people find it difficult to access information. i can read a novel if the du can braille a novel for me. the participants were asked to comment on the following statement: “students feel their lives are micro‑managed by support services, rather than having service providers focus on individual needs. student needs must be determined by the students themselves, rather than administrators.” participant 1 responded, by stating the following: i think that statement is true; our life and needs are being macro‑managed because if a person is going to stipulate what i should do without knowing what i’m going through with my disability, it can be futile at the end of the day because whatever they bring or produce, if it is not consistent or in line with the kind of disability i’m having, at the end of the day whatever they do will be nothing. but if i’m the one who is providing the information to them, telling them what i’m experiencing and i know what can help me, i think i’d become more productive. it is worth noting that the participants anonymously agree that students are responsible for their learning needs. participant 8 added that: … we as disabled people we are not stagnant, we are not rigid, meaning that if i use braille, i can’t just use braille all the time. at some point i might prefer interning; at another i might prefer software. so, as a student, i need to have some space of informing the administrator that today i want to listen and the administrator must try his or her best to give me that device. the study found that students with disabilities appreciate the academic support offered by the university of venda du, and students stated that the support had an impact on their performance. these findings are consistent with those reported by troiano, liefeld and trachtenberg (2010). troiano et al. (2010) investigated the way 262 students with ld related to their academic support centre, as well as student achievement. their results showed that students who consistently attended academic support centre appointments had higher rates of success than those who did not attend or who did not attend consistently. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 tshifhiwa mbuvha: kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities … 71 in england, vouroutzidou, (2011) found that, even though the majority of the students expressed a general satisfaction with the services they receive from the institution, there were some complaints about the du and about some other members of staff. it was found that complaints were related to the bureaucratisation of the disability services. i think that educational support should be the responsibility of all structures of the university, not just those people appointed in a specialised disability support office. che (2005) stresses that the whole campus is responsible for fostering a diverse campus climate and for addressing the students’ diverse needs. it should not be the responsibility of the du alone, although the crucial role they play is appreciated. all the participants spoke highly of the du and the commitment of the staff. staff at the du seem to play a significant role in advocating for students’ needs in university services and facilitating communication between the faculty and students with disabilities. south african researchers (crous, 2005; che, 2005; greyling, 2008; fotim, 2011) found that in many instances, dus are still playing a pioneering role in terms of academic support for students with disabilities. they found that support offered to students with disabilities may differ from university to university and the support offered might be somewhat similar. however, a flexible design of support will ensure that individual differences and needs are accommodated and support is provided. results from these studies confirm that heis are practising the social model of service provision to make all aspects of university life accessible from the onset. conclusion the study found that the du of the university played an important role in supporting their studies. however, the students did not receive adequate additional support from their lecturers such as tutorials and differentiation of the curriculum. shortage of learning materials specifically adapted for students with disabilities was mentioned as a weakness. the study recommends that lecturers should be trained on how to teach and support students with disabilities as this will enhance the quality of teaching and learning for students with disabilities. other recommendations include that the du should establish an online interactive portal for its registered students to increase communication between students and the university. i view the present investigation as a preliminary attempt to develop a comprehensive model of inclusive education in higher education in south africa. our findings, though not transportable to novel contexts, highlight chronic and cumulative adversity students with disabilities are faced with. these adversities so far lack clear‑cut solutions. medical and diagnostic constructs have not provided adequate answers either (mole, 2012). references barnes, c., mercer, g. & shakespeare, t. 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(2012). accommodating students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem): findings from research and practice for middle grades through university education. atlanta: centre for assistive technology and environmental access, georgia institute for technology. muller, s. (2017). language and transformation at stellenbosch university – critically rethinking the language policy at stellenbosch university now. south africa: litnet. oliver, m. (1998). understanding disability: from theory to practice. london, u.k.: macmillan. pacansky‑brock, m. (2013). mainstreaming academic innovation with emerging technologies..teaching without walls. 4 october. https://bit.ly/2ozfozm patton, m.q. (2002). qualitative evaluation and research methods. third edition. thousand oaks, ca: sage. peña, e.v. 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(1999). students with learning disabilities in higher education: faculty attitude and practices. learning disabilities research and practice, 14(3), 173‑186. https://doi.org/10.1207/sldrp1403_5 vouroutzidou, p. (2011). the social organisation of learning difficulties at university: a qualitative study of four higher education institutions in the north east region of england. durham: durham university press. wilson, j.d. (2017). reimagining disability and inclusive education through universal design for learning. disability studies quarterly, 37(2). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v37i2.5417 how to cite: mbuvha, t. (2019). kinds of support offered by the disability unit to students with disabilities at institutions of higher learning in south africa: a case study of the university of venda. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 57‑73. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 https://bit.ly/2ozfozm https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2014.0006 https://doi.org/10.14691/cppj.20.1.7 https://doi.org/10.14691/cppj.20.1.7 https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2012.670644 https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2010.10850329 https://doi.org/10.1207/sldrp1403_5 https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v37i2.5417 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3825 129 author biographies prof. derick blaauw is professor in the school of economic sciences at north‑west university (potchefstroom campus), south africa. prior to taking up this position, he lectured economics at the university of johannesburg and at the soweto and bloemfontein campuses of vista university. his research interests are mainly in the field of labour and development economics. his current work focuses on the socioeconomic dynamics of vulnerable groups in the informal economy, such as car guards, day labourers and waste pickers. he has received a c3 rating from the national research foundation in 2020 and has published in accredited national and international journals. dr nkhangweleni gloria dama is a student counsellor in the student counselling and career development unit at the university of venda. her main responsibilities include counselling and therapy to students with personal problems, and to provide student and career development programmes at the university. her areas of research include career counselling, student development and support programmes in institutions of higher learning. she is actively involved in community and school outreach programmes, including career guidance. mr azwitamisi milton gadisi has been a library liaison officer in the disability unit, center for higher education teaching and learning, at the university of venda for the past four years. he was previously employed in the unit as an adapted technology practitioner for ten years. his passion for working with disabled students started in 1994 when he became partially sighted after an accident and was cemented by working for thirteen years at the tshilidzini school for special education in thohoyandou, south africa, as an educator in the section for the blind. his research interest lies in inclusive education. he gave a presentation at the international world conference on special needs education at the temple university in philadelphia, u.s.a., on challenges facing visually impaired students in higher education. he participated in a research project on capacity building for the prevention and management of learner pregnancy in schools as a video capturer of all the sessions and consolidated, edited and telescripted the final product. mr  gadisi completed his ba in education at the university of venda. he attained his master’s in public management from the university of venda and is currently registered for a phd in the school of management at the university of venda. he is actively involved in provincial and national matters of the south african national council for the blind. he is currently also the treasurer of the limpopo provincial council for the blind. dr nupur goyal currently serves as the director of residential life and university community standards at new york university (nyu) shanghai. in her role, she oversees the residential experience, housing operations, and university community standards, helping students create an engaging, inclusive and supportive community at nyu shanghai. 130 she  has previously worked at nyu new york and nyu abu dhabi in diverse areas of student affairs. she has a phd in higher and postsecondary education from nyu (new york). her research interests include international higher education, leadership development, and career coaching. prof. thierry m. luescher is a research director of post‑schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and an affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state (ufs), mangaung, south africa. before that, he was assistant director for institutional research at the ufs, a senior lecturer in higher education studies and extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he has a postgraduate diploma in higher education from the ufs and obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. thierry researches, teaches and consults on matters of international and comparative higher education, with particular interest in the nexus of higher education with politics in africa, higher education policy and governance, student politics, the student experience, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he has published in local and international scholarly journals, along with several chapters in internationally edited books. he is a founder and editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the book student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m.  klemenčič and j.o.  jowi, 2016). his  publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www. thierryluescher.net. dr mxolisi masango is the head of the analytics and institutional research (air) unit at the university of the witwatersrand (wits), south africa. he holds a phd from the university of pretoria. mxolisi started his career as a researcher at the agricultural research council (arc), where he spent more than 10 years. during this time, he led multiple research projects, secured several research grants and published numerous peer‑ reviewed articles in local and international journals. after leaving the arc, he joined wits where he is currently involved in various institutional research activities as well as projects focused on student success. mxolisi is the project leader of the wits siyaphumelela project, funded by the kresge foundation. in addition, mxolisi is the deputy‑president of the southern african association for institutional research (saair). dr patricia barbara neo (neo pat) maseko has been a postdoctoral researcher in the faculty of education at the university of the free state, south africa, since 2016 and has also been involved in ad hoc teaching of undergraduate students. currently, she is a research associate at the global research centre in gauteng, south africa. she holds a phd in education from the university of pretoria, south africa. her teaching career covers a broad spectrum of applied language in education and business communication studies. http://www.thierryluescher.net http://www.thierryluescher.net 131 she has worked as an education consultant for the faculty of education at the university of pretoria, where she was primarily providing academic support for curriculum design and development as well as for re‑curriculation processes. she formed part of the directorate of a private higher education institution as an academic development manager, responsible for material development and the monitoring and evaluation of learning programmes. mrs tshifhiwa christinah matodzi is a student counsellor in the disability unit, centre for higher education teaching and learning, at the university of venda. her main responsibility is career and individual counselling as well as academic support for students with disabilities. she holds a master’s in psychology and is a registered independent psychometrist with the health professions council of south africa. currently, she is a doctoral student at the university of fort hare, south africa. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. she is also a visiting research fellow, centre for the advancement of scholarship at the university of pretoria (south africa), and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post‑school studies, university of the western cape (south africa) her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and the university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education trust (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995‑1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post‑1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and impact of globalisation on higher education, and co‑authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor‑in‑chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. dr paseka andrew mosia is a senior lecturer in the educational foundations department of the national university of lesotho. he teaches courses on inclusive education and supervises master’s and doctoral students in the same field. ms takalani muloiwa is a researcher and bi analyst in the analytics and institutional research unit, university of the witwatersrand (wits), south africa. she obtained her master’s in demography and population studies from wits. takalani previously worked for an education organisation, new leaders foundation, as an analyst in data, monitoring and evaluation. prior to this, she was a research assistant in the centre for researching 132 education labour. takalani leads various institutional research projects, including the student biographical questionnaire, graduate exit survey and the feeder schools study. she is also involved in university rankings and project monitoring and evaluation. ms imkhitha nzungu is a former student and master’s graduate of stellenbosch university, south africa. prof. tlakale nareadi phasha works in the department of inclusive education at the university of south africa (unisa), where she teaches and supervises master’s and doctoral students in inclusive education. she is currently leading the unisa team, which has partnered with the british council on eu co funded project, “teaching for all: mainstreaming inclusive education in south africa”. teaching for all is an ambitious teacher development project that aims to provide all teachers in south africa with the skills to teach inclusively in diverse classrooms. ms gabriela pinheiro is a contracted researcher in the analytics and institutional research unit at the university of the witwatersrand (wits). she holds a master’s in social and psychological research from wits. her research interests include gender‑based violence, campus and student health, community psychology and gender psychology. she is currently completing her research internship at the unisa institute for social and health sciences. dr marinda pretorius is a senior lecturer in the school of economics, college of business and economics, university of johannesburg, south africa. in her research, she focuses on various economic fields, including subjective well‑being, sovereign credit ratings and forecasting methods of macroeconomic variables. her current research is centred on subjective well‑being issues of students and car guards. she has published in various national and international journals. ms phiwokazi qoza holds an ma in political and international studies, rhodes university, south africa. her current research interest in pursuance of a doctorate is on the adaptation of fourth wave feminism by young black women in cape town, south africa, with performances which have been defined as ‘transactional sex’ as a case study to explore the many ways they manipulate, accept or reject the male gaze in their negotiation of the self between online personas and lived experience. dr yasmin rugbeer is the director of teaching and learning at the university of zululand, south africa. previously, she served as director of the vice‑chancellor’s office at the same institution. dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts‑ludwig‑universität freiburg, germany, and the vice‑president of iasas, the executive editorial for the journal  of student affairs in africa, a consultant for higher 133 education leadership and management, and for stellenbosch university, where she is leading the secretariat for the international network for town and gown universities. prior to this, she was the senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university and the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals and books on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences, and has given lectures at uc berkley, the university of leuven, and the university of oslo. she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has been a member of the national executive of various professional organisations, including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). dr tshimangadzo daniel sikhwari is a former senior educational development practitioner in the centre for higher education teaching and learning (chetl) at the university of venda, south africa. he joined this institution in 1998 after serving for almost 20 years as a teacher in several secondary schools. he holds a master’s in psychology of education from the university of south africa (unisa) and a phd in educational psychology from the university of johannesburg. he has worked for almost 20 years at the university of venda as career counsellor, academic developer, researcher, and supervisor of postgraduate studies. he has authored and co authored more than 18 manuscripts published in reputable national and international journals, as well as research reports, and has presented and co presented papers at national and international conferences. dr sikhwari has retired from the university of venda and is currently working as an independent researcher and external supervisor of postgraduate studies at unisa. his areas of research interest include teaching and learning, student academic development, career development, and academic performance in higher education. dr christopher j. stipeck is currently the director of residential staff and programs at new york university. he has 15 years of experience working in residential life and housing. his research includes measuring student outcomes and environments (including living– learning programmes), staff burnout, residential curriculum, and first‑generation student support systems. he is also a reviewer of articles published in jsaa. mr shawn stützner has over 19 years of experience in developing expert support processes with students and adults dealing with conflict and complex thinking patterns. he holds a master’s in clinical pastoral care from stellenbosch university. specialising in hiv/aids, he assists in therapeutically improving the participation of disadvantaged individuals and groups of networks through a praxis of hope in promoting human dignity. guiding learners and professionals struggling with inappropriate worldviews, behaviour and attitudes, he takes a restorative approach towards purposefulness and responsible living 134 regarding norms and values. his recourses provide successful care, integration, mentoring, transformation, evaluative planning, emotional management, stress control and guiding well being amongst students and adults. he coordinates campus dialogues, providing initiatives related to social justice, social cohesion and social inclusion. additionally, his dialogic engagement focuses specifically on symbols, systems, traditions, and patterns of behaviour as they relate to engagement amongst higher education students and companies from diverse social, cultural, political and economic backgrounds. furthermore, he deals with complex diverse processes as they relate to stereotypes held amongst african tribal clashes, issues of identity, racism, cultural and religious diversity, gender issues, academic exclusion, and food insecurities. he has extensive experience in addressing health, well being, and quality of life in church organisations, companies, universities and therapeutic settings. dr chinaza uleanya is a postdoctoral fellow and researcher in the department of educational management and leadership at the university of johannesburg, south africa. he obtained his doctoral degree from the university of zululand, south africa. ms fezile wagner is a researcher in the analytics and institutional research unit at the university of the witwatersrand (wits), south africa. she holds a bsc hons (microbiology), a ba hons (development studies), an magr (food security), and is currently pursuing a phd in public health. she has experience in leading research projects in the fields of food security, student success, higher education and mental health. her research has culminated in both local and international peer‑reviewed journal publications and presentations at national and international conferences. fezile is currently a co‑investigator on several active grants. 137 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at https://www.journals.ac.za/index. php/jsaa/about. submissions must be made by email to the journal manager, ms maretha joyce, at mjoyce@sun.ac.za. submissions in response to special calls for papers must also be made directly to the guest editors concerned (see call for papers). the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. researchbased articles must be original and research-based and must make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. the length must be approximately 5 000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as for research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution, and must significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. typical length should be 2 500–5 000 words. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • book reviews should be between 800 and 1 000 words in length. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • comments and critique, of no more than 2 500 words, are also welcome. • proposal for the journal’s dialogue/interview section and calls and notices should be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences, vacancies, etc.) may incur a nominal fee. authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the ethical requirements of social research have been considered and fully complied with. 2. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 3. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 4. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 5. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 6. the journal uses the apa author–date referencing system. 7. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind peer review must have been followed. 8. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about mailto:mjoyce%40sun.ac.za?subject= http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/help/view/editorial/topic/000044 138 9. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 10. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); reflective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 11. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial excecutive. section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer-reviewed); high-quality reflective practitioner accounts (peer-reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed campus dialogue/interview section ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed book reviews ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed the editorial and peer-review policy adheres to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals (assaf council, 2008). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant reflective practitioner accounts are blind-reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, who would typically be members of the international editorial advisory board of the jsaa. peer reviewers have proven scholarly and/ or professional expertise in the subject matter of a manuscript. reviewer reports are assessed by a member of the editorial executive and form the basis of any decision by 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publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in online research repositories or on their website), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. open access policy this journal provides open access to its e-journal content. free copies can be downloaded from the journal website at http://www.jsaa.ac.za, and from co-hosting sites e.g. http://ajol.info. authors are encouraged to place copies of their final articles in their institution’s research repository. http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://ajol.info 139 print copies/subscription • online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at https://www.journals. ac.za/index.php/jsaa/index. • printed copies of past issues of the journal (vol. 1 to vol. 4(1)) can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective.com/; amazon books http://www.amazon.com or directly from african minds http://www.africanminds.co.za. • printed copies from vol. 4(2) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/index https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/index http://www.africanbookscollective.com/ http://www.amazon.com http://www.africanminds.co.za mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 131 www.jsaa.ac.za research article stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university: a qualitative study henry d. mason* * dr henry d. mason is a registered research psychologist and a social science researcher at the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. email: masonh@tut.ac.za abstract this article reports on a qualitative study that explored the use of coping strategies among first-year students in managing academic-related stressors. qualitative data were collected using a non-probability and purposive sample. a total of 225 first-year students who were registered at a south african university participated in the study by writing naïve sketches. a narrative framework was adopted and data were analysed using thematic analysis. six categories of stressors emerged from the data and were categorised as financial, spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and institutional. the qualitative findings also pointed to three prominent coping strategies, namely problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and meaning-making. the reported outcomes of employing coping strategies included both positive and negative aspects. an overarching theme, entitled ‘hanging in there’ was interpreted from the data and points to an innate sense of hope that assists participants in managing stressors. implications for student affairs practitioners and areas for further study are discussed. keywords academic stress; coping; meaning; psychological stress; qualitative research introduction higher education plays a crucial role in stimulating a country’s economy and empowering young people with the skills, knowledge and attitudes required for the 21st-century workplace (che, 2013). however, numerous factors can negatively affect a university student’s pursuit of a tertiary qualification (cilliers, 2014). these factors include, but are not limited to, financial constraints, interpersonal and intrapersonal challenges, academic underpreparedness and difficulties in balancing academic and personal life (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; nelson & low, 2011; van zyl, 2016). the concept of academic stress emerges as a prominent theme when considering factors that enhance low retention, high dropout and poor performance (bojuwoye, 2002; cotton, dollard & de jonge, 2002; kausar, 2010). academic stress refers to demands placed on students, and others, within the academic environment (van heerden-pieterse, 2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:masonh%40tut.ac.za?subject= 132 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 a rich body of research indicates that university students are exposed to various stressors on a daily basis (bojuwoye, 2002; burge, 2009; kim, newton, downey & benton, 2010; mudhovozi, 2011). amongst other things, university students are under pressure to perform academically, adapt to the higher education environment, and manage finances (letseka, breier & visser 2009; nelson & low, 2011). data suggest that university students often view stress as a negative experience, tend to adopt ineffective coping strategies, and struggle to access resources that could assist them in managing challenges (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; mudhovozi, 2011; nelson & low, 2011). when stress is perceived negatively, and the required coping strategies and supportive resources are lacking, students may become impaired (kausar, 2010). the impaired student is at a heightened risk for the development of, amongst other things, psychological disorders and academic attrition (seligman, 2011; van zyl & rothman, 2012). the latter could ultimately result in low quality of life among university students (van zyl & rothman, 2012). within the university context, student affairs practitioners are required to assist students in developing the strategies required to cope with stressors and establish academic-personal life balance, amongst other things (van lingen & de jager, 2011; van heerden-pieterse, 2015). ample international evidence exists about the experience of stress and coping among university students in international contexts (bowers & lopez, 2010; burge, 2009; kim et al., 2010). however, stress and coping among undergraduate students within a south african context deserves more attention (govender, mkhabela, hlongwane, jalim & jetha, 2015; naidoo, van wyk, higgins-opitz & moodley, 2014). moreover, research explicitly focused on the role that student affairs practitioners can play in addressing academic stress is needed. the south african literature on the topic of stress among university students has relied primarily on quantitative research designs (mudhovozi, 2011; wilson, warton & louw, 1998). whereas quantitative data offers certain statistical advantages, it fails to explore and interrogate the meaning of participants’ unique experiences and conceptions on a specific topic (creswell, 2007). qualitative studies could, therefore, add a novel perspective by giving voice to participants’ unique experiences and conceptions of coping with academic stressors (radcliffe & lester, 2003). it is against the above-mentioned backdrop that this article reports on a qualitative study that explored students’ use of coping strategies in managing academic-related stressors. the study was guided by the following three research questions: (1) what are the prominent stressors that first-year students encounter? (2) what coping strategies do firstyear students use to manage stressors? and (3) how effective are students’ reported coping strategies in dealing with stressors? the article is organised as follows: first, a review of the literature is provided, and then the research methodology is presented. next, the findings from the qualitative study are discussed. in conclusion, the key findings are summarised, limitations are discussed and avenues for further study are suggested. http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 133 stress and coping: theoretical conceptualisation in this review of the literature, theoretical aspects relevant to the qualitative study being reported on are discussed. first, an overview of the stress within the academic context is provided. then, the concept of coping is discussed. lastly, the concept of meaning-making is examined. stress in the academic context “one of the oldest laws in psychology holds that, beyond a moderate level, increases in anxiety and worry erode mental abilities” (ramesar, koortzen & oosthuizen, 2009, p. 43). a growing body of research indicates that students in higher education are exposed to evergreater levels of stress (kausar, 2010; nelson & low, 2011; van zyl, 2016). data furthermore indicate that increases in stress levels could negatively impinge on students’ academic performance and levels of well-being (moseki & schulze, 2010; mudhovozi, 2011; van zyl & rothman, 2012). the causes of stress among university students are numerous and include aspects such as difficulties in adjusting to the university culture and context, socioeconomic challenges, poor interpersonal relationships, intrapersonal problems and limited institutional support (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; van zyl, gravett & de bruin, 2012). govender et al. (2015) point to three categories of stressors reported in the literature, namely personal, academic and university-related stressors. in a study among a sample of australian students, burge (2009) identified additional normative categories of stressors. these categories of stressors include academic, time and balance, work, intrapersonal, relationships, interpersonal, family and quality of teaching challenges. however, it is not clear whether the categories identified by burge (2009) would necessarily apply to a south african context, specifically in light of the socio-economic disparities between the two countries. in addition to normative categories, students enrolled at south african universities are also exposed to context-specific stressors. these context-specific stressors include, but are not limited to, being first-generation students, socio-economic challenges, high incidence of traumatic stress and, in some instances, a school system that does not adequately prepare them for the challenges of higher education (suliman et al., 2009; van heerden-pieterse, 2015). a study among south african medical students identified the academic curriculum, workload issues, personal problems, communication and language difficulties, and financial challenges as prominent stressors (naidoo et al., 2014). data also suggest that a variety of factors outside of the university context could impede students’ well-being (van heerdenpieterse, 2015). students should, therefore, be assisted in developing appropriate coping strategies to deal with stress in constructive ways (nelson & low, 2011). coping the concept of coping refers to cognitive and behavioural strategies persons use to manage situations that they perceive could potentially exceed their personal resources (lazarus & folkman, 1984). coping has two main functions, namely, to regulate emotions (emotion134 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 focused coping) and to direct behaviour in addressing the problem (problem-focused coping) (ramesar et al., 2009). emotion-focused coping is directed towards internal states, rather than external situations, that may have triggered a stress reaction and are more likely to be initiated when individuals appraise situations as harmful, threatening and potentially overwhelming. examples of emotion-focused coping strategies are wishful thinking, minimising, and avoidance (lazarus & folkman, 1984). problem-focused coping is directed towards altering, addressing or managing external stressors and it includes aspects such as drawing on social support and initiating problemsolving behaviours. problem-focused coping may be most appropriate when dealing with a stressor that is changeable (lazarus & folkman, 1984). in addition to employing coping strategies, recent literature suggests that stress may also have a positive or motivating effect on persons. amongst others, dweck (2010) and mcgonigal (2015) argue that adopting a growth mindset could assist people in viewing stress as a challenge, instead of harmful. seligman (2006) adds that adopting an optimistic, versus pessimistic, perspective when encountering stress, could help persons to reinterpret stressors as opportunities for growth and personal development. thus, stress could, depending on a person’s explanatory style, be viewed as either overpowering or motivational (dweck, 2006; mcgonigal, 2015; seligman, 2006). contemporary areas of investigation have also pointed to the importance of, amongst other things, mindfulness, meditation, cognitive behavioural strategies and healthy living through exercise, nutrition and sleep as relevant coping strategies (brown & gerberg, 2010; cuddy, 2015; robertson, 2010). an in-depth discussion of these, and other, coping strategies falls mostly beyond the scope of this article. the interested reader is referred to brown and gerberg (2010), cuddy (2015), haidt (2006), robertson (2010) and mcgonigal (2015). meaning-making the concept of meaning-making refers to the capacity to recognise order, coherence and purpose in life, as well as to set, pursue and attain goals that could result in a sense of fulfilment (steger, 2009). literature indicates that actively engaging in meaning-making when encountering stressors could lead to psychological and spiritual growth and serve as a protective factor against the negative consequences associated with stress (manning-jones, de terte & stephens, 2015; park, 2010; steger, 2009). a qualitative study by mason (2017) involving a sample of first-year south african nursing students identified four conceptions of meaning as critical buffers against stressors, namely stress as an avenue to meaning, compassion satisfaction, relational meaning, and meaning through spirituality. mason (2017) argues that actively searching for meaning could assist students in coping more effectively with stressors. various sources of meaning, such as religious orientation, social relationships, work, and academic studies appear to play a role in supporting students in pursuing and realising important life outcomes (nell, 2014). thus, the process of active meaning-making may http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 135 serve as an important coping strategy (nell, 2014; manning-jones et al., 2015; mason, 2017). meaning-making processes could result in numerous meanings that are derived following stressful experiences. examples of such meaning are identifying positive aspects and altered optimistic global beliefs about life experiences (park & george, 2013). research method research design a qualitative design was adopted to conduct the study (creswell, 2007). in adopting a qualitative design, the study was positioned within a narrative framework (creswell, 2007). narrative inquiry is an approach to gathering, studying and analysing participants’ depictions of experiences and events (riessman, 2002). in narrative inquiry, people are considered as embodiments of lived stories. consequently, a narrative approach aims to uncover the multiple layers of participants’ experiences and qualitative meanings that are expressed as stories. the basic tenets of narrative inquiry rendered this approach complementary to the goal of the study being reported on, namely to explore and gain an understanding of university students’ use of coping strategies in dealing with academic stressors (riessman, 2002). research context the study was conducted at a large south african residential university where the researcher is employed as a social science researcher. the specific university has a population of approximately 60 000 enrolled students. the student population is diverse and accurately resembles the broader south african demographics (statistics south africa, 2016). a large proportion of students at this university falls into the categories described by the department of higher education and training as the ‘missing middle’ and ‘low income.’ thus, in addition to the expected stressors of university life, many of the students are also confronted with socio-economic challenges (ray, 2016). for practical purposes, such as logistical constraints, access to students and limited research funding, data were only collected from one of the specific university’s nine campuses. sample a nonprobability convenient, purposive and voluntary sample of 225 first-year south african students participated in the qualitative study (creswell, 2014). criteria for inclusion were that participants had to be enrolled in a particular academic programme at a specific campus of the mentioned south african university and be 18 years of age or older. an open invitation to participate in the study was sent to all students who fulfilled the mentioned criteria (n = 452). a total of 225 students (female = 139, male = 86, age range 18–25), who complied with the criteria for inclusion voluntarily agreed to participate and wrote naïve sketches about their experiences. 136 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 data collection and procedure data were collected using naïve sketches. giorgi (1985) describes naïve sketches as documents written by participants to depict their stories and perspectives about the theme in question. in the study, participants were first instructed to write about their experiences of stress, the coping strategies they used to manage stressors and how these coping strategies affected academic-personal life balance. then, they were requested to draw a picture or provide a paper cut-out of a picture that depicted the process of coping for them. lastly, participants were invited to write an essay about the picture or image that they provided. more specifically, they were asked to explain what the picture or image represented and how effective the depicted coping strategy was for them in dealing with academic-related stressors. participants were requested to include personal examples to offer depth to their answers. the 225 naïve sketches varied in length from four to 13 pages. according to terre blanche, durrheim, and painter (2006), saturation is reached in an exploratory study featuring a homogeneous sample, such as the study being reported on here, after 6–8 sampling units are collected or when the new material does not add new insights to the qualitative interpretation. it became apparent that data saturation was reached after studying approximately 180 naïve sketches, since an adequate number of sampling units were collected and no new insights emerged from the analysis. however, since 225 naïve sketches were received, all were included in the data analysis process. data analysis the software programme atlas.ti, version 7 was used to manage the qualitative data analysis process. a narrative thematic approach was adopted in analysing the qualitative data (henning, van rensburg & smit, 2011; riessman, 2002). the narrative approach to qualitative analysis assisted in illuminating participants’ underlying assumptions, beliefs and meanings that shaped and informed the specific application of coping strategies to manage academic stressors. thematic analysis, consisting of five interrelated steps, namely (1) familiarisation, (2) inducing themes, (3) coding, (4) elaboration, and (5) interpretation and checking, served as a guide to analyse the naïve sketches qualitatively within a narrative framework (henning et al., 2011; riessman, 2002). trustworthiness lincoln and guba’s (1985) guidelines for qualitative research were adopted to enhance the trustworthiness of the findings. the following measures were implemented to enhance the trustworthiness: using an independent coder who had extensive experience in the field of qualitative research to verify the credibility of the analysis and interpretation; collecting rich data through narrative sketches; participant verification; using an audit trail; fully describing the research method and procedure; and ongoing reflective practice. research ethics the university where data were collected granted permission to conduct the study (ref. #: 2014/07/004). all identifying information (e.g. surnames, names and student numbers) http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 137 was treated confidentially and removed before the data analysis. no course credit or financial benefits were offered for participation. all participants gave individual written informed consent. findings and discussion one major theme emerged following the qualitative analysis and was labelled ‘hanging in there’. this major theme was then organised into three themes, namely the types of stressors, coping strategies and outcomes associated with coping efforts. each theme was further discussed in terms of relevant sub-themes. figure 1 serves as a graphical representation of the three themes with the overarching theme. hanging in there types of stressors coping strategies outcome figure 1: the three themes with the overarching theme table 1 serves as a summative index of the themes and the sub-themes. the frequency of participants’ references to the particular themes and sub-themes is also displayed in table 1. table 1: themes, sub-themes and frequencies of responses hanging in there themes sub-themes females n (% of n) males (% of n) total n (%) types of stressors financial 137 (61.43%) 86 (38.56%) 223 (99.11%) spiritual 132 (64.71%) 72 (35.29%) 204 (90.67%) physical 135 (66.18%) 69 (33.82%) 204 (90.67%) emotional 131 (64.53%) 72 (35.47%) 203 (90.22%) mental 130 (65.00%) 70 (35.00%) 200 (88.89%) institutional 128 (64.65%) 70 (35.35% 198 (88.00%) coping strategies problem-focused 115 (58.97%) 80 (41.02%) 195 (86.67%) emotion-focused 122 (63.21%) 71 (36.79%) 193 (85.78%) meaning-making 118 (68.21%) 55 (31.79%) 173 (76.89%) outcome positive 135 (61.64%) 84 (38.36%) 219 (97.33%) negative 71 (62.83%) 43 (37.38%) 113 (38.10%) acknowledgement 128 (56.89%) 82 (36.44%) 210 (93.33%) taking action 132 (58.67%) 79 (35.11%) 211 (93.78%) taking stock and moving forward 119 (52.89%) 73 (32.44%) 192 (85.33%) note: ‘% of n’ means gender percentage of the row frequency of responses. 138 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 in the next section, the three qualitative themes are discussed. then, the three themes are integrated and discussed in relation to the major theme, ‘hanging in there’. due to space limitations, only selected verbatim quotes are included to substantiate the interpretations. the ellipsis (…) at the beginning or end of particular quotes is meant to indicate that participants included additional information in the naïve sketches before and after the verbatim quotations that are included. the frequency of responses to a specific theme is indicated. for example, 90/225 indicates that 40% of participants referred to a specific thematic idea. the referencing system in parenthesis denotes participant number (e.g. p#1 for participant 1), gender and age. theme 1: types of stressors six prominent types of stressors emerged following the data analysis, namely financial, spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and institutional stressors. these six stressors are now discussed. against a backdrop of growing socio-economic inequality, scores of young south africans have come to view access to higher education as a way to a better life. in fact, the south african department of higher education and training describes higher education as an avenue to an empowered life (dhet, 2013). however, high tuition fees, amongst other things, constitute a significant source of stress for students enrolled at south african higher education institutions (ray, 2016). the majority of participants in this study (99.11%) indicated that financial stressors were of particular concern. one participant, a 19-year-old female, described her experience as follows: “financial problems are my major stressor … i know how important my education is and how many doors it will open for me in the future, but it is not easy to overcome the hurdle of paying class fees, paying for residence … i think this is the biggest obstacle that most students face.” (p#82) financial stressors appear to be both a national and an international phenomenon (goldrick-rab, 2016). while alternative funding strategies are being investigated (wild, 2016), the reality at the grassroots level is that students are experiencing significant stress due to financial concerns (van zyl, 2016). participant 175, a 21-year-old male, narrated the challenge as follows: “surviving from day to day is a never-ending difficulty … i try to focus on creating a bright future, but some days it is tough to remain positive when i do not know how i am going to fund my studies or pay back my debt.” previous research has also indicated that students who were struggling financially and had accrued debt during their education performed less well academically compared to other students (ross, cleland & macleod, 2006). in addition to financial challenges, a large section of the sample (204/225) indicated that spirituality served as a source of stress in their lives. amongst other things, participants reported that they struggled to straddle the tension between modern-day living or secular values and spiritual values. one participant described the challenge as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 139 “for me, living in this age, it is difficult … the bible says one thing, but in our lives, we do different things. an example is caring for the less fortunate. the bible says we must give to the less fortunate, but ignore them on the streets.” (p#144, male, 19) according to frankl (2010), young adults living in the modern world are confronted by spiritual questions that were, in past decades, reserved for later developmental stages. consequently, younger adults are confronted with existential issues related to ethical living, religious belief and the finiteness of life (nell, 2014; yalom, 1980). thus, in addition to everyday materialistic stressors, such as financial difficulties, participants also reported experiencing spiritual stressors. furthermore, participants stated that they experienced physical (90.67%), emotional (90.22%) and mental (88.89%) stressors. a total of 198 participants (88%) also described institutional stressors as a concern. in this regard, participants pointed to curriculum concerns (“… it is important that the curriculum addresses aspects that are of concern to people living in an african context …” p#37, female, 18), academic challenges (“a major stress for me is studying and preparing for exams …” p#123, female, 19) and protest action that forced the university to close (“we never know when there will be a strike. you just arrive here in the morning to find the gates closed” p#145, male, 23). institutional stressors, such as curriculum reform, providing academic support services to students and the negative impact of protest action on the management of universities are areas of particular concern and have been identified in previous research (che, 2013; lewin & mawoyo, 2014; naidoo et al., 2014). for student affairs practitioners, the resultant impact of these stressors on students is of specific relevance. student affairs services should remain vigilant in assisting students to develop the required coping strategies to manage stressors resulting from institutionally related challenges effectively. amongst other things, student affairs practitioners could develop and empirically evaluate training programmes focused on equipping students with the requisite skills for effectively addressing practical concerns linked to stressful experiences (cilliers, 2014; naidoo et al., 2014). theme 2: coping strategies utilised to manage stressors the majority of participants (86.67%) indicated that they adopt problem-focused strategies to deal with stressors, e.g. “i try to remain analytical when dealing with stress … will try to define the problem … come up with possible solutions … try to use the best option.” (p#170, male, 20) however, a large section of the sample (85.78%) also indicated that they employ emotionfocused coping in dealing with stressors, e.g. “i will do things that i enjoy, like going to a movie or dancing.” (p#69, female, 19) research suggests that, compared to emotion-focused strategies, problem-focused coping tends to assist people in dealing with stressors in more constructive ways (penley, tomaka & wiebe, 2002). however, in real-life circumstances, people are inclined to use a combination of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies (govender et al., 2015; ramesar et al., 2009). 140 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 a concerning trend identified in the data was that (78.22%) of participants also reported making use of avoidance as a coping strategy. the following quote substantiates this finding: “sometimes i just act as if the problem does not exist … some students numb their problems away with alcohol.” (p#117, female, 18) there is literature to suggest that maladaptive coping, such as using non-prescribed medication and alcohol, and avoidance could negatively impinge on academic performance, self-esteem and well-being (govender et al., 2015; penley et al., 2002). a significant proportion of participants (173/225) pointed to meaning-making as a coping strategy. one participant, a 23-year-old female, stated, “i believe that there is a higher power guiding me … life will also be challenging, but through the challenges, i learn new lessons that can make me stronger in the long term.” (p#89) frankl (2010) hypothesises that stressors could serve to awaken people’s spiritual aspirations in their search for growth and meaning against the backdrop of a stressful reality. however, this would not just necessitate the application of adequate coping strategies but would require a meaning-centred transformation (yalom, 1980). hence, through meaningmaking, people reframe stressors as opportunities for personal growth and development (mason, 2017; mason & nel, 2015). in this regard, seligman (2011) calls on humans to search for personally meaningful goals that can guide their behaviour during, amongst other things, stressful times. student affairs practitioners have a significant role to play in supporting students to search for, uncover and reframe stressful challenges in meaningful terms (de villiers, 2014). theme 3: outcome of coping efforts a total of 219 participants (97.33%) reported that using coping strategies resulted in positive outcomes. these reported positive results included strong interpersonal relationships (“by sharing my problems with friends, we tended to become closer and more trusting” p#138, female, 19), enhanced self-esteem (“after solving my problems i began to see myself in a more positive light … began to believe in myself” p#44, female, 20) and improved academic performance (“learning how to deal with stress has helped me perform better in my studies … stress can eat away at you and cause you to lose motivation and even fail” p#194, male, 19). this finding is consistent with the extant literature and points to the importance of establishing a context that supports students in developing adequate coping strategies (bojuwoye, 2002; de villiers, 2014; ramesar et al., 2009). a proportion of participants (38.10%) also suggested that inappropriate coping strategies resulted in negative outcomes. participant 176, a 19-year-old male, mused that “poor coping strategies has caused me to fall behind in my academic studies. i tried just to ignore my financial problems, but it got the better of me. looking back i realise that i should have looked for help to cope better. it was a hard lesson to learn. now i can say that one must not be afraid to ask for help.” the majority of participants who reported negative outcomes cited avoidance strategies (“… i just pretend that my problems don’t exist and hope they will be gone in the morning” p#37, female, 18), being ashamed to http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 141 seek help (“… it’s embarrassing to ask for help … makes me feel like a loser to admit that i am not coping” p#167, male, 19) and limited insight into the stressors they were facing (“… once education becomes free, there wouldn’t be any worries about finances anymore …” p#155, male, 18). the preceding set of quotes suggests that a subset of participants expressed attributes (in the stated examples: personal dispositions, limited financial resources, and poor commitment) that may have had an adverse effect on the integration of academic and social experiences. these negative experiences could have been exacerbated by limited interaction with, amongst other things, student affairs services, as one participant explained: “looking back i realise that i should have made use of the referral to the student counselling unit. perhaps that could have helped to cope better and get better marks” p#183, male, 21). student affairs practitioners ought to remain mindful of the fact that the mere availability of services may not necessarily be adequate. instead, students may have difficulty in approaching specific services such as counselling or psychotherapy (egan, 2009; gladding, 2014). often psychological illiteracy and a failure to acknowledge the benefits of counselling could act as deterrents, and those who make use of these services could feel stigmatised and perceive the services to be culturally unsuitable, inappropriate, or lacking in their confidential handling of matters (egan, 2009; gladding, 2014). discussion: ‘hanging in there’ in the preceding discussions, three qualitative themes were discussed. first, prominent stressors that participants experienced were highlighted. the six prominent stressors that participants narrated were financial, spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and institutional. additionally, three prominent coping strategies were discussed, namely problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and meaning-making. lastly, it was indicated that participants who employed problem-focused coping strategies and meaning-making were more likely to report positive outcomes. a prominent narrative that serves to integrate the three qualitative themes, namely ‘hanging in there’, was interpreted from the data. ‘hanging in there’ was a term used by some participants to explain how they managed to cope with academic stressors and what the outcome of these coping processes entailed. thus, the theme ‘hanging in there’, serves as a higher level of conceptualisation and integrates the three themes (types of stressors, coping strategies and outcome) into a coherent whole. this theme is graphically represented in figure 2. 142 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 phase 1: acknowledgement phase 2: taking action phase 3: taking stock and moving forward figure 2: graphical representation: ‘hanging in there’ in figure 2, the three phases of the theme ‘hanging in there’ are presented as interlocking gears. this illustration suggests that the three phases are iterative and that the coping process, as described by participants, is dynamic. more specifically, the three phases flow into each other, and the end of one phase gives rise to the next. the first phase of the ‘hanging in there’ theme relates to the acknowledgement of a specific stressor and attempting to make sense of it within a person’s specific set of life circumstances. literature suggests that stressors affect individuals in proportion to their life circumstances, available resources and psychological make-up (egan, 2009). a significant proportion of participants (93.33%) indicated that the acknowledgement of stressors is an important component in initiating a healthy coping response. one participant explained the acknowledgment phase as follows: “financial problems are enormous in my life. i must make a plan to deal with study fees, accommodation, and the likes. education is like winning the lottery; it changes everything for you. but education also has a cost.” (p#195, male, 18) another participant suggested that acknowledgement entails accepting reality as it is and then making a plan: “one must remember to be honest in your dealings … life is hard but you must accept it and then move ahead … make the best of things” (p#188, male, 21) the second phase of the coping process entitled ‘hanging in there’ is labelled ‘taking action.’ participants agreed (93.78%) that people need to take constructive action when confronted by stressors. therefore, ‘hanging in there’ does not denote a passive process. to the contrary, it refers to a process of actively engaging with, amongst other things, stressors to identify and act upon a solution. crisis theory suggests that humans are motivated to restore the sense of disequilibrium brought about by stressful experiences (herman, 1992). in working towards re-establishing equilibrium in one’s life, people are advised to adopt an optimistic view of the future http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 143 (seligman, 2006, 2011). that is, a better future is imagined. in this regard, participants suggested that ‘hanging in there’ is founded upon hope for a better future. one participant, a 22-year-old female, described her experience as follows: “for me hope is always alive. i hope for a better tomorrow. a brighter tomorrow is what inspires and motivates me today to deal with difficult times” (p#29) according to snyder (2002), the construct of hope is based on two key concepts, namely pathways thinking and agency. the term ‘pathways thinking’ refers to the capacity of identifying avenues, and in the case of stressors, alternative avenues towards achieving goals. agency points to the motivation and personal inclination to pursue the pathways that were identified (snyder, 2002). from the data, it became apparent that hope – pathways thinking and agency – are crucial components of coping with academic stressors, as discussed in the following sections. the final phase of ‘hanging in there’ is entitled ‘taking stock and moving forward’. the data revealed that participants (85.33%) regarded stressors as normal occurrences during the academic process. amongst other things, participants’ narrative accounts suggested that stress should not necessarily be viewed as antagonistic. rather, stress was regarded as a constant companion on the journey to and through higher education. thus, stress could be likened to a character that forms part of students’ lives within the higher education context. a 22-year-old male described it as follows: “stress is a constant companion at university. i experience stress when i sit for exams. there is stress when i do group work and must explain things in front of a class.” (p#189) participants indicated that there were valuable lessons to be learned from stressful experiences as a ‘constant companion’. a rich body of literature has also attested to the potentially growth-enhancing qualities that could be gleaned from dealing with stress in constructive ways (dweck, 2006; herman, 1992; manning-jones et al., 2015; mcgonigal, 2015). a 21-year-old female participant explained as follows: “i try to learn from my past experiences. sometimes stress is difficult at the moment, but things get better, and life goes on. one of my most difficult challenges was when i fell pregnant. in my mind, i became a stronger person because of that difficulty.” (p#49) snyder and colleagues suggest that high hope students tend to draw on past experiences, regardless of whether goals were achieved or not, as diagnostic feedback to inform subsequent actions and plans (snyder et al., 1996). in contrast, low hope students tend to adopt pessimistic attitudes that negatively affect subsequent activities (snyder et al., 1996). research by duckworth (2016) also indicates that the concept of grit, which refers to the passion, perseverance and sustained self-control to pursue personally relevant and long-term goals, is related to the concept of hope. the qualitative analysis suggested that participants displayed characteristics of high hope and grit, such as goal-directedness (“i have specific goals outlined for my life …” p#77, female, 19), optimistic inclinations (“my belief is that people should try to find positive things even when their lives are stressful” p#82, female, 19) and selfefficacy (“what i have learned is to work hard for success … must set your mind on a goal and then go for it” p#156, male, 20). conceptually, the notion of taking stock and moving forward appears to be related to the concept of hope. participant 65, a 20-year-old female described such 144 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 a relationship as follows: “the future always brings new beginnings … must trust that good things will come your way … that helps to keep me focused.” additionally, participant 47, a 24-year-old female, included the following image that depicts the journey of dealing with stress (figure 3): figure 3: dealing with stress (participant 47) participant 47 narrated her experience, as depicted in figure 3, as follows: “when life begins you are always happy. when you become older things become stressful. you must learn how to deal with difficult times. at the end of your life, hopefully, you can look back and be proud of what you achieved. you will see the meaning at the end of the journey. for now, i just keep believing.” (female, 24) conclusion this article reports on a qualitative study that explored university students’ use of coping strategies to manage academic-related stressors. the qualitative data revealed that even though participants experienced a number of stressors, they engaged in a variety of coping http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 henry d. mason: stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university 145 strategies to manage challenges. it also became evident that problem-focused coping strategies and meaning-making were more likely to bring about positive outcomes. the theme ‘hanging in there’ served as a conceptual lens to develop a more holistic understanding of the qualitative results. participants revealed that acknowledging stressors was an essential first step in dealing with challenges. next, the data suggested that taking action with a hopeful future in mind was an important consideration. lastly, the idea of taking stock and moving forward suggested that participants understood that they could learn valuable lessons from past experiences, which can inform future coping efforts. the qualitative findings raise awareness of the stressful challenges that students encounter in the higher education sphere. furthermore, the data revealed that students are not passive agents, but tend to act in proactive ways to cope with stressors. however, the data also serve as a call for student affairs practitioners to remain active in assisting students, amongst others, to deal with stress constructively. student affairs practitioners could offer the following specific interventions to students: • workshops that provide information on the nature of stress and teach practical coping skills (de villiers, 2014; van heerden-pieterse, 2015); • developmental programmes focusing on the role that meaning can play in managing stressors (mason & nel, 2015); and • awareness campaigns focused on demystifying and destigmatising the role that student affairs services, with a specific emphasis on counselling and psychotherapeutic services, can fulfil in assisting students to deal with stress (egan, 2009; gladding, 2014). the study was not without limitations. first, the concepts of stress and coping are dynamic. a plethora of literature has addressed, amongst other things, differing classification systems of coping strategies. offering an in-depth discussion of these various classification systems was deemed to fall mostly outside the scope of this article. hence, different classification systems could have offered different insights into participants’ conceptions and use of coping strategies. additionally, the findings only offer a glimpse of participants’ perspectives from a single university’s perspectives on stress and coping. moreover, data were collected at the start of the second academic semester in 2015. it could be speculated that a different qualitative picture may have emerged if data were collected at a different point in time, for example during the height of #feesmustfall protests or while students were sitting for annual examinations. a second limitation is that data were collected using only naïve sketches. therefore, participants had limited opportunity to revise and reflect on statements as would have been the case if qualitative interviews had been conducted. a third limitation is that participants (225 out of 452 invited to participate) may have been particularly motivated to provide data. a more holistic qualitative picture could have emerged if a more representative sample had been included in the study. additionally, identifying the reasons why a subsection of the population who were invited to participate declined to do so could have offered greater insight into the qualitative findings. 146 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 131–149 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 notwithstanding the above-mentioned limitations, this study offered insight into the stressful experiences and coping efforts among first-year university students. moreover, the study paves the way for further research that could focus on, amongst other things, developing strategies and interventions to assist students in coping with academic-related stressors. student affairs practitioners should take the lead on developing and empirically evaluating such initiatives. research should also explore the stressors that students experience in the post #feesmustfall period. further studies could delve into the role that cultural differences and grit play in coping with stress. lastly, students’ decisions of not making use of 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(2017). stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university: a qualitative study. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 131–149. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v5i2.2744 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.06.006 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.06.006 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://journals.co.za/content/high/26/5 https://journals.co.za/content/high/26/5 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2012.10820573 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2012.10820573 http://www.nature.com/news/south-african-academics-warn-of-universities-on-the-brink-1.20492 http://www.nature.com/news/south-african-academics-warn-of-universities-on-the-brink-1.20492 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2016.20492 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2016.20492 https://doi.org/10.1080/16826108.1998.9632343 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939   95 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article psychometric properties of a short measure for south african first-year students’ perceptions of fit with their courses of study reitumetse machaba* & karina mostert** abstract the first year of higher education is one of the most critical and challenging times in a student’s life and choosing a specific course of study can be very difficult. often, first-year students realize they have different expectations from the courses of study they chose and perceive that their abilities, skills, interests, and ambitions for a future career do not match their chosen courses of study. when the wrong choice has been made, and there is no intervention to choose a course with a more appropriate fit, students may decide to leave university prematurely, which may have a major impact on a student’s life. identifying students who do not experience alignment with their choice of study course, and offering these students assistance and guidance, is imperative for universities to retain as many students as possible. unfortunately, there is a paucity of research on a short scale that measures student-course fit validly and reliably, and which can be fairly applied to different groups in an unbiased manner. this study analyses the psychometric properties of a measure of students’ perceptions of fit with their course of study, adapted from a widely used person-job fit scale. statistical techniques used to determine the validity and reliability of this scale were structural validity, differential item functioning to determine item bias, measurement invariance, and reliability. a quantitative, cross-sectional design was used. a sample (n = 1,211) of south african first-year university students studying at a university with three different campuses was used. as expected, confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence of a one-factor structure. no item bias was present for language and gender groups. although item bias was present for item 2 between campuses, the post hoc analysis indicated that the impact was practically negligible. measurement invariance was established, as well as good reliability of the scale. the findings of this study can contribute to knowledge concerning the valid, reliable and fair measurement of first-year students’ perceived fit with their courses of study. in addition, insights could assist universities in identifying students who need proper career guidance to better match with their chosen courses of study. * reitumetse machaba currently works as an organisational development consultant at sanlam corporate and had previously worked in higher education at north-west university, focusing on organisational development and organisational culture initiatives. email: reitumetsemachaba@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0003-4472-3537. ** karina mostert is a professor in industrial psychology in the faculty of economic and management sciences at north-west university, potchefstroom campus, south africa. email: karina.mostert@nwu. ac.za. orcid: 0000-0001-5673-5784. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:reitumetsemachaba@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4472-3537 mailto:karina.mostert@nwu.ac.za mailto:karina.mostert@nwu.ac.za http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5673-5784 96   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 keywords study-course fit, first-year university students, structural validity, item bias, measurement invariance, internal consistency introduction one of the most important decisions first-year students must make is choosing a university and suitable courses of study to pursue fulfilling careers. however, deciding which course to follow can be difficult for students because they are often underprepared and unprepared to make decisions of this magnitude (freedman, 2013). many first-year students find themselves registered for courses or programmes that are not aligned with their interests and career aspirations; as a result, they find themselves dissatisfied, unmotivated for academic success and making slow progress (partenie, 2019). it is crucial for students to have a positive experience at university and in their study programmes during their first year of study because it is during this year that universities either retain or lose their students (lekena & bayaga, 2018; tinto, 2014). in a telephone survey of undergraduate students who withdrew in their first year of study, harrison (2006) reported that nearly half of all participants withdrew for reasons related to their course. therefore, understanding first-year students’ career decisions, the factors driving their choice of a study course and assisting them during this process is essential for retaining students (hickey et al., 2013; sim et al., 2021). one of the aims stipulated in the national plan of higher education in south africa is to direct the type of enrolment of students in higher education concerning their chosen fields of study to better align with the needs of society and the economy of south africa (department of higher education and training [dhet], 2018). being wellinformed about the content and requirements of the course of interest is also essential for later motivation to continue in the chosen occupational field (hillmert et al., 2018). therefore, it is essential that students experience a good fit or match with their chosen course of study, as it contributes to the mandate and objective of the dhet to lead and co-ordinate career development services in south africa (dhet, 2019). study-course fit is closely related to person-job fit, traditionally referred to as the match between an applicant’s knowledge, skills, and abilities to job requirements (saks & ashforth, 1997). person-job fit theory stems from the interaction theory, of which the basic assumption is that the function of the interaction between an individual and the environment leads to specific behavioural outcomes; when there is a good fit between the person and the environment, it leads to positive outcomes for the individual (tak, 2011). kucuk (2022) summarises “person-job fit” as being dependent on the characteristics of the individual and the job; the fit between the individual and job is a determining factor in individual outcomes in the workplace, specifically emotional, attitudinal, and behavioural outcomes. person-job fit also refers to the congruence between an employee’s skills, attitudes and needs and those required by the job; a proper fit leads to higher levels of work engagement and well-being (akanni et al., 2020). on the other hand, research in the south african context has shown that work engagement reitumetse machaba & karina mostert: psychometric properties of a short measure for south african …   97 is a strong predictor of person-job fit over time and not the other way around (de beer et al., 2016). also, in a sample of participants from various south african organisations, hall et al. (2022) aligned the concept of person-job fit with career congruence. they argue that when people enter a job and work in an incongruent environment, it could result in a potential cycle of entering and leaving jobs throughout their careers. similar to the conceptualisation of person-job f it by saks and ashforth (1997), student-course f it can be def ined as students’ perceptions of the extent to which their knowledge, skills and abilities match the requirements of their chosen courses of study in order to fulf il their ambitions and needs and enable them to do the kind of work for which they have been prepared by their studies in the labour market once they leave university. it has been argued that a good f it between a student and a specif ic course of study will leave students feeling academically, personally, and professionally successful and more engaged and increase the sense that they are fulf illing their academic, personal, and vocational goals (freedman, 2013). students who have considered their choices are also inclined to be more motivated and committed to their studies than those who may not have thought about their choices before making them (i̇lğan et al., 2018). furthermore, students who perceive a good f it with their chosen courses of study have higher levels of vigour and dedication; there is also a mediating effect of student-course f it between strengths use, def icit development and engagement (van niekerk et al., 2016). lauri et al. (2011) argues that work fulfilment is vital for students’ mental health and well-being; therefore, educational institutions should provide students with sufficient guidance before they choose a course of study. for heis to accurately identify students who do not perceive a good fit with their chosen courses of study, it is necessary to use an adequately validated measure to identify students who need assistance and proper career guidance. however, the employment equity act 55 of 1998, section 8 (government gazette, 1998) stipulates that psychological testing and other similar assessments are prohibited unless they have been scientifically proven to be valid and reliable, that they may not discriminate unfairly against any individual or group, and that it must be possible to use these measures in a reasonable and unbiased manner. therefore, the psychometric validation of instruments is necessary to ensure that measures adhere to this legislative point of view, and in the university context as well. psychometric properties of a scale that measures students’ perception of their fit with their courses of study in a valid, unbiased, equivalent and reliable manner have not been investigated in the south african higher education context. this study aims to test the appropriateness of a scale measuring student-course fit in the university context. literature review the well-known person-job fit perceptions questionnaire (saks & ashforth, 1997) was adapted to the education context to measure student-course fit perceptions. the authors of this questionnaire designed four items to explicitly capture specific aspects of employees’ perceptions of fit with their jobs. 98   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 adapting work-related measures to the student context is becoming increasingly common. however, adapting work-related measures depends on the results of proper validation practices. several psychometric properties should be investigated before using western and adapted measures in the south african context. this study focused on structural validity, item bias, three types of measurement invariance (structural, measurement unit, and scalar), and internal consistency. structural validity is the degree to which the measurements of constructs conform to the assessment of the defined structure and demonstrate the internal structure of a construct (koeske et al., 1994). the analysis for structural validity depends on the hypothesised relationships among variables and the extent to which inferences from scores on a test can be made concerning the construct of interest (messick, 1993). item bias is an essential aspect of a test in a multilingual society such as south africa. an item is biased when score differences do not occur based on actual differences in the measured underlying construct but because of anomalies at the item level. a poor translation of the item, ambiguity in the formulation of the item or low appropriateness of the item content to the different groups can be some of the causes of item bias (van de vijver & tanzer, 2004). invariance (or equivalence) consists of various forms. configural invariance (also known as structural equivalence) assesses the extent to which the factor structure of the measure can be replicated in the same way for different subgroups – that is, the factor structure has the same pattern and fits the data equally in all groups. metric invariance refers to the equivalence of the item loadings on the factor(s) and indicates that each unit of measurement (i.e. each item) contributes equally to the latent construct across different groups. scalar invariance tests if item intercepts are equivalent between groups – that is, if mean differences in the latent construct are captured in all the mean differences in the shared variance of the items (byrne et al., 1989; putnick & bornstein, 2016). internal consistency can replicate a reliable result from different witnesses concerning coherence, stability, equivalence, and homogeneity (mahembe et al., 2015). reliability estimates are affected by numerous characteristics of the assessment environment, such as the type of instrument, administration method, rates, sample numbers, and statistical method (golafshani, 2003). method research design since adapting the person-job fit scale of saks and ashforth (1997) to measure studentcourse fit is a new area of enquiry, it is important to use the most efficient method to provide initial evidence of the validity and reliability of the scale. for this purpose, the cross-sectional design is the most useful (spector, 2019) and was used to collect data for this study. reitumetse machaba & karina mostert: psychometric properties of a short measure for south african …   99 research participants and research procedure a convenience sampling method of first-year students studying at a south african university was used (n = 1,211). permission and ethical clearance were obtained from the participating university (ethics number: university-hs-2014-0165). a web-based survey with a secure link was placed on the hei’s online platform. the hyperlink was posted on specific course modules students from different campuses were required to take. before completing the questionnaire, students were asked to complete an informed consent form. participants were fully informed about the purpose of the study, the nature of their participation in the study, and other ethical aspects (e.g. voluntary participation, doing no harm, and confidentiality). participants were between the ages of 17 and 25, with most participants being 19 (40.1%) and 20 years old (22.0%). with regard to language, 29.0% spoke afrikaans, followed by setswana (18.0%), sesotho (15.9%), english (7.3%) and other languages (28.7%). in total, 48.5% studied at campus 2, 36.3% at campus 3 and 12.2% at campus 1. the sample consisted of 63.9% female students and 35.3% male students. measuring instrument four items that measure person-job fit (saks & ashforth, 1997) were adapted to measure perceptions of student-course fit in the education context. participants answered on a 5-point likert-type scale with anchors 1 (to a very little extent) to 5 (to a very large extent). the items were adapted as follows: table 1: adapted items of the person-job fit perceptions questionnaire (saks & ashforth, 1997, p. 406) to the student context person-job fit original items student-course fit adapted items instruction: the following questions are about your experiences related to your specific study course (e.g. b.com tourism, b.ing etc.). read each statement carefully and mark the answer that you think best corresponds to your own opinion or perception. to what extent do your knowledge, skills, and abilities match the requirements of the job? to what extent do your knowledge, skills, and abilities match the requirements of your study course? to what extent does the job fulfil your needs? to what extent does your study course fulfil your needs? to what extent is the job a good match for you? to what extent is your study course a good match for you? to what extent does the job enable you to do the kind of work you want to do? to what extent does your study course enable you to do the kind of work you want to do? 100   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 statistical analysis the latent variable modelling programme mplus 8.6 was used (muthén & muthén, 2021) to analyse the data. confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) was used to test the structural validity of the student-course fit scale. maximum likelihood with robust standard errors (mlr) was used (rhemtulla et al., 2012). the following specific fit indices were used: the likelihood ratio (chi-square, χ 2 statistic), the comparative fit index (cfi), the tucker-lewis index (tli), the root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) and the standardised root mean square residual (srmr). for cfi and tli, values higher than 0.95 indicate an acceptable fit (brown, 2015). for rmsea scores, a cut-off value between 0.50 and 0.80 is usually considered, with a score below 0.50 being considered the “golden rule of thumb” (browne & cudeck, 1993; chen et al., 2008; hu & bentler, 1999; steiger, 1989). for srmr, a cut-off value of 0.05 was considered (browne & cudeck, 1993; hu & bentler, 1999). multi-group analysis and differential item functioning (dif) for language (afrikaans, setswana, sesotho and english), campus (three different campuses) and gender (male and female students) were determined using the lordif package (choi et al., 2011) in rstudio (https://www.rstudio.com/). dif is used to determine the presence of item bias (sireci & rios, 2013). uniform bias occurs when the likelihood of similar responses for one group is systematically higher or lower at specific ability levels compared to other groups. non-uniform bias occurs when the difference in the likelihood of similar answers across groups is not the same across all ability levels (swaminathan & rogers, 1990; teresi & fleishman, 2007). the following models were used and compared using ordinal logistic regression to generate three likelihood-ratio χ 2 statistics (choi et al., 2011): model 0 : logit p(u i ≥ k) = α k model 1 : logit p(u i ≥ k) = α k + β 1 * ability model 2 : logit p(u i ≥ k) = α k + β 1 * ability + β 2 * group model 3 : logit p(u i ≥ k) = α k + β 1 * ability + β 2 * group + β 2 * ability * group, when logistic models 1 and 2 ( χ 212 ) are compared, p < 0.01 indicates uniform dif. non-uniform dif is indicated by a significant difference between models 2 and 3 ( χ 223 ). the total bias is indicated when comparing models 1 and 3 ( χ 2 13 ) (choi et al., 2011). configural invariance tests for similar factor structures, metric invariance tests for similar factor loadings, and scalar invariance tests for similar intercepts (preti et al., 2015) were tested using the same language, campus and gender groups used to test item bias. internal consistency was determined using cronbach’s coefficient alpha, with values higher than 0.70 generally considered reliable (nunnally & bernstein, 1994). in addition, macdonald’s omega was also considered and calculated in the cfa framework, which has been shown to provide a more accurate approximation of internal consistency (dunn et al., 2014). reliability coefficients ≥ 0.80 indicate good internal consistency (kline, 2015). https://www.rstudio.com/ reitumetse machaba & karina mostert: psychometric properties of a short measure for south african …   101 results structural validity the results of the cfa showed that a one-factor structure of the student-fit scale fitted is a good fit to data (χ² = 4.091; df = 2; cfi = 0.994; tli = 0.983; rmsea = 0.041; srmr = 0.016). all items show acceptable and statistically significant factor loadings. table 2 shows the results of the items’ standardised factor loadings (λ). table 2: standardised factor loadings for the latent variables of the student-course fit scale item item text loading (λ) s.e. p item 1 to what extent do your knowledge, skills, and abilities match the requirements of your study course? 0.656 0.038 0.000 item 2 to what extent does your study course fulfil your needs? 0.809 0.030 0.000 item 3 to what extent is your study course a good match for you? 0.841 0.026 0.000 item 4 to what extent does your study course enable you to do the kind of work you want to do? 0.731 0.035 0.000 s.e. = standard error; all p-values < 0.001 item bias the results of the dif analyses for language, campus, and gender groups are presented in table 3. table 3: summary of the dif analyses for the student-course fit scale group item χ212 χ 2 13 χ 2 23 β1 r 2 12 r 2 13 r 2 23 language item 1 0.7645 0.5976 0.3291 0.0005 0.0006 0.0025 0.0019 item 2 0.1054 0.1485 0.3412 0.0117 0.0029 0.0044 0.0016 item 3 0.0130 0.0655 0.7844 0.0109 0.0051 0.0056 0.0005 item 4 0.2293 0.1985 0.2344 0.0013 0.0021 0.0042 0.0021 campus item 1 0.9784 0.9331 0.6717 0.0002 0.0000 0.0004 0.0004 item 2 0.0000 0.0001 0.4483 0.0224 0.0102 0.0110 0.0008 item 3 0.3087 0.0580 0.0338 0.0018 0.0011 0.0044 0.0033 item 4 0.3866 0.1166 0.0643 0.0031 0.0009 0.0035 0.0026 gender item 1 0.0862 0.0803 0.1474 0.0029 0.0014 0.0024 0.0000 item 2 0.4054 0.6983 0.8720 0.0004 0.0003 0.0003 0.0000 item 3 0.1205 0.2964 0.8830 0.0055 0.0011 0.0011 0.0000 item 4 0.3926 0.5373 0.4745 0.0018 0.0003 0.0006 0.0000 χ 212 = chi-square of model 1 compared to model 2; χ 2 13 = chi-square of model 1 compared to model 3; χ 223 = chi-square of model 2 compared to model 3; β1 = change in beta coefficient; r 212 = pseudo-mcfadden r 2 of model 1 compared to model 2; r 213 = pseudo-mcfadden r 2 of model 1 compared to model 3; r 223 = pseudo-mcfadden r 2 of model 2 compared to model 3 102   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 there were no significant differences between the four tested items for language and gender groups. however, this was not the case for the three campuses. the results in table 3 and figures 1 and 2 show significant differences for item 2 across campuses. item true score functions – item 2 it e m s co re theta 3.0 2.5 0.0 -4 420-2 1.0 0.5 2.0 1.5 mc pc vc pr(x 2 12 ,2)=3e-04,r2 12 =0.0079,∆(ß 1 )=0.0165 pr(x 2 13 ,4)=0.0018,r2 13 =0.0082 pr(x 2 23 ,2)=0.7089,r2 23 =3e-04 figure 1: item true score functions of item 2. impact (weighted by density) si ze theta 3.0 2.5 0.0 -4 420-2 1.0 0.5 2.0 1.5 figure 2: impact (weight by density) of item 2 as shown in figure 1, the plots for item 2 show statistically significant uniform dif, pr( χ 212 )<0.001. the likelihood ratio χ 2 13 was also significant. because the likelihood ratio χ 223 was non-significant. this suggests that dif was primarily uniform bias. however, this effect was practically insignificant because mcfadden’s r2 change for uniform dif was 0.008 (a negligible effect size, cohen, 1988). it is also clear that few subjects have the trait level in this population, as seen by the density-weighted impact (figure 2). measurement invariance measurement invariance was tested between the different language, campus, and gender groups. as putnick and bornstein (2016) describe, metric and scalar invariance was tested to determine if the dimensions are invariant across the different groups. the results are shown in table 4. reitumetse machaba & karina mostert: psychometric properties of a short measure for south african …   103 table 4: summary of measurement invariance analysis for the student-course fit scale group χ212 df cfi δcfi rmsea δrmsea language configural 17.93 4 0.982 – 0.076 – metric 25.32 7 0.976 -0.006 0.066 -0.010 scalar 31.97 10 0.971 -0.005 0.060 -0.006 campus configural 14.20 6 0.988 – 0.059 – metric 18.34 12 0.991 0.003 0.047 -0.012 scalar 29.44 18 0.984 -0.007 0.040 -0.007 gender configural 13.51 8 0.992 – 0.057 – metric 22.63 17 0.992 0.000 0.039 -0.018 scalar 39.14 26 0.981 -0.011 0.049 0.010 partial scalar 33.69 25 0.987 -0.005 0.040 0.001 χ2 = chi-square; df = degrees of freedom; cfi = comparative fit index; δcfi = delta (change in) cfi; rmsea = root mean square error of approximation; δrmsea = delta (change in) rmsea regarding configural and metric invariance, it can be seen in table 4 that the scale is invariant across the different language, campus, and gender groups, with cfi scores above 0.95. however, based on the dfi change, the results show that scalar invariance exists for language and campus groups, but not for gender (with δcfi = -0.011, just above the cut-off point and δrmsea = 0.018 slightly above 0.015). a δcfi value higher than 0.01 between two nested models indicates that the added group constraints have led to a poorer fit; in other words, scalar invariance has not been achieved, and the more constrained model was rejected (chen, 2007; cheung & rensvold, 2002; preti et al., 2015). it was, therefore, meaningful to free one of the intercepts (item 2 in the afrikaans group), resulting in an acceptable change in cfi and rmsea and partial scalar invariance achieved (vandenberg & lance, 2000). internal consistency as a measure of internal consistency, cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated. a cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.87 showed acceptable internal consistency (α ≥ 0.70) for the study course fit scale (nunnally & bernstein, 1994). mcdonald’s omega (ω) was 0.84, indicating good internal consistency (kline, 2015). discussion this study assessed the psychometric properties of a short measure for south african first-year students’ perceptions of fit with their courses of study (i.e. studentcourse fit). the following was examined: structural validity, item bias (differential item functioning), measurement invariance (including configural, metric and scalar invariance) and reliability. 104   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 the results for the structural validity show that a one-factor structure fits the data. the statistically significant factor loadings (λ) ranged between 0.65 and 0.84, which is considered acceptable. in practical terms, this implies that the test’s actual (empirical) structure matches the theoretical structure of the test and that student-course fit can be measured with this scale as only one dimension. the significant factor loadings (or items/ questions asked to the participants) show how student-course fit can be interpreted, as measured with this scale. therefore, when using this scale, student-course fit refers to (1) the perception that students have that their course of study fits their knowledge, skills, and abilities, (2) fulfils their career-related needs, (3) is a good match for them, and (4) enables them to do the kind of work they someday want to do. in universities with multilingual students, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that measures are fair to use for different language groups and that students understand the questions of a measure in an identical manner (schaap, 2011; van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). item bias typically occurs when items are ambiguous, formulated with difficulty, or when the content is not appropriate or familiar in a particular cultural context (van de vijver & rothmann, 2004). this study utilised differential item functioning to determine uniform and non-uniform bias. items were not biased for different languages or gender groups. although statistically significant uniform item bias was detected for item 2 (“to what extent does your study fulfil your needs?”) for different campuses, the effect size, and therefore the practical impact, was negligible (choi et al., 2011; cohen, 1988). therefore, score differences were found to be similar between groups, the formulation of items were appropriate for different groups, and no practical anomalies were detected at an item level (van de vijver & tanzer, 2004). this shows that male and female students, students from different campus groups, and students from different language groups included in this study understood the items in the same way and that, based on the results from this sample, the student-course fit scale can be applied fairly to these groups. it is also essential to test if a construct (in this case, student-course fit) can be interpreted and understood similarly across different groups (van de schoot et al., 2012). in this study, it was tested whether (1) meaningful comparisons can be made between different groups (configural invariance), (2) students in different campus and language groups understand the construct in the same way (metric invariance), and (3) a test score on the scale is interpreted in a similar way against different cultural backgrounds (he & van de vijver, 2012). the scale demonstrated configural and metric invariance for the different language, campus, and gender groups, indicating that the factor structure and item loadings are similar between different groups. although full scalar invariance was confirmed for language and campus, partial scalar invariance was found for gender groups after releasing the intercept of item 2 in the afrikaans group. this indicates that the intercept of item 2 was not invariant for the afrikaans group; therefore, the mean difference in the student-course fit construct is not captured in the shared variance of this item (putnick & bornstein, 2016). this result should be interpreted with caution since the value of δcfi = -0.011 was slightly above the cut-off point of 0.01 (shi et al., 2019). reitumetse machaba & karina mostert: psychometric properties of a short measure for south african …   105 reliability is the degree of consistency of a measure. in this study, cronbach’s coefficient alpha coefficient (α = 0.87) and mcdonald’s omega (ω = 0.84) were calculated and showed sufficient reliability of the scale. therefore, the study-course fit scale has proven to be reliable in this study and would produce the same repeated results when administered under the same conditions. practical implications in south africa, there is a great need for accessible career guidance services for all students, including first-year university students. however, many students, specifically from less-resourced settings, do not have access to teachers or career counselling services (sefotho, 2017). as a result, many students enter university and register for a course of study that does not fit their vocational goals and aspirations. the findings of this study provided preliminary evidence of a valid and reliable short scale that universities can use to identify students who perceive a mismatch between themselves and their chosen courses of study. identifying students who are unsure about their courses of study could assist policymakers and career counselling services in designing intervention programmes to assist these students in their career decision-making processes. many students are not aware that such services exist. therefore, counsellors in the university system need to reach out to these students, enabling them to participate in programmes offered by the university, directing them to align their chosen fields of study with their knowledge, skills and abilities and the needs of the labour market and the broader south african economy. therefore, first-year students can be supported in the complex process of planning an appropriate career path and become more proactive in career decisionmaking ( jemini-gashi et al., 2021; oberrauch et al., 2021). limitations and recommendations only first-year students participated in this study. future research should include students from other academic year groups since they may also experience a mismatch with their chosen courses of study. only students from one south african university were used; therefore, future studies should replicate these findings in different south african universities. although this study included language groups most represented at the participating university (afrikaans, setswana, sesotho and english), future studies should include an equal representation of all south african language groups. future research could examine the items of the scale more closely. for example, the first question reads: “to what extent do your knowledge, skills, and abilities match the requirements of your study course?”. although this is in line with the original item of the person-job fit questionnaire of saks and ashforth (1997), this is a triple-barrelled question, asking participants about their knowledge, skills, and abilities (i.e. three different constructs). such questions could leave participants unclear about what is being asked and unsure how to respond (devellis, 1991). future studies can explore the option of formulating three different questions for each of these three constructs and refine the scale accordingly. 106   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 additional validity evidence should be obtained concerning the convergent and predictive validity of the scale. the concept of study-course fit could be related to career self-efficacy. for example, youth with higher levels of career self-efficacy are more likely to make career-focused preparations and persevere in pursuing their vocational goals (bandura et al., 2001). regarding predictive validity, there is some evidence that perceptions of the fit with study courses of first-year students are related to study engagement and the proactive behaviour of using one’s strengths and developing one’s weaknesses (see van niekerk et al., 2016). however, it is necessary to determine the predictive value of study-course fit on outcomes such as academic performance, intention to leave the university and study commitment. for example, based on a recent study on the conceptualisation of commitment in south africa, there could be multiple types of commitment to consider (van lill et al., 2020). the same authors included considerations for cognitive conviction in the importance and practicality of a study course, positive feelings and dedication to a course, and a willingness to do more than required to pursue a course of study. author’s note the material described in this article is based on work supported by (1) the office of the deputy vice-chancellor: teaching and learning at the participating university; and (2) the national research foundation, under reference number ra180103297058 (grant no: 118953). the views and opinions expressed in this research are those of the researchers and do not necessarily ref lect the opinions or views of the funders. we thank anonymous for assistance with the statistical analyses and the interpretation of the results. references akanni, a. a., kareem, d. b., & oduaran, c. a. 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(2020). is there a general factor in goal commitment? sa journal of industrial psychology, 46, a1765. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v46i0.1765aa. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v37i1.881 https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v37i1.881 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1177/0013164418783530 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1177/0013164418783530 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1080/13803611.2013.767621 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1080/13803611.2013.767621 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/s10869-018-09613-8 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1990.tb00754.xhttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1990.tb00754.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1990.tb00754.xhttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1990.tb00754.x https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.006 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.006 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/s11136-007-9184-6 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.81 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.81 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.686740 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erap.2003.12.004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erap.2003.12.004 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1177/109442810031002 110   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 95-110 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 van niekerk, g., mostert, k., & de beer, l. t. (2016). strengths use and deficit improvement: the relationship with engagement and fit with study course amongst first-year students. journal of psychology in africa, 26(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2015.1124610j. how to cite: machaba, r., & mostert, k. (2022). psychometric properties of a short measure for south african first-year students’ perceptions of fit with their courses of study. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 95-110. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3939 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 13 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities in lesotho paseka andrew mosia* & tlakale nareadi phasha** * dr paseka andrew mosia is a senior lecturer, educational foundations department, national university of lesotho. email: mosia296@gmail.com ** prof. tlakale nareadi phasha is a professor at the department of inclusive education, university of south africa. email: phashnt@unisa.ac.za abstract access to tertiary education in the least developed countries, such as lesotho, continues to be a rare experience for persons with disabilities who, despite being admitted to studies, struggle with meaningful participation. this article explores student experience of persons with disabilities studying at the national university of lesotho. a combination of convenience and snowballing sampling techniques were used to recruit 15 staff members and 11 students enrolled in various programmes. a combination of individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion were used to generate data. findings reveal that various dimensions of student experiences are negatively affected. students with disabilities encounter mobility challenges due to an inaccessible built environment; lecture timetables are not adapted to suit the needs of students with mobility challenges, blind students are not informed of potholes that are left uncovered and the students’ request for their hostel to be adapted is not addressed. additionally, students are not readily supported by their lecturers while some are subjected to bullying which goes unpunished and the victims receive no counselling for the resultant trauma. these factors affect the students’ welfare and have an effect on their academic participation. the students are simply expected to conform to university practices. the summary of student experience, if used for assessment of quality education, demonstrates inequitable access to education for persons with disabilities. the study concludes that the institution provides poor-quality education as it fails to address the support needs of students with disabilities. the study recommends development of policies and practices that promote equity, and that student experience can be used to inform how the institution may improve access and the quality of its programmes. equally, this study challenges students with disabilities to assert their right to an inclusive and equitable quality education. keywords ableism; equitable access; quality education; student experience; students with disabilities; tertiary education https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mosia296%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:phashnt%40unisa.ac.za?subject= 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 introduction despite massification of higher education in recent years, research on equality of access reveals huge disparities skewed in favour of students from middle‑ to high‑income families (webb, watson, cook & arico, 2017). there is a clear trend that shows students from minority groups, disadvantaged backgrounds and the disabled as underrepresented (thiele, singleton & pope, 2016). reflecting on differences in access read, archer and leathwood (2003, p. 262) observe that as a result of inequality in society “students from ‘non‑traditional’ backgrounds are also disadvantaged by an institutional culture that places them as ‘other’”. this undoubtedly compromises student experience and quality of higher education for the vulnerable groups who are expected to prove their worth at this level of education. research on assessing quality of education at tertiary level describes student experience as broader than the delivery of curriculum in lecture halls to include students’ social and emotional experiences of studying at this level (benckedorff, ruhanen & scott, 2009). harvey, burrows and green (1992, p. 1) argue that “the key factor in the assessment of quality in higher education is the student experience”. student experience reflects what they describe as ‘total student experience’ consisting of participation in academic activities and support of students’ social and emotional needs. it addresses the academic and emotional aspects of student development which enhance the quality of education (burrows, harvey & green, 1992). as tan, muskat and zehrer (2016, p. 213) note, student experience at higher education level means, “teaching and learning experiences … which now increasingly include the student encounter with administrative and support services that a hei provides”. therefore, effective teaching at tertiary level seeks to address students’ cognitive and affective goals (vnouckova, urbancovava & smolova, 2017). the quality of student experience is enhanced when university staff not only engage students academically but also readily support the emotional needs of vulnerable students (hill, lomas & macgregor, 2003). for example, mcgregor, langenfeld, horne, oleson, anson and jacobson (2016) argue that retention of students with disabilities at tertiary level is affected by the extent to which they feel integrated in an institution’s social and academic context. student experience, therefore, requires well‑coordinated efforts from various university sectors to effectively meet students’ academic and psychosocial needs. in line with principles of inclusive education, when disability support is integrated within a university support structure for all students, it is less likely to make students with disabilities feel discriminated against and marginalised (nel, nel & hugo, 2016). customarily, tertiary institutions mandate student affairs units to provide support services that enhance student experience and thus, contribute to quality in higher education (ciobanu, 2013). in this regard, luescher‑mamashela, moja and schreiber (2013) argue that student affairs departments need to adopt a holistic model and broaden their service mandate in order to achieve total student experience. they could provide comprehensive co‑curricular and extra‑curricular services and programmes that address students’ personal needs to enhance student experience (pansiri & sinkamba, 2017). however, yakaboski and birnbaum (2013) state that student affairs units at kenyan higher education institutions are under‑resourced and therefore deficient in providing required student experience. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 p.a. mosia & t.n. phasha: student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities … 15 another study conducted at one institution in the united kingdom found that support services were not adequately coordinated to address the needs of students with disabilities (pudaruth, gunputh & singh, 2017). similarly, in reflecting on student experience at the university of botswana, pansiri and sinkamba (2017) reveal that the institution finds it easy to finance academic programmes while downplaying the role of psychosocial support for fruitful student experience. this makes a minority group such as students with disabilities most unlikely to receive support which enhances their experience. thus, kearney and kane (2006) describe student experience for the disabled at tertiary institutions globally as undermined by an exclusionary culture. ableism dominates education provision at this level. in describing inclusive education in south africa, howell (2006, pp. 165‑166) states that denying students with disabilities opportunity for equitable access to higher education “reinforce[s] the notion that disabled students do not have a future in higher education”. conceptual and theoretical framework social constructionism underpins the underlying values and ideologies that justify social practices reflected in students’ experiences of access. this model describes persons with disabilities as oppressed and in need of advocacy for “creating a barrier‑free society and developing a positive identity” for them as a minority group in society (anastasiou & kauffman, 2011, p. 371). lalvani and broderick (2013) see this discrimination as influenced by ableism, tracing its orientation from the medical model of disability. consequently, institutional failure to accommodate the inevitable human variability is blamed on students with disabilities as failing to meet programme requirements (skrtic, 1991). access to education at tertiary level is pervaded by normalcy disguised as fairness where everyone is required to conform (madriaga, hanson, kay & walker, 2011). in trying to interpret this divergent view of life the social constructionist model explains this understanding of disability as a consequence of the power dynamics in society where the dominant oppresses the less privileged and creates systems which normalise inequality (anastasiou & kauffman,  2013). domination by the able‑bodied majority normalises exclusion of the needs of persons with disability from participating equally in mainstream education (liggett, 1988). from this perspective, student experiences do not form the basis for evaluating the quality of education as all students are expected to comply with predetermined institutional standards despite their diversity. this creates a situation where having a disability negatively impacts one’s self‑concept and emotional well‑being because it “keeps them from working and limits their social life” (darling & heckert, 2010, p. 137), making students with disabilities less likely to demand conditions equitable to their peers without disabilities. consequently, social constructionism challenges the discriminatory public policy and requires persons with disabilities to acknowledge challenges of having a disability but promote conditions where “stigma‑based identity” is replaced by “disability pride” (darling & heckert, 2010, p. 133; retief & letšosa, 2018, p. 5). 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 contextualising students’ experiences in lesotho the needs of students with disabilities at secondary and tertiary education sectors in lesotho have received inadequate attention, thus compromising their student experience (mosia, 2014; mosia & phasha, 2017). first, they are underrepresented at tertiary level. aastudy by the council on higher education (che) in lesotho revealed that in 2011 only two higher education institutions out of 13 registered with che, had enrolled a total of 10 students with disabilities. this number accounted for 0.09% of an age group of 18‑35  persons with disabilities who could benefit from tertiary education, and was only 0.02% of the tertiary student population in lesotho (che, 2012, p. 13). in 2014, 20 students with disabilities were enrolled at three institutions representing only 0.8% of the tertiary student population and 0.58% of persons with disabilities eligible for tertiary education (che, 2014, p. 36). second, the students at both secondary and tertiary institutions face barriers such as inflexible curricula, inaccessible built environment and inadequate support services (che, 2012; 2014). while there is no policy promoting the right to education for learners at secondary school level, the promulgation of higher education policy (hep) gives impetus to tertiary institutions to improve access for this minority group of students. for example, section 8.3.5.2(c) of the higher education policy (hep) commits che to “… monitor the efforts of he institutions, both public and private, to accommodate students with disabilities” (kingdom of lesotho, 2013, p. 36). the national university of lesotho as the focus of the current study has entrusted psychosocial support for students in the department of student affairs and certain members of the academic staff working as year‑level tutors but there are no specific support structures for students with disabilities. for example, subsection 3 of ordinance no. 8 reads: the faculty/personal tutors shall be elected by the faculty for a period of two years with the duty of assisting with and coordinating the orientation, registration, counselling and preparation of academic results of students (national university of lesotho [nul], 2006). the combined effect of services provided by this cadre of professional and welfare staff at the institution needs to be scrutinised. for example, mosia and phasha (2017) note deficiencies in the university support services for students with disabilities which are typical of the notion of ableism. they cite lack of attention to the students’ needs during admission through to running academic programmes. the students have limited access to teaching and learning resources, information and communication technological (ict) resources, including assistive devices. additionally, poor access is typified by blind students being denied access to programmes in certain faculties on the basis of assumed weaknesses (matlosa & matobo, 2007; mosia & phasha, 2017). for example, blind students are only admitted into programmes offered by the faculties of law, education and humanities because they lack competence in mathematics and statistics which form the basic requirement for other programmes (mosia & phasha, 2017). however, the emphasis on skills students lack downplays the institution’s lack of resources to teach mathematics and statistics to blind students. as such, the influence of higher education policy mandating institutions to ‘safeguard the right https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 p.a. mosia & t.n. phasha: student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities … 17 of equitable access to higher education for people with disabilities’ (kingdom of lesotho, 2013, p. 36) is minimal. this calls for a critical re‑evaluation of the institutionalised culture of exclusion typical of academic programmes generally and tertiary education programmes in particular. in an effort to depict nuances in the student experience of this minority group, the article used the following questions as guidelines: 1. how do students with disabilities experience access to education at the national university of lesotho? 2. what values do the ‘student experience’ reflect about the institution’s access practices? research methodology this study is a qualitative exploratory case study that is inductive, subjective and contextual (morgan,  2014). a single case study design was most appropriate to capture the typical everyday life experiences of students with disabilities studying at a higher education institution (bryman, 2012). it was a narrative enquiry into the students’ unique experiences with staff, peers and social life at the university (morgan, 2014). research location and participant selection national university of lesotho was established in 1945 as a catholic institution affiliated with the university of south africa (nul, 2006). the council on higher education reports that the university admits 43.9% of the country’s undergraduate student population and an even higher percentage, 89.4%, of the postgraduate student population with 11 363 as the total number of students enrolled at the institution in 2011/2012 (che, 2012). this institution was selected as a research location for a doctoral study completed in 2017 with the university of south africa and the study met basic ethics standards and posed minimal threat to the well‑being of the participants. these include: informed consent, protection against harm, reciprocity, anonymity and confidentiality. the study adopted purposive and snowballing techniques to identify a total sample of 15  members of staff and 11  students with disabilities. purposive sampling identifies “information rich” cases (patton, 2002). incidentally, all staff participants and the first three students were selected purposively. as the institution lacked records of students with disabilities, snowballing was used to identify students for whom there was no readily available information about their disability statuses (shaghaghi, bhopal & sheikh,  2011). therefore, the study relied on the three student participants and staff to identify other students with disabilities they knew and were willing to share their views. subsequently, an additional eight students with disabilities were recruited as participants for the study. the profile of staff participants included: 10 lecturers, some of which also worked as year‑level tutors in their faculties, one librarian, one welfare officer, one counsellor, one admissions officer and a special education needs assistant. identified students were in three categories of impairments namely, visual impairment (5), physical impairment (5) and hearing impairment (1), and had enrolled in six different programmes at three different 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 levels of study namely, diploma (4), bachelors’ degree (6) and postgraduate diploma (1). in citing student participants, labels such as participant 1 (p1), (p2) etc. will be used while career names such as student counsellor will be used for staff participants. data collection and analysis methods the study used semi‑structured interviews to collect data from 15 staff members and 11 students. it also used a focus group discussion with a group of students. in‑depth interviews the study deemed the use of semi‑structured interviews most appropriate because they allowed participants to respond to questions liberally while allowing the study to gather participants’ insight on the topic (morgan, 2014). in‑depth interviews were scheduled during the participants’ free time. these took place at the university and lasted between 60 and 90 minutes. participants (who happened to be basotho nationals) were given the liberty to use sesotho (their home language) or english for the interviews, while one deaf participant was interviewed through the help of a sign language interpreter. all participants agreed to the interviews being audio‑recorded. focus group discussion focus group discussions complement individual interviews in that they are able to generate ideas that mirror a social context (breen, 2007) and the group provides a safety‑net for members to express anxiety‑provoking or unpopular ideas (lederman, 1990). the exchange of ideas in focus group discussions brings new thoughts and reflections that an individual interview fails to give (lederman, 1990). five (two students with physical disabilities and three with visual impairments) of the 11 students who participated in the individual interviews were selected for a focus group discussion that took 90 minutes. the discussion was also audio‑recorded. data analysis interpretative phenomenological analysis (ipa) was used to analyse data on participants’ narratives on student experience (smith, 2011). as smith (2004) notes, one participant’s transcript was studied to establish emerging ideas about student experience, then another, until all transcripts were studied. only when all interviews were completed did we look for points of similarities and differences. thus, analysis started with a scrutiny of individual cases and then a search for similar or different patterns across cases (smith, 2011). data coding helped discern patterns that led to a theoretical understanding (babbie, 2014) of student experience and possible quality implications of the university programmes. the final analysis resulted in themes discussed in this study. participants’ views are depicted through verbatim citations under each theme (larkin, watts & clifton, 2006). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 p.a. mosia & t.n. phasha: student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities … 19 results this article presents findings on student experiences ranging from inaccessible physical environments, unsuitable learning resources, staff attitudes and support for their psychosocial needs which have a bearing on the total student experience. accessibility and suitability of infrastructure students with disabilities reflected on how inaccessible built environments and delayed maintenance services in their hostels affected them. students with mobility challenges had to use stairs to access lecture halls, had to navigate unpaved grounds with potholes, had poor lighting to access the library at night, walked between lecture halls which are far apart, and had to use furniture not adapted to their needs. access to in-built environment three students encountered challenges using stairs to access lecture halls and one of the three further expressed concern with the distance between the halls. for example, one student explains: the fact that there are stairs says the infrastructure is not accessible for wheelchair users or those using crutches … they admit a person who falls within their scope of education provision … which university should i go to if my needs are not catered for in this university? (participant 1, a male student with cerebral palsy) another student explained: as for lecture halls that require me to climb stairs … you find that `wow’ i`ll have a delay a bit, it is not a big deal. i told myself that, ok let me act as normal as i could, and climb the stairs and just shut up about that ramp to the building. (participant 2, a male student with a physical disability) despite a medical record thoroughly explaining a student’s potential challenge with the use of stairs no adjustment was made to the timetable to ensure her classes are on the ground floor. she states: so we have to go to the stairs in order to reach some classes [but] my doctor explain[ed] the nature of my disability and some of the things that they have to be aware of, like in winter i don’t have to use stairs. (participant 3, a female student with cerebral palsy) students have a 10‑minute allowance to move between successive classes. when classes are scheduled in lecture halls that are far apart, the time is inadequate for a student with mobility challenges to be on time for the next class as participant 3 reflects: you find that i have 08:00 o’clock class in my faculty and 09:00 o’clock class at the btm, so it means i have to walk long distances; when i arrive in class i`d find the lecturer has covered much and i’ve missed so many things. for the timetable, i don’t think they even think about me. 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 student experience indicates that the built environment acts as a barrier to their learning. this is corroborated by staff. for example, the faculty of humanities lecturer said of one student: her type of disability was such that it was hard for her to attend some of the classes in the halls that were in the upper rooms. that was one thing, the second thing was, sometimes the rooms were so separated that it would allow only students who are said to be able to move from one hall to the other [timeously]. similarly, a student counsellor observes: eh, most of the administrative buildings are upstairs and there’s no easy way to access such. it’s quite a challenge. evidently, the institution makes limited efforts to accommodate mobility needs of students with physical impairments. the students adapt to existing structures despite potential challenges to their academic needs and physical health. walkways around campus have not been adapted. students’ ease of movement three students, one blind, another partially sighted and the third with a physical disability, described how lack of paving at the university posed mobility challenges for them. for example, one student recounted: i arrived here in 2013 and there was that [uncovered holes] condition when i arrived and i reported it. the special education needs assistant tried to talk to maintenance staff but they didn’t do anything. instead in early 2014, they opened other holes. (participant 5, a male blind student) participant 5 added: i think the way has to be paved enough. for instance when it rains i can’t walk freely; there is some water along the way, they [pavements] are not well structured, the movement is not easy because of structuring of the university … there are places that are not paved at all. though partially sighted and using spectacles, one student cited comparable challenges with her mobility around campus. she noted: when i was in first year i think i fell five times here on campus. i still remember in titanic (hall of residence) i fell when going to buy food because maybe my mind was not on the way, i fell, had some scratches, then fell again. well, i fell a couple of times but with time you get used to the place and you know where you can walk carefully. (participant 6, a female student with visual impairment) as a student with a physical disability and using crutches, participant 2 stated: the reason i mostly get discouraged to use the library is that during the day one attends classes. then you have to go to the library late in the night, so i don’t travel at night because of darkness. there’re lights here and there so i’m afraid i might fall. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 p.a. mosia & t.n. phasha: student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities … 21 similar to inaccessible built environments, lack of paving creates mobility challenges to students with both visual and physical impairments and restricts their academic participation. student experience is also hampered by unsuitable seating arrangements in lecture halls as explained below: suitability of furniture furniture in lecture halls and laboratories does not meet the students’ needs as reported by two participants. for example, participant 3 explained: we have these long tables and long chairs, because, i assume it’s because they’re saying it’s a lab, so everything has to be up … i have problem with them, even though i happen to learn how to use them. similarly, another student complained about unsuitable furniture: the chairs in class, some are not, in fact none is comfortable for us people with physical disabilities. when seated on a chair i can’t reach the height of a desk, so i use my lap for supporting my book to write or i stand on my feet to be able to use a desk. (participant 4, a female student with dwarfism and kyphosis conditions) furniture was not adapted to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities and this negatively affected their learning conditions. students’ interaction with academic staff students with disabilities express various experiences from working with the academic staff. the experiences reflected two attitudes as follows: (a) supportive and (b) indifferent. supportive attitudes four students with disabilities considered at least one of their lecturers as tolerant and supportive and they shared experiences of positive support as follows: it`s been like it’s only my elg [linguistic course] lecturer who had taken the initiative to ensure that actually i get an enlarged question paper when i write my exams. so in that sense, it put me in a position to say it [support] is actually at the low ebb. (participant 7, a male student with visual impairment) another student indicated: … it’s only one lecturer who has consistently given me notes. (participant 8, a male student with visual impairment) similarly, participant 6 recalled: i had a lecturer who, i did statistics, understood the situation and all that, she gave me notes. 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 conversely, one student shared: ok for now eh, many lecturers are giving me notes, they give me notes every day after the lecture because i cannot write and my interpreter cannot write as well because she’s a student. (participant 9, a female deaf student) however, not all lecturers’ initiatives of support were perceived as suitable. for example, participant 3 is offended by lecturers who pay too much attention to her unique physical appearance. she explained: i don`t need to be treated that much special, i assume they take great care for me because sometimes there’re these ones who think i cannot do anything and i feel like ‘wow’ how should it be like this? you think i’m with disability but i can do anything, it doesn’t stop me to do anything. they look at us as if we are not people. participants, except for the deaf student, remember a few supportive attitudes. further, not all lecturers’ apparently good intentions have desired effects; they were insensitive to the student’s impairment. indifferent attitudes excerpts from four students exemplify incidents where the students felt ignored by the institution and lecturers in their teaching despite their need for support. participant 5 opined: it’s [support] not voluntary, i’ll have to tell them first, yes i still have to approach them … some i have approached but the time for exams will arrive without having nothing, and it`s happening even now. he added: when they teach, they don’t take any consideration that there’s a visually impaired learner in that class … who cannot see what they are pointing at. similarly, participant 8 explicated: other lecturers might have just been forgetful, which is human, while others normally said they knew nothing about me. you could see that they were trying and at times they just forced themselves to work with me. some of them would say that they need to be trained before dealing with my needs but i would assure them that my challenges were not severe. the observed indifference in lecturers discouraged the students from seeking support as participant 1 stated: one may understand and say they would email the notes or give you handouts but another does not even try and you might end up offending them because they are human … it is not easy to report your problem to management several times because it appears as though you are seeking special attention or you are too demanding. you end up saying the best i can have is sufficient. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 p.a. mosia & t.n. phasha: student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities … 23 participant 9 relied on sign language interpretation to study, but there were delayed efforts to secure a sign language interpreter for her. she stated: there were no preparations for me to be able to access information in class yet they knew that there was a deaf student admitted here. and i have to rely on that student who would be helping with interpreting services until i thought to myself the student won’t be able to interpret during five years while i`m learning here. the university seems not positioned to promote equitable access to its curricula and subsequently, it fails to mandate both academic and non‑academic staff to accommodate the students’ needs. students’ experience of bullying students with disability explained that a hall of residence reserved for them was not adapted to address their needs. they live in one building and are expected to use the same bathroom and toilet as students of different genders. the residence is also poorly maintained. socially, all but two students had courteous relationships with peers. two students with physical disabilities presented contrasting experiences about their interactions with the general student population. participant 3 stated: when you move around the campus, others look at you, gossip about you, and end up laughing. you feel like ‘wow!’ why should they laugh, is there anything wrong with me? i prefer people who come to me and ask, what happened? they look at us as if we are not people, we are something that they can make fun of. they’ll just look at you, especially ladies … and then when you turn back and look at them, they can make these funny laugh that you can say, ‘how can these people do this?’ participant 4 revealed: other students call me [names] … the environment is ok because my classmates have accepted me and help me where possible, for instance, on the stairs, disabled people are not easily recognised when it is congested. my classmates do shield me so that i’m not pushed around. verbal discriminatory gestures from peers only serve to confirm an environment which is not receptive of the needs of students with disabilities. staff perspectives of student experience the following are examples of staff perspectives on their role in enhancing the student experience. a faculty of education (fed) lecturer working as a year‑level tutor noted: sometimes you may not even notice. i just happen to notice this one (referring to a student with visual impairment) because this particular student in my class is a very interactive student, otherwise i wouldn’t know … if there are others besides this one i don’t know. 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 a business administration (ba) lecturer who also worked as a year‑level tutor shared these sentiments: sometimes you come to class, have one hour to deliver, they’re already seated, the person is in the middle, you cannot identify disability or anything. the excerpts of the two participants indicate that it is difficult for lecturers to identify students with disabilities in their classes and they do not deal with students as individuals. it was evident that tutors who were employed to provide psychosocial support could not provide it to students with disabilities if they could not identify them in their classes. moreover, any academic staff deployed as tutors are not selected on any criteria related to skills in psychosocial support. for example, the ba lecturer noted: we are not equipped, in fact i’m not equipped enough to do counselling but one would think of maybe academic counselling, but definitely we are less equipped. we need to be equipped further as to how we execute the counselling part of it. a lecturer at the university’s institute for extra mural studies (iems), also assigned tutorship, avers: as a coordinator i just do it [counselling] eh, just haphazardly because i`m not a counsellor but there are those arrangements and plans to have one [person] to address their psychosocial needs … much of my work is towards administrative issues. i am also teaching though i am not teaching first year, which is the level where the student in question is. a sociology lecturer opined: the tutor is not for a particular class, but for a faculty. in fss for example, students in one year level are in excess of two thousands, so i cannot just handle everything. i don’t know how to put it but it is basically an overarching thing. it’s not individual cases because look i am still a lecturer. i teach, i go to class, i have my own students, and i have my own department. the ba lecturer could not estimate the number of students of the year level he tutors. he expressed: i can’t have the exact number but it’s roughly around sixteen programmes. tutors lack skills to support the students generally. therefore, addressing the needs of students with disabilities could be a greater challenge when they are not trained. there are multiple challenges to tutorship as evident in participants’ views above. lecturers are assigned tutorship to year level and programmes in which they do not teach and across programmes outside their departments. tutors deal with high volumes of students’ needs and may not pay attention to a particular group of vulnerable students. correspondingly, at the time data were collected for this study the university had two student counsellors and two welfare officers to serve a student population of approximately 11 000 students and a special education needs assistant to serve self‑identified visually https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 p.a. mosia & t.n. phasha: student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities … 25 impaired students. it was established that there is no coordination of services from these three classes of staff. asked about the quality of support for students with disabilities, the student counsellor states: i would say really our students who are disabled are not supported. they are not supported at all. discussion this study aimed to explore students with disabilities’ experience of tertiary education at one university in lesotho. it was conducted against the background where the country did not have a national policy on inclusive education. nonetheless, the government committed itself to support persons with disabilities in tertiary institutions through hep. essentially, the disability support mandate is undermined by the university which, as any other learning institution in the country, does not have any established practice of providing an inclusive and equitable education. the following findings are evident from data presented above. although the university admits students with mobility challenges, it has not built ramps to enable them access to every building. these barriers do not only directly affect student experience with academic activities but also have a bearing on how they view themselves as persons with disabilities. for example, one student says he has to “act normal” and climb the stairs while another says she “learnt” to use tall laboratory chairs and tables despite possible detriment to her health. students with disabilities are expected to adjust themselves to standards set for everyone else despite falling short of their needs as persons with disabilities. this depicts practices where the needs of minority groups are ignored and normality is used as a measure for participation in the education system. as lalvani and broderick (2013) note, the university is unlikely to accommodate these student differences due to the ableism ideology dominant at this level of education. the students are expected to adapt because failure to do so would create an impression that they are less qualified for the university’s programme requirements (skrtic, 1991). ableism is also evident in the lecturers’ indifference towards the students’ needs and discrimination by peers. eleven students with disabilities admitted at this university face various challenges. those with visual and physical impairments have mobility challenges and there are no learning materials in appropriate formats for blind people. there were delays in securing an interpreter for the deaf student, information and communication technology had not been adapted to their needs and lecturers are not trained or even mandated to support them. students with disabilities have to learn “normally” like all students (mosia & phasha, 2017). the possible intervention by the department of student welfare staff is undermined by understaffing. the staff is unlikely to focus on the needs of students with disabilities when such students or their needs are not identified and particularly when the student : counsellor or welfare officer ratio is high. the findings compare with previous research which found that reliance on the welfare departments to support students and contribute to quality education is undermined by poor resourcing of such departments (yakaboski 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 & birnbaum, 2013). additionally, the university’s deployment of academic staff to work as tutors without training them for the responsibility suggests it undermines the role of psychosocial support for student experience (pansiri & sinkamba, 2017). therefore, harvey et al. (1992) argues that quality education can be judged on total student experience which consists of successful fulfilment of academic and psychosocial needs of students. the national university of lesotho does not provide quality education for students with disabilities because there is evidence that they encounter barriers to both academic and social participation (burrows, harvey & green, 1992). moreover, according to hill, lomas and macgregor (2003) one of the requirements for enhancing student experience is for lecturers to actively identify and address the needs of vulnerable students. however, the university fails to do so despite the mandate from hep to all tertiary education institutions in lesotho (kingdom of lesotho, 2013). lecturers use the ableism principle to deal with students; students are forced to adapt to set standards or be viewed as unqualified to study at this level (skrtic, 1991) while lecturers are not expected to adapt their lectures to individual needs. conclusions this study demonstrates that the university excludes student with disabilities as a minority group, from full participation in its academic programmes. buildings are constructed for the able‑bodied and teaching and learning activities are not necessarily accessible to students with disabilities; all students adapt to the standard of academia set abstractly for all. this study challenges the institution to use student experience to assess the relevance of its programmes because students with disabilities have the right to equitable access to education. ignoring the academic, social or emotional needs of a certain group of the student population is undermining the quality of education. references anastasiou, d. & kauffman, j.m. 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(2016). inclusive education: an introduction. in: m. nel, n. nel & a. hugo (eds.), learner support in a diverse classroom, pp. 3‑33. pretoria: van schaik publishers. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.654 https://doi.org/10.1080/10349121003750489 https://doi.org/10.1080/10349121003750489 https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880310462047 https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110500256145 https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2013.838484 https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp062oa https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp062oa https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529009378794 https://doi.org/10.1080/02674648866780261 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2011.596380 https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2011.596380 http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/6395 https://doi.org/10.1111/ldrp.12102 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781544304533 https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2014.934989 https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.257 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 13‑28 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 nul (national university of lesotho) (2006). national university of lesotho 2006/2007 calendar. roma: nul. nusbaum, e.a. (2013). vulnerable to exclusion: the place for segregated education within conceptions of inclusion. international journal of inclusive education, 17(12), 1295‑1311. https://doi.org/10.1080/136 03116.2013.826292 pansiri, b.m. & sinkamba, r.p. (2017). advocating for standards in student affairs departments in african institutions: university of botswana experience. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(1), 51‑62. https:// doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 patton, m.q. (2002). qualitative research and evaluation methods. thousand oaks, ca: sage. pudaruth, s., gunputh, r.p. & singh, u.g. (2017). forgotten, excluded or included? students with disabilities: a case study at the university of mauritius. african journal of disability, 6(0), a359. https:// doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.359 read, b., archer, l. & leathwood, c. 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(2017). graduate views on access to higher education: is it really a case of pulling up the ladder? studies in higher education, 42(3), 504‑518. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/03075079.2015.1052738 yakaboski, t. & birnbaum, m. (2013). the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(1&2), 33‑48. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1‑2.34 how to cite: mosia, p.a. & phasha, t.n. 2020. student experience and quality of tertiary education for students with disabilities in lesotho. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 13‑28. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v8i1.3824 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2013.826292 https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2013.826292 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i1.2482 https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.359 https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.359 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070309290 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070309290 https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i1.4738 https://doi.org/10.5681/hpp.2011.009 https://doi.org/10.5681/hpp.2011.009 https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.61.2.0q702751580h0617 https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2010.510659 https://doi.org/10.1108/ijqss-08-2015-0058 https://doi.org/10.1108/ijqss-08-2015-0058 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.974528 https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2017.100403 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1052738 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1052738 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, ix-xvi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4363   ix www.jsaa.ac.za african minds guest editorial embracing saassap scholarship matete madiba* this issue was initiated as part of an effort to raise the level of scholarship within the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap). it was conceptualised in the early days of the covid-19 pandemic. as guest editor, i had a number of opportunities to engage with members and associates of the saassap throughout the process of compiling and finalising this issue. a key moment of engagement was when the association undertook an “identity check”, to ref lect on who we are as saassap members. the pandemic provided a time to be contemplative about our work. the “p” at the end of the saassap acronym stands for “professional” as well as “practitioner”. the collins dictionary defines a practitioner as “a person engaged in the practice of a profession” 1. a practitioner is someone who has learned about and is actively working in their field. carpenter and haber-curran (2013) raise a critical question in their argument for what they call a “scholarship of practice” for student affairs professionals. they ask: “what if student affairs professionals fully embraced a role as practitioner-scholars engaging in practice in a thoughtful and intentional way that is both informed by research and informs research?” (carpenter & haber-curran, 2013). the point being that student affairs practitioners should fully embrace their roles as professionals, as practitioners and as scholars. for saassap members, there is also a leadership component that is embedded in the role since this is an association for senior practitioners who would largely be in leadership positions in their institutions. komives et al. (2005) argues for leadership capacity and an identity that is created and developed over time. it is this type of identity that saassap members should assume – an identity that embraces the professional-practitioner-scholar-leader role. if members of the association are to embrace such an identity, which includes the role of scholar, they must then ask: how do scholars work and what do they do? a related question is: is there a difference between research and scholarship or between researchers and scholars? a cquniversity of australia youtube video,2 which describes what scholars do, says that scholars work in a “systematic, rational, balanced, evidencebased way” and through “a systematic process of framing questions and providing 1 https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/practitioner 2 https://www.youtube.com/@cquniversityoltv * dr matete madiba is research and development officer at saassap and also director: student affairs at the university of pretoria in south africa. email: matete.madiba@up.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-6127-8087. http://www.jsaa.ac.za https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/practitioner https://www.youtube.com/@cquniversityoltv x   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, ix-xvi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4363 answers”. in this regard, it should be noted that there is no definite distinction between research and scholarship: the two are closely related. huenemann (2014) argues for a distinction between research and scholarship on the basis of disciplinary differences. he associates research with experiments, “finding new stuff, unknown correlations and or causal connections”, and argues that “humanists are not in that kind of business”. he further posits (emphasis added): “to be a humanist scholar, one needs to read a great deal, think deeply and humanely about it, and pick up on interesting patterns or glaring exceptions to patterns commonly thought to exist. it is rare to find such scholars” (huenemann, 2014). huenemann’s argument in seeking to differentiate between research and scholarship indicates how narrow the distinction can be. against this background, a number of key identifying features are ascribed in the literature to the practice of scholarship. scholars read, and read a lot, to acquire knowledge about their field of practice (huenemann, 2014). i would further argue that they reference their work as they share and publish it. they apply their acquired knowledge to their practice and by so doing continuously improve their practice. they read classics in their field, as well as newly published works. in addition, scholars are mindful about how old their citations are when they are working towards publication, whether in the form of a thesis or an article in a journal. i want to argue that scholars read for confirmation, confrontation, contradiction, challenge, and critique, and that these are the “five cs” of scholarship. scholars read to confirm the observations they make and the trends they have noticed. they read to confront their own biases, beliefs, judgements, and subjectivities. they read to address the contradictions they have identified in their work and the work of other scholars. they read to deal with the challenges with which their practice is confronted. they read to critique their own practices and opinions; to critique other scholars; and to enable their institutions to engage in institutional self-critique. universities in south africa are challenged to place transformation high on their agendas. in this regard, the journey towards a transformative turn starts with selfcritique. student affairs practitioners should not shy away from being at the centre of such an agenda, helping their institutions to change and acting as agents of the transformation process. professional-practitioner-scholar-leaders are required to assume such agency in a meaningful way. grappling with the nationwide student revolt of 2015, booysen (2016, p.  2) cites the work of achille mbembe (2016) who notes that “we have to find for ourselves the vocabulary” and engage in “the task of naming and elucidation”, and work our way towards a “sympathetic critique” to deal with the turmoil that might continue for a while in south african universities. though mbembe argues for “sympathetic critique”, what south african higher education institutions need more is self-critique. in this context, student affairs practitioner-scholars should engage their university communities and lead the way towards the processes of elucidation and the creation of vocabularies for self-critique, as advocated by mbembe, in and outside the classroom and at the executive levels of these institutions. matete madiba: embracing saassap scholarship   xi scholars engage in scholarship. neuman (1993) argues that to differentiate between scholarship and research is like “walking in a semantic minefield”. she describes scholarship as an activity that updates or maintains the knowledge of an individual or adds to their skills and experience. she further describes scholarship as the manner of pursuing a serious, sustained line of enquiry, and as entailing the dissemination of findings. in a research project, as part of which she interviewed senior academics and administrators, she makes a distinction between two ideas of scholarship, that is, “the role of scholarship in providing the context for research”; and “scholarship as a far broader notion than research, spanning the entire endeavor of academic work”. her analysis is worth quoting at length: [scholarship] is both preliminary to, and simultaneous with, research. scholarship is part of the whole process of the asking and answering of questions – enquiry – in seeking to understand a particular field of study. in doing so, there has to be theoretical and conceptual understanding of the area of knowledge being investigated. scholarship involves the ability “to glean information” and to respond critically to what has already been done in the field. this encompasses digesting and appraising what is already known, as a result of which the gaps in knowledge can be clearly perceived and appropriate questions of enquiry asked. indeed, scholarship necessitates placing one’s own research within the existing knowledge of the field. the result is “research in context”. (neuman, 1993) neumann (1993) further posits that scholarship entails greater contemplation and ref lection than research. she notes that her interviewees asserted that the distinction between research and scholarship was less clear in the humanities, with some extending this view to the social sciences and professional areas. the participants in her research described “poor research” as “research without scholarship” (neuman, 1993). she concludes her paper by arguing that research and scholarship are interrelated and yet separate, and that scholarship is broader than research, “encompassing aspects of research as well as relating to other areas of academic investigation” (neuman, 1993). her research confirms that academic enquiry is central to both research and scholarship. in this context, academic enquiry is described as a critical ref lection on existing knowledge and a desire to ask unanswered questions. in a report entitled “scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate”, boyer (1990) describes four kinds of scholarship: the scholarship of discovery; the scholarship of integration; the scholarship of application; and the scholarship of teaching. for boyer (1990, p.  16) it was time to define “what it means to be a scholar” and to recognise “the great diversity of functions higher education must perform”. this remains true for student affairs practitioners today. student affairs practitioners must contend with what it means to be a scholar in their roles within a higher education system that faces many challenges. over the years, boyer’s views on scholarship have received a lot of attention and have contributed to a growing scholarship of teaching and learning (sotl) movement, which has its own conferences and journals and which produces its own research alongside an existing “pure” form of research which boyer categorises as the xii   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, ix-xvi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4363 scholarship of discovery. the inf luence of sotl has now become so great that student affairs practitioners who fail to position themselves as active participants within this field of scholarship are liable to find themselves on the academic periphery. meanwhile, carpenter and haber-curran (2013) argue for a fifth type of scholarship which they call “the scholarship of practice”. they identify 11 core values that are associated with and could constitute a scholarship of practice. in their suggested vision, such a scholarship should be: (1) intentional; (2) theory-based; (3) data-based; (4) peerreviewed; (5) tolerant of differing perspectives; (6) collaborative; (7) unselfish; (8) open to change; (9) careful and sceptical; (10) attentive to regeneration; and (11) autonomous within institutional contexts. the authors offer these values as they ref lect on a call for “student affairs and academic affairs professionals to unite in service of facilitating student development and learning” (carpenter & haber-curran, 2013). the question remains whether it is necessary to think of a fifth type of scholarship as carpenter and haber-curran (2013) propose – that is, a scholarship of practice – or whether the call should be to embrace the scholarship of integration identified by boyer (1990). the notion of a scholarship of integration becomes more critical and relevant considering the silos that have been built within higher education institutions and how these silos can stif le the work that is undertaken to advance student success. i argue elsewhere (madiba, 2014) that student success is and should be the number one priority of student affairs work. a recent report from the chronicle of higher education (2022, p.  1) argues that “as more colleges seek to raise graduation and retention rates, it has become clear that to make meaningful strides in student success, they must look at the whole student” (emphasis added). i have continued to argue in various recent engagements that the notion of looking at “the whole student” provides a valuable critique of the “single-axis framework” (crenshaw, 1991) which dominates many student success interventions and the siloed approaches that accompany them at higher education institutions. i argue that “indicators of student success and the quality of ‘graduatedness’, like all the other indicators, is as much a matter of the classroom as it is of organised student life outside the classroom” (madiba, 2014, p.  59). i further argue that “there is a need for a deliberate, concerted, and collective effort by all role-players in order to achieve student success” (madiba, 2014, p.  59). with another author, i argue that “curriculum learning, academic development and student affairs need to combine forces and share expertise and resources to optimise students’ chances of success” (torres & madiba, 2017, p. 161). the partitions that continue to be erected between what are described as the “academic” and “non-academic” aspects of higher education institutions create further barriers to student success, when the goal should be to remove such barriers. the building of such walls prevents student from being seen as whole beings. in this context, interventions become fragmented, structures work in silos and student affairs practitioners deal superficially with the challenges that threaten student success. however, the theoretical and conceptual understandings that may emerge from a scholarship of integration would allow student affairs practitioners to forge necessary matete madiba: embracing saassap scholarship   xiii partnerships across disciplinary, functional and structural boundaries and deal with these challenges. much has been written about the challenges that students experienced during covid-19, including in relation to their mental health. in fact, many of these challenges existed prior to pandemic outbreak, but in a less visible form, or were not previously taken seriously. covid-19 “visibilised” them. czerniewicz et al. (2020) assert that the pandemic as a crisis “has made it impossible not to recognise the historical, geospatial, economic inequalities of the country and the world students live in”. they further assert that “the pandemic, and the pivoting to online made visible, the invisible”. the authors are worth quoting at length as they describe how the pandemic led to a push for integration, where previously there had been none, or at least too little: during this period, fields of practice and scholarship, which had previously intersected far less than one would have imagined, are now thrust together. the scholarship has drawn on different theoretical sources. the practice has been supported institutionally in different ways, either centrally or distributed. historically, questions of access to and success in education were the purview of “academic development”, while the digital divide and digital inequalities fell in the parallel realm of “educational technology”. these separations have been shown to be impossible, with student affairs thrown into the mix as students demand that #nostudentisleftbehind (emphasis added). (czerniewicz et al., 2020) though it appears that greater attention has been paid to the pedagogies of care and compassion in academia, or at least in some parts of academia, it is a concern that much thinking remains siloed and that the need to forge partnerships that may advance the culture of care in the academy persists. in this context, brodie et al. (2022) argue: given that the culture of the academy has been that such support has not usually been a primary focus of lecturers, we argue for better integration of student support services into the core academic project within the broader institution. in decentering this key structural and cultural element of the university space, this article has shown that we can support multiple opportunities for students to engage with disciplinary knowledge and that we can enable care and concern to be integrated into higher education pedagogy and thus become a stronger cultural element of teaching and learning in our institutions (emphasis added). (brodie et al., 2020). brodie et al. (2022) call for integration. a scholarship of integration needs to be promoted if student support services practitioners are to be considered as equal partners with lecturers and in order to forge the partnerships that are required to advance a culture of care within the academy. in addition, a new class of “scholarly practitioners” will need to be established: a class who by their craft make “decisions primarily for the benefit of students, relying upon theory and research, remaining accountable to peers, providing professional feedback, acting ethically, and enacting the values of the profession generally”; a class of scholarly practitioners whose members continuously “exercise professional judgment”, as argued by carpenter and haber-curran (2013). xiv   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, ix-xvi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4363 accordingly, i and a fellow author have posed the question (madiba & mathekga, 2018): “how well are we able to name and frame the problems students face as they enter and proceed through their studies in higher education?” mathekga and i have further argued that the “question should be extended to the policies, interventions and solutions that are put in place to support students throughout their academic journey”. the broader argument being made here is that student affairs practitioners deal with complex and highly challenging problems that are systemic in nature and deeply entrenched. if they are to make any inroads, they need to demolish the walls separating functions and structures at universities. for this to happen, student affairs practitioners should seek to advance the scholarship of integration. the call for papers for this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa ( jsaa) was made within this context of asking whether saassap members have acquired the identity of scholars who undertake their work in a systematic, evidence-based way, and whether they are able to frame the relevant questions and explore the resulting answers in a meaningful way. the theme that accompanied the call was: “leading through covid19: the impact of the pandemic on student affairs and student services at south african universities.” under lockdown, when there were few opportunities to meet face-toface, two webinars were organised to support those considering responding to the call for papers. the first webinar on “writing for publication” was led by birgit schreiber and siseko kumalo. the second webinar on “writing for jsaa” was led by three wellpublished authors, thierry luescher, laura czerniewicz and dantew teferra, who shared the tools of the trade. laura, who made a presentation on collaborative writing at the meeting, published her notes as a blog post,3 in which she advised: “keep everything transparent, be organised, give and take feedback respectfully, be open minded, be f lexible and be clear.” the response to the first call for papers was encouraging. twenty-four abstracts from eight different institutions were submitted. finally, eight papers were submitted and sent for peer review. during this process, a number of challenges were identified. for example, it became clear that student affairs practitioners who are immersed in student-life activities and related crises may be hard-pressed to find the time to write for publication. in this regard, it would have been ideal to organise research retreats in support of this issue’s call for papers. the authors who answered the call for papers also faced the challenge of their relative scholarly inexperience. in this regard, there is a great need for student affairs practitioners to be supported in developing the skills that are required to write for publication if they are to make advances in scholarship and research. student affairs and services (sas) practitioners need to be encouraged to initiate sustainable collaborative research projects which can simultaneously inform policy and practice. such projects should be undertaken in collaboration with other academics and with master’s and doctoral students within and across institutions, both locally and internationally. ethical clearance poses another a challenge. it can take a 3 https://czernie.weebly.com/blog/writing-collaboratively https://czernie.weebly.com/blog/writing-collaboratively matete madiba: embracing saassap scholarship   xv relatively long time to obtain, which can disrupt the writing, paper-submission and publication schedule. in this regard, there must be more support within institutions to establish and implement clear, transparent and workable ethical-clearance protocols and procedures. more generally, sas practitioners should organise and participate in reading groups and book clubs at which book reviews may be presented to advance the five cs of scholarship. in addition, saassap should periodically and continuously organise and plan for special journal issues and book projects. the scope for collaborative scholarship projects in the field of student affairs and services is wide and practitioners are spoiled for choice as the 2021 saassap conference, which can be a platform for the advancement of scholarship within the sas community, demonstrated. the theme of the conference was: “ramping up engaged scholarship, gender equity, and enhancing leadership in student affairs practice”. presentations at the conference provided convincing evidence that, indeed, the scope for scholarship in this field is wide and that there is ample room for collaboration. presentations were made on a range of topics, including, “exploring humanising practices and humanising scholarship”; using photovoice to document and ref lect on reality; curating experiences using the camera lens; student leadership and governance; and community and civic engagement. research into such topics indicates the viability and broadness of the scope for collaborative projects and for longitudinal multiand trans-disciplinary research. engagement in such research allows for the creation of a communal space to explore and share methodologies and resources to advance scholarship. the future of higher education will look far brighter if sas practitioners can continue to forge partnerships and advance the scholarship of integration. in this way, they can make room to assert their place in academia; acquire their identity as professional-practitioner-scholar-leaders; and fully assume their roles as agents of transformation within their institutions. references booysen, s. (2016). introduction. in s. booysen (ed.), fees must fall: student revolt, decolonisation and governance in south africa (pp. 1-20). wits university press. boyer, e. l. (1990). scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate. a special report. the carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching. princeton university press. brodie, k., joffe, a., dukhan, s., godsell, s., de klerk, d., & padayachee, k. (2022). from pandemic disruption to post-pandemic transformation: new possibilities for teaching in south african higher education. south african journal of higher education, 36(4), 66-84. https://doi.org/10.20853/36-45180. carpenter, s., & haber-curran, p. (2013). the role of research and scholarship in the professionalisation of student affairs. journal of student affairs in africa, 1, 1-9 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.20. crenshaw, k.w. (1991) mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics and violence against women of colour. stanford law review, 43(6), 1241-1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039. czerniewicz, l., agherdien, n., badenhorst, j., belluigi, d., chambers, t., muntuwenkosi, c., de villiers, m., felix, a., gachago, d., gokhale, c., ivala, e., kramm, n., madiba, m., mistri, g., mgqwashu, e., pallitt, n., prinsloo, p., solomon, k., strydom, s., swanepoel, m., waghid, f., & wissing, g. xvi   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, ix-xvi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4363 (2020). a wake-up call: equity, inequality and covid-19 emergency remote teaching and learning. postdigital science and education, 2, 946-967. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00187-4. huenemann, c. (2014, february 24). scholarship vs. research vs. push-ups. huenemanniac. https:// huenemanniac.com/2014/02/24/scholarship-vs-research-vs-push-ups/. komives, s., owen, j., longerbeam, s., mainella, f., & osteen, l. (2005). developing a leadership identity: a grounded theory. journal of college student development, 46(6), 593-611. https://doi.org/10.1353/ csd.2005.0061. madiba, m. (2014). student success as the number one affair in student affairs. in m. speckman & m. mandew (eds.), perspectives on student affairs in south africa (pp. 59-76). african minds. madiba, m., & mathekga, a. (2018). supporting students’ transition through the academic journey. in m. m. sefotho (ed.), philosophy in education and research: african perspectives (pp. 149-164). van schaik publishers. mbembe, a. (2016, january 19). theodor adorno vs herbert marcuse on student protests, violence and democracy. daily maverick. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-01-19-theodor-vs-herbetmarcuse-on-student-protests-violence-and-democarcy/#.vw8tzmnwdcy. neumann, r. (1993). research and scholarship: perceptions of senior academic administrators. higher education, 25, 97-110. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01384743. the chronicle of higher education. (2022). reimagining the student experience: how colleges can help student connect, belong, and engage. the chronicle of higher education. torres, v., & madiba, m. (2017). the role of student affairs in student engagement and learning. in f. strydom, g. kuh & s. loots (eds.), engaging students: using evidence to promote student success (pp. 146-164). sun media. how to cite: madiba, m. (2022). embracing saassap scholarship. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), ix-xvi. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4363 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 89 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article the best that i can be: a case for a strengths-based approach during the first-year experience henry d. mason* * dr henry d. mason is a social science researcher and head of the academic assessment unit at the tshwane university of technology (tut), pretoria, south africa. email: masonh@tut.ac.za abstract more south african research is needed that examines the application of positive psychology to assist students in navigating the stressful first‑year experience by identifying, developing and applying signature strengths. this article reports on a mixed methods study that investigated the efficacy of a strengths‑based development programme presented to a sample of 55 first‑year university students (mean age = 19.77, sd = 1.50, female = 60%). quantitative data were collected in a pre‑ and post‑intervention manner using the personal growth initiative scale, the subjective happiness scale, the satisfaction with life scale and the strengths use and deficit improvement questionnaire. qualitative data were collected in individual semi‑structured interviews (n = 12, age range = 18‑22). significant changes between the pre‑ and post‑test scores emerged when comparing the quantitative data. the qualitative analysis pointed to aspects that participants regarded as beneficial to the efficacy of the strengths‑based programme. collectively, the data integration suggested that the intervention had a positive impact on participants’ sense of well‑being and contributed to enhancing the first‑year experience. limitations and areas for further research conclude the discussion. keywords first‑year experience; positive psychology; strengths use; well‑being introduction in the late 1990s a paradigm shift occurred in the field of psychology with the conceptualisation and introduction of positive psychology (pp) (seligman & csikszentmihalyi,  2000). pp refers to a multi‑level (individual, group, organisation and society) and multi‑domain (personal life, education and work) perspective that focuses on the advancement of the good life (increasing positive emotions), engaged life (more significant commitment to important activities and goal pursuit, e.g. meaningful work), and the meaningful life (dedication to a goal or aspiration beyond the self and the trivial) (wissing, potgieter, guse, khumalo & nel, 2014). internationally, pp has gained popularity in the education context through the subfield of positive education (seligman,  2011; seligman & adler, 2018). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:masonh%40tut.ac.za?subject= 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 positive education emphasises individual strengths and personal motivation to promote active learning for the 21st century (seligman & adler, 2018). positive education‑based programmes and interventions have yielded encouraging results in international school settings (adler, seligman, tetlock & duckworth, 2016). the application of positive education‑based interventions may also prove beneficial in higher education contexts. higher education is widely regarded as stressful for students (mason, 2017). research has indicated that the first‑year experience (fye) is typically fraught with numerous developmental, academic and psychological challenges amongst other things (scott, 2018). the stressful nature of the fye can negatively impinge on students’ levels of well‑being and exacerbate un‑wellness (anderson, 2016; de villiers, 2014). this, in turn, can lead to burnout, dropout and lack of academic success amongst student populations (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; scott, 2018). one of the responsibilities of student affairs services is to assist students in dealing effectively with the challenges associated with the fye (scott, 2018). however, many develomental and support initiatives are articulated from deficit‑based perspectives (boughey & mckenna, 2016). hence, student affairs services often emphasise what is wrong with students (lewin & mawoyo, 2014) to the exclusion of drawing on their strengths and talents to concretise a sense of resilience, agency and realistic hope for the future (bowers & lopez, 2010; cilliers, 2014). the former is particularly relevant when considering that students present with unique journeys that are significantly influenced by a wide range of issues including their histories and the context within which they find themselves. a strengths‑based focus serves as the antithesis of a deficit‑based approach and aims to assist students in addressing challenges from the vantage point of their unique perspectives (peterson & seligman, 2004). the concept of strengths, which forms the bedrock of pp and positive education, refers to pre‑existing capacities that predispose persons to particular ways of thinking, feeling and behaving (linley, 2008). international research has reported on the positive and empowering effects of strengths‑ based approaches in higher education settings (bowers & lopez, 2010; yeager, fisher & shearon, 2010). for example, pp interventions in higher education have been associated with higher levels of engagement, better academic performance and greater community involvement (durlak, weissberg, dymnicki, taylor & schellinger, 2011; yeager et al., 2010). notwithstanding reported benefits, few south african studies have considered the potential value of pp and strengths‑based university intervention programmes (chigeza, de  kock, roos & wissing, 2018; de villiers, 2014; seligman & adler, 2018). moreover, the south african literature on the topic of applying pp to fye intervention programmes is almost non‑existent (chigeza et al., 2018; cilliers, 2014; melato, 2014). research on strengths‑based intervention programmes is also needed to assess its impact and efficacy in enhancing well‑being amongst student populations (de villiers, 2014; seligman, steen, park & peterson, 2005). moreover, developing needs‑driven programmes to focus on empowering students within the south african higher education context is warranted (chigeza et al., 2018; melato, 2014). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 henry d. mason: the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach … 91 in light of these arguments, pp appears to be a promising approach to assist students, especially during the fye, to draw on their own, unique strengths in navigating the labyrinth of university stressors (wissing et al., 2014). consequently, a strengths‑based developmental programme (‘the programme’) was developed and presented to a group of first‑year students at a south african university. the programme was aimed at assisting participants in enhancing strengths use and well‑being to deal effectively with challenges during the fye. this article reports on a mixed methods study that empirically evaluated the efficacy of the programme amongst a sample of first‑year students at a south african university. the following two research questions guided the study: what was the effect of the programme on participants’ well‑being and use of strengths? what aspects of the programme did participants experience as beneficial and could inform and direct further programme development? it will be argued that strengths‑based programmes can enhance students’ levels of well‑being in the face of challenges experienced during the fye. as a conceptual contribution, this article offers guidelines on developing a strengths‑based programme for first‑year students. the article commences with a review of the literature and a discussion of the programme. then, the research method is presented. next, the findings from the mixed methods study are discussed. in conclusion, the key findings are summarised. literature review to position this article within the current body of knowledge, this literature review discusses the concepts of strengths and the strengths approach, after which the fye is discussed. a strengths approach the field of pp focuses on what is best about people (seligman & csikszentmihalyi, 2000). the concept of strengths is a fundamental pillar of pp (linley, 2008). the central thesis advocated by proponents of the strengths approach is that all humans possess a combination of talents, knowledge and skills that they are naturally good at (wissing et al., 2014). conceptualisations of strengths have been proposed by clifton and colleagues (clifton & harter, 2003; hodges & clifton, 2004), peterson and seligman (2004) and linley (2008). the study being reported on is based on the conceptualisation of strengths that was set forth by peterson and seligman (2004). peterson and seligman (2004) argue that strengths are stable yet malleable capacities and virtues that induce people to act in certain ways. within this conceptualisation, dahlsgaard, peterson and seligman (2005) distinguish between six virtues (wisdom, courage, love, justice, temperance and transcendence) that are divided into 24 strengths (cf. peterson & seligman, 2004). the values in action inventory of strengths survey (via survey) was subsequently developed to assist persons in identifying their unique strength profiles (peterson & seligman, 2004). the 24 strengths can be described in the rank order in which they 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 are realised and used by persons. while some strengths may remain unrealised, realised strengths can serve to invigorate persons with stamina, optimism and resilience (dahlsgaard et al., 2005; wissing et al., 2014). an increased interest in pp interventions that focus on the development of strengths has emerged in recent years. the concept of a pp intervention refers to a series of intentional activities, such as a psychoeducational programme, aimed at fostering positive thoughts, feelings and behaviours (biswas‑diener, 2010; rashid, 2015). there is consensus amongst researchers that strengths‑based interventions ought to focus on three general phases, namely (1) assisting persons in discovering their strengths; (2) integrating strengths through reflection and discussions; and (3) assisting persons in consciously using their strengths in daily life (biswas‑diener, 2010; clifton & harter, 2003; quinlan, swain & vella‑brodrick, 2012). empirical data suggest that strengths‑based interventions can help participants to enhance general levels of well‑being, optimism and resilience (seligman et al., 2005), reduce indicators of psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety (sin & lyubomirsky, 2009), and boost performance within organisational and higher education settings (adler et al., 2016; bowers & lopez,  2010; clifton & harter, 2003; durlak et al., 2011). in light of the above arguments, a strengths‑based approach seems particularly fitting for assisting students in navigating the stressful fye. the first‑year experience the south african higher education system is characterised by high dropout and low success (dhet, 2017). alienation and a lack of epistemic access are two major factors that have contributed to the low retention and high dropout rates amongst south african students (che, 2017). regarding alienation, students have expressed concern that they feel estranged from the higher education context (scott, 2018). whereas access to higher education has increased in the recent past, it has not always been accompanied by the mechanisms and support required for success (scott, 2017). in this regard, morrow (2009) refers to epistemic access: the capacity to augment physical admission to university with the skills, knowledge and support to access academic knowledge. the key to epistemic access is adequate preparation (scott, 2017). however, a significant proportion of south african university students come from disadvantaged schools, are not first‑language english speakers, experience socioeconomic challenges and are first‑generation students (scott, 2017). it is against this backdrop that adequate support during the fye is paramount (nyar, 2018). fye programmes focus on supporting students during their first year of university, thereby championing the realisation of their educational goals (scott, 2018). additionally, fye programmes aim to bridge the articulation gap between students’ expectations of university and reality when they enter university (nyar, 2018). examples of fye programmes are awareness and orientation campaigns (wilson‑strydom, 2015), academic literacy support (jaffer & garraway, 2016), social engagement (nelson & low, 2011) and offering generic psychoeducational support programmes (jama, 2018). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 henry d. mason: the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach … 93 to date, there has not been much research on the value of a strengths‑based fye programme for students (chigeza et al., 2018; melato, 2014). not only can such programmes enhance students’ well‑being, but they can also contribute to social engagement and assist in developing problem‑solving skills – both areas that deserve attention amongst first‑year students (nyar, 2018; scott, 2018; yeager et al., 2010). the significance of this article lies not only in evaluating the efficacy of the programme, but also in offering detailed information on a strengths‑based programme that can be tailored to diverse settings. the strengths-based student development programme the overarching goals of the programme were to assist students in creating awareness of their unique strengths, applying these strengths to address stressors amidst the fye, and identifying avenues for further development of existing strengths while simultaneously cultivating new strengths. the programme was presented over a 12‑week timeframe comprising one two‑hour contact session per week. it consisted of five interwoven phases, namely pre‑assessment, discovery, intervention, action and post‑assessment. an overview of the programme is shown in table 1. table 1: overview of the programme phase weeks focus interventions source 1. pre‑assessment one pre‑assessment • three good things • seligman et al., 2005 2. discovery two to four discover strengths • three good things • seligman et al., 2005 • strength introductions • biswas‑diener, 2010 • via survey • peterson & seligman, 2004 • gratitude visit • seligman et al., 2005 3. intervention five to six goal setting • three good things • seligman et al., 2005 • goal setting • lock & latham, 2002 • identify signature strengths • biswas‑diener, 2010 4. action and accountability seven to eleven goal striving • three good things • seligman et al., 2005 • goal striving • biswas‑diener, 2010 • pp movies • niemiec & wedding, 2014 • best self assignment • king, 2001 5. post‑assessment twelve post‑assessment • three good things • seligman et al., 2005 every contact session commenced with participants completing the three good things exercise. specifically, participants were instructed to write down three things that had gone well for them during the past week and then explain why those things happened. fredrickson (2004) and seligman et al. (2005) reported positive effects of the three good things exercise on participants’ level of well‑being. 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 in the course of week  1, all participants completed the quantitative measures (see section on data collection) and a brief overview of the programme was provided. next, the discovery phase of the programme was presented. during the discovery phase (weeks 2 to 4) participants first engaged in strengths‑based introductions. biswas‑diener (2010) explains that strength introductions afford participants the opportunity to tell a short story about a time when they used their strengths to great effect. the strength introductions set the stage for owning and appreciating strengths (biswas‑diener,  2010). additionally, participants worked in groups of six to eight and established expectations and rules for engagement. all participants completed the via survey to identify their main character strengths (peterson & seligman, 2004). once they had received feedback on the via survey, reflective group discussions were facilitated. examples of reflective questions were: what are your thoughts, feelings and perspectives on your via results? do these results confirm what you know about yourself? do the results surprise you? the purpose of the reflective discussion was to assist participants in developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of their strengths and to serve as a primer for the next phase, namely the intervention phase. lastly, participants were encouraged to conduct a gratitude visit in week  4 of the programme. more precisely, they were instructed to write and deliver a letter of gratitude to a person to whom they were grateful, but whom they had never thanked appropriately. previous research reported beneficial effects of the gratitude visit on participants’ reported levels of well‑being (seligman et al., 2005). the central tasks that were completed during the intervention phase (weeks 5 and 6) included identifying stressors and challenges that students experience within the higher education context, exploring how strengths could assist them in addressing challenges, and delving into specific ways and strategies on how strengths could help in addressing stressors and concerns. in addition, participants were supported in identifying their top five signature strengths. these were then used as guiding principles and values to set one academic and one personal goal. the learning during this phase was strengthened with group discussions and designing and presenting posters. the literature suggests that people who align their goals with signature strengths tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction and positivity (quinlan et al., 2012; rashid, 2015). during phase four of the programme, namely the action and accountability phase (weeks 7 to 11), participants actively engaged in goal‑striving (quinlan et al., 2012). the remaining contact sessions were used to follow up on participants’ goal‑striving progression and challenges that were experienced, celebrate positive happenings and offer social support to fellow students. this was based on literature indicating that people tend to be more successful in achieving goals when goal‑striving strategies are encouraged through social support and accountability (locke & latham, 2002). during this phase, participants also watched and reflected on two strengths‑based films, namely the pursuit of happyness (smith & mucciono, 2006), and the fault in our stars (godfrey & boone, 2014). participants were requested to watch the films and to focus on https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 henry d. mason: the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach … 95 identifying underlying strengths expressed by the main characters. the inclusion of the films in the programme also served as inspiration and to facilitate a deeper appreciation of the value of strengths as resources in dealing with challenges in novel ways (niemiec & wedding, 2014). there was no contact session in week  11, but participants spent time completing the best self assignment (king, 2001). in this assignment, participants were requested to visualise themselves at some point in the future and imagine the best versions of themselves. then they were instructed to write down the details of this best possible version of themselves, what activities and goals they would be engaged in and the strengths that they would exhibit and need to develop. lastly, participants were requested to create a personal development plan to embody the best possible version of themselves in the future. there is strong empirical evidence that supports the beneficial effects of the best self assignment on enhancing well‑being and strengths (king, 2001; meevissen, peters & alberts, 2011). the facilitator of the programme read and offered constructive feedback on the best self assignment. the post‑intervention assessment was completed in week 12. arrangements were made for individual consultation sessions, if required, following completion of the programme. research method research design a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design was adopted to conduct this study (creswell, 2014). first, a quasi‑experimental one‑group‑before‑and‑after research design was used to evaluate the efficacy of the programme using quantitative data (creswell, 2014). then, qualitative data were analysed to shed light on the aspects of the programme that participants regarded as essential and beneficial (henning, van rensburg & smit, 2011). finally, the two strands of data were integrated to explain the findings (creswell, 2014). research context the study was conducted at a large south african residential university. the student population is diverse and resembles the broader south african demographics (statistics south africa, 2016). for practical reasons such as logistical constraints, challenges in gaining access to students and limited research funding, data were collected from only one of the specific university’s nine campuses. sample a nonprobability convenient and voluntary sample of 55 first‑year south african students participated in the study (men = 22, women = 33, mean age = 19.77, age range = 18‑23, sd = 1.50) (creswell, 2014). all participants were enrolled for the first year of academic studies and registered for a student development programme at the mentioned south 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 african university. an open invitation to participate in the study was sent to all students in the specific group. all identified students agreed to participate in the quantitative phase of the study; a total of 12 students agreed to participate in the qualitative phase of the study (men = 4, women = 8, age range = 18‑22). data collection and procedure quantitative data collection a variety of quantitative measures was used to assess well‑being and strengths use of participants in a pre‑ and‑post‑intervention format. specific measures to evaluate well‑being included the personal growth initiative scale (pgi) (robitschek, 1998), the subjective happiness scale (shs) (lyubomirsky & leper, 1999), and the satisfaction with life scale (swls) (diener, emmons, larson & griffin, 1985). in addition, the strengths use and deficit improvement questionnaire (sudiq) (van woerkom, mostert, els, bakker, de beer & rothmann, 2016) was used to assess participants’ use of strengths. additionally, participants self‑reported on demographic variables. these measures are described next. • personal growth initiative scale the pgis is an empirical measure of a person’s motivation to engage in self‑change and personal learning. for this study, the pgis provided evidence on how motivated participants were to attend the programme. the pgis comprises nine items (e.g. “i take charge of my life” and “i have a plan for making my life more balanced”) that are rated on a likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) (robitschek, 1998). robitschek  (1998) reported acceptable to good internal consistency coefficients ranging from 0.78 to 0.80. mason (forthcoming) reported an internal consistency value of 0.76 on the pgis amongst a sample (n = 235) of south african university students. • subjective happiness scale the shs comprises four items and presents as a sound psychometric measure (α = 0.79‑0.94) of well‑being (lyubomirsky & lepper, 1999). respondents rate four items on likert scales, each ranging from 1 to 7 (e.g. “in general, i consider myself: (1) not a very happy person, to (7) a very happy person.”) total scores are summed and divided by four; hence, total scores can vary between 1 (low) and 7 (high) (lyubomirsky & lepper, 1999). mason (forthcoming) reported an internal consistency value of 0.72 on the shs amongst a sample of south african university students (n = 235). • the satisfaction with life scale the swls is a 5‑item measure of a person’s subjective evaluation of life satisfaction (e.g. “in most ways my life is close to my ideal”) (diener et al., 1985). participants respond to a 7‑point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). cronbach’s alpha coefficients indicate that the measure is psychometrically sound in international and south african contexts (α = 0.67‑0.87) (diener et al., 1985; wissing, wissing, du toit & temane, 2008). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 henry d. mason: the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach … 97 • strengths use and deficit improvement questionnaire in its original format the sudiq has four subscales (van woerkom et al., 2016). however, only the strengths use behaviour (sub) subscale was adapted to measure strengths use in this study. the sudiq was developed for use in organisational contexts. hence, the items were adapted for use in the university context. for example, the item “i use my strengths at work” was adapted to “i use my strengths when performing tasks” (stander & mostert, 2013). participants are requested to indicate responses on a 7‑point likert scale ranging from 0 (almost never) to 6 (almost always). the sudiq and sub subscales present with excellent psychometric properties within a south african setting (α = 0.93‑0.96) (stander & mostert, 2013; van woerkom et al., 2016). qualitative data collection qualitative data were collected using individual semi‑structured interviews. the interviews, each approximately an hour in duration, were audio‑recorded and transcribed verbatim. the following five broad interview questions guided the interview process: how do you enact signature strengths in your daily life? what was your experience of the programme? what did you learn from the programme and what could you do more of in your daily life? what was good about the programme? what was not good about the programme? additional probing questions (e.g. “can you provide an example from your own experience to illustrate your response?”), requests for additional information (e.g. “you raised an interesting point, please tell me more”) and probing techniques (e.g. summarising and reflecting on participants’ responses) were used to illuminate participants’ lived experiences. probing questions were not purposefully leading, but instead focused on allowing participants to offer an account of their qualitative understanding and experience of attending the programme. terre blanche, durrheim and painter (2006) explain that saturation is typically reached in an exploratory study featuring a homogeneous sample, such as this study, after 6‑8 sampling units are collected or when the new material does not add new insights to the qualitative interpretation. in this study, data saturation was reached after completing nine interviews. however, because 12 participants had agreed to take part in the interview process, all were included in the data analysis process. data analysis quantitative data analysis descriptive (mean, standard deviation and percentages) and inferential statistics (paired sample t‑test and cohen’s d for effect size) were used to analyse the quantitative data (cohen,  1992; field, 2013). the internal consistency of the measuring instruments was calculated using cronbach’s alpha (field, 2013). the software programme spss version 25 was used to facilitate the quantitative data analysis process. 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 qualitative data analysis the software programme atlas.ti, version 7 was used to manage the qualitative data analysis process. thematic analysis, consisting of five interrelated steps, namely (1) familiarisation, (2) inducing themes, (3) coding, (4) elaboration and (5) interpretation and checking, served as a guide to analyse the interview transcriptions qualitatively (henning et al., 2011). lincoln and guba’s (1985) guidelines for qualitative research were adopted to enhance the trustworthiness of the findings. the following measures were implemented to strengthen the trustworthiness: memo writing, immersion in the data, using an audit trail, and fully describing the research method and procedure. using verbatim quotes to substantiate the qualitative interpretation contributed to ensuring the rigour of the study (lincoln & guba, 1985). research ethics the university where data were collected granted permission to conduct the study (ref. #: 2014/07/004). all participants gave individual written informed consent. identifying information (e.g. surnames, names and student numbers) was treated confidentially and the quantitative and qualitative data were anonymised prior to the data analysis. no course credit or financial benefits were offered for participation. results and discussion the results from the empirical study are discussed in the following sections. firstly, the quantitative results are presented, and then the qualitative findings are discussed. lastly, an integrated perspective of the findings is presented. quantitative results a comparison between the pre‑ and post‑programme scores is presented in table 2. table 2: paired t‑test results scale n m sd df t‑value p‑value effect size (d) cronbach’s alpha pgis pre‑test post‑test 55 55 38.73 41.60 7.15 5.11 54 54 3.41 0.0012** 0.46 0.77 shs pre‑test post‑test 55 55 4.34 4.88 1.17 1.01 54 54 2.55 0.0137* 0.49 0.72 swls pre‑test post‑test 55 55 22.93 25.42 7.34 5.48 54 54 2.70 0.0193* 0.38 0.86 sub pre‑test post‑test 55 55 25.20 30.70 5.11 3.42 54 54 7.16 0.0002** 1.26 0.84 note: pgis – personal growth initiative scale; shs – subjective happiness scale; swls – satisfaction with life scale; sub – strengths use behaviour; *p < 0.05 – statistically significant; **p < 0.01 – statistically significant https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 henry d. mason: the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach … 99 as is evident in table 2, the quantitative measures presented with acceptable to good internal consistencies (field, 2013). there were significant differences between pre‑ and post‑programme scores. regarding the specific quantitative scales, a statistically significant change was detected between the pre‑ and post‑test scores on the pgis (t (54) = 3.41, p < 0.01). this implies that participants’ reported scores on the pgis were significantly higher following participation in the programme. the pgis serves as an operational measure to assess people’s intrapersonal skills regarding the intention to change, grow and embrace ongoing learning (robitschek, 1998). thus, it can be inferred that participants’ willingness to engage in self‑change and personal development was enhanced through their participation in the programme. the effect size for this analysis was found to represent a medium effect (d = 0.46) (cohen, 1992). an effect size of 0.46 suggests that, amongst other things, if 100 students had to attend the programme, 17 more students would have a favourable outcome compared to if they had received a control treatment (cohen, 1992; field, 2013). positive changes were detected between the two well‑being measures, namely shs (t (54) = 2.55, p < 0.05) and swls (t (54) = 2.70, p < 0.05). based on the results from the shs, it can be deduced that participants reported significantly more positive affect following the programme (fredrickson, 1999). however, while the shs offers an indication of the frequency of subjectively evaluated positive affect, it does not indicate the sources (diener, 2013). qualitative data could shed more light on the features of the programme that proved to enhance well‑being. the result from the swls indicates that participants experienced greater life satisfaction after attending the programme. this result is important when considering that the fye is particularly stressful and can negatively impinge on students’ sense of belonging, academic performance and psychological functioning (nyar, 2018; scott, 2018). higher levels of well‑being, as assessed via the shs and swls, are associated with creative problem‑solving, resourcefulness and goal achievement (diener, 2013). according to fredrickson’s (2004) broaden and build perspective, the experience of positive emotions and life satisfaction is a necessary condition to create a resilient and flourishing life, even in the face of challenges. thus, these positive outcomes suggest that participants may be better prepared to address the challenges posed during the fye compared to if they did not attend the programme. notwithstanding the statistically significant results, the effect size analyses indicated medium effects on the shs (d = 0.49) and swls (d = 0.38). when considering a counterfactual scenario, the effect sizes suggest that there is a 64% chance that a person picked at random from a treatment group (e.g. attended the programme) will have a higher score than a person picked who did not attend the programme. furthermore, to have one more favourable outcome in the treatment group compared to the control group, eight people would have to attend and complete the programme (cohen, 1992; field, 2013). regarding the pre‑and post‑assessment assessment comparison on the sub, the t‑test was found to be statistically significant (t (54) = 7.16, p < 0.01). thus, participants reported notable positive changes in the use of strengths after attending the programme. research has linked strength use with higher levels of well‑being, lower incidence of psychological 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 distress, and better academic performance (seligman et al., 2005). consequently, it could be expected that participants would be better able to address academic‑related challenges after attending the programme. qualitative data could offer a more nuanced perspective on students’ experiences. the effect size for the analysis on the sub (d = 1.26) was found to exceed cohen’s (1992) convention for a large effect (d = 0.80). this finding implies that, amongst other things, 90% of a treatment group would be above the mean of a control group. additionally, an estimated 50% of students who attend the programme would experience a positive outcome compared to if they failed to attend the programme (cohen,  1992; field, 2013). qualitative findings after the quantitative phase of the study, a central question emerged, namely ‘what aspects of the programme did participants find beneficial?’ it was with this question in mind that i approached the qualitative data. through thematic analysis, four themes emerged: (1) a broadened horizon, (2) social support, (3) accountability and (4) mindset. table 3 serves as a summative index of the four themes. the frequency of participants’ references to the particular themes is also displayed in table 3. counting codes in qualitative research is controversial (hannah & lautsch,  2011). in this article, the decision to count qualitative codes was related to the purpose of the qualitative phase of the mixed methods study, namely to explore aspects of the programme that participants regarded as beneficial. consequently, it was deemed relevant to indicate that the aspects contributing value to the programme were steeped in a rigorous and dispassionate analysis of the qualitative, while, at the same time, not losing sight of the participants’ rich lived experiences. table 3: major themes and frequencies of responses themes female participants n (% of n) male participants n (% of n) total n (100%) a broadened horizon social support accountability mind‑set 6 (50%) 6 (50%) 5 (42%) 8 (67%) 4 (33%) 3 (25%) 4 (33%) 3 (25%) 10 (83%) 9 (75%) 9 (75%) 11 (92%) note: ‘% of n’ means gender percentage of the row frequency of responses. in the next section, the qualitative themes are discussed. due to space limitations, only selected verbatim quotes are included to substantiate the interpretations. the frequency of responses to a specific theme is indicated. for example, 6/12 indicates that 50% of participants referred to a specific thematic idea. the referencing system in parenthesis denotes participant number (e.g. p#1 for participant 1), gender (m = male, f = female) and age (e.g. 18 denotes 18 years of age) and is indicated as follows (p#1, f, 19). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 henry d. mason: the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach … 101 qualitative themes the qualitative analysis suggested that four factors contributed to the efficacy of the programme: (1) broadened horizons, (2) social support, (3) accountability and (4) mindset. these four themes are now discussed. the first theme, broadened horizons, was endorsed by 83% of the qualitative sample. this theme captured the notion that participants’ worldviews were expanded through their participation in the programme. participant 4, a 20‑year‑old woman, reflected on how her worldview was broadened: “… through this programme, i have been taken so far out of my comfort zone that i doubt i will ever find my way back … it is a good thing … my understanding of myself and others have stretched beyond what i imagined. i now view myself as a more enlightened person.” another participant added, “i have learned that people are more than their weaknesses. we all have strengths and talents. by developing strengths, we can overcome struggles and be stronger people” (p#7, f, 19). participant 11 agreed and voiced the opinion that “the three right things [reference to the three good things exercise] was very nice … made me see difficulties in life through optimistic eyes” (p#11, m, 20). these qualitative references to personal growth are consistent with literature regarding the development of strengths. specifically, seligman (2011) explains that awareness of strengths can have a positive effect on a person’s sense of self. others have noted that the development of strengths can invigorate people with harmonious energy, enhance engagement and dedication in the pursuit of important goals, and inspire personal development (biswas‑diener, 2010; peterson & seligman, 2004). thus, the qualitative data suggest that raising awareness regarding strengths challenged participants to incorporate a novel and empowering view of themselves: “… because i have come to understand another dimension of myself, i can do better in future” (p#1, f, 19). the second theme, social support, indicated that the majority of participants (75%) developed significant insight into their strengths based on meaningful connections with other participants in the programme. one participant explained as follows: “… working in groups and discussing these issues … helped me to understand strengths from many angles” (p#10, m, 19). developmental psychologists have indicated that establishing meaningful interpersonal connections is a vital developmental task amongst persons in the late adolescent and young adulthood stage – students in their first year of university often fall within this age bracket (arnett, 2000; nelson & low, 2011). moreover, group‑based discussions appeared to have assisted participants in establishing a network of social support, as participant 6, a 22‑year‑old woman, explained: “… the group sessions helped us to discuss problems we were facing … like how difficult it is to make friends, or dealing with difficult subjects …” the social interaction around the pp films was also regarded as beneficial: “analysing the movies helped me to learn more about my life and stress … enjoyed sharing the deeper aspects of the movie with my group … 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 made me feel part of the group” (p#7, f, 19). the importance of social interaction and support in developing strengths has been well‑documented in the extant literature (dahslgaard et al., 2005; durlak et al., 2011; lewin & mawoyo, 2011). the literature on the fye indicates that students often struggle with feelings of social isolation and dealing with demanding academic content (nyar, 2018; scott, 2018). not only did the programme assist students by adopting a strengths‑based view (“… i feel more confident to solve problems because i now know what my strengths are and how to use them …” p#11, m, 20), but it also connected participants to a network of other students who share similar challenges amidst the fye (“… knowing that other students experience the same stress that i do, makes me feel that it’s okay to worry …” p#4,  f,  20). consequently, creating an affirmative space where students could discuss strengths in the context of fye challenges emerged as an essential feature of the programme that may contribute to its efficacy. a third theme that emerged from the qualitative analysis (9/12) was accountability. during the first contact session (see table 3), participants engaged in group activities and developed and presented expectations for participation in the programme. the majority of the groups highlighted accountability as a critical element in their lists of expectations. the qualitative analysis echoed participants’ sentiments expressed in their expectations. the following quote substantiates this interpretation: “i never missed a session because i knew my group members counted on me. they needed me to be there … we were a team and i had a duty” (p#9, m, 18). nelson and low (2011) relate accountability to self‑management. they explain that self‑management embodies a set of emotional skills in managing personal performance healthily and productively (nelson & low, 2011). not only is self‑management related to agency and a significant predictor of academic success, but also features as a critical element of epistemic access (morrow, 2009; nelson & low, 2011). thus, the emphasis on accountability from a peer versus an authoritarian perspective was indicated as an element that contributed to the efficacy of the programme. the fourth theme was entitled ‘mindsets’. the majority of participants (11/12) explained that the programme assisted in changing their view of university life from one of fear and uncertainty (“when i arrived at university, i felt overwhelmed and uncertain. all i was thinking was ‘i can’t do this.’ i was afraid”, p#6, f, 22), to one of challenge (“university is difficult, but after these classes [reference to the programme] i know i can deal with the pressure … i have discovered strengths that i didn’t know existed … feel happy” p#2, f, 20). dweck’s (2006) theory of mindsets appears helpful in explaining participants’ perspectives. dweck (2006) differentiates between a fixed mindset (entity theory of intelligence) and a growth mindset (incremental theory of intelligence). persons who adopt a fixed mindset assume that they have limited skills, talents and abilities. additionally, they hold on to the view that they lack the ability to engage in self‑directed change. in contrast, persons who act from the perspective of a growth mindset espouse the notion that they can develop the capacities, such as strengths, required to address problems and pursue noteworthy life goals (dweck, 2006). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 henry d. mason: the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach … 103 according to the participants, the programme facilitated a shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. the following quote bears this out: “the biggest change for me was the trust that i can develop and become a better version of myself” (p#8, m, 20). thus, the shift from a reactive and fear‑based mindset to a proactive and engaged view of life assisted participants in navigating the challenges associated with the fye: “being the best that i can be, is how i now approach stressors at university … i can overcome difficulties by using my strengths … and developing strengths” (p#10, m, 19). integration of quantitative and qualitative data mixed methods research designs aim to integrate quantitative and qualitative data to provide a more nuanced answer to a research question (creswell, 2014). this article reports an investigation into the efficacy of the programme in enhancing strengths use and well‑being amongst participating first‑year students. the quantitative data indicated that the programme served as an efficacious approach to assist first‑year students in enhancing self‑change behaviours focused on personal growth, well‑being and strengths use (see table 2). the findings were statistically significant and presented with medium effect sizes on the pgis (t = 3.41, p < 0.05, d = 0.46), shs (t = 2.55, p < 0.05, d = 0.49) and swls (t = 2.70, p < 0.05, d = 0.38). however, the effect size on strengths use (d = 1.26) was interpreted as large, indicating a significant practical effect (cohen, 1992). qualitative data were collected and analysed to explore what aspects of the programme participants found beneficial. four themes emerged following the analysis (see table 3). collectively, the qualitative data suggested that raising awareness regarding strengths within a social support structure, and accompanied by peer accountability, assisted participants in understanding that strengths are not static, but instead that strengths are dynamic capacities that can be developed to address challenges that could occur as part of the fye. participant  5, an 18‑year‑old woman, captured the essence of this argument by stating, “[m]y top strength [on the via survey] was creativity … creativity means i can find new ways of dealing with problems.” in a follow‑up question from the interviewer (“can you give an example of how creativity has assisted you in dealing with a problem at university?”), she responded, “being creative stops me from being stuck. i have options. problems, like the workload, bad relationships, or tests and exams … i approach them as opportunities to develop my strengths. they make me stronger … it’s like the quote: ‘i am the master of my soul and king of my ship.’” in conclusion: the quantitative data indicated that the programme achieved the aim of enhancing well‑being and encouraging strengths use. the qualitative illuminated the aspects that contributed towards the efficacy of the programme. conclusion this article reported on a mixed methods study on the efficacy of a strengths‑based development programme (‘the programme’). the quantitative data indicated statistically significant changes between pre‑ and post‑programme scores. the effect size analyses pointed to medium effects on some of the quantitative scales (pgis, shs and swls). 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 89‑108 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 however, a significant impact (d = 1.26) was calculated regarding strengths use. the quantitative findings indicated that the programme was efficacious in enhancing well‑being and strengths use. the qualitative analysis suggested that a focus on strengths and personal development, social support and accountability, and an emphasis on empowering mindsets are essential aspects to include in psycho‑educational stress‑management programmes. this study offers noteworthy contributions to the field. first, it has addressed a primarily overlooked area in the southern african literature, namely adopting a strengths‑ based approach to supporting students during the fye within the higher education context. second, based on the gap in the literature, the programme was developed. detailed information on the programme was provided. this strengths‑based programme can be adapted and tailored to diverse contexts, based on students’ needs. third, the mixed methods evaluation indicates that the programme could assist university students in adopting empowering mindsets in the face of challenges. fourth, the article sets the tone for further use and application of pp and strengths‑based approaches within the student affairs and fye contexts. notwithstanding the positive findings, the study had some limitations. first, this was a cross‑sectional study that focused on a small sample at one university in south africa. hence, the external validity of the study does not allow for generalisation of findings. it is recommended that future studies adopt a longitudinal design and include more extensive and diverse samples from various contexts to enhance generalisability. furthermore, due to the quasi‑experimental nature of the quantitative phase of the study, causality cannot be inferred. more empirically sound causal inferences could have been drawn if a true experimental study, comprising control and experimental groups, were conducted. a third limitation is that the study was conducted principally from a positivistic perspective to assess the efficacy of the programme. thus, the nuanced complexities that surround the fye were not explored. the qualitative component of the study focused exclusively on aspects of the programme that participants found beneficial. hence, the qualitative phase of the study did not take structural or cultural aspects outside of participants’ experiences during the programme into account. it is, therefore, strongly advised that further qualitative research be conducted to offer a more in‑depth exploration of first‑year students’ journeys and experiences, as well as the influence of diverse contexts and histories on their experiences. moreover, research is needed that explores the assumptions of approaches such as pp with an african context critically. despite the noted limitations, the data presented in this article offer a strong case for further research to explore the use of strengths‑based approaches amongst first‑year university students. it is hoped that this study could serve as a catalyst for further practice‑ based research 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(2019). the best that i can be: a case for a strengths‑based approach during the first‑year experience. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 89‑108. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v7i2.3827 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315780214 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2008.10820230 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 93 www.jsaa.ac.za s reflective practice design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire (bq) online platform for effective student success mxolisi masango,* takalani muloiwa,** fezile wagner*** & gabriela pinheiro**** * dr mxolisi masango is head, analytics and institutional research unit (airu), university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: mxolisi.masango@wits.ac.za ** ms takalani muloiwa is a researcher, analytics and institutional research unit, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: takalani.muloiwa@wits.ac.za *** ms fezile wagner is a researcher, analytics and institutional research unit, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: fezile.mdluli@wits.ac.za **** ms gabriela pinheiro is a contracted researcher, analytics and institutional research unit, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: gabrielasofiapinheiro@gmail.com abstract knowing relevant information about students entering the higher education (he) system is becoming increasingly important, thus enabling higher education institutions (heis) to design effective studentcentred support programmes. therefore, heis should ascertain all relevant information about their students before the commencement of the academic year. doing so means that institutions have a head start in understanding the types of support that will be required for different students throughout the year. this article describes the design, implementation and application of a student biographical questionnaire (bq) online platform at the university of the witwatersrand (wits), as well as some of the lessons learned in this regard. the bq online platform was fully implemented for the first time in january 2016 during the student registration process and has now become an integral part of the university student registration process. once data collection and analysis is done, a bq report is compiled and presented to various high-level decision-making structures of the university. the faculty student advisers are the most critical users of the bq data, as they utilise the data to inform and improve the various student support interventions that each faculty is providing. the planning process for bq data collection includes questionnaire review; updates on the bq online platform; testing of the bq online platform; stakeholder meetings and bq training of involved stakeholders. some of the lessons learned when implementing this online platform include buy-in and support from university management; understanding of the bq online platform by those dealing directly with students during the registration process; and continuous review and improvements of the bq online platform. the bq online platform has proven to be a valuable tool in providing wits with a head start in understanding the needs of the students and the support they might require to succeed in their first year of study. keywords biographical questionnaire; first-year students; student success; student support; south africa https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mxolisi.masango%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:takalani.muloiwa%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:fezile.mdluli%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:gabrielasofiapinheiro%40gmail.com?subject= 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 introduction the south african higher education system currently accommodates almost a million students in public university institutions (che, 2016). this has been made possible by government’s deliberate attempts to achieve massification and improve access, particularly by students belonging to previously disadvantaged groups (che, 2013). both internationally and locally, students coming into the higher education system are faced with increasing levels of responsibility and significant challenges (civitas learning, 2018; kuh et al., 2007; selesho, 2012; wilson‑strydom, 2010). in addition, the transition to higher education presents a substantial turning point for students, in both academic and social aspects (bojuwoye, 2002; nel, troskie‑de bruin & bitzer, 2009; tinto, 1993). in the south african context, a number of studies have been conducted at the various higher education institutions (heis) with the aim of trying to understand and highlight the importance of student transition from high school to university (bitzer & troskie‑de bruin, 2004; bojuwoye, 2002; kotzé & kleynhans, 2013; nel, 2008; nel, troskie‑de bruin & bitzer, 2009; selesho, 2012). a study conducted by wilson‑strydom (2010) found that the transition experience was difficult for almost all the respondents, irrespective of whether the students came from schools considered as having good resources and academic performance or not. four categories of transitional issues from school to university were identified in a study conducted by nel (2008). these categories are: academic – which include unrealistic academic expectations and lack of academic skills; social – which include the lack of parental and social support; cultural – which relate to diversity, minority or previously disadvantaged groups and social integration; and socio‑economic or financial – which relate to students worrying about payment of their tuition fees, textbooks, transport, accommodation and other associated costs. the term “at risk” is generally used to describe students who are more likely than other students to attrite from he systems, based on a number of documented factors (tinto, 2014). at‑risk students tend to require higher levels of academic and non‑academic support from the university, because they are likely to find the transition to university even more challenging than the average student (selesho, 2012; ufs ctl, 2018). early‑warning systems are systems which enable easy identification of at‑risk students who usually require extra academic and/or non‑academic support before, and/or early in the course of the academic year, with the primary objective of providing such students with support before it is too late and their chances of success are compromised. research suggests that waiting until mid‑year examinations is often too late to provide students with the necessary support that they might require to succeed (hundermark, 2018; kotzé & kleynhans, 2013; kuh, 2008; kuh et al., 2007; tinto, 2014). instead, the use of early‑warning systems can serve as a preventative approach that protect students against premature attrition from he systems (tinto, 2014; ufs ctl, 2018; varney, 2012). early‑ warning systems can take various forms and involve several strategies, that can be used prior to and throughout the academic year. it is important to note that as a population, first‑year students experience high attrition rates in heis, but there is immense variation amongst these students. iteratively, this alludes https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 mxolisi masango et al.: design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire online platform … 95 to the importance of knowing relevant information about the students entering the system, so that interventions and support programmes can be student‑centred, as opposed to one‑size‑fits‑all (bitzer & troskie‑de bruin, 2004; hundermark, 2018; kuh et al., 2007). additionally, this highlights the importance of tailoring student support in nuanced ways, considering all the different factors that make up the experience of the incoming student. academically, a significant problem for students entering the he system is under‑ preparedness. under‑preparedness is caused partly by the interdependence and lack of coordination between tertiary, secondary and primary education, where dysfunction in one of these sectors initiates negative consequences in the others (chetty & pather, 2015; sanrc, 2017; selesho, 2012; wilson‑strydom, 2010). in south africa (sa), greater synergy between primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors would likely facilitate easier university transitions for students (strydom et al., 2016). however, at local and global levels, many government and/or public schools face continued challenges that prevent the adequate delivery of teaching and learning services to primary and secondary students, with significant deficits in resources such as qualified teaching professionals, funding, textbooks and safe and/or functional learning facilities (chetty & pather, 2015; grayson,  1997; nel, 2014; webbstock, 2016). predominantly, academic challenges arise not because students are academically untalented, but partly because they often have no clue of what university experiences might encompass. internationally, more especially in sa, these academic problems are experienced more profoundly by students with low levels of proficiency in the english language. at most heis, english is the predominant medium of instruction (bojuwoye,  2002; kerr, 2018; kotzé & kleynhans, 2013; nel, 2014). hence, in cases where students are not proficient in the language, they encounter serious difficulties in understanding course material in order to fulfil minimum academic requirements. local and international literature has foregrounded numerous non‑academic challenges that students face in he systems (chetty & pather, 2015; kuh et al., 2007; nel, 2014; selesho, 2012; tinto, 2014; ufs ctl, 2018; webbstock, 2016; wilson‑strydom, 2010). as is the case with academic challenges, non‑academic challenges are multiple and complex, arising for many, interlinked reasons. primarily, non‑academic challenges occur because students entering he systems often do so from historically‑underserved and disadvantaged positions. as such, many students lack the cultural capital that is necessary in order to make successful transitions to he environments (chetty & pather, 2015; kerr, 2018; kuh et al., 2007; nel, 2014). however, financially‑related challenges tend to be particularly prevalent for students – especially if they originate from economically‑challenged backgrounds. literature highlights the intensity of the financial challenges encountered by university students, suggesting that academic pressures are often augmented because of non‑academic stressors. first‑generation students, tend to be even more vulnerable to financial stress than others (kuh et al., 2007; nel, 2008). this evidence reveals that students do not leave socioeconomic inequalities behind when entering systems of he (tinto, 2014). 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 realistically, it is not possible for heis to address every challenge of the student experience – especially because these institutions have little control over students’ pre‑entry characteristics (tinto, 2014). pre‑entry characteristics include aspects such as socioeconomic background; family situation; health status; educational experience; attitudes; behavioural aspects and skillsets (kuh et al., 2007; nel, troskie‑de bruin & bitzer, 2009). for these reasons, pre‑entry student attributes have been identified as fixed – existing outside the parameters of institutional student success interventions (tinto, 1993; 2004; 2006; 2014; nel, troskie‑de bruin & bitzer, 2009). however, despite having little control over students’ pre‑entry attributes, heis can engage in purposeful, intensive practices that can contribute towards transformation and greater success for the students coming into the he system. research suggests that heis should ascertain any and all relevant information about their students before the commencement of the academic year (bitzer & troskie‑de bruin, 2004; eab global, 2018; hundermark, 2018; kuh et al., 2007; tinto, 2014). doing so means that institutions have a head start in understanding exactly the types and levels of academic and/or non‑academic support that will be required for different students throughout the year. identifying at‑risk students calls for reliable, consistent data on all the students entering the institution (hundermark, 2018; kuh et al., 2007; tinto, 2014). this data gives the institution a greater understanding of academic and non‑academic needs of students entering the system. while pre‑entry factors do not necessarily fall within the institution’s direct control (tinto, 2014), gaining insight into these aspects may assists heis in understanding how to serve their students in optimal ways to ensure success (chetty & pather, 2015). the above gives an account of the intricacy of factors linked to the student experience and student academic outcomes in heis. it renders the traditional variables of race and gender inadequate in penetrating the depth and complexity of a modern student, 25 years postapartheid. student characteristics, even within the same race and gender groups, are no longer homogenous (parker, 2006). it is therefore critical that heis begin to collect more detailed and relevant data on students in addition to traditional proxies, as these may not sufficiently capture the length and breadth of student needs. to this end, this article aims to describe the design, implementation and application of a student biographical questionnaire (bq) online platform at the university of the witwatersrand (wits), johannesburg, commonly known as the wits student bq, as well as some of the lessons learned in this regard. university context wits is a research‑intensive university located in the centre of the johannesburg metropole, the economic hub of sa. with five faculties consisting of 34 schools, wits registered about 39 000 students in 2018 of which 64% were undergraduates and 36% postgraduates. about 6 000 first‑year students constituted the undergraduate student population in 2018, making this a significant proportion of the undergraduate student population. wits has committed through its learning and teaching plan (2015/2019) to broaden the participation of students from diverse backgrounds (rural, black, female, disabled, and https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 mxolisi masango et al.: design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire online platform … 97 mature students) and to provide them with appropriate support for achieving greater success with access. in 2015, as part of the kresge foundation funded project known as the siyaphumelela ‘we succeed’ initiative, wits started designing the student bq online platform. in 2016, the online platform was implemented and the student bq information was collected for the first time from all first‑year undergraduate students. one of the main objectives of the wits siyaphumelela project was to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the students coming from high school to wits in an attempt to establish their readiness for university, understanding how the socioeconomic background would influence their chances of success at university and the relevant interventions that they may require to succeed in their first year of study. conceptual framework this work is guided by tinto’s longitudinal model of individual departure (1993), which suggests that a student’s withdrawal, defined as the departure of a student from a university campus, is based on a cascade of experiences over a period of time which includes prior schooling, institutional experiences and their level of integration. tinto’s model describes that students enter the institution with differing family backgrounds, including social status, parental education and size of the home community; personal attributes, namely gender, race and physical handicaps; skills, namely intellectual and social skills; financial resources; dispositions (intentions and commitments); and various pre‑university educational experiences (such as high school results). tinto’s model highlights how institutional commitment plays a fundamental role in supporting the integration of students in formal and informal structures of the academic and social system, empowering them to persist. according to tinto, some students are unable to cope with the demands of the university environment, both social and intellectual. these students are usually unable to make the necessary adjustments and eventually withdraw. the lesser a student is integrated into the academic and social communities of the institution, the more likely the student will withdraw. external demands placed on students, like family support and work obligations, can also influence a student’s decision to withdraw. when the academic and social systems of the institution provide inadequate support to students, the additional external demands placed on the student can result in increased intentions to withdraw (tinto, 1993). the framework for pre‑university intervention (nel, troskie‑de bruin & bitzer, 2009) suggests that universities can play a role at school level to prepare prospective students more effectively for university studies and thus facilitate an easier school–university transition. the framework proposes three levels of the student transition phase, namely pre‑entry, enrolment or access and post‑enrolment. it points to the interdependence of factors that play a role at school level before students enter university and in their transition to he. there are various academic, social, emotional, cultural and financial factors that impact on the transition. these factors are interdependent, and no single factor can be regarded as being more important than the others. 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 design of the bq online platform bq process the student bq online platform was fully implemented for the first time at wits in january 2016 during the student registration process with the approval of the university registrar and deputy vice‑chancellor (dvc): academic. however, the initial attempt of incorporating the bq online platform as part of the standard registration process in 2016 was accompanied by serious technical problems. this challenge delayed the student registration process as well as the achievement of the wits enrolment targets timeously. the online platform was then suspended until the technical problems were sorted out. this resulted in the collection of the student bq data using a paper‑based approach in  2016. subsequently, the technical problems associated with the bq online platform were successfully resolved and the online platform has since become part of the student registration process. the bq collects information on student background from all first‑time first‑year undergraduate students. table 1 depicts the questions contained in the student bq online platform. the bq data is then stored in the student information management system (sims) together with the rest of the student information already existing in relation to student application and the registration processes. table 1: questions contained in the student biographical questionnaire (bq) online platform personal information* home information school information university information facilities at home location tuition payment special needs (disability) location classification# accommodation payment home language facilities at school living expenses payment first‑generation status language of instruction accommodation arrangements education background class size mode of transport to university economic status school fees payment distance travelled to university general support provision mode of transport to school part‑time employment parent(s)/guardian occupation usage of online apps/sites fears/concerns about 1st year at university registered for 1st/2nd/3rd choice of study * personal information includes additional personal, matric and demographic information obtained by joining the unique student identifier (student number) to other information available on sims. student id is automatically populated since the students complete the questionnaire online using their student profile. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 mxolisi masango et al.: design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire online platform … 99 personal information* home information school information university information # classification includes school quintile information which is obtained from the department of basic education (dbe) database using the school education management information system (emis) numbers. the quintile system is used by the south african government mainly for the purpose of distributing school allocation, which is the amount of money that the government gives to public ordinary schools every year. schools belonging to quintile 1 are considered to have poor resources whereas quintile 5 schools are considered to be well resourced (mestry & ndhlovu, 2014). the bq online platform has been designed by the wits ict and academic information and systems unit (aisu) teams (in collaboration with the air unit) in such a way that when a student completes his/her online registration, by clicking the ‘complete/submit’ button, on the wits self‑service portal, a link for the student bq online platform appears immediately with further instructions on how to complete the questions and navigate the bq online platform. alternatively, a student is able to complete the bq questions at a later stage by signing into the university’s student self‑service portal. the easy‑to‑use bq online platform is located on the ‘additional self‑service’ page with instructions and tips on how to complete the questions. figure 1 is a screenshot representation of the first page of the bq online platform. figure 1: a screenshot depicting the first page of the student bq online platform 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 monitoring of bq data collection as soon as students start completing questions on the bq online platform, an electronic submission report is generated daily. the bq daily submission report contains figures on the total number of first‑year students who have completed their registration, total number of first‑year students who have completed the bq questions and total number of first‑year students who have not completed the bq questions. these figures are further categorised based on the five faculties to reflect the bq completion rates per faculty. a bq weekly submissions report, containing a high‑level summary of completion numbers per faculty and some of the key findings at that point of data collection (i.e. first generation, tuition payment plans, fears and concerns, etc.), is distributed on a weekly basis, to the wits student success steering committee, a structure that is driving the student success agenda at wits. the committee is made up of the dvc: academic, university registrar, dean of student affairs, assistant deans for teaching and learning from each faculty and head of airu, amongst others. using data from the bq submission reports, follow‑up emails are sent (using the bq help desk email) to those students who have not completed the questionnaire by the end of weeks 3 and 4 after the commencement of the registration process. by the end of week 5, a short message (sms) campaign is undertaken with the assistance of the student enrolment centre. during this campaign, smss are sent out to students who have not yet completed the bq. by the end of week 6, a call campaign is conducted with help from the university’s call centre. the call centre agents call each student who has not completed the questions on the bq online platform, encouraging the students to complete the bq questions and providing assistance where necessary. all these monitoring initiatives have a significant impact on the overall responses from the students (figure 2). in ensuring that most of the first‑year students are able to complete the bq questions before the start of the academic programme and that they are provided with the necessary support in this regard, the university orientation‑week (o‑week) digital literacy sessions are also utilised to train and assist students on how to complete the bq using the online platform. figure 2: number of questionnaires completed by students at the end of each week after commencement of the registration process in 2019 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 mxolisi masango et al.: design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire online platform … 101 bq data collation and analysis the power business intelligence (powerbi) and tableau software are utilised when linking and visualising the collected bq data with other student datasets (e.g. matric results, school quintile, etc.). approved and designated institutional researchers are responsible for the analyses of the bq data. the overall student bq response rate has improved significantly since the start of the project in 2016 (figure 3). in the last four years, the bq response rate has increased by 19% to 99% (i.e. total respondents = 5 478; target population = 5 595) in 2019. figure 3: student bq response rate from 2016 to 2019 use and application of the bq data an official student bq report is published based on the collected and analysed bq data for the current academic year. the bq report is presented to the various decision‑making structures of the university including the university council, university forum, senior executive team (set), senate: teaching and learning, and student success steering committees, amongst others. in addition, the bq report is made available to the faculties and schools, student support departments and other student success stakeholders in the university. the faculty student advisers (formerly known as the faculty at‑risk coordinators) are the most critical users of the bq data as they utilise the data to inform and improve the various student support interventions that each faculty is providing to the students to ensure that the students succeed in their first year of study. the student bq data for faculties is packaged into an easy‑to‑use dashboard (student success dashboard using tableau and powerbi) based on the requirements and needs of each faculty. 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 f ig u re 4 : a n ex am p le o f so m e o f th e variab les an alysed fro m th e 2 0 1 9 s tu d en t b q d ata. a : d istrib u tio n o f stu d en ts b y firstgen eratio n statu s; b : s tu d en ts w h o w ere n o t tau g h t in th eir h o m e lan g u age; c : in ten d ed tu itio n p aym en t p lan ; d : d istrib u tio n o f stu d en ts b y gen eral so u rce o f su p p o rt. e d u in su p o licy = e d u catio n in su ran ce p o licy, n s f a s  =  n atio n al s tu d en t f in an cial a id s ch em e. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 mxolisi masango et al.: design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire online platform … 103 since the main aim of this article is to reflect and describe the process of designing, implementation and application of the bq online platform at wits, only four variables shown in figure 4 will be discussed in detail. the four variables are first‑generation status, language of instruction, mode of tuition payment and general source of support, information that is critical in understanding the incoming first‑year students and in the planning of responsive student support interventions by the various faculties. in 2019, 43% of the first‑year students studying at wits were first generation, meaning that these students were first in their families to study at a university (figure 4a). studies have shown that first‑generation students tend to have higher attrition rates than their peers; they often experience more difficulties and challenges in transitioning and adapting to the new university environment and tend to lack adequate family support (pascarella, pierson, wolniak & terenzini, 2004; selesho, 2012; wilson‑strydom, 2010). first‑ generation students often have parents with lower levels of academic achievements; as a result these parents lack the requisite parental support and understanding of the university environment necessary to encourage their children during their studies (fike & fike, 2008; nel, troskie‑de bruin & bitzer, 2009). more than half of the first‑year students (56%) at wits were not taught in their home language, meaning that their home language is not english (figure 4b). students’ low levels of proficiency in the language of instruction have been shown to have an impact on the academic performance of the students. the lack of confidence in english deters them from participating fully in class or consulting with lecturers (bojuwoye, 2002). in addition, students who have the language of instruction as an additional language were found to have difficulty in understanding the course material (eisleen & geyser, 2003). the majority of the first‑year students were relying on their parents and the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas) for tuition payment (figure 4c). a concerning number of the students had not yet finalised their tuition payment plans at the time of registration. students with financial difficulties, such as challenges in the acquisition of funding to pay tuition fees, residential accommodation, food and other necessities like clothes and textbooks, have been found to experience additional stress during their studies (bojuwoye,  2002). the additional stress has a negative impact on their retention and academic success. these students tend to have difficulties in concentrating on their studies as they worry about whether they will be able to complete their studies (hundermark, 2018). on the other hand, research has shown that students who receive financial support tend to have high retention rates (fike & fike, 2008). almost half of the first‑year students (52%) were receiving general support from both parents while studying at the university, while 4% had no general source of support (figure 4d). nel’s framework for pre‑university intervention largely fits into the context of general source of support for students. nel and co‑workers (2009) argue that a support network, such as parents, plays an important role in the successful transitioning from school to university, especially with regard to the emotional well‑being of students. they further argue that the support role that parents play in the transition phase is essential to students’ successful adjustment, regardless of their own educational level. a stronger likelihood 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 of attrition of students who came from single‑parent households was observed in exit interviews conducted with students who deregistered in 2015 by hundermark  (2018). the role that friends and peers play as support structures has been found to be increasingly important in the transition phase (nel, troskie‑de bruin & bitzer, 2009). hence, it is important for heis to understand such information about the new incoming first‑year students as this may provide insights on the challenges that might be experienced by the students and the relevant support they may need to succeed in their first year of study. bq planning for the following academic year the planning process for bq data collection for the following academic year begins in the early part of the second semester of the current academic year. the following stages form part of the bq planning process: • questionnaire review: this stage entails critical reviewing of the questions in the bq online platform by the various faculties and student success stakeholders. ambiguous questions are rephrased for better clarity; redundant questions are removed; and new questions are added, depending on the current problematic areas faced by students and the university. • updates on the bq online platform: the ict and aisu teams update the bq online platform based on the technical glitches/problems encountered by students during the data‑collection period in the current academic year. • testing of the bq online system: just before the end of the current academic year and at the beginning of the new academic year, the bq online platform is tested by various stakeholders for operational accuracy and optimal performance. any concerns/challenges uncovered through this exercise are communicated to the aisu and ict teams for rectification. • stakeholder meeting: all the stakeholders who are affected and involved with the bq data collection process (e.g. student enrolment centre, ict, aisu, registrar’s office, faculty registrars, student affairs, call centre and marketing) are invited to a planning meeting where they discuss the challenges encountered with the bq data collection in the current academic year and ways of improving the whole bq process going forward. timelines for the data collection in the new academic year are also discussed in detail and agreed upon. • bq training of involved stakeholders: all the stakeholders who deal directly with students during the registration process are trained on how to navigate and complete the bq online platform as well as how to answer the most frequently asked questions. this training takes place just before the start of the registration process and conducted by one of the institutional researchers. lessons learned below are some of the lessons that were learned through the process of implementing the student bq online platform at wits: https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 mxolisi masango et al.: design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire online platform … 105 • buy-in and support from university executive management: this is one of the most critical aspects when introducing a new initiative such as the student bq online platform which will have an impact on the overall student registration process and student success at an institution. romano (2018) argues that leading student success is less about pursuing numerous initiatives but more about changing the culture of a university. he further states that articulating the reason for change and helping others understand why change is needed, must precede any conversation about new initiatives. hence, it is essential for university leaders to invest first in building and maintaining a culture of student success –  a culture that should permeate the university with the ultimate aim of improving the student experience. buy‑in is broadly defined as a personal and professional commitment to actively engage in a process, task or initiative (french‑bravo & crow, 2015). in their study, thomson and co‑workers (1999) constructed a two‑dimensional emotional‑intellectual matrix to visualise levels of commitment and understanding. their findings demonstrated that the higher the understanding and commitment of a leader, the stronger that leader will advocate for the implementation and success of a new initiative. • involvement of all university stakeholders dealing with student success: for this initiative to be successful, the reasons and benefits of collecting the bq data should be appreciated by these stakeholders. this is the university sector that gives inputs on the current areas of student success that require urgent attention, thus identifying and proposing new questions to be added to the bq tool. romano (2018) posits that improving student success will not be the result of one initiative or the work of one unit or department; it will be the result of collective effort at the university with the aim of breaking down the silos and focusing holistically on students. it must be borne in mind that students do not see universities as the units or departments on which the institutions are structured; they see only one institution. as a result, the involvement of all university stakeholders dealing with student success is essential when implementing an initiative such as the student bq. • understanding of the bq online platform by stakeholders dealing directly with students during the registration process: personnel dealing with student registration and enquiries are at the forefront when it comes to questions raised by students regarding the bq online platform. provision of relevant training to these stakeholders is critical in ensuring the success of this initiative. effective communication, including clearly articulated and relatable desired outcomes and goals to reach those outcomes, have been cited by thomson and co‑workers (1999) as essential components for the stakeholders responsible for implementing a new initiative such as the bq. trust in the competence and experience of those implementing the initiative, and in stakeholders participating in the initiative has also been shown to be important (dooley & fryxell, 1999). • sharing of the bq data and findings with faculties: the most effective use of the bq online platform lies in the ability of sharing the bq data with the faculties as early as at the start of the academic programme so that the faculties are able to use this data to 106 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 inform and improve the student support programmes that they are providing to students. in addition, the data can assist teaching staff with improving their teaching strategies to effectively communicate with and support students. this is the premise for using early‑ warning systems, such as the bq data, to ensure that students are provided with the necessary support before it is too late in the academic year (hundermark, 2018; kotzé & kleynhans, 2013; kuh, 2008; kuh et al., 2007; tinto, 2014). • continuous review and improvements on the bq online platform: this entails a critical and objective review of the bq online platform for identification of areas of improvements and those requiring changes. any technical failures on the bq online platform will negatively impact the registration of new students, which is a critical process that the university cannot afford to compromise. park and co‑workers (2013) state that continuous improvement is not synonymous with improving all institutional processes, but rather iterative and gradual in nature. this statement is especially true in the context of the observed success of the student bq at wits in the last four years. continuous improvement entails effective diagnostic review that is based on proper root cause analysis. the process generates evaluative feedback, including the identification of practices that must inform the current improvement planning, actions and decision‑making. during the implementation of the initiative, relevant stakeholders regularly monitor the progress, discuss and analyse what is working or not working and make any necessary adjustments to the improvement plan (dawson, mcwilliam & tan, 2008). through the continuous review and improvement of the bq process, the following activities were identified as necessary in ensuring successful implementation: bq help desk a help desk aimed at assisting students with queries related to completing questions on the bq online platform was established in 2018. the bq help desk has three major components: • face-to-face contact, which enables students to walk in at the airu office for personal assistance regarding completion of the bq questions; • electronic contact, which enables students to send their queries using email to the bq help email address; and • telephonic contact, which enables students to call designated staff members in the airu office for telephonic assistance regarding the bq online platform. bq student consultants in 2019, we introduced the use of student interns, who were deployed to the registration hall where some of the student registration activities were taking place. this ensured that first‑year students were readily assisted with completing the bq online platform, while they were finalising their registration processes. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 mxolisi masango et al.: design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire online platform … 107 limitations of the student bq online platform one major limitation of the bq online platform is that it presents an analysis of data which is based on self‑reported information by the students. although this cannot be deemed precisely accurate given that it is based on self‑volunteered information, approaches to validate and verify the data can be employed. these include triangulation of some of the bq data variables with other university datasets such as the payment of tuition and accommodation fees as well as accommodation arrangements. the bq online platform is able to capture the students’ circumstances as reflected by the students at the time of registration or beginning of the academic year. it is a known fact that students’ circumstances undergo continuous changes and can be very unpredictable. therefore, innovative ways are required to ensure that the bq online platform is able to update the changes in circumstances of the students as they go through the various stages of the university to completion of their studies. conclusion student characteristics are not homogeneous; as a result, heis are increasingly attended by a diversity of student population from various regions and backgrounds, with markedly different academic, social, emotional, cultural and financial experiences. knowing relevant information about the students entering the he system can assist institutions to better prepare by providing the incoming students with the necessary support they may need to succeed. the bq online platform has proven to be a valuable tool in providing wits with a head start in understanding the kinds of students that are entering the university, the university readiness of first‑year undergraduate students and the support that these students require to succeed in their first year of study. some of the possible future research projects envisaged from the bq data include using statistical analysis to rigorously test and validate the reliability of the bq questions (and data thereof), identifying potential predictors for students at risk of failing and/or dropping out, and developing an evaluation framework to assess the impact of the support interventions provided to the students identified as being at risk of failing and/or dropping out. ethics statement the study was approved by the university of the witwatersrand human research ethics committee (protocol number: h18/05/13). conflict of interest statement the authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. funding this work was supported by the kresge foundation under the siyaphumelela ‘we succeed’ initiative. 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 acknowledgment the authors would like to thank mr n. cele, former director of strategic planning division (spd) at wits, for his conceptual contribution to the design of the project. references bitzer, e. & troskie‑de bruin, c. 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(2012). making successful transition during the first year of university study: do psychological and academic ability matter? journal of social sciences, 31(1), 1‑10. https://doi.org/10.1080/0971892 3.2012.11893009 strydom, f., loots, s., oosthuysen, a., hen‑boisen, l., henn, m. & posthumus, h. (2016). engaging the #studentvoice: sasse annual report. university of the free state, south africa: surveys of student engagement. https://bit.ly/3hx8ept thomson, k., de chernatony, l., arganbright, l. & khan, s. (1999). the buy‑in benchmark: how staff understanding and commitment impact brand and business performance. journal of marketing management, 15(8), 819‑835. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725799784772684 tinto, v. (1993). leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. second edition. chicago: university of chicago press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226922461.001.0001 tinto, v. (2004). student retention and graduation: facing the truth, living with the consequences. occasional paper no. 1. washington, dc: pell institution for the study of opportunity in higher education. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2013.10820593 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2013.10820593 https://provost.tufts.edu/celt/files/high-impact-ed-practices1.pdf https://bit.ly/31bqlsr https://doi.org/10.15700/201409161042 https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p732 https://bit.ly/3dqziuh https://doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v23i5.48811 https://doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v23i5.48811 https://bit.ly/3hvgzrl https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2006.00054.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2006.00054.x https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2004.11772256 https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2018/6/culture-change-first-then-student-success https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2018/6/culture-change-first-then-student-success http://sanrc.co.za/digital-publications/sanrc-fye-good-practice-guide/files/assets/common/downloads/ http://sanrc.co.za/digital-publications/sanrc-fye-good-practice-guide/files/assets/common/downloads/ https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2012.11893009 https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2012.11893009 https://bit.ly/3hx8ept https://doi.org/10.1362/026725799784772684 https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226922461.001.0001 110 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 93‑110 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 tinto, v. (2006). research and practice of student retention: what next? journal of college student retention: research, theory & practice, 8(1), 1‑19. https://doi.org/10.2190/4ynu‑4tmb‑22dj‑an4w tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south africa lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5‑28. https://doi. org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 ufs ctl (university of the free state centre for teaching and learning) (2018). creating pathways for student success. https://www.siyaphumelela.org.za/documents/5b30f4f776a1b.pdf varney, j. (2012). proactive (intrusive) advising! academic advising today, 35(3). https://bit.ly/3i73zry webbstock, d. (2016). overview. south african higher education reviewed two decades of democracy (section 1). https://bit.ly/3dwbnli wilson‑strydom, m. (2010). traversing the chasm from school to university in south africa: a student perspective. tertiary education and management, 16(4), 313‑325. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.20 10.532565 how to cite: masango, m., muloiwa, t., wagner, f. & pinheiro, g. 2020. design and implementation of a student biographical questionnaire (bq) online platform for effective student success, journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 93‑110. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.2190/4ynu-4tmb-22dj-an4w https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://www.siyaphumelela.org.za/documents/5b30f4f776a1b.pdf https://bit.ly/3i73zry https://bit.ly/3dwbnli https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.532565 https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.532565 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 81–83 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.27 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za deshpande, satish & zacharias, usha (eds.) (2013). beyond inclusion: the practice of equal access in indian higher education. new delhi: routledge reviewed by vivienne bozalek* book review * director of teaching and learning, university of the western cape. email: vbozalek@uwc.ac.za this edited collection provides a much-needed contribution to the gap in knowledge about the intersection between social justice and higher education in india. as the editors of this collection note, it is important to document and disseminate knowledge not only about policies which have been developed to address issues of access and social inclusion in higher education, but to understand how these policies are implemented and experienced on the ground. the particular contribution of this collection is that the authors have poignantly documented the actual lived experiences of students who have entered higher education through the system of reservation that is used in india. in addition to these experiences, the challenges and achievements of affirmative action in the indian higher education system are made apparent through both quantitative and qualitative studies and discussion of epistemological and ontological issues. engstrom and tinto’s (2008, p. 50) mantra “access without support is not opportunity” reverberates across this collection of essays. that institutions do not intentionally exclude students from college does not mean that they are including them as fully valued members of the institution and providing them with the support that enables them to translate access into success is brought to life vividly in this edited collection. thus, while appearing to give physical access, but not making it possible for students to succeed through a responsive institutional culture which causes alienation and further marginalisation, higher education is further entrenching inequities. the collection of essays in this volume was commissioned by a grant to the institute of higher education, to investigate the successes and failures of the implementation of quota policies in higher education institutions and the expectations and experiences of students and academics from marginalised groups who had been accommodated in the institutions. the book is divided into four parts addressing the following themes: part i offers essays which broadly cover the history and philosophy of higher education inclusionary policies in india; part ii focuses on how inclusion plays out in different types of universities from 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 81–83 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.1i1-2.27 liberal to medical and engineering education; part iii consists of two essays written by members of marginalised classes and provides an insight into the struggles of students against the injustices they still face in the higher education system; and part iv provides examples of three programmes which have started to address issues of social inclusion. social justice in india began with the government of india act 1935, which created schedules to name the castes and tribes (known as scheduled castes [scs] and scheduled tribes [sts]) to be eligible for reservations of places in higher education. since then reservation quotas have been used as constitutional safeguards to ensure the inclusion of students from marginalised castes and tribal identities, and more latterly extended to economically disadvantaged students known in the system as other backward classes (obcs). chapter 1, “caste quotas and formal inclusion in indian higher education”, written by one of the editors of the book, satish deshpande, gives an useful overview of the history of the reservations policy in indian higher education. this chapter explains how protective discrimination policies actually work and the implicit or explicit rationale behind these interventions. the caste quota reserves or sets aside a specific number of seats or places – usually expressed as a proportion of the total available – for eligible members of particular caste-groups legally recognised as legitimate claimants. in higher education, this takes the form of reserved seats for the scs, sts and obcs (and other groups such as the disabled or some other region-specific categories of entitlements) in educational institutions. the chapter also outlines changes which have taken place in the past two decades and makes explicit the hostile environment of resentment from those who are entitled towards encumbents of affirmative action. the book also deals with other forms of marginalisation such as the rural/urban divide and chapter 5 documents the ways in which yadvindra college of engineering successfully redresses this by providing the resources and opportunities for rural students to secure places in the institution. the essays document best practices in institutions on how to accommodate diversity and practice social inclusion. in chapter 3, “affirmative action in three dream institutions”, for example, devy critically examines the founding missions which were created to deal with diversity in three higher education institutions in western india which were established particularly to address social inclusion and the relevance of their present position. he concludes that it is not enough to merely grant access to marginalised groups, but that the subjugated knowledges and experiences of these groups should be incorporated into institutional knowledge and classrooms. if institutions were to do this, he asserts, this would add to rather than diminish the quality of these institutions. the two chapters in part iii of the volume provide a ‘view from below’ of the experiences of delhi and adivasi students who are enabled to enter higher education because of reservations, but are faced with numerous challenges on arrival here. in chapter 6, singh highlights the contempt and opposition that these students face, especially in elite institutions. the success stories and tragic instances of suicide provide lenses to the realities on the ground, which are often elided in discussions about reservation policies. chapter 7 “quota’s children: the perils of getting educated” explores how first-generation learners vivienne bozalek: beyond inclusion: the practice of equal access in indian higher education 83 from marginalised communities face humiliation and prejudice in academic, residence and extra-curricular activities, whilst at the same time having to struggle to gain epistemological access to new knowledges. the concluding section of the volume includes a set of three chapters on different kinds of support for skill enhancement programmes for the marginalised. what i found most interesting was the final chapter, “to race with the able? soft skills and the psychologisation of marginality” written by usha zacharias, which provides some critique of merely providing skills programmes for disadvantaged students. the author aptly notes that slogans of access, equity and excellence are based on the assumption that disadvantaged students can ultimately compete with elite students in academic excellence, without acknowledging the different sets of opportunities open to them. it is both necessary to decolonise knowledge itself and to make students critically aware of the social origins of marginal identity, to prevent the burden of reform being shouldered by the marginalised student. as one of the first full length texts about social inclusion in indian higher education, this is a must read for any scholar, practitioner and policy-maker interested in the field of social justice and higher education. references engstrom, c., & tinto, v. (2008). access without support is not opportunity. change, 1, 46–50. 160 call for papers journal of student affairs in africa, vol. 12(2), 2024 advancing the scholarship of integration for impactful, sustainable and holistic student success sustainable and holistic student success arises from practice and scholarship of integration. boyer (1990) coined scholarship of integration (soi), describing it as “doing research at the boundaries where fields converge” (p. 7). this approach promotes “interdisciplinary, interpretive and integrative” work resulting in dramatically reshaping the boundaries of human knowledge. scholarship of integration, according to boyer (1990) promises to give deeper meaning to the work of the university through multidisciplinary, integrated and evidence-based approaches. this kind of engaged and multi-disciplinary scholarship of integration holds the promise to align the disparate parts of traditional student affairs and student development theory, described by torres et al. (2019) as a theoretically low-consensus field. madiba (2022) calls student affairs professionals closer into scholarship by virtue of being members of universities (or higher education). so too, schreiber (2014) calls on researchers and scholars to embolden the coand extra-curriculum agenda via multi-disciplinary and evidence-based approaches. through research and scholarship university members within student affairs and services assert credibility, embolden the student affairs community of practice, develop the profession (wildschut & luescher, 2023) and participate in the core business of higher education institutions via knowledge production and capacity building. by 2030, africans are expected to comprise 42% of global youth. this implies that the global leadership potential sits in africa. to meet global challenges of a complex, dynamic and highly stressful world, the education sector needs to rethink, among others, its methodologies. embedding scholarship of integration into the overall higher education practices promises to take efforts around student success to higher impact and sustainability. reimagining african education harnesses the developmental potential of africa (and beyond), for the future world and for global sustainability. scholarship of integration (i.e. multi-disciplinary and engaged research) advances our knowledge, our leadership and student success. holistic student development and student success calls for interconnected, multi-disciplinary and engaged approaches that challenge traditional research cultures and enable and accelerate transformation and decolonisation. therefore, this jsaa call for papers is aimed at advancing student affairs scholarship and research which underpins evidence-based decisions for holistic student success. papers that address the following themes, are invited: • professionalisation of student affairs; 161 • research and scholarship in student affairs; • methodologies and theoretical approaches; • graduate attributes, including approaches that view graduate attributes in their integrated sense (i.e. in and outside classroom) and blended activities that are integrated into the holistic experience of students; • holistic success, including integrated notions of success; • student leadership development, this may include work within student governance, student representative councils, activism, student leadership programs, etc.; • student development, incorporating, but also extending • student health and wellness, • conducive living and learning environment, • underserved and marginalised students, • sports and recreation, • inclusive education policies and practices, and • sustainable development, beyond the university setting into the adult life of students, for creating proactive citizenship within the broader society; • student success strategies; • scholarship approaches and debates; and • integrating the classroom and co-curriculum. about jsaa jsaa is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and reflective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in african higher education. jsaa is published twice a year by the jsaa editorial executive in collaboration with the university of pretoria and african minds. the journal is full-text hosted on the website of the university of pretoria at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa, as well as co-hosted by ajol, doaj, and eric, and indexed in international indices. jsaa is accredited by the south african department of higher education and training (dhet) as a subsidy-earning journal on the sa list of scholarly journals. authors publish free of charge; there are no processing or page fees. please register on the jsaa website and consult the jsaa author guidelines for information about formatting, referencing and submission requirements. submission process and important dates submission of abstract proposals (250-350 words) 30 september 2023 response on abstracts to authors 31 october 2023 full papers due for editorial vetting and peer review 28 february 2023 responses from editors/peer review process 30 april 2024 revisions from authors 31 may 2024 galley proofs 30 june 2024 publication of guest-edited issue 15 july 2024 162 please direct any queries and submit abstracts by email to the guest editors: dr neo pule (lead): pulent@uj.ac.za prof. matete madiba: mmadiba@uwc.ac.za dr irene mohasoa: imohasoa@wsu.ac.za references boyes, e. l. (1990). scholarship reconsidered. priorities of the professoriate. the carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching. https://www.umces.edu/sites/default/files/al/pdfs/ boyerscholarshipreconsidered.pdf madiba, m. (2022). embracing saassap scholarship. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), ix–xvi. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4363. schreiber, b. (2014). the co-curriculum: re-defining boundaries of academic spaces. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(1), 75–78. doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.54. torres, v., jones, s., & renn, k. (2019). student affairs as a low-consensus field and the evolution of student development theory as foundational knowledge. journal of college student development, 60(6), 645–658. doi: 10.1353/csd.2019.0060 wildschut, a., & luescher, t. (2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 mailto:pulent@uj.ac.za mailto:mmadiba@uwc.ac.za mailto:imohasoa@wsu.ac.za 135 thank you to our reviewers the jsaa editorial executive wishes to thank the peer reviewers of volume 7 of the journal of student affairs in africa for their time and expertise in evaluating and helping to select and improve the submissions received: jon braddy luc chicoine adam cooper tony crawthon liezl dick natalie dixon johan groenewald denver hendricks billy huff catherine hutchings shose kessi delia layton mike louw henry mason allen mcfarlane taabo mugume marguerite muller thando njovane adesoji oni finzi saidi birgit schreiber maurice shirley alta steenkamp chitja twala susan van schalkwyk roelof van wyk w.p. wahl lise westaway christian williams journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020 73‑85 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 73 www.jsaa.ac.za research article the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students (fyfgas): a framework for higher education in south africa soraya motsabi,* boitumelo diale** & andré van zyl*** * dr soraya motsab is a first‑year experience coordinator at the department of academic development and support, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: chillysoraya@gmail.com ** prof. boitumelo diale is head of the department of educational psychology in the faculty of education, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: tumidiale@uj.ac.za *** dr andré van zyl is director academic development centre, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: andrevz@uj.ac.za abstract since the dawn of democracy, south african universities have seen increased access to higher education from african students, the majority being first-generation students (fgs). this increase to access came with challenges of retention and throughput amongst first-year first-generation african students (fyfgas). despite these challenges, there have also been fyfgas who have successfully passed their first year and completed their qualifications. this article used a mixed method approach with a sample of 311 fyfgas who were registered in a standard first-year course in three faculties at a university in gauteng. quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire and qualitative data were collected from individual semi-structured interviews. analyses included the use of structural equation modelling which provided interesting insights into the inter-relations between various factors. findings from the data analyses were used to create a framework of persistence for fyfgas in higher education. the framework focuses on the resilience factors of first-year students and the role of the institution in ensuring that these students are successful. it also provides a guide for institutional interventions aimed at improving the persistence of fyfgas. keywords first year; first-generation african students; first-generation students; higher education; persistence; resilience; social support introduction many studies have been conducted in an attempt to understand student retention and persistence in higher education, specifically first‑year persistence (braxton & hirschy, 2005; tint, 1975, 1993, 1997). persistence in the first year of study at university is vital because it serves as an introductory and transition year to higher education, and increases the likelihood of qualification attainment. yet, it has the highest drop‑out rates (tinto, 2006‑2007). in south africa, the drop‑out rate of first‑year students is estimated at 33% (che, 2013; dhet, 2019). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:chillysoraya%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:tumidiale%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:andrevz%40uj.ac.za?subject= 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 73‑85 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 as students at university face academic pressure and challenges that could derail them from continuing with their studies, it is necessary to understand how and what makes them persistent in the face of adversity. martin and marsh (2009) refer to this resilience as academic persistence. this study investigated the contributors to and co‑determinants of the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students (fyfgas) in higher education (he). theoretical framework in this article, the researchers drew from two persistence theories: the longitudinal theory of interaction by vincent tinto (1975, 1993) and the comprehensive model of student learning by terenzini and reason (2005). at the same time, the researchers were interested in the resilience of fyfgas and therefore, also used positive psychology as a third lens to review student persistence. tinto (1975, 1993) posits that students’ persistence and departure are influenced by a longitudinal interaction of their attributes and the university environment both academically and socially. he further postulates that the students’ pre‑entry attributes which include demographics, previous school experiences, and personal qualities, influence their decision to pursue or terminate their studies. tinto (1975, 1993) believes that students who persist are well integrated academically and socially into the institution which influences further commitments and success. integration is pivotal in this theory as it leads to increased commitment to degree completion and to the institution itself. terenzini and reason (2005) base their theory on that of tinto, but extend it to include the organisational aspect of the institution. their comprehensive model takes into account the pre‑entry attributes, the university as an organisation with a specific culture and the students’ interaction with their peers that influence adaptation and transition. this theory emphasises the students’ experiences within the institution and how these experiences can lead to persistence. lastly, academic resilience (martin & marsh, 2009) was used as a third perspective to investigate the contributors to and co‑determinants of the academic persistence of fyfgas in he. academic resilience manifests in the students’ capacity to overcome chronic adversities that threaten academic activity and success (martin & marsh, 2009). this definition includes the ability to achieve academic excellence despite often being burdened by numerous risk factors simultaneously. therefore, resilience is the ability to do well and maintain a positive outlook despite the challenges and adversities of life. rationale first‑generation students (fgs) are a growing subgroup within the higher education student population. these students, whose parents have no higher educational qualification or have not attended a university, find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. international literature (engle, 2010; rood, 2009) indicates that fgs are more likely to be underprepared for higher education and are more likely to leave university without graduating. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 s. motsabi, d. boitumelo & a. van zyl: the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students … 75 with improved access to higher education institutions (heis) in south africa, there has been a steady growth of african students, the majority of whom are fgs (scott et al., 2007; van zyl, 2010). while the reasons for the high failure rate amongst african students have been researched (fisher & scott, 2010; lewin & mawoyo, 2014), few or no studies have been conducted to understand the contributors and determinants of success and persistence amongst fyfgas. this lack of knowledge hinders heis in developing relevant support strategies that would enable their success. statement and research problem despite a significant increase in the number of fyfgas in south african higher education institutions, there is still no in‑depth understanding of the profile of these students. secondly, the high attrition and drop‑out rates amongst this group means attempts at promoting persistence are failing. additionally, the majority of studies have viewed these students from a deficit perspective and therefore, while there are some students who do persist and succeed, there is no clear understanding of the strengths that enable them to do so. in this study, an attempt has been made to research the contributors and determinants of persistence amongst fyfgas in the south african context. research methods design and setting participants in this mixed method study were first‑year extended degree students in the science, humanities and economics faculties registered in 2014 at a university in the gauteng province, south africa. the quantitative data were collected through a non‑probability convenience sampling method. the sample consisted of 311 students. the target population was easily accessible and available at the time of this study. all extended degree students, who were in class attending a common extended degree module in the sixth week of the academic year, were selected to participate in the study. for the qualitative part of the investigation, purposive and criterion‑referenced sampling was used to select participants. participants were fyfgas who had completed the initial quantitative questionnaires, had persisted through the first semester, and had passed all their first semester modules in 2014. permission to conduct the study was granted through the research ethics committee of the faculty of education at which the researcher was registered for the duration of the study. measures quantitative section of the study for this section of the study, a single questionnaire was composed which firstly consisted of the biographic information. it secondly contained three relevant subscales of the academic behaviour and attitudes questionnaire (abaq), namely achievement motivation, locus of control and self‑efficacy. the abaq measures participants’ beliefs, attitudes and values 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 73‑85 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 associated with six non‑cognitive aspects related to academic behaviour and performance. it has been widely used and validated, including in the south african context (bloye, 2007; jacobs, 2010). the third section of the questionnaire consisted of social support questions taken from the california healthy kids survey (chks), module b. the california healthy kids survey (chks) is a comprehensive youth health risk and resilience data collection instrument. it assesses nine external resilience assets and six internal resilience assets (hanson & kim, 2007; wested, 2003). students are also asked to indicate their perceptions of three protective factors, namely, caring relationships, high expectations and opportunities for meaningful participation in each of the four key environments of school, home, community and peers (hanson & kim, 2007, p. 7). the chks has been successfully used amongst south african youth (johnson & lazarus, 2008), and therefore was regarded as suitable for students in south african he. figure 1: a structural equation model with the hypothesised relationships between the variables selected from the abaq and chks and persistence https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 s. motsabi, d. boitumelo & a. van zyl: the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students … 77 analysis for the analyses of the data, it was decided that first‑generation methods, such as multiple regression, which are suitable for assessing constructs and relationships between constructs (alavifar et al., 2012), were not suitable. structural equation modelling (sem) was then selected to investigate persistence in he, which is known to be a complex and multi‑ layered problem. sem enabled the researcher to perform test models with multiple dependent variables using several regression equations simultaneously. this study contained complex and latent variables and thus was suitable for sem. the partial least squares path modelling (pls‑sem) was used. pls‑sem is a particularly useful method when researchers aim to analyse success factors and the sources of competitive advantage (sarstedt et al., 2017). the goal of pls‑sem was the explanation of variances instead of co‑variances. this technique allowed estimation of complex cause–effect relationship models with latent variables (sarstedt et al., 2017). all the data generated from the questionnaire were firstly included in a principal component analysis (pca – utilising varimax rotation with kaiser normalisation) to ‘reduce’ the number of variables and to identify any underlying structures in the data. twelve factors/components (only factor loadings ≥ 0.5 were used) were extracted (the kaiser‑meyer‑olkin measure of sampling adequacy was equal to 0.757, and bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant at the 1 percent significance level – indicating that factor analysis should yield reasonably distinct and reliable factors (field, 2013). the total variance explained by the extracted components was equal to 66.395%. the following extracted components were obtained through the pca analysis: • factor 1: adult encouragement – external • factor 2: person support – internal • factor 3: friends’ support • factor 4: persistence • factor 5: academic ability • factor 6: external activities • factor 7: internal motivation • factor 8: subject motivation • factor 9: external influences • factor 10: self‑blame • factor 11: reason to study • factor 12: expectations the above 12 factors explained 66.40% of the total variance. after several iterations of the basic model were run, the final measurement model resulted in a relatively good model fit with apc = 0.253 (p < 0.001), ars = 0.139 (p < 0.008), avif = 1.040 (ideally ≤ 3.3), gof = 0.290 (medium ≥ 0.25), aars = 0.133 (p<0.011), afvif = 1.217 (ideally ≤ 3.3), spr = 1.000 (ideally = 1), and rscr = 1.000 (ideally = 1). a good‑fitting model is one that is reasonably consistent with the data and does not necessarily require re‑specification (kenny, 2011). use was made of r2 and path coefficients to test the fit of the model. the model was evaluated for goodness‑of‑fit 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 73‑85 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 to determine how well the ‘perceived intention to persist’ model explained specific situations. the latent variables included in this model (mostly based on the results of the pca), the above 12 factors, were combined into eight groups for further analyses, namely: • group 1: (encouragement) consisting of the variables from factor 1 and factor 9. • group 2: (person support) consisting of the variables from factor 2. • group 3: (friends’ support) consisting of the variables from factor 3. • group 4: (persistence) consisting of the variables from factor 4. • group 5: (academic ability) consisting of the variables from factor 5 plus question 2 (which was not included in any of the factors). • group 6: (motivation) consisting of the variables from factor 6, factor 7 and factor 8. • group 7: (subject) consisting of the variables from factor 11 and question 19 from factor 8. • group 8: (support) consisting of selected variables from factor 1 and factor 2. the qualitative study in the qualitative phase of the study, focus groups and individual interviews were conducted to collect data. the study investigated the students’ actual experiences of he and the perceptions of the determinants and contributors to their persistence. the qualitative findings are reported more fully in motsabi, diale and van zyl, 2020. results and discussion of the framework the findings of this study were combined and resulted in the creation of a framework for the persistence of fyfgas as indicated in figure 2. the model was derived from a combination of theory and the qualitative and quantitative research results of the study. the various aspects of the model are explored in more depth below. pre‑entry attributes the first part of the framework is known as pre‑entry attributes. this refers to the background experiences and characteristics of the fgs. many fyfgas enter with a combination of pre‑entry attributes that places them at a distinct disadvantage. these factors may include coming from financially deprived environments where parents are unemployed, single‑parent or even child‑headed families. they all come from homes where the previous generation had no higher education qualification meaning they have less academic support at home than non‑first‑generation students. additionally, most fyfgas attended their primary and secondary education in areas with poorly resourced schools, where often, teachers were inadequately qualified and used an african language to teach instead of english. proficiency in the language of instruction therefore becomes a challenge for these students (du plessis & gerber, 2012). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 s. motsabi, d. boitumelo & a. van zyl: the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students … 79   student level factors that contribute to resilience pre‐ entry  attributes   first generation status  low socio economic conditions  under preparedness for he  insufficient knowledge about he  lower per student internal resilience  factors  self-efficacy internal locus of control personal agency realistic future plans problem solving skills hard work intelligence external resilience factors family support & encouragement community support & encouragement strong attachment with at least one adult supportive and encouraging peer relationships motivation  academic  integration  social integration  institutional level factors supportive  institutions  academic support psycho-social support financial support academic ethos student  experiences  good teaching mentors/tutors extra-curricular involvement persisten ce  before entry  to university  transition  after   integration  figure 2: proposed framework for the persistence of fyfgas in higher education these pre‑entry risk factors create a distance between the student and the institution, which hinders a smooth transition. those students who were able to successfully adapt and adjust seem to have psychological resilience attributes and dispositions that serve as a buffer against risk. these buffering factors are divided into two: firstly, internal resilience factors and secondly, external encouraging factors. 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 73‑85 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 student level internal resilience factors fyfgas who exhibit personal‑psychological attributes that include self‑efficacy, internal locus of control, personal agency and hard work, are better placed for success and persistence. students who believe in their potential to succeed tend to be more positive and resilient and can motivate themselves to behave in more positive ways (bandura, 1994). self‑efficacy is closely related to an internal locus of control, which is a belief that one is responsible for one’s actions and their outcomes (neill, 2006). therefore, they will spend psychological energy on their studies while focusing on their academic goals which astin (1999) refers to as ‘involvement’. fyfgas who have an intention to persist, get fully involved in the first term of the first year. fyfgas who have personal agency and take the necessary initiatives to accomplish their goals perform better and thrive. they will expend extra energy to help themselves such as attending extra classes or consulting a tutor or mentor. the level of motivation was found to be directly linked to persistence in both the quantitative and qualitative results of this study. when university became challenging, they would talk to either parents or peers who would encourage them to persevere. these students persevered despite adversity because they really wanted to complete their qualification. external resilience resources external resilience resources such as community, family and friends assisted fyfgas as they navigated higher education, as they tended to cushion the students from the impact of the challenges they faced. fyfgas who had supportive families tended to experience less stress and exhibit high resilience (wilks, 2008). both quantitative and qualitative findings indicated that these students take their parents’ and family’s support seriously. many parents instilled the importance of attending university in their children. some students indicated that when things got tough, it was their parents who encouraged them and reminded them of their resilience. this relationship had a strong influence on how they faced their challenges (westbrook & scott, 2012). involvement in their communities enabled the students to integrate their university culture into their home environment. in the african tradition, it is believed that one’s education is not for self, but the community. some students were supported by their communities in the form of teachers who set certain success expectations for them. luedke (2014, p. 158) found that these ‘cheerleaders’ play significant roles in instilling high expectations of the students and provided guidance to them throughout their university education. peer support and encouragement also played a key role for fyfgas, especially within the university. in this study, it was discovered that peers would make great efforts to support each other, providing accommodation, encouragement, food and other forms of assistance. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 s. motsabi, d. boitumelo & a. van zyl: the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students … 81 senior students sometimes provided academic support and skills necessary to navigate higher education. students who made friends who could face challenges with them, found it easier to adapt and persist. all these forms of support led to the students feeling motivated, making it easier to engage in learning for the pleasure and rewards that could be achieved. being motivated also makes it easier to integrate and socialise at university, internalising the values of the institution (próspero et al., 2012) resulting in institutional and goal commitment (tinto, 1993). institutional level factors that contribute to fyfgas’ persistence in terms of student persistence, successful institutions were those that helped their students in their transition and retained them towards degree completion. tinto (2012) reconsidered the role of institutions in advancing student persistence in that heis should cater and commit to educating all their students. institutional level support academic support students who felt confident of their academic skills and trusted that they could cope with the expected workload, had a higher intention to persist. therefore, fyfgas, who had lecturers who gave appropriate assessments and suitable feedback on their performance on time, were more persistent as was highlighted by tinto (2012). furthermore, success and persistence were improved by the availability of resources such as libraries, laboratories and computer centres. some students had difficulties acquiring computers or tablets that are necessary tools for learning. the institution was able to provide all first‑year students who had financial aid with these devices, and that contributed to their success and persistence. psycho-social support higher education institutions (heis) that provided emotional and academic support to the first‑year students indicate that they understand the needs of their students. being a first‑year student can involve times of loneliness and other forms of psychological distress and students need orientation to the new milieu of he. this is especially true for fyfgas because they come from areas and families where university culture is not discussed and prepared for. orientation at the beginning of the year provided these students with skills, knowledge and values that were beneficial to their studies and prepared them for the challenges ahead. financial support one primary reason for persistence for fyfgas is financial support. financial aid has been found in numerous studies of fgs as a major contributor to student persistence (breier, 2010; jones et al., 2008). while most of their parents paid for their fees, almost all of the 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 73‑85 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 students in this study intended to apply for financial aid as their parents’ finances could not sustain them. institutions should have financial aid offices that provide information on bursaries and financial aid which is information not readily available to fyfgas. presently, in south africa, this challenge has been partly addressed through the government in 2018 offering free education for all new students where their household combined annual income is lower than r350 000 per annum (tshwane, 2018). student experiences the students’ experiences of the institution both in and out of class enhances their willingness to stay. for example, experiences with other students and lecturers in the lecture hall contribute directly to their decision to persevere as this is where they meet for learning and social exchanges (tinto, 2006‑2007). good teaching counts in persistence tinto (2012) posits that students are at university to learn which takes place primarily in the classroom. fyfgas found that lecturers who acted in caring ways towards them increased their likelihood of persistence and retention. lecturers who prepared and taught their courses with all the students in mind, made it easier for new fyfgas to participate in class and feel that they also matter. these lecturers realise the academic barriers that their students face such as the overwhelming workload and turnaround time for assignments. mcghie (2012) states that african students are disadvantaged because they must construct meaning in a second language, so good teaching creates a positive feeling and students become more eager to learn. the role of tutors and mentors in enhancing student experiences tutoring is often an integral part of a university’s teaching‑learning process and an essential strategy for improving students’ academic success and goals (morillas & garrido, 2014). tutoring is regarded as a ‘high‑impact practice’ as it helps to improve the performance of first‑year students. participants in this study highlighted how the tutors helped them in understanding their course content and also helped them to solve any difficulties that arose. another initiative involving senior students who helped the fyfgas to persist in their first year was the use of mentors. these are students who were not obliged to develop new students’ academic skills but were there to help socialise them into the institution. according to tinto (1993), social integration is vital in ensuring that students commit to the institution. this integration that serves to create a sense of belonging happens throughout the year. fyfgas, who have a positive experience from these interactions with senior students, stand in good stead for persistence and success. combined with their psychological resilience factors, fyfgas who find he exciting and challenging will enhance their learning opportunities. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 s. motsabi, d. boitumelo & a. van zyl: the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students … 83 experiencing involvement in extracurricular activities student retention and success is bolstered by a strong sense of belonging in he students. this belongingness is nurtured through mainstream activities that all students participate in (thomas, 2012). involvement in extracurricular activities provides university students with opportunities to meet and connect with other students, explore areas of interest, and contribute to the campus and community (andring, 2002). fyfgas who got the chance to create networks and feelings of belonging, were integrated into the institution’s social system which enhanced their chances of persistence. astin (1984) believes that for students to learn and grow, they need to be actively involved in their environment. pascarella and terenzini (1991) state that studies have proven the correlation between involvement and its positive relationship to persistence and educational attainment. recommendations for higher education institutions the main recommendation from this study is that heis should nurture all the first‑year students and should understand their student communities in order to be able to provide them with the necessary support that they need. this can be done through collecting data on the profiles of their students. fyfgas need personal and social support resilience skills. universities should provide programmes that enhance these skills, such as training on assertiveness, locus of control, etc. and programmes on mentoring, peer counselling, tutoring and team‑building during orientation. furthermore, universities can design strategies that include parents and families in the life of the first‑year student. this study also revealed the importance of student funding and academic development skills for fyfgas. conclusion this framework sought to explain what it means to be a fyfgas in higher education and indicates the factors that contribute towards persistence and how he could develop strategies to help them to succeed and persist through the first year. fyfgas come from poor environments, have experienced inadequate educational preparation and have parents who do not have a university education, but through their own resilience and institutional support, they are able to thrive and succeed. in using the framework, heis 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(2010). the predictive value of pre‑entry attributes for student academic performance in the south african context. unpublished doctoral dissertation, university of johannesburg, johannesburg. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5081 westbrook, s.b. & scott, j.a. (2012). the influence of parents on the persistence decisions of first‑ generation college students. focus on colleges, universities, and schools, 6(1), 1‑9. wested (2003). california healthy kids survey: using the resilience and youth development module. http//www. wested.org/hks wilks, s.e. (2008). resilience amid academic stress: the moderating impact of social support among social work students. advances in social work, 9(2), 106‑125. https://doi.org/10.18060/51 how to cite: motsabi, s., boitumelo, d. & van zyl, a. 2020. the academic persistence of first‑year first‑generation african students (fyfgas): a framework for higher education in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 73‑85. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 https://bit.ly/3occpf2 https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192711435556 https://doi.org/10.1080/15363750802708494 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05542-8_15-1 https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226922461.001.0001 https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1997.11779003 https://doi.org/10.2190/4ynu-4tmb-22dj-an4w https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v3i1.119 http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5081 http://http//www.wested.org/hks http://http//www.wested.org/hks https://doi.org/10.18060/51 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4449 _goback _hlk53820880 _hlk53820940 _hlk53820956 _hlk532915614 _hlk53821023 _hlk53821064 _hlk2871197 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 31‑44 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 31 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article first-year student transition at the university of the free state during covid-19: challenges and insights herkulaas m.v.e. combrink* & lauren l. oosthuizen** * mr herkulaas m.v.e. combrink is a research coordinator at the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state, south africa. email: combrinkhm@ufs.ac.za ** mrs lauren l. oosthuizen is an assistant director for first year transition and graduate attributes at the centre for teaching and learning, university of the free state, south africa. email: hingll@ufs.ac.za abstract first-year seminars and university induction programmes are embedded with academic and social skills required by students to transition into their first year of study. the first-year seminar at the university of the free state is a credit-bearing module called ufs101, and is a prerequisite for degree completion. students are assessed through summative assessment opportunities throughout the year. in 2020, the ufs101 module embarked on new territory by condensing the contact time for the first semester into a week-long summer school. furthermore, the summer school was presented a week prior to the start of university, with repeat sessions during the first week of class, and during the march holiday. however, due to national lockdown regulations as a result of covid-19, a part of the cohort had to self-study the content via an interactive online study guide. this created four distinct groups of students: those who attended face-to-face classes, some face-to-face classes and some self-study, self-study only, and students who could not access the content. in order to measure their transition into university, a questionnaire was distributed to the students, and the results were stratified according to one of the aforementioned categories. unique similarities and differences were observed in the findings. the results depict that effective content design is at the heartbeat of student transition, but that other factors such as face-to-face interaction with students, and access to resources assist with the transition into university. this study highlighted the need to explore the challenges students experience within their first six months at university, and substantiates that this type of exploration should be routinely conducted to assist with the understanding and implementation of first-year student support. keywords covid-19; first-year seminar; summer school; student transition; ufs101 the first-year experience and first-year seminars the first‑year experience (fye) is a concept broadly used to describe different academic and non‑academic interventions that form part of the first year of study within higher education (tinto & goodshell, 1994). the purpose of a fye is to assist first‑year students’ academic and social integration into higher education institutions (evans & morrison, 2011). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:combrinkhm%40ufs.ac.za?subject= mailto:hingll%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 31‑44 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 the fye includes induction programmes such as orientation, and co‑curricular inter‑ ventions such as mentoring, student societies, and first‑year seminars (fys) (crissman, 2001). a fys, also typically referred to as a university 101 programme, was first introduced to students at the university of south carolina (usc) in 1964 (townsend, 1994). the purpose of an fys is to act as a vehicle to successfully integrate students into the university environment, as well as embed academic and social skills to be successful within university (fallows & steven, 2000). the reason for having both the social and academic integration strategies within a fye and fys relates to the high drop‑out rates associated with students feeling disconnected and overwhelmed in the university space (yan & sendall, 2016). this statement explicitly encompasses differences encountered in the preparedness of different groups of students on the premise of their context which includes their background, high school education and socio‑economic status, and is supported by different studies (thomsen, 2012; ulriksen et al., 2017). according to ulriksen et al. (2017), in order to understand student drop out and the strategies that universities can implement, an explicit effort has to be made by each institution to identify this gap, and apply it within the university’s fys space to address the needs students experience that complicate student transition. this means that a fys will differ between institutions and that they will include teaching a variety of skills related to academic requirements for a specific institution as well as basic social skills (gellin, 2003). gellin (2003) further argued that although these skills are vital for university success and employment, the body of knowledge is limited regarding the impact of different institutional initiatives related to student transition. several studies assessed the value of a fys, and whether or not a fys assists a student to transition into the university environment and found that the value of an fys is to foster a sense of belonging and map the academic expectations for a first‑year university student (starke et al., 2001; porter & swing, 2006; buyarski & landis, 2014). tinto (1987) argued that students with a lower rate of academic success or institutional engagement are more likely to drop out of university. the argument was supported by six potential causes of student departure out of universities namely: adjustment, goals, commitments, uncertainty, congruence, and isolation – all of which are related to either social or academic adjustment, or a combination of both. upcraft et al., (2005) added to tinto’s (1987) argument by providing tangible evidence suggesting that student transition is much more than the skills taught, and that the value of a fys lies in the improvement of persistence through the combination of both social and academic skills, and not just the academic skills alone (upcraft & gardner, 1989; upcraft et al., 2005). this means that fys programmes have a clear focus on student transition from a social and academic perspective, unique to each institution. kuh (2008) positioned fys programmes as high impact practices (hips). kuh (2008) further proved that fys programmes form part of a vast school of thought about theoretical and practical interventions that promote student success. this school of thought is geared towards student success by enabling deeper learning, a concept known as “student engagement” (kuh, 2008). hips are academic activities that have shown to https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 herkulaas m. combrink & lauren l. oosthuizen: first‑year student transition at ufs during covid‑19 … 33 improve student engagement, retention and graduation rates when students participate in them. according to myers et al. (2019), the larger goal of hips relates to better university outcomes and includes a knowledge of cultures, strong intellectual and practical skills, and a sense of civic responsibility and community engagement, amongst others. ufs101 as the fys at the university of the free state to date, the concept of a fys has expanded globally and is presented in a variety of higher education landscapes outside the united states, including universities and colleges in germany, austria, france, korea, great britain, australia and south africa (barefoot, 2004). within the context of south africa, the aim of a fys is to foster a sense of belonging or institutional connectedness, introduce campus services and teach the academic skills required to be successful at university (young, 2016). furthermore, the theoretical underpinnings of a fys for student transition within the context of south africa have been investigated, emphasising a dimension related to student agency and personal responsibility as part of the transition process (stoller, 2019). the mode of delivery is different between the varieties of fys programmes within institutions of higher learning across the world. some are positioned as workshops in the co‑curricular space, while others formally form part of the curriculum as credit‑bearing modules with specific passing criteria (culver & bowman, 2019). although the concept of a fys has only been in implementation for less than a decade in the context of south african higher education, the fys at the university of the free state (ufs) has been in full roll‑out since 2012. the fys at the ufs (ufs101) is a credit‑bearing, year‑long module. this module is required for degree completion by all students, across all disciplines, in their first academic year of study. it is implemented across two ufs campuses, namely the bloemfontein (bfn) and qwaqwa (qq) campuses. the number of students registered for this module has increased from 2 000 students in 2012 to more than 8 000 students in 2019. one of the primary goals of this module is to equip students with the skills they require in order to successfully integrate socially and academically into the ufs environment. the basis of the pedagogical model used is rooted in student engagement, the needs of the ufs, and the strategic vision from the department of higher education and training (dhet) in south africa (kuh, 2008, dhet, 2017). since 2015, there have been two distinct focuses in ufs101 each year. the content presented in the first semester is exclusively positioned as a fys, with the focus on transitioning students into university by teaching the academic skills vital for university success. the second semester, although still within the space of a fys, is positioned around common intellectual experiences to prepare students for the workforce by introducing them to strategies for lifelong success, and graduate attributes such as an entrepreneurial mindset, and leadership skills. challenges have been noted within the context of south african universities that extend beyond what a university 101 programme can teach, but by embedding student engagement strategies within the fys, the institutional transition for the south african context is strengthened from an evidence‑ based perspective (strydom et al., 2017). 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 31‑44 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 positioning the first semester of ufs101 as a summer school in 2020, there was a strategic shift to position the first semester of ufs101 as a summer school within the ufs context. the rationale for this change was motivated by institutional evidence, illustrating that fast tracking the skills students require at university assists with their transition to university. summer schools are common practices across the world (achille et al., 2018; vinas‑forcade et al., 2019). summer schools typically fall into three categories, namely (a) summer exchange programme; (b) a module presented in a condensed version in order to repeat or lighten credit load during the semester; and (c) summer bridge course (colombo & falcone, 2016; chastonay & mpinga, 2018; eblen‑ zayas & russell, 2019). the impact of summer school programmes in this context have been studied across various disciplines (tomasko et al., 2016; cooper et al., 2017). some of the more pronounced benefits of summer school programmes are preparation for university, as well as the skills needed to function in the world of work, and the introduction of non‑technical skills pivotal to student success (bir & myrick, 2015). another benefit of a summer school programme is the enabling of equitable education for students from diverse secondary schooling backgrounds through the teaching of academic skills required to be successful at university (kretovics et al., 2005; larsen et al., 2017). these benefits of a summer school align with the objectives of a fys, and the relationship between these programmes has been studied extensively (chism, 2008; strayhorn, 2009; hansen & schmidt, 2017; velazquez‑torres, 2018). the change in ufs101 would fall into the category of a summer bridge course, but will be referred to as a summer school within the context of this study. this is because not all students would be taught the skills they need to be successful at university before they start with their academic course work – the reasoning is detailed in the paragraph below. due to the administrative load and logistics required to navigate the large cohort of ufs101 the attendees of the summer school were split into three groups, to respond to the observed registration patterns of first‑year students. the students in group one were directed to attend both ufs101 and orientation as both programmes were presented in the same week, before the start of the semester. orientation in this instance refers to the institutional first‑year orientation programme, intended to help students navigate university systems, introduce students to university life and promote resources students can engage with to assist their journey – such as library information sessions, art and cultural activities and student support structures. in group two, the faculties agreed to allot 10 hours in the timetable to ufs101, in the first week of the semester. group three was scheduled to attend the summer school during the march break. table 1 is an overview and account for the three groups of the summer school that took place in 2020. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 herkulaas m. combrink & lauren l. oosthuizen: first‑year student transition at ufs during covid‑19 … 35 table 1: group allocation for the ufs101 2020 summer school group date student register by group 1 27‑31 january 2020 23 january 2020 group 2 3‑8 february 2020 31 january 2020 group 3 march break late registers 2020 and covid-19 the disease covid‑19, was reported in sub‑saharan africa on 29 january 2020, and the first reported case appeared in south africa on 5 march 2020 (osseni, 2020). innovative solutions were created to share information with the south african public about the disease in the initial stages of the pandemic, but there remained a high degree of uncertainty of what the pandemic would mean for all sectors of the economy (marivate & combrink, 2020). to avoid a national disaster in the context of a highly infectious and poorly understood disease, the south african government initiated a state of disaster and a national lockdown that suspended all but the most critical economic functions (amir singh, 2020). this lockdown was introduced as a five‑level strategy, each having an impact on certain sectors of the south african economy (hatefi et al., 2020). as a result, institutions of higher learning shut down, and academic activities had to rapidly move online. this shift had significant implications for the ufs101 module as the third group, which comprised a combination of students who registered late, and students who missed a few sessions in either group one or two, were supposed to attend the summer school during the march break and could not do so as a result of the national lockdown. the academic skills were presented in a workshop‑like setting to groups one and two, and made available to students on blackboard, the university’s learning management system. for group three, the content had to quickly be converted to a low‑tech self‑study guide that students could download from blackboard and work through offline. the ufs101 outcomes and assessments remained the same, but the teaching activities, mode of delivery and timelines had to be adapted for emergency remote teaching and learning. the move to emergency remote teaching and learning resulted in the decision to convert the content to a low‑tech self‑study guide, while the institution (and country) was working on ways to support students to participate in online learning. the national lockdown’s effect on the mode of delivery meant that there were now new groupings of students – students who had attended the summer school face‑to‑face, students who had attended some of the classes face‑to‑face and some self‑study, students who engaged only with the self‑study content, and students who did not attend face‑to‑ face classes and could not access the self‑study guide. therefore, the aim of this study was to apply a qualitative inquiry on the ufs101 student population for 2020, related to their transition into university. 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 31‑44 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 methodology an online questionnaire was administered from the 7 july 2020 to 7 august 2020 to students registered for ufs101. these quantitative questions were adapted from morse (2010), and focused on student transition. the online questionnaire was low‑tech (less than 1mb) and mobile friendly, however sampling error could have been caused through the exclusion of students who did not have access to a device, data or internet connectivity (morse, 2010). all the quantitative questions were illustrated, tabulated and analysed using python version 3.7.1 in the analysis, a descriptive examination was performed on the categorical variables to gain contextual perspectives between the different stratified groups. this approach is supported by the research of boeije (2013), where it is noted that this type of research design contributes towards new knowledge of the investigation by laying a foundation for future research, while focusing on the fundamental description required in order to gain a generalised understanding of the study population (boeije et al., 2013). the analysis of quantitative information assists with the identification of trends and defines different areas that require improvement, as illustrated in the recommendations of this study. the interpretive framework created by the paradigm draws from interpretivism (henderson, 2011; ricciardi, 2009). this methodology is desirable for addressing the proposed research questions in the context of large cohorts (morse, 2010; sreejesh & mohapatra, 2014). additionally, none of the findings of this study contain any identifiable characteristics or data linking the evidence to a specific student. ethical clearance was granted under the scope of ufs‑hsd2017/0206 in 2017 and remains active until september 2021, with the required amendments made to the protocol in order to conduct this research. results and discussion participants in table 2, the distribution across faculty and campus of the 1 933 participants is illustrated. there are seven faculties on the bfn campus and four faculties on the qq campus. in total, 38.6% of students on the bfn campus and 37.5% of students on the qq campus completed the questionnaire. 1 python packages: pandas and numpy https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 herkulaas m. combrink & lauren l. oosthuizen: first‑year student transition at ufs during covid‑19 … 37 table 2: demographic distribution of the study population faculty bfn (n = 1 587) qq (n = 346) faculty economic & mgnt sciences 18.6% 11.3% faculty of natural & agri sciences 19.3% 3.8% faculty of theology 0.3% 0.0% faculty of education 24.4% 61.6% faculty of health sciences 10.0% 0.0% faculty of law 5.9% 0.0% faculty of the humanities 21.4% 23.4% in order to understand which mode of delivery the students belonged to, the information was stratified in four categories: face‑to‑face classes at the start of the year; some face‑to‑ face classes and some self‑study; no face‑to‑face classes and complete self‑study, and could not access the ufss101 content (table 3). table 3: different modes of delivery were experienced by students on the premise of the lockdown category bfn (n = 1 587) qq (n = 346) face-to-face 60.6% 49.7% some face-to-face, some self-study 16.0% 26.9% self-study only 21.9% 19.9% could not access content 1.5% 3.5% measurement of challenges and transition students were asked what were the biggest challenges experienced within the first six months at university (table 4), whether or not ufs101 assisted their transition (table 5), how ufss101 assisted their transition (figure 1), and the positive vs negative experiences of ufs101 (figure 2). students who participated in the questionnaire were stratified amongst four groups, namely: face‑to‑face (n = 1 133); some face‑to‑face and some self‑ study (n = 347); self‑study only (n = 417); and, could not access the content (n = 36). as shown in table 4, time management was the biggest challenge experienced by both face‑to‑face students (60%) as well as self‑study students (56%). an interesting observation can be seen between the students who could not access the content and did not have access to the internet (64%), and their concern with where to find academic support (44%). overall, the majority of the students reported time management, difficulty adjusting to the new environment, and how to effectively study as their biggest challenges. this coincides with findings from mah & ifenthaler (2017), and adams & blair (2019), measuring academic success and time management of first‑year students, and the challenges associated 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 31‑44 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 with this. although only a small percentage (3% to 17%) reported food security and accommodation as challenges, this highlights the complexity of challenges that university students face. these findings coincide with that of van breda (2017), who highlighted the levels of vulnerability students face that have an impact on their academic performance. in addition to this, henn et al. (2017) reported that there are first‑year students within the south african context who are faced with constant hunger and stress related to their finances, also seen as a challenge in table 4. in addition to this, no electronic devices was a challenge observed by all groups. table 4: challenges students experienced within their first six months challenge faceto-face (n = 1 133) some face-toface, some self-study (n = 347) self-study only (n = 417) could not access content (n = 36) time management 60% 53% 56% 39% difficulty adjusting to the new environment 57% 53% 55% 61% how to effectively study 53% 50% 43% 25% financial pressure 29% 31% 35% 33% where to get academic support 26% 26% 28% 44% no electronic devices/ internet 20% 29% 34% 64% social pressure 16% 23% 21% 8% accommodation 10% 11% 16% 17% food security 8% 8% 8% 3% working while studying 4% 8% 7% 17% students were then asked if ufs101 assisted with their transition to university (table 5). table 5: the assistance of ufs101 in transition to university category yes no no answer face-to-face 90% 8% 2% some face-to-face, some self-study 90% 10% 1% self-study only 83% 15% 2% could not access content 33% 61% 6% https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 herkulaas m. combrink & lauren l. oosthuizen: first‑year student transition at ufs during covid‑19 … 39 students were asked to provide reasons why ufs101 assisted with their transition to university, and the majority of students agreed that it was through the content that was taught (face‑to‑face [67%], some face‑to‑face, some self‑study [67%], and self‑study only [64%]). in this specific item, students who could not access the content ranged between 25% and 42% for all the selected items. only 12% of the self‑study only students selected the “by meeting other first‑year students”, as the nature of their interaction with the institution was for a brief period of time within their first year, and they did not have the opportunity to engage with the ufs101 summer school face‑to‑face. figure 1: the ways in which ufs101 assisted student transition into university in the context of the four groups, the self‑study only students are a representative sample of students who could only engage with the content online, and they reported that the ufs101 content assisted them with what is expected of them at university (57%). in addition to this, the self‑study group reported that ufs101 provided an overview of the basic skills they require to be successful within university (60%). this specific part of the cohort illustrated that the content was sufficient in assisting student transition, but illustrated the lack of social cohesion that the other students experienced (face‑to‑face (35%), some face‑to‑face, some self‑study (28%)) as a result of the physical interaction with other students. students were asked if they had a positive or negative experience with ufs101. overall, students reported that they had more of a positive experience with ufs101 than an undecided or negative experience. the majority of students who could not access the content did not have a positive or negative experience of ufs101. 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 31‑44 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 figure 2: student experience within of the first semester of ufs101 students who said that they had a positive experience with the content were then further asked to provide context around why they had a positive experience. in total, 1 486 students’ responses were taken into consideration (bfn = 1 196, qq = 290). when their responses were stratified according to the four categories, a few unique themes emerged. the first theme was that across all four categories, the majority of students attributed their positive experience to learning something new. in addition to this, face‑to‑face (65%), some face‑to‑face, some self‑study (68%), and self‑study only (65%) reported that ufs101 broadened their perspectives around concepts that they did not know. according to dziewanowska (2017), an opportunity for development presents itself when students are learning new things, and equally, broadens their perspectives. lastly, the biggest difference between the groups was observed in the reason why students had a positive experience, as seen in figure 3. figure 3: reasons for positive student experience of ufs101 in the first semester https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 herkulaas m. combrink & lauren l. oosthuizen: first‑year student transition at ufs during covid‑19 … 41 as observed in figure 3, there was a significantly higher percentage of students who had a face‑to‑face interaction, or some face‑to‑face interaction that attributed the positive experience with ufs101 to the module assisting with the transition into university, than students who did not have that interaction. this strengthens the argument that content alone is not enough in student transition (upcraft et al., 2005; kuh, 2008; young, 2016) and suggests that the benefit of face‑to‑face interaction be further investigated as a contributor to a successful transition to university. an important finding was that the differences and similarities reported on was consistent across students from different faculties or fields of study. conclusion according to gadinger (2014), immense pressure is placed upon institutions to produce more graduates – this requires an intentional focus on improving student transition. according to kuh (2008), implementing fye programmes as hips contributes towards successful student transition. in this study, the impact of covid‑19 and the ensuing national lockdown on the fys at the ufs was investigated. the descriptive observation highlighted that there were unique differences between the four stratified groups that need to be explored further, such as the challenges students face in the first six months of university and the effect of different modes of delivery (face‑to‑face vs online self‑ study) on student transition. covid‑19 brought with it a reminder that institutions of higher learning need to not only scale online learning for all students, but also acknowledge the challenges that accompany online learning. some of these include investigating the technological needs of students who cannot access university infor‑ mation, and exploring the differences between a face‑to‑face model and a blend of face‑to‑face and online in terms of student success. lastly, this type of investigation should be regularly performed to understand first‑year transition and how to effectively implement a fys, and thus optimally support first‑year students. acknowledgements we would like to thank each participant in this study. without their valuable input and contribution, this study would not have been possible. we would also like to thank the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state for their resources which enabled us to conduct this study during these unprecedented times. references achille, c., fassi, f., mandelli, a. & fiorillo, f. 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(2016). the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes at south africa’s higher education institutions. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(4), 17‑32. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa. v4i1.142 how to cite: combrink, h.m.v.e. & oosthuizen, l.l. 2020. first‑year student transition at the university of the free state during covid‑19: challenges and insights. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 31‑44. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 https://doi.org/10.5325/jgeneeduc.66.3-4.0099 https://doi.org/10.5325/jgeneeduc.66.3-4.0099 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928424093 https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2012.659458 https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2012.659458 https://doi.org/10.2505/4/jcst16_045_04_90 https://doi.org/10.2307/2963380 https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904116678628 https://doi.org/10.20853/31-5-1567 https://doi.org/10.20853/31-5-1567 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2019.102087 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4446 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 27-39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 27 www.jsaa.ac.za research article learning communities for teaching practice school placements: a higher education initiative to promote equity for students with disabilities roshanthni subrayen* & sachin suknunan** * dr roshanthni subrayen is the disability coordinator at the disability support unit, student services division, university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: subrayen@ukzn.ac.za ** dr sachin suknunan works in the student services division, university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: suknunan@ukzn.ac.za abstract in south africa, scholarship on the teaching practice learning experiences for students with disabilities is a relatively new area of sociological inquiry. social justice arrangements in the south african higher education policy frameworks identify the equity imperative as being of critical importance for social redress and transformation for all students. this qualitative study drew on the teaching practice school placement experiences of five bachelor of education students with either visual or physical disabilities and who were part of a teaching practice learning community. the findings of this study suggest that, for students with visual and physical disabilities, learning communities were perceived to be a structure that enhanced equity arrangements for human development and well‑being in teaching practice school placements. in addition, and in alignment with equity arrangements, the need for a social justice reform agenda for teaching practice school placements emerged from the data. the study concludes that learning communities as a context‑specific institutional structure support freedom, agency, dialogue and participation, and respect for disability required for capability expansion for human development and well‑being in the teaching practice school placements of students with visual and physical disabilities. these were found to enhance equity arrangements for students with visual disabilities and physical disabilities. keywords equity; learning community; physical disabilities; teaching practice school placements; visual disabilities introduction south african higher education (sahe) policy frameworks draw attention to the equity imperative in higher education for students with disabilities. human rights and social justice provisions are visible in higher education policies (doe, 1997, 2018) that highlight the importance of specialised support for students with disabilities. to this effect the united nations’ convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (uncrpd, 2006) plays a critical role in promoting the right to higher education for persons with disabilities. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:subrayen%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= mailto:suknunan%40ukzn.ac.za?subject= 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 27-39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 scholarship on disability in higher education suggests that students with disabilities experience systemic barriers in sahe (bell, 2013; ndlovu & walton, 2016). this article aims to understand how sahe is meeting social justice arrangements for students with disabilities in their teaching practice school placements. the findings and discussion presented in this article are based on part of the researcher’s phd study (subrayen, 2017) that examined the equity, access and participation experiences of both students with visual and physical disabilities in their teaching practice school placements. literature review the social model of disability argues for disability as a human rights and social justice concern. this problematises disability as a system of discrimination, hence according respect to equity arrangements through the expansion of capabilities for human development (nussbaum, 2000; sen, 1999). human development in the context of the capability approach (nussbaum, 2000; sen, 1999) provides nuances for social justice and inclusion to reduce inequities to strengthen human development. central to the capability approach are freedoms and agency, democratic participation and dialogue, and respect for human diversity, all serving as critical information bases of inclusive policy arrangements. to this effect, education is a basic capability that allows individuals sufficient freedom and agency to choose valuable and worthwhile lives, should they choose to do so (nussbaum, 2000; sen, 1999). in south africa, walker (2010) agrees that education is a basic capability and can influence the expansion and development of other capabilities in higher education. walker (2010) strengthens her argument by claiming that student well-being and agency, autonomy, democratic participation and respect for human diversity might be offered for capability development. this can bring us closer to social change and transformation in higher education for students with disabilities (walker, 2010). this study argues for tinto’s (2003, 2004) learning community structure for student development to support capability expansion for human development for students with disabilities in their teaching practice placements. tinto (2003, 2004) defines learning communities as a student development structure for beginning, undecided and academically developing students. students with similar attributes come together on common themes and establish deep levels of dialogue in a focused and coherent manner to enhance their academic integration, thus serving as equitable and enabling spaces in teaching practice for students with disabilities. in sahe policies (doe, 1997, 2018) disability is recognised as a system of discrimination requiring social redress and transformation. this means that disability should be guided by a “conscious and reflective blend” of multi-dimensional processes to improve equity as a social justice arrangement (carlisle, jackson & george, 2006, p. 57). contrary to this determination of social justice, research evidence globally and nationally, suggests regular instances of inequities experienced in higher education by students with disabilities. these inequities relate to gender, student funding, stigma, environmental, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 roshanthni subrayen & sachin suknunan: learning communities for teaching practice school placements … 29 attitudinal and social barriers, sexual harassment and inadequate technological software (bell, 2013; hammad & singal, 2015; opini, 2011). in addition, there is concern amongst researchers about the experiences of students with disabilities in their practice learning placements, referring to academic work undertaken outside the university within a stipulated time frame, during their academic course of study. it is in this context that professional competencies and application of theoretical knowledge and skills are assessed as an integral component of the students’ academic curriculum (department for education and skills, 2002; ndlovu & walton, 2016). in the u.k., studies found that disability disclosure in singularand multiple-practice learning placements presented challenges. studies by ashcroft, sequire, shapiro and swiderski (2008) and botham and nicholson (2014) suggest that for singular-practice learning placements, disability disclosure was either deferred or delayed to a later stage of the placement due to the possibility of discrimination and stigma, whilst, in multiplepractice learning placements, students had to continuously and repetitively disclose their disability at various times and via various platforms. this negatively influenced their psychological processes required during disability disclosure (botham & nicholson, 2014; morris & turnbull, 2007). a further complexity relates to short-term practice placements which, due to the short duration, constrained the development of interpersonal skills and confidence, professional relationships and workplace maturity required for disability disclosure (morris & turnbull, 2007). in addition to challenges arising from disability disclosure, other challenges were also noted. glazzard and dale (2015) found that normative teaching and learning strategies employed by able-bodied mentors and tutors produced negative attitudes and stereotyping towards student teachers with dyslexia. these normative teaching and learning strategies did not account for specialised support required by student teachers with dyslexia to foster inclusion and participation. this negatively influenced the self-image and confidence of participants’ professional identities, leaving them belittled, stressed, humiliated and devalued. aside from the above, good practice models in practice learning placements have been noted. griffith, worth, scullard and gilbert (2010) developed a student centred, six-phase tripartite model to support nursing students in their clinical practice. this model, firstly, enhanced communication and collaboration between practice partners and the student with a disability. secondly, the model improved the student’s confidence to disclose the disability for reasonable accommodations required for clinical practice placements. other u.k. studies indicate that structured pre-placement meetings with all practice partners and the student with a disability ensured effective communication, facilitation of reasonable accommodations and an understanding of the student’s specialised needs in practice placements (botham & nicholson, 2014; griffiths, 2012). for student teachers with dyslexia in their teaching practice school placements, spellcheckers, specialised software, oral communication, computers and word banks enhanced their practice learning placements (burns & bell, 2011; glazzard & dale, 2015). these best-practice models have contributed to equity arrangements for students with disabilities in practice learning placements. 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 27-39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 in contrast to the above, in south africa, practice learning for students with disabilities is a relatively new area of inquiry, with little evidence to inform practice and policy (ndlovu & walton, 2016). this suggests that measures have to be instituted to reduce or eliminate barriers for the achievement of equity in practice learning placements. this is supported by ndlovu and walton (2016), who assert that sahe institutions have a responsibility to adequately prepare students with disabilities in terms of theoretical and professional knowledge for application in practice learning contexts. ntombela and subrayen (2013) in their situational analysis at a sahe institution claim that despite the imperative of equity (doe, 1997), students with visual disabilities experience challenges in their teaching practice placements in schools. this relates to the absence of specialised technology and human support for students who are blind. yet, specialised support for students with disabilities in higher education is consistent with the imperatives of equity to reduce educational inequities (tebutt, brodman, borg, maclachlan & khasnabis, 2016). in other south african research, subrayen’s (2017) qualitative study at a sahe institution, found that bachelor of education students experienced complexities in their teaching practice placements. this related to the absence of self-representation, multiplepower hierarchies acting simultaneously to produce and challenges emerging from the intersections of gender and disability. subrayen (2017) also found that the chalkboard, a normative resource, imposed restrictions by not accounting for specialised needs of persons with disabilities in accessing the chalkboard. thus, normative resources controlled, discriminated and hindered the inclusion of persons with disabilities from mainstream social arrangements by not accounting for their specialised needs (reindal, 2009; terzi,  2005). the argument made here is for the deconstruction of normative arrangements and for accounting for inclusive social arrangements for students with disabilities. this minimal evidence in south africa to inform practice and policy means that disability support units and practice partners are strategising without direction on supporting and enabling students with disabilities in their practice learning placements. arising from this knowledge gap, this article identifies tinto’s (2003, 2004) learning community model for student development as a framework within which to understand and interpret the ways in which students with visual and physical disabilities negotiated their teaching practice placements. the sahe policy fails in its intentions to provide a framework to support equity redress for students with disabilities in their practice learning placements. hence, new lines of accountability require debate and consideration to effect social change and transformation. the argument draws attention to a robust social justice reform agenda to dismantle educational inequities that marginalise students with disabilities in higher education (liasidou, 2012). tinto’s learning community model tinto (2003, 2004) claims that students who require academic support experience higher education in isolation, disconnecting themselves from learning and peer group interactions. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 roshanthni subrayen & sachin suknunan: learning communities for teaching practice school placements … 31 this leads to academic and social barriers hampering student development. to address this challenge, many higher education institutions have included reforms that engage students in teaching and learning pedagogies. one of these reforms refers to learning communities where students work in cooperative and collaborative groups to become socially and academically engaged (tinto, 2003, 2004). learning communities are safe spaces where homogenous student cohorts mean that students with similar attributes come together to construct and share skills and knowledge on common themes in a focused and coherent manner. these homogenous cohorts allow for deep levels of dialogue and engagement where every voice matters in the learning community (tinto, 2003, 2004). therefore, homogenous student cohorts are applicable and important for this study as students with disabilities (similar attributes) come together with skills and knowledge around matters of disability in their teaching practice placements. studies on learning communities in other contexts, more specifically at universities in the united states of america, found that cooperative and collaborative learning for success, sharing of knowledge, decision making and improved teaching practices improved student retention (berry, johnson & montgomery, 2005; jackson, stebleton & laanan, 2013; engstrom & tinto, 2010). it must be noted that research around learning communities for students with disabilities is not a well-developed area of inquiry in south africa. south africa is a developing context with its unique historical educational inequities, past education legislations, socioeconomic and language barriers (mdepa & tshiwula, 2012) which vastly differ from historical factors in developed contexts. research methodology this study adopted a qualitative research methodology, located within a narrative method of inquiry. a purposive sampling technique was employed, allowing for an in-depth study of the teaching practice placement experiences of bachelor of education students with visual and physical disabilities at the university of kwazulu-natal. a non-probability sampling method was used for the identification and selection of an applicable sample wherein rich data could be obtained. in the bachelor of education curriculum, students engage in a 16-week teaching practice placement in schools during their second, third and fourth years of study. this provides for a nuanced and diversified school-based experience which prepares the students to become educators in a school context. before students with a disability embark on their teaching practice placement, they are invited, as a group, to a once-off scheduled teaching practice meeting hosted by the disability unit at the said university. this meeting is embedded in tinto’s learning community model (2003; 2004) for student development. the learning community meeting is specifically designed to support the students’ preparedness for forthcoming teaching practice placements as students with disabilities. it is here that students with disabilities come together to dialogue and share, individually and collectively, their 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 27-39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 knowledge and skills regarding their disability experiences in teaching practice, for example, chalkboard management, benefits of disability disclosure and stigma management in the context of their teaching practice placement. arising from the stratified random sampling process, this study reports on the experiences of five participants who were part of a learning community in preparation of their teaching practice placements. the nature of their disabilities ranged from differing levels of low vision, mobility challenges in both lower limbs, left hand amputation and left upper and lower limb paralysis. individual open-ended questions were used allowing for unlimited responses that were rich and in-depth. some of these questions related to the participants’ narration on: • their experiences in learning communities as influencing equity in their teaching practice placements; • support offered by learning communities to enhance the transition from the university to teaching practice learning placement schools; and • learning together, shared knowledge, learning and developing together, and safe spaces for trust and belonging as aligned to tinto’s (2003, 2004) learning community model. data analysis the nvivo 11 analytical software program was used to analyse the data. nodes were developed, modified and adjusted during data analysis. thereafter, several themes were identified and analytically revised to derive clear and meaningful themes that accurately represented the data generated. a thematic analysis was undertaken through the use of, amongst others, bubble diagram cluster analysis where similar or related words from the data were illustrated in the form of a bubble (gibbs, 2007). word-tree analysis was also used to highlight different contexts, phrases and themes (gibbs, 2007) emerging from participant voices. finally, word clouds were used, highlighting frequently recurring words that were graphically represented in various font sizes (gibbs, 2007). these visual tools allowed for the identification of critical themes. ethical considerations ethical clearance was received from the university of kwazulu-natal to conduct this study. ethical considerations related to obtaining voluntary informed consent to participate in this study and for the audio recording of the participants’ interviews. confidentiality and anonymity of all participants were maintained and respected at all times. pseudonyms were used to protect the identity of all participants. participants were informed of their freedom and agency to withdraw or refuse participation at any stage of the interview process. as a social justice concern, ethical consideration was given to reasonable accommodations for the reading and signing of the informed consent forms and barrier-free venues for the interview process. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 roshanthni subrayen & sachin suknunan: learning communities for teaching practice school placements … 33 findings and discussion the value of learning communities for teaching practice placements for students with disabilities it was found that learning communities presented as a context-specific structure to promote capability expansion for human development. sen (1999) contends that persons with disabilities require various capability inputs, for example, inclusive policies, specialised resources and infrastructure to achieve the same level of human development and well-being as able-bodied individuals. as such, three sub-themes are reflected below, indicating the ways in which learning communities contributed to the achievement of equity in teaching practice placements for students with disabilities. a community of belonging in the following responses, participants voiced their feelings regarding the positive impact of learning communities for the achievement of equity in their teaching practice school placements. one participant commented: but if there is that [learning] community, they will feel’ah, i belong here, and there are people i can associate with. (participant 2) this was supported by another participant: it is a safety net … you feel free because you are all the same. we all disabled. you are not afraid to speak out. we all share the same thing, so no one is judging anyone. (participant 3) participant 1 reported that: it makes people more open about their disability, so not hiding it, because they do feel inferior, unaccepted. so, if we are students with disabilities, it becomes easy to share our experiences and how we go about teaching practice, so that we will produce the best. it is evident that learning communities provided belonging, participatory action, respect for individual and collective agencies, and voice affirmation on disability disclosure for teaching practice. the learning community structure allowed participants their freedom and agencies for decision making which contributed to the expansion of individual capabilities necessary for human development. it can be assumed then that learning communities, in addition to contributing to student development (tinto, 2003, 2004), also contributed to the expansion of capabilities of students with disabilities in the context of their teaching practice school placements. 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 27-39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 similar findings were noted in a study undertaken by engstrom and tinto (2010) whereby students who participated in learning communities experienced academic integration as contributing to deep levels of trust, a sense of belonging, freedom to express themselves, motivation, respect, and academic gains through cooperative and collaborative learning. these attributes enhanced their levels of confidence and self-esteem. engstrom and tinto’s findings (2010) suggest that collaboration and cooperative learning supported student development. in addition to learning communities fostering a sense of belonging to enhance equity, botham and nicholson (2014) and griffiths, et al. (2010) found that collaboration and cooperation between practice partners and the student contributed to equity arrangements in practice learning placements, while this study found that participatory action, freedom, and agency and respect for human diversity (nussbaum, 2000; sen, 1999) allowed an understanding of the way in which learning communities promoted human development and well-being for teaching practice. this translated to a safe space for disability disclosure, decision making, respect and non-judgemental attitudes, which reduced systemic barriers in the participants’ teaching practice placements. therefore, it can be concluded that learning communities acted as a catalyst to reduce barriers and expand human development for students with disabilities in their teaching practice placements. learning communities: a structure to support the expansion of individual capabilities for human development it was found that learning communities expanded important individual capabilities of the participants. this is supported in the responses below: learning community is part of our professional development … i know that my fellow members, they did very well during their teaching practice. so, it affected learner’s performance positively, due to the fact that my professional development is increasing. (participant 3) participant 1 mentioned the following: when you develop something you start from small, like in this learning community. then you expand, your development grows … because you keep sharing it. these positive outcomes relate to learning communities as a structure for expanding the professional and personal capabilities of the participants. furthermore, participation in learning communities promoted positive attributes for life through sharing of knowledge and skills with able-bodied students and with able-bodied learners in the classroom. in an attempt to highlight learning communities as a contributor to student success, tinto  (2003,  2004) argues that learning communities for students requiring academic support contribute to retention and success for students in higher education. from the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 roshanthni subrayen & sachin suknunan: learning communities for teaching practice school placements … 35 perspective of disability, it can be argued that learning communities serve as a contextspecific tool, as clarified earlier, to promote the achievement of equity and, ultimately, equality. the foregoing is supported by participant responses in relation to learning communities as an equity tool to enhance equity and social justice in higher education for students with disabilities. participant 3 asserted the following: i think it [learning communities] is specifically going to make equity. and another participant responded that: it is more like to make sure that everyone has the same experience. (participant 2) similarly, participant 1 stated that: learning communities provides a little bit more to the student with a disability in order for them to be able to equally participate in this learning environment. participants’ responses highlight that a learning community trajectory is a critical tool for higher education in relation to the achievement of equity. from the results, it emerges that the disability-related knowledge and skills were seen as an equity mechanism for the equalisation of opportunities with able-bodied constituencies in teaching practice school placements. the findings indicate that students with disabilities were able to make the connection of accommodating their disability to experience the achievement of equity in their teaching practice school placements. whilst this study found learning communities as contributing to equity arrangements in teaching practice placements in schools, ashcroft et al. (2008) found that work practice in simulated laboratories for physiotherapy students with disabilities improved equity arrangements in clinical practice placements. the findings from this study and ashcroft et al. (2008) suggest that specialised support enhances equity in practice learning placements. in furthering the discussion of learning communities as an equity tool, this article puts forward the claim that learning communities have the potential to provide a platform for students with disabilities to identify challenges relating to disability in the teaching practice environment and to develop interventions together. this was found to enhance equity teaching practice school placements. this is indicated in the participant responses: you take whatever you talk about with your peers and it helps you to grow cognitively. then that person will be able to apply maybe the same strategies or techniques when they go for their teaching practice and be able to actually feel more confident as well. (participant 1) these learning and sharing strategies allowed for the sharing of knowledge and skills, which expanded participants’ professional growth and development. this gave rise to 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 27-39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 cognitive growth and improved levels of confidence in teaching practice placements. as implied by tinto (2003, 2004), collaborative and cooperative strategies, shared knowledge and the sharing of knowledge and skills in learning communities allow for positive academic experiences. learning communities for teaching practice: applying a social justice discourse in teaching practice policy and practice results suggest that learning communities for teaching practice support the dismantling of sociological barriers, hence contributing to enhancing psychological coping processes. this provides evidence that captures the urgent need for a social justice reform agenda for teaching practice placements for students with disabilities in south africa. participant 5 emphasised the following: learning community must be part of policy. i would say the teaching practice learning community is going to make equity. another two participants concurred: i think the university must also cater for disabled students in terms of teaching practice … they must try and come up for something for us. they must think about us, because it is clear they forget about us, actually they treat us as normal persons. (participant 1) i think it should be included in the policy that there needs to be learning community within the university for all disability students. (participant 3) the excerpts above provide evidence that students with disabilities are coerced into teaching practice arrangements designed for able-bodied students, without accounting for specialised support required by students with disabilities in their teaching practice placements. further, there is a critical need for the design of an inclusive teaching practice policy, one that acknowledges capability expansion for human development derived through tinto’s (2003, 2004) learning community model. these results show how learning communities for teaching practice for students with disabilities have the potential to dismantle normative arrangements required for social change, corrective justice and transformation. as mentioned by liasidou (2012), a social justice agenda must underpin inclusive educational policy due to its potential to dismantle systemic barriers experienced by students with disabilities in higher education. conclusion this article sought to provide a wider spectrum to human development and well-being to establish equity in relation to disability in the space of teaching practice placements. the findings and discussions arising from this study provide clear evidence of how the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 roshanthni subrayen & sachin suknunan: learning communities for teaching practice school placements … 37 capability approach (nussbaum, 2000; sen, 1999) might help us understand how learning communities provide for the achievement of equitable arrangements in teaching practice for students with disabilities. further, the results of this study suggest that learning communities can be seen as a good practice model for students with disabilities in their teaching practice school placements. this finding supports learning communities as safe-space communities where members feel trusted, respected and included. furthermore, learning communities, through participatory action, promoted participants’ freedoms and agency in decision making, hence contributing to the expansion of the individual capabilities that are important for human development. in light of this, this article argues that, from a south african perspective, the vision of equity for equal educational opportunities requires a social justice reform agenda for students with disabilities in their teaching practice placements. this is a relevant point of reference for the design of inclusive policy arrangements wherein the capability approach (nussbaum, 2000; sen, 1999) and tinto’s (2003, 2004) learning community model can serve as informational bases for inclusive policy action. this can be an important milestone to support equity arrangements wherein students with disabilities can be seen as equal to their able-bodied counterparts in teaching practice placements contexts. references ashcroft, t., seguire, m., shapiro, c. & swiderski, l.m. 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(2004). student retention and graduation: facing the truth, living with the challenges. occasional paper 1. the pell institute for the study of opportunity in higher education. walker, m. (2010). critical capability pedagogies and university education. education, philosophy and theory, 42(8), 898-917. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2007.00379.x how to cite: subrayen, r. & suknunan, s. (2019). learning communities for teaching practice school placements: a higher education initiative to promote equity for students with disabilities. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 27-39. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2007.00379.x https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3823 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 11–22 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.35 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za a proposed model for the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa benjamin selznick* research article * phd candidate in higher and post-secondary education at new york university. email: bselznick@nyu.edu abstract this article presents a model that can inform the continued professionalisation of student affairs as both a field and a practice in africa. after providing a brief overview of the african post-secondary educational climate and establishing student affairs as an internationally recognised profession, i analyse three pieces authored or co-authored by mirko noordegraaf (2003; 2007; 2011) that develop the concepts of socially constructed professionalism, management of practices-in-transition and hybrid professionalism. i then employ these concepts to create a professionalisation model that incorporates an awareness of the complex and diverse nature of african student affairs work. i next examine two key areas present across the modern african post-secondary environment – career education and distance learning – and discuss how the model can guide student affairs professionalisation and practice when working in these important educational spaces. i conclude by briefly commenting on the potential for practitioners in the african context to develop new pathways forward for the international student affairs community. keywords student affairs, career education, distance learning, professionalisation. introduction post-secondary education in africa, whether occurring on university campuses (lindow, 2012), online (simmons, mbarika, mbarika, thomas, tsuma, wade & wilkerson, 2011) or through other forms of open distance learning (lephalala & makoe, 2012), is on the rise. recently, institutions across the continent have seen an increased demand for postsecondary education due to a multitude of factors. these include the further incorporation of higher education into national development strategies (cloete, bailey, pillay, bunting & maassen, 2011; kanyengo, 2009; pillay, 2010), increased international investment (lindow, 2012), and a rapid growth in population ages 15–24 termed the ‘youth bulge’ (agbor, taiwo 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 11–22 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.1i1-2.35 & smith, 2012). as african post-secondary education grows, the demand for individuals trained to provide comprehensive student services will increase. these individuals, described by chickering and reisser (1993) as the “mortar” to the teaching faculty “brick” (p. 427), are essential at a time when learning is encouraged outside of the classroom (blake, 2007). they hold additional importance in educational climates where the emphasis is placed on holistic student development (idogho, 2011; unesco, 2002) and student populations continue to grow and diversify (lumadi & mampuru, 2010). in the african context, student affairs professionals can play vital roles in the daily lives of students and institutions. for example, idogho (2011) argued that african tertiary institutions should utilise student affairs practitioners to implement an array of comprehensive initiatives. these consist of an orientation programme for all new students and their parents; an academic success programme encompassing residential education and the building of public/private partnerships with real estate companies; a counselling programme focused on interpersonal relationships, adjustment to college, study skills and career development; a student health and wellness programme aimed at helping students reach their optimum levels “physically, intellectually, emotionally, morally, socially and spiritually” (p. 274); and an academic advising programme specifically targeted at providing first-year students with individualised attention. of course, it is one thing to propose programmes in the name of greater student success and often entirely another matter to implement them. in scenarios of both economic challenge (kayengo, 2009) and educational expansion (ofori-attah, 2010), post-secondary institutions may feel pressured to increase enrolments without necessarily providing additional support services to new and persisting students. as the call for papers for this publication illustrates, though, the tide is turning towards an increase in the education and support of student affairs professionals across africa. i believe this growth is necessary as student affairs practitioners can serve as the ‘mortar’ of african higher education in three integrated areas across a wide variety of institutional contexts. first, professionals who develop shared bases of knowledge can collaborate to develop practices that best meet the needs of students (carpenter & stimpson, 2007). second, professionals can continue to conduct research on student learning and development in the african context that may directly inform institutional and national decision-making and resource allocation. finally, they can aid in the utilisation of post-secondary education as a mechanism for career development (watson & mcmahon, 2009) and poverty reduction through upward social and economic mobility (borode, 2011; asmal & james, 2001; gyimah-brempong, paddison & mitiku, 2006) by emphasising professional development throughout the co-curriculum (chan & derry, 2013). the purpose of this paper is to present a model that can inform the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa. i have chosen to build a model in the hope that it will provide those charged with training new practitioners, as well as those currently practising, with a tool to aid in the continued evolution of the profession as it crosses institutions and national borders. to create this model, i first situate african student affairs benjamin selznick: a proposed model for the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa 13 within the context of recent scholarship surrounding professionalism. i then construct the model based around central themes of dynamism and flexibility. i next discuss two areas where african practitioners can translate this model into action: career education and distance learning. i close with reflections on how the african student affairs context may inform practice internationally. a model for student affairs professionalisation student affairs work can be broken down into three categories: entering services, supporting services and culminating services (chickering & reisser, 1993, p. 438). each of these areas presents opportunities for researchers to better understand learners and institutions as well as for practitioners to assist each student in his/her academic and personal success (unesco, 2002). working in these areas must also be cast against challenges that exist throughout african education such as lack of funding, historical inequality, political instability, disease and outdated technology (lindow, 2012). in a 2002 report titled the role of student affairs and services in higher education, the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (unesco) emphasised the importance of student affairs in the international expansion and success of higher education. the report clearly stated that student affairs must be understood as a profession and that trained professionals be considered experts on student development and educational environments. in making this claim the authors also highlighted a need for professionals to develop standards of practice and behaviour through such measures as formalised education and preparation, ongoing professional development, assessment of student outcomes, and creation of management strategies (p.13). the debate surrounding professionalism, then, should not focus on whether student affairs is or is not a profession; it should instead focus on how to best professionalise practitioners (evetts, 2011) in order to meet the needs of their students. i argue that a model of professionalisation sensitive to the three core dimensions of student affairs work (chickering & reisser, 1993) yet adaptable to the variety of contexts found within african higher education can guide the development of the profession called for by unesco. constructed professionalism student affairs professionals operate in what brint (2001) termed the professional services sector. in this capacity, brint (2001) argued, they stand poised to make far greater contributions to the performance of their organisations than technology and other non-personnel factors. however, as members of a growing profession in a rapidly changing societal and educational landscape (lindow, 2011; milliken, 2004), emerging and current student affairs practitioners must develop themselves and their field (carpenter & stimpson, 2007). a starting point for the conversation surrounding this second, wider sense of ‘professional development’ at the field level can be found in the work of schinkel and noordegraaf (2011). in their paper, the authors developed a theory of professionalism anchored in the work of french sociologist pierre bourdieu and suggest: 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 11–22 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.1i1-2.35 perhaps we should treat professionalism as a dynamic concept, as a verb instead of a noun – ‘professionalisation’ – and not a static concept with generic, fixed and universal features … changing societies will experience the continuous manufacturing of professionalism. that is, they will experience process in which ideals of professionalism are (re)constructed. (p. 84) interpreting bourdieu, schnikel and noordegraaf (2011) argue in favour of understanding a profession as an entity existing in a state of constant construction by its stakeholders. in outlining this process of construction, termed professionalisation, the authors further claim that groups of professionals are capable of taking actions to further their social recognition and expand the practices that fall within their domain. the authors also advance the idea that professionalisation processes must incorporate an awareness of social histories and the value placed on professional actions in different societies (schnikel & noordegraaf, 2011). the idea that professions are built and changed over time – which i label constructed professionalism – is certainly relevant to the african student affairs context. lumadi and mampuru (2010) argue that student affairs divisions must adapt as institutions change their missions, expand their programmes, and make decisions about resource allocation as institutions enter the 21st century (milliken, 2004). i would further suggest that some of these changes may include, but are in no way limited to, deeper participation in policy development (ibara, 2012), expansion of student-facing services (idogho, 2011), and partnerships with faculty (blake, 2007). practices-in-transition the field of student affairs in africa must constantly craft responses to complex issues that exist in the lives of students and educational systems. in their 2003 paper, noordegraaf and abma address the management of issues where professionals are asked to weigh in based on their experiences and where assessment of their work can be difficult to measure. the authors next develop a typology of practices for understanding how complex issues are addressed that i believe is useful for understanding student affairs professionalisation (noordegraaf & abma, 2003). this typology describes three types of practices used when managing issues – termed canonical, practices-in-transition and non-canonical – and allows for movement between the three depending on context. canonical practices refer to management in settings with low ambiguity where quantitative measurements can be applied to determine success. one such canonical practice present in post-secondary education is course registration due to its firm measurability and clear performance indicators. non-canonical practices, on the other hand, exist in highly ambiguous situations and bring in a diverse variety of stakeholders. an example of these practices for our purposes may be the management of resources to answer larger-scale social questions such as: how can poverty reduction occur in sub-saharan africa? while student affairs practitioners may play a role in answering this large question, the management of this issue requires insight from multiple perspectives and responses may develop over a long period of time (noordegraaf & abma, 2003; borode, 2011). benjamin selznick: a proposed model for the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa 15 it is the middle ground, termed practices-in-transition, which may be most useful to the professionalisation of student affairs practitioners. as noordegraaf and abma (2003) explain: practices-in-transition may revolve around complex issues that are difficult to answer, but as such which are known and relatively uncontested. in that case, experts become active, finding out what issues are about, and they disagree about the nature of problems and the adequacy of solutions. (p. 866) many issues confronting management in the student affairs domain fall into this category. for example, issues surrounding how best to deliver services laid out by idogho (2011) at the outset of this paper represent practices-in-transition. when asked at the institutional level, questions requiring the management of these practices may include: how does our university create an orientation programme that effectively meets the needs of incoming students? what programmes and environments may facilitate student wellness on our campus? what type of academic advisement services do our students need and how can these be optimally delivered? the answers to these questions are undoubtedly complex. however, understood through the framework of practices-in-transition, answers can be developed by experts able to formulate and test hypotheses as well as use quantitative and qualitative data to measure programme effectiveness. further building on the concept of practices-in-transition (noordegraaf & abma, 2003), solutions can be conceptualised and implemented by teams of trained professionals able to ethically disagree on how to best manage resources and negotiate to determine the optimal measures of effectiveness. hybrid professionalism as an emerging field, student affairs in africa must continually negotiate its relationship with the outside world and legitimise its work to external constituencies (fournier, 1999; evetts 2011). in a third paper, noordegraaf (2007) focuses attention on different strains of professionalism that exist in the contemporary workforce. he suggests that in pure professionalism, notions of ‘professional’ are limited to traditional fields (e.g. medicine) and new professions are not considered in the same way because they lack explicit structures and controls. in hybrid professionalism, however, professionals are understood more expansively to be reflective practitioners who take into account service to the world beyond their domain. these practitioners establish linkages between their work and the world outside and search for an occupational identity with an awareness of the tradeoffs that exist between personal needs, professional claims and organised action both within and outside institutional parameters (pp. 779–780). in short, hybrid professionalism is less focused on creating firm structures that govern the control of who is and is not a professional and is instead geared towards establishing as professionals those who work in contexts where decisions are made based upon standards that are domain-specific yet subtle and interpretive (p. 779). 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 11–22 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.1i1-2.35 proposed model for continued student affairs professionalisation in africa taken as a trio, i argue that these three constructs informed largely by the work of noordegraaf – constructed professionalism, practice-in-transition and hybrid professionalism – can form a model for the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa (table 1). table 1: proposed model for continued student affairs professionalisation in africa theoretical concept contribution to model constructed professionalism professionalisation as dynamic and evolving process professions responsive to needs of changing societies practice-in-transition hypothesis testing to understand complex issues negotiated measurement and ethical disagreement hybrid professionalism engagement with outside world for collective action experts enabled to make informed decisions as the demands placed on african post-secondary education by its stakeholders experience shifts, so too will the work required of student affairs. the requirements for data collection, as well as where responsibility falls for collection and interpretation of data, may also vary significantly. this model addresses these differences by maintaining a high degree of flexibility for institutions and individuals while also establishing a consistent backbone that can guide ongoing professionalisation. this flexibility is essential in an educational landscape marked by a broad range of student needs, institutional resources, political dynamics and state-level initiatives aimed at engineering change within post-secondary educational environments (uneca, 2011). while what becomes termed ‘student affairs’ in different locales may not be precisely the same, the model will consistently provide guidance to emerging and current practitioners charged with facilitating student transitions into, through, and out of post-secondary education (idogho, 2011; chickering and reisser, 1993) as well as to the field writ large as it experiences growth and change (carpenter & stimpson, 2007). the model additionally recognises that student affairs practitioners utilise their professional competencies to create changes within their institutions while also encouraging them to partner with external stakeholders to generate broader social action. these internal and external partnerships can be directed, for example, towards serving the economic function of post-secondary education (winch, 2002) by helping more students learn and then earn. partnerships can also be directed towards measures that encourage retention and persistence when learning happens away from campus (lephalala & makoe, 2012; ibara, 2012). in the next section, i discuss how this model can be operationalised in the context of two challenges facing student affairs practitioners in africa: providing effective career education, and engaging students in distance learning environments. i have chosen these benjamin selznick: a proposed model for the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa 17 two because i believe they are the best examples of how the model may be incorporated into student affairs professionalisation in order to help practitioners provide services that are vital to students across the continent. practical implications: career education and distance learning career education the increase in africa’s youth (15–24) population prompts the question, asked by agbor, taiwo and smith (2012), of whether this shift in demography presents a social dividend in the form of economic growth or a disaster marked by sharp unemployment. higher education (borode, 2011; cloete et al., 2011; pillay, 2010; maree, 2009) is frequently cited as a key ingredient in moving the needle away from unemployment and poverty and towards employment and economic development. though steps in this direction certainly emerge from government planning (cloete et al., 2011) and more market-based curriculum alterations (agbor, taiwo & smith, 2012; borode, 2011), professional student affairs staff may play an essential role in the career education of students enrolled in higher education. in their 2002 report, unesco clearly outlined career services as a functional area within student affairs charged primarily with providing career counselling and helping students effectively transition from school to work. in career offices, practitioners frequently serve both as career counsellors helping students navigate their own professional development processes (watson & mcmahon, 2009; maree, 2009) and career educators providing students with the necessary information to make informed decisions about career opportunities (chan & derry, 2013). with specific regard to the african context, borode (2011) argues that all institutions should “integrate […] career counselling initiatives” and that “providing proper guidance to the students for helping them choose the right career cannot be over-emphasised” (p. 153). borode (2011) further suggests that undergraduates be given a clear knowledge of how their degree fits into the marketplace in order to make the most immediate impact on their economies and participate in personal and communal wealth creation. understanding this relationship between higher education and employment (pillay, 2010), how can african student affairs respond as a profession? i argue that there are two opportunities for continued professionalisation to take place with respect to this area based on the model (table 2). first, professionals must be encouraged to develop career counselling strategies and career education models that meet the specific demands of their educational climates. while researching career development in south africa, maree (2009) reflects on the dilemma between adopting north american career counselling models versus generating models that may work better in developing countries. he concludes that, “the answer probably lies in a compromise: we need to build on what has been researched elsewhere, conduct our own research and develop an approach that is best suited to our own idiosyncratic needs” (p. 442). in terms of the model, trained practitioners need to be in a position to apply practice-in-transition management to career counselling and education. 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 11–22 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.1i1-2.35 table 2: practical implications of model theoretical concept career education distance learning constructed professionalism career education further integrated throughout co-curriculum by student affairs practitioners trained with knowledge in this area practitioners develop new mechanisms for providing student support in non-placebased learning contexts practice-in-transition hypothesis testing utilised to determine optimal interventions and strategies that facilitate effective school-to-work transition practices for optimising learning in distance environments continuously discussed and measurement of interventions negotiated by experts hybrid professionalism practitioners work in concert with employers and governments in order to provide students with accurate and up-to-date employment information practitioners work with policy-makers and external constituencies to inform decisions regarding student support services and expansion of distance learning services hypotheses need to be tested and research conducted in order to arrive at practicable solutions to the complex problem of how to help students make the successful transition from school to work in african nations. practitioners should also be prepared to work in concert with professionals beyond higher education in order to assess employer needs and provide students with the most up-to-date possible information on country-specific economic trends. these partnerships are especially important in ensuring that students are knowledgeable about the linkages between education, employment opportunities and employer expectations of post-secondary graduates in their home region (african economic outlook, 2012). second, the professionalising field of student affairs in africa possesses the capacity to revamp the delivery of career education and chart a new course forward. a recent us paper advances the idea that career education can become a mission-centric focal point of postsecondary institutions not only housed in career services but also thoroughly incorporated into both the in-class curriculum and out-of-class co-curriculum (chan & derry, 2013). speaking directly to career counselling practice in an african nation, south africa, watson and mcmahon (2009) further argue: the responsibility for addressing and redressing the limitations of career counseling in higher education does not rest with career counselors alone. in this regard, there is an opportunity for career counselors to show proactive leadership by initiating and coordinating a systemic response that involves higher education policy makers, professional bodies, practitioners, researchers, and those who train new professionals to the field. (p. 479) benjamin selznick: a proposed model for the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa 19 in their role as collaborative educators (blake, 2007), student affairs practitioners may become catalysts for change within their institutions as they both develop and implement professional practices that optimise the role higher education can play in economic development. moreover, i believe that training of new practitioners must include education regarding career development to ensure that this knowledge is widespread rather than siloed. distance learning distance learning, whether taking place online or through other forms of communication, is quickly being adopted as a key form of education delivery in africa (asunka, 2008; lephalala & makoe, 2012; simmons et al., 2011). furthermore, the use of distance learning is being championed as a primary method for increasing access to higher education to meet the demand brought on both by the booming youth population and the 21st century global economy (agbor, taiwo & smith, 2012; asunka, 2008; lephalala & makoe, 2012; simmons et al., 2011). student affairs services and practitioners can certainly play an important role in the lives of learners as education increasingly leaves campus (ibara, 2012). however, provisions for these services are not always made or resourced (dare, zapata & thomas, 2005), often to the direct disadvantage of student learning and success (lephalala & makoe, 2012; asunka, 2008). a recent qualitative study on students pursuing distance learning through unisa in south africa (ibid.) revealed deep concerns among students with regard to their learning environment, the socio-cultural aspects of their education, and educational costs. central to these issues was a lack of institutional support to help students create communities of learning even if they were far from campus. as one learner from a rural area expressed, “it seems that we are forgotten by the institution. nobody even knows that we exist. living far from the university is a big problem” (p. 4). perhaps the best people in the institution to ‘remember’ this student and others in her situation are student affairs practitioners. one way to ensure student affairs practitioners are sensitive to the needs of distance learners is to hardwire this conversation into their training and continued development. i believe that the model for professionalisation as proposed meets this demand in two distinct ways (table 2). first, the model provides the flexibility necessary to reconceptualise the delivery of student support services to better meet the wide variety of learning contexts present in africa today (ibara, 2012). in terms of distance learning, practitioners may develop ways to ensure students feel supported as part of the educational community even if they never set foot on campus (dare, zapata & thomas, 2005). these services may include the creation of positions solely targeted at engaging distance learners, the development of modules that cover university culture and success, the use of modern technologies to facilitate communication between distance learners and college staff, and perhaps even the creation of remote learning centres staffed by student affairs professionals. 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 11–22 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.1i1-2.35 second, as these services are implemented and resources managed to address the question of how to best engage distance learners, further research must be performed and the success of interventions evaluated. this research may, in turn, inform the development of practices that better meet the needs of students studying in online and offline distance environments, as well as students working in the variety of learning scenarios and cultures present in modern-day africa. research could also contribute to conversations taking place between institutions and external revenue sources regarding how to best leverage 21st century technologies to increase educational completion and provide more members of africa’s ‘youth bulge’ with the skills needed to compete in both regional markets (african economic outlook, 2012) and the global knowledge economy (agbor, taiwo & smith, 2012). conclusion i have presented a model that can guide the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa. i believe this model, with its cornerstones of dynamism and flexibility, can assist both african professionals and the african student affairs profession in their work. i also hope that this model encourages new and veteran practitioners to see student affairs as an arena charged not only with addressing challenges that exist, but also one capable of creatively responding to the many robust opportunities present in 21st century post-secondary educational environments. especially in the areas of career education and distance learning, african practitioners trained to be adaptive and collaborative may very well chart courses that will inspire the international student affairs community to reinvent practices in the name of greater student success and access. references african economic outlook. (2012). special theme: promoting youth employment. retrieved from: http:// www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/in-depth/youth_employment/ agbor, j., taiwo, o. & smith, j. (2012). sub-saharan africa’s youth bulge: a demographic dividend or disaster? in foresight africa: top priorities for the continent in 2012 (9–11). retrieved from: http:// www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2012/01/priorities-foresight-africa asmal, k. & james, w. (2001). education and democracy in south africa today. daedalus: journal of the american academy of arts and sciences, 130(1), 185–204. asunka, s. (2008). online learning in higher education in sub-saharan africa: ghanaian university students’ experiences and perceptions. international review of research in open and distance learning, 9(3), 1–23. blake, j.h. (2007). the crucial role of student affairs professionals in the learning process. new directions for student services, 117, 65–72. doi: 10.1177/0095399707304434 borode, m. (2011). higher education and poverty reduction among youth in the sub-saharan africa. european journal of educational studies, 3(1), 149–155. brint, s. (2001). professionals and the ‘knowledge economy’: rethinking the theory of postindustrial society. current sociology, 49, 101–132. doi: 10.1177/0011392101049004007 benjamin selznick: a proposed model for the continued professionalisation of student affairs in africa 21 carpenter, s., & stimpson, m.t. (2007). professionalism, scholarly practice, and professional development in student affairs. naspa journal, 44(2), 265–284. chan, a., & derry, t. (eds.). (2013). rethinking success: from the liberal arts to careers in the 21st century. retrieved from: http://rethinkingsuccess.wfu.edu/files/2013/05/a-roadmap-fortransforming-the-college-to-career-experience.pdf chickering, a.w., & reisser, l. (1993). education and identity. san francisco: jossey-bass. cloete, n., bailey, t., pillay, p., bunting, i., & maassen, p. (2011). universities and economic development in africa. wynberg, south africa: centre for higher education transformation. dare, l.a., zapata, l.p., & thomas, a.g. (2005). assessing the needs of distance learners: a student affairs perspective. new directions for student services, 112, 39–54. evetts, j. (2011). sociological analysis of professionalism: past, present and future. comparative sociology, 10, 1–37. fournier, v. (1999). the appeal to ‘professionalism’ as a disciplinary mechanism. social review, 47(2), 280–307. gyimah-brempong, k., paddison, o., & mitiku, w. (2006). higher education and economic growth in africa. journal of development studies, 42(3), 509–529. ibara, e.c. (2012). institutional framework for developing sustainable quality distance education in west africa: guidelines, engines, and policy options. educational planning, 20(3), 19–30. idogho, p.o. (2011). higher education in nigeria and the challenges ahead. european journal of educational studies, 3(2), 269–276. kanyengo, c.w. (2009). a library response to the massification of higher education: the case of the university of zambia library. higher education policy, 22, 373–387. lephalala, m.m.k, & makoe, m. (2012). the impact of socio-cultural issues for african students in the south african distance education context. the journal of distance education, 26(1). lindow, m. (2011). weaving success: voices of change in african higher education. new york: institute of international education. lumadi, t.e., & mampuru, k.c. (2010). managing change in the student affairs divisions of higher education institutions. south african journal of higher education, 24(5), 716–729. maree, j.g. (2009). career counselling in the 21st century: south african institutions of higher education at the crossroads. south african journal of higher education, 23(3), 436–458. milliken, j. (2004). postmodernism versus professionalism in higher education. higher education in europe, 29(1), 9–18. doi: 10.1080/03797720410001673265 noordegraaf, m. (2007). from ‘pure’ to ‘hybrid’ professionalism: present-day professionalism in ambiguous public domains. administration and society, 39, 761–785. noordegraaf, m., & abma, t. (2003). management by measurement? public management practices amidst ambiguity. public administration, 81(4), 853–871. ofori-attah, k.d. (2010). higher education in ghana: expansion, quality assurance and accreditation. american journal of educational studies, 3(1), 27–38. pillay, p. (2010). linking higher education and economic development: implications for africa from three successful systems. wynberg, south africa: centre for higher education transformation. schinkel, w., & noordegraaf, m. (2011). professionalism as symbolic capital: materials for a bourdieusian theory of professionalism. comparative sociology, 10, 67–96. 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 11–22 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.1i1-2.35 simmons, l.l., mbarika, i., mbarika, v.w., thomas, c.a., tsuma, c., wade, t.l., & wilkerson, d. (2011). teleeducation initatives for sub-saharan africa: the case of the african virtual university in kenya. journal of stem education, 12(5 and 6), 78–90. uneca. (2011). africa youth report: addressing the youth education and employment nexus in the new global economy. addis ababa, ethopia: uneca. unesco. (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. new york: unesco. watson, m., & mcmahon, m. (2009). career counselling in south african higher education: moving forward systemically and qualitatively. south african journal of higher education, 23(3), 470–481. winch, c. (2002). the economic aims of education. journal of philosophy of education, 36(1), 101–117. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 75 www.jsaa.ac.za research article paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach linda spark,* danie de klerk,** tshepiso maleswena*** & andrew jones**** * linda spark is a senior tutor and grant holder: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: linda.spark@wits.ac.za ** danie de klerk is coordinator and lecturer: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: danie.deklerk@wits.ac.za *** tshepiso maleswena is coordinator and associate lecturer: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: tshepiso. maleswena@wits.ac.za **** andrew jones is a grant holder: road to success programme, faculty of commerce, law, and management, university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: asjfs.co.za abstract the exponential growth of higher education enrolment in south africa has resulted in increased diversity of the student body, leading to a proliferation of factors that affect student performance and success. various initiatives have been adopted by tertiary institutions to mitigate the negative impact these factors may have on student success, and it is suggested that interventions that include aspects of social integration are the most successful. this paper outlines an approach called success tutoring (a non-academic tutorial approach used as part of a student success and support programme in the faculty of commerce, law, and management at the university of the witwatersrand), which is underscored by empirical evidence drawn from evaluation data collected during success tutor symposia. the authors draw conclusions and make recommendations based on a thematic analysis of the dataset, and ultimately provide readers with a framework for implementing success tutoring at their tertiary institutions. keywords higher education; non-academic support; student success; student support; tutorial approach; tutorial framework http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:linda.spark%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:danie.deklerk%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:tshepiso.maleswena%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:tshepiso.maleswena%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:asjfs.co.za?subject= 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 introduction the massification of higher education both locally and abroad (bai, 2006; hornsby & osman, 2014; luckett & sutherland, 2000) has led to an influx of diverse, non-traditional1 student populations (e.g. minorities and those whose access has been hampered by socioeconomic circumstances in the past) to universities. many of them are underprepared (maitland & lemmer, 2011; loots, 2009) first-generation students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (rendon, 1994; jacklin & robinson, 2007; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). their expectations of university are frequently determined by their experience at school (hill, 1995; jacklin & robinson, 2007), which usually sees them underestimate the demands and workload of university studies (loots, 2009). consequently students have high expectations for themselves based on their perceived academic competence in grade 12 (loots, 2009). they may thus enter university with a false sense of security and ability that makes them vulnerable to the pressures and expectations of university studies. for this reason, those passionate about the student success agenda often aim to establish structures, interventions, and/or programmes to enhance student success (engelbrecht, harding & potgieter, 2014; hatch, 2016; perez & ceja, 2010). this article proposes a framework for an approach called success tutoring and could be read in conjunction with a preceding article (de klerk, spark, jones & maleswena, 2017), which outlines the student success programme the approach emanates from. for purposes of this study, student success in the south african context is defined as a university student’s ability to: cope with the transition from high school to university (mcghie & du preez, 2015); progress through the first year of study (andrews & osman, 2015; manik, 2015); graduate from their degree of choice (andrews & osman, 2015; mcghie & du preez, 2015) within five years of first registration (scott, yeld & hendry, 2007); manage the psychosocial, socio-economic, cultural (mcghie & du preez, 2015), and academic demands (potgieter, harding, kritzinger, somo & engelbrecht, 2015) posed by university studies; and access relevant academic and non-academic support structures on university campuses (mcghie & du preez, 2015). as an additional point of clarification, this study focuses on the provision of non-academic support by concentrating on the non-academic factors that may influence a student’s academic performance and success, and excludes any form of academic tutoring. non-academic factors may include (but are not limited to) excellence skills, psychosocial factors, mental health challenges, and emotional well-being. what follows is an overview of prominent dimensions linked to tutorial approaches, as outlined in the literature. 1 moscati (2004) and jacklin and robinson (2007) highlight changes in higher education student demographics over the last twenty years, speaking of a shift from “… more traditional student cohorts […] to a more diverse student body …” (moscati, 2004, p. 380). here diversity denotes things like experience, student background and education, age, and motivation for studying, to name a few (moscati, 2004; jacklin & robinson, 2007). as such, increased diversity means the student body we have today is different from what it was in the past (i.e. the tradition has changed). http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 77 literature and context while intelligence and motivation may have been the major predictors of student success in the past, the diversity of present-day student populations brings into play a far greater number of factors. these include, but are not limited to, students’ personal, social and academic circumstances, as well as the university staff and processes that determine whether students perform and progress at university (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009; karp, 2011; maitland & lemmer, 2011). while some consider it the responsibility of the student to adapt, others believe universities have an obligation to accommodate students (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009; rendon, 1994; jacklin & robinson, 2007; loots, 2009), particularly those who are unable to integrate into university independently and require active intervention by lecturers, tutors, and/or other university staff to help them participate in activities and ultimately succeed (karp, 2011; rendon, 1994). this may be particularly true for non-traditional university students whose family and friends are at times sceptical of them attending university or may even discourage it (rendon, 1994). despite many support interventions at universities to prevent student failure, dropout rates remain high (karp, 2011; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009) and may be attributed to: interventions that are only academic in nature (e.g. academic support tutorials or extended degree programmes); passive interventions (e.g. referral by a lecturer to a non-academic unit for advice or guidance) when students need someone to actively provide assistance (karp, 2011; rendon, 1994); and/or failure to meet the needs of students (karp, 2011). as a result various other initiatives have been introduced, such as financial workshops, student support groups, “big brothers/sisters”, academic advisers or advising programmes, counselling facilities, staff-student mentoring, and peer tutoring (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). regardless of what it may be, it is suggested that initiatives that provide holistic support, including social, psycho-emotional, and academic help, are the most successful (maitland & lemmer, 2011). moreover, non-academic support initiatives are often geared towards addressing students’ academic success and may focus on a number of non-academic issues and challenges faced by university students (karp, 2011). one of the most important factors in student success is social integration. students who feel isolated or lack the requisite social support may drop out (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), with first-generation students and those studying at tertiary institutions far from home most likely to fall into this trap (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). the literature shows that learning is a social activity (maitland & lemmer, 2011; wilmer, 2008) and, despite poor academic performance, many students persevere because they have managed to realise successful social integration at their tertiary institution (karp, 2011; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). correspondingly, students’ interaction with someone who shows concern or takes an interest in them (particularly in the first year of study) is of great significance (hill, 1995; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994). the literature shows that informal (i.e. non-academic) contact between a student and lecturer outside the classroom positively affects the student’s personal development, academic performance, social integration into the university, and satisfaction with the university experience (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994; karp, 2011), which aligns with jacklin 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 and robinson’s (2007) assertion that (inter)personal support is the most important type of assistance for university students. however, the literature shows that students remain reluctant to speak to lecturers (cleland, arnold & chesser, 2005; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), as they often consider them unapproachable, unfriendly, or unavailable (rendon, 1994; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). correspondingly, lecturers may feel they do not have the time (owing to large student numbers) nor the ability (they lack formal training) to address and/or diagnose student problems (hill, 1995; tait & entwistle, 1996; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). as such, lecturers may either be unwilling to provide non-academic support, unaware of non-academic support services on campus, or may not consider it their responsibility to refer students to those qualified to assist (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). still others may feel students should have the skills to cope, as they managed to gain admission to university (cleland, arnold & chesser, 2005; karp, 2011; tait & entwistle, 1996). whatever the case may be, it is vital that students are treated with the necessary sensitivity and helped where possible. this may simply require a lecturer to listen or refer appropriately (hill, 1995), rather than blaming students for their shortcomings, which is often the case (loots, 2009; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). of importance then is a need to take cognisance of students’ preference to talk to tutors (i.e. senior students). the term ‘tutor’ has several connotations that are predominantly scholarly or relate to academia (schmidt & moust, 1995), denoting a person who typically gives academic guidance and instruction to a small group of people or an individual (barrows, 2002). barrows (2002) emphasises the auxiliary nature of a tutor’s teaching responsibilities (i.e. supplementary to the lecturer in a tertiary institution), while maitland and lemmer (2011) underscore how holistic student support by tutors consistently yields far better outcomes for students. consequently, students tend to gravitate to tutors because they are likely to possess the following attributes: approachability, relatability with a marginal age difference (maitland & lemmer, 2011), contextual insight and understanding, an awareness of what it means to be in the student’s shoes (loots, 2009; maitland & lemmer, 2011; walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), experience succeeding at university (maitland & lemmer, 2011), and an appreciation for the value of student support (loots, 2009). subsequently, students can establish meaningful supportive relationships with individuals who influence them positively (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; maitland & lemmer, 2011), while tutors can offer solutions to the challenges students face based on personal experience, help with academic work, and assist with finding help for both academic and non-academic concerns (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004). the supportive role played by the tutor is particularly significant, as students are usually reluctant to admit to having personal, physical, mental health and/or financial problems (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009), which they feel are private, may have negative consequences when shared, or show weakness or an inability to cope. by forming a meaningful relationship with a tutor, students are more likely to speak out about their challenges and concerns, thus addressing cleland, arnold and chesser’s (2005) findings about students not knowing who to talk to regarding personal problems, or not feeling comfortable speaking http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 79 about matters of this nature. tutors are also likely to adequately refer students to relevant counselling and support services, which makes students less likely to withdraw from their studies and has a positive effect on student achievement and retention (walsh, larsen & parry, 2009). besides a lack of social support and integration, other factors that cause students to fail or drop out are a lack of time management, inadequate study or exam-writing skills, no/unrealistic goals, family/financial/workload pressures, and/or a fear of failure (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; loots, 2009). not surprisingly then, programmes that bring students together help create social and learning groups where these students are taught to cope with and address these challenges. additionally, in instances where mentoring and support are included in the support programme, student motivation, selfconfidence, and engagement are improved and increased (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994). similarly, fulk and king (2001) have found that class-wide peer-topeer tutoring techniques make it possible to actively involve all students in the learning process, which has the added advantage of improving self-esteem and social skills among participants. subsequently, a flexible peer-mediated strategy where students serve as tutors and tutees known as ‘peer tutoring’ (hott, walker & sahni, 2012) allows an older or higher performing student to be paired with students in need of support, to work on academic and/or behavioural concepts they find challenging. peer tutoring (hott, walker & sahni, 2012) is common in institutions of higher learning and most syllabi are dependent on peer tutors to supplement contact time (clarence, 2016; hobson, 2002). the technique has a strong evidence base (hott, walker & sahni, 2012; vasquez & slocum, 2012) and is said to aid in four ways, outlined in table 1 below. table 1: merits of peer tutoring 1. creates social connections students can get information, form study groups, become part of a community where they feel welcome and are supported, know who and where to go to, receive advice, are motivated, are helped to acclimatise, and form relationships (karp, 2011; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). 2. increases commitment and clarifies goals students may not know why university is important or understand why they are learning. guidance by senior students is a positive interaction that suggests the relevance of the degree, provides concrete reasoning, and allows the student to visualise their future selves (karp, 2011; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). 3. develops know-how students learn what they are expected to know and do, learn about context and culture, how to navigate the system, when and where to ask for help, how to make use of services, how to manage time and participate in class, and how to study and write tests (karp, 2011; loots, 2009; wilmer, 2008). 4. makes life feasible students learn how to deal with other day-to-day challenges such as transport, accommodation, and food (karp, 2011; wilmer, 2008). 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 consequently, holistic experiences that assist with psychosocial problems and that are run by well-trained, enthusiastic, and committed tutors (maitland & lemmer, 2011) will lead to satisfied students. if students are satisfied with a support programme it will create goodwill for future implementation (maitland & lemmer, 2011) and assist students by “… mak[ing] life more manageable [which] can improve student outcomes” (karp, 2011, p. 19). similarly, students who are involved in one intervention will likely participate in others (loots, 2009), thus increasing their chances of succeeding at university. what follows is a framework for implementing success tutoring – an approach conceptualised and adopted by the road to success programme (rsp), a non-academic student success and support programme (see de klerk et al., 2017) in the faculty of commerce, law, and management (clm) at the university of the witwatersrand. success tutoring in 2014 teaching development grant funding was applied for by clm, as part of a university-wide grant application to the department of higher education and training (dhet). funding was awarded for four projects, one of which had to focus on supporting students at risk (a term used by dhet). however, the rsp (de klerk et al., 2017) wanted to move away from the at-risk label and adopted a more positive, success-orientated approach for the programme. the initial target groups were first-year students and particular cohorts of struggling students, which have since grown to include all of the approximately 5 500 undergraduate students in the faculty. the initial premise for employing between 20 and 30 non-academic tutors as part of the programme was to ensure requisite capacity to service the needs of all the students who could engage with its support initiatives. but in time rsp grant holders and coordinators (see de klerk et al., 2017) learned the value (through research and practice) of involving the student experience and voice in a programme that serves the needs of students. as a result, an approach called success tutoring was conceptualised and adopted. the concept of success tutoring refers to the support, help, and guidance provided to a student by a success tutor. success tutoring excludes any form of academic tutoring and does not relate to any one subject in particular. the emphasis here is on the non-academic factors that may influence a student’s academic performance and success. focus areas include, but are not limited to, excellence skills (e.g. time management, study skills for university, note taking, and reflective practice), strategic planning, advice and guidance on matters pertaining to personal and university life, and referral to relevant campus support services. in turn, a success tutor is a student tutor who has been trained to occupy this position. the success tutor serves as a link between the student and the university. (s)he provides advice, support, and guidance to students in relation to particular focus areas (see definition of success tutoring), drawing on personal experience and training. accordingly, success tutors have a variety of roles and responsibilities. firstly, they interact with undergraduate students in group and one-on-one settings to address excellence skills. secondly, success tutors engage with students around personal, social, and emotional challenges, usually on a one-on-one basis. here tutors may draw on http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 81 personal experience and what they were taught during training, or they could refer the case to one of the rsp coordinators (de klerk et al., 2017), should it go beyond the scope of what they are able to assist with. finally, success tutors get involved in rsp symposia, orientation week activities, the faculty’s pre-university school, awareness drives, pay-itforward campaigns, and a number of other rsp initiatives (see de klerk et al., 2017). consequently, a success tutor is an individual who should be able to provide non-academic support (that supplements and complements students’ academic success) to undergraduate students. these tutors play an integral role in improving and evolving the rsp, thus ensuring relevance, nuance, and an element of student voice in the programme. recruitment recruitment starts towards the end of an academic year with the submission of applications by senior students (i.e. third and fourth years) in response to a call for tutors. candidates have to be willing to: assist undergraduates with a variety of personal, social, and emotional challenges; guide undergraduates on the path to personal growth and academic success; motivate undergraduates to unlock and realise their potential; and provide undergraduates with emotional and social support. interviews are geared at identifying individuals who possess attributes and characteristics that align with the rsp’s mandate (see de klerk et al., 2017) and occur early in the new academic year to allow adequate time for tutor training prior to the commencement of the academic year. although success tutors do not have to possess an exceptional academic record, they should at least be averaging in the 60s, as the programme would not want to put its own tutors at risk of not succeeding. once all interviews have been conducted, the team deliberates and then informs new success tutors of their appointment and training dates. training as success tutors provide non-academic support, their training needs are different. recruitment is followed by a two-day tutor training programme, where day one focuses on rsp in-house training and day two on student in distress training (conducted by the university’s counselling unit). on day one newly appointed success tutors are orientated, gain a sense of their role and responsibility, and explore the mandate of the programme. day two focuses solely on the process of assisting students in distress, counselling, and referring students if and when necessary. the two-day training session serves to ensure that success tutors gain insight into the student success and support agenda, know what is expected of them, understand when to refer cases, and know whom to refer students to. support the rsp recognises the need to adequately support success tutors, to ensure they are able to fulfil their mandate. this is achieved through clear and consistent tutorial briefs for running success tutorials, opportunities to reflect and debrief, library literacy workshops, copyright and plagiarism workshops, regular engagements with the rsp team, and an annual team82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 building event. also worth mentioning is the role played by success tutors who have been part of the programme for more than one year, as they are involved in tutor training sessions and regularly share their experience and insight with new tutors. methodology the evaluation of success tutoring has proven critical in terms of programme enhancement and draws on the input of success tutors through their role as students and members of the rsp team. nygaard and belluigi (2011) emphasise how some methods of evaluation do not address student learning (and to some extent student needs), which is why the rsp considers contributions by success tutors (i.e. the student voice) imperative. one method of evaluation used annually since the programme’s inauguration in 2015 is the rsp success tutor symposium, which provides success tutors the opportunity to share innovations and address both internal and external factors they feel could enhance the programme as a whole and/or impact on its growth or success. during this symposium each tutor has the opportunity to conduct a five-minute presentation on a key topic (usually quite broad to allow room for personal interpretation and nuance). these topics are predetermined by rsp coordinator and sent to success tutors a few weeks before the symposium (there are usually between three and five topics). the purpose is to observe the programme through a different lens (i.e. that of the student tutor), as they engage with students and experience interventions differently from staff who occupy administrative or academic positions in the university. consequently, this approach to evaluation has proven beneficial to the rsp, while at the same time providing success tutors the opportunity to contribute to the evaluation of the programme. for the purpose of this study the authors analysed their 2015 and 2016 symposia notes (11 out of 25 success tutors participated in the former, while 17 out of 24 participated in the latter), using the principles and processes of thematic analysis proposed by braun and clarke (2006). this involved individuals familiarising themselves with their datasets (i.e. the different sets of symposia notes), identifying codes and themes, comparing themes across datasets, refining themes, and naming themes. the results of this analysis yielded four main themes, one of which has five sub-themes. theme one was identified as the social aspect of the rsp, which is broken down into the sub-themes of relationship, integration/ know-how, commitments/clarify goals, community, and why tutors (vs lectures). support given, other (non-academic) initiatives, and expectations of students new to the university emerges as themes two, three, and four respectively. these themes and sub-themes were used to explicate the value of success tutoring as an approach for addressing student success needs in the faculty, which the authors believe also apply to the greater south african higher education context. findings and discussion social aspect the overriding theme that arose from the thematic analysis was that of social aspect in relation to the rsp and the idea that “learning is a social activity”. this confirms the work http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 83 of maitland and lemmer (2011). within this theme the responses from success tutors were broken down into five sub-themes, which are explored in more detail below. relationships the analysis showed that success tutors believed it was important to interact with someone you had a connection with, which was critical for relationship building (lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; maitland & lemmer, 2011). they felt that students wanted to belong and needed emotional support. in tutorials success tutors would often suggest that students create buddies, both with other students (particularly those in that tutorial group), as well as with the tutors. the tutors also believed that it was important for themselves to have relationships with the other success tutors, as well as with student councils and industry partners. the suggestion that relationships are important for students confirms the findings of lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004), and maitland and lemmer (2011), who say that students can establish relationships with tutors that can influence them positively, but also help with the challenges of university. students are less likely to withdraw if they are assisted or referred to a unit where they can be helped, or even simply have someone to talk to or who takes an interest in them (hill, 1995; lotkowski, robbins & noeth, 2004; rendon, 1994). integration/know-how what also emerged from the analysis is that students want to belong and feel the need to fit in. a student may think that it is just her/him who is left out, while others appear to fit in and/or have friends, which is usually not the case. the success tutors suggest that students want to become part of a society that talks to success and that they need to know how and where to ask for help. tutors would ask students if they have any friends to gauge possible feelings of isolation, which then gives the success tutor an opportunity to facilitate connections with other students. walsh, larsen and parry (2009) found that students who feel isolated are more likely to drop out of university, so being part of a group within the rsp is likely to guard against this. in addition, lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004), and karp (2011) suggest that students who have successfully integrated socially into university are more likely to persevere. moreover, the success tutors’ emphasis on the importance of knowing who and where to ask for assistance for both academic and non-academic issues substantiates the findings of wilmer (2008), loots (2009), and lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004). commitments/clarify goals another point that arose from the analysis was success tutors’ perceived responsibility to help develop the individual and create a culture of not wasting potential. as such, they assist students with setting goals and discuss how to realise these goals. success tutors also engage with students, not just to assist with difficulties, but to speak to them about how to succeed. they act as motivators and believe they have a responsibility to help with the growth of the 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 students they interact with. this need for tutors to guide students in terms of their future selves is reiterated by karp (2011), loots (2009) and wilmer (2008). the rsp success tutors see this as a positive duty, so that students can understand why they are at university, and where it will lead them. additionally, success tutors see themselves as benefiting from this process, as by assisting others and interacting with other success tutors, they can also grow and succeed (loots, 2009). community this sub-theme relates to success tutors’ beliefs that they have a voice as a community within the rsp. they see the rsp as having created a culture of help and support that builds students’ self-esteem, as well as that of the tutors themselves. as senior students, success tutors feel they can pass down guidelines through their interactions and communications within their tutorial groups, which will support the students they engage with. here the success tutors and their idea of the rsp community as a support mechanism to make students feel part of a wider group serve to substantiate the work of karp (2011), loots (2009) and wilmer (2008). by involving students in the learning that takes place in tutorials, success tutors believe they are building their and the students’ self-esteem, which can be related to the findings of fulk and king (2001). why tutors (vs lecturers) the analysis shows that success tutors believe they are in the extraordinary position of being able to make university a better place for students. due to their age and experiences, they consider themselves more likely to: relate to students’ issues; understand students’ positions; and/or refer students when necessary. the tutors say we have been there. they understand that personality attributes like empathy, being encouraging, and being open and positive are vital, while also encouraging the students to gain these attributes. success tutors also feel they can draw on their own experiences (not just from an academic point of view) and provide practical solutions to particular challenges. what is more, as a big brother/sister they also get informal anecdotal feedback from students, which in turn helps them improve their own practice. the work of maitland and lemmer (2011), loots (2009), and walsh, larsen and parry (2009) are supported by the success tutors’ experiences. the tutors find that students in rsp tutorial groups are more likely to talk to them owing to their closer age, and because the success tutors are more easily able to relate to the challenges students face, which they may have experienced themselves. support given the second theme to emerge from the thematic analysis relates to the type of support provided to students. success tutors emphasised that students require support that does not focus on academics alone. moreover, they make it clear that not only underprepared students gain from engaging with success tutors. therefore the support provided by success tutors through the rsp addresses the fact that students’ support needs are not necessarily http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 linda spark, danie de klerk, tshepiso maleswena & andrew jones: paving the road to success ... 85 linked to academics. consequently, success tutors provide interpersonal support geared at emotional, personal, and social challenges. this addresses karp’s (2011) comments about the failure to meet the needs of students and corroborates the findings of lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004) about the use of both academic and non-academic support interventions. it also links to the work of maitland and lemmer (2011), who emphasise the need for support structures that are not only academic in nature. other (non-academic) initiatives the third theme revolves around other (non-academic) initiatives to support students and address student success needs. success tutors are involved in initiatives of this nature through the rsp (i.e. awareness drives and soup/hot beverage stations). however, they also expressed a need to influence undergraduate schools within the faculty to provide additional support that blends tutoring of both an academic and non-academic nature. here the work of lotkowski, robbins and noeth (2004) about the value of academic and non-academic support initiatives rings true once more. additionally, maitland and lemmer’s (2011) suggestion that those who provide support that covers social, psychoemotional, and academic help are the most successful, cannot be discounted. expectations of students new to the university the final theme to emerge from the analysis of symposia data relates to the expectations of students who are new to the university. success tutors highlighted that different students have different needs. students entering the system may therefore be underprepared firstgeneration students who are far from home and vulnerable/overwhelmed. additionally, success tutors often engage with introverted students who may not realise they need help coping with the demands of university. as a result, the success tutors emphasise the value of word-of-mouth to aid students in realising they need help, particularly when it seems that others are coping and they are not. the fact that students are willing to engage with success tutors regarding matters of a personal nature addresses walsh, larsen and parry’s (2009) findings about student reluctance to discuss matters of this nature. moreover, success tutors’ observations about first-generation students who live far from home reiterates lotkowski, robbins and noeth’s (2004) findings, in addition to corroborating what loots (2009) says about managing student expectations in light of success tutors having been there. what is reassuring then is that rsp success tutors are engaging with students new to the university, which walsh, larsen and parry (2009) claim has a positive effect on student achievement and retention. conclusion south african higher education has seen an exponential growth in student numbers, placing severe pressure on the resources of universities and directly impacting on student success. the subsequent necessity for student support initiatives that supplement and complement the academic and non-academic student experience have become non-negotiable. in this 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(2) 2017, 75–88 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 paper the authors shared a framework for implementing success tutoring, a tutorial approach that forms part of the student success and support programme they run. those looking to implement success tutoring should remember that the recruitment and adequate training of suitable candidates to occupy success tutor positions is imperative to providing students with the support they feel they need and to assist with their socialisation at university. this requires individuals who are passionate about student success and support, motivated, driven, and who understand the challenges faced by south african students. senior undergraduate or honours-level students are most likely to fit this profile, as students are likely to find them approachable and relate to them better. the approach also captures the student voice, which is essential for addressing student needs and to evaluate and enhance the student success and support programme the success tutors are affiliated with (if any). ultimately, success tutors perform an intermediate function between academic support (which is discipline and/or subject specific) and non-academic support (which is geared at factors influencing academic success). success tutors are therefore knowledgeable about the content of their specific fields of study, can provide insight on excellence skills that are tailored to supplement academic activities, and also play a non-academic role in terms of being empathetic/sympathetic by providing support for students who are struggling with a range of issues that can adversely affect student success.2 references andrews, d. & osman, r. 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(2017). paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 75–88. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01191156 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01191156 https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199508000-00015 https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199508000-00015 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00129109 https://doi.org/10.1177/001440291207800205 https://doi.org/10.1080/03055690902876438 https://doi.org/10.1080/03055690902876438 http://dx.doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 27-39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2480 27 www.jsaa.ac.za research article interpersonal conflicts and styles of managing conflicts among students at bahir dar university, ethiopia arega bazezew* & mulugeta neka** * prof. arega bazezew is a livelihood and food security specialist and phd coordinator in the department of geography and environmental studies, bahir dar university, ethiopia. email: aregaberlie@gmail.com ** prof. mulugeta neka is assistant professor of geography and environmental studies at bahir dar university in ethiopia. abstract interpersonal conflict happens everywhere and at any time and is inherent in all societies. however, the methods of managing such conflict are quite different from one organisation to the other. the general objective of the study was to assess interpersonal conflicts and styles of managing conflicts among students at bahir dar university. mixed-methods research composed of quantitative and qualitative approaches was implemented for the study. one-way multivariate analysis of variance was employed to identify the interaction effect between dependent and independent variables. the study showed that the major sources of conflicts were ethnic differences, religious diversity, sexual abuse, theft and insulting. it was also noted that compromising, avoiding and collaborating were frequently used conflict management styles between students. it is recommended that university leaders and students be expected to understand the real causes of conflicts for healthier management styles. keywords conflict, conflict management, student experience, diversity, ethnicity, gender, undergraduate studies, ethiopia introduction the term ‘conflict’ has been used in different ways, referring to different forms of conflict (racial, ethnic, religious, political and gender), types of conflict (within an individual, between individuals, within a group and between groups) and places where conflict occurs (at home, in organisations, and on battlefields) (hartwick & barki, 2002, p. 4). scholars agree that the term ‘conflict’ is synonymous with individual/group disagreements, disputes, quarrels, physical fights and confrontations (salleh & adulpakdee, 2012, p. 15; olu & abosede, 2003; shahmohammadi, 2014). although conflict hinders the attainment of one’s goals, the consequences, however, might be beneficial if it brings help in the form of new insight for the groups. in relation to this, dincyürek, yeliz and beidoglu (2009) and waithaka (2015) argued that conflict has positive aspects: it helps individuals in knowing themselves, enhancing their awareness of others’ characteristics, increases energy and motivation for http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:aregaberlie%40gmail.com?subject= 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 27–39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2480 problem solving, making life more interesting, and helps to solve small problems that could grow into big issues. however, campbell, carbally and nustrand (1983), on the other hand, stated that conflicts are a normal segment of daily life; yet, it is considered as negative when it causes disagreements, stress, social chaos, destruction and violence between groups. interpersonal conflict, which involves value and/or personality differences arising from disagreements between individuals, is the core of this study. according to gebretensay (2002, p. 56), interpersonal conflict might take various forms and manifest at various levels. it includes any overt and verbalised arguments or differences of opinion over any issue that could lead to a fight between students and between students and university leaders (peter, 1996; windle & warren, 1999). salleh and adulpakdee (2012, p. 16) added that interpersonal conflict may arise when wants, needs and beliefs between two or more parties/groups fail to coincide. in general, interpersonal conflicts are common in our day-to-day activities, which range from those at home, through organisations to nations (nathan, 1996). if managed effectively, conflict can be constructive, if not; it can be a destructive for people and organisations (sadowski, 1998). effective communication between individuals provides a foundation for preventing and resolving conflicts in a friendly and informal way. janet (2015, p. 105) and shahmohammadi (2014, p. 632) argued that managing conflict and developing effective conflict resolution mechanisms encourages the development of values, attitudes and knowledge between individuals and organisations. hence, conflict management skills are a fundamental aspect of leadership effectiveness in many organisations. for the purpose of this study, the definition of olu and abosede (2003) was adopted. this says that conflict management is a process of coordinating all resources through the processes of planning, organising, leading and controlling interpersonal conflicts in order to attain the objectives of organisations. the implication is that conflict management should imply a change from destructive to constructive in the mode of interaction. though students’ interpersonal conflicts are very serious in many universities in ethiopia in general and at bahir dar university in particular, no exhaustive and adequate studies were conducted in the latter university. few studies such as gidey (2000) studied traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution in ethiopia. likewise, mulatu (2007) examined the conflict management practises at admas university college. abebaw (2014) studied students’ conflict in relation to ethnic and religious diversity at bahir dar university. yalew (2007) investigated causes of conflict and conflict resolution at bahir dar university. however, none of them dealt with where conflict is commonly practised (hot spot areas) in their studies. besides, conflict-related issues are dynamic and need up-to-date information for a healthier teaching and learning process. thus, this research tries to fill these gaps and add knowledge to the existing literatures in areas of conflict management styles. the general objective of the study was to assess interpersonal conflicts and styles of managing conflicts among students at bahir dar university. the specific objectives of this study include: first, to find out the causes of interpersonal conflict between students and administrative workers at bahir dar university, and second, to examine conflict management styles that are frequently practised by the university communities. arega bazezew & mulugeta neka: interpersonal conf licts and styles of managing conf licts among students ... 29 research methods research design there are different philosophies in research. among others, positivism and post-positivism are the dominant philosophical thoughts throughout centuries. the present study was neither on the side of positivism nor post-positivism philosophical assumptions. instead, the study employed a mixture of the two, which is called pragmatism (creswell, 2009). this is due to the fact that pragmatism is not committed to any one system of philosophy and reality. however, it applies mixed-methods research composed of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. concurrent mixed-methods research was employed because quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously and the results were embedded during the analysis. questionnaires and key informant interviews were employed to collect the necessary information for the study. selection of sample sites and respondents regular undergraduate students ranging from first to third year on different campuses were included for the study. multi-stage sampling techniques were employed to select the survey respondents to fill in the questionnaire. first, there are five campuses at bahir dar university. with the objectives of making fair representations, all the campuses were included for this study (table 1). this is due to the fact that the causes of conflict on different campuses might vary; the same is true in managing interpersonal conflicts. second, based on the number of departments and the number of students, social science faculty, natural science college, behavioral and educational college, agriculture college, business and economics college, institute of land administration and bahir dar institute of technology were selected purposively for the study. third, using simple random sampling techniques, department of biology, department of civics, department of geography, department of curriculum and educational planning, department of disaster risk management, department of marketing, institute of land administration and department of computer engineering were selected for the study. fourth, the sample sizes that could be taken for the study were determined using kothari’s (2004, p. 179) formula as it is shown below: n = z².p.q.n e² (n – 1) + z².p.q where, n = sample size z = the value of standard variant at 95% confidence interval (1.96) p = the sample proportion (0.03) q = is 1‑p e = the estimate should be within 3% of the true value n = the total number of regular students n = 340 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 27–39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2480 fifth, taking into consideration representativity, the years of study of students in each department were selected using simple random sampling techniques (table  1). finally, 340  students were sampled for a questionnaire survey from eight departments using proportional stratified random sampling techniques based on the sampling frames obtained from each department. however, out of the total 340 questionnaires distributed to the respondents, 317 (93% of total) were returned for analysis. table 1. number of respondents in each college, faculty, institute and department college, faculty or institute name of department year of study total samples college of sciences department of biology ii 37 faculty of social sciences department of civics iii 33 faculty of social sciences department of geography i 57 college of education and behavioral sciences department of curriculum & educational planning i 17 college of agriculture department of disaster risk management ii 36 college of business and economics department of marketing, i 35 institute of land administration land administration iii 24 bahir dar institute of technology department of computer engineering ii 37 total 317 data collection techniques primary data were collected using questionnaire and key informant interview. the questionnaire was organised in a mix of closedand open-ended questions. it was tested as a pilot survey before the actual data collection. this helped to improve the quality of questions. key informant interviews were conducted from 25 participants selected purposively from the whole target population. issues raised during the discussions included excessive alcohol consumption, psychological acts, causes of interpersonal conflict and styles of conflict management. with the awareness of key informants, tape recording was employed to provide time to listen and to have eye contact with the participants. data analysis both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were employed in this study. the information that was collected through key informant interviews and observations in relation to interpersonal conflicts and management styles of students were documented and analysed textually to substantiate the statistical results from the structured questionnaire. upon completion of the quantitative data collection, the data were coded, edited and entered into spss and presented using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and tables. inferential statistics such as one-way manova was employed to answer the following research questions: do male students and female students differ in terms arega bazezew & mulugeta neka: interpersonal conf licts and styles of managing conf licts among students ... 31 of compromising, avoiding and collaborating in managing conflicts? are females better adjusted than males in terms of compromising, avoiding and collaborating in managing conflicts? to answer these questions, one categorical independent variable (gender) and three continuous dependent variables (compromising, avoiding and collaborating scores) were employed. normality, outliers, linearity, homogeneity and multicollinearity were checked and no significant violations were observed. thomas and kilmann’s (1974) model of conflict management styles (competing, accommodating, avoiding, collaborating and compromising) were also used for data analysis. results causes of conflict among students at bahir dar university as shown in table 2, theft (95.3%), borrowing money (94.3%), and ethnic conflict (97.2%) were the major causes of conflict at bahir dar university. key informants on different campuses added that religious and some ethnic songs such as tigrigna were the main sources of conflict and quarrel on all campuses. table 2. causes of interpersonal conflict among students at bahir dar university causes of interpersonal conflict responses percent of casesn percent borrowing money/materials 299 10.7 94.3 psychological problems 236 8.4 74.4 political motivations 304 10.9 95.9 religion-related issues 277 9.9 87.4 sexual abuse 266 9.5 83.9 theft 302 10.8 95.3 taking too much alcohol 236 8.4 74.4 ethnicity-based conflict 308 11.0 97.2 interferences/intrusions 278 9.9 87.7 total 100.0 883.0 note: the total is not 100% because of multiple responses key informants on different campuses added that religious and some ethnic songs such as tigrigna in the dormitory were the main source of conflict and quarrel on all campuses. the study revealed that different music in different ethiopian languages such as tigrigna, oromigna or gojamigna/gonderigna are vital sources of conflict between students, particularly in their dormitories. key informants further added that claiming superiority of one ethnic group over another is also a main cause of conflict on all university campuses. in this regard, about 87% of the respondents showed their agreement. key informants further informed that ethnic-based federal and political systems contributed to students’ misconceived ethnic and political orientation, which resulted in ethnic conflict that 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 27–39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2480 affected the intergroup relations among students in the university. furthermore, lack of conflict resolution through discussions and lack of tolerance among members of different groups resulted in suspicion and mistrust, suspension of healthy communication, needless tension and development paralysis. a question was asked of the respondents as to whether there is conflict between students or not. as shown in table 3, about 70% of the respondents assured that there were serious conflicts between students. more importantly, the survey results evidenced that interpersonal conflicts were serious in college of business economics (fbe) followed by the main campus of the university. these results were in agreement with the document analysis made between 2014 and 2015. table 3. students’ opinion of the presence of conflicts among students at bahir dar university conflicts between students frequency percent yes 221 69.7 no 96 30.3 total 317 100.0 students were also asked to respond as to whether they observed quarrels between students and university police and/or leaders. about 54% of students responded that they had observed these situations. as far as gender is concerned, about 42% female and 58% male respondents confirmed the presence of these situations. key informants were also asked to inform regarding the reasons behind these occurrences. political affiliation, borrowing money, ethnic tension, sexual abuse, taking property without permission and interferences were the major causes of quarrels among students. gender and interpersonal conflict during the survey, students were asked whether they were engaged in conflicts during their stay at bahir dar university. accordingly, it emerged that about 70% of male respondents engaged in conflicts ranging from gossip to physical challenges against 30% of female students (table 4). key informants pointed out that female students were commonly engaged in gossip and insulting while male students commonly practised insulting and physical challenge. it was also noted that male students frequently create conflicts due to sexual harassment of female students. table 4. gender and engagement in conflict (percentage respondents) response sex of respondents total male female yes 69.7 30.3 100.0 no 44.4 55.6 100.0 total 61.8 38.2 100.0 arega bazezew & mulugeta neka: interpersonal conf licts and styles of managing conf licts among students ... 33 age and religion of students and interpersonal conflicts this study investigated whether age of students has some effects on students’ engagement in conflicts or not. as shown in table 5, age and engagement in conflicts have inverse relationships. as age increases engagement in conflicts decreases as evidenced by the fact that about 63% of the respondents who were engaged in conflicts were aged between 15 and 25 against less than 2.5% above the age 26 years. as the key informants pointed out, greater age is directly related to greater ability to shoulder responsibilities and become cool in many ways. table 5. the relationship between religion, age, cumulative grade point and interpersonal conflicts religion orthodox protestant islam others total yes 74.9 63.6 14.3 66.7 71.9 no 25.1 36.4 85.7 33.3 28.1 total 100 100 100 100 100 respondents’ age 15–20 21–25 26–30 36–40 total yes 67.6 72.0 70.0 33.3 70.0 no 32.4 28.0 30.0 66.7 30.0 total 100 100 100 100 100 as shown in table 5, students who were engaged in interpersonal conflicts were higher among those practising orthodox religions (74.9%) followed by protestants (63.6%). key informants from fbe campus also substantiated the survey results. on the other hand, few key informants from main campus indicated that orthodox religion is the source of conflict among students. the informant further indicated that some religious ceremonies such as mahiber (religious association in the names of angels) is commonly practised in dormitories among orthodox follower students, creating conflicts with muslim and protestant followers. according to information obtained from the students’ representative, such conflicts decreased from time to time and many activities that create tensions between students have been dramatically reduced nowadays. however, under actual conditions it is quite the opposite. place of conflict (hot spot areas) there are places where students commonly create conflicts. knowing places where conflicts frequently occur will help university leaders to overcome the problems. in this regard, students were asked to indicate where conflicts commonly took place in the university. as shown in table 6, dormitories and the gate of the campuses were places where conflicts frequently took place. key informants strongly pointed out that tv rooms were sources of conflicts between students next to gate of the university. many of the students in one way or another are supporters of one of the england football clubs. inside or outside the campuses, supporters were also engaged in conflicts. as discussed in the previous topic, 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 27–39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2480 different ethnic music with loud voices was the key source of conflict in the dormitory. as the key informants indicated, instead of solving conflicts through discussion, students try to solve them through insulting. posting some pictures and writing religious proverbs on the walls of the café and/or dormitory were also sources of conflict on all campuses. table 6. places frequently exhibiting interpersonal conflicts among students at bahir dar university options frequency percent dormitory 67 21.1 cafe 16 5.0 gate of university 130 41.1 library 18 5.7 lounge 29 9.1 classroom 24 7.6 others 33 10.4 total 317 100.0 interpersonal conflict managing styles employed by university students and leaders as key informants from different campuses indicated, conflicts between students and university police and among students have reduced from time to time. however, there are still some symptoms of the occurrence of conflicts among students and university leaders. as shown in table 7, the majority of the respondents (58.1%) indicated that the involvement of guidance and counseling in managing conflicts was low, and only about 10% agreed to the presence of high involvements in these situations. likewise, students responded that university leaders had a low level of involvement in minimising conflicts (55.2% of the respondents) (table 7). table 7. the role of university leaders, police, and guidance counsellors in managing conflict at bahir dar university involvement options total % low % medium % high % university leaders 175 55.2 112 35.3 30 9.5 317 100 university police 111 39.4 150 40.8 56 19.8 317 100 guidance counsellors 205 58.1 86 32.2 26 9.7 317 100 using thomas and kilmann (1974) conflict management styles, five strategies were employed to collect data from the survey respondents. the strategies are forcing (obliging), accommodating (lose-win styles), avoiding (sidestepping), compromising (give and take), and collaborating (positive-sum styles). from the total respondents, only 67 students managed conflict situations using collaborating style (table 8). the second style in terms arega bazezew & mulugeta neka: interpersonal conf licts and styles of managing conf licts among students ... 35 of frequency of utilisation was the compromising style (~34%). significant numbers of students (about 40%) have used the avoiding style of managing conflict. however, the avoiding style of conflict management has its own disadvantages. it could progress from changing the subject of discussion to avoiding the person and finally keeping away from the relationship between the contestants. table 8. scores of conflict management styles by students styles of conflict management among students competing collaborating compromising avoiding accommodating 64(20.2%) 67(21.1%) 107(33.8%) 126(39.7%) 59(18.6%) results on multivariate analysis of variance a one-way between-groups multivariate analysis of variance (manova) was performed to investigate gender differences in interpersonal conflict management styles. the result showed that there was a statistically significant difference between male and female students on the combined dependent variables: f (3, 161) = 13.7, p < 0.001; wilks’ lambda = 0.83; partial eta squared = 0.173. when the results for the dependent variables were considered separately, the only differences to reach statistical significance, using a bonferroni adjusted alpha level of 0.017, were compromising: f (1, 164) = 41.23, p < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.173. an inspection of the mean scores indicated that male students reported slightly higher avoidance (m = 3.8, sd = 1.7) than female students (m = 2.8, sd = 0.3). discussion discussions on interpersonal conflicts at present, students’ aggressive and violent behaviour in the university remains a significant threat to safe and secure learning environments. among the many factors that impede the learning process, interpersonal conflicts among students, and between students and university leaders are by far the major ones. the types of interpersonal conflicts are many and manifested in different forms. sany (2010), for example, indicated that the underlying causes of conflict in côte d’ivoire are multiple and complex, and include economic and political factors; however, politicisation of ethnicity was at the forefront. while the choice of the leadership of a community can be the source of conflict, religious and ethnic differences are the major causes of conflict in almost any heterogeneous community in ghana and elsewhere (anthony, 2012). abebaw (2014, p. 144) in a study made at bahir dar university, ethiopia, indicated that the main cause of conflict in the dormitory was religious songs using mobile devices. students who are highly ethno-centric reject others’ religion, culture or ethnic groups because they considered them as contemptible and inferior (mekonnen, 2013, p. 130). abebaw (2014, p. 118) substantiated that superiority of one ethnic group over the other manifested through insulting was the major cause of conflict at bahir dar university. 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 27–39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2480 in a broader context, muhabie (2015, p. 32) stated that causes of conflict in the horn of africa have emanated from their wildness and backwardness, radicalisation and religious fundamentalism. similarly, olu and abosede (2003) indicated that misunderstanding of motives, personality clashes, poor administration, naughtiness (on the part of both staff and students) and sexual abuse were the major causes of conflict in many universities in africa. a recent study made by rahel, negussie and getnet (2013) added that sexual abuse (68%) was the major source of conflict between students in many schools in addis ababa. results from qualitative analysis made by yalew (2007, p. 35) identified that the major sources of conflict were ethnicity, religious diversity, defying rules, and sexual and love affairs, in order of importance. ramani and zhimin (2010) for their part noted that conflicts arise due to differences in individual capabilities, differences in social-cultural backgrounds, ethnicity, and differences in target goals among students in many universities in africa. discussion on conflict management styles as stated in the preceding discussions, students and the university community are engaged in different conflict management styles to smooth the teaching and learning process. janet (2015) stated that conflict management skills are a fundamental and critical aspect of leadership effectiveness in many universities in africa. in relation to this, the study made by yalew (2007, p. 3) reported that the major conflict resolution styles among students were compromising, avoiding, mediating and dominating in order of importance. a previous study made by betty (1998) in selected usa schools found that about 25% engaged in compromising and 26% in collaborating as major conflict management styles. dincyürek et al. (2009, p. 1209) also added that compromising followed by collaborating were the most frequently used strategies for university students. accommodating was the least frequently used strategy in handling conflicts. shahmohammadi (2014) found that written warnings, reproaches, physical punishment and, in extreme cases, dismissal, are among common conflict management systems in many universities in dealing with students’ violent behaviours. a considerable number of research findings indicated that there is a difference between male and female students in handling conflicts. kelly, james and debra (2007), for example, in their correlation analyses, indicated that among high school and university students, males were involved in higher levels of physically aggressive strategies and lower levels of effective communication compared with females. a study by kenneth and thomas (2008, p. 18) showed that female students usually employ more mediating or avoiding strategies than actually engaging in conflicts. kimberly, mark, emmeline, kerrilynn and hannah (2014) in their study noted that males argue and communicate more anger than females. this is due to the fact that males tend to display their powers when they feel irritated while females do not practise as such because they do not have such powers. likewise, yasin and khalid (2015, p. 705) added that females tend to avoid conflicts significantly more than males. arega bazezew & mulugeta neka: interpersonal conf licts and styles of managing conf licts among students ... 37 males commonly prefer styles such as forcing, problem solving, competing and dominating while female students, on the other hand, prefer smoothing, avoiding and compromising management styles (waithaka, 2015, p. 2). scholars in the area of education stressed that conflict management styles differ between ages of students. davis, kraus and capobiancom (2009) evidently stated that aged people are generally less likely to engage in destructive responses and more likely to avoid confrontations in general, the major causes of interpersonal conflict and styles used to manage conflicts were discussed in-depth. the implication is that interpersonal conflicts are natural and should be managed to smooth the teaching and learning process. as observed in the field and from key informants’ opinions, bahir dar university is facing challenges in relation to ethnic differences, religious acts and cultural differences. unless these tribulations are managed, the university will face serious problems in addressing its major goals. concluding remarks the study examined the causes aggravating interpersonal conflicts and the role of conflict management styles for enhanced teaching and learning processes. the final goal of any university is to create a productive, collaborative and smooth environment for positive learning outcomes. however, there are cases where students are engaged in some interpersonal conflicts that create impediments in their day-to-day educational performances. from this study, it was learnt that ethnic differences, theft, drinking too much alcohol and insulting were the major causes of conflict in the university. the study also indicated that respondents commonly practise compromising, avoiding and collaborating strategies as measures of minimising conflicts. students do not come to bahir dar university with all the necessary social skills and experiences to cooperate with each other. therefore, instructors, students, university leaders, campus police and students’ guidance counsellors have to be aware of the real causes of conflicts and they have to create a dialogue on how to manage conflicts in the university. in general, the findings of this study could contribute towards enabling university instructors, administrators, campus police and students to manage interpersonal conflicts wisely and successfully in the achievement of bahir dar university’s mission and vision. finally, this study is not free of limitations. interpersonal, intrapersonal, intergroup and intra-group are commonly observed types of conflicts at bahir dar university. however, this study had focused on interpersonal conflicts. besides, this study had been done in one university. it is believed that interpersonal conflicts could vary between universities. if other universities in different regional states of ethiopia are included, generalisation from the findings will be more sound and reliable. therefore, future research has to consider those issues for the reason that conflicts might take various forms and manifest at different levels on a continuum. 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 5(1) 2017, 27–39 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v5i1.2480 references abebaw, y. (2014). ethnic and religious diversity in higher education in ethiopia: the case of bahir dar university. unpublished doctoral dissertation, university of tampere, school of education, finland. anthony, a. (2012). conf lict management in ghanaian schools: a case study of the role of leadership of winneba senior high school international. journal of educational planning and administration, 2(2), 65–76. betty, p. (1998). the effects of conf lict mediation training on attitudes toward conf lict and interpersonal problem-solving strategies of middle school students. unpublished doctoral dissertation, faculty of the virginia polytechnic institute and state university, virginia. campbell, r.f., carbally, j.e. & nustrand, r.o. (1983). introduction to educational administration. boston: allyn and bacon. creswell, j.w. (2009). research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. los angeles: sage publications. davis, m.h., kraus, l.a. & capobianco, s. (2009). age differences in responses to conf lict in the workplace. international journal of aging human development, 68(4), 339–355. https://doi. org/10.2190/ag.68.4.d dincyürek, s., yeliz, k. & beidoglu, m. (2009). determining the conf lict resolution strategies of university students. procedia social and behavioral sciences, 1, 1205–1214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. sbspro.2009.01.217 gebretensay, t. (2002). a study of factors that generate conf lict between government secondary school teachers and educational managers in addis ababa administrative region. unpublished master’s thesis, addis ababa university, addis ababa, ethiopia. gidey, d. (2000). traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution in addis ababa. addis ababa, ethiopia. hartwick, j. & barki, h. (2002). conceptualizing the construct of interpersonal conflict. faculty of management, mcgill university, quebec, canada. janet, w. 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(2003). conf lict management in secondary schools in osun state, nigeria. nordic journal of african studies, 12(1), 23–38. peter, f. (1996). interpersonal conf lict management in-group psychotherapy: an integrative perspective, (29), 257–275. rahel, t.h., negussie, d.k. & getnet, m. (2013). prevalence of sexual abuse of male high school students in addis ababa. journal of health human rights, 6, 13– 24. ramani, k. & zhimin, l. (2010). a survey on conf lict resolution mechanisms in public secondary schools: a case of nairobi province, kenya. educational research and reviews, 5(5), 242–256. sadowski, y. (1998). ethnic conf lict. journal of foreign policy, 1(11), 12–23. https://doi. org/10.2307/1149375 salleh, m. & adulpakdee, a. (2012). causes of conf lict and effective methods of conf lict management at islamic secondary schools in yala, thailand. international interdisciplinary journal of education, 1(1), 15–22. sany, j. (2010). education and conflict in côte d’ivoire: special report 235, united institutes of peace. shahmohammadi, n. (2014). conf lict management among secondary school students. social and behavioral sciences, (159), 630–635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.438 thomas, k.w. & kilmann, r.h. (1974). thomas-kilmann conflict mode instrument. mountain view, c.a.: xicom. waithaka, a.g. (2015). inf luence of conf lict resolution training on conf lict handling styles of college students. journal of higher education, 28, 1–17. windle, r. & warren, s. (1999). collaborative problem solving and dispute resolution in special education: training manual. retrieved 27 august 2015 from www.directionservice.org/cadre/contents.cfm yalew, e. (2007). causes of conf lict and conf lict resolution styles among bahir dar university students. ethiopian journal of development research, 29(1), 35–70. yasin, m. & khalid, s. (2015). conf lict management styles: a study of organizational politics among professionals. journal of political studies, 22(2), 697–710. https://doi.org/10.2307/1149375 https://doi.org/10.2307/1149375 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.438 http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/contents.cfm _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 89–91 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.29 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za maree, j.g. (2013). counselling for career construction. connecting life themes to construct life portraits: turning pain into hope. rotterdam: sense nordlind cazimira fouché* book review * counselling psychologist. email: cazimira@gmail.com in his new book counselling for career construction, prof. j.g. maree, an internationally acknowledged author and researcher in the field of career counselling, advocates the need to develop a career counselling practice that is located in the 21st century. to become relevant in a world that changes four times faster than the educational system, the central goal of career counselling will have to shift from assisting clients making occupational choices for a “world that does not exist any more” (p. 4) to assisting clients in designing successful lives, negotiating career transitions and finding meaning through social participation and contribution. counselling for career construction supports career construction theory by adding selfreflection and reflexive self-construction to the existing savickian postmodern perspective. the debate revolves around the limitations of the positivist and purely quantitative career counselling approach in the light of contextual diversity, globalisation, it developments and rapid changes in the world of work. this book inspires the idea that even the smallest person can make a contribution to the world by not letting themselves remain defined by their circumstances and turning a condition into a victory. this is a major reason i find this book a must for those practising career counselling in developing countries. the book is divided in two parts. the first part uses the first six chapters to provide a platform for theoretical discussion and to promote a new conceptual framework for career counselling. the second part of the book (chapters 7 and 8) explains the use of career interest profile (cip) and how the career construction method developed by mark savickas can be applied with the use of six case studies. the final chapter deals with a few recommendations for theory and practice. the rationale of the book is examined in chapter 1 where the author explores what would make a career intervention successful. a journey of psychological transformation seems essential, together with contextual adaptation of career counselling practice, inclusion of different career counselling methods and on-going reflections. a short personal 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 89–91 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.29 account of an early experience related to loss and healing has inspired his lifelong research into proposing a more humanising and integrative career counselling approach. chapters 2 and 3 expand on the rationale for developing a career counselling approach relevant to this century. the dramatic changes in the world of work described in chapter 2 question the contextual relevance of theories, practice and assessment tools still used in career practice. to respond adequately to these fast changes and repeated career transitions of their clients, career counsellors need an up-to-date theory to guide their practice. chapter 3 provides a detailed description on the effect of changes in the world of work on psychological theories and career counselling in particular. the end of the chapter calls for more research into the application of north american and eurocentric career counselling theory in developing countries contexts. the book proposes a postmodern approach to career counselling and the use of a qualitative method of enquiry. for those readers interested in the theoretical underpinnings of career construction and related concepts there is a whole chapter dedicated to it. chapter 4 starts with a discussion about the existential-phenomenological theory as a cornerstone for meta-reflection and the ability of clients to become their own agents of change. the use of a narrative framework as basis for facilitating a story approach in career counselling is explained in detail. in the second part of this chapter career construction theory (pioneered by mark savickas) and some of its key concepts like self-construction, life designing, career adaptability and facilitation of self-advising and their implication for career guidance are discussed. for those new to the postmodern approach to career work, chapter 5 elaborates on career construction features that need to be understood and mastered such as holding and continuity, eliciting life stories, identifying life themes and the necessity of a client’s intention to find meaning. while listening is central to any counselling work, new methods are brought to light such as the importance of body language, ‘seeding’, verbalising a client’s observations and the use of metaphors as valuable and unique features of a career construction approach. the chapter ends with some general hints to guide counsellors that are unfamiliar with postmodern careers work. i particularly enjoyed the ‘three early recollection technique’ described in chapter 6. this technique is based on mark savickas’ career construction interview (cci) provided in an earlier chapter (chapter 4, p. 38) of this book. the questions are used in identifying a client’s central problem or a major life theme to help counsellors identify a career problem and interpret it within the larger pattern of a client’s life. an example of analysis of a client’s early recollections is provided at the end of the chapter to help integrate all of them in a major life theme. the second part of the book is dedicated to the career interest profile developed by the author over a period of many years and tested extensively with different populations. the idea of such a questionnaire is to provide material for patterns to emerge, to engage clients to identify main themes and subthemes and thus promoting an active participation of clients in their own counselling. nordlind cazimira fouché: connecting life themes to construct life portraits: turning pain into hope 91 chapter 8 discusses savickas’ eight steps for crafting a client’s life portrait, the developing of a vision and mission statement, and six case studies provide the reader with ample opportunity to experience the value, flexibility and resourcefulness of the career construction interview. this seminal book is the beginning of new developments in career counselling theory and praxis worldwide. by questioning the thin identity of present career counselling approaches it invites counsellors, students and academics to participate in the construction of an innovative and reflexive practice with has the unique quality of turning pain into hope. on a global scale, the 1998 world declaration on higher education (wdhe) calls for national and institutional decision-makers to “place students and their needs at the centre of their concern”, particularly as higher education expands and improves in developing countries. in response to this call, unesco has begun to elaborate ways in which student affairs and services in higher education can give effect to the world declaration with the publication of the manual the role of student affairs and services in higher education (unesco, 2002) and the best practice guide student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices (ludeman, osfield, hidalgo, oste & wang, 2009). this comes at a time when african higher education has been undergoing a continent-wide revitalisation and massive expansion, leading to the emergence of the first national systems of mass higher education on the continent (in a context where, however, most systems remain largely elite, with participation rates well below 15 per cent), much and widespread institutional massification, and in many countries a bifurcation of higher education into public and private universities and colleges, and government-sponsored and fee-paying students (mohamedbhai, 2008). in the introduction to unesco’s best practice guide in student affairs, ludeman et al. (2009) argue that in addition to mainly classroom-based delivery of higher education, there is increasing evidence that higher education also must address the basic personal needs of students by providing a comprehensive set of out-of-classroom student services and programmes commonly referred to as student affairs and services. these efforts should be designed to enable and empower students to focus more intensely on their studies and on their personal growth and maturation, both cognitively and emotionally. they also should result in enhanced student learning outcomes [and] help to assure students’ success in higher education and their subsequent contributions to the national welfare. (p. iv–v) * senior lecturer in higher education studies, institute for post-school studies, university of the western cape. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com ** clinical professor of higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university *** director, centre for student support services, university of the western cape african minds www.jsaa.ac.za editorial towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa thierry luescher-mamashela*, teboho moja** and birgit schreiber*** journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 viii ludeman’s reference to “personal growth and maturation, both cognitively and emotionally”, to enhancing “student learning outcomes” and assuring “student success” as part of the purposes of student affairs, points to a notion of student affairs that goes far beyond a services model which in its scope and focus is limited to the provision of support services. it thus challenges the separation of student affairs staff from academic staff and the core mission of the universities, and suggests a model of student affairs which may best be conceptualised as “a scholarship of practice” (see carpenter, 2013, in this issue). thus, if there is an incipient process of professionalising student affairs in africa, it would appear wise to consider models of professionalism that reflect the state of the discipline and best practice as well as a student development framework that embraces human development theories such as the holistic development theory. systems of higher education in africa need professionals who can help create an educational setting that would “address the individual’s intellectual growth as well as her personal growth to enable the student to mature and become a full participant in civil society” (gillepsie, braskamp & dwyer, 2009, p.446). scholarly and professional developments in african student affairs there is growing interest in professionalising student affairs in africa. for example, in the last decade, academic programmes with a focus in student affairs have sprung up in a number of african universities. at eduardo mondlane university (emu) in maputo, makerere university (mak) in kampala, and the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town, programmes have been developed and are being delivered as part of successful north–south and south–south collaborations. this development of programmes in higher education studies and student affairs – and the demand that has been shown both by students and prospective employers (such as national ministries, regulatory bodies and university administrations) – reflect training needs that clearly go beyond the ‘on-the-jobtraining’ model that is otherwise so prevalent, and point towards specialised and high-level skills requirements entering the profession. this is supported by research conducted in new and existing centres, in research programmes focused on african higher education, and in a growing literature on higher education and student affairs in africa. the scholarly field of higher education and student affairs is clearly developing – if still only in pockets – on the continent. concurrently, professional associations in student affairs are also developing. among them are the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), founded in 2010, the association for college and university housing officers – international (acuho-i), the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saachdhe), as well as national associations such as the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) and the national association of student development practitioners (nasdev). many of these associations hold annual or bi-annual conferences which include insightful presentations sharing professional reflection on good practices and research relevant to the profession more broadly. in addition, a first african student affairs conference was held in 2011, which included student affairs professionals from countries across the continent such viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 ix as nigeria, south africa and uganda. this was followed by a smaller conference of student affairs professionals and student leaders from across east and southern africa in the same year. most recently, some of the associations have ventured into new areas: publishing and training (with regard to the latter, see dunn & dunkel, 2013, in this issue). jsaa launch issue: the professionalisation of student affairs in africa it is within this context that the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) has been established as a platform for critically engaging with these developments by means of encouraging, supporting and disseminating high quality research and professional reflection from a diversity of national and institutional contexts. the jsaa is an independent, international, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary academic journal, established to serve the broad range of associations and professionals, institutions, centres and individual academics and researchers in the field. the jsaa publishes scholarly research and reflective-practitioner discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in african higher education. it ultimately strives to become the foremost scholarly and professional journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in higher education on the african continent. as such it will be an indispensible resource for the executive leadership of universities and colleges dealing with student affairs, deans of students and other senior student affairs professionals, as well as institutional researchers, academics and students focused on the field of higher education studies and student affairs. in the call for papers for the launch double issue of the jsaa, contributors were invited to engage with questions around the incipient professionalisation of student affairs in africa. specifically invited were critical contributions engaging with the notion of professionalisation, professionalism, and their meanings in relation to the practice of student affairs; explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context; explorations of theory development, professional trends and academic programmes related to student affairs in africa; conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa; as well as case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in african higher education and related relevant contexts, and high level reflective practitioner accounts. the response has been both overwhelmingly positive and expectedly skewed. the skewness relates mainly to the institutional location of authors. some of the authors are located in american universities, but have spent time in africa conducting research on student-related issues, whilst others are located in africa but mainly in south africa. this has been expected not only due to the institutional location of most of the founding editors of the journal (and the invitation is for authors and editors from across the continent to join) but also because of the levels of development of the profession and scholarly field in the united states (as against elsewhere in the world). to balance the skewness, peer-reviewers were selected from the african continent as well as from the international community. the responses received to the call for papers and in reaction to the establishment of the jsaa were overwhelmingly positive. one of the notes in support of the establishment thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa ix x of the journal is published as preface to the launch issue: the letter of support by deputy vice-chancellor, prof. lullu tshiwula of uwc, who has also become a patron of the journal. tshiwula writes that the space for this journal in the theatre of ideas is long overdue, and its potential for growth in the intellectual space is immense. (p. vi in this issue) this intellectual space has now become inhabited by a first set of contributors. conceptualisations of the student affairs profession the opening articles by carpenter and haber-curran and by selznick both engage with definitions of student affairs as a profession – and find that student affairs does not fit the strictures of traditional professions (such as medicine) very well. nonetheless (and from different perspectives), both arrive at the intermediary conclusion that professionalisation in the african higher education context is both possible and desirable, and should not necessarily follow the american model. according to carpenter and haber-curran, the traditional american service model has resulted in a conceptual separation of student affairs from the academic core mission of universities, which ought to be avoided in the african context. rather, by asking a series of questions, they propose that “student affairs professionals should engage in what can be called the scholarship of practice” (p. 3 in this issue): what if student affairs professionals fully embraced a role as practitioner-scholars engaging in practice in a thoughtful and intentional way that is both informed by research and informs research? (komives, 1998) what if the notion of scholarship expanded beyond just the scholarship of discovery to also include the scholarship of integration, application, and teaching and learning as argued by boyer? (1990) and what if student affairs practice were approached interdependently with academic faculties and departments rather than independently or dependently? in elaborating their conception of what constitutes a scholarship of practice, carpenter and haber-curran illustrate ways in which professional associations, professional preparation programmes (such as those mentioned above) and professional/scholarly publications like the jsaa can infuse scholarly values in professional practice. selznick’s focus on how best to professionalise student affairs leads him to a close examination of the work of noordegraaf on professional development with reference to the notions of ‘constructed professionalism’, ‘practices-in-transition’ and ‘hybrid professionalism’. they conceive of professionalisation as a dynamic, evolving and contingent process that involves an intentional, flexible and reflective application of theory in practice, in a context of empirical and normative complexity and ambiguity. selznick applies the x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 xi proposed professionalisation model in suggestive ways to career counselling and distance education, as two functional areas which respectively hold opportunities for adaptation and collaboration. he concludes on a high note: african practitioners trained to be adaptive and collaborative may very well chart courses that will inspire the international student affairs community to reinvent practices in the name of greater student success and access. (p. 20 in this issue) how to enhance the professionalisation of student affairs is approached in different ways by the articles of gansemer-topf, and dunn and dunkel. the former proposes assessment, i.e. the formalised process “to gather, analyse, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional or agency effectiveness” (upcraft & schuh, 1996 in gansemer-topf, 2013, in this issue), as “a critical component in raising the stature of student affairs professionalism”. thus, while practices such as assessment are performed in the first place as a means to show accountability and suggest improvements, they play an important role in establishing the legitimacy of the profession in the eyes of internal and external stakeholders. the latter article by dunn and dunkel reports on the different models of competencies for student housing officers and the establishment of the southern african student housing training institute. it demonstrates, by way of a very practical example, how the professionalisation of student affairs can be enhanced through competency development and international collaboration facilitated by a professional association, in this case the acuho-i. as noted above, the professionalisation of student affairs in africa comes in a context of the rapid expansion of access opportunities which poses additional challenges to student affairs professionals. the article by yakaboski and birnbaum elaborates on the variety of challenges higher education institutions face as they expand and try to provide access to masses of students in one particular country, kenya. the challenges range from a lack of professional training to problems with leadership in the institutions, and therefore beg for more training and professionalisation of the services to be provided in order to address problems that are unique to a university located on the african continent and the country’s cultural and historical legacies and practices. this issue’s thematic engagement with “the professionalisation of student affairs in africa” is concluded with the reflections of a former student leader from the university of cape town, thami ledwaba, on the contribution of student affairs to student life, student leadership, higher education and society. beyond the profession: researching student affairs in africa gyampo’s research article on student activism and its contribution to the quality of democracy in ghana shifts the focus from looking inward at student affairs as a profession to the big picture of the relationship between higher education and democratisation in africa. gyampo’s article shows the changing dynamic between student activism and democratisation from confrontation to dialogue, and its changing organisational form, thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa xi xii which has become aligned to ghanaian multipartyism. research into students’ political engagement on and off campus has come into focus in african higher education with the understanding that student engagement with democracy, diversity and social justice is an important part of the university’s civic role and contribution to the attainment of graduate attributes related to citizenship. the article by gyampo is a good example of research conducted in the field of higher education studies which is relevant to student affairs. its publication in the launch issue also illustrates our commitment as an editorial team to publish articles that fall within the journal’s scope and that pass the journal’s rigorous processes of editorial vetting and double-blind peer review as soon as they are ready, even if they do not directly relate to the thematic core of the issue. while the jsaa will typically have a thematic core, there will be articles in every issue – research articles, reflective practitioner accounts, and book reviews – that respond more broadly to the interests of authors and readers. the book reviews chosen for this issue also reflect diverse themes. fourie reviews williams’ strategic diversity leadership; activating change and transformation in higher education and emphasises the book’s value in terms of straddling the theoretical domain of diversity while also engaging with practical challenges around implementation and experiences. bozalek reviews beyond inclusion: the practice of equal access in indian higher education. she highlights the book’s significance in terms of filling the “gap in knowledge about the intersection between social justice and higher education” (p. 81 in this issue). she highlights the critique of ‘skills development’ as a response to access issues, as seen in the chapter by zacharias in the book, which is a chronic issue that student affairs needs to grapple with. clearly, as bozalek points out, levelling the ground regarding access issues is about social justice, and this book is a ‘must read’ for everyone concerned with its intersection with higher education. lastly, fouché, a seasoned therapist who focuses on the intersection of career and narrative therapy, provides a useful summary of maree’s book counselling for career construction which illustrates a range of related interventions, theories and practices in student affairs. lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors and peer-reviewers, our esteemed members of the jsaa editorial executive and the jsaa international editorial advisory board, the layout editors from african minds and the technical team from e-publications of the university of the western cape. our thanks go also to the many supportive colleagues we spoke to in the course of the conceptualisation and establishment of the journal, and most especially to ms tonia overmeyer who was a pillar of strength and a bundle of joy to work with in the initial development phase. on behalf of the editorial executive, dr thierry luescher-mamashela, journal manager prof. teboho moja, editor-in-chief dr birgit schreiber, book review editor xii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 xiii references gillepsie, j., braskamp, l., & dwyer, m. (2009). holistic student learning and development abroad – the ies 3-d program model. in r. lewin (ed.), the handbook of practice and research in study abroad – higher education and the quest for global citizenship. new york: routledge. ludeman, r.b., osfield, k.j., hidalgo, e.i., oste, d. & wang, h.s. (2009). student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices. paris: unesco. mohamedbhai, g. (2008). the effects of massification on higher education in africa. accra: association of african universities. united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (unesco) (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. paris: unesco. thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa xiii www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), v–xi doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4689 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za v editorial 10 years of contributing to the professionalization of student affairs in africa thierry m. luescher1, teboho moja2 & birgit schreiber3 1 prof. thierry m. luescher, human sciences research council, cape town; nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. jsaa editorial executive. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-66750512 2 prof. teboho moja, new york university, usa; visiting research fellow at the university of pretoria; university of the western cape, south africa. jsaa editor-in-chief. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu. orcid: 0000-0001-6343-3020 3 dr birgit schreiber, alberts-ludwig-universität freiburg, germany; jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitdewes@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504 jsaa in a changing field of student affairs the field of student affairs is continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of students and institutions in the higher education sector. globally, there is a strong focus on enhancing student engagement and support through programmes, clubs, and extracurricular activities, aiming to foster personal growth, a sense of belonging, transferable skills and competences. student mental health and wellness have become a priority, with colleges and universities expanding counselling services and providing resources to address the growing mental health challenges among students. other forms of counselling, advising, as well as peer support, have also moved closer to the centre. additionally, there is an increasing emphasis on creating inclusive campus environments through diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which aim to promote equity, social justice, and support underrepresented student populations. career development and employability are also key areas, with student affairs departments collaborating with career services offices on and off campuses to provide students with resources for career exploration and job placements. lastly, the integration of technology and digital engagement has allowed student affairs professionals to connect with students through online platforms, virtual advising, and social media strategies. many of these developments have been enhanced and accelerated by the experience of the covid-19 pandemic. student affairs in africa mirrors these developments closely as it continues to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of students on the continent. at the same time, student affairs professionals in africa and the global south more broadly, face unique contextual challenges in their work. limited financial resources and infrastructure, unequal access to technology, and socio-economic disparities, all pose obstacles to providing comprehensive student support services. creatively involving students in the provision of student experiences and services is increasingly becoming a recognised feature in african student affairs (holtzhausen & wahl, 2022). additionally, http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), v–xi doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4689 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.zavi addressing mental health needs, promoting inclusivity amidst diverse cultural contexts, and navigating socio-political landscapes, present challenges. recognition and professional development opportunities tend to be limited. nevertheless, student affairs professionals in africa are dedicated to supporting students’ holistic development and success, striving to overcome obstacles and provide meaningful support. the changing needs and expectations of students in africa and the evolving nature of student affairs as a field and profession is also reflected in the publications of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa). in 2013, jsaa launched with the double issue “the professionalisation of student affairs in africa”. over the years, the topics published in the journal closely reflected changes in the profession. in the earlier years, several issues focused on student engagement, student retention and success; student governance, leadership, and the student movement; student transitions and the first-year student experience; and co-curriculating student affairs. later tutoring, mentoring and peer support became relevant topics; student residence life and living and learning; student mental health and well-being, and student counselling came into sharp focus. in 2021, jsaa published an issue almost entirely dedicated to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on students and student affairs in africa. most recently, academic advising became a featured topic. a cursory overview shows that other key sectors of student affairs, including disability services and career services have also received some attention, as well as international perspectives and contributions. few articles have been published on quality enhancement and over the ten years, there have been no articles specifically dealing with student sport; student clubs and societies (other than student political organisations); student volunteering, and other services that are often at the periphery of student affairs and frequently outsourced, such as student catering. since its inception, the editors have made efforts to ensure the high quality of the journal and promote its internationality and africa-focus. three years into its launch, jsaa was evaluated by the academy of sciences of south africa and became formally accredited by the south african department of higher education and training as a bona fide, subsidy generating scholarly journal. it also earned its badges from the directory of open access journals (doaj) and african journals online (ajol) and became co-hosted by the education resources information center (eric). among the african countries from which the journal has published great articles are: botswana, ethiopia, ghana, kenya, lesotho, mauritius, nigeria, zambia, and zimbabwe, and, of course, south africa. however, it is noteworthy that this list excludes north africa, francophone and lusophone africa, and contributions from the african diaspora. new developments anticipating the next 10 years to commemorate the journal’s achievements and the decadal milestone, the editorial executive decided to prepare a special issue that would take stock of the last ten years of research, scholarship, theory and practice reflection. the occasion of the special issue also provides space to announce several exciting developments. luescher, t. m., moja, t., & schreiber, b. (2023). 10 years of contributing to the professionalization of student affairs in africa vii community of practice – student affairs in africa research to enhance the contribution that jsaa makes to african student affairs, the editorial executive started to consult key stakeholders around the establishment of a community of practice (cop) to support research and scholarship in 2021. a community of practice is a group of people who share a common interest and concern for something that they do, and they create modalities of interaction to learn together how to do this better. a first consultation meeting towards the establishment of a cop focused on developing student affairs research in africa was held on 23 november 2021 in pretoria. participants included student affairs professionals and researchers from a range of universities, including the nelson mandela university, new york university (new york city and shanghai), university of pretoria, university of venda, university of the witwatersrand, as well as the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and the higher education leadership and management (helm) project of universities south africa (usaf). it is envisaged that the community of practice for student affairs in africa research (cop-saar) will operate in various ways to support research and publishing on african student affairs by means of mentorship and professional development; webinars and virtual meetings; online and face-to-face research workshops, writing retreats, and events; and the co-production of research outputs, amongst others (see figure 1). co-production of research outputs website platform research workshops and events research mentorship and professional development webinars and virtual meetings social justice commitment cop student affairs in africa research africa and global south focus multimedia knowledge dissemination figure 1: modalities of the cop-saar source: icons by adrien coquet rusma ratri, dicky prayadawanto, sergey demushkin, happy girl, prosymbols from noun project www journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), v–xi doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4689 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.zaviii at present, the in itiators of the cop-saar are jsaa and the equitable education section of the human sciences research council. any individuals, organisations and institutions who wish to sponsor, participate in, support, and contribute to the cop-saar are cordially invited to contact the editorial executive and join via the jsaa website. the community of practice will officially be launched at the first jsaa general meeting in the second half of 2023. website updates, jsaa awards, and downloads to accommodate the new developments at jsaa, the website has been updated with additional tabs. the ‘community of practice’ tab includes basic information about the cop-saar, information about forthcoming and past events, downloads, as well as links to other student affairs journals. another new tab labelled ‘awards’ anticipates the bestowal of jsaa awards for research excellence. as of the end of 2023, the journal will give recognition to the most outstanding contributions in several categories to authors, reviewers, editors and other contributors. further information will be provided by the end of 2023. furthermore, jsaa/cop-saar will host its first general meeting towards the end of 2023, including a workshop on scholarly publishing. this will be an open online event intended to celebrate the ten-year anniversary, past, current and future developments and strategy, launch the cop-saar, announce the first jsaa research excellence awards, and hold an online workshop. all stakeholders, authors, reviewers, readers, colleagues and friends are cordially invited. jsaa facelift, article history, and abstracts and articles in other african languages as evident in this issue of jsaa, the journal’s ‘look and feel’ has been updated for the first time since its inception. this was occasioned by the need to accommodate additional information on an article’s title page. first, the history of each article will now be included to disclose when an article was first received and when accepted. provided that jsaa editors take a developmental approach to editing, and jsaa only publishes two issues per annum, the duration from first submission to acceptance and publication may be quite long. we find that many editors ask for revisions of manuscripts in the vetting stage, that is, before the manuscripts are submitted to peer review, in order to enhance the chances of successful review. second, to enhance the accessibility and reach of the journal beyond the anglophone academic world in africa and beyond, jsaa will forthwith publish all articles with a second abstract and keywords in an official african language other than english. the default language for the second abstract is french, and jsaa is happy to have found in dr dominique mpewa, who is a lecturer in the department of hearing and speech sciences at the university of maryland, usa, an expert translation editor to help facilitate this. authors who wish to publish their second abstract in an official african language other than french are welcome to do so, and they will need to supply their translated abstract with a confirmation from a language professional. furthermore, jsaa wants to pilot the publication of articles in official african languages other than english. luescher, t. m., moja, t., & schreiber, b. (2023). 10 years of contributing to the professionalization of student affairs in africa ix however, the practicality of this (in terms of language competence of editors, reviewers, copy-editors, and so forth) will need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. in the case where an article is published in an official african language other than english, the default language of the second abstract and keywords will be english. articles in this issue in keeping with the theme of this special issue, there are three contributions (in addition to this editorial) that specifically deal with the ten-year anniversary of jsaa, and particularly its aim to contribute to student affairs professionalization and professionalism. the first is a research article by angelique wildschut and thierry luescher that analyses ten years of publications in jsaa to identify the professionalization discourse evident in jsaa. their study finds that publications on the professionalization of student affairs in jsaa strongly draw on the traditional notion that professionals should espouse certain ‘traits’ such as high-level knowledge and skills, qualifications, and so forth. the article critiques this notion in relation to developments in the sociology of professions. it also looks at the intersection of the professionalization discourse with the discourse on social justice in the journal. the second article with a ten-year anniversary focus presents four reflective accounts of six jsaa editors, wherein they reflect on their professional pathways into editorship; what they have learned; and how they feel they have contributed to the professionalization aim of the jsaa. the article shows editing as a rewarding and challenging experience, beneficial to the editors and their professional development as well as the authors they work with. it also discusses how the editors’ reflections indicate two types of professionalism: one that proceeds ‘from within’ the emerging profession and another that introduces standards, ethics and procedures ‘from outside’ in the professionalization process. the third contribution is a report on a new professional development programme for student affairs practitioners established by universities south africa (usaf). the campus report feature describes the launch of the student affairs and student success professionalization programme developed and organised by usaf’s helm project. it is a sector-wide training programme for student affairs and related staff, professionals, and practitioners, who want to develop their competencies in the field of student affairs, development and support. in addition to the three contributions dealing with the professionalization topic of this anniversary issue, we are publishing six more research articles and a reflective practice article in this issue. three articles deal with the student transition into higher education, the first-year experience, and related interventions to support student success. three reflect on matters related to student challenges, mental health, and well-being, in the context of covid-19, while the last one tests the trustworthiness of a psychometric instrument, the satisfaction with life scale, for studying student wellbeing in the african higher education context. vuyokazi mntuyedwa’s article explores the benefits of peer group support for firstyear students who live in residences to support their transition from school to university. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), v–xi doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4689 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.zax using focus group interviews and thematic analysis, she uncovers several benefits of peer group support, including a sense of belonging, academic support, and closer engagement. the study by disaapele mogashana and colleagues evaluates the benefits of life coaching for at-risk undergraduate chemical engineering students. the longitudinal study uses one-on-one semi-structured interviews with ten students who had participated in the intervention from their first year to their fourth year of study. the results indicate that the intervention enabled students to mediate academic and non-academic constraints. the next article also deals with first-year students, the transition from high school into university, and interventions to increase the chances of student success. nokuthula tlalajoe-mokhatla and her co-authors study fifteen medical students who participated in a six-month remediation programme. their study finds that the top five social learning and integration factors were underpreparedness, self-management, alienation, confidence, and academic advice; and self-awareness and self-management were identified as complementary skills that could help address these factors. the article by andile samkele masuku and colleagues investigates student mental health during covid-19 using a mixed-method approach. it shows how the different effects of the pandemic impacted students. they include such varied experiences as breadwinner job loss; campus closures and the need to vacate residences; and the move to online-based methods of teaching and learning. it also looks at academic challenges experienced by students in the online and home-based learning environment, and the varied coping mechanisms used by students. a call is made for universities to learn from the experience of the pandemic and provide adequate resources to better support student success. the covid-19 pandemic also provides the context for the study of raisuyah bhagwan, which explores challenges encountered and support measures implemented by social workers of a south african university to enhance the well-being of students. it employs an integrative body-mind-spirit model as its guiding theoretical framework, semi-structured interviews to collect data, and thematic analysis to analyse them. the study finds that students were profoundly affected by the pandemic. it identified five themes in the data, including academic difficulties; stigmatisation of infected students; caring for the quarantined students and controlling the spread of the virus; support groups for students; and strategies to deal with mental health challenges. the study by clarisse van rensburg and karina mostert tests the validity and reliability of psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale for studying firstyear university students’ well-being in a south african university. they find item bias and invariance in several measures and thus advise psychologists and practitioners to take care when applying this or any other concepts and instruments from western countries. they recommend that the trustworthiness of such instruments should be tested for their transferability and applicability in contexts such as african universities. a reflective practice account comes from angelique mcconney, who reflects on the insights she gained by using innovative ways to address the mental health needs of luescher, t. m., moja, t., & schreiber, b. (2023). 10 years of contributing to the professionalization of student affairs in africa xi students having limited resources available during the covid-19 pandemic. she discusses online psycho-educational workshops and peer helpers as student-led initiatives to expand the reach and capacity of mental health support during a period of great stress. this reflective article shares the details of their virtual workshops and the insights gained from the process. at the same time as jsaa is celebrating its ten-year anniversary, so is the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), which has been growing alongside jsaa in a quest to strengthen the profession. iasas held its 2023 summit in rome, italy. from the occasion, jsaa publishes here two reports. finally, we have included two book reviews, which introduce books that are interesting and relevant to student affairs practice in africa. the first is a collection by international scholars and students who reflect on their experiences in far-away settings. it is entitled: crossing borders, bridging cultures: the narratives of global scholars (star scholars, 2023). the book is edited by krishna bista, bo zhang, uttam gaulee, and birgit schreiber, and reviewed by patricia c. timmons and rajendra bista. the second book is reviewed by ronelle carolissen. she writes about the book being at home: race, institutional culture and transformation at south african higher education institutions edited by p. tabensky and s. matthews (ukzn press, 2015). the book explores the question of transformation, decolonisation, and related challenges, and confronts the obdurate institutional cultures and structures in the south african higher education sector. this jsaa 11(1) anniversary issue is a culmination of our commitment to students, institutions, higher education and social justice in africa. by way of this 10-year anniversary issue, we hope that our readers are emboldened to advance higher education and thus social justice, for a better life for all in africa. with kind regards the editorial executive references holtzhausen, s. m., & wahl, w. p. (2022). mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude (2008-2019) through bronfenbrenner’s lens. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 1-14. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524. how to cite: luescher, t. m., moja, t., & schreiber, b. (2023). 10 years of contributing to the professionalization of student affairs in africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), v–xi. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v11i1.4689 163 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at https://upjournals.up.ac. za/index.php/jsaa/user/register. submissions must be made on the online system at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/about/submissions. for information and help, please contact the journal manager, ms bronwin sebonka at bronwin.sebonka@ up.ac.za. submissions in response to special calls for papers must also be made directly to the guest editors concerned (see call for papers). the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level ref lective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that different requirements apply: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit original researchbased manuscripts of ca. 5000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150-200 words and about five keywords. they should be double-spaced and all pages consecutively numbered. • reflective practice articles (reflective practitioner accounts) on professional campus practice are peer reviewed. they are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. they do not need to include extensive consideration of recent literature and theory but focus on in-depth description and learnings. they must comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. typical length: 2,500 5,000 words. abstract: 150-200 words plus about five keywords. • book reviews should be between 800 1,000 words. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • letters to the editors, comments and critique of no more than 2,500 words, are also welcome and published at the discretion of the editors. 164 • proposal for the journal’s interviews and dialogue section and calls and notices must be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences; vacancies etc.) may incur a nominal fee. upon acceptance, all abstracts are translated and published in a second african academic language. this is typically french in order to encourage greater engagement between the anglophone and francophone african student affairs scholars and practitioners. authors who prefer translation into any other official african language (e.g. afrikaans, arabic, kiswahili, isizulu, isixhosa, portuguese, sesotho, setswana) must provide a translation upon acceptance of the article, with a confirmation from a language scholar that the translation is accurate. authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the ethical requirements of social research have been considered and fully complied with. 2. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 3. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 4. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 5. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 6. the journal uses the apa7 author–date referencing system. 7. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind peer review must have been followed. 8. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/ critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. 9. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 10. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); ref lective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 11. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial excecutive. 165 section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer-reviewed); high-quality ref lective practitioner accounts (peer-reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary  open submissions    indexed    peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts  open submissions    indexed    peer reviewed campus dialogue/interview section  open submissions    indexed    peer reviewed book reviews  open submissions    indexed    peer reviewed the editorial and peer review policy of jsaa adheres to the code of best practice in scholarly journal publishing, editing and peer review (academy of sciences of sa council/assaf, 2018). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant ref lective practitioner accounts are blind-reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, who would typically be members of the international editorial advisory board of the jsaa. peer reviewers have proven scholarly and/or professional expertise in the subject matter of a manuscript. reviewer reports are assessed by a member of the editorial executive and form the basis of any decision by the editorial executive on how to proceed with a manuscript. the suitability of a manuscript is evaluated in terms of originality, significance, scholarship and adherence to the requirements of ethical social research, scope and interest, and accessibility. publishing and dissemination policies cost of publishing there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. licensing notice authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a creative commons attribution license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal. 166 authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in online research repositories or on their website), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. open access policy this journal provides open access to its e-journal content. free copies can be downloaded from the journal website at http://www.jsaa.ac.za, and from co-hosting sites e.g. http://ajol.info. authors are encouraged to place copies of their final articles in their institution’s research repository. print copies/subscription • online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at https:// upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa. • printed copies of past issues of the journal can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective. com or amazon books http://www.amazon.com or directly from african minds http:// www.africanminds.co.za. • printed copies from vol 4(2) vol 9(1) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 95–107 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4396 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 95 research article challenges confronting students during covid-19: insights from social workers at a university of technology raisuyah bhagwan1 1 prof. raisuyah bhagwan, durban university of technology, durban, south africa. email: bhagwanr@dut.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-1584-9432 article history: received 29 december 2022 | accepted 2 june 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords academic challenges, covid-19, stigma, financial distress, higher education, mental health, student affairs, student experience abstract university students were regarded as a vulnerable population as they not only had to endure significant levels of mental health problems and financial distress, but also academic challenges in the transition to online learning during the covid-19 pandemic. hence, the tumultuous nature of the pandemic and consequent sheltering as well as other disruptions placed an enormous burden on students. using qualitative research methodologies, this study sought to explore the challenges faced by students through the lens of social work interns who were placed at a university of technology during the pandemic. using purposive sampling to recruit the practitioners, the study explored what support measures were necessary to enhance the well-being of students during the pandemic. data were collected via semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. the study found that students encountered an array of psychological problems, together with experiences of stigma and isolation whilst in quarantine, which led the sample to call for the reconstruction of the university space into a more supportive one. résumé les étudiants d’université étaient considérés comme une population vulnérable, car ils devaient non seulement faire face à des niveaux élevés de problèmes de santé mentale et de détresse financière, mais aussi relever des défis académiques lors de la transition vers l’apprentissage en ligne pendant la pandémie de covid-19. ainsi, la nature tumultueuse de la pandémie, les mesures de confinement et les perturbations qui en ont découlé ont imposé un fardeau énorme aux étudiants. cette étude, qui s’appuie sur des méthodologies de recherche qualitative, visait à explorer les défis auxquels les étudiants ont été confrontés à travers le regard de stagiaires en travail social affectés à une université de technologie pendant la pandémie. l’étude a utilisé un échantillonnage raisonné pour recruter les praticiens, et a exploré les mesures de soutien nécessaires pour améliorer le bien-être des étudiants pendant la pandémie. les données ont été collectées via des entretiens semi-structurés et une analyse thématique a été effectuée. l’étude a révélé que les étudiants ont rencontré un ensemble de problèmes psychologiques, ainsi que des expériences de stigmatisation et d’isolement pendant la quarantaine, ce qui a conduit les participants à demander la reconstruction de l’espace universitaire en un espace plus favorable au soutien. http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 95–107 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4396 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za96 mots-clés covid-19, défis académiques, expérience étudiante, détresse financière, enseignement supérieur, œuvres estudiantines, santé mentale, services étudiants, stigmatisation introduction with the outbreak of covid-19, university students worldwide endured the full wrath of the pandemic. reflecting on the impact of the pandemic on university students globally, zhai and du (2020) report that they experienced depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other behavioural difficulties linked to poor sleeping and stress eating, which threatened their academic progress and mental health in a myriad of ways. the pandemic rapidly spurred new ways of life, including the quarantining of entire communities, closure of educational institutions, social isolation, and shelter in place orders which consequently disrupted the lives of many students at higher education institutions. moreover, in south africa the pandemic exacerbated human rights violations and coalesced into widespread job losses, unemployment, and starvation (kunene, 2020; breakfast, 2020), which disadvantaged students even further. the closure of universities also created additional uncertainties in education and compelled pedagogical innovations that involved technology and simulation based teaching, which included online lectures, video case vignettes, virtual simulators, webcasting, and online chat rooms (sahi et al., 2020). students from poor socio-economic backgrounds, who were more likely to encounter network connectivity issues, experienced greater disruption in their teaching and learning (landa et al., 2021). the pandemic birthed a multitude of studies related to how covid-19 transformed the higher education landscape globally (crawford & cifuentes-faura, 2022; mohamed et al., 2022). whilst some research has been done, to the researcher’s knowledge, there is no study to date that has explored the experiences of social workers in a university context during the covid-19 pandemic. much of the current research has focused on the mental health consequences for students (kaparounaki et al., 2020). kaparounaki et al. (2020) also investigated the psychological impact of the covid-19 pandemic on students. an online survey revealed that 70.5%, 53.6 % and 47.8% of egyptian students had experienced depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. it further showed that being female; having a relative or acquaintance infected with covid-19; having a pre-existing chronic disease; and lacking psychological support from family, community, and university increased the risk of depression, anxiety, and stress amongst egyptian students. the researchers therefore suggested that the mental health of university students should be carefully monitored, and that universities should provide psychologyoriented services adapted to these circumstances to mitigate its emotional impact on the students (ghazawy et al., 2021). in another study in bangladesh with 15,543 university students, 44.59% were found to present with severe anxiety, 48.41% with moderate anxiety, and 3.82% with mild anxiety (dhar et al., 2020). amongst the pandemic-related stressors, students were concerned about economic influences during and after covid-19, as well as academic delays and the lack of social support during the pandemic, which were all positively bhagwan, r. (2023). challenges confronting students during covid-19: insights from social workers at a university of technology 97 correlated with the level of anxiety. these researchers therefore argued for proper support and monitoring of students presenting with mental distress (dhar et al., 2020). other studies examined the impact of covid-19 on education. kedraka et al. (2020) noted that the pandemic presented an opportunity for universities to improve the use of digital tools for an enhanced learning experience. they argued that this should be supported through investment in digital infrastructure for improving distance learning in higher education. hands-on or practice-based learning constitutes the foundational objective of postgraduate teaching and training. skilled and competent postgraduate medical students are critical to a country’s health needs, particularly within the context of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. whilst the pandemic has offered new learning modes like teleconsultation, videoconferencing, virtual simulations, and digital podcasts, the extent to which actual knowledge transfer and skill gain can be achieved through these mediums is unknown (patil et al., 2021). theoretical framework this study used lee et al.’s (2009, p. 43) integrative body-mind-spirit model as its guiding theoretical framework. this model is premised on the notion that the physical, psychological, and spiritual facets of a person are interlinked. hence, within each person, the “domains of behaviour, thought, feeling, sensation, value morality, meaning, intuition, spirituality, body and functioning are all interrelated in a connected web and are not regarded, as separate domains of the human experience”. as such, each person is viewed as a complex, holistic, and multidimensional being, where the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of a person are indivisibly interrelated with each other. in addition to recognising the interdependence, mutuality, complementarity and interrelatedness of contrasting forces and phenomena, it “promotes a holistic perspective in understanding human experience and change” (lee et al., 2009, p. 43). one of the most important principles underpinning this model is that it “assumes that fundamental to health, mental health, and the well-being of individuals” is the dynamic balance of and interrelationship between mind, body, and spirit (lee et al., 2009, p. 44). the proponents of this model describe the physical body as physical strength, body functioning, and as physiological responses, and they describe the mind as mood, emotional well-being, problem-solving ability, will power, etc. spirituality is described as meaning making, values, and a relationship with a higher being and a connectedness with others. all these aspects are important to students as they focus not only on their physical wellness during the pandemic but also how students cope emotionally with the various stressors brought about by the pandemic. moreover, it focuses on their relationships with family and friends and how these affected their well-being and ability to cope during the pandemic. spirituality within the context of this study focused on the students’ ability to tap into their spiritual resources and strengths to cope. this model was therefore appropriate to study the bio-psycho-social issues confronting students during the pandemic. it also sensitised the researcher into awareness of the multidimensional issues confronting students during this time, over and above their academic difficulties. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 95–107 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4396 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za98 methodology research design this study utilised a qualitative exploratory research design, along with a reflexive thematic analysis approach. the study sought to obtain rich descriptive information from the social work interns with regards to how the covid-19 pandemic impacted students’ experiences. research setting the study was conducted at a university of technology in kwazulu-natal, south africa. sample and sampling participants were selected using non-probability, purposeful sampling methods. the participants were recruited from a pool of 15 social work interns specifically placed at the university of technology to provide support to students during the pandemic. eleven participants took part in the study. data collection a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews allowed the researcher to extract information about the experiences of social work interns participating in the study. data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews, but only after permission from the durban university of technology’s institutional research ethics committee was received. after receiving written informed consent from the participants, online interviews were conducted in october 2021 to adhere to covid-19 restrictions. an interview guide consisting of a set of predetermined questions was used to facilitate the semi-structured interviews with the participants (greeff, 2011). data analysis a reflexive thematic analysis as outlined by braun et al. (2020) was used to guide the analysis of the data. following the transcription of the data, the participants’ statements were inductively coded. member checking was undertaken to safeguard accuracy. this consisted of short sentences and initial discursive themes, which ensured that the identified themes and patterns are strongly linked to the data itself. the themes were derived through a process of reading and rereading as well as reflecting on relevant literature on the topic. this process allowed the researcher to make sense of collective meanings and experiences and link the identified themes and patterns with the data itself (liamputtong & ezzy, 2005). trustworthiness to establish rigour and achieve trustworthiness, the principles of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability (lincoln & guba, 1985) were utilised for data verification. verbatim quotes were included to support the validity of the data. member checking was conducted following the transcription of the data, giving the participants the opportunity to confirm the accuracy of the results. an independent researcher verified the quality and completeness of the transcripts. transferability was https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s2214139116300142 bhagwan, r. (2023). challenges confronting students during covid-19: insights from social workers at a university of technology 99 enhanced by providing a detailed description of the study’s procedures. finally, an audit trail was kept to facilitate the data analysis process. results theme 1: effects of the pandemic on students a significant issue that emerged in the data was the academic difficulties experienced by the students. the participants reported that students had difficulty transitioning to online learning. this was confirmed as follows: students are coming to me because their grades dropped because now they are studying at home, they feel like studying at residence is better than studying at home. there is so much that they have to do at their homes, and they saw a drop in their grades because of the online system that was introduced at the university. (sw1) especially with online studying, there was this one student who said her results were bad. (sw6) as evidenced in the data, students experienced challenges studying at home. this was mostly due to unconducive environments or the lack of connectivity, which affected the online learning process, and consequently, they saw a drop in their grades. the literature also mirrors the disruption created by the introduction of digital learning methodologies, where the transition from traditional face-to-face learning to online learning created a new and challenging experience for students and academics (subedi et al., 2020). pokhrel and chhetri (2021) also highlighted multiple issues that emerged, such as the weakness of online teaching infrastructure, information gaps, and unconducive home and learning environments. consequently, as the current study found, students had to grapple with the stress of poor academic performance due to a new way of learning. another participant opined that the students from more disadvantaged communities struggled with the lack of resources at home, particularly access to laptops. some of them were complaining that they don’t have laptops as they used the school[’s] resources to get their work done. (sw8) those who tested positive for covid-19 while on campus endured other struggles related to having to isolate on campus. the social workers said: students were stressed that they can’t continue with their academic work due to them being isolated, because they can’t go out, they can’t have visitors, they can’t have access to anyone, they just don’t have access to anything. (sw6) she was concerned with finishing the isolation process and then getting back to school and just continuing with her academic work. (sw8) other universities have also reported that they had to become involved in strategies such as the control of covid-19-related infection through effective contact tracing, quarantining and, where needed, hospitalization procedures (lopman et al., 2021). journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 95–107 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4396 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za100 research undertaken by patsali et al. (2020) with university students in greece found a horizontal increase in scores, namely: 42.5 % for anxiety, 74.3 % for depression, and 63.3% for suicidal thoughts. they added that whilst the acute effects are clear, the long-term consequences are unknown and require attention. these authors concluded that such studies provide a strong message that vulnerable populations, which includes students, are in need of specific interventions targeting mental health issues. in another study conducted by konstantopoulou and raikou (2020), university students reported increased symptoms of depression, with their mental health being affected more significantly in situations requiring quarantining. concluding that it was critical, these authors asserted that the university therefore provide adequate psychological resources to help strengthen and support the students who are struggling. furthermore, chen and lucock (2022) mentioned that of the 1,173 students surveyed in the north of england, more than 50% experienced clinical cut-off levels in terms of anxiety and depression. based on their findings, they called for long-term monitoring and mental health support for university students. other students were found to be experiencing financial distress. in this regard, the social workers commented: there are many disadvantaged students; their parents or guardians have been retrenched due to covid. so it basically impacts on the finances of the students. (sw3) some parents have been retrenched due to covid; i saw retrenchment, and financial distress, and loss of family members. (sw7) in terms of how they and the university responded, the social workers said: we catered for those students that come from disadvantaged homes and provided food vouchers to those students. (sw2) the main problems she had was food; she had nothing, so i had to refer her to pakimpilo for food vouchers. so the psychologist who provided help … and we did some follow up to see if she is okay. (sw4) they want to receive help as soon as possible. so i would think that the programme that would help them quickly is a programme that has like food solids … like food parcels, not necessarily vouchers, something they can go home with. (sw6) research done by lederer et al. (2021) also confirmed that university students faced increasing housing and financial insecurity and distress. additional challenges included a lack of social connectedness and sense of belonging, along with uncertainties about their future which threatened their academic performance and well-being. they argued that covid-19 exacerbated inequalities for disadvantaged students and therefore recommended that universities prioritise student support services to assist these students. galanza et al. (2021), in their study of filipino university students, found that whilst the fear of covid-19 had affected the students’ mental health, their financial distress was bhagwan, r. (2023). challenges confronting students during covid-19: insights from social workers at a university of technology 101 more strongly correlated with their negative mental health. as such, they recommended that mental health services address the financial difficulties experienced by students and their families. jin (2020) supported this, saying that students with financial difficulties are prone to isolation and depression, and that low-income underrepresented students endure greater stressors at home due to scarcities in terms of basic needs such as food. she added that many have additional household responsibilities which include childcare and financial support. the plight of these students deeply reflects the south african scenario. consequently, universities have begun collaborating with faith-based organisations (fbos) to provide virtual group psycho-educational services (jin, 2020). theme 2: stigmatisation of students who were covid-19 positive participants also indicated that many students who had tested positive for covid-19 were being stigmatised. in this regard, they said: there is a lot of stigma … there isn’t anyone to help her and people are scared to go to her room. (sw6) so once the student tested positive for covid-19, some of the other students became aware of this, and then they started ostracising her. (sw8) students told me that they feel isolated; they were marginalized. other students stayed away, and they feared their reactions. (sw9) one participant pointed out that even if a student became unwell for reasons unrelated to the coronavirus and required hospitalization, some students assumed that they had covid-19: the university would organise an ambulance, and they were fetched by the ambulance when sick; others just thought they have coronavirus ... it was exaggerated ... even if they weren’t positive, they have to endure a lot of discrimination. (sw1) as reflected in the above excerpt, the students experienced discrimination even if they did not test positive. as shown below, another participant expressed that those who had no food were also stigmatised. they were afraid of being stigmatised. i could see that students were afraid to even say that ‘i am hungry’. there is this programme, this was helping students who were found to have no food, but they were afraid to say, ‘i don’t have anything’, because [the] other students would laugh at you and call you poor. can you imagine covid-19 … they were afraid to disclose. (sw4) it was also evident that those who had loved ones who were infected by covid-19 were also discriminated against. one participant said: students stay together in residences … maybe if they find out if the students were infected with covid, and maybe a family member may have passed away from covid … so i think maybe it happens … that they feel like the students might be positive, or maybe if a family journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 95–107 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4396 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za102 member had passed away due to covid, then they are also at risk of being infected from covid due to interacting with the students or being around the students. (sw10) bhattacharya et al. (2020, p. 383) echoed the emergence of significant stigma, “othering”, prejudice, and blame of those infected or those whose loved ones have been infected. there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that stigma associated with covid-19 is a major source of mental distress, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, with serious implications for well-being (peprah & gyasi, 2020; bao et al., 2020). peprah and gyasi (2020, p. 1) affirmed that those discharged from quarantine and self-isolation experience stigmatisation and the associated drastic negative impacts on their mental health, whilst gyasi (2020) described the occurrence of community rejection and selfisolation. individuals who were infected and have recovered are often socially avoided and discriminated against when they return home, leading to a decrease in support. in fact, as poudel and subedi (2020, p. 751) said, stigma can negatively affect clients searching for medical care at a time when they are at their most vulnerable. theme 3: reconstructing the university space sub-theme 3.1: caring for those quarantined in terms of sub-theme 3.1, the participants expressed the following: i don’t think a student should quarantine at the residence, and no one does a follow up to find out if the studen[t] is okay. (sw4) the university can check up on them ... we are employed as social workers to check up on those people, but others should go see them. they felt lonely, like they were thrown away. you know, i don’t know if i’m putting in the right words, but they felt like they were abandoned, like they were just put there, like nobody really cares. that’s how they felt. (sw1) sub-theme 3.2: controlling the spread of the virus other participants suggested ways to manage the spread of the virus, giving rise to sub-theme 3.2. they said: i also don’t think that it’s a great idea if those infected are meeting other students; it’s exposing other students to infection. if a student who is suspected to have covid-19 is quarantined in a nearby space as others, you know students, they don’t adhere to any rules. (sw11) the blended learning should continue; students attending university should therefore also continue with online learning. (sw3) start by putting sanitisers where students are … sometimes there are no sanitisers in most places in other classrooms, like even residence there were no sanitisers. (sw4) bhagwan, r. (2023). challenges confronting students during covid-19: insights from social workers at a university of technology 103 the participants also expressed concern regarding quarantine procedures, suggesting that not all students are compliant. one participant said it was important that quarantine facilities be at a distance from social or housing areas as students are often tempted to continue their social interactions. another proposed that online learning should continue, as there is the possibility that there may be future waves. there was also the suggestion to use sanitisers to ensure hygiene control at all times. these strategies require behavioural change such as social distancing, hygiene, and the wearing of masks during periods where there are peaks in incidences of infection, all of which have proven to reduce the transmission of viral infections (assab & temime, 2016). furthermore, university librarians reported that the digital divide, lack of digital literacy skills, and slow internet speeds were the major barriers and reasons for the poor use of the library’s online resources and web portals (rafiq et al., 2021). theme 4: support groups for students the participants also suggested the importance of ongoing support groups to help students who had lost loved ones during the pandemic. this was particularly important due to the high death toll and the often rapid infection-to-death timeline for some of the infected in the early days of the pandemic, during which loved ones could not support their infected family members through or make peace with the deterioration of their health due to measures to prevent infection. in this regard, the participants responded: the more you get to talk about your grief, the more it becomes easy, sharing your stories, realising that other people have experienced the same thing that you had experienced does make [it] more bearable, and i think having a group because most people lost their mothers, their fathers, their aunties, and having a group were discussing grief, discussing how covid-19 has affected them, i think that it will be most helpful. (sw4) i would say just teach students on how to support other people who have lost a family member … i think psychosocial well-being of people is the most important thing. (sw8) i think a support group for those who want to talk, because i think they haven’t healed, being infected with coronavirus and being a survivor of coronavirus, i think it’s something huge. i think we can implement support groups of people who have lost a loved one(s) and those students who have survived. (sw1) counselling, when dealing with such an illness or virus, having someone to talk to, could be beneficial, and having people around the person who knows about the situation of the person – of being infected –, understanding, and not judging or stigmatising them or ostracising them. it really could help. (sw4) other participants mentioned the need for educational groups as follows: put similar cases together, of those students who are infected with covid, and then for the social workers to do follow ups on the students who were infected, so students can get more support, or find out maybe if there were any issues that they faced and then social workers can attend to those issues or challenges, so they can better support students who were infected. (sw3) journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 95–107 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4396 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za104 i think there should be educational groups … we should tell them there shouldn’t be any form of stigma towards those students. we should teach the other students how to treat infected students. (sw5) as indicated above, one important facet of these groups should be to reduce the stigmatisation of those infected and to provide them with greater support. theme 5: a university-wide programme to assist students there were several suggestions that emerged from the data with regards to strategies that the university could implement to assist students. the first one related to webinars to deal with covid-19-related anxiety and other student-related mental health difficulties. we have seen a lot of webinars or programmes that talk about how can you get covid-19, but it’s not on, based on, your mental health at that time … you don’t know what to do if you [are] having anxiety. (sw7) another participant proposed that research be undertaken to ascertain what challenges students faced and what potential programmes the university could implement to assist them both at the university and at home. research where we go to different departments, find out what issues they have and what programmes can be developed based on what we found out from those departments …. basically, how to deal with covid, not only at the university but also at home, [at] residences, and maybe activities they can develop at residences to help them deal with covid-19-related problems. (sw9) in addition to these suggestions, writers such as pownall et al. (2022) proposed that universities assist students to reacclimate to academic work following a period of extended educational disruption, as well as support those who are still suffering the mental health effects of the pandemic, whilst remaining sensitive to the inequalities of educational provision that disadvantaged students have endured. these are important considerations in reconstructing the university space. another participant drew attention to the need for a toll-free line: i think if we could have a toll-free line where people can call. who are in need of social services like they did on gender-based violence. i think that could help. if people could have a number that is free that they can call to communicate with social work[ers] so that they can get the services. (sw4) jin (2020) also supported the need for establishing psychological counselling and promoting good living habits to enhance the mental health of university students. liu et al. (2020), on the other hand, argued for universities to have walk-in/drop-in virtual care options, as well as accessible virtual group therapy. these are important considerations as a way forward as the mental health burden of the pandemic may have lingering effects. bhagwan, r. (2023). challenges confronting students during covid-19: insights from social workers at a university of technology 105 conclusion this study highlighted the plight of students at a university of technology during the covid-19 pandemic, focusing on some of the strategies that mental health professionals considered important in reconstructing the university space amidst the pandemic. education, student support networks, the prevention of stigma and discrimination, and the provision of ongoing psychological support emerged as critical factors in ensuring that students coped with the educational and mental health challenges brought about by the pandemic. given that several new variants of the virus have emerged, universities must be better prepared to deal with the myriad of challenges that may unfold. ethics statement the study received full approval from the institutional research ethics committee (irec 176/20) in the faculty of health sciences at the durban university of technology. potential conflict of interest the author declares no conflict of interest. funding acknowledgement this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. references assab, r., & temime, l. 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(2023). challenges confronting students during covid-19: insights from social workers at a university of technology. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 95–107. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4396 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, v–ix | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial racism and corona: two viruses affecting higher education and the student experience birgit schreiber,* teboho moja** & thierry m. luescher*** * dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwiguniversität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and for stellenbosch university, south africa. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za; birgitdewes@gmail.com ** prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education, new york university, u.s.a. she is alo a visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa. and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu *** prof. thierry m. luescher is a research director of post-schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and associate professor of higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung/bloemfontein, south africa. he is a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za introduction this issue comes at a time when the world is in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic and on lockdown, and when there is a worldwide outrage over the continuous violation of black bodies and the injustice and inhumanity inherent in systems and practices steeped in racism. the coronavirus and its impact on higher education, on students and student affairs and services, and the devastating impact of racism in higher education and the student experience and the work it involves for student affairs and services are the themes of this editorial. coronavirus at no time in history has student affairs and services so widely, rapidly and deeply been impacted by a health emergency. covid-19 as the illness is called, is challenging us to develop innovative responses to this global health threat while preserving and continuing to advance the overarching values in student affairs. as soon as students were rushed off campuses into lockdown, corona shined a ghastly light on the pervasive socioeconomic inequities which render the educational project in africa and across the world unreachable to many. universities are unequally equipped to offer equitable learning experiences to all in the best of times. as much as the same are challenged to deliver functional online and blended learning and development experiences even under normal circumstances, the migration to emergency remote teaching and service provision has thrown open even deeper fissures. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:birgitdewes%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:teboho.moja%40nyu.edu?subject= mailto:tluescher%40hsrc.ac.za?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, v-ix | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 what can be offered on campus with its superior infrastructure and facilities is far from the conditions that many students are faced with in remote locations at home. much that determines connectivity here is far beyond the reach of a university’s ability to mitigate and ameliorate. and if infrastructure, technological, and personal device and data challenges were not enough, there is naturally a greatly uneven readiness of student affairs and teaching staff to engage in and offer emergency remote development and support. to adjust from face-to-face teaching, learning and support to online provision is a significant challenge of adjustment (not only academic, but also social, familial and economic). student affairs finds itself at the centre of the challenge, but at a periphery of being able to mitigate it, even though student affairs is precisely the best equipped and positioned to assist with such adjustments. student affairs professionals became the essential service providers in higher education as they continued to work on making sure students were safe while their academics were in progress remotely. they had to make sure that students move out of residences, travel home nationally and internationally, and that student affairs remain in contact with them and provide all kinds of services while working remotely. in the time of crisis, student affairs is needed more and different services are required of its essential workers. yet, how can we develop graduate attributes, diversity and leadership competencies, enhance student engagement and promote social justice values on the remote? how can we support those students who are in greatest need of support: differently abled students, students with mental and physical health challenges, students impacted by gender violence, students who face alienation and have epistemological access challenges, first-year students, first generation students and students with severe financial problems, and so forth. how can we empower our students when many are excluded from learning or are attempting to learn and develop in quite unconducive conditions? these questions and many more will be discussed in depth and across many different countries and institutional contexts in our special covid-19 issue, vol. 9 issue 1. we will focus on the impact of corona and the covid-19 pandemic, as announced in the call for papers that we issued in march 2020 and which closed in may 2020. set aside the challenges and tragedies that define the pandemic, it has been incredible to receive 112 submissions of proposals in response to this call from student affairs practitioners and researchers in13 african countries (and others from across the globe). it has been painful and rewarding to select from these submissions 30 proposals to accept, of which we hope to publish at least fifteen fully developed and peer-reviewed papers in the special issue. to us, the response to this call evidences that africa’s student affairs has been moved to action and risen to respond to this challenge like never before. #blacklivesmatter at the heart of student affairs work are the principles of diversity, equity, redress, social justice and inclusivity, which express themselves in our practices to give every student – irrespective of their race, gender, class, religion, ability, sexual orientation, ethnicity or nationality – a fair chance to succeed in their educational aspirations and develop into https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 birgit schreiber, teboho moja & thierry m. luescher: racism and corona: two viruses … vii well-rounded citizens. our anti-discrimination and diversity work would not be necessary, was it not that racism, sexism and so forth also infiltrate higher education. the police murder of george floyd in minneapolis, usa, on 25 may 2020 led to a global outrage against the use of excessive force by police officers – particularly against black suspects. the #blacklivesmatter movement has given much energy, inspiration and momentum to the demonstrations against police violence. in africa, the wave of demonstrations has been linked with an outcry against police brutality during the covid-19 lockdown in a number of countries. in south africa alone, at least 10 people have died at the hands of law enforcement, typically in poor, black communities. at the same time, there are reports of spikes in gender-based violence and femicide across africa. irrespective of lockdown, from lagos to mombasa, from alexandria to cape town, students are taking up these social justice issues more forcefully and widespread than we have ever seen. student affairs is part of these movements not only to assist students in impacting history and changing social and academic systems in effective ways, but also that participation in these movements become opportunities to empower our students as agents of social justice once they leave higher education. at the same time, similar issues have to be addressed within our institutions as students have called for the decolonization of higher education, which is a call to end racism in its various forms. like the coronavirus, so must the scourges of racism and tribalism, sexism and homophobia, religious intolerance and classist discrimination spur us on to determined action. student centring on the lived student experience in our complex contexts, centring on the lived experience of students and seeking to understand how different students and student groups navigate their living and learning experiences, continues to be a major challenge for student affairs in africa. only by doing so can we collectively grow our knowledge base and develop best practices and relevant theory. the student-centred development and learning experience is premised on the notion of the autonomous, independent student, who takes responsibility for their development and self-directed engagement with their living and learning context as part of a life-long process. students are constructed as active participant and responsible members of the living, learning and development higher education community who construct meaning and relevance in and through their learning and development. the student’s unique and prior experience, their assumptions, beliefs and attitudes about the world and the continued reconstruction of their worldview are at the core of the student-centred development experience. student-centred learning and development is a recognition of the student’s diversity, varied engagement and learning styles. this issue of jsaa contains 7  articles which implicitly and explicitly foreground student-centred learning and development, and share the focus on different kinds of students’ lived experiences. in particular, they study: • students with financial challenges; • differently abled students; viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, v-ix | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 • residence students seeking common ground; • student biographies; • students who become active in protests; • rural residence and non-residence students; and • first-year students. the diversity of students, multiple facets of student living and learning, and the complexity of different contexts highlight the significance of the notion of student centredness. this issue emphasises the vast range of contextual, institutional, social and personal readiness of students to engage with the development process. in this issue sikhwari, dama, gadisi and matodzi from the university of venda report on their research of the textured impact of living and learning on their university campus, showing that experiencing the university by living and learning on campus is indeed generating better results for students than living off campus. they highlight the role of integration into the social sphere of the university as making a significant difference in the students’ commitment, success and retention. mosia and phasha illuminate the experience of students living and learning with disability and remind poignantly of the persistent inequities in our society and in he. while this is widely documented, as laid out in their literature review, it continues to be a critical point in the struggle towards social justice and equity. the experience of first-year students is the focus of a quantitative study by uleanya and rugbeer at the university of zululand. it is during this period that adjustment is a crucial aspect of a successful completion of the first year and the authors demonstrate and make specific recommendations around the immense value sas can make in this regard. pretorius and blaauw in their article on subjective well-being of students add to the evidence on the role of context on student experience and conclude that the context of where and how a student is able to live and learn plays a significantly positive role in the overall student experience. in this study the subjective well-being of students is correlated to the sense of belonging and their academic experience. the starting point of qoza’s article “choreographies of protest performance as recruitment to activism” is the question, why and how student bystanders become involved in protest enactment. analysing her observations and student protesters’ reflections on the significance of “the vibe” or atmosphere, and its co-construction in protest performance, qoza argues that participation in protesting may be more about co-enacting a performance – as in joining a group dance – than about identifying with a particular organisation’s interests and demands. maseko and stützner focus on the student residence leadership and the research questions focus on the collaboration of student leadership with institutional leadership around impacting transformation. the article elaborates on the shift towards dialogic conversation between all partners towards the pluralistic transforming space. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 birgit schreiber, teboho moja & thierry m. luescher: racism and corona: two viruses … ix masango, muloiwa, wagner and pinheiro present the results of a study done on the biographical questionnaire and argue that knowing specific information about students very early on their academic career enables sas to tailor the responses into attuned and relevant support, right in time. two literature reviews and two book reviews following on from jsaa’s issue focused on living communities and residence life (jsaa vol. 7(2)), we publish in the present issue two annotated reading lists of seminal historical as well as current student affairs literature related to student housing and residence life. they were respectively compiled by nupur goyal of new york university in shanghai and christopher j. stipeck of nyu in new york. we also publish two book reviews on the recently published book, reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017, edited by thierry luescher, denyse webbstock and ntokozo bhengu, published in march 2020 by african minds, south africa. this book is part of a book series on leadership in higher education established by the south african council on higher education. both reviews describe the book in different ways as a significant sociopolitical reflection and commentary – appreciating, on the one hand, the diversity of the student leaders and their reflections, and providing, on the other hand, a caveat around the danger of ‘romanticising’ the 2015/16 student protests known, inter alia, as #feesmustfall. and finally … as customary in the first issue of the year, we want to thank our faithful expert peer reviewers, without whom this kind of indigenous knowledge creation would not be possible. the names of reviewers who helped select the articles published in our 2019 volume 7 are listed in our ‘thank you to our reviewers’. finally, we also want to thank the division student affairs of stellenbosch university in south africa for their generous contribution to making this issue possible. how to cite: schreiber, b., moja, t. & luescher, t.m. (2020). racism and corona: two viruses affecting higher education and the student experience. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), v-ix. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4178 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 1 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article residence heads as intentional role‑players in promoting student success johan groenewald* & magda fourie‑malherbe** * dr johan groenewald is residence educator coordinator and residence head at stellenbosch university, south africa. email: johang@sun.ac.za ** prof. magda fourie-malherbe is professor of higher education studies in the centre for higher and adult education, faculty of education, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: mfourie@sun.ac.za abstract research evidence suggests that approaches to promote student success in higher education are becoming more holistic and integrated in nature. this implies that not only classrooms and laboratories, but also residences, as informal out-of-class learning environments, can potentially contribute significantly to promoting student success. the research question we sought to answer is: what is the preferred role and skill sets of residence heads that will enable them to promote student success? in order to answer this question, the study proposes a student success framework with five levels, and the role of the future residence head is explicated in terms of this framework. the findings of the study are significant as they suggest a practical skill set, underpinned by sound theory, for residence heads to contribute to student success. keywords blended higher education roles; educational mindset; residence heads; residence heads’ skill sets; student affairs; student success levels introduction massification and democratisation have become defining characteristics of higher education (he) systems across the globe (mohamedbhai, 2008; schuetze & slowey, 2002; strydom, 2002; teichler, 2001; vaira, 2004). widened access and the concomitant increasing diversity in student populations have, however, put student success under pressure. improving undergraduate student throughput and completion rates has become one of the major challenges that he education institutions are grappling with (kuh, kinzie, buckley, bridges & hayek, 2007). furthermore, our understanding of student success is evolving to the extent that it is increasingly being defined as more than the acquisition of classroom knowledge (hamrick, evans & schuh, 2002). we now acknowledge that student learning occurs continuously and in different places (pascarella & terenzini, 2005), leading to a more holistic view of student learning. this broadened notion of student learning and student success underpinned our study into the role of residence heads in promoting student success. mailto:johang%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:mfourie%40sun.ac.za?subject= 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 residence heads have traditionally been regarded as “house mothers” or “house fathers”, playing an in loco parentis role (blimling, 2015). this view of the role of the residence head – and of residences – personifies what we call “an accommodation mindset”. currently, the accommodation mindset that considers residence heads as merely managers of “beds where students sleep” is still the reigning one in he in many countries, including he institutions across africa (wahl, 2013). hence, the potential educational role of residence heads is often overlooked. against this background, this article presents the findings of a case study done at one residential higher education institution in south africa regarding the role that residence heads could play in promoting student success. the research question for this study was: what is the preferred role of and skill sets required by residence heads to promote student success? this problem is complex, systemic and equivocal; hence, interactive qualitative analysis (iqa), which adopts a systems perspective, was selected as an appropriate research method (northcutt & mccoy, 2004). this involved gathering data through focus groups and personal interviews with mostly purposively sampled populations of students and staff of the case university. as backdrop for the empirical investigation, a brief overview of the background to the research problem is given. this includes massification of he, particularly in africa, and the development of residential education, together with a more detailed discussion of the residential education context of the case university. massification of higher education and its impact on african universities the growth of he systems from elite to mass systems has gathered momentum during the latter half of the 20th century (dobson, 2001; mohamedbhai, 2008, p. 6). in the 1970s, trow (cited in teichler, 2013, p. 309) distinguished three types of he systems, depending on the participation rates of the 18‑ to 24‑year‑old age group: elite systems, serving up to 15% of the respective age group; massified systems, serving more or less 20‑30% of 18‑ to 24‑year‑olds; and universal he when student participation in he surpasses 50% of the respective age group. currently all three types of systems exist globally, with the usa, japan and western europe having achieved universal he, and many african countries, with low participation rates in he, still having elite he systems. whereas universities have traditionally been regarded as institutions of higher learning upholding high standards of academic excellence (kivinen & kaipainen,  2002), massification is posing challenges to these high standards and to the conception of student success in he (fraser & killen, 2005). the increase in the number and diversity of students has led to various notions of student success. it has also led to diversification in the types of he institutions required to address the varying learning needs of a more diverse student body. most african universities were established in the colonial era as elite residential he institutions (mohamedbhai, 2008). currently, many of these residential universities have neither the capacity nor the resources to deal effectively with larger numbers of students johan groenewald & magda fourie‑malherbe: residence heads as intentional role‑players … 3 (jansen, pretorius & van niekerk, 2009; teferra & altbach, 2004). mohamedbhai  (2008) posits that the victims of massification in african he are primarily the students themselves, and their success, or lack thereof, as they are often faced with overcrowded undergraduate facilities, including residential facilities. student housing and residential education in south african higher education south african universities, although in some cases better resourced, share many of the same problems as their counterparts on the african continent, including increasing enrolments, overcrowded facilities and lack of funding for infrastructure development. these difficulties often have a profound impact on student accommodation. yet, a literature search revealed that research and published studies on student housing and residential education in south african he are scant. a notable exception is the report on the ministerial committee for the review of the provision of student housing at south african universities (dhet, 2011). a shortage of student accommodation was clearly indicated in the report, which revealed that student accommodation capacity at he institutions catered for around 20% of student enrolments. in addition, the conditions of student housing, especially at universities in rural and poor areas, did not meet minimum standards to provide accessible, decent and safe accommodation to students in order to foster academic success. this flies in the face of international research findings demonstrating that students in residences display greater persistence towards graduation than students in off‑campus housing (pascarella & terenzini,  2005); hence, the emphasis of the dhet report on the importance of sufficient and well‑managed student accommodation. in addition, the report (dhet, 2011) recommended further research on the impact of residence life on students. recommendations from this ministerial report led to the drafting of the ‘policy on the minimum norms and standards for student housing at public higher education institutions’ (government gazette,  2015). amongst other things, this policy highlights the importance of the professional development of student housing staff, by indicating that “[t]he ongoing professional development of student housing staff must be encouraged by both universities and private housing providers” (government gazette, 2015, p. 9). in addition to in‑house professional development activities at the institutional level, at the national level, this policy expectation with regard to the ongoing professional development of student housing staff is currently being responded to by the association of college and university housing officers – international south african chapter (acuho‑i sac). this association plays a key role in addressing the demand for professional training in student housing in south african he (dunn & dunkel,  2013), especially of residence heads. acuho‑i sac established the first student housing training institute (shti) in south africa at stellenbosch university (su) in 2011. since then the shti has been offering annual training sessions for the professionalisation and competency development of student housing officials, including residence heads. between 40 and 60 professionals per annum have been trained since 2011 (dunn & dunkel, 2013). 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 at an acuho‑i sac forum in september 2010 chief housing officers from the majority of south african public universities completed a survey to determine the most important competencies needed in the south african student housing context. the top 10 competencies identified were: (a) application of technology; (b) budget development and resource allocation; (c) facilities management; (d) personnel management; (e) strategic thinking and planning; (f) policy development and interpretation; (g) professional development; (h) assessment of student needs and interests; (i) knowledge of student affairs functions; and (j) knowledge of student development theory (dunn & dunkel, 2013, p. 71). only two of the aforementioned competencies (assessment of student needs and interests, and knowledge of student development theory) actually focus on the educational role of the residence head. this is particularly disquieting, given the potential of student residences to contribute to student success, as research has shown that living in a residence contributes to retention of students (pascarella & terenzini, 2005). a paradigm shift amongst policymakers and student housing professionals alike seems to be required for an understanding of the importance of professional training of residence heads in order for them to promote student success holistically. the acknowledgement of the contribution that student housing can make to student success, and the importance of well‑equipped student housing professionals to facilitate this, supports the principles of residential education (resed). resed, which has been widely adopted at several universities in the usa, is a holistic approach towards intentionally promoting student learning and student success in residences (blimling, 2015). in south africa, stellenbosch university (su), having adopted a resed paradigm, has been acting on this imperative to utilise residential spaces for educational purposes for the past 11 years. residential education at stellenbosch university (su) the residential experience at su has long been a major drawcard of the institution. the expansion in student numbers has, however, resulted in a decreasing proportion of the student body being accommodated in university residences: currently only about 24% of the student population are in university residences. this has made places in residences even more sought after. an overview of su residences (su, 2019) reveals that the majority of residences are traditional, gender‑specific residences, while the newer residences, such as ubuntu house, nkosi johnson house and russel botman house, provide for more inclusive, multi‑racial and multi‑gender residence communities. since 2007, an intentional education engagement approach has been promoted in su residences through the establishment of the resed programme. the aim of this johan groenewald & magda fourie‑malherbe: residence heads as intentional role‑players … 5 programme is to ensure that every activity in residences, whether sport, culture, or social in nature, contributes to nurturing healthy, values‑driven student communities. the resed programme commences soon after the annual election of the various leaders in residences. during the next few months, residence heads engage with student leaders in activities such as individual and group conversations at leadership camps, and residence house meetings, to promote a values‑driven student residence community approach (csc, 2012a, 2012b, 2014; kloppers, 2015; su vice‑rector teaching, 2012). furthermore, throughout the year, residence heads intentionally engage with students on their journey towards developing as well‑rounded individuals and, through the activities and conversations within the residence, they assist students in building flourishing student communities. however, the lack of sufficient scholarly literature and research data on residential education is a limiting factor in developing and implementing innovation and improvement in this field. there is a particular need for studies on the preferred role of the residence head in the south african context; hence, the importance of this research. the rationale for this case study research on the role of the residence head at su in promoting student success, was that it could provide valuable insights into and guidelines towards promoting student success through residential education on a macro scale in south african he. conceptual framework a comprehensive literature review on student learning theory, student success factors and residential education led to the development of a five‑level student success framework as a heuristic, bringing together the educational skill set and theoretical knowledge required by residence heads to effectively play an intentional educational and leadership role that will optimise student success at each of the five levels. these conceptualised student success levels increase in depth and complexity as the levels progress, with student success level 4 (see ssl4 in table 1) being the ultimate and preferred student success level (ssl). this conceptual student success framework is an attempt to assist residence heads in understanding the complexity of factors influencing student success, preparing them for their roles in optimising residence environments for promoting such success. the theories linked to each of the student success levels give further depth to the framework. these theories provide greater conceptual clarity, enabling residence heads to fully understand each student success level. each of the theories in the framework has been extensively applied in previous studies. however, for the purpose of this study, they were reorganised to form an integrated whole. the five proposed student success levels are: • student success level 0 (ssl0), which focuses on student access into he; • student success level 1 (ssl1), which focuses on student retention; • student success level 2 (ssl2), which focuses on student persistence towards graduation; • student success level 3 (ssl3), which focuses on student engagement; and • student success level 4 (ssl4), which focuses on enhancement of graduate attributes towards employability. 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 table 1: educational skill set required by residence heads to promote student success at various levels (ssl) ssl theory theoretical understanding required educational skill set required ssl0 validation (rendón, 1994) validation increases the students’ sense of self‑worth and the conviction that they are capable of learning and can succeed. inspire: using motivational speeches/conversations to create welcoming residential environments ssl1 interaction (tinto, 1982) when students interact on a healthy basis, socially and academically, they integrate optimally into the student community and are more likely to succeed. mentor: creating opportunities for students’ social and academic interaction ssl2 involvement (astin,1984) environmental causal (pascarella, 1985) when students are involved in the input to their learning experiences, taking their environment into consideration, the output in terms of learning is higher. better persistence towards graduation is seen. manage: deliberately structuring involvement opportunities ssl3 student engagement (kuh, 1995) engaging students in real problems that provide collaborative learning opportunities creates opportunities for deep learning resulting in student success. facilitate: encouraging collaborative learning and multicultural conversations ssl4 integrated and holistic learning processes (bronfenbrenner, 1995) for holistic development and learning students must engage and interact with their environment over a period of time to contribute to the attainment of appropriate graduate attributes. coach: enabling student leadership through research and innovation the role of the residence head and the challenge in promoting success in each of the levels is explained as follows: inspire – educational skill set required for ssl0: the residence head should continuously inspire and motivate students, regardless of their background or educational preparedness. for the residence head, being inspirational and assuming an intentional educational role on ssl0, the validation theory is presented as theoretical underpinning (rendón, 1994). the challenge of this ssl is whether the residence head is able to inspire students. understanding the validation theory will increase the residence head’s capacity to inspire the students’ sense of self‑worth and the conviction that they are capable of learning and can succeed, especially in the case of first‑ generation students. johan groenewald & magda fourie‑malherbe: residence heads as intentional role‑players … 7 mentor – educational skill set required for ssl1: the residence head should provide mentorship and create networking opportunities for students to enhance healthy social and academic student interactions. the residence head should understand the interaction theory (tinto, 1982) with a view to being a mentor to enhance student retention. residence communities provide opportunities for social and academic integration which, in turn, enhance retention of students. interactions are mostly on an informal basis, which allow for interpersonal and intrapersonal interaction. residence heads should encourage and create opportunities for the student community to interact both socially and academically. tinto (1982) indicated the importance of social integration before academic integration; the residence environment could be conducive to both kinds of integration. the challenge for the residence head on this level is time constraints. many of these informal interactions take place after normal office hours. the challenge therefore is that residence heads do not always have the time to mentor towards ssl1. manage – educational skill set required for ssl2: ssl2 focuses on student persistence. understanding the involvement theory (astin, 1984) and environment causal theory (pascarella, 1985) will enable the residence head to structure involvement opportunities that will enhance persistence towards graduation. according to astin (1984), students can incidentally interact socially or academically in the residence environment without really being involved. astin (1984) proposed the student involvement theory as a theory for practical student development. according to the theory, involved students spend a substantial amount of time on campus, participate in student organisations and interact regularly with faculty members and other students. achieving ssl2 student involvement could be challenging for residence heads seeing that residence structures are not all similar and optimal to enable such effective student involvement. substantial research dealing with the influences within various student subcultures, such as the culture of roommate assignments, has been conducted within residence facilities (pascarella, 1985, p. 29). peer influence of students living in close proximity to one another has different effects on student learning and cognitive development. when residence heads understand the resulting indirect learning opportunities in residences, they can influence the structural and organisational characteristics of the residence by effectively placing mentors and other student leaders into those living environments who could assist the cause of student persistence towards graduation. facilitate – educational skill set required for ssl3: student engagement has two critical components (kuh, 1995, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011), the first of which is the amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other effective educational practices. the second component of student engagement is how he institutions employ effective educational practices through, for example, organising their curriculum and other learning opportunities. to optimise the potential of informal learning opportunities in the residence, a residence head needs to understand 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 student engagement theory. such understanding (kuh, 2010) will assist the residence head in creating opportunities to engage students in real problems and in collaborative learning for deep learning. the challenge to achieving ssl3 would be the expertise of the residence head in structuring meaningful and effective educational engagement opportunities. coach – educational skill set required for ssl4: ultimately, acting as a coach for particularly more senior students will enable the residence head to demonstrate role‑model leadership to students. bronfenbrenner put forward an integrated and holistic learning process model (bronfenbrenner, 1995, 1999) called a “bioecological model” (bronfenbrenner & morris, 2006, p. 795). the core of the model consists of four principal components with dynamic interactive relationships amongst these components. the four principal components are: process (pr), person (p), context (c) and time (t). residence heads aiming at enhancing graduate attributes towards employability should understand that for holistic development and learning, students (p) must engage and interact (pr) within their residence environment (c) over a period of time (t) to contribute to the attainment of appropriate graduate attributes. this preferred role for the residence head should be a blended role of being a leader in the residence environment who is doing the educational role (enacting these educational skill sets) and in so doing, promoting the various student success levels with an integrated and holistic mindset. the challenge to achieving ssl4 is acquiring the competencies and finding the time to coach students. the empirical study, which is explicated below, was done against the backdrop of the student success framework, while the framework at the same time served as the conceptual framework or theoretical ‘lens’ through which the research data was interpreted. research methodology and research paradigm the research was conducted within an interpretive research paradigm. as one form of qualitative research, interpretive analysis aims to arrive at a better understanding of the experiences of people interacting within a complex social context (tuli, 2010). in such a context, the research participation of people close to the phenomenon supports the construction of mental models and meaning‑making of experiences (henning, van rensburg & smith, 2004). therefore, researchers working in an interpretive paradigm explore phenomena in order to gain an understanding of people’s experiences and the deeper meanings of a phenomenon by optimising focus group discussions and personal interviews (yin, 2014). within an interpretive paradigm, iqa as an interactive method (northcutt & mccoy, 2004, p. 44) was regarded as ideal for this research study. iqa is discussed in more detail below in the section on research method. research design the research design selected for this study was an embedded single‑case study. yin (2014,  p. 51) argues that there are five reasons for selecting a single‑case research design, johan groenewald & magda fourie‑malherbe: residence heads as intentional role‑players … 9 namely that it is a critical single case, a common single case, a longitudinal single case, an unusual single case, or a revelatory single case. the ministerial committee report (dhet,  2011), referred to earlier, highlighted the comprehensive residential education practices at su as an example of good practice. exploring these comprehensive practices formed the rationale for a revelatory single‑case study of su residences. moreover, the holistic nature of the residential education practices justified the exploration of this phenomenon at su. the research design was therefore also explorative in nature. explorative case studies focus on explaining a social phenomenon within a specific social context (bleijenberg, 2010). this case study, as an explorative and revelatory embedded single‑case design, had four embedded units (yin, 2014) that formed the population for the study. population it goes without saying that the su residence heads formed the central population unit of this study. the second population unit of importance were the students. given the institutional context of su as a historically white university, that is slowly but surely transforming, we considered it appropriate to distinguish between first‑generation students (fgs), and second‑ (and more) generation (traditional) students (s+gs) in this population unit. lastly, senior institutional administrators as the creators and custodians of institutional policies were also regarded as an important population unit. therefore, the four embedded units in this single case study were: residence heads, second‑, third‑ or fourth‑generation students (s+gs),1 first‑generation students (fgs)2 and senior administrators. because of the critical inputs of the members of each of these population units in the research results, they are discussed in more detail below. unit 1 consisted of the residence heads at su. each of the more than 30 su residences has a residence head. the role of the su residence head is a secondary position within the institution. this means a residence head already has another primary appointment at su. the secondary role of the residence head is performed mostly after normal working hours. as residence heads are close to the phenomenon and the focus of this study, and have some influence and power over student success in residences, their experiences and insights were important for seeking answers to the research question of this study. considering the historical background of su and where the institution currently finds itself on its transformation journey, we decided to differentiate between two units from the student population. unit 2 denotes the traditional (second+generation) residential students (s+gs) of su. for many years, s+gs have had the strongest influence on traditions within the su residences (and to a large extent still do). more recently, though, s+gs have been influenced by the resed programme, which has led to the re‑thinking of long‑held traditions within su residences. because of their influence on traditions and change, these s+gs formed an important population for this study. unit 3 consisted of the residential 1 s+gs are students whose parents, grandparents and even great‑grandparents are or were su alumni. 2 fgs are students whose parents did not study at a university. 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 first‑generation students (fgs) of su. a small but growing fgs population is currently accessing su and is increasingly gaining placement in su residences. their experience of the residence environment, and of the broader university environment, differs substantially from those of s+gs – hence splitting them into two population units. both fgs and s+gs are close to the phenomenon, are influenced by the role (power) of the residence head and were therefore important populations for the study. unit 4 included senior administrators who have the most power over the su residence environment. although they do not reside in residences, these administrators give strategic direction, take decisions, formulate policy and oversee policy implementation in the su residences. the significance of their strategic role made the contribution of this population important in seeking to answer the research question for this study. sampling for this single‑ case study occurred from each of the four units. sampling by means of both purposive and convenience sampling, individuals in the four units were selected to participate in the study on the basis of their rich experiences, which would contribute to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon (cohen, manion & morrison, 2007, 2011). we purposively approached residence heads who had engaged with both fg and s+g students to send us the names and contact details of potential participants. we sampled 30 students (about 80 references were provided) and sent a personal email and whatsapp invitation to each student. eighteen students responded after a further personal telephone call. of these, 10 were fg students and eight were s+g students. furthermore, we purposively sampled residence heads, who in our observation were intentional residential educators. eight of the 12 residence heads who were approached accepted the personal invitation. research method iqa takes as point of departure that people closest to a phenomenon or problem are able to provide appropriate solutions to the problem. northcutt and mccoy (2004) acknowledge that iqa uses tools from various other research methods, such as observation from ethnographic research, focus group discussion from market research, and the concept of mapping. furthermore, various theories influence iqa, such as grounded theory, field theory and, primarily, general systems theory (du preez & du preez, 2012; hendry, 2005; human‑vogel, 2006; northcutt & mccoy, 2004, pp. xxi‑xxiv; von bertalanffy, 1972). as a rigorous qualitative research method, iqa (bargate, 2014; du preez & du preez,  2012; human‑vogel & mahlangu, 2009; human‑vogel & van petegem, 2008; mampane & bouwer, 2011; smith & leonard, 2005) has been applied for data gathering and data analysis in different fields of master’s and doctoral studies such as curriculum studies (robertson, 2015) and economic and management sciences (nienaber, 2013). iqa has four distinct phases: phase 1, the research design phase; phase 2, the focus group discussion phase; phase 3, the interview phase; and phase 4, the report phase (northcutt & mccoy, 2004, p. 44). the qualitative responses from the focus group discussions and the individual interviews were analysed by means of open and axial coding, from which themes johan groenewald & magda fourie‑malherbe: residence heads as intentional role‑players … 11 emerged which guided the researchers in answering the research question on what the preferred educational skill sets for residence heads would be in order to promote a holistic student success framework. what transpired from the analysis of the research data in many respects confirmed the educational skill sets required by the residence head as proposed in the student success framework (table 1). how this emerged from the inputs of the four population units is illustrated below. findings residence heads concurred that the residence head who plays an educational role is pivotal in promoting student success. this population unit defined their educational role holistically, suggesting that it should contribute to student learning that reaches beyond degree attainment. during the iqa focus group discussion this educational role was defined by residence heads as “guiding them [students] from the unknown [ssl0] to the known [ssl2] to them leaving res into the working world [ssl4] … cultivating a solid basis for the development of graduate attributes [ssl4]”. furthermore, the personal interviews with residence heads and senior management highlighted the importance of the residence head possessing a variety of skill sets to perform this educational role, such as facilitation and coaching skills. a residence head expressed the importance of facilitation skills [ssl3] as follows: “… when you facilitate you need to mediate, and that really requires particular skill.” furthermore, senior management indicated the importance of coaching [ssl4] stating that the residence head “is the coach of graduate attributes in the co-curricular sense”. although fg and s+g students experienced the su residence environment differently, the research findings demonstrate considerable congruence in the expectations of these two groups of students regarding the educational role of future residence heads. all the students who were interviewed, indicated that the residence head should be a leader who, amongst others, should inspire [ssl0]: “a residence head should be able to lead and be accountable for their decisions and inspire others to be leaders.” furthermore, the residence head should be “someone you [student] can look up to for leadership, also for mentorship” [ssl1]. as managers, residence heads should deliberately structure involvement opportunities [ssl2], so that residence heads “are actively involved in the process maybe of [student] planning … being the liaison between the res and outside factors”. further, the residence head as leader should adopt multiple and flexible leadership styles that enable student engagement and collaboration in teams with students [ssl3]. an fg student said: “by doing this, it will help create more leaders, and build stronger leadership qualities. a residence head should be a team player by knowing when to lead and when to follow or engage with the students.” from the students’ perspective, the optimal role of the residence head is that of being that leader. for the students, this being role as leader involves much more than managing the residence building but implies assuming an educational role. this educational role that emerged from the research showed that the residence head should be intentional in coaching [ssl4], facilitating [ssl3], managing [ssl2], mentoring [ssl1] and inspiring [ssl0] in the residence environment. this pivotal educational doing role is a blend of various skill sets, which could promote student success at various levels, as seen in the conceptual student success framework (table 1). 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 conclusion our research has shown that the residence environment provides manifold opportunities for rich out‑of‑class learning experiences to occur. for this to happen residence heads need to be leaders with an intentional educational mindset promoting the conceptualised holistic student success framework. the residence head’s leadership skill sets as intentional educator should be to inspire, to mentor, to manage, to facilitate and to coach. these preferred skill sets are practical and will equip residence heads to promote student success at all levels. these preferred skill sets of the residence head should influence the job description and policies regarding the role of the residence head at universities. the significant finding of the study is that the preferred role of the future residence head is a blended one which comprises being a leader and doing an intentional educational role with the preferred educational skill sets, underpinned by theory, that will enable the residence head to promote student success. references astin, a.w. 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(2008). causal judgments of positive mood in relation to self‑ regulation: a case study with flemish students. contemporary educational psychology, 33, 451‑485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2008.02.002 jansen, c.a., pretorius, f.j. & van niekerk, e.j. (2009). education and the role of the church in africa: three relevant aspects. koers, 74(1&2), 67‑85. https://doi.org/10.4102/koers.v74i1/2.117 kivinen, o. & kaipainen, p. (2002). global market competition and higher education. south african journal of higher education, 16(1), 60‑66. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v16i1.25275 kloppers, p. (2015). studentekultuurvernuwing deur waardegedrewe bestuur – lesse geleer by die universiteit van stellenbosch. stellenbosch university. (unpublished document). kuh, g.d. (1995). the other curriculum: out‑of‑class experiences associated with student learning and personal development. the journal of higher education, 66(2), 123‑155. https://doi. org/10.2307/2943909 kuh, g.d. (2003). what we’re learning about student engagement from nsse: benchmarks for effective educational practices. change, 35(2), 24‑32. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380309604090 kuh, g.d. (2009). what student affairs professionals need to know about student engagement. journal of college student development, 50(6), 683‑706. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0099 kuh, g.d. (2010). student success in college: creating conditions that matter. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. kuh, g.d. (2011). student success. in: j.h. schuh, s.r. jones, s.r. harper & associates (eds.), student services. a handbook for the profession. fifth edition. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. kuh, g.d., kinzie, j., buckley, j.a., bridges, b.k. & hayek, j.c. (2007). piecing together the student success puzzle: research, propositions, and recommendations. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. mampane, r. & bouwer, c. (2011). the influence of township schools on the resilience of their learners. south african journal of education, 31(1), 114‑126. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v31n1a408 mohamedbhai, g. (2008). the effects of massification on higher education in africa. retrieved on 4 may 2013 from https://bit.ly/2qbkojq https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2001.9967061 https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2012.11435166 https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.12.4.86.s3 https://doi.org/10.1177/008124630603600311 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2008.02.002 https://doi.org/10.4102/koers.v74i1/2.117 https://doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v16i1.25275 https://doi.org/10.2307/2943909 https://doi.org/10.2307/2943909 https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380309604090 https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0099 https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v31n1a408 https://bit.ly/2qbkojq 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 1‑14 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 nienaber, s.g. (2013). the expectation gap between taxpayers and tax practitioners in a south african context. phd thesis, university of pretoria, south africa. northcutt, n. & mccoy, d. (2004). interactive qualitative analysis. a systems method for qualitative research. london, u.k.: sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412984539 pascarella, e.t. (1985). college environmental influences on learning and cognitive development: a critical review and synthesis. american educational research association, 1(1), 1‑61. pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, p.t. (2005). how college affects students: a third decade of research. e‑book. jossey‑bass. rendón, l.i. (1994). validating culturally diverse students: towards a new model of learning and student development. innovative higher education, 19(1), 33‑51. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01191156 robertson, c.a. (2015). leadership development for technical and vocational education and training college leaders in south africa: a post-graduate curriculum framework. phd thesis, stellenbosch university, south africa. schuetze, h.g. & slowey, m. (2002). participation and exclusion: a comparative analysis of non‑traditional students and lifelong learners in higher education. higher education, 44, 309‑327. https://doi. org/10.1023/a:1019898114335 smith, r. & leonard, p. (2005). collaboration for inclusion: practitioner perspectives. equity & excellence in education, 38, 269‑279. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680500299650 strydom, a.h. (2002). globalisation and higher education studies in south africa. south african journal of higher education, 16(1), 91‑98. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v16i1.25279 su (stellenbosch university) (2019). university residences. stellenbosch university. retrieved on 15 june 2019 from https://bit.ly/332nmor su vice‑rector teaching (2012). residence rules. stellenbosch university, south africa. (unpublished document.) teferra, d. & altbach, p.g. (2004). african higher education: challenges for the 21st century. higher education, 47, 21‑50. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:high.0000009822.49980.30 teichler, u. (2001). mass higher education and the need for new responses. tertiary education and management, 7(1), 3‑7. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2001.9967035 teichler, u. (2013). new challenges for higher education and the future of higher education research. south african journal of higher education, 27(2), 309‑329. https://doi.org/10.20853/27‑2‑245 tinto, v. (1982). limits of theory and practice in student attrition. the journal of higher education, 53(6), 687‑700. https://doi.org/10.2307/1981525 tuli, f. (2010). the basis of distinction between qualitative and quantitative research in social science: reflection on ontological, epistemological and methodological perspectives. ethiopian journal of education and science, 6(1), 97‑108. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesc.v6i1.65384 vaira, m. (2004). globalization and higher education organizational change: a framework for analysis. higher education, 48, 483‑510. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:high.0000046711.31908.e5 von bertalanffy, l. (1972). the history and status of general systems theory. the academy of management journal, 15(4), 407‑426. https://doi.org/10.5465/255139 wahl, w.p. (2013). towards evaluating a higher education residence environment that is conducive to learning, development and success. jhea/resa, 11(1&2), 53‑69. yin, r.k. (2014). case study research. design and methods. thousand oaks, ca: sage. how to cite: groenewald, j. & fourie‑malherbe, m. (2019). residence heads as intentional role‑players in promoting student success. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 1‑14. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v7i2.3821 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412984539 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01191156 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1019898114335 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1019898114335 https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680500299650 https://doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v16i1.25279 https://bit.ly/332nmor https://doi.org/10.1023/b:high.0000009822.49980.30 https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2001.9967035 https://doi.org/10.20853/27-2-245 https://doi.org/10.2307/1981525 https://doi.org/10.4314/ejesc.v6i1.65384 https://doi.org/10.1023/b:high.0000046711.31908.e5 https://doi.org/10.5465/255139 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3821 186    submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa. submissions must be made on the online system at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa. for information and help, please contact the journal manager, ms bronwin sebonka at bronwin.sebonka@up.ac.za. submissions in response to special calls for papers must also be made directly to the guest editors concerned (see call for papers). the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. researchbased articles must be original and research-based and must make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. the length must be approximately 5 000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as for research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research 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article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind peer review must have been followed. 8. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/help/view/editorial/topic/000044    187 9. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 10. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); reflective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 11. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial excecutive. section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer-reviewed); high-quality reflective practitioner accounts (peer-reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed campus dialogue/interview section ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed book reviews ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed the editorial and peer-review policy adheres to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals (assaf council, 2008). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant reflective practitioner 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http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://ajol.info 188    print copies/subscription • online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at https://upjournals. up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa. • printed copies of past issues of the journal can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective.com or amazon books http://www.amazon.com or directly from african minds http://www.africanminds.co.za. • printed copies from vol 4(2) vol 9(1) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa http://www.africanbookscollective.com/ http://www.amazon.com http://www.africanminds.co.za mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 239-244 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4371   239 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds book review #feesmustfall and its aftermath: violence, wellbeing and the student movement in south africa by t. m. luescher, a. wilson fadiji, k. g. morwe, a. erasmus, t. s. letsoalo & s. b. mokhema (2022). cape town, south africa: hsrc press. reviewed by relebohile moletsane* in a period where university management and the public have labelled students and student activists as violent and not focused on their studies, the book #feesmustfall and its aftermath: violence, wellbeing and the student movement in south africa (luescher et al., 2022) is not only significant, but it is also timely. #feesmustfall and other student campaigns in 2015 and 2016 across south africa’s higher education institutions reminded the university system of the need for relevance in programming, including curriculum and research. the book contributes to deepening our understanding of who our students are and what has shaped and continues to shape their experiences and outcomes in our institutions. the found poem below synthesises some of the themes and issues covered in #feesmustfall and its aftermath. located within the broad area of poetic enquiry in which words from research transcripts or fieldnotes are used, a found poem uses the actual words of research participants to highlight the various messages or themes communicated in the piece (sage research methods, 2017). the poem is comprised of captions and comments from interviews with the participants cited in #feesmustfall and its aftermath. protest the battle of liberty or the epitome of violence? no retreat, no surrender no vip in the revolution a betrayal of hope the calm before the storm spirit of unwanted peace strategic conscientize and mobilize walk for a just cause mobilise, educate and strive for our wellbeing * relebohile moletsane is professor and the jl dube chair in rural education in the school of education and pro vice chancellor: social cohesion at the university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: moletsaner@ukzn.ac.za. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 240   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 239-244 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4371 escape to safe spaces spaces of strength joyful rebellion (re)chillaxing! presented in the form of a photo essay (angelo et al., 2021), #feesmustfall and its aftermath is organised into 18 chapters that tell a story of “35 student activists from five south african universities and their experiences of violence and wellbeing in relation to their involvement in the student movement” (luescher et al., 2022, p. 9). hence, the book is a form of visual storytelling, made up of photographs that “operate as a form of collage… [of images that] aim not only to construct a comprehensible narrative and to communicate information, but also to achieve visual and emotional impact through editing and design” (sutherland, 2016, p. 116). as the found poem above suggests, the photo essay presented in #feesmustfall and its aftermath is made up of three sections, which the authors describe as three sets of exhibitions, each made up of several chapters. in the first section, chapter 1 introduces the notion of student well-being as a precondition for learning and success in university, especially for those students from poorly resourced communities and schools. the chapter locates the idea of student wellbeing within the broader decolonisation imperatives and debates currently occupying curricular and institutional reforms in south africa. chapter 2 introduces the project and the book, providing the rationale for its focus on violence, well-being, and the use of photovoice “as a mode of inquiry and representation, and as a mode of dissemination and engagement” (mitchell, 2011, p. 5). the project and the book use the participants’ photographs as both the methodology (pink, 2001) and the subject of analysis, including their production and interpretation (margolis, 2004). concluding this section is chapter 3, which focuses on the history of struggle in south africa, juxtaposing the #feesmustfall and #rhodesmustfall movements with the 1976 student protests against apartheid education legislation in south africa. the second section is made up of nine chapters (chapters 4–12) which document, through photovoice, poetry, and dialogue, the students’ experiences of violence and its aftermath in the context of the 2015/16 #feesmustfall protests. the issues documented range from oppressive spaces in and around universities or the geographies of the violence in the various universities (chapter 4), the violence within the institutions (chapter 5), and the students’ activism in terms of conscientizing and mobilising others to act (chapter 6). chapter 8 analyses the #feesmustfall protest and its links to violence, which notably contrasted with earlier movements that saw participants resort to stone/ rock throwing (1976 anti-apartheid movement), littering (the late 1990s and early 2000s), and fire setting (burning buildings and other structures) as weapons. chapter 9 outlines the project’s methodology and mode of dissemination, focusing on the book as a photo essay and the travelling exhibition, in which the photographs produced by the students are curated and exhibited to raise awareness and facilitate dialogue in various universities across the country. relebohile moletsane: review of #feesmustfall and its aftermath: violence, wellbeing and the student movement …   241 #feesmustfall and its aftermath makes a critical methodological contribution. the book draws from a research tradition which aims to study the world (of south african higher education) from the perspectives of students as a group most impacted by the phenomenon (maclure, 1990), viewing them as knowers and actors in their own lives (oakley, 1994). to do this, the project on which the book is based used participatory visual methodology (pvm) with 35 students across five south african universities to investigate their experiences and perspectives of “violence on university campuses and the impact this has on student wellbeing … and to create awareness in the public, in government and among higher education policymakers and university leaders to ensure that student grievances are taken seriously without the need for protesting” (luescher, et al., 2022, p. 16). located within community-based participatory research, pvm uses the visual artefact, in this case, photographs, produced by participants, in this case, university students, to co-construct knowledge, including around difficult and controversial topics such as violence and marginalisation safely, and together, imagine alternatives to the social phenomena negatively impacting their lives. its basic assumption is that the people who experience the problem are in the best position to describe and analyse the issues or conduct research on the subject. this is based on the understanding that to improve the lives of marginal groups, such as students in universities, researchers must enlist alternative research paradigms, drawing on the participants’ insights (maclure, 1990). importantly, with participatory research often functioning as an intervention, it makes it possible for researchers, working with participants to inf luence social change (schratz & walker, 1995). specifically, #feesmustfall and its aftermath and the project on which it is based use photovoice as a participatory visual method. photovoice is often traced back to paulo freire’s work in pedagogy of the oppressed (1970) and caroline wang’s work which investigates the experiences of chinese peasants working in rice paddies (wang & burris, 1997). wang et al (2004, p.  911) argue that as “a participatory-action research methodology based on the understanding that people are experts on their own lives”, photovoice involves placing cameras in the hands of the participants, particularly those who are often not listened to, such as students. the aim is to document their experiences and the inf luence of social phenomena (e.g. violence linked to student protests) in their lives. this enables them to tell stories that were “previously rejected, silenced, or overlooked … [with] the photograph’s narrative becom[ing] a participatory site for wider storytelling, spurring community members to ref lect, discuss, and analyse the issues that confront them” (singhal & devi, 2003, p. 7). therefore, using photovoice (and other arts-based methods such as poetry), the project and the book, #feesmustfall and its aftermath, aim to open up democratic spaces for participants and other students who bear witness through the exhibitions and the dialogues linked to them, and extend participant students agency through the process of telling their own stories as students in higher education institutions in south africa. in the hope that policyand decision makers at universities are compelled to confront these issues, since ignoring them when they are visually (through the images) in their 242   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 239-244 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4371 faces is harder to do. thus, the book challenges higher education institutions to think seriously and creatively about what to do about violence, including structural, symbolic, and physical violence in and around institutions and the interventions needed to ensure the well-being and success of the students these institutions enrol. as caroline wang, pioneer of photo-voice, concluded, images contribute to how the participants see themselves, how they define and relate to the world, and what they see as significant to address or change. the lesson an image teaches does not reside in its physical structures but rather in how people interpret the image in question. (wang, 1999, p. 186) other chapters in the section include a focus on gender (and gender-based violence) within the student movement (chapter 10), the fear and trauma instigated by intimidation, police (and private security company) brutality against protesting students (chapter 11), and the negative outcomes of protests (chapter 12). the third section of the book responds to schratz and walker’s (1995) notion of research as social change. chapters in this section document how student activists and their allies advocated for change (chapter 13), how they developed unity and solidarity among themselves and other students (chapter 14), how they sought and nurtured their own and others’ well-being (chapter 15), and how they found escape from the violence and safe spaces to cope with its aftermath (chapter 16). challenging the widespread belief that student protests are simply violent undertakings with no real purpose and that students engage in them because they are not serious about their education, chapter 17 documents the student movement as purposeful and students as active knowers and actors focused on achieving success in education and contributing to their own and others’ well-being in the process. chapter 18 concludes the book and foregrounds the volume’s contribution to scholarship, activism and social change in the south african higher education system. using photovoice and other participatory research methods, #feesmustfall and its aftermath highlights the nature and manifestations of violence within the student protest movement in south africa and its negative impacts on student well-being and success in their studies. importantly, it is a call to action for student activists to find alternative ways of protest that do not involve violence, and for university and higher education system policymakers to understand, from the perspectives of the students themselves, the nature and inf luence of violence and strategies needed for social and curricular change, including the decolonisation of the university and its programmes. through the images or the various sets of exhibitions and captions it presents, as a photo essay, the book “open[s] up dialogue and asks questions about the numerous forms of [violence] materiality and altered landscapes that the authors have chronicled” (angelo et al., 2021, p. 154). finally, #feesmustfall and its aftermath raises the bar on methodological relevance and rigour in investigating students’ experiences of violence and well-being in universities. the book generatively and creatively draws on and contributes to contemporary relebohile moletsane: review of #feesmustfall and its aftermath: violence, wellbeing and the student movement …   243 theoretical thinking and empirical work on violence and student well-being in higher education institutions, such as the book, studying while black, by swartz, mahali et al. (2017), and their documentary, ready or not! black students’ experiences of south african universities. swartz and her colleagues also used photovoice and other arts-based methods (storytelling, video documentary) to document the experiences of black students in eight universities in south africa. their study concluded that skills and systemic change are needed to address inequality, including disparities among students linked to socioeconomic class, race, gender and other markers of identity, and the exclusion, violence and exploitation many students experience in universities. as such, it is a welcome contribution to the scholarship on student activism and violence and strategies needed to address its aftermath. references angelo, d., britt, k., brown, m. l., & camp, s. l. (2021). private struggles in public spaces. journal of contemporary archaeology, 8(1), 154-184. https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.43379. maclure, r. (1990). the challenge of participatory research and its implications for funding agencies. international journal of sociology and social policy, 10(3), 1-19. margolis, e. (2004). looking at discipline, looking at labour: photographic representations of indian boarding schools. visual studies, 19, 72-96. mitchell, c. (2011). doing visual research. sage. moletsane, r. (2018). ‘stop the war on women’s bodies’: facilitating a girl-led march against sexual violence in a rural community in south africa. studies in social justice, 12(2), 235-250. doi: 10.26522/ssj.v12i2.1655. oakley, a. (1994). women and children first and last. parallels and differences between children’s and women’s studies. in b. mayall (ed.), children’s childhoods observed and experienced (pp.  13-27). falmer press. pink, s. (2007). doing visual ethnography. (2nd ed.). sage publications. sage research methods. (2017). lynn butler-kisber defines poetic inquiry [video]. sage research methods. https://methods.sagepub.com/video/lynn-butler-kisber-defines-poetic-inquiry. schratz, m., & walker, r. (1995). research as social change: new opportunities for qualitative research. routledge. sutherland, p. (2016). the photo essay. visual anthropology review, 32(2), 115-121. swartz, s., mahali, a., moletsane, r. arogundade, e., khalema, e.n., cooper, a., & groenewald, c. (2018). studying while black: race, education and emancipation in south african universities. hsrc press. wang, c. (1999). photovoice: a participatory action research strategy applied to women’s health. journal of women’s health, 8(2), 185-192. wang, c., & burris, m. a. (1997). photovoice: concept, methodology and use for participatory needs assessment. health education & behaviour, 24(3), 369-387. wang, c., morrel-samuels, s., hutchison, p., bell, l., & pestronk, r. (2004). flint photovoice: community building among youths, adults, and policymakers. american journal of public health, 94(6), 911-913. doi: 10.2105/ajph.94.6.911. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.26522%2fssj.v12i2.1655 244   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 239-244 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4371 how to cite: moletsane, r. (2022). review of #feesmustfall and its aftermath: violence, wellbeing and the student movement in south africa by t. m. luescher, a. wilson fadiji, k. g. morwe, a. erasmus, t. s. letsoalo & s. b. mokhema. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 239-244. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v10i2.4371 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, v–vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4451 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial student affairs in a traumatic year birgit schreiber,* teboho moja** & thierry m. luescher*** * dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwiguniversität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and for stellenbosch university, south africa. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za; birgitdewes@gmail.com ** prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education, new york university, u.s.a. she is alo a visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa, and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu *** prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and associate professor of higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung/bloemfontein, south africa. he is a member of the jsaa editorial executive. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za the year 2020 is a year that we will remember globally in higher education as having been most unusual, indeed, traumatic. if at the beginning of 2020 the year had a hopeful ring with plenty, as it comes to an end it is hard to just try and make sense of the extent that the experience of higher education has been changed so incisively within a short time for both staff and students. and the signs are already there that the post-covid-19 period will not be short of new challenges either. challenges like addressing the increased mental health issues students suffer due to the crisis, illness, loss of loved ones and more. moreover, there are many student groups whose ability to learn has been severely impacted by the pandemic and lockdown, including students from poor households, rural students, and students with special needs. as we noted in our last editorial, for these students, the campus environment and the services offered by student affairs departments is normally able to level the ‘playing field’ of learning. it will require yet another extra effort by student affairs professionals, academics, administrators, fellow students and the communities and families to ensure that these students can catch up and have access to the same quality and quantity of learning opportunities within supportive contexts over the course of their studies as others who have been less impacted. the first-year experience (fye) holds for many student affairs professionals a special place. one group of students that has been particularly impacted by the campus and national lockdowns imposed by the global covid-19 pandemic have been first-years. for much of the year, covid-19 has robbed this cohort of first-year students of the thrills and fears, joys and cries, of a ‘normal’ first year. in those universities that start their academic https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4451 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:birgitdewes%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:teboho.moja%40nyu.edu?subject= mailto:tluescher%40hsrc.ac.za?subject= vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, v-vii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4451 year the second half of the year, the impact has been less profound. but in higher education systems like south africa’s, where the academic year starts in the course of february, first-year students experienced just a few weeks of induction into university life on campus. the fye provides the central theme of this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa. it is the mission of jsaa to contribute to the professionalisation of student affairs inter alia through the development of partnerships with professional organisations in the field. in this spirit we are pleased to host for the third time an issue guest edited by annsilla nyar of the south african national research centre of the first-year experience at the university of johannesburg. her first guest-edited issue titled “the first-year experience, student transitions and institutional transformation” was published as jsaa  4(1) in 2016 and the second issue “first-year experience in perspective” in 2018 as jsaa 6(1). indeed, jsaa has been proudly associated with a number of guest editors over the years, starting with “student power in african higher education”, jsaa  3(1) of 2015, which was jointly guest edited by thierry luescher, manja klemenčič and james otieno jowi. this was followed by “tutoring and mentoring”, guest edited by nelia frade in 2017 and published as jsaa 5(2), and most recently jsaa 7(1) on “space, language, identity and the student movement” guest edited by philippa tumubweinee and thierry luescher. a guest-edited issue allows jsaa and the guest editor to focus attention on a specific theme and enables a particular kind of depth of scholarship. it mobilises a number of researchers, employing a range of research methodologies and frameworks to focus on that theme, thus advancing scholarship in this domain. this, too, is what annsilla nyar has done with this her third guest-edited issue, and jsaa is proud to be playing a part in developing the scholarship on the first-year experience (fye). in addition to the eight research articles and the reflective practice article on the fye guest edited by annsilla nyar, this issue includes a campus report on the stellenbosch university experiential education conference which explored the intersection of experiential learning with student success. this was a particularly timeous and topical conference as we are moving into an era of distanceand online-learning which raises major concerns about the developmental experiences in the social and community domain of higher education. as in every issue, we are happy to publish in this issue the review of a book relevant for student affairs professionals in universities in africa and beyond. birgit schreiber reviews engaging students: using evidence to promote student success, edited by francois strydom, george kuh and sonja loots, which was published in 2017 by sunmedia bloemfontein. with this book, the editors have been able to bring together an impressive set of contributions that illustrate in so many ways the importance of having good data to understand the student experience, enhance student engagement and ultimately improve student success. schreiber argues: “it is a must-read for student affairs practitioners, not only in africa, but in all contexts that seek to offer teaching and learning opportunities that advance equitable participation of the learning in the learning process.” we would like to thank a number of members of the international editorial advisory board of jsaa and our reviewers. as we are gradually preparing the move of the journal https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4451 birgit schreiber, teboho moja & thierry m. luescher: student affairs in a traumatic year vii to the university of pretoria, we would also like to acknowledge yet again the support we have received over the last four and a half years from stellenbosch university which has not only sponsored a number of issues but also generously hosted and administered the journal on their library’s e-journal platform. in this regard, a special thank you goes to ms paulette talliard of stellenbosch university’s library and information service and the tireless support of maretha joyce. how to cite: schreiber, b., moja, t. & luescher, t.m. (2020). student affairs in a traumatic year. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), v-vii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4451 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4451 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 89–91 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.29 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za maree, j.g. (2013). counselling for career construction. connecting life themes to construct life portraits: turning pain into hope. rotterdam: sense nordlind cazimira fouché* book review * counselling psychologist. email: cazimira@gmail.com in his new book counselling for career construction, prof. j.g. maree, an internationally acknowledged author and researcher in the field of career counselling, advocates the need to develop a career counselling practice that is located in the 21st century. to become relevant in a world that changes four times faster than the educational system, the central goal of career counselling will have to shift from assisting clients making occupational choices for a “world that does not exist any more” (p. 4) to assisting clients in designing successful lives, negotiating career transitions and finding meaning through social participation and contribution. counselling for career construction supports career construction theory by adding selfreflection and reflexive self-construction to the existing savickian postmodern perspective. the debate revolves around the limitations of the positivist and purely quantitative career counselling approach in the light of contextual diversity, globalisation, it developments and rapid changes in the world of work. this book inspires the idea that even the smallest person can make a contribution to the world by not letting themselves remain defined by their circumstances and turning a condition into a victory. this is a major reason i find this book a must for those practising career counselling in developing countries. the book is divided in two parts. the first part uses the first six chapters to provide a platform for theoretical discussion and to promote a new conceptual framework for career counselling. the second part of the book (chapters 7 and 8) explains the use of career interest profile (cip) and how the career construction method developed by mark savickas can be applied with the use of six case studies. the final chapter deals with a few recommendations for theory and practice. the rationale of the book is examined in chapter 1 where the author explores what would make a career intervention successful. a journey of psychological transformation seems essential, together with contextual adaptation of career counselling practice, inclusion of different career counselling methods and on-going reflections. a short personal 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 89–91 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.29 account of an early experience related to loss and healing has inspired his lifelong research into proposing a more humanising and integrative career counselling approach. chapters 2 and 3 expand on the rationale for developing a career counselling approach relevant to this century. the dramatic changes in the world of work described in chapter 2 question the contextual relevance of theories, practice and assessment tools still used in career practice. to respond adequately to these fast changes and repeated career transitions of their clients, career counsellors need an up-to-date theory to guide their practice. chapter 3 provides a detailed description on the effect of changes in the world of work on psychological theories and career counselling in particular. the end of the chapter calls for more research into the application of north american and eurocentric career counselling theory in developing countries contexts. the book proposes a postmodern approach to career counselling and the use of a qualitative method of enquiry. for those readers interested in the theoretical underpinnings of career construction and related concepts there is a whole chapter dedicated to it. chapter 4 starts with a discussion about the existential-phenomenological theory as a cornerstone for meta-reflection and the ability of clients to become their own agents of change. the use of a narrative framework as basis for facilitating a story approach in career counselling is explained in detail. in the second part of this chapter career construction theory (pioneered by mark savickas) and some of its key concepts like self-construction, life designing, career adaptability and facilitation of self-advising and their implication for career guidance are discussed. for those new to the postmodern approach to career work, chapter 5 elaborates on career construction features that need to be understood and mastered such as holding and continuity, eliciting life stories, identifying life themes and the necessity of a client’s intention to find meaning. while listening is central to any counselling work, new methods are brought to light such as the importance of body language, ‘seeding’, verbalising a client’s observations and the use of metaphors as valuable and unique features of a career construction approach. the chapter ends with some general hints to guide counsellors that are unfamiliar with postmodern careers work. i particularly enjoyed the ‘three early recollection technique’ described in chapter 6. this technique is based on mark savickas’ career construction interview (cci) provided in an earlier chapter (chapter 4, p. 38) of this book. the questions are used in identifying a client’s central problem or a major life theme to help counsellors identify a career problem and interpret it within the larger pattern of a client’s life. an example of analysis of a client’s early recollections is provided at the end of the chapter to help integrate all of them in a major life theme. the second part of the book is dedicated to the career interest profile developed by the author over a period of many years and tested extensively with different populations. the idea of such a questionnaire is to provide material for patterns to emerge, to engage clients to identify main themes and subthemes and thus promoting an active participation of clients in their own counselling. nordlind cazimira fouché: connecting life themes to construct life portraits: turning pain into hope 91 chapter 8 discusses savickas’ eight steps for crafting a client’s life portrait, the developing of a vision and mission statement, and six case studies provide the reader with ample opportunity to experience the value, flexibility and resourcefulness of the career construction interview. this seminal book is the beginning of new developments in career counselling theory and praxis worldwide. by questioning the thin identity of present career counselling approaches it invites counsellors, students and academics to participate in the construction of an innovative and reflexive practice with has the unique quality of turning pain into hope. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 195-207 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368   195 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r eflective practice campus mental health revisited linda eskell blokland* & hanlé kirkcaldy** abstract this conceptual, reflective article explores recent innovations in mental health service provision at a large urban, residential university in south africa during the covid-19 pandemic. prior to the pandemic, mental health services at this university were generally offered through face-to-face consultations, with secondary offerings in the form of well-being workshops at student residences and faculty houses. the need for mental health support was acute during the pandemic, placing great pressure on service provision. at the same time, however, everyone – that is, all staff and students – were working remotely as campuses had been closed under national lockdown. in this context, it was necessary to connect students to mental health services while they were studying remotely during the various phases of lockdown and to revisit the conventional and possibly largely reactive model of mental health service provision. innovation in the promotion and provision of mental health services and products at this university, including through corporate partnerships and the responsible use of automation and technology, helped to achieve market penetration and widespread utilisation of services. in addition, ethical considerations; the factors inhibiting and supporting change; and the sustainability of the efforts undertaken during this period had to be addressed. drawing lessons from the experience at this university, it is recommended that, while there will always be a place for conventional mental health service offerings, it may be time to expand the model permanently on modern campus environments, where there is a need for a caring community; committed leadership; the development of resilience in the student body; and the building of personal strengths in individuals. keywords caring campus, mental health support, pandemic, student counselling, university introduction in march 2020, the south african government instituted a national lockdown in response to the global spread of covid-19. under the lockdown, staff and students at a large urban residential university were instructed that they should work from home wherever possible, and all contact classes were suspended for students. over the * dr linda eskell blokland is a clinical psychologist in private practice. she is also the chairperson of the clinical psychology forum. email: linda.blokland@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0003-2840-4720. ** dr hanlé kirkcaldy is a clinical psychologist and the head of the student counselling unit in the department of student affairs of the university of pretoria. email: hanle.kirkcaldy@up.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0001-9797-2655. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:linda.blokland@gmail.com mailto:hanle.kirkcaldy@up.ac.za 196   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 195-207 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368 next 18 months, the national and international landscape changed continuously, as the university, the country, and the world, had to respond and adjust to the profound impacts of the global pandemic. conventional mental health service delivery on university campuses students experience unique demands and challenges while at university. they may need to adjust to a new phase of life, while experiencing significant neuro-psycho-social development, and possibly encountering adverse and stressful life events. the experience can damage students’ wellness and jeopardise their mental health (eskell blokland, 2019; gruttadaro & crudo, 2012; newman & newman, 1984). in south africa, students are exposed to mental health problems such as suicidality, depression, and anxiety due to pervasive systemic disadvantages in the society (bantjes et al., 2019). the difficulties they may encounter include financial and economic insecurities; historical, societal and educational disadvantages; and exposure to personal loss, crime, and trauma (eloff & graham, 2020; setlofane, 2019). student counselling and development (scd) services and programmes on university campuses play an important role in helping students respond to the mental health and development challenges they face. these services assist students in reaching their primary objective at university, namely academic success. important organisational strategic goals of any university, including student success and throughput, are enhanced through the professional support functions delivered by scd service units. the inputs delivered by these units include psychotherapeutic and counselling support for students for a wide variety of conditions and presenting problems. in addition to such counselling services, other support may include academic and remedial interventions; career assessments and guidance; trauma interventions; assessments for concessions related to students with disabilities; interventions in conjunction with disciplinary and transformation committees; and management of psychological emergencies such as psychoses or other acute syndromes. in addition, workshops and group interventions targeting specific topics of importance to the student population, such as relationship and conf lict management; anxiety and stress management; and lifestyle-related themes, are regularly provided. these services are usually delivered in a conventional walk-in clinic set-up, where students request services and are offered appointments in a physical, on-campus location. a variety of service providers, including psychologists; counsellors; peer helpers; and psychology interns or master’s students, are generally involved in the delivery of these services. theoretical and conceptual frameworks in student counselling and development the conceptual frameworks underpinning the delivery of scd services may derive from a number of theories, including systems theory frameworks such as bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems (1981); and wellness models (witmer & sweeney, 1992). linda eskell blokland & hanlé kirkcaldy: campus mental health revisited   197 systems framework a systems framework focuses on the individual student in relation to various ecologically relevant contexts which can be visually represented as concentric circles expanding from the student, who is in the centre (beekman, 2012). the student stands in relation to all the systems in his/her/their world, the parts inf luencing the whole, and vice-versa. as such, the contexts are bilaterally permeable, with the external context inf luencing all the narrower contexts, and with each sub-system comprising a valuable part of the bigger or whole system. the first context closest to the student (the microsystem) could be conceptualised as those structures with which the student has direct contact – these include the immediate university environment such as is found on campus, namely the administrative structures; the academic faculties; the lectures and lecturers; the university staff; the residence environments; and the student bodies, including sport and cultural societies (beekman, 2012). the microsystem context also includes relationships with fellow students in the immediate environment. the next context (the mesosystem) includes interaction with the broader community; inter-university activities; the university’s culture and position in relation to other institutions; the geographical location of the institution; and the inf luence and role of the media or mass media on the student (beekman, 2012). the broader context of the exosystem includes settings that can bear on the individual with greater or lesser intensity (bronfenbrenner, 1981), such as family and extended family structures; the community whence the student came; cultural settings; and economic status and occurrences (beekman, 2012). then, the macrosystem implies the larger society; governmental regulations; and policy or legal changes; while the global system implies events and occurrences in the even broader, global environment. these systems may have strong inf luences on individual (student) life in direct or indirect ways (bronfenbrenner, 1981). wellness theory models based on wellness theory focus on holistic individual development and emphasise salutogenic factors – that is, they focus on strengths and enabling and health rather than adopting a pathogenic paradigm which has a remedial or reactive focus (witmer & sweeney, 1992). under this model, the focus is on the student as an individual, and the main concern is to enhance the student’s strengths and resilience. this approach emphasises optimal well-being in various life spheres, including the emotional, physical, mental-health, environmental, occupational and spiritual spheres. it asserts that balance in these areas leads to the best outcome for the individual (van lingen, 2012). thus, students are viewed in a holistic way considering their multiple facets and needs as individuals. students are encouraged to attend to and regulate the various spheres of their lives, which may be depicted in the form a wheel of wellness, in a proactive way (witmer & sweeney, 1992). 198   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 195-207 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368 wellness approaches vary, but mainly delineate a number of areas of life, such as spirituality; self-regulation; work; friendships; and love, to which the individual should attend. various positive characteristics are associated with each of these areas. for instance, efforts at self-regulation may entail cultivating a sense of self-worth; self-control; realistic and logical beliefs; spontaneity and emotional responsiveness; intellectual engagement; problem solving and creativity; a sense of humour; and physical care and fitness (witmer & sweeney, 1992). wellness theory can be readily applied in support of student development and success. a well student with an optimal lifestyle; positive relationships; self-efficacy; and the capacity for stress management and emotional control, stands a better chance of academic success (horton & snyder, 2009; morris-paxton et al., 2017). in relation to mental health, positive psychological approaches may deploy a wellness frame of reference to focus on developing and building individual and group strengths, resilience and mental assets, and foster the creation of meaning and authentic happiness (seligman, 2002; wissing et al., 2014). in its focus on the individual student, wellness theory can also foster acknowledgement of the diversity of the student population, encapsulating dimensions such as culture, spirituality, gender, sexual orientation and economic factors, among others.1 mental health impacts of covid-19 the mental health impacts of the covid-19 pandemic have been profound. symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress have been commonly reported (rajkumar, 2020; hunt et al., 2021; taylor, 2019). researchers have discussed how students have reported fear and worry about their own health and those of their loved ones; concentration difficulties; sleep disturbances; a lack of socialising opportuniuties under lockdown; and anxiety in relation to academic success (changwon et al., 2020). in a survey study evaluating a group of 5,074 south african students, it was reported that students experienced high levels of depression and anxiety and scored low on the mental health continuum during lockdown (visser & law-van wyk, 2021). these students were not only worried that they or their families would contract covid-19, but experienced difficulties because they could not attend class. difficulties came in the form of a variety of challenges such as unreliable internet access, family dynamics in the home, lack of peer contact and support, and low confidence with regard to self-study. students complained that home life was not conducive to focus and concentration. some students found themselves struggling with distressing domestic events. in addition, they reported feeling vulnerable and as if their lives were on hold. some were victims of crime and gender-based violence during lockdown (visser & law-van wyk, 2021). 1 for an overview of both the systems framework theory and wellness theory models as applied to the scd arena, see van lingen (2012) and beekman (2012). linda eskell blokland & hanlé kirkcaldy: campus mental health revisited   199 the impact of covid-19 on student counselling and development services the disruption produced by the global pandemic highlighted shortcomings in the traditional conceptualisation of mental health support systems and service provision, and posed challenges to psychotherapists working in the field, both globally and locally (mcbeath et al., 2020; nguse & wassenaar, 2021). campus mental health services had to respond to the increased demand and changing needs (abrams, 2022). the interactions of the various sub-systems in which students function were placed under pressure and the homeostasis of these systems was threatened. the usual close and supportive structures within the student-life microsystem fell away because of forced campus closures during lockdown and were replaced with elements of a mesosystem which were not optimally geared to support student life and adjustment. macro and global system elements curbed individual freedoms and choices. according to erikson’s (1968) seminal theory of human development, the optimal psycho-social outcome in the development phase of students is to find a sense of belonging – that is, intimacy, as opposed to isolation. one could speculate that the impact of the protective lockdown measures, and the resulting microsystem restrictions felt by individuals in this life phase, would have been immense. this psycho-social developmental phase, as discussed earlier, would have been impacted severely by the lockdown procedures, as students were forced to isolate from their peers. students were obliged to focus on survival and adaptation, rather than on thriving. this put students at risk of academic failure and mental ill health. in response to the threat posed by the lockdown measures adopted to manage the pandemic, universities sought to redesign their academic programmes to address student needs under the circumstances of the “new normal”. they were also required to adopt urgent measures to create a new psychological equilibrium for students, promoting and protecting their wellness under lockdown. to this end, services had to be delivered into a number of shifting spheres and systems in new ways. change and innovation responding to the imperative to adapt the ways in which student counselling and development services should be provided, the student counselling unit at one of south africa’s large residential universities implemented changes in its service provision in three main areas: the use of online modes of work; the establishment of new mentalhealth offerings to meet the student clients’ evolving needs; and the utilisation of internal and external partnerships. moving online as soon as the closure of campuses was considered by the university’s management, the student counselling unit at this university transferred its operations to a virtual office space, which implied that the provision of all resources and official documentation and 200   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 195-207 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368 the management of the practice would now have to be undertaken via the internet. given the sensitive nature of the work being undertaken in the unit, it was necessary to address a range of security issues around this move to the internet and to source student/client consent for the new virtual form of service provision. a virtual campaign was launched to inform the student body of the continued availability of mental health services. this campaign was conducted via email; articles and announcements on the university’s website and on the unit’s own microsite; advertisements on social media platforms; and more conventional methods such as posters and f lyers. client consent forms were updated to inform clients about the provision of telehealth services, outlining the relative benefits and risks associated with working online. synchronous and video-supported platforms were chosen as the preferred channels for undertaking therapeutic work, since these offered better compliance with the guidelines that had been issued in march 2020 by the health professions council of south africa (hpcsa). the aim was to ensure that contact with students would remain professional and would resemble conventional “sessions” as closely possible. text messaging, telephone calls, and emails were used to make and cancel appointments and to facilitate referrals. a centralised email address was created for students seeking to access the services and make service requests. the hope was that the relative ease of access offered by email communication might encourage students to continue using the service while at home or off campus. the view was, since academic content was already being provided via a number of online platforms, the students were already adept at using these modalities of communication. in addition, it was hoped that the new online form of provision would offer the added benefit of removing a number of the existing barriers to seeking mental health treatment; barriers presented by factors such as stigma, and time and schedule constraints. staff training in the new system was seen as a priority. various meetings and workshops were held at which the professional expectations of telehealth services were discussed with staff. staff were encouraged to attend webinars on these topics to enrich the knowledge base at the university’s student counselling unit. the understanding was that the professionals in the unit had to broaden the scope of what it meant to be a mental healthcare provider and expand their technological capabilities in providing mental health care services. matching the mental health products on offer to student-client needs as the months progressed and the lockdown continued, it became clear that additional mental health services and materials were needed to support the mental health of students. the service demands grew, although not all students wanted or needed individual therapy. an internal re-organisation and further diversification of services were required. a stepped-care approach in the mode of the united kingdom’s (uk’s) improving access to psychological therapies (iapt) approach (clark, 2018), was adopted as a way of providing a more optimal use of resources. linda eskell blokland & hanlé kirkcaldy: campus mental health revisited   201 iapt was developed in the uk as a means of reaching a greater number of patients with more effective evidence-based treatments. a stepped-care approach to treatment in mental health is intrinsic to the iapt system. stepped-care entails three tiers of treatment (ocd-uk, 2018). step 1 is the assessment and recognition of a psychological problem. step 2 provides a low-intensity service for mild to moderate disorders. step 3 moves to a high intensity service for severe cases. while in south africa the triaging of patients is currently in place as an aspect of primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare, there is a dearth of professional support for those in need of a lower level of service in the field of mental health care. for example, under the traditional model of scd serviceprovision, every student seeking help is generally referred to a formal in-person service, such as with a professional psychologist or registered counsellor or in the form of a group intervention (mair, 2021). identifying the gap in service provision at the lower level, the student counselling unit at the university which is the subject of this article embarked on a number of changes to its service model in line with the stepped-care approach, which entailed the adoption of a number of new approaches, which are discussed below. tiering the cases among the professionals the scu sought to reserve high-intensity professional services for the more acute cases, such as when students presented with severe depression; suicidality; and/or severe anxiety disorders. such cases were allocated to the more senior qualified psychologists, working within their scope of practice. milder and more moderate problems were allocated to interns working under supervision, or, if it was deemed appropriate, students would be referred to a self-help or peer-support group. lower-intensity interventions lower-intensity interventions took a number of forms. these included webinars; podcasts; social media messaging; posters; and the use of other media to present information. these interventions were designed and implemented by the staff at the scu and, as such, fell within the microsystemic environment of student life on campus. in the absence of face-to-face workshops under lockdown, students became increasingly isolated and demoralised. in response, the scu designed and presented a series of interactive webinars responding to particular challenges raised by students in their communications with the unit which students were able to attend from wherever they were based. the topics addressed by these webinars included time management during lockdown; managing online examinations and exam stress; effective study methods; and studying in the home-environment. in addition, a series of podcasts was produced on topics such as combatting anxiety and depression; building resilience; creating a routine with online learning and self-compassion; thinking traps; relational well-being; and how to live a healthy lifestyle. these podcasts became popular, even attracting attention from beyond south africa. 202   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 195-207 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368 social media messaging was deployed at appropriate moments. for example, wishing students well with tests during test week, and acknowledging student events and days of national celebration. posters and other media provided information on similar topics were produced. a peer support group project established in 2019 took on greater significance, allowing students to connect with one another on a regular basis via a monitored, online format. all the information and messages that were disseminated provided a link to the scu and its services, including information on how to make contact. information was also placed on the scu’s own website. the content that was produced as part of the new, increased emphasis on the development of online self-help resources addressed the stressors experienced during the lockdown period, but also the expected difficulties and topics that students would normally encounter. in this regard, topics such as gender-based violence; substance abuse; managing anxiety and depression; and developing one’s own study style were not neglected. the podcasts proved to be an innovative, exciting way of conveying a range of messages related to student life, resilience and coping with mental health difficulties. the ease of access of the various online materials, as well as their relevance to the student experience, were crucial to the success of this initiative. leveraging partnerships leveraging external partnerships various external partnerships within the mesosystemic environment of the students’ lives were expanded in an effort to support and engage the students. some of these are discussed below. the south african depression and anxiety group (sadag) (www.sadag.org), has been a mental health partner with the large urban residential university which is the subject of this ref lective article for several years. they provide a 24-hour crisis and counselling line to assist students, especially students experiencing crises after hours. when the demand for mental health services increased during the covid-19 pandemic at this large urban residential university, the service provided by sadag became especially important in helping to manage the additional load. the process that was followed was that, after initial contact with a sadag counsellor, more serious cases were referred back to the scu at this university for higher intensity professional treatment. meanwhile, sadag also arranged and supported peer support group processes, including by training student group leaders on a regular basis, and sitting in at each group meeting to monitor the process. other partners engaged by the large urban residential university included sexual health organisations; alcoholics anonymous; narcotics anonymous; and sex addicts anonymous. these organisations provided materials on the topics in which they had expertise and also presented talks via the university student radio station on request. students were informed of the existence of these organisations and how they could help. linda eskell blokland & hanlé kirkcaldy: campus mental health revisited   203 in addition, psychiatric service providers within the community assisted where they could, providing medication as necessary. local clinics opened their doors to help students presenting with psychiatric problems at a time when public health services were over-stretched by covid-19 cases. leveraging internal partnerships resources and support for the scu at the university which is the subject of this article were made available from within the microsystemic environment of the university itself. collaboration with a number of internal stakeholders who were already playing an important part in assisting students with their well-being was strengthened. these stakeholders included faculty staff members seeking information about identifying students at risk and where to seek help for them. in this regard, although the primary function of faculty student advisors at this university is to assist students with their academic problems, many of these staff members can also notice potential serious issues and refer students who may be at risk for further psychological help. the scu at the university engaged these faculty stakeholders through training and conversations. residence affairs staff can also play a significant role in protecting, helping, and referring students with mental health issues. these staff are well-placed to detect problems at an early stage; point the student in the direction of the appropriate help; and assist with continued care. in addition, staff at the university residences cooperate closely with sadag in relation to the use of the 24-hour careline and in promoting peersupport structures within the residences. other service units, including the centre for the study of aids and gender (csa&g); the transformation office; and security services at the university also engaged in addressing students’ problems and were able to connect students with the scu at the university and the services provided by the unit. in addition, student organisations such as the student representative council (src) and a student wellbeing committee at the university played an important role in attending to student problems, particularly in terms of rapidly identifying how negative events on campus could contribute to student distress. these student bodies, which are generally active on social media, can be useful allies in promoting student well-being. during the covid-19 lockdown, the scu at the university received significant political and financial support for its efforts to deliver its services in new ways from the executive structures at the institution, including the director of student affairs and the vice-principal of student life. leveraging partnerships to deploy new technologies in coordination with the university’s information technology (it) department and external service providers, the scu at the university developed a chatbot in early 2021. this artificial intelligence resource provided materials and content to assist students in taking a stronger self-help approach to their own well-being. the chatbot, which was available only to registered students, focused initially on a number of specified mental 204   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 195-207 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368 health issues while taking an overall well-being approach to mental health. it provided information, questionnaires, self-help exercises, and links to online videos and other external resources. gaps in campus mental health-service provision at the exosystemic level, the relative unavailability of psychiatric services for students in need has represented a serious gap in mental health-service provision on campus for a long time. for example, while psychologists within the scu at the university which is the subject of this article are able to diagnose serious mental health conditions, they find it difficult to secure the appropriate medication for students due to financial and access constraints. in response and given the significance of students as a vulnerable local population, management noted that future consideration should be given to the possibility of a partnership of university clinics with the provincial department of health. meanwhile, however, students tend to avoid attending public service-provider institutions which anyway cannot meet their needs in a timely manner. this has led to continual crisis management on campus. in this regard, if university campuses were to become sites for public clinics, as has been proposed, many of the crises that emerge after delays in treatment may be nipped in the bud. similarly, the various mental health initiatives promoted by higher health2 may be more effectively deployed if it were acknowledged that universities may be best-placed to implement these at a local level. in line with the iapt approach and the understanding that there is a need for mental health information to be communicated more widely, units such as the scu could benefit from the services of registered counsellors, who would be able to assist with the initial screening of clients; provide counselling; and promote mental-health projects within their scope of practice. reflections some initial, tentative conclusions may be drawn on the effectiveness of the new approach in providing mental health services to students which was adopted under lockdown at the university which is the subject of this ref lection. there was some confusion about the purpose of the new mental-health chatbot introduced by the scu at the university, although it was accessed by many students after it was launched. several students complained that the chatbot was not responding to their specific questions and indicated that they had been expecting greater engagement from the bot in relation to their needs – rather than seeing it for what it was, namely a device for providing mental-health information. in this regard, the communications campaign to promote the chatbot could have provided greater clarity on its actual purpose and function. at the same time, plans are in place to expand the functionality of 2 higher health is a government organisation that aims to promote comprehensive student well-being across all campuses of tertiary institutions in south africa, as a supplement to academic programmes. linda eskell blokland & hanlé kirkcaldy: campus mental health revisited   205 the chatbot, although such technological innovation is expensive and time-consuming and would necessitate extensive private-sector engagement. more generally, efforts to promote the mental health resources and services on offer were not entirely effective. for example, the scu at the university was told on a number of occasions that some students appeared to have no knowledge of the mental health services that were available to them at the university. in addition, some students seemed reluctant to make use of the online mental health services that were made available, viewing the provision of virtual forms of assistance as less than adequate. recommendations given the global context, in which mental health and general health services are increasingly being provided virtually, thought should be given in future as to how students and staff may be helped to acclimatise to virtual services as an adjunct to conventional face-to-face modalities. the various platforms for providing mental health and wellness support should be promoted and provided in line with the demand. in this regard, the incorporation of a hybrid approach to mental health service delivery, under which online and face-to-face services are blended, as well as the establishment of a tiered approach, under which the needs for particular kinds of services are matched with what is on offer, can lead to the provision of effective, equitable mental health services. throughout the lockdown period it became clear that mental health and wellness could not be the sole responsibility of a unit such as scu. wellness promotion and resilience-building should be an institutional objective, and an aspect of campus culture. it must involve students at the grassroots level, as well as all the faculties; the professional and administrative-support units; and the university’s leadership. looking to the future, the need to teach the hidden curriculum of lifeand selfmanagement to the next generation of students may be imperative if the next pandemic is to be survived. under lockdown at the university, it became clear that the mental health and wellbeing of students was not something that could be addressed through the provision of conventional counselling services. an innovative, holistic and comprehensive approach was required to provide adequate services. in addition, the delivery of appropriate services depended on self-responsibility for well-being among students with the support of staff. in this regard, there should be greater acknowledgment of the benefits to be derived from confronting the stigma attached to mental health issues and talking about these issues more openly. benchmarking at other university counselling centres and further research should be undertaken to provide greater clarity on how best these centres can serve their student populations. in this regard, it is noteworthy that the current generation of students is generally at ease with digital content and digital platforms, while also appreciating the benefits of congruent human interaction. in this regard, institutions need to collect data through surveys, focus groups, and anonymised information via service platforms to 206   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 195-207 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368 ensure that appropriate forms of professional support are made available in answer to the actual mental health needs of student populations. the adoption of a wellness model and a stepped-care approach within a systems framework proved of great use to the student counselling unit at the university which is the subject of this ref lective article, enabling a more optimal use of resources in an exosystemic environment characterised by a paucity of resources for promoting mental health. this ref lection and its lessons are provided here for the potential benefit of other higher education institutions facing similar challenges. references abrams, z. (2022). student mental health in crisis. campuses are rethinking their approach. monitor on psychology, 53(7). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/10/mental-health-campus-care. bantjes, j., lochner, c., saal, w., roos, j., taljaard, l., page, d., auerbach, r. p., mortier, p., bruffaerts, kessler, r. c., & stein, d. j. (2019). prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of common mental disorders among first-year university students in post-apartheid south africa: implications for a public mental health approach to student wellness. bmc public health, 19(922). https://doi. org/10.1186/s12889-019-7218-y. beekman, l. (2012). theoretical framework for student counselling and development in higher education. in l. beekman, c. cilliers, & a. de jager (eds.), student counselling and development: contemporary issues in the south african context (pp. 67-86). unisa press. bronfenbrenner, u. 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(2019, october 11). are universities pathologising student issues? mail & guardian. https://mg.co.za/article/2019-10-11-00-are-universities-pathologising-student-issues/. gruttadaro, d., & crudo, d. (2012). college students speak: a survey report on mental health. national alliance on mental illness. https://www.nami.org/support-education/publications-reports/ survey-reports/college-students-speak_a-survey-report-on-mental-h. horton, b. w., & snyder, c. s. (2009). wellness: its impact on student grades and implications for business. journal of human resources in hospitality & tourism, 8, 215-233. https://doi. org/10.1080/1533284080226985. hpcsa (health professions council of south africa). 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(2020). covid-19 and mental health: a review of the existing literature. asian journal of psychiatry, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102066. seligman, m. e. (2002). authentic happiness: using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfilment. free press. setlofane, t. (2019, july 31). tertiary institutions should prioritise mental health. health-e news. https:// health-e.org.za/author/teboho/ taylor, s. (2019). the psychology of pandemics: preparing for the next global outbreak of infectious disease. cambridge scholars publishing. van lingen, h. (2012). wellness: a model for holistic student development. in l. beekman, c. cilliers, & a. de jager (eds.), student counselling and development: contemporary issues in the south african context (pp. 106-123). unisa press. visser, m., & law-van wyk, e. (2021). university students’ mental health and emotional wellbeing during the covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown. south african journal of psychology, 51(2), 229-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463211012219. wissing, m., potgieter, j., guse, t., khumalo, t., & nel, l. (2014). towards flourishing: contextualising positive psychology. van schaik. witmer, j. m., & sweeney, t. j. (1992). a holistic model for wellness and prevention over the life span. journal of counselling and development, 71(2), 140-148. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1992. tb02189.x. how to cite: eskell blokland, l., & kirkcaldy, h. (2022). campus mental health revisited. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 195-207. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4368 https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12326 https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896916650707 https://www.ocduk.org/overcoming-ocd/accessing-ocd-treatment/accessing-ocd-treatment-through-the-nhs/iapt/ https://www.ocduk.org/overcoming-ocd/accessing-ocd-treatment/accessing-ocd-treatment-through-the-nhs/iapt/ https://health-e.org.za/author/teboho/ https://health-e.org.za/author/teboho/ https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463211012219 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1992.tb02189.x https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1992.tb02189.x www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 35–38 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4695 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 35 special issue: on campus student affairs professionalization programme launched in south africa ’mateboho green1 & charmain naidoo2 1 ’mateboho green, universities south africa (usaf), south africa. email: mateboho@usaf.ac.za 2 charmain naidoo, independent freelance specialist writer, johannesburg, south africa. introduction the professionalization of student affairs, student development and support services across the south african university sector is critical for the improved success of students and all institutions. this was the view of those leading the inaugural student affairs and student success (sass) capacity development programme. the first session of the sass programme was hosted in ekurhuleni, south africa, from 29 to 30 may 2023. the programme was conceptualised by a consortium of higher education and student affairs experts coordinated by the higher education leadership and management (helm) programme of universities south africa (usaf). the two-day session attracted 50 participants from a range of student support services across south africa’s public universities. the attendees were mostly middle and senior managers from student affairs, student development, student services, administration, libraries, transformation and equity, health and wellness, student residences, marketing and communication departments, and more. a timely programme with a three-pronged approach welcoming the sass participants, usaf’s ceo, dr phethiwe matutu, called the training programme a “milestone event”. her second-in-command and recently appointed director: operations and sector support, mr mahlubi chief mabizela, concurred that it was a much-needed intervention, considering how student success, leadership, and governance issues were two key challenges that the higher education sector is currently grappling with. dr oliver seale, director of helm echoed the ceo’s words, adding that this was a first in south africa and on the african continent. dr birgit schreiber, the programme leader, asserted that student success is underpinned by intentional and relevant support that addresses not only student and institutional success but also addresses issues in the living and learning contexts that are often less than conducive for meaningful engagement and epistemological access. the sass programme was initiated as a direct response to a national training needs assessment survey that helm carried out among student support professionals working in student affairs, student development, and student support services across the 26 http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 35–38 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4695 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za36 public institutions in november 2021. the study found that 86% of the surveyed 362 respondents was very keen to take part in a capacity building intervention to enhance their impact on student success. the survey findings, including the expressed needs to develop competencies and skills, led to the design of the sass programme during 2022. according to dr matutu, usaf anchored its work on three theme clusters: students, sustainability and engagement. in this manner, usaf sought to achieve its vision of “a higher education system that is responsive to south african and global challenges through the growth and development of engaged graduates and through high-quality knowledge production”, she said. usaf had further identified sub-themes with a bearing on student growth and development including stability, student funding, accommodation, access and success, employability, and mental wellness. “usaf’s work is spread across all these areas, with the latest product – the work of the transformation strategy group – being a research study report with guidelines, titled reshaping universities to create a student-centred higher education system in south africa”, matutu said. leadership and governance are grave concerns leadership and governance in higher education were issues of great significance and concern, noted mr chief mabizela. “if you were asked to tell someone who had been out of the country for the past two years what our biggest problem was, you’d be remiss if you didn’t mention leadership and governance issues,” he said. these issues were playing out everywhere in the public domain, including in the media. directly addressing the participants, he said, by virtue of their responsibility for student matters, “you provide leadership at your institutions. institutional management will consult student affairs on matters that relate generally to the governance of students (for example, the students representative council (src).” mr mabizela mentioned a usaf report, titled an engaged university for a higher education system in south africa, published in 2022 from the deliberations of the higher education conference of 2021. this report addresses the kind of change that is needed in sa universities to render them engaged institutions, mabizela said. “basically, what kind of graduates do we want to develop and enable? if we are to develop towards making a positive contribution to society, we have to provide leadership. an engaged university means one that is really grounded and is organically involved in issues of society. it is something that the university does or should be doing.” dr oliver seale said that universities in the world, including those in the south african system, have each carved their own excellence niche. regrettably, however, “we tend to lose that in the ranking system. in our programme, we need to determine how successfully universities are led. it often rests on the executive leadership team, who need to galvanise the energies of the academics and administrators to work as a collective, towards achieving the institution’s strategic goals”, seale said. seale challenged the programme attendees to use their new skills and competences: “we are confident that once you have completed this programme, engaged with your colleagues, and shared your experience over the next six months (june to november green, m., & naidoo, c. (2023). student affairs professionalization programme launched in south africa 37 2023), you will be better positioned to showcase your excellence, for the benefit of yourself and your institution.” the helm director went on to state that before covid-19, ‘change’ was the one constant in the higher education system. this had changed, seale said: “nowadays, we talk about two constants, ‘change and complexity’. leadership in universities today, is becoming increasingly complex. one thing we learned during the covid-19 pandemic is that when we work as a collective, we all win. it is about you and your team – or even more importantly, you leading and being led by your team.” access without support is not a fair opportunity dr birgit schreiber, the sass programme leader, emphasized the role student affairs, support and development play in supporting students and shaping a context conducive for student success. enabling access without support is not a fair opportunity, she argued, and this is where staff in the student affairs, support, and development services play a critical role for students and institutions. student success debates have grown beyond student throughput rates in recent years to involve a holistic understanding of the student life cycle, dr matutu said. universities now concern themselves with “how we provide relevant services, shape the living and learning context, and how we engage students in the transformation of their tertiary experience.” this therefore underlined the critical role of student affairs, student support and student development functions. it also explained why, globally, staff in these functions are supported and capacitated via professionalization and bespoke development programmes, “which advance their contributions towards institutional objectives for success.” the ceo congratulated all 50 participants on behalf of the usaf chairperson and board of directors for having heeded the call. “we are confident that you will use this opportunity to reflect, learn, and add greater value to our students. it will also be incumbent on you to share the lessons from sass with your colleagues and peers at your university. together, we will make the student-centred higher education space more enabling and empowering for ourselves and our students,” dr matutu concluded. for more information visit: https://www.usaf.ac.za/professionalising-student-affairs-development-and-support-services-is-thekey-to-enhancing-student-success-in-higher-education/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/rationale-for-the-inaugural-student-affairs-and-student-success-sass-capacitydevelopment-programme/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/new-sass-programme-hailed-as-forerunner-in-professionalising-universitiesstudent-affairs-and-support-services/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/universities-student-affairs-development-and-support-staff-urged-to-identifyas-professionals-practitioners-and-knowledge-workers/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/professionalising-student-affairs-development-and-support-services-is-the-key-to-enhancing-student-success-in-higher-education/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/professionalising-student-affairs-development-and-support-services-is-the-key-to-enhancing-student-success-in-higher-education/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/rationale-for-the-inaugural-student-affairs-and-student-success-sass-capacity-development-programme/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/rationale-for-the-inaugural-student-affairs-and-student-success-sass-capacity-development-programme/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/new-sass-programme-hailed-as-forerunner-in-professionalising-universities-student-affairs-and-support-services/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/new-sass-programme-hailed-as-forerunner-in-professionalising-universities-student-affairs-and-support-services/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/universities-student-affairs-development-and-support-staff-urged-to-identify-as-professionals-practitioners-and-knowledge-workers/ https://www.usaf.ac.za/universities-student-affairs-development-and-support-staff-urged-to-identify-as-professionals-practitioners-and-knowledge-workers/ journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 35–38 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4695 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za38 how to cite: green, m., & naidoo, c. (2023). student affairs professionalization programme launched in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 34–38. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v11i1.4695 first cohort of sass 2023 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 119‑124 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 119 www.jsaa.ac.za book review luescher, t.m., webbstock, d. & bhengu, n. (eds.) (2020). reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017. cape town, south africa: african minds. reviewed by imkhitha nzungu* * ms imkhitha nzungu is a former student and master’s graduate of stellenbosch university, south africa. email: imkhitha@africanminds.co.za animated by the voices of 12 former student leaders representing students’ representative councils (srcs) from a few public universities across the country, reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017 situates the discourse‑shifting #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall movements as an inevitable progression after two decades of governmental and institutional shillyshallying on urgent issues confronting the progressively diverse national student body. the compilation is the second in the reflections series, counterbalancing its predecessor, reflections of south african university leaders, 1981 to 2014. chapter 1 of 14 features a literature review, outlining the legislative background of the src and the research project’s methods and aims. the final chapter synthesises and makes recommendations based on the middle 12 chapters, which see transcriptions of the interviews conducted by the editors with the former student leaders. due to the study’s interview approach, each of the twelve interviewees is credited as co‑author of their own chapter. this is alongside the council on higher education (che) and human sciences research council (hsrc) affiliated editorial team consisting of project co‑leaders thierry m. luescher (hsrc) and denyse webbstock (formerly che), and ntokozo bhengu (che). each chapter introduces a new personality distinguishable not only by name, but by their personal history, diction, experience, tone and ideological bent. it is also these idiosyncrasies which should curb generalising findings from these case studies to all sectors of the south african student population then and now. moreover, and as the editors acknowledge, since the interviewees no longer occupy these positions, the accounts are retrospective and so benefit from hindsight in terms of contextualisation and potential rationalisation of past decisions and actions, which at the time may have been whimsical or not as considered as the distance of reflection under controlled conditions may make them seem. the reader is at the filtering mercy of both interviewee accounts and editorial focus. limited in the former by the random distortions of human memory and, in the latter, by the scope of enquiry permitted by the mostly fixed questionnaire. despite the sample size, the relatively wide range of interviewee demographics reflects the diversity of the src electorate: south african university student bodies. linguistic gender markers demonstrate an overrepresentation of male former student leadership. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 mailto:imkhitha%40africanminds.co.za?subject= 120 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 119‑124 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 in terms of ethnicity and socioeconomic background, most of the participants hail from varying degrees of historical structural disadvantage. however, due to the diachronic and longitudinal nature of the study, socioeconomic situation can be regarded as spectral for some of the participants, a product of class mobility. therefore, while it may have been more varied during their student years, this may have changed at the time of interview recording. all interviewees were gainfully employed when the interviews were conducted; the sectors of the economy in which they were occupied vary from public to private to the in‑between. another unintentional commonality within the group concerns academic background during their src years, ‘with most having studied broadly in the social sciences … and having been undergraduate students’ (page 12). all interviewees are politically aware, varying in involvement, degree, orientation and political party affiliation. political orientation spans a progressive spectrum, from liberal to leftist, leaning more towards a left‑wing populist orientation. although mostly variable as regards type, location, historical and present‑day (dis)advantage in terms of institution, considering that only university ex‑student representatives feature in the study, it is a wonder that the editors chose to omit ‘university’ from the title. moreover, the student leadership histories of some specific institutions are more fleshed out than that of other singly occurring universities. in this way the research project’s representativeness is undermined. src: self or special interest? popularity contest? vehicle for redress? politics is mostly spectacle, but for many in a nation in which opportunities for social mobility are limited by avenues and access, politics can be reputation building and/or laundering spectacle. with many, as suggested by their short biographies, socialised into and accustomed to a politics of want and unmet basic community needs, some interviewees appear to have approached their membership in the src as a form of and forum for retroactive redress of wider economic and social justice ills. without undermining their career success or even the hardships many of these former student leaders had to overcome to make something of themselves, arguably, this outcome affirms david maimela’s observation that ‘universities are instruments of hierarchy … inasmuch as they are also instruments of levelling the playing field’ (page 123). similarly, while lauding present‑day student bodies for their participation in student politics, muzi sikhakhane problematizes this aspect of active participation by highlighting an observable characteristic of contemporary politics: “[the] fact that politics attracts people who are in it for themselves” [own italics] (pages 28‑29). considering the country’s recent and costly experience with corruption at the highest levels of government, it stands as testament of the limiting nature of a fairly fixed questionnaire that no follow‑up questions were posed in response to sikhakhane’s comment (e.g. whether that view could be applicable to himself or others and their roles in the src). this is remarkable because reference to corruption within src ranks is made in the ex‑student leader accounts. further, as some interviewees acknowledge, there are some student leaders – seemingly unaffiliated to university sanctioned structures like the src – https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 imkhitha nzungu: reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017 121 whose lives and aspirations may have been stalled or halted due to their activism. students who were either expelled from their respective institutions of higher learning or even imprisoned as a result of security force intervention in student protest action. the treatise presents us with the stories of only those who made it, failing to represent the experiences of those who did not. interests conflicting with that of university management and the strained relations and misunderstandings between the two groups likely to attend that; the extra responsibility that comes with such a position are to be expected of student leadership experience. however, although certain powers come with student representation, restrictions abound. an example of such constitutional limitations is the term length of src office (particularly as opposed to university management term lengths): a year. this leaves little time for students to find their bearings, receive training (which is not guaranteed), define their mandate as a body, negotiate ideological differences, familiarise themselves with wider student body concerns, delegate positions and tasks, prepare for sessions in student body assemblies, senate and council; all while still being, in most instances, full‑time students – not to mention human beings. without diminishing student leadership gains, one wonders about the potential efficacy of such an overpressurised structure. but, especially considering the recurring student body concerns that went unaddressed for two decades and eventually culminated in the fallist movements of 2015/16, what even is the metric for src success? whose interests are (better) served by short src term limits? because, arguably, errors in continuity are likely to have contributed to these perennial student demands going unanswered by management all the years since 1994. similarly, in some cases, lack of solidarity between incoming and outgoing srcs and failures in institutional memory may also have stalled progress on these issues – at least on the student politics front. relatedly, a further source of division is the seeming mirroring of national political party partisanship in student politics. while it is somewhat justifiable (due to skewed student‑institution power dynamics), the intervening years have seen modestly tangible, far‑reaching benefits from the involvement of national political parties in student affairs. petrifying progress (mandela unleashed) a recurring theme in the former students’ recollections of their experience in leadership is the goal of representing majority student body interests, especially concerning issues of accommodation, financial and academic exclusion, governance, alienating institutional culture and transformation. for all the gains it tracks, the compilation serves just as well as a general disillusioning time capsule, particularly of the time‑honoured south african tradition of fraught student‑institution‑government relations. the complex dynamics are captured in the following recollections by muzi sikhakhane (wits src president, 1994/95): 122 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 119‑124 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 as students … we needed [the anc] to help us by engaging with the institutions of higher learning so that we could not just use the new political dispensation to blunt student struggles, but use it to tell universities it’s time … to confront their own prejudices. (page 26) prishani naidoo (wits src vice‑president, 1995/96): from about ’95, ’96, you got … two representatives to council, two representatives to senate … we would put things on the agenda, and i can remember one of the senior professors saying … in a debate on fees … ‘your voices have been heard and you have been consulted.’ and i said to him, ‘but consultations don’t just legitimise a process. it means, if you were heard, you must have some impact on the process.’ [own italics] (page 50) in his instance of national government and institutional collusion in stymying student leadership advocacy for student demands, david maimela (up src member 2003) echoes an incident similar to one recalled in prishani naidoo’s chapter about that very issue and both stories feature a towering figure: … it must have been ’95 when there was a total national shutdown of universities. madiba called in the national executive committee of sasco, and … said … that, ‘your demands are basically legitimate, and we hear them, and we are going to deal with them. agreed?’ and the sasco leadership said, ‘agreed.’ and then … he said …, ‘you will also call off the protest. you know students have to go back to class.’ there was no agreement there, because madiba walked out of the meeting, faced the journalists, and announced that, ‘sasco has agreed with me, and the national shutdown is called off and students are going back to class.’ and then the sasco leadership was shocked, but madiba was madiba, so you cannot say no now … [laughs]. [own italics] (page 125) reflecting on the tactical differences she observed between the src during her term and that which emerged around #feesmustfall, zukiswa mqolomba (uct src president, 2006/07) posits: so, this src is more destructionist and we were more reformist. [sic] believing that we could actually use the structures in governance. i think … students became frustrated that things were not changing through mere representation of students in different forums of the university. i think it’s because … the old guard is pretty much still dominant at universities across the country, in particular the previously advantaged universities … so, the transformation agenda is progressing slowly … and they are the ones who would determine the curriculum and the agenda of the universities, they are the ones taking up the majority of positions in senate and council. (page 169) what even is cooperative governance? reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017 introduces the concept of cooperative governance as the philosophy underpinning legislatively mandated student representation in public higher learning decision‑making bodies and structures. however, as the excerpts above suggest, the theory still has a way to go towards becoming credible and reliable practice. inconsistencies in implementation and quality of outcomes could be observed https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 imkhitha nzungu: reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017 123 soon after its establishment and so went on to colour the experience of subsequent ex‑student leaders. for many first‑years of previously disadvantaged backgrounds universities remain alienating and disorientating. this is an experience echoed by many of the ex‑student leaders upon their arrival at these institutions. as jerome september recalls his initial experience of institutional culture at uct: ‘it was a very foreign world, a very alien world. it was that stuff [streaking traditions and drinking in residence during first‑year orientation], but it was also more subtle things: behaviours in the dining halls; what is appropriate and what is expected of you’ (pages 62‑63). thinking about the pernicious and specific forms institutional alienation can take at university, mpho khati (ufs src vice‑president, 2015/16) highlights the intersection of race and socioeconomic status as a significant determinant inaugurating the university experiences of underprivileged students in the process of seeking accessible and affordable accommodation: … universities i don’t think were created with black people in mind, because of how it is difficult for us to navigate university space. for example, if you come from limpopo or wherever, and you have to look for space or for res, there is no waiting residence or area where you can stay in this window period while you are still looking for accommodation. there are a lot of students that, after registering, they are going back to the train station or are just trying to sleep wherever they can. this institution, was it created with us in mind? maybe it is one of the things that need to be addressed now that large groups of people are still coming and they don’t have the resources like the other group. [own italics] (page 275) interviewee analyses of the student and national political situation during their terms and in light of the fallist movements are incisive and informative. this encompassing sociopolitical commentary further exposes the narrowness of the study’s focus. while the discriminating impulse is a focused research project rule‑of‑thumb, the study seems to presume the implicit justice of the src’s existence as a body as it insufficiently engages the subject critically. some participants remark on the necessity of setting personal political inclinations aside in the name of wider student body representation. however, that this is, ideally, a politician’s function is never addressed as a counter, particularly in instances where former student leaders – even rightfully – criticise the deficiencies of and distance themselves from current national politics. without such editorial steering, in many of the accounts one perceives a tendency to view the src solely as some form institutional watchdog, when, in practice, it is more akin to a parastatal. desperate hope reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017 makes a valuable contribution to understanding the leadership experiences of the post‑1994 crop of former students. this is relevant not only to budding student leadership, but, as a reader and former student interested in democratic south africa formal education, exposure to the perspective of ex‑student leaders on relations between student representatives and university management was instructive for me too, having never directly participated in these structures. it provided 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 119‑124 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 a window, albeit limited and retroactive, into some of the familiar and unique histories, hardships and the groundwork born thereof of a previous generation of students that may have facilitated my own university experience. the study is also useful as a resource for charting a course for future institution‑ government‑student (leadership) relations. the success thereof must hinge on recognising that, while they plague cooperative governance progress, failures in understanding and communication – on all sides – are to be expected and mitigated; and that each group has and recognises different kinds of languages of communication for different reasons, including history, ideology and urgency. frank communication and deliberate attempts at mutual understanding are required to facilitate the process. nevertheless, although relations between university management and student representation are ultimately variable from one institution to the next, depending on the year and the personalities involved, that these problems persist even after the groundbreaking fallist student movements reveals a wider legacy of structural failings. how to cite: nzungu, i. (2020). review on luescher, t.m., webbstock, d. & bhengu, n. (eds.). reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017. cape town, south africa: african minds. (2020). journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 119‑124. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4187 167 publications by african minds reframing africa? reflections on modernity and the moving image edited by cynthia kros, reece auguiste and pervaiz khan (2022) flow (vol. 1 in the ficsci series) edited by mehita iqani and wamuwi mbao (2023) digital technology in capacity development: enabling learning and supporting change edited by joanna wild and femi nzegwu (2023) journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 1‑12 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 1 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article a comparative study of the academic performance of resident and non‑resident students at a rural south african university tshimangadzo daniel sikhwari,* nkhangweleni gloria dama,** azwitamisi milton gadisi*** & tshifhiwa christinah matodzi**** * dr tshimangadzo daniel sikhwari is an external supervisor of postgraduate research studies at the department of psychology of education, university of south africa. email: sikhwaritd@gmail.com ** dr nkhangweleni gloria dama is a student counsellor at the student counselling and career development unit, university of venda. email: gloria.dama@univen.ac.za *** mr azwitamisi milton gadisi is a library liaison officer at the disability unit, university of venda. email: azwitamisi.gadisi@univen.ac.za **** mrs tshifhiwa christinah matodzi is a student counsellor at the disability unit, university of venda. email: tshifhiwa.matodzi@univen.ac.za abstract lack of sufficient accommodation in many south african universities has forced many students to reside outside the campus and commute to attend classes as commuter students. research indicates that living on campus is related to gains in social and personal competence. the level of competence gained may help students living on campus (resident students) to be more successful in their courses. the purpose of this study was to compare the academic performance of resident and non‑resident students at a university in limpopo province. the study employed a survey design. systematic sampling and snowball sampling methods were used to select 1 769 participants from both resident and non‑resident students. a questionnaire was used to collect data. the main finding from this study is that the academic performance of resident students is slightly better than that of non‑resident students – hence, residing on campus is an advantage. the study concludes that campus environment, student involvement as well as student academic and social integration into the institution tend to account for effects of living on‑campus versus living off‑campus. furthermore, academic and social integration of students at university are essential for study commitment, success and preventing students from dropping out. the study recommends that future research should focus on the direct influence of resident versus commuter status on such outcomes as degree aspiration, satisfaction with university and institutional persistence. keywords accommodation; commitment; commuter; integration; involvement; learning environment; perception; persistence; resident students; university introduction the dawn of democracy in 1994 saw an increase in demand for access to higher education in south africa. higher education institutions (heis) had to provide sufficient accommodation as more students were studying away from home. however, most https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:sikhwaritd%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:gloria.dama%40univen.ac.za?subject= mailto:azwitamisi.gadisi%40univen.ac.za?subject= mailto:tshifhiwa.matodzi%40univen.ac.za?subject= 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 1‑12 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 universities could not cater for the increased numbers of students seeking university accommodation. the increased demand for quality accommodation in the south african higher education sector has been a serious matter of contention amongst students and student bodies (gopal & van niekerk, 2018). jansen and dube (2013) report that between 2009 and 2013, the south african higher education sector experienced 39 student protests over student housing. as a direct consequence of these protests, the minister of higher education, dr blade nzimande, set up a task team in 2011 to investigate the national student housing crisis. the objective of the task team was to investigate the magnitude of student accommodation challenges and to offer a well‑motivated solution for redressing the accommodation problem in south african universities. the task team found that the severe shortage of accommodation is causing the vast majority of students to seek off‑campus accommodation which is often in unsafe areas and in unacceptable conditions (dhet, 2011). the provision of accessible, decent and safe accommodation in south african universities is of importance for academic success of students, especially those from rural and poor backgrounds. many students, particularly those studying in historically black institutions, have been experiencing a shortage of accommodation on university campuses. as a result, students are forced to stay in accommodation outside the university, while others are housed inside the campus, although both resident and non‑resident students are expected to complete their studies in record time. amole (1997) defines resident students as those residing in the university residences during their studies and day students as students who reside outside the university campus; non‑resident students include those residing in their own homes or in hired accommodation outside the university. it was indicated that resident students have more benefits, like access to ancillary buildings, sports facilities, religious activities and clubs, than day students. according to timmons (2014), resident students enjoy such benefits as being able to to attend classes punctually and access to the library for longer periods, whereas non‑resident students residing far from their campus, encounter difficulties in these aspects. non‑resident students, therefore, spend extensive time travelling before they arrive at the university. many educators believe that there should be close proximity between the living and learning environments in order to produce intellectuals who are socially integrated and mentally sound (oluwaseyi, 2015). according to o’toole, peterson and wetzel  (1999), living off‑campus diverts the students’ time and attention towards other obligations which may deprive them of the opportunity to “develop a sense of place”. lutta (2008) assessed a number of factors related to the retention of students at a university in southern u.s.a. he found that over 75% of the students who did not return to the university for their third year lived off‑campus, that is, they were commuter students. newbold, melita and forbus (2011) conducted an analysis of commuter versus residential students’ performance which indicated that there were several key differences between the two groups. their results indicated that commuter students live more of their lives in the off‑campus setting, and thus their support resources are likely to be off‑campus as well. students living on campus have greater access to resources, like counsellors, advisers and fellow students when https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 t.d. sikhwari, n.g. dama, a.m. gadisi & t.c. matodzi: a comparative study of the academic performance … 3 faced with any problem they may have. astin (1985) found that, as compared to commuters, resident students had more interaction with faculty and peers, had more opportunities of involvement in extracurricular activities, were more satisfied with college, had higher degree aspirations, were less likely to drop out and were more likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree after four years of college. pascarella (1984) assessed the effects of residential living on four outcomes measures: educational aspirations, satisfaction with college, rate of progress through college, and intentions to persist after two years. pascarella also found that living on campus versus commuting had no significant direct effect on any of the four measures. the influence of residence was nevertheless indirect and influenced by levels of involvement with faculty and peers (pascarella, 1984). similarly, abrahamowicz (1988) examined the effects of involvement in college activities at a commuter institution. he found large differences in perceptions of, and satisfaction with, the college experience between students who participated in student organisations and those who did not. he concluded that many of the potentially negative effects of commuting could be alleviated by encouraging participation in student activities (abrahamowicz, 1988). a study conducted by kuh, gonyea and palmer (2001) indicated that living on campus was related to gains in social and personal competencies. the level of competence gained may help resident students to be more successful in their courses. by contrast, commuter students were found to have slightly lower levels of interaction with faculty members and were less likely to be involved in co‑curricular activities, such as clubs and internships (kuh, gonyea & palmer, 2001). when commuter students compare themselves to their peers on campus, they might feel that they are at a disadvantage in terms of skills development. they may also feel that they are not involved in the essential activities of the university (nelson, nisra, sype & mackie, 2016). this may discourage these non‑resident students and influence their commitment to continuing with their studies. norris, philhours and hudson (2006) conducted an analysis of business students’ study habits. they divided the research subjects into two groups: campus‑centred students (ccs) and life‑centred students (lcs). campus‑centred students lived on‑campus while life‑centred students lived off‑campus. their results indicated that campus‑centred students had slightly higher grade‑ point averages (gpas) and higher self‑reported levels of academic performance. wilmes and quade (cited in jacoby, 1989) identified the following needs and concerns of commuter students: • transportation issues: the most common concerns shared by commuter students are those related to transportation to campus, such as fixed transportation schedules, transportation costs and finding alternative means of transportation. in general, commuting is demanding in terms of time and energy. • integrating support systems: commuter students derive their support off‑campus from parents, siblings and friends in the community. students have to negotiate with family members and friends to establish priorities and responsibilities and to allocate time. these negotiations are more difficult if significant others have no knowledge of the challenges and opportunities of higher education. in our african culture, for example, female students may be expected to do household 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 1‑12 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 chores after classes. it is important for institutions to provide opportunities for these students to learn about and to participate appropriately in campus life. • developing a sense of belonging: commuter students often lack a sense of belonging, of “feeling wanted” by the institution. in most cases, institutions do not provide adequate opportunities for commuter students to develop relationships with faculty, staff and other students. as a result, students do not feel connected to a place where they have no significant relationships. • multiple life roles: being a student is only one of several important and demanding roles in life. commuter students include full‑time students who live at home with their parents as well as fully employed adults who live with their spouses and children and attend classes as part‑time students. so, some commuter students work and many have responsibilities for managing households and for caring for children, siblings or older relatives. it is therefore important that any information about campus activities is made available to them in a timely manner so that they can decide if they need to participate. the purpose of this study was to compare the academic performance of resident and non‑resident students at a university in limpopo province. the authors deemed it fit to do this research in a predominantly residential institution to find out if commuting to university affects commuter students’ academic performance. theoretical frameworks the ecosystem model according to jacoby (1989), the ecosystem model indicates that unsatisfactory educational outcomes may be the result of a deficit in the environment rather than in the student. the ecosystems model is based on the beliefs that every student possesses the potential for a variety of behaviours and that a given campus environment may encourage or inhibit one or more of these behaviours. jacoby (1989) further posits that the wide range of individual differences amongst students requires the creation of a variety of campus sub‑environments. banning and hughes (1986) are of the opinion that successful campus design according to the ecosystems model must consider the diversity of students, and depends upon participation of all campus members, including students, faculty and staff. the ecosystem design process demands institutional change to improve the working relationship between commuter students and the campus. for example, the institution can adjust its patterns of scheduling courses and hours of operation in order to enable commuter students to attend classes or to use services without hassles (banning & hughes, 1986). involvement, talent development and integration jacoby (1989) declares that “the more time and efforts students invest in their learning process and the more intensely they engage in their own education, the greater will be their growth, achievement and satisfaction with the college experience and their persistence https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 t.d. sikhwari, n.g. dama, a.m. gadisi & t.c. matodzi: a comparative study of the academic performance … 5 toward attainment of their educational goals”. the concept of students’ involvement, incorporated into a talent‑development view of higher education, holds that a high‑ quality institution is one that facilitates maximum growth amongst its students and that records that growth through appropriate assessment procedures (astin, 1985). learning and personal growth occur best in institutional environments where students’ talents can be identified and developed. tinto (1987) points out that a model for understanding the process of student withdrawal is based on the degree of social and intellectual integration within the institution. this model postulates that a student’s background characteristics at the time of entry influence initial commitments to the institution and to graduation. this combination of background characteristics and initial commitments in turn influences the student’s academic and social integration into the institution. students decide to leave when they are not adequately integrated into the academic and social areas of the institution, and their background characteristics influence the decision to withdraw only indirectly (tinto, 1987). transition theory according to jacoby (1989), a transition can be an event, such as when a first‑entering student enrols in a local university while living at home. jacoby further states that transitions change the ways individuals view themselves and alter their roles, routines and relationships within the family, the community and the institution of higher education. a transition is therefore not so much a matter of change as it is the individual’s perception of the change (jacoby, 1989). it is important that university staff be aware of the fact that some of their students, especially first years, are in a transition period and they should be prepared to assist them in adjusting to their new roles, challenges and relationships. methodology research approach and design the present study was based on the positivist paradigm. positivism is an approach to social research that seeks to apply the natural science model of research to investigations of social phenomena and explanations of the social world (de vos et al., 2011). according to babbie and mouton (2001), positivists believe that an objective reality exists outside of personal experience that has demonstrable and immutable laws and mechanisms that can reveal cause‑and‑effect relationships. positivism maintains that it is possible and essential for the researcher to adopt a distant, detached, neutral and non‑interactive position (morris, 2006). the researchers adopted a quantitative approach for this study. quantitative research is a type of research that explains phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analysed using mathematically based methods (creswell, 2012). the analyses consist of breaking down the data into parts to answer the research questions. quantitative research operates with less detail than qualitative methods, but with a wider scope and more generalised level of explanation (payne & payne, 2004). the study employed a survey design. according to creswell (2012), a survey design is a procedure in quantitative research in which the 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 1‑12 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 researcher administers a survey or questionnaire to a group of people to identify trends in attitudes, opinions, behaviours or practices. the design was chosen because it is convenient for acquiring factual information about a large group of individuals (mcmillan & schumacher, 2010). participants the study used systematic sampling method to select 924 participants from the population of all resident students at the university. in addition, the researcher asked selected participants (resident students) to identify day students who had registered for the same degree programmes to participate in the study; this procedure is known as snowball sampling (creswell, 2012). eight hundred and forty‑five (845) day students were thereby selected to participate in the study, making a total of 1 769 participants. data collection a questionnaire was used to collect data. the questionnaire had two sections: section 1 consisted of questions on biographical data of the participants and section 2 consisted of closed‑ended and open‑ended questions on living and study conditions in students’ places of residence, on‑campus and off‑campus. the questionnaire was given to an experienced statistician to establish its content and construct validity before it was administered to the participants. the questionnaires were hand‑delivered to all selected participants, with the help of research assistants. four male research assistants distributed 1 030 questionnaires in male on‑campus residences while five female research assistants distributed 1 015 questionnaires in female on‑campus residences; hence, the total number of questionnaires distributed in both male and female on‑campus residences was 2 045. questionnaires amounting to nearly half of this total were distributed to day students by research assistants. a total of 1 882 completed questionnaires were collected from both resident and non‑resident students. this amounted to 86% of the questionnaires that were distributed and was regarded as a good return rate. in order to compare the academic performance of the participating students, performance records were requested from the management information system (mis) office at the university. data analysis the statistical package for social sciences (spss) was used to analyse data. chi‑square tests of association were used to investigate (i) if there was an association between the responses to certain questions and the status of the student and (ii) whether, if a student passes all their courses or not is dependent on the status of the student. a t‑test for independent samples was used to investigate if, on average, the academic achievement of resident and non‑resident students was the same. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 t.d. sikhwari, n.g. dama, a.m. gadisi & t.c. matodzi: a comparative study of the academic performance … 7 ethical considerations participants were informed about the purpose of the research. their participation was voluntary and they were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time. participants’ identities were confidential as they did not use their names. permission to conduct the study was sought from the university’s research ethics committee. results the academic performance data of resident and non‑resident students for 2016 were obtained from the university’s management information system (mis) office. the data sets contained the number of subjects that each student enrolled for in 2016, the number of subjects passed, and the average mark across all the subjects. these records were then merged with data generated from the questionnaire using the ssps software. the student number was used as the key variable for matching the records. the table below gives the summary of the number of courses that the students enrolled for and the number of courses passed. table 1: number of subjects enrolled and passed n minimum maximum mean std. deviation non‑resident students subjects enrolled 439 1 14 9.31 2.682 subjects passed 439 1 14 8.29 3.000 resident students subjects enrolled 556 1 18 9.29 2.918 subjects passed 556 0 18 8.44 3.252 for non‑resident students, the number of courses enrolled in ranged between  1 and  14. the mean was 9.31 with a standard deviation of 2.682. the number of courses passed had a similar range with a slightly lower mean of 8.21 and a standard deviation of 3.00. for resident students, the number of courses enrolled in ranged between 1 and 18. the mean was 9.29 with a standard deviation of 2.918. the number of courses ranged between zero and 18 with a slightly lower mean of 8.44 and a standard deviation of 3.252. the table below gives summary statistics for the average marks. table 2: average marks day or resident students n mean std. deviation std. error mean average marks day students 439 60.55 7.151 0.341 resident students 556 61.59 7.870 0.334 the mean score for non‑resident students was 60.55 with a standard deviation of 7.151. for resident students, the mean score was 61.59 with a standard deviation of 7.870. 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 1‑12 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 thus, resident students marginally outperformed the day students. a t‑test for independent samples was used to ascertain if the difference in the average scores is significant. the key assumption underpinning the need of the t‑test is that the data should be normally distributed. the histogram below shows that the distribution of the average scores does not show a serious deviation from the normal distribution, hence we could proceed to use a t‑test. 30 40 50 60 70 80 60 40 20 0 average mark fr eq u en cy mean = 61.14 std. dev. = 7.568 n = 999 figure 1: histogram of final exam scores the results of the t‑test show that there is a significant difference in the mean score of day students and resident students (p‑value = 0.00) and the difference is in favour of resident students. the lower and upper limits for the 95% confidence interval for estimating the actual difference in the mean scores for day students and resident students are  1.26 and  3.14. we are therefore 95% confident that in the population of these students, the average mark scored by a resident student is about 1.26 to 3.14% higher than that of non‑resident students. the mean difference between the scores is 2.20%. the main finding from this study is that the academic performance of resident students is slightly better than that of non‑resident students. discussion a study by noble, flynn, lee and hilton (2007) found that the college learning climate is improved by on‑campus living and exposure to other student‑enhancement programmes. schuch and upcraft (2001) regard student residences as places where learning can be extended and practised, as well as assisting the development of interpersonal relations and leadership skills. the same authors further state that residences hence have an educational https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 t.d. sikhwari, n.g. dama, a.m. gadisi & t.c. matodzi: a comparative study of the academic performance … 9 influence on student development, both academically and socially. khurshid, tanveer and qasmi (2012) conducted a study to investigate the relationship between the academic achievement and study habits of resident students and day students at a university in islamabad, pakistan. day students obtained higher mean scores on a study skills inventory as well as on academic achievement than resident students. the study found that resident students had problems such as living away from home and difficulty in time management when studying. on the other hand, day students had proper study facilities available at their homes, and these enabled them to gain full concentration when studying and consequently they obtained higher academic achievement. miller and winston (1991) are of the opinion that the residential setting may be one of the most powerful forces influencing students’ behaviour and ultimate success during their undergraduate years. pascarella, terenzini and blimling (in gopal & van niekerk, 2018) assert that residence halls promote a variety of desirable academic outcomes by enhancing students’ involvement and engagement with their institutions. jones et al. (2008) interviewed students who lived in different university residences in south africa. the interviews confirmed that suitable, safe and affordable accommodation on the university campus was the ideal for students to be able to study effectively and access the universities’ resources, such as libraries, computer centres and student support services. however, the students interviewed reported varying experiences of living in residence, describing both advantages and difficulties. on the one hand, advantages were that particularly first‑year students found it easier to socialise and adjust to campus life. on the other hand, common problems reported were high noise levels, which made it difficult to study at times, rooms that were uncomfortably small for sharing, the high price of residence meals and a lack of cooking facilities. some of the students in the sample also reported that, especially in their first year, they had felt socially alienated by being labelled as poor by their relatively better‑off peers in residence, although this abated in continuing years. in the ministerial committee report of the department of higher education and training (dhet, 2011), most institutions of higher learning indicated that they provide a variety of academic support programmes in student residences; these programmes include mentoring and tutoring, peer education, career guidance, and relationship guidance. the dhet report further indicates that “being housed in a safe, well‑managed residence is both socially and academically beneficial for students, particularly those from poorer backgrounds”. it is, therefore, important that an institution of higher learning should provide well‑maintained and secure residences, including creating opportunities for learning within the residences. in terms of theoretical underpinnings, the findings of this study would appear to support the notion that living on‑campus substantially and positively influences a student’s degree of interpersonal, social integration with both peers and faculty members during university or college study (pascarella, 1984). pascarella further states that it is the level of social integration, and not the mere fact of residing on‑campus that directly influences university outcomes. this finding is consistent with that of pascarella and terenzini (1980) who focused on the developmental influences of different types of on‑campus residence arrangements. they found that living on‑campus may significantly influence college 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 1‑12 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 outcomes, but the influence appears to manifest less through direct effects than through dramatic differences in the extent to which residents and commuters become integrated into the social system of the institution. based on data collected annually from first‑entering students, jacoby (1989) found that living in a campus residence as a first‑year student was associated with reduced possibilities for dropping out. similarly, living at home with parents negatively affected persistence when compared with living on campus. amongst the most significant positive effects of living on campus versus commuting were involvement in extracurricular activities, interaction with faculty members, achievement in academic studies, leadership development, career development, social life, and satisfaction with the undergraduate experience (jacoby, 1989). amongst the implications for educational policymakers is the need for institutions to provide opportunities to increase commuter students’ involvement. bitzer (2009) points out that the successful academic and social integration of first‑year students in higher education settings is important with regard to study commitment, study success and preventing early dropouts. tinto (1987) has shown that the level of institutional and programmatic integration has a major influence on both student commitment and study success. similarly, jarvis, holford and griffin (1998) have pointed to the close relationship between student integration and motivation. limitations of the study the findings of this study cannot be generalised to other institutions of higher learning as it was conducted at a rural university with its unique context. if a similar study is conducted in different universities in south africa, generalisation from the findings could be more sensible and reliable. furthermore, this study covered a period of one year. it would be more beneficial to investigate students’ academic performance over a longer period. conclusion the results of the study show that a larger percentage of resident students passed all the courses they enrolled for as compared to non‑resident students. the literature has shown that non‑resident students are disadvantaged by several factors such as the need to commute to the university, insufficient time to consult support resources and less interaction with staff members and fellow students. campus environment, student involvement as well as student academic and social integration into the institution tend to mediate, or account for, the effects of living on‑campus versus living off‑campus on academic performance. in addition, it has been shown that academic and social integration of students in institutions of higher learning is essential for students’ commitment, success and preventing early student departure. finally, future research might focus on the direct influence of resident versus commuter status on such outcomes as degree aspiration, satisfaction with university and institutional persistence. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 t.d. sikhwari, n.g. dama, a.m. gadisi & t.c. matodzi: a comparative study of the academic performance … 11 references abrahamowicz, d. 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(2008). factors that facilitate success for disadvantaged higher education students. an investigation into approaches used by the rural education access programme (reap), nsfas and selected higher education institutions. athlone, western cape province, south africa. https://bit.ly/3dn2mcg khurshid, f., tanveer, a. & qasmi, f.n. (2012). relationship between study habits and academic achievement among hostel living and day scholars’ university students. british journal of humanities and social sciences, 3(2), 34‑42. kuh, g.d., gonyea, r.m. & palmer, m. (2001). the disengaged commuter student: fact or fiction? commuter perspectives, 27(1), 2‑5. http://www.nsse.indiana.edu/pdf/commuter.pdf lutta, j.m. (2008). factors that influence traditional‑age college students to re‑enroll in their third year at a research extensive university in the southern region of the united states. phd dissertation, louisiana state university. https://bit.ly/2v46t0f mcmillan, j.h. & schumacher, s. (2010). research in education: evidence‑based inquiry. boston, ma: pearson education. miller, t.k. & winston, r.b. (1991). administration and leadership in student affairs: actualising student development in higher education. muncie, in: accelerated development. morris, t. (2006). social work research methods: four alternative paradigms. london: sage. https://doi.org/10.20853/32-3-2524 https://bit.ly/3dn2mcg http://www.nsse.indiana.edu/pdf/commuter.pdf https://bit.ly/2v46t0f 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 1‑12 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 nelson, d., misra, k., sype, g.e. & mackie, w. (2016). an analysis of the relationship between distance from campus and gpa of commuter students. journal of international education research, 12(1), 37‑46. https://doi.org/10.19030/jier.v12i1.9565 newbold, j.j., metta, s.s. & forbus, p. 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(2014). the uncritical commuter: the impact of students’ living situations while at university. glasgow, scotland: university of glasgow (school of psychology). tinto, v. (1987). leaving college. chicago, il: university of chicago press. how to cite: sikhwari, t.d., dama, n.g., gadisi, a.m. & matodzi, t.c. 2020. a comparative study of the academic performance of resident and non‑resident students at a rural south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 1‑12. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.19030/jier.v12i1.9565 https://doi.org/10.2190/6841-42jx-x170-8177 https://doi.org/10.2190/6841-42jx-x170-8177 https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475306288400 https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475306288400 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02752686 https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.1984.0016 https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1980.10885264 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849209397 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849209397 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.145 www.jsaa.ac.za understanding gaps between student and staff perceptions of university study in south africa: a case study faeeqa jaffer* and james garraway** research article * extended curriculum programme, cape peninsula university of technology, south africa. email: jafferf@cput.ac.za * extended curriculum programme, cape peninsula university of technology, south africa. email: garrawayj@cput.ac.za abstract “under-preparedness” of students entering higher education is an issue that many academic institutions in south africa are currently trying to address. such students are seen as disadvantaged, lacking the skills, knowledge and/or language proficiency to navigate their way to success in higher education. this paper seeks to identify students’ understanding of the behaviour they should display in higher education and how this clashes with the expectations of academics, through the lenses of different discourses and academic literacy models. specifically, the focus is on how students try to engage with the institutional discourse and how they try to identify a “sense of being” through a case study of the extended curriculum programme in nature conservation at the cape peninsula university of technology. here, qualitative research was used through the administration of student essays, as well as individual face-to-face interviews. lecturers were also interviewed so that a comparison could be made between what students perceive and the expectations of higher education. different themes were identified through the analysis of the data, using an inductive approach; by developing the themes, the gaps are better identified and analysed with a view to redress. keywords higher education, teaching and learning, extended curriculum programmes, academic literacy, south africa. introduction although the number of black students entering higher education has increased significantly since 1994, in post-apartheid south africa, the throughput rate remains low. for example, scott, yeld and hendry (2007) reported that of the intake of students registered for study at universities of technology, only 23% graduated within five years, 11% remained in the institution’s system, and 66% disappeared from the system without graduating. the majority comprised ‘black’ students, thus issues of race continue to bedevil south african higher education, even 20 years after the advent of democracy. the low 64 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.145 throughput rate could be attributed to a variety of reasons, including socio-economic factors (scott, yeld & hendry, 2007), as well as students struggling to access the discourse of the institution (boughey, 2008). one response to low throughput of black students in south african universities and the associated issue of high levels of under-preparedness of first-year students is the introduction of extended curriculum programmes (ecp). ecps are foundation programmes where the focus is on enabling talented students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds to build sound academic foundations for success in the programmes of their choice. disadvantage is and remains a contested term, which may differ across institutions. in the south african university context, it usually refers to black students (including indian and coloured students) who may meet general faculty entrance requirements but not necessarily those of the programme, or who fall into a borderline category (leibowitz & bozalek, 2015; dhunpath & vital, 2012). not only is the issue of “disadvantage” contested, but so, too, the purpose of the ecp itself. ecps, as they stand, may further perpetuate racial differences as opposed to creating equal opportunities for success at university (leibowitz & bozalek, 2015). rather, the authors suggest, all students should be seen as having different learning needs regardless of their racial heritage. thus more flexible mainstream curricula to accommodate diversity, rather than the current ecp model, would go some way to reducing differentiation, and possibly stigmatisation, on the basis of race. in this context, the research reported in this paper was conducted in the nature conservation ecp in the faculty of applied science at the cape peninsula university of technology, in the early part of 2012. as the ecp is specifically designed to assist students in entering higher education and succeeding, it is an ideal site to explore the difference in discourse between students and staff and it allows us to comment on ways to better assist in teaching and learning. by exploring the perceptions of staff and ecp students of what it means to be a nature conservation student, a better understanding may be gained of differences between what students bring with them to the university and the university requirements. the starting point for this research is that university practices are, by and large, different from practices in everyday life. this particular difference is captured in bernstein’s (1999) analysis of more formal knowledge discourses typical of traditional university fields. these “vertical discourses” (bernstein, 1999, p. 159) are typified by dense and abstract conceptual networks that serve to organise knowledge and explain events. horizontal discourse, on the other hand, is likely to be “oral, tacit, local, specific to particular contexts, multi-layered and contradictory across but not within contexts” (p. 157). this is the dominant discourse of the home and society. even though schooled knowledge may contain some elements of vertical discourses, there still tends to be a divide between school and university discourses (boughey, 2008; slonimsky & shalem, 2006). an additional way of understanding differences between different institutions and practices is through gee’s (1990) concept of discourses. he views discourse as the ways in which people act out different societal roles and how they use and interpret language. each faeeqa jaffer and james garraway: understanding gaps between student and staff perceptions of university study in south africa 65 community and social group masters a home-based discourse that integrates words, actions, interactions, values, feelings, attitudes and thinking in specific and unique ways. discourse contributes to the construction of systems of knowledge and belief. these are connected to a particular social group’s way of being in the world, their “form of life”, their identity, who they take themselves to be (gee, 1996). thus, in terms of discourse, academic practices are constituted through webs of values, criteria, conceptual tools, specialised means of activity, and forms of communication that practices in other sites of knowledge production do not fully share, though they may have some elements in common (slonimsky & shalem, 2006, p. 38). boughey (2013) explains, following and developing gee’s discourse theory, that entering higher education is neither a natural process nor one easily acquired; the transition needs much support from staff to students and what counts as “being a student” to be overtly taught. certain discourses may enable or disable access; this can be seen in boughey’s view of home-based literacies that are linked to individuals’ chances of accessing and succeeding in higher education. according to boughey (2008, p. 7): a position which views education as natural would have to argue that working class students do less well in education because they themselves are lacking in some way; that is: the reasons for failure would be located in factors inherent to the individual. boughey (2013, p. 5) argues that literacy practices are embedded in those discourses, and academics need to understand those practices as related to valuing and believing, and to a person’s identity and sense of self. access to higher education can be further complicated as, according to boughey (2013, p. 3), literacy is a multiple rather than unitary phenomenon, and is more than the ability to read and write. she identifies multiple academic literacies, and these literacies are related to disciplinary difference. there are values that underpin these, rather than a generic set of practices often conceptualised as skills. lea and street (2006) propose a three-tier model for what has come to be known as “literacy” at universities. there is, firstly, the skills model, in which becoming literate is largely a technical task to be learnt independently of the discipline under study or even the nature of the university. this includes sentence and paragraph level but may also include more general reading and writing skills such as identifying main points, summarising and essay writing (lea and street are less clear where these latter skills lie). the second enculturation model focuses strongly on literacy as being embedded generally in how knowledge is understood at university, for example as distantiated from personal experience (slonimsky & shalom, 2006) but also embedded in and partly structured by particular disciplines. thus nature conservation would have particular reading and writing requirements that are different from, for example, chemistry studies. in the enculturation model, the particular literacies of university and the discipline would need to be overtly taught. the third model, academic literacy, contains elements of the first two but understands literacy as less fixed in time involving issues of “meaning making, and identity that are implicit in the use of literacy practices within specific institutional settings” (lea & street, 2006, p. 370). 66 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.145 mckenna (2004), like boughey, acknowledges that students’ background does not make it easy to take on a literacy practice, pointing to the difficult transition into higher education and that consideration needs to be given to the fact that students need to be guided into academic practices. students’ home-based and previous schooling practices are different from those of higher education and, at times, may not be enough of a basis for students to deal with higher education. accordingly, this paper sets out to examine perceptions of studying at university from both students and staff, and to investigate whether there are differences and, if so, what the nature of these differences is. the research can then contribute to our understandings of “discourse clashes” at university, as raised by boughey and mckenna. it can also contribute to a better understanding of the high dropout rate of predominantly black students at south african universities. research methods interviews were conducted with eight first-year nature conservation students on ecp and three lecturers who have extensive teaching experience in the programme. lecturers were interviewed to obtain a clear understanding of what nature conservation entailed and what completing a national diploma in nature conservation would allow students to do. we wanted to get clarity on the expectations of academics; we also wanted to establish what were considered valuable ways of learning from academic staff. responses would also serve as a yardstick for gauging the responses of the student participants. in this study, participants were not directly asked what they thought the gap to be; rather, their understandings of what was involved in studying in the field were probed. what constituted any possible gap could then be inferred by comparing student and staff responses to the questions. students and staff were asked what they understood the field of nature conservation to entail, as well as what they understood constituted learning within the field. data analysis an inductive approach was first employed to analyse data, and data from staff and students was treated separately. according to thomas (2006, p. 239), the primary purpose of an inductive approach is to allow research findings to emerge from frequent, dominant, or significant themes inherent in the raw data, without the restraints imposed by structured methodologies. data was analysed and coded repetitively so that categories could be formulated. the type of coding used first was in vivo coding (saldaña, 2009, p. 4) in that reference is made directly to what participants have said. these are referred to as patterns in table 1 (see below). from the patterns, categories of student and staff perceptions of what it is to be a nature conservation student could then be identified by providing words or short phrases that described and organised the raw data into the themes. patterns and themes were tabulated (table 1) so that differences in perceptions could be identified across the themes, as discussed in the findings. these gaps were then linked to discourse theory and understandings of academic literacy in the discussion and conclusion sections so that recommendations may be made for future practice. faeeqa jaffer and james garraway: understanding gaps between student and staff perceptions of university study in south africa 67 research findings the patterns identified from the student and staff interviews could be classified into the four following themes, as reflected in table 1: (1) attitude to learning reflects the general characteristics that students should have to be successful as students – these include the kinds of dispositions students are inclined to use or avoid to achieve success (this could refer to the hard work needed to be invested in their studies, focus on studying in the field, and the time and attention needed for subjects): (2) literacy in this study comprises a variety of discourses; ways of thinking and behaving with their own sets of rules and values for meaning-making, which should be acquired implicitly or explicitly (mckenna, 2010, p. 16). we divided the theme of literacy into two subsections: general university literacy and disciplinespecific literacy. the former focuses on skills such as reading, summary writing, more general writing and referencing; discipline-specific literacy refers to the specific ways of thinking and behaving in the discipline and keeping abreast of current research and events, as well as the scientific writing and presentation of knowledge required of students, critical thought, problem-solving and laboratory skills; (3) knowledge for the course refers to the basic concepts of biology and knowledge of biology that are required in the field. it also refers to any other subject content knowledge that students engage with for the purpose of completing a national diploma in nature conservation; and (4) understanding of the field refers to the characteristics that students and lecturers feel are necessary for pursuing a career in nature conservation. once themes were identified, it was possible to analyse differences across the themes. differences across the themes were not uniform; in some themes, the data indicated relatively small differences, whereas in others the data indicated the gap more strongly. for example, under knowledge for the course, students understood that there was an expectation that they needed a foundation in biology and that there was an element of memorization involved in being in the programme, and staff gave similar responses; these issues were not explored further as the focus was the “gap.” there were significant mismatches in the attitudes to learning, understanding of the field and the literacy skills that lecturers expected students to display. even though students conveyed some understanding of these themes, it was not the same understanding that lecturers expected from them. what follows is a brief summary of the findings of differences under the themes: attitude to learning, literacy and understanding of the field. 68 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.145 t ab le 1 : p at te rn s an d t h em es o f st u d en t an d s ta ff u n d er st an d in g o f n at u re c o n se rv at io n q u es ti o n s l ec tu re r p at te rn s t h em es s tu d en t p at te rn s w h at i s le ar n in g in n at u re c o n se rv at io n ? e n th u si as m a n d pa ss io n /d es ir es t o b e in t h e fi el d/ is c u ri o u s/ t ak es r es po n si bi lit y/ p er si st en t/ r es ili en t/ g o al d ri ve n /a bi lit y to w o rk i n g ro u ps /c o m m it te d/ in qu is it iv e/ a ss er ti ve /t ak es in it ia ti ve / w o rk s in de pe n de n tl y a bi lit y to d ra w /e xp re ss t h em se lv es o ra lly o r in w ri ti n g/ w ri te a n d lis te n a t th e sa m e ti m e/ t ak e n o te s ev en t h o u gh th ey a re g iv en c er ta in n o te s/ n u m er ic p ro fi ci en cy /b as ic co m pr eh en si o n a n d in te re st i n r ea di n g/ w ri ti n g sk ill s/ c o m pu te r lit er at e/ r ea d w id el y/ e xp an d o n k n ow le dg e re ce iv ed /e xp re ss t h em se lv es /m ak e ar gu m en ts /a bi lit y to di sc u ss t h in gs a n d co m m u n ic at e/ a bi lit y to d ef en d th ei r po in t o f vi ew /n ee d to e n ga ge w it h t h ei r w o rk h av e ow n o pi n io n o n t o pi cs /s ci en ti fi ca lly m in de d (a n al ys e, b e ac cu ra te , b e ab le t o d is ce rn b et w ee n t h in gs , s u bt le d if fe re n ce s/ o bs er va n t) /i n te rp re ta ti o n o f kn ow le dg e/ u n de rs ta n d th e w o rl d ar o u n d th em , a k in d o f ec o lo gi ca l aw ar en es s/ sh o u ld b e aw ar e o f th e lin ka ge s be tw ee n d if fe re n t th in gs /a pp ly i t in t h ei r ow n c o n te xt ( do es i t m ak e se n se i n t h ei r w o rl d? )/ in it ia ti ve t o im m er se t h em se lv es i n t h e fi el d (v o lu n te er in g) g o o d gr o u n di n g in b io lo gy /r o te l ea rn in g in f ir st y ea r (b as ic co n ce pt s an d te rm s th at n ee d to b e le ar n t) n ec es sa ry t o u se fi el d gu id e bo o k a tt it u de t o le ar n in g g en er al u n iv er si ty lit er ac y d is ci pl in esp ec if ic lit er ac y k n ow le dg e fo r th e co u rs e f o cu s o n s tu dy in g in t h e fi el d an d re si st in g pe er pr es su re /n ee d ti m e an d sp ec ia l at te n ti o n o n su bj ec ts /i n de pe n de n t le ar n in g/ u n w ill in gn es s to e n ga ge d is cu ss i n c la ss /l ea rn in g ca n b e al ie n at in g r ea d an d u n de rs ta n d n o te s/ n o te t ak in g/ su m m ar y w ri ti n g/ r ea di n g/ r ef er en ci n g a ct l ik e a sc ie n ti st /d if fe re n t w ay o f th in ki n g/ r es ea rc h a n d o bs er ve /s ci en ti fi c an d fo rm al w ri ti n g/ sp ec if ic p re se n ta ti o n o f kn ow le dg e/ c ri ti ca l th in ki n g/ k n ow le dg e o f sc ie n ti fi c co n ce pt s/ l iv e w h at y o u s tu dy k n ow le dg e o f h is to ry , l aw , e tc ./ l ab o ra to ry sk ill s/ k n ow le dg e o f ba si cs /s tr o n g bi o lo gy fo u n da ti o n /k ee p u p w it h c u rr en t re se ar ch a n d ev en ts w h at i s n at u re c o n se rv at io n ? c o n se rv at io n a n d pr o te ct io n o f n at u ra l re so u rc es : f lo ra , f au n a, so il, w at er /m an ag em en t o f pe o pl e an d n at u ra l re so u rc es / o ff ic e ba se d/ h ar d, m an u al l ab o u r u n de rs ta n di n g o f th e fi el d l ov e o f an im al s/ l ov e o f th e o u td o o rs /l ov e o f sc ie n ce /c u ri o si ty /d es ir e to l ea rn m o re / d is co ve r n ew t h in gs /e as y to g ra sp /e as y to u n de rs ta n d/ m ak e a di ff er en ce /p ro te ct a n im al s/ n at u re i s im po rt an t/ si gn if ic an t/ e du ca ti n g o th er s/ p ro te ct e nv ir o n m en t/ d es ir e to w o rk w it h c o m m u n it y/ b e so m eb o dy faeeqa jaffer and james garraway: understanding gaps between student and staff perceptions of university study in south africa 69 a comparison of attitude to learning the lecturers’ expectation was to have students who were active, participated, negotiated and learnt practices; however, this was possibly not made overtly clear to students. lecturers expected students to read beyond what they had been instructed to read in lectures and contended that students needed to construct a deeper understanding of academic knowledge and skills by themselves. lecturers further elaborated on this point: they need to be interested – you know in what is happening around them … if they look out they can see an animal or plant whatever it is and understand. they need to have that curious eye for what’s happening ... enquiring … be independent … open to arguing without quarrelling … have a can-do-attitude … be persistent … resilient and be assertive. (lecturer 2) [they should] be curious, learn independently … should have a love of the outdoors as their job requirements would require them to be outdoors. (lecturer 3) these were dispositions (enquiring and open to argument) and qualities (independent, resilient, assertive, can-do attitude) that lecturers wanted students to have. students, on the other hand, generally took a more technical view of “working hard”. for example, one student believed that working hard meant to “do all your assignments and work”. furthermore, students expressed the belief that “resisting peer pressure” and “taking time and special attention on subjects” were necessary attitudes for successful learning. a comparison of general university literacy students generally understand that they are required to take notes while in class and that they are also expected to go over their notes: she just gave us work the first day, lots of notes and we took it, she said you must study your work, you must study your work and then she gave us an introduction to the course it was fine ... (student 2) the lecturers’ views on notes are somewhat different. there is an expectation that even though students need to pay attention and listen during lectures, they need to make additional notes, even though the lecturer might not indicate this. students entering higher education may not have previously dealt with taking additional notes and therefore may be at a considerable loss in the new educational setting. without proper instruction in ways of behaving, such as note taking, but also regular re-reading and review, students may lag behind in their learning. at the same time, lecturers may view this difficulty as something students should just know and their inability to exhibit it as a deficiency: … take additional notes – which – by the way, i’ve noticed – students can’t do anymore – generally – they cannot listen and write at the same time ... not just read through the notes but someone who goes to the library, picks out some relevant books, which we have given them the titles of – and does some further reading ... (lecturer 1) 70 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.145 a comparison of discipline-specific literacy students understood that the course involved reading, although they struggled with the scientific concepts specific to the programme. students also noted that even though these are issues that they struggle with, they are still expected to work on their own and develop opinions on the topics: it is a very hard course to study especially if you don’t like reading too much ... the language and some subjects are difficult … because you don’t actually understand; you must do it by yourself and use your own opinion so that they can know that you understand the work. (student 2) the issue of forming opinions about reading material could pose a problem to students, as the topics that they are required to read about on their own are topics that may be unfamiliar to them. the fact that they are reading these topics on their own may not allow for links to be made or the relevance to be gathered. lecturers may not realise that they need to familiarise students with reading practices and also show them the relevance of the topic, and that this needs to be done in a structured manner. lecturer 1 elaborates that the reading that she requires from students goes beyond notes, textbooks, or recommended reading provided by academics, as it requires students to read in the field to keep abreast of current events and research. although this lecturer would make overt the expectations that she had of students, there is also the expectation that students, once shown, would then carry on independently. she also shows that not only does she require students to explore their field further via reading, but also to develop ways of thinking about the topic and positioning themselves with regard to the topic. lecturer 1 had tried inducting students into developing an appropriate reading practice, but at the same time she felt that once students were shown this, she expected them to do this independently, as illustrated here: … get them to actually read … i used to make them find newspaper articles on environmentally related topics of their choice, and they would then have to summarise it and give their opinions ... i would like a student to actually have his or her own opinion about an environmental topic – but to have your own opinion, you have to have some knowledge and therefore you have to read – you can’t formulate it … (lecturer 1) furthermore, it appears that even though students may be given guidance in the form of, for example, handouts, they are not always aware of what the field involves: ... our lecturers will tell us, ok, this is how you are supposed to do it and they give us handouts, guidelines to follow ... with that kind of subject, it is kind of vague really, we never really get the whole this is what’s expected from the subject (student 2). faeeqa jaffer and james garraway: understanding gaps between student and staff perceptions of university study in south africa 71 a comparison of understanding of the field lecturers were asked to explain their perceptions of nature conservation to gauge whether students’ choice to pursue studies in the programme were concomitant with what the occupation entailed. they highlighted the fact that the field of nature conservation could be divided into conservation, management and specific work practices. the lecturers felt that students were not clear on what the field of study entailed. some students expressed a desire to pursue studies in this field because of their “love of animals and plants” and “love of the outdoors”. they also expressed a curiosity and desire to learn and discover new things, as well as a love for science. they also felt a sense of social responsibility as they commented on wanting to contribute to the world by developing themselves through studying in the field, as providing a platform to make a change. this was also displayed through a particular understanding of environmental responsibility, for example a desire to “look after plants and animals”. however, this is not necessarily what the programme is about, since the role of a nature conservation officer is, according to lecturers, often more concerned with management in order to control animal and plant populations, as well as the impact of human activity on the natural environment: nature conservation is sustainable use. it’s not preserving plants and animals. it is sustainable use, i.e. careful use and also conservation. now preservation means in the strict sense of the word that you don’t use it and we definitely use fauna and flora, soil and water for all mankind but also for the good of nature. so, it’s not abuse or overuse or exploitation. it’s sustainable use. but it goes beyond fauna and flora because it’s also soil and water. one can put air in as well, then you have the five components. (lecturer 3) lecturers felt that students did not have a proper understanding of what the programme entailed and only discovered this much later when out in the field. this is perhaps what lecturers need to acknowledge and directly share and engagingly teach to students from the outset. discussion boughey (2013) has outlined that the concept of discourse is very similar to what has become known as literacy in south africa, as both concepts cover socially constructed formations of knowledge. furthermore, discourses are necessarily different between school and higher education institutions as these are different institutions. this is apparent from the mismatches revealed in this study. according to clark and linder (2006), students newly entering higher education are often only familiar with an institutional discourse that they have acquired through school and, as such, may feel that replicating previous behaviour and thought in the new discourse is correct. the areas in which there were more apparent mismatches were across the themes of literacy, attitude to learning, and understanding of the field. in terms of literacy, students knew that they had to display aspects of the literacy practices in higher education, but they did not display them as well as lecturers expected. lecturers focused on the fact that students 72 journal of student affairs in africa |volume 4(1) 2016, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.145 did not read enough or lacked a desire to read in the field, especially when it did not form part of lecturers’ instruction, which was necessary in order to keep updated about the field. students stated that taking notes is important but lecturers feel that students do not know how to take notes properly. it may be suggested that students adopt a literacy skills model (lea & street, 2006) rather than enculturation to the field of study, which is what lecturers appear to want. the theme of attitude to learning revealed that students and lecturers had completely different viewpoints. lecturers were clear on the characteristics they wished students would display, while students were more focused on the fact that higher education required them to commit more of their time to their studies. lecturers felt that students need to take “initiative” for their own learning or development and, significantly not be overtly passive but take positions and offer opinions. lecturers felt that students need to be more independent as they would have to work independently in the field. students were thus expected by lecturers to be more assertive and committed, while students generally felt that having a good attitude to learning meant resisting peer pressure and a focus on studying. in terms of knowledge of the field, students mainly attached emotive reasons for studying nature conservation whereas lecturers felt that the role of nature conservation involved more than having affinities for flora and fauna, and that students did not fully comprehend what their studies entailed. concluding remarks addressing the issue of improving the throughput of disadvantaged students involves addressing some of the gaps between students’ understandings of university learning and what the university requires of them. doing this could involve attention from academics to the enculturation model for literacy, in which university and programme practices are understood as distinct from students’ prior experiences. one interesting example of how to teach university discourses overtly in ecp science involves students in conducting home-based experiments with familiar materials and settings, but with a strong focus on scientific methodology, reasoning and argument (ellery, 2011). through doing these experiments in a structured and guided manner, ellery claims that students can be effectively supported in moving between already held discourses to science-based ways of thinking that are appropriate for university study. however, there are differences, too, in what was referred to as attitudes and knowledge of the field. these may also, in part, fit well with lea and street’s (2006) enculturation model for literacy and speak to issues of identity as a nature conservationist and making meaning within the field of study, or what the authors refer to as academic literacy. the latter can particularly be seen where lecturers expect students to give opinions on conservation issues, a point that students also recognise but are not necessarily able to undertake. in the more vocational field of nature conservation, an example of a task that could support the development of academic literacy can be related to the important course outcome to “demonstrate and apply knowledge of human influence on the ecosystem”. students could, for example, assess how residents in their area affect the ecosystem, whether faeeqa jaffer and james garraway: understanding gaps between student and staff perceptions of university study in south africa 73 it is the dumping of waste or even the beneficial impact that recycling initiatives could have. tasks such as these would be familiar and relevant to students and encourage them to engage with the disciplinary practices of nature conservation while, at the same time, being supported by lecturers. furthermore, such tasks would involve students in making meaning, giving opinions, and even the exercise of authority (such local situations would not necessarily be known by lecturers); such tasks would constitute the appropriate representation of disciplinary knowledge within an academic literacies model. references bernstein, b. 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(2012). alternative access to university. in: r. dhunpath & r. vital (eds). alternative access to higher education: underprepared students or underprepared universities? pp. 1–24. cape town: pearson. ellery, k. (2011). knowing, acting and being: epistemological and ontological access in a science extended studies course. south african journal of higher education, 25(6), 1077–1090. gee, j.p. (1990). social linguistics and literacies: ideology in discourses. london: falmer. gee, j.p. (1996). social linguistics and literacies: ideology in discourses (2nd ed.). london: falmer. lea, m. & street, b. (2006). the academic literacies model: theory and applications. theory into practice, 45(4), 368–377. leibowitz, b. & bozalek, v. (2015). foundation provision – a social justice perspective. south african journal of higher education, 29(1), 8–25. mckenna, s. (2004). the intersection between academic literacies and student identities. south african journal of higher education, 18(3), 269–280. mckenna, s. (2010). cracking the code of academic literacy: an ideological task. in c. hutchings & j. garraway (eds). beyond the university gates: provision of extended curriculum programmes in south africa. proceedings of the january 2009 rhodes university foundation seminar, grahamstown, south africa, pp. 8–15. saldaña, j. (2009). the coding manual for qualitative researchers. london: sage. scott, i., yeld, n. & hendry, j. (2007). a case for improving teaching and learning in south african higher education, higher education monitor no. 6. pretoria: council on higher education. slonimsky, l. & shalem, y. (2006). pedagogic responsiveness for academic depth. journal of education, 40, 35–58. thomas, d.r. (2006). a general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. american journal of evaluation, 27(2), 237–246. 404 not found 100 the european council for student affairs (ecsta) is an independent non-profit organisation aiming to promote the social infrastructure of higher education in europe. in order to do so, ecsta works for improved cooperation between student services organisations aiming to increase the understanding of the differences regarding the provision of services such as student housing, dining services, counselling and health issues, supporting international students and student mobility. the foundation of ecsta is a result of growing cooperation of student services organisations in europe. its members have been working together for a long time, building stronger and stronger links. the vision of the european council for student affairs is a european higher education area with strong student services organisations, providing quality services for the 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affairs in africa, 11(1), 145–146 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4691 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 145 campus report iasas turns 10! – birthday celebrations in rome in july 2023 birgit schreiber1, lisa bardill moscaritolo2, achim meyer auf der heyde3 & gian luca giovannucci4 1 dr birgit schreiber, alberts-ludwig-universität freiburg, germany; iasas vice-president, brussels, belgium. jsaa editorial executive. email: birgitdewes@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504 2 dr lisa bardill moscaritolo, american university of sharjah, united arab emirates; iasas secretary general, brussels, belgium. email: lmoscaritolo@aus.edu. orcid: 0000-0003-2809-0012. 3 achim meyer auf der heyde, iasas president, brussels, belgium. email: achim.meyeraufderheyde@t-online.de 4 gian luca giovannucci, european university and college association; iasas treasurer, brussels, belgium. email: president@euca.eu the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) recently celebrated its momentous 10-year anniversary, marking a decade of impactful contributions to the field of student affairs and services worldwide. this milestone served as an opportunity to announce its 7th global summit in korea in may 2024 and to reflect on the organisation’s accomplishments, recognise the progress made, and set ambitious goals for the future. lumsa, the libera università maria santissima assunta, situated at the tiber in rome, italy, was a fitting site for this occasion. the event was generously supported by the european university college association (euca). professor francesco bonini, the rector of lumsa, hosted the 10-year anniversary celebrations and welcomed the guests. professor rikke toft nørgård, professor of educational design and technology in the school of education at aarhus university, denmark, offered a most inspiring keynote address, challenging the attendees to project a plausible future and imagine a “preposterous one”, using baxter’s futures cone to encourage the attendees to think further, deeper and “wilder”. nørgård was followed by dr brett perozzi of the usa and dr birgit schreiber of south africa and germany. perozzi mapped the internationalization of the future university and schreiber discussed issues around leadership in complexity. complex contexts require agile and dynamic leadership that listens, learns, and deeply appreciates the context within which the university operates. prof. olga dietlin, usa and ukraine, highlighted the role of student affairs in war-torn ukraine and was followed by prof. maria cinque of lumsa, italy, who shared the impact of service learning on global citizenship. the president of the collegi universitari de merito, ccum, prof. vincenzo salvatore of italy and prof paulo ferraz of portugal offered case studies of how students are supported in their contexts. professors patrizia lombardi and giacomo di capua of turin, italy, discussed the role of universities as agents of change, and gian luca giovannucci and mariagrazia melfi of euca in italy, discussed their model of tutoring, mentoring and coaching at the halls of residence across italy. http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 145–146 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4691 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za146 since its formal chartering in belgium a decade ago, iasas has been instrumental in fostering global collaboration and knowledge exchange among its 1,500 members in seven world regions and 95 countries across the world. iasas has grown exponentially, expanding its membership base and strengthening its global presence. the association has become a vibrant and inclusive community, bringing together professionals from diverse backgrounds and cultures who share a common passion for supporting student success. iasas’s 10-year anniversary celebration recognised a series of special events and initiatives. these included a flagship international biennial global summit, student leader global summits, virtual meetings and panel discussions, webinars and various research projects and publications. these activities provided a platform for members to reflect on the organisation’s journey, exchange ideas, and envision the future of student affairs and services. over the past 10 years, the association has organised numerous conferences, workshops, and seminars, enabling professionals to connect, learn from each other, and share good practices. these opportunities have not only enriched the professional development of individuals but have also resulted in the implementation of innovative programmes and services in educational institutions around the world. research and scholarship have been at the forefront of iasas’s activities during the past decade (www.iasas.global/research). the association has consistently encouraged its members to engage in rigorous research, evaluate programmes, and contribute to the body of knowledge in student affairs and services. through its support for research, publication opportunities, and research-focused events, iasas has facilitated the creation and dissemination of evidence-based practices, further solidifying the field’s foundation. the 10-year anniversary also allowed iasas to reflect on its role as an advocate for the profession. inclusivity, diversity, and social justice have been core values embraced by iasas since its inception. the association has actively promoted the development of inclusive environments on campuses, encouraging professionals to foster a sense of belonging and celebrate diversity among students. by providing resources, training opportunities, and forums for discussion, iasas has emboldened its members to address social justice issues and promote equitable educational experiences for all students. looking forward, iasas has set ambitious goals for the next decade. the association aims to further expand its reach and impact by continuing to foster collaboration, supporting research and scholarship, advocating for the profession, and promoting diversity and inclusion. this iasas 10-year birthday celebration received a lot of birthday wishes and the participants will meet again at the global summit in south korea in may 2024 (www.iasas.global/globalsummit2024). the birthday wishes can be viewed at: https://drive.google.com/file/ d/153h2bshwxxf4shge9z4pcpgvrtw_e0mt/view how to cite: schreiber, b., bardill moscaritolo, l., meyer auf der heyde, a., & giovannucci, g. l. (2023). iasas turns 10! – birthday celebrations in rome in july 2023. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 145–146. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4691 http://www.iasas.global/research http://www.iasas.global/globalsummit2024 https://drive.google.com/file/d/153h2bshwxxf4shge9z4pcpgvrtw_e0mt/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/153h2bshwxxf4shge9z4pcpgvrtw_e0mt/view 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 1 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article coping processes of south african first-year university students: an exploratory study liesel engelbrecht,* karina mostert,** jacobus pienaar*** & carlien kahl**** * ms liesel engelbrecht is a master’s graduate from workwell research unit and the department of industrial psychology, faculty of economic and management sciences, north-west university, south africa. email: engelbrechtliesel608@gmail.com ** prof. karina mostert is a professor of industrial psychology at the management cybernetics research entity, faculty of economic and management sciences, north-west university, south africa. email: karina.mostert@nwu.ac.za *** prof. jacobus pienaar is a researcher within the workwell research unit, faculty of economic and management sciences, north-west university, south africa, and an associate professor in work and organizational psychology at the department of psychology, stockholm university, sweden. email: jacobus.pienaar@psychology.su.se **** dr carlien kahl is an independent research psychologist for management cybernetics at the department of industrial psychology, faculty of economic and management sciences, north-west university, south africa. email: inspireck.7@gmail.com abstract south african higher education institutions (heis) face significant challenges with high first-year student drop-out rates due to various stressors students are facing. the current study explores the coping of first-year students studying at a south african university. this qualitative study followed an exploratory, descriptive, interpretive strategy to gain a deeper understanding of students’ coping during their first academic year at university. ten participants were recruited through a trusted gatekeeper using purposive voluntary and later snowball sampling methods. data were collected using the mmogo method ® and semi-structured individual follow-up interviews. interactive qualitative and thematic analyses generated three themes: (1) the availability of and access to coping resources for first-year students; (2) coping strategies first-year students rely on to manage stressors at university; and (3) the effectiveness of selected coping strategies. understanding the coping of first-year students could assist heis in intervening and supporting first-year students appropriately, to enhance their first-year experience (fye) and overall student well-being. though limited to a small qualitative study, the contribution to fye literature is through exploring nuanced coping resources, strategies, and the effectiveness thereof for students, which challenges the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach many universities may use. however, there are strategies and awareness of resources that could, in general, be helpful. keywords coping effectiveness; coping resources; coping strategies; first-year experience; first-year students; south african university https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:engelbrechtliesel608%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:karina.mostert%40nwu.ac.za?subject= mailto:jacobus.pienaar%40psychology.su.se?subject= mailto:inspireck.7%40gmail.com?subject= 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 introduction the south african higher education sector has gone through significant state interventions in the last two decades, with higher education institutions (heis) in south africa lagging behind its counterparts in other developing countries (habib, 2016; van zyl, 2016). in the face of south africa’s challenging economic circumstances, higher education is a critical force for improved economic conditions through modernisation and development and has the potential to create tax revenue, increased savings and investments, and a more entrepreneurial and civic society (altbach et al., 2019; bloom et al., 2006). heis focus increasingly on student attrition and completion of tertiary studies (barefoot, 2005; beer & lawson, 2017; turner & thompson, 2014). bernardo et al. (2016) explain that universities face high drop‑out rates between students’ first and second years of study. it has long been established that moving from high school to university can be stressful and demanding for first‑year students (tinto, 1982; 1993). challenges first‑year students face include (amongst others): academic performance, adapting to campus life, being more independent, financial concerns, time‑management, and managing interpersonal relationships (kotze & niemann, 2013; pretorius & blaauw, 2020). perceptions of excessive academic demands and workload from student schedules, examinations, assignments, and practical work could cause further stress (jaffer & garraway, 2016; kotze & niemann, 2013). millennial first‑year students form part of a group of young individuals who are used to closer integration of technology, learning and communication (kuron et al., 2015; turner & thompson, 2014). heis may impose novel demands on young individuals from this generational cohort, where students needs are not necessarily met. therefore, universities may appreciate understanding the unique coping strategies that first‑year millennials employ to deal with stressors, their perceptions of coping resources available to them, and how effective these strategies are. while coping has been researched extensively in the past with different focuses (see dewe et al., 2017; folkman & moskowitz, 2004), the majority of coping studies have predominantly focused on the quantitative nature of coping in the work setting (folkman, 2011; robotham, 2008). although some research has considered coping in hei settings (orel et al., 2017; polanco‑roman et al., 2016; strage & sorkhabi, 2016), there seems to be a lack of in‑depth studies exploring coping of first‑year students in the uniquely south african university setting. this study aims to use a qualitative exploratory strategy with a small group of south african first‑year students to gain a deeper understanding of their coping in the context of challenges they face during their first academic year at university. literature review a definition of coping coping is defined as a person’s cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage, reduce, minimise, master, and tolerate the internal and external demands of a person‑environment transaction, which is appraised as taxing or exceeding the person’s resources (folkman https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 l. engelbrecht, k. mostert, j. pienaar & c. kahl: coping processes of south african first‑year university students … 3 et al.,  1986). ‘coping’ is an umbrella term used to describe strategies, tactics, responses, cognitions, or behaviours that can be noticed (either by introspection or through obser‑ vation) and could include internal events or overt actions that are appraised as demanding (schwarzer & schwarzer, 1996). coping is also seen as the continuously changing, cyclical and iterative, interactional processes of emotional, cognitive and behavioural efforts that individuals make, the strategies and tactics they employ, and their responses to manage specific internal or external demands that arise in response to stressors. these stressors can be appraised as threatening, posing harm or loss, beneficial, or challenges to a person’s resources (past, present, or future) (adjusted from lazarus & folkman, 1984). the transactional model of coping folkman and lazarus (1985) and lazarus (1991) explain the transactional model of coping as an interaction between the person and environment that is very dynamic and highly fluid (in goh et al., 2010). the central tenet of this model is that a potentially stressful event needs to be perceived to trigger appraisal, after which an individual assesses the stressor to be a potential benefit, irrelevant, or stressful. following the primary appraisal as stressful, the individual will follow the secondary appraisal process, which takes the individual through a global assessment of their coping resources and their ability to react to the situation. after that, the outcome provides essential feedback as to whether further actions are required (goh et al., 2010), which refers to how good the appraisal and chosen coping mechanism were in leading to a favourable outcome. the framework considers the experience of stress resulting from the interaction between the stressor and the individual’s perception of control over the stressor. this effect (positive or negative) will, in turn, determine the choice of coping strategy utilised (boekaerts, 2002). the nature of the stressor and the appraisal thereof in evaluating the type of coping strategies employed and the coping resources available, play a role in this framework. the nature of stressors in this sample has been considered (engelbrecht, 2020), but for this article, we were most interested in describing the coping aspect of the framework (i.e. coping resources and strategies). coping resources before an individual can decide if an encounter is taxing or exceeding their resources, a person–environment measure is implemented subconsciously, subtracting the demands from the available resources of the individual (folkman, 1982). suppose there are fewer coping resources than demands: in that case, the situation is perceived as stressful and potentially harmful, challenging, or threatening, and a coping strategy is chosen to be employed. hammer et al. (1998) describe coping resources as a psychological capacity inherent to a person, which enables them to manage stressors more effectively and subsequently experience fewer symptoms. coping resources could include: cognitive resources (capabilities to maintain a positive sense of self‑worth, a positive outlook, and optimism); social resources (social networks and support in times of stress); emotional 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 resources (individuals’ acceptance and expression of emotional responses to alleviate long‑ term negative consequences of stress); spiritual resources (guided by values derived from religious, family or cultural traditions which define their meaning of the stressful event); or physical resources (interacting with health‑promoting behaviours to increase physical well‑being and decrease negative responses to stress), (hammer et al., 1998). the availability of these coping resources impacts the choice of coping strategy employed (lazarus, 1984; van den brande et al., 2016). coping strategies coping strategies are defined as different strategies individuals use to manage stressful encounters and the accompanying, associated distress (folkman, 2011). when an encounter is appraised as stressful, individuals initiate their available coping resources and choose an appropriate coping strategy in the hopes of alleviating the discomfort, addressing the issue, or challenging themselves. accordingly, coping strategies can be categorised into two main types: (1) problem-focused coping refers to the attempt to alter the stressor itself, such as finding a solution to a problem and developing a plan‑of‑action; and (2) emotionfocused coping, which refers to the ways an individuals accommodate themselves to alleviate the feeling of stress, which range from distraction, avoidance, denial, venting, acceptance, focusing on the positive side to finding a more profound meaning from the situation (folkman 1982, 2011; lazarus & folkman, 1984). later, carver et al. (1989) introduced avoidance coping, which refers to person‑ or task‑orientated strategies that attempt to avoid the problem, encounter, or emotion elicited altogether. coping strategies are expanding, as the sensitivity and complexities of measuring and classifying these coping strategies are evolving (dewe et al., 2017). effectiveness of coping the effectiveness of coping remains one of the most challenging concepts in coping research, as the effectiveness thereof is contextual. no coping strategy can be viewed as essentially positive or negative; some may be more effective in some situations than in others (folkman & moskowitz, 2004). an understanding of coping effectiveness can be generalised under two headings. firstly, the coping outcome, which views effectiveness in the sense of goals that are achieved through the applied coping strategy. secondly, the effectiveness of coping can be measured by the goodness-of-fit approach, which looks at the process rather than the outcome (dewe et al., 2017). such an approach suggests that the effectiveness of a coping strategy concerns the appropriateness of the appraisal the individual made, and how good the chosen coping strategy is in leading to a favourable outcome. presumably, choosing a coping strategy that fits their appraisal and gains control over the tasks will have a more effective outcome (folkman & moskowitz, 2004). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 l. engelbrecht, k. mostert, j. pienaar & c. kahl: coping processes of south african first‑year university students … 5 research methodology research approach and strategies the study is part of a larger mixed‑methods project known as studywell: student well‑being and success. the focus of the project is on the development and validation of a comprehensive model of student well‑being. it is necessary to scientifically explore student experiences in the south african hei context, then develop and validate culturally sensitive instruments to inform and apply this model. this model could be used to determine essential predictors and moderators of student well‑being, including coping strategies of students. the current study reports on the qualitative exploration of coping as part of the broader student well‑being model. the qualitative approach generated context‑specific evidence, which enables researchers to determine the perceptions and meanings that the phenomena might have for participants in greater depth (tracy, 2020). an exploratory interpretive descriptive approach (thorne, 2016) was used. such an approach explored first‑year students’ coping experiences at university. the researchers considered participants’ explanations as relative, which meant their subjective interpretations of the world they live and study in was respected (creswell & poth, 2018). the researchers accessed elaborate explanations from participants through the collection of data from different methods and analytical strategies (tracy, 2020). participants, sampling and ethics the present study focused on accessing information from students who: studied full‑time, were first‑year students for the first time, studying towards an undergraduate degree at a south african university, and were comfortable to talk in english for data collection (translators were available). participants were purposefully selected using voluntary sampling through appropriate gatekeepers in line with ethics permissions and research conduct (ethical number: nwu‑hs‑2014‑0165). additional participants were recruited through snowball sampling. ten first‑year students participated in the study. all participants were welcomed to participate, and no limitations were set on gender, ethnicity, home language, living conditions, year of birth, and relationship status (boehnke et al., 2011). the participants’ included three males and seven females of whom five were african, and five were caucasian. six of the participants indicated their home language as afrikaans, whereas three participants spoke setswana, and one was english speaking. all participants were between 19 and 22 years of age at the time of data collection. five participants lived off‑campus and were not part of a town residence club. four stayed off‑campus, and formed part of a town residence club and one participant lived in an on‑campus dormitory. as participation was voluntary and withdrawal carried no consequence, students who wanted to participate did so regardless of their demographic characteristics. 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 data collection and analysis data were collected in two distinct phases, each with its specific analysis techniques. firstly, the mmogo‑method ® (roos 2016) was used. this visual, participatory method that explores personal and group experiences related to a specified research question. participants were asked to build a model in response to the question: “tell us something about your experiences of being a student at the university.” the data collection commenced with opening the group session with participants seated around a large table, signing informed consent, and providing their biographical information. next, researchers clarified the research objectives and provided the building materials, i.e. malleable clay, beads and grass stalks and a material cloth. participants were allowed time to build a model or interpretation of the research question using any or all materials provided. afterwards, voluntary discussions followed on the individual models presented. the group discussions offered additional insights to participants own or each other’s explanations. audio (explanations and discussion elicited by the built models) and visual data (photos of the models) were recorded, and audio data transcribed for further analysis. a debriefing session followed to provide an opportunity for participants to settle emotions that may have been evoked during the process. nine students participated in the mmogo‑method ®. after completing the mmogo‑method ®, information was co‑analysed by participants using interactive qualitative analysis (iqa) (northcutt & mccoy, 2004). during the co‑analysis, participants indicated that coping with university‑related stressors was a prominent concern. a second data collection phase followed using face‑to‑face, semi‑ structured, in‑depth individual interviews (conducted at a later time). the interviews accessed additional insights into participants’ coping strategies. three of the mmogo‑ method ® participants agreed to follow‑up interviews, while one additional participant was recruited. the individual interviews were conducted to provide detailed explanations through flexible, probing and clarifying questions (patton, 2015) until the phenomenon was represented (thorne, 2016). an open‑ended question led the interview: “tell me about your experience when starting university,” with additional probe questions on coping. interview data were transcribed verbatim, translated into english where needed, and imported into atlas.ti version 8 with the mmogo‑method ® data. the data were analysed using thematic data analysis (braun & clarke, 2006). as such, thematic analysis was applied through familiarisation with the data (reading and re‑reading and noting key ideas); initial open coding, followed by selective coding; searching for patterns or themes; and reviewing and refining generated themes through meaningful links to the research question. analyses were conducted in a group format to ensure quality and rigour and minimise researcher bias through multiple coders in the coding process (friese, 2019; tracy, 2020). selected data examples for this article include explanations from both the mmogo‑ method ® and interviews analysed. the initial purpose of the mmogo‑method ® was to explore students’ first‑year experience (fye) in general. the models that participants created (i.e. visual data) were expressions of their overall experiences (which extend https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 l. engelbrecht, k. mostert, j. pienaar & c. kahl: coping processes of south african first‑year university students … 7 outside the scope of the current article). the explanations elicited from the discussion of the models and the interviews provided the researchers with text‑data form conversations generated during both data collection phases. trustworthiness tracy’s (2010) eight criteria for excellent qualitative research directed the quality of the present study. these were: having a worthy topic (relevant, timely, significant, interesting); obtaining rich rigour through sufficient and valid data; transferability of the findings; the sincerity of the researchers; the credibility of research, gaining resonance, and ensuring a significant contribution. in the current study, trustworthiness was ensured through researching a necessary and emerging topic and identifying clear boundaries for partici‑ pation to gather applicable data. using multiple data collection and analysis methods ensured triangulation, while researcher bias was reduced. recording the methods and procedures ensured the transferability of the study (morse, 2018; tracy 2020). however, replicating results may differ as participants’ experiences are subjective, and the meaning thereof socially constructed. replication could be achieved by ensuring a detailed description of the process (merriam & tisdell, 2016). further, the research aims to contribute to the conceptual, theoretical, practical, moral, or methodological implications for first‑year students, south african heis and fye literature. lastly, procedural, situational, and cultural ethics of this research study were taken into consideration. the researchers attended ethics and methodological training, while meaningful coherence was facilitated with appropriate literature, research questions, and interpretations of findings to ensure quality data were obtained. integrated findings three1 main themes emerged to understand first‑year students’ coping experiences as illustrated by participant explanations from both the mmogo‑method® and interviews, i.e.: (i) the availability and access of coping resources; (ii) coping strategies students rely on to manage their stressors at university; and (iii) effectiveness of coping strategies chosen by first‑year students at university. once a stressful experience was encountered, appraised, and categorised, participants’ coping resource availability was considered in terms of availability, accessibility, and nature (see table 1). 1 the original dissertation that informs the current article (engelbrecht, 2020), included a fourth theme on the nature and domains of stressors. such findings align with extant literature that consider the challenges first‑year students experience in transition to university (cf. upcraft et al, 2005; nelson et al., 2006). the domains of stressors were deemed to fall outside the scope of the current article, which more narrowly describes coping. interested readers are referred to the original dissertation. 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 table 1: theme 1 – the availability, access to and nature of coping resources for students sub‑themes formulated meanings availability and access to coping resources available/static/not used: identifying a resource as available yet not necessarily utilised in order to manage the stressor. accessed/processed/used: a resource is available and accessed in order to cope with a stressor, which leads to a coping process/ strategy. nature of coping resources internal (inside a person): resources found within a person which could alleviate stress, such as personal resources. external (outside of a person): resources found outside of a person, such as social support in terms of informational, instrumental, and emotional support. students could choose to assess resources to which they had access or were available to them, e.g. internally, or externally as coping resources. moreover, they could use these coping resources to manage stressful encounters or not. some internal resources and personal resources reported, included: “let me help myself so that i can do better”, and: “also, drawing energy that is positive.” external resources included social support through emotional, informational or instrumental support to alleviate stress. examples of emotional support were represented more frequently by the participants: “yes, and then my boyfriend, he is very supportive,” and: i think what made it a lot easier for me coming to university is the fact that i live in an apartment with my brother so that feeling of homesickness was kind of avoided in a sense by the fact that he was there and that i was not in a hostel or something like that. some participants reported utilising social support for instrumental reasons, i.e. in order to find assistance to manage the stressor they are faced with: “let me ask my lecturer, let me go to facilitation, let me help myself so that i can do better,” and: “having a friend when i don’t understand, i will ask them: ‘can you please explain this to me?’, and then he will just explain it to me, so definitely that is nice to have a friend.” after the coping resources were identified, first‑year students selected a coping strategy to deal with the stressors they experienced, presented in table 2. the current study reports on three main coping strategies, i.e. the experiences and exposure to past stressors to find solutions based on experiences; supportive practices to balance emotions; and create distance to gain perspective and understanding. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 l. engelbrecht, k. mostert, j. pienaar & c. kahl: coping processes of south african first‑year university students … 9 table 2: theme 2 – coping strategies students rely on to manage their stressors at university sub‑themes formulated meanings experiences and exposure of past stressors to find solutions utilising university and hostel resources: utilising functions and systems of the university and hostels to manage a stressor such as reception & orientation (r&o) programmes to help the adjustment to university. learning from past experiences: learning from previous experiences from similar situations and using tried and tested methods to cope with the stressor eliminating other activities: cutting down on activities that are taking up most of one’s time, to focus on the stressor. time orientated: managing time in order to relieve stress by making diary entries, lists, and plan‑of‑actions. work harder: just jumping in and working harder and not giving up when times get tough. solution-focused: finding a proactive way of solving the problem. revision/facilitation/group studying: revising of work, going to facilitation sessions, and group study, to alleviate academic strain. seeking informational support: seeking and gaining more information in order to understand the stressor or situation. seeking instrumental support: seeking support for academic reasons, from lecturers, friends, and family in order to help with academics. supportive practices to balance emotions journalling: journalling emotions in order to re‑evaluate the situation and consider different perspectives. motivation: motivating self through keeping the goal in mind and staying positive in tough times. surrounding oneself with positivity: ensuring you surround yourself with positivity from friends and family. living a balanced life: maintaining a balanced lifestyle by eating healthy and sleeping enough in order to cope with stressors and challenges of life/studies. religious and spiritual practices: practising religious beliefs or spiritual practices in order to cope with the stressor/challenge, e.g. prayer, reflection. seeking emotional support: seeking emotional support from lecturers, friends, and family in order to help with a stressor. distancing, perspective and understanding distractions: distracting self and not dealing with the stressor such as smoking, watching series, or partying. accepting outcome: acceptance of fate of the challenges or ignoring the stressor. 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 participants reported experiencing similar situations before, which assisted them in finding a way to manage stressors. for example, through being more time‑orientated by planning, scheduling, and diarising timelines, as well as working harder to push through and get the job done, they dealt with time constraints and workload pressure: “sometimes, it is best if you have a list of things you need to do and start from the top and start doing it”, and “like i know that if you want to get something in life, it is not easy, you can’t take short ways … if you want to get out from that hole or whatever you are facing, you need to manage to go and follow your dreams as i did.” others also reported relying on: … that mentality of when things get tough you drop your head, and you start swinging, and now talking about it, it sounds like the mentality i had when things got tough i just started swinging and hoped it would be fine in the end, i just did it. other participants reported supportive practices they used to balance their emotions and alleviate stressful situations. examples included having the motivation to carry on, and participating in religious practices and prayer: “i like to go to church because it is where i find myself, i find peace for my mind, and i get to rest.” other examples included: then if the motivation is your thing, then get it! anything that is going to help you, your mindset, to help you get up in the mornings help you; those are also my things, let’s put those motivations on the wall. uhm, i feel, if it wasn’t for getting down on your knees and being like: ‘okay, i need help, and i need god to be in my life right now’, i don’t know how to explain it to you. i know it really helps me whenever i feel down or whenever i feel ‘okay, all my energy is gone’, then i know where to get it from. some participants preferred to avoid the stressors they face and distance themselves through distractions: “soos my vriende het nogals baie gehelp, soos dit was nogals lekker gewees ek het baie uitgekom en my kop van alles afgehaal” [like my friends helped a lot, like it was fun, i went out a lot and cleared my head from everything], and “okay, mainly at the moment now it’s me listening to music and like drawing more.” finally, in some instances, re‑appraisal took place after a coping strategy was chosen, where a participant could re‑evaluate their perceived stressor and choose a different strategy altogether. however, the effects or outcome of a strategy could only be evaluated after implementation thereof. some outcomes participants reported are noted in table 3. outcomes included that it turned out to be a good thing at the end, growing up and becoming more mature, learning more about oneself and others, and having a sense of accomplishment in the aftermath: so, i knew that this subject i have to work hard in, and in the end, it paid off. one thing i came to realise from my first year to my second year … i’m a very serious person, and things need to be very formal, getting to know myself in terms of how much of an introvert i am and also learning patience. the university for me is very involved and multi-cultural and multi-racial and different languages and different people which is really nice because you get to know a lot of people who are different https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 l. engelbrecht, k. mostert, j. pienaar & c. kahl: coping processes of south african first‑year university students … 11 table 3: theme 3 – effectiveness of coping strategies chosen by students at university sub‑themes formulated meanings sense of accomplishment and growth learning more about self and others: learning more about self and how you interact with others through self‑insight. good thing in the end: a feeling, in hindsight, that the stressor was a good challenge and looking at the positive side thereof. sense of accomplishments: a sense of accomplishment when a stressor has been managed and having peace of mind afterwards. matured/grown-up: growing up and maturing in order to take care of oneself and becoming more independent. better relationships: forming a better relationship with friends and family, in the aftermath of the stressor. proving them wrong: a sense of proving the people that doubted you wrong when you faced and persevered with the challenge. learn from experiences & applying change helping others to not go through a similar situation: learning from stressors to advise others how to cope in a similar situation. managing a similar situation better in the future: learning from experience to gain skills to handle a similar situation better in the future. start saying ‘no’: learning when to say no to distractions, bad choices, and people. negative emotions: the aftermath of a coping strategy results in a feeling of anger, irritability, grumpiness, and annoyance. supported transition making university adjustment easier: the challenge or stressor undergone made adjustments and transition to university easier. increase academic knowledge: gaining more academic knowledge through managing challenges. and you get to see how they work and how they are and like you try and incorporate that into who you are and try to blend with them. i’ve grown a lot. in my first year, i had to deal with a lot of responsibilities, more than you would have in school. and, uh, i’ve also learned, things are not always as it seems, and you have to make it for yourself. some adverse outcomes included: when you sleep less, you are tired. ja [yes], i think the worst thing you tend to get very grumpy, and that eventually has an impact on how you treat people as well, and that leads to people thinking that you are just a miserable person in general, which is not great. 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 discussion this study aimed to use a qualitative exploratory strategy to gain a deeper understanding of south african first‑year students’ coping in the context of challenges they face during their first year at university. the discussion below integrates and positions the current findings on coping resources students have access to and rely on, the strategies first‑year students use to cope, as well as relating the effectiveness of coping with university demands. coping resources coping resources could be cognitive,, social,, emotional,, spiritual,, and physical resources available (coetzee & estherhuizen, 2010). coping resources are described as the psychological capacity inherent in a person when stressors are managed more effectively (hammer et al., 1998). resources could be internal, personal, or external to a person. personal resources, as mentioned by xanthopoulou et al. (2007), include optimism, mastery, self‑esteem, self‑efficacy, self‑determination, locus of control, and self‑insight. whereas external resources could be social support through instrumental, informational, and emotional reasons to cope with a stressor. social support, as a resource, could be utilised by students to seek assistance and support from others to manage a situation more effectively (bouteyre et al., 2006). the current study illustrated similar resources, though participants reported more significant reliance on social resources, possibly related to supportive relationships that are embedded within students’ support systems. coping strategies extensive research has been done on coping (dewe et al., 2017; folkman, 1982; folkman & lazarus, 1985; folkman & moskowitz, 2004). the main findings of the present study agree with previous research with some nuanced differences of expression: experiences and exposure of past stressors to find solutions, supportive practices to balance emotions, and distancing, perspective, and understanding thereof (carver et al., 1989; endler & parker, 1990; folkman & lazarus, 1988). some of the most commonly known coping strategies mentioned in the literature include eliminating other activities in order to focus on the stressor; being more time‑ orientated through planning and scheduling; being solution‑oriented and task‑driven; seeking more information to understand the stressor better; seeking instrumental support for academic reasons from lecturers, friends, family, and the university systems; getting the motivation to alleviate stress; surrounding oneself with positive energy; seeking emotional support from friends and family; distractions from the stressor; accepting the fate of the inability to change the situation; mentally disengaging from the stressor; and religious practices and prayer (carver et al., 1989; folkman, 1982; folkman, 2011; folkman & moskowitz, 2004; pargament et al., 2011). some emerged strategies reported learning from past experiences to find a previously identified effective solution, or just working harder and pushing through. other students preferred to rely on the university and accommodation systems to manage their academic https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 l. engelbrecht, k. mostert, j. pienaar & c. kahl: coping processes of south african first‑year university students … 13 stress through facilitation, study groups, or dormitory programmes promoting university adjustment. additional strategies included journalling emotions to gain new perspectives and living a balanced lifestyle through eating healthy, exercising, and sleeping enough, to alleviate stress. coping effectiveness the effectiveness of an implemented coping strategy is subjective. while zeidner and saklofshe (1996) explain coping effectiveness in terms of goals reached, dewe et al. (2017) instead explain effectiveness as to how good the appraisal and chosen coping strategy are in leading to a favourable outcome. folkman and moskowitz (2004) argue that the effectiveness of a coping outcome is the opportunity for personal control, and to gain control over tasks will result in a more effective outcome. although the effectiveness of the outcome of coping is individualistic and subjective, most participants reported to gain some sense of accomplishment, learning experiences, maturing, and growing relationships, despite some negative emotions. in conclusion, the first‑year student experiences of their coping may be incorporated into the hei systems to measure student attrition and enhance overall student well‑being (strage & sorkhabi, 2016). also, this could contribute to the implementation of more effective management, resource structures, information about the fye within the hei and adopting new techniques in supporting students’ coping (nyar & mosebua, 2018). limitations and recommendations the present study has a limited sample particular to the participating university campus. as such, the findings’ generalisation is limited. the sample consisted mostly of female, afrikaans‑speaking individuals, and other students from different backgrounds may cope with university transitions differently. though the sample is small, the value and nature of in‑depth qualitative research (morse, 2018), offers preliminary insights of what first‑year students may experience when coping with the demands and stressors of their first‑year experiences. future research should, however, acquire a more representative sample that resonates more broadly with the multi‑cultural hei setting in south africa. the recommendations of this study focus on the individual, the south african hei, and future research. firstly, the research could inform first‑year students’ experiences, and challenges faced at university and create awareness on students’ coping strategies that yield more effective outcomes that first‑year students and those working with first‑year students may find valuable. for the hei, these findings could contribute to knowledge creation on fye and associated challenges. the current study explored possible coping resources which could be available to assist students and support heis in managing anticipated stressors. lastly, the study provides nuanced insights into literature in terms of first‑year experiences and first‑year students’ coping strategies that should consider that coping may extend beyond the one‑size‑does‑not‑fit‑all approaches. there seem to be strategies and awareness of resources that could, in general, be helpful, that future research could establish. finally, the current study could be replicated at other heis for comparative results. 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 1‑16 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 references altbach, p.g., reisberg, l. & rumbley, l.e. 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(2016). the contours of inequality: the links between socio‑economic status of students and other variables at the university of johannesburg. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(1). https://doi. org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 xanthopoulou, d., bakker, a.b., demerouti, e. & schaufeli, w.b. (2007). the role of personal resources in the job demands‑resources model. international journal of stress management, 14(2), 121‑141. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072‑5245.14.2.121 zeidner, m. & saklofske, d. (1996). adaptive and maladaptive coping. in: m. zeidner & n.s. endler (eds.), handbook of coping: theory, research, applications, (pp. 505‑531). new york: oxford university press. how to cite: engelbrecht, l., mostert, k., pienaar, j. & kahl, c. 2020. coping processes of south african first‑year university students: an exploratory study. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 1‑16. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000125 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4181 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9137-1 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31224-8 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315426259 https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.37019823603 https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226922461.001.0001 https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.06.004 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.14.2.121 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4443 _hlk34211872 _hlk50997348 _hlk34908547 _hlk34987590 _hlk34987614 _hlk55489565 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 243‑245 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1444 243 www.jsaa.ac.za book review transforming higher education in africa and asia: strategic planning and policy by fred m. hayward (2020). albany, new york: suny press. reviewed by patrick swanzyi i dr patrick swanzy is a lecturer at the department of teacher education, faculty of educational studies, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, kumasi, ghana. orcid: 0000-0001-6201-7703. email: patrick_swanzy@yahoo.com in his career as a specialist in higher education, fred hayward has authored many scientific papers in the field. however, none is more insightful as transforming higher education in africa and asia: strategic planning and policy. unlike other authors who shy away from writing about issues of the developing and the underdeveloped world, he resists the temptation and offer a thought‑provoking discussion on strategic planning in higher education in these contexts. backed with data from higher education systems in countries such as afghanistan and pakistan in asia and ghana, south africa, sierra leone, madagascar, uganda and malawi, he explores efforts to improve lives by building high‑quality higher education in these countries as they face a variety of difficult challenges. the author interestingly notes that responses to these challenges, be it from political figures or institutional leaders, are often creative, sometimes exceptional, and frequently suggestive of mechanisms higher education stakeholders might find helpful. he further demonstrates with some cases why strategic planning is so important for successful higher education change and transformation. he notes that, while each of these cases is unique, there are some general lessons they suggest about both the successes and challenges for higher education change. what is intriguing about this book is that the author unpacks strategic planning in higher education in fourteen comprehensive chapters. the book’s first chapter focuses on the critical role high‑quality higher education plays in national development. the author cautions that failure to focus on improving the quality of higher education puts underdeveloped and developing countries farther and farther behind the developed nations of the world year after year. he then prescribes strategic planning as one of the powerful routes to transformation and to ensure that change is tied to providing high‑quality programmes that are relevant to employment or foster entrepreneurship by graduates. in chapter two, the author discusses prelude to planning in higher education and details the overview of the case studies. citing bloom et al., 2011, he recounts that the 1960s and 1970s saw a period of neglect and often decay in much of africa and parts of south asia with the gdp largely stagnant in south asia during this period, then falling after that. he concludes that this resulted in most of africa and much of south asia suffering from economic and political crises, having a profound effect on the well‑being of citizens and funding for higher education. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:patrick_swanzy%40yahoo.com?subject= 244 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 243‑245 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1444 the author focuses on pakistan in chapter three. he diagnoses the impetus for the transformation of higher education as emerging from a number of factors, including being way behind in quality compared to india. the author asserts that the plans for the change were captured in the medium term development framework, and had four main goals: increased access; improved quality; infrastructure upgrading; and a focus on relevance. he praises the budget‑making process in pakistan as a good model of what should be done in conjunction with planning major changes in higher education, but sadly expresses that, with president musharraf no longer in office, the plan suffered a major setback. in chapter four, the writer shifts his attention to afghanistan by suggesting that the motivation for the strategic plan was the general recognition of the disastrous state of higher education due to the war. he notes that deputy minister babury began thinking about the strategic plan and involved other major stakeholders of education. he mentions that even though there were initial challenges, the plan was a remarkably successful effort, resulting in transformation of the system in major ways. the author concludes by inferring that the afghanistan case demonstrates that fundamental change is possible even in a war environment. in chapters five and six, the author argues that no country has sought to make as extensive a range of transformational changes in higher education as south africa has. he proffers that at the forefront of demands for change was outrage over apartheid education policy, which had restricted access to education for black students. he demonstrates with examples from national and the university of fort hare, university of the north, and peninsula technikon, that though the plan faced initial challenges, the consultation process that led to the changes was amongst the most remarkable experienced anywhere. the author mentions in chapter seven that sierra leone’s higher education change efforts started out with a thoughtful plan and modest budget put together by a team from the midwestern universities consortium and higher education leaders of the country with the support of president momoh. he claims the plan had a well‑prepared budget, with each item in the plan costed. the author sadly mentions that a coup d’état ended the government of president momoh that had initiated the higher education rehabilitation and development effort. he concludes that this situation has negatively impacted the country’s higher education system that has since struggled to recover. chapter eight is headed ‘fostering higher education change in uganda’. the author notes that the uganda strategic plan for higher education 2003–2015 had five main goals: enhancing quality and relevance; increasing equity and access; achieving efficiency and effectiveness; improving governance; and preventing hiv/aids. well spelt out key performance indicators allow key stakeholders to measure implementation success. though  this suggested hope, the author laments that there was no unanimity about the funding strategies within the higher education community and left the sought changes largely unrealised. in chapter nine, the author discusses the higher education change efforts in madagascar. as noted in the previous chapters, political figures are crucial in facilitating strategic plans. in the case of madagascar, the strategic planning process was initiated by minister haja nirina razafinjatovo. the author reveals that the process started in 2005, but was plagued by patrick swanzy: transforming higher education in africa and asia: strategic planning and policy 245 several challenges. the chapter portrays that madagascar’s higher education began to revive in 2006 after a long neglect, however, this was short lived as the country experienced a coup. the author concludes that the proper functioning of an education system is dependent on many factors, but that political stability is key amongst them. the book’s chapter ten focuses on building transformational change at the university for development studies in ghana. the author notes that the leaders of the university started an agenda for major change through their strategic plan underpinned by a “pro‑poor” philosophy. he concludes that what is noteworthy in terms of fostering change was the success of people at the university in mobilising the local communities in a new kind of partnership that helped link rural ghana to higher education in important ways that enhanced the education process. the eleventh chapter of the book discusses the university of malawi’s (unima) coalition and team building for effective change. the author asserts that coalition and team building are essential for successful strategic planning, either prior to starting the strategic planning project or at the very outset to ensure there is broad consensus on the goals for change, the process, priorities, and implementation. the author acknowledges that the successful changes that took place at unima were in many respects a product of exceptional leadership. chapter twelve presents strategic planning challenges at kabul polytechnic university (kpu) which has suffered substantial war damage following the russian invasion and taliban rule. the author emphasises that the objectives of the kpu strategic plan are: to build up the capacity of faculty members; to improve the quality of teaching and learning; and to increase opportunities to promote science based on the recent developments in science and technology. he concluded the chapter by advising that the introduction of a strategic plan written in a captivating style is very important and has the potential to attract funding. in chapters thirteen and fourteen, the author discusses leadership and transformational change in developing countries. the author notes that the examined higher education transformation cases involve a wide range of leadership experiences, in some cases as the initiators of change, as the facilitators of strategic plans, the actual planners, the mobilisers of support, or as the implementers. the author points out that in a few cases such as pakistan and ghana successful change was the result of the work of a few leaders, while in most cases it was a collective effort at many levels and involved broad mobilisation of people in support of the strategic plan within the university and/or higher education community such as malawi. the author acknowledges that successful leaders’ strategies geared towards change are either conscious or unconscious. fred hayward’s book is a masterpiece and a groundbreaking contribution to strategic planning in higher education and will be valuable to stakeholders of higher education. how to cite: swanzy, p. (2021). review on transforming higher education in africa and asia: strategic planning and policy by fred m. hayward (2020). albany, new york: suny press. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 243‑245. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1444 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 39–42 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.68 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za report on the establishment of the southern african student affairs federation saloschini pillay* campus dialogue * safsas president, college of health science’s manager: student support services, university of kwazulu-natal. email: pillaysl@ukzn.ac.za the launch of the southern african federation for student affairs and services (safsas) on 25 october 2012 in mangaung with the signing of a memorandum of understanding among a number of affiliate associations, and the hosting of its inaugural conference from 4 to 6 august 2014, were historic events for student affairs and services (sas) in southern africa, as it was the first time in higher education in this region that the sector brought together under one roof a collection of student affairs associations and societies. the formation of a south african federation was proposed in september 2007 by ms naledi pandor, then south african minister of education, with the purpose “to explore the feasibility of single higher education student affairs and services practitioner’s body and the establishment of a common understanding on quality student development and support”. it is envisaged that safsas will provide a platform for engagement on sas issues in the developing world; a united voice in responding to critical issues impacting students and sas; as well as an opportunity to work towards a coherent, equitable and professional student affairs and services in the region. in this way safsas hopes to move away from the current fragmented response to national imperatives and challenges and hopes to become a dynamic and cohesive voice for sas in higher education in south africa and beyond. safsas draws on the mandate and the diversity of its affiliates to become a leading voice for student affairs and services in southern africa, with a commitment to the holistic education of students whilst integrating student life and learning communities. further, its mission is to provide professional development of both the staff and students and increase research on student affairs. safsas hopes to strengthen collaboration between stakeholders within the higher education and training sector, so as to enhance its contribution towards student support, development and success. the ongoing transformation of the higher education landscape in africa brings with it a multitude of opportunities and challenges that impact on the seamless delivery of student affairs and services and ultimately impacts on the holistic support and development of students. 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 39–42 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.68 the 2014 inaugural safsas conference focused on the theme “enhancing student support, development and success in a transforming higher education: implications for holistic, integrated service”. it provided a forum for key role-players in the sector to discuss latest developments in student support and services, including exploring relevant case studies and sharing research and skills among its members. the conference provided the opportunity for hands-on learning, a fruitful exchange of ideas, the opportunity to network, discuss critical challenges, access new ideas and best practices and forge collaborative engagements leading to forward-looking strategies and solutions. delegates presented papers on key areas on the sas agenda, such as higher education transformation, models structures and strategies in sas, knowledge production and management in sas, student realities and the cross-cultural complexities of our current student populations, and preparing students for life beyond higher education. panel discussions focused on key challenges currently impacting sas, such as: • professionalisation of student affairs and services; • provisioning of student accommodation in higher education; • student governance and leadership; • the south african white paper on post-school education and its implications for sas; and • the experiences and challenges of student funding. the keynote address was delivered by dr roger ludeman, president emeritus of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas).1 ludeman, who is from the united states, delivered a presentation on “professionalising student affairs and services: an international perspective”. he argued that the need to engage with the professionalisation of sas is long overdue for south africa. ludeman examined the history and evolution of student support services in the united states and cited examples of best practices in professionalising student services. he stated: “the difference between being just a civil servant and being a professional is that you don’t accept your lot in life. you try to improve it in the interests of your students and your profession […] using your agreed upon principles, values, theories, skills, you continually act for everything you believe in to try and enhance the learning and development of every student who comes through your university.” prof. crain soudien, deputy vice-chancellor: transformation and student affairs at the university of cape town looked at the “transformation of higher education – realities, challenges and opportunities”, whilst prof. ahmed bawa, vice-chancellor of the durban university of technology examined the “current realities impacting students and student affairs and services in higher education”. in her presentation, prof. nan yeld, director of university teaching and learning development at the south african department of higher education and training, outlined the challenges facing student support staff. yeld’s 1 ludeman’s reflections on the establishment of iasas were published in the journal of student affairs in africa, vol. 2(1). saloschini pillay: report on the establishment of the southern african student affairs federation 41 presentation noted, that while universities recognise their core business as teaching and learning and research, the role of student affairs and services seemed to be overlooked. further she indicated that universities should consider acknowledging the good work done servicing this crucial area by awarding student support professionals. the establishment of the safsas will certainly enhance communication, collaboration and consultation between the various sas-related associations nationally in south africa and in the wider region. whilst safsas will be unified by a common strategic vision and mission, it remains distinguishable from the individual associations, identities and roles. each of the national or regional affiliate associations operates and impacts at different phases and in different spaces of a student’s journey. safsas will serve to enhance the holistic support to students as well as the core business of higher education, i.e. teaching and learning, research and community engagement. the federation is made up of the following associations: • south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) • southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe) • association of college and university housing officers international southern african chapter (acuho-i-sac) • financial aid practitioners of south africa (fapsa) • higher and further education disability services association (hedsa) • national association of student development practitioners (nasdev) • south african association of campus health services (saachs) back row (from left to right): ms laetitia permall, ms yanga futshane, dr ian lange, ms nobuntu rabaza, mr andries slinger, sr antionette goosen, mr gugulethu xaba front row (from left to right): mr mark seale, dr roger ludeman, dr saloschini pillay (safsas president), dr birgit schreiber, dr sibusiso chalufu. 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 39–42 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.68 the inaugural conference allowed sas to strengthen collaboration both within and across institutions. safsas is committed to meaningful engagement and has made great strides in understanding its role in embedding sas in the higher education agenda. the conference deliberations helped shape the strategic objectives and deliverables for the currently elected national executive council (see picture above). the creation of safsas offers the opportunity to harness the strength of a south african national and regional southern african voice in ensuring a student-centred sas and enhancing student engagement. in achieving its mandate safsas will draw on the knowledge and experiences of sas practitioners, academics, university leadership and it is envisaged that it will contribute to the development of a research community on sas. the safsas website can be accessed at: http://safsas.ukzn.ac.za. 56 call for papers vol 3(2) 2015 open call submissions are invited from student affairs practitioners and researchers in student affairs and higher education studies. the journal of student affairs in africa is seeking contributions for its vol. 3 issue 2 (2015). the editorial executive of the jsaa welcomes theoretical, practice-relevant, and professional-reflective contributions from across the scholarly field and professional domains of student affairs and services that are relevant to the african higher education context. details of the scope and focus and editorial policies of the journal can be found under “jsaa about” on the journal’s website www.jsaa.ac.za. particularly welcome are: • case studies of innovative practices and interventions in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. in career development, citizenship development, community engagement and volunteering, counselling, leadership development, residence management, student sport, teaching and learning, student engagement, student governance and politics, as well as all aspects of student life); • conceptual discussions of student student affairs and development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa; • high-level reflective practitioner accounts of empirical, normative or conceptual nature. by this we refer to both critical-reflective accounts of practices as well as personal reflections, which can provide the building blocks for future case studies and grounded theory approaches; • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond; and • syntheses and explorations of authoritative literature, theories, and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. the journal also publishes relevant book reviews and professional and conference reports and notices from scholarly associations and institutions. please email the journal manager, dr thierry luescher-mamashela, with any queries or suggestions for contributions (email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com). to send us a manuscript 57 for consideration, please register as an author and consult the submission guidelines on the journal’s website. manuscripts can be submitted directly to the journal manager via email. the jsaa is a peer-reviewed publication and adheres to the assaf guidelines for best practice in scholarly publishing. the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. the closing date for receiving papers to be considered for vol. 3 issue 2 (2015) is 31 may 2015. please note: there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. 58               the  international  association  of  student  affairs  and  services  was  officially  founded  on  march  1,  2010.   the  purposes  of  iasas  are  to:     -­‐ strengthen  and  diversity  cooperation  among  individuals  and  organizations  in  the  student  affairs   and  services  field  worldwide.   -­‐ promote  the  student  affairs  and  services  profession  at  the  international  level  through  advocacy   with  governmental  and  higher  education  organizations,  networking  and  sharing  information   among  practitioners  and  student  groups,  and  encouraging  high  quality  preparation  and   professional  development  programs.   -­‐ provide  a  platform  for  the  improvement  of  multi  and  intercultural  communication  and   understanding.   -­‐ promote  the  welfare  of  students  in  higher  education  worldwide  through  collaboration  with   international  governmental  and  non-­‐governmental  organisations  and  addressing  such  issues  as   access,  retention,  quality,  student  rights,  and  the  cost  of  higher  education.     iasas  utilizes  technology  for  conducting  most  of  its  activities.  this  includes  such  applications  as  the   iasas  website,  email,  internet  and  video  conferencing,  and  social  networks,  etc.  occasional  face-­‐to-­‐face   meetings  are  held  in  various  locations  around  the  world  and  in  conjunction  with  existing  meetings  of   international,  national,  and  regional  groups  whenever  possible.       iasas  africa  regional  coordinator:     dr  birgit  schreiber  (south  africa),  email:  africaregion@iasasonline.org   iasas  website:  http://www.iasasonline.org         59 latest publications by african minds the goal of the book perspectives on student affairs in south africa is to generate interest in student affairs in south africa. the chapters contained herein are based on best practice, local experience and well-researched international and local theories. the chapters deal with matters pertaining to international and national trends in student affairs: academic development, access and retention, counselling, and material support for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. they are linked to national and international developments, as described in the first two chapters. this publication will assist both young and experienced practitioners as they grow into their task of developing the students entrusted to them. all contributors are south africans with a great deal of experience in student affairs, and all are committed to the advancement of student affairs in south africa. the editors are former heads of student affairs portfolios at two leading south african universities. perspectives on student affairs in south africa is edited by m speckman and m mandew and published in may 2014 by african minds. it is available in print from the publisher’s website www.africanminds.org.za at r150. the full pdf can be downloaded free of charge from the same site. higher education in portuguese speaking african countries provides an authoritative overview of higher education in the five lusophone countries in africa: angola, cape verde, guineabissau, mozambique, and sao tome and principe. it focuses on the background and historical context of higher education, the establishment of public and private institutions, related trends of expansion, diversification and differentiation, the current institutional landscape and programmes, governance, quality assurance, funding and financing, access and equity, and ict. higher education in portuguese speaking african countries is written by patrício vitorino langa and published in 2013 by african minds. it is availble in print from the publisher’s website www.africanminds.org.za at r150. the full pdf can be downloaded free of charge from the same site. 60 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at www.jsaa.ac.za. submissions must be made by email to the journal manager at jsaa_editor@outlook.com. the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. in teaching and learning, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. research-based articles must be original, research-based and make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. length must be approximately 5 000 words including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150-300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution and significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. typical length should be 2 500–5 000 words. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • book reviews should be between 800 and 1 000 words in length. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • comments and critique, of no more than 2 500 words, are also welcome. • proposal for the journal’s dialogue/interview section and calls and notices should be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences, vacancies, etc.) may incur a nominal fee. authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 2. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 3. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 4. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 5. the journal uses the apa author–date referencing system. 6. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind review must have been followed. 7. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/critique should be emailed directly to the journal manager. 8. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 9. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer reviewed); reflective practice (peer reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 61 10. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial team. section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer reviewed); high-quality reflective practitioner accounts (peer reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed dialogue/interview section ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed book reviews ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed the editorial and peer-review policy adheres to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals (assaf council, 2008). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive committee to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant reflective practitioner accounts are blind-reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, who would typically be members of the international editorial advisory board of the jsaa. peer reviewers have proven scholarly and/or professional expertise in the subject matter of a manuscript. reviewer reports are assessed by a member of the editorial executive and form the basis of any decision by the editorial executive on how to proceed with a manuscript. the suitability of a manuscript is evaluated in terms of originality, significance, scholarship, scope and interest, and accessibility. publishing and dissemination policies cost of publishing there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. licencing notice authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a creative commons attribution license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal. authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. open access policy this journal provides open access to its e-journal content. free copies can be downloaded from the journal website at http://www.jsaa.ac.za. authors are encouraged to place copies of their final articles in their institution’s research repository. print copies/subscription online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at www.jsaa.ac.za. printed copies of current and past issues of the journal can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective.com/; amazon books http://www.amazon.com; kalahari.com http://www.kalahari.com. print copies can also be ordered directly from the publisher’s website http://www.africanminds.org.za and at info@africanminds.org.za editorial tinto in south africa: student integration, persistence and success, and the role of student affairs birgit schreiber, thierry luescher-mamashela and teboho moja reflective practice vincent tinto’s lectures: catalysing a focus on student success in south africa diane grayson tinto’s south africa lectures vincent tinto selected publicatons of vincent tinto reflections on tinto’s south africa lectures laura w. perna campus dialogue report on the establishment of the southern african student affairs federation saloschini pillay book reviews speckman, m. & mandew, m. (eds.) (2014). perspectives on student affairs in south africa. reviewed by munyaradzi madambi pascarella, t. and terenzin, p. (2005). how college affects students, a third decade of research. (2nd ed.). reviewed by randall s. lange the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) is an independent, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary, open-access academic journal that publishes scholarly research and reflective discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in africa. african minds www.africanminds.org.za issn 2307-6267 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic ransford edward van gyampo* research article * senior lecturer, department of political science, university of ghana. email: vangyampo@yahoo.com abstract student activism has been pivotal in ghana’s political and democratic history. prior to ghana’s fourth republic, student activism was highly confrontational and entailed student support or opposition to the various regimes depending on the extent to which the regimes were accepted by all as being rightful or legitimate. after 23 years of uninterrupted constitutional democracy, ghana has earned the accolade of being a successful electoral democracy. however, in terms of democratic progression, the mere conduct of periodic elections that sometimes lead to alternation of power is described as elementary and a low quality democracy. given that ghana’s democratisation process since 1992 has not been static, some remarkable strides have been made in improving the nation’s democratic quality. using a purely qualitative research design and interviews with some former student activists, this study argues that the modest strides made in the quest for high quality liberal democracy in ghana cannot be meaningfully discussed without acknowledging the invaluable contributions of student activism. the study further suggests a relationship between democratic quality and student activism. it postulates that the shift from the usually oppositional and sometimes violent student activism in ghana’s fourth republic could partially be attributed to the country’s strides made in the drive towards democratic maturity. for students to continue their role as vanguards of democracy in ghana, the study recommends an amalgamation of all tertiary networks and other student splinter groups under the national union of ghana students; and a shift in the modus operandi of the union from confrontation to the use of dialogue and other peaceful democratic means to achieve its objectives. this could contribute to the restoration of the union’s former glory as a united, national and independent mouth-piece of students in all national issues. keywords students, activism, protests, demonstration, democratic quality. 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 introduction and problem statement students in ghana, particularly those at the tertiary level, have played a critical role in ghana’s democratisation process. from ghana’s struggle for independence to the nation’s current fourth republic’s democratic dispensation, student activism has served as the fulcrum around which political action has revolved. this explains why, after the inception of the nation’s fourth republic, the main political parties in ghana established student wings on the campuses of the various tertiary institutions. for instance, the national democratic congress (ndc) has established the tertiary institution network (tein) while the new patriotic party has established the tertiary education and students’ confederacy (tescon). the convention peoples’ party has also established the tertiary students’ charter (teschart). these student wings are expected to offer support and “win more souls” for the parties on the various campuses. the relevance of student activism is also seen in the run up to elections in ghana. since 1992, all political parties and political aspirants have thronged to the campuses of the various tertiary institutions to explain their programmes, ideologies, philosophies and manifestoes to students and to whip up their support during national elections (asante, 2012, p. 222). the question that ought to be posed however is whether the relevance of student activism must only be confined to its role of getting leaders elected and removing them from power. indeed, the work of scholars like oquaye (1980), nugent (1996), ninsin (1996), chazan (1983), shillington (1992), tetteh (1999), awoonor (1990), kimble (1963), austin (1964), lentz (1995), gyimah-boadi (1993), and even recently, nunyonameh (2012) depicts and unfortunately confines the role of student activism in democratisation to the arena of offering support through demonstrations, petitions and elections to regimes and agitating for their removal using the same channels when leaders of the regimes had either violated or failed to protect the fiduciary trust reposed in them. in terms of democratic quality, this role of student activism can only produce low quality democracy (diamond & morlino, 2005, p. 49). however, this paper posits that student activism has contributed immensely towards ghana’s journey to attaining a high quality democratic status. how has this happened in ghana’s fourth republic? this is the area that seems not to have been fully and extensively researched. using a purely qualitative and historical approach, this paper attempts to fill the lacuna in the literature. some key sources of data for the study include books, journal articles and newspaper publications about the subject matter. efforts were made to interview some past and present student activists and leaders to validate the information captured in the literature and other historical records. in the subsequent sections of the paper, terminologies used are clarified. this is followed by a discussion of the theoretical underpinning of student activism; the evolution of student activism; the contribution of student activism to ghana’s journey towards the attainment of high quality liberal democracy; concluding remarks; and policy recommendations. at this juncture, some concepts ought to be clarified. first, ‘fourth republic’ simply refers to ghana’s fourth attempt at constitutional democracy that started in 1992 and is still ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 51 taking place today. ghana’s first republic lasted from 1960 to1966; the second republic lasted from 1969 to 1972; and the third republic spanned the period between 1979 and 1981. the second term that requires clarification is ‘student activism’. according to altbach (1992, p.1444) “student activism is inherent in the nature of the academic community” and “will continue to be a powerful force”, both on campus and in society. the term refers to all activities either in support of or in opposition to regimes and their leaders pursued by students of tertiary institutions. such activities may be formal or informal; may occur both at the national level (oriented towards society) and local level (orientated towards academia, particularly in opposition to university management) (luescher, 2005; altbach, 1966). finally, ‘high quality democracy’ is the fusion of procedural (rule of law, participation, competition and accountability) and substantive (freedom, equality and responsiveness) democracy in a manner that ensures that the two interact and reinforce one another (diamond & morlino, 2005). high quality democracies are distinguished from low quality ones by the fact that the latter are merely electoral democracies, that conduct relatively free and fair elections without viable and credible opposition, and the institutionalisation of the basic tenets of democracy. such democracies according to diamond (1997, p. 18), provide a “sufficiently fair arena of contestation to allow the ruling party to be turned out of office”. however, they are hollow and a wide gap exists between them and their high quality counterparts (diamond, 1997). the indicators of high quality democracy as can be deduced include: human rights protection; equality before the law; rule of law; accountability; responsiveness; competition; and participation. student activism in theoretical perspective an interesting question that has dominated the literature on student activism is the following: “what is it that makes students engage in political activity?” related to this question is another question: “what accounts for students’ radical, violent behavior?” rubinson and meyer (1972, p. 21) have concluded that student activism, even that of a violent nature, is determined by the extent to which the status of students is institutionalised within the national political and social systems. they argued that students as a social group achieve their political relevance by the extent to which “the authority of the educational system itself is institutionalised and regulated at the national level […] so that educational institutions are not simply a market mechanism producing personnel for a variety of needs, but come to control as institutionalised status order whose rules help to symbolically define the personnel of the political society” (rubinson & meyer, 1972, p. 24). this status definition, they argue, provides students with both the moral and normative grounds to engage in political activism. as they explained, “because in most countries, the nation-building process and its difficulties led to a formulation of the student status as socially and politically central, students generally are more politically active than other groups” (rubinson & meyer, 1972). consequently, “the variations across countries in the amount and nature of student activism result from differences in the incorporation of the status of the student”. 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 it is thus impossible to consider student activism without reference to the educational system within which students develop that affects their self-conception and understanding of their role within the polity (agyeman, 1988). historically in ghana, education was not only seen as key to improving one’s mobility prospects; it was also seen as an indispensable tool for achieving parity with the former european colonial elite and represented a symbol of pride in the ghanaian society (finlay, 1971). it was fairly common, until recently, to find whole communities pool their resources together in order to send “one of their own” to school (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 5). brammer’s (1967, p. 254) observation of student status in other developing countries is an apposite description of the ghanaian situation. “the student has a high social status and is generally revered by his elders because of the power of his knowledge and skill. he is often viewed as a champion of the people against the forces of exploitation and tyranny (p. 258). it is these implied responsibilities that naturally predispose students to political activity, as failure to ‘deliver’ on them is disapproved by society (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 6). altbach (1969; 1991; 1997; 2006) adds a socio-political dimension to the explanation of student activism and political behavior. according to him, the inherent characteristic features of educational systems, the transient nature of studentship, the macro-political level, the stage of political development, and responsiveness of the political system to political demands matter in shaping and influencing student activism. he further explains that students in developing countries earn a greater legitimacy for their political actions because in many such countries, the political system tends to be poorly institutionalised, and the public sphere characterised by poorly established civil society. because such societies also have high levels of illiteracy, students are among the few groups in the society with both the knowledge and freedom to undertake political activity. consequently, the rest of the society tends to see students as the ‘conscience of the nation’. this explanation implies that any qualitative improvement in the degree of institutionalisation of the political system in these countries is certain to diminish the prominence of students in the political sphere. while this assertion may be valid in ghana, it must be subjected to further analysis in order to establish other variables that are likely to undermine student activism. according to luescher-mamashela (2013), altbach’s framework involves a complex multi-level system of categorical classification as well as specific propositions regarding the emergence, outcomes and impact of student activism, response to student activism, and the characteristic features of student activists, organisations and movements. evolution of student activism in ghana the years of passive activism in tracing the evolution of student activism in ghanaian politics, one cannot ignore developments in the then university college of gold coast (ucgc) in legon, now university of ghana, legon, which was established in 1948. this is not just because it ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 53 is closer to the seat of government, but also because it is the oldest university in ghana (chazan, 1978, p. 8). according to finlay, kopplin and ballard (1968), before the 1960s there was no tradition of student activism in student life at the ucgc. students were somewhat aloof from national politics (ibid.) this situation was not limited to ucgc. indeed, according to nunyonameh (2012, p. 6), there is little or no record of student activism prior to the 1960s in the kumasi college of technology (kct), now kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, which was established four years after the ucgc. several explanations are proffered in discussing the initial years of inertia and lack of student activism and disinterest in national politics. first, the elitist educational system around the time tended to decrease the salience of student activism and national political activity for the individual student. according to emerson (1968, p. 42), the educational system guaranteed the occupational aspirations of students and insulated them physically and intellectually from national politics and student activism. the high demand for skilled labour during the post-independence period and the high social status attached to university education made the acquisition of university degree a major priority for students (agyemang, 1988, p. 69). as aptly noted by peil (1969), students sought to rather maximise the disadvantages in their struggle for a university degree than confront the government, which incidentally was the main employer. secondly, the repressive political environment under the post-colonial nkrumah regime, which made student activism a dangerous activity, could partly explain the years of inertia in student activism. ghana’s first head of state, kwame nkrumah, turned ghana into a police state and under his notorious preventive detention act (1958), he could detain suspected political enemies for up to five years without trial. as goody (1968, p. 339) observed, “there was simply no community of dissent, as` the network of paid informers, the preventive arrests, above all the desire for a peaceful life, meant that open discussion of disapproval took place only between foreigners or between very close friends, if at all”. the right to criticise and freedom of young people and students to rebel were effectively silenced by the authoritarian regime of nkrumah (goody, p. 345). thirdly, the traditional value of respect and deference to authority also accounted for the weak student activism around the period under review (ofosu-appiah, 1967). youth and student obedience and deference to authority were certainly much more relevant before and around the 1960s than is currently the case. according to chazan (1978, p. 10), generally, obedience to political leaders among ghanaian youth around the time was extremely high. this contributed to the weak student activism at the time. finally, the lack of political experience and the consequent lack of clarity of political opinion or position on critical political issues in ghana worked against student activism (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 4). for most students at that time, there were only two national issues: colonialism and the cpp government. while they would have decisively rejected colonialism, and while they were very dissatisfied with the nkrumah regime, lack of clarity about the future meant that students would be more reactive than proactive to wider political developments (nunyonameh, p. 8). 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 the early years of activism the period after 1960 marked the early years of student activism in national politics and the characteristic feature of the relationship between students and governments around the time was confrontation. student confrontation with government arose principally between the university students in legon and the government out of competing demands of nationalism and academic freedom (emerson, 1968). the government clashed with students over the proper definition of the latter’s role in national development. the university which was largely controlled by expatriates was unwilling to submit to partisan control because its authorities viewed it as independent of national partisan control and politics. on the contrary, the cpp government saw the university as a part of the broad nationalist machinery available for the fight against vestiges of colonialism and for national development (ofosu-appiah, 1967). the government interpreted the university’s unpreparedness to submit to state control to mean that the university was committed to serving colonialist and imperialist rather than ghanaians interests. consequently, it undertook several measures including less constructive media criticisms, with the view to building popular discontent against the university (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 9). further, a number of steps that invariably infuriated both students and university administrators were undertaken, including an attempt to control the university and limit academic freedom through the passage of the universities act (1961) that made the head of state chancellor of the universities. this helped the government to exercise some control over the universities. even though this act incensed the students, they did not revolt until an attempt was made by the government through the 1964 amendment act to bring the judicial arm of government under the control of the cpp-led government (austin, 1964). students of the university of ghana issued a statement condemning the move by the president to interfere in the judiciary (austin, 1964). again, the government’s decision to purge the universities of ‘subversive elements’, which led to the deportation of six expatriate faculty members of the university of ghana, drew massive student protests (austin, 1964). by asserting themselves and criticising the cpp regime at a time when it was considered dangerous to stand in the way of the president, student activism gained some credibility and students generally succeeded in establishing themselves as a force in ghanaian politics (shillington, 1992, p. 45). realising the implications of the fledgling student activism on the legitimacy of the regime, the cpp-government sought to cripple them. indeed, shortly after the 1964 one-party state referendum which the cpp won, five legon student leaders and a faculty member perceived to have been backing student activism were arrested and detained (shillington, 1992). while student activism was emerging as a major political force, the nkrumah regime was overthrown in 1966 by the national liberation council (nlc). given the harsh treatment meted out to them by the cpp regime, students of the universities hailed the coup and were quite supportive of the military regime (chazan, 1978). even when the nlc issued a decree against rumour mongering, the students were initially hesitant to criticise the regime. it took several weeks before the national union of ghana students (nugs) in legon drew the regime’s attention to the threat posed by the decree to the right to free ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 55 speech (chazan, 1978). many students did not see the urgency in returning to civilian rule. they believed that the military regime needed time to master political administration in order to be more effective in solving pressing national problems. therefore, the military nature of the regime did not appear to be a problem for students. once it was not perceived to be oppressive, students did not appear overly worried (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 11). what mattered most in the view of emerson (1968, p. 97) was that the military coup of 1966, at the very least, marked a total symbolic break with the period of inertia in student activism and the idea of student participation in shaping national decision-making was ingrained in the psyche of many students from the tertiary institutions. student activism in the busia regime: 1969–1972 it must be noted that the fact that students were not very critical of the nlc regime, did not mean all was well with ghana. before busia was elected prime minister, the country was plagued with a serious economic crisis including shortage of foreign currency, huge domestic and foreign debt, runaway inflation and high rate of unemployment. the political transition from the nlc regime to the busia-led progress party (pp) was hailed by students as a solution to the economic crisis (goldsworthy, 1973). unfortunately, the economic hardships continued under busia. prices of basic goods kept soaring while the government imposed fees for medical treatment; reintroduced the payment of school fees (which had been abolished by the nkrumah regime); and replaced the government bursary to students with a student loan scheme – a move that was sharply criticised by the students (goldsworthy, 1973, p. 15). there were widespread student protests under busia in a manner that compelled him to openly acknowledge in his 1969 first national students’ day address that indeed, there was much for students to revolt about (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 16). despite this open confession, the government resorted to desperate authoritarian measures in dealing with student activism. following a cabinet reshuffle in 1971, busia took personal charge over the ministry of information and strived to guard against negative media commentaries in a manner that undermined freedom of expression. indeed, later that year, a law to permit the government to arrest anybody who insulted busia was being seriously considered (nunyonameh., p.18). sensing a similarity between the political environment under the busia and that of nkrumah, the nugs issued a communiqué in 1971 demanding freedom of speech and of the press and immediate action to deal with the worsening economic crisis of the country. in response, the government resorted to verbal attacks, accused students of treason and also referred to them as “the little minds at the universities” (goldsworthy, 1973, p. 20). these attacks accentuated students’ anger against the government and as the economic situation worsened and attempts to silence the students heightened, student protest became more vociferous and attracted the support of ghana’s trades union congress (tuc) (goldsworthy). the two groups teamed up to against the government and formed a much dreaded alliance when in september 1971, the government further sought to dissolve the tuc by introducing the industrial relations amendment act (ninsin, 1985a). it was their protests that ultimately laid the foundation for the military takeover by acheampong in january 1972 (ninsin, 1985a). 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 student activism under the acheampong regime the acheampong-led national redemption council (nrc), which later became the supreme military council (smc), attempted to shore up its legitimacy by resorting to several public relations gimmicks. according to chazan and le vine (1979), the regime fully appreciated the influential role of students and sought to win their support by abolishing the student loan scheme and replacing it with government bursaries; increasing the salaries of workers; and revaluing the nation’s currency. the regime introduced some initiatives which were supported by students. these include the national food self-sufficiency programme called ‘operation feed your self ’ (ofys) which enjoined all ghanaians to venture into agriculture, particularly food production; the repudiation of all foreign debts popularly called the ‘yentua policy’; and the construction of irrigation projects. students responded positively to the food-sufficiency initiative by abandoning their studies to assist in the harvesting and transportation of sugarcane from komenda in the central region, for further processing. they also assisted in the construction of several irrigation projects in dawhenya, afife, tano, etc. and applauded the ‘yentua policy’ (oquaye, 1980). as a sign of patriotism, the students recommended the establishment of a national service scheme that would mandate graduates from tertiary institutions who had benefitted from free education to render one one year voluntary service to the nation. this suggestion was accepted and it led to the passage of the national service decree (208) in 1978 (shillington, 1992). however, the ‘yentua policy’ had alienated the regime from the donor community and as ofys could not be sustained, this among others, led to mounting economic hardships with no assistance from the country’s debtors. consequently calls for a return to civilian rule were made and the pressure was led by the students (hitchens, 1979, p. 171). the government responded to the calls in october 1976 by proposing a ‘union government’ a concept that provides space for traditional authorities, military and police to co-rule the country almost permanently (oquaye, 1980). as chazan and le vine (1979, p. 178) noted, “the government had made it abundantly clear that a return to civilian rule did not mean government without military participation”. but the students viewed this proposal as an attempt by the soldiers to perpetuate themselves in power and therefore resorted to massive protests and violent demonstrations (owusu, 1979). nevertheless, the regime went ahead to subject the ‘unigov’ idea to a referendum in march 1978 and claimed to have won the outcome. the referendum was marred by violent and extra-legal as well as confrontational forms of opposition, led by the students. this resulted in several clashes between students and the police in a manner that forced the closure of the universities for several days (chazan & levine, 1979, p.188). it was this state of ‘praetorianism’ coupled with the serious economic hardships and corruption that led to a palace coup by general f.w.k. akuffo to kick out acheampong and to establish the supreme military council (ii) (shillington, 1992). perceiving political parties as ethnic and divisive entities, the akuffo regime also proposed a ‘national government’ under which it would rule for a transitional period of at least four years. but the students became suspicious of this intention and uncompromisingly opposed it ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 57 (ninsin, 1985a). perhaps terrified by the sustained student agitation, the regime abandoned the ‘national government’ proposal in favour of multiparty politics (ninsin, 1985a). it announced a timetable to return the country to civilian rule in july 1979. however, as preparations towards the 1979 elections slated for june were underway, flt-lt j.j. rawlings led a group of junior army officers to topple the akuffo regime in june 4, 1979 and established the armed forces revolutionary council (afrc) (ninsin, 1985a). students’ first encounter with jerry rawlings the afrc engaged in a ‘house-cleaning exercise’ aimed at purging the nation of corruption and announced a return to civilian rule in september 1979. the support offered the afrc by students through the issuance of statements and demonstrations was unflinching and unprecedented (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 18). the regime sought to garner student ownership of its activities by appointing a representative on student affairs who collated student input into its programmes. students supported the regime’s bloody housecleaning exercise by chanting in support of the execution, public flogging and ridiculing of those tagged by the regime as corrupt economic saboteurs (shillington, 1992, p. 51). they also abandoned their studies and went to the hinterlands to help transport locked-up cocoa and foodstuffs to the city centres (shillington, 1992). the initial support of the regime notwithstanding, its brutalities and egregious human rights abuses began to cause some public disaffection. the ghana bar association (gba) and tuc openly criticised the regime for its ruthlessness. however, students described these criticisms as unwarranted and embarked on street protests to demonstrate their continuing support for the regime (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 19). to the students, the afrc was the solution to the problem of political power and social justice. they were bitter against the acheampong-led smc because of the violence the regime unleashed against them and hence were prepared to defend the afrc that ousted the smc to the hilt. this also explains why they supported jerry rawlings again, when on december 31, 1981, he overthrew the civilian government he had handed over power to in 1979 and established the provisional national defence council (pndc) (shillington, 1992). students’ second encounter with jerry rawlings the support accorded the pndc during the students’ second encounter with jerry rawlings was momentary. the students, typically, demonstrated what is much known about them when they felt the fiduciary trust bestowed on the pndc was betrayed. even though the regime was provisional and was expected to return the country to a multiparty democracy, it lacked the political will to do so. hence by 1983, students had joined other civil society groups to agitate for the handing over of power to a more democratic government (shillington, 1992). the previous regime that rawlings overthrew, led by dr limann, passed the national service act 426 (1980) that increased the number of years for students to do national service from one to two years, six months of which was to be spent on military training. however, students objected to this law which was about 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 to be implemented by the pndc regime in the period around the end of 1983. again, the 1983 budget contained austerity measures prescribed by the world bank including cost-sharing in education at both secondary and tertiary level. in response to this, students under the aegis of the nugs embarked on a nationwide demonstration, boycotted lectures and resorted to other acts of violence because, according to haruna iddrissu, a former nugs president (personal interview, may 7, 2013) they felt education was a ‘right’ and not a ‘privilege’. the regime sought to undermine and weaken the student front by resorting to threats and intimidation including the disruption of the annual congress of the nugs in may 1983 that resulted in the destruction of property and injuries to both students and cadres of the regime. this led to the arrest of some of the student leaders, including kweku paintsil, the then nugs president. according to gyimah-boadi (1993), the pndc, realising the threats posed to its security by students, did not hesitate to repress them. unfortunately, the students could not secure the support of the public as they were subjected to harsh brutalities, ostensibly as a way of letting them taste the poison they assisted the regime in preparing through their open support for the afrc/pndc even when the rights of other ghanaians were being violated (nunyonameh, 2012, p. 9). student activism and ghana’s transition to the fourth republic after holding on to the reins of power in its ‘provisional status’ for a period of 11 years, the pndc regime eventually had to succumb to pressures to return ghana to constitutional rule. these pressures were both internal, from students and other civil society groups, as well as external, through the application of political conditionalities for loans from the world bank (shillington, 1992). in calling for a return to constitutional democracy, the students argued that a democratically elected government would accommodate all shades of opinions and would not implement unpopular policies like the austerity measures introduced under the aegis of the structural adjustment programme (sap). according to ninsin (1996b), the pndc was adamant about retaining its ‘indispensable’ hold over power and did not feel enthused to negotiate the transitional process with students and other civil society groups that had called for a return to constitutional rule. however, the groundswell of pressure for a return to multiparty democracy compelled the regime to put in place preparatory measures to usher the country into a constitutional dispensation (ninsin, 1996b). the preparatory processes were less consultative and in september 1990, students held a press conference to call on the regime to desist from controlling the process and open the political space for all groups to operate. according to k. paintsil (personal communication, may 6, 2013) the students among others called for the repeal of all oppressive laws and decrees, and the unconditional release of political prisoners. however, these demands were ignored by the regime and in protest, the students also boycotted the activities of the consultative assembly that was tasked to draft the 1992 constitution because its composition too, was packed with supporters of the regime (gyimah-boadi, 1993). as the draft constitution became ready for a referendum, the students issued a statement to condemn the pndc for the less inclusive manner in which document was drafted. ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 59 they also criticised the consultative assembly for allowing the regime to smuggle such “transitional provisions as would allow the pndc and her cohort of appointees to go unquestioned about their performance” (ninsin, 1996b, p. 141). again, these criticisms were ignored by the regime as it went ahead to subject the draft constitution to a referendum in april 1992 and secured approval for it; lifted the ban on political parties in may 1992; mutated into the ndc under the leadership of jerry rawlings; contested and won the november/december 1992 general election in which rawlings was described as ‘the referee, footballer and linesman’ (ibid.). rawlings ruled for eight years and handed over power to j.a. kufuor of the npp after the ndc had been defeated in the 2000 general elections. kufuor also ruled for eight years and handed over power j.e.a. mills after the npp had lost the 2008 general elections. j.e.a. mills ruled for three years, seven months and departed to eternity. however, his party, the ndc under the flag-bearership of john mahama, won the 2012 general elections. student contribution to democratic quality in the fourth republic since the inception of the fourth republic in 1992, the militant posturing of students seems to have subsided and the nugs is not much heard commenting on national issues and criticising governments. indeed, some former nugs presidents like s.o. ablakwah (personal interview, july 3, 2013) have even described the ghanaian student movement as being in a state of coma. however, one thing that is being lost by those who are used to the militant posturing of students is that the fourth republic is the only period of democratic governance in the political history of ghana that has been allowed to thrive for more than 20 years. students, particularly during the smc and pndc rule, agitated for a constitutional democracy where there would be no dictatorships, and where freedoms and human rights and vibrant activism of other civil society would be institutionalised. the fourth republican dispensation seems to have guaranteed these democratic ideals, albeit at a low level. again, knowing the role they played in making regimes unpopular, politicians under the fourth republic seem to have been proactive in infiltrating the camp of students, particularly the nugs. whoever emerges the nugs president is of utmost concern to political leaders. hence they have tried their best to corrupt and influence the election of student leaders to ensure that such leaders do not become overly critical of government. such leaders have also encouraged the emergence of splinter groups and massive secessions from the nugs (gyampo, 2012b). these have contributed to weakening the leverage of the nugs as the mouthpiece of students and dented its legitimacy (gyampo, 2012b). notwithstanding attempts to influence and break their front by politicians and their generally less confrontational posturing in the fourth republic, students activism has somehow contributed towards deepening the quality of democracy in ghana. student activism since 1992 has mainly manifested on the various university campuses through the political party/tertiary student network. according to asante (2012, p. 12), tertiary student networks evolved as a movement in tertiary institutions following the ushering of the country into constitutional democracy in 1992. on the campuses of the traditional tertiary institutions 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 like the university of ghana (ug), university of cape coast (ucc) and the kwame nkrumah university of science and technology (knust), students were encouraged by the various political parties to organise themselves along political and ideological lines. students who believed in the traditions of the npp formed a movement of the party on the campuses. those who shared the ideals of jerry rawlings also formed a branch of the ndc on the campuses while the adherents of nkrumahism launched branches of the cpp (asante, 2012, p. 13). these branches of the ndc, npp and cpp were later renamed tertiary institution network (tein), tertiary education and students confederacy (tescon) and tertiary students’ charter (teschart) respectively. the idea was later extended to polytechnics, training colleges, the university of professional studies, and more recently, private tertiary institutions throughout the country (ibid.). according to a.m. ayuba, president of tein (personal interview, may 7, 2013), the functions of these tertiary networks are to defend and support their political parties during elections; win more members and supporters for their parties on the various campuses; and educate students about the ideologies, manifestoes and policies of the political parties. in the discharge of their functions, these networks have created a positive image of student activism by contributing to the shoring up of democratic quality in ghana in the areas of human rights promotion and protection, political equality, accountability, responsiveness and participation. these are discussed below. human rights in the area of human rights and freedoms, it is instructive that, since 2002, ghana has been consistently rated high as a free country by freedom house. indeed, in their assessment of the quality of democracy in ghana and south africa, mattes and gyimah-boadi (2005, p. 261) scored ghana 2 for both political and civil liberties on a scale of 1:7 in 1996, and rated the country free in terms of press freedom. yet, there are many challenges regarding human rights protection in ghana. there appears to be growing intolerance and indiscipline, mob lynching of suspected armed robbers and the prevalence of vigilante justice, particularly in the urban and peri-urban centres of ghana (asante, 2012, p. 20). in this atmosphere, tertiary networks have been canvassing for tolerance of opposing views and the need to respect the rights of all. indeed in 2011, both the university of ghana branch of tein and tescon issued statements to condemn the inhuman treatment meted out to a female suspect alleged to have stolen mobile phones belonging to some students of akuafo hall of the university of ghana (asante, 2012). there are even more serious deficits in socio-economic rights. the directive principles of state policy of ghana’s 1992 constitution that assures all ghanaians of their right to employment for example, is not justiciable and governments cannot be prosecuted for joblessness. hence unemployment rates keep rising and efforts to deal with the situation by governments can be described as drops in the ocean. according to the 2012 report of the institute of statistical, social and economic research (isser) of the university of ghana, 250 000 people enter the labour market annually, of which the public sector is able to absorb only 2%. isser further estimated that youth unemployment (in relation ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 61 to the active and legal employable population of 18–60 years) has risen from 14.8% in 1992 to 16.4% in 2000 and came close to 36% in 2012. this partly explains the formation of the unemployed graduates association in 2011 by students who had completed their education at the tertiary level. tertiary networks across the country have viewed the unemployment problem as a major human rights issue and made several calls on government to treat the issue as a national priority. apart from the security reasons cited by the then national security coordinator, sam amoo as the main reason for the introduction of the national youth employment programme (nyep) in 2006, there is evidence to show that some of the calls and advocacy by student activists operating through the tertiary networks across the country also influenced the setting up of the nyep (gyampo, 2012b, p. 19). even though the nyep is described as an ad hoc and ‘quick fix’ solution with several challenges, it has assisted in lessening the burden of unemployment in ghana by providing employment to over 100 000 young people by the close of 2012 (gyampo, 2012b). equality ghana’s 1992 constitution guarantees political equality. however what pertains in practice is different. the 2002 afrobarometer survey conducted by the ghana center for democratic development (cdd-ghana) revealed the heightened perception of inequality under the law. according to the survey, 28% of respondents complained about political inequality. beyond political inequality, there is widespread gender as well as socio-economic inequality in the country with women participation in decision-making being relegated to the background; and income inequality among many ghanaians (asante, 2012, p. 22). student activists operating through tertiary networks of political parties have played a crucial role as important advocates for political, socio-economic and gender equality. they have however been ‘loud’ in the area of political equality. they have constantly advocated for their inclusion in the selection of party officials and candidates including flag bearers of national election. as a result of this advocacy, the ndc for instance has a representative of the youth and student activists at all levels of the party, from the branch to the national level. according to l. hlordze, national youth organiser of the ndc (personal communication, may 7, 2013), these young representatives now have voting rights in the selection of party executives and flag bearers. tescon and teschart have also gained greater voting rights and recognition in party administration, decision-making and selection of party officials at congresses (asante, 2012, p. 24). in addition, these student activists are now allowed to contest for elective positions in their respective parties. indeed, according to e.a. kissi, an electoral officer at the electoral commission of ghana (personal communication, may 3, 2013), this explains why the number of student activists who contested for parliamentary primaries increased from 48% in 2008 to 66% in 2012. accountability student activism has also contributed to promoting both vertical and horizontal accountability. in terms of vertical accountability, students are part of the majority of 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 the voting population who have either rewarded incumbent leaders or punished them by voting them out of power (diamond & morlino, 2005). it is instructive that the dynamics of vertical accountability go beyond the interplay between voters and their elected representatives. it also encompasses the efforts of civil society, mass media and social movements to hold governments accountable in inter-election periods (diamond and morlino, 2005). in ghana however, the media’s ability to promote accountability is limited by huge gaps in levels of professionalism and integrity (asante, 2012, p. 17). again, many civil society groups have failed to demonstrate high levels of internal accountability while others have weak capacity. as key political actors, students at the tertiary institutions vote massively during elections and passionately demand accountability from government and party officials. on various platforms, they express concern about how leaders handle national issues including cost of living, energy crisis and general state of the economy. on march 10, 2012, for instance, the university of ghana branch of tescon issued a statement calling on government to find an immediate and lasting solution to the nation’s power crisis. this subsequently compelled the government to announce measures being put in place and the dates on which the crisis would end. in terms of horizontal accountability, tertiary networks have been supportive of both legal and voluntary agencies committed to promoting accountability. they have collaborated with groups committed to observing and monitoring elections in ghana like the coalition of domestic observers (codeo), the institute of economic affairs (iea-ghana), cdd-ghana and the christian council of ghana. again, at the national level, they have advocated for accountability, fairness and transparency in electoral management. indeed, both tein and tescon have been actively involved in the monitoring of elections (asante, 2012, p. 18). student activists on the various campuses, particularly tein and tescon members, serve as polling agents and registration officers in the rural hinterlands and in the strongholds of other parties. for example, in the 2000 elections, some members of tescon demonstrated bravery and risked their lives for the npp when they served as polling agents in the volta region, an ndc stronghold and a ‘no go area’ for the npp. according to a.m. ayuba and b.k.a. asena, presidents of tein and tescon respectively (personal interviews, may 7, 2013), tein members were also deployed to the ashanti region (which is also the “world bank of the npp”) as polling agents for the ndc in the 2008 general elections. some of the students were assaulted by their political opponents because of their vigilance in preventing rigging and other electoral irregularities (asante, 2012, p. 21). furthermore, tertiary networks have constantly opposed undemocratic ways of running political parties and have called for genuine accountability in the running of political parties including the nomination and selection of candidates for elections to all positions and party financial statements (asante, 2012, p. 22). responsiveness the degree to which governments put in place policies to deal with the priorities and needs of the ordinary people show how responsive they are (diamond & morlino, 2005). in ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 63 the cdd-ghana 2002 afrobarometer survey, the majority of ghanaians (51%) emphasised the need for governments to deal with unemployment as their top priority. however, the survey showed that only 22% believed governments are responsive to the needs of the people. this implies that there is a general deficit in terms of governmental responsiveness in ghana. however, student activists operating through tertiary networks across the country have contributed to making governments somewhat responsive through their calls and insistence on more public involvement in the formulation and implementation of policies. in formulating ghana’s mid-term development plan – the ghana shared growth and development agenda, 2010–2013 in 2009 – tertiary networks on the various campuses called for broader consultations and participation in the planning processes to ensure that the development plan reflects the needs of the people (gyampo, 2012c, p. 138). in 2006, the accra polytechnic branch of tein held a seminar on ‘the impact of democracy on nation building’. similarly, the university of ghana branch of teschart organised a forum on march 6, 2007 on the topic ‘fifty years of economic opportunities, the lessons and the drawbacks, what are the alternative policies and programmes needed for ghana?’ the university of ghana branch of tein also organised a forum in 2007 on ‘the role of undergraduate students in ghana’s democracy’. in 2008, the university of professional studies branch of tescon also organised a series of symposia on the national youth employment programme. moreover in 2007, all the tertiary networks in the country joined forces to demand the abolition of a new residential policy that gave accommodation only to first year students. all these moves were aimed at making leaders responsive to the priorities and needs of the ordinary people (asante, 2012, p. 18). participation participation, a key attribute of high democratic quality, can be explained in terms of the deliberate involvement of people in a decision-making process in a manner that makes them capable of influencing and owning the process (gyampo, 2012c; verba, schlozman & brady, 1995). in ghana, participation generally tends to be pseudo, as genuine participation in political party activities is weak and confined narrowly to only voting (gyampo, 2012c). by virtue of their level of education, tertiary networks possess the skills needed to effect genuine participation. in this regard, it is instructive that student activists operating through the tertiary networks tend to work with other civil society groups to peacefully protest against policies believed not to be in the interest of the ordinary people. indeed, between 2005 and 2007, members of tein and teschart were instrumental in the series of peaceful protests organised by the committee for joint action (cja), a pressure group, against some government policies such as increases in utilities, petroleum prices and the representation of peoples amendment bill (asante, 2012, p. 23). students of the various campuses have also been utilising their research skills, talents and knowledge to foster innovative research to support the activities of their parties. most of the research work for the election petition filed by the npp to challenge the declaration of john mahama as the elected president in ghana’s 2012 general elections was done by tescon members 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 49–66 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.24 drawn from the various tertiary institutions across the country. generally, tein and tescon have vibrant research committees which plan and undertake regular research activities for their parties, particularly during elections. this form of student participation and activism helps the parties to develop appropriate campaign strategies and to predict the outcome of elections with some degree of certainty (asante, 2012, p. 26). conclusion and recommendation clearly, the nature of student activism in ghana has been as a result of the normative and moral grounds to engage in political activity as well as the status conferred on them by the educational system in line with the views of rubinson and meyer (1972). again, that student activism generally appears to have subsided is partially due to the relative growth in ghana’s democracy and the fact that other independent civil society groups have emerged in ghana to dilute the hitherto role of students as “the conscience of the nation” as argued by altbach (1969; 1991; 1997; 2006). the point must however be made that even though student activism in the nation’s fourth republic has almost been doused, it has made a contribution to ghana’s journey towards high quality liberal democratic status. given that ghanaians seem to have fully accepted democracy as the preferred form of government and democratic relapse seems impossible, it can be argued that the nation is not likely to witness the confrontational student activism that existed before 1992. nevertheless other challenges that undermine student activism must be dealt with. in this regard, political leaders who are committed to increasing the quality of ghana’s democracy must assist in resuscitating the nugs from its current state of coma by refraining from intruding and interfering in the activities of nugs. of course the leadership of the nugs must also reassert itself and strive to exist independent of the control of politicians as they used to be in time past. this would help rebuild their credibility in the eyes of political leaders. the various student networks are limited in the extent to which they can go in their contribution to democratic quality due to their sometimes partisan posturing and outlook. given that the various vice chancellors, rectors and principals of these tertiary institutions have expressed grave concern about partisan activities by students on the campuses and have threatened to ban such networks, a renewed and credible mouthpiece of students that is more national in outlook instead of campus-based may be appropriate to champion the cause of students and contribute effectively towards ghana’s democratic quality. in this regard, a revival of the nugs of the days nkrumah, acheampong and rawlings regimes that was independent in its thoughts and actions, and an amalgamation of all tertiary networks and other student splinter groups under the nugs, is recommended. the nugs could serve as a forum for political dialogue and tolerance among the leadership of all partisan and splinter youth groups. in other words, the revived nugs may not be necessarily confrontational as it was in time past but may resort to dialogue, peaceful protests and petitions to achieve its objectives. these recommendations would ensure that student activism continues to serve as one of the major fulcrums around which ghana’s continuous quest for democratic quality and maturity would revolve. ransford edward van gyampo: student activism and democratic quality in ghana’s fourth republic 65 references agyemang, d.k. 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(1969). ghana’s universities and their government: an ambiguous relationship. issues in african higher education, xxiv(1), 52–56. peil, m. & odotei, e.o. (1967). return to civilian rule. the legon observer. (9), 3–10. rubinson, r. & meyer, j. (1972). structural determinants of student political activity: a comparative interpretation. sociology of education, 45(1), 23–46. shillington, k. (1992). ghana and the rawlings factor. london: macmillan. tetteh, m.n. (1999). the young pioneer movement: a youth organization in kwame nkrumah era. accra: ghana publicity. verba, s., schlozman, k.l., & brady, h.e. (1995). voice and equality: civic voluntarism in american politics. london: harvard university press. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, v–x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.64 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za tinto in south africa: student integration, persistence and success, and the role of student affairs birgit schreiber*, thierry luescher-mamashela** and teboho moja*** editorial * director, centre for student support services, university of the western cape ** senior researcher and assistant director: institutional research, university of the free state, email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com *** clinical professor of higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university prof. vincent tinto has been a most prolific and formative theorist in the domain of student affairs and has generated the most dominant sociological theory of student retention and student persistence. his most well-known and widely cited work is the 1975 research article “dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research” which has inspired decades of research on student retention and success across the globe. tinto (1975, 1993, 1997) developed a model of student attrition (or “dropout”) which explains student retention and success behaviour in relation to the university context. tinto suggested that the degree to which a student is integrated into the academic and social life of the university, and the degree to which a student is committed to her or his studies and the goals of the university, are predictive of student persistence (tinto, 1975; mccubbin, 2003). he thus sought to explain the intra-institutional impact on the student in terms of a “longitudinal model of institutional departure” based on an environmental input-processoutput model (tinto, 1993, p. 114). tinto’s revised student integration model (1997) links the pre-university entry attributes of a student (such as family background, skills and abilities, prior schooling) to the institutional experience and ultimately to educational outcomes, student retention and success. key explanatory factors in tinto’s revised model are the student’s intentions, goals and commitments; students’ institutional experiences linked to the academic and the social system; academic integration and social integration; and the quality of student effort and learning. tinto described it as an “interactive model” of primarily “sociological” character (1993, p. 112). it is dynamic in so far as a student’s goals and intentions are continuously reshaped through interactions with the university and its academic and social structures (see figure 1). vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, v–x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.64 figure 1: tinto’s revised model of student attrition source: mccubbin (2003, p. 11) key to understanding tinto’s theory is his definition of integration as the alignment of students’ attitudes and values with the social aspect of student life (especially peers), the academic life (faculty/staff), and the institutional goals of the university. as integration increases, so do the personal goals which link the student to the institution; conversely, negative experiences distance the student from the academic and social community of the institution and reduce commitment to shared goals (pascarella & terenzini, 2005; tinto, 1993). persistence is thus a function of integration into the academic and social aspects of the university system, mediated by goal commitments. the hypothesis that academic and social integration explain dropout has received some criticism mainly based on its generalisability across a range of non-traditional students in higher education. critiques have argued that social and academic integration do not act as reliable indicators for persistence rates among non-traditional students, such as distance learning students, mature students, returning students and minority students (whereby the latter refers to african-american students, as well as native americans, asian-americans and latinos in some states of the united states) (mccubbin, 2003). conversely, tinto maintained that a complementary relationship exists between social integration and academic integration, which positively influences persistence and retention (mannan, 2007). despite its critics, according to mccubbin, tinto’s student integration model remains “the most influential model of dropout from tertiary education” (2003, p. 1). in the course of the last few years, student engagement has become the buzzword in higher education research internationally (klemenčič, 2013). the most recent theoretical pre-entry attributes outcome goal commitments (t1) goal commitments (t2) institutional experiences educational outcomes external communities student effort personal/ normative recognition intentions learning family background prior schooling external comments skills and abilities external commitments social integration academic integration quality of student effort persistence goal and institutional commitment college communities intentions goal and institutional commitment social system academic system classes labs studios birgit schreiber, thierry luescher-mamashela and teboho moja: tinto in south africa vii developments on student persistence and student success have therefore centred on the construct of student engagement which, in turn, has drawn extensively on tinto’s theory of social and academic integration as well as the works of tyler on time on task, quality of effort by pace, and on astin’s theory of student involvement (kuh, 2009a, p. 6). student engagement is defined as “the time and effort students devote to activities that are empirically linked to desired outcomes of college and what institutions do to induce students to participate in these activities” (kuh, 2009b, p. 683). in addition to the relevance of tinto’s work for student engagement, efforts at identifying a set of high-impact practices of student success following insights from the large-scale engagement surveys of the national survey on student engagement (nsse) and the south african survey of student engagement (sasse) have highlighted the significance of learning communities as noted in tinto’s work. he conceived learning communities as interdisciplinary peer groups that span the social and academic life contexts of students – from the curricular into the co-curriculum and thus, for example, into residences (tinto, 1997, 1998). furthermore, nuanced research areas have emerged with regard to styles of engagements, outcomes of engagements, and the shortand long-term effects of student engagement, focusing on surface and deep learning. also, the discussion on student alienation related to student engagement have some scholars argue that indicators for student engagement on the one end of the continuum actually reflect as measures of alienation at the other end of the continuum (case, 2007; trowler, 2010). at least since 2009, when the south african council on higher education (che) commissioned the development and pilot implementation of a south african version of nsse, i.e. the sasse, discussions have started on the theoretical foundations of student engagement and its usefulness for addressing matters of student throughput and academic success in an african context (strydom & mentz, 2010; wawrzynski, heck & remly, 2012). most recently, the student engagement construct has also shown promise to explain the attainment of graduate attributes linked to citizenship competences in studies conducted in south africa and uganda by the higher education research and advocacy network in africa (herana) (luescher-mamashela, 2014). moreover, tinto’s work continues to offer more than what is explicitly studied today as student engagement. in many developing and emerging country contexts, where colonialism and apartheid, civil wars and political and socio-economic mismanagement have fragmented social structures over decades and deepened social cleavages, tinto’s notion of integration offers a crucial theoretical construct to think about student persistence and success in higher education. in our context, where many students come from families in which they are the first generation to participate in higher education, the notion of alignment between personal, social and academic goals and the influence of external communities thereon, offers a focal point for further research. lastly, tinto’s seminal “communities of learning” concept has also began to shift debates in student affairs and teaching and learning in africa, to refocus on the contextual impact as being highly influential on academic development and learning (tinto, 1997, 1998). tinto’s work remains crucial within a context where the notion of “communities” often reflects viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, v–x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.64 exclusive ethnic or racially conceived groupings and where therefore tinto’s concept of inclusive “learning communities” is an ideal rather than a practiced reality. where universities are embedded in socially fragmented contexts like our own, it is essential that universities present opportunities for students to immerse themselves into a learning community that transcends boundaries of multiple definition: social or disciplinary. it is for these reasons that the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa decided to dedicate its first anniversary issue to the work of vincent tinto and publish the transcripts of his four lectures which were given to higher education student affairs and teaching and learning professionals in south africa in 2013. the four lectures provide an exceptionally accessible, contextually relevant entry into tinto’s work, respectively focusing on its theoretical underpinnings, key questions related to access and success as they arise in and out of the classroom and in institutional practices. the lecture transcripts have been edited by vincent tinto and approved by tinto and the council on higher education (che), which brought him to south africa to deliver the lectures as part of its quality enhancement programme (see the article by diane grayson, in this issue). at the same time, the original video clips of tinto’s talks of august 2013 remain available from the che’s website (www. che.ac.za). according to grayson, since tinto’s che-sponsored tour, catchphrases like “access without success is not opportunity”, and “student success does not arise by chance” have come to be part of the common vocabulary of student affairs and teaching and learning professionals in this context. publishing tinto’s south africa lectures is a way in which the jsaa seeks to contribute to continue the conversation and make tinto’s work available to student affairs professionals, academics and students across the african continent. in addition to this introduction, tinto’s lectures are framed by two reflective contributions solicited specifically to contextualise and critically appraise the lectures. the first is published as a preface to this issue written by the che’s director of institutional audits, prof. diane grayson, who was instrumental in conceptualising the tinto tour of 2013 as part of the council’s quality enhancement project. the second is a paper of both personal and critical reflection on tinto’s south africa lectures by prof. laura perna, university of pennsylvania. added to the issue is a listing of selected publications of vincent tinto, spanning 40 years of scholarship, which will hopefully stimulate further reading. the campus dialogue section in this issue publishes a report on yet another historic development in the student affairs profession in africa: the establishment of the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). it is authored by dr saloschini pillay, safsas inaugural president. two book reviews are included in this issue. munyaradzi madambi reviews the recently published book perspectives on student affairs in south africa edited by mcglory speckman and martin mandew and published by african minds in 2014. in madambi’s estimation, the book provides “a comprehensive exposé of the broad scope of how universities can create, facilitate and advance opportunities for student growth and success” (madambi, in this issue). the second review, by randall lange, is meant to entice readers to tackle what is undoubtedly “one of the most authoritative and most cited publications in student birgit schreiber, thierry luescher-mamashela and teboho moja: tinto in south africa ix affairs”, providing an indispensable theoretical and practical background to the work of student affairs practitioners and academics alike. the seminal second issue (2005) of how college affects students by ernest t. pascarella and patrick t. terenzini is the first in a series of ‘classics’ in student affairs literature with which the jsaa hopes to further contribute to building a theoretical foundation for student affairs in africa. finally, as a peer-reviewed academic journal, all research articles and reflective practice articles published in the jsaa undergo a strict process of quality assurance, including an initial screening of manuscripts by two or more members of the editorial executive which is followed by a process of double-blind peer review. at the point of receiving a submission, the initial vetting process is considered as developmental and the practice of the editors has been to provide formative feedback to authors to encourage them to improve a manuscript, if necessary. once a manuscript has successfully passed the vetting process, it is anonymised and sent for peer review to at least two reviewers with proven scholarly and/or professional expertise relevant to the subject matter of the manuscript. the suitability of articles is evaluated in terms of five criteria: originality; significance; scholarship; scope and interest; and accessibility. review reports are then discussed in detail in the editorial executive and the recommendations of reviewers are followed in accordance with our review policy. the present issue is in this regard extraordinary. given their nature, tinto’s lectures were not blind peer-reviewed; rather, the transcripts were vetted and edited by the editors, edited and approved by tinto, and eventually critical reflections on the lecture transcripts were solicited from experts, parts of which are published alongside tinto’s work in this issue. this arrangement for this special issue is, however, not to detract from our editorial and peer review policy and rigorous practice designed specifically to adhere to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals. in this regard we are proud to announce that the jsaa’s commitment to following best practice in open access publishing has been recognised recently with the journal’s inclusion in the international directory of open access journals (doaj). the doaj includes only “open access scientific and scholarly journals that use a quality control system to guarantee the content” (doaj, 2014). this issue completes the second volume of the jsaa. we would therefore like to thank on behalf of the editorial executive the many peer reviewers who have supported the journal over 2013 and 2014 by availing their expertise, time and dedication for evaluating the suitability of manuscripts. reviewers are an indispensable part of the scholarly publication process; it is only with their expertise that we can hope to attain the aim of making the jsaa the foremost academic journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain and an essential resource for the university leadership, student affairs professionals, institutional researchers and academics and students focused on the field of higher education studies and student affairs in africa. on behalf of the editorial executive, dr birgit schreiber, dr thierry luescher-mamashela and prof. teboho moja x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, v–x | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.64 references case, j. (2007). alienation and engagement: exploring students’ experiences of studying engineering. teaching in higher education, 12(1), 119-133. council on higher education (che) (2013). regional symposia on student success, 19-23 august 2013. videos of presentations talks 1–4 can be viewed using the respective links at http://www. che.ac.za/content/regional-symposia-student-success-19-23-august-2013. directory of open access journals (doaj) (2014). official website: about. retrieved december 11, 2014, from http://doaj.org/about. klemenčič, m. (2013). student engagement – between policy-making and scholarship. university world news. 3 december 2013. issue no: 300. kuh, g.d. (2009a). the national survey of student engagement: conceptual and empirical foundations. new directions for institutional research, no. 141 (spring), 5-20. kuh, g.d. (2009b). what student affairs professionals need to know about student engagement. journal of college student development, 50(6), 683-706. doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0099 luescher-mamashela, t.m. (2014). creating high impact citizens through student engagement. university world news. 5 december 2014. issue no: 346. mannan, m. a. (2007). student attrition and academic and social integration: application of tinto’s model at the university of papua, new guinea. higher education, 53, 147–165. doi:10.1007/ sl0734-005-2496-y mccubbin, i. (2003). an examination of criticisms made of tinto’s 1975 student integration model of attrition. glasgow: university of glasgow. pascarella, e.t. and terenzini, p.t. (2005). how college affects students. san francisco: jossey-bass. strydom, j. f., & mentz, m. (2010). south african survey of student engagement (sasse) focusing the student experience on success through student engagement. pretoria: council on higher education (che). retrieved november 18, 2014, from http://sasse.ufs.ac.za/dl/userfiles/ documents/00000/92_eng.pdf. tinto, v. (1975). dropout from higher education: a theoretical synthesis of recent research. review of educational research, 45(1), 89-125. tinto, v. (1993). leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd. edition). chicago: the university of chicago press. tinto,v. (1997). classrooms as communities: exploring the educational character of student persistence. journal of higher education. 68(6) (november/december), 599-623. tinto, v. (1998). taking research on student persistence seriously. review of higher education, 21(2), 167-177. trowler, v. (2010). student engagement literature review. york: higher education academy. retrieved july 9, 2014, from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk. wawrzynski, m.r., heck a.m. & remley, c.t. (2012). student engagement in south african higher education. journal of college student development, 53(1), 106-123. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 65‑78 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 65 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article choreographies of protest performance as recruitment to activism phiwokazi qoza* * ms phiwokazi qoza is in research grants management at the allan cormack house, the university of cape town. she holds an ma in political and international studies from rhodes university, south africa. email: phiwo.qoza@uct.ac.za abstract this article seeks to understand why some bystanders to protest transcended to become actors in protests during the re‑emergence of wide‑spread student activism in an institution of higher education in south africa during 2015. for this purpose, a performance ethnography is employed in the observation and analysis of protest performances. the article shows that in encountering an atmosphere of protest, there emerged a relation of feeling, referred to as “feeling the vibe or atmosphere”, which those who became protest performers resolved in ways which increased their capacity to act in favour of co‑constituting that atmosphere. in the encounter between the body of bystanders and the atmosphere of protest, non‑linear somatic communication, characterised by active and passive gestures and postures, occurred through which protest performers developed contact and connection with other bodies as a result of the displacement of space. therefore, this article suggests that participation in activism can be about going with the flow of movement in an uncertain and ambiguous moment and is not limited to an identification with the pre‑existing organisation of preferences and interests as the creativity of movement produces a social space – a performed becoming in space. keywords affect; becoming; protest song; student activism as performance; student politics background and context a majority of institutions of higher education in south africa were sites of protest action between 2015 and 2017. what started at the university of cape town as #rhodesmustfall inspired proxies in other historically white institutions, such as ‘rhodes so white’ and ‘open stellies’ at rhodes university and stellenbosch university respectively, echoing similar grievances and using similar strategies of protest such as occupations and university shutdowns (bosch, 2017; ngidi, mtshixa, diga, mbarathi & may, 2016). the protest action that occurred in the period from 2015 to 2017 has been compared to the emergence of student activism during apartheid in both historically white and historically black institutions as students arranged and participated in coordinated protest events. similar to their counterparts in senegal, kenya and south korea during the second half of the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:phiwo.qoza%40uct.ac.za?subject= 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 65‑78 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 20th  century, south african students became the “vanguard of democratic defiance” in their actions against the administration of the apartheid state through the university (bianchini, 2016; macharia, 2015; makunike, 2015; mazrui, 1995). in the postapartheid era, there has been an increase in higher education participation rates, but access to the ‘ivory towers’ has been offset by perceptions of an institutional inability to manage massification (cele,  2014; luescher et al., 2015; reddy, 2004). it could be said then that in both the apartheid and the postapartheid period, student activism in south africa has always been about a perception students have about the management of the state through the university. the problem of why a pre‑existing discontent gains a new sense of urgency when it does and why protesting individuals act the way they do needs further exploration. how does the change in perception which seeks to remedy the status quo come into being? in this article, rhodes university, a historically white institution which has been widely noted for its political apathy, provides the context from which to suggest that choreographies of protest performance have the power to affect an individual to transform from spectator to actor in protest. method this research has employed qualitative research methods in the phenomenological paradigm to draw out a performance ethnography informed by observation and semi‑ structured, open‑ended interviews. qualitative research is concerned with the experiences of individuals and groups in their interactions and usage of various communication styles, and the analysis of documents, such as images, film and music, which capture those experiences (angrosino, 2007). in response to student activism research traditions, there was a search for patterns in experience through observation and the search for explication through interviews. there is no universally accepted technique to conducting an observation, but note‑ taking is common practice amongst ethnographers. various ethnographers posit that observation is a whole body perception as information is registered beyond what the eyes can see but speaks to all the senses (angrosino, 2007; blackman & featherstone,  2010; parviainen, 2010). according to pink (2009), in doing a sensory ethnography, the researcher self‑consciously and reflexively attends to and accounts for sensory information. for instance, attending to sensory information in the field entails taking notes when something just does not feel right or when an exchange between actors seems important. the researcher’s intuition is their “immediate apprehension” of what is going on and the relationship between research, the researched, and the activity of research implies that phenomenology is a “philosophy of intuition” (giorgi, 2002, p. 9; janesick, 2001, p. 532). a research project is aimed at responding to a gap in the signification of an experience and oftentimes that gap is discoverable in the pas de deux performed by intuition and creativity (janesick, 2001). in addition to observation, fourteen people who had been selected through the technique of purposive sampling were approached for interviews. although purposive sampling is non‑random, it differs from convenience sampling in that the researcher https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 phiwokazi qoza: choreographies of protest performance as recruitment to activism 67 relies on his or her judgement to select research participants based on the qualities that the participants possess (etikan et al., 2016; guarte & barrios, 2007; marshall, 1996). the selection was informed by knowledge of the research area accrued from observation, and the participants reflect the demographics of rhodes university with a majority of them being african and female (matthews, 2015). interview candidates were sought on the basis that they had been registered at rhodes university for more than five years at the time of the interviews (2017) and the rationale for this was that they had been students at rhodes prior to the outbreak of student activism in 2015, during and shortly after the protest wave. prior to interviews, there were a number of questions, informed by the background and context, which were prepared and designed to provide structure to the interviews. however, each interview had a character of its own as it accommodated digressions and often followed up on reflections or statements made by participants. for instance, what a participant said was often repeated as a question or followed up with a “what do you mean?” there were instances of “tell me more about …”. whereas agrosino (2007) states that the semi‑structured aspect of the interview should naturally follow the open‑ended aspect of the interview, the interviews that inform this study often started out structured and then became open‑ended. interviews took place in public spaces such as local coffee shops, the rhodes university library and grounds. all interviews were recorded by the ‘voice memo’ app on the researcher’s smartphone and they lasted between 45 minutes and an hour. they were subsequently transcribed verbatim without the assistance of convenient software applications (apps). spontaneity and the emergence of protest action it has been argued that protest action is part of the repertoire that disgruntled individuals and groups use to communicate preferences and interests as claims or demands (mcadam, 1986; polleta & jasper, 2001; tilly, 1978; tarrow, 1993). the manner in which they protest varies and protest repertoires are both historically situated and spontaneous (anisin, 2016; flesher fominaya, 2015; georgsen & thomassen, 2017). tilly (1978) argues that protest has been significantly routinised through the expansion of civil society organisations and social movements. however, when spoken of, spontaneity either refers to the behaviour of a group of actors in their subversion of the available and institutionalised dispute resolution mechanisms by engaging in informal protest, or on the other hand, spontaneity refers to and is contingent on factors beyond the scope of the interests and preferences of a group of actors. in their analysis of the 2012‑2013 rape protests which occurred in parts of india, chaudhuri and fitzgerald (2015) privilege the lack of identifiable interest groups and decentralised decision‑making as creating room for spontaneity in protest events. similarly, polletta (1998, pp. 136‑141) argued for spontaneity emerging in cases where there appears to be “a lack of bureaucratic planning” which, in turn, produces radical action outside of the institutionalised norm. whereas sitrin (2009) has argued that on‑the‑go horizontal decision‑making is a strategy in itself, the likes of aelst and walgrave (2001, pp. 476‑480), chandhuri and fitzgerald (2015) and rosenthal and schwartz (1989) view spontaneity as rare for it is only triggered under certain conditions. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 65‑78 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 to historically situate the re‑emergence of protest at rhodes university, research participants were asked whether there was a political culture prior to the emergence of protest in march 2015, to which some of the participants responded: um … no, not really. i don’t think … not that i was aware or involved. it didn’t feel like there was one. (interview with amie) no. not at all. there was nothing … i don’t remember. (interview with reggie) on campus?!? i wasn’t politically active anywhere because i had decided that any alliance‑ related politics are not for me. (interview with bo) no, actually. i wasn’t politically inclined to join sasco [south african students congress] or daso [democratic alliance student organisation], but when i got here in terms of the political climate it was virtually non‑existent even though the students have src elections and all of that. (interview with somila) somila, a research participant, mentions two student organisations and the students’ representative council (src) which, historically, have organised meetings and protests in south african institutions of higher education (koen et al., 2006). at the time of the re‑emergence of protest, there was no national student union which represented student interests to the extent that nusas purportedly had in historically white institutions during apartheid (mckay, 2015) and none of the aforementioned student organisations initiated the protest action which the participants took part in. in the absence of an organisation of student interests, recent studies into the emotions of protest posit that certain events or situations, referred to as ‘moral shocks’, often raise a sense of outrage which is addressed via collective action (jasper, 1998; polletta & jasper, 2001). at the time when research participants embarked on their first protest performance, it was widely reported that they did so in response to and under the influence of the actions of chumani maxwele, who threw faeces at the then statue of cecil john rhodes at the university of cape town (uct) (pett, 2015). the statue in question, however, had been subject to numerous acts of defacement prior to the events of march 2015 and those did not lead to wide‑spread collective protest; thus, a sense of outrage is not sufficient cause for collective protest action (knoetze, 2014; olson, 1971). moreover, resource mobilisation scholars posit that prior to protest action, there must be the generation and adoption of an injustice frame. a misfortune must become conceived as an injustice or a social arrangement must become viewed as unjust and mutable. in each case, a status, pattern of relationships, or a social practice is reframed as inexcusable, immoral or unjust. (snow et al., 1986, pp. 466, 475) at the time of the emergence of protest performance, there had been no political climate which would propel individuals to identify with the organisation of student interests or sufficient outrage to bind individuals in a network of outrage, and as a result, the participants had no frame with which to “locate, perceive, identify and label” occurrences, events or situations as justifying protest action prior to its occurrence (goffman,  1974,  p. 21). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 phiwokazi qoza: choreographies of protest performance as recruitment to activism 69 instead, a significant number of research participants claimed that they had been drawn to attend some of the political activities1 which occurred between 2015 to 2017 due to the atmosphere and vibe of the protest: it’s … it’s … the atmosphere is electrifying cause you are gravitating towards other people coming together … the singing, the dancing, the demands they are making. you gravitate towards the entertainment value of being involved in the protest. cause you see the people are chanting and singing. it’s interesting and it’s lively. (interview with hefe) i didn’t even know the words of the songs initially, but i wanted to join in … it’s like … the vibe. you can feel it. it’s so fun. (interview with asande) it’s a lively atmosphere. so certain people gravitate towards that atmosphere – not necessarily they like what’s being said, but they just like the atmosphere around the student  protest. (interview with bo) to understand how one feels an atmosphere, there needs to be an enquiry into how that atmosphere is constituted through an image that gives a sense of being in that atmosphere (brennan, 2004). this calls for a protest event analysis that “goes into the moment” to reveal “the lived immediacy of experience” offered by the atmosphere of protest (pred, 2005, p. 11 in thrift, 2008, p. 16). in approaching the atmosphere of protest, consideration is given to the idea that “protest almost always assumes an audience, onlookers for whom the events are ‘played out’” (kershaw, 1997, p. 260). as such, asande, a research participant, stated that she was initially a bystander to protest, watching the gathering of bodies, and heard the tuning of protest songs and then subsequently joined the protest. the interest is the encounter of the bystander body with the performance of protest which propels them to transcend from an observer to an actor in protest. since protest is made up of singing and movement, it is what has been traditionally considered as a performance and hence it will now be imagined as protest performance. choreographies of protest performance: from protest song to movement of the body performance is often contested for being an elusive term; for instance, it can be argued that “any event, action, item or behaviour can be examined ‘as’ performance” (schechner, 1998, pp. 361‑362). this entails both what has traditionally been thought to be performance, e.g. theatre, music, dance, art, etc., which often is rehearsed for desired effect; that which is socialised through the repetition of norms and fear of sanctions, such as being “in place”; and “a wider range of human behaviours” which burst out of improvisation (roach, 1995, p. 46). since the early 1990s, performance has enjoyed a privileged status in the turn to embodiment prior to representation (butler, 1997; thrift, 2004, 2008). judith butler’s work on ‘performative behaviour’ spearheaded an engagement with performance in “… places and situations not traditionally marked as the performing arts such as how people play 1 political activities can include, but are not limited to protest, marches, rallies, meetings, occupations etc. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 65‑78 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 gender, heightening their constructed identity, performing slightly or radically different selves in different situations (schechner, 1998, pp. 361‑362). performance involves relations, interaction and participation between two or more bodies that constitute the performance (fischer‑litche, 2008, p. 32). whereas some literature places emphasis on the physical co‑presence of bodies, it is common for some bodies to be an imagined other, contributing to the overall performance in absentia (goffman in burns, 1992, p. 112). on the one hand, performance is the art of the present; a constellation of forces that is ephemeral and disperses as soon as the event is consummated (martin, 1998, pp. 188‑189; thrift, 2008, p. 136). thus, performance is infamous for its ephemeral status for as the body transitions between postures, there is the creation of a passive present by the future present of the next posture which becomes the vanishing point of the just occurring posture (siegal, 1972). to follow the immersion of body into performance, the performance is opened via song. the effects of song have been researched through experiments conducted in a controlled environment or through a musical anthropology of how people use music to construct their social reality. in the former, research participants who do not perform or create music have been asked to rate the arousal, valency and dominance of short video or audio clips through observation, questionnaires and semi‑structured interviews (christensen et al., 2016; sokhadze, 2007). following this, it has been argued that through contagion, imagination and expectation, “music has the potential to induce collective affective phenomenon, such as behavioural, physiological and neural changes, in large groups of people” (christensen et al., 2016, p. 91). how do musical effects manifest outside of controlled quantitative research experiments? one of the contributors to the 2010 body and society journal on affect, hendricks (2011, pp. xvii‑xviii) proposes that listening and noticing call for “a practical methodology where sound is subject, a vehicle and a medium for thinking” and to do so, sonic bodies encourages a “thinking through sound” instead of “thinking about sound”. in the african noise foundation’s published documentary decolonising wits, styled as ‘decolon i sing: wits’, kaganof (2015) captures a number of protest songs in duration of which two are sampled below to draw out the structure of protest song during the 2015 student activism in historically white institutions: caller: ‘senzeni na?’ (what have we done?) responders: ‘senzeni na? senzeni na!?’ (what have we done? what have we done?!) x 4 caller: ‘sono sethu … (our only sin …) responders: sono sethu bubu’mnyama’ (our only sin is that we are black) caller: aya’ncancazela (they are trembling) responders: aya’ncancazela (they are trembling) caller: aya’ncancazela (they are trembling) responders: aya’ncancazela (they are trembling) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 phiwokazi qoza: choreographies of protest performance as recruitment to activism 71 callers and responders: aya’ncancazela amabhunu/amabhulu ayebulale uchris hani (the boers who killed chris hani are trembling) caller: uthi’ masixole kanjani? (how are we supposed to forgive/ be at peace?) responders: uthi’ masixole kanjani? (how are we supposed to be at peace?) callers and responders: uthi’ masixole kanjani amabhunu/amabhulu ayebulale uchris hani (how are we supposed to forgive/ be at peace when the boers killed chris hani?) the above transcripts illustrate that the structure of protest song, and by extension, its performance, are characterised by repetition. what is repeated makes it possible to compare and contrast the traction of some protest songs as against others; to evaluate the degree of intensity that carries the performance of protest song in one space and not another; to distinguish the tone used or rhythm built when particular songs are played or sung and not others; and to follow schemas used to constitute the performance of protest. whenever a protest song is sung, it is at the discretion of its performer to select a particular chant and tempo, but most south african protest songs are short in length and have two main parts – that of a caller and that of responders (kaganof, 2015; mbuli, 1996; ngema,  1992). the antiphony begins with a leading voice asking or stating something which the rest of the group repeats or confirms back to him or her (kaganof,  2015; mbuli,  1996; ngema, 1992). although protest song is structured by the antiphony, a number of those featured in the lee hirsch (2003) documentary amandla: a revolution in four part harmony state that in duration, there is no universal order of protest song and the manner in which the crowd follows or unfollows the song being led is spontaneous. the caller may employ the schema of serenade, which entices the audience and invites it to participate in the potential of song. an invitation can be accepted or rejected in a number of ways: song might be ignored, song might be followed and the audience may reject the initial caller by following a different caller which changes the song in duration. this is typical of “songs of persuasion” which appeal to the listener and attract them into their duration (denisoff, 1966; vail & white, 1978; widdess, 2013). according to participant reflections, upon hearing a song there was a common ‘feeling of the atmosphere or vibe’ which propelled actors to gravitate towards the site where the song was being performed. theories of emotion would suggest that a state of feeling illustrates an emotions schemata, for only when the subject becomes aware of itself does it produce “human actuality” which is personal and biographical (damasio in wetherell, 2012, p. 35). moreover, the process of event evaluation, through which the feeling or sensation becomes perceived, has to be checked against previous experiences and represented as the said state of feeling (scherer, 2004, p. 244; shouse, 2005, p.1). indeed, a relation of feeling speaks to how the dynamics of an event are felt and it is a perception of the atmosphere or vibe of protest (massumi, 2002; phillips‑silver & trainor, 2005). what delineates feeling as an emotion, however, is when it is appraised. that is, the feeling only becomes subjective after the fact of its actualisation. 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 65‑78 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 prior to its actualisation and at the time of emergence in its liminal becoming, the feeling is not only viscerally sensed, but it opens the body to variation in its capacity or power to act and change in any direction, which is the manifestation of affect (georgsen & thomassen, 2017; lobo, 2013; massumi, 2002). the theory of affect offers several propositions as to how the body acts on certain potentials and not others. deleuze and guattari (1987), in their interpretation of spinoza, posit the body actualises potential in becoming that which increases or decreases its capacity to act. massumi (1995; 2002) interprets the movement of intensity as an event perception that is automatic, and prior to event appraisal, thus speaking to the unconscious away from psychoanalysis. similar to massumi, thrift (2004; 2008) argues that there is a story to and a logic in the movement of the body that is prior to representation but can be assembled from performances and practices. the body, which varies in power or capacity to act, implicates an event of the somatic nervous system (motor expression in the face and body) (massumi, 2002; scherer, 2004). the somatic nervous system receives and relays information through exteroceptors, interoceptors and proprioceptors (moore & yamamoto, 2012, p. 13). the first, exteroceptors, receive information via the five senses of vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste, which is passed on to the second, interoceptors, to accept, ignore or modify by the third, proprioceptors, which orientate the response to be carried out as motor activity (moore & yamamoto, 2012, pp. 13‑14). in those who transcend from being a spectator of the performance to an actor in the performance, the imperceptible rhythm of song is received by distant senses of hearing and oftentimes vision, which is then resolved in ways that increase the body’s capacity to act. the resolution of imperceptible forces and intensities can show forth as … automatic reactions, non‑conscious, never to be conscious remainders, outside of expectation and adaptation, as disconnected from meaningful sequencing, from narration. [they are] narratively de‑localized, spreading over the generalized body surface. (massumi, 1995, p. 85) the body displays and embodies a rhythm in the duration of song through which the face nods, smiles, frowns, sighs, manoeuvres the tongue to whistle, ululates, looks up and down, expresses joy and sadness, etc. (kaganof, 2015). the intensity moves down the body; starting with the placement of arms in an infinity cross underneath the breasts with the thumbs touching the flesh inside the elbow bend and the four fingers resting on the lower part of the upper arm, to the opening of the arms, drawing in the elbows towards the abdomen, bringing in the hands to momentarily clap in front of the body or the reaching of the hands overhead initiating or following synchronised clapping. once overhead, the formation of fists by the hands swaying back and forth, the shifting of the body weight from the left side to the right side parallel to the fists above or the hands clapping and fingers rhythmically snapping. there is often the lowering of the upper body to give the lower body ease to waddle back and forth or to rhythmically stomp the feet in one place, followed by the lifting of the feet to a 90‑degree angle to fire out knee kicks, full body jumps, and the take‑off from one space to the next – a movement through which the participants march in https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 phiwokazi qoza: choreographies of protest performance as recruitment to activism 73 formation while being used by the song and in turn using the song to communicate with one another. if the song is losing momentum, it is common for a participant to bolt to the front of the crowd or to the middle of the circle if the crowd is in a semi‑circle or circle to lead a new song and to motion the crowd to sing their parts back to them (kaganof, 2015). protest performance as recruitment to activism earlier literature on activism has failed to account for the emergence of spontaneously organised relations between bodies. it merely argued that when it was there, it organised collective minds in the instances of haphazard decision‑making and strategy, but as it plays out in choreographies of protest it signals a kinaesthetic intelligence which is not only a sense of movement, but orientates the movement forms that sustain or amplify the intensity of protest. the immersion of bodies in protest performance is self‑referential as the participants did not join the protest due to an adherence to the structure of song, an “intense identification with the values of an organisation” or the “pre‑existing organisation of preference structures” which has been said to “dispose an individual towards participation” (mccarthy & zald, 1977, p. 1236; mcadam, 1986, p. 64; oberschall, 1973). in choreographies of protest, the body receives and conveys rhythmic properties; participants initially observed and then attended to the atmosphere through movement in their improvisation of a shared point of contact, such as rubbing their elbow with one hand while the other is drawn to their chest when standing which is improvised to clapping of hands in formation with the collective body. participants often stated that they were not aware of the complexity of their movements, but rather were ‘going with the flow’ during an uncertain and ambiguous moment. the lack of divergence from the atmosphere, referred to as ‘going with the flow’, becomes interesting because although the movement was spontaneous and improvised, it either sustained or amplified the intensity of the atmosphere or vibe that was initially encountered. according to those who study human kinaesthetics, spontaneous movement has form because in its emergence, bodies evaluate exteroceptors and interoceptors, make necessary proprioceptive adjustments and relay responses which appear as coordinated motor activity (gardner, 1983, in parviainen, 2010). relations of encounter are premised on somatic dialogue between actors through which the body assumes a passive and active role, listening and receiving the frequencies of other bodies through multiple sensory orientating systems and responding to them or initiating movement which is then listened to and received by other bodies (albright, 1997; henriques, 2011; stahmer, 2011). whereas thrift (2008) proposes there is a certain identity in entrainment to a common mood, polletta and jasper (2001) advance that collective identity might be based on the connections one has to members of a group. once somatic dialogue has been developed through subsequent performative acts in choreographies of protest, which have been attributed with fostering the imagination of an alternative reality, referred to as utopia, to the ‘world out there’ (kershaw, 1997; moore & yamamoto, 2012). this has played out in the displacement of space via the expression of unity as difference in human shields, die‑ins, and occupations. what can be gathered is that the coming together of bodies is productive for it obliges individuals to protest along with or on behalf of 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 65‑78 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 bodies in performances of protest; individuals in protest become invested in the contact and connections which bind them and the somatic dialogue between actors does develop as a preferred affinity of interest for the actors of protest performance. thus, in an instance of protest performance, unity of movement bypasses socio‑linguistic schema in recruiting individuals to activism and such recruitment occurs as a response to and as a product of the communication between bodies. conclusion although the operation of power in society can be observed in the collective embodiment of the ideologies which keep bodies in place, the liminal and performative emergence of movement of the body creates difference in space through relations of encounter which transgress the ordering of bodies by breaking with the structure of the previous context and norms of place. the movement of the body, in the atmosphere of protest, is an event through which the body rejects the previously held image of being in space by adopting, through embodiment, a new movement image of becoming in place. becoming a protest performer is a somatic event whereupon rhythm of song triggers a relation of feeling which is resolved by the extension of the body and is imagined as one of the primary means through which bodies are recruited into participation in activism. such participation is deduced from the ‘going with the flow’ of movement during an uncertain and ambiguous movement. thus, protest performance is in response to being affected by the atmosphere in ways which implicate sensation and movement as an effect of the encounter with the socially constructed space. when the body in motion is positioned as a sign of agency in relation to the imposition of structure in norms, rules and regulations, and laws about ‘being in place’, it becomes clear that the movement under consideration is not just any movement; 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(eds.), language, music and interaction (pp. 197‑209). london: college publications. how to cite: qoza, p. 2020. choreographies of protest performance as recruitment to activism. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 65‑78. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0145553200016850 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0435-3684.2004.00154.x https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203946565 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203946565 https://doi.org/10.2307/1874024 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250945 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250945 _goback _hlk230557 _hlk391668 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 123‑135 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 123 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice how to improve university orientation: seven good practice strategies for south africa annsilla nyar* * dr annsilla nyar is director of the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) at the university of johannesburg, south africa. email: anyar@uj.ac.za abstract there is a great deal of variability in the practice of orientation across the country at south africa’s universities, and there is limited knowledge of what exactly constitutes good practice in orientation. many areas of enquiry remain unexplored, and remain blind spots for south africa’s higher education sector. the article addresses this central question: what constitutes good practice for orientation programmes in south africa? the article argues that a structured and informed orientation strategy is critical in terms of matters of student retention and, in fact, may serve as the key linchpin of students’ decision to stay or exit the higher education system. accordingly, seven strategies to improve national orientation practice are proposed in this article. keywords induction; orientation; student success; transition support introduction south africa lacks a national framework for orientation, one which ensures standards and quality for orientation at universities. what is generally known about orientation as it is practised at universities across the country, tends to be largely anecdotal and not based on sound empirical evidence. there appears to be little uniformity in terms of orientation practice across the national higher education sector. as such, this article raises the central question: what constitutes good practice for orientation programmes in south africa? it is useful to note at the outset that the term ‘orientation’ is the one with which south african students are most familiar. it is the term principally used herein. it is commonplace to encounter other terms such as ‘induction’ or ‘freshers’ week’ (often in a european context), ‘student welcome,’ and ‘transition support’ as being typically used interchangeably to describe the process by which new students are introduced to the new academic environment and all the services and support structures available at the university necessary to fulfil their educational goals. orientation can be broadly described as a formal structure or programme of events put in place by institutions of higher education to support the positive first‑year experiences of https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 123‑135 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 students. shobrook (2003, p. 2) describes orientation as a “buffer zone between preparation for university and immersion into higher education culture”. mullendore and banahan (2005, p. 393) emphasise the principles of intentionality and collaboration which undergird the concept of orientation; they define orientation as “a collaborative institutional effort to enhance student success by assisting students and their families in the transition to the new college environment”. mack similarly focuses on the issue of intentionality on the part of institutions. mack describes orientation as an intentional experience which demonstrates to a new student the interrelationship among the college’s various departments and how he or she fits in. college orientation programmes encapsulate the essence of their institutions by introducing students to the academic life, culture, traditions, history, people, and surrounding communities. the goal is to provide individuals with a holistic view of the new college experience. at the same time, it sets expectations for students’ responsibilities in their academic career. (mack, 2010, p. 4) according to jacobs (2010, p. 29), orientation has several purposes: (a) disseminating information; (b) reducing costly errors, such as the avoidance of missing important deadlines, registering incorrectly or registering for unnecessary classes etc.; (c) building a framework for academic success; and (d) building community and (e) defining campus culture. although orientation is standard practice for higher education institutions, the scope and content of orientation programmes varies considerably across the global institutional landscape and between faculties, schools, and departments. most institutions of higher education provide a generic introduction to library and computer facilities and student support services. typical elements of an orientation programme include: the provision of information and guidance about academic requirements and support services of the institution by academics and student services staff; the involvement of peer leaders, mentors, and student volunteers; and, more recently, department‑based activities with new students often involving ‘ice‑breakers’ and team‑based tasks and challenges. however, it can be said that in recent decades there is no longer a ‘generic’ or ‘typical’ approach to orientation in different parts of the world. even a cursory scan of international literature about orientation shows that the traditional scope of orientation programmes has now widened considerably (in relation to different factors such as country contexts, student populations, receptiveness of higher education institutions, etc.), and in ways from which south africa can certainly draw for the purpose of improving the country’s orientation practice. understanding the importance of orientation despite the well‑understood importance of issues of student retention and success as well as compelling evidence about the key role that orientation plays in building a foundation for academic success (kuh et al., 2005) orientation has historically been poorly understood and https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 annsilla nyar: how to improve university orientation: seven good practice strategies for south africa 125 hence under‑estimated in terms of its long‑term academic importance to both students and universities. orientation tends to be low on institutional priorities because it does not easily lend itself to quantifiable evidence about efficacy. in a context of ever‑increasing demands for the availability and use of university resources, it is acknowledged that “orientation programmes may receive less than impressive facility assignments, be forced to compete for resources and receive little recognition” (jacobs, 2010, p. 29). in the past there has been generally little incentive for institutions of higher education to invest substantially in the content and practice of orientation. as noted earlier, institutional attitudes towards the importance and content of orientation have undergone a notable change in the past two decades. expectations for orientation have expanded accordingly in line with the increasing complexity of the demands made upon institutions and the higher education sector. prevailing trends in the higher education sector such as massification, increased consumerism, new technologies, and the growing diversity of student populations have sharpened the need for educational quality and effectiveness and refocused attention on matters of attrition, retention, pedagogical quality, and teaching and learning processes. as a result, institutions of higher education have increasingly looked to orientation to do a number of important things for the institution such as redefining the relationship with students and promoting a sense of belonging amongst students – ultimately helping to retain students in the higher education system. as awareness has grown of the impact of student diversity in a mass higher education system, orientation has had to address diverse student characteristics and needs in line with the increased complexity of different student populations (cubarrubia & schoen, 2010). orientation programmes have had to respond accordingly and tailor content and offerings to a highly diverse student body in order to integrate them academically and socially into the institution. consequently, a greater investment of time and resources has been made by institutions towards the goal of ensuring that orientation meets the needs of first‑year students in ways which are strongly student‑centred and rely less on didactic styles and teacher‑centred approaches (schofield & sackville, 2010; mayhew et al., 2010). it has been possible to see an increase in literature supporting the role of orientation and situating orientation as part of a broader theoretical framework of student development. research shows that orientation activities are linked to a variety of positive outcomes for first‑year students, such as improving preparedness, empowering students with the relevant knowledge and information, and easing academic and social integration issues – which in turn, has a beneficial impact on student persistence and retention and graduation rates for institutions (astin, 1984; tinto, 1986; fidler & hunter, 1989; jones, 2008; yorke & longden, 2008). there is also a growing body of student‑centred literature about orientation from various institutions in different parts of the world, often case‑study based, which attempts to understand the student experience from the needs and perspectives of students. this body of literature is often detail‑oriented, including recommendations for good practice, and offers a great deal of scope for institutions of higher education to learn about and from each other. it is not possible to cite key sources from this body of literature on account of 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 123‑135 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 the size of the pool of the literature. however, it is possible to say that some institutions of higher education, such as nottingham trent university and ulster university in the united kingdom, have accomplished a large amount of work in the field of good practice in orientation. good practice strategies for south africa how can south africa move towards good and improved orientation practice? seven good practice ‘strategies’ are proposed herein, with an eye to being seen as ‘gaps’ in terms of how orientation practice currently operates as well as being solution‑oriented and therefore relatively easy to implement. the aforementioned seven strategies are outlined below in relative order of importance. however, they can be considered to be interlocking and mutually reliant on each other. while each of the following good practices strategies can individually make a great difference to the practice of orientation, their effects are greatly expanded when interacting synergistically with each other. good practice strategy #1: create and commit to a vision for orientation a sound vision for orientation is the starting point, and indeed the veritable ‘core’ of the strategic foundation of good orientation practice. orientation programmes should be based upon the solid foundation of a guiding vision and value system, one which is coherent, well‑understood, and which can be easily articulated by stakeholders. such a vision and value system cannot be generic. it should be aligned to that of the institution of higher education in question. however, there should be certain guiding principles upon which a successful orientation programme is built. an example is proposed in table 1 below: table 1: a vision for orientation broad (long-term) goals for orientation • holistic student development • academic achievement • student persistence • overall student success key objectives value: orientation should show students that they are valued and welcomed by the institution and all its relevant stakeholders in line with the ‘invitational’ theoretical framework proposed by purkey and novak (1996). self-empowerment: orientation should show students that they are capable of exercising their own agency and influence over their own educational performance and achievements, in ways that encourage positive motivational beliefs and self‑esteem. effective delivery of relevant information: orientation should aim to prepare students for academic life by: (a) showing them what is expected of them academically; (b) familiarising them with the various on‑campus services and programmes that are designed to support students; and (c) providing information about courses, timetabling, and other administrative matters related to the requirements of the course as well as the institution. creation of supportive relationships and networks: orientation should allow socialisation opportunities such that students are enabled to develop different forms of social capital at the institution and make the relevant connections and relationships which can support their higher education journey. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 annsilla nyar: how to improve university orientation: seven good practice strategies for south africa 127 good practice strategy #2: adopt a staged view of orientation studies on student transition suggest that orientation should be viewed in the context of a developmental process, beginning with an elucidation of the transitional processes involved in the student life‑cycle and a critical assessment of where and how orientation is needed at different stages in the student life‑cycle (haselgrove, 1994; cook & rushton, 2008; morgan, 2012). cook and rushton (2008) usefully build upon haselgrove’s (1994, p. 3) succinct description of the student life‑cycle of “getting in, being there and moving on” by suggesting that different phases of the student experience be incorporated into a traditional orientation programme. particular attention is paid to the earliest stages of the student life‑cycle, such as that of the initial contact made with the institution of higher education in question. in line with the contention by tresman (2002) that “the student’s learning journey starts with the initial enquiry to the university”, orientation should, in fact, begin before students commence their studies. this early stage can be referred to as the ‘first contact and pre‑arrival’ stage or simply as ‘pre‑entry’. it can be defined as the earliest contact made with the institution of higher education in question, and specifically, the point between application and enrolment at the university. this particular early stage of the student life‑cycle is seen as a discrete one and one which has been hitherto overlooked in terms of its important relationship to retention. it is argued that positive first impressions of the university are associated with student persistence and significantly influence the extent to which students are motivated to persist throughout their studies (allen, 1999; kealy and rockel, 1987). accordingly, yorke and thomas (2003, p. 68) advise that this particular stage of the student life‑cycle be accorded special attention by institutions of higher education; notably, they recommend diverse strategies such as “sending newsletters, emails and text messages and having teams of students in high visibility t‑shirts to welcome students at enrolment” in order to make a strong impression upon new students. tresman (2002) suggests that institutions of higher education have to support students at the pre‑entry stage by affording them the relevant information to make informed choices about their studies. noting that “higher education institutions must ensure that students are not pitched into a level of study in which they cannot possibly cope,” tresman (2002) recommends that institutions provide detailed pre‑entry material, even meetings and face‑to‑face interviews with students wherever possible, so as to try to avoid the wrong choice of field of studies or a possible mismatch between expectations and the realities of the course of study for students. it is recommended that some aspects of university study should be made familiar to students before they first arrive at university such that they may know where they have to be and what they should be doing when they first get there. wherever possible, students should be provided with timetables (academic timetables as well as that for orientation events). even at this early stage, an effort should be made to provide students with reading lists for prescribed textbooks, and maps showing venues for scheduled classes (wherever possible). personalised letters inviting students to orientation are also seen as a useful and distinctive way of reaching out to students (clack, 2009; shobrook, 2003). 128 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 123‑135 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 trotter and roberts (2006) make a case for accurate, up‑to‑date prospectus, website, and publicity material about the institution as ways to give students as much information as possible at the earliest stages of their contact with the institution of higher education in question. it is certainly possible to see that a dedicated orientation website, i.e. an integrated web page which shares information about a number of different aspects of university – such as enrolment, finance, and accommodation – would help to prepare students for the realities of academic life and serve as a useful reference guide at different points along the student life‑cycle. tours of the student residences on youtube or snapchat could, for example, help to familiarise students with the institution and the realities of their new existence as students before they actually arrive on campus. it appears to be a commonplace practice for some internationally‑based institutions to use ‘pre‑arrival activities and tasks’ in order to familiarise students with the requirements and expectations of their course. such pre‑arrival tasks are often linked to the orientation activities taking place at the institution (foster & lawther, 2012) and provide an initial sense of what academic life will require of students. they are often discipline‑specific, being set by the programme or course within which students are based and help students to understand their subject matter and the kind of thinking they will be required to do. in line with the idea of a ‘staged’ view of orientation, ‘extended orientation’ is now a common practice. extended orientation refers to orientation activities being spread out over a longer period of time during the academic year. it is argued that extending the length of the orientation period allows students to “assimilate and make sense of the information provided, to socialise with the staff and existing students through a range of activities and to feel that they belong in the higher education community at their institution” (crosling et al., 2009, p. 12). extended induction can therefore be seen as a longer‑term assimilation into the ways and practices of institutions of higher education. it is noted, however, that extended orientation may not attract a large number of students throughout the course of the academic year as students have less time to spend on orientation on account of the commencement of their studies and being fully engaged by then in their studies. however, it can be argued that in spite of possible reduced attendance, extended orientation still serves a useful function for those students who may have missed the early part of the orientation programme or who are experiencing difficulties adjusting to the curriculum or, more broadly, to university life. good practice strategy #3: balance the academic and non-components of orientation orientation activities are typically composed of academic and non‑academic components, in order that students are guided towards integration into the institution in both academic and social aspects. it is recognised that the social aspect of orientation is very important, and that it should allow students the opportunity to form the relevant friendships and networks which can support them throughout their higher education journey. therefore, orientation has had to incorporate social activities with an emphasis on ‘fun’ (such as welcome parties https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 annsilla nyar: how to improve university orientation: seven good practice strategies for south africa 129 at student residences or other social events aimed at first‑year students) into the structure of orientation programmes and activities. it is, however, often challenging to achieve a proportionate balance between academic preparation and ‘fun’ activities for students. social activities linked to orientation may inadvertently promote a disinclination towards the academic aspects of university. fun activities such as ‘beer’ or ‘keg parties’ can often introduce students to a different student lifestyle and hence a mindset which is less oriented towards studies. mckenzie and schweitzer (2010, p. 31) contend that “university orientation weeks with their often heavy emphasis on social activities, having fun and alcohol consumption may in fact be promoting the disinclination toward academic achievement”, and they conclude that, “it may be necessary to rethink the activities promoted in orientation week and put an increased emphasis on study skills and academic achievement as integral parts of university life”. furthermore, mayhew et al. (2010, p. 340) argue that “orientation programmes are often the first (and sometimes only) structured opportunities administrators have for communicating institutional priorities to students: what messages are we sending if these contexts continue primarily to be positioned for social purposes?” good practice strategy #4: give students the information they need at the right time it is axiomatic that orientation must equip students with knowledge and information about academic life, and how best to settle successfully into their institution of higher education of choice. the kind of information given to students at orientation should include both general and specific kinds of information. while students are typically appraised about matters such as public transport, parking, housing, student employment, careers office, disability support, campus security, and so on, it is also important to include much more detailed information about issues such as safety, ethics, grievances and complaints procedures, or other discipline‑specific issues related to dealing with, amongst others, hazardous equipment or working in laboratories. the transmission of information at the right time, i.e. when it can be most usefully absorbed by students, is of key importance to orientation programmes. the question ‘what do students need to know?’ is rarely considered in fine‑grained detail and in relation to the related question of when students should be receiving particular pieces of information. too much detail can be counterproductive and lead to ‘information overload’. studies derived from student questionnaire data often report that students experience being overwhelmed by the volume of information received during orientation and may subsequently forget all the information received therein (trotter & roberts, 2006; clack, 2009). a case can be made here, then, for the aforementioned dedicated webpage on orientation on institutional websites. in order to combat problems of ‘information overload’, it is also important to consider that orientation may not always have to be offered in a face‑to‑face format, or solely as a face‑to‑face format. online orientation programmes can allow students to self‑manage 130 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 123‑135 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 their orientation experiences while being able to control the volume of information offered and without having to wait until the commencement of orientation programmes in order to do so (wilson, 2008). students would then be able to ‘self‑pace’ themselves and work systematically through structured content. online orientation programmes could be offered online to the extent that they could be seen as an alternative process of orientation, and one which may be complementary to face‑to‑face orientation programmes. although many institutions of higher education have invested in one way or the other in online programmes, it is rare to find comprehensive orientation programmes which are offered online to a similar extent that they are done in a face‑to‑face context. the design, development and implementation of online orientation programmes are generally labour‑intensive and require buy‑in and support from many different stakeholders at the institution of higher education in question. it is certainly possible, however, that the benefits of a comprehensive online orientation programme may well outweigh the costs of developing and setting it up. good practice strategy #5: allow students to develop healthy forms of social capital at the institution studies have shown that the principal source of anxiety for first‑year students relates to that of fitting‑in and belonging (o’keefe, 2013; morrow & ackermann, 2012; hoffman, richmond & morrow, 2002). it is therefore important that institutions create specific opportunities for socialising and set up social events – described by worrall (2007) as “forced networking” – which allow students comfortable ways to meet and engage with other staff and students with whom they will be interacting over the course of their studies. these events are encouraged to be as inclusive as possible and to consider matters of race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and religion when planning and organising such events. the underlying ethos of social inclusivity and engagement behind orientation is contrary to that of another institutional practice which is often argued to be part of orientation: initiation or ‘hazing’ ceremonies and rituals. orientation is often understood to be associated with initiation. initiation practices are argued to be an expanded form of orientation for new students and a crucial rite of passage for new students entering the situation. (south african human rights commission, 2001; dias & sa, 2014). according to dias and sa (2014, p. 1), initiation is regarded by first‑year students as “a necessary and inevitable price to ‘pay’ for their entrance into the academic world”. though frowned upon and in many cases banned, initiation ceremonies remain pervasive at institutions of higher education all over the world such that educators and lawmakers continue to lobby against the practice on account of the physical and psychological harm posed to students. orientation programmes can serve as an appropriate platform to speak out against initiation practices and to continue to remind students of the qualitative difference between orientation and initiation. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 annsilla nyar: how to improve university orientation: seven good practice strategies for south africa 131 good practice strategy #6: help students experience what learning is like at university it is often argued that orientation should be able to give students an understanding of the expectations and requirements of academic learning, and that students should be able to sample the kind of learning that they will be doing at university. some institutions use ‘pre‑arrival tasks activities’ to help familiarise students with the content and approach of their respective courses and give them an early opportunity to practise independent learning and study as they will encounter it during the course of their studies (foster & lawther, 2012). however, this is not as easy as it would appear. studies have shown that south africa’s first‑year student cohort, like students in many other parts of the world, tends to be wholly unprepared for the academic demands of university life. according to the council on higher education (2013, p. 54) the under‑preparedness of students ranges from “struggling in the formal curriculum to difficulty with adjusting to independent learning and the university environment”. throughout the first year of study, students’ expectations of their studies and of academic life have to be consciously adjusted and managed. orientation programmes cannot hope to manage the issue of under‑preparedness but at the very least they should be able to introduce and initiate a discussion of the difference between students’ prior experiences of learning at school and the expectations and requirements of academic life. orientation should be able to give students the understanding that they will be encountering a new mode of learning; the knowledge of the means to be sufficiently prepared using forms of institutional academic support available; and the opportunities to ‘sample’ or ‘practise’ first‑year learning activities. good practice strategy #7: adopt formal institutional structures and processes for orientation good orientation practice stems not only from knowledge and research, but also from the efforts of dedicated personnel who are mandated to manage orientation as a professionalised and high‑skill activity. such dedicated orientation professionals would be able to attend to orientation as a full‑time occupation, rather than something which is done at the beginning of the academic year for the duration of a week and then forgotten. there is evidence that institutions of higher education are investing resources and time in retention‑related appointments such as that of student retention teams, retention officers and retention counsellors, all of which are responsible for improving the practice of orientation and ensuring that orientation is managed as a developmental priority for the respective institutions. many such institutional strategies and appointments which are retention‑related and have a direct bearing on matters of orientation, are being explored under the ‘what works? student retention and success programme’ at various uk‑based universities being funded by the paul hamlyn foundation and the higher education 132 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 123‑135 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 academy (hea) (2017). similar studies in the united states and canada have been similarly conducted by hanover research (2010 and 2014). foster and lawther (2012) recommend the use of assessment techniques which draw on current educational research (chickering & gamson, 1991) and focus on evidence of effectiveness and impact. here, a useful exercise in self‑assessment and reflection is provided in table 2 (below) – which has been developed by nottingham trent university in the united kingdom in the form of a ‘checklist’ for orientation professionals in order to assess whether their orientation practices are meeting the needs of students and are aligned with the broader goals of orientation processes. table 2: new student induction checklist does your induction … link to induction principles: 1. provide opportunities for students to develop friendship groups and support networks? (1) to have opportunities to start making friends and building support networks. 2. provide opportunities to sample/ practise normal first‑year learning? (2) to understand what learning is like in university; (3) to experience authentic learning and have some reassurance that they can cope. 3. provide students their first tutorial during induction week? (1) to have opportunities to start making friends and building support networks; (2) to understand what learning is like in university; (3) to experience authentic learning and have some reassurance that they can cope. 4. integrate the pre‑arrival task into the induction programme? (1) to have opportunities to start making friends and building support networks; (2) to understand what learning is like in university; (3) to experience authentic learning and have some reassurance that they can cope. 5. last as long as a normal teaching week? (5) to have a course induction that allows time for other commitments. 6. use second or final year students for activities such as campus tours? (1) to have opportunities to start making friends and building support networks; (2) to understand what learning is like in university; (3) to experience authentic learning and have some reassurance that they can cope; (4) to be reminded of how their course will benefit their future plans. 7. minimise the number of guest lectures (preferably integrate them into normal teaching at other appropriate times later in the year)? (5) to have a course induction that allows time for other commitments. 8. treat the induction week as the first week of induction and induct students to new elements and concepts throughout the term? (1) to have opportunities to start making friends and building support networks; (4) to be reminded of how their course will benefit their future plans; (5) to have a course induction that allows time for other commitments. source: nottingham trent university. new student induction: guide for staff (2017) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 annsilla nyar: how to improve university orientation: seven good practice strategies for south africa 133 conclusion the seven good practice strategies outlined herein speak very broadly to the current needs and gaps in current orientation practice in south africa. there may certainly be further issues which require targeted attention, for example how best to address the needs of specific student populations within an orientation programme. a case in point is that of international students whose needs are often unrecognised within a generic orientation programme. however, there are other categories of students who require discrete and targeted attention and resources within orientation programmes, such as that of disabled or ‘differently abled’ students and transgender or intersex students. it can be said that such categories of students may have specific needs that may not always be accommodated within a traditional orientation programme. at the conclusion of this work, it must be noted that the good practice strategies for orientation are, above all, not intended to be prescriptive. they offer a starting point for a national conversation about orientation and the required further professionalisation and improvement of the field of orientation. discussion and debate are required with south africa’s orientation professionals and other related stakeholders who work directly in the field and can offer nuanced insights into the matters raised herein. the latter will help to further refine this work and embed it in the realities of south africa’s higher education landscape. references allen, d. 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(2007). orientation to student placements: needs and benefits. paediatric nursing, 19(1), 31‑33. https://doi.org/10.7748/paed2007.02.19.1.31.c4443 how to cite: nyar, a. 2020. how to improve university orientation: seven good practice strategies for south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 123‑135. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 https://doi.org/10.18848/1447-9494/cgp/v17i07/47140 https://doi.org/10.18848/1447-9494/cgp/v17i07/47140 http://www.hull.ac.uk/progress/guidebooks.htm http://www.hull.ac.uk/progress/guidebooks.htm https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226804545.001.0001 https://bit.ly/39qhqma https://bit.ly/39qhqma https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v3i1.75 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360600947368 https://doi.org/10.1080/13600800305737 https://doi.org/10.1080/13600800305737 https://doi.org/10.7748/paed2007.02.19.1.31.c4443 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4456 _hlk4498063 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 109‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 109 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article the relationships between first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning in life, mental health and academic performance corneli van der walt* * dr corneli van der walt is a registered counselling psychologist and manager of the first year experience, centre for academic development, vaal university of technology, vanderbijlpark, south africa. email: corneli@vut.ac.za abstract the research explored the relationships that exist between first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning in life, mental health and academic performance enrolled for courses with at‑risk subjects at a higher education institution. empirical data was obtained from 269 participants (18‑22  years = 60.97%, female = 55.80%) who completed the purpose in life test and mental health screening questionnaire that assessed their sense of purpose and meaning in life and mental health. the average mark in four subjects during their mid‑year examination denoted their academic performance. the results suggested that students were still exploring the nature of their sense of purpose and meaning in life (m = 109.21, sd = 21.05) and that small, significant relationships existed between their sense of purpose and meaning in life and mental health. these findings suggested that student practitioners should consider developing interventions to enhance first‑year students’ identification of their purpose and meaning in life that may inherently also aid their identity development. likewise, practitioners should consider strengthening and/or developing interventions in critical mental health areas like depression, anxiety, post‑traumatic stress and alcohol use behaviour. keywords academic performance; first‑year student; management sciences; meaning in life; mental health; student development introduction the focus in south african higher education (sahe) has shifted from elitism to mass opportunity (fraser & killen, 2003; scott, yeld & hendry, 2007; white paper,  2013). consequently, the student population has diversified and higher education institutions (heis) must accommodate and address the needs of students coming from diverse backgrounds and varying levels of preparedness for the demands of higher education (he) (de jager & van lingen, 2012; reddy, 2006; scott et al., 2007). there is a myriad of factors that influence students’ success at university, like their academic and social preparedness; their motivation and approach to studying; their experience in the university system; the teaching strategies employed by educators; https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:corneli%40vut.ac.za?subject= 110 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 109‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 interaction between them and the hei academic and social systems (e.g. levels of engagement and disengagement); cultural expectations; psychosocial factors and their socioeconomic status (fraser & killen, 2003; mason, 2017; scott et al., 2007). first‑year students may face additional challenges like moving to a new area or country; separation from their family and existing friends; managing the transition from high school and home to university life; experiencing a range of different cultures; communicating in a language they are not fluent in; meeting unfamiliar modes of learning, teaching and assessment; managing changed financial circumstances; balancing study with employment or being a parent and/or carer; and making the transition from home to the hei local health providers and support services (aldiabat, matini & le navenec,  2014; student mental wellbeing …, 2015). consequently, first‑year students may be at risk of higher levels of stress and the development of psychiatric symptoms (aldiabat et al., 2014). a key outcome for he students is the development of purpose and meaning (pam) in life (for this study ‘purpose’ and ‘meaning’ are regarded as an interwoven concept and used interchangeably) (braskamp, trautvetter & ward, 2008; chickering & stamm, 2002). whilst meaning in life is a complex construct and may not be defined in a general way, it is thought to be an inherent striving to find meaning in life and that life has meaning under all circumstances, including unfavourable situations (frankl, 2006). consequently, it is possible to find meaning in adversity through the attitude that individuals adopt when they are facing inevitable suffering (frankl, 2006). he plays an active role in aiding students’ identity development since identities are formed through challenges, crises, life events and values students experience throughout their he years (chickering & stamm, 2002; higbee, 1996; reisser, 1995; scialdoni, 2009). identity development entails the development of pam and involves educational and vocational planning, making lifestyle choices, exercising intentionality daily, persistence despite obstacles and a growing ability to unify various goals within the scope of a larger more meaningful purpose (chickering & stamm, 2002; higbee, 1996). therefore, meaning in life becomes a “web of connections, understandings, and interpretations” that may not only assist students to comprehend their experiences, but also help them to formulate plans towards realising their desired futures (steger, 2012, p. 165). however, students’ ability to experience a sense of pam involves their efficacy in coping with daily stresses, misfortunes and negative affect (wong, 2012). makola and van den berg (2008b) reported a significant positive relationship between first‑year students’ sense of pam and their academic performance. research demonstrated students’ level of pam as positively linked to their better adjustment to university; more effective study strategies; better class attendance; better time management; perseverance and study completion (makola, 2014; makola & van den berg, 2010). tinto (1993) identified students’ intentions and commitment as key to their perseverance and success. ultimately, a sense of pam is associated with students having a better understanding of the application potential for what they have learnt; a higher level of exploring life directions; a regard for education as a gateway to their independence and bringing about positive change in the world (henderson‑king & mitchell, 2011). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 corneli van der walt: the relationships between first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning in life … 111 hence, international research has indicated an upward trend over the last few decades in the quantity and severity of mental health problems presented by he students (del pilar,  2009; garlow et al., 2008; gencoz & or, 2006; wang, lee & wahid, 2013). these studies demonstrated significant levels of depressive symptoms, suicide ideation, suicide attempts, anxiety, anger, and alcohol and drug use in students. research on the mental health of sahe students is limited. however, a study by pillay, edwards, gambu and dhlomo (2002) showed an increase in depression amongst university student populations. depressive symptoms are linked to poorer academic performance and additional mental health problems amongst those affected (aldiabat et al., 2014). a sense of pam in life is deemed as a core component of mental health, and has been shown to be positively correlated to students’ well‑being, resiliency and social attitudes and is thought to be advantageous to their overall growth and development (henderson‑king & mitchell, 2011; kleftaras & psarra, 2012; mason, 2014; mokalo & van den berg, 2008b; molasso, 2006; steger, 2012). a lack or low level of meaning is related to a series of negative behaviours and mental health problems, such as alcohol and drug use, boredom proneness, depression, suicide ideation, disengagement and risky behaviours (kleftaras & psarra, 2012; schulenberg & melton, 2010; steger, frazier, oishi & kaler, 2006) with clear implications for he students’ sense of pam and academic success. purpose of the study a sense of pam in life appears to be a valuable construct for he. however, studies about meaning in life in the sahe sector is still limited (makola & van den berg, 2008a, 2008b; makola, 2014; mason, 2014, 2017; nell, 2014). the study explored how a sense of pam, mental health and academic performance of first‑year students at a hei enrolled for courses in management sciences with at‑risk subjects related to one another. the core constructs explored were: a sense of pam in life as the extent to which participants have found meaning in life; mental health as the absence or the presence of minimal symptoms of depression, anxiety and substance use; and academic performance as the average mark that the participants obtained in four identified subjects during their mid‑year examination. method research design to provide a basic familiarity, a quantitative exploratory design was used to investigate and describe the relationships between students’ sense of pam in life, mental health and academic performance (babbie & mouton, 2001; neuman, 1997). participants students enrolled for at‑risk first‑year courses were asked to volunteer to participate in the study. subsequently, a convenient sample of 269 male and female students participated during the second semester. an overview of the participant characteristics is included in table 1. 112 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 109‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 table 1: participant characteristics of students enrolled for at‑risk first‑year courses category n % gender female male 150 119 55.80 44.20 age group (years) 18‑22 23‑27 >27 not stated 164 37 2 66 60.97 13.75 0.74 24.45 accommodation residence (on/off campus) private 68 201 25.30 74.70 research instruments a brief demographic questionnaire was developed to gather participants’ age, gender and residential status (research has shown that residential accommodation is correlated to lower levels of psychological distress in he students (wang et al., 2013). all items were developed to allow participants to respond using selected response scales so that participants’ identities were protected and for appropriate and ease of documentation. the purpose in life (pil) test (crumbaugh & maholick, 1969), which is based on viktor frankl’s theory of meaning, was selected to assess participants’ sense of pam in life. it is regarded as a primary measure of meaning and is commonly used in research studies with diverse study populations (crumbaugh & maholick, 1969; schulenberg & melton, 2010). the pil is an attitude scale that measured the degree to which individuals experienced a sense of pam in life. the 20 items on the pil are scored on a seven‑point scale ranging from 1 (feelings of no purpose) to 7 (the greatest feelings of purpose in life). scores range from a low of 20 to a high of 140 and are categorised into three ranges: a lack of clear purpose and meaning (score range: 20‑91); somewhat uncertain purpose and meaning (score range: 92‑112) and presence of definite purpose and meaning (score range: 113‑140). molasso (2006) had reported that the pil demonstrates good reliability and validity according to the split‑half (.87‒.92) and test‑retest method (.79‒.83). the mental health screening questionnaire (mhsq) was used to assess aspects of the participants’ mental health and was adapted from the psychiatric diagnostic screening questionnaire (pdsq) (zimmerman, 2002). the pdsq is a brief self‑ report questionnaire that screens for symptoms of dsm‑iv axis  i disorders most commonly encountered amongst individuals 18  years of age and older (zimmerman & chelminski,  2006). the pdsq has proven itself to be effective, convenient and reliable (sheeran & zimmerman, 2004; zimmerman & chelminski, 2006). the mhsq consists of the pdsq major depression  (mdd), post‑traumatic stress  (ptsd), panic  (pd), social anxiety  (sp), generalised anxiety  (gad), alcohol abuse/dependence  (aad) and drug abuse/dependence (dad) subscales. the entire instrument comprises 74 items, each with a yes/no answer format. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 corneli van der walt: the relationships between first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning in life … 113 ethics the applicability of the pil and mhsq with student populations in group contexts was established and permission was obtained from the developers to utilise the questionnaires. thereafter, permission was sought from the hei ethical committee to conduct the study and approval was received. the language of the pil and mhsq was adapted since most participants were second‑language english speakers. permission was obtained from the course department at the hei to recruit first‑year students for the study. the researcher was present at the time of data collection to clarify any matter and was assisted by a multilingual psychologist to address any language issues, to act as a translator (if required) and to ensure the psychological safety of all participants. although the researcher’s presence may be regarded as a conflict of interest, this was counteracted by the presence of the psychologist and subject lecturers who were monitoring what transpired. detailed information about the study; assurances on confidentiality; voluntarily participation and withdrawal; together with the scope of the research, data collection and analysis were provided in an open forum. only students who agreed to participate in the study were asked to complete the questionnaires and the questionnaires (in english) were completed in class after written permission was obtained from all volunteers. data analysis the statistical package for social sciences (spss) (version 22) assisted with the data analyses. descriptive statistics were calculated to provide an overview of the participants’ characteristics. a reliability coefficient (cronbach’s alpha) was calculated for the pil. reliability coefficients were not calculated for the mhsq subscales due to the categorical nature of the data. pearson r coefficients were calculated to determine relationships between the pil, mhsq and the participants’ academic performance. t‑tests were used to observe differences between the participants’ demographic characteristics, pam in life, mental health and academic performance. results and discussion a cronbach’s alpha of .89 was calculated for the pil that represented good internal consistency. the pil mean group score was calculated as 109.21 (sd = 21.05) and interpreted in the sense that the participants’ pam was somewhat uncertain. the result is in line with chickering’s developmental theory that held that students are still in a process of developing that pam (reisser, 1995). the means and standard deviations on the mhsq subscales and the cut‑off scores on each subscale are included in table 2. 114 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 109‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 table 2: means and standard deviations subscales n m (sd) cut‑off score mdd 269 6.93 (4.02) 9 ptsd 269 4.37 (3.39) 5 pd 269 2.02 (2.02) 4 sp 269 6.09 (3.94) 4 aad 269 0.78 (1.39) 1 dad 269 0.20 (0.79) 1 gad 269 4.36 (3.05) 7 the mean group measures on the major depression, post‑traumatic stress, panic, alcohol abuse/dependence, drug abuse/dependence and generalised anxiety were subclinical. at the group level, this finding suggested the participants’ psychological health and adaptive coping. although the mean group measure on the social anxiety subscale exceeded the recommended cut‑off value that suggested a follow‑up clinical interview, the measure was interpreted in the sense that the participants might have felt anxious because of the nature of the task and that they might have feared negative judgement. inspection of the individual measures on the mhsq subscales indicated a significant number of participants who exceeded the recommended cut‑off scores on the various subscales. the number and percentage of participants on the major depression, post‑ traumatic stress, panic, social anxiety, alcohol abuse/dependence, drug abuse/dependence and generalised anxiety subscales that were indicated for follow‑up is shown in table 3. table 3: numbers of participants recommended for follow‑up subscales n (%) mdd 72 (26.77) ptsd 113 (42.01) pd 63 (23.42) sp 182 (67.66) aad 86 (31.97) dad 22 ( 8.18) gad 62 (23.05) zimmerman (2002) indicated the mhsq cut‑off values to be more sensitive than specific and to be interpreted in a flexible way. therefore, the cut‑off values were not used to assign a diagnosis or treatment, but rather to inform decisions about whether a more comprehensive clinical screening should be undertaken (zimmerman, 2002). the high levels of symptoms present on the subscales is consistent with previous research that indicated that not only globally, but also locally, there is an increase in mental health problems amongst students (del pilar, 2009; garlow et al., 2008; gencoz & or,  2006; https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 corneli van der walt: the relationships between first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning in life … 115 pillay et  al.,  2002). the recommendation for follow‑up was most prominent regarding post‑traumatic stress, alcohol abuse/dependency and major depression. generally, research shows a prevalence rate of 16.67% amongst south africans suffering from anxiety, depression and substance use problems (herman et al., 2009). alarmingly, the psychological distress may be related to contemporary south africans’ challenges to deal with political uncertainty, social transition, crime and economic stress (health24, 2017). since no cut‑off values on the mhsq were available for south african populations, the results were interpreted with caution, however, being cognisant of the emerging trend of mental health problems amongst he students (pillay et al., 2002). the correlations between the pil and mhsq are included in table 4. table 4: correlations between pil and mhsq pil mdd ptsd pd sp aad dad mdd ‑.340** ptsd ‑.100 .495** pd ‑.124* .446** .459** sp ‑.097 .307** .245** .378** aad ‑.085 .122* .144* .208** .129* dad ‑.073 .117 .159** .120* .065 .371** gad ‑.192** .541** .427** .531** .503** .084 .082 *p<.05, two tailed **p<.01, two tailed small significant negative correlations were found between the participants’ sense of pam in life and the presence of symptoms of major depression, panic and generalised anxiety. empirical studies support positive associations between psychological distress and lower meaning in life, and between high meaning in life, psychological well‑being and the ability to cope effectively with stressful life events (marsh, smith, piek & saunders, 2003). at the group level, the significant negative correlations between the measure on the pil and the presence of symptoms of major depression, panic and generalised anxiety concurred with these studies, and were interpreted in the sense that the participants’ sense of pam in life was positively related to their adaptive psychological coping. however, on an individual level it was apparent that a significant percentage of the participants might have been psychologically distressed (see table 3). an average score of 59.66% (sd = 7.14) was calculated for the participants’ academic performance in the mid‑year examination. at the group level, a non‑significant relationship was found between the participants’ sense of pam and their academic performance. the correlations between the participants’ sense of pam and their academic performance are included in table 5. 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 109‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 table 5: correlations between academic performance and meaning pil n % sd subject a .020 244 59.58 9.54 subject b .125 231 58.64 6.64 subject c .038 247 63.51 10.40 subject d .003 235 58.73 13.54 subject mean .054 239 59.66 7.14 *p<.05, two tailed **p<.01, two tailed the female participants reported a higher sense of pam on the pil (m = 110.36; sd = 20.11) than the male participants (m = 107.85; sd = 22.22). both these measures were interpreted as a somewhat uncertain sense of pam. t‑tests revealed the difference between the pam of the genders as non‑significant. significant differences were found between the genders concerning the prevalence of symptoms on the post‑traumatic, alcohol abuse/dependency, drug abuse/dependency and generalised anxiety on the mhsq subscales. the means, standard deviations and p‑values for the differences between the genders is included in table 6. table 6: means and standard deviations for differences between the male and female participants subscale females m (sd) males m (sd) p‑value ptsd 4.80 (3.36) 3.84 (3.34) .020 aad .414 (1.05) 1.27 (1.63) .000 dad .046 (0.24) .414 (1.14) .000 gad 4.72 (3.17) 3.87 (2.83) .023 the female participants reported more symptoms than the male participants on the post‑traumatic stress and generalised anxiety subscales. the male participants reported more symptoms than the female participants on the substance (alcohol and drugs) abuse/ dependency subscales. alcohol and drug use were indicated as particularly prevalent amongst rural‑based first‑year university students (pillay & naidoo, 2010). the high prevalence rate was related to the students’ developmental level, the vulnerabilities and challenges associated with being a first‑year student in relation to ways of dealing with stress and social situations (pillay & ngcobo, 2010). it is also possible that the female participants might have been socialised differently from the male participants (afifi, 2007; needham & hill,  2010) and that they might have had a higher tendency to internalise psychological distress than males who might have had a higher tendency to externalise psychological distress in the form of alcohol and drug use (afifi, 2007; needham & hill, 2010). the literature shows a distinct relationship between meaninglessness and alcohol and/or drug use (asagba & marshall, 2016). for this study, a non‑significant statistical correlation was found between the participants’ sense of pam and the presence of symptoms on the alcohol and/or drug abuse/dependency subscales (see table 4). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 corneli van der walt: the relationships between first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning in life … 117 the difference between the genders on the post‑traumatic stress subscale may be interpreted in the sense that the female participants might have been more vulnerable regarding exposure (including secondary exposure) to gender‑based violence (e.g. physical violence and rape) than the male participants (dunkle et al., 2004). research substantiated the experience of high levels of gender‑based violence amongst south african females (maluleke,  2018). this interpretation may account for the higher incidence of reported post‑traumatic stress symptoms in the female population. however, this finding should be investigated further before any final conclusions can be drawn. a significant difference was found concerning the prevalence of symptoms reported on the alcohol abuse/dependency subscale between the participants who resided in a residence (m = .338, sd = .84) and those who resided in private accommodation (m = .935, sd = 1.51). students who resided in a residence reported fewer symptoms than those in private accommodation. this result is supported by the wang et al. (2013) study, and it may suggest that the accommodation affiliated with the hei offered a more structured environment with a higher level of peer support, that had culminated into a higher sense of connectedness to the hei and the cultivation of prosocial behaviour. such an environment may thus play a role in mitigating first‑year students’ alcohol/drug use and/or dependency behaviour. however, this finding should be investigated further before any final conclusions can be made. limitations and future directions the research project had certain limitations that should be taken into consideration when interpreting the results. the representativeness of the sample posed a limitation on the study. a relatively small, convenient sample was used from a specific subject area from a hei, implying that the conclusions drawn may not be generalised to other students and other heis. research instruments that have been validated for the south african context could not be found. as such, the cultural fairness of the pil and mhsq was not established for the south african student populations. likewise, the cut‑off values for the mhsq subscales were not determined for south african student populations and could be more sensitive than specific. future work using mixed methods would allow for richer descriptions of the relationships between students’ meaning in life, mental health and academic performance. conclusion the study revealed that the participants had a somewhat uncertain sense of purpose and meaning in life, suggesting that they were still exploring these aspects. the study also revealed significant positive relationships between the participants’ sense of purpose and meaning in life and mental health; differences between the genders with respect to the prevalence of symptoms reported for mental health conditions; and differences between participants who were residing in residence accommodation and those who did not, concerning the prevalence of symptoms reported for alcohol use/dependency behaviour. these findings have practical implications. while heis’ focus and main priority is the academic or intellectual development of its students, there are claims that he has been neglecting its students’ inner development (dalton & crosby, 2006; marklein,  2007). 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 109‑121 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 young people in contemporary south africa dwell in an increasingly volatile, uncertain and complex world which poses definite challenges to their identity construction as individuals and as a collective, their capacity to establish healthy interpersonal relationships and their ability to develop purpose and meaning (côté, 2018). it was clear from the results that students’ sense of purpose and meaning played a role in their mental health, whereas the literature study indicated that students’ mental health is linked to prosocial attitudes and behaviour, and resilience. as such, heis may be underestimating the role that a sense of purpose and meaning may play in students’ development and growth and ultimately their success. moreover, the results offer insight into strategies and programmes that may support and develop first‑year students. for example, there is a need for interventions to develop first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning whilst fostering their identity construction and resilience that may enable them to advance despite adversity and to live meaningful lives; a need to strengthen and/or develop interventions in critical mental health areas (e.g. programmes focusing on depression and anxiety, post‑traumatic stress and alcohol use behaviour) and a need to strengthen or establish gender‑based psychosocial programmes. furthermore, it is clear that residence accommodation and the student development work that takes place in residence systems may play a critical role in first‑year students’ social attitudes and behaviour that depicts residence life during the first year of study to be an effective strategy to support students’ transition into and integration with university life. however, cognisance should be taken that the proposed intervention strategies should be part of a range of holistic student development programmes intentionally designed to enhance students’ likelihood to succeed. besides the infrastructure requirements at an institutional level for this to happen, the will and capacity of practitioners (and mainstream staff) to drive and implement such interventions need to be in place. references afifi, m. 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(2019). the relationships between first‑year students’ sense of purpose and meaning in life, mental health and academic performance. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 109‑121. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80 https://bit.ly/34a0r0h https://bit.ly/34a0r0h https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226922461.001.0001 https://bit.ly/344v7es https://bit.ly/37ug3xv https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203146286 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291706008257 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3828 preface together in student success john schuh* * director and distinguished professor, school of education, iowa state university, usa. african minds www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, v–vi | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.45 i have had two opportunities to visit south africa in the past several years and interact with student affairs staff, as well as faculty and students, at a number of universities, including stellenbosch university, the university of cape town, the university of the western cape and the university of pretoria. the prevailing themes of my visits have been the exceptional hospitality that has been extended to me, the wonderful discussions we have had about higher education in south africa, the united states and other countries around the world, and the enthusiasm for knowledge that has marked our conversations. i have learnt so much from my colleagues in south africa and often have felt as though i might not have been able to reciprocate to the extent that i had wished. my learning and perspectives have been expanded so much by my interaction with my colleagues in south africa. it can be easy to slip into conversations about how higher education is different from country to country if one brings a nationalistic perspective to international exchanges. after traveling outside the us to countries on four continents to visit institutions of higher education, i am convinced that we as student affairs educators have more in common than we have differences. for example, “[p]roblems and challenges that student affairs professionals face in the united states are common around the world” (jones, harper & schuh, 2011, p. 538). of course, there are structural differences in our institutions, our central governments play very different roles in supporting and overseeing our institutions, we use different nomenclature, and our histories and cultures are different. but i would submit that our similarities override those differences. for example, consider the following similarities: our countries have high expectations for those in higher education to contribute to the general welfare of our citizenry (churchill, 2014). in my view this means that there is general agreement that for those people who seek to improve their station in life, securing the highest level of education is the surest means of doing so. advanced levels of education do not necessarily ensure that one’s life will be easy or without challenges, but the evidence across the world is that educated people lead more robust and fulfilling lives than those who are not fortunate enough to have had opportunities for advanced education, or who have had such opportunities and failed to take advantage of them. vi vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, v–vi | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.45 our institutions have the success of their students as a core value (for more on student success, see kuh, 2011). some institutions will emphasise research and scholarly activity more than others, but it is very difficult to find a university that is not concerned about the success of its students. the days of ignoring undergraduate students and leaving their learning to chance are over. rather, institutions around the world are identifying and implementing strategies to provide an environment where students can be successful. of course, students need to take advantage of the support and assistance that are available, but in the end the focus on student success has never been greater. our institutions, across the world, are held to increasingly high standards of accountability (blimling, 2013). governments, governing boards, families, students and others are interested in the extent to which our institutions are accomplishing their missions. in short, our various stakeholders want to know if institutions are using their resources wisely, and that the use of those resources is resulting in organisational success, be that the accomplishment of educational goals by our students, the discovery and advancement of knowledge through the use of our research assets, or the advancement of our larger societies by the work that is undertaken with communities outside of higher education. accountability, transparency, and a commitment to continuous improvement are watchwords of contemporary higher education, and there is no reason to believe that this will change in the foreseeable future. interest in the contributions of student affairs educators to the education of our students also is a similarity. in most cases with which i am familiar, those who perform the typical functions found in student affairs have moved beyond conceptualising their roles as providing well-managed services for students. well-managed services for students certainly are important, but the learning that results from students living in campus residences, performing volunteer service, participating in campus organisations and recreational experiences, and studying abroad is perceived as central to the out-of-class experience. measuring this learning, adding potency to experiences, and creating new opportunities are all part of the portfolio of student affairs educators (kuh, kinzie, schuh, & whitt, 2010; also see gansemer-topf, 2013). work will always need to be done in determining how to add value to student learning, but a firm foundation has been established. all of this, then, brings us to the journal of student affairs in africa. in my view there is no better way of advancing a profession than through the development of literature that is carefully reviewed, timely, and disseminated widely among potential readers (also see carpenter & haber-curran, 2013). that is the aim of the journal of student affairs in africa, and my view is that it is well on its way towards making major contributions to advancing student affairs in africa and around the world. prof. john h. schuh director and distinguished professor, school of education, iowa state university member of the jsaa editorial executive journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, vii–xiii | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.45 references blimling, g. s. (2013). challenges of assessment in student affairs. in. j. h. schuh (ed.), selected contemporary assessment issues. new directions for student services sourcebook, no. 142. (pp. 5–14). san francisco: jossey-bass. carpenter, s. & haber-curran, p. (2013). the role of research and scholarship in the professionalisation of student affairs. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(1&2), 1–9. churchill, j. (2014). missing rhetoric. inside higher education. retrieved may 21, 2014, from http:// www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/05/13/essay-rhetoric-missing-obama-administrationscomments-higher-education gansemer-topf, a.m. (2013). enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(1&2), 23–32. jones, s. r., harper, s. r., & schuh, j. h. (2011). shaping the future. in j. h. schuh, s. r. jones & s.r. harper and associates, student services: a handbook for the profession (5th ed.) (pp. 534–546). san francisco: jossey-bass. kuh, g. d. (2011). student success. in j. h. schuh, s. r. jones & s.r. harper and associates, student services: a handbook for the profession (5th ed.) (pp. 257–269). san francisco: jossey-bass. kuh, g. d., kinzie, j., schuh, j. h., & whitt, e. j. (2010). student success in college. san francisco: jossey-bass. on a global scale, the 1998 world declaration on higher education (wdhe) calls for national and institutional decision-makers to “place students and their needs at the centre of their concern”, particularly as higher education expands and improves in developing countries. in response to this call, unesco has begun to elaborate ways in which student affairs and services in higher education can give effect to the world declaration with the publication of the manual the role of student affairs and services in higher education (unesco, 2002) and the best practice guide student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices (ludeman, osfield, hidalgo, oste & wang, 2009). this comes at a time when african higher education has been undergoing a continent-wide revitalisation and massive expansion, leading to the emergence of the first national systems of mass higher education on the continent (in a context where, however, most systems remain largely elite, with participation rates well below 15 per cent), much and widespread institutional massification, and in many countries a bifurcation of higher education into public and private universities and colleges, and government-sponsored and fee-paying students (mohamedbhai, 2008). in the introduction to unesco’s best practice guide in student affairs, ludeman et al. (2009) argue that in addition to mainly classroom-based delivery of higher education, there is increasing evidence that higher education also must address the basic personal needs of students by providing a comprehensive set of out-of-classroom student services and programmes commonly referred to as student affairs and services. these efforts should be designed to enable and empower students to focus more intensely on their studies and on their personal growth and maturation, both cognitively and emotionally. they also should result in enhanced student learning outcomes [and] help to assure students’ success in higher education and their subsequent contributions to the national welfare. (p. iv–v) * senior lecturer in higher education studies, institute for post-school studies, university of the western cape. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com ** clinical professor of higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university *** director, centre for student support services, university of the western cape african minds www.jsaa.ac.za editorial towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa thierry luescher-mamashela*, teboho moja** and birgit schreiber*** journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 viii ludeman’s reference to “personal growth and maturation, both cognitively and emotionally”, to enhancing “student learning outcomes” and assuring “student success” as part of the purposes of student affairs, points to a notion of student affairs that goes far beyond a services model which in its scope and focus is limited to the provision of support services. it thus challenges the separation of student affairs staff from academic staff and the core mission of the universities, and suggests a model of student affairs which may best be conceptualised as “a scholarship of practice” (see carpenter, 2013, in this issue). thus, if there is an incipient process of professionalising student affairs in africa, it would appear wise to consider models of professionalism that reflect the state of the discipline and best practice as well as a student development framework that embraces human development theories such as the holistic development theory. systems of higher education in africa need professionals who can help create an educational setting that would “address the individual’s intellectual growth as well as her personal growth to enable the student to mature and become a full participant in civil society” (gillepsie, braskamp & dwyer, 2009, p.446). scholarly and professional developments in african student affairs there is growing interest in professionalising student affairs in africa. for example, in the last decade, academic programmes with a focus in student affairs have sprung up in a number of african universities. at eduardo mondlane university (emu) in maputo, makerere university (mak) in kampala, and the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town, programmes have been developed and are being delivered as part of successful north–south and south–south collaborations. this development of programmes in higher education studies and student affairs – and the demand that has been shown both by students and prospective employers (such as national ministries, regulatory bodies and university administrations) – reflect training needs that clearly go beyond the ‘on-the-jobtraining’ model that is otherwise so prevalent, and point towards specialised and high-level skills requirements entering the profession. this is supported by research conducted in new and existing centres, in research programmes focused on african higher education, and in a growing literature on higher education and student affairs in africa. the scholarly field of higher education and student affairs is clearly developing – if still only in pockets – on the continent. concurrently, professional associations in student affairs are also developing. among them are the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), founded in 2010, the association for college and university housing officers – international (acuho-i), the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saachdhe), as well as national associations such as the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) and the national association of student development practitioners (nasdev). many of these associations hold annual or bi-annual conferences which include insightful presentations sharing professional reflection on good practices and research relevant to the profession more broadly. in addition, a first african student affairs conference was held in 2011, which included student affairs professionals from countries across the continent such viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 ix as nigeria, south africa and uganda. this was followed by a smaller conference of student affairs professionals and student leaders from across east and southern africa in the same year. most recently, some of the associations have ventured into new areas: publishing and training (with regard to the latter, see dunn & dunkel, 2013, in this issue). jsaa launch issue: the professionalisation of student affairs in africa it is within this context that the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) has been established as a platform for critically engaging with these developments by means of encouraging, supporting and disseminating high quality research and professional reflection from a diversity of national and institutional contexts. the jsaa is an independent, international, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary academic journal, established to serve the broad range of associations and professionals, institutions, centres and individual academics and researchers in the field. the jsaa publishes scholarly research and reflective-practitioner discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in african higher education. it ultimately strives to become the foremost scholarly and professional journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in higher education on the african continent. as such it will be an indispensible resource for the executive leadership of universities and colleges dealing with student affairs, deans of students and other senior student affairs professionals, as well as institutional researchers, academics and students focused on the field of higher education studies and student affairs. in the call for papers for the launch double issue of the jsaa, contributors were invited to engage with questions around the incipient professionalisation of student affairs in africa. specifically invited were critical contributions engaging with the notion of professionalisation, professionalism, and their meanings in relation to the practice of student affairs; explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context; explorations of theory development, professional trends and academic programmes related to student affairs in africa; conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa; as well as case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in african higher education and related relevant contexts, and high level reflective practitioner accounts. the response has been both overwhelmingly positive and expectedly skewed. the skewness relates mainly to the institutional location of authors. some of the authors are located in american universities, but have spent time in africa conducting research on student-related issues, whilst others are located in africa but mainly in south africa. this has been expected not only due to the institutional location of most of the founding editors of the journal (and the invitation is for authors and editors from across the continent to join) but also because of the levels of development of the profession and scholarly field in the united states (as against elsewhere in the world). to balance the skewness, peer-reviewers were selected from the african continent as well as from the international community. the responses received to the call for papers and in reaction to the establishment of the jsaa were overwhelmingly positive. one of the notes in support of the establishment thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa ix x of the journal is published as preface to the launch issue: the letter of support by deputy vice-chancellor, prof. lullu tshiwula of uwc, who has also become a patron of the journal. tshiwula writes that the space for this journal in the theatre of ideas is long overdue, and its potential for growth in the intellectual space is immense. (p. vi in this issue) this intellectual space has now become inhabited by a first set of contributors. conceptualisations of the student affairs profession the opening articles by carpenter and haber-curran and by selznick both engage with definitions of student affairs as a profession – and find that student affairs does not fit the strictures of traditional professions (such as medicine) very well. nonetheless (and from different perspectives), both arrive at the intermediary conclusion that professionalisation in the african higher education context is both possible and desirable, and should not necessarily follow the american model. according to carpenter and haber-curran, the traditional american service model has resulted in a conceptual separation of student affairs from the academic core mission of universities, which ought to be avoided in the african context. rather, by asking a series of questions, they propose that “student affairs professionals should engage in what can be called the scholarship of practice” (p. 3 in this issue): what if student affairs professionals fully embraced a role as practitioner-scholars engaging in practice in a thoughtful and intentional way that is both informed by research and informs research? (komives, 1998) what if the notion of scholarship expanded beyond just the scholarship of discovery to also include the scholarship of integration, application, and teaching and learning as argued by boyer? (1990) and what if student affairs practice were approached interdependently with academic faculties and departments rather than independently or dependently? in elaborating their conception of what constitutes a scholarship of practice, carpenter and haber-curran illustrate ways in which professional associations, professional preparation programmes (such as those mentioned above) and professional/scholarly publications like the jsaa can infuse scholarly values in professional practice. selznick’s focus on how best to professionalise student affairs leads him to a close examination of the work of noordegraaf on professional development with reference to the notions of ‘constructed professionalism’, ‘practices-in-transition’ and ‘hybrid professionalism’. they conceive of professionalisation as a dynamic, evolving and contingent process that involves an intentional, flexible and reflective application of theory in practice, in a context of empirical and normative complexity and ambiguity. selznick applies the x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 xi proposed professionalisation model in suggestive ways to career counselling and distance education, as two functional areas which respectively hold opportunities for adaptation and collaboration. he concludes on a high note: african practitioners trained to be adaptive and collaborative may very well chart courses that will inspire the international student affairs community to reinvent practices in the name of greater student success and access. (p. 20 in this issue) how to enhance the professionalisation of student affairs is approached in different ways by the articles of gansemer-topf, and dunn and dunkel. the former proposes assessment, i.e. the formalised process “to gather, analyse, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional or agency effectiveness” (upcraft & schuh, 1996 in gansemer-topf, 2013, in this issue), as “a critical component in raising the stature of student affairs professionalism”. thus, while practices such as assessment are performed in the first place as a means to show accountability and suggest improvements, they play an important role in establishing the legitimacy of the profession in the eyes of internal and external stakeholders. the latter article by dunn and dunkel reports on the different models of competencies for student housing officers and the establishment of the southern african student housing training institute. it demonstrates, by way of a very practical example, how the professionalisation of student affairs can be enhanced through competency development and international collaboration facilitated by a professional association, in this case the acuho-i. as noted above, the professionalisation of student affairs in africa comes in a context of the rapid expansion of access opportunities which poses additional challenges to student affairs professionals. the article by yakaboski and birnbaum elaborates on the variety of challenges higher education institutions face as they expand and try to provide access to masses of students in one particular country, kenya. the challenges range from a lack of professional training to problems with leadership in the institutions, and therefore beg for more training and professionalisation of the services to be provided in order to address problems that are unique to a university located on the african continent and the country’s cultural and historical legacies and practices. this issue’s thematic engagement with “the professionalisation of student affairs in africa” is concluded with the reflections of a former student leader from the university of cape town, thami ledwaba, on the contribution of student affairs to student life, student leadership, higher education and society. beyond the profession: researching student affairs in africa gyampo’s research article on student activism and its contribution to the quality of democracy in ghana shifts the focus from looking inward at student affairs as a profession to the big picture of the relationship between higher education and democratisation in africa. gyampo’s article shows the changing dynamic between student activism and democratisation from confrontation to dialogue, and its changing organisational form, thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa xi xii which has become aligned to ghanaian multipartyism. research into students’ political engagement on and off campus has come into focus in african higher education with the understanding that student engagement with democracy, diversity and social justice is an important part of the university’s civic role and contribution to the attainment of graduate attributes related to citizenship. the article by gyampo is a good example of research conducted in the field of higher education studies which is relevant to student affairs. its publication in the launch issue also illustrates our commitment as an editorial team to publish articles that fall within the journal’s scope and that pass the journal’s rigorous processes of editorial vetting and double-blind peer review as soon as they are ready, even if they do not directly relate to the thematic core of the issue. while the jsaa will typically have a thematic core, there will be articles in every issue – research articles, reflective practitioner accounts, and book reviews – that respond more broadly to the interests of authors and readers. the book reviews chosen for this issue also reflect diverse themes. fourie reviews williams’ strategic diversity leadership; activating change and transformation in higher education and emphasises the book’s value in terms of straddling the theoretical domain of diversity while also engaging with practical challenges around implementation and experiences. bozalek reviews beyond inclusion: the practice of equal access in indian higher education. she highlights the book’s significance in terms of filling the “gap in knowledge about the intersection between social justice and higher education” (p. 81 in this issue). she highlights the critique of ‘skills development’ as a response to access issues, as seen in the chapter by zacharias in the book, which is a chronic issue that student affairs needs to grapple with. clearly, as bozalek points out, levelling the ground regarding access issues is about social justice, and this book is a ‘must read’ for everyone concerned with its intersection with higher education. lastly, fouché, a seasoned therapist who focuses on the intersection of career and narrative therapy, provides a useful summary of maree’s book counselling for career construction which illustrates a range of related interventions, theories and practices in student affairs. lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors and peer-reviewers, our esteemed members of the jsaa editorial executive and the jsaa international editorial advisory board, the layout editors from african minds and the technical team from e-publications of the university of the western cape. our thanks go also to the many supportive colleagues we spoke to in the course of the conceptualisation and establishment of the journal, and most especially to ms tonia overmeyer who was a pillar of strength and a bundle of joy to work with in the initial development phase. on behalf of the editorial executive, dr thierry luescher-mamashela, journal manager prof. teboho moja, editor-in-chief dr birgit schreiber, book review editor xii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 xiii references gillepsie, j., braskamp, l., & dwyer, m. (2009). holistic student learning and development abroad – the ies 3-d program model. in r. lewin (ed.), the handbook of practice and research in study abroad – higher education and the quest for global citizenship. new york: routledge. ludeman, r.b., osfield, k.j., hidalgo, e.i., oste, d. & wang, h.s. (2009). student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices. paris: unesco. mohamedbhai, g. (2008). the effects of massification on higher education in africa. accra: association of african universities. united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (unesco) (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. paris: unesco. thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa xiii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 55–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.49 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za listen, live and learn: a review of the application process, aiming to enhance diversity within the listen, live and learn senior student housing initiative at stellenbosch university mathew smorenburg* and munita dunn** research article * coordinator: listen, live and learn, stellenbosch university, south africa. ** deputy director: centre for student communities, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: mdunn@sun.ac.za abstract the listen, live and learn (lll) initiative at stellenbosch university (su) is a senior student housing model with the aim of providing an experiential opportunity for students to make contact with ‘the other’. it is posited on the social contact theory assumption that if people of different genders, races, ethnicities, and/or religions make contact and interact with one another on an equal level, then less stereotyping by them will occur. the initiative therefore aims to enhance interaction between diverse students and to enable social integration. however, as diversity is a core element of lll, an application and selection process had to be developed in order to provide a holistic, transparent, unbiased and scaleable tool. the present results suggest that the application and selection process, specifically developed for the enhancement of diversity within the lll initiative, maintained the distribution of race and gender, as constructs of diversity throughout the process. the conclusion can be drawn that the process is holistic, transparent, unbiased and scaleable while providing a practical example of a standardised alternative selection process for programmes seeking to increase diversity. keywords diversity, student housing, application and selection process, social contact theory, race, gender. introduction until the early 1990s, stellenbosch university (su) was a racially exclusive institution for white students only, although a small number of black students had been admitted since the late 1970s. su could unfortunately not escape the political turmoil of the apartheid era (stellenbosch university, 2013). the strong association between apartheid, racial segregation and su can be noted. the university currently has a student population of 28 500 with a diversity profile of 25%. within this context, su prioritised its aim to diversify its student population to ensure fair access to higher education for all. 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 55–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.49 several initiatives are implemented at su to address diversity and integration, ranging from the recruitment of diverse students to a residential placement policy focusing on diversifying residences on the su campus. one intervention aimed at achieving this is the listen, live and learn (lll) initiative, a senior student housing programme being directed at minimising stereotyping and discrimination among students. it is posited on the assumption that if people of different genders, races, or ethnicities or religions make contact or interact with one another on an equal level, then less stereotyping by them will occur (kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2012). diversity of students is a key element of the experience of participants in the initiative and the success of lll as a whole. it is for this reason that any application process designed for an initiative such as lll needs to take cognisance of the process design, specifically, the implications that it can have on diversity in terms of biases. this article aims to review the application process developed specifically for the lll initiative. after a framing of the concept of diversity, a brief overview of the lll initiative will be provided, whereafter the application process and its results will be introduced. limitations of the study and concluding remarks will follow. diversity while it would be very easy to consider diversity specifically in the historical context of su to be solely a raceor ethnicity-based consideration, the conceptions of diversity on the multicultural campuses of the 21st century represent a stark change to the relative homogeneity of the early 20th century campus. diversity needs, rather, to be considered as a multifaceted and highly complex array of factors that can significantly influence society in terms of cohesion, in part, due to conflicts of interest and perspective (chang, millem & antonio, 2011; dunn, 2013). the composition of the student body and staff and the distribution of individuals therein play a significant role in the nature of social interaction, institutional atmosphere and educational potential of a university (dunn, 2013; mdepa & tshiwula, 2012; milem, chang & antonio, 2005). in order to enhance the aims of the lll initiative, a diverse student population is needed. for the purpose of the lll initiative, diversity is defined in the broader and less measurable sense. while specific diversity targets in terms of race, gender and field of study are utilised in the placement process, these serve as proxies for diversity of culture, background and experiences. the other factors of diversity, like personality, thought process, stances, values and so forth, need to be considered. the article will specifically focus on race and gender as constructs of diversity. the importance of an application process that embraces diversity is therefore necessary for the lll context. for this reason, a simple written application in english with one or more motivation essays followed by a standard interrogation-style interview is most likely to favour extroverted first-language english speakers who have experience writing and debating. given this premise, the aim of this application and selection system was for it to be holistic, standardised, transparent, unbiased and scaleable, to accommodate significant increases in the size of the initiative. mathew smorenburg and munita dunn: listen, live and learn 57 the listen, live and learn initiative the lll initiative at su is an experiential learning process based on the contact hypothesis of gordon allport (1954) and resulting contact theory that aids students in identifying and adjusting perceptions of ‘the other’ (those who are different from them) by broadening their university experience to include significant contact with ‘the other’ (dunn, 2013). a senior staff member of the university is appointed to act as a mentor for a themed house for the year, acting as a catalyst for the creation of dialogue and guiding the students in terms of conversations. participating students discover vastly different perspectives and have the unique opportunity to form friendships, to engage with experts on the theme of their house and to connect with the mentor of their lll-house (cornelissen, dunn & kloppers, 2011). lll was piloted in 2008 when it started with one student house. currently there are 14 of these houses, and 24 will be added in 2014 (kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2013). there are about 101 students currently in this initiative. an lll-house ideally contains eight students living together in a student house. the participants have a specific theme for the year and engage in conversation on the theme for the year in which they live together. the students in the lll house are ideally a small, diverse group of students from different faculties, gender, race, background and nationality. each house adopts a theme for the year. the house hosts a conversation around the theme inviting academics, civil servants, experts and other people to join the conversation in the house. each lll house also engages in a small community project (cornelissen, dunn & kloppers, 2011). students in the house model the new society that south africa needs to grow into and prove that living together is possible, is healthy and is inspirational and allows people to become friends across diverse boundaries. the students share intimate spaces such as kitchen and bathroom facilities and the conversations negotiating house rhythm in the use thereof are invaluable in growing closer and celebrating one anothers’ differences. lounge conversations, which form the focal point of the initiative, are necessary to challenge thinking and promote critical thinking and open-mindedness. they also act as an inspirational space where academics and students can come together and inspire each other. the project is meant to teach people to not only to live together, but also to work and plan together (kloppers, dunn & smorenburg, 2013). the application and selection process was divided into five stages: application; shortlisting; interviewing; calculation and placement; and acceptance. after discussing the ethical considerations of the process, each section will be examined briefly in this article, before concluding with an overview of the results. ethical considerations this article is based on the concluding results of an application and selection process of the lll initiative and not a specific research question or thesis. the results tabled constitute basic institutional data, which does not identify or reveal specifics about any participant in the process. the actual design and process implementation needed to take 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 55–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.49 into consideration the need to withstand institutional scrutiny in order to ensure credibility of both the initiative and validity of the selections. the design and process was presented to, and reviewed by, members of the student representative council and in a session of student parliament with no objections being tabled. participants were provided with standardised process instructions and explanations before each of the distinct stages of the process and a full explanation of the method by which selection results were achieved was distributed on conclusion of the process. in all these communications, methods with which to indicate concerns or lodge complaints were included. all the individuals acting as interviewers were aware of the standard requirement to treat all information revealed in interviews as confidential; that notes were only to be made on the process papers that were collected and stored by the lll initiative; and that no subsequent discussion of the contents or outcomes of the interviews were allowed to occur without at least one of the two process convenors being present. the four complaints lodged about the process were as a result of the outcome of four individual results once clarification and further justification had been provided, the complaints were withdrawn. application and selection process from the outset, and in line with the aim of scaleability, the applications were done exclusively online on the lll website (www.sun.ac.za/lll) between 1 june and 3 august 2012. applicants logged into the website making use of their university credentials and completed the four sections of the application. after providing basic biographical information and uploading curriculum vitae, applicants were requested to motivate their interest in one, more or all of the house themes and to answer three further questions, which were: 1. why are you applying to lll? 2. in what way (or ways) are you a participant in the university community? 3. describe one characteristic that you feel will guarantee you a place in an lll house in 2013. all were given answer length restrictions of 300 characters with answers being accepted in either english or afrikaans. by instructing applicants to answer honestly and not attempt to answer with what they perceived was the answer preferred by the evaluator, focus was placed on the need to highlight individuality rather than prove conformity. shortlisting process shortlisting was done to reduce the number of applicants that needed to be interviewed and filter out applicants who had applied simply for cheap accommodation, or other similar reasons, but had no intention of contributing to and participating in lll. the assessment of each application was done electronically in three parts, by the two-person shortlisting panel, independently of each other, according to specific rubrics. mathew smorenburg and munita dunn: listen, live and learn 59 the final score was obtained by addition of the three sections above of both members of the shortlisting panel (2× (9+3+9)) resulting in a score out of 42. after consideration of the distribution of scores, the minimum requirement for shortlisting was set at 26/42 rather than the 28/42 originally considered (28 is the result of a consistent score of 2 throughout). once the ranking list had been compiled, students who were shortlisted but who had been participants for the two preceding years, and students whose conduct during the year had resulted in questions being raised about their suitability, were flagged and asked to submit further written motivation before a final decision regarding their application was made. interview stage with 140 applicants shortlisted for the interview process, it would have been impractical and counterproductive to request one panel to conduct the interviews. instead, parallel sessions were run with multiple panels consisting of three people each (two staff and one student). panellists were all familiar with the lll initiative, with the students having been part of the initiative in the past. all panellists were requested to indicate conflicts with applicants so that ideally a panellist had no real knowledge of the applicants they evaluated before they entered the room. applicants were afforded the same opportunity and their cv, uploaded in the online application, was not provided to the panel, as that component had already been assessed and allowing it to influence the interview would effectively amount to double counting. interviews were conducted in 15 minutes with three interviews allotted to a panel per hour, allowing time for logistics and administration. applicants were provided with a written set of introductions before the interview session to negate the panel having to repeat itself and to ensure that the instructions were standardised, specifically in terms of the question categories. applicants who were part of the initiative at the time of interview and were applying for a second or third placement were required to answer a stance, an experience and a participation question, while applicants new to lll were asked a scenario question in place of a participation question. on entering and being introduced to the panel, the applicant was requested to draw a question out of each of the three applicable category envelopes and then given two minutes to prepare his/her answer in whatever order s/he chose. when an applicant started answering the question, he or she was requested to read it to the panel and indicate the number for record and verification purposes. with 25 questions per category and questions being placed in the used question envelope after use, no panel was confronted with the same question more than once. this meant that comparisons of answers between candidates and question fatigue could not occur. table 1 indicates the nature of each of these categories and aspects to be assessed (out of 5). panellists were requested to engage with the applicants, probe their answers and provide redirect style questioning rather than interrogate them combatively. the rubric was constructed so that applicants should be assessed for how they answered the question rather than what their answer was or how ‘correct’ it might have. 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 55–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.49 table 1: assessment rubric for interviews: question categories category nature of question aim of question aspects of answers assessed for s tan ce asked the applicant to elaborate on their stance on a topical, potentially controversial issue (e.g. what is your stance on gay marriage?) to observe how the candidate forms opinions and approaches issues. all issues chosen allow for simple for or against answers but what was considered important was the unpacking of the reasoning supporting that stance and not the stance itself. • clarity of the answer • motivation of the stance • critical understanding of the issue • awareness of complexity of the issue • response to questions/ redirection by panel all e x p erien ce asked the applicant to elaborate on an experience that on reflection could provide the tools with which to improve, avoid, embrace or reduce similar situations in future (e.g. when did you feel the most helpless and why?) to observe the candidates’ willingness to share in a meaningful way with the panel, display familiarity and comfort with the concept of reflection and awareness of self. • depth of experience chosen • interesting/original nature of the experience chosen • sincerity/genuineness of the account • learning displayed/ demonstrated by process of reflection • response to questions/ redirection by panel all p articip atio n asked the applicant to reflect and critically assess their personal participation in the initiative to date (e.g. what do you think your housemates honestly think about you?) to observe the candidates ability to critically self-assess their own performance while maintaining a constructive dialogue. willingness to take responsibility for success/ failure along level of enthusiasm for another opportunity. • degree/depth of participation demonstrated • ownership/responsibility taken of participation • sincerity/genuineness of commitment to participation • value contributed through participation • response to questions/ redirection by panel current lll only s cen ario asked the applicant to place themselves in a situation that could realistically occur during a year in lll and reflect on how they would approach/resolve it (e.g. how would you deal with an emotionally volatile housemate who has made another housemate of yours cry?) to observe the willingness to deal with issues rather than simply avoid them. ability to draw on past experiences, accommodate differing opinions and willingness to engage with others. • common sense utilised • sensitivity of approach • likelihood for resolution without persistent division/alienation • sincerity/genuineness of commitment to addressing issues • response to questions/ redirection by panel non-lll only mathew smorenburg and munita dunn: listen, live and learn 61 on completion of the interview and the individual panellist’s rubrics, the panel was required to make a joint decision or panel recommendation, while the applicants were requested to indicate which themes they wished to be considered for. with the three sets of three completed rubrics (3× (3×5×5)) a total score out of 225 and a panel decision was the result for each candidate who completed the interview stage. calculation and placement the biggest concern when using multiple panels is lack of reliable consistency in scoring. each individual panellist interprets the rubric, to an extent, in his or her own way. it is for this reason that the panel recommendation was introduced. the panel recommendation allows comparison and normalisation of scores between panels. once the interview scores of the 131 candidates who attended the interviews were captured, pivot tables allowed for the grouping and calculation of normalised scores. the following calculation was used to normalise the scores across panels: score: applicant score with recommendation a from panel y general average: average score with recommendation a from all panels panel average: average score with recommendation a from panel y the normalised score of each applicant was added to the shortlisting score in a ratio of 60/40, allowing for a final score of 100 with each of the five people who evaluated the applicant contributing exactly 20% of that score. the distribution of these scores can be found in figure 1. before placements could be done, themes needed to be allocated to specific houses. by making it clear from the outset that applicants were applying for the theme and not a specific house, the likelihood that an applicant indicated an interest in a specific theme for the perceived benefits of a certain house location was eliminated. a count of the entire first, second and third preferences was utilised to determine the level of interest in a specific theme and these themes were then allocated to the houses with larger capacity. this is specifically important as houses range from 4 to 11 people in capacity and interest-capacity matching influences the number of applicants that can be placed in one of their selected themes. once this had been determined, targets in terms of race, gender and faculty of study were set for each house. the first two were set in line with the demographics of the initial applicant pool, with faculty of study being a maximum of 30% per house from any one faculty. applicants were placed in order of their final score ranking according to their theme preference indications. in practice, if a house had a capacity of 10 students it was set the targets of 7 women, 7 white, 2 black, 1 coloured and maximum 3 from any one faculty. if the first person to be placed was a coloured, male, engineering student, the remaining 9 students to be placed would be required to fill the remaining targets of 7 women, 7 white, 2 black and maximum 3 per faculty. 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 55–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.49 figure 1: distribution of final scores 91 of the available 101 placements were done in descending order until a score of 60 was achieved. a score of less than 60 was used to classify the applicant as ineligible for placement and only three students with a score of above 60 were not placed due to very limited theme preference and low ranking overall (in all three cases, applicants scored below 65 with fewer than four themes were selected). the remaining places were filled after repeating the above procedures with the late or second-round applicants. acceptance the results of the application process were communicated to all applicants with a full infographic regarding the process and final score calculation. successful applicants were offered placement in a specific theme and house, which was not transferable between themes. applicants who chose to accept the placement offer were required to sign an agreement form detailing expected participation, accepting that assessment would occur and formalising their commitment to the aims of lll. cancellation of placement after application was subject to the same penalties as any other university accommodation. results of placement the process and results of the application and selection process are indicated in the figures below. the two constructs of race and gender, as some of the indicators of diversity, are individually represented. firstly, the race and gender distribution of the total amount of applicants (n=179) are represented in figures 2 and 3. the next two figures, figures 4 and 5, represent the race and gender of the shortlisted applicants. 44 50 56 62 68 74 80 86 total score (100) f re qu en cy 20 15 10 5 0 mathew smorenburg and munita dunn: listen, live and learn 63 figure 2: race of applicants figure 3: gender of applicants figure 4: race of shortlisted applicants figure 5: gender of shortlisted applicants black coloured white black coloured white male female male female 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 55–66 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.49 the last two figures, figures 6 and 7, represent the race and gender of the applicants placed in the lll initiative for 2013. figure 6: race of placed applicants figure 7: gender of placed applicants the application and selection process, as indicated in the above figures, managed to maintain the distribution of race and gender, as constructs of diversity, from the pool of original applicants (n=179) to the number of placed applicants (n=91). the deduction can therefore be made that the application and selection process, as implemented during 2012, fulfils the criteria of being holistic, transparent, unbiased and scaleable. the implementation of this process with more applicants, due to the increasing size of the initiative in 2014, can therefore be recommended. limitations of study the construction of this application and selection system is obviously highly specific to both the context of su and the nature of the lll initiative, while the size of the resulting study is relatively small. that being said, it does provide a number of simple and practical methods and changes that could be applied in other application systems design to improve both standardisation, efforts to reduce systemic bias and diversity of candidates selected. while not presented in this paper, the results of the 2013/2014 round of applications and selections, which is more than double the number of the 2012/2013 round, reinforce the claims made in this article. black coloured white male female mathew smorenburg and munita dunn: listen, live and learn 65 conclusion diversity is a core element within the listen, live and learn (lll) initiative at stellenbosch university (su) and the successful development of an application process that supports this and enables applicants, as well as panellists, to participate fully in an unbiased, empowering and transparent manner was a unique challenge. the present results suggest that the application and selection process, specifically developed for the enhancement of diversity within the lll initiative, maintained the distribution of race and gender, as constructs of diversity throughout the process. this maintenance of diversity proxy distributions, points to a lack of any significant systemic biases in the process that would most likely significantly hinder the selection of a maximally diverse group of participants. this conclusion fully supports the concept of holistic evaluation and provides grounds for significant justifiable expansion in the following intake cycle. this is a step forward in the development of a rich listening, living and learning culture where students can build friendships while embracing their diversity. references allport, g. (1954). the nature of prejudice. reading: addison-wesley blackwell. chang, m.j., milem, j.f. & antonio, a.l. (2011). campus climate and diversity. in j.h. schuh, s.r jones, s.r. harper & associates (eds.). student services: a handbook for the profession. san francisco: jossey-bass. cornelissen, c., dunn, m., & kloppers, pw. (2011). listening, living and learning: the manual. stellenbosch: sun media. dunn, m. (2013). promoting social change amongst students in higher education: an evaluation of the listening, living and learning senior student housing programme at stellenbosch university. unpublished master’s dissertation, stellenbosch university, stellenbosch: south africa. kloppers, p.w., dunn, m., & smorenburg, m. (2013). listening, living and learning at stellenbosch university: moving towards building healthy student communities. unpublished: stellenbosch. mdepa, w. & tshiwula, l. (2012). student diversity in south african higher education. widening participation and lifelong learning, 13:20-33. milem, j.f., chang, m.j. & antonio, a.l. (2005). making diversity work on campus: a research-based perspective. washington: association of american colleges and universities. stellenbosch university. 2013a. historical background. retrieved may 21, 2013 from www.sun. ac.za/english/about-us/historial-background journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 125–127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4188 125 www.jsaa.ac.za book review luescher, t.m., webbstock, d. & bhengu, n. (eds.) (2020). reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017. cape town, south africa: african minds. reviewed by birgit schreiber* * dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwiguniversität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and for stellenbosch university, south africa. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za; birgitdewes@gmail.com the book, reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017, edited by thierry luescher, denyse webbstock and ntokozo bhengu, presents an original perspective on the period before and during the university student protests of 2015 and 2016, not only as it is made up of student leaders’ voices, but also in that it adopts a ‘bottom up’ approach where students themselves contextualise their own experiences. a lot has been written about the university managements’ experience of this period – see for instance jansen’s as by fire (2019) and habib’s rebels and rage (2018) – but this collection of student leaders’ voices and the discussion of their reflections is a significant first. this book is part of a south african council on higher education series, following the reflections of south african university leaders, 1981 to 2014, which covered the reflections of eight university vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors. the new book is made up of select 12 student leaders’ voices and it offers us unique voices and personal narratives to help understand the period prior to and during the escalation of south african university protests of 2015 and 2016. what is particularly captivating is that the chapters offer the ‘raw’ data from which the final discussion is drawn. this rich data in the form of verbatim narratives offer the reader an opportunity to draw own conclusions and follow the arguments presented in the final chapter, and to establish authenticity of material. the book is well presented with easy overview and solid coherence. the introduction lays out the format and this is revisited in the final chapter. the headings in the chapters are well structured and because this structure is repeated in each chapter, it is easy to follow, quick to read and has great logic throughout. the chapters are simultaneously stand alone and part of the coherent whole. the interpretation in the final chapter takes a particular position and, in my view, neglects some, perhaps, more ‘uncomfortable’ analyses. perhaps this is so because the student leaders give themselves, retrospectively, somewhat more purpose and a higher moral ground than the burning ground on which they stood during student activism. i am somewhat missing a broader discussion of alternative explanations of why student leaders chose to behave and lead in a particular way. some of the alternative reasons for student leaders’ https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4188 mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:birgitdewes%40gmail.com?subject= 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 125-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4188 behaviours may include personal socialcultural experiences: some of the student leaders themselves describe their social and cultural background as being shaped by, to quote the students themselves as saying ‘township culture’ (while this is an uncomfortable concept for me, i am letting the data speak for itself, see page 71: “… we would see people doing the toyi-toyi in the street and we would just join them not knowing what was happening”). socialisations in and by ‘township culture’ as described by some of the students may have been a significant influence. student protest is not a neat affair; some protest becomes destructive action. it is possible that some students transferred particular ways of engaging from previous environments to the campus environment, thus making assumptions about how difference and disagreements are resolved in the world (including the university). using combative ways to engage is not an obvious result of having been frustrated by a university. using combative ways to engage is a particular feature of some south african ‘township culture’ (as was mentioned by the student leaders, page 71) where issues around public services, schools and welfare functions are sometimes contested via these combative means (after other means failed, perhaps). this kind of engagement style is transferred from sociocultural contexts prior to arrival at university to the university itself. this is the kind of engagement style that the universities are not ready for and with which they need to find mechanisms on how to engage with and how to use these engagement styles as an opportunity for development. the interpretation in the final chapter could also include other influences on student leaders’ behaviours, decisions and plans. one student leader explains that “i think for sasco, the contradiction was that sasco falls under the anc, so they can’t sort of boycott their own government” (page 213). there was a powerful, toxic and openly secretive relationship with national political offices, which commandeered and puppet mastered the campus-based political parties. i was personally and powerfully involved with these dynamics as senior student affairs executive in the south african university space. students themselves were often at the mercy (via payment and funding, via promises of future political positions, etc) of national political influences. this is briefly mentioned on page 226, but could be given more prominent status as a significant influence on university protests of 2015/2016. the book, certainly in the final chapter, argues explicitly that the student campaigns drove the decolonisation agenda and perhaps this, to me, is a somewhat romantised view on the university protests of 2015/2016. the universities themselves, staff, academics and management were part of this drive, motivated for it, theorised it, made significant changes in curriculum, in institutional culture markers, in budget allocations, and in various other aspects that manifest decolonisation. i would not agree that students’ mobilisations were the key driver as suggested by the book. the changes in decolonisation which have started at universities is also a function of the staff and academics’ age and culture. the ‘old ivory tower’ culture, which hides behind discussions on academic autonomy to avoid change, has been replaced by social justice activists who are now in senior positions, and are of substantial numbers and calibre to create enough momentum at universities to make significant changes. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4188 birgit schreiber: reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017 127 perhaps overall, it seems that a particular voice and type of leader was selected, and mention is made (page 17) that some student leaders opted to not participate and this could have been more elaborated on: if the book aims to be a broad representation then it is important to consider why some student leaders did not wish to reflect on their role as student leaders, on their experience or their time as student leader. this is an area that could have received more attention: which student leaders are speaking here, who is not speaking? inevitably, one does not hear all voices, and yet it is the neglect of some voices that may offer versions of reality that are most uncomfortable to us. i am missing a more critical discussion and interpretation in the final chapter of student leaders’ reflection. the overall argument seems to propose a generalisable position that student leaders were informed, deliberate and motivated by social justice ideals. i cannot share that view, and i do not think the data support such a purist interpretation and that a more nuanced offering could be made. student leaders are part of the south african combative and complex sociocultural landscape; this could, in my view, be more emphasised. student leaders reveal in their narratives that there was manipulation from national political offices, that the need to support families motivated some arguments to increase nsfas, that decolonisation was a nebulous notion, that using memoranda and marches were often used to coerce. this view is perhaps ‘uncomfortable’ but is offered by the student leaders themselves and needs to be engaged with. overall, reflecting on university protests of 2015/2016, the question remains if perhaps intense university protests is an ongoing feature of our university lives, given what we have seen since 2016 where gbv and poverty keep marring student and institutional life. we have seen the #socialjusticeactivists mobilising the collective power during the 2016 gbv marches and the 2020 #blacklivesmatter movement, and universities would do well to support these social movements with students, with and along student leaders. the question is less about whether student and university leaders disagree or agree on issues, but how these are contested and debated: via virulent protest or via deep transformation that is sustainable and enriching to the overall educational project. perhaps these two aspects are part of one process. either way, it is up to universities to use the protests as a period of opportunity for student and institutional development. i recommend this book to all students, student leaders, university staff and leadership – it was a rare feature of the 2015/2016 protest to hear calm and reflective student voices, so this is a chance to catch up on that. references council on higher education (2016). reflections of south african university leaders, 1981 to 2014. somerset, south africa: african minds. habib, a. (2018). rebels and rage: reflecting on #feesmustfall. johannesburg, south africa: jonathan ball publishers. jansen, j. (2019). as by fire. cape town, south africa: tafelberg publishers. how to cite: schreiber, b. (2020). review on luescher, t.m., webbstock, d. & bhengu, n. (eds.). reflections of south african student leaders, 1994 to 2017. cape town, south africa: african minds. (2020). journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 125-127. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4188 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.4188 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za building south african women’s leadership: a cohort model for the phd in student affairs dawn person*, katherine saunders** and kristina oganesian*** research article * director, center for research on educational access & leadership (c-real), california state university, fullerton, usa. email: dperson@fullerton.edu ** policy analyst, center for law and social policy (clasp), washington dc, usa. *** graduate student, california state university, fullerton, usa. abstract despite the presence of a historically male-dominated culture in leadership, gendermediated obstacles and challenges, black women in south africa have the passion to develop professionally and move to higher levels as educational leaders. the current study assessed female students’ perceptions regarding a joint pilot doctoral programme between the university of the western cape (uwc) and california state university, fullerton’s (csuf) higher education programme, and their experiences while in the programme. five participants described programme expectations, challenges, strengths, weaknesses and programme completion. moreover, the research focused on the participants’ future hopes, aspirations and their observations regarding any changes in their professional and academic growth. students expressed that coming to csuf after their experiences at uwc enabled them to learn from faculty members with expertise in student affairs, which has further developed their knowledge concerning student development strategies, philosophy and history. recommendations for the programme centred on increased cohort meetings, expanded programme resources such as research, student support outside the classroom settings, and the improvement of programme funding in order to provide more financial support to students. the importance of professional development and formalised training programmes, expanding research dynamics, and teaching components with international collaborations are promising practices to address the challenges and obstacles that black women face in preparing to become leaders in south african higher education. keywords south africa, student affairs, doctoral programme, professional development, females in higher education. 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 introduction despite the attempt to increase phd production in south africa preand post-apartheid, rates of phd production remain flat. in 2008, it was projected that south africa would require 6 000 new doctoral graduates by 2010, indicating that the country will need to increase phd output for new researchers (seleti, 2009). in 2003, south africa produced fewer than 25 phds per year per million of the population, compared to the uk with over 150, usa having over 125, and australia with over 200 (seleti, 2009). in order for south africa to increase its economy of knowledge as a country, more researchers are needed, and existing inequalities between race and gender need to be addressed. the university of the western cape (uwc) has been the largest producer of black graduates in south africa through taking into account disparities from colonialism and apartheid. macgregor (2013) quoted a south african professor who stated that “there have been four main imperatives in policies and strategies on phd training in south africa over the past 15 years: quantity, quality, efficiency, and transformation and equity” (p. 2). however, less than 10% of south african students decide to pursue honors after obtaining a basic degree. furthermore, only 19% of students in south africa proceed to doctoral studies after obtaining masters degrees (seleti, 2009). this showcases the importance of establishing doctoral programmes to help south africa obtain a higher rate of phd production. in comparison to other countries such as the us, the uk and australia, there is a limited representation of women in positions of academic leadership in african countries such as south africa (white, et al., 2012; seleti, 2009) and kenya (odhiambo, 2011). this demonstrates that typical career pathways to higher positions within academic leadership are modelled for men rather than women in south africa. similarly, it is commonly stereotyped that women are not as effective as leaders, and their place is not in a leadership position (lumby & azaola, 2011). leadership in south africa is not viewed as being inclusive for all genders, ethnicities and races. attitudes in south africa reflect the idea that men are better leaders than women. black women typically experience a combination of discrimination, aggression or harassment in regards to their gender when attempting to obtain leadership positions in education (lumby & azaola, 2011). there was a need and interest from south african higher education faculty and practitioners at colleges, universities and further education training institutes to produce more phds because the south african phd production rate was not as high as that of other countries (seleti, 2009). as a result, california state university, fullerton (csuf) and uwc collaborated to address the need for south africa to produce more doctoral degrees with a pilot, cohort-based, doctoral programme in student affairs. the female participants in the pilot phd programme aimed to become the next generation of female educational leaders in south africa, persevering through the challenges. this study describes perceptions of five black women and their experiences in this pilot phd programme. literature review while this research focuses on a model of success to increase phds in higher education leadership, the literature review is limited in scope relative to higher education preand dawn person, katherine saunders and kristina oganesian: building south african women’s leadership 11 post-apartheid. instead, the focus is on information concerning cohort-based phd programmes, gender, and issues of inequality in higher education. south africa’s higher education system in place during apartheid promoted racial and ethnic exclusivity alongside oppression within its policies where non-white individuals had severely limited access to higher education (wangenge-ouma, 2012). black women were expected to be responsible for the well-being of their families, as opposed to obtaining educations (phendla, 2008). females were viewed as caregivers during apartheid, and they had limited education and employment opportunities. women who were bilingual, married, religious, and teachers had better chances of obtaining positions within the educational hierarchy, but women still did not have the power and privilege that men could obtain (phendla, 2008). after apartheid, funding for higher education and financial aid for students became a large problem. south africa’s government funding for higher education has declined since 2000 (wangenge-ouma, 2010). despite diminished financial aid availability, enrolment in higher education institutions increased between 2000 and 2004 (wangenge-ouma, 2012). even though the cost of higher education has steadily risen, the country has not created more student grants to help mitigate rising costs. due to increasing costs for higher education, institutions implemented tuition increases to compensate for the lack of public funding (wangenge-ouma, 2010). escalating costs and diminished funding have led to increased obstacles for students intent on attending public universities. certain institutions have implemented caps on university enrolment to compensate for limited government funding (wangenge-ouma, 2012). as part of the post-apartheid constitution, democracy was introduced, and school governing bodies (sgbs) were established to provide leadership training for both males and females holding leadership positions in schools (diko, 2007; wangenge-ouma, 2010). despite the creation of these sgbs, women still faced gender biases, lack of training, and fear of promoting policies that supported gender equality. women were still excluded in practice, as females at institutions did not feel comfortable voicing their ideas. some women did transcend social norms to give their input, though they were not generally supported (diko, 2007). career paths to management positions are still typically modelled for men rather than women (white, bagilhole & riordan, 2012). leaders are frequently described as typically black males who were politically active against apartheid, whereas leaders in other countries are known to retain research and leadership experience, such as in australia (white, et al., 2012). motivation through spirituality has driven female success within educational leadership post-apartheid. women in south african educational leadership during apartheid showed moral and spiritual commitments to leadership and frequently cited a higher power as their motivation for becoming educational leaders (modigame et al., 2010). spirituality helped drive female leaders to become leaders within their respective educational settings through ethical and moral commitments to social emancipation (modigame et al., 2010). a push for equality can fuel support for educational leadership empowerment to foster south african women’s success. 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 this push for equality is seen in leadership styles, which are generally viewed as being markedly male or female and black or white in south africa (chisholm, 2001). generally, male leadership styles are regarded highly and are positively related to performance, whereas femininity is associated with a lack of assertiveness and lower performance in leadership positions (chisholm, 2001). these stereotypes help to shape gendered leadership styles. thus, south africa developed a culture of masculinity within educational leadership where there are low levels of sensitivity to the needs to black educational leaders (chisholm, 2011). the post-apartheid era affirmed women educational leaders; however, it is hard for females to transcend stigmas of masculinity to advance in leadership positions. while those in educational management positions in south africa are generally aware of discrepancies relating to gender matters, they are unsure of how to address them. in response to these discrepancies, a pilot, cohort-based, doctoral programme with more curricular support was created to support black students in educational leadership inclusive of black women. cohort-based doctoral programmes can help to foster change in south african higher education. cohorts are viewed as groups of students who begin, move through, and finish a programme of study at the same time (barnett & caffarella, 1992). cohort models differ from traditional programmes in that students can get to know one another more intimately, learn from one another, take the same courses, and graduate together. students who participated in cohort-based phd programmes reported higher levels of support, peer relationships, cooperative learning and cohesiveness (lei, forelick, short, smallwood & wright-porter, 2011). similarly, a change in pedagogy results in changing the nature of a phd programme. faculty members are typically coordinators and mentors who focus on the intellectual and social development of students through offering a course of study, in order for students to thrive and complete their programme (danowitz & tuitt, 2011; burnett, 1999). by structuring a phd programme with cohorts, gender gaps and issues of inclusivity within the programme would be addressed. students infrequently meet with faculty, and self-motivation is needed to complete coursework and dissertations. however, faculty members should be accessible for cohort meetings either in person or online to establish the flexibility of the collaborative cohort (burnett, 1999). moreover, faculty members need to ensure that the cohort meets and communicates effectively to help students finish their dissertations by helping each other gain communicative skills to improve their quality of work. a cohort model also allows students to discuss their dissertations, research ideas and resources (burnett, 1999). this model has been applied for phds in educational leadership, and can similarly expand to student affairs. students who participated in collaborative cohort models reported feeling more satisfied with their phd programmes (burnett, 1999). ideally, faculty members shape students’ knowledge by challenging students to achieve and contribute (danowitz & tuitt, 2011). establishing curricula that are inclusive and diverse, alongside pedagogy in which students are engaged, can be transformative agents to further students’ engagement within their scholarly and professional roles (danowitz & tuitt, 2011). through examining learnt content and pedagogy employed to help create dawn person, katherine saunders and kristina oganesian: building south african women’s leadership 13 scholars, developers of phd programmes can help to train future leaders more effectively (danowitz & tuitt, 2011). moreover, cohort models increase the number of students who complete their degrees in phd programmes (nimer, 2009). these strategies could bring more diversity into phd programmes as current models for phd programmes do not address inequalities of gender, race and ethnicity. currently, in non-cohort programmes, graduate students do not report high levels of support from their classmates and faculty (nimer, 2009). however, cohort models allow members to gain a sense of inclusion and family through building social capital and relationships among those involved, as well as engaging in social learning through interactions with others. in response to these successes of other cohortibased doctoral programmes, a pilot, cohort-based, doctoral programme in student affairs with curricular instruction was created that attracted and enrolled five south african black women. while this programme initially enrolled eight students, only five of the eight maintained enrolment beyond the first session. through programmes of this nature, the number of black women leaders obtaining phds in south africa can be increased, closing the achievement gap in educational leadership between men and women. the model of expertise, with regard to bringing in an international professor, having a mixed phd model with seminar-based independent study, cohorts and meetings, and travelling to an international university, was predicted to be beneficial to students. their stories of the doctoral experience in a structured setting are investigated. methodology the following study is a qualitative case study of five women phd students at uwc who were participants in the pilot doctoral programme in student affairs. in february 2012, a representative travelled to the uwc to gather qualitative data in the form of one-on-one interviews. interview questions were related to the students’ expectations, experiences, challenges, weaknesses, aspirations, finishing, fears, changes, future and benefits while pursuing the phd in the unique programme format. themes were found surrounding the students’ expectations of the programme, the programme model, fears, aspirations and recommendations. programme description as part of the 2009–2010 university mission and goals initiative at csuf, a proposal was created for developing a graduate degree programme in collaboration with the uwc faculty of education. the need for formal preparation programmes for practising student affairs administrators and educational leaders was identified. a representative from csuf met with representatives from uwc to discuss an action plan for the implementation of programme efforts, which included traditional doctoral studies and professional development modules for practitioners pursuing the phd. the phd programme aimed to run from 2011 through 2014 as a pilot. a visiting faculty member from csuf visited uwc three times a year to conduct seminar classes for 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 the students. video conferences were held for the remainder of the year to help connect the two universities and their students. the following outcomes were expected: a development of a seminar-supported phd programme at the uwc; graduate students from a pilot cohort registering beginning in the 2011–2012 school year; and conducting research focusing on student affairs and collaborative efforts within higher education. lastly, students from the csuf and uwc joint phd programme in student affairs were invited to participate in a short-term doctoral training programme from june 15 to july 15, 2013 which focused on research in higher education, teaching and learning. the training provided an overview of content areas in research data management and analysis, assessment and evaluation. additionally, attention was given to identifying findings from data based on the students’ dissertation studies. participants the doctoral students came from a variety of backgrounds. while the programme was not designed specifically for women, all five students were black south african women between the ages of 32 and 60. most of the women were mothers and wives with families (n = 4), while some were also grandmothers (n = 2) with extended families. all of the women (n = 5) held bachelor, masters and honours degrees. student a was a wife and mother with twenty years of experience as a student affairs professional working in predominantly black institutions. she worked for the largest institution in the western cape as the executive director and dean of student affairs overseeing the health and wellness cluster. her educational background consisted of an ma in educational psychology with honours in education and a post graduate diploma. in addition, her research focused on transformation, leadership and student affairs, especially looking at women of colour post-apartheid. student b was also a wife and mother of three who had been working in higher education for twelve years. she was a programme manager doing operational management for six projects. her educational background consisted of a ba degree with majors in english, communications and linguistics. she also completed her honours in english and two masters degrees. her first masters degree was in literacy studies, followed by a second in adult learning. student c was an adult student, mother and wife. previously she had worked as an executive dean of students at one of the universities, but she also served as a senior manager for a private foundation that provides scholarships to students in higher education in south africa. she received a masters in educational counselling. her research focused on academic attainment of sponsored students in higher education. student d was a single mother who held a strategic position in higher education within library services. she had held this position at three institutions for 17 years, of which 6 had been spent at her current university. she obtained a ba in education and a masters degree in library and information science. her research topic considered issues of quality management as a prerequisite in higher education, a global phenomenon and investigation into quality measurement indicators for south african higher education libraries. dawn person, katherine saunders and kristina oganesian: building south african women’s leadership 15 student e was the youngest woman of the cohort. she was a linguist by profession and completed a ba in linguistics and masters and postgraduate diploma in translation. this phd would be her fourth degree. her research topic examined the experience of students through peer pressure living in residential halls. instruments the goal of the interviews was to gain an in-depth understanding of the students’ perceptions of the quality of the programme as well as their challenges and recommendations for improvement. additionally, the interviews revealed the students’ experiences, feelings and perceptions of the leadership of the programme (see appendix a for interview questions). analysis interviews were recorded using an audio recorder. the audio recordings were then transcribed for further analysis. atlas.ti was used to code for convergent and divergent emerging themes. findings expectations: self, faculty, others prior to the programme, students discussed their expectations of themselves, the faculty, and the other students in the cohort. regarding personal expectations, students expected to keep up with the demands of the programme and complete the readings. for some students, the balance of school, work and family was difficult to uphold. one student explained, “it’s just a matter of balance of how to keep doing your day job very well and to keep being true to yourself about delivering your best in terms of what’s expected of one academically.” academic expectations were met at multiple levels. in terms of learning, students expected to understand the roots of student affairs. additionally, students expected to gain knowledge of leadership as well as guidance throughout the process. with regard to academic guidance, the expectation had been met according to several students. one student discussed her expectation of being taken through the process and research dynamics: “i needed to get guidance – i needed to get a dissertation going on where i could understand – you know obviously at this level i’ve done a bit of research on methodology and research and so on but i needed to get that resuscitated.” when asked about the aforementioned expectations, one student stated: “as the cohort, we are meant to be applying ourselves in a very rigorous way in relation to our research regime but also in a very rigorous way in relation to one another … and in the same set, we should be there to assist.” in terms of other students, participants indicated that they expected their cohort members to guide and support one another and build collegiality. additionally, each student spoke 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 highly of csuf’s visiting faculty, staff, and graduate students. all participants spoke highly of csuf faculty’s intellectual contributions to the programme. in terms of the overall programme, students expressed excitement. one student indicated that she had previous experience in a structured programme that was well supported, “that got funded by funding from netherlands embassy to assist south africa in producing 250 phds on an annual basis”. another student exclaimed that it was a good idea to pilot a programme of this calibre because south africa did not have a similar programme. students discussed their expectations about funding. one particular student had an issue with funding that served as a barrier in registering for classes. she stated, “last year i didn’t register and then i was emailing all the various people who are involved in this programme but i couldn’t get anywhere”. when asked if their expectations had been met, students’ responses varied positively. regarding personal and academic expectations, students indicated that some were met. in terms of peer support, plans were made among students to meet as a group to discuss readings and theories. several students created dyads, met with one another, and held one another accountable for completing their work. programme benefits when asked to describe their experiences with the programme, connections, access to resources, and increased knowledge were emerging themes. one student indicated that reconnecting with what was happening in the area, meeting up with other students with similar interests, and getting back into academics were beneficial. the greatest benefit articulated by all students was having access to professors and students at csuf. access to resources was another benefit. one student described the biggest strength of the programme as the literature to which she was exposed. many students positively commented on the benefits of skype and talking to students in the united states who had written extensively about education and leadership. additionally, visiting students and professionals from csuf provided resources. the incentive to travel to california was another benefit articulated by the students. one student explained that studying abroad exposed them to an array of knowledge and resources, which enhanced their career development. as with any advanced degree, the students identified an increase in knowledge and skill as a primary benefit of the programme. one student stated: “it gave us a clearer picture of higher education, the education system on its own, how it was formulated … and the philosophical opinions of the colleagues and how does it fit to our current practices.” another student attested to the benefits of increasing her formal knowledge as it pertained to student development theory, while having an increased ability and confidence to write conference papers and run more workshops. dawn person, katherine saunders and kristina oganesian: building south african women’s leadership 17 programme challenges for most of these students, there was a large gap in time between their masters degrees and their entrance into the doctoral programme. aside from the initial challenge of acclimating oneself to academics, other challenges with the programme fell under two categories: logistics and funding. one logistical challenge in particular was the formalisation of faculty supervisors. prior to supervisor assignment, students expressed that a disconnect between supervisors was a debilitating concern. similarly, the lack of logistical structure in programme coordination was another issue. students indicated that often there was too much time between session meetings. funding posed another programme weakness. several students expressed issues with the lack of financial support the doctoral students received. one student explained: “maybe we didn’t ask questions … i know for sure that other institutions, they actually run after students, doctoral students, and provide funding, but it’s not the case, so maybe we should have asked questions.” programme model: strengths the traditional phd programme model in south africa follows that of an independent study model. students essentially teach themselves with no formal coursework and produce a dissertation with the assistance of a supervisor. for this particular programme, a mixed model approach of facilitated sessions and independent study was implemented. one student commented on the strength of the programme model: “there’s just so much one can do with the contact. online has its benefits but even then i don’t think it replaces the face-to-face component”. the fact that it was a structured, face-to-face, taught doctorate was described as invaluable. an opportunity for advancement and professional development was indicated as another strength of the programme model. the students in south africa expressed the joy of connecting with classmates in the united states. one student described having an american friend with access to resources such as csuf’s library database, “for us it’s an issue of subscribing to journal articles in our library and i would ask him … i’m grateful for that.” furthermore, an additional strength of the programme model was the guidance and support provided. students frequently expressed the importance of emotional support the cohort provides. programme model: weaknesses students described the lack of in-person contact as a weakness of the programme model. stemming from the lack of contact, students identified concerns about time management. the postgraduate director scheduled sessions on saturdays, in addition to meeting sessions that were scheduled to occur. the students often felt as though they were made to attend both sets of graduate sessions, which became repetitive. it became a balancing act between institutional and programme expectations. however, one student indicated that after the csuf professor visited and left, the cohort did not always meet. she explained: 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 “we always meet when she’s around. and there’s a workshop that is running every saturday. but i believe the coordinator of the programme is supposed to make sure that maybe we meet via skype with him maybe on monthly basis or quarterly basis.” programme completion when asked if they felt they would finish the programme, all five doctoral students positively expressed they would. students were prescribed the end date of 2014 and when asked how long it would take for degree completion, one student explained: “at the beginning i wasn’t so sure that it would be within the prescribed time, but i think i’ve made the mental adjustment and some logistical alternations … now i can actually say that yes, i’m going to finish within the prescribed time.” students were also asked what they feared most regarding the programme. students’ reported fears centred around delayed graduation, not completing schoolwork, and not graduating. despite their fears, all five students strongly felt as though they would complete their phds in 2014. discussion each of the five participants was asked to explain what motivated her to become involved with the doctoral programme. students discussed the lack of formalised training programmes for student affairs professionals in south africa as a large reason for their involvement. similar sentiments were articulated regarding their expectations of the programme and its components. in terms of the academic aspect, several students expected to delve into the development of student affairs in terms of history, purpose and theories. students expected to engage in rigorous coursework, acquire knowledge of research dynamics, and benefit from a taught component with an international affiliation with csuf. students also expected to receive guidance and support from faculty and cohort members to build collegial relationships and welcome peer support during their doctoral process. initially, some of the students’ expectations fell short, revolving around limited funding and meetings. several students expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of financial support the programme offered as hindrances to their matriculation within the programme. despite weekly research seminars offered by the college, these students expected to engage in more meetings with peers and faculty as part of the phd programme to discuss their work and readings. plans to meet as a collective were made; thus, several students created dyads, collaborated with each other, and held each other accountable for completing their work within their cohort.. the primary benefits of the programme included the collaborative nature of, and access to, resources from csuf, increased competency, and formalised training of student affairs professionals. as previously discussed, the joint nature of the programme integrated a coursework component as well as the traditional full dissertation approach. students individually met with selected supervisors and engaged in several taught sessions throughout dawn person, katherine saunders and kristina oganesian: building south african women’s leadership 19 the year, which provided the opportunity for exposure to literature, engagement, dialogue and critical thinking. the nature of the programme uniquely contributes to south african higher education through pedagogy and epistemology due to the mixed nature of the programme, which is uncommon in south africa. the joint efforts between two universities on two different continents provided academic, social and financial resources for students to complete their dissertations and go on to obtain higher positions within student affairs. additionally, the uwc collaboration with csuf opened access to resources including other doctoral students in the united states, csuf literature and visiting scholars. all five students spoke highly of the benefits associated with a scholar from csuf visiting in terms of providing insight and knowledge. lastly, the overarching benefit of the programme was the attempt to formalise the support for the professionalisation of student affairs in south africa. thus, piloting the programme was an institutional and professional benefit for students and higher education in south africa. one of the main issues that students experienced was the disconnection between staff and administration. the lack of protocol negatively affected student progress. several students described instances where they had to speak to multiple people before getting proper assistance. logistical programme issues not addressed through the traditional structures of the university and college contributed to students’ negative perceptions of the experience. the mixed programme model of a traditional full dissertation approach with the integration of a coursework component exhibited both strengths and weaknesses. the strengths of this approach included the structure and advanced development, which offered opportunities for collaboration and networking. implementing a cohort structure gave students a group of peers among whom to work. each woman came from a different background with different academic experiences, which created opportunities for these women to gather, discuss experiences and interpret literature, and their research provided learning opportunities that a traditional full dissertation process would not. additionally, uwc students connected with csuf students and staff via skype and email. the cross-continental connection created a sense of community among the students at uwc. students expressed the relief at seeing other students tired and sleepy during their doctoral process. furthermore, one student discussed the benefit of contacting csuf students to request literature that was inaccessible in south africa. the taught component facilitated by a csuf professor was noted as the greatest benefit of the programme model. the professor’s presence created an academic space of learning where students engaged in thoughtful dialogue and critical analysis of reading assignments. similarly, this also provided students with opportunities to ask questions for clarification. in terms of advanced development, students expressed that csuf professors brought an intellectual expertise that was invaluable to their learning experience. professors exposed students to concepts and materials surrounding student development, strategies, philosophy and history of leadership in higher education. the structure of the programme was also seen, however, as an area of concern for students. the students articulated the lack of in-person contact as a weakness of the programme model. aside from the in-person sessions with the visiting faculty member from csuf, the students explained their expectations of more scheduled meetings with 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 the cohort and faculty throughout the year. plans were made to meet – however with the difficulty of finding the right day and time on all the women’s schedules, some women had trouble attending the meetings. similarly, the lack of a clear, structured teaching model was also expressed as a disadvantage. the coursework approach did not provide students with the full complement of coursework. students remedied this by meeting in dyads to discuss and synthesise coursework. looking towards the future, all five students simultaneously agreed that the cohort would complete their dissertations and graduate. there were discussions about the time frame in which the work would get completed, as well as fears of delay, but all the women expected to finish their phds. once completed, the women hoped to utilise their degrees in professional settings at various levels such as teaching, writing, supervising, mentoring, and leading. limitations the nature of this qualitative study is limited by the fact that it is one case study, and the findings are not generalisable. similarly, the outcomes and implications directly referred to the specific uwc phd programme with a group of unique participants, and no validation has been conducted to verify if the successes of the pilot phd programme are similar to others in south africa. because the sample only included five black women, it would be difficult to generalise findings to other cohort-based phd programmes with international components. furthermore, this study is also limited in that it does not address the complexities of apartheid and post-apartheid impact on leadership in higher education and black women to the fullest extent. researchers provided an outsider’s perspective with regard to data collection and analyses without having the added benefits of sustained engagement over time. nevertheless, the rich responses of the participants aided in presenting a well-rounded perspective of the collaborative csuf and uwc phd programme in south africa and its outcomes. recommendations as the joint doctoral programme continued to develop, student recommendations were considered. students needed to complete their proposals and write their dissertations. programme coordinators’ communication issues among faculty and between the two collaborative partners were evident and require ongoing intentional follow-up and feedback across the partnership. steps toward institutionalising the programme at uwc need to be taken, as resources allow, to create a formalised programme of study. these recommendations centre on programme logistics, such as more meetings, and student access to extensive libraries and databases of literature to improve programme quality, effectiveness and outcomes. the programme, like many in south africa, should seek funding to increase financial assistance for students and logistics. the disjointed communication and lack of faculty collaboration was evident to students. programme administrators need to create commitment to addressing the need for formally educated student affairs practitioners in south africa. lastly, the programme should continue sharing u.s. resources with uwc students. the dawn person, katherine saunders and kristina oganesian: building south african women’s leadership 21 method of networking with students and materials provided by the visiting professors from csuf expanded students’ knowledge. having this in place at uwc on an ongoing basis will ensure more learning and ultimately increase black women leaders in higher education. conclusion females in higher education continue to move past gender barriers and obtain advanced degrees in south africa. the implementation of a pilot doctoral programme at uwc is one way to close the achievement gap between males and females in positions of educational leadership. it is important to note that all of the students were women aged between 32 and 60. the students juggled multiple identities as students, wives and mothers as well as professionals and aspiring scholars. despite the path for academic leadership being modelled on a path for men rather than women, programmes such as this are currently being piloted and established to bridge that gap. some barriers to this are funding issues, which some of the students at uwc experienced, and which hindered their path to academic success. all of the students were extremely motivated to obtain their degrees. most of them cited a lack of formalised training programmes in student affairs in south africa as a motivating factor for applying to the programme. students believed that they would be able to use the skills obtained from participating in this pilot programme to further their careers in student affairs. therefore, it is important to establish similar doctoral programmes to allow more educational access for those within student affairs fields. student affairs practitioners in south africa are in the prime position to help inspire others to pursue higher education because there are not as many professionals within the area. through participating in doctoral programmes in student affairs, women are able to move past gendered underrepresentation within higher education, improve their career prospects and projections, and meet their goals. references barnett, b. g., & caffarella, r. s. (1992). the use of cohorts: a powerful way for addressing issues of diversity in preparation programmes. paper presented at the annual meeting of the university council for educational administration, minneapolis, usa. burnett, p.c. (1999). the supervision of doctoral dissertations using a collaborative cohort model. counselor education and supervision, 39(1), 46–52. chisholm, l. (2001). gender and leadership in south african educational administration. gender and education, 13(4), 387–399. doi: 10.1080/0954025012008174 2 danowitz, m.a., & tuitt, f. (2011). enacting inclusivity through engaged pedagogy: a higher education perspective. equity & excellence in education, 44(1), 40–56. doi: 10.1080/10665684.2011.539474 diko, n. (2007). changes and continuities: implementation of gender equality in a south african high school. africa today, 54(1), 106–116. lumby, j., & azaola, c. (2011). women principals in small schools in south africa. australian journal of education, 55(1), 73–85. macgregor, k. (november 15, 2013). understanding demands and pressures of phd production. university world news. retrieved from http://www.universityworldnews.com 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 9–22 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.47 mogadime, d., mentz, p. j., armstrong, d. e., & holtam, b. (2010). constructing self as leader: case studies of women who are change agents in south africa. urban education, 45(6), 797–821. doi: 10.1177/0042085910384203 nimer, m. (2009). the doctoral cohort model: increasing opportunities for success. college student journal, 43(4), 1373–1379. odhiambo, g. (2011). women and higher education leadership in kenya: a critical analysis. journal of higher education policy and management, 33(6), 667–678. doi: 10.1080/1360080x.2011.621192 phendla, t. (2008). the paradox of luselo-luf hanga metaphors: african women defining leadership for social justice. international studies in educational administration, 36(1), 22–40. seleti, y. (2009). towards 2018: south africa’s 10-year national innovation plan. retrieved from http://www.iprsonline.org/ictsd/dialogues/2009-07-15/seleti.pdf wangenge-ouma, g. (2010). funding and the attainment of transformation goals in south africa’s higher education. oxford review of education, 36(4), 481–497. doi: 10.1080/03054985.2010.491181 wangenge-ouma, g. (2012). tuition fees and the challenge of making higher education a popular commodity in south africa. higher education, 64(6), 831–844. doi: 10.1007/s10734-0129531-6 white, k., bagilhole, b., & riordan, s. (2012). the gendered shaping of university leadership in australia, south africa, and the united kingdom. higher education quarterly, 66(3), 293–307. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2273.2012.00523.x appendix: evaluation goals and research questions questions that guided the student interviews included: 1. what led you to choose this phd programme? 2. what were your expectations before beginning the programme? of yourself? faculty? cohort members? students? a) have they been met? in what ways? 3. describe your experience with the programme? what have been the a) challenges? b) weaknesses? 4. in terms of the programme model, what are the a) strengths? b) weaknesses? 5. what are you most looking forward to within the programme? 6. do you believe you will finish the programme? how long do you think this will take? 7. of what are you most fearful? 8. have you changed since entering the programme? please explain. 9. what do you see yourself doing in the future with the phd? 10. what will be the benefits for you? others? 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 123 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective article grasping the regimes of language, space and identity in the visual of post‑apartheid higher education in south africa giselle baillie,* mary duker** & zamansele nsele*** * ms giselle baillie is a researcher at the unit for institutional change and social justice (formerly the institute for reconciliation and social justice) of the university of the free state, south africa. email: bailliegk@ufs.ac.za ** prof. mary duker teaches in both the studio and visual studies programmes in the department of visual arts at the nelson mandela university, south africa. email: mary.duker@mandela.ac.za *** ms zamansele nsele, at the time of the project in 2015, lectured in visual culture at rhodes/uckar, south africa, and is currently a lecturer in design studies at the faculty of art, design and architecture at the university of johannesburg, south africa. email: zamanselensele@gmail.com preface in 2014, through the university of the free state’s (ufs) institute for reconciliation and social justice (irsj), three south african universities partnered to collaborate on the pilot phase of a research project focused on understanding whether the arts could enable social cohesion, as the 2012 national development plan (2030) had promoted. the project, which had been conceptualised by one of the authors of this article in early 2014,1 followed both experience and observation of the challenges with regards this concept in the arts, culture and heritage sectors of south africa. subsequent reflection and questioning of some of the related challenges, problematised the role that higher education had in societal transformation, and accordingly, in the conceptual development of social cohesion: were universities creating appropriate conceptual frameworks and praxes required for the post‑apartheid south african context? the disruption created by the 2008 ‘reitz video’ and the ufs’s subsequent decision to critically explore the meanings and trajectories thereof as part of the university’s transformation process, opened an important space also for the interrogation of concepts like that of ‘arts’ and ‘social cohesion’ in south africa. the ‘reitz video’ when read as a ‘visual’, signaled the need to not only understand and address racism more substantively, but also the need to understand the power of the visual in the disruption of outdated social imaginaries and, in the production of what the new social imaginaries could also be. research questions around the visual were subsequently set for the pilot phase of the project in 2014. these included firstly, the need to question how social cohesion was thought of and worked with in an african context by emerging and established visual 1 giselle baillie. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:bailliegk%40ufs.ac.za?subject= mailto:mary.duker%40mandela.ac.za?subject= mailto:zamanselensele%40gmail.com?subject= 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 artists, and secondly, to ascertain what the broader student and staff populations at these three south african universities (the university of the free state, rhodes university2 and the nelson mandela metropolitan university3) understood and proposed in terms of the concept of social cohesion at this particular juncture of south africa’s democracy project. with this research framework, each university set about the project’s implementation in 2015, as would be best suited to the needs and context of each institution. common to the implementation of the project, however, was that each university would develop an exhibition consisting of visual arts‑based works reflecting and responding to the research framework; that each university would also host a colloquium on the research question; and that all three universities would document their processes in a joint publication for reflection and development purposes. through the irsj, the ufs’s implementation focused on the exploration of the concept through firstly working with students drawn from across faculties and who would collaborate with third year fine arts as well as drama and theatre arts students and secondly; working with professional artists, both those employed by the university as well as those operating in the surrounds of the university. while students of the university were worked with over a period of a semester to reflect on the concept in relation to the context of the university self, the professional artists were asked over the same period of time to think of the concept in terms of the broader mangaung4 municipal and south african context through an african epistemological lens. discussions with regards this conceptual basis of social cohesion with the group was guided by the provision of various scholarly articles, book chapters and thought pieces by a range of african artists and thinkers. the artworks developed by the students and the professional artists were then hosted as part of the irsj’s social justice platform in the second semester of 2015, which was integrated across spaces of the university campus in order to elicit interaction and reflection from as broad an audience as possible. rhodes/uckar aligned the project to its office for equity and institutional culture as well as to the department of fine art and implemented the project through a collaboration with makhanda community‑based arts organisations (fingo festival and upstart youth development project), interested fine arts students and a group of professional artists working at community level from the western cape. working with school learners from rhini and joza,5 this collaboration resulted in the installation of site specific work located on campus and its surrounds. partnership with the nelson mandela foundation was also established in order to curate and host a photographic exhibition in the albany museum, focused on visualising issues of social justice. 2 from 2015, rhodes university has also been referred to as the university currently known as rhodes (uckar) as the debate and dialogue around its name take place. 3 from 2017, the nelson mandela metropolitan university has been known as the nelson mandela university. 4 mangaung municipality comprises the bloemfontein, botshabelo and thaba nchu municipal areas. 5 township residential areas within makhanda. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 125 the nelson mandela university’s school of music, art and design incorporated the project into the workplan of its newly introduced first year bachelor of visual arts programme. students from across a range of visual arts disciplines collaborated in the production of artworks and texts. in september 2015, the project culminated in a colloquium and an exhibition. these activities served to launch the new art gallery and expanded visual arts facilities on the university’s bird street campus. as became evident through the pilot phase, the various histories and institutional cultures particular to each of these universities would come to influence the project, as would the particular frameworks of change which the student #movements in 2015 were to provide. the findings from the pilot implementation phase of the project were as a result complex and have continued to provide scope for interpretation, thought and use across contexts. with this in mind, our contribution to this journal focuses on representatives from each of the three participating universities engaging in a reflective discussion on what we have learnt so far in terms of how, in particular, the visual works with and intersects higher education and issues of space, language and identity politics in south africa today in terms of the meta issues of social cohesion and social justice. some of the issues raised from our reflections include, firstly, that the visual within the public space, including university campuses, remains as contentious and unresolved as it has over the past two decades of our democracy. secondly, this lack of cultural advancement has led to young black academics being caught in a particular and precarious form of crossfire. on the one hand they are highly critical of the institutional practices and highly conscious of erasures and amnesias, yet, on the other hand, they are employed in the system. lastly, the disruption which the visual results in has the potential to change narratives. however, as with the challenges of the visual in the public space, we continue to struggle in finding the language and the will to effect this. all three authors worked in leading positions in the project in 2015 and through their attempt at explaining the processes and findings of the pilot year of the project at the 2016 south african art historians conference, it was confirmed for themselves that the project, while implemented through the visual arts sector in 2015, had findings which needed to be developed and shared with the broader higher education environment as well. this reflective discussion therefore goes back to the beginning and focuses on each university reflecting on one question, which is framed and guided by key thematic areas drawn from the overall project findings from 2015, and which can be read at the end of the article. this framework, at that particular juncture in time, summarised the social conditions and contingencies which each university had identified as being in need of consideration and work if social cohesion was to be developed within their institutions. keywords: diversity, reconciliation and silence; history, post memory and space; process, politics and pedagogies 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 reflective question: assuming that the national development plan focuses on the arts and their relationship to social cohesion on the understanding that the arts have the ability to ‘encounter’ problems and that through their practices have the power to re‑imagine social relationships, we could argue that it is intuitively possible that the arts can be an enabler in the arena of social cohesion. how does this translate to and become integrated into the cultures of university campuses in the post‑apartheid space? a) giselle baillie: ufs diversity, reconciliation and silence diversity for a university campus where the more recent commissioning of public artworks under the institution’s transformation project has in many ways been to counterbalance, reposition and problematise the ‘old’ (read: apartheid histories, statues, memorials, architecture, spatial complexities) with the ‘new’ (read: constitutional democracy); a response to this question until more recently would very likely have been to the affirmative, in that public artworks do enable social cohesion. this response would more than likely also have been premised on the notion that wherever the artworks were displayed, that they could be read in the post‑apartheid conceptual framework and discourse which promoted diversity, reconciliation, tolerance, respect for difference and, social cohesion (ufs, n.d; schmahmann,  2013, 2015). also implicitly factored into this claim would be the understanding that the visual language promoted by these artworks would be accessible, meaningful to and accepted by all communities and identities engaging with the university (ibid). what was raised by the 2015 #rhodesmustfall (here after referred to as #rmf) movement however, was the explicit rejection of this conceptual framework, its language and its meanings on public university campuses. this rejection however was not isolated and neither did it relate only to the issue of statues or to south african public university campuses for that matter. parallel to the #rmf drive in getting the rhodes statue moved off the university of cape town’s campus, was a similar project in the broader south african public space spearheaded by members of the economic freedom fighters (eff) and also the african national congress youth league (ancyl) and, which focused on the removal of pre‑democracy ‘colonial and boer [afrikaner]’ public monuments and statues. amongst the reasons provided by the aforementioned political parties was their frustration with the lack of socio‑economic change in the post‑apartheid south african society and therefore the need to ‘cleanse society’ of all symbols and social imaginations which hurt and hampered development (see, for example, independent online, 2015). while vested with a new form of urgency, given the media’s intense focus on the matter, at face value it seemed that these forms of rejection mirrored those which had been ongoing since the late 1990s in south africa as the heritage landscape underwent https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 127 transformation processes.6 subsequently, the #rmf rejections were soon to be located into the framework of historical narrative, identity, politics and power contestation with the accompanying conceptual framework of heritage contestation management soon following. since 1994, and in recognition of the oppressive symbolism which certain objects were imbued with ‑ statues, artworks and visual reminders of apartheid leaders such as hendrik verwoerd were removed from their original positions and contexts in the public space, supposedly to be banished to storage or alternately to be re‑contextualised for critical public engagement in a new ‘museum’ or ‘heritage’ context or setup (coombes,  2004; dubin,  2009). the broader public art landscape, including objects relating to british and afrikaner histories, however, were to remain in the public space to be utilised for reconciliation processes through the dialogues which the inclusion of additional public artworks, focused on the narratives of black historical figures and events, would purportedly enable. this ‘dialectical relationship’, it was proposed, would elicit the development of critical public dialogue and a public philosophy towards constitutional realisation and citizenship development. however, as could be witnessed over the past two and a half decades of south africa’s democracy, the conceptual development needed within the public space and in the heritage sector to equitably deal with the related historical, cultural, racial and discriminatory trauma and hurt (see for example moodley, 2014) which these colonial and apartheid objects evoked, was limited. as a result, even though new public artworks were commissioned and dialogues in relation to the heritage transformation process were called for or attempted, limited philosophical progression at ground level and at executive level seemed to take place. what was removed from the public space usually ended up being purposefully forgotten in some obscure and out of the way dark room or repositioned into different meanings in spheres of private language and heritage practice related to specific identity interests. alternately, what was proposed for inclusion into these spaces in order to problematise the old, would either not be realised or, alternately, marginalised owing to various other socio‑political factors at play (coombes, 2004; dubin, 2009; miller, 2017). hence, when this discourse again became foregrounded in 2015 through the #rmf movement, and given the continued lack of conceptual, linguistic and political framework development to deal with the challenges it foregrounded, initial proposals raised by a national working group established by the minister for arts and culture again focused 6 prior to south africa’s democracy, heritage, like all other realms of the south african reality, was governed by the principles of segregation and ‘own development’. segregated museums were established for the white population in towns and cities to present particular narratives of history and to uphold the white imagination of racial, cultural and intellectual superiority. the principle of ‘own development’ was employed in the previous ethnically segregated homelands of apartheid south africa, focusing on ethnic cultural development and usually through the establishment of ‘ethnic‑based cultural institutions’ where only one language and its related cultural practices would find the space for development. the process of creating new shared narratives, new shared histories, shared spatial frameworks and so forth from this previously segregated reality, would and has continued to prove challenging in democratic south africa. rather than being able to create a shared historical and heritage framework, contestations seemed instead to focus around whose narrative was being promoted in most instances of heritage transformation debate since 1994. 128 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 on ‘solutions’. these included placing the statues in a special ‘statue/memorial park’, alternatively placing these ‘offensive’ statues in a museum or heritage site in order to re‑contextualise them, or placing them in storage, with the unspoken knowledge that this would once again lead to the temporary salve of silencing and shelving of the conundrum (see for example, mthethwa, 2015). the public space and the heritage sector it seemed had no new praxes to the conundrum. but was it an issue which only the heritage sector should address? in february 2008, the ufs found itself faced with its most critical public‑visual‑ witnessing moment when the video produced for an internal residence cultural competition went viral, globally. focused on expressing rejection of the university’s 2007 forced residence racial integration policy, four young white male and afrikaans‑speaking students, through the adoption and use of the fear factor television show format as storyline shaper, created a video narrating their rejection of racial integration. through this register, the five black university workers they had co‑opted into acting out the ‘fear factor’ competition storyline would show how ‘different’ they were by ‘playing the game’ through a set of challenges which evoked elements of the cultural hazing practices traditionally employed by ufs residences. these included testing the ability of the participants to consume food dishes concocted to induce vomiting, to consume large quantities of alcohol and then to perform particular dance movements; to present their ‘identity’ at the residence bar through the utilisation of language registers particular to the reitz residence and, to successfully compete in an obstacle‑based athletic competition (van der merwe & van reenen, 2016, pp. 9‑23). this visual interpretation, which won the reitz residence cultural competition in the previous year, became so much more than what students had supposedly intended it to be. rather, like public statues and other visuals in plural or diverse identity south africa, this video hosted meanings and powers beyond those of the supposed intentions of its producers and its custodians, and beyond those of the communities they were located in. rather than remaining an ‘innocent spoof ’, as the students and their families would claim (ibid.); the video and its after‑images were read and utilised along a trajectory of different meanings. for many black people in south africa and globally, the video represented the arrogance underpinning the racism of many white people and the continued ignorance of the hurt caused by racism. for many black and some white ufs students, past and present, the video took on meanings aligned to the subtle aggressions, discrimination and injustices which these students had for years articulated as taking place at the university, but who could seldom provide visual evidence thereof. for gender‑interest groups, the video represented not only racism, but also the continued arrogance of patriarchy and sexism in society. for the workers in the video and for their families, the video took on meanings of shame and embarrassment as members of their own communities ridiculed them for supposedly having been ‘duped’ by these students (ufs media archives, 2008). although produced by the four students and not the university, and even though the university publically condemned the video and apologised for the hurt it had created, for many of the publics (after habermas) it remains symbolic of the university’s alleged continued racism, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 129 with its visual power lingering deeply in the social imagination of the injustices, which black south africans foreground as continuing in the democratic space. in 2015, and aligned to the #rmf movements, the ufs was once again faced with a critical social cohesion and social justice question in the public sphere, with its roots once again in the visual. should the ufs, as it had initiated in 2009, continue in its attempt to reconcile the university community to the underlying premises of the constitution in order to re‑imagine and re‑build the university community and broader society, or should the university forego promoting its conceptual understanding of reconciliation, democracy and transformation and allow what was considered ‘oppressive’ by students (various public artworks on the campus) to be removed instead?7 in february 2016, students decided for the university. reconciliation “to imagine a language means to imagine a form of life” (wittgenstein, 1953, p. 8) when the new vice‑chancellor of the ufs, professor jonathan jansen, announced in his inauguration speech in october 2009 that the university would still proceed with criminal charges against the four students who had produced the ‘reitz video’, but that the university would also forgive the four students and allow them to complete their studies, and that he, the university and society should recognise their complicity in providing the environment in which such racist and unjust behaviour could take place and as such accept responsibility and study and develop new, critical praxes of reconciliation, the backlash from the black south african public was significant. why, they asked, should black people continue to forgive white people for their continued racism, for their continued exclusion of the black person from spaces and opportunities, for their continued lack of remorse? as contended by countless opinions expressed on the ‘reitz video’ matter in the media, those four white students needed to be punished and removed if anything was ever to change. jansen’s proposed and publicly mis‑read ‘racial reconciliation’, like that of the truth and reconciliation commission’s (trc), was an ‘insult’ to black people, writers and thinkers like pumla gqola inferred (2009). the decision to utilise ‘reconciliation’ as a key operational principle in the ufs’s proposed societal transformation project, however, went ahead. in assisting the ufs as well as its broader communities to ‘read’ this transformation and societal development principle in action, significant changes were made to the university’s motto, its insignia, its vision and mission, its public art project, its academic project and to its strategies amongst others 7 since approximately 2003, the ufs had undertaken discussions and actions in dealing with apartheid‑era statues, names and artworks on the bloemfontein campus. following the success of an application made around 2007, a set of new public artworks was commissioned from 2009 until 2011 through funds from the national lottery commission to exist in relationship to the ‘old’. further, the removal in many residences of apartheid‑era and discriminatory signs, artworks and symbols was also undertaken. from 2013, the ufs had similarly been attempting to work with the students representative council (src) in identifying new names for buildings, as well as the re‑positioning/interpretation of public artworks. a critical breakdown in this process, however, seems to have taken place. 130 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 (ufs media, 2009‑2014). as stated to the media, the ufs would become a world leader in the praxes of reconciliation. however, as would be consistently raised and witnessed via the various media articles and visuals captured or created on alleged racial incidents taking place at the ufs over the period from 2010 to 2015 (see, for example, youtube,  2014); by supposedly not punishing and removing the initial ‘problem’ that related to the ‘reitz video’ in 2007/8; the university assumedly continued to protect and support white afrikaans culture and in doing so, continued to allegedly allow white superiority, racism and oppression to manifest unhindered. no matter how the ufs attempted to visually and conceptually re‑imagine itself, the imprint of the visuals and meanings from the reitz video and also from other prior and subsequent alleged racist incidents at the university seemed to find more traction in the student imaginative space. then, on 22 february 2016, almost eight years to the day from when the ‘reitz video’ had initially gone viral globally, images and digital footage of white rugby supporters beating up protesting black ufs students and black staff trying to resolve the impasse, also went viral. within twenty‑four hours, the c.r. swart statue8 on the ufs campus was removed from its plinth by a group of eff‑linked members and students, and dumped into the pool outside the ufs law faculty buildings. five months later, an afrikaans‑focused interest group, the voortrekkers, applied to the provincial heritage authority for permission to remove the statue from storage at the ufs campus in order to install it on a farm near lindley in the free state, which was being used to educate young afrikaners about ‘their’ history and heritage. the c.r. swart statue, which like other statues had not been removed from the bloemfontein campus but had been joined by other works to foster dialectical relationships as part of the university’s reconciliation frame, seemed to prove once again that the ‘dialectical relationship theory’ was limited. silence as was articulated in the 2015 project publication, a publication that explored the findings put forward by the project across all three universities at that time, for the arts to enable social cohesion, conceptual clarification in relation to how social cohesion needs to be thought of in the post‑apartheid plural south african context, what it is meant to/projected to achieve, and what support structures and discourses were needed to enable this, were in dire need. without this clarification, the visual arts, in particular, would continue to kick up dust and create festering wounds around the concept on university campuses and in the public space. two threads of silence therefore shape and inform my current thinking with regard to the question. firstly, given that the 2015 project focused on the visual arts, and as such this 8 the statue of charles robert swart was installed on the ufs campus in 1993, in front of the law faculty buildings. c.r. swart was the first state president of the republic of south africa (1961‑1967). prior to this, he was last governor general of the union of south africa under whose watch many of the discriminatory laws of apartheid south africa were legalised. for more on the statue, see miller and schmahmann, 2017. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 131 answer needs to shape my thinking to that particular art form, the visual and the public arts do have the ability to encounter or raise problems, but, as has also been evidenced through numerous examples from south africa since 1994 – ignorance, subversion or avoidance of the political agency (aisthesis, after rancière, 2004) in favour of the ‘aesthetic’ of the artwork usually ends up silencing and frustrating the potential language, interstices and re‑imagination the visual should initiate. as would be seen through the #fmf movements, and since then, as universities have attempted to grapple with public art issues; contestation over whether the historical value or the aesthetic value of an artwork carries more weight than its political agency, obscures and silences the power that the visual could have in the social re‑imagination process. secondly, as is the case with the ufs and its attempts at problematising ‘reconciliation’ – when attempts are made to put in place frameworks and interventions to locate and develop new imaginations around the visual – in the conflicted space which the south african historical past creates, social cohesion is not about relationships of consensual dialogue, but is rather that of continuous productive contestation, given the plural and highly complex society that south africa is. b) zamansele nsele: rhodes/uckar history, post memory and space the issues that were raised at the dialogues culminated in a student‑led colloquium on art and social justice. a variety of papers were presented by students and they coalesced around an amalgam of themes pertaining to the complicated status of rhodes university in the institutional post‑apartheid landscape. what emerged as the most immediate issue at the colloquium was the institutional project of memory as represented by the contested signifier9 of cecil john rhodes, as is still carried by the name rhodes university (uckar). what i have written below is a meditation on the signifier of cecil john rhodes and the implications that this signification bears on the physical built space that is still called ‘rhodes university’ or the ‘university currently known as rhodes’ post‑#rmf. what is remembered, who remembers it, and how is it remembered? memory is a fragile and faulty device that is driven by desire and imagination. we use memory not to remember, how things were, but rather to remember things the way we want them to be. it follows then that imagination and memory are bedfellows. ricouer (2004) writes that if memory and imagination are two affections that are always in the company of one another, then “to evoke one to imagine it, is to evoke the other to remember it” ricouer (2004). now, within this mnemonic structure of desire, imagination and memory, what do we make of the institutional memory that commands the university 9 this issue of name change followed from the removal of the rhodes statue that previously stood erect as an extension of uct campus (university of cape town). 132 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 apparatus? here i use the term ‘institutional memory’ as shorthand to refer to institutional patterns and institutional cultures that are cultivated as everyday norms that reinforce whiteness in historically white university spaces. such norms reinforce the comfort of white bodies, in the sense that white bodies in these spaces of higher learning are in the words of sara ahmed “bodies‑at‑home”. ahmed10 refers to institutions as spaces that are historically prepared and readied to receive and enable white bodies. the somatic difference represented by black bodies manifests the opposite effect – discomfort. consequently, one can confidently expand from the premise that black south africans who have gone through a ‘previously white university’ system know that it is a painstaking journey characterised by varying degrees of humiliation and alienation. this journey is akin to the one outlined by ngugi (1986) in his tome, decolonising the mind, where he sheds light on the pathological effects of colonial alienation. what is touted as a path out of poverty – university education – for poor black south africans is a double‑edged sword that can cut both ways. it is a journey that alienates oneself from oneself and this alienation extends to one’s family, community and towards africa in general. what does it mean to grow up in the places and spaces of history which are not your own? the question above was posed during the art & social justice colloquium, and i use it as a conceptual guide in my response as it links a series of pertinent questions raised by zine magubane (2004) in the text hear our voices, and they are as follows: 1. for what and for whom were these universities created? 2. from their inception, what have the social functions of these universities been? in order to attend to these questions, magubane agitates that we go back in time to trace the lineage linking universities, especially english‑medium universities, to the mining industry. magubane (2004, p. 44) points out the following: the history of mining magnates whose ill‑gotten gains played such a central role in providing the financial bequests that underwrote the establishment of south africa’s most prominent universities is a damning one. cecil john rhodes is a major actor in southern african colonial history; he unapologetically dominates the imperial stage. he looms large as one of the mining magnates that magubane speaks of in the above passage. his image can be productively analysed as a quintessential representation of imperial heroism. it was the rhodes trust that bequeathed the funds to 10 according to sarah ahmed, the institutionalisation of whiteness involves work: the institution comes to have a body as an effect of this work. with this in mind, she urges us not to reify institutions by presuming they are simply given and that they decide what we do. rather, ahmed suggests that institutions become given, as an effect of the repetition of decisions made over time. institutions involve the accumulation of past decisions about how to allocate resources, as well as ‘who’ to recruit. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 133 establish a university bearing his name in grahamstown11 in 1904, rhodes university. magubane argues that the institutional memory of cecil john rhodes is strategically an amnesiac one. i propose that it speaks of much more than just a selective institutional memory practice. the whitewashing12 is indicative of an ominous type of memory practice that is in the form of imperial nostalgia. imperial nostalgia regards colonialism as a “one‑way flow of charity and benevolence from the european to the african” and, therefore, words of gratitude are expected from africans in return (reilly, 2016). from this standpoint, colonialism is a gift that bestows civilisation where there was none, echoing the myth of the white man’s burden.13 put differently from this purview, colonialism equals civilisation.14 herein lies the violence of nostalgia’s sentimentalism, as by its own internal logic it is a form of remembering that effaces all the inconvenient bits, i.e. violence and plunder. for its own gains this memory practice removes the inconvenient truths about the past. modernity and its underside, coloniality, coalesce upon a fundamental organising principle and that is abject violence, but this aspect is often muted and ignored by those afflicted by this form of sentimental longing. imperial nostalgia further strategically omits the fact that modern civilisation depends precisely on what it chooses not to acknowledge: black abjection. institutional memory practice is consistent with this pattern of remembering whereby the image of cecil john rhodes is “tightly edited” in order to play down his flagrant hatred towards “natives” and this effectively conceals his conspicuous zeal for white supremacy15 (magubane in reilly, 2016, p. 78). in recent history, that is in post‑apartheid history, the pattern is not broken. in a paper presented by siseko kumalo (2015) at the colloquium, he highlighted rhodes university’s (institutional) silence on marikana, and pointed out the negligence in acknowledging and remembering the lives lost during the marikana massacre in 2012. what makes this institutional silence conspicuous is that the anniversary of marikana on 11 august fell on the weekend of intervarsity, which was hosted by rhodes university at the time. little to nothing was done by the institution to note the importance of this fateful day. kumalo (2015) expands on this: 11 renamed ‘makhanda’ in 2018. 12 bernard magubane in joseph reilly’s (2016) teaching the ‘native’, notes the deliberate effort not only to whitewash the deeds of cecil john rhodes but to further whitewash his words in liberal history. magubane (in reilly) further points out that cecil john rhodes’ will from where his scholarship was established was heavily abridged, “savagely censored”. as a result this effectively denies contemporary readers open access to cjr’s imperial vision. 13 the white man’s burden is the title of a poem written by rudyard kipling in 1899. in the poem, kipling urges america to righteously assume imperial control over the philippine islands. consequently, the term has come to signify the justification of imperialism as a moral obligation on the part of the europeans to uplift and civilise blacks and people of colour. 14 this notion has recently been subject to public debate following the tweets of the premier of the western cape, helen zille, where she lists the positive outcomes of colonialism. this suggests that south africans, even at the level of leadership, have not come to a consensus about colonialism and apartheid as irredeemable abominations. 15 the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. we must adopt a system of despotism in our relations with the barbarians of south africa. i prefer land to niggers. http://www.2oceans vibe.com/2015/03/23/i‑prefer‑land‑to‑niggers‑and‑more‑choice‑quotes‑from‑cecil‑john‑rhodes/ #ixzz4jgtykyu9 http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2015/03/23/i-prefer-land-to-niggers-and-more-choice-quotes-from-cecil-joh http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2015/03/23/i-prefer-land-to-niggers-and-more-choice-quotes-from-cecil-joh http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2015/03/23/i-prefer-land-to-niggers-and-more-choice-quotes-from-cecil-joh 134 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 with students claiming affinity with the working class population there is no surprise that on the morning of the marikana anniversary, after a weekend of debauchery masked by the assertion of celebrating sporting excellence, through the intervarsity tournament which was hosted by rhodes university this year, we woke up to an institution whose administration block was drenched in red spray paint with ‘marikana’ placed strategically in defiance of the blatant silencing of what was termed ‘black pain’. in this pattern, post‑apartheid institutions such as rhodes university are seen as complicit in the fundamental lack of formally registering the precariousness of black lives in post‑ apartheid south africa. in its epistemological frame this aspect of erasure was discussed in bantu-staan!, a paper presented by sikhumbuzo makandula (2015). to regard history from this perspective affirms the logic of epistemicide. put in another way, it speaks to the necessary distortion and devaluing of indigenous (non‑europeans’) forms of knowing and being in the world. colonial epistemicide has occurred on all disciplinary levels including the visual. up until the #rmf student protests, when the rhodes statue was physically removed, cecil john rhodes had been (and arguably still is) institutionally regarded less as a racist imperialist and more as a magnanimous philanthropist, his name being synonymous with prestige and academic excellence as embodied by the mandela‑rhodes scholarship.16 the legacy of cecil john rhodes is by no stretch of the imagination, from this perspective, a symbol17 of benevolence; it is a gift that keeps on giving even in the post‑apartheid future in 2017.18 on space, post‑memory and the political nature of visuality in post‑apartheid south africa spatiality and visuality in their various intersections are domains that are not value‑free and nor are they separate from ideology and politics. rhodes university is like many institutions in south africa which have been formally structured by the divides of apartheid. it is an institution that can be understood as a spatial site and as a visual sight of identification and resistance. additionally, one’s experience of its administrative and cultural practices as a whole creates an overall sense of either belonging or non‑belonging in the space. in the case of ‘non‑belongers’ there is nearly always a sticky feeling that one 16 see the online article, ‘feasibility of rhodes university name change to be studied’. http://ewn.co.za/ 2015/07/31/task‑team‑set‑for‑rhodes‑university‑proposed‑name‑change [retrieved on 7 june 2017]. 17 the most prominent signifiers of cecil john rhodes’ legacy have lived in the realm of visuality. for instance, it was the eventual removal of the statue that opened up space for a public discourse on decoloniality to ensue. the removal of his statue subsequently invited debate and scrutiny over the name of rhodes university and the urgent need to change it. the public call for renaming has been largely student led, and it squares against the desires of an invested alumni, to whom such a change would affect the brand value of the institution, denoting a lowering of standards. 18 it is not surprising, then, that anti‑#rmf rhetoric relies on this type of thought pattern. #rmf leaders, such as sbo qwabe who is a recipient of the rhodes scholarship, were often painted as irrational ingrates for their critique and protest against discriminatory practices in university spaces. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 http://ewn.co.za/2015/07/31/task-team-set-for-rhodes-university-proposed-name-change http://ewn.co.za/2015/07/31/task-team-set-for-rhodes-university-proposed-name-change giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 135 has to conform to a way of doing things or saying things or appearing in a prescribed way in order to fit in and eventually arrive at the destination of ‘home’ in the space. these experiences are not exclusively shaped by race, as class, one’s gender and sexual orientation further contaminate the experience of not belonging. for instance, at rhodes university, to speak with a detectable ‘model c’ accent carries a dominant social and cultural capital that would enable the speaker to be welcomed and to ‘feel at home’. within the same vein the repeated discomfiture of hearing one’s name repeatedly mispronounced has led to an informal culture of predominantly black students that either change or shorten their names as a method of assimilating into a space that is not yet ready to receive their arrival. this brings to mind sara ahmed’s discussion where she unpacks the structural privilege of those who are vested with the comfort of playing hosts in such institutions; she speaks of “those who are at home in the space, the ones who are welcoming rather than welcomed”. the unhomely shadow that follows black bodies around in these spaces is a long one that cannot simply be overcome through admission and recruitment policies. c) mary duker: nmu process, politics and pedagogies: considering the way forward the 2015 project the invitation from the irsj to partner with them and rhodes/uckar in the 2015 project came at an opportune time. this was the year in which nelson mandela university’s department of visual arts introduced its bachelor of visual arts (bva) qualification. because the programme was in its very first iteration, there were no pre‑existing, fixed, cast‑in‑stone sets of curricular ‘traditions’ to uphold, and there was a degree of flexibility possible with regard to the work plan and the timetable. the lecturers who would be presenting the newly minted studio modules expressed a willingness to engage the first cohort of bva students in a collective and embodied art‑making project focused on the visual expression of ‘african’ identities. we mapped out a timeframe, with the work produced in the project destined for a high‑profile institutionally supported exhibition, accompanied by a colloquium. the studio exploration would focus on the re‑imagining of social relationships while the colloquium, with its presenters drawn from the ranks of both the visual arts and the social sciences, and including practitioners and theorists, artists, curators and student activists, would probe the gaps in the social cohesion narrative. the project was conceptualised and planned very early in 2015, and the studio aspect commenced just prior to the date that the statue of cecil john rhodes at the university of cape town was removed from its plinth as an outcome of the #rhodesmustfall protests. shortly after the exhibition and colloquium in october, the national #feesmustfall protests gained momentum. looking back, the heated discussion that informed and helped to shape the studio project, and the content addressed by the colloquium presenters, appears both timeous and prescient. 136 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 bringing the ‘outside’ inside we envisaged the project in its entirety, both the studio and the colloquium aspects, as a boundary‑crosser, one that could bring theory and practice closer together, but more importantly, one that could bring the ‘realities’ of the outside world into the possibly over‑protected disciplinary ‘safe’ space of the first‑year programme. nathan harter (2016, p. x) points out that reality itself is anything but stable, certain, simple and dis‑ambiguous, and using the military acronym ‘vuca’, he suggests that it is more likely to be a liminal space – one that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. with this project we set out to invite ‘vuca’ into the studios and lecture halls. so what ‘truths’ emerged in the studio? the studio engagement proved to be challenging. i realise that while my colleagues remained committed to seeing the project through, they experienced a great unease when the collective conceptualising and making process became messy and tense and the conversation shifted, moving away from the comfortable space of ‘rainbow‑ism’ and towards the edgier space of ‘emancipation’, with black students speaking their truths about identity politics, about fitting in and about feeling silenced in a learning environment dominated by ‘whiteness’. this speaking out in the open space of the studios was new. amongst my colleagues, some were discomforted by the levels of emotional intensity. there were earnest attempts at brokering discussion around silencing and voice and marginalisation, most of which fell to me and the head of department to facilitate. in the end we ended up with a very fetching set of works which looked good wwqsqqsqqwand which complemented the institutional narratives around respect for diversity and ubuntu very well. for me, looking back reflexively, it is not in these finessed end products that the strength and relevance of the engagement lies. rather, the significance is to be found in the conversations, with all their awkward disjoints and their [mis]‑understandings, and the potential for future engagements is to be found in the performative aspects of the shared and often painful collective art‑making processes. writing about the “material thinking” and “handling” that underpins performative practice, barbara bolt suggests that, “handling as care produces a crucial moment of understanding or circumspection” and that “… it is material thinking, rather than the completed artwork, that is the work of art” (2006, p. 5). in her text on performativity, handling, and art practice as transformative therapeutics, lorna collins suggests that art‑making serves as an emancipatory way of making sense of the world (2014, p. 122). viewed through the lens of collins’ theorising, and following her train of thought, the collective‑making process has the potential to serve as “… a reparative act, one that addresses loss, pain and suffering …” (2014, p. 228) and, one that may “… help to resolve the struggle between anxieties and aggression …” (2014, p. 197). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 137 what ‘truths’ emerged in the colloquium? the colloquium that we presented later in the year was intended to be an uncomfortable space, and it served its purpose. the presenters were invited to grapple with a set of questions that had emerged as the outcome of the studio project, viewed from their own disciplinary perspectives: • is culture a fixed entity and, if not, who controls its changes? • who can lay claim to being ‘african?’ • how does the individual fit into the group? • who can talk for whom? • whose voice is being silenced? • what are the power relations? • what are the ‘rules of engagement’? • how do young creative artists position themselves, and how do all of these discussions take place – who facilitates them and in what framework? there was vigorous engagement between the audience and the presenters, one that served to challenge certainties and call into question assumptions. what stands out when viewing the recorded footage of the event are the completely different worldviews (the ‘alternative truths’, to borrow a phrase, that have entered the popular lexicon in recent months), that were brought into the room by the largely student audience. what was articulated in the conversations with the presenters was not ‘just’ a ‘simple’ bi‑polar black–white divide, although race was clearly foregrounded as a central issue. what was articulated were vastly different constructions of reality, ones that spoke to the socio‑political optics, to the lenses through which students view themselves and the world(s) in which they live. i was reminded of mahmood mamdani’s prescient and pessimistic words in beyond racism: race and inequality in brazil, south africa and the united states (hamilton,  2001). writing as a respondent to a chapter by neville alexander that addresses the prospects for a non‑racial south africa, mamdani forecast the likelihood of an “impending clash between rainbow‑ism and nationalism”, between an embrace of inherited inequalities and a mobilisation against it, between “reconciliation” ideology and “renaissance” ideology (2001, p. 495). the sounds of that clash reverberated around in our venue. so what was the ‘take‑away’? in subsequent corridor conversations with individual students from the 2015 cohort, who by now are in their final undergraduate year, i have received mixed feedback – there appears to be a very strong consensus that the whole robust process of engagement and art‑making had been significant and meaningful to the student participators, and that projects such as this one, projects that provide collective opportunities to address the realities of the ‘world outside the building’ are invaluable, and should be included in the curriculum and in the annual studio and theoretical work plans. there are, however, different opinions regarding whether first years are ‘ready’ for ‘challenging’ projects so early in their studies, with some students and lecturers maintaining that such uneasiness of content is best grappled with 138 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 in the second and third years of study. as an extension of that train of thought, there are differing levels of comfort with the concept of working collectively. why not, as the question was posed by a commentator, allow people to express their own ideas about where they fit in, and what their understanding of the nature of our diverse society is? why be required to engage with others as they do this? it is telling of exactly that desire to avoid the discomfort that comes with grappling with potentially explosive issues in a group setting that, during the departmental planning for the 2016 first‑year studio work plan, it was established that the timetable could simply not support the inclusion of a similar ‘group’, ‘outside’ and ‘difficult’ project. ironically, as fate would have it, the 2016 programme was disrupted by the resurgent #feesmustfall protests, and in the end reality, the ‘outside’ and ‘difficult’ world, did indeed intrude into the sheltered space of the programme. so where to now? what needs to be put in place to revive our project? our 2015 project was delivered within the framework of an innovative new curriculum, one that was drafted as a response to calls for pedagogical transformation. we made use of arts‑based methodologies, and we extended the reach of our teaching and learning approach. our project was hailed as a success, despite it having caused discomfort and unease amongst some colleagues and students. yet, there was no noticeable appetite from my colleagues to build on it in 2016 or 2017. if so‑called ‘difficult’ projects are ever to form a regular, ongoing and robust part of the teaching programme, if we want to bring the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous ‘outside’ world into the studios and seminar rooms in any kind of collective, robust and potentially confrontational way, whether as a pedagogical tool, a means of foregrounding social‑political issues, or as a catalyst as we seek to re‑imagine social relationships and work towards social change, we must ask what support measures need to be put in place, and we must consider how we can increase our collective appetite for ‘discomfort’. i cannot be alone in posing these questions. institutions are under pressure to transform. disciplines are under pressure to listen to the student voice, and to explore ways to acknowledge and foreground the exploration of student identities within the curriculum. it is not supposed to be business as usual. it would doubtless be helpful if there were a framework of support in the form of counsellors and facilitators, conflict management specialists and teaching and learning professionals, that we could call upon for advice, as we set out to explore ‘vuca’ spaces within the curriculum. this is a conversation that we need to have with our institution(s). more importantly, these are conversations that need to be held within the department, between ourselves and with our students. for us as academics, perhaps our point of departure could be the acknowledgment of our own “learned ignorance” (de  sousa santos, 2009, pp. 103‑125), an acknowledgement of what we do not know and understand about the world outside our buildings, a recognition of the different kinds of knowledge that students bring with them into the disciplinary community, and an awareness of the limits of our own understanding of the student experience within the department. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 139 update: 2018‑2019 in 2018 and 2019, there were signs of a turning of the tide. the collective engagement with the socio‑political and the world outside the university was revisited. theory and studio lecturers worked together to facilitate an experimental collaborative project which saw senior bachelor of visual arts (bva) students working in transdisciplinary collectives. in 2018, the groups explored key themes, including history, (post)memory and re‑enactment that emerged from visiting artist nomusa makhubu’s exhibition, intertwined 2005-2017 (which was on view at nelson mandela university’s bird street gallery at the time). in 2019, sethembile msizane took up a short residency and, after an intensive and emotive workshop process, transdisciplinary collectives of senior students produced works in which they explored the performativity of individual and group identity in an engagement with the innercity area around the campus. however, the bva first years have yet to participate in these new generation collaborations. this is a work in progress. postscript: 2019 and towards some conclusions for this reflective article, at this time and in this space this article will possibly be printed in 2019, two years post the initial reflection informing it, four years post the pilot phase of the project’s implementation, and five years post the project’s initial conceptualisation. over this period of time and space, some things have changed, and others have largely remained the same. following consistent demands by the students representative council (src) at the ufs in 2016 and early 2017, the university entered into a process of broad consultation, informed by national heritage legislation regarding the future of one of the public artworks of the bloemfontein campus, the m.t. steyn statue: should this statue be relocated to another position on the campus or should it be removed to a site off campus. aligned to the university’s integrated transformation plan (itp), which was launched in 2017, this process (ufs, 2018) remains ongoing at the time of this conclusion in july 2019. although perhaps having more content informing, shaping and driving the related arguments, interest groups involved in the public consultation process (as aligned to the national heritage legislation) regarding the relocation or removal of the statue remain essentially located in the politics of opposition. these, in turn, largely replicate the framework of contestation used over the past 25 years of democracy in south africa. in this modality, none of the parties involved in the argument actually ‘wins’ and, as such, the understanding that public artworks such as statues are able to elicit dialogue and a philosophy towards the development of shared objectives, social cohesion and so forth, once again seems challenged in the current heritage framework. following a process of public consultation over the period 2015‑2016, the department of arts and culture (dac) also released its recommendations on the broader transformation of the heritage landscape (dac,  2018). in  the report, dac motivates the removal of colonial and apartheid statues, and the installation of statues symbolising south africa and the governing party’s democratic ideals. silence at the conceptual and operational levels of ‘statues and social cohesion’ persists. 140 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 in her 2017 reflection on the project, zamansele nsele raises the issue of how public art on university campuses in south africa are framed by the notions of ‘whitewashing’, underpinned by the deliberate obscuring, avoidance and institutional silencing of the histories of these artworks and of the institutions themselves. although the previous university of cape town (uct, 2017) and the ongoing ufs public artwork processes have resulted in the creation of what are currently narrow and very difficult inroads into this interrogation, societal transformation remains conceptually confronted and silenced by the intangible phenomenon and power of ‘whitewashing’. from what has been evidenced to date in many of the arguments put forth into the public space over the past three years, it seems that this ‘whitewashing’ is also being informed and underpinned by the western canon wherein the perceived aesthetic value of the artwork is promoted and defended above the consideration of its agency within social transformation. as part of her reflection of the project dialogues around social cohesion, which took place at nmu in 2015 and which raised the reality of the highly complex pluralism existent in university communities and hence the limitations of consensus seeking, mary duker’s promotion of these difficult and philosophically‑framed, open‑ended discussions and related institutional development processes being nonetheless necessary to continue, remains relevant today. what duker’s observations raise also returns us to one of the original questions of this research project: as universities have historically been identified as the vanguard of the development of new societal concepts and social transformation processes through the arts and if currently, rather than creating new languages and meanings, they seem to be frozen in the regimes of silences, ‘whitewashing’, fear of confrontation and the challenging legislative framework of public art and social cohesion or, alternately, education and social cohesion (department of education, 2008), then continued deep interrogation and disruption of the current ‘social cohesion’ concept within the higher education and public context of south africa remain as salient as ever. perhaps central to this is the need to critically interrogate the current premise of ‘social cohesion’ in diverse and irreconcilable contexts as south africa is, before the concept becomes totally enmeshed as an empty signifier in both the higher education and public social imaginaries. references ahmed, s. (2007). a phenomenology of whiteness. feminist theory, 8(2), 149‑168. https://doi.org/10.11 77/1464700107078139 bolt, b. (2006). materializing pedagogies. working papers in art and design 4. retrieved on 10 june 2014 from http://sitem.herts.ac.uk/artdes_research/papers/wpades/vol4/bbfull.htm collins, l. (2014). making sense: art practice and transformative therapeutics. london, u.k.: bloomsbury. coombes, a.e. (2004). history after apartheid: visual culture and public memory in a democratic south africa. durham,u.k.: duke university press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822384922 dac (department of arts and culture). (2018). report: ministerial task team on the transformation of the heritage landscape. unpublished. pretoria. department of education. (2008). report of the ministerial committee on transformation and social cohesion and the elimination of discrimination in public higher education institutions. https:// www.ukzn.ac.za/wp‑content/miscfiles/publications/ https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 mailto:/10.1177/1464700107078139?subject= mailto:/10.1177/1464700107078139?subject= http://sitem.herts.ac.uk/artdes_research/papers/wpades/vol4/bbfull.htm mailto:/10.1215/9780822384922?subject= https://www.ukzn.ac.za/wp-content/miscfiles/publications/ https://www.ukzn.ac.za/wp-content/miscfiles/publications/ giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 141 de sousa santos, b. (2009). a non‑occidentalist west? learned ignorance and ecology of knowledge. theory, culture & society, 26(7‑8), 103‑125. retrieved on 4 march 2010 from http://tcs.sagepub. com. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276409348079reportheandtransformation.pdf dubin, s. c. (2009). mounting queen victoria: curating cultural change. johannesburg: jacana media. gqola, p. (2009). insult to injury. city press. 31 october. https://www.news24.com/archives/city‑press/ insult‑to‑injury‑20150429 harter, n.w. (2016). foucault on leadership: the leader as subject. new york,  ny: routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315628738 iol (independent online). (2015). eff to remove pretoria’s statues. 4 april. https://www.iol.co.za/news/ politics/eff‑to‑remove‑pretorias‑statues‑1841017 kumalo, s. (2015). feni in protest art with student inflections. the shift of emancipation: visual arts, cohesion, transformation, south africa, 1(1), 126‑135. mabokela, r. & magubane, z. (eds.). (2004). hear our voices: race, gender and the status of black south african women in the academy. virginia: stylus pub. makandula, s. (2016). bantu‑staan! the shift of emancipation: visual arts, cohesion, transformation, south africa, 1(1), 113‑116. mamdani, m. (2001). response. in: c.v. hamilton (ed.), beyond racism: race and inequality in brazil (pp. 493‑497). boulder, co: lynne rienner publishers. miller, k. & schmahmann, b. (2017). public art in south africa: bronze warriors and plastic presidents. bloomington: indiana university press. https://doi.org//10.2307/j.ctt20060c0 moodley,t. (2015). apartheid memories still hurt. iol. 19  october. https://www.iol.co.za/news/ apartheid‑memories‑still‑hurt‑1.1763485 mthethwa,n. 2015. there is too much of the past in our present – nathi mthethwa. politicsweb. 22 april. https://www.politicsweb.co.za/news‑and‑analysis/there‑is‑too‑much‑of‑the‑past‑in‑our‑present‑‑nath ngugi wa thiong’o. (2011). decolonising the mind. oxford, u.k.: james currey. rancière, j. (2004). the politics of aesthetics: the distribution of the sensible. london, u.k.: continuum. reilly, j. (2016). teaching the ‘native’: behind the architecture of an unequal education system. pretoria, south africa: hsrc press. ricouer, p. (2004). memory, history, forgetting. chicago, il: the university of chicago press. schmahmann, b. (2013). picturing change: curating visual culture at post-apartheid universities. johannesburg, south africa: wits university press. https://doi.org/10.18772/12013045805 schmahmann, b. (2015). toppled statues and fallen icons: negotiating monuments to british imperialism and afrikaner nationalism at post‑apartheid universities. inauguration address transcript. university of johannesburg: wits university press. uct (university of cape town). (2017). report by the artworks task team (a task team of the council of the university of cape town). february. retrieved on 23 july 2019 from https://www.groundup. org.za/media/uploads/documents/artworks_report_to_councilfeb2017.pdf ufs (university of the free state) media. (2009‑2014). https://www.ufs.ac.za/media/general/ publications ufs online archive. (2018). m. t. steyn statue public participation process. https://www.ufs.ac.za/ mtsteyn. ufs media archives, department of marketing and brand communications. ufs website archive. n.d. ufs arts home. lotto sculpture‑on‑campus project. https://www.ufs.ac.za/ arts/ufs‑arts‑home/general/lotto‑sculpture‑on‑campus‑project http://tcs.sagepub.com http://tcs.sagepub.com https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276409348079 https://www.news24.com/archives/city-press/insult-to-injury-20150429 https://www.news24.com/archives/city-press/insult-to-injury-20150429 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315628738 https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/eff-to-remove-pretorias-statues-1841017 https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/eff-to-remove-pretorias-statues-1841017 https://doi.org//10.2307/j.ctt20060c0 https://www.iol.co.za/news/apartheid-memories-still-hurt-1.1763485 https://www.iol.co.za/news/apartheid-memories-still-hurt-1.1763485 https://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/there-is-too-much-of-the-past-in-our-present--nath mailto:/10.18772/12013045805?subject= https://www.groundup.org.za/media/uploads/documents/artworks_report_to_councilfeb2017.pdf https://www.groundup.org.za/media/uploads/documents/artworks_report_to_councilfeb2017.pdf https://www.ufs.ac.za/media/general/publications https://www.ufs.ac.za/media/general/publications https://www.ufs.ac.za/mtsteyn https://www.ufs.ac.za/mtsteyn https://www.ufs.ac.za/arts/ufs-arts-home/general/lotto-sculpture-on-campus-project https://www.ufs.ac.za/arts/ufs-arts-home/general/lotto-sculpture-on-campus-project 142 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(1) 2019, 123‑143 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 van der merwe, j.c. & van reenen, d. (2016). transformation and legitimation in post-apartheid universities: reading discourses from ‘reitz’. bloemfontein, south africa: sun media. wittgenstein, l. (1953). philosophical investigations. oxford, u.k.: blackwell. https://doi.org/10.18820/978 1920382612 youtube. (2014). 21 february. outcry at ufs campus over racist attack. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=k48haufppuo how to cite: baillie, g., duker, m. & nsele, z. (2019). grasping the regimes of language, space and identity in the visual of post‑apartheid higher education in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 123‑143. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 mailto:/10.18820/9781920382612?subject= mailto:/10.18820/9781920382612?subject= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k48haufppuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k48haufppuo https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3697 giselle baillie, mary duker & zamansele nsele: grasping the regimes of language, space and identity … 143 appendix: our state of affairs 2015 university of the free state rhodes university nelson mandela university language, power, reconciliation, agonism: • how do we understand, trust and work with each other as human beings when we do not speak a common language? • the younger generation and the older generation have very different approaches and meanings ascribed to words, terms, concepts and their meanings. this is where a breakdown between the generations also happens. how do we work with this? • how do we ‘unlearn’ ourselves, our prejudices, our privileges, our stereotypes? • our histories, our identities and our meanings are tied up in a private language which we carry forward as individuals, families, groupings and communities. making sense of and being able to reason and articulate this private language in a framework of agonism is difficult, so how do we do it? history, legitimacy and thresholds: • what is our truth or truths and which generation values what, why and how? how do we work through our silences, distrust and confusion? • what is our common history? could we have one and could this be shaped without distortions and silences? what would this look and feel like? from which epistemic foundation/s do we create this? • how do we use the current as a threshold into a combined future? process: • does our educational framework fit our social and development objectives? is the manner in which our studies are held conducive to the kind of society envisioned in the national development plan, for example? • students want to be stakeholders in their education, not bystanders. how do we enable this? history, postmemory, space, diversity: • what is remembered, who remembers it, why is it remembered and how is it remembered? • the psychology of postmemory defines the aftermath of trauma through the connections and discontinuities between generations. • what does it mean to grow up in a place and spaces of history which are not your own? spaces are not neutral and are complicit in the enforcement of unknown and rejected histories – how do we interrogate this? • we seem confused with regard to issues of ‘diversity’. what do we want it to mean? • all ‘art’ is political and everyone who conveys a message through the visual needs to be aware of this power. • why is the younger generation appropriating the history of previous generations when it suits them, but rejecting it otherwise? what are our understandings of ‘oppression’, of ‘subjectivity’ and ‘objectivity’? language, process and inclusion: • we need to work on finding the language to work with where we are now, the hermeneutical space of radicalism and conservatism. • can our education be responsive to our society in its current pedagogical modality, which is deeply infused in western canons of form, process, taste and style? • the previous generation of artists conceptualised an understanding of the ‘human condition’ – what are we conceptualising now? what is the ontology of our condition? • what ontology do the student protests reflect? identity, politics, appropriation, pluralism, privilege, silence: • what is the personal narrative? what is the institutional narrative? is there space for dissonance between the two? • from which canon are we taught to think and what kind of ‘human’ does this make us to be? • by re‑reading our archives we can disrupt the present status quo. • is there a ‘culture’ which facilitates the authentic black african voice? • ‘don’t call me african, call me black.’ • ‘patriarchal assumptions affect my being’. • to appreciate ‘diversity’, you must be aware that there is a deliberate power dynamic at play. uncritical and unconscious engagement is wrong. • if you appropriate with intellectual commitment or theoretical substance, then it’s ok to appropriate. just be conscious of what you are doing and why you are doing it. • ditch the white guilt. • the ‘i’ is easy, the ‘us’ is difficult. • there is no ‘equality’ within the african diaspora. some are more privileged than others. • to address social challenges, address structural issues. understand that underneath the design of all challenges, lies a structure, systems and relationships. • people construct their identities in relation to the objects [resources] around them. language: • does ‘cohesion’ silence? if so, why? journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 1–9 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.20 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za the role of research and scholarship in the professionalisation of student affairs stan carpenter* and paige haber-curran** abstract in this article the authors first explicate a particular conception of the occupational sociology term ‘professional’ and engage in a short discussion of how student affairs as a field conforms to the definition, and ways in which it might benefit from some intentional reframing. attention is next directed to the definition of what the authors call scholarly practice and its interaction with scholarly outlets such as journals, conference proceedings and professional development. reflecting the now longstanding call for student affairs and academic affairs professionals to unite in service of facilitating student development and learning, the authors propose a set of guiding values for student affairs administrators that promote dataand theory-based intentionality of practice. these guiding values also require continual professional reflection and renewal, including actively interacting with journals and other peer-reviewed professional outlets. particular attention is given throughout the article to the pivotal role to be played at this time in the development of the student affairs profession by the journal of student affairs in africa. keywords professions, professionalism, professional development, student affairs administration, intentionality, scholarly practice, student affairs professional competency areas. introduction great endeavours frequently spring from great beginnings! that certainly seems likely in the case of this initial edition of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa). professionally conducted, written and vetted research and scholarship are arguably the essential components of professionalism and professional development. nothing could be more important at a time when higher education and student development as fields of study and practice come of age in africa. the purpose of this article is to provide some foundation for the statements above in the already existing literature of student affairs. research article * dean, college of education, texas state university, san marcos, tx 78666. email: stanc@txstate.edu ** assistant professor, texas state university, san marcos, tx 78666 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 1–9 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.20 what is a ‘professional’ field or person? as used here (and in much of the occupational sociology literature), the appellation ‘professional’ has little to do with vernacular meanings. that is, a person who simply earns money for some job is not necessarily considered a professional. similarly, a high level of performance is not enough to distinguish one’s status as a professional. rather, professionals are those who are engaged in a profession. distinct from other occupations, professions are described and delineated by either their particular traits, frequently including the “combination of expertise, collective organisation and collegial control, ethical standards, and work in a ‘public service’” (brint, 1993; friedson, 1986); some professionalisation process (wilensky, 1964) involving a group of people engaging full-time in important work; the emergence of professional associations; the development of a formal, academic course of study and preparation; political maneuvering to establish turf and legal and other sanctions; and an enforceable code of ethics; or simply artifacts of history and convention (veysey, 1988). each of these conceptions, while flawed and failing to account for all related phenomena, does imply a measure of power and privilege surrounding professional status, as well as certain labour market implications (brint, 1993). one model that mediates among these ideas is that of pavalko (1971, p. 4), who suggested eight continua to classify occupations as either more or less professional. these eight areas are useful especially to young or emerging professions since they provide a road map for progress, as well as some directionality: specialised theory and intellectual technique required; relevance to basic social values and processes; nature of preparation in terms of amount and specialisation of training and degree of symbolisation and ideation required; motivation for work, meaning service to society as opposed to self-interest; autonomy of practice; sense of commitment or strength of calling to the profession; sense of professional community and culture; strength of codes of ethics. for a job to be considered a profession, it would require a high degree of specialised knowledge and skill, a primarily service motivation, tasks crucial to society, an extended period of preparation, and so on (carpenter, 2003). for an analysis of the professional status (or lack thereof) of the student affairs field, the reader is referred to carpenter (2003) and carpenter and stimpson (2007). the former holds that “much of the literature and most of the practices of student affairs in hiring, in professional development and associations, and in many other functions so closely mimic those of [other] professions as to be indistinguishable” (carpenter, 2003, p. 575). the authors of the latter piece concluded that: something even more interesting may be occurring with the student affairs profession. trait or process, reality or construction, the strictures of traditional professions do not fit this occupation very well. […] it may be that what seems like a poor fit from a trait standpoint is actually an evolutionary move to a new kind of profession, one that keeps the best of community and regeneration while eschewing more limited models of boundary setting such as licensure and preparation monopolies. is student affairs a profession? for all practical purposes, yes. (carpenter & stimpson, 2007, pp. 269–70) stan carpenter and paige haber-curran: research and scholarship in student affairs 3 obviously, this should read “yes, for the us.” it remains to be seen if student affairs practice is able to sufficiently distinguish itself from the rest of university administration in africa to become professionalised, and if it does, it should be able to progress quickly to professionlike status by using the example of the us. the interaction of scholarly practice, scholarly outlets and professional development having established at a minimum that student affairs as a field of endeavour may be sensibly examined as a profession, perhaps a useful discussion can be had around what might be called a meta-conceptualisation. for example, the field began in the us within a services model, eventually morphing to a more educational, developmental and learning role. the resulting conceptual (if somewhat artificial) separation from faculty and the core missions of the universities has never been satisfactorily overcome and remains a major issue in the us. if, as the call for this special issue of the jsaa suggests, higher education and student affairs practices are not quite as ‘frozen’ or hidebound yet in africa, then it may not be too late to consider a very different kind of mindset. what if student affairs professionals fully embraced a role as practitioner-scholars engaging in practice in a thoughtful and intentional way that is both informed by research and informs research (komives, 1998)? what if the notion of scholarship expanded beyond just the scholarship of discovery to also include the scholarship of integration, application, and teaching and learning as argued by boyer (1990)? and what if student affairs practice were approached interdependently with academic faculties and departments rather than independently or dependently? in a special issue of the journal of college student development, carpenter (2001, p. 304) asserted, “our work should be nothing less than a combination of discovery, integration, application, and teaching, managed efficiently and evaluated rigorously. hence, to be effective, student affairs professionals should be engaged in what can be called the scholarship of practice.” in the interest of suggesting that this is a fruitful conceptualisation for student affairs professionals in africa (and elsewhere), what follows is a brief analysis of ways that professional preparation programmes, professional associations, and especially outlets such as the jsaa could contribute to the adoption of scholarly values by student affairs professionals. carpenter (2001) identified 11 core values of scholars that could constitute a scholarship of practice. scholarly practice is intentional certainly, in student affairs, we intend our actions, but not always in a macro, mission and goal-focused way. we should do so transparently, overtly and publically. we should know as a profession and as individuals what it is we are trying to accomplish and endeavour to align every programme, budget and intervention to our larger purposes. but what are these purposes? that is where the professional community comes into play. scholars in individual universities preparing new professionals inculcate values, teach skills and shape agendas. 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 1–9 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.20 professional associations, conferences and professional development workshops similarly take on roles as opinion leaders and venues for discussion and refinement of thinking. a recent example of this in the us is the professional competency areas for student affairs professionals published by acpa: college student educators international and naspa: student affairs administrators in higher education (2010), a document outlining 10 key competency areas capturing professional skills, knowledge, and attitudes of student affairs professionals. the council for the advancement of standards in higher education (2012) also provides frameworks for intentional practice through establishing professional standards for various functional areas across student affairs. eventually, one can conceive of adaptations or entirely new documents similar to these in africa that address issues endemic to the region. for example, a short period of research into the websites of african universities quickly shows that dealing with tribalism is an issue on many campuses. this is not something that any us competency or research would address, certainly not in the same way. hence, it must be dealt with in an african professional context. but no vehicle is nearly as important as well curated, properly peer-reviewed professional journals, because they provide scholarly legitimacy, help to develop the field, and the published material in the journal ideally becomes much of the basis for preparation programmes and professional development workshops. it is easy to conceive of graduate programmes of study aimed at providing african student affairs professionals with theory and research that would allow them to practice at a much higher level, similar to those in the us, yet different in important ways indicated by the journal content. the same could be true of professional development workshops and conference presentations. of course, the profession shapes the journal, but the large extent to which the journal shapes the profession should not be ignored, for the journal will ideally be an outlet for the best professional writing and thinking, the most forward-looking visions and the most innovative new practices. this function is especially likely in a journal that allows flexibility like the jsaa. not every valuable piece is a research study, nor every new practice refined. the notion of the reflective pieces contemplated in future issues is noteworthy in this regard. intentionality, like all professional motivations, should be shaped by many and vetted carefully, but it must be present. scholarly practice is theory-based student affairs professionals should not only know what they are trying to do, but they should also know why. good research and scholarship is available for many aspects of practice, including community development, identity development, involvement and engagement, retention, student success and other areas. but, by definition, such things are contextand culture-dependent, and the student affairs field is overwhelmingly situated within the us context and us culture. as such, much of the theory in existence may not transfer to the contexts and cultures of african higher education. as the focus of student affairs continues to grow beyond us borders across the world, higher education professionals are seeking ways to understand how existing theory can inform practice and in what ways existing stan carpenter and paige haber-curran: research and scholarship in student affairs 5 theories and models should be re-examined or adapted based on cultural and contextual factors. as just one recent example, student affairs professionals across the prominent higher education institutions in qatar partnered with student affairs professionals, faculty members and professional preparation students from the us to proactively and intentionally address such issues. this was addressed in part through the young professionals institute, a three-day professional development programme “focused on addressing the challenges facing higher education student affairs in qatar through inquiry-focused learning communities [...] to increase the understanding of rigorous educational practice in a culturally diverse and organisationally dispersed setting” (haber & getz, 2011, p. 474). the notion that theories need to evolve and be very carefully adapted across cultural contexts is not necessarily a new one. after all, most of the classic theories of student learning and development in the us were originally based on fairly traditional studies, using samples and populations of white male students. our theories, research and practices have evolved far beyond these roots and we now know something about how to take culture, intersectionality, context, self-identification and many other factors into account. similarly, scholars attempting to extend theoretical formulations across borders will need to take great care to assure relevance and inclusivity, but they will not be blazing entirely new trails. the same sorts of roles as suggested in the above section on intentionality are necessary for theory development and testing, probably even more so. presumably, a good journal will publish only the theoretical material that can pass muster with the most discerning of minds in the profession. there must be an arbiter, a gatekeeper of the discussion, not to restrict creativity or content, but to filter the conversation and limit it to the serious, eliminating the frivolous or poorly conceived. scholarly practice is data-based for centuries, medicine was practised intentionally, based on the best theory of the times, but was still ineffective. it was data analysis that changed the picture. assessment should be second nature to student affairs professionals because there is no time to waste on activities that don’t work. and yet, as carpenter (2001, p. 306) puts it: perhaps this is because we in student affairs would rather do than prove, workloads are often high, planning time is minimal, and evaluation time is nonexistent [...] data-based decision making is the weakest link in the scholarly practice of our work. if student affairs is to join our faculty colleagues in a true learning partnership, we must get better at using data to buttress planning, evaluation, practice, and assessment. most faculty use data in their work, and they are more comfortable with others who do the same. they will support ideas that work, but may not support those that do not or are not demonstrated to do so. it should be obvious that the jsaa and other professional publications will be utterly critical in encouraging and vetting the empirical studies needed to check the applicability of the wide variety of theories and approaches from other parts of the world. will theories 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 1–9 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.20 and practices developed with us students and us context work with african students and in african contexts? can they be modified successfully? only carefully collected, analysed and edited data will tell. more importantly, perhaps, only data will let the story(ies) be told and indigenous theories and practices evolve and develop. this will require funding, of course, as well as a fairly high level of sophistication with regard to research methodology. student affairs practitioners will need to gain higher levels of education and/or partner with university faculty and researchers to do the theory and evaluation work necessary. scholarly practice is peer reviewed this idea almost goes without saying with regard to a professional journal, but the journal then has a responsibility to help create the ethos of peer review for all professional practice, led by professional associations, but reaching down to the institutional and unit levels. student affairs practitioners are reluctant to criticise each other, perhaps because of the personal nature of the work. but it is work and it needs to be separated from personalities because the impacts on students are just too powerful. as in other professions, student affairs professionals must constructively evaluate and criticise each other, as this only enhances the work and thus the knowledge and improved practice that comes from the work. the jsaa has a crucial role to play in shaping the professional conversation in such a way as to demand accountability for personal practice. scholarly practice is tolerant of differing perspectives rather than enshrining a narrow view of current convention or fashion, a proper view of scholarly practice provides ready access to new and diverse ideas or concepts. after all, every practice that we use now because it is the accepted way began at some point as an innovation. just as many of the ideas of albert einstein were derided in 1905 and celebrated in 1927, there are nascent ideas, programmes, practices and theories about african college students that are just beginning to be understood or tried. sadly, unless we use the mores of scholarship, the adoption of these ideas will be random and hit or miss, if they survive at all. scholars systematically consider all data and thinking available before arriving at a course of action or an informed opinion. scholars thrive on diversity of thought and practice. scholarly practice is collaborative in every discipline, faculty members understand the nature of the scholarly community. they understand and value the opportunities to consult and discuss approaches and ideas. in medicine, the dictum ‘primum non nocere’ suggests that if one does not know what to do, then one should do nothing and go and find out what to do. this is equally true in student affairs. in novel situations, we should never simply forge ahead on instinct or just do what has always been done, but rather look for opportunities to refine our intentionality. many minds working on a problem are better than just one, and in student affairs we are really very good at networking and consulting both within our own campus communities and across geographic and institutional lines. what better example of such collaboration can stan carpenter and paige haber-curran: research and scholarship in student affairs 7 there be than this very journal, calling as it does on a rich variety of international resources to assure professional best practices in scholarly use of information? scholarly practice is unselfish of course, the wellspring of collaboration is sharing, and scholars share their work. very little knowledge is proprietary among faculty members, and the same should be true among student affairs workers. certainly, institutions compete in various ways, but our fundamental work is to facilitate the growth, development and learning of students. when we find better ways to do that, sharing is required ethically, just as it would be in medicine. this is not to say that professionals should not give credit where it is due, in informal and formal ways, such as literature citations and the like, but it is an ethical call to generosity. again, this and other journals and professional publications, conference presentations and professional development workshops are prime examples of how professional sharing should be done. the very existence of the jsaa shows the importance of sharing with the professional community. scholarly practice is open to change “scholars are eager for change, because change leads to new and better practice” (carpenter, 2001, p. 309). diverse and novel ideas can be incorporated into current research conceptualisations or worldviews with greater or lesser facility, but true change shifts entire models or paradigms, ideally for the better. scholars live for this – they love to apply their ideas to the new landscape. for decades student affairs professionals have been at the forefront of advocacy for social justice and appropriate representation of all segments of society in higher education. now that these things are increasingly happening, it is clear that our institutions and our practices have to change. scholarly practice is designed for this somewhat unstable environment. student affairs professionals need to be able to systematically try out innovations and carefully and properly evaluate their usefulness. sentiment and tradition must earn their way – scholars will change to new ways if they work better or add value. the role of the jsaa will increasingly be to report on the front lines of the change we seek – to identify what is working and what is not. scholarly practice is careful and skeptical being open to change and diversity does not mean throwing out proven concepts and practices on a whim. there is little need to elaborate more on this concept since it is fundamental to much of the foregoing discussion and has been treated sufficiently therein. it suffices to call for systematic, peer-reviewed, data-based examination of new or innovative theories and practices. again, this is exactly what a professional journal such as the jsaa is for, and indeed without carefully peer-reviewed publications such vetting is quite unlikely to happen. scholarly practice pays attention to regeneration student affairs workers are notoriously devoted to students, so much so that other activities come to be thought of as peripheral or unimportant. but just as doctors and lawyers have 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 1–9 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.20 elaborate professional associations and continuing education requirements, there is a certain amount of what might be called professional infrastructure and overhead that needs to exist for student affairs to continue as a profession. in fact, since entry and continuation in our field are not formalised, “a larger (not lesser) obligation falls to knowledgeable practitioners to socialise the younger or less experienced to the values and practices of the field, and to encourage professionals to stay current” (carpenter, 2001, p. 310). the future of our field depends on this regeneration. we will find a way to come to more agreement on the necessary initial preparation of professionals and what they need in terms of ongoing professional development or we will cease to be relevant on our various campuses. the jsaa has a critical role in this conversation in africa, as do professional associations and professional preparation programmes. in this vein, reward structures in student affairs organisations and in higher education institutions must be modified to recognise that “teaching, publishing, presenting, editing, mentoring, supervising, and supporting colleagues to do so are critical aspects of professional practice, even though they ostensibly take time and energy away from practice with clients” (ibid.). scholarly practice is autonomous, within institutional contexts in the us, this is where the listing of these scholarly values slightly diverges for student affairs professionals. student affairs professionals by definition work in institutional contexts and have serious obligations to respect associated missions and values in ways that are quite different from their faculty colleagues, who can rely more heavily on academic freedom, especially when they are on disciplinary ground. on the other hand, institutions do not typically tell accountants, lawyers or doctors in their employ how to practise and they should not do so unnecessarily with student affairs professionals. if we really do have expertise and can demonstrate it in a straightforward, professional, systematic, scholarly fashion, then we should be allowed to put our professional opinions into play and be willing to be held accountable for the outcomes. again turning to carpenter (2001, p. 310), scholarly practitioners understand this complex interplay and learn to respect their boundaries. but they practice their craft as autonomously as possible by making decisions primarily for the benefit of students, relying upon theory and research, remaining accountable to peers, providing professional feedback, acting ethically, and enacting the values of the profession generally. scholars exercise professional judgment. professional journals and associations certainly help to provide legitimacy to sometimes controversial actions and practices. conclusion the authors of this article have attempted to present one way of conceptualising professional practice, a particular way that privileges the role of professional journals like the jsaa and other professional norm-setting organisations and activities. in the us, the student affairs profession and professional practice evolved over time, in some ways for the better, in some stan carpenter and paige haber-curran: research and scholarship in student affairs 9 for the worse. in africa, it seems that choices may be still open, that professionals there can learn from past missteps and intentionally forge the path ahead. in any case, the work that we do is so important that nothing should be left to chance. perhaps thinking of ourselves as scholars at least gives pause for careful consideration. references acpa & naspa (2010). professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners. washington, d.c.: american college personnel association and national association of student personnel administrators. brint, s. (1993). eliot friedson’s contribution to the sociology of professions. work and occupations, 20(3), 259–279. carpenter, d.s. (1991). student affairs profession: a developmental perspective. in t.k. miller, r.b. winston, jr. & associates (eds.), administration and leadership in student affairs (pp. 253–278). muncie, in: accelerated development. carpenter, d.s. (2001). student affairs scholarship (re?)considered: toward a scholarship of practice. journal of college student development, 42, 301–318. carpenter, d.s. (2003). professionalism. in s. r. komives & d. woodard jr. (eds.). student services: a handbook for the profession (4th ed.; pp. 573–592). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. carpenter, s., & stimpson, m. (2007). professionalism, scholarly practice, and professional development in student affairs. naspa journal, 44 (2), 265–284. council for the advancement of standards in higher education. (2012). cas professional standards for higher education (8th ed.). washington, dc. friedson, e. (1986). professional powers. chicago, il: university of chicago press. haber, p., & getz, c. (2011). developing intercultural competence in future student affairs professionals through a graduate student global study course to doha, qatar. catholic education: a journal of inquiry and practice, 14(4), 463–486. komives, s.r. (1998). linking student affairs preparation with practice. in n.j. evans and c.e. phelps tobin (eds.) the state of the art of preparation and practice in student affairs (pp. 177–200), washington, d.c.: american college personnel association. pavalko, r.m. (1971). sociology of occupations and professions. itasca, il: f.e. peacock. veysey, l.r. (1988). marxism and class theory: a bourgeois critique. new york, ny: columbia university. wilensky, h.l. (1964). the professionalisation of everyone? american journal of sociology, 70, 137–158. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 23–32 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.33 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment ann m. gansemer-topf * research article * assistant professor, school of education, iowa state university. email: anngt@iastate.edu abstract the past decades have seen an increase in the attention and focus of student affairs work in africa. as the profession works to strengthen its reputation and value within higher education through conferences, organisations and publications, student affairs professionals can also raise the stature of the profession through work on their individual campuses. engaging in assessment may be one such opportunity. as a way to create a common language regarding student affairs assessment, this paper provides an overview of the definitions, types and purposes of assessment. the thought is that viewing assessment as an integral, rather than ‘extra’ aspect of student affairs and incorporating these activities within their work, student affairs professionals will not only improve the effectiveness of their work with students but also can help legitimise the field as a profession. keywords assessment, student affairs, best practices, higher education. enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment describing the role of student affairs within higher education can be difficult. whereas most individuals understand the role and importance of faculty and administration within an institution, student affairs professionals may struggle to articulate the role they play within institutions to someone unfamiliar with higher education or student affairs. most could explain that faculty members are responsible for educating students and for creating new knowledge through research; administrators are responsible for the bureaucratic aspect of the organisation, providing leadership to the institution. student affairs professionals, ironically, may be involved in all of these activities, yet because they may not be attached to an academic department nor directly reporting to chief administrators, their work may be misunderstood or overlooked. as sandeen and bar (2006) question “even in the earliest years of the profession, student affairs struggled with its identity on the campus. was it 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 23–32 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.33 part of the faculty, part of the administration, or did it occupy some ambiguous position between the two?” (p. 33). the past 15 years have seen an increase in the attention and focus of the work of student affairs professionals in africa. documents such as the unesco-sponsored student affairs and services in higher education (2009) also helped to communicate the important work of student affairs: student affairs and services professionals, along with teaching faculty, bring to the academy a particular expertise on students, their development and the impact of their learning environments … they are closely aligned with the academic mission and serve as invaluable links between students and the institution. (ludeman & strange, 2009, p. 8) the world higher education declaration (1998), creation of the iasas (iasas, n.d.), and annual conferences of the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) and african student affairs conference suggest an interest by students affairs professionals in becoming more recognised and valued within african higher education. in addition to these large-scale organisational activities, student affairs professionals can also raise the stature of the profession through their work on their individual campuses. this paper posits that engaging in assessment activities may be one way to enhance the professionalisation of student affairs. this paper will focus on the definitions, types and roles of assessment in student affairs. the purpose of this paper is to develop both a common language of assessment and illustrate the versatility and flexibility within assessment. the purposes of assessment will be described as a way of demonstrating the value of assessment in enhancing the stature of and respect for the student affairs profession. the title ‘student affairs professional’ implies that student affairs is a profession. what constitutes a profession? greenwood (1957) listed five characteristics of a profession: a) basis in systematic theory, b) authority recognised by clientele, c) broader community sanction and approval of that authority, d) ethical code regulating relations with clients and colleagues, and e) professional culture sustained by professional associations. klegon (1978) examined the evolution of professions from a sociological perspective and suggested there are two dynamics at play in the development of a profession. the internal dynamic is the “efforts of practitioners to raise their status, define services which they perceive only they can perform properly, and to achieve and maintain autonomy and influence” (klegon, 1978, p. 268). the external dynamic relates to the larger social and institutional forces that either contribute to or detract from the view of the work as a practice or true profession. larger social and organisations structures need to value and be enhanced by the work of the profession (klegon, 1978). these characteristics provide insights into student affairs’ evolution from ‘practice’ to ‘profession’. within the united states, student affairs has developed in response to the expansion of higher education and increasing complexity of the universities. in many cases, student affairs professionals were called upon to take on work that faculty members were no longer able to do and, in other cases, were created to meet the increased needs ann m. gansemer-topf: enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment 25 and expectations of students and the larger public (nuss, 2003; sandeen & barr, 2006). simultaneously, more formalised positions and organisational structures were created as the number of student affairs practitioners increased and a professional community composed of professional organisations, journals and other professional development opportunities developed to provide ongoing support, training and discussion (nuss, 2003). the first professional organisation, now known as the national association of student personnel administrators (naspa) was created in 1919 (rhatigan, 2000). internationally, the formalisation of the professional student affairs organisation is more recent. although initial discussions regarding an organisation started in 2000, the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) was officially founded in march 2010 (iasas, n.d.). student affairs professionals exist in many different departments across institutions and many have participated in other national student affairs organisations such as the association for college and university housing officers – international (acuho-i) and the national association of student affais administrators (naspa). other conferences have been specifically focused on african student affairs professionals. the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) has hosted 14 yearly professional conference (saassap, n.d.) and a national african student affairs conference was first held in africa in 2011 (african student affairs conference, 2011). the southern african assocation for counselling and development in higher education (saachdhe), as a part of the society for student counselling in southern africa (sscsa), has existed since 1978 but is also entering its “professionalism phase” (van schoor, n.d.). the need for student affairs work was legitimised in the world declaration on higher education for the 21st century (1998). this document called for increased access for underrepresented groups, student involvement and “services … to assist students in the transition to higher education” (world declaration on higher education, 1998, p.1). letseka and maile’s (2008) report on high university drop-out rates also provides evidence that students affairs work – with its “consistent and persistent emphasis and commitment to the development of the whole person” (nuss, 2003, p. 65) is needed to improve student success. in reflecting on the current context of higher education abroad, ludeman et al. (2009) summarised, ‘there is increasing evidence that higher education also must address the basic personal needs of students by providing a comprehensive set of out-of-classroom student services and programmes commonly referred to as student affairs and services’ (p. iv). given the definitions of a profession listed above, it is evident that student affairs in africa – with its development of professional organisations, legitimacy by internal and external stakeholders, and the larger society recognition of the need to improve college student access and success – is becoming more professionalised. while the broader higher education community is demonstrating the need for student affairs professionals, how is this need perceived at the institutional level? past research has verified the importance of student affairs work on student learning and success (pascarella & terenzini, 2005) yet at the institutional level student affairs professionals may continue to struggle to articulate and demonstrate their value (upcraft & schuh, 1996). since many 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 23–32 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.33 student affairs professionals are not teaching in traditional classroom settings, submitting grades for student’s performance, or submitting manuscripts for publication, their impact on student success and student learning is less visible, and consequently often overlooked. the challenge, therefore, is to engage in practices and activities that do demonstrate learning and success. as mentioned previously, external organisations play a critical role in defining professionalism. if student affairs professionals are not seen as being integral in helping achieve the institutional mission, their value and status as a ‘profession’ may take longer to develop. assessment – the practice of gathering and using data to make decisions and illustrate impact – is one way to achieve and maintain professionalism. definitions of assessment within higher education, assessment has been defined in a variety of ways. palomba and banta (1999) defined assessment as “the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programmes undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development” (p. 4). huba and freed (2000) provide a more comprehensive definition of assessment, emphasising the content and application of learning: the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experience; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve learning. (p.8) in their book assessment methods in student affairs, upcraft and schuh (1996) define assessment as: “any effort to gather, analyse, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness” (p. 18). bresciani, gardner, and hickmott (2012), also writing from a student affairs perspective, offer a definition of outcomes-based assessment: “a systematic and critical process that yields information about what programmes, services, or functions of a student affairs department or division positively contribute to students’ learning and success and which ones should be improved” (p. 16). the similarities and differences among definitions provide insight into assessment work. all definitions view assessment as a formalised process: assessment requires intentional planning with an articulated purpose and a set of guidelines that should be followed to meet this purpose. the assessment process involves an investment of time, resources, and reflection and requires both action and patience. the definitions of assessment are also similar in their focus on gathering evidence and utilising this evidence. assessment necessitates the collection of data, interpreting the data, and then acting upon the data. in other words, simply disseminating a survey and tallying the results is not assessment. the true usefulness of assessment is then utilising the results to provide insight or make improvements to the entity being assessed. assessment, similar to profession, has its own language, definitions and constructs. if student affairs professionals proclaim that they contribute to student success, assessment is the vehicle by which these claims can be substantiated. ann m. gansemer-topf: enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment 27 common types of assessment the differences in the assessment definitions acknowledge the multiple contexts in which higher education assessment is conducted and recognises the various ways assessment results can be used. assessment can be focused at the individual, programme, department or university level. it can range from viewing the portfolios of a small group of students to measuring the university graduation rate of its students. the definitions also imply that there are many different types of assessments that can be conducted. a few of the most common types of assessments are discussed below: measuring participation, needs assessment, satisfaction assessment, and outcomes assessment (schuh, 2009). measuring participation assessments measuring participation – perhaps the least difficult type of assessment – is simply counting who may attend events, enrolment numbers, students who live in residence halls, join student organisation, apply for a specific scholarship, etc. this type of assessment can be useful when planning an activity, justifying the continuation of an event, or as in the case of enrolment numbers, provide a way to benchmark to past and future successes (schuh, 2009). needs assessments needs assessment is the process of establishing if a need or problem exists and suggesting ways to reduce the problem or need (fitzpatrich, saunders & worthen, 2011). for example, in the development of a new student centre or recreational facility, students may be surveyed to provide their opinions on the services or space that would best suit their needs. but, as schuh (2009, p. 12) cautions, in doing needs assessment it is critical to remember that “needs are not the same as wants”. satisfaction assessments satisfaction assessment as it implies, is the process of understanding if participants are satisfied with their experience (schuh, 2009). what did they like or dislike about a programme, a course, a leadership retreat? a caution applies here as well: measuring satisfaction is not the same as measuring learning. for instance, student members may be asked to participate in leadership training. in providing feedback they may suggest that the session on policy and procedures was “dull and boring” but the social events were “engaging and entertaining”. however, assessing what students learned as a result of these two sessions may provide different outcomes. while students may have mentioned that the policy and procedures session was ‘dull’ it may be the session in which students learned critical information to be successful in their positions. in conducting satisfaction assessments, professionals need to be cautious in interpreting results and be able to distinguish between what students like and what students learn. 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 23–32 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.33 outcomes assessments assessing what students learn is a form of outcomes assessment. outcomes assessment involves examining the extent to which the outcomes or a particulate programme, course, intervention were met (bresciani et al., 2012). these assessments can be challenging for a number of reasons. one, in many cases programmes or courses or interventions have not specified the outcomes they hope to achieve. course instructors, for instance, may provide a syllabus outlining what students are to do in a course but may not articulate what learning should occur as a result of completing the work. programmes or departments may be developed without clearly outlining what they hope to accomplish or how they benefit the larger institutional community. secondly, when outcomes are identified, many times they are too vague to be adequately assessed. this introduces another challenge for outcomes assessment: developing strong outcome statements. for instance, a department may state that their students, as a result of their programme, will be global citisens or develop critical thinking skills, but without operationalised definitions of these terms, assessment can be difficult. a strong outcome is one that is clear and measurable (suskie, 2010) and is written in a way that can be properly assessed. a third challenge arises in the interpretation of the outcome measure. there is a tendency as astin and antonio (2012) articulate to equate outcome with impact. in other words to infer a causal relationship between a programme or experience and the outcome. for instance, it is different to say that students who lived in the residence halls had a higher grade point average (gpa) than students who did not rather than it is to say that living in the residence halls caused to students to have a higher grade point average. while living in residence halls may have positively influenced students’ gpa, there may be other contributing factors. however, by confronting these challenges, outcomes assessment, specifically those assessments that measure student learning, can be a powerful tool for student affairs professionals. in their article, “the role of student affairs in student learning assessment”, schuh and gansemer-topf (2010) concluded: student affairs staff members need to have more than programs, activities, and experiences they think would contribute to student learning. they need to have the empirical evidence to be confident that these programs, activities, and experiences actually do contribute to student learning. (p. 12) while many times this notion is assumed, outcomes-based assessment requires staff, faculty and students to articulate what they hope to achieve and to measure these results (dean, 2013). this process is especially critical when a programme has been taking place for several years. outcomes-based assessment provides an opportunity to revisit why the programme was created in the first place and if it continues to be effective. with the turnover in positions and departments, the outcomes sometimes may be the consistency that continue to guide and direct. ann m. gansemer-topf: enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment 29 the various types of assessments demonstrate the flexibility within which assessment can be done. assessments that measure student learning may be most useful in communicating the role of student affairs in student learning, yet other types of assessments that evaluate need, gauge students’ satisfaction or provide data by which to benchmark progress are also valuable. when communicated appropriately, assessment results can contribute to the institution’s educational mission. demonstrating their contributions to institutions’ educational missions can be a critical component in raising the stature of student affairs professionalism. assessment as professionalism given the many responsibilities of student affairs professionals, it is not unusual that assessment is often neglected. in a us based study of student affairs professionals, bresciani (2010) found that even at institutions that were committed to assessment, a majority of student affairs were reluctant to engage in this work or “struggle with the logistics of designing and implementing such a culture at their institutions” (culp, 2012, pp. 2–3.) frequently cited reasons for not engaging included lack of time, resources, and expertise (bresciani, 2010; culp, 2012; schuh, 2009). as student affairs professionals cite many reasons why they cannot afford to engage in assessment, schuh and gansemer-topf (2010) offer a counter challenge, “how can we afford not to do assessment?” (p. 10). writing primarily from a us context in which institutional and federal funding were closely tied to performance, departments and activities that were shown to improve student success were more likely to receive funding (schuh, 2009). as student affairs professionals work to increase their recognition and elevate their status as a profession, this question is still worth considering: can you afford not to do assessment? successful student affairs professionals rely on the respect and support of others within the institution. garnering this respect and support requires departments to demonstrate that they are stewards of resources, communicating how their work is critical to the educational mission and purpose of the institution and illustrating that continuous efforts are being made to reflect on one’s work and improve. ewell (2008) concisely summarised two paradigms of assessment: accountability and improvement. similar to klegon’s (1978) description of a profession, ewell’s paradigms have both an internal and external focus. the improvement paradigm is focused within the institution and its role is primarily formative assessment – assessment done with the purpose of improving. data collected for improvement purposes can be quantitative or qualitative and can be used to track progress over time or compare individual units within an institution. results are used to provide feedback to those most closely associated with the programme. accountability is focused on those external to the institution – the public, government, policymakers. data is primarily quantitative and used for reporting purposes or in benchmarked as a way to compare across institutions. rarely, however, does this type of data get at the ‘why’ or make specific suggestions for improvement (blimling, 2013). 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 23–32 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.33 these dual purposes illustrate the potential of assessment in enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs. in the us, student affairs professionals began to merge in the mid-1850s (nuss, 2003) but the profession’s focus on assessment is much more recent (schuh, 1996). the call for assessment was in response to the profession’s concerns that resources would be diverted away from student affairs unless the profession could more intentionally illustrate their value on college campuses. heading this call and building this culture of evidence on campus has improved the stature of student affairs not only within individual intuitions but within the profession. the african student affairs profession, even in its early development, has acknowledged the importance of assessment. conference proceedings from the saassap’s (n.d.) annual conference (see, for example, schreiber, 2012) and the unesco-sponsored, ‘student affairs and services in higher education’ (ludeman et al., 2009), highlight assessment as a critical and integral role of student affairs professionals. nevertheless, simply acknowledging the importance of assessment is not enough. engaging in assessment, while challenging, provides benefits not only for individual institutions and their students but also can enhance the reputation and respect of the broader profession. viewing assessment as an assumed expectation rather than ‘add-on’, student affairs professionals begin building a culture of evidence that illustrates how their work matters and how it contributes to the institution’s mission (culp, 2012). this approach, when based on a commitment to student success, can benefit those students for whom the work is intended. assessment, when done well, encourages student affairs staff to improve their programmes and services and to demonstrate how their work develops well-educated and productive citizens. assessment signals to both internal and external stakeholders that student affairs is a respected profession that plays a vital role in improving higher education and student success. references african student affairs conference (2011). retrieved july 2, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xnunyrcepgu astin, a.w. & antonio, a.l. (2012). assessment for excellence: the philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education (2nd ed.). lanham, md: rowman & littlefield. blimling, g. (2013). challenges of assessment in student affairs. in j.h. schuh (eds.). selected contemporary assessment issues. new directions for student services, 142, 5-14. bresciani, m.j. (2010). understanding carriers to student affairs professionals’ engagement in outcomes-based assessment of student learning and development.  journal of student affairs,  14, 81-90. bresciani, m.j., gardner, m.m., & hickmott, j. (2012). demonstrating student success: a practical guide to outcomes-based assessment of learning and development in student affairs. sterling, va: stylus. culp, m.m. (2012). starting the culture of evidence journey. in m.m. culp & g.j. dungy (eds.), building a culture of evidence in student affairs (pp. 1-20). washington, d.c: naspa. ann m. gansemer-topf: enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment 31 dean, l. (2013). using the cas standards in assessment projects. in j.h. schuh (eds.). selected contemporary assessment issues. new directions for student services, 142, 25-34. ewell, p.t. (2008). assessment and accountability in america today: background and context. new directions for institutional research, s1, 7-17. fitzpatrick, j.l., sanders, j.r., & worthen, b.r. (2011). program evaluation: alternative approaches and practical guidelines (4th edn.). boston, ma: pearson. greenwood, e. (1957). attributes of a profession. social work, 2(3), 45-55. huba, m.e., & freed, j.e. (1999). learner-centered assessment on college campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning. boston, ma: pearson. international association of student affairs and services (n.d.). history. retrieved july 2, 2013, from http://www.iasasonline.org/history klegon, d. (1978). the sociology of professions an emerging perspective. work and occupations,  5, 259-283. letseka, m., & maile, s. (2008). high university drop-out rates: a threat to south africa’s future. hsrc: policy brief. human sciences research council. http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/ pagecontent/1088/dropout%20rates.pdf ludeman, r.b., & strange, c.c. (2009). basic principles values and belief that support an effective student affairs and services programme in higher education. in r.b. ludeman (ed.). student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices (pp. 5-10). retrieved july 1, 2013 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183221e.pdf ludeman, r.b., osfield, k.j., hidalgo, e.i., oste, d., & wang, h.s. (2009). student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices. retrieved july 1, 2013 from http:// unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183221e.pdf nuss, e.m. (2003). the development of student affairs. in s. komives, d.b. woodard, jr., & associates (eds.). student services: a handbook for the profession (4th ed.). (pp. 65-88). san francisco: jossey-bass. palomba, c.a., & banta, t.b. (1999). assessment essentials; planning, implementing, and improving assess in higher education. san francisco: jossey-bass. pascarella, e., & terenzini, p. (2005). how college affects students: findings and insights from twenty years of research. volume 2. a third decade of research. san francisco: jossey-bass. rhatigan, j. j. (2000). the history and philosophy of student affairs. the handbook of student affairs administration, 2, 3-24. sandeen, a., & barr, m.j. (2006). critical issues for student affairs: challenges and opportunities. san francisco: jossey-bass. schuh, j.h., & associates (2009). assessment methods for student affairs. san francisco: jossey-bass. schuh, j.h., & gansemer-topf, a.m. (2010). the role of student affairs in student learning assessment. niloa occasional paper, 7, 1-14. schreiber, b. (2012). the integration of student development and academic learning: a case study. programme presented at saassap, bloemfontein, south africa. south african association of senior student affairs professionals. (2013). retrieved july 2, 2013, from http://www.saassap.co.za/default.aspx?cid=16 suskie, l. (2010). assessing student learning: a common sense guide (2nd edn.). san francisco: jossey-bass. 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 23–32 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.33 upcraft, m.l., & schuh, j.h. (1996). assessment in student affairs: a guide for practitioners. san francisco: jossey-bass. van schoor, a. (n.d.). history of saacdhe. retrieved september 25, 2013, from http://www. saacdhe.org/about-saacdhe/history world declaration on higher education. (1998). world declaration on higher education for the 21st century: vision and action. retrieved june 28, 2013, from http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ wche/declaration_eng.htm journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 183‑195 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1437 183 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners: a reflective case study from bindura university of science education in zimbabwe sebastian mutambisi,i dora dorothy murasiii & crispen mazodzeiii i mr sebastian mutambisi is director: student off‑campus life and financial aid, bindura university of science education, zimbabwe. orcid: 0000‑0001‑8417‑8452. email: seba3296kd@gmail.com ii mrs dora dorothy murasi is director: campus life and student development programmes, bindura university of science education, zimbabwe. orcid: 0000‑0002‑5445‑6770. email: dmurasi2@gmail.com iii mr crispen mazodze is dean of students, bindura university of science education, zimbabwe. orcid: 0000‑0002‑2423‑0420. email: cmazodze@buse.ac.zw abstract the covid‑19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on faculty and student affairs practitioners which has changed the future of higher education worldwide. this reflective practitioner account looks into its impact on practitioners working in student affairs, some of which is not immediately visible, but unfortunately very significant and will surface in the medium and long term. there has been tremendous uncertainty for student affairs practitioners as a result of disruption from familiar routines and unexpected disengagement with their clients, the students. the change management perspective and scholarship of practice were adopted as methods of observing how a department in a university deals with unplanned change. the study concluded that the covid‑19 pandemic impacted practitioners negatively at the case university as new skills were required, practitioners were required to adjust to new work arrangements, lost income, suffered mental health problems and faced resource constrains. training and development, social media, employee support systems and employee incentives were catalysts in the early adoption of change. keywords change models; covid‑19; higher education; scholarship of practice; student affairs introduction this article seeks to contribute to knowledge sharing with regard to the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners and their practice in general. the world health organization (who) declared the novel coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern on 30 january 2020. on 11 march, who declared covid‑19 a global pandemic. this new reality presented both opportunities and challenges for higher education institutions (heis) and student affairs practitioners in particular. the government of zimbabwe declared the covid‑19 pandemic a national disaster on 17  march  2020.this pronouncement was followed by a national lockdown which http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:seba3296kd%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:dmurasi2%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:cmazodze%40buse.ac.zw?subject= 184 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 183‑195 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1437 commenced on 30 march 2020. the national lockdown imposed several restrictions which impacted on learning and the implementation of campus activities on one hand while on the other hand prompted the heis to join hands with other progressive organisations in coming up with strategies for containing the virus in zimbabwe. the lockdown instituted in march 2020, was preceded by a closure of all primary, secondary and higher education institutions of learning in a bid to stem the rapid spread of covid‑19. the closure created a ‘new normal’ for the students who had to learn online for a prolonged period. the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic shook almost all (heis) globally, and zimbabwe was no exception, coupled with the need to migrate from face‑to‑face to elearning. there was no budget in place to support the retraining of human capital and retooling of services to support online learning. the switch‑over to elearning by universities was received with mixed feelings by students who were happy that in spite of the closure of campuses they could still continue with their education, but the major challenge was that they could not afford data bundles to access the new mode of learning. these challenges also reverberated at the case institution, bindura university of science education (buse). like in other institutions, student affairs professionals at the institution under reflec‑ tion had to grapple with managing the sudden change in their immense schedules as a result of the covid‑19 pandemic. this reflective article aims at providing insights into the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs professionals at bindura university of science education in zimbabwe. it applies scholarship of practice as its methodo‑ logy for contextualising the impact of the coronavirus on student affairs practitioners (luescher, 2018). the basic argument of this article is based on the principle of disruptive change and argues that student affairs practitioners were forced to deal with sudden change in executing their work. it is therefore pertinent to outline that some change models will be applied in analysing the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners. this article employed two change management models which were developed by kurt lewin (1951) and john kotter (2008) based on the experiences of student affairs practitioners at the case university. conceptual framework this study is informed by kurt lewin and john potter’s change management models which outline how organisational change efforts can be planned, organised and managed (mcgrath & bates, 2017; kotter & cohen, 2014). lewin’s change model is characterised by three stages namely: unfreezing, changing and refreezing (banhegyi & banhegyi, 2007; mcgrath & bates, 2017). john kotter used the work of kurt lewin to develop an eight‑ step model of the change management process, arguing that neglecting any of the steps can be enough for the whole initiative to fail (kotter, 2008; kotter & cohen, 2014).the model is illustrated and summarised in table 1. s. mutambisi, d.d. murasi & c. mazodze: the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners … 185 table 1: john kotter’s change model step management activity create urgency • creating awareness for the need for change. • creating a forum to generate conversation of what is happening. • seeking management buy‑in. form a powerful coalition • form change team to help you. • observe team expertise and diversity. • delegate tasks organisation‑wide. create a vision for change • make an inspirational vision communicate the vision • sell the vision throughout the organisation. • continuously communicate the message. remove obstacles • identify individuals, traditions, legislation that become obstacles and setbacks. • apply resources to break obstacles and setbacks. create short wins • identify low‑hanging fruits. • set short‑ to medium‑term targets and goals. • provide change motivation and direction. build on the change • sustain and cement the change. • keep setting goals for continued improvement. cement change in corporate culture • make change part of the core of your organisation. • keep senior stakeholders on board. • encourage new employees to adopt the changes. • celebrate individuals who successfully adopt the change. source: kotter & cohen, 2014 while lewin’s model was created with reference to change in general, kotter’s model was designed with organisational change in mind (smith, 2018). using the example of an ice cube lewin (1951) shows that if one intends to change it into a cone, the first step is to unfreeze it to make it amenable to change (unfreezing), then mould the melted water into a cone (changing) and finally solidify the new shape which has been created (refreezing). the main tenets of the model are discussed briefly below. unfreezing the first stage of change, according to lewin, involves changing the status quo and preparing people in an organisation for change. in order to succeed, change leaders need to challenge existing beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours and develop an understanding of the new ways of operating in the people. expanding on lewin’s model (mcgrath & bates, 2017) observe that this stage is the most important and difficult stage since it often puts people off‑balance and change leaders need to get the necessary buy‑in (kotter, 2008; kotter & cohen, 2014). 186 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 183‑195 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1437 changing before embracing change, people need to understand how they would benefit from it. people embrace change at different rates and to varying degrees (rogers, 2003). the “change curve” as illustrated below shows the experiences of people as they undergo change. denial commitment shock anger bargaining depression acceptance figure 1: the change curve showing the various stages and experiences of change assimilation (source: https://www.educational-business-articles.com) developed by elisabeth kubler‑ross (malone, 2018), the change curve illustrates that people pass through three stages of change which encompass: shock and denial; depression and anger; and acceptance and commitment. indeed there was a need to manage these changes within students and staff at the case university who felt the changes were drastic and unmanageable since they had not been prepared for such. people thought it was impossible to do business online – worse still to provide student support online. for students, there was an atmosphere of anxiety over the pending separation from their learning communities. there were also angry sentiments from students who felt that the institution was not being fair to migrate to online classes without providing them with cheaper data and the opportunity to get acquainted with the new modes of delivery. it was important that this change be managed for the institution to move on and manage within the new normal. refreezing refreezing takes place when people have embraced the change and adopted new ways of practice. this stage helps practitioners to internalise and institutionalise the change. refreezing ensures that change applies to all situations in the work arena and that new ways are used continuously without reverting back to old systems. based on these thoughts, staff and students at the case university will gradually accept new ways of learning and working as a result of the changes introduced in light of the pandemic. use of both models as a conceptual framework will give the change initiatives the best chance of success and a form of triangulation (smith, 2018). https://www.educational-business-articles.com s. mutambisi, d.d. murasi & c. mazodze: the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners … 187 methodology reflective scholarship of practice in student affairs this article employed an experiential insight design in which the researchers describe their experiences in terms of how they experienced the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic at buse. experiential insight approach is a paradigm for the study of people’s experiences of a particular phenomenon (grant, gilmore, carson & pickett, 2001). this approach allows the researcher to describe their experiences in the context of placing themselves in situations (grant et al., 2001). in the context of this study the researchers were members of the buse covid‑19 response committee. the committee was set up to guide the institution’s response, prevention and control of the pandemic. luescher (2018) argues that a scholarly reflection on the experiences of students and staff at a university helps in the production of knowledge that sharpens the competencies of student affairs practitioners in the craft of their practice. the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic needs to be nuanced through a reflective scholarship that critically captures their experiences at national and international levels. this was the major factor which determined our choice of a theoretical frame to guide the methodology of this research. the methodology is also grounded in luescher’s (2018) assertion that the development of scholarship of practice in student affairs entails gathering data that is comprehensive in african contexts. for the purpose of this research, data were collected through observations and documents relating to the activities of the covid‑19 response taskforce at the case university. this perspective clearly dovetails with our objective in this reflective article which seeks to facilitate the development and growth of knowledge that empowers student affairs practitioners in the practice of their work. expanding on this framework, luescher (2018, pp. 67‑68) identifies the following critical elements that are crucial to scholarship of practice: 1. “a scholarship of practice in student affairs deals with problems that are meaningful to practitioners and that practitioners can experientially relate to; it understands practice as action, as performance, as a deliberate, skilled way of doing things” (luescher, 2018, p. 67). this observation merges well with our experiential discussion and evaluation of the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners and the application of change management theories as a response strategy. 2. “it studies practice in a scholarly manner that is intentional and part of a process of learning, which is academically rigorous and systematic, that results in trustworthy accounts, analyses and interpretations” (luescher, 2018, p. 67). the authors used secondary research to augment experiential insights through observations and conversational approaches through social media platforms that enabled them to capture rich and authentic feedback from respondents in order to understand the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic in their area of work. secondary research was done through records of meetings and internal and external communications. 188 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 183‑195 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1437 3. conversational approaches help capture sincere feedback with deeper meaning and understanding than traditional research methods that tend to make people rationalise and overly rely on recall in their responses to understanding phenomena (reach, 2020). research questions in order to put this methodological frame into context and also drawing on morgan (2012) cited in luescher (2018)’s template, we asked the following questions to guide this reflective study. (i) what were the experiences of the student affairs practitioners caused by the covid‑19 pandemic? (ii) what problems or opportunities were encountered? (iii) how did the change process unfold and what strategies were employed to deal with the situation? (iv) what were the outcomes? this article was therefore developed on the grounding of this methodological template and related methods which were informed by the experiential insights of the authors. in our application of the scholarship of practice methodology, we employed some models of organisational change to reflect on the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on our practice in student affairs at the case university. kurt lewin (1951)’s and john potter (2008)’s change management models were found fit for purpose for this reflective article. data collection methods data for this study was collected through document analysis of the following documents: minutes of the student affairs board; minutes of the student affairs management committee; minutes of the covid‑19 task force, ministry of higher and tertiary education, innovation, science and technology development circulars on the covid‑19 pandemic; the student affairs strategic plan and the dean of students’ fortnightly report to the university senior administrators committee meetings. participant observation of what took place before, during and after the outbreak of the pandemic and the experiences of the authors constituted another data‑gathering technique for the study. informal interviews with the participants in the change process yielded important information which helped shape the course of the change programme and the findings of this study. the case university bindura university of science education, a medium‑sized university in zimbabwe with a student population of slightly more than 7 000 was chosen as the case university. although there was nothing special about this university being chosen as the case university, the researchers felt that the account would come out clearly if conducted where all three authors worked and also that state universities in zimbabwe resembled a more or less similar structural organisation and circumstance. the institution was born out  of  the s. mutambisi, d.d. murasi & c. mazodze: the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners … 189 zimbabwe–cuba science teacher training programme in which zimbabwean mathematics and science teachers were formerly trained in the republic of cuba. in the year 1996, the programme was devolved to zimbabwe and resulted in the establishment of a university college under the university of zimbabwe, culminating in the establishment of bindura university of science education in the year 2000, with a mandate to train mathematics and science teachers for the nation and the sadc region at large. the institution has five faculties namely: agriculture and environmental science; commerce; science and engineering; science education; and social sciences and humanities (www.buse.ac.zw). student affairs at the case university the student affairs division at this university is headed by the dean of students who reports directly to the vice‑chancellor. reporting to the dean of students are various heads of sections who manage the functional areas in student affairs. these are campus life and student development programmes, student health and wellness, chaplaincy and ecumenical services, financial aid, catering services, counselling services, accommodation services and sports and recreation (www.buse.ac.zw). the structural organisation of student affairs’ functional areas at this institution does not differ much from what obtains elsewhere in africa and the rest of the world (leuscher, 2018; kuk & banning, 2009). one would notice that the organisation of student affairs at the case university conforms to international best practice, hence the reflection will also compare favourably with practices elsewhere. the department’s mandate is to offer a co‑curriculum which would enhance the students’ graduateness, citizenship skills and employability, and to offer psycho‑social support to students (buse, strategic plan 2019‑2023). these programmes fall under the various sections mentioned above. like in other institutions, student affairs professionals at the institution under reflection had to grapple with managing the sudden change in their immense schedules as a result of the covid‑19 pandemic. this reflective article aims at providing insights into the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs professionals and students at bindura university of science education in zimbabwe. it applies scholarship of practice as its methodology of contextualising the impact of the coronavirus on student affairs practitioners (luescher et al., 2013). conceptualising the change programme the argument of this article is based on the principle of disruptive change and argues that student affairs practitioners and students were forced to deal with sudden change which abruptly redirected the course and nature of their work. following communication from the parent ministry, the ministry of higher and tertiary education, innovation, science and technology development to all state universities to institute measures to combat the spread of the covid‑19 virus, a university senior administrators meeting was held at the case university via the zoom platform to map the way forward. resolutions of the meeting were that each department was to come up with plans on how they were going to migrate from a physical to a virtual campus and embrace the new normal since the physical space http://www.buse.ac.zw http://www.buse.ac.zw 190 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 183‑195 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1437 of the university was going to be closed indefinitely. the vice‑chancellor who chaired the meeting emphasised that the university had not closed; hence learning and student support programmes had to continue through online delivery modes. the dean of students who was also a member of the committee was assigned the task of driving change in his department, student affairs. implementing the change programme stage one: changing the status quo armed with the vice‑chancellor’s mandate to drive change in his department and ensure that all staff in the department embrace the new normal, the dean of students embarked on an ambitious project code named ‘campus wise culture’ and borrowed from kurt lewin and john kotter’s change management models which state that, in order to successfully implement change, one has to change the status quo first (kotter & cohen, 2014). this initial stage dovetailed with lewin’s unfreezing stage and kotter’s first four principles or stages namely: create urgency; form a powerful coalition; create a vision for change; and remove obstacles. in this regard, the dean of students started by pointing out where the department was and where it intended to be. in order to create understanding on the direction and form of change, the dean of students created a whatsapp platform for all practitioners working in student affairs to talk about what was happening and the way forward. this platform helped the dean of students to identify innovators and early adopters whom he appointed to spearhead the change process. this is supported by kotter and cohen (2014) who advocate for the creation of a forum to generate a discussion on what obtains on the ground and to map the way forward. the change agents appointed, campaigned for the required change, and provided feedback to the change leaders via social media. a change leaders’ team was formed using representatives nominated by sections and student clubs and societies and were representative of the whole student affairs spectrum including gender, age, educational level, faculties, clubs, societies, sport codes and the differentially abled groups. other members with expertise such as student health personnel and the senior chaplain were appointed to the team. the dean of students was required to report progress to the university executive meetings which were held fortnightly. the change effort was code‑named “campus culture wise” to make it catchy and compelling. sub‑themes were developed which made for easier understanding throughout the department and also brought relevance to each section and level of staff. members were asked to forward their training needs so that they could be incorporated into the training programmes being developed. the change message contained information on being “campus culture wise”, which educated all members to maintain social distancing, cough into the elbow, wear face masks correctly all the time, wash hands regularly, sanitise hands, clean surfaces regularly and, most importantly, embrace technology. this messages were communicated regularly by the department of public relations and protocol through staff ’s and students’ email, social media platforms and public notice boards in various official languages. s. mutambisi, d.d. murasi & c. mazodze: the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners … 191 stage two: the change process after the dean of students and his team were satisfied that members had been adequately prepared for change, they embarked on the process of incremental change in which they introduced the desired change in stages. during this stage of changing, data were collected on the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on practitioners working in student affairs. this change process dovetailed with lewin (1951)’s changing stage and kotter (1988)’s stages 5 to 7 namely: remove obstacles; create short‑term wins and build on the change. at this stage, members were required to embrace the new normal without fail. the proper wearing of masks, social distancing, regular washing of hands, working from home arrangements, virtual meetings, virtual student support and student development programmes and online student orientation programmes were introduced amongst others. positive and negative reinforcement measures were taken according to bandura (2001) for those who either complied or failed to adhere to the requirements. teams were formed for monitoring and peer support in order to escalate the adoption of the new normal. the changing stage was the most difficult as members found it difficult to let go long‑held habits and ways of doing things. it was also interesting to note that members of staff did not all change at once, since some quickly embraced the change while others took time and pain to adjust accordingly as observed by rogers (2003) that in any change effort, there are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. it was noted that students and younger workers were more amenable to change than older and more experienced practitioners since they were more computer illiterate and less adventurous in using modern gadgets and software applications. stage three: refreezing/cementing change in corporate culture once change had taken place, the dean of students and his team introduced measures to ensure that student affairs practitioners and students did not revert back to their old ways of doing things. these measures included the scheduling of virtual meetings on a weekly basis; requiring that each section designs and presents a virtual programme for students; and that registers of students who attend these virtual webinars be maintained as a way of enforcing attendance by students; going paperless and other strategies. reflections on the impact of the covid-19 pandemic data gathered through the analysis of key documents, participant observation, and informal interviews with the practitioners and the authors’ experiential insights were analysed using thematic analysis which, according to braun and clarke (2006), is generated through a close analysis of the findings in order to see existing patterns in the data. the following themes were identified from the data namely: modes of delivery; staff meetings; student support services; staff well‑being; allocation and utilisation of resources; and lack of knowledge and information. the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic is brought out through a comparison between the students’ and staff ’s experiences during the pre‑covid‑19 and post‑covid‑19 era. 192 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 183‑195 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1437 modes of delivery findings showed that, during the pre‑covid‑19 era student affairs practitioners and students had been used to a physical campus, classroom‑based student development and pyscho‑social support, and on‑campus student orientation programmes. the covid‑19 era required them to utilise virtual modes of delivery where student development, psycho‑ social support and orientation programmes would be delivered online. this impacted them negatively as they lacked the skills, knowledge, experience, and confidence in managing virtual campuses, including delivering through online modes of learning, leading to fear, anxiety, anger, depression and later on acceptance. this culminated in the initial resistance to change as practitioners and students felt threatened by the change. staff meetings during the pre‑covid‑19 era, staff and students had been used to venue‑based depart‑ mental and other meetings. the new normal demanded a new set of skills and tools. most practitioners were caught off‑guard since they did not have the requisite computer literacy levels coupled with a lack of either laptops or smartphones which were compatible with virtual meeting applications. students were better placed in this regard as they were more computer literate than staff and possessed the required gadgets. both students and staff required training in the scheduling and hosting of meetings on virtual platforms and how to join scheduled meetings. offering student support services news of high deaths rates in europe and the rest of the world due to covid‑19 related complications and the proliferation of misleading information on social media instilled fear, anxiety and restlessness amongst students and staff. this created an increased demand for psycho‑social and other forms of support on the part of staff and students. the lack of adequate and accurate information meant that the staff could not adequately support students and give them guidance. this state of affairs rendered the student affairs practitioners useless and helpless in addressing students’ concerns on one hand. on the other hand, staff and students who had been used to classroom‑ and office‑based programmes and services were called upon to offer them virtually. this threatened the confidentiality aspect of counselling, where the student counsellors were wary of the privacy of the student’s location. one counsellor remarked: “how do i know if i am not counselling the whole clan out there? there are possibilities that other people could be listening in the background. i am just not comfortable with offering student counselling online.” staff well‑being the pandemic had its greatest impact on the well‑being of staff as they were forced to separate from their work colleagues during trying times which required massive collegial support and encouragement. new sets of job skills and knowledge were required, strange s. mutambisi, d.d. murasi & c. mazodze: the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners … 193 working from home arrangements introduced, changing nature of jobs and the separation from students created a void in staff, leading to poor mental health and well‑being. the de‑skilling nature of covid‑19 imposed change that brought about a sense of job insecurity and some anxious moments for staff. this led to connectivity challenges if the practitioner had no internet connection at home. practitioners in the sports and recreation section lost income due to the blanket ban on all sporting activities in the country as they were paid based on hours worked with students. allocation and utilisation of resources the university’s efforts to fight the pandemic meant that more resources were to be channelled towards that cause, leaving the budgeted‑for student programmes without allocations. this had a negative impact on student affairs practitioners and even students in that they had to cancel some scheduled events and student development programmes. relations between practitioners deteriorated as staff jostled for the few availed resources in the department, leading to low staff morale and work disengagement. what were the major outcomes? the major outcomes were that continuous training and development enabled employees to change their attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and ways of doing work, leading to the successful adoption of change by the majority of practitioners as observed by biech (2016), vukotich (2011), emerson and stewart (2011), and raina (2019) who all observed that training and development was a catalyst in change adoption and acceptance. training and development provided by the information and communication department was significant in that it empowered employees to embrace technology and accept change. information given to employees through the social media eliminated employees’ fears, anxiety, misconceptions, shock and depression (lardi & fuchs, 2013). these platforms enabled those employees who supported change to encourage others to embrace the change and provide feedback to change leaders. employee support systems enhanced the quick adoption of change as students and practitioners’ perceptions, concerns and fears were allayed, thereby reducing negative emotions amongst them. professional incentives were also used as a catalyst for the quick adoption of organisational change as propounded by worley and lawler (2006) and wruck (2000). critical frontline personnel were incentivised through a covid‑19 allowance. these incentives worked as a catalyst for change adoption, and these practitioners in the department went the extra mile and sacrificed in the midst of risks. conclusion and recommendations this reflective article outlined the experiences of practitioners working in student affairs pre‑ and post the covid‑19 era. these findings showed that practitioners went through a rigorous change programme which helped them embrace the new normal. the study also showed that practitioners went through a process of loss of skills, isolation and separation from their work communities, grappled with new modes of presentation, loss of income for 194 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 183‑195 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1437 some and constrained resource availability. the findings also showed that interventions such as training and development, employee support, use of social media and targeted incentives helped staff cope with the demands of the new normal induced by the covid‑19 pandemic. this article concludes that the covid‑19 pandemic had a generally negative impact on students and practitioners working in student affairs at the case university. based on the findings of this article, we therefore recommend that: • student affairs practitioners be adequately resourced and capacitated in order to be able to effectively work from home. • student affairs practitioners be developed in the use of online delivery modes in the same way academics are developed. • university leaders are re‑oriented to the important role played by student affairs in the psycho‑social and cognitive development of students, so that they accord student affairs its rightful status. • lifelong learning opportunities for student affairs practitioners such as paid study leave and contact leave be availed. research ethics the case university where data were collected granted permission for this study to be conducted. all participants gave their informed consent and any identifying information such as names was kept confidential and anonymous. conflict of interest and funding the authors declare that they have no financial or non‑financial interests emanating from this study. no external funding was provided in order to carry out the study. references bandura, a. 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(2000). compensation incentives and organisational change: ideas and evidence from theory and practice. dice working paper no 2000‑3. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.203268 how to cite: mutambisi, s., murasi, d.d. & mazodze, c. (2021). the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on student affairs practitioners: a reflective case study from bindura university of science education in zimbabwe. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 183‑195. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v9i1.1437 https://doi.org/10.2202/1949-6605.5007 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 https://doi.org/10.4103/ehp.ehp_26_18 https://doi.org/10.4103/ehp.ehp_26_18 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203817513 https://www.reach3insights.com/ https://change.walkme.com/lewin-change-management-model/ http://www.books.google.co.zw http://ivey.businessjournal.com/publications https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.203268 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 45‑58 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 45 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article investigating the appropriateness and validity of the academic motivation scale-college version for south african first-year university students adéle kapp,* karina mostert** & leon de beer*** * ms adéle kapp is a master’s student at the workwell research unit, north-west university, south africa. email: adeleqkapp@gmail.com ** prof. karina mostert is a professor at management cybernetics, north-west university, south africa. email: karina.mostert@nwu.ac.za *** prof. leon de beer is a professor at the workwell research unit, north-west university, south africa. email: debeer.leon@nwu.ac.za abstract south african universities have one of the lowest graduation rates in the world, especially amongst first-year university students. south africa’s first-year university students are taxed with tremendous challenges. one of the most important amongst these challenges is considered to be academic motivation, which is strongly related to students’ academic success. despite this, to date, little work has been undertaken to source and validate a reliable instrument to measure students’ academic motivation. this article is based on the proposition that there is a pressing need for a valid and reliable instrument that measures academic motivation and its effect on students’ academic success. the psychometric properties of the academic motivation scale-college version were examined for first-year university students. the findings are promising for using this scale to measure academic motivation of first-year university students. keywords academic motivation scale-college version; convergent validity; criterion validity; discriminant validity; factorial validity; first-year university students; reliability introduction higher education institutions (heis) in south africa are confronted with tremendous challenges and are generally not adequately equipped with warning systems or methods to proactively identify students at risk (south africa, dhet, 2014). as a result, the university performance of first‑year students may be compromised and motivation can become impaired as students begin to doubt their ability to achieve academic success (south africa, dhet, 2014; haynes, daniels, stupnisky, perry & hladkyj, 2008). academic motivation is conceptualised as a student’s level of interest, their attitude as well as their determination towards their academic course, whereby purpose‑driven action (whether mental or physical) is initiated and sustained (jones, 2009; schunk, pintrich https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:adeleqkapp%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:karina.mostert%40nwu.ac.za?subject= mailto:debeer.leon%40nwu.ac.za?subject= 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 45‑58 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 & meece, 2008). students who are academically motivated are described as effective, meticulous, driven, focused, well‑prepared and knowledgeable (fraser & killen, 2005). accordingly, students who are academically motivated experience feelings of satisfaction, competence, and stimulation, and pursue rewarding activities (köseoğlu, 2013; vallerand et al., 1992). on the other hand, students who lack academic motivation will not apply extra effort, resulting in poor academic performance, often doubt their ability to succeed academically and doubt their intentions for pursuing a tertiary education (fraser & killen, 2005; legault, green‑demers & pelletier, 2006). ryan and deci (1985, 1991) categorise motivation as intrinsic, extrinsic or a‑motivated. based on this categorisation, vallerand and his colleagues (1992, 1993) developed the academic motivation scale‑college version (ams‑c), a measure of college students’ academic motivation in education. the ams‑c has been validated for students attending heis in countries including canada, england, portugal and the united states of america (usa) (baker, 2004; cokley, 2000; cokley, bernard, cunningham & motoike, 2001; lopes et al., 2018; vallerand et al., 1993). it was also tested for its cross‑cultural factorial validity amongst students in the usa and ghana (osei akoto, 2014). although the ams‑c has been validated in other countries, it is challenging to transfer psychometric instruments across cultures (de klerk, boshoff & van wyk, 2009). various studies resulted in the conclusion that without revalidating an instrument, it is risky to apply instruments developed in other countries to a south african sample (de klerk et al., 2009). these risks include language ability and translation equivalence, as some individuals might interpret words as well as meaning of words in a different manner, including reverse‑ worded items and mixed‑worded scales (van eeden & mantsha, 2007; wong, rindfleisch & burroughs, 2003). the ams‑c is a promising measure to use in the hei setting. however, no studies could be found that tested the applicability and validity of the ams‑c for south african university students. the objective of the present study was to investigate the adequacy and appropriateness in terms of validity and reliability of the ams‑c amongst first‑year university students in the south african context; more specifically, to test the factorial validity, reliability as well as the convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity of the ams‑c. literature review factorial validity and reliability the three components of motivation are defined as follow: (1) intrinsic motivation is the doing of an activity not for the few dissociable consequences, but the inherent satisfaction thereof; (2) extrinsic motivation is the completing of an activity to realise some dissociable outcomes; and (3) amotivation is a lack of intention to act or the absence of motivation (ryan & deci, 2000a; 2000b). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 a. kapp, k. mostert & l. de beer: … the appropriateness and validity of the academic motivation‑scale version … 47 the ams‑c measures the three types of motivation with seven sub‑scales (vallerand et al., 1992; stover et al., 2012): 1. intrinsic motivation includes the following subscales: • to know: when a task or subject is carried out for the pleasure of obtaining the knowledge; • towards accomplishment: when satisfaction is derived from generating products or when one’s personal limits are superseded; and • experienced stimulation: when activities are developed to discover pleasing aesthetics, intellectual or sensorial sensations. 2. extrinsic motivation includes the following subscales: • identified: when choices are driven by extrinsic motives; • introjected: when behaviour is guided by the need to improve one’s self‑esteem and/or to circumvent anxiety and guilt that may arise from not carrying out a certain task; and • external regulation: when behaviours are driven by others in an attempt to avoid punishment or to receive a reward. 3. amotivation is a single dimension measured with four items. it is characterised by an indiviual’s lack of purpose, an absence of power over their actions, or explains an inability to act. with regard to the factorial validity of the ams‑c, support for the seven‑subscale structure was found amongst a sample of students in the usa (cokley et al., 2001). however, a more recent study conducted amongst a sample of undergraduate students in britain, found that the broader three‑factor structure (i.e. intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation) is a better fit to the data (baker, 2004). the three‑factor structure was suggested by baker (2004) as a solution to the high intercorrelations found between some of the subscales. thus, it is expected that a three‑factor structure will be a better fit to the data compared to a seven‑factor structure. h1: academic motivation comprises a three-factor structure, consisting of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation. various studies indicate favourable reliability scores for the ams‑c. the original study conducted by vallerand et al. (1992) found cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the seven‑ factor structure ranging between 0.83 and 0.86. in another english‑speaking sample the internal consistency ranged from 0.60 to 0.86 (vallerand et al., 1993). in a more recent study, the internal consistencies in a sample of usa students also proved to be satisfactory, with cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.65 to 0.77 (osei‑akoto, 2014). it is therefore expected that the three factors of the ams‑c will be reliable. h2: the three factors of the academic motivation scale-college version (ams-c) will show high internal consistency (a ³ 0.70). 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 45‑58 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 convergent validity and discriminant validity convergent validity tests if constructs that are anticipated to be related are, in fact, related to one another; while discriminant validity tests whether constructs that should not have any relationship, in fact, do not have any relationship with one another (shuttleworth, 2009). the current study examined whether the three ams‑c factors (intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation) were moderately related to each other and ultimately explained the relationships between the latent variables as well as the strength of the relationships. h3: the three ams-c factors are moderately related to each other and will demonstrate convergent validity. h4: the three ams-c factors are moderately related to each other and will demonstrate discriminant validity. criterion validity criterion validity is used to measure the capability of an instrument to give an explanation for variance in any other variable with the motive of imparting evidence in order to predict future results (fraenkel, wallen & hyun, 1993). for the purpose of this study, two important outcomes of student motivation were included: students’ satisfaction with their studies as well as self‑reported academic performance. the relationship between study satisfaction and academic motivation can be explained by examining theory on the three innate psychological needs for satisfaction outlined and described in the self‑determination theory (std) (ryan & deci, 2000b). these innate psychological needs for satisfaction that inform self‑motivation include autonomy, competence, and relatedness (ryan & deci, 2000b; zhang, solomon, kosma, carson & gu, 2011). therefore, the conditions of these innate psychological needs either hinder or support students’ academic motivation (zhang et al., 2011). consequently, academically motivated students experience feelings of satisfaction, competence, and stimulation, and pursue activities that provide rewards (köseoğlu, 2013; vallerand et al., 1992). h5: academic motivation will be significantly and positively related to satisfaction with studies. the concept of academic motivation can also be associated with students’ self‑rated academic performance. a study of disadvantaged south african students found that adjustment to university and academic performance was positively correlated with intrinsic motivation (petersen et al., 2009). intrinsically motivated students use increased productive studying strategies, prefer demanding tasks, enjoy their classes more and exhibit consistent student involvement (ames & archer, 1988). extrinsically motivated behaviours are implemented for some outcome external to the task itself, such as obtaining rewards or circumventing retribution (ryan & deci, 2000b). a study conducted by baker (2004) concluded that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as well as amotivation on some level, predict students’ academic performance. h6: academic motivation will be significantly and positively related to self-reported academic performance. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 a. kapp, k. mostert & l. de beer: … the appropriateness and validity of the academic motivation‑scale version … 49 method research design a cross‑sectional design was used to perform data collection and attainment of the research objectives for the present study. participants and procedure permission for the study was granted by the ethics committee of the north‑west university (ethical certificate number: nwu‑hs‑2014‑0165). data was gathered during august to november 2018 through a web‑based survey. the researcher ensured that prior to inviting students for voluntary participation, awareness was created about the study. all the appropriate information regarding the purpose and intentions of the study and informed consent was incorporated and explained. participants were first‑year students studying at a south african university. the researcher only included full‑time students registered for their first year of study. a convenience sample method was used (n = 611) of whom 394 (64.5%) were female, 217 (35.5%) were male and age ranged between 17 and 19 years. in terms of ethnic origin, 338 (55.3%) participants were black, 236 (38.6%) were white, 28 (4.6%) were coloured, and six (1.0%) were indian. research instruments in addition to a biographical questionnaire, the following instruments were used: academic motivation was measured by the ams‑c (vallerand et al. 1992), which consists of 28  items and is measured on a seven‑point scale (1 = does not correspond at all to 7 = corresponds exactly, with a midway point at 4 = corresponds moderately). the 28 items, divided into four items for each of the seven subscales, were used to answer the following question: “why do you go to college?” in an effort to measure the following: • intrinsic motivation – to know (e.g. ‘because i experience pleasure and satisfaction while learning new things’). • intrinsic motivation – towards accomplishment (e.g. ‘for the pleasure i experience while surpassing myself in my studies’). • intrinsic motivation – to experience stimulation (e.g. ‘for the intense feelings i experience when i am communicating my own ideas to others’). • extrinsic motivation – identified (e.g. ‘because i think that a college education will help me better prepare for the career i have chosen’). • extrinsic motivation – introjected (e.g. ‘to prove to myself that i am capable of completing my college degree’). • extrinsic motivation – external regulation (e.g. ‘because with only a high‑school degree i would not find a high‑paying job later on’). • amotivation (e.g. ‘honestly, i don’t know; i really feel that i am wasting my time in school.’). 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 45‑58 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 satisfaction with studies was measured with the use of adapted items based on work‑related scales developed by hellgren, sjöberg and sverke (1997). items were adapted to fit the student context and are measured with three items (e.g. “i am satisfied with my studies”). all items were scored on a 5‑point likert‑type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). self-reported academic performance was measured by asking participants to provide two self‑reported indications of their academic performance including their academic average (an average of all their subjects) and a main average (an average of their main subjects. data analysis a confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) was used to determine factorial validity. based on the findings of previous validation studies reported in literature, two models were tested: a seven‑factor model (specifying all seven subscales of the ams‑c) and a three‑factor model (including the three broad factors of the ams‑c: extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation and amotivation). in order to test the models’ goodness‑of‑fit, the following fit indices were applied: traditional chi‑square (χ2) statistic, comparative fit index (cfi), tucker‑lewis index (tli), the root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) and the standardised root mean square residual (srmr). an adequate model fit was considered when the cfi and tli values were larger than 0.90, thus a conformist process was used in this study (byrne, 2001). concerning the rmsea, values below the cut‑off threshold of 0.08 indicated a good model fit (browne & cudeck, 1993). the srmr cut‑off point was set at less than 0.05  (hu & bentler, 1999). the reliability of the scales was determined by calculating cronbach’s alpha coefficients. the composite reliability indicator was calculated where a value of 0.70 and above was considered acceptable (akkucuk, 2014; de farias júnior, mendonҫa, florindo & barros, 2014). to determine the convergent validity, the correlation matrix was examined to identify how the ams‑c factors are related to each other. the correlation coefficients, where effect sizes are used to generate the practical significance of the results, were used to determine the relationship that exists between the variables (steyn & swanepoel, 2008). furthermore, r ≥ 0.30 (medium effect) and r ≥ 0.50 (large effect) were used as cut‑off points for the practical significance of the correlation coefficients (cohen, 1988). with regard to discriminant validity, the correlations between all the latent variables need to be below brown’s (2015) 0.85 guideline. additionally, cfa was used to compare measurement models where the correlations between the factors of interest are constrained to 1.00. when the correlation is unconstrained, a non‑significant difference would indicate that discriminant validity does not exist. finally, the criterion validity of the ams‑c was tested. regression paths were included in the final measurement model. the standardised beta coefficient values (β) and the significance of the regression paths as well as the size and direction thereof were considered. the variance explained in the criterion variables (in terms of r2 ) were also taken into account. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 a. kapp, k. mostert & l. de beer: … the appropriateness and validity of the academic motivation‑scale version … 51 results factorial validity cfa was used to test two competing measurement models: a seven‑factor model (specifying all seven subscales of the ams‑c), and a three‑factor model (specifying the three broad factors of the ams‑c). the results can be seen in table 1. table 1: results of the measurement models model χ2 d f cfi tli rmsea srmr seven‑factor 1177.62 329 0.95 0.94 0.07 0.05 three‑factor (before) 2148.36 347 0.90 0.90 0.09 0.08 three‑factor (after) 1984.67 344 0.91 0.90 0.09 0.07 notes: χ2 = chi-square; d f = degrees of freedom; cfi = comparative fit index; tli = tucker-lewis index; rmsea = root mean square error of approximation; srmr = standardised root mean residual at first glance, the seven‑factor measurement model appeared to be a better fit compared to the three‑factor model. however, very high intercorrelations were found between some of the subscales of the seven‑factor measurement model: • intrinsic motivation – to know and intrinsic motivation – experience stimulation: p = 1.006 • intrinsic motivation – towards accomplishment and intrinsic motivation – experience stimulation: p = 0.95 • intrinsic motivation – to know and intrinsic motivation – towards accomplishment: p = 0.92 • extrinsic motivation – introjected and extrinsic motivation – external regulation: p = 0.85 the fit indices of the alternative three‑factor model were also not optimal (rmsea = 0.09). to explore how the model fit could be improved, modification indices were inspected. it was evident that error terms should be allowed between three pairs of items, including: • extrinsic motivation – external regulation, item 3: “because i want to have ‘the good life’ later in my life”; and item 4: “in order to have a better salary later on.” • extrinsic motivation – introjected, item 12: “because i want to show myself that i can succeed in my studies”; and intrinsic motivation – towards accomplishment, item 20: “because my university allows me to experience a personal satisfaction in my quest for excellence in my studies.” • intrinsic motivation – experience stimulation, item 14: “for the pleasure that i experience when i learn interesting things”; and intrinsic motivation – to know, item 22: “for the pleasure that i experience when i discover new things that i have never known before.” 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 45‑58 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 after these error terms were allowed to correlate, the three‑factor model was improved. more specifically, the χ2/degrees of freedom ratio was slightly above 3.00 (kline, 1998; ivan, herteliu & nosca, 2008). the fit also improved in terms of the cfi and srmr indices (hoyle, 1995), although the rmsea was still slightly above the suggested cut‑off point of 0.08 (browne & cudeck, 1993; van de schoot, lugtig & hox, 2012). based on these results, it seems that a three‑factor model should be preferred above the seven‑factor model. all of the items had statistically significant and acceptable factor loadings (λ), ranging between 0.38 and 0.92. since the standard errors for all the items of the three factors were small, accurate estimates are assumed (payton, miller & raun, 2000). these results provide evidence for hypothesis 1. reliability, convergent and discriminant validity table 2 provides the reliabilities and correlation matrix for the latent variables. table 2: reliabilities and correlation matrix for the latent variables variables α 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. amotivation 0.87 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 2. intrinsic motivation 0.92 ‑0.23* ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 3. extrinsic motivation 0.86 ‑0.34* 0.72* ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 4. satisfaction with studies 0.93 ‑0.40* 0.58* 0.35* ‑ ‑ ‑ 5. general academic average n/a ‑0.28* 0.24* 0.07 0.34* ‑ ‑ 6. main academic average n/a ‑0.23* 0.29* 0.11 0.38* 0.79* ‑ notes: α = cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient; * = correlations are statistically significant p ≤ 0.001; values ≤ 0.30 = medium effect; values ≥ 0.50 = large effect cronbach’s alpha coefficients (α ≥ 0.70) were calculated for the three‑factor model to establish the reliability or internal consistency of the ams‑c (cronbach, 1951; nunnally & bernstein, 1994; tabachnick & fidell, 2001). as shown in table 2, all the reliability coefficients were acceptable, therefore support and evidence were provided for hypothesis 2. the results in table 2 show that extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation and amotivation all correlated with one another. the effect sizes ranged from small to large. these results provide evidence for the strength of the relationships between the academic motivation variables, supporting hypothesis 3. the results also provide evidence for the discriminant validity of the ams‑c, where the correlations between the subscales were below the 0.85 guideline (r’s ≤ 0.85; brown, 2015), providing evidence and support for hypothesis 4. furthermore, a series of models were tested where the correlations between the factors were constrained to 1.00 and then compared to the unconstrained model. all these models showed that the constrained model did not perform better than the unconstrained model (p ≤ 0.05), providing further support for hypothesis 4. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 a. kapp, k. mostert & l. de beer: … the appropriateness and validity of the academic motivation‑scale version … 53 criterion validity criterion validity of the ams‑c was investigated with specifying the structural model by using the final three‑factor measurement model and inserting structural paths in line with the study’s hypotheses. the results of the structural model are shown in table 3 below. table 3: regression paths for the structural model structural path β s.e. p result intrinsic motivation → satisfaction with studies 0.70 0.05 0.001* significant extrinsic motivation → satisfaction with studies ‑0.27 0.05 0.001* significant amotivation → satisfaction with studies ‑0.34 0.04 0.001* significant intrinsic motivation → general academic average 0.40 0.07 0.001* significant extrinsic motivation → general academic average ‑0.32 0.07 0.001* significant amotivation → general academic average ‑0.30 0.05 0.001* significant intrinsic motivation → main academic average 0.45 0.06 0.001* significant extrinsic motivation → main academic average ‑0.29 0.07 0.001* significant amotivation → main academic average ‑0.23 0.05 0.001* significant notes: β = beta coefficient; s.e. = standard error; p = two-tailed statistical significance; * = p ≤ 0.001 the structural model showed an acceptable fit. the χ2/degrees of freedom ratio was slightly above 3 (kline, 1998; ivan et al., 2008) and the fit indices showed acceptable fit: cfi = 0.93; tli = 0.92; rmsea = 0.07 (browne & cudeck, 1993; hoyle, 1995; van de schoot et al., 2012). all the regression paths were significant (p ≤ 0.05). these results provide evidence to support hypotheses 5 and 6. discussion the primary purpose of the study was to validate the academic motivation scale‑college version (ams‑c) in a sample of first‑year south african students by examining the factorial validity, reliability, convergent, discriminant and predictive validity of this instrument. the results of the cfa showed that very high intercorrelations were found between some of the subscales of the original seven‑factor model. these high intercorrelations indicate problems with multicollinearity, which result in the unsuccessful calculation of discriminant validity (kline, 2005). for this reason, kline (2005) suggests to either eliminate one of the variables or combine the high‑correlated variables. the seven‑factor model was therefore not considered an acceptable measurement model. the model fit of the three‑factor model was also not entirely satisfactory, but improved after error terms were allowed between three pairs of items which contained conceptually similar words (delisi, hochstetler & murphy, 2003). although the rmsea index was 0.09, a recent study by mcneish, an and hancock (2018) stated that new statistical evidences and simulations have shown that these fit indices are highly influenced by measurement quality. therefore, a three‑factor model is presented as the best factor‑solution for the ams‑c and is in line 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 45‑58 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 with other studies that found support for a three‑factor model (baker, 2004; stover et al., 2012). the findings showed acceptable cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients (α ≥ 0.70) for all three ams‑c factors (nunnally & bernstein, 1994; tabachnick & fidell, 2001): intrinsic motivation (α = 0.92), extrinsic motivation (α = 0.86), and amotivation (α = 0.87), demonstrating good reliability for the three factors. convergent and discriminant validity were also established. the criterion validity of the ams‑c was examined to determine whether the three factors of academic motivation were significant predictors of students’ satisfaction with studies and students’ self‑rated academic performance. the results showed that intrinsic motivation was the strongest predictor for all three outcomes: satisfaction with studies, general academic average and main academic average. extrinsic motivation and amotivation both negatively predicted all three outcomes. extrinsic motivation proved to be the strongest predictor for both general academic motivation and main academic motivation. on the other hand, amotivation proved to be a slightly stronger predictor for satisfaction with studies than extrinsic motivation. practical implications the present study shows preliminary support that the ams‑s has potential to validly and reliably measure first‑year students’ academic motivation. the use of the ams‑c could enable heis to adequately determine different motivation levels of first‑year university students, specifically because students experience many challenges during their first year at university and are therefore at risk of decreased academic motivation. heis are therefore encouraged to use instruments like the ams‑c to proactively identify students at‑risk and make available supporting interventions, where students can be made aware of their motivation levels and seek assistance as an additional resource if necessary. these supporting interventions can empower students to not only reach their academic goals but also reach their long‑term goal of graduating. consequently, universities are assisted by an additional tool that empowers them to deliver more work‑ready graduates. limitations and recommendations the study was conducted at one specific university and not nationally across different institutions. this limits the applicability of the findings. it is recommended that replication studies are conducted nationally across south africa. these studies could also add to the existing literature by obtaining more knowledge about the outcomes in similar and dissimilar contexts. this study made use of a cross‑sectional design. to draw more significant conclusions about the relationship of the three academic motivation factors as well as students’ satisfaction with their studies and students’ self‑rated academic performance and other outcomes, a longitudinal research exploration is suggested. in addition, a mixed‑ methods research design can be included, such as interviews, reflection diaries or focus groups to explore the meaning of the items of the ams‑c and minimise the potential of measurement and non‑measurement error (dillman, smyth & christian, 2014). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 a. kapp, k. mostert & l. de beer: … the appropriateness and validity of the academic motivation‑scale version … 55 although this study used classical test theory (ctt), a widely known and pre domi‑ nant measurement paradigm in test analysis, there are also shortcomings to this approach (see rusch et al., 2017). future studies can also include the advantages of item response theory (irt). the basic assumption of irt is the independence of the latent ability of the participant on the content of the measure or test (baghaei et al., 2016). irt permits analysis of responses from a specific sample to a bank of items and assumes that responses from participants depend on non‑measureable respondent characteristics (i.e. latent traits and on the characteristics of items (baker, 2001). this could add valuable information on the adequacy and appropriateness of tests used in the higher education context. conclusion in summary, the results provided stronger support for a three‑factor model. favourable reliability scores provided evidence for the internal consistency. results also supported the convergent and divergent validity of the ams‑c. finally, the three academic motivation factors predicted students’ satisfaction with their studies as well as students’ self‑rated performance, providing evidence for the criterion validity of the ams‑c. authors’ note the material described in this article is based on work supported by the office of the deputy vice‑chancellor: teaching and learning, north‑west university. the views and opinions expressed in this research are those of the researchers and do not reflect the opinion or views of the funder. references akkucuk, u. 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(2003). do reverse‑worded items confound measures in cross‑cultural consumer research? the case of the material values scale. journal of consumer research, 30(1), 72‑91. https://doi.org/10.1086/374697 zhang, t., solmon, m.a., kosma, m., carson, r.l. & gu, x. (2011). need support, need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and physical activity participation among middle school students. journal of teaching in physical education, 30(1), 51‑68. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.30.1.51 how to cite: kapp, a., mostert, k. & de beer, l. 2020. investigating the appropriateness and validity of the academic motivation scale‑college version for south african first‑year university students. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 45‑58. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164493053001018 https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.686740 https://doi.org/10.1177/008124630703700105 https://doi.org/10.1177/008124630703700105 https://doi.org/10.1086/374697 https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.30.1.51 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4447 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 29 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article investigation of first‑year learning experiences in a rural university in south africa chinaza uleanya* & yasmin rugbeer** * dr chinaza uleanya is a postdoctoral fellow at the department of educational management and leadership, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: chinazauleanya@yahoo.com ** dr yasmin rugbeer is the director of teaching and learning at the university of zululand, south africa. email: rugbeery@unizulu.ac.za abstract this study investigated the first‑year experiences (fye) of students in a south african university. survey research design was used in the study. the quantitative method was used for data collection and 1 479 first‑year students were randomly selected. the findings reveal that first‑year students in the selected south african rural‑based university experience certain specific challenges amongst which are poor orientation to the new context, poor knowledge of the higher education system, and poor educational background of parents. the study recommends that a special office under the direct line management of the dean of students be established to observe and closely monitor the progress of first‑year students. this office would accommodate orientation of first years, and liaise and collaborate with appropriate offices within the institution to ensure that first‑year students are properly guided and assisted in integrating without stress into the university system. keywords first‑year experience; orientation; placement; south africa introduction south african universities have undergone significant changes during the last few decades; however, the increased access of students has not been accompanied by equal increases in levels of student success (akoojee & nkomo, 2008). the low graduation output of various comprehensive south african universities has long been a cause for concern (arends & petersen,  2018). the higher education system in south africa is expected to produce graduates, who are well equipped to contribute personally, socially and economically to the development of the country (department of higher education, 2014; allais, 2017). the mission statement of the selected south african rural‑based university is to commit itself towards producing graduates who are globally competitive and relevant to the human capital needs of the nation. at the same time, the institution is cognisant of the fact that the majority of its students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and have additional financial challenges. meanwhile, according to tinto (2008), access without support is not https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:chinazauleanya%40yahoo.com?subject= mailto:rugbeery%40unizulu.ac.za?subject= 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 opportunity. in congruence, akoojee and nkomo (2008) and uleanya and gamede (2018) consider access without support as “participatory access” which is used to mean allowing students to enrol without taking cogent cognisance of the teaching and learning activities. access without support which, according to tinto (2008), is not opportunity means that students are enrolled at the university for different courses without tailored efforts to ensure that they get all the support required to succeed at their studies. this implies that students are enrolled without taking into consideration the available facilities that will enhance their innate abilities and skills to learn. thus, support in this context implies providing necessary information, direction, counsel, orientation and mentorship, where possible, amongst other means of support that are capable of helping students to transition successfully into the university system and happenings on campus. hence, the fye at this university is an initiative which seeks to address the transitional needs and concerns that many first‑year students face in their transitions from high school to tertiary education and provide the desired support. the fye at this university is built on the principle that every first‑year student will be treated with the respect due to them, the same way other students are accorded due respect. additionally, the fye is premised on the principle that adjustment and transition stages require unique support, especially apparent in first year. according to arends and petersen (2018), seminars for first years are viewed as programmes which promote student retention and address the need of first‑generation students. this is based on the idea that such seminars are informative and experiences of successful individuals are shared. this implies that first‑year students can be oriented and given necessary pieces of information through seminars, in addition to other programmes such as orientation and excursions, amongst others. meanwhile, as important as these programmes are, in some situations, the students fail to attend such organised programmes and end up missing out on the information to be passed across. conversely, tinto (1975) opines that the kind and quality of interactions experienced by first‑year students in the institution has an impact on their academic and cultural integration. in support of this, uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019) opine that quality student‑lecturer interaction helps students in various ways such as building self‑ confidence and acclimatising to the university environment. however, getting first‑year students to attend seminars, orientation programmes, and to interact with members of staff remains challenging. this makes transition, adjustment and orientation difficult. in some instances, assisting the first‑year students becomes challenging. hence, the reason for this article which seeks to explore the fye of students in the selected south african rural university, in particular the challenges that inhibit students from attending programmes organised for them. this article explores the way forward. south african universities there are 26 universities in south africa which are categorised differently based on the expected functions and degree levels. some of the universities are categorised as universities of technology (uot), comprehensive and traditional universities. the focus of this study is on a selected south african university, which is both rural and comprehensive. it is categorised as a rural‑based university due to its location and setting, and it is described as https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 chinaza uleanya & yasmin rugbeer: investigation of first‑year learning experiences … 31 a comprehensive university based on the functions it is expected to perform. for instance, according to dani and shah (2016), rural universities are situated in specific locations with peculiar characteristics. flora and flora (2013) and uleanya and gamede (2018) explain that rural settings in developing or underdeveloped areas are characterised by features like poor networks, untarred roads, a high level of illiteracy, a high rate of unemployment and dispersed settlement, amongst others. many of these features describe the location of the selected university. comprehensive universities, on the other hand, according to gibson  (2012) are established and saddled with various responsibilities, one of which is meeting the demands of their host communities and helping to enhance development in such environments where they are situated. thus, the selected university is described as a comprehensive university as it is expected to ensure that it focuses on meeting the demands of host communities – that is, their immediate environment and the nation at large. history of the selected south african rural-based university according to a report by the advice and monitoring directorate council on higher education in south africa (2010) regarding the selected rural‑based university, the institution was a college with few students, staff and facilities. it was called the university college in 1960 and functioned as a constituent of the university of south africa. the focus then was to cater for the zulus and the swazi. these are people from kwazulu‑ natal, south africa and people from swaziland respectively. however, by 1970, the status was changed and it was recognised as “the selected south african rural based university” functioning as a traditional university offering formative and professional programmes (department of education, 2004). according to the self‑evaluation portfolio for the higher education quality committee institutional audit (spheqcia) (2010), the scope of the institution changed in 2002 and it began to cater for students from countries other than south africa and swaziland, but majorly african countries, amongst which are: botswana, cameroon, kenya, nigeria, zimbabwe and others. however, the basic focus remained the same, which was to cater for rural‑based students (spheqcia, 2010). by 1984, the institution was given autonomy to practise as a full‑fledged university like other standard universities within the country. in 2002, the university was enlisted as one of the six comprehensive universities in south africa (spheqcia, 2010). by ‘comprehensive university’, it means that it began to offer a mix of formative, professional and vocationally oriented programmes in which degrees are awarded. moreover, according to the department of education (doe) (2002), comprehensive universities are to be directed towards programmes ranging from formative, professional to vocational. a new campus, called richards bay campus due to its location, was established. different vocation‑related degrees such as maritime, shipping, transportation and logistics, amongst others, are offered at the richards bay campus. during this period, five faculties known as: agriculture and science, arts, education, law, and commerce and administration were in operation. however, by 2005, the faculty of law was merged with the faculty of commerce and administration. hence, the university operates with four faculties since then, with each faculty having a dean and a number of heads of department who oversee the activities that take place. 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 rationale for fye in south african universities the increased access of students has not been accompanied by equal increases in levels of student successes, though south african universities have undergone significant changes during the last few decades. following on the publication of the national cohort students by scott, yeld and hendry (2007), it is possible to assess the efficiency of the he sector on the basis of the performance of the 2 000 cohort of entrants. higher education participation rates remain low in comparison to those of other countries (council on higher education [che], 2013). the higher education of south africa (hesa, 2016) report on pathways to a diverse and effective south african higher education system suggests that south african universities experience low participation rate due to challenges such as: funding, academic enrolment planning and quality assurance issues, amongst others. scott et al.  (2008) further state that approximately 30% of the (limited numbers of) students who enter the south african higher education system annually drop out during their first year of studies. however, uleanya and gamede (2018) state that the dropout rate is approximately 40%  and it is as a result of challenges experienced by students. uleanya, rugbeer and duma (2018) explain that some students who eventually graduate fail to do so in minimum time. suffice to state that students seem to experience various challenges that make some drop out, while others struggle to complete in record time. according to scott et al. (2008), less than 50% of the students who enrol for diplomas or degrees do not graduate, and only one in three students of the intake into three‑year degrees in contact institutions graduate, even within four years. meanwhile, according to hesa (2016), student dropouts cause very substantial losses in subsidies to higher education institutions. mitra (2011) opines that such experiences of a high dropout rate or learning challenges lead to a lack of sustainable development within the society. suffice to state therefore that though different universities in south africa, especially those that are rural based, experience a low intake of students, and only a few of the intakes get to graduate in record time; some eventually drop out before the completion of their first year. naong, zwane, mogashoa and fleischmann (2009) suggest that the common challenges experienced by first years include: feeling disconnected, struggling to develop good habits such as prioritising daily activities, managing time properly, as well as eating and staying healthy. acclimating to academic expectations that may be more challenging than anticipated, managing a level of social and cultural diversity that may be different from the communities with which they are most familiar, comparing oneself to others and becoming discouraged and having difficulty managing relationships both at home and at school are considered as other challenges experienced by first‑year students. case, marshall, mckenna and mogashana (2018) suggest that issues bordering around financial issues, choices of students and social structures, amongst others, are factors constituting constraints for students and affect them in various ways when trying to acclimatise to their new environment (university system). hence, the principle of tinto (1988), which identifies factors that enhance first‑year student access and progression at the university, is adopted as the reason for fye programmes in south african universities. these principles are: (i) students should be given the opportunities to acquire skills needed for academic success; (ii) students should be given enhanced networks that extend beyond https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 chinaza uleanya & yasmin rugbeer: investigation of first‑year learning experiences … 33 the university and may be fostered by personal agencies to ensure maximum functionality; (iii) students should be allowed to respond to systematic retention actions; and (iv) students respond best to early interventions that address their needs, hence should be given such interventions early enough. also, students respond well to retention programmes that are student centred, thus, teaching and learning activities should be student centred. in other words, teaching methods which promote student‑centred learning should be promoted. for instance, paired learning and role playing, amongst others, should be encouraged. this should be as opposed to traditional methods where lecturers are the focus. the fye in the selected south african rural‑based university is therefore an attempt to draw the best from current practices – nationally and internationally – and to develop, incrementally, an overarching and coherent transitional experience for incoming students. this includes cooperation and collaboration with all stakeholders within the community of the selected university. principles of a fye programme at the selected university the fye is a complex process, involving many different disciplines, worldviews and understandings. it was therefore decided to base the planning and further conceptualisation of this programme on an epistemological framework that could inform the planning, structure and actions of this working group. the integral model as developed by wilber (1977) is chosen. the reason for this choice is because it is open and collaborative, research based, and values participatory reflective practices, while providing the necessary structure. the integral model serves as a tool for linkage, leverage, correlation and alignment that informs the further development of the programme. this model characterises the fye in the following ways: the fye programme is holistic and possesses an encompassing body, mind and spirit. hence, the programme is expected to be treated as such. also, the fye programme is to be considered as an intentional programme which promotes wellness within a caring and invitational institution. in other words, the fye programme in universities is desired to accommodate students from various backgrounds by giving them necessary supports through counselling, tutorials and mentoring, amongst other ways. this guides the reason for the concern, care and support to be given to first‑year students before, during and after registration, orientation, lectures and examination periods. thus, the fye programme fosters an enabling and empowering environment to enhance student development through various counselling, tutorial and mentorship activities provided to first‑year students. this is expected to help students to function better in different spheres of life to themselves, family, institution and society at large. additionally, the fye programme seeks collaboration and partnership within and outside the university with appropriate and supportive stakeholders such as parents, ngos, community leaders, and government, amongst others. this is based on the ideology that the programme does not operate on its own. support is needed from various channels. also, the fye programme is guided by ongoing research from multiple perspectives. this research will be the premise upon which the fye programme of the selected university is built. 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 the fye committee structure of the selected university based on the holistic and all‑encompassing nature of the fye programme, the following structures were identified to support a fully integrated fye approach for students in each faculty and across the two campuses of the institution. this committee structure comprised: faculty‑based fye committee representative(s) in different capabilities, various special interest and research groups representatives, and first‑year representatives who made up the fye student forum of the selected university. the first two workshops were attended by representatives from the various faculties – deans, deputy deans, heads of departments, coordinators and departmental representatives. during the second workshop the following sectors within the selected university were identified to seek collaboration and to form the fye committee. this working committee was coordinated from the office of the dean of students affairs (dsa). several entities and structures added to the established working group led by the teaching and learning unit in collaboration with all four faculties across the university. the entities included: library staff who are responsible for providing basic readable and learning materials; housing unit which is responsible for accommodation; communication department (cmd) which is responsible for disseminating information; students’ service department (ssd) which is responsible for the affairs of students within the institution; campus health clinic which is responsible for the health issues of students; admissions units which are responsible for the admission and enrolment processes of students; registrations unit which takes charge of registration matters; and financial aid units which take care of bursary and other financial matters of students. the information and communication technologies (ict) unit was also represented in the structure, as well as representatives from the richards bay campus of the institution. other units represented in the structure include protective services, sports and recreation, student faculty representatives, special interest and research groups. this makes the committee unique as universities very rarely engage across multiple sectors like this. the researchers ensure that different faculties, departments and units within the institution are adequately represented. a new paradigm for promoting learning this study proposes a new paradigm for promoting learning in higher education where students, from the very first point of contact, form an explicit partnership with the selected university. jogee, callaghan and callaghan (2018) opine that many students in south african universities are alienated due to the way and manner in which the institutions are structured and the expectations of the universities. for instance, everatt (2016) quoted in jogee, callaghan and callaghan (2018) buttress this by stating that: “students arrive and are expected to meet imported norms, seminar rooms, unknown customs, foreign authors, hard marking and the plain hard slog of tertiary education, while being young and going through their own life transitions, and doing so in ‘othered’ spaces, out of vernacular, and so on” (everatt, 2016, p. 1). this is contributory to the failure and dropout rate experienced by students (jogee, callaghan & callaghan, 2018). the partnership is based on success of https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 chinaza uleanya & yasmin rugbeer: investigation of first‑year learning experiences … 35 both the student and the institution. in both cases, success is marked by the successful completion of the programme the student has embarked on. students provide critical information about themselves on registration. amongst this information are their goals, their strengths, weaknesses, parents’ level of education, future aspiration, and support if available. this makes the fye a personalised institutional response to learners’ needs and challenges. for the fye to be successful, assessments have to be conducted at critical points in the first year of study (leibowitz, 2009). hence, the reason for this study, which aims to investigate the experiences of first‑year students, using the selected south african university as a case study. conceptualisation of terms first-generation students lucier (2019) describes a first‑generation student as one who is in the process of getting a university degree though no one in the family has ever attained such height. he further explains that as long as the parents or sibling(s) of a student are yet to get a university degree, regardless of whether they are enrolled for one or not, such student should be referred to and treated as a first‑generation student. jury, smeding and darnon (2015), wilbur and roscigno (2016) and lucier (2019) opine that first‑generation students are usually disadvantaged compared to their counterparts. this is due to the lack of exposure and inadequacy of information possessed by their family members, especially parents and older siblings. in this study, first‑generation students are regarded as those studying in the selected university in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree and are from homes where no one possesses such a degree or its equivalent. in other words, the said students are the first to pursue university degrees in their family. this is considered to have an impact on the academic achievement of first‑generation students in various ways considering the lack of university experiences of family members. academic success in this study, academic success is used to imply achievement of students with regard to their educational attainment. in other words, attainment of good results by students is referred to as academic success. problem statement the annual admission offered to students into universities is expected to aid their success in life and help them in attaining their goals. in light of this, students embark on their university journey with the hope of reading, attending lectures, writing examinations and acquiring the desired success. however, the students seem to encounter several challenges in their first year at the university and the challenges hamper their dreams and hope of succeeding as desired. some of the students eventually drop out before the end of the first year due to the different challenges. these challenges are experienced due to different reasons and factors. hence, the need to explore the fyes of students in the selected university. 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 research questions the study is guided by the following research questions. 1. does the time of issuing firm offers contribute to the first‑year students’ performance/belonging/commitment? 2. does an orientation programme contribute to the first‑year students’ performance/belonging? 3. do the first‑year students get adequate support to ensure academic success? 4. are the fyes of first‑generation students different from those of their counterparts who are not first‑generation students? research methodology the quantitative method was followed in gathering empirical data through questionnaires that were administered amongst first‑year students in the selected university. the total number of student enrolment at the selected university in march 2016 was 3 900. the total first‑year enrolment was 3 900. approximately 38 percent (1 479) of the entire first‑year population was represented in the study. hence, the 38 percent, which is a good representation of the first‑year students, was used. the statistical software spss version  23  was used to perform descriptive and inferential statistical tests. results are as represented in the form of graphs and tables presented below. results the results of the analysed data are presented based on the research questions. research question 1: does firm offer contribute to the fyes of students? figure 1: “did you get a conditional/firm offer in 2015 while waiting for your final matric results?” figure 1 shows that the majority of the students (68%) did not receive a firm offer while waiting for their final matric results in 2015. however, a few (29%) received firm offers, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 chinaza uleanya & yasmin rugbeer: investigation of first‑year learning experiences … 37 while 3% were not sure if they received firm offers. this finding suggests that delays in the issuance of firm offers by universities are caused by a range of factors amongst which are condition and availability of infrastructure, accommodation and high rate of application against few available spaces. condition and availability of infrastructure implies the state of and actual structures like library, lecture theatre, laboratories, amongst other facilities that aid teaching and learning. accommodation refers to the available place of abode such as hostels for students, while high rate of application against few available implies having many applications to review as against having only a few spaces. according to gater and isaaac  (2012) it is wrong for students to be offered admission to study in dilapidated buildings. souriyavongsa, rany, abidin and mei (2013), in support of the need for suitable infrastructure prior to the admission of students, aver that poor infrastructure hampers the learning abilities of students. this implies that in order for students to be provided with firm offers, the infrastructure and accommodation available in the universities must have been duly considered and properly fixed, so as to ensure good and safe conditions for students. suffice to state that delay in the lack of necessary infrastructure and accommodation can be attributed as factors which hindered the issuance of firm offers to first‑year students in the selected university in 2016. this, however, constituted part of their fye. research question 2: does an orientation programme contribute to the fyes of students? figure 2: “did you attend the orientation programme offered by university of zululand?” figure 2 reveals that 53% of the students agree that they attended the orientation programme, while 46% did not attend and 1% of students is unsure. the reason for the non‑attendance of 46% of the students could be due to personal challenges and accommodation issues, amongst others. the finding concurs with the works of mcghie (2012) and muhuro and kang’ethe (2016) who opine that students fail to attend orientation programmes for different reasons such as timing and poor social life style, amongst others. this is in alliance with one of the reasons for this study which aimed at exploring why students fail to attend orientation programmes organised for them despite their importance and usefulness. additionally, steenkamp and baard (2009) state that proper orientation helps to boost the learning abilities of first‑year students, thereby ensuring good academic performance. 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 the 2017 students guide of the university of cape town (faculty of humanities, 2017b) suggests that orientation performs the following functions: release of several important pieces of information at a time in one place; helps students to start university experience on the right track; and puts students in touch with people who will provide due and necessary assistance as they progress in their studies while on campus. suffice to state therefore that the orientation programme of the selected university might have issues with the timing of organisation and package resulting in only 53 percent attendance by students which is relatively low. this implies that such students are expected to have received certain vital information which will serve as a guide towards contributing to their success while on campus. figure 3: “did you have a better understanding of the south african higher education system after attending our orientation programme?” figure 3 reveals that 41% of students who attended the orientation programme agreed that they had a better understanding of the higher education system after attending the orientation programme. however, 46% disagreed, saying that they did not have a better understanding of the higher education system after attending the orientation, while 13% were unsure. this finding suggests that either there are issues with regard to the orientation programme, or the students seem to be experiencing challenges that make them unable to comprehend what is done during the orientation. the work of mcghie (2012), who avers that students sometimes attend orientation programmes for social activities and not to seek and get vital pieces of information, can help to account for the low percentage in students’ attendance. while, the social activities are important, some students get ‘carried away’ by such, rather than being focused, enjoying the social activities, and still receiving the needed information. on the contrary, the green and healy (2008) report for the united kingdom council of international students association (ukcisa) suggests that the poor planning of the programme and delivery of keynotes can hinder students from absorbing the information being communicated during orientation programmes. suffice to state https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 chinaza uleanya & yasmin rugbeer: investigation of first‑year learning experiences … 39 that access to valuable information in relation to where support can be received, reading strategy, motivational talks, faculties and departments, amongst others, empower students. figure 4: “i had a place to stay during orientation” figure 4 shows that while 40% of the students had accommodation during the orientation programme, the majority (55%) of the students had no place to stay. this finding implies that the majority of the students had challenges with accommodation during the orientation programme as some had to move from one place to another seeking somewhere to squat or travel back home. this would have contributed to their composure and ability to receive the desired information during the programme. speckman and mandew’s  (2014) states that lack of accommodation during orientation programmes and learning sessions impacts negatively on the quality of learning received by the students. thus, lack of adequate accommodation for students during the period of the orientation programme would have hampered the quality of learning that would have taken place. moreover, students learn better in conducive environments and when their minds are relaxed. they tend to be disturbed and experience unsettled mindsets when they fail to secure accommodation (holgate, 2012). research question 3: do the first-year students get adequate support to ensure their success? table 1: response of students on having adequate support to pass frequency percentage valid percentage cumulative percentage valid true 713 48.2 48.2 48.2 false 369 24.9 24.9 73.2 not sure 397 26.8 26.8 100.0 total 1479 100.0 100.0 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 table 1 shows the result of students’ responses on having adequate support to pass the first year. the finding shows that 48.2% of the students agree that they have adequate supports such as psychological, infrastructural and academic to pass that year. however, 24.9% disagree, claiming they do not have adequate support, while 26.8% are unsure of having adequate support to pass that year. the number of students who agreed to have adequate support is less than 50% (precisely 48.2%). this suggests that students having adequate support to pass is a major challenge. support in this regard refers to available space for lectures, accommodation and socioeconomic balance, amongst others. figure 5: “if necessary, i know where to find psychological support” figure 5 shows that 44% of the first‑year students do not know where to find psychological support. however, 29% know where to find psychological support while 27% are unsure whether they know where to find such support. this finding suggests that lack of knowledge as to where to find psychological support is contributory to the challenges experienced by first‑year students. steyn, harris and hartell (2014) as well as mugume (2017) aver that first‑year students do not know where to get access to the necessary supports, one of which is psychological support. a review of the 2017 first‑year students’ guide of the university of kwazulu‑natal (faculty of humanities, 2017a) suggests that first‑year students do not know their way around campus and are usually unable to access the necessary supports as and when due. wu, garza and guzman (2015) aver that most international students do not know where to get necessary basic supports because they are novices in terms of both the environment and the institution. by extension, this is the case with first‑year students who tend to live on the assumptions of knowing whereas they do not know where and how to access psychological support because they are new to the environment. this implies that first‑year students experience certain situations within their first few months on campus due to unawareness of where and how to access certain forms of supports. moreover, failure to adjust quickly due to lack of knowledge of where to get needed supports may contribute to their challenges and possibly affect their desired performance. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 chinaza uleanya & yasmin rugbeer: investigation of first‑year learning experiences … 41 figure 6: “i am worried about accommodation” figure 6 reveals that the majority of the first‑year students in the selected university (65%)  are concerned and worried about how to get accommodation. this suggests that the majority of the students are perturbed and hence, psychologically affected, and find it difficult to remain focused. meanwhile, a review of the works of hussain, guppy, robertson and temple (2013), novotney (2014) as well as chiguvi and ndoma  (2018) shows that students are psychologically affected and find it difficult to concentrate on their studies due to lack of accommodation. moreover, holgate (2012) opines that lack of sufficient accommodation in south african universities has led to different crises which have impacted negatively on students. lack of concentration of students in this regard is based on the outcome of crises which have emanated from shortage of accommodation on campus. makoni (2014) avers that shortage of accommodation troubles students and it hinders them from staying focused. uleanya and gamede (2017) state that campus‑based students perform better compared to their off‑campus‑based counterparts. this finding suggests that limited distance between lecture venues and residences, as well as extra time to students’ advantage in enjoying various campus facilities, are contributory to their academic performances. suffice to state that first‑year students, desiring to obtain accommodation on campus due to benefits such as security, continuous access to campus facilities, as well as because campus students appear more integrated, and develop a stronger sense of belonging, amongst other reasons, may cause them to become worried about accommodation due to the shortage in the number of available hostels within and around the campus. 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 research question 4: are the fyes of first-generation students different from those of their counterparts who are not first-generation students? figure 7: “i am a first-generation student (my parents did not graduate with a degree)” figure 7 shows that the majority (82%) of the first‑year students of the selected university agree that they are first‑generation students and their parents are not graduates. however, 15%  disagree saying that they are not first‑generation students and their parents are graduates, while 3% are unsure. the response of 82% (the majority) of the respondents stating that they are first‑generation students could be attributed to the fact that the institution is a historically black university (hbu). this is an indication of the quest for higher education in such rural area where the institution is situated. first‑generation students are referred to as those pursuing a degree though their parents and guardians have not completed any. this is said to put such students in a disadvantaged position. conversely, the selected institution as a rural‑based university is already disadvantaged. hence, students in the institution will be advantaged if their parents are educated. however, the majority of them are first‑generation students, meaning that they are disadvantaged both at home and within the university. this finding corroborates the works of stebleton and soria (2012), jury, smeding and darnon (2015) and wilbur and roscigno (2016) who hold the view that first‑generation students are disadvantaged in various ways such as exposure to classified information and experience, amongst others. meanwhile the work of koricich (2014) shows that most students from rural institutions of learning are first‑ generation students and are usually at risk of poor performance and are negatively affected academically due to lack of adequate guidance, especially from the home. additionally, since the university is a rural university, most of its students will fall within the range of first‑generation students and are prone to failing or dropping out due to lack of desired family support. suffice to state that first‑year students at the selected university will be the most vulnerable if not given adequate support and care, especially when they fall into the category of first‑generation students. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 chinaza uleanya & yasmin rugbeer: investigation of first‑year learning experiences … 43 conclusion the study explored various challenges experienced by first‑year students in universities, using a selected south african rural‑based university as a case study. the study indicated that many students do not attend orientation programmes, and consequently fail to benefit from the information provided. in some cases, where they do attend, they still fail to comprehend the information provided. this could be due to the level of involvement of students during such programmes, as well as their personal issues or challenges. also, the findings of the study show that first‑year students in the selected institution are prone to various challenges ranging from transition from high school to acclimatisation to the university system. the findings suggest that the challenges are caused by a lack of adequate support from appropriate quarters in both the institution and the home, especially in the case of first‑generation students. for instance, some of the challenges emanate from the various forms of support received from home which in most cases is based on the educational background of parents as well as the socioeconomic background of the family. other challenges include university accommodation, orientation programme, counselling support system and prompt issuance of firm offers to the students. recommendations based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made: • orientation programmes should be informative, well planned and organised, taking into cognisance factors such as time, needed facilities and personnel, amongst others. this will help to ensure that students are informed on the basic facilities available to them on campus and how to access such facilities. it will also help to show students how to navigate their way around campus towards overcoming challenges. • the scheduled time for an orientation programme should be timely. in other words, the timing of the programme should be such that the majority of the students will be able to attend. • orientation programmes should be well structured and monitored to help the students stay focused and avoid all forms of distraction. this will encourage many first years to participate, and thus the desired aim of the programme will be achieved. • good facilitation of the orientation programme means that resourceful, motivating, innovative and well‑informed personnel should be allowed to handle the orientation programme. this will help to ensure that the programme is well packaged, planned, implemented and students are well stimulated to work. • good mentorship programmes which give students the opportunity to relate with mentors, express themselves freely regardless of their challenges, taking cognisance of their disadvantaged background, should be provided for first‑year students. this will help them to properly integrate into the university system. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 29‑46 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 • good counselling activities should be encouraged. this is to be done through the office of the students service department (ssd). it will enable the students to perform better academically and otherwise. • promote campus‑wide focus on the student experience. by so doing, students will become aware of the activities on campus, services available for them and the necessary offices that can be of help to them in the advent of encountered challenges. • engage students in the intellectual enterprise and socialise students into university work expectations. this should be done periodically – at the beginning and midway into the semester or session. • expose first‑year students to various learning opportunities – formal curriculum, student life, co‑curricular programming, community‑based and global experiences. • ensure transformation in learning by bringing together teaching, extracurricular activities, counselling, mentoring and peer tutoring during and after the orientation exercise. • students should be motivated to attend orientation programmes considering the benefits. this can be done by attaching and giving gifts to students who attend. this will motivate students to attend. • attendance of orientation programmes by students should be encouraged. this can be done by requesting lecturers and other members of staff to help to inform students on the importance of such programmes, why they should attend and ensure that they pay maximum attention to provided information. also, senior students such as levels 2 and 3 who previously attended and benefited from such programmes, can be given opportunities to give brief testimonies of the benefits of the programmes. in addition, lecturers can be encouraged to attend such programmes. this can motivate students to attend, knowing that their lecturers will be there. meanwhile, other exciting activities such as games, quizzes and awards can be included as motivating factors for students. moreover, students are likely to pay more attention, knowing that they will be asked questions at the 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(2015). international student’s challenge and adjustment to college. education research international, 1‑9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/202753 how to cite: uleanya, c. & rugbeer, y. 2020. investigation of first‑year learning experiences in a rural university in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 29‑46. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://reportal.uzulu.ac.za/uzaudit/index.htm https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2009.11435142 https://doi.org/10.15700/201409161107 https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 https://doi.org/10.2307/1981920 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2019.1653545 https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023116664351 https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/202753 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 223‑234 | 2307‑6267 | doi10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 223 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice disability unit practitioners at stellenbosch university: covid‑19 pandemic reflections marcia lyner‑cleophas,i lizelle apollis,ii ilse erasmus,iii melanie willems,iv latashe poole,v meagan minnaarvi & pippa louwvii i dr marcia lyner-cleophas is head: disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-1460-6313. email: cleophas@sun.ac.za ii ms lizelle apollis is an inclusivity and access support officer and first national bank bursary fund coordinator, disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: ferus1@sun.ac.za iii ms ilse erasmus is a disability resource officer, disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: ilsevw@sun.ac.za iv ms melanie willems is a disability support officer, disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: mwillems@sun.ac.za v ms latashe poole is administrative officer, test and exam concessions, disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: latashep@sun.ac.za vi ms meagan minnaar is a disability resource officer, disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: meagans@sun.ac.za vii ms pippa louw is a disability resource officer, disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: phlouw@sun.ac.za abstract as reflective practitioners working in disability inclusion, we constantly work with shifting realities concerning our students, who are not a homogenous group. the coronavirus pandemic (covid‑19) was a reality least expected in 2020, yet we used our flexible approach to make the transition as smooth as we possibly could. the disability unit (du) is one of five units located within the centre for student counselling and development at stellenbosch university (su) and falls within the responsibility centre of the deputy vice‑chancellor: teaching and learning. the du was founded in 2007 and is 15 years old in 2021. we aim to foster disability inclusion within a transformative framework at su, with our main focus on students with disabilities. our wider aim is universal access, which includes working towards the removal of cultural, social, language and disability barriers in the higher education context. we are guided by the disability access policy (2018) of su. since the latter part of march 2020, we had to shift to online teaching and learning. this came at a time when we were preparing for the end of the term and student support was being put in place. the onset of covid‑19 occasioned unanticipated reflections and challenges, which we share in this article. we also reflect on what we have learnt and how we can move forward in a changed academic environment catapulted into a digital world. we do this reflection by following the gibbs’ reflective cycle (gibbs, 1988) which offers a way to reflect and learn from experience. the cycle is weaved into the reflections as it follows a process of describing the context of the du, expressing how the covid‑19 pandemic was felt by staff and students, evaluating and learning from what was experienced. according to lyner‑cleophas (2020), online learning has benefits and challenges, especially considering students with disabilities. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:cleophas%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:ferus1%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:ilsevw%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:mwillems%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:latashep%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:meagans%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:phlouw%40sun.ac.za?subject= 224 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 223‑234 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 keywords accessible information; assistive technology; disability inclusion; disability unit; hybrid learning; online learning; pandemic; students with disabilities; universal access; universal extra writing time introduction and contextualising the disability unit the stellenbosch university (su) vision 2040 (su, 2018a) and disability access policy (su, 2018b) echo the values that underpin the work of the du. excellence, compassion, accountability, respect and equity are the values that inform our vision at su. we hereby aim for an enabling environment for our students and the systemic disability inclusion of staff and students, although our focus is chiefly on students. we managed to pursue these values during the pandemic. the du had approximately 462 students who had indicated a disability on application to su in 2020. while this is the number of students who disclosed a disability, those who seek support is far greater, totalling approximately 768 students in all years of study that were receiving support in 2020 (su, 2020d). at times, students are known to not disclose a disability, or they do not view their difficulties as a disability. a wide range of students with disabilities are seen at su. these include students with physical or sensory disabilities such as deaf, blind and visually impaired students, chronically ill students and students with neurological difficulties. mental health conditions that require support also fall into this category. the types of support that students receive at su can include extended time on tests and examinations, the use of a computer to write examinations (the main means of communication during covid‑19) and the use of scribes or readers (mainly electronic means are used, such as jaws, zoomtext and read & write). the biopsychosocial model of disability espoused by the world health organization (who,  2002) confirms that people with disabilities are not one‑dimensional. no two students with the same disability are the same. general functioning, biological, psychological, social and political factors, education, health and economics include elements important to consider when students come to university. psychological and emotional realities are highlighted by watermeyer and swartz (2008) as is the impact of the broader social and physical context by oliver (2009). context is clearly important, and the nature of the disability and its manifestation impact various areas of life. a student with a disability will therefore be impacted by what is occurring in broader society and will have psychological and emotional responses to events, whether at domestic, national or international level, like all other students. on a personal level, students with disabilities experience more anxiety than students without, depending on the nature of their disability. the disability access policy is of relevance to su as a whole. this means that disability inclusion on campus is the responsibility of everybody on campus and not only of the du. m. lyner‑cleophas, l. apollis, i. erasmus et al.: disability unit practitioners at stellenbosch university … 225 our general response to covid‑19 just as we were rounding off the first term at su, the covid‑19 pandemic was thrust upon us (su, 2020a). we were finalising our students’ academic support plans and test and examination concessions, putting in place assistive technologies (hardware and software) and ensuring funding in accordance with students’ specific financial and other support needs when the pandemic struck. staff and students were asked to vacate their offices, classrooms, laboratories, libraries and residences at su. this was an anxiety‑provoking and uncertain time for staff and students. our most vulnerable students became more anxious during this time, and we needed to acknowledge and respond to the vulnerability, as well as contain our emotions and experiences of the pandemic. the south african government, su and global organisations such as the united nations (un, 2020) issued notices and policy briefs that care should be shown to the most vulnerable people in society during this time. it was expected that inequalities would be exacerbated during this time and that the educational sector would not be spared. our main response was to provide continued support to students with disabilities through emergency remote teaching, learning and assessment (erlta). while ertla was a challenge for some students and staff, learning took place for all. south african realities the department of higher education in south africa acknowledges the barriers that exist in the post‑school sector for people with disabilities and describes ways in which these obstacles can be overcome, but in broad policy terms only. even though this national disability framework is contested (ngubane‑mokiwa, mutanga & bothwell, 2018), it nonetheless provides a foundation to build on. emphasis is placed on the digital economy and assistive devices and how these add to the support to students with disabilities. the covid‑19 pandemic exacerbated the inequalities in africa (un, 2020). inequalities were witnessed at su too, but these could mostly be sorted out through negotiations between students and su despite initial south african government guidelines and policies. for example, it was easy for certain students to go home at short notice when asked to do so but more challenging for those who experienced funding restraints and had to travel long distances. taking national or international flights home was not an easy option. most students commute to campus daily and stay on campus to have access to wi‑fi and data given the existing infrastructural networks, particularly when access at their homes is non‑existent or their circumstances are not conducive to study. a few students with disabilities did stay in stellenbosch, in either private or su residences during this time. they had to adjust to being isolated from other students and staff during the hard lockdown and to only focus on their studies. to the students who stayed behind, they felt that they were in a hard lockdown throughout the varying levels of the pandemic, as they were restricted to their residences. all safety and social distancing precautions determined by the south african government had to be adhered to. 226 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 223‑234 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 academic support and counselling online the ertla was instituted to include all students in the online environment and to facilitate successful study (su, 2020b). this developed to the extent that during the second semester, further student engagement was put in place. this included online tutors, flexible assessment practices, and a mentor programme for certain modules, additional online assessments and assignments, increased consultation time and increased synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities. accessibility in ertla developed well since the start of the lockdown, and flexibility was introduced. while students initially only received a powerpoint presentation or a voice recording explaining the powerpoint, it helped, especially deaf students, to have the recordings converted into text for better access. deaf students who used south african sign language as a first language found that their interpreters could establish a workable online medium to explain presentations sent to them by their lecturers. they also did online assessments with sign language interpretation. sufficient data, access to devices, good bandwidth and electricity access became additional matters to contend with, particularly during the first semester. lecturers had to find ways to do assessments in an inclusive manner. many found universal extra time measures to be a good solution to connectivity issues, and this benefitted all students. they felt at ease that they would have sufficient time to complete assignments and assessments. additional extra time during online assessments was granted where this was approved by su, also through an online process. academic support consultations took place via ms teams, whatsapp, telephone and zoom. we were very flexible in our response to students during this time, providing psychosocial support as well as academic counselling as needed to students with disabilities. most students had adjusted by the end of the second term. collaboration‑enhanced flexibility when students left campus, they increasingly experienced data constraints and problems with hardware. this was largely addressed by agreements between su and technology service providers, telecom companies such as mweb, cell‑c and vodacom, the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas) and the department of higher education and training. the university developed various work streams, including the teaching and learning work stream. training of lecturers took place during april, and students were given further guidance on how to access teaching and learning material on their learning management system called sunlearn. specific information was also shared with the focus on students with disabilities, such as how to apply for test and examination concessions and how extra time would work online (su, 2020b). in the teaching and learning work stream, there was student representative council representation, including a special needs manager. this student had a visual disability and worked very closely with the du and the teaching and learning work stream, providing pertinent information on students’ experiences during the pandemic, which informed better practices. m. lyner‑cleophas, l. apollis, i. erasmus et al.: disability unit practitioners at stellenbosch university … 227 some students with neurodevelopmental disabilities, for whom the lack of structure made it hard to adapt to the home environment, found the transition to ertla disruptive. this created increased anxiety. classes were not always at set times and recordings of lectures were often sent later, which made it hard for students to manage their time and develop their own programme. however, students who experienced social anxiety often found this transition to be easier as they did not have to contend with the anxiety around interactions and the big classroom spaces of su. some students with psychosocial difficulties could also adjust their day according to their sleep pattern (widnall, 2020). phased‑in return of students in a measured and cautious manner, a third of students were allowed to return to campus around mid‑year but in an online way as far as possible, including practical and research‑ based course work. the necessary physical distancing and hygiene measures were in place. returning to the various campuses was done in phases and under controlled circumstances. firstly, the faculty of medicine and health sciences welcomed its final‑year students back to the tygerberg campus. after this, final‑year students who had to be on campus for research purposes, practical sessions and laboratory work or who were experiencing extreme difficulties at home could return to our main campus. the return of the remaining two‑thirds of students commenced at the start of writing this article and was instituted from 1 september. detailed plans for students had not been implemented, except that the ertla support mechanism process was to continue in most faculties. certain students with disabilities were requested, by invitation, to return to campus as they were struggling in the online environment to adapt to coursework, which they found useful. additionally, if students struggled in the home environment, they could return to residences while still adhering to the necessary social distancing and hygiene regulations. financial support in south africa, no specific ring‑fenced funding for students with disabilities is built into subsidies to universities. students in the low‑income brackets can source funding through the nsfas, a government funding scheme that ensures access to funds for tuition, accommodation, meals, books, living costs, and assistive technology and support. when the pandemic struck, the nsfas decided that all students receiving funding would receive laptops. this came after su had already embarked on a drive to ascertain which students needed data and devices such as laptops to continue their studies online. about 1 500 su students received laptops. these are on loan to students and if returned will not be charged against their student account at the end of lockdown. those who do not return the laptop will be charged for it at the end of lockdown. the nsfas offered to pay such charges for any nsfas‑funded student who borrowed a laptop from universities and wished to keep it after 2020. during these difficult times, all nsfas‑funded students received their full food allowances, book allowances and accommodation fees for the year, 228 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 223‑234 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 bearing in mind that su did cost adjustments for students who left campus and were not using campus services such as residences on campus. a payment relief agreement was made. however, students with annual family incomes above r600 000 south african rands do not have access to funding from nsfas. the importance of private sector funds as an adjunct to funding in the disability sector in the post‑school sector cannot be emphasised enough, given this context. additionally, the du receives private sector funding from first national bank, one of the biggest banks in south africa. through the firstrand foundation that manages the bank’s corporate social investment projects, it supports a range of sectors, such as education. su is one of the beneficiaries of such funding. the du had built in a large contingency fund with the firstrand foundation to cover any unexpected expenses incurred by students with disabilities. this was invaluable as requests that arose during the pandemic were for extra tutoring in the online environment, extra data for tutors and students, and assistance with an internet package to enable academic work off campus. the funding provided by the firstrand foundation allowed us to provide a mentor who helped to support students during lockdown. to have a fellow student with a disability check in with a firstrand‑funded student was invaluable as students often felt isolated and confused during this time. both the nsfas and first national bank were flexible about support during the pandemic. the michael and susan dell foundation was an additional funder that enabled support in the online environment (su, 2020c), and this funding was only procured during ertla. course workload adaptations many students reported an increase in workload during the off‑campus and online work period. at times students became overwhelmed by the heavy workload and this added much stress to their already stressed lives. the university gave students a chance to deregister from study modules with no negative consequences during the first semester, and these modules could be resumed in the new academic year in 2021. this provided much relief to many students, although some were uncertain about this due to not knowing how long the pandemic would last. we provided academic counselling to a few students with disabilities who were at risk of deregistering entirely. in most cases, we managed to assist them with lightening their course load so that they did not deregister completely but rather staggered their course load by deregistering for some subjects and focusing on those that they could cope with. some students with learning disabilities experienced increased anxiety, and they opted for this solution as well. assistive technology in the online environment the use of technology became increasingly universal for all students in the online environment (su, 2020b). support measures were put in place to assist students with online learning. through long‑time collaboration between the du and humarga (an su computer user area for students in the humanities), specialist knowledge regarding assistive m. lyner‑cleophas, l. apollis, i. erasmus et al.: disability unit practitioners at stellenbosch university … 229 technology is shared and students are generally adequately supported in this way. many students with disabilities were already acquainted with assistive technologies as an adjunct to the technology generally used by all students, such as computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. assistive technology commonly used for reading, assignments and assessments at su includes jaws, zoom text and read & write (lyner‑cleophas, 2019). students are very grateful for this relatively easy access to assistive technology support. it provides invaluable academic support and allows for better access to academic material, in line with our policy of improving access to students with disabilities, which is not only physical but also regarding information. about 49 students used the services of the resource office at the du in 2020 where learning material is adapted. staff here also source e‑books. despite the shift off campus, material could still be adapted, although the channel of distribution to the students shifted to onedrive and dropbox. since the students had assistive technology available on their personal computers, they could continue to study independently. for example, a blind student studying theology is continuing his biblical hebrew studies with his tutor using skype meetings and pre‑recorded lectures. his learning material in braille is made available in an electronic format that he can read on his electronic braille display. he would not have been able to continue his biblical hebrew studies without this technology as it was impossible to produce hardcopy braille material during lockdown. certain platforms such as sunlearn, ms teams and zoom are a challenge to navigate with assistive technology such as screen readers and braille displays. some students needed extra training before they were able to take part in discussions, access learning material and complete assessments. assessments in the online environment and adaptations students with disabilities in particular were anxious about how they would be able to link up to classes once the new term started in april 2020 and do their assessments, particularly in cases where they received scribes and extra time as support when on campus. online quizzes were formative ways to assess students’ knowledge in certain areas of work. concerns were raised by students about being granted extra time for these quizzes. for the most part, the online quizzes worked well and lecturers could make individual adaptations to students’ quiz time. during the june 2020 examinations, all students were granted examination paper downloading time of mainly five minutes and uploading time of mainly thirty minutes after they had completed their papers. this allowed for any internet uploading and downloading difficulties that students might have experienced during the examination starting and completion process – universal extra time was allowed for the technological processes to be completed. however, there were lecturers who were not aware of this concession or forgot to provide extra time. some lecturers also thought that the extra uploading and downloading time would be sufficient for those students with disabilities who already qualified for extra time. such students, however, needed extra time additional to the extra uploading and downloading time granted to all. where such 230 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 223‑234 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 uncertainties emerged, lecturers made the necessary allowances. lecturers also had to learn how to adjust extra time for quizzes as this form of formative assessment was often used during ertla. test and examination concessions: background in line with the su policy for inclusivity regarding assessments, we have a well‑established process in place whereby students can apply for test and examination concessions depending on their specific disability. during ertla, the process to apply for concessions at su shifted to a fully electronic system where applications for test and exam concessions were worked through on an ms teams group and where applications could only be sent to skryftyd@sun.ac.za and the option to hand in a hardcopy was eliminated. most buildings were closed with most staff members working online and off campus. the extra writing time committee could not meet physically, but the members sent their comments via an electronic system to each other for approval. once approved, the specific concessions were loaded onto the examination system. however, official letters could not be printed for students to collect at offices, due to their closure during this time. confirmation of extra writing time letters were thus emailed to students and faculty support officers informed lecturers that the extra writing time and other concessions had been loaded onto the class lists. the practice of loading of the concessions that students are granted has been in place for a few years. an awareness already exists on the part of lecturers about specific concessions to students, and they ensure that the necessary support is put in place, such as enlarged test papers, extra writing time, writing in a separate venue and electronic question papers due to students’ using screen readers to read the papers. during level 3 lockdown, the examinations office officials received permission to go to the office to print the concession letters, sign them, and scan and email them to all students who needed these letters. letters could not be sent via the postal services as these were delayed and students’ addresses were not always accurate on the su system. after the 2020 registration, most students did not receive their updated concession letters for the year. as the covid‑19 lockdown started on 26 march 2020 in south africa, before most tests were written, students did not have their official su letters, which caused high anxiety when online quizzes took place when the second term started. in the rush to leave campus, several students who had updated their letters for 2020 left their letters at their residences. numerous applications for concessions were received for the june examinations as students became anxious regarding the impact that ertla was having on their studies. online assessments made students anxious too. if an assessment that stretched over a few days was given to students, extra time was normally not granted because it was not as time pressured as a one‑, two‑ or three‑hour assessment. universal granting of extra time was practised by a few faculties as an accommodation measure during this time. student appointments in the disability unit students would usually come to our offices physically to make an appointment. some students might have been reluctant to make an appointment due to social stigma or other mailto:skryftyd%40sun.ac.za?subject= m. lyner‑cleophas, l. apollis, i. erasmus et al.: disability unit practitioners at stellenbosch university … 231 anxieties around being seen at the centre for student counselling and development where the du is situated. approaching a disability support facility could also be construed as stigmatising to some students. during ertla, students could make appointments for virtual sessions via email to a generic disability@sun.ac.za email address or contact us individually. we had updated information sent by su regularly for students to access support services, and contact details were very clear. we had regular contact with new and existing (pre‑covid‑19) students. office phone numbers were diverted to staff members’ cell phone numbers and skype for business. many used ms teams as well for calls. this provided a degree of anonymity and a less exposed way of engaging with staff about their disability. in the online space, nobody would see students walking to our offices and this brought a measure of comfort to hesitant students who see our services or their disability as stigmatised. the disability unit: work‑life balance one of the five values of the su vision 2040 is compassion and respect for staff and students. not only students but also the staff who supported them had to manage their workload and time in their home environments, which often had their own dynamics, especially when children were also not attending school and had to receive home schooling. staff members generally structured their day to ensure work‑life balance. flexibility and not being too hard on oneself were important for wellness and self‑care. setting small goals, taking regular breaks, practising self‑discipline, doing reflection and obtaining spiritual nurturance while ensuring that national lockdown rules were observed were a challenge but kept staff members balanced and well. as for students, internet connectivity, suitable hardware and load shedding were realities that had to be dealt with. conclusion and learnings we learnt that being an effective student or worker does not restrict one to the confines of an office or a lecture hall. flexibility emerged as a big driver for effective work and study and could be considered as an important factor in a post‑covid‑19 environment given resource pressures and constraints and the holistic wellness of staff and students. once data and devices had been acquired or upgraded, staff could continue to function online. students were engaged via email, whatsapp, telephone, cell phone, zoom and microsoft teams, in most instances. a hybridised mode of working, learning and assessment is possible given our diversity. universal extra time is possible and all students benefit from it for various reasons, and given their diverse learning needs. this has been inadvertently tested as students with specific disabilities who had difficulty with class attendance, have previously asked for recorded lectures or podcasts, and this was never deemed possible. now we know that students can get access to lecture material in various ways. our systemic and collaborative way of working with students with disabilities has been and will continue to be strengthened. a new student management system, sunstudent, is being developed and will enhance students’ online presence and enable better access for all. this online system has been put to mailto:disability%40sun.ac.za?subject= 232 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 223‑234 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 the test in many ways, including our test and examination concessions application processes, and will be incorporated into the student data management system. tele‑counselling and tele‑consulting constituted additional learning for us. we used all means possible to continue to reach our students. many students already use email as their main means of communication. this was strengthened during ertla. in future while most of what could be implemented is sustainable, we will need to think about aspects that are not, such as the data that was accessible to students during the pandemic. while it might not be possible to continue to provide data for off‑campus classes, the hybrid way of working can ensure that students can access good bandwidth through their computer user areas, as done prior to the onset of the pandemic. recorded classes or podcasts can be downloaded when on campus and be viewed data‑free when at home, where there are bandwidth and data challenges. we were afforded a chance to expand our means of communicating with our students, and in so doing reaching more students. in certain cases, students are more comfortable communicating via digital communication due to the stigma of disability and wanting to be less visible. we also became more aware of the protection of personal information in the online environment, regarding academic support and counselling sessions and students expressing their difficulties. the protection of personal information act (popia) will come into force in july 2021. we will need to ensure that information that should be protected is indeed protected in the increasingly digital environment and broaden access to students using our services through securing privacy for those who prefer this means of communication with our services in student affairs. we will continue to work in a hybrid fashion with less staff presence in the office and more staff working from home. our students will still be served effectively in a hybrid way of support, and we will meet with those whom we need to either virtually or face to face in the office and depending on their preferences for privacy. ongoing reflection on the hybrid way of working will take place during the coming months and years. assistive technology and accessible information are two crucial elements that we have seen enhance student engagement with our services as well as teaching, learning and assessment. we need to ensure that no students are excluded from support services due to not having this access in place. we will continue to liaise with funding partners like we have been over many years and prior to the establishment of the du in 2007, to continue to assist students with appropriate and updated technologies. ongoing collaboration with stakeholders on campus, but especially the private sector, is important in the digital educational environment. assistive technologies (software and hardware) and access to data are strong enablers for the success of our students and how we render services. we will continue to strengthen this as we build and expand our support services. m. lyner‑cleophas, l. apollis, i. erasmus et al.: disability unit practitioners at stellenbosch university … 233 acknowledgements to all the students who mostly did well in adjusting to the online teaching and learning environment despite their specific learning needs, we are proud of you. to the staff who worked tirelessly and unselfishly and showed great flexibility to ensure that students were fully supported with their online teaching, learning, accessible texts and assessment needs. well done! we are grateful to our partner humarga who advised students on suitable assistive technologies. our student assistant’s input as a mentor and millennial is immeasurable. research ethics this is a reflective piece of writing, and all reflections are those of the relevant staff members from the du. no ethics approval was needed for this reflection on covid‑19 and support for students with disabilities from the vantage point of the du at su. conflict of interest no conflict of interest arose in the writing of this reflective piece as the authentic voices of staff members and their experiences emerged. funding no funding was sought for this reflective piece of writing. disclaimer the views expressed in this article reflect the experiences of staff members working at the du at su. references gibbs, g. (1988). learning by doing, a guide to teaching and learning methods. https://www.brookes.ac.uk/ ocsld/ lyner‑cleophas, m.m. (2019). assistive technology enables inclusion in higher education – the role of higher and further education disability services association (hedsa). african journal on disability, 8. https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v8i0.558 lyner‑cleophas, m.m. (2020). online teaching should also consider students with disabilities. http://www.sun. ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7441 ngubane‑mokiwa, s., mutanga, o. & bothwell, m. (2018). south africa’s new higher education disability policy is important, but flawed. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329247845_south_africa%27s_ new_higher_education oliver, m. (2009). understanding disability. from theory to practice. palgrave macmillan. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/978‑1‑137‑05492‑0 su (stellenbosch university) (2018a). vision 2040 and strategic framework 2019–2024. https://www.sun. ac.za/english/documents/strategic_docs/2018/vision‑2040‑strategic‑framework‑2019‑2024.pdf su (2018b). disability access policy. https://www.sun.ac.za/english/policy/policy%20documents/disability %20access%20policy%201%20april%202018.pdf https://www.brookes.ac.uk/ocsld/ https://www.brookes.ac.uk/ocsld/ https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v8i0.558 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7441 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7441 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329247845_south_africa%27s_new_higher_education https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329247845_south_africa%27s_new_higher_education https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-05492-0 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-05492-0 https://www.sun.ac.za/english/documents/strategic_docs/2018/vision-2040-strategic-framework-2019-202 https://www.sun.ac.za/english/documents/strategic_docs/2018/vision-2040-strategic-framework-2019-202 https://www.sun.ac.za/english/policy/policy%20documents/disability%20access%20policy%201%20april%202 https://www.sun.ac.za/english/policy/policy%20documents/disability%20access%20policy%201%20april%202 234 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 223‑234 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 su (2020a). the role of the institutional committee for business continuity in covid‑19 pandemic. http://www. sun.ac.za/english/documents/institutional%20committee%20for%20business%20continuity.pdf su (2020b). online learning and teaching support for students. http://www.sun.ac.za/english/online‑teaching‑ support‑students su (2020c). su strengthens academic and psychosocial support for students. https://www.sun.ac.za/english/lists/ news/dispform.aspx?id=7594 su (2020d). extra writing time report to the registrar 2020. unpublished report. un (united nations) (2020). policy brief: education during covid‑19 and beyond. https://www.un.org/ development/desa/dspd/wpcontent/uploads/sites/22/2020/08/sg_policy_brief_covid‑19_and_ education_august_2020.pdf watermeyer, b. & swartz, l. (2008). conceptualising the psycho‑emotional aspects of disability and impairment: the distortion of personal and psychic boundaries. disability & society, 23(6), 599‑610. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590802328477 who (world health organization (2002). towards a common language for functioning, disability and health. https://www.who.int/classifications/icf/icfbeginnersguide.pdf?ua=1 widnall, e. (2020). school closures had positive effects on some teenagers’ mental health, our new research suggests. https://theconversation.com/school‑closures‑had‑positive‑effects‑on‑some‑teenagers‑mental‑ health‑our‑new‑research‑suggests‑144884 how to cite: lyner‑cleophas, m., apollis, l., erasmus, i., willems, m., poole, l., minnaar, m. & louw, p. (2021). disability unit practitioners at stellenbosch university: covid‑19 pandemic ref lections. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 223‑234. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1440 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/documents/institutional%20committee%20for%20business%20continuity.pdf http://www.sun.ac.za/english/documents/institutional%20committee%20for%20business%20continuity.pdf http://www.sun.ac.za/english/online-teaching-support-students http://www.sun.ac.za/english/online-teaching-support-students https://www.sun.ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7594 https://www.sun.ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7594 https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wpcontent/uploads/sites/22/2020/08/sg_policy_brief_covid-19_and_education_august_2020.pdf https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wpcontent/uploads/sites/22/2020/08/sg_policy_brief_covid-19_and_education_august_2020.pdf https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wpcontent/uploads/sites/22/2020/08/sg_policy_brief_covid-19_and_education_august_2020.pdf https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590802328477 https://www.who.int/classifications/icf/icfbeginnersguide.pdf?ua=1 https://theconversation.com/school-closures-had-positive-effects-on-some-teenagers-mental-health-our https://theconversation.com/school-closures-had-positive-effects-on-some-teenagers-mental-health-our _gjdgxs _hlk65843669 _hlk65918464 404 not found journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 75‑87 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 75 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article diversity includes disability: experiences of resilience in a university residence princess thulile duma* * mrs princess thulile duma is a lecturer in the human resource management department at mangosuthu university of technology, durban, south africa. email: ptduma@mut.ac.za abstract the provision of residence accommodation is a persistent challenge that is faced by universities across the globe. however, suitable accommodation for students with disabilities is an even greater challenge that is exacerbated by the absence of appropriately designed, maintained and managed residences. in particular, the adverse impact on wheelchair users and students whose disabilities require specific design adaptations is acute. this article will focus on the experiences of students with disabilities in university residences. the study on which this article is based employed a phenomenological theoretical approach with ‘resilience’ as the conceptual framework. the findings reveal that many stressors impacted students with disabilities in university residences and that these stressors potentially hampered their performance. however, these students developed personal attributes and ways of responding to the stressors they encountered, and many devised social networks utilisation to address their challenges and navigate institutional barriers. a particular focus was that embracing diversity is crucial for all operations at universities to counteract the discrimination and stigmatisation that are often experienced by students with disabilities. keywords access; accommodation; belonging; diversity; resilience; students with disabilities introduction: residence accommodation in south african universities the massification of higher education globally has substantially widened access for all types of students, particularly students with disabilities. this has resulted in a significant increase in the numbers of students with disabilities who have enrolled at universities (kim & lee,  2016; timmerman & mulvihill, 2015), and it has required the intensification of specifically adapted academic and accommodation facilities at universities (mugume & luescher, 2015; odundo, origa, nyandega & ngaruiya, 2015). one important provision for students at universities is appropriate residence accommodation (ajayi, nwosu & ajani, 2015; gilson & dymond, 2010; najib, yusof & sani, 2012). a number of studies on student residences (abdullahi, yusoff & gwamna, 2017; kim & lee, 2016) show that students’ performance is highly dependent on the physical and non‑physical facilities that the institution provides. however, the literature has shown https://doi.org/: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:ptduma%40mut.ac.za?subject= 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 75‑87 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 that many institutions fail to meet residence accommodation obligations and that this has resulted in poor academic performance and high attrition rates by affected students (abdullahi et al., 2017). residence issues are a perennial problem for universities and frequently surface in demands by protesting students (mugume & luescher, 2015; odundo et al., 2015; yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013). students’ demands have highlighted issues such as the poor management of residences, a lack of basic facilities, the distance of residences from teaching venues, and rules that compel students to remove their belongings during recess periods (ajayi et al., 2015; egwunyenga, 2009; oke, aigbavboa & raphiri, 2017). in south africa, similar problems led to the establishment of a ministerial committee in 2012, to investigate the extent of the problems arising from the unsatisfactory state of student residences at some universities (department of higher education and training [dhet], 2015). the committee’s report emphasises the importance of well‑managed residences and notes that students who are accommodated in residences with good facilities tend to perform better than those who live off‑campus or in residences with a poor infrastructure. moreover, the committee drew attention to suitable accommodation for students with disabilities. while universities in general had adequately managed and functioning residences, the committee found little effort had been channelled into making residence accommodation suitable for students with disabilities. for example, a small percentage of residences provided access for wheelchair users or had suitably adapted toilets or bathrooms, and most universities did not have accommodation policies for physically challenged students. van der merwe (2017, p. 2) cites an interview with a young activist for people with disabilities who attested to the poor state of residence accommodation: if you don’t have the necessary survival skills it is very hard. you are in a residence, you have never cooked, ironed, made your bed by yourself, and you must do these things on top of the struggles with your academic work, all without the necessary support. you feel useless, like you want to quit. south africa has comprehensive legislation on promoting accessibility and inclusivity for people with disabilities. for example, universities are required by law to provide proper housing for students with disabilities (dhet, 2015) and student residences are expected to be conducive to academic activities outside the classroom (egwunyenga, 2009). however, most universities have struggled to establish residences that accommodate the various needs of students with disabilities (dunn & dunkel, 2013; mugume & luescher, 2015). in some cases, universities have turned to public–private partnerships for assistance, although these initiatives have not been without setbacks (mcbride, 2017; mugume & luescher, 2015; taylor, 2017). studies have shown that finances and a lack of the availability of land have been major challenges in the quest to provide suitable accommodation for diverse student bodies. most universities prefer to accommodate students with disabilities on campus for safety and for easier access to central facilities such as libraries and lecture rooms, but the conversion of outdated buildings and residences is costly and thus highly challenging. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 princess thulile duma: diversity includes disability – experiences of resilience in a university residence 77 the dhet (2013) estimates that the south african university student population will reach 1.6 million by 2030. in anticipation of the concomitant student accommodation requirements, the dhet expects that universities will have provided at least 400 000 additional beds by that time. commentators see this as a positive development, provided that residence accommodation meets universal design standards such as user‑friendly access for all students regardless of their disability status (powell, 2013; watchorn, larkin, ang & hitch, 2013). it is with this initiative in mind that this article considers the resilience factor that students with disabilities possess. it also explores how this impacts their experiences of university residence life. the guiding question that the study asked was: “how do students with disabilities overcome the challenges they experience in university residences?” overview of the literature on residence problems for students with disabilities the literature on students with disabilities in the higher education context mainly refers to the accommodation of students in classrooms, laboratories and libraries (chiwandire & vincent,  2017; matshedisho, 2010) as these students continue to experience physical access and attitudinal barriers to their participation in lectures, laboratories and practical training (lyner‑cleophas, swart, chataika & bell, 2014; tugli, zungu, ramakuela, goon & anyanwu, 2013). the cited studies point out that poorly designed teaching and learning infrastructure can cause both academic and social exclusion of students with disabilities. in response to widespread concern about the provision of inadequate and unsuitable facilities for students with disabilities in university residences, a growing body of literature has explored this issue (ajayi et al., 2015). various studies point out that students with disabilities face challenges such as manoeuvring through multi‑level buildings or accessing common rooms and cooking facilities (timmerman & mulvihill, 2015). apart from infrastructural issues that students with disabilities may encounter, the assignment of roommates can also give rise to problems (egwunyenga, 2009; payne, 2017). because residences are ‘a home from home’ for students, there is an expectation that roommates should live in harmony and mutual respect and that they should accept each other as members of a ‘family’. residence committees thus commonly organise inter‑ residential activities to build relationships. however, it often happens that students with disabilities feel discriminated against or excluded (gilson & dymond, 2010; lourens, 2015). tolman (2017, p. 532) stresses the importance of residence life for all students, noting that it shapes their behaviours and that their academic success hinges on it because “… at the heart of this residential experience are social interactions and the feeling of belonging to the campus community”. depending on their specific disabilities, students may need assistance from a roommate or other students. potential roommates for students with disabilities therefore need to be identified and supported. some universities have made progress in embracing diversity through initiatives such as the listen, live and learn (lll) project at stellenbosch university that encourages social cohesion and enables all participants to plan and work together as members of the student community (smorenburg & dunn, 2014). 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 75‑87 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 however, studies have also noted that students with disabilities may be exposed to exploitation such as being made to pay for assistance given by other students. more disturbingly, in some instances their assistance extended to the demand for sexual favours. for example, lourens (2015) reported serious instances of abuse experienced by blind students in the higher education context. a particular problem that is exposed in research studies is that residence managers frequently lack understanding of the social consequences of being disabled, which distorts their perception of persons with disabilities. therefore, in conjunction with the many shortcomings in the design of buildings, ignorance on the part of university authorities may equally affect the services provided to students with disabilities. according to matshedisho (2010, p. 743), there seems to be confusion as to whose responsibility it is to deal with students with disabilities, and the consequence is “that assistance to these students is treated as an act of benevolence”. against this backdrop, the acquisition of competency skills and the ongoing development of residential staff are important if the welfare of students living in residences is taken seriously. dunn and dunkel (2013) suggest that residential staff needs to acquire specific administrative, communicative and foundational knowledge in line with international standards. theoretical approach a key issue in disability research is “to put insider experience at the centre of how we understand and think about disability issues” (swartz, 2014, p. 2). in its philosophical positioning towards students with disabilities, this study therefore adopted a phenomenological approach by focusing on the lived experiences of students with disabilities and drawing meaning from their narratives (groenewald, 2004; van manen,  2007). this approach was appropriate for an exploration of how students with disabilities understood and made meaning of their experiences in a university residence and for addressing the research question that queried what it meant to be a student with a physical disability living in a university residence. conceptual framework: resilience resilience is defined as “the potential to exhibit resourcefulness by using internal and external resources in response to different contextual and developmental challenges” (pooley & cohen, 2010, p. 30). resilience thus refers to the ways in which individuals or groups achieve successful outcomes despite challenging circumstances. resilience has been scientifically measured using various scales to determine factors such as inner strength, competence, optimism, flexibility, coping effectively when faced with adversity, minimising the impact of stressful life events, and enhancing protective factors such as social support (abiola & udofia, 2011). in academic contexts, resilience has been associated with self‑ efficacy beliefs and adaptive help‑seeking (bandura, 1993). in this study, resilience was identified by the participants themselves when they illuminated the ways in which they responded to the challenges of residence life. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 princess thulile duma: diversity includes disability – experiences of resilience in a university residence 79 personal attributes responding to challenges social networks resilience figure 1: conceptual framework – resilience factors the concept of resilience can be clustered into three broad areas: (1) personal attributes (e.g. self‑efficacy beliefs); (2) ways in which the student responds to challenges (e.g. with optimism and flexibility); and (3) the extent to which the student has a network of supportive peers, family and others (e.g. a disability representative). these three concepts were found to be interlinked as they all contributed to the resilience of students with disabilities who lived in a university residence. methodology for understanding the lived experiences of students with disabilities phenomenology as a research methodology has two main components: ‘epoché ’, which refers to the process in which the researcher attempts to open herself to the interviewees’ experiences in a pre‑reflective way; and ‘reduction’, which is the process in which the researcher reflects on the experiences of the study participants for the purpose of meaning‑ making and analysis (van manen, 2007). the tool that was used to enter into the lived experiences of the participants was semi‑structured interviews. the students were thus able to share their authentic experiences of university residences with the researcher, who subsequently reflected on the interview transcripts to interpret and make sense of the students’ lived experiences through “delineating units of meaning” and “clustering of units of meaning to form themes” (groenewald, 2004). the units of meaning and clustering of these units illuminated the resilience indicators as identified in the literature through the students’ experiences as communicated during the interviews. sampling in light of the small number of students with disabilities enrolled at the university under study, the sample comprised three wheelchair users and four students with dwarfism. of the seven participants, only one was a male. in the absence of a disability unit at the university, the students were identified with the assistance of the student counselling unit. consent was obtained from all seven participating students. it is acknowledged that disability takes many different forms, but students with other forms of disability did not form part of this study. 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 75‑87 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 data collection and analysis a semi‑structured interview was conducted with each of the participating students. the interviews were recorded and transcribed and the interview transcripts were then studied and coded to reveal both the common themes emerging across the seven interviews and the differences amongst the students’ experiences. ethical considerations ethical considerations are important in a research study involving marginalised communities (danaher, cook, danaher, coombes & danaher, 2013). permission to conduct the study was granted by the university and an informed consent form was signed by each participant. extreme care was taken to respect the rights of the participants and to conduct the interviews at a location and time that were most convenient for them. conducting most of the interviews in the residences further enhanced the researcher’s ability to be present in their lived worlds. the consent form was formulated to inform the participants of the purpose of the study and it explicitly indicated their rights, such as the right to withdraw from the study at any time should they feel uncomfortable. data analysis based on the literature review, the research data were grouped into three broad themes as evidence of resilience: (1) personal factors; (2) ways of responding to challenges; and (3) the availability and utilisation of social networks. optimism, self-efficacy beliefs and competence a student’s experiences of residence life are strongly influenced by his or her background (kumpfer, 1995). the students who had experienced independence before (e.g. they had been in a boarding school) were more likely to cope as they had a more positive attitude and enjoyed residence life. the participants’ responses highlighted the importance of optimism for successful adaptation to living in a residence. one student explained: as much as university life is challenging, it is quite a good experience where you live with strangers, learning to understand and coping with different characters. i never thought living in a residence will be like a normal life. people in the residence are receptive. it exposes you in different ways and [you] enjoy being a young person. (student 1) another student commented on how self‑efficacy belief enabled a positive and optimistic outlook: i was not scared to come to the university especially staying in the residence but i had that concern that it will not be the same as in the special school, since there we all had some sort of disability. but i had told myself that i would cope with whatever i encountered. i am now fine, because i have friends as well. (student 2) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 princess thulile duma: diversity includes disability – experiences of resilience in a university residence 81 a sense of self‑efficacy is important in adapting to a challenging environment as it encourages perseverance and self‑worth (bandura, 1993; bergen, 2013). this is also an important attitude in developing one’s independence as one grows into adulthood. coping effectively when faced with adversity students with disabilities face challenges on a daily basis. these challenges range from access to bathing facilities to access to laundry facilities and life‑supporting necessities such as regular meals. poorly designed residence infrastructure makes it difficult for students with disabilities to access essential facilities, which was a point that was elucidated by one of the participants: the kitchen is on a floor above [my room] which is accessed through stairs and there is only one café which caters for all students in the university. this is outside the block and there are no shelters leading to it in case of rainy weather. when i first came here in my first year, i got sick because my daily diet was bread and ‘vetkoekies’. i had a serious constipation problem and i had to see the doctor. my main challenge, i was in a boarding school before and meals were prepared for us and at home i do not cook at all. this forced me to do an illegal thing of cooking in the room. stoves are prohibited in the residence but under these circumstances, it is the only way to survive. (student 3) the student’s disclosure that she resorted to cooking in her bedroom despite the risks illustrated flexibility as a characteristic of resilience. it also elucidated risk‑taking as an element for survival. this finding is also in line with dhet (2015) where it was found that malnutrition is a concern for some students living in university residences. many of the challenges experienced by the participants were common to most students, but some affected students with disabilities in particular because of the nature of their disability. their coping strategies, the adaptation period, and the required skills to survive were therefore also different. nonetheless, all the participants showed resilience and were able to cope in their respective environments, which is a finding that corroborated a finding by bergan (2013). it was found that strategies to reduce stress were essential and that devising flexible methods to solve problems alleviated the impact of adversities. one student demonstrated admirable resilience in her flexible response to the challenge of finding a quiet space and a suitable time to study: our computer laboratory is just a study hall since computers have never worked in that laboratory. we bring our own laptops and that is why having a security [guard] is important. studying in the residence is not easy; students make noise and it becomes difficult to concentrate. our computer laboratory is noisy sometimes as other students use it for group meetings. there is a lack of control in that space. i prefer to study from midnight when it is mostly quiet. it is easy for me that way because i attend [classes] in the evening. i do not have to wake up early in the morning. i mostly do my group projects in the computer laboratory during the day [as] it is quite convenient. (student 4) 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 75‑87 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 adaptive help-seeking and social networks resilience is associated with a supportive social environment, the ability to effectively utilise social networks and social media, and the willingness to access these. the participants also acknowledged the significant role played by their roommates, management officials, and other supportive people in their lives. the findings showed that resilience was about negotiating their space with others. the participants first had to understand their own capabilities and then they had to make others aware of their strengths, and thus they could work collaboratively with others to achieve positive outcomes. supportive social networks helped them to buffer their stressors and enabled them to navigate difficult conditions in their respective residences. one student explained how he called on his social network to help him solve his laundry problem: when i came here i was seriously worried about how i would get my laundry done. the first two weeks at the beginning of the year was tough. my cousin used to come and fetch it to do it at his house in the men’s hostel nearby, until a student counsellor referred me to a person who would do it. it was a great relief, and in that case i have not encountered any [further] problems. i can now concentrate on other things. (student 5) he further explained how he and his roommate had come to an effective working arrangement, to the point where official assistance became unnecessary: my muscles are weak which gives me a challenge in doing some of the things in the room. my roommate is like a brother to me, he completely understands my condition and allows me to do things on my own. he only assists me when i need help. we have an arrangement: he volunteered to prepare meals so we put money together for our groceries. the university offered to give me someone to assist in this regard; however, i prefer this arrangement i have with my roommate. (student 5) another study participant also explained how her roommate was important for her emotional and academic well‑being: i wish i could stay with the same person next year. we click like that; we share responsibilities in the room and our personalities complement each other. we have fun together and when it’s study time, we focus on our studies. we respect each other’s space. (student 6) however, not all the participants had positive relationships with their roommates. one student described some of the difficulties she encountered in this regard: my roommate and i had a similar disability and thus we could not assist each other. for instance, a simple thing like opening and closing windows was a challenge and we relied on a next‑door roommate to assist us or we used a chair to stand on. that came with other risks as my roommate fell off the chair. my roommate had a personality challenge which affected our relationship. we spent most of the time not speaking as she was very moody. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 princess thulile duma: diversity includes disability – experiences of resilience in a university residence 83 when she cleaned she would clean just her side of the room, which was very strange. the worst part was that she would bring her friends to the room or play her music loudly when she knew it was my test week. it was difficult for me to concentrate. i decided to spend more time in my [other] friend’s room to avoid her. she was a senior student and treated me as if she was a landlord and i was a tenant in her property. (student 7) distress was thus caused by a roommate and the residence managers who did not understand the difficulties that two similarly disabled but differently aged students would experience when sharing a room. however, the more junior student was able to draw on her social network for support and peace. positive adaptation like the example above calls for both emotional and social intelligence, which are forms of intelligence that ultimately shape behaviour and attitude (luthar, cicchetti & becker, 2000). clearly, life in a residence is not only difficult for students with disabilities, but it also requires continuous harmony, mutual assistance and sharing. unfortunately, these did not always happen for the participating students. even resilient people have bad days the literature often depicts resilience as a simple, stable trajectory (southwick, bonanno, masten, panter‑brick & yehuda, 2014), but because resilience is a dynamic process (luthar et al., 2000) it is natural that there will be times when students experience difficulties and feel overwhelmed or isolated. without consistent support a student may regress, withdraw or drop out, as was the case with student 3: i was living on a floor with non‑disabled students. it was not easy at all, as i felt different from everybody. as much as no one said anything bad, i could feel that some students had unanswered questions about me. the worst part was that the chairperson of the students with disabilities did not have my contact. i was not added on their social media list. i was left out of all engagements of students with disabilities. they normally go door to door when they organise meetings or workshops but since i was on another floor i was not informed. a shortcoming of the resilience theory is that it does not take into account that students with disabilities may at times feel excluded or depressed or wish to give up. as student 3 indicated, careless exclusion on the part of the institution can cause an otherwise resilient student, who might normally cope well with difficulties, to feel marginalised and excluded. one respondent encountered serious and ultimately intolerable disrespect as fellow residents exhibited her disability on social media: i couldn’t take it; it was so humiliating [that] i decided to drop out. i reported the matter but people had already seen my pictures on facebook. my performance dropped terribly after that incident. when i came back after two years, i decided i would never stay in the residence. i now stay in the township. it is not easy, but i have peace of mind. (student 7) 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 75‑87 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 student 7 was mocked and challenged to the point where she dropped out, but she showed enormous strength of character and resilience by making the difficult decision to continue with her studies. conclusion this study focused on the lived experiences of students with disabilities in university residences and revealed that improvements in residence accommodation are of paramount importance if the principle of inclusivity in tertiary education is to be taken seriously. how students with disabilities overcame the difficulties they experienced was addressed through the resilience lens, and it was revealed that resilience supported these students to build on their strengths and to mitigate most potentially harmful consequences of residence life. however, the resilience of these students was often challenged, and the findings thus suggest that even resilient students may temporarily or permanently regress and succumb to adversity, depending on the severity of the challenges they experience. the study established the importance of incorporating universal design standards for residence accommodation that will support and affirm diversity. only through appropriate provisioning will students with disabilities be fully incorporated into university and residence life. the findings further highlight the need for residence managers to be trained in the social model of disability so that they will understand the resilience and capabilities of students with disabilities. an inevitable recommendation emanating from the study is thus that residence managers need to be more vigilant in preventing negative experiences for students with disabilities which, in some instances, were caused by poor communication. all members of residence communities at universities need empathy. thus, knowledge and understanding of diversity in all university residences is a requirement so that role‑players will understand the potential impact that their actions may have on vulnerable others. moreover, the study revealed several areas in which practices pertaining to university residences and the position of students with disabilities failed to comply with legislation. the study thus revealed undeniably that much work needs to done to support and affirm the presence of students with disabilities in residences and at universities in general. further research is needed on the issue of non‑compliance with legislative directions and on the root causes of incompatibility and difficulties in residence relationships. given the daily challenges that students with disabilities face and overcome in higher education settings, they have much to offer as fully‑fledged members of a diverse community of learners. it is acknowledged that the study did not look at the role technology could play in safeguarding the lives of resident students, thus further studies are required to explore the use of advanced technology as a means of improving the lives of students who live in residences. conflict of interest i have no affiliation with any organisation or entity with financial or non‑financial interest in the subject matter discussed in this article. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 princess thulile duma: diversity includes disability – experiences of resilience in a university residence 85 references abdullahi, i., yusoff, w.z. & gwamna, e. 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(2019). diversity includes disability: experiences of resilience in a university residence. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 75‑87. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 https://bit.ly/34de36i https://doi.org/10.29173/pandpr19803 https://doi.org/10.29173/pandpr19803 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.752730 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.752730 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3826 openat journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 41 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article lived disablers to academic success of the visually impaired at the university of zambia, sub‑saharan africa francis simui,* sophie kasonde‑ngandu,** austin m. cheyeka*** & mpine makoe**** * dr francis simui is the head, programmes development and production, institute of distance education at the university of zambia, lusaka. email: francis.simui@unza.zm ** prof. sophie kasonde-ngandu is an associate professor of education psychology, school of education at the university of zambia, lusaka. email: sophiekasonde51@gmail.com *** prof. austin m. cheyeka is an associate professor in the department of religious studies, university of zambia, lusaka. email: austin.cheyeka@unza.zm **** prof. mpine makoe is the head, open and distance learning, college of graduate studies at the university of south africa, pretoria. email: qakisme@unisa.ac.za abstract the world health organization’s (who) benchmark of persons with disability in every population is 15.6 per cent. however, the university of zambia is way below that benchmark as it is home to less than 0.1 per cent of students classified as ‘disabled’. within the 0.1 per cent, students with visual impairment are the majority, estimated at 70 per cent. the purpose of this study was to explore disablers (also known as barriers) to academic success faced by students with visual impairment at the university of zambia. a hermeneutic phenomenological approach directed the research process. seven purposively sampled participants volunteered to voice their lived experiences and a cluster of themes emerged thereafter. emerging from their lived experiences are thirteen disablers that impede the learning experiences at university and key amongst them are: (i) negative attitudes; (ii) policypractice disjuncture; (iii) staff unreadiness and unpreparedness; (iv) inaccessible buildings; and (v) rigid curricula. keywords disablers; hermeneutic phenomenology; inclusive education; university of zambia; visual impairment introduction this article is an extract from the principal researcher’s doctoral thesis on lived experiences of students with visual impairments (swvi) while pursuing their studies at the university of zambia in sub‑saharan africa (simui, kasonde‑ngandu & nyaruwata, 2017) and (simui, kasonde‑ngandu, cheyeka & kakana, 2018). the university of zambia is a public university with a history of more than 50 years (mundende, simui, chishiba, mwewa & namangala, 2016). in principle, inclusive education was a well‑accepted concept within the university since it existed within a country where the 2006 united nations conventions for persons with disabilities was ratified and domesticated (simui,  2018). hence, the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:francis.simui%40unza.zm?subject= mailto:sophiekasonde51%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:austin.cheyeka%40unza.zm?subject= mailto:qakisme%40unisa.ac.za?subject= 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 presence of students with visual impairments within the university (simui, 2018). in using the hermeneutic approach, the researchers accepted the difficulty of bracketing, as advanced through the transcendental phenomenology of edmund husserl (1859‑1938). instead, the study leans on the works of martin heidegger (1889‑1976) dubbed hermeneutic phenomenology (simui, 2018). this departure was primarily because of the rejection of the idea of suspending personal opinions and the turn for the interpretive narration to the description, as advanced by numerous philosophers such as martin heidegger, maurice merleau‑ponty, jean‑paul sartre, emmanuel lévinas, jean‑luc nancy and jean‑luc marion (healy,  2012). therefore, this study attempts to unveil the world as experienced by the swvi through their life world stories. background the world report on disability observes that about a billion people, including children, (approximately 15.6 per cent) of the world’s population live with some form of disability (who, 2011). the report notes the disproportional effects which disability has on people, and children in particular, from lower‑income countries and those living in the poorest wealth quintile of the world’s population. according to unicef (2013), while access to education for other children is improving, the same cannot be said for children with disabilities. they remain most negatively marginalised and excluded from education. they continue to experience dismissive attitudes, discrimination and are largely invisible in official statistics used for education planning and programme implementation. such discrimination and exclusion has a negative effect on their livelihoods (unicef,  2013). unesco  (2014) further confirms this prevailing situation. unesco argues that, worldwide, there are still about 57 million children of primary school age, who are not in school due to financial, social or physical challenges. more than half of the 57 million children out of school are in sub‑saharan africa (unesco, 2014). theoretical framework the theoretical framework is anchored on the social model in order to understand the disability phenomenon. while the medical model emphasises biology and locates disability‑related challenges in the affected person’s body, the social model de‑emphasises biology and situates disability within societal structures (rieser, 2006). the social model is the term used by proponents opposed to the medical model way of viewing disability (roulstone, thomas & watson, 2012). under the social model, it is argued that the medical model severely and unnecessarily restricts the roles that disabled people can play in life (watermeyer, 2013). treating disabled people according to the medical models makes them dependent on certain (non‑disabled) people and separates them from the rest of society. overall, the social model contributed enormously to disability dialogue and exposed the oppressive ideology of the past. however, in the recent past, the social model has come under scrutiny from challengers. for instance, bury (2000) alludes to the fact that, despite the most successful efforts to remove societal obstacles from the environment, some traces, limitations and certain realities of a biologically informed disability would still remain. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 f. simui, s. kasonde‑ngandu, a.m. cheyeka & m. makoe: lived disablers to academic success … 43 literature review prevalence of students with disability in developed countries in developed countries such as the united states of america and canada, persons with reported disabilities represented a small segment of the general population at postsecondary education level, averaging between 1.5% and 11% across north america (harrison & wolforth,  2012; fichten, ferraro, asuncion, chwojka, barile, nguyen, klomp & wolforth, 2009). prevalence rates varied greatly depending upon the size and type of the institution, with higher rates of enrolment reported in colleges and distance education institutions (fichten et al., 2009). disablers to inclusive education in higher education at present, a number of studies on the education of learners with disabilities in higher education have been conducted, including that of riddell, tinklin and wilson (2004). the purpose of their study was to investigate the impact of multiple policy innovations on the participation and experiences of disabled students in higher education in scotland and england between 2001 and 2003. emerging from riddell et al.’s (2004) research study were the following findings: (i) most institutions had staffing and structures in places to develop policy and provision for disabled students; and. (ii) educational provisions for persons with disabilities have supportive policies in a number of areas including admissions, infrastructure and some strategic plans. however, there was an apparent gap between policy and practice, with students encountering barriers to choice of institution and subject, access to the physical environment and to the curriculum (riddell et al., 2004). riddell et al. (2004) observe that depending on their particular impairment, most of the students experienced barriers to accessing education as it relates to the physical environment or teaching and learning at some point during their studies. some students found that adjustments to teaching practices were difficult to obtain. even where students had received formal agreements to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ as demanded by law, such as handouts in advance of lectures, they often found themselves in the difficult position of repeatedly having to ask for these, usually unsuccessfully. lourens (2015), in his thesis, focused on the lived experiences of higher education for students with a visual impairment in south africa. the study’s findings described the challenges related to the transition from school. in addition, participants discussed complex social interactions with non‑disabled peers, in which the latter reportedly offered help, and avoided or stared at participants, leaving them feeling ‘not seen’. third, within the learning environment, the participants were sometimes confronted with unwilling lecturers, a lack of communication amongst important role‑players, late course material and/or headaches and muscle tension from the effort of reading with limited sight. related to lourens’ (2015) study above is maguvhe (2015), pitched within a south african context, who focused on factors that limited the participation of the visually 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 impaired learners in mathematics and science education. the study revealed that teacher motivation and mentorship in mathematics and science methodologies and the use of tools for learner empowerment were lacking. it further revealed that teachers lacked the requisite skills in special education to harness learner potential in mathematics and science. this situation necessitates government action in teacher training and development. similar to lourens (2015), ntombela and soobrayen (2013) contextualised their study within south africa particularly at the university of kwazulu‑natal. in their study, they explored the nature of access challenges faced by students with visual disabilities at the edgewood campus. the findings showed that although access had improved for students with disabilities in this institution, there were still systemic barriers that limited the participation of students with visual disabilities in the academic programmes. in general, gronlund, lim and larsson (2010) observed that in developing countries there existed many obstacles in the process of implementing inclusive education. in conducting this study, an in‑depth case study of two developing countries – bangladesh and tanzania – were reviewed. the findings showed that obstacles to effective use of assistive technologies for inclusive education (ie) came from three different levels – school, national and network. in a related study, majinge and stilwell (2014) focused on swvi in a different context. they studied library services provision for people with visual impairments and in wheelchairs in academic libraries in tanzania. the findings show that academic libraries provide services to people with visual impairments and in wheelchairs but these services are not inclusive or universal. methodology a qualitative research methodology with a hermeneutic phenomenological approach guided the study. the focus was to illuminate particulars and seemingly trivial aspects within experiences of swvi with a goal of constructing meaning and achieving a sense of understanding (simui, 2018). in addition, langdridge (2007) argues that our experiences can be best understood through stories we tell of that experience. to understand the life world we need to explore the stories people tell of their experiences, often with the help of some specific hermeneutic. research design hermeneutic phenomenology research design was applied to study the lived experiences of swvi as postulated in martin heidegger’s thesis on ‘being and time’, further expanded by van manen’s four reflective thematic areas on lived experiences as follows: (i) lived space – spatiality; (ii) lived body – corporeality; (iii) lived time – temporality; and (iv) lived human relation – relationality (van manen, 2007). sample size and selection criteria seven participants were purposively sampled based on van manen’s (2007) inclusion and exclusion criteria as follows: (i) lived with a visual impairment (corporeality) https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 f. simui, s. kasonde‑ngandu, a.m. cheyeka & m. makoe: lived disablers to academic success … 45 (ii) lived with a visual impairment for more than a year in the university (temporality) (iii) lived with the visual impairment in the target university (spatiality) (iv) lived with a visual impairment while studying with others in a university (relationality) below is a table summarising profiles of the seven participants whose real names are replaced with pseudonyms for ethical reasons. equally, participants’ descriptors, such as programme, year of study, age, sex, marital and employment status, were purposively included for the purpose of better understanding of the phenomenon at hand as well as possible replication of the study by other researchers. table 1: participants’ profiles (names of participants are pseudonyms) name programme year of study age sex martial status employment status brid b ed special year 2 25 f unmarried unemployed charm b ed special year 3 38 m married employed frey b ed special year 2 28 m unmarried unemployed joe b ed special year 4 27 m unmarried unemployed steel b ed special year 2 36 m unmarried employed tau b ed special year 2 28 m unmarried unemployed tom phd candidate year 1 48 m married employed research tools in this study, the researcher used the following research tools, namely: unstructured interviews schedule, focus group discussions guide and observation guide. use of multiple tools strengthened the validity and reliability of the study findings as evidence was collaborated and triangulated from different viewpoints. data-generation procedure data‑generation procedure assumed a four‑step approach as follows: (i) shadowing and unstructured interview techniques applied to a phd student with visual impairment (swvi) (ii) two undergraduate swvs purposively engaged and interviewed separately while one of the two participants happened to be the only swvi under the distance‑learning mode, the other one was in his fourth and final year at regular study mode (iii) three second‑year swvis volunteered to be interviewed on their lived experiences within the university (iv) a focus group discussion of three swvis composed of a female with albinism, a male student with low vision (swlv) and a blind student 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 analysis and interpretation the analysis of data in this study was concurrently done throughout the data‑gathering process using inductive data analysis. field notes and interview transcriptions were reviewed from time to time to identify the emerging themes or patterns. the data were coded accordingly from the sources reviewed and across each site case. the data were then analysed thematically and the identified themes were cross‑checked by the participants for validation purposes (braun & clarke, 2006). trustworthiness in this study guba’s (1981) four criteria of trustworthiness were applied. the four elements are: (i) credibility; (ii) transferability; (iii) dependability; and (iv) confirmability. for instance, to enhance rigour and enrich the analysis, a variety of strategies were employed including critical reflexivity, attention to negative (exceptional) cases, communicative validation and peer review (charmaz, 2006). ethical considerations in carrying out this study, ethical issues as guided by cohen, manion and morrison (2000), such as written consents from all participants, were followed. pseudonyms were assigned in place of actual names to assure confidentiality and privacy. the pseudonyms given were as follows: tom, joe, steel, charm, brid, tau and frey. in addition, the ethics committee cleared the research proposal as provided for in the university regulations. the ethical clearance reference for this study was ref. hssrec: 2018‑may‑014. findings and discussion disablers to learning experienced by swvi emerging from the swvi lived experiences were thirteen (13) disablers identified as detrimental to their success at university level. these were: (i) negative attitudes; (ii) absence of ie policy; (iii) inaccessible learning environment; (iv) inaccessible learning materials; (v) exclusive assessment system; (vi) exclusive pedagogy; (vii) absence of mobility; (viii) absence of financial support; (ix) exclusive sanitary facilities; and (x) absence of landmarks. others were: (xi) limited institutional support staff; (xii) inadequate assistive learning devices; and (xiii) limited partners. negative attitudes (corporeality) in the area of negative attitudes, which are linked to corporeality according to van manen  (2007), there were many incidences where these were manifested. for example, brid reported a number of sighted students having bullied her based on her albinism condition. she painfully recounted how in the past she had been given demeaning and offensive labels: https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 f. simui, s. kasonde‑ngandu, a.m. cheyeka & m. makoe: lived disablers to academic success … 47 they call me all sorts of names. aaaaah!!!!! at ka chitangwa nalesa [god’s creation]. ka mwabi [albino] … not in my class but kuma ruins [old residencies for the male students] when i am visiting the shopping complex. this time, i have learnt to ignore and move on. it is their nature. they do not know what they are doing. (brid, 26‑01‑2017) brid, cited incidents where sighted students bullied her based on her albinism condition [corporeality]. she painfully recounted how in the past she had been called demeaning and offensive language. this state of affairs described above point to lack of human rights enforcement by the duty bearers. equally, tau had his moments when a sighted peer could not provide support to him due to suspected negative attitudes: there was a day i was going to another hostel and i asked for directions. the persons just pointed but then i quickly told him that i had a visual impairment and so could not see properly. he did not care. he just pointed and left me stranded. i felt it was an attitude problem. (tau, 26‑01‑2017) the identified presence of negative attitudes in this study is common to many settings as noted by mutanga and walker (2017); chhabra, srivastava and srivastava (2010) and hess (2010). in the u.k., students with a visual impairment have been reported to be at risk of social exclusion and of being stigmatised for their impairment (hess, 2010). in addition, chhabra et al. (2010) revealed that many regular teachers feel unprepared and fearful of working with learners with disabilities in regular classes – hence their display of frustration, anger and negative attitudes towards inclusive education. thurston (2014) describes discomfort experienced by students with disabilities generated by peers outside their network of friends. equally, dart, nkanotsang, chizwe and kowa (2010) reported that the students experienced low self‑esteem, loneliness and a lack of acceptance from their fellow students, which consequently contributed to poor academic performance. negative attitudes appear to influence nearly all the other disabling factors reported above. where the attitudes are negative, there is likely to be limited financial support, and limited peer, family and staff support as well. this then entails that for swvi to progress and realise their potential, the need for positive attitudes becomes paramount. it is for this reason that a number of researchers rank negative attitudes top amongst other barriers to inclusion. for instance, mcdougall, dewit, king, mille and killip (2004) contend that negative peer attitudes are commonly considered to be a major barrier to full social inclusion of disabled students in schools. exclusive policy a number of cited lived disablers by swvi pointed to the lack of institutional inclusive policy. the first case is that of tom who was denied admission to the university on three occasions, despite having met the admission criteria. however, his sheer determination helped him get admitted on the fourth attempt. the second case is that of bri who was bullied countless times within the university grounds without any recourse to intervention. 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 the third and final case is that of steel, who was forced to repeat a year because of the institution’s failure to provide assessment materials in braille. clearly, all three cases illustrated above point to the need for an inclusive policy to guide practice. in addition, bri and frey argued that their school dean had come up with a rule that all front seats in classrooms were reserved for learners with special educational needs. however, “other people do not care even with such a policy”. in developed countries, a number of studies on the education of learners with disabilities in higher education have established the presence of inclusive policies. for example, riddell et al.’s (2004) study established that most institutions had staffing and structures in places to develop policy and provision for disabled students. even where an inclusive policy is available, there are instances where a disjuncture between policy and practice prevails (mosia & phasha, 2017). in this regard, read et al. (2003) argue that education that does not accommodate student diversity perpetuates inequality in society and violates human rights of persons with disabilities. inaccessible learning environment (spatiality) in terms of accessibility linked to the concept of ‘spatiality’ according to van manen (2007), steel described the university as not being accessible. in his words: the environment is not accessible. you need to climb a number of stairs to access services. roads are not well planned. no landmarks! for me to walk alone is very challenging. (steel, 20‑01‑2017) steel’s lived experience regarding accessibility was collaborated by others’ experiences as demonstrated by charm who painfully remembered his experience as well: i remember one time; i bumped into a metal pole when i was surveying the university premises. i  happened to be alone. such an experience made me fear to move alone. i anticipated that there could be many other poles like that. (charm, 26‑01‑2017) in addition, joe’s expressed sentiments were equally re‑echoed by steel who observed that: the place here has too much steps! [amplified voice]. those steps become a hindrance to my mobility. on the other hand, the issue of the buildings being scattered all over is also another challenge. this is because, you find that i am required to attend a lecture in school of education and may be the following lecture is to be taken in the library basement. that becomes a challenge for me to move from one end to the other. (steel, 20‑01‑2017) the complications that resulted from inaccessible learning environment included avoidable life‑threatening accidents cited by swvi. for instance, joe recalled how one day he injured himself within the university premises: https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 f. simui, s. kasonde‑ngandu, a.m. cheyeka & m. makoe: lived disablers to academic success … 49 there was a day, i happen to be with a friend busy chatting and he forgot to alert me that we were approaching a staircase. i injured myself badly. now, i was asking myself, imagine i had injured myself with someone! what if i was alone? i had my leg twisted. again, the other time i was going to town. i was with a course mate. as i was about to board a bus, there was a deep drainage. he forgot to alert me of the presence of the drainage. i ended up in a drainage, and it was rain season and i injured myself again. this time it was my hand. (joe, 26‑01‑2017) like the cited incidences above, gelbar, madaus, lombardi, faggella‑luby and dukes (2015) reported experiences where students with disabilities faced challenges such as inaccessible buildings, rigid curricula and negative attitudes of staff and lecturers. similarly, banda‑chalwe, nitz and de jonge (2013) contended that accessibility to premises, facilities and services was a right of people with disabilities. to this extent, inaccessibility of the physical environment is a violation of that right. further, swain and french (2008) observed that exclusion was the denial of rights and responsibilities of an individual expressed in oppression, which shaped the personal and collective experiences and expectations of people with disabilities. inaccessible learning materials what was clear was that instructional materials given to swvi were not accessible. “i was given modules in hardcopy format, obviously for use, when i am totally blind! what a puzzle!” (steel, 20‑01‑2017). in addition, steel observed that the library was not a friendly place: i remember it was just one single day when i visited the library when i got my student card. after the student card issuance, i wanted to read some of books found there. unfortunately, i could not find any books or modules in braille. all of them are hard copies. that stated to me clearly in my mind that the library here is not helpful to people with visual impairment especially the blind. (steel, 20‑01‑2017) all of the seven swvi consulted had not used the library for learning purposes as it had study materials in inaccessible formats. whereas academic libraries are expected to provide services to students with visual impairments, majinge and stilwell (2014) noted that their services were not inclusive or universal. exclusive assessment system some students reported challenges at assessment stage. for instance, steel recounted: … when the results came out, i only managed to pass in two of the three courses that i  had registered for. on the other one, they wrote none examined (ne). but, that was unfortunate because i had sat for that examination too. evidence was there but the results were not available. that forced me to re‑enter the same course the following year. it is devastating because, once results get lost and i have a mobility challenge, i cannot manage to follow them up on my own. (steel, 20‑01‑2017) 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 exclusive pedagogy the teaching methodologies or pedagogy adopted by most lecturers were exclusive to swvi. for example, joe observed that most of the teaching staff took a hasty‑teaching approach, without taking cognisance of the needs of swvi into account. he argued: my own experience has been that lecturers rush against time. in a space of one hour we cover a lot of content. they even tell our friends the sighted to write their notes in short forms … this becomes a challenge to us who are using braille. especially that i am not all that fast in terms of braille compounded by the speedy‑rush lecturing, makes the whole experience very challenging. (joe, 20‑01‑2017) tom reflected on his experiences in other universities within sub‑saharan africa where teaching staff had adapted their methodologies to meet the needs of swvi, contrary to the approach followed at the university of zambia: we do not bother to ask the question ‘how can i help you?’ all we do is to teach using whatever means available to everyone even when some of those teaching strategies are not friendly to learners with disabilities. for instance, it is common to hear: see the diagram on the board. copy the notes on the board. can you see here what they are doing? (tom, 04‑01‑2017) in other words, the teaching approaches adopted by some of the teaching staff at the university of zambia were exclusive and not inclusive to the needs of swvi. such an approach, if not checked, contributed to low numbers of swvi being able to progress and realise their potential in the long run. this is consistent with matlosa and matobo’s (2007) findings in lesotho on the visually‑ and hearing‑impaired students. their study showed that access for students with visual impairments to science‑related programmes was constrained by mathematics and statistics requirements, insufficient resources and lecturers’ lack of understanding about the students’ disability and support needs. matlosa and matobo’s (2007) findings are consistent with simui, thompson, mundende, mwewa, kakana, chishiba and namangala’s (2017) study, which noted the presence of unfriendly instructional materials at the university of zambia as a threat to academic success of distance students in general and swvi in particular. limited financial support (relationality) limited financial support was reported to be a barrier to entry into university education. for instance, tom, in his first year and first semester, could not register on time, owing to the lack of financial resources. his sighted course mates, on the other hand, were already six weeks into the syllabus after the registration window had closed. only sheer determination enabled tom to eventually register, progress and complete his studies. tom’s lived experience is similar to that of steel. like tom, steel was an in‑service student when he first joined the university of zambia. steel observed: https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 f. simui, s. kasonde‑ngandu, a.m. cheyeka & m. makoe: lived disablers to academic success … 51 i always spend more than my colleagues who are sighted. for instance, on food, i have a guide whom i  accommodate and feed. therefore, i have to spend more than a k1 000 [$100] every residential [period of 2 weeks]. (steel, 20‑01‑2017) from steel’s extract above, it is clear that the cost of living is higher for the swvi compared to the non‑vi students. the challenging part of the indirect costs of the education of swvi, such as the cost of a guide, purchase of a white cane and jaws software is that swvi and their families are forced to shoulder such costs, even if they are living in abject poverty. this becomes a barrier, even when their tuition fees are fully taken care of by government and other well‑wishers. the finding on the cost element is consistent with that of emong and eron (2016) who argued that the monetary value of the basic requirements for blind students exceeded the financial support they received from the university (emong & eron, 2016). in addition, the financial demands on swvi is compounded by their chronic poverty status (trani & loeb, 2012). exclusive sanitary facilities (spatiality) tau had issues with the communal sanitary facilities within the hostels. he observed that the they were in a poor state. he argued: “i fail to see whether the communal toilet or bathroom is clean. i just go there without realising that the room is unclean.” unlike tau, with low vision, the rest of the swvi were much more affected by the poor hygiene levels in communal sanitary facilities around campus, a situation they described as “pathetic” and requiring urgent attention. absence of orientation and mobility (spatiality) reflecting on unforgettable nasty experiences in the university, tom remembered a day when he fell into a ditch: i remember there was a time i needed to attend a lecture. i had just come in the university … there was no one to escort me … i decided to start off and take a risk. i started quite well … i found myself hammering flowers. someone asked, where i was going, whom i told ‘maths lab’. he later volunteered to show me the direction. that man just left after some few steps and gave verbal directions to me to go ‘straight’ whatever ‘straight’ meant. now, i crossed but i did not know that where i was going there was a ditch. two women stood afar off and they were saying ‘eyeeee, bala ponena muchilindi’ [ooh! he is going to fall into a ditch]. at the time i heard them, i had already lifted my leg. i found myself in a ditch. the only good thing was that i fell sat. i did not fell portrait. then, one of the two women said, ‘wamona, efwo nachilalanda’ [you see, this is what i told you that he was going to fall into a ditch!] however, i wondered, they saw me coming toward a ditch, but decided not to warn me! that is how i went back to my room. i could not attend that lecture. (tom, 04‑01‑2017) why is it easy for a sighted student to watch disabled students (perhaps a course mate) fall in a ditch without offering support? could it be a sign of a negative attitude or lack 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 of education? tom’s lived experience is a reminder of the need to embrace orientation and mobility (o&m) by all stakeholders, given the many barriers that exist in and around the university. absence of landmarks (spatiality) the earlier reported challenge of uncovered ditches and dangerous obstacles displayed all over the university premises was compounded by the lack of landmarks, as observed by charm, tom and steel. for instance, steel concluded that: the university has no landmarks. the area is too vast. for us to move around and get to know places where we are there must be some landmarks. therefore, i think it is a very big challenge. (steel, 20‑01‑2017) going by the lived experiences of swvi, the need for o&m appear to be linked to landmarks. in other words, as swvi are oriented to their university surroundings, such an initiative would be meaningful when coupled with the presence of permanent landmarks. at the university of zambia, both o&m and the presence of permanent landmarks were missing, leaving swvi vulnerable and exposed to all sorts of avoidable accidents. limited institutional support staff (relationality) institutional staff support covers both academic and non‑academic support offered to swvi in order to learn effectively. the staff support was affected by the attitudes and values staff had towards swvi. take the experience of tom as an example: a problem came up … even after fighting those battles. i only knew braille and there was no lecturer who knew braille to support me. when assignments or tests were given, i would write in braille and there was no one who could transcribe from braille to text language for lecturers to read. (tom, 04‑01‑2017) the experience above brings to mind the challenge of staff competencies as far as braille education is concerned. in addition, the university did not have support staff engaged to act as guides and provide mobility and orientation services to swvi. thus, swvi were left at the mercy of their sighted peers to progress in their academic endeavours. this finding is similar to emong and eron’s (2016) findings, where students reported that their university had found it challenging to transcribe brailled works into print. consequently, the examinations blind students took were not brailled. i feel this is unethical. affected students also reported that it was unethical on the part of the university. it made swvi feel that their former secondary school was better than their university in understanding their disability as it had brailled their examination papers for them (emong & eron, 2016). limited assistive learning devices at the time swvi entered university, they had expectations. for example, swvi expected to find assistive learning devices (alds) within the university. to the contrary, the university was ill equipped with such tools as observed by steel: https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 f. simui, s. kasonde‑ngandu, a.m. cheyeka & m. makoe: lived disablers to academic success … 53 when i came here [university of zambia], i thought i would be provided with orientation and mobility support, by helping me with a white cane and then orient me on the infrastructure. sadly, i was not oriented. (steel, 20‑01‑2017) as was noted earlier, the bulk of the alds used by swvi were owned by individual students. it was clear that the use of white canes, eyeglasses, computers, jaws software, voice recorders, magnifying lenses, scanners and embossers enhance the learning experiences of swvi to realise their potential. therefore, there is need for the university to invest in this area as well. consistent with the findings of this study, maguvhe (2015), revealed that blind and partially sighted learners find it difficult to pursue mathematics and science subjects because learning support devices are limited and teachers are not capacitated to create a conducive learning environment for swvi. it is clear that the use of white canes, eyeglasses, computers, jaws software, voice recorders, magnifying lenses, scanners and embossers enhance the learning experiences of swvi to realise their potential (simui, kasonde‑ngandu & nyaruwata, 2017). limited partnerships (relationality) partners played a significant role in the provision of the much‑needed resources in the education of swvi at university level. at the university, very few partners dedicated to support swvi existed, as alluded to by tom: we need partners to come on board and join hands with the university, given the amount of resources needed to address the needs of students with visual impairments. currently, very few visual impaired focused partners exist, if any. (tom, 04‑01‑2017) the university of zambia, being a state‑owned university, was open to partners interested in investing in the higher education sector, specifically in the area of swvi. thus, more partners were welcome to partner with the university in the provision of quality education for swvi. conclusion in conclusion, swvi are faced with a host of disablers on a daily basis which hinder their progress through their academic journey at higher education level. whereas resources are limited in universities such as the university of zambia, swvi carry with them unexploited resources that administrators, managers and teaching staff can tap into and use to devise innovative ways to combat exclusion. to this effect, it is clear that solutions to the challenges encountered in the process of implementing inclusive education lie with the excluded persons. if only they can be engaged and consulted in the decision‑ making process, institutions are bound make a breakthrough to a multitude of challenges encountered when implementing inclusive education in institutions of higher learning. 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 recommendations based on the findings of the current study, the researchers’ recommendations to the university and other similar higher learning institutions are as follows: (i) develop and implement an inclusive policy, given that the university has no tailor‑made policy on inclusive education. (ii) involve swvi in decision‑making process affecting their academic progression. (iii) introduce an orientation and mobility programme for swvi within the university curriculum for swvi to become independent. (iv) improve on the accessibility to the learning environment and content. (v) build capacity amongst staff to support swvi. (vi) build capacity amongst non‑visually impaired students to support swvi. (vii) provide access to suitable technology. such tools could include white canes, talking watches, voice recorders, embossers and elevators, amongst others. references banda‑chalwe, m., nitz, j.c. & de jonge, d. (2013). impact of inaccessible spaces on community participation of people with mobility limitations in zambia. african journal of disability, 3(1), art. #33, 17 pages. https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v3i1.33 braun, v. & clarke, v. (2006). using thematic analysis in psychology. qualitative research in psychology, 3, 77‑101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa bury, m. 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(2010). effective use of assistive technologies for inclusive education in developing countries: issues and challenges from two case studies. international journal of education and development using information and communication technology (ijedict), 6(4), 5‑26. https://bit. ly/2rpxm9q guba, e.g. (1981). criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. educational communication and technology journal, 29, 75‑91. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v3i1.33 https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa https://doi.org/10.1080/713662025 https://doi.org/10.1080/713662025 https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207309344690 https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207309344690 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8578.2010.00465.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8578.2010.00465.x https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v5i1.193 https://doi.org/10.14434/pders.v34i2.19224 https://bit.ly/2rpxm9q https://bit.ly/2rpxm9q f. simui, s. kasonde‑ngandu, a.m. cheyeka & m. makoe: lived disablers to academic success … 55 harrison, a. & wolforth, j. 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(2015). teaching science and mathematics to students with visual impairments: reflections of a visually impaired technician. african journal of disability, 4(1), art. #194, 6 pages. https://doi.org/ 10.4102/ajod.v4i1.194 majinge, r.m. & stilwell, c. (2014). library services provision for people with visual impairments and in wheelchairs in academic libraries in tanzania. south african journal of libraries and information science, 79(2). https://doi.org/10.7553/79‑2‑147 matlosa, l. & matobo, t. (2007). the education system in lesotho: social inclusion and exclusion of visually and hearing‑impaired persons in institutions of higher learning. review of southern african studies, 5(1&2), 191‑211. mcdougall, j., dewit, d., king, g., miller, l. & killip, s. (2004). highschool‑aged youths’ attitudes toward their peers with disabilities: the role of school and student interpersonal factors. international journal of disability, development and education, 51, 287‑313. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912042000259242 mosia, p.a. & phasha, n. (2017). access to curriculum for students with disabilities at higher education institutions: how does the national university of lesotho fare? african journal of disability, 6, a257. https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.257 mundende, k., simui, f., chishiba, a., mwewa, g. & namangala, b. (2016). trends and prospects of instructional material development and delivery at the university of zambia. global journal of human-social science: linguistics & education, 16(3), 5‑11. retrieved from https://bit.ly/2oe4kds. mutanga, o. & walker, m. (2017). exploration of the academic lives of students with disabilities at south african universities: lecturers’ perspectives. african journal of disability, 6, a316. https://doi. org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.316 neuman, w.l. (2003). social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches. fifth edition. boston, ma: allyn and bacon. https://bit.ly/2dipppa ntombela, s. & soobrayen, r. (2013). access challenges for students with disabilities at the university of kwazulu‑natal: a situational analysis of the edgewood campus. journal of social sciences, 37(2), 149‑155. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2013.11893213 read, b., archer, l. & leathwood, c. (2003). challenging culture? student conception of “belonging” and “isolation” at a post‑1992 university. studies in higher education, 28(3), 261‑277. https://doi. org/10.1080/03075070309290 riddell, s., tinklin, t. & wilson, a. (2004). disabled students and multiple policy innovations in higher education. final report to esrc, edinburgh: centre for educational sociology, university of edinburgh. https://bit.ly/2dgfwbt rieser, r. (2006). disability equality: confronting the oppression of the past. in: m. cole (ed.), education, equality and human rights. second edition. oxfordshire: routledge. https://bit.ly/2qt2c54 https://doi.org/10.1177/0264619609347242 https://bit.ly/2dj4v9q https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v4i1.194 https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v4i1.194 https://doi.org/10.7553/79-2-147 https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912042000259242 https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.257 https://bit.ly/2oe4kds https://doi. org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.316 https://doi. org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.316 https://bit.ly/2dipppa https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2013.11893213 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070309290 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070309290 https://bit.ly/2dgfwbt 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 41‑56 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 roulstone, a., thomas, c. & watson, n. (2012). the changing terrain of disability studies. in: n. watson, a. roulstone & c. thomas (eds.), routledge handbook of disability studies, 1‑12. london, u.k.: routledge. simui, f. (2018). lived experiences of students with visual impairments at sim university in zambia: a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. unpublished phd thesis, university of zambia, lusaka. simui, f., kasonde‑ngandu, s. & nyaruwata, l.t. (2017). ict as an enabler to academic success of students with visually impaired at sim university: hermeneutics approach. zambia ict journal, 1(1), 5‑9. https://doi.org/10.33260/zictjournal.v1i1.9 simui, f., kasonde‑ngandu, s., cheyeka, a. & kakana, f. (2018). unearthing dilemmas in thesis titles: lived experience of a novice researcher in sub‑saharan africa. international journal of multidisciplinary research and development, 5(4), 99‑105. https://bit.ly/34qdnzy simui, f., thompson, l.c., mwewa, g., mundende, k., kakana, f., chishiba, a.b. & namangala, b. (2017). distance learners’ perspective on user‑friendly instructional materials at the university of zambia. journal of learning for development, 4(1), 90‑98. https://bit.ly/34nns1l swain, j. & french, s. (2008). affirming identity. in: j. swain & s. french (eds.), disability on equal terms (p. 68). los angeles: sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446213261 thurston, m. (2014). “they think they know what’s best for me”: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of inclusion and support in high school for vision‑impaired students with albinism. international journal of disability, development and education, 61(2), 108‑118. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/1034912x.2014.905054 trani, j.‑f. & loeb, m.m. (2012). poverty and disability: a vicious circle? evidence from afghanistan and zambia. brown school faculty publications, paper 33. https://bit.ly/2qq2jry unesco (2014). efa global monitoring report 2013/4. paris, france. https://bit.ly/2qsnm2u unicef (2013). the state of the world’s children. new york, u.s.a. https://uni.cf/2omairl van manen, m. (2007). phenomenology of practice. phenomenology & practice, 1(1), 11. https://doi.org/ 10.29173/pandpr19803 watermeyer, b. (2013). towards a contextual psychology of disablism. london, u.k.: routledge. https://doi. org/10.4324/9780203112762 who (world health organization) (2011). world health report on disability (p. 8). geneva, switzerland. https://bit.ly/2ksf646 how to cite: simui, f., kasonde‑ngandu, s., cheyeka, a.m. & makoe, m. (2019). lived disablers to academic success of the visually impaired at the university of zambia, sub‑saharan  africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 41‑56. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.33260/zictjournal.v1i1.9 https://bit.ly/34qdnzy https://bit.ly/34nns1l https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446213261 https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912x.2014.905054 https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912x.2014.905054 https://bit.ly/2qq2jry https://bit.ly/2qsnm2u https://uni.cf/2omairl https://doi.org/10.29173/pandpr19803 https://doi.org/10.29173/pandpr19803 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203112762 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203112762 https://bit.ly/2ksf646 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 _goback 404 not found www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 149–150 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4692 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 149 book review being at home: race, institutional culture and transformation at south african higher education institutions by p. tabensky & s. matthews (eds.) (2015). pietermaritzburg, south africa: university of kwazulu-natal press. reviewed by ronelle carolissen1 1 prof. ronelle carolissen, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: rlc2@sun.ac.za. orcid: 0000-00027113-0246 the question of transformation and more, recently, decolonisation, of south african higher education institutions directly challenges untransformed institutional cultures in higher education institutions. transformation-resistant institutions continue to strew disproportionate barriers for students marginalized by social identities such as race, gender, class and disability. despite its 2015 production, tabensky and matthew’s book, being at home, is as compelling today as it was then. it provides a thoughtful and critical philosophical and theoretical exploration of what institutional culture means and how it may contribute to an understanding of the purpose of higher education locally, and beyond. the book is divided into three parts consisting of 13 chapters. the first part comprises three chapters in which conceptual concerns related to the overarching focus of the book are explored. while i will not detail the content of each chapter, louise vincent’s first chapter makes a pertinent point central to the book. her argument that changing institutional cultures depends on telling different stories about institutions is key. this, she argues, can interrupt the reproduction of social injustice, and make the taken for granted “strange” by producing alternate and multiple narratives about institutions. it assumes the telling of such stories from the experiences of marginalized social locations, who traverse higher education institutions. the concepts of collective memory, understandings of “home” and whiteness in relation to institutional culture are explored in this section in nuanced ways. the second part consists of four chapters, all case studies drawn from one institution, rhodes university. authors explore core philosophical and theoretical tensions that arise from transformation imperatives in a seemingly untransformed institution (at the time). these chapters grapple with “unconditional hospitality”, race and power concealed under a “veil of politeness”, the challenges of heteronormativity for queer staff and students, and of attracting next generation academics. while all the chapters in this section are required reading, thando njovane’s chapter remains captivating after numerous readings since i first read it in 2015. she unveils politeness as keeping institutional racism intact in the academy and provides a damning critique of http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 149–150 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4692 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za150 the concept of “tolerance”, so well-loved by many academics, as maintaining the status quo. the third part consists of six chapters that consider the implications of this work for higher education locally and globally. in this section, a selection of emerging and wellestablished local and international authors reflects on a reimagined university that may be hospitable to all, and in which institutional cultures are unlearned and reimagined. as an example, nigel gibson, adopting a fanonian lens, argues for a radical humanities which emphasizes the idea of the university as functioning for the public good with less emphasis on the university as a neoliberal factory for the job market. a radical humanities is one which focuses on creating spaces where marginalized voices that have systemically been erased from public view, are reinstated and knowledge is produced from the margins to develop new forms of critical consciousness. this book still contributes significantly to understanding institutional cultures in universities. it was published just before the #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall protests that fundamentally brought into view the failures of hegemony in neoliberal higher education institutions. the book also serves as a model of how to include local and international, established, and emerging researchers. one potential shortcoming of tabensky and matthews’ book is its focus on one historically white institution. it may be interesting to do similar explorations about institutional cultures at historically black institutions. this seems to be a core shortcoming in other books, such as pattman & carolissen (2018), who despite expanding the discussion on transformation to nine south african universities, likewise did not include historically black universities. tabensky and matthews’ book is a must read for all who are interested in debates on transformation and decolonisation in higher education since the themes it captures transcend the case study of rhodes university in nuanced and thought-provoking ways. references pattman, r., & carolissen, r. (2018). (eds). transforming transformation in research and teaching in south african universities. african sun media. how to cite: carolissen, r. (2023). review of being at home: race, institutional culture and transformation at south african higher education institutions by p. tabensky & s. matthews (eds.). journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 149–150. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4692 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 111‑113 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 111 www.jsaa.ac.za literature review a suggested reading list for residential life and housing research christopher j. stipeck* * dr christopher j. stipeck is currently the director of residential staff and programs at new york university. email: chris.stipeck@nyu.edu as college campuses continue to house more students, build additional facilities and offer a variety of programmatic options to residents, the literature becomes equally expansive. a vast array of options exist, but the following references were selected because of the robust review of research they provide, the practical nature of the content, the exploration of various residential life models and facilities, or to increase an understanding of the value that intentional programmes add to students’ residential experiences. the selected references are also predominantly books. i would encourage readers to subscribe to the association of college and university housing officers – international (acuho‑i) journal, which regularly publishes the latest and most relevant research globally in the field. a brief introduction to the selected literature is provided. student learning: environments, models and programmes blimling, g.s. (2014). student learning in college residence halls: what works, what doesn’t, and why. hoboken, nj: john wiley & sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119210795 inkelas, k.k., jessup‑anger, j.e., benjamin, m. & wawrzynski, m.r. (2018). living-learning communities that work: a research-based model for design, delivery, and assessment. sterling, va: stylus publishing. both books provide an excellent analysis of a broad spectrum of recent and fundamental research in the field. dr. blimling is one of the most published and experienced residential life professionals and he successfully crafted a book that aggregates relevant research studies with a pragmatic lens explicitly focused on developing living environments that are supportive of student learning. this book is primarily geared to practitioners considering types of residential life models, and especially those weighing how to integrate more intentional student programmes with measurable outcomes. amongst some of those student programmes are living learning communities (llcs). these are residential housing initiatives that bring students together on a dedicated floor or in a specific residence hall, often with an affiliated faculty member, and grounded in an academic or cultural theme built to develop community through common learning experiences. dr inkelas – the most established researcher in this area – provided a comprehensive framework for the creation and implementation of llcs grounded in https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:chris.stipeck%40nyu.edu?subject= https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119210795 112 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 111‑113 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 nearly 20  years of research. a common challenge of llcs research is the large variety within the typology of such programmes. this book successfully aggregates the research from us‑wide studies to provide clear direction on how to maximise student outcomes through a suggested llc structure. some other related examples: schroeder, c.c. & mable, p. (1994). realizing the educational potential of residence halls. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. strange, c.c. & banning, j.h. (2001). educating by design: creating campus learning environments that work. the jossey‑bass higher and adult education series. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. winston jr., r.b. (1993). student housing and residential life: a handbook for professionals committed to student development goals. san francisco, ca: jossey‑bass. student learning outcomes mayhew, m.j., rockenbach, a.n., bowman, n.a., seifert, t.a., wolniak, g.c., pascarella, e.t. & terenzini, y. (2016). how college affects students (vol. 3): 21st century evidence that higher education works. hoboken, nj: john wiley & sons. mayhew et al. published the third edition of one of the most influential series of research publications in student affairs. although this robust book is not specifically about residential life, it is an impressive synthesis of relevant outcomes to any staff or researcher in student life. in some respects, the relevance to residential life is quite literal. the authors reviewed a decade of research (2002‑2013) related to the relationship of living on campus and retention – and provided an analysis of the decreasing influence between the two since the prior two additions. other outcomes included in this text are broader, such as cognitive, moral or psychosocial development at large. policy, practice and facilities dunkel, n.w. & baumann, j.a. (eds.) (2013). campus housing management. columbus, oh: the association of college and university housing officers‑international. garvey, j.c., nicolazzo, z. & american college personnel association (2018). trans* policies and experiences in housing and residence life. sterling, va: stylus publishing. yanni, c. (2019). living on campus: an architectural history of the american dormitory. minneapolis, mn: university of minnesota press. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctvdmx05s in perhaps the most international friendly option, dunkel and baumann developed a six‑book series geared towards practice and policy for residential life professionals. volumes include the past, present and future of residential life, residential education, facilities, business information and technology, auxiliary services and partnerships, and staffing and leadership. written by a group of practitioners, this series was designed to help improve student experiences and enhance residential life organisations of all sizes, locations and budgets. any level of leadership can reference editions in this book series regularly. residential life has a major influence on the college experiences of trans* students. the authors review ways that living on campus influences significant outcomes for trans* students, including a sense of belonging, safety and well‑being. in addition to the research, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctvdmx05s christopher j. stipeck: a suggested reading list for residential life and housing research 113 the authors discuss policies that can help improve the residential experience for this population. administrators seeking ways to make their housing experience more inclusive of students who identify with any or no gender identity could benefit from reading this book. finally, the residential experience on college campuses is centuries old and carla yanni captures the cultural significance of tradition. this book reviews the roles that residential halls have played in american higher education from the early days of harvard to the more modern, 21st‑century halls. yanni successfully connects student needs to building design so, although this historical review is us‑based, the commentary on the architectural style would be informative for any reader. how to cite: stipeck, c.j. 2020. a suggested reading list for residential life and housing research, journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 111‑113. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 51 author biographies diane grayson prof. diane grayson is director: institutional audits at the south african council on higher education and is responsible for the quality enhancement project, which aims to improve student success at all south african higher education institutions.  she has an msc in physics from the university of kwazulu-natal, south africa, a phd in physics from the university of washington, usa, with specialisation in physics education, and an honorary doctorate from umeå university in sweden in science teacher education.  over the past 24 years she has worked at several universities in south africa and abroad and has been involved in promoting the teaching and learning of science, technology and mathematics through teaching, research, curriculum development, academic development, coordinating extended degree programmes and serving on both national and international committees. thierry m. luescher-mamashela dr thierry luescher-mamashela is the senior researcher and assistant director: institutional research of the university of the free state in bloemfontein/mangaung (south africa). he was previously senior lecturer in higher education studies and political studies at the university of the western cape in cape town where he coordinated the master’s programme in higher education and development and the doctoral programme in student affairs. thierry leads the herana research project “democracy, the university and student development” for the centre for higher education transformation (chet) in cape town. thierry was the first researcher of the council on higher education in south africa (2002–2007) where he participated in various studies, including the governance of higher education in south africa and merger governance in south african higher education (with martin hall and ashley symes), the mba review (with lis lange and others), and the project to develop a monitoring and evaluation system of south african higher education. he holds a phd in political studies from the university of cape town. thierry is the main author of the monograph the university in africa and democratic citizenship: hothouse or training ground? (published by african minds). he has published on student governance, student and youth politics, higher education governance, citizenship education, and community engagement, in various journals and books, including the journal of higher education in africa, new agenda, perspectives in education, studies in higher education and tertiary education and management. he is a task team member of the council on higher education’s 20 year of democracy in higher education review. in addition, he is currently editing the book student representation in higher education governance in africa (with manja klemenčič, harvard university, and james otieno jowi, moi university, to be published in 2015). thierry is journal manager and founding member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. 52 teboho moja prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. moja has held key positions at several south african universities including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa (unisa). she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria and the university of johannesburg (south africa) and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and university of tampere (finland). teboho was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education transformation (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as the chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco-institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995-1996), appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post-1994 south africa. moja has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. teboho is editor-in-chief and member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. laura w. perna prof. laura w. perna is james s. riepe professor and founding executive director of the alliance for higher education and democracy (ahead) at the university of pennsylvania, usa. she is also chair of the higher education division of the graduate school of education, faculty fellow of the institute for urban research, faculty affiliate of the penn wharton public policy initiative, member of the advisory board for the netter center for community partnerships, and member of the social welfare graduate group of the school of social policy and practice. she holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and psychology from the university of pennsylvania, and she earned her master’s in public policy and phd in education from the university of michigan. laura has held leadership positions in the primary national associations in the field of higher education administration and has received several awards, honours and prestigious fellowships over the course of her career. laura’s research examines the ways that social structures, educational practices and public policies promote and limit college access and success, particularly for individuals from lower-income families and racial/ethnic minority groups. her scholarship is published in a variety of outlets, including books, journal articles and policy reports. recent books include understanding the working college student: new research and its implications for policy and practice (2010, stylus), preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs in metropolitan america: the policy, practice, and research issues (2012, university of pennsylvania press), the state of college access and completion: improving college success for students from underrepresented groups (with anthony jones, 2013, routledge), and the attainment agenda: state policy leadership for higher education (with 53 joni finney, 2014, johns hopkins university press). in addition to her own writing, laura also served on the editorial boards of leading journals including  academe, journal of higher education,  review of higher education,  journal of college student development,  journal of women in higher education, and  research in higher education.  she is the associate editor of  higher education: handbook of theory and research. saloshini pillay dr saloschini pillay practises in the field of clinical social work. she has an honors degree in social work, masters in medical science (social work) and a doctorate in public administration and business management.  she has gained extensive experience in the higher education sector, since 1995, as the director of student support services, focusing on counselling, careers, disability, hiv/aids and academic development, at the former university of durban-westville and the university of kwazulu-natal in south africa and, since 2012, as the manager: student support services in the ukzn college of health sciences. she is the past president of the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe) and currently serves on its national executive committee. as part of the executive management team she served on the task team that developed the saacdhe guidelines for structuring and developing counselling and development services in higher education southern africa and professional ethics for student counsellors in higher education. saloschini was actively involved in the task team initiated by the south african department of higher education and training that led to the establishing of the southern african federation for student affairs and services (safsas). she served as the conference chair of the safsas inaugural conference in august 2014 and has been elected as the inaugural president of safsas. birgit schreiber dr birgit schreiber is director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape in cape town, south africa. she holds a phd from the same university. she has worked within student affairs with focus on student development and support for the past 18 years at various higher education institutions. she has published in national and international academic journals on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences and given lectures at the university of california, berkley, the university of leuven in the netherlands and the university of oslo (norway). she was a visiting scholar at the university of california, berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. birgit scheiber has also been involved in various quality assurance panels reviewing student affairs at south african universities and has taken part in the national review of the south african student engagement tool (sasse). she has been a member of the national executive of various national professional organisations including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap). she currently serves on the executive of the 54 southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas) and is the africa regional coordinator of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). dr schreiber is a founding member of the editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa. vincent tinto dr vincent tinto is a distinguished university professor emeritus at syracuse university and the former chair of the higher education program. he has carried out research and has written extensively on higher education, particularly on student success and the impact of learning communities on student growth and attainment. his most recent book, completing college, lays out a framework for institutional action for student success, describes the range of programmes that have been effective in enhancing student success, and the types of policies institutions should follow to successfully implement programmes in ways that endure and scale up over time. he received his bsc. from fordham in physics and philosophy, his m.s. from rensselaer polytechnic institute in physics and mathematics, and his ph.d. from the university of chicago in education and sociology. vincent has received numerous recognitions and awards including the council of educational opportunity walter o. mason 2012 award for his work on the retention of low-income students. most recently, he was named recipient of the 2015 president harry s. truman award for the american association of community colleges for his work for community colleges across america. he has some 50 notable publications, including books, research reports, and journal articles, to his credit and has lectured across the united states, australia, canada, europe, new zealand, norway, south africa, and south america. from 1990 to 1996 he was associate director of the national center for teaching, learning, and assessment. he has worked with a number of organisations, foundations and government agencies on issues of student success and sits on a number of advisory boards including the bill and melinda gates foundation, the community college survey of student engagement, and the lumina foundation. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 1–4 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.65 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za vincent tinto’s lectures: catalysing a focus on student success in south africa diane grayson* reflective practice * director for institutional audits, council on higher education. email: grayson.d@che.ac.za when i was appointed director for institutional audits at the south african council on higher education (che) in september 2012 a decision had already been taken that, after having completed one cycle of institutional audits, it would not immediately begin another cycle. discussions with a variety of stakeholders had led to the conclusion that the most pressing need in higher education in south africa was to improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning. however, it was not clear how that could best be done. moreover, there was a sense of urgency. we could not wait another eight years, the time it had taken to complete all of the institutional audits, before we saw progress. cohort data published by the che (2013) showed that only about half of the students entering universities were completing their programmes, despite the fact that few students even made it to university. (in 2011 the participation rate of 20 to 24 year olds was 17%.) south africa needed to find a way to produce more high quality graduates to drive and support economic and social development. during the last quarter of 2012, after many discussions and much reading about both national challenges and international trends, the way forward began to emerge. in line with increasing requirements for accountability internationally, it became clear that our focus needed to shift from inputs to outputs, from what universities did to what students achieved. the focus needed to be on student success and how to enhance it. that meant shifting our orientation as a directorate for institutional audits and that of higher education institutions from quality assurance to quality enhancement, that is, from ensuring that standards are met, to improving the standards that need to be met. this new direction was given substance through the formulation of the quality enhancement project (qep). the qep provides a framework (che, 2014a) for improving student success, where student success is defined as “[e]nhanced student learning with a view to increasing the number of graduates with attributes that are personally, professionally and socially valuable”. 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 1–4 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.65 by the end of 2012 a draft framework document for the qep was widely circulated for discussion. but it was clear that the standard processes used in south africa to formulate policies in higher education – sending out discussion documents, calling for feedback, perhaps holding a symposium – would not generate enough impetus for the radical change of mindset that would be needed to implement the qep and implement it quickly. moreover, the south african higher education sector was small, with only 23 public universities and a number of mostly small private institutions, and ideas tended to circulate round and round a rather closed system. and of course, most people are naturally resistant to change – fear of change evokes a thousand reasons for why something different cannot be done or will not work. we needed something that would inject fresh air into the system, something that would fire people’s imaginations about what was possible, an event that would get people excited, enough people to form a critical mass for change. that is why i contacted vincent tinto. on 4 january 2013 i sent vincent tinto an email, outlining salient aspects of the state of the south african higher education system and the focus of the qep and asking if, in principle, he might be willing to engage with us in some way. he replied immediately – in principle, yes. as i thought more about how he could help us, it became clear that what we needed was for him to speak to people in south africa, preferably from all universities and from all walks of university life. that would mean conducting regional symposia, one each in pretoria, durban and cape town (later changed to stellenbosch). on 15 january i asked if he would be willing to do that. after a few more emails, on 29 january we had a conversation via skype. very early on in the conversation, vincent said, “i’ll do it. i’ll come”. about a month later we had agreed on dates for the symposia – the third week in august. in early june we sent out advance notice of the symposia. in our planning we imagined we might get a total of 600 people. in mid-july we sent out the call for registrations. the symposia were free but online registration was required, and was open for a limited period on a first-come, first-served basis. as registrations poured in we contacted the three venues to see if they could accommodate more people. in the end we had 820 registrations from all public and several private higher education institutions, ranging from vice-chancellors to deans, academics, and student affairs, academic development and support staff. the flood of registrations signalled that there was enormous interest in the topic of the symposia, “conceptualising a coherent approach to student success”. by the time of the symposia four focus areas for the first phase of the qep had crystallised: enhancing academics as teachers; enhancing student support and development; enhancing the learning environment; and enhancing course and programme enrolment management (che, 2014b). in the months leading up to the symposia vincent and i exchanged many emails and spoke several times on skype in order to arrive at suitable topics for his presentations. during this same period the focus, form and direction of the qep were evolving as a result of many conversations with individuals, the advisory committee, senior management members from a representative sample of universities, other che senior staff, the institutional audits committee and colleagues at the quality diane grayson: vincent tinto’s lectures 3 assurance agency scotland. the topics we finally agreed on for the four regional symposia talks were thus the collaborative product of an extended, participatory process. vincent’s talks were designed to serve a dual purpose: to expose a large south african audience to key features of his lifelong work on student success, and as a precursor to the implementation of the qep, to catalyse a change in mindset. through showing what is possible, what can and has worked, we hoped to energise and inspire people to believe that things can change for the better and to want to work to make that happen. the talks were deliberately not structured according to the four focus areas of the qep, because that would not have done justice to the first purpose, but they did speak to a number of aspects of the focus areas. the first talk provided the theoretical foundations of vincent’s work. this was important for us because we needed participants to know that there is a substantial body of scholarly work on student success, and that the actions and interventions that he would speak about later were theoretically grounded and supported by evidence. in other words, promoting student success is not about being “touchy-feely” – it is a serious academic activity. in the next three talks vincent spoke about promoting student success through support services, at classroom level and at institutional level. in each case he clearly articulated a general principle and then gave specific examples of what works. for the south african context, where we so easily despair of ever making headway in overcoming our seemingly intractable problems, it was tremendously important to see examples of what can be done to make the situation better, especially for academicallyand economically -disadvantaged first generation students. for many in the audience, it came as a surprise that there were so many students like that in the usa, the richest country in the world. but the “can do” attitude with which vincent approached the challenge of helping such students succeed was inspiring and energising. just what we needed. as i have travelled around the country in the year since vincent’s visit, there are people at every university who attended one of his symposia. that means there is resonance with a core of people around the country when i freely draw on one of vincent’s key phrases, phrases that are becoming mantras for us for student success: “it’s not about us, it’s about the students”, “access without support is not opportunity,” and, most important of all for improving our higher education system as a whole, “student success does not arise by chance.” long-term, large-scale student success in south africa will require sustained will, effort, commitment, courage and imagination, monitored and coordinated within coherent, collaborative endeavours at both institutional and national levels. while there are obvious and extensive differences between south africa’s and america’s context, history and demography, there are theoretically sound principles and exemplary interventions that are applicable in promoting student success in both countries, especially among less privileged students. in the years ahead we will need to build our own theories and models for student success in south africa. but vincent tinto has provided us with a firm foundation on which to build. and through his inspirational presentations and interactions with hundreds of south africans he has been a critical catalyst for change. 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 1–4 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.65 references council on higher education (2014a). framework for institutional quality enhancement in the second period of quality assurance. pretoria: council on higher education. council on higher education (2014b). quality enhancement project. the process for public higher education institutions. pretoria: council on higher education. council on higher education (2013). vitalstats public higher education 2011. pretoria: council on higher education. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 1–8 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.46 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za contextualising student affairs in africa: the past, present and future teboho moja*, birgit schreiber** and thierry luescher-mamashela*** editorial * clinical professor of higher education, new york university, usa. ** director of the centre for student support services, university of the western cape, south africa. *** senior lecturer in higher education studies, institute for post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com higher education executives, student affairs professionals, higher education academics and students in africa have received the 2013 launch issue of the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) with a lot of enthusiasm. this is evidenced by over 25 000 views of the jsaa website since the launch issue went live in december, and 55% of visitors returning. the majority of visitors have come from across africa, especially south africa, nigeria, ghana, uganda, kenya, zimbabwe and tanzania; the second highest number of visitors come from the united states and the commonwealth countries; while the third highest number of viewers come from the other brics countries and from across the developing world. from the start, the website has been fully indexed, the articles harvested by google scholar as well as all major search engines, and assigned a doi. in addition, with our recent listing on the international directory of open access journals (doaj), the visibility of jsaa is further extended to provide access to african scholarship and debates on student affairs in the international arena. in this issue, the majority of papers published have been received as open submissions, emailed directly to one of the editors or submitted online via the website. we take all this as a signal that there is indeed need for a platform for sharing scholarly work and experiences among professionals from an african perspective. it is our aim to ensure that jsaa will become the foremost academic journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in higher education on the african continent, and an indispensable resource for the executive leadership of universities and colleges dealing with student affairs, deans of students and other senior student affairs professionals, as well as institutional researchers and academics and students focused on the field of higher education studies and student affairs. the african continent, comprising of 54 countries, brings to the fore a great diversity in terms of higher education systems that have been shaped by colonial legacies, subsequent administrations and global, local and continental influences. each country is uniquely shaped by, among others, its history, politics and cultures, and there are lessons 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 1–8 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.46 and experiences to share among professionals who work with students and are interested in delivering professional and discipline-based support, development and services that contribute to broadly defined student success. student affairs, support, development and services refer broadly to student lives – personal, social and academic – and aim to enhance students’ experience and contribute to their development. there is a broad base of student development theories developed in the western world that draw from disciplines such as psychology and sociology and contribute to student affairs professionals’ knowledge of how to understand their own profession and how to render discipline-based services in a professional manner. however, given that these theories have been developed in contexts very different from our own and are often not tested by research conducted in africa, it is up to student affairs scholars and professionals in the african context to interrogate these theories for their transferability and applicability in our own context. this journal certainly aims to contribute to student affairs in africa in this way. the past student affairs as a profession is said to have established itself mainly in the 20th century, motivated by factors such as the increase in numbers of students accessing higher education, particularly in countries where participation rates increased, where the student bodies of universities became increasingly diverse, and where the model of higher education came to emphasise research – hence the growing need for additional services to be provided to students by administrators who were hired specifically for those roles (unesco, 2002, p. 29). in the late 1990s the field became more textured and specialised into divisions or units, such as academic advising and counselling, admissions, services for mature and returning learners, student organisations, multi-faith services, and many more (unesco, 2002, p. 32–56). the same trend is observable in africa with the growth and expansion of higher education in africa. while it is estimated that there were only 120 000 students in african universities at independence (in the early 1960s), this number has dramatically grown to 9.3 million students in less than 50 years (marmolejo, 2011). to discuss the history and evolution of student affairs in the african context we need to look back at the introduction of the modern university as a western institution on the continent. the scope of this editorial reflection does not allow for a full history of the introduction of western universities in africa but a few points are worth mentioning. there is a comprehensive history of higher education in africa, and it shows that there were several institutions that existed in the pre-colonial period (lulat, 2005; zeleza, 2006). various scholars have written in detail about higher education in different historical periods and across the diverse geographic areas of africa. the history of the modern university in particular in africa dates back to the early 19th century with the establishment of universities in algeria, liberia, sierra leone, south africa and madagascar. they were explicitly modelled on the european university in terms of their institutional form, purpose, and disciplinary divisions; in various regards they were very different from the earlier apprentice training or monastic reading models common before that. in brief, the teboho moja, birgit schreiber and thierry luescher-mamashela: contextualising student affairs in africa 3 history of the provision of higher education in africa provides a context for understanding the development of student affairs that has not been sufficiently documented or researched. currently, higher education studies in africa is still an emerging field of study. the agenda of higher education research tends to centre around governance, leadership and management issues, higher education policy, funding and quality assurance, the contribution and role of higher education in development and democracy, and matters related to the increasing privatisation of higher education in africa. for a long time, research into student life has been focused mainly on student activism, studying student protests aimed at ending colonialism and establishing democratic governments, opposing political corruption and interference in education, the introduction of cost-sharing and fees in higher education and, more recently, the harassment of marginalised students (luescher-mamashela & mugume, 2014). only a few studies have studied students in terms of student support and development. what we know is that historically student support has been provided informally and in an attempt to assimilate students into the status quo; student support has not been provided in a structured, professionalised or discipline-based way (assielumumba, 2006). there is, therefore, a lot of history that we need to uncover and explore in order to better understand the african history of student support and development and what theoretical frameworks implicitly or explicitly informed the kinds of support and development we have offered and continue offering. from the present into the future following the unesco world conference on higher education in 1998, unesco initiated a project to focus on the development of a manual that would guide the development of student affairs programmes worldwide and encourage the provision of student services in a professional manner for the enhancement and development of students during their studies. over a decade ago, student affairs were identified in a minority of african countries and even fewer had professional organisations (unesco, 2002, p. 50). much has changed in student affairs since the unesco world conference, and more changes can be anticipated as the higher education sector becomes a key driver of the social and economic reconstruction and development of the african continent. student affairs is emerging as the new frontier for higher education in africa. clearly there is recognition that student affairs is making significant contributions to the higher education sector (che, 2014; lewin & mawoyo, 2014). thus, the professionalisation of student affairs is imperative for the continent and for the benefit of higher education and student success. student affairs in the southern african region in particular is beginning to professionalise as the result of three substantive influences. first, this is due to the quest for data-based and evidence-driven policy development and institutional decision-making across the higher education sector (leibbrandt & ranchhod, 2014; lange & lueschermamashela, forthcoming). various census data, higher education data (on students, staff, finances and quality), student engagement data, and other data are providing the necessary evidence and knowledge on which to base knowledge-based management and policymaking. increasingly, this kind of formerly neglected source of information is now used to 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 1–8 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.46 shape institutional and system-level policies (swing, 2014). data analytics is employed to answer key questions about student success, student cohort and cross-sectional studies, and student engagement trends are used to shape institutional responses to enhancing student success (che, 2014). student affairs, certainly in south africa, is increasingly required to provide credible data and research-based evidence that support its claims and institutional position. the second key influence on the professionalisation of student affairs in the southern region of africa is the continued and persistent emphasis on student–institutional integration and questions about how best to accelerate this while considering issues of assimilation (lewin & mawoyo, 2014). institutional culture is comprised of many ingredients, some of which concern peer interaction, student-staff interaction, the campus environment, academic preparedness, classroom pedagogies, co-curricular and life-wide learning experiences (jackson, 2010). we are reminded of astin’s assertion that “the student’s peer group is the single most important source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years” (1993, p. 398). student affairs is ideally positioned to guide the institutions on how to utilise this to the benefit of all. student affairs is increasingly mandated to address issues of institutional culture and student integration and the search for disciplineand research-based answers compels the drive towards a professional approach to student affairs. the third compelling influence on the professionalisation of student affairs emerges from the shifting organisational landscape of student affairs. not only is south africa establishing a federation of its numerous student affairs associations – i.e. the south african federation of student affairs and services; it is also the forerunner for swaziland, botswana and namibia equally to establish an organisational infrastructure that strengthens student affairs’ role within the higher education sector. clearly, the future for student affairs is full of opportunities to develop a discipline-based domain that can respond with evidence about the pressing issues of student success (lewis & mawoyo, 2014). contextualising student affairs in africa: in this issue in the launch issue of jsaa, several authors reflected in great detail on different theoretical models and practical approaches to the professionalisation of student affairs in africa. in this issue, the thematic focus is more especially on present-day student affairs practices in the african context. it comprises a variety of contributions, including several research-based articles focusing on professional development and student experiences and perceptions, with one of the common threads being different approaches to questions of diversity: gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, multiculturalism. the issue further includes contributions by two esteemed members of the profession internationally: the preface to this issue written by john schuh, distinguished professor, emeritus, and a very personal, reflective account by the founder and emeritus president of iasas, roger ludeman. the question of how to build women’s leadership in student affairs in the african university context leads the first article in this issue authored by dawn person, katherine saunders and kristina oganesian. the article is based on a qualitative case study conducted teboho moja, birgit schreiber and thierry luescher-mamashela: contextualising student affairs in africa 5 with the cohort of five women participants of a pilot doctoral programme in student affairs offered in collaboration between the university of the western cape (south africa) and california state university, fullerton (usa). it shows in detail the students’ expectations and challenges as they participate and progress in the programme. in due course the article highlights the importance of professional development and formalised training programmes in student affairs and provides an innovative and valuable way of understanding both the potential value of the programme and the very real experiences of the participants as black women who are grappling with the challenges of being adult learners within a complex, and often exclusionary, higher education landscape. the article concludes with a number of observations regarding the value of international collaborations in the development of student affairs professionals and with recommendations for how to improve such programmes. botswana is one of the few african countries that has a massified higher education system and a deliberate policy of growing its human resource base through higher education and the development of innovation hubs (bailey, cloete & pillay, 2011). this has not only resulted in a rapidly expanding institutional landscape of higher education, including new public and private institutions, but also in more diverse institutional student bodies. writing from the country’s flagship institution, the university of botswana, thenjiwe e. major and boitumelo mangope make a passionate plea for the deliberate development of multicultural competence among student affairs practitioners. in particular, they focus on the in-service professional development of student housing administrators, noting the increasingly diverse student populations encountered on university campuses and the need for practitioners to become self-aware, to self-reflect, and to gain multicultural knowledge and multicultural skills. the challenge of an increasing diversity in the student body is the point of departure of the articles by samantha shapses wertheim, and mathew smorenburg and munita dunn. shapses wertheim investigates students’ perceptions of cross-racial interaction on the campus of a previously segregated (whites-only) afrikaans university in south africa, and how these perceptions reflect the larger post-apartheid social dynamic after twenty years of democracy. it is a case study that shows, among other things, the transient stage of students’ views on race evident in narratives riddled with unsettled contradiction; it also invites deep reflection on how higher education institutions, such as the one in this study, may ever be transformed to engage effectively with the interpersonal/intrapersonal, historical and institutional factors that shape students’ meaning-making process on key aspects of their personal and social identity. using the critical race theory lens as part of her theoretical framework, shapses wertheim shows the value of engaging with existing theory to guide an inquiry into a difficult and sensitive subject such as race relations in south africa, and to eventually gain a deeper understanding that is immediately valuable for student affairs practitioners. smorenburg and dunn’s case study is also based at a historically white, afrikaans university in south africa, the university of stellenbosch, and it also deals with student diversity in the student housing domain. in particular, the article discusses a student 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 1–8 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.46 housing programme called ‘listen, live and learn’ and it assesses the programme’s student application and selection process as a standardised tool to enhance student diversity in the programme. it shows in great detail the lengths to which student affairs professionals attached to the programme have gone in order to develop a transparent and fair selection process attuned to the aims of the programme. in this respect, the described process may be considered as a model for student selection into similar student development programmes. moreover, according to the authors, the ‘listen, live and learn’ model was developed originally on the basis of social contact theory; in reflecting on shapses wertheim’s study, it would be interesting to see if the theory’s claims hold – namely, that if students of different genders, races, ethnicities, and/or religions, make contact and interact with one another on an equal level, then less stereotyping by them will occur. the final peer-reviewed contribution published in this issue features a very personal, reflective account of the establishment of the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). it outlines the association’s genesis and early history from the perspective of its founder, president emeritus and first executive director, roger ludeman. in the process, the paper addresses some of the important factors and elements that laid the foundation for a more cooperative approach to student affairs work, and it touches on some important similarities and differences of student affairs work around the world. ludeman’s contribution is therefore not only highly relevant in its own respect as a record of iasas’ organisational history but also in that it provides inspiration and lessons for establishing professional organisations in countries and domains where they do not yet exist and/or for professionals and scholars to become involved in iasas at a regional, african or global level. this issue of jsaa’s dialogue section features three brief presentations made at the 2014 co-curriculum colloquium organised by the university of the western cape. it deals with questions that are fundamental to student affairs practice: what is the co-curriculum? is it something at the fringes of university life or has it the potential to influence the very culture of our institution and higher education in general, redefining what we traditionally consider legitimate learning? birgit schreiber introduces in her paper the colloquium and the debate by considering different purposes and notions of the co-curriculum: as an institutional marketing tool; a means to improve the employability of students; and a palette of institutional service offerings to enhance students’ ‘customer satisfaction’. how are we to translate into student affairs practice a notion of the co-curriculum that encompasses issues of student engagement, life-long and life-wide learning, student development and support, authentic learning and graduate attributes, and what schreiber calls “the uncommon-traditional and the ubiquitous-non-traditional student”? how, ultimately, can the co-curriculum thus conceived significantly enhance student success? the presentation by ronelle carolissen picks up on the topic by exploring the co-curriculum from a critical feminist perspective. in the process, carolissen provides a powerful critique of the notion of a confined and finite co-curriculum as a construct emerging from traditional notions of citizenship. finally, teboho moja and monroe france discuss the idea of the relevance of an integrated co-curriculum for student engagement, student persistence and student success, in relation to the concept of ‘seamlessness’ in the student learning and development experience. teboho moja, birgit schreiber and thierry luescher-mamashela: contextualising student affairs in africa 7 like the previous issue, this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa includes three authoritative book reviews relevant to student affairs in africa. firstly, joy papier reviews the book higher education for the public good: views from the south edited by brenda leibowitz. as papier shows, leibowitz has succeeded in bringing together a valuable compilation of essays by prominent south african and international academics on the theme of higher education and the public good. she starts her review with provocative questions that must be asked from the outset, namely, who is this ‘public’, and how is its ‘good’ defined? the second review is conducted by ellen m. broido and looks at the 2014 edition of one size does not fit all: traditional and innovative models of student affairs practice written by k. manning, j. kinzie, and j. schuh. the book provides an update of its 2007 edition and describes eleven models of student affairs practice, divided between “traditional” and “innovative” types. finally, the book discerning critical hope in educational practices (2013) reviewed by denise wood engages with contemporary educational practice in terms of paulo freire’s notion of hope. it is a collection of diverse essays edited by vivienne bozalek, brenda leibowitz, ronelle carolissen and megan boler. the issue of jsaa concludes with conference announcements, calls for papers, and invitations to join professional student affairs associations. with this diversity of research articles, reflective accounts, seminar papers and book reviews, we hope to provide our readers with a relevant, interesting and empowering perspective on the diversity of scholarship and practice in the domain and give a starting impression of the profession in the african context as it presents itself, as it is analysed and understood. we thank all the contributors and peer reviewers, our esteemed members of the jsaa editorial executive and the journal’s international editorial advisory board, the layout editors and proofreaders from our publisher, african minds, and the technical team from e-publications of the university of the western cape, who are administering the www.jsaa.ac.za website. for the editorial executive, prof. teboho moja, editor-in-chief dr birgit schreiber, editor and book review editor dr thierry luescher-mamashela, editor and journal manager references assie-lumumba n (2006): higher education in africa: crises, reforms and transformation. dakar: codesria. astin, a. (1993). what matters in college? four critical years revisited. san francisco: jossey-bass. bailey, t., cloete, n. & pillay, p. (2011). universities and economic development in africa. case study: botswana and the university of botswana. cape town: chet. council on higher education (che). (2014). quality enhancement project. pretoria, south africa. retrieved june 6, 2014 from http://www.che.ac.za/announcements/launch-qualityenhancement-project-qep-johannesburg-27-february-2014 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 1–8 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.46 jackson, n. (2010). from a curriculum that integrates work to a curriculum that integrates life: changing a university’s conceptions of curriculum. higher education research & development, 29(5), 491–505. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2010.502218 lange, l. & luescher-mamashela, t.m. (forthcoming). governance, leadership and management. in council on higher education (ed.). twenty years of democracy in south african higher education. pretoria: council on higher education. leibbrandt, m. & ranchhod, v. (2014). evidenced based policy making: capacity building, data and analysis. paper presented at kresge foundation data analytics symposium, may 2014, cape town, south africa. lewin, t. & mawoyo, m. (2014). student access and success: issues and interventions in south african universities. cape town: inyathelo: the south african institute for advancement. luescher-mamashela, t.m. & mugume, t. (2014). student representation and multiparty politics in african higher education. studies in higher education. 39(3): 500-515. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2014.896183 lulat, y.g.m. (2005) a history of african higher education from antiquity to the present: a critical synthesis. wesport: praeger and greenwood. marmolejo, f (2011): worldwise march 1, 2011. the chronicle of higher education. retrieved july 2, 2013 from http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/african-higher-education-in-the-worldare-they-and-we-ready/28025. swing, r. (2014). building institutional research capacity: in support of student success. paper delivered at association for institutional research, may 2014, cape town, south africa. unesco (2002): the role of student affairs and services in higher education – a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. paris: unesco. zeleza p. (2006): beyond afropessimism: historical accounting of african universities. pambazuka news, august 30, 2006, issue 263. retrieved 1 june 2014 from http://www.pambazuka.org/en/ category/features/35832 404 not found 246 iasas global summit 24‑27 may 2021, virtually, university of toronto, canada 16 march 2021 dear student affairs colleagues, peers, and friends, we are thrilled to announce that the virtual iasas global summit has been rescheduled and confirmed for 24‑27 may 2021, to be held virtually in toronto, university of toronto, canada. this 5th iasas global summit will bring together leaders from higher education student affairs and services from across the globe to engage in dialogue on key issues for our work in higher education. the summit will serve as a platform for critical discussion and deepening our community of practice that spans the globe, within an international framework and local relevance.  the planned schedule and call for programmemes is at this link: http://iasas.global/call‑for‑conference‑programme‑proposals/ this summit’s overarching theme is alignment of student affairs and services with higher education’s goals of social justice. the topics will focus on four un sustainable development goals (sdgs): quality education, gender equality, reduced inequalities and climate action, and the 5th focus is sas in covid‑19 times: keeping the focus on social justice. as with previous iasas global summits, we will produce a position paper, based on the inputs of all participants, that will be submitted for publication in our regional publications, in the university world news, and to the unesco’s world conference on higher education in october 2021. the summit will focus on: • advance, build and support partnerships, networks and common strategies around the advancement of un sdgs quality education, gender equality, reduced inequalities and climate action across countries and regions; • covid‑19: what are the common challenges and opportunities experienced by higher education, sas practitioners and students across different countries and regions. this includes: financial challenges (public disinvestment, student debt, etc.), social challenges (social justice, socio‑cultural contexts, etc.), sustainability, http://iasas global summit http://iasas.global/call-for-conference-program-proposals/ https://sdgs.un.org/goals https://sdgs.un.org/goals 247 indigenous populations, refugees, diversity, and management challenges (upskilling, possible restructures, morale and technology fatigue, collaboration with allies, etc.), gbv and gender asymmetries; • covid‑19: what kinds of competencies are required to meet the post‑covid‑19 context, for sas and higher education leadership and for practitioners; you are invited to register for the iasas global summit, 2021. you will be responsible for a registration fee of $75 cad. the 2021 global summit will be a virtual summit, with an on‑site team of hosts at the university of toronto. if you have any questions, please feel free to contact lisa bardill moscaritolo at enquiries@ iasas.global or at lmoscaritolo@aus.edu. we look forward to your participation in the 2020/21 isasa global summit on student affairs and services. sincerely, achim meyer auf der heyde jennifer hamilton president, iasas executive director, cacuss international association of california association of college student affairs and services and university student services https://www.cacuss.ca/upcoming-events.html/event-info/details/id/142?utm_campaign=aus%20general&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=2&_hsenc=p2anqtz-_oumhumgpd_zwmt7nyjxwsudn2p0rvqaqxwccf_m2hv5qcfqlfpdhzviooab_hiwmsdsuljk24r6onpmzgz0jy4xczww&utm_content=2&utm_source=hs_email http://enquiries@iasas.global http://enquiries@iasas.global http://lmoscaritolo@aus.edu 248 conference announcements for further enquiries: secgen@aau.org / info@aau.org +233 26 4173153 / +233 54 7728975 mailto:secgen%40aau.org?subject= mailto:info%40aau.org?subject= http://www.saacdhe.co.za/conference on a global scale, the 1998 world declaration on higher education (wdhe) calls for national and institutional decision-makers to “place students and their needs at the centre of their concern”, particularly as higher education expands and improves in developing countries. in response to this call, unesco has begun to elaborate ways in which student affairs and services in higher education can give effect to the world declaration with the publication of the manual the role of student affairs and services in higher education (unesco, 2002) and the best practice guide student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices (ludeman, osfield, hidalgo, oste & wang, 2009). this comes at a time when african higher education has been undergoing a continent-wide revitalisation and massive expansion, leading to the emergence of the first national systems of mass higher education on the continent (in a context where, however, most systems remain largely elite, with participation rates well below 15 per cent), much and widespread institutional massification, and in many countries a bifurcation of higher education into public and private universities and colleges, and government-sponsored and fee-paying students (mohamedbhai, 2008). in the introduction to unesco’s best practice guide in student affairs, ludeman et al. (2009) argue that in addition to mainly classroom-based delivery of higher education, there is increasing evidence that higher education also must address the basic personal needs of students by providing a comprehensive set of out-of-classroom student services and programmes commonly referred to as student affairs and services. these efforts should be designed to enable and empower students to focus more intensely on their studies and on their personal growth and maturation, both cognitively and emotionally. they also should result in enhanced student learning outcomes [and] help to assure students’ success in higher education and their subsequent contributions to the national welfare. (p. iv–v) * senior lecturer in higher education studies, institute for post-school studies, university of the western cape. email: jsaa_editor@outlook.com ** clinical professor of higher education studies, steinhardt school of culture, education and human development, new york university *** director, centre for student support services, university of the western cape african minds www.jsaa.ac.za editorial towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa thierry luescher-mamashela*, teboho moja** and birgit schreiber*** journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 viii ludeman’s reference to “personal growth and maturation, both cognitively and emotionally”, to enhancing “student learning outcomes” and assuring “student success” as part of the purposes of student affairs, points to a notion of student affairs that goes far beyond a services model which in its scope and focus is limited to the provision of support services. it thus challenges the separation of student affairs staff from academic staff and the core mission of the universities, and suggests a model of student affairs which may best be conceptualised as “a scholarship of practice” (see carpenter, 2013, in this issue). thus, if there is an incipient process of professionalising student affairs in africa, it would appear wise to consider models of professionalism that reflect the state of the discipline and best practice as well as a student development framework that embraces human development theories such as the holistic development theory. systems of higher education in africa need professionals who can help create an educational setting that would “address the individual’s intellectual growth as well as her personal growth to enable the student to mature and become a full participant in civil society” (gillepsie, braskamp & dwyer, 2009, p.446). scholarly and professional developments in african student affairs there is growing interest in professionalising student affairs in africa. for example, in the last decade, academic programmes with a focus in student affairs have sprung up in a number of african universities. at eduardo mondlane university (emu) in maputo, makerere university (mak) in kampala, and the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town, programmes have been developed and are being delivered as part of successful north–south and south–south collaborations. this development of programmes in higher education studies and student affairs – and the demand that has been shown both by students and prospective employers (such as national ministries, regulatory bodies and university administrations) – reflect training needs that clearly go beyond the ‘on-the-jobtraining’ model that is otherwise so prevalent, and point towards specialised and high-level skills requirements entering the profession. this is supported by research conducted in new and existing centres, in research programmes focused on african higher education, and in a growing literature on higher education and student affairs in africa. the scholarly field of higher education and student affairs is clearly developing – if still only in pockets – on the continent. concurrently, professional associations in student affairs are also developing. among them are the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), founded in 2010, the association for college and university housing officers – international (acuho-i), the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saachdhe), as well as national associations such as the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) and the national association of student development practitioners (nasdev). many of these associations hold annual or bi-annual conferences which include insightful presentations sharing professional reflection on good practices and research relevant to the profession more broadly. in addition, a first african student affairs conference was held in 2011, which included student affairs professionals from countries across the continent such viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 ix as nigeria, south africa and uganda. this was followed by a smaller conference of student affairs professionals and student leaders from across east and southern africa in the same year. most recently, some of the associations have ventured into new areas: publishing and training (with regard to the latter, see dunn & dunkel, 2013, in this issue). jsaa launch issue: the professionalisation of student affairs in africa it is within this context that the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) has been established as a platform for critically engaging with these developments by means of encouraging, supporting and disseminating high quality research and professional reflection from a diversity of national and institutional contexts. the jsaa is an independent, international, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary academic journal, established to serve the broad range of associations and professionals, institutions, centres and individual academics and researchers in the field. the jsaa publishes scholarly research and reflective-practitioner discussions about the theory and practice of student affairs in african higher education. it ultimately strives to become the foremost scholarly and professional journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in higher education on the african continent. as such it will be an indispensible resource for the executive leadership of universities and colleges dealing with student affairs, deans of students and other senior student affairs professionals, as well as institutional researchers, academics and students focused on the field of higher education studies and student affairs. in the call for papers for the launch double issue of the jsaa, contributors were invited to engage with questions around the incipient professionalisation of student affairs in africa. specifically invited were critical contributions engaging with the notion of professionalisation, professionalism, and their meanings in relation to the practice of student affairs; explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context; explorations of theory development, professional trends and academic programmes related to student affairs in africa; conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa; as well as case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in african higher education and related relevant contexts, and high level reflective practitioner accounts. the response has been both overwhelmingly positive and expectedly skewed. the skewness relates mainly to the institutional location of authors. some of the authors are located in american universities, but have spent time in africa conducting research on student-related issues, whilst others are located in africa but mainly in south africa. this has been expected not only due to the institutional location of most of the founding editors of the journal (and the invitation is for authors and editors from across the continent to join) but also because of the levels of development of the profession and scholarly field in the united states (as against elsewhere in the world). to balance the skewness, peer-reviewers were selected from the african continent as well as from the international community. the responses received to the call for papers and in reaction to the establishment of the jsaa were overwhelmingly positive. one of the notes in support of the establishment thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa ix x of the journal is published as preface to the launch issue: the letter of support by deputy vice-chancellor, prof. lullu tshiwula of uwc, who has also become a patron of the journal. tshiwula writes that the space for this journal in the theatre of ideas is long overdue, and its potential for growth in the intellectual space is immense. (p. vi in this issue) this intellectual space has now become inhabited by a first set of contributors. conceptualisations of the student affairs profession the opening articles by carpenter and haber-curran and by selznick both engage with definitions of student affairs as a profession – and find that student affairs does not fit the strictures of traditional professions (such as medicine) very well. nonetheless (and from different perspectives), both arrive at the intermediary conclusion that professionalisation in the african higher education context is both possible and desirable, and should not necessarily follow the american model. according to carpenter and haber-curran, the traditional american service model has resulted in a conceptual separation of student affairs from the academic core mission of universities, which ought to be avoided in the african context. rather, by asking a series of questions, they propose that “student affairs professionals should engage in what can be called the scholarship of practice” (p. 3 in this issue): what if student affairs professionals fully embraced a role as practitioner-scholars engaging in practice in a thoughtful and intentional way that is both informed by research and informs research? (komives, 1998) what if the notion of scholarship expanded beyond just the scholarship of discovery to also include the scholarship of integration, application, and teaching and learning as argued by boyer? (1990) and what if student affairs practice were approached interdependently with academic faculties and departments rather than independently or dependently? in elaborating their conception of what constitutes a scholarship of practice, carpenter and haber-curran illustrate ways in which professional associations, professional preparation programmes (such as those mentioned above) and professional/scholarly publications like the jsaa can infuse scholarly values in professional practice. selznick’s focus on how best to professionalise student affairs leads him to a close examination of the work of noordegraaf on professional development with reference to the notions of ‘constructed professionalism’, ‘practices-in-transition’ and ‘hybrid professionalism’. they conceive of professionalisation as a dynamic, evolving and contingent process that involves an intentional, flexible and reflective application of theory in practice, in a context of empirical and normative complexity and ambiguity. selznick applies the x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 xi proposed professionalisation model in suggestive ways to career counselling and distance education, as two functional areas which respectively hold opportunities for adaptation and collaboration. he concludes on a high note: african practitioners trained to be adaptive and collaborative may very well chart courses that will inspire the international student affairs community to reinvent practices in the name of greater student success and access. (p. 20 in this issue) how to enhance the professionalisation of student affairs is approached in different ways by the articles of gansemer-topf, and dunn and dunkel. the former proposes assessment, i.e. the formalised process “to gather, analyse, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional or agency effectiveness” (upcraft & schuh, 1996 in gansemer-topf, 2013, in this issue), as “a critical component in raising the stature of student affairs professionalism”. thus, while practices such as assessment are performed in the first place as a means to show accountability and suggest improvements, they play an important role in establishing the legitimacy of the profession in the eyes of internal and external stakeholders. the latter article by dunn and dunkel reports on the different models of competencies for student housing officers and the establishment of the southern african student housing training institute. it demonstrates, by way of a very practical example, how the professionalisation of student affairs can be enhanced through competency development and international collaboration facilitated by a professional association, in this case the acuho-i. as noted above, the professionalisation of student affairs in africa comes in a context of the rapid expansion of access opportunities which poses additional challenges to student affairs professionals. the article by yakaboski and birnbaum elaborates on the variety of challenges higher education institutions face as they expand and try to provide access to masses of students in one particular country, kenya. the challenges range from a lack of professional training to problems with leadership in the institutions, and therefore beg for more training and professionalisation of the services to be provided in order to address problems that are unique to a university located on the african continent and the country’s cultural and historical legacies and practices. this issue’s thematic engagement with “the professionalisation of student affairs in africa” is concluded with the reflections of a former student leader from the university of cape town, thami ledwaba, on the contribution of student affairs to student life, student leadership, higher education and society. beyond the profession: researching student affairs in africa gyampo’s research article on student activism and its contribution to the quality of democracy in ghana shifts the focus from looking inward at student affairs as a profession to the big picture of the relationship between higher education and democratisation in africa. gyampo’s article shows the changing dynamic between student activism and democratisation from confrontation to dialogue, and its changing organisational form, thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa xi xii which has become aligned to ghanaian multipartyism. research into students’ political engagement on and off campus has come into focus in african higher education with the understanding that student engagement with democracy, diversity and social justice is an important part of the university’s civic role and contribution to the attainment of graduate attributes related to citizenship. the article by gyampo is a good example of research conducted in the field of higher education studies which is relevant to student affairs. its publication in the launch issue also illustrates our commitment as an editorial team to publish articles that fall within the journal’s scope and that pass the journal’s rigorous processes of editorial vetting and double-blind peer review as soon as they are ready, even if they do not directly relate to the thematic core of the issue. while the jsaa will typically have a thematic core, there will be articles in every issue – research articles, reflective practitioner accounts, and book reviews – that respond more broadly to the interests of authors and readers. the book reviews chosen for this issue also reflect diverse themes. fourie reviews williams’ strategic diversity leadership; activating change and transformation in higher education and emphasises the book’s value in terms of straddling the theoretical domain of diversity while also engaging with practical challenges around implementation and experiences. bozalek reviews beyond inclusion: the practice of equal access in indian higher education. she highlights the book’s significance in terms of filling the “gap in knowledge about the intersection between social justice and higher education” (p. 81 in this issue). she highlights the critique of ‘skills development’ as a response to access issues, as seen in the chapter by zacharias in the book, which is a chronic issue that student affairs needs to grapple with. clearly, as bozalek points out, levelling the ground regarding access issues is about social justice, and this book is a ‘must read’ for everyone concerned with its intersection with higher education. lastly, fouché, a seasoned therapist who focuses on the intersection of career and narrative therapy, provides a useful summary of maree’s book counselling for career construction which illustrates a range of related interventions, theories and practices in student affairs. lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors and peer-reviewers, our esteemed members of the jsaa editorial executive and the jsaa international editorial advisory board, the layout editors from african minds and the technical team from e-publications of the university of the western cape. our thanks go also to the many supportive colleagues we spoke to in the course of the conceptualisation and establishment of the journal, and most especially to ms tonia overmeyer who was a pillar of strength and a bundle of joy to work with in the initial development phase. on behalf of the editorial executive, dr thierry luescher-mamashela, journal manager prof. teboho moja, editor-in-chief dr birgit schreiber, book review editor xii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, vii–xiii | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.18 xiii references gillepsie, j., braskamp, l., & dwyer, m. (2009). holistic student learning and development abroad – the ies 3-d program model. in r. lewin (ed.), the handbook of practice and research in study abroad – higher education and the quest for global citizenship. new york: routledge. ludeman, r.b., osfield, k.j., hidalgo, e.i., oste, d. & wang, h.s. (2009). student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices. paris: unesco. mohamedbhai, g. (2008). the effects of massification on higher education in africa. accra: association of african universities. united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (unesco) (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. paris: unesco. thierry luescher-mamashela, teboho moja and birgit schreiber: towards a professionalisation of student affairs in africa xiii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 87 www.jsaa.ac.za research article towards a learning mindset: first-year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude in the context of learning effort henry mason* * dr henry mason is research psychologist and a head of department at the directorate of student development and support, tshwane university of technology, south africa. email: masonh@tut.ac.za abstract signature strengths, such as gratitude, can assist students in navigating the demanding first-year experience. however, more research is needed to explore the role of gratitude in relation to cognitive benefits for students. this article reports on a constructivist grounded theory study that explored south african students’ conceptions and enactments of gratitude with regard to their learning efforts. qualitative data were collected in individual open-ended interviews (n = 22, age-range = 18-23) and analysed using three interdependent coding phases (initial coding, focused coding and theoretical coding). the resultant grounded theory was titled ‘thanks: gratitude and learning resilience amongst first-year university students’. the findings revealed that gratitude could take many forms and has a positive qualitative impact on students’ learning resilience, and that gratitude and learning resilience are emancipatory in nature. limitations and areas for further research conclude the discussion. keywords first-year experience; gratitude; positive psychology; resilience; well-being introduction the practice of writing down five things that one is grateful for on a weekly basis can bring about significant increases in well‑being and decreases in ill‑being (emmons, 2008). gratitude practices have been related to higher levels of resilience, improvements in life satisfaction and lower levels of depression (fredrickson, 2004a). these findings could have particular relevance for university students. a corpus of literature indicates that stress levels and the subsequent adverse effects are disproportionately higher amongst university students in comparison to the general population within the same age cohort in research across the globe (bewick, koutsopoulou, miles, slaa & barkham, 2010; grøtan, sund & bjerkeset, 2019). the stressors associated with university life are particularly prevalent during the first‑year experience when students are expected to navigate numerous university‑related demands and deal with maturational challenges (arnett, 2015; scott, 2018). hence, stress can exacerbate a sense of unwellness amongst university students and leave them unfocused in their learning efforts https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:masonh%40tut.ac.za?subject= 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 (mason, 2017; richardson, elliot & roberts, 2017). research is needed to explore ways in which students can be assisted in enhancing well‑being and resilience in learning against the backdrop of stressful university experiences (marcotte & levesque, 2018; mason, 2017). positive psychology (pp) emerged as a burgeoning field of research that argues for the identification and operationalisation of character strengths to promote well‑being and resilient learning (seligman & csikszentmihalyi, 2000). the concept of signature strengths forms the bedrock of pp (seligman, 2011). signature strengths refer to stable yet malleable capacities and virtues that prompt people to act in specific ways (peterson & seligman, 2004). the use of strengths has been positively associated with higher levels of well‑being and resiliency in learning and serve as a buffer against the deleterious effects of stress (dahlsgaard, peterson & seligman, 2005; niemiec & lissing, 2016). seligman and colleagues developed the values in action (via) classification of six virtues and 24 strengths (dahlsgaard et al., 2005; peterson & seligman, 2004). gratitude is included as a signature strength in the via classification and refers to the capacity to recognise and appreciate benefits from others and to reciprocate with positive actions (wissing, potgieter, guse, khumalo & nel, 2014). gratitude has been extensively studied and is positively associated with a constellation of spiritual, physical and emotional benefits (emmons & stern, 2013; kashdan, mishra, breen & froh, 2009; ma, kibler & sly, 2013). additionally, gratitude is related to cognitive benefits, such as broadening and building people’s perspectives and skill sets (froh et al., 2010). the cognitive benefits associated with gratitude, such as enhancing resilience in learning, could prove valuable to students within a university context (wilson, 2016). despite decades of research on gratitude, an evaluation of the literature revealed two gaps. firstly, few studies have investigated the cognitive benefits of gratitude related to enhancing learning efforts amongst first‑year university students (guse, vescovelli & coxford, 2017; howells, 2012). assisting first‑year students in improving learning efforts is a critical responsibility of those working in student counselling contexts and could contribute positively to the academic project (lewin & mawoyo, 2014). secondly, there is a paucity of qualitative studies that have explored participants’ lived experiences of gratitude (göcen, 2016). a qualitative exploration of the cognitive benefits of gratitude regarding learning efforts could offer a grounded description of students’ thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. such data could contribute to the existing body of mostly quantitative studies by adding to a nuanced and more holistic understanding of gratitude. moreover, insight into the students’ qualitative experiences of gratitude concerning learning efforts could guide the contributions that persons working in student development centres can make to the first‑year students. consequently, the purpose of this article is to report on a qualitative study that explored the cognitive benefits of gratitude in relation to learning amongst first‑ year university students. gratitude amongst university students gratitude is a social emotion that consists of two interlocking processes. the first process indicates that an individual has attained a positive outcome and the second, recognition that an external source, such as another person, nature, or a spiritual deity, has contributed to the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 henry mason: towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude … 89 positive outcome (emmons, 2008). in the case where gratitude is directed towards other persons, it can be described as a form of reciprocal altruism, and it aims to foster mutually beneficial relationships (emmons & mishra, 2011). data suggest that gratitude is connected positively to a variety of prosocial outcomes, for example, well‑being, positive youth development, and quality of life (kashdan et al., 2009; ma et al., 2013). correspondingly, gratitude is negatively related to indicators of psychological distress, such as anxiety and depression (emmons & stern, 2013). however, the experience and practice of gratitude play out within a context characterised by a unique set of intangible variables, such as cultural influences, political realities, and personal dispositions (göcen, 2016; wissing et al., 2014). hence, the expression of gratitude should be interpreted from the vantage point of a particular context and not in a blanket manner. wilson (2016) indicates that gratitude is one of seven signature strengths that appear to be predictive of academic success in educational settings; the other strengths that are predictive of academic success are grit, zest, self‑control, optimism, social intelligence, and curiosity (cf. peterson & seligman, 2004; seligman, ernst, gillham, reivich & linkins, 2009). whereas the majority of these seven signature strengths have been studied in relation to students’ learning efforts (duckworth & seligman, 2006; icekson, kaplan & slobodin, 2019), only limited studies have been conducted on the effects of gratitude on students’ learning efforts (howells, 2012; wilson, 2016). the literature on the role of gratitude in relation to learning efforts reveals four overarching themes, namely focus in learning, resilience in learning, gratitude as a pathway to hope, and the broaden and build perspective. regarding focus in learning, howells (2012) adopts a positive and affirmative approach by suggesting that students intend to be focused learners. however, many students lack the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to be focused learners (mason, 2019). due to the stressful nature of the first‑year experience, students may enter the educational context in a state of distress that could limit their capacity to be focused learners (howells,  2012). distressed states tend to feed off each other in a downward spiral that leads to negative attitudes or beliefs that further exacerbate unfocused learning (wilson, 2016). it is hypothesised that gratitude practices can assist students in approaching their learning in more focused states, which may culminate in upward cycles of engagement and ultimately in engaged learning (howells, 2012). the notion of resilience in learning is related to dweck’s (2016) conception of fixed and growth mindsets. a fixed mindset, also referred to as an entity theory of intelligence, refers to a personally held belief that persons have pre‑established and set quantities of skills, talents, and capacities. persons who hold fixed mindsets may mistakenly construe learning encounters as threatening to their psychological well‑being since they regard themselves as being limited in terms of skills, talents, and capacities. furthermore, persons who hold fixed mindsets will focus on coming across in a positive light and not necessarily on acquiring new skills in a learning situation. a growth mindset, described in terms of the incremental theory of intelligence, indicates that people can develop the skills through persistent effort and grit (duckworth & seligman, 2006; dweck, 2016). it is theorised that gratitude could assist students in cultivating growth mindsets, thereby strengthening their resilience and perseverance in learning (howells, 2012). 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 research has suggested that gratitude and hope are closely related (witvliet, richie, root luna & van tongeren, 2018). the concept of hope involves three interdependent aspects. firstly, hope entails a positive and meaningful future perspective that creates a dynamic tension between persons’ current and future or desired states of living. secondly, hope requires pathways thinking, which is the capacity to engage in creative problem‑ solving in addressing challenges and stressors in the pursuit of relevant life goals. lastly, hope is dependent on the personal agency that would allow persons to be proactive and deliberate in the pursuit of their goals. research has indicated that individual differences in hope are significant predictors of students’ overall grade point averages and graduation rates (dixson, keltner, worrell & mello, 2018; snyder, shorey, cheavens, pulvers, adams & wiklund, 2002). based on the broaden and build theory postulated by fredrickson (2001, 2004b), positive emotions such as gratitude generate broad thought‑action repertoires that form stable intellectual and social resources. for example, positive emotions could enhance problem‑solving capabilities (fredrickson & branigan, 2005). consequently, it is posited that gratitude as a positive emotion could be empowering in nature by assisting students in concretizing a sense of resilience in the face of stressors (emmons & stern, 2013). in this regard, wilson (2016) found that students who were supported by educators to reflect on gratitude towards learning reported higher levels of gratitude compared to a control group who were not supported. notwithstanding the immense contribution of research on gratitude related to human well‑being (emmons & stern, 2013; froh et al., 2011), reference to the qualitative effects of gratitude on learning effort amongst first‑year students is scant (howells, 2012; wilson, 2016). therefore, this article endeavours to contribute to the field by sharing findings from a qualitative study on students’ perspectives on the role of gratitude in learning efforts. method research design and approach a qualitative design articulated from a constructivist grounded theory perspective was adopted to conduct the study (charmaz, 2006). grounded theory aims to describe processes and drivers as depicted through participants’ lived experiences. since grounded theory is regarded as an appropriate approach in areas where there is a limited understanding of social processes, it was deemed an applicable methodology in this study (glaser, 2002). furthermore, grounded theory was selected because it allowed the researcher to advance an argument on the value of gratitude to students’ learning efforts, thereby making it possible to create a framework for possible interventions. lastly, a constructivist approach was adopted due to the flexible, albeit rigorous analytic processes that allowed for the postulation of a grounded theory resonant with participants’ realities as creators of knowledge (charmaz, 2006). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 henry mason: towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude … 91 context the study was conducted at a large south african residential university that hosts approximately 60 000 students. first‑year students comprise nearly one‑quarter of the student population at the specific university. the student population reflects the broader south african demographics, namely 51% female, 80.7%  african, 8.8%  coloured, 8.1% white, 2.5% indian/asian (statistics south africa, 2016). participants data were collected from 22 first‑year students using a nonprobability, purposive and voluntary sample (female = 13, male = 9, age‑range = 18‑23). criteria for inclusion were that participants had to be 18 years of age or older and be enrolled for academic studies at the university where the study being reported on was conducted. open invitations for participation were sent to students who had recently completed a learning and study skills intervention program at the specific south african university. it was anticipated that students who had attended the learning and study skills intervention programme would have obtained a good understanding of learning effort and could, therefore, be in a good position to reflect on the role of gratitude in the learning process. an open invitation to participate in the study was sent to all students who met the criteria. a total of 45 students voluntarily agreed to participate. it was determined that theoretical saturation (charmaz, 2006) was achieved after 20 interviews. subsequently, it was decided to conclude the data collection procedure after 22 qualitative interviews. data collection and procedure data were primarily collected through individual open‑ended interviews. the two guiding interview questions were: what role does gratitude play in your learning and study efforts? how do you enact gratitude when you engage in the learning process? additional probing questions (e.g. can you provide an example to illustrate your response?), requests for additional information (e.g. you raised an interesting point, please tell me more), and probing techniques (e.g. summarising and reflecting on participants’ responses) were used to illuminate participants’ experiences during the interviews. from this point forward, theoretical sampling guided the remainder of the interviews. for example, during the first three interviews, it became clear that stress within the university context played an important role in participants’ conceptions of the role of gratitude concerning their learning efforts. consequently, participants in the subsequent interviews were explicitly asked about the role of stress in their learning efforts (e.g. stress appears to be an essential factor that influences learning efforts amongst students. what are your thoughts on the topic?). the interviews, approximately 45 minutes to an hour in duration, were audio‑recorded and transcribed. data analysis and rigour the software program atlas.ti version 7, was used to manage the data analysis process. as a first step in the qualitative analysis, i immersed myself in the data by transcribing the 92 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 interviews and repeatedly reading the data set. next, data were analysed through three interdependent coding phases, namely initial coding, focused coding, and theoretical coding. the initial coding was conducted at a granular level focusing on two‑ to three‑word segments at a time. initial coding was used in coding the first five interviews. then a process of focused coding followed whereby the initial codes that made the most analytic sense were selected for further conceptual coding. lastly, the conceptual codes formed the basis for additional theoretical coding. despite the linear description of the coding process here, the procedure was iterative and required constant comparisons between codes, memos, and field notes. to ensure rigour, charmaz’s (2006) model of credibility, originality and usefulness served as a criterion to evaluate the quality of the emerging grounded theory. credibility was ensured through obtaining rich data from participants and subsequent participant verification. additionally, ongoing reflexive memoing assisted in enhancing credibility. originality was pursued through a literature check and ensuring that the emerging grounded theory offered a novel representation of the data. usefulness was achieved through the explication of the emerging theory to the research context. the findings from the study were presented to a subset of five students from the sample of 22 participants who voluntarily agreed to attend a feedback session. this subset of students was representative of the total sample in terms of gender and age (female = 3, male = 2, age‑range = 18‑23). participants agreed that the proposed grounded theory accurately represented their perspectives. research ethics the research ethics committee of the university where the study was conducted approved the research project (ref.#: rec/2014/07/003), and participants gave individual written informed consent. all identifying information (e.g. surnames, names, and student numbers) were treated confidentially and removed before data analysis. no course credit or financial benefits were offered for participation. findings and discussion the data analysis revealed an emerging grounded theory that was titled thanks: gratitude and learning resilience among first-year university students. the proposed grounded theory narrates the demands that students encounter within the university setting and how gratitude aids in establishing an emancipatory state that enriches learning efforts. the grounded theory comprises five interlinked phases, namely (1) arriving at university, (2) being overwhelmed; (3) turning inward with a purpose; (4) the benefits of gratitude; and (5) the learning mindset (figure 1). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 henry mason: towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude … 93 figure 1: phases of the proposed grounded theory in figure 1, the five phases are represented as interweaving spirals. these interweaving spirals illustrate the idea that the phases are iterative and do not necessarily occur in a linear and compartmentalised manner. the main features of each phase are included in figure 1 and elaborated upon in the following sections. selected verbatim quotes are included to validate the interpretations. the referencing system in parenthesis denotes participant number (e.g. p#1 for participant 1), gender (m = male, f = female) and age. in the sections that follow, the five qualitative phases are presented. then, the findings are summarised and discussed. arriving the storyline of the proposed grounded theory begins with students’ arrival at university. entering university is regarded as a significant milestone in the lives of young people (chickering, dalton & stamm, 2006). amongst other things, entry to university provides the context for psychosocial growth and development and preparing for one’s future occupation (blimling, 2010). participants indicated that arriving at university was a notable milestone in their lives, as shown by participant 1: “so, coming here [university] was like a dream come true. i felt i am on track and moving to become the person i want to be” (m, 19). 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 the culture in which psychosocial development and the process of entering university takes place has a significant effect on individuals (blimling, 2010). thus, students’ experiences may be contingent on the dynamic interplay of diverse factors within the psychosocial environment (arnett, 2015). this is particularly relevant within the south african context. as a country steeped in decades of conflict and animosity, racial oppression and inequality strongly influenced the domain of higher education and resulted in asymmetrical educational opportunities (dhet, 2017). the abolishment of apartheid and the advent of democracy saw concerted efforts by the authorities to widen access to higher education (wilson‑strydom, 2015). however, the widening of access did not necessarily translate into student success (sosibo & katiya, 2015). data indicate that close to half of students drop out of university before graduating (dhet, 2013). moreover, many south african first‑ year students are first‑generation students who are not native english speakers, come from disadvantaged schools, and experience an array of socioeconomic challenges (scott, 2018). consequently, arriving at university is regarded by some as a significant and collective achievement in the lives of students, their families, and the country as a whole (dhet, 2013; scott, 2018). participant 7, an 18‑year‑old male, explained the experience as follows: “i come from a rural area … everyone celebrated when i was accepted to university … i am the first person from my family to come to university … it is important for us.” the aforementioned is a significant finding, as western cultures, where the majority of gratitude research has been conducted, tends to adopt an ontology centred on individualism (arndt & naude, 2016). in contrast, many persons of african descent tend to adopt a collectivist world view (baloyi, 2008). hence, the spirit in which the value of gratitude is studied and understood may, in some instances, be steeped in a theory of individualism. this particular finding suggests that the cultural background of participants influenced how they understood, amongst other things, the milestone of entering university. participant 17 offered some additional context in this regard: “being grateful is about celebrating everybody’s success as one’s own … we celebrate together” (f, 18). thus, arriving at university was an event described in terms of collective achievement and shared gratitude. as such, it set the stage for further learning and studying as participants prepared for their future roles. being overwhelmed participants generally agreed that university life is stressful. this is consistent with the literature that confirms that stress levels and their subsequent adverse effects are particularly prevalent amongst university students (bewick et al., 2010; grøtan et al., 2019). research suggests that students struggling with high stress levels and mental health problems are more likely to report low academic performance compared to students reporting few or moderate symptoms of mental health distress (grøtan et al., 2019). consequently, distress can affect mental well‑being and negatively impinge on students’ academic success. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 henry mason: towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude … 95 several categories of stress emerged from participants’ qualitative responses. these categories included intrapersonal (“… [i] feel like a failure …” [p#11, f, 19]), interpersonal (“… causes me to fight with loved ones …” [p#19, f, 18]), spiritual (“… sometimes i doubt the purpose of it all …” [p#7, m, 20]), financial (“… university studies are expensive … it’s putting stress on me …” [p#1, m, 19]) and emotional (“… feel anxious and sad …” [p#16, f, 22]) stressors. stressful experiences could give rise to negative emotional states, which in turn narrow and restrict, versus broaden and build students’ thought–action repertoires (fredrickson & branigan, 2005). subsequently, the capacity to access intellectual and social resources required for optimal learning, as would be the case with a broaden and build experience, could become diminished (fredrickson, 2004b). this culminates in a context where it becomes normative for students to adopt fragile versus resilient attitudes in response to their learning efforts (wilson, 2016). as students struggle to cope with ever‑escalating levels of stress amid a context of diminished agency, a sense of powerlessness can emerge (mason, 2017; richardson et al.,  2017). this sense of powerlessness was confirmed by the data and described by participants as feeling overwhelmed. the following two quotes give voice to participants’ experiences: … i get confused with the busyness, and it’s like an overwhelmingness that gets hold of my mind … it’s so difficult to cope with studies at those times … it robs me of all my motivation. (p#15, f, 19) when my life is hectic when there are too many stressful things happening, i feel someone else is driving my life … i would describe it as helplessness … circumstances are dumbing me down. (p#17, f, 18) the quotes above illustrate that students face a series of challenging situations that have a cumulative effect and may become overwhelming: “… during the semester, i said to myself that this is too much; i need to deal with these problems” (p#6, m, 18). moreover, the sense of feeling overwhelmed infringes on students’ capacity to learn and study, as illustrated by the following quote: “feeling stressed out doesn’t allow me to study … all the energy all drawn out of me, i cannot focus … feel unmotivated” (p#8, f, 23). another central idea that emerged from the data was that students tended to view stressors as factors external to them and over which they had little control. in this regard, seligman (2011) suggests that how people routinely explain events in their lives has a significant impact on their sense of resilience. persons who perceive that they have limited control over external events (such as stressors within the university context) and therefore adopt an external locus of control would be more likely to struggle with focus and resilience in learning (grøtan et al., 2019; howells, 2012; wilson, 2016). in this regard participant 14 indicated the following: “sometimes i feel as if i cannot cope with a situation … i do not have the skills to cope … exam times would be an example” (f, 20). persons from collectivist nations have reported higher scores on external locus of control compared to individualistic societies (rossier, dahourou & mccrae, 2005). hence, 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 the inclination to exercise control over a person’s life is consistent with the world view of individuality and self‑reliance found primarily in western contexts (arndt & naude, 2016; baloyi, 2008). subsequently, a reliance on individualistic agency may not be considered as vital to participants in non‑western contexts. notwithstanding their inclination for collectivist thinking, participants indicated that they retain high levels of autonomy by turning inward when attempting to address the sense of being overwhelmed. turning inward with a purpose in the face of feeling overwhelmed, numerous students indicated that they turn inward. the decision to turn inward was described as moving into a reflexive space where challenges could be considered and addressed in a composed manner. participants described the process as follows: for me, it is my safe space … i retreat to my safe space when life becomes too hard … it allows me to think … (p#17, f, 18) my inner sanctuary helps me unwind from stress … it is where i make sense of things again. (p#20, f, 19) turning inward can take on many forms. participant 6 noted, “i meditate to calm down” (m, 18), whereas another participant explained that “i lose myself in reading …” (p#22, f, 18). other participants point to prayer (“praying to god is my security …” p#3, 19, m) and exercise (“running to clear my thoughts” p#5, 18, m) as forms of turning inward. participant 20 added that she derives benefits from turning inward through “… discussions with my brother … he helps me gain a better understanding of the opportunities that i have received” (f, 19). in reaction to the participant’s response, the following question was posed during the interview: “can you give me an example of how your brother helps you to gain a better understanding?” she answered as follows: “for me, it is about thinking clearly and looking for what is good … he is a pastor [the participant’s brother] and he is very good at that sort of thing” (p#20, 19, f). the importance of religious belief also emerged as a form of solace for participants (“… my belief in god helps me during difficult times” p#14, 20, f). this is consistent with previous research that found religiosity and spirituality to be essential aspects in promoting a sense of purpose and meaning amongst students in university settings (wissing et al., 2014), especially in african contexts (mason, 2017). thus, regardless of the form that turning inward takes, participants appeared to enter a state where a sense of equilibrium could be restored. this sense of balance, or an inner sanctum, offers participants the opportunity to establish distance between themselves and the challenges that they encounter, and allows them to generate energy to engage with their studies in a meaning‑directed manner. this notion was expressed as follows by participant 8: “… it is about getting to grips with life again …” (m, 23). students’ conceptions of turning inward are synonymous with howells’ (2012) notion of an innermost attitude. she explains that an innermost attitude necessitates thinking from the depths of a person’s being (howells, 2012). hence, it is a state of deepened reflective thinking and practice that could have a positive effect on a person’s thoughts, feelings, and https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 henry mason: towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude … 97 emotions. in such instances, gratitude is not the expression of appreciation, but an attitude towards life steeped in, amongst other things, positivity and growth orientation (dweck, 2016; emmons, 2008). however, a small subset of participants (4/22) indicated that they tended to ruminate when turning inward. one participant explained her experience as follows: “if my mind is tired and i worry a lot, thinking about my problems makes it worse. i can say that i become fearful, or angry at other times” (p#10, f, 19). in response to this answer from the participant, i, as the researcher, posed the following question: “are there times when you think deeply about your life and manage to find answers?” the participant retorted: “if i am not tired, i would say that i feel positive … feeling tired makes me see things quite negatively … when i had a good day, and i think about those good experiences, yes, then i feel much better, then i find answers to problems” (p#10, f, 19). consequently, it appears that reflecting on essential matters while in a resourceful state might be more critical than merely turning inward. stated differently, embracing gratitude as an attitude towards life, as opposed to the mere expression of appreciation, could prove beneficial to students. participants in subsequent interviews confirmed this conjecture. amongst others, participant 12 mused that “when i choose to think about hard things … when i am comfortable or thankful for what is good when i think about it at those times, i find better answers” (f, 21). participant 20 also highlighted a similar sentiment: “being grateful … not just about saying thank you for good things … for me, it’s about interacting with good things and the stressors with a positive attitude” (f, 19). thus, turning inward with a purpose appears to be more critical than merely turning inward. moreover, purposeful exploration of concern from one’s innermost being within a mindset of gratitude (howells, 2012) seems vital if the goal is to enter a state of mind that could promote positivity (fredrickson, 2004a, 2004b). this interpretation is coherent with findings that suggest positive emotions, such as gratitude, could have a beneficial effect through fostering a sense of resilience in the face of stressors (howells, 2012). the finding further suggests that students ought to pay attention to managing their states (e.g. what and how they manage thinking, feeling and behavioural patterns in a given moment) when engaging in learning efforts. in this regard, expressing gratitude could assist students in entering a resourceful (focused, calm and centred) versus un‑resourceful state (e.g. apprehensive, anxious or stressed) that could prove beneficial in promoting learning efforts (howells, 2012; nelson & low, 2011). according to emmons (2008), people can be assisted in cultivating resourceful states via reflecting on and writing down what they feel grateful for. however, students should not be forced to express gratitude but ought to be assisted in doing so through their own volition if the goal is to enhance resourceful learning (nelson & low, 2011; wilson & harris, 2015). the benefits associated with gratitude through the process of theoretical sampling, the value of gratitude concerning students’ learning efforts was explored further. all participants agreed that gratitude plays a vital role in terms of learning efforts. from participants’ feedback, the role of gratitude was categorised according to macro‑, daily living‑ and individual‑level influences. 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 at a macro‑level, participants indicated that a culture of gratitude could play an essential role in managing transformation and student protests, amongst other things. the notion of transformation has been a foremost factor in discourse in the recent history of south african higher education (dhet, 2013). dissatisfaction with the rate of transformation, amongst other things, gave rise to a spate of protests, such as #feesmustfall and #rhodesmustfall (booysen, 2017). whereas some of the claims put forward by students and their respective leadership, such as a call for more significant financial investment in higher education have merit (booysen, 2017; scott, 2018), south african scholar jonathan jansen warns that debilitating cultures of ingratitude and resentment amongst south african students are areas of concern (maphanga, 2014). students’ qualitative perspectives echoed such sentiments. for example: “being grateful will allow us to find a shared connection through education. we must be thankful to lecturers, to government, our parents … to have the chance to study” (p#13, f, 20). another participant added that “… being grateful is important … there is a time to be grateful … a time to disagree … there must be gratefulness for differences too …” (p#2, m, 21). participant 16, a 22‑year‑old female, agreed and added that gratitude has a role to play in addressing political challenges such as patriarchy: “… the contributions of all must be respected … women have to be seen as well … not having equal opportunities adds more burdens … makes graduating with a degree more difficult.” another participant added, “because of the struggles that our parents and grandparents had to face, we have the opportunity [to study at university] … people suffered … gratitude is not just about feeling good … it is about saying thank you for the sacrifices” (p#17, f, 18). hence, consistent with the literature, the qualitative data suggest that experiencing gratitude should be viewed as a practice that can elicit social change within the education context and not merely as a blanket requirement for mastering a specific set of positive emotions (emmons, 2008). furthermore, gratitude ought to promote reciprocal altruism at a macro‑level through fostering mutually beneficial relationships between persons across the political system (emmons & mishra, 2011; maphanga, 2014). within such a milieu, gratitude can potentially enhance students’ learning efforts and promote a climate of meaningful exchange that endorses purposeful learning (booysen, 2017; maphanga, 2014). at the level of daily living, the data revealed that a sense of gratitude could assist students in adopting a resilient attitude when encountering stressors. concerning resilience, participant 14 explained that “being grateful reminds me that it’s not all about me. the world is not out to get me. it gives me the confidence to deal with problems positively” (20,  f). such a proactive stance is in stark contrast to a sense of powerlessness that could emerge when facing stressors. this finding is also consistent with literature that suggests gratitude could have a buffering effect, thereby enhancing a sense of resilience when people encounter challenging life circumstances (emmons, 2013). a second benefit was related to positive interactions between lecturers and students. in this regard, one participant explained that “it is important to understand that lecturers often make sacrifices for students … the effort that some lecturers take in preparing slides and classes … i feel grateful and respect and it leads to stronger relationships” (p#4, m, 18). researchers have found that gratitude has positive effects on interpersonal relationships (emmons & mishra, 2011). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 henry mason: towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude … 99 at an individual level, participants spoke about the potential that gratitude has to enhance their focus and resilience in their learning efforts: “being grateful … keeps me grounded … realize that i am here to study and make the most of the opportunity” (p#9, f, 18). participant 17 added: “being grateful gives me the motivation to expect more of myself. i am showing that i am grateful for the opportunity by putting in 100 percent effort” (18, f). additionally, participants suggested that entering a state of being grateful is a valuable resource in establishing cycles of increased learning efforts. for example: “… being grateful helps me to be more motivated; it makes me concentrate for longer and to remember better” (p#4, m, 18). the role of gratitude in forging a learning mindset is explored further in the next section. the learning mindset the concept of a mindset refers to a set of assumptions, perspectives, and a philosophy of life that persons hold (anderson, 2019). the notion of a learning mindset, therefore, points to a set of personally held assumptions and beliefs that guide students’ philosophies of and approaches to learning. for participants in this study, gratitude fulfilled an essential function in their learning mindsets. specifically, gratitude aided with volitional behaviour and better coping skills and inspired a sense of hope. regarding volitional behaviour, participants indicated that a sense of gratitude assisted them in establishing a motivational framework that drives their learning efforts. amongst others, participant 13 suggested that gratitude “… helps me to feel energized and connected to those around me” (f, 20). another participant indicated that “… my motivation is stronger when i appreciate what i have … my family who supports me, my talents, appreciate just everything that helps me to learn and study” (p#21, f, 21). in this regard, ryan and deci (2017) indicate that motivation is driven by three basic psychological needs, namely autonomy, relatedness and competence. from participants’ comments, it was apparent that a sense of gratitude satisfied the requirements of autonomy (“… my family believes in me and that makes me feel confident in myself as a student …” p#4, m, 18), relatedness (“… feeling grateful helps me to know that people support me …” p#18, f, 18), and competence (“… every single day i say thank you for the skills, the opportunities i got to make it to university …” p#5, m, 19). gratitude was also related to coping efforts. expressly, participants indicated that a sense of gratitude served as an emotional scaffolding for effective coping. one participant remarked, “gratitude reminds me that there are people who believe in me …” (p#6, m, 18). other participants echoed this sentiment. for example, participant 19 stated, “knowing that others count on me gives me the responsibility to cope with whatever life throws at me” (f, 18). participant 15 added that “god gave me the talents and skills to be here [at university] … thankful for the gifts” (f, 19). the aforementioned qualitative interpretation suggests that gratitude may serve as an essential factor that regulates the reciprocal interaction between the challenges that participants encounter as part of their learning efforts and enabling factors in their environments (e.g. social support structure and religiosity). as such, an attitude of gratitude 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 87‑104 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 appears not only to enhance coping (“… being grateful makes me a better and stronger person” p#16, f, 22), but also to promote a sense of competence (“… as a grateful person i am more humble and believe in my abilities …” (p#11, f, 19) and give rise to proactive responses (“… the number one benefit … is that i am not scared to pursue my goals …” p#7, m, 18), which could enhance students’ learning efforts (nelson & low, 2011; wilson, 2016). participants agreed that a spirit of gratitude enhances a sense of hope concerning their learning efforts and academic goals. in this regard, participant 20 explained that gratitude serves as the basis for an “encouraging future that keeps me believing that my life is going somewhere” (f, 19). another participant commented that gratitude helps him to remain resourceful when encountering challenges: “when i think of the things that i am grateful for, it is like a reflection on good experiences, and what i have learned … this improves my problem-solving abilities, and it improves my creativity in difficult situations” (p#2, m, 21). the qualitative data, as indicated in the quotes presented above, reflect elements consistent with hope theory (snyder et al., 2002). specifically, participants reported that gratitude played an essential role in creating a meaningful future perspective (“… grateful for what i have now, like the support from my family … also about remaining positive about the future … positive about the contributions that i can make in the future” p#17, f, 18), encouraging pathways thinking (“… gratitude teaches you to think deeply about things in life … helps with dealing with challenges that happen at university” p#5, m, 19), and facilitating agency (“i am have to take responsibility for my life … my cross to bear …” p#1, m, 19). collectively, participants indicated that volitional behaviour, coping efforts and hope form the foundation of a mindset that encourages meaningful learning within a university context. hence, turning inward with a spirit of gratitude could assist students in transmuting the stressors of university life into opportunities that inspire and motivate them to engage in academic learning. discussion this qualitative study provided a grounded theory, titled thanks: gratitude and learning resilience among first-year university students on the role of gratitude in relation to a sample of first‑year university students’ learning efforts. the grounded theory proposes that gratitude could play an essential role in the learning efforts of first‑year students. specifically, it was indicated that gratitude could assist students in embracing the opportunity to further their academic studies by drawing on internal resources and establishing mutually beneficial and supportive relationships with others. experiencing gratitude was presented as a process characterised by experiences of celebration (arriving at university), feeling overwhelmed (engaging with stressors) and drawing on internal resources (turning inward) to solidify a learning mindset characterised by hope that promotes well‑being and resilience in learning despite stressful university experiences. research by, amongst others, emmons  (2008) suggests that gratitude can be cultivated through practice and reflective exercise. this conceptualisation is consistent with the extant literature that regards gratitude as playing a supporting role in the promotion of well‑being and learning resilience amongst university students (howells, 2012; wilson, 2016). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 henry mason: towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude … 101 conclusion this qualitative study offered a unique insight into participants’ lived experiences of gratitude as an avenue to enhance learning resilience within the university context. the study contributes to the existing literature by indicating that gratitude could have a positive qualitative impact on students’ learning resilience, and that gratitude and learning resilience could be empowering. the processes of arriving, feeling overwhelmed and turning inward appeared to strengthen a sense of gratitude amongst the participants in the study. the findings from the study should be viewed with some limitations in mind. firstly, the study was cross‑sectional, thereby offering a glimpse of participants’ experiences at one point in time. consequently, the research cannot account for dynamic changes across time. secondly, data were collected from students at a single south african university. a different qualitative picture may emerge when considering the perspectives of students in diverse settings. thirdly, because an open invitation to participate in the study was sent to participants, they may have been particularly motivated to share their perspectives. considering the views of students who chose not to participate in the study could have offered additional insights into students’ grounded realities. fourthly, no baseline measures of gratitude were included as reference points in the study. a baseline assessment could have helped establish a better understanding of the research setting and participants’ qualitative perspectives. notwithstanding the limitations, the study serves as a gateway for further research. amongst other things, researchers could consider drawing on gratitude interventions and support initiatives to assist students in developing and enhancing gratitude as a resource to draw on during the first‑year experience and beyond. emmons (2008) offers guidelines on empirically based gratitude interventions that could be adapted for the university context. furthermore, the empirical linkages between gratitude and academic success and well‑being outcomes could be investigated across time, using longitudinal designs. the most significant contribution of this study is the affirmation that an attitude of gratitude bodes well for the future of higher education and the well‑being and resilience in the learning of students. participant 12 summarised this view as follows: “gratitude is about more than just feeling happy … also about the way you choose to act when life does not go your way … it is an attitude of strength” (f, 21). references anderson, j. 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(2015). university access and success: capabilities, diversity and social justice. abingdon, pa: routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315780214 wissing, m., potgieter, j., guse, t., khumalo, t. & nel, l. (eds.) (2014). towards flourishing: contextualising positive psychology. pretoria, south africa: van schaik. witvliet, c.v.o., richie, f.j., root luna, l.m. & van tongeren, d.r. (2018). gratitude predicts hope and happiness: a two‑study assessment of traits and states. journal of positive psychology, 14(3), 271‑282. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1424924 how to cite: mason, h. 2020. towards a learning mindset: first‑year university students’ qualitative perspectives on gratitude in the context of learning effort. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 87‑104. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 https://doi.org/10.1108/jpmh-03-2016-0013 https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022104272903 https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28806 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563 https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563 https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.5 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.4.820 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.4.820 https://doi.org/10.1080/09751122.2015.11890249 https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/p0302/p03022016.pdf https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/p0302/p03022016.pdf https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/icctej/vol10/iss1/3 https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/icctej/vol10/iss1/3 https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v16i4.19998 https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v16i4.19998 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315780214 https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1424924 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4454 _goback _hlk32997702 265 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa. submissions must be made on the online system at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/ jsaa. for information and help, please contact the journal manager, ms maretha joyce, at mjoyce@ sun.ac.za. the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. researchbased articles must be original and research-based and must make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. the length must be approximately 5 000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as for research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution, and must significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. typical length should be 2 500–5 000 words. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • book reviews should be between 800 and 1 000 words in length. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • comments and critique, of no more than 2 500 words, are also welcome. • proposal for the journal’s dialogue/interview section and calls and notices should be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences, vacancies, etc.) may incur a nominal fee. authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the ethical requirements of social research have been considered and fully complied with. 2. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 3. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 4. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 5. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 6. the journal uses the apa author–date referencing system. 7. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind peer review must have been followed. 8. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa mailto:mjoyce%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:mjoyce%40sun.ac.za?subject= http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/help/view/editorial/topic/000044 266 9. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 10. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); reflective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 11. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial excecutive. section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer-reviewed); high-quality reflective practitioner accounts (peer-reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed campus dialogue/interview section ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed book reviews ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed the editorial and peer-review policy adheres to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals (assaf council, 2008). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant reflective practitioner accounts are blind-reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, who would typically be members of the international editorial advisory board of the jsaa. peer reviewers have proven scholarly and/ or professional expertise in the subject matter of a manuscript. reviewer reports are assessed by a member of the editorial executive and form the basis of any decision by the editorial executive on how to proceed with a manuscript. the suitability of a manuscript is evaluated in terms of originality, significance, scholarship and adherence to the requirements of ethical social research, scope and interest, and accessibility. publishing and dissemination policies cost of publishing there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. licensing notice authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a creative commons attribution license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal. authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in online research repositories or on their website), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. open access policy this journal provides open access to its e-journal content. free copies can be downloaded from the journal website at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa and at http://www.jsaa.ac.za, and from co-hosting sites e.g. http://ajol.info. authors are encouraged to place copies of their final articles in their institution’s research repository. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://ajol.info 267 print copies/subscription • online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at https://upjournals. up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa. • printed copies of past issues of the journal (vol. 1 to vol. 4(1)) can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective.com/; amazon books http://www.amazon.com or directly from african minds http://www.africanminds.co.za. • printed copies from vol. 4(2) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa http://www.africanbookscollective.com/ http://www.amazon.com http://www.africanminds.co.za mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 19 special issue: research article developing student affairs as a profession in africa angelique wildschut1 & thierry m. luescher2 1 dr angelique wildschut, human sciences research council; university of pretoria, south africa. email: awildschut@hsrc.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-0361-3702 2 prof. thierry m. luescher, human sciences research council, cape town; nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-6675-0512 article history: received 11 may 2023 | accepted 23 june 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords higher education, professionalization, professionalism, social justice, sociology of professions, student affairs mots-clés enseignement supérieur, œuvres estudiantines, professionnalisation, professionnalisme, justice sociale, services étudiants, sociologie des professions abstract this article discusses the nature of the professionalization of student affairs and services (sas) in africa by analysing the discourses evident and legitimated through the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa). the analysis is driven by three research questions: (1) what is the extent of the journal’s engagement with the terms ‘profession’, ‘professionalism’, ‘professional’, and ‘professionalization’? (2) how are these focal concepts used in the journal and (3) how do these uses relate to the social justice imperative in sas? overall, the analysis shows that the professionalization discourse in jsaa draws strongly on notions that certain professional traits and high-level knowledge and skills must be possessed by sas personnel for the field to be professionalized. furthermore, the analysis reflects a stronger social justice discourse than a discourse on sas as a profession. finally, this article considers opportunities for a scholarship on the development of sas as a profession. résumé cet article aborde la nature de la professionnalisation des œuvres estudiantines (o.e.) dans les universités africaines en analysant les discours évidents et légitimés à travers le journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa). l’analyse s’articule autour de trois questions de recherche : quelle est l’étendue de l’engagement de la revue avec les termes profession, professionnalisme, professionnel et professionnalisation ? comment ces concepts centraux sont-ils utilisés dans la revue et comment ces utilisations sont-elles liées à l’impératif de justice sociale dans les o.e. ? dans l’ensemble, l’analyse montre que le discours de professionnalisation dans le jsaa repose fortement sur l’idée selon laquelle certaines caractéristiques professionnelles, ainsi que certaines connaissances et compétences de haut niveau, doivent être maîtrisés par le personnel des o.e. pour que le domaine soit professionnalisé. en outre, l’analyse reflète un discours sur la justice sociale plus fort que sur les o.e. en tant que profession. enfin, cet article envisage les possibilités d’une recherche sur le développement des o.e. en tant que profession. http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za20 introduction: the role of jsaa in professionalizing student affairs in africa the journal of student affairs in africa (jsaa) was established in 2012/13 with a launch issue themed ‘the professionalization of student affairs in africa’ published in december 2013. the journal boldly states that it “aims to contribute to the professionalization of student affairs in african higher education” (jsaa, 2022). in the launch issue, the editorial executive claimed a “growing interest in the professionalization of student affairs in africa”. they noted recent developments in africa, including a shift from “on-the-job training” to “high-level skills requirements to enter the profession”; a growing number of graduate programmes focusing on he studies and sas; new and existing centres of research to develop a body of knowledge and expertise; a growing number of sas professional associations; increasing numbers of sas conferences to share professional reflection on best practice and practice-relevant research, and; a budding of publications on sas from the continent (luescher-mamashela et al., 2013a, p. viii–ix). to support these developments, it was argued that “an independent, international scholarly journal”, dealing with “the theory, policy and practice” of the profession, was required (luescher-mamashela et al., 2013b, p. 5). indeed, from the outset, the founding editors declared that this publication would strive to be “the foremost academic journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in universities on the african continent” (jsaa, 2021). to contribute to professionalization, establishing scholarly legitimacy is critical and the jsaa editors embarked on this inter alia by seeking to establish “a prestigious editorial executive and international editorial board”, publish “high quality content”, have “rigorous internal quality controls”, and seek “accreditation, patronage, endorsement, and affiliation” (luescher-mamashela et al., 2013b, p. 14–15). for a south africabased journal, perhaps the most important indicator of such scholarly legitimacy was accreditation by the academy of sciences of south africa, which certified it in 2017 as bona fide scholarly journal included in the south african list of research subsidy-earning journals. over the years, the journal has been able to attract authors from across the south african and african university landscape and about 10% of contributors from outside the african continent. this is in a context where jsaa is the only specialized journal on sas in africa (alongside general higher education and education journals), and one among a dozen or so journals worldwide dedicated to sas scholarship (most of which are in the global north) (zavale & schneijderberg, 2022). by june 2023, the journal had a citation count of over to 1,700 for 249 items captured on its google scholar profile. over 100 articles had achieved at least three citations with the top three articles respectively having 119, 93 and 58 recorded citations on google scholar. regarding those and other indicators, over the years jsaa has established itself as a respectable building block in the research landscape on sas in africa. to discuss the nature of the student affairs professionalization project in africa, this article critically analyses the discourses evident and implicitly legitimated in the publications of jsaa over its 10 years of existence (vol. 1, 2013 to vol. 10, 2022). we wildschut, a., & luescher, t. m. (2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa 21 argue that journals are important platforms for analysing ‘efforts to professionalize’ as well as ‘claims to professionalism’ (evetts, 2013), because they create a discourse around the concept of profession and professionalism by documenting specific collections of cases that illustrate and model ways for the field to professionalize. while there are many other activities and processes that contribute to the wider professionalization project1, we consider here particularly the role of jsaa, recognised as a scholarly journal in the sas field. to start our analysis, we reflect on foundational and conceptual debates in the literature on professions which recognise the importance of the ideological discourse on professions as (re)produced through certain activities and platforms. this is followed by a brief overview of the methodology. we then present our analyses of a sample of articles published in the journal. the first is a bird’s-eye view on the extent of engagement with the focal concepts of ‘profession’, ‘professionalism’, ‘professional’, and ‘professionalization’, which is followed by an in-depth analysis of the discourse on sas as profession evident in a sample of articles. we also reflect on the social justice aims of the sas domain and show how these fare in the journal’s professionalization discourse. we do so by interrogating the alignment between the professionalization discourse and social justice discourse evident in jsaa. we consider the latter critical for engagement, not least because south african professions have historically used race and gender to exclude black south africans (see, e.g. wildschut, 2011; walker, 2005; webster, 2004; marks, 1994). in the case of sas, focusing on social justice is perhaps even more important given the declared developmental and social justice aims of the profession (ludeman & schreiber, 2020; schreiber, 2014). some of the core tenets driving sas include access, equality, diversity, assessment of student needs, and social justice (perezencinas et al., 2020; long, 2014). in the final section, we consider opportunities for scholarship on sas as a profession and how jsaa positions itself in relation to steering this scholarship. professions, professionalism and professionalization the sociology of professions (sop) was pioneered by writers such as eliot friedson and magali larson, andrew abott and more recently authors such as julia evetts and mike saks. despite several collections or case studies of particular professions in particular countries, more comprehensive books on professions are rarely produced, most notable would be the sociology of professions by mcdonald (1995) professions and power (2016) by johnson and a routledge companion to the professions and professionalism by dent et al. (2016). the sop literature examines professions as a type of occupational group that is successful in wielding forms of privilege, power, and status across a range of societal institutions (notably in relation to the market and the state) over, or at certain points in, time. a profession is commonly understood to refer to an occupational 1 professionalization can include the development of professional and academic degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level, short courses and capacity building opportunities, scholarship and research and the expansion of discipline-specific journals and books, the building of epistemic communities and developing theories and practices that are globally shared and locally relevant (schreiber & lewis, 2020). journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za22 group that performs autonomously, has a particular relationship with society, and its practitioners are governed by a relatively exclusive form of knowledge and a code of ethics. as a profession manages knowledge that other individuals need, there tends to be an asymmetric relationship between professionals and the users of their services. in traditional theories of professions, a strong connection exists amongst the professions, higher education, a scientific knowledge base, and a code of ethics. however, arguments on the complexities of practical and tacit knowledge have come to play a central role in contemporary discussions and engagement about professions. in this respect it is also important to highlight the contested nature of concepts such as profession, professionalism, and professionalization in the course of analysing and interpreting a journal’s positioning to their theoretical development. the sop literature can be categorised into three stages of development which illustrates why certain areas of investigation became more salient over time and others discarded. the first stage of development, referred to as the traditional trait approach (or taxonomic approach), claimed that professions could be defined by cataloguing particular traits and attributes that are not held by other occupations (e.g. pellegrino, 1983; wilensky, 1964; greenwood, 1957). scientific knowledge and specialized expertise were seen as the defining features in these accounts. the literature was based on two core propositions, namely that professions were distinct from other middle-class occupations, both empirically and analytically, and that the presence of professions in civil society uniquely supported the social order. saks (2012) noted in this respect that occupations with very esoteric and complex knowledge and expertise of great importance to society were usually seen as being granted a high position in the social system with state sanction in return for protecting the public and/or clients. the medical profession was often used to represent such a prototype. the sop theorists of this stage suggested a common professionalization process where relatively few occupations would complete all the steps in the process to achieve the standing of established profession. the second phase in sop scholarship, coined the revisionist triad, rejected the idea that professions could be distinguished from occupations. writers did so by showing that rather than distinct differences existing between high-status professions and other occupations, there were many parallels. often low status occupations (such as garbage collectors or prostitutes) were used to discredit claims that only a limited number of professions were worthy of such a title. here arguments of the forces of de-professionalization also played a role. for example, braverman (1974) argued that tasks that would be seen as the preserve of a particular profession were being broken down by managerialist strategies and could easily be performed by other groups, or they became subject to a division of labour that would circumvent the high status of professions. furthermore, there was also a recognition that professions can be a malevolent force in society with detrimental consequences for order and stratification, exacerbating hierarchies and socio-economic inequities. while agreeing with many of the critics of the second phase, abbott (1988) was influential in arguing that the study of professions must recognise them as a system wildschut, a., & luescher, t. m. (2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa 23 and focus on how occupational groups define, establish, and maintain boundaries or lay claim to certain jurisdictions. abbott focused on the activities by which occupational groups asserted jurisdiction to the point that they would gain the right (by society, the market, and the state) to offer ‘diagnosis, inference and treatment’ on a specific scope of problems. as this view explicitly accommodates changes in the nature of work and new contestations between occupational groups trying to claim parts or entire scopes of practice, his seminal work continues to inform current research in the field (wildschut & meyer, 2017). more recent literature on professions attempts to synthesize the tensions from the first two phases in recognising definitional integrity as important, but being wary of the functionalist implications (sciulli, 2005). here arguments are for moving beyond a professional framework (burns, 2007), focusing more on the micro-level of professionals and their workplaces (brock et al., 2014) as well as the discourse of professionalism. in this regard the literature further distinguished conceptually between professionalization from within and from without (mcclelland, 1990) to signal that professionalism can be externally imposed (e.g. by regulatory authorities and standard setting bodies) as a means of control as well as internally enacted to assert autonomy and contest the power of bureaucracy (fournier, 1999). it was considered important to delineate between professionalism that is driven by practitioners themselves striving towards and wanting to deliver a quality service, protect client rights and interests, from the forms of professionalism that are driven by requirements to adhere to quality standards, assurance and organisational targets. this led to the former being viewed as a more legitimate form of professionalism as opposed to the latter which was associated with professional organisations creating, institutionalising and manipulating the discourse of professionalism (muzio & kirkpatrick, 2011) to restrict professional autonomy and power. recent scholarship, however, suggests that these are not necessarily dichotomous (wilkesmann, 2020). the scholarship now focuses on professionalism as a value and ideology and continues to debate whether the terms profession and professionalism are useful and theoretically relevant (adams, 2010; saks, 2012; svarc, 2016). this is a debate returned to, most recently in sak’s book, professions: a key idea for business and society (2021, p. vii), where he asserts the “ongoing importance of professional groups in the modern world in business and beyond”. thus, the terms ‘profession’, ‘professionalism’ and ‘professionalization’ are contested, depending critically on socio-economic and historical development within a specific context. this means that no ‘template’ or model for successful professionalization can easily be distilled. these terms must be applied in a manner that engages the conceptual gaps, and continuous critique of the nature of professionalization is required to ensure that social and structural exclusions are not recreated or maintained. research questions and methodology understanding professions requires understanding, first, the role certain actors play in the professionalization processes and, second, the way they may influence new forms journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za24 of professionalism and models of professionalization (muzio & kirkpatrick, 2011). this article investigates the way the journal of student affairs in africa has contributed over the first ten years of its existence to the professionalization of sas in africa. three research questions guide the enquiry: (1) what is the extent of the journal’s engagement with the focus terms of ‘profession’, ‘professionalism’, ‘professional’, and ‘professionalization’? (2) how are these terms applied in publications in the journal? (3) to what extent does this professionalization discourse relate to the social justice imperative in sas? the data for this study are the 10 volumes of jsaa published from 2013 to 2022, which comprise 19 issues and 240 substantive items of publication. our analysis started by importing the items of publication (including prefaces, editorials, peer-reviewed research articles, peer-reviewed reflective practice articles, campus and conference reports, professional notices and book reviews), into atlas.ti 9 to run a comprehensive content analysis of the selected focus terms. atlas.ti offers the advantage of organising, managing, and analysing large quantities of qualitative data. our analytic process employed both a deductive and inductive approach to the development and application of codes and themes to condense the selected data. using atlas.ti’s automated search function, 131 published items were identified that contain our focus terms (i.e. professionalism, profession, professional or professionalization). of these, 25 publications were selected as the sample for our in-depth analysis by excluding all documents in which these terms were mentioned less than eight times (see table 1 below). this constitutes the database for the discourse analysis. discourse analysis aims to uncover discursive, interactional, and/or rhetorical context (macmillan, 2005), making explicit the unspoken, lived notions surrounding power (foucault, 1976) through a “set of methods and theories for investigating language in use and language in social contexts” (wetherell et al., 2001, p.1). our focus here is analysing discourse as realised through text, while acknowledging that it is also about objects, subjects, and meaning-making, in reference to other discourses, reflective of a particular way of speaking, and historically located (parker, 1992). our method was to read each contribution closely, paying attention to the deployment of our focus terms to identify what meaning could be discerned from their contextual usage and thus what discourse it established or participated in. we then reflected on whether and how these meanings related to the discourse on professions, as discussed above. constructing the discourse of sas as a profession the analysis of all 240 substantive items of publication provides a bird’s-eye view of the engagement of jsaa in the sas professionalization discourse. figure 1 shows that there have been great disparities in the distribution of mentions (over 980) of the term ‘profession’ and its derivatives between the different volumes and issues of the journal since its inception in 2013. it shows that the jsaa launch issue themed ‘the professionalization of student affairs in africa’ accounts for almost a third of all mentions of the search words. this is followed by jsaa’s global issue of 2017, ‘voices from across wildschut, a., & luescher, t. m. (2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa 25 the globe’, which contains 183 mentions, and the 2016 volume on ‘student affairs in complex contexts’ (92 mentions). while almost half (7 of 16) of the issues have been guest-edited, only one of the five issues with the most mentions are guest-edited. this suggests that those issues edited by the editorial executive of the journal are more actively engaged in the construction of the sas professionalization discourse than guestedited issues. the diagram also highlights an ebb and flow in focus on professionalization across issues. deconstructing the sas professionalization discourse on the basis of the above analysis, we identified the 25 articles with the most mentions of the focal terms (eight or more mentions) as the sample for our in-depth discourse analysis. this sample is made up of fourteen research articles, seven reflective practice articles, three editorials, and one interview and dialogue article (see table 1). figure 1: number of mentions of focus terms by jsaa volume and issue vol 01 issue 1 2013 vol 02 issue 1 2014 vol 02 issue 2 2014 vol 03 issue 1 2015 vol 03 issue 2 2015 vol 04 issue 2 2016 vol 05 issue 2 2017 vol 06 issue 2 2018 vol 07 issue 2 2019 vol 08 issue 2 2020 vol 09 issue 2 2021 vol 10 issue 2 2022 vol 07 issue 1 2019 vol 08 issue 1 2020 vol 09 issue 1 2021 vol 10 issue 1 2022 vol 04 issue 1 2016 vol 05 issue 1 2017 vol 06 issue 1 2018 292 55 10 8 20 92 21 980 39 21 6 51 51 16 7 24 38 26 183 20 profession professionalism professional professionalisation professionalization journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za26 table 1: sample for analysis sample publication title mentions vol. (issue) article type 1 professionalization of student affairs educators in china: history, challenges, and solutions 104 5 (1) reflective practice 2 the role of research and scholarship in the professionalization of student affairs 89 1 (1&2) research 3 a proposed model for the continued professionalization of student affairs in africa 79 1 (1&2) research 4 socialisation and professional identity: reflections of an administrator’s pathway into student affairs in the united states 53 4 (2) reflective practice 5 advocating for standards 50 5 (1) reflective practice 6 enhancing the professionalization of student affairs through assessment 48 1(1&2) research 7 towards a professionalization of student affairs in africa 41 1(1&2) editorial 8 quality enhancement in student affairs and social justice: a reflective case study from south africa 26 6 (2) reflective practice 9 mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude (2008–2019) through bronfenbrenner’s lens 25 10 (1) research article 10 keeping up with changing times: student leaders, resilience, fragility and professional development 24 10 (2) research article 11 professional mentoring in student affairs: evaluation of a global programme 22 4 (2) reflective practice 12 competency development of southern african housing officers 18 1 (1&2) reflective practice 13 contextualising student affairs in africa: the past, present and future 18 2 (1) editorial 14 making known the real: an exploration of academic advising practices in a south african higher education context 13 9 (2) research 15 building south african women’s leadership: a cohort model for the ph.d. in student affairs 11 2 (1) research 16 special guest iasas edition: issues and challenges in student affairs and services around the world 11 5 (1) guest editorial wildschut, a., & luescher, t. m. (2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa 27 sample publication title mentions vol. (issue) article type 17 conceptualisation and early implementation of an academic advising system at the university of cape town 11 9 (2) research 18 teaching and learning and the first-year experience: interviews with brenda leibowitz and john gardner 10 4 (1) interview and dialogue 19 it’s time to unite: a collaborative approach to addressing the needs of graduate students of colour 10 7 (1) research 20 peer leadership as an emerging high-impact practice: an exploratory study of the american experience 9 4 (1) research 21 learning communities for teaching practice school placements: a higher education initiative to promote equity for students with disabilities 9 7 (2) research 22 residence heads as intentional roleplayers in promoting student success 9 7 (2) research 23 the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities 8 1 (1&2) research 24 firstyear college students’ emotional intelligence and help-seeking behaviours as correlates of their academic achievement 8 6 (2) research 25 campus mental health revisited 8 10 (2) reflective practice first, we considered whether a document attempted to foster a particular perspective and meaning of sas as profession and sas professionalization. does it try to frame an understanding in a particular manner? second, we considered whether new conceptualisations were proposed that can contribute to the development of the discourse on sas as a profession or beyond. among the 25 contributions, six explicitly deal with the conceptualisation of one or more of our focus concepts; ten do not explicitly deal with conceptualisations of the terms but their content portrays a perspective on what these concepts must mean for sas; and the remaining nine do not engage with the concepts at all but merely deploy the terms uncritically. among the first set of six articles, which explicitly define their profession-related concepts, is the article by li and fang published in jsaa 5(1) of 2017. it is entitled ‘professionalization of student affairs educators in china: history, challenges, and solutions’ and directly engages with the concept of professionalization. the article frames journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za28 an intervention from central university administrations and the chinese government as important for the initial success of the professionalization of sas in china. next, the article ‘the role of research and scholarship in the professionalization of student affairs’ by carpenter and haber-curran published in the 2013 launch issue directly conceptualises what it means to be a professional and what professionalization entails. it discusses scholarly practice, the meaning of being a practitioner-scholar, and therefore the concept of professionalism, emphasizing the importance of professionally conducted, written, and vetted research and scholarship as the most essential components of professional development. they conceptualise scholarly practitioners as those who practice their craft as autonomously as possible by making decisions primarily for the benefit of students, relying upon theory and research, remaining accountable to peers, providing professional feedback, acting ethically, and enacting the values of the profession generally. (carpenter & haber-curran, 2013, p. 8) in the same issue, selznick also engages with the concepts of professionalization and professionalism in his article ‘a proposed model for the continued professionalization of student affairs in africa’. selznick argues that a model of professionalization ought to be sensitive to the three core dimensions of sas work (i.e. entering services, supporting services, and culminating services), as well as adaptable to the variety of contexts found within african higher education, to guide the development of the profession. pansiri and sinkamba (2017, vol. 5 issue 1) argue for a professional approach to sas that places emphasis on standards. their article, ‘advocating for standards in student affairs departments in african institutions: university of botswana experience’, argues that professions must have set standards that guide their work. furthermore, they assert that professional bodies with established, tried, and tested standards are critical to professional development in the field. this is an important contribution as it is only one of two articles in this set by authors that work in african higher education. another article from the launch issue entitled ‘enhancing the professionalization of student affairs through assessment’ by gansemer-topf puts emphasis on the role of assessment in legitimating sas as profession. it defines both ‘profession’ and ‘professional’ to argue that there are certain characteristics that provide insights into sas evolution from a mere practice to a profession. this aligns to earlier discussion of an evolutionary view of professionalization from one end of the spectrum of occupational practice to the other side, which is a professionalized state. the sixth article of the set that explicitly dealt with defining our focus concepts was published in the first issue of 2022 with the title ‘mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude (2008–2019) through bronfenbrenner’s lens’. the authors, holtzhausen and wahl, both work in a south african university. their article critiques the traditional notions of professionalism as elitist, paternalistic, and authoritarian, associated with highly exclusive knowledge, control and detachment. using humanizing and transformative pedagogy as a framework, they argue for a more collaborative and democratic view of professional work that allows acknowledgement wildschut, a., & luescher, t. m. (2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa 29 of the professionalism required in, for instance, student leadership-related work. the article illustrates how sas practitioners are required to mediate the university’s organizational goals in relation to student needs alongside an acknowledgement that university staff and student leaders must embrace their own and each other’s full humanity and develop as semi-professionals and peer-educators. among the sample of 25 that do not attempt to explicitly conceptualise the focal concepts, there are still articles that make claims on what their authors deem to be professional practice. prominent are discussions of skills and competencies associated with sas as profession, considerations of processes or structures that contribute to professionalization, delineation of responsibilities in respect to other fields of practice, as well as arguments that highlight the boundary straddling position of the field and its practitioners. in other words, they establish and elaborate on a taxonomy of traits to define sas as profession, sas professionalism and the processes of professionalization required to get there. in the main, we therefore find in the articles a tendency towards rather uncritical notions of what a profession is and what the professionalization of sas entails in africa. critical engagement with the established scholarly discourses on professions that underpin these key constructs is nearly absent. in the instances where literature on professions is reviewed and drawn on, the 25 jsaa articles apply for the most part approaches that tend to be rejected by mainstream sop literature. a case in point is the widespread use of the so-called taxonomic approach, which basically establishes catalogues of traits and attributes that a particular profession ought to espouse. while there is heuristic advantage in such applications, it would be important for a journal that is committed to the development of the professionalization discourse to engage with the way this uncritical approach positions sas scholarship on the professionalization of student affairs and the professionalism of its practitioners. high-level skills and knowledge as well as social justice the ongoing, rapid massification of higher education in africa has led to a diversification of university’s student and staff bodies along with many challenges for student affairs in africa (luescher, 2020). sas is challenged to ensure that widening participation and diversity does not exacerbate existing inequalities and/or generate new ones but ensure “equity and inclusion initiatives to address and redress longstanding practices of exclusion and privilege (typically along race, ethnicity, sex, gender and socio-economic class lines)” (blessinger et al., 2020, p. 85; ludeman & schreiber, 2020). a sas profession that does not explicitly acknowledge and involve a social justice mandate would be amiss. our last concern is therefore a critical analysis of the already identified discourse on sas as a profession in the jsaa in relation to social justice concerns. this analysis required two additional rounds of coding. the first identified terms associated with the concepts of high-level skill and knowledge which, as established earlier, are historically considered important aspects of a profession. the related search terms and codes were: ‘formal training’, ‘formal education’, ‘high-skills’, ‘university qualification’, ‘student development knowledge’, ‘student development journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za30 theory’, ‘student learning theory’, ‘advising theory’, ‘specialized knowledge’, and ‘professional qualification’. the second set of search terms associated loosely with social justice concerns included ‘social justice’, ‘disadvantage’, ‘poor’, ‘inequality’, ‘equality’, ‘marginalized’, ‘access’, ‘race’, ‘black’, ‘coloured’, ‘female’, ‘disability’, and ‘exclusion’. the face validity of these terms was tested through discussion and adjustment between the authors. the first column of table 2 gives an indication of the occurrence of the two codes generated by the search. over the journal life cycle there were a total 2,787 mentions of terms related to social justice. for the notions of high-level skills and knowledge, a much smaller number of mentions (781) leads us to assert that, comparatively, the social justice imperative forms a much larger driver of the general sas discourse in the contexts of the journal articles. the analysis illustrates well-developed engagement with terms that relate to social justice. table 2: code co-occurrence analysis code total mentions co-occurrence co-occurrence coefficient profession* code (980) high level knowledge and skill 781 233 0.15 social justice related 2,787 160 0.04 *shortened version of code that includes all mentions of the term profession, professionalism, professional, professionalisation and professionalization. when we consider code co-occurrence in a cross-tabulation of codes that co-occur in the same paragraph, it appears that the discourse of sas as profession more actively engages the notions of high-level skills and knowledge (233) in support of its claims than those of social justice (160) (see table 2, column 2). the code co-occurrence coefficient reflects the strength of the relation between two codes.2 in this regard the relation between the professions-related code is stronger with the high-level knowledge and skill code (0.15) than it is with the social justice related code (0.04) (see table 2, column 3). this means that the professionalization discourse is much more strongly associated with (relatively uncritical and traditional) notions of high-level knowledge and skills than it is with (critical and engaged) notions of social justice. a similar insight is also illustrated when considering co-occurrence against the total number of extracts in the particular code: 29.8% of all high-level knowledge and skills codes co-occurred with coding related to sas as profession, compared to only 5.7% of social justice-related codes. further analysis shows that discussions in the journal of social justice mostly related to students and less to sas as profession. against this 2 the calculation of the code co-occurrence co-efficient is c=n12/(n1+n2-n12), where n12 = number of co-occurrences for code n1 and n2. it ranges from 0 – 0, where 0 would be no co-occurrence of codes and 1 would mean that the two codes co-occur wherever they are used. wildschut, a., & luescher, t. m. (2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa 31 finding, it may be useful to consider whether and how the journal would like to position its professionalization agenda in relation to the social justice imperative involved in sas work, given its powerful role in developing the discourse on sas as profession in africa and beyond (e.g. schreiber, 2014). conclusions and way forward we have shown that in keeping with its establishment rationale, jsaa is developing a discourse on sas as a profession in africa which could benefit from more critical engagement. first, our analysis illustrates that the dominant discourse on sas as profession evident in a sample of jsaa publications builds on rather traditional (and in parts outdated) notions of what a profession is, typically involving catalogues of traits and attributes that a particular profession ought to espouse. our analysis showed that the discourse on sas as profession is dominated by notions of high-level knowledge, skills and quality standards (and ways towards building those). second (and related to this), the professionalization discourse in jsaa would benefit from more critical engagement with respect to the potential effect of particular routes to professionalization of sas in africa on equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice. what will the effect of professionalization be on gender equity, the inclusion of members of historically disadvantaged communities, persons with disabilities, and so forth? as much as there is a well-established social justice discourse in the journal, its intersection with the discourse of sas as profession is minimal. third, we found the wider professionalization discourse in jsaa strongly aligns with the notion of service to students and being governed by professional values internal to practitioners themselves. as indicated earlier, this is sometimes referred to in the literature as professionalization from within (fournier, 1999). two examples in our sample of jssa articles that reflect this are carpenter and haber-curran (2013) and selznick (2013). there are also several articles that provide evidence of managerialist influences on sas, such as external standard setting and quality assurance that are illustrative of professionalization from outside (wilkesmann et al., 2020). this is exemplified by li and fang (2017), pansiri and sinkamba (2017), and luescher (2018) in their articles referred to above. linking to the earlier discussion, this finding is of relevance to further analytical and conceptual development that can be illustrative of how newer and emerging professions are navigating both forms of professionalism in their efforts to professionalize. this could add further nuance to our understanding of how such forms of professionalism are not always diametrically opposed. reflection on how the tension between professionalism from within and outside plays out within sas, and particularly its form within the african context, could thus be instructive to this debate. lastly, and related to the former assertion, there is an interesting development in the jsaa discourse on professionalization. in the last volume reviewed here, there are two articles, holtzhausen and wahl (2022) and dick et al. (2022) respectively, that recognise a semi-professional role played by student leaders in sas. student leaders are often taken as extensions of sas practitioners in student leadership development, the journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za32 residence sector, mentoring practice, and so forth. this raises the question of the unique nature of sas as profession in the african higher education context and highlights the role that jsaa can play through providing a critical platform for engaging on the nature of sas professionalization in africa. the growing collection of scholarship on sas as profession in jsaa therefore has immense practical and theoretical potential. acknowledgements this article follows from an earlier version that was prepared for the series new directions in student services. the present version has been significantly updated with the latest data and with additional qualitative data and analysis. all sections have been revised and refocused to the 10-year anniversary issue of the journal of student affairs in africa. ethics statement this desktop study of secondary, published data did not involve research with human subjects and was not submitted for ethics review. potential conflict of interest apart from their own involvement as editors of the journal of student affairs in africa, the authors do not consider any potential conflicts of interest. both authors conducted this work as researchers employed by the human sciences research council and research associates of the university of pretoria and nelson mandela university, respectively. funding acknowledgement no funding was received specifically for this work. references abbott, a. 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(2023). developing student affairs as a profession in africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 19–34. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4586 https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392111402 https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/article/view/602 https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200817155607351 https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200817155607351 https://doi.org/10.7577/pp.v2i1.151 https://doi.org/10.1177/00113921050571 https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/article/view/540 https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392115591611 https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870420000315889 https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2004.10419105 https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2013.802536 https://doi.org/10.1080/10301763.2017.1346450 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7111-7554 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 93‑105 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 93 www.jsaa.ac.za research article the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on students and the living and learning spaces at a south african university blessing kanyumbai & nondumiso shabanguii i ms blessing kanyumba is a residence advisor in the department of student housing and residence life at the durban university of technology, south africa. orcid: 0000-0001-8111-4234. email: blessingk1@dut.ac.za ii dr nondumiso shabangu is a residence advisor in the department of student housing and residence life at the durban university of technology, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-1097-0049. email: shabangunondu.sn@gmail.com abstract in march 2020, the south african president mr cyril ramaphosa announced a national lockdown due to the rising cases of the covid‑19 pandemic. as a result, some of the higher education institutions closed under lockdown level 5 and strategies had to be developed to adapt to the “new norm”. consequently, students and the living and learning spaces in south africa were affected, necessitating therefore that transformation in all spheres takes place. this study, through a qualitative research design, investigated the effect of covid‑19 on students and the living and learning spaces at a selected university in south africa. fifteen students and ten residence advisors (ras) were telephonically interviewed. the results revealed that the living and learning spaces had been significantly transformed by the covid‑19 pandemic. the operations of these spaces had been compelled to change in order to comply with the covid‑19 regulations, such that student learning was shifted from face‑to‑face to online learning. this meant more time spent indoors, stricter measures now in place and the ra roles having been broadened to ensure that they also monitor compliance. the study also noted that even after the pandemic, things will still take time to get back to normal. this article concludes that covid‑19 has had a huge effect on the living and learning spaces as well as students at the selected university and that both students and staff should play their roles effectively to ensure that everyone remains safe. keywords advising; covid‑19; living and learning; residence life; student affairs introduction according to jones lang lasalle (2016), there is a huge demand for student accommodation in africa due to an increased enrolment rate. therefore, most students opt to reside in the accommodation offered by the institution whether insourced or outsourced. student accommodation or residences refer to a living place provided by institutions (dhet, 2015). http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:blessingk1%40dut.ac.za?subject= mailto:shabangunondu.sn%40gmail.com?subject= 94 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 93‑105 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 for the purposes of this study the student residences will be termed ‘living and learning spaces’. the living and learning spaces characterise the concepts of learning while living in the university’s shared spaces. furthermore, this is a concept used in integrating the accommodation and academic aspect in student development. there is limited literature on student living and learning, particularly in africa. gopal and van niekerk (2018) argue that the demand for student housing in south africa is very high, mostly due to limited institutions of higher learning as well as unconducive learning environments at home. parameswaran and bowers (2014) and tshimangadzo, nkhangweleni azwitamisi and tshifhiwa (2020) note that studies have shown that students who reside in university learning and living spaces perform better in all aspects of life than those who do not stay in residences. a study conducted by eurostudent (2011) concluded that students residing in university residences are likely to see studying as their main occupation, and this in turn, it is believed, “may have a positive effect on their duration of study and grades”. there are factors which can substantiate the reasons for student success while residing in residences. the reasons can be due to the social and educational programmes implemented in the residences which facilitate student development in all aspects. swartz (2010) contends that student living and learning communities are strategically crucial as they are ideal locations for both learning and teaching and recreational and social life, consequently creating a sense of community, “a home away from home”. wartz (2010) argues that students in living and learning spaces ought to have four crucial functions namely: • a leadership function – the living and learning spaces are a training ground for student leadership • a pedagogical function – living and learning spaces are places of teaching and learning, induction, and orientation. • a social function – the living and learning space is a place where students have fun which is crucial to student life and engagement; and • a cultural function – societies and clubs are strongest in living and learning spaces (swartz, 2010). each of the foregoing forms an important element in the development of each student, and therefore speaks to the richness of the living and learning spaces in fostering a developmental agenda. according to gopal and van niekerk (2018), living and learning spaces build unity and commonness of purpose. thus, first‑year students look up to their seniors, and find the support and encouragement that accrue from loyalty to the living and learning spaces. students from rural communities find residences a vital bridge to the complexities and uncertainties of a large institution. pascarella and terenzini (2005) attest that research suggests that living in an on‑campus residence when doing a four‑year university degree has a positive impact on student performance, adjustment, and retention. therefore, with the emergence of a pandemic like covid‑19, which makes social distancing mandatory, research must be conducted to assess if staying on‑campus still has a positive impact on student performance. residence students are exposed to numerous extracurricular activities which in turn promote self‑growth, thus leading to improved performance. b. kanyumba & n. shabangu: the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on students and the living and learning spaces … 95 a study conducted by pascarella and terenzini (2005) further revealed that living in university residences from the first year of study increases the chances of completion on time by 12%, and students regarded ‘at risk students’ are well nurtured due to an increase of social interaction. there are numerous advantages of living in the institution’s living and learning spaces for students and these include that students interact more frequently and informally with academic peers and staff. for instance, most staff employed as residence advisors are university academic staff. hence, they are able to interact informally with the students, making it easier for students to approach them whenever they need assistance and guidance. students residing in the university living and learning spaces participate in more on‑campus activities than those who do not. more on‑campus activities are facilitated on the residences and the accessibility is easier for students who reside in on‑campus residences. students in living and learning spaces are more likely to persist and graduate since most tutors live in the same spaces, hence making it easier to oversee their development and learning. living and learning spaces also facilitate improved psychological development for students, hence reducing the rates of suicidal thoughts and mental health challenges experienced by students. it is of paramount importance to also note that in the living and learning spaces there are “living and learning” programmes which are implemented to enhance the integration of cultural, physical, social, intellectual and spiritual growth of students in a way that each complements the other. ultimately, the students will attach more importance to intellectual values, liberalism, secularism, and aesthetics. the transformation of living and learning spaces due to covid‑19 covid‑19 has left no living and learning space in the south african universities unaffected, and its consequences are felt. the impact covid‑19 has had on living and learning spaces and on students is huge and deeply felt. universities are still trying to cope with developing or strengthening the systems of living and learning, and ensuring that students still be exposed to as much knowledge as possible. according to mohamedbhai (2020), to be able to contain the spread of the virus and also ensure that the lockdown measures are followed, there was no choice for the african countries but to close education institutions (higher education institutions). mohamedbhai (2020) further states that higher education institutions have had to ensure that their programmes are delivered online through distance learning to all their students with the use of information and communication technology (its). one of the huge transformations that has taken place in living and learning spaces, is that where covid‑19 has accelerated the digital transformation of higher education, universities have been forced to develop virtual cultures. classes are now online for the rest of the year 2020 as universities have been forced to stop being physically operational (martin‑barbero, 2020). due to this, higher education institutions have had to make sure that learning continues, and this has led to disturbances of the lives of many (martin‑ barbero, 2020). martin‑berbero (2020) states that this transformation has led to the inequalities between the students with resources and those without access to the resources. 96 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 93‑105 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 according to makhanya (2020), before the covid‑19 pandemic, south african universities depended on contact teaching. this made teaching seem equal to all. however, students come from different socio‑economic backgrounds and no student should be marginalised, so universities must ensure that they cater for all their students (makhanya, 2020). transformation in living spaces has been well observed. according to mzileni (2020), there is a lack of the infrastructure in the townships and villages of south africa, that is required for students to function accordingly. furthermore, in terms of the learning experience, it is well noted that many communities and households are non‑conducive spaces for students and hence the universities were made conceptual residential institutions for the utilisation of face‑to‑face contact learning (mzileni, 2020). universities are aware that regardless of the advancements in technology and the innovations contributed thus far, the undergraduate students still require to be hosted physically in on‑campus residences in order to concentrate well on their studies (mzileni 2020). however, the reality is that not all the students residing in on‑campus residences in general have high concentration levels. research by mzileni (2020) shows that, over 15 000 campus residence students under normal circumstances would have high concentration level when off‑campus. mzileni (2020) further states that, for students with lower concentration levels it has been hard to facilitate seamless teaching, and due to this, universities have had to use their own resources every day to transport students (that under normal circumstances reside in on‑campus residences) from off‑campus to campuses and provide wi‑fi connectivity to all students who live off‑campus. (mzileni, 2020). some universities are unable to provide all required resources to all students. consequently, the transformation covid‑19 has brought to living and learning spaces has had quite a significant impact on students as evidenced by having to move the normal learning process from lecture venues to online learning. students also having to adhere to health protocols, most of which are new to them, and stretch the resources of institutions, thus exacerbates the fault‑lines where mainly the poor and destitute students are struggling even more. conceptual framework this study will be based on a conceptual framework on e‑resilience in education by van der laar (2020). this framework was developed as the response to the ‘shock’ caused by the covid‑19 pandemic in the higher education sector’s teaching and learning. this framework is relevant to this study because the living and learning spaces have shown resilience to the pandemic thorough the incorporation of technology. as shown in figure 1, the framework comprises four levels that are nested and interact together and shape e‑resilience of the educational systems after a ‘shock’ (van der laar, 2020). the first layer (dark blue) is the resilience at an individual level. layer two (purple) is the resilience at the programme level. the third layer (green) highlights the resilience at an institutional level and finally layer four (pink) reveals the resilience at the macro level. students and residence advisors have been affected by the pandemic on a personal level in most facets of their lives. however, mechanisms had to be developed to ensure that everyone copes. the use of technology b. kanyumba & n. shabangu: the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on students and the living and learning spaces … 97 has affected many students, thus support from the institutional level is very crucial. marota (2020) further reveals that during this pandemic institutions of higher learning need to upskill their staff so that they will be able to assist students as well. for this study, the importance of upskilling of the residence advisors is crucial as they are the ones who will be dealing with the students on a daily basis since contact classes are still prohibited. hence the relevance of this conceptual framework. digital connectivity educational regulations financial means ict hardware generic skills (self-directed learning, planning) course design diversity digital skills ict competency standards for teachers training intellectual capacity administrative, educational programme support and instructions ict system support assessments elearning experience / adaptability / willingness to learn course content quality and specificity teacher digital and didactical skills digital platform mode of package delivery platform use and functionality study infra structure / internet connectivity individual level programme level institutional level macro level figure 1: e‑resilience in education conceptual framework (source: after van de laar, 2020) research methodology the study was conducted at a university of technology in south africa. a qualitative research design and methodological approach through purposive sampling was utilised. ames, glenton and lewin (2019) define purposive sampling as a non‑probability sampling aimed at producing the sample that can be logically assumed to be representative of the 98 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 93‑105 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 population. the main goal of purposive sampling is to focus on particular characteristics of a population that are of interest, which will best enable researchers to answer the research questions. this sampling method was used for the study as the students and residence advisors are representative of the entire population and they were chosen from various residences. the participants for the study consist of 15 students and 10 residence advisors (ras), and of the 15 students, 2 were student residence assistants (sras). student participants were identified through residence advisors from various residences in durban. the ras were personally contacted by the researchers as they are also ras at the selected institution. the participants comprised female and male undergraduate students residing both in insourced and outsourced residences in durban and their ras. it is of paramount importance to note that most of the participants were from outsourced residences as shown in table 1. this is because there are more outsourced residences than insourced at the selected institution. the age group of the student participants ranged from 19‑32 as shown in table 1. table 1: student participants summary number of participant (students) age level of study insource/outsource residence participant 1 23 3 outsource participant 2 24 1 insource participant 3 32 3 outsource participant 4 19 1 insource participant 5 20 1 outsource participant 6 22 4 outsource participant 7 22 21 outsource participant 8 23 3 insource participant 9 20 2 insource participant 10 21 2 outsource participant 11 30 4 outsource participant 12 23 3 outsource participant 13 21 2 outsource participant 14 25 3 outsource participant 15 19 1 insource due to covid‑19 and the emphasis on maintaining social distancing, data was collected telephonically, where all participants were called during the time that their individual interview was set to suit their availability. this data collection method was appropriate for this study because the researchers and participants managed to interact, and it was easy to reach out to respondents from various residences without seeing them face to face. the interviews lasted between 10 and 15 minutes. all participants were requested to sign consent forms via email which gave permission for their participation. the interviews b. kanyumba & n. shabangu: the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on students and the living and learning spaces … 99 were recorded, subsequently transcribed verbatim and coded. pseudonyms were used by the researchers in all instances to circumvent any possible link to participants. a narrative enquiry method was used to explain the students’ and ras’ views on the effect of covid‑19 on the living and learning spaces and how these spaces have been transformed due to the pandemic and the national lockdown. ethical considerations permission to conduct this study was obtained from the selected institution and the department of student housing and residence life. ethical clearance was obtained through the selected institution’s research ethics committee. students and ras were subsequently approached, and their participation was voluntary. privacy and confidentiality were maintained throughout the study. data analysis themes were identified from the transcribed interviews. four major themes emerged from the interview with the students and three themes also emerged from the interviews with the ras. the themes are reflected in table 2. table 2: emerging themes students residence advisors 1. introduction of online learning phasing of students into residences 2. improved hygiene the issue of accessing ppes 3. increased stress levels internet connectivity issues and studying in the residences 4. insufficient resources introduction of online learning all the participants indicated that the introduction of online learning was a huge effect of the covid‑19 pandemic. as a result of the national lockdown and covid‑19 the selected institution introduced blended learning which is defined by ibrahim and nat (2019) as an “effective approach to the passive knowledge engagement of a massive number of students, which also increases learning outside the traditional face‑to‑face learning environment”. there was a huge transformation amongst students as they were not used to solely relying on online learning. this online thing is a huge trouble for me as am not used to this, even at rez i don’t have time to breathe, this is my fourth year here and this is the hardest year, am really drowning. (p6) this online learning is not for us. (p10, p2, 15) personally i am used to working in a group and i like asking my lecturers questions in class, but with this online learning it is very hard to even ask the questions as that hand icon on my team’s class just disappears and i end up not asking anything, technology is still difficult but am getting there slowly but surely. (p11) 100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 93‑105 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 participant 12 also highlighted this: “even though online learning is a challenge, i think my lecturers are trying very hard. i even send them whatsapp messages and they do respond hence it’s not that bad.” these respondents attest that one major effect of the covid‑19 pandemic was a shift from face‑to‑face lectures to online lectures which meant that even when they are in their residences, they have to attend classes which requires huge commitment and dedication. improved hygienic behaviour the participants revealed that they are more conscious about their hygiene due to the covid‑19 pandemic. sang and dewi (2020) state that hand hygiene is extremely crucial in preventing the spread of the covid‑19 virus. covid‑19 actually transformed me to be clean freak. (p3) most of the respondents stipulated that everyone is now aware of the importance of being clean and everyone is playing their part in ensuring that all areas are clean and sanitised. p4 revealed that: am really shocked that even our cleaners are doing a splendid job, before covid‑19 our kitchens were always dirty. i don’t want to even mention the bathrooms, but since we came back from home under level 3 of the lockdown, i can really see a change. all the places are clean and even me and my roommate we make sure we sanitise again before getting into the room, we want to be safe. who (2020) concluded that, for the spread of the virus to be minimised, everyone should adhere to the stipulated hygienic protocols. therefore, it is quite interesting to note that students in the living and learning spaces are actually adhering to the protocols. hence, the change in their hygienic behaviour would mean even after the pandemic good hygienic behaviour will still be maintained. increased stress levels according to who (2020), it is normal to feel sad, stressed, confused, scared or angry during a crisis. most of the participants indicated that after a month on national lockdown they have been stressed as well as bored. at level 5 of the lockdown, the participants indicated that they were at home and after a month of staying indoors and doing nothing they started getting stressed. just by watching news and seeing those figures rising day after day, made me anxious. (p2) khosravi (2020) posits that pandemics impose a spectrum of psychological impacts and at the individual level, these adverse effects can cause new psychiatric symptoms and intensify the pre‑existing mental illnesses. khosravi (2020) further notes that in such a condition, society members may undergo some negative experiences, such as fear and anxiety about falling ill or dying and feelings of helplessness. in south africa, students started returning to campus residence under lockdown level 3 and only 33% were the first cohort. b. kanyumba & n. shabangu: the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on students and the living and learning spaces … 101 when i came back to campus under level 3 i was the only one in my floor, i have never been scared in life, i thought of going back home but i couldn’t as i was supposed to attend classes, it seemed like i was seeing things in the residence, i was traumatised to the extent of resorting to binging. i had no one to talk to and being stuck alone in the room is quite stressful. (p4) it is crucial to note that under normal circumstances programmes were implemented in the residences to facilitate the living and learning aspect. due to covid‑19 and social distancing no social or educational programmes have been implemented and previous studies have shown that living and learning programmes enhance student well‑being. therefore, without those programmes students will not be developed or assisted on how to deal with stress during a pandemic. wahl (2013) concurs that living and learning programmes improve student learning, development and success at higher education level. consequently, due to the covid‑19 pandemic, contact programmes were halted thus disadvantaging the students. … we used to have programs [sic] at res and they were very helpful, we used to meet with each other and socialise thus easing our minds but with this corona we cannot do that and its bad, i don’t know if the online programs [sic] will be effective enough. (p14) additionally, when asked if things will get back to normal anytime soon, most students believe that things will take time to get back to normal. hence the institution should devise strategies that can last for a long time and not only serve short‑term purposes. student housing should think of ways for us to have our residence programs online as the way we are living is a new normal and we should adapt, its gonna [sic] take a lot of time for things to get back to normal, we are still going to be wearing masks … (p7) insufficient resources it is crucial to note that most of the participants who resided in outsourced residences indicated that there was a shortage of resources in their residences. our landlord just bought the sanitizers on the first week of our arrival and we are now buying our own sanitizers, at least the institution gave us masks. (p11) those who reside in insourced residences highlighted that everything is provided for them. we have all the resources that we need, i just don’t like that i get checked every time i come inside the gate even after 2 minutes, they still check my temperature. (p15) dhet (2015) notes that there is a huge increase in the number of students who get accepted to study in the universities in south africa, hence the rise in demand for student accommodation as well. the institution under study outsources 90% of their student accommodation and the landlords are responsible for providing all the resources required by the students to enhance the living and learning. however, the participants in most outsourced residences indicated that wi‑fi is a challenge, especially during this period where it is needed the most, and there are no sanitisers and in some rooms with three people residing in a single room. 102 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 93‑105 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 phasing in of students into residences as the students are slowly being brought back to campus in a phased in manner, most of the residence advisors are experiencing challenges with adapting to the new normal way of living with the students as they state that there are so many new rules and regulations that they need to ensure they themselves and students adhere to. the transformation is mainly noted on a communication basis as well as on an interaction basis between students and the residence advisors. before the pandemic and the lockdown, all residences had programmes running to ensure students engage in residences they are assigned to, but since they have been phased during the pandemic, that engagement is no longer there. … since my students have come back the interaction is no longer the same, i am starting to feel that my relationship with them is more stricter and i am not happy about that, because when they see me they think i will be hard on them with keeping to the rules and regulation. (r4) i had so many programmes that i had organised especially since i was a new residence advisor, but now i cannot implement those programmes because we can no longer have physical interactions, but we hope we can prepare to move them to be virtual. (r7) the issue of accessing ppes most residence advisors mentioned several times during their different interviews that they are facing challenges with accessing things like masks and sanitisers and this is making their work difficult in the residences. … the hugest [sic] transformation of this pandemic is having to constantly wash hands or sanitise them. this becomes hard when such is not regularly provided in the residence. also the masks are an issue as some students do not wear them and have to be constantly reminded, then you end up feeling like you are on their back, but you know how significant it is to ensure to limit the spread of the virus. (r1) internet connectivity issues and studying in the residences the university is now defined as no longer the building, but it is now where students reside, this being a very huge transformation. the students in the residences now have their lectures online in their rooms, they also have their tests and exams virtually in their rooms and for this to be progressive and effective they require good internet connectivity. most residence advisors mentioned the issue of the lack of connectivity as most residences’ wi‑fi signals are not of good strength. due to this issue, most students are struggling to study in the residences, and because of this most students end up going outside of the residence to find facilities like municipal libraries to have connection, and due to this they end up being more susceptible to the virus and increase the chances of exposure in the residences. … most students since they have returned have been coming to me and complained about the wifi connectivity, stating that how are they expected to keep up with their school work if the wifi connection in the residence is so poor, another student even went further and told me that b. kanyumba & n. shabangu: the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on students and the living and learning spaces … 103 the transformation of blended learning is so difficult on them since they cannot connect properly like the rest of their classmates. this then means that these students are mainly behind with their schoolwork. (r5) discussion this study aimed to reveal the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on the living and learning spaces and students at a south african university. it was conducted during the period of the lockdown on levels 3 and 2. the following findings are evident from data presented: • that the main transformation issues with residence advisors were those of policies and protocols of the phasing in of students back into residences, • and the issue of ppes in the residence, • as well as the internet connection issues and studying in the residences. according to badrick (2017), about the internet connectivity issues, it cannot be denied that what attracts and keeps students retained is the matter of how strong the wi‑fi connectivity is in that area. badrick (2017) further states that the university internet users expect connectivity that is sustained and will not fail them. ntshingila (2020) states that since institutions started implementing the online learning protocols it was noted the living circumstances and finances of all students vary and some are not pleasurable, and the students from disadvantaged backgrounds suffer the most during this time. with the incorporation of van de laar’s (2020) conceptual framework of e‑resilience in higher education into this study, it has been shown that the shift to the use of technologies at the selected institution had a huge impact since 90% of the students emanate from marginalised backgrounds. therefore, this was a huge transformation for the students as they are expected to be resilient despite the challenges faced. the results further revealed that the students are dealing with a lot of issues which are leading to high stress levels. centres for disease control and prevention (2020) attest to the fact that social distancing is a public health action which can make people feel lonely and isolated and can thus increase stress and anxiety. most students are currently staying in single or double rooms and no visitors are permitted at the institution under study and no gatherings are permitted. hence, most students feel lonely – which can increase stress levels. it is crucial to note that both students and residence advisors at the selected institution are taking their health and hygiene seriously. all the participants indicated the need to stay safe and take charge of their health, which is a huge transformation for others – especially students who did not follow basic hygiene procedures before the pandemic. from the study, it is evident that services are differently provided in outsourced and insourced residences. most students and ras indicated that the landlords did not provide proper resources during the pandemic, for example, wi‑fi and ppes. it is crucial to note that in trying to address the challenge, the institution under study released a communiqué on 28  august 2020 indicating that if landlords do not provide proper resources in the living and learning spaces, the institution will use their budget to provide resources to the residences and the funds will be deducted from the landlord’s account. with this measure taken, it is believed that some of the concerns raised by students and ras will be rectified as they have been affecting their living and learning, respectively. 104 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 93‑105 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 conclusion the study explored the various effects that covid‑19 has had on the living and learning spaces of students as well as residence advisors. the study indicated that the main issues that students were faced with since they were returned in a phased manner back into the living and learning environments, were the introduction of online learning which most struggled with at first, and the fact that hygiene was improved and increased which is a positive development. some students stated that their stress levels were elevated in relation to coping with the transformation that was taking place in the living and learning spaces. the issue of insufficient resources was also noted, where most students did not have relevant or sufficient resources, which made it hard for them to cope with the transformation taking place. with the residence advisors, it was noted that the main issues were around the phased‑in return of students into residences, where there was not a clear system of doing this. and this was a very clear indication that it was all due to the transformation from what was regarded as normal previously which is now regarded as a new normal of doing things within the living spaces of students. the other issue raised was the issue of accessing ppes as most had not received proper directives regarding this matter. internet connectivity issues and studying in the residences was the other main concern that was prominent between the students and the residence advisors. all these issues were due to the huge transformation in the learning and living spaces, due to covid‑19. 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(2020, april 3). disadvantaged university students on online learning: “some don’t even own smartphones”. drum [online]. https://www.news24.com/drum/news/disadvantaged‑university‑ students‑on‑online‑learning‑some‑dont‑even‑own‑smartphones‑20200403‑2 sang, p. & dewi, s. (2020). hygiene and sanitation challenge for covid‑19 prevention in indonesia. kesmas: national public health journal, special issue 1, 6‑13. swartz, d. (2010). presentation to the national conference of the south african chapter of the association of college and university housing officers international. unpublished powerpoint presentation, durban. tshimangadzo, s., nkhangweleni, d., azwitamisi, g. & tshifhiwa, m. (2020). a comparative study of the academic performance of resident and non‑resident students at a rural south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(10), 1‑12. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3468 van de laar, m. 2020. e‑resilience in education: a conceptual framework. policy brief: united nations university. wahl, w.p. 2013. towards evaluating a higher education residence environment that is conducive to learning, development and success. journal of higher education in africa/revue de l’enseignement supérieur en afrique, 11(1‑2), 53‑69. how to cite: kanyumba, b. & shabangu, n. (2021). the effect of the covid‑19 pandemic on students and the living and learning spaces at a south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 93‑105. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1430 https://doi.org/10.5812/ijpbs.103865 https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/opinion-analysis/opinion-covid-19-will-accelerate-digital-transformat https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/opinion-analysis/opinion-covid-19-will-accelerate-digital-transformat https://www.merit.unu.edu/on-the-virtual-frontline-ensuring-education-while-protecting-the-well-bein https://www.merit.unu.edu/on-the-virtual-frontline-ensuring-education-while-protecting-the-well-bein https://www.merit.unu.edu/on-the-virtual-frontline-ensuring-education-while-protecting-the-well-bein https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/covid-19-digital-transformation-higher-education https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/covid-19-digital-transformation-higher-education https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200407064850279 https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200407064850279 https://mg.co.za/education/2020-04-23-how-covid-19-will-affect-students https://mg.co.za/education/2020-04-23-how-covid-19-will-affect-students https://www.news24.com/drum/news/disadvantaged-university-students-on-online-learning-some-dont-even https://www.news24.com/drum/news/disadvantaged-university-students-on-online-learning-some-dont-even https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3468 _goback _30j0zll journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za competency development of southern african housing officers munita dunn* and norbert w. dunkel** reflective practice * deputy director: centre for student communities, stellenbosch university; coordinator: student housing training institute; acuho-i sac general secretariat. email: mdunn@sun.ac.za ** associate vice president for student affairs, university of florida; co-director: student housing training institute; acuho-i past-president. abstract the report on the ministerial committee for the review of the provision of student housing at south african universities (department of higher education and training, 2011) has provided a comprehensive review of residences across several housing functional areas. in one of the residence management and administration recommendations it stated, “the professionalisation of housing staff is an urgent priority” (p. 141). this coupled with the report’s estimated “current residence bed shortage of approximately 195 815 beds […] with a cost of overcoming this shortage over a period of ten years is estimated at r82.4 billion” (pp. xvii–xviii) will mean the hiring and training of hundreds of housing professional staff to meet not only the demand of the additional residence beds but the training of current housing staff. in 2010 the association of college and university housing officers – international southern africa chapter (acuho-i sac) initiated a student housing training institute (shti) first held in 2011 to meet the demands for professionalising housing staff. the shti was organised using a competency development model first used to develop the association of college and university housing officers – international (acuho-i) james c. grimm national housing training institute (nhti) held in the us. keywords competency, development, housing officers, higher education, professionalisation. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 competency development of housing officers in order to develop a self-directed, intentional, professional development programme, one needs to understand the competencies necessary to be successful in one’s functional area (dunkel & schreiber, 1992). various studies have provided insight into housing staff competency development. one of the earliest studies of professional preparation and sources for training chief housing officers was conducted by taguding (1985). taguding found on-the-job training (on-the-job competencies) to be the most common source of training compared to undergraduate and graduate school and workshops and seminars. campus housing competency development was identified over 20 years ago when dunkel and schreiber (1992) completed their 1990 study of housing competencies. they conducted a national study of us chief housing officers to determine the ranked importance of competencies identified as necessary to becoming successful chief housing officers. forty-nine competencies were identified from a literature review. “the 50 competencies were categorised as (a) administrative including personnel management, planning and projection, and research skills; (b) developmental including communications skills, diversity awareness, and leadership and counselling skills; and (c) foundational knowledge of institutional organisation, the student, and current trends” (p. 21). table 1 summarises the top 15 rank ordered competencies using the following likert-type scale: 1 = serious importance, 2 = moderate importance, 3 = slight importance, 4 = no importance. of the competencies rank ordered in the top 15, 7 were in the administrative category, 6 were in the developmental category, and 2 were in the foundational category. dunkel and schreiber used the results from this study to formulate the curriculum for the acuho-i national housing training institute, now in its 23rd year. this “curriculum addressed one of the two goals established early in the development of the institute: (a) to facilitate participants’ competency development through the presentation of material that includes opportunities for interactive learning; and (b) to offer participants an opportunity for in-depth planning facilitated by a mentor relationship with an expert in the field” (dunkel, schreiber & felice, 2005, p. 38). during the past 23 years, 770 housing professionals with three to five years of full-time experience have completed the national housing training institute (nhti). anecdotally, many of these professional staff are now in senior housing or senior student affairs positions. research is progressing to identify career advancement correlated with participation in the nhti. brandel (1995) completed a descriptive study to investigate united states chief housing officers’ perceptions of dunkel and schreiber’s (1990) original competencies in relation to effective job performance. respondents were asked to rate the level of expertise needed to effectively perform the competencies, and then asked to rate their own level of expertise on each competency. brandel’s findings identified 17 competencies that required the highest level of expertise by chief housing officers, as reflected in table 2. munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 69 table 1: top 15 rank ordered competencies as identified by chief housing officers competency mean rating 1. interpersonal communications skills 1.09 2. work cooperatively and effectively with a wide range of individuals 1.11 3. supervise staff 1.12 4. engage in effective decision-making 1.12 5. train staff 1.12 6. crisis management 1.17 7. select staff 1.19 8. short-range goal setting 1.24 9. mediating conflict 1.25 10. formulate and interpret policy 1.26 11. appreciate and internalise a professional set of ethics 1.27 12. fair and effective discipline of student misconduct 1.27 13. recognise legal implications of higher education administration 1.27 14. motivation 1.27 15. staff appraisal 1.30 note: competencies are ranked ordered according to mean ratings. (dunkel & schreiber, 1992, p. 22) table 2: seventeen competencies perceived to require the highest level of expertise competency 1. long-range planning 2. recognise legal implications 3. occupancy management 4. strategic planning 5. interpret and recognise special needs of ethnic, racial, religious and cultural minorities, gays, bisexuals, lesbians, women, and persons with disabilities 6. develop and supervise a budget 7. staff appraisal 8. articulate characteristics of college students 9. train staff 10. formulate and interpret policy 11. supervise staff 12. engage in effective decision-making 13. interpret goals, concerns, and problems of campus to students 14. appreciate and internalise a professional set of ethics 15. crisis management 16. public relations 17. interpersonal communication skills (brandel, 1995, pp. 153–154) 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 porter (2005) continued to extend the research on housing competencies by applying sandwith’s competency domain model to senior college housing officers in the united states. she identified 57 competencies which were then rated on a five-point scale (1 = no importance to 5 = essential). porter identified the top 15 competency items by rank in table 3. porter found “the interpersonal factor was the factor most represented by the top 15 ranked competencies (40%) […] leadership was the second most represented factor in the top 15 accounting for 27% of all leadership competencies. thirty-eight percent of all conceptual factors were represented in the 10 competencies that were ranked least important” (p. 71). in comparison, “only five competencies were in dunkel and schreiber’s top 15: decision-making, interpersonal communication, crisis management, staff supervision, and motivation” (p. 79). porter’s study results were used to revise the curriculum for the acuho-i national housing training institute given the changes in the chief housing officer competencies and roles. in september 2010, the acuho-i southern africa chapter convened a forum of chief housing officers (chos). these chos completed a survey of the 57 competencies developed by diane porter-roberts. the survey (acuho-i sac, 2010) identified which competencies were most important to southern african chos to be successful in campus housing. table 4 identified the top 10 competencies. these competencies were used to develop the curriculum for the acuho-i sac student housing training institute first held in 2011 at stellenbosch university. table 3: competency items sorted by rank competency 1. decision-making 2. interpersonal communication 3. budget development and resource allocation 4. crisis management 5. cooperation and collaboration 6. personal characteristics 7. staff supervision 8. ethics 9. staff selection 10. strategic thinking and planning 11. motivation 12. organisational culture 13. interpretation of institutional goals, issues and concerns 14. networking 15. assessment of student needs and interests munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 71 in 2010, acuho-i initiated the core competency project as part of their annual strategic initiatives. this project led to the publication of the acuho-i core competencies: the body of knowledge for campus housing professionals (cawthon, schreiber & associates, 2012). the acuho-i set of core competencies “is presented using a number of knowledge domains, many of which are further delineated by subdomains. the twelve domains are: (a) ancillary partnerships, (b) conference services, (c) crisis management, (d) dining, (e) evaluation and planning, (f) facilities, (g) fiscal resources and control, (h) human resources, (i) information technology, (j) occupancy, (k) residence education, and (l) student behavior” (p. 2). the primary purpose of the publication “is to assist the association in planning strategically the educational services it offers members” (p. 3). table 4: the 10 competencies of southern african chief housing officers competency 1. application of technology 2. budget development and resource allocation 3. facilities management 4. personnel management 5. strategic thinking and planning 6. policy development and interpretation 7. professional development 8. assessment of student needs and interests 9. knowledge of student affairs functions 10. knowledge of student development theory history of southern africa leading to the student housing training institute in an issue of the talking stick (2009), dunkel and jackson describe the commitment of acuho-i to respond to needs in the global housing arena they said this: “student affairs and housing offices increasingly understand the value of a global perspective for staffs and students. this global perspective brings more knowledge and more viewpoints to the table, which leads to better decisions, programmes and services for all students. it is especially important for student affairs offices to work closely with one another to provide for the needs of students from other countries” (p. 44). additionally, they add, “when a campus president mentions the word ‘international’ or ‘global’, that should be a sign to act quickly, without hesitation” (p. 44). acuho-i endeavours to do just that: positively impact the experiences of students across the globe, acting quickly, without hesitation. during 2005 two south african student housing professionals, marcelle rabie and eric sebokedi, attended the acuho-i annual conference in milwaukee, wisconsin, usa. this was the start of the discussion surrounding collaboration and the establishment of a possible chapter within southern africa. the southern africa chapter of acuho-i (the first ‘chapter’ of acuho-i) was established in 2006. the core purpose of acuho-i sac is: “to 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 collectively transform africa through student housing communities” and its goal statement is: “intentionally creating opportunities with value-driven student and staff development, as well as enhancing institutional synergy, through safe student-centred listening, living and learning spaces and facilities, where diversity is celebrated” (acuho-i sac, 2006). beginning in 2006, acuho-i began sending delegations of acuho-i members to southern africa to work with the acuho-i southern africa chapter to share experiences and educational practices. a delegation in 2008 traveled to south africa to serve as trainers for students and professionals at 17 institutions across southern africa and to attend and present at the annual acuho-i sa conference. additionally, in 2009 acuho-i sponsored the first global housing summit in hong kong, china where chief housing officers from around the world gathered to share ideas, experiences and knowledge to enhance what has become our global profession. at the 2010 african student housing summit held at stellenbosch university, attended by a us delegation as well, one of the outcomes was the establishment of a student housing training institute within south africa. it was later agreed upon that stellenbosch university would host for the first three years after which it would be transferred to another tertiary institute within south africa (pieter kloppers, personal communication, may 31, 2013). student housing training institute structure and purpose the first student housing training institute was held in stellenbosch, south africa from april 3–8, 2011. the institute was hosted by stellenbosch university at the picturesque boland college campus. the hosting of the shti 2011 was a culmination of three years of research and planning between acuho-i southern africa chapter and acuho-i. through the facilitation of the acuho-i executive director, sallie traxler, and the support of the acuho-i executive board and acuho-i foundation, the hosting of the first shti on the african continent became a reality. the shti is a flagship staff development and training programme designed to empower student housing staff with skills and competencies to provide a quality development and service to the student housing community. the institute aims to address the need for the professionalisation of student housing to contribute to student learning and development, and the increased output of graduates in south african colleges and universities. the training at the shti needs to prepare housing staff to develop into deputy directors of housing at south african universities, responsible for the following: financial management; facilities management; student life management; management of services; and contributing to the design of facilities (acuho-i sac, 2010). the shti should therefore be an intense professional developmental opportunity for those who have at least three years’ housing experience and who are looking to enhance and continue a career in housing. in south africa there is no degree preparing professionals for the management of student affairs. a specific course to equip housing professionals is therefore of vital importance within the south african context. the institute is presented in an intensive block-week format requiring participants to attend daily from 9am to 5pm as munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 73 well as extending into the evening for discussion groups, feedback sessions and professional networking. participants are expected to be committed to the shti regime and to attend all sessions without exception (acuho-i sac, 2010). the institute is co-presented by a combination of south african and us-based faculty members under the leadership of one of the founders of the national housing training institute, norbert dunkel from the university of florida in gainesville, florida, usa. the faculty is constituted by selected practitioners and faculty who have held leadership positions within acuho-i; acuho-i sac; naspa; and acpa and/or are senior student housing or student affairs professionals, both in the us and on the african continent. after the first year of having the shti, it was evident that the need for more advanced training within the southern african student housing was needed. the shti was therefore divided into a basic shti, as well as an advanced shti. first time participants may apply for the basic shti. the advanced student housing training institute is a more in-depth workshop for those who have completed the basic shti. both are conducted simultaneously. faculty and participant experiences shti faculty from the us and south africa (sa) were selected from an application process. those selected possessed the appropriate levels of experience and knowledge of campus housing. us and sa faculty team presented topics during the 2011 shti. in 2012 and 2013 sa faculty began to individually present topics which will continue in future years. faculty experiences can best be summed up by their testimonials. faculty lives were changed from the experience with shti. “for me, this experience was life changing […] it was the students and staff who stole my heart…the thirst for knowledge about student affairs and housing they expressed was overwhelming […] their level of commitment to the student and making their institutions better is something we could all learn from and emulate” (tony cawthon, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “one of the expressions that continues to come to mind when individuals ask me about my experience is incredible and life-changing” (alma sealine, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “shti was an incredible opportunity to partner with professionals from across the globe. i am confident the housing professionals in south africa will do exactly that […] as they transformed my life in less than two weeks” (lyn redington, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “after having experienced shti i know that all of us individually and collectively will make positive strides towards civility, kindness and justice for and through the students we serve” (cathy bickle, personal communication, april 12, 2013). 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 “what i never expected was the depth of the experiences i encountered and the profound impact that this has had on my life, both professionally and personally” (laetitia permall, personal communication, may 20, 2012). faculty presented sessions that challenged and advanced participant thoughts and knowledge. “the combination of theory and practice; personal and professional mentoring; social and work related experiences will enable one to flourish holistically” (charmaine january, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “my colleagues […] were dedicated professionals who provided effective teaching, collegial care […] that gave such focus to their presentations, ensuring that the attendees would leave with new knowledge and inspiration” (cathy bickle, personal communication, april 12, 2013). participant experiences were exclusively positive over the past three years. comments from the 2011, 2012 and 2013 shti participant evaluations (acuho-i sac, 2011, 2012, 2013) included: “thanks for taking my professional development to another level […] the realisation that we are transforming housing in sa and that we can make a meaningful difference in our students’ lives makes this a landmark experience.” another participant stated: “all the materials presented were amazing, especially the competency model and the personnel management […].” another stated: “i have learned a lot and managed to identify some of the competencies that matter the most to performing my duties”. participants also voiced their observations and feelings regarding the community development that was integral in the shti. “it was fantastic networking, relaxing, laughing, eating, and brainstorming with colleagues – to be part of the shti family.” another stated, “great to be among professionals, like coming home – a place where i belong”. participants indicated whether the shti met their expectations. “it exceeded my expectations. i pushed myself and learned more than i could have imagined.” one participant stated, “yes, i wish that my boss could have been here.” another stated, “yes, when i came here i was blank, confused in some way of my roles, but now i can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.” finally, one participant stated, “yes, i acquired new knowledge on the things that i had no interest in and have developed an interest, i.e., budgeting, facilities management and technology.” munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 75 faculty and participant experiences have been overwhelmingly positive during the past three years of the shti. their comments and feedback are used to continue to make adjustments to the schedule and curriculum for future years. looking to the future the 2011–2013 shtis have provided excellent experiences for faculty and participants through their evaluation ratings, comments and through their testimonials. conducting research on the participants to identify levels of competence gained, retention of housing staff and the like will be necessary in the future to understand the impact of the shti on participants. following the success of the 2011 basic shti with 40 participants, an advanced shti was developed for 2012. as increasing numbers of basic participants complete the shti a long term plan will be necessary to accommodate for the higher numbers of participants wanting to return to the advanced shti. in 2012 there were 10 returners and in 2013 that number was a capped 16. for 2014 there is a cap for 25 advanced participants. the content and delivery method for the advanced shti is different from the basic shti along with growing numbers of basic shti participants wanting to return for the advanced shti. for those reasons, future years may need a stand-alone advanced shti held at a different time from the basic shti. it will be important to continue to invite advanced shti participants to return as faculty for future basic shtis. maintaining a steady stream of participants and faculty will ensure the viability of the overall programme while increasing the faculty availability. with the estimated dramatic increase in residence hall beds over the next 10 years a comprehensive, national plan for training of the new staff will need to be undertaken. housing staff participating in the various institutes will possess the knowledge and experience to advance campus housing in south africa, but will need national assistance in an organised manner to train close to 100 additional campus housing staff each year just to keep up with new staff managing the new residence halls. conclusion the professionalisation of south african housing staff will remain a top priority of the south african department of higher education and training and the acuho-i sac. the student housing training institute has created a south african faculty capacity to provide a professional level of training to housing staff for south africa using a competency-based model. the research is further bolstered by the personal testimonials from faculty and participants on the positive outcomes of such an approach. the shti has become a cornerstone to the professionalisation of south african housing staff. 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 references acuho-i sac (2006). strategic plan. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2010). southern africa chief housing officer competencies. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2011). participant evaluations. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2012). participant evaluations. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2013). participant evaluations. stellenbosch, south africa. brandel, r.l. (1995). chief housing officers’ perceptions of selected competencies. doctoral dissertation, northern arizona university, flagstaff, 1995. cawthon, t.w., schreiber, p.j., & associates (2012). acuho-i core competencies: the body of knowledge for campus housing professionals. columbus, ohio: association of college and university housing officers – international. department of higher education and training (2011). report on the ministerial committee for the review of the provision of student housing at south african universities. pretoria, south africa: author. dunkel, n.w., & jackson, t. (may/june, 2009). a global view. talking stick, 26(5). pp. 36 -45. dunkel, n.w., & schreiber, p.j. (1990). competencies of housing professionals. gainesville, florida: division of housing. dunkel, n.w., & schreiber, p.j. (1992). competency development of housing professionals, journal of college and university student housing, 22(2), 19–23. dunkel, n.w., schreiber, p.j., & felice, c. (2005, march). preparing housing professionals: the james c. grimm national housing training institute, acuho-i talking stick, 22(5), p. 38–39. porter, j.d. (2005). application of sandwith’s competency domain model for senior college housing officers in the united states. doctoral dissertation, gainesville: university of florida. taguding, a. (1985). acuho-i chief housing officer training program survey. (sponsored by the acuho-i developmental program coordinating board). columbus, ohio: association of college and university housing officers – international. 55 the jsaa editorial executive would like to thank the peer reviewers of volumes 1 and 2 of the journal of student affairs in africa for availing their time and expertise to help select and improve the submissions received for this journal. kate baier llewellyn macmaster umesh bawa martin mandew laurie behringer kobus maree cecil bodibe lisa bardill moscaritolo amy conger cora motale john dalton taabo mugume tom ellett gerald ouma monroe france jesús enrique ramos reséndizh colleen howell don hugh smith manja klemenčič joshua smith patrick love malvinia turner christina lunceford nan yeld henry mason thank you to our reviewers journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 67–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.50 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za joining hands across the seas: the genesis of iasas roger b. ludeman* reflective practice keywords student affairs, international collaboration, professionalisation, globalisation, organisational history, life story. introduction this paper will outline the journey, personal and organisational, taken by me with many friends of student affairs and services around the world to envision and then create a new global professional association – the international association of student affairs and services (iasas). it has been a rather long journey, one that was not without bumps and barriers. while it took over 20 years to get iasas from the germ of an idea to its current successes, it has proven to be well worth the struggle. iasas serves as a platform that promotes and allows discussion of issues and best practices in our field: higher education student affairs and services. no matter that there are great differences in delivery methods, breadth of service, views of the student, and sometimes conceptual underpinnings, when focusing on the student, all these differences are celebrated in the context of common values, and make for interesting discussions by practitioners coming from over 30 countries. i have been privileged to be at the centre of most of the efforts to form iasas, a process not unlike the birthing and raising of a child (of which i have four). the reader will quickly see the parallels that bring the disappointments on one hand that are easily overshadowed by the joys of seeing your children grow and develop into adolescents and, eventually, adults. so goes the following personal and reflexive account of the genesis of iasas. beginnings ever since i discovered in 1993 that the practice of serving students exists in every country, albeit done differently (and admittedly challenging my monocultural bent at the time), i wondered about ways to connect practitioners and scholars for the purposes of sharing and assisting each other in this worthiest of endeavours. fulbright experiences in germany, japan and south africa had sharply opened my eyes to what i thought was a real need. * inaugural president and executive director emeritus of iasas. email: iasas@hotmail.com 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 67–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.50 in 1994, while speaking to an audience of french and german student services providers at their annual conference in bordeaux, i proposed the creation of a global virtual network of student affairs and services providers that would encourage sharing, cooperation, joint study tours and research, exchanges, and attendance at each other’s conferences. much to my surprise, the response was very positive and almost immediately new alliances were formed among the german deutsches studentenwerk (dsw), french centre national des œuvres universitaires et scolaires (cnous), and the united states national association of student personnel administrators (naspa). international collaborations began to set the stage in the intervening years, and from 1995 to 2000 in particular, visits were arranged for teams from dsw, cnous and naspa to gather in europe to discuss possible collaboration. exchanges were developed involving france, germany and the united states. the naspa international symposium was launched in 1996 with over 125 attendees representing 21 countries. individual members of these associations began to arrange mutual campus visits and study tours that crossed borders. for example, naspa now has over ten exchange agreements with associations outside of the usa. this activity illustrated the the need for sharing and collaboration among both practitioners and scholars in our field. a number of factors contributed to this newfound interest in sharing across borders. the world generally was getting smaller. corporations became multinational and needed a more global workforce. governments around the world increasingly called for universities and colleges to meet the demand for increased international activity in government, business, non-governmental organisations, etc. higher education institutions were beginning to see international markets as ways to bolster enrolments and to add a cosmopolitan element to their campuses. undergraduate and graduate students were increasingly studying outside their own countries. they also began looking for academic programmes at the graduate level and expressed interest in pursuing careers within the international education sphere. they wanted to become study abroad advisors, international student advisors, and/or faculty members who could teach and do research in some aspect of international education. to meet these new needs effectively, graduate education programmes, particularly in north america and soon in europe, found that they needed to make changes to their programmes in order to meet this new surge in interest on the part of prospective students. in other words, a major shift towards internationalisation and globalisation was happening in both the private and public sectors and at all levels of society. cooperation was now becoming formalised in europe, the erasmus programme, which had started in 1987, evolved into the socrates programme in 1994 with several other initiatives since then, and now what has become the bologna process, creating a european higher education area in which students from participating countries can study anywhere within the european union with common credit equivalencies and reciprocal fees. paralleling this effort was the creation in 1999 of roger b. ludeman: joining hands across the seas: the genesis of iasas 69 the european committee (now council) on student affairs (ecsta) that has worked to assist students with the social welfare and infrastructure issues that were created by the open and “free” study across borders throughout the european union. higher education student services leaders in countries of the asia pacific region created the asia pacific student services association (apssa) in 1988. that organisation has effectively served the needs of that region through conferences, institutes, student leadership experiences and written documents, all designed to keep practitioners abreast of the new trends in serving students. both of these initiatives in europe and the asia pacific region have been spectacularly successful. one area of the globe that has not received the attention of most of us has been central and south america. in 2005, the world bank commissioned a study of higher education in latin america, describing the lack of attention tertiary education was getting in this region from its own governments and from the rest of the world, and why it was important for these countries in the south to focus on this sector (de wit et al., 2005). more recently, the 2009 world conference on higher education produced a communiqué calling for an african higher education and research area (unesco, 2009). teferra and hahn (2012) subsequently wrote in support of this concept. language barriers are often cited as the main issue in the struggle to improve international cooperation in latin america. the other issue is the seemingly slow to no progress being made by latin american governments in encouraging both study and research abroad as well as in attracting partners from the rest of the world. recently, unesco and others have been focusing efforts in latin america. the unesco international institute for higher education in latin america and the caribbean (iesalc) is devoted to the development and transformation of tertiary education through the support of management of change. its ultimate goal is to see that higher education in the region becomes an effective promoter of a culture of peace and human sustainable development based on principles of justice, equity, freedom, solidarity, democracy and respect of human rights (unesco website). iasas has made contacts in argentina, uruguay, chile, peru and ecuador and found that, while student services existed in every institution, very little was being done to organise or develop the staff, most of whom have no professional training in the field. there was interest in ecuador in forming a national student affairs organisation, and iasas pledged to support that effort as well as to develop basic online courses that may lead to a certificate of proficiency. in order for that to be effective it must take into account the local traditions and the context in which such services and programmes would be delivered at the university level. a partnership with unesco in 2000, a staff member of unesco was addressing naspa international symposium participants and remarked, “i am an academic and i have no idea what you people do. you should inform those of us in the academy about what it is that student affairs and services practitioners do, how you work with students and what that would look like if it were being done well.” (personal recollection) 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 67–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.50 that was the challenge that started the movement to create somehowe an image of our field as one that, on the one hand, meets local needs, culture and conditions, and on the other, belongs to a global family of practitioners working with tertiary education students in ways based on a common core of ideas and principles. acting locally, yet thinking globally. diverse in delivery, yet united in principle. and, in the final analysis, students are our common bond and purpose, providing the glue that holds us together across borders. this may sound simple, an idea that should be relatively easy to carry out. in some sense it is quite easy to conceptualise, yet quite difficult to implement. i decided on two strategies: first, there was a need for a publication that described higher education student affairs and services and its theoretical base. second, there seemed to be a need for a global organisation for our field of practice including those academics who teach and carry out research in this area. let me take these one at a time. first, let me address the process used to create the publication. since unesco had expressed an interest in the idea of telling the academy what student affairs and services people do, i proposed that such a publication be published by the unesco higher education division. the fact that the first world conference on higher education was sponsored by unesco in 1998 certainly did help. it was during that conference, while there was no mention of the role of student affairs and services, that several familiar principles aimed at improving higher education were laid out by the conference participants from nearly 180 nations. i selected those principles that applied directly to the work of student affairs and services and used them to guide the new publication. it described our day-to-day work and those principles we value, including: students being at the centre of our work; valuing diversity; designing higher education to meet societal needs; teaching citizenship and leadership; valuing service to the community; the importance of career development and employability education; lifelong learning; and international cooperation. once we established the fact that we hold many values in common with the rest of the academy, it seemed to lend credence to what we do. the writing team needed to focus on ideas universally held by student affairs and services: those that are essential to our work. therefore, we included chapters on student development theory, professional development, assessment and evaluation, and general management of student affairs and services. following those sections we included a general description of the types of student services and programmes that fall within the rubric of student affairs and services and how they are carried out (ludeman, 2002). the closing chapter of the first edition of the “manual” consisted of a resource directory of student affairs and related higher education agencies, organisations and associations around the world. this edition was published by unesco in 2002. also, beginning in 2000 there was an effort to begin designing a global organisation for student affairs and services. i created a group called i-seven to begin looking at how such an organisation might be structured and presented to the global student affairs community for consideration. members of the group came from germany, france, south africa, mexico, spain, the united kingdom, australia and the united states. the first proposal was based on an organisation or association membership approach with provision for individual roger b. ludeman: joining hands across the seas: the genesis of iasas 71 membership for those countries where no organisation existed. from 2000 to 2005 members of the i-seven group presented the proposal to various national and regional groups around the world. the response was mixed at best. some support was evident in europe and africa, and there was little support from asia and north america. the resistance involved two main objections. first, some groups felt that they were doing their own international work and didn’t see a need for another layer at the global level with accompanying costs. others felt that it was needless competition for their national groups. while several of us understood the rationale for resistance to a new kind of group at the global level, frankly, we also felt it a bit provincial to view it as a threat, one that could potentially drain badly needed resources from national or regional groups. i must admit this was very frustrating because i believed in globalisation so much i couldn’t imagine there would be any real serious resistance to forming a group at that level. so go the best of intentions … south african diversions, departures and delights all this was happening as i was retiring from my regular job as senior student affairs officer at the university of wisconsin-whitewater and, much to my delight, beginning a year-long fulbright grant to teach and do research in student affairs at the university of natal (now kwazulu-natal) in durban, south africa. my focus naturally shifted to getting to know the people there and assisting in any way i could. my project focused mainly on doing consultations in durban and across south africa on such topics as the first-year experience, leadership and service learning, student retention, evaluation, assessment, professional development, research on knowing your students, and creating an academic option in the higher education studies programme for student affairs staff (in 2002 this masters level programme at the university of kwazulu-natal was the only programme of its kind in all of africa). i also consulted with cecil bodibe on the formation of the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap) and doc nahasengo and eric sebokedi of nasdev, the national association of student development practitioners, delivering papers at several of their conferences. later on in the decade i directed a kellogg foundation grant on research and student retention in south african tertiary education during which our south african institutional teams, made up of people from institutional research, academic affairs and student affairs, developed a model that allowed each institution to use baseline institutional student data to profile students who leave versus those who are retained. a cd-rom was provided to all institutions and included a framework that, upon entry of institutional data on students, would give them the demographic and other factors that were significantly different between students who left and those who were retained. our principal investigator was amanda lourens, vice rector for research and planning at the potchefstroom campus of north-west university in south africa. dr lourens was and still is respected as one of south africa’s leading institutional researchers. furthermore, i suppose i am most proud of efforts to assist in establishing the financial aid practitioners of south africa (fapsa) and the south africa chapter of the association of college and university housing officers international (acuho72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 67–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.50 i). i worked with south african financial aid leaders like james ngomane and michael davids of the university of kwazulu-natal and put them in touch with the us-based national association of student financial aid administrators (nasfaa) who provided organisational assistance to fapsa to get that organisation afloat. eric sebokedi of tshwane university of technology and i had known each other since my first days in south africa. he wanted to form a national association for residence life and student housing staff. the association of college and university housing officers – international gladly worked with south africa to get organised. the final result was a south africa chapter of acuho-i. in both cases described above i gave credit to the informal network i called iasas with the notion of keeping alive the concept of this kind of organisation. thus, i also continued to promote a global student affairs organisation and had created an informal name: iasas the international association of student affairs and services. from 2000 to 2009 i promoted iasas by providing services whenever i could. i edited the unesco/iasas manual and assisted potential graduate students in finding programmes that included international components. i connected newer staff who wanted to work in another country with potential employers around the world, a relatively new phenomenon at the time. i delivered lectures in over ten countries on the globalisation of student affairs and services and the need to organise worldwide. i also gave conference presentations on the potential partnership that should be forged between student affairs staff and the staff in study abroad and international student offices. the partnership with unesco continues eventually, in 2007, i contacted unesco to ask them to support the publication of the second edition of the unesco/iasas book. over the next two years we put together a multinational editorial team, and revamped the earlier manual into a book that we titled student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues and best practices that was published in 2009 (ludeman, osfield, oste, wang, & iglesias, 2009). it turned out to be much more complete than the 2002 edition and included new sections on student affairs and post-conflict countries, legal issues, professional ethics, and an entire section of individual country reports from 52 countries showcasing how student affairs and services are delivered in each of those countries. the new book was distributed widely, including a copy given to each participant at the second world conference on higher education in paris in 2009. this gave us considerable visibility around the world. just recently i requested that unesco work with iasas to publish a third edition that, if funded, will be targeted for publication in 2016 or 2017. we hope to expand the number of countries represented to over 70 and to enhance the resource section to reflect the increase in international activity throughout the world. it will hopefully continue to serve as a valuable resource for those who choose to improve upon their current offerings in student services and/or for countries that want to embark on new approaches in the field. the book continues to represent our basic values and principles, the more universal concepts we all build upon in our work with our students no matter who they are or what cultures they represent. roger b. ludeman: joining hands across the seas: the genesis of iasas 73 finally, after several years of being semi-dormant, i decided it was time to try once more to raise the subject of forming a global organisation in student affairs, and to do so in a different way. i identified 25 people from 19 countries to serve in an advisory capacity to begin discussions about creating a global organisation. out of this group approximately 15 came to a two-day meeting held before the 2009 naspa conference in seattle, washington (usa), with the intention of developing a set of principles and purposes and a vision and mission for a new global association in student affairs and services. at the conclusion of this marathon weekend work session these central documents were drafted and, after considerable input from around the world, now serve as the initial section of a constitution for the international association of student affairs and services or iasas, which is the only truly global organisation for higher education student affairs and services. throughout the following year several theme-based subgroups met virtually to flesh out the dynamics and priorities of this new organisation. finally, on 1 march 2010, the inaugural iasas constitution was approved by 25 charter members. iasas now had finally achieved a more formal status. since 2010, a board for iasas has been elected with officers including regional coordinators for africa, asia, europe, the middle east, north america and the caribbean, oceania, and south america. in 2013 iasas achieved official charter status from the european union in brussels, belgium. iasas office thus came to be located in brussels in the suite of offices of the european university college association (euca). from its beginnings with 25 members, iasas has grown to nearly 1 200 members from over 71 countries. in addition to the unesco publication, iasas mainly provides a platform for sharing among its members and member organisations. in 2012 iasas, along with naspa, sponsored the first global summit on student affairs that brought together leaders from around the world to discuss issues and practices in student services. iasas also serves as an incubator for countries wishing to establish a national association in student affairs and services. contacts have been made with ecuador, lebanon, lithuania and peru to offer assistance in creating such an organisation. we have assisted several national organisations in the united states that wanted to “go global”, including acuho-i, naca – national association of campus activities and nirsa – national intramural, recreation and sports association. in 2010 i met with officials of the european university college association (euca) to discuss common interests. this has resulted in euca assisting in securing the iasas charter in belgium and the sharing of their offices in brussels. euca will also host the 2014 global summit on student affairs and services to be held in rome, italy. so it appears that, regardless of some resistance early on, iasas is firmly established as a new global force in higher education. for example, the iasas board recently initiated a comprehensive strategic planning process that will result in a plan for the future based on input from the membership about what they thought iasas should be doing over the next few years. i am optimistic that we will see even more activity and increased interest in the globalisation of student affairs and services and how it translates into enhanced student learning and development of the students that iasas members serve. 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 67–74 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.50 references de wit, h., jaramillo, i.c., gacel-ávila, c. j., & knight, j. (eds) (2005). higher education in latin america – the international dimension. washington, dc, the international bank for reconstruction and development/the world bank. ludeman, r.b., osfield, k., oste, d., wang, h., iglesias, e. (eds) (2009). higher education student affairs and services: global foundations, issues and best practices. paris: unesco. retrieved june 1, 2014 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183221e.pdf. ludeman, r.b. (ed.) (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. paris: unesco. retrieved june 1, 2014 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001281/128118e.pdf. teferra, d. & hahn, k. (2012, 30 january). harmonization and tuning: integrating the african higher education space. the world view – a blog from the centre for international education. retrieved june 1, 2014 from http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/harmonization-andtuning-integrating-african-higher-education-space#sthash.apz65tzm.dpbs. unesco (1998). world declaration on higher education for the twenty-first century: vision and action. paris: unesco. unesco (2009). 2009 world conference on higher education communiqué: the new dynamics of higher education and research for societal change and development. paris: unesco. consulted organisational websites asia pacific student services association (apssa): www.apssa.info association of college and university housing officers – international (acuho-i): www.acuho-i.org centre national des œuvres universitaires et scolaires (cnous): www.cnous.fr deutsches studentenwerk (dsw): www.studentenwerke.de european higher education area: www.ehea.info european council on student affairs (ecsta): www.ecsta.org european university college association (euca): www.euca.eu international association of student affairs and services (iasas): www.iasasonline.org national association of student personnel administrators (naspa): www.naspa.org united nations organization for education, science and culture (unesco): en.unesco.org journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 235‑238 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1442 235 www.jsaa.ac.za on campus reflections on the south african higher education leadership and management (helm) first virtual summit, 9‑11 december 2020: leadership for a sustainable and resilient higher education system in an age of complexity and change bernadette j. johnsoni i dr bernadette judith johnson is director: transformation and employment equity at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: bernadette.johnson@wits.ac.za what is the purpose of universities and higher education institutions? 2020 presented a moment to step back and to think: what just happened? what are we doing? who are we? moments of crisis create the opportunity for such reflection. so, for higher education it is: what is our role, what are our purposes? the pandemic brought home the point that we are vulnerable, we are fragile, we go through trauma and we do not have control all the time, we cannot plan for every eventuality. it is a humbling and a core disruptive experience. it drove home powerfully the idea that we must stick together, we must help one another, we must build our community, and we are not separate from nor above society and humanity. we must anchor ourselves in society and serve society. we have the opportunity to be the beacon of hope for society. this requires the university to be what society should be. universities cannot call for inclusion, non‑racisms and an end to gender‑based violence and then not be sites of what inclusion and safety should look like. the pandemic reality amplified our fractured nature of society. all existing problems of gender based violence, of inequality and poverty worsened and are now perhaps forms of pandemics within the health pandemic. the university needs to be an anchor for society. what are the limits and possibilities of the university being anchored? what can we take responsibility for and what can we not take responsibility for? in which ways are universities an instrument of convergence for society? if the past and present are not understood how can we project into the future? unprecedented events have taken place in addition to the pandemic. #feesmustfall showed disconnect between university leadership and the university’s relation to society. how do we strengthen our connections? what are the possibilities and limits of a university that engages with its society? do we understand the political economy of public universities and higher education? the nature of society is changing with the emergence of datarism. how should we respond to these new societal pressures and its focus on technology and data without losing sight of inequality and other societal fractures and contributing to new forms of inequality and fracture? http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:bernadette.johnson%40wits.ac.za?subject= 236 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 235‑238 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1442 universities have different strengths. we need to think more about what different universities are good for and good at. how do we ensure our sustainability? what kind of leadership is needed? leadership needs to include thinking about humility, distributed leadership, trust and open mindedness recognising our fragility and the need to know how to work with uncertainty and adaptability. leadership needs to contribute to healing the fractures in society. there is a need to have a shared understanding within the sector of resilience, sustainability and what the purpose of the university is. it is no longer adequate that we have different understandings of transformation. what do we mean by transformation? we must give consideration to what has changed in the structure and what changes in the conjunctures. a supportive political economy is needed for transformation across the sector. we cannot anchor the university if municipalities, for example, are falling apart in the local contexts. the pandemic context has introduced a new language of social distancing and online or digital learning. this too is related to transformation. what is our common understanding? if we do not develop a shared understanding of the role of the university, transformation and decolonisation, we will not know what we must be resilient and sustainable for and therefore we will remain turbulent, fragile, conflict ridden and socially divided. if we do not develop a common understanding, a social contract, how will we know we are transforming? in setting out the role of the university we need to get clearer on which parts of the university needs competition, which parts need to be protected from competition, and which sections need to be enhanced in relation to collaboration and collective action. how do we balance competition, cooperation, and planning and university autonomy as we build a new social compact? should we continue to engage and support rankings, for example? what would a social compact look like? we also need to recognise what south africa has done differently and better, and what in fact the rest of the world can learn from south africa. the challenges we have now emerge as a consequence of the transformation that has taken place. we have more black students and more black staff in universities. we struggle with institutional culture change and we struggle with black representation in management. in thinking about our role, we need to pay attention to what we may not be seeing and what we are not talking about enough. what about the commoditisation of private data, the rise of data capitalism and how it is creating a future world. what is the relationship with industry? what is the relationship with private higher education? our processes of accreditation of new courses take three to four years and by then their relevance is cold. the intensive complexity and concentration of power in technology such as the iphone (as an example) means that humans are playing catch up. we cannot simply extrapolate from the past in a world that is non‑linear and profoundly complex. we need to consider the role of the university in relation to post‑schooling. univer‑ sities now see and live the need for greater collaboration. what the university does for society is what it must do for itself. technology as platforms for interaction is critical and is not a panacea. bernadette j. johnson: reflections on the south african helm first virtual summit, 9‑11 december 2020 237 arriving at a social compact requires a broader social compact in society. how do we arrive at a social compact? in being more online, will all universities become like unisa? what is the place of blended learning and hybrid models? the same infrastructure will not be needed. classrooms will look different. the pandemic has opened up the possibility and urgency of different ways of doing teaching and learning and research. it does not only entail acquiring the right technological infrastructures and skills by both staff and students, but it requires beyond emergency online learning and teaching what a digital learning environment looks like. how do staff experience it? how do students experience it? how does this take their needs into account to support a mind shift and mental health embedded in empathy and compassion for the problems people run into and will run into? campuses must be experienced as caring environments that encourages giving back for life. how can resources in relation to information, capacity and delivery be shared and re‑imagined in a collaborative way both in relation to the digital learning environment and in relation to the programme qualification mix? significant cost savings will be made and new creative platforms for collaboration and innovation created. in doing so, it will be important to develop a common language of truth so that communication creates a sense of security and shared understanding in complex disruptive contexts. the conundrum we face is our need for the human connection and how we give space for that within the mix of contact and online engagements. what are the implications for pedagogies as well as the practical learning and assimilations that can be conducted online? the survivalist context has been challenging for staff and students. staff miss interacting with their students and having human interaction. online has presented the opportunity for great access by disabled students and a different experience of internationalisation of courses and programmes as well as work and learning experiences. retaining empathy, awareness and sensitivity will be important in ensuring that everyone is understanding and participating in the mind set change in ways that keep students at the centre, allow for retention and service back to the university as citizens and alumni. the pandemic raises the need for us to prepare the university for disruptions, agility and flexibility as there will be new future disruptions brought about by, for example, climate change. vaccination may lead to people pushing for a return to what they regard as normal and familiar, the university as a physical location, and reverse the opportunity for the creation of new flexible, agile and resilient systems. how are we constrained by our imagination of what might be possible? at the same time, what might be lost with reduced physical human interaction? how then do we bounce forward? what will make universities different? a re‑think of the future of higher education is needed perhaps in the same ways in which it was required in 1995 with the national commission of higher education (nche). what has worked? what has not worked? given the new realities the funding model must change. it has not been relevant and remains irrelevant. should a new size and shape for the sector be considered? for example, our cooperative governance structures are not necessarily what we need. what new structures do we need to address our needs? how are we strengthening transdisciplinary research and programmes to address knowledge problems? what is the impact of the university on society? how are we getting the input from industry and civil society to 238 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 235‑238 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1442 advice on our pqm? which programmes can be shared across institutions and which kept and which dropped? costing of programmes needs to be enhanced across the system. what can universities focus on in their local context? critical to focus on is what the system funds, how it funds it, what it teaches and how it teaches. what this means for higher education must be aligned to the importance of early childhood development and the financial sustainability of education as a whole. the funding formula and planning has to be informed by the sustainability of a system which is relevant. we need to take stock deeply of where we are. we need to create more opportunities to research and converse on the future of the system. the opportunity to step back and rethink requires a leadership who is imaginative and keeps being imaginative. a leadership who continuously reflects on: re‑thinking; re‑imagination; and re‑positioning. a leadership who embraces and engages the need for change and sees the need for a community of practice that continuously engages in processes of re‑consideration. emerging actions: • research and round table conversation on the political economy of higher education and the implications for university leadership • future conference on the social anchoring of the university in society – what would it look like? • research on what has changed, is different and the rest of the world can learn from in higher education in south africa. • how do we go about developing a social contract which takes into account its societal embeddedness? programmatic input into leadership development: • what might the future purposes and roles of higher education institutions be? • what kind of higher education leadership is needed for the anchoring of universities in society? how to cite: johnson, b.j. (2021). reflections on the south african higher education leadership and management (helm) first virtual summit, 9‑11 december 2020: leadership for a sustainable and resilient higher education system in an age of complexity and change. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 235‑238. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1442 263 thank you to our reviewers the jsaa editorial executive wishes to thank the peer reviewers of volume 8 of the journal of student affairs in africa for their time and expertise in evaluating and helping to select and improve the submissions received: chrissie boughey graham dampier liezl dick nupur goyal johan groenewald mlamuli hlatshwayo marcia lyner-cleophas matete madiba alude mahali livingstone makondo martin mandew sioux mckenna emmanuel mgqwashu thandeka mkhize keamogetse morwe thabi mtombeni ibrahim oanda vianna renaud robert shea christopher stipeck rupert taylor pierre viviers 59 latest publications by african minds the goal of the book perspectives on student affairs in south africa is to generate interest in student affairs in south africa. the chapters contained herein are based on best practice, local experience and well-researched international and local theories. the chapters deal with matters pertaining to international and national trends in student affairs: academic development, access and retention, counselling, and material support for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. they are linked to national and international developments, as described in the first two chapters. this publication will assist both young and experienced practitioners as they grow into their task of developing the students entrusted to them. all contributors are south africans with a great deal of experience in student affairs, and all are committed to the advancement of student affairs in south africa. the editors are former heads of student affairs portfolios at two leading south african universities. perspectives on student affairs in south africa is edited by m speckman and m mandew and published in may 2014 by african minds. it is available in print from the publisher’s website www.africanminds.org.za at r150. the full pdf can be downloaded free of charge from the same site. higher education in portuguese speaking african countries provides an authoritative overview of higher education in the five lusophone countries in africa: angola, cape verde, guineabissau, mozambique, and sao tome and principe. it focuses on the background and historical context of higher education, the establishment of public and private institutions, related trends of expansion, diversification and differentiation, the current institutional landscape and programmes, governance, quality assurance, funding and financing, access and equity, and ict. higher education in portuguese speaking african countries is written by patrício vitorino langa and published in 2013 by african minds. it is availble in print from the publisher’s website www.africanminds.org.za at r150. the full pdf can be downloaded free of charge from the same site. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 17‑29 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 17 www.jsaa.ac.za research article business education learners in the further education and training phase: towards the development of a south african readiness model to strengthen learners’ academic performance venicia mcghie,* antoinette venter** & karen dos reis*** * prof. venicia mcghie is an academic development practitioner at the faculty of economic and management sciences, university of the western cape, south africa. email: vfmcghie@uwc.ac.za ** dr antoinette venter is the deputy chief education specialist of economic and management sciences at the western cape education department, south africa. email: antoinette.venter@westerncape.gov.za ** dr karen dos reis is the teaching and learning specialist at the faculty of economic and management sciences at the university of the western cape, south africa. email: kdosreis@uwc.ac.za abstract african and coloured students continue to perform poorly both at public schools and institutions of higher learning. there are two main reasons for their weak performance – a lack of literacy and numeracy skills, and being under-prepared. this article reports on two findings of a study that was conducted at two high schools in the western cape province. the one high school was a quintile 1, and the other a quintile 4 school. the study aimed to implement intervention strategies over a threeyear period for grade 10 to 12 learners in the business-related subjects, accounting, business studies, and economics. the objective was to develop a readiness model that public schools in south african could use to overcome the challenges so that learners could be equipped with a strong foundation in their primary schooling. the study was situated within a critical education science paradigm and used a critical participatory action research design. two groups of 30 learners formed the main research participants. interventions strategies were implemented with the learners when they were in grade 10 in 2017, in grade 11 in 2018, and in grade 12 in 2019. the results show that both groups of learners did not have an adequate rating of 50% and more subject content knowledge and skills when they arrived in grade 10 in 2017 in all three subjects, and they did not manage to obtain a 50% or more rating in the three subjects in their final examinations at the end of grade 12 in 2019. based on the four key principles of the readiness model, recommendations are proposed that would assist public schools to develop and support the learners during the early childhood and foundation phase so that a solid foundation in literacy and numeracy skills could be laid. keywords academic performance; high school; learners; readiness model introduction the effects of south africa’s history of apartheid are still prevalent today, 26 years after democracy. the result is low throughput and high drop‑out rates at public schools and post‑ school institutions for african and coloured students. mlachila and moeletsi (2019), and https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:vfmcghie%40uwc.ac.za?subject= mailto:antoinette.venter%40westerncape.gov.za?subject= mailto:kdosreis%40uwc.ac.za?subject= 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 17‑29 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 spaull and kotze (2015), state that almost half of south africa’s learners drop out of school before completing secondary education, and about one‑quarter of learners who do write the grade 12 examination do not pass. for example, the department of basic education (2017) reported that 1 186 011 grade 1 learners enrolled in 2006, but only 629 155 learners registered for the grade 12 final examination (nsc) in 2017. this is a drop‑out rate of 46.9%. however, only 534 484 learners wrote the grade 12 examination (department of basic education, 2017), which means that the ‘actual’ drop‑out rate is 54.9%. we agree with spaull (2019) who argues that education ministers need to accept that high drop‑out rates and underperformance in grade 12 are imbedded in weak foundations in primary schools, and specifically in the early childhood development and foundation phases. in addition to the learners’ weak foundation, is the challenge of progression. the policy on progression has been applicable in the general education and training (get) phase since curriculum 2005 and has been applied to the further education and training (fet) phase since 2013 (department of basic education, 2017). the policy states that a learner may only be retained once in the fet phase to prevent the learner from spending more than four years in a phase (department of basic education, 2017). the rationale behind the progression policy was to minimise the high drop‑out rate and maximise school retention while providing additional support to these learners (polity, 2019). however, for 2017, there were 107 430 progressed learners, of which 34 011 wrote all seven subjects and only 18 751 passed the nsc examination (department of basic education, 2017), equating to 55.1%. the progression policy implications are that the gaps between what the learners do know and should know (subject content knowledge and required skills) become increasingly wider. as learners progressed to the next grade, they fall further and further behind in the curriculum, making remediation almost impossible in higher grades as these learning gaps were not addressed and became learning deficits, which lead to failure and dropping out (spaull, 2013). a further challenge lies in the business‑related subjects: accounting, business studies and economics. many learners find these subjects challenging, and opt for ‘easier subjects’ or drop out of school completely (spaull, 2013). the circle continues in that the few students who pass their grade 12 with university endorsement find the demands of the business disciplines (accounting, business studies and economics) challenging at university. the result is that some of them take much longer to complete a three‑year bcom degree, for example, while some drop out or are academically excluded due to poor academic performance. the sad reality is that these students become part of the high attrition rate of higher education, and more worrisome, they become part of the unemployment statistic and a liability to the government. therefore, intervention strategies to address these challenges in the early childhood and foundation phase are urgently needed as that is where the problem arises, and consequently, that is the area were interventions and academic support should be provided. this article reports on two findings of a study that was conducted at two high schools in the western cape province. the study aimed to implement intervention strategies over a three‑year period for learners who were in grades 10 to 12, from 2017 to 2019. the objective was to develop a readiness model that public schools in south african could use to overcome the https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 v. mcghie, a. venter & k. dos reis: business education learners in the further education and training phase … 19 challenges so that learners could be equipped with a strong foundation in their primary schooling, which should be built on throughout their secondary schooling, so that they will have the necessary subject content knowledge and skills at the end of grade 12 and be ready for further studies. we proceed by discussing relevant literature about the learners’ weak foundation and underperformance, as well as the conceptual framework that was used in the study. we then discuss the research approach and research design, the research sites and the research participants. this is followed by a brief explanation of the data collection methods and how the data were analysed. thereafter, the learner participants’ results are presented and discussed, and we conclude the article with policy considerations and recommendations, as well as areas for further research. the lack of literacy and numeracy skills a lack of literacy skills is a major challenge in both the public primary and high schools in south africa and is one of the most important reasons for the learners’ underperformance. south africa was the lowest‑performing country (mean score of 320) out of 50 countries in the 2016 progress in international reading literacy study (pirls) (howie et al., 2017). the study showed that 78% of south african grade 4 learners could not read for meaning in any language (all 11 languages were assessed); in other words, they could not “focus on and retrieve explicitly stated information, interpret and integrate ideas and information; and evaluate and critique content and textual elements” (howie et al., 2017). this means that learners could not understand what they were reading. the percentage in the united kingdom was 3%. on the pirls scale, approximately 40 score points are equal to a year’s schooling. the implication is that south african learners’ may be six years behind the top‑performing countries’ learners (howie et al., 2017). the lack of basic literacy skills combined with a poor grasp of a second language (english) further constrains their ability to master literacy skills in the transition to a second language from grade 4 (the school’s language policy is that learners are taught in their first language until grade 3, and must be taught in english from grade 4 onwards). as a result, their struggle to read for meaning or comprehend the curriculum is worsened. moreover, early numeracy skills are equally important for learners’ mathematics learning at school. however, not many african and coloured learners have opportunities to learn and practice early numeracy skills. hence, these learners perform poorly at the beginning of primary school and continuously perform poorly in mathematics throughout their schooling career (spaull & kotze, 2015). an international study has shown that south africa has the poorest performance when compared to other middle‑income countries and low‑income african countries that participate in assessments, particularly in mathematics (centre for development and enterprise, 2013). as such, it is too late to correct a lack of literacy and numeracy skills in grade 12. these skills should be developed from grade r onwards. for accounting, business studies, and economics, mathematical ability and reading with comprehension are paramount for abstract thinking and problem‑solving (spaull & kotze, 2015). 20 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 17‑29 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 under-preparedness of learners the consequence of poor‑quality early childhood development and foundation phase education, together with progression, is that the opportunity to reduce learning gaps and develop the potential of learners, irrespective of their home language and background, is lost (equal education, 2017; spaull & kotze, 2015). learners acquire learning deficits in the early grades, which continues until they reach grade 12, resulting in under‑prepared learners. hence, the overinvestment when the learners are in grade 12 will not have the desired outcomes because the largest investment is needed in the early school years (equal education, 2017; spaull & kotze, 2015). also, the diagnostic report of the department of basic education (2016) highlights the following areas of concern in the nsc examination: grade 12 learners’ lack of independent or creative thought; their inability to cope with analytical, evaluative and problem‑solving type questions; and the poor language skills of a vast majority who sat for the examination. these are the skills (in addition to subject‑specific knowledge) that higher education institutions require prospective students to have when they are admitted to a diploma or degree programme. moreover, there is a discrepancy between the pass requirements at school and university. it is generally known that learners only need 30% to pass at school, but at university, they need 50%. in a study of exploring youth transitions, the findings suggested that while many learners are being stuck in the education pipeline, others are exiting a schooling system that does not prepare them to enter either higher education or the labour market (isdale et al., 2018). chetty and pather (2015) share a similar sentiment; they state that large gaps exist in students’ subject content knowledge and skills, which are preventing them from entering and/or succeeding in higher education. the under‑preparedness of first‑time entering students results in an inability to adapt to unfamiliar pedagogies and new and challenging assessment requirements, preparing notes, and dealing with a heavy workload, applying effective study techniques, and planning and time management skills, and to cope without family support (mahlangu & fraser, 2017; nyamupangedengu, 2017). the learners’ inability to adapt to the demands of higher education is referred to as the ‘articulation gap’ and has been identified as a key factor for student failure and drop out, especially for students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds (council on higher education, 2016). it is for this reason that morrow (2009) argues that widening formal access to higher education studies does not guarantee meaningful social and academic engagement, levels of retention and/or attainment of success in higher education studies. thus, according to morrow, public schooling is not providing learners with epistemological access. readiness models reviewed since the study concerns the readiness of grade 12 learners for university study, three readiness model were reviewed. the first readiness model reviewed was that of byrd and macdonald (2005). byrd and macdonald (2005) explored the college readiness of first‑ generation students (older than 25) to attend a university via a two‑year community https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 v. mcghie, a. venter & k. dos reis: business education learners in the further education and training phase … 21 college in america. they examined the preparedness of students entering the college through the identification of three categories, namely skills and abilities, background factors, and non‑traditional student self‑concept. the first category, skills and abilities, include academic skills (reading, writing, mathematics, technology, communication and study skills), time‑management, goal focus and self‑advocacy skills. the second category, background factors, identifies factors that influence a decision to enrol or prepare for university. included in these factors are family factors, career influences, financial concerns and college preparation. the third category, non‑traditional student self‑concept, identifies participants’ sense of identity as a university student and the understanding of the culture of a university. the main finding of this study was that university readiness is more complex than often acknowledged and that all these factors, abilities and skills are necessary to meet the demands of university study (byrd & macdonald, 2005). the second readiness model was lemmens’ (2010) readiness and retention model. lemmens (2010) focused on the readiness characteristics that south african students present upon entering the university and the contextual or environmental dimensions in which the readiness characteristics are located. lemmens (2010) based his theoretical underpinnings for readiness for university education on various theories and models as well as psychological perspectives related to academic success. he constructed his readiness and retention model on the work of conley (2007). lemmens identified four dimensions of readiness characteristics: a contextual dimension (parental, socio‑cultural and financial), a cognitive sub‑dimension (skills and abilities, and academic preparedness), a non‑cognitive sub‑dimension (educational values, self‑efficacy, target goal, beliefs and behaviours, and coping strategies) and lastly, a biological dimension (gender and race). the contextual dimension functions as the ‘cradle’ for the development of psycho‑social and cognitive skills that are expressed in behaviour, thoughts and emotions (bandura, 1986). the cognitive dimension, especially those related to academic achievement at high school, forms the base for the evaluation of cognitive ability (lemmens, 2010). the non‑cognitive dimension represents the expectations and values of students and their self‑efficacy, judgements and goal orientations. the main findings of his study revealed that the readiness characteristics showed a direct relationship with academic success and intention to withdraw. the third and last readiness model is that of conley (2007; 2014). conley organises the key areas necessary for he readiness into four key components in what he refers to as a readiness theory model, namely cognitive strategies, acquiring key content (content knowledge), academic behaviours, and contextual knowledge and skills. to provide a functional representation of the key aspects of he readiness, conley stresses the fact that in practice these components are not mutually exclusive or perfectly nested as portrayed in the model, but that they interact and overlap with one another. conley believes that the absence of any of these skills could lead to failure just as surely as deficiencies in reading, writing or mathematics could. a commonality amongst the three models is the fact that all three included not only cognitive and academic skills but also contextual factors about the learners’ socio‑economic backgrounds and their abilities and attributes. thus, they demonstrate that gaining an 22 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 17‑29 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 education is a socially constructed process. as such, following dewey (1916) and vygotsky (1994), we argue that university readiness is based on a social constructivist approach. the learners, as the most important role‑players in the learning process, need to be enabled and supported so that they will gain a solid subject knowledge and skills base, together with the 21st‑century skills at the end of their high school career to build on and construct advanced knowledge at post‑school institutions. however, the contextual dimension that includes the learners’ socio‑economic backgrounds, the school context and parental circumstances and involvement, and the learners’ socio‑cultural factors, plays a fundamental role in the learners’ academic achievement and university readiness. it was for this reason that some of the dimensions and categories of the three readiness models reviewed were combined to arrive at a simplified augmented readiness model for the south african public schooling context. we argue that a south african readiness model should start with the contextual dimension and sub‑dimensions because these factors are the determinants for which school a learner will attend, what resources and opportunities a learner will have, and what the learners’ orientation and attitude towards gaining an education will be. for example, if a learner’s parents are unemployed or have low‑paying jobs, that learner has no choice but to attend a quintile 1 or 2 school, compared to a learner whose parents are in a higher income bracket. the higher‑income parents will have more choice and can afford to place their child in a quintile 4 or 5 school. moreover, the school context and environment of where some quintile 1 and 2 schools are situated are not conducive for successful learning to take place as they are surrounded by gangsterism, drug and alcohol abuse, and crime. these circumstances are the lived realities for many african and coloured learners in poor and rural communities, which could negatively influence the learners’ aspirations, self‑efficacy and attributes. aspirations, self‑efficacy, attributes and skills development are sub‑dimensions of the ownership of the learning dimension, which is placed second in the augmented readiness model. the cognitive dimension is placed as the third category because the argument is that, if the factors in the preceding two dimensions were in place, the learners would be able to concentrate and engage cognitively. they would stand a better chance to construct new knowledge in order to gain the necessary subject content knowledge and skills in the different grades. the last dimension in the augmented readiness model, content knowledge, places the focus on the school and its ability to provide for the learning needs of the learners. this dimension is dependent on the first dimension, because, for example, a quintile 1 or 2 school will not be able to provide the learners with all the academic support and resources they need, while a quintile 4 or 5 school will be able to do. consequently, the augmented readiness model started with the contextual dimension and ended with the content knowledge dimension to arrive at the learners’ academic achievement in grade 12, and was used as the study’s conceptual framework. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 v. mcghie, a. venter & k. dos reis: business education learners in the further education and training phase … 23 research methodology a critical education science paradigm was used as the research approach for the action research study. it was used because proponents of this paradigm state that educational researchers can find agency through critical theory to engage in a social inquiry that transforms the space of schools, the practice of teachers, the treatment of learners/students, the sharing of different knowledge and the improvement of society at large (carr & kemmis, 1986; ryoo & mclaren, 2010). ryoo and mclaren (2010) explain that critical theory is concerned with empowering people to overcome social circumstances. similarly, carr and kemmis (1986: 156) explain that “critical education science has the aim of transforming education; it is directed at educational change and allows for participation and collaboration by stakeholders who are involved in education”. following a critical education science paradigm, the study used a critical participatory action research (cpar) design because it was not only about implementing interventions over a three‑year period, but the cpar design embodied the goals and principles of a critical education science research approach (kemmis et al., 2014). the research sites included two high schools in the western cape province. high school a was a quintile 1 school (no fee‑paying school), situated in a semi‑rural african community. high school b was a quintile 4 school (a fee‑paying school), situated in a more affluent community. the study had seven different participant groups, but for this article, only one participant group, the learners who were the main participant group, is used. ten grade 10 learners in each of the three business‑related subjects, accounting, business studies, and economics were purposively selected in 2017 at each school, totalling 60 learners. the code distribution system (code 1 = 0‑30%, code 2 = 30‑39%, code 3 = 40‑49% and code 5 = 50‑59%) that teachers use for grading the formal assessments were used to select the learners. all the learners at school a were african, with isixhosa as first language, while most of the learners at school b were coloured, with afrikaans (24) and english (4) as first language, and 2 learners were african, with isixhosa as first language. as already mentioned, it was a three‑year action research process with the selected sample of learners that started in 2017 when they were in grade 10, continued in 2018 when they were in grade 11, and ended in 2019 when they were in grade 12. two intervention strategies were implemented with the learners in 2017, three in 2018, and two in 2019. the interventions were in the form of extra academic support that focused on a specific section of the content that was already covered by the teachers during normal school time. the reason why the interventions were on content that had already been taught was to strengthen and reinforce that specific subject content knowledge and skills section for the learners. the interventions started in grade 10 with basic subject content knowledge and thinking skills (e.g. factual recall, low‑level comprehension and application) and moved cumulatively to the more complex application and problem‑solving issues in grade 11 and grade 12. the data collection methods for the learner participant group included a self‑reflective questionnaire, pre‑tests, interventions and post‑tests in each of the three years, the learners’ 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 17‑29 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 academic results, two reflection forms and six focus group discussions. for this article, the learners’ average marks in the march control test for the three years in each of the three subjects are presented and discussed, as well as their november examination results for the three years also in each of the three subjects. both the test results and the examination results were analysed through excel and spss software. the learners’ answer to the question whether the interventions assisted them to understand the work better are also included in the discussion, as well as the reflections of the main researcher at the end of the data analysis process. it should be noted that ethical clearance was obtained for the bigger study from the institution where the study was registered. fundamental ethical principles such as obtaining the necessary permission for accessing the research sites, obtaining consent from participants, explaining the purpose of the study, and protecting and ensuring participants’ confidentiality and anonymity were strictly adhered to. results and discussion the learner participants’ average march control tests, and their average november examination results over the three years in each of the three subjects at both schools are presented below. table 1: march control test average marks in percentages: 2017‑2019 subject school a: learners’ average marks in percentages school b: learners’ average marks in percentages march control test 2017 march control test 2018 march control test 2019 march control test 2017 march control test 2018 march control test 2019 accounting 24.2 32.3 34.0 35.8 42.2 41.9 business studies 36.8 27.0 38.0 45.2 46.0 54.4 economics 31.1 41.0 25.0 29.3 75.3 62.8 table 2: november examination average percentage marks: 2017‑2019 subject school a: learners’ average marks in percentages school b: learners’ average marks in percentages nov exams 2017 nov exams 2018 nov exams 2019 nov exams 2017 nov exams 2018 nov exams 2019 accounting 31.6 25.0 33.5 42.0 51.6 35.0 business studies 19.1 26.6 32.8 55.3 36.2 39.2 economics 33.4 32.8 32.4 50.0 79.5 44.4 for school a, the learners’ march control test average marks show that in all three cycles, they did not have an adequate rating of 4 (50% and above) required for entry‑ level subject content knowledge and skills in the three subjects for the grades they were https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 v. mcghie, a. venter & k. dos reis: business education learners in the further education and training phase … 25 in at the beginning of each year. at school b, they did not have the required entry‑level subject content knowledge and skills in accounting and economics in grade 10 in 2017, in accounting and business studies in grade 11 in 2018, and accounting in grade 12 in 2019. table 1 also reflects that for school a, the learners’ march control test average marks in accounting gradually increased in 2018 and 2019, while their business studies and economics average marks fluctuated. there was a decrease in their business studies’ result in 2018, which increased again in 2019, but for economics, it increased in 2018 and decreased in 2019 below than what it was in 2017 when they arrived in grade 10. for school b, the learners’ march control test average marks increased gradually over the three years for business studies, but the marks fluctuated for accounting and economics. there was a significant mark increase for economics in 2018, from 29.3% in 2017 to 75.3% at the beginning of 2018, but it decreased to 62.8% at the beginning of 2019. table 2 shows an increase in the 2017 november examination average percentage marks for accounting and economics for the learners in school a. however, their average marks for business studies decreased from 36.8% in the march control test in 2017 to 19.12% in the november examination. there was a similar decrease in their november examination average results in all three subjects in 2018 and for accounting and business studies in 2019. for the learners of school b, the november examination average percentage marks show an increase in all three subjects in 2017, but a decrease in business studies in 2018, and a decrease in all three subjects in 2019. the november 2019 examination average results reflected that the learners at both schools ended their grade 12 year with a lack of adequate subject content knowledge and skills, as they could not achieve an adequate rating of 50% and above in any one of the three subjects. this happened despite the interventions that were conducted with the learners in 2017, 2018, and 2019. and while the learners indicated in the self‑reflective question that the interventions helped them to understand the work covered better, overall, the interventions could not provide the learners with the necessary academic support that they needed. a conclusion in the bigger study was reached that the interventions were a drop in the ocean – too little, too late. these results reflect three important factors. first, that the learners were not adequately prepared in the previous grades; that was why they did not have a solid knowledge and foundational base when they arrived in grade 10. an argument could be made that the learners at school a were at a further disadvantaged because they were not first language speakers of english. however, the learners at school b received instruction in their first language, but they too, could not pass the three subjects with 50% and above in 2019. the learners’ results (and thus, their performance) provide evidence for the discussion in the introduction and the literature review sections; the two schools did not prepare the learners adequately and they could not catch up, despite having received extra academic support. as spaull (2013) suggests, the learners’ learning gaps were not addressed and became learning deficits that cannot be alleviated in the fet phase. 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 17‑29 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 second, the learners’ results in the march control tests were better than some of their november examination marks in 2017 and 2018, but for 2019, all their march control tests results were better than their november examination results. this means that the learners’ subject content knowledge and skills decreased over the academic year instead of increased. it also illustrates that the learners did better when a smaller portion of the work was assessed (the march control test focuses only on the first term’s worked covered) than when the whole year’s work is assessed in the examinations in november. in the bigger study, the main researcher reflected on this finding and made the inference that, because of the weak foundation that both groups had, the learners needed academic and language support throughout the academic year and not only two or three interventions. the third factor pertains to the fact that the learners’ results at school b were better than the learners’ results at school a, and that they managed to obtain an adequate rating of 50% and above in business studies in 2017, and in accounting and economics in 2018. their performance could be ascribed to the fact that they were attending a quantile 4 school and that they received instruction in their first language, while the learners at school a were at a quantile 1 school and they had to learn in a second and/or additional language. the two quantile schools draw attention to the conceptual framework’s contextual dimension that includes the school context, and the learners’ socio‑economic backgrounds. however, even though the learners at school b performed better than the learners at school a, they too, did not achieve an adequate rating of a 50% and above in all three subjects at the end of 2019 when they were in grade 12. an inference could be made that, because they did not have a solid knowledge and foundational base when they arrived in grade 10 in 2017, and despite having managed to obtain an adequate rating of 50% in some of the subjects in 2017 and 2018, their foundation was not strong enough to carry them through in the november 2019 examination. the two findings and discussion underscore what spaull and kotze (2015) and chetty and pather (2015) advocate about learners in public high schools not having a strong foundational base to succeed and progress to higher education studies. in the bigger study, the main researcher reflected on the findings and the discussions and interpretations thereof, and concluded that learners who attend quantile 1 schools need much more academic and language support in each year of schooling because of having to learn in a second or additional language, and their socio‑economic backgrounds. conclusions, policy considerations and areas for further research the literature reviewed in the earlier sections indicated the importance of a solid and strong foundation that should be laid in literacy and numeracy in the first two phases of learners’ primary school education. the learners’ academic performance illustrated that a few interventions during the fet phase are not sufficient academic support. consequently, the first principle in a south african readiness model is the development of the learners’ language and mathematics skills in the early childhood and foundation phases and throughout primary school level so that a good foundation is laid for the secondary https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 v. mcghie, a. venter & k. dos reis: business education learners in the further education and training phase … 27 and higher education bands. there should be an investment in training language and mathematics teachers who will know how to teach effectively. the second principle in the readiness model is the provision of ongoing language and numeracy support from grade 1 onwards, which means that public schools should be provided with the necessary resources needed to enable the learners to succeed. it is suggested that extra academic support should start at primary school level because of the systemic issues that still exist and that will not be resolved soon. the damage caused by apartheid was too deep and severe, and it will take many more years, resources and a stronger economic system – all of which south africa does not have readily available (chetty & pather, 2015; equal education, 2017; spaull & kotze, 2015). principle number three requires a revision in the current school’s language policy. learners should be allowed to continue to learn and construct new knowledge in their first language throughout their schooling careers. the fact that the current language policy requires learners to switch to english from grade 4 onwards contributes to their poor literacy and numeracy skills, and ultimately, to their under‑preparedness and weak academic results. equally important, the progression rule should be removed, because as the statistics in the introductory section illustrated, progressed learners’ have a backlog in the subject content knowledge and skills that they cannot overcome, which eventually leads to failure and dropping out. principle number four is that regular assessments on specific sections of the work covered should be implemented, as well as a scaffolded approach in which the assessments should be linked and connected so that the assessments are gradually increased to cover more complex content and skills. having a scaffolded approach will assist in preparing the learners adequately for the final examination at the end of each year. however, it should be noted that much more academic and language support should be provided to learners attending quintile 1 schools as the poverty margin is higher at quintile 1 schools than at quintile 4 schools. finally, future research should be conducted at public primary schools across the five quintiles as this study was conducted at a quintile 1 and quintile 4 high school. the four principles of the readiness model could be used to effect positive change for learners at these schools. researching the three quintile primary schools and applying the readiness principles will also test the effectiveness of the principles, and could provide insight on how the readiness model could be improved. references bandura, a. (1986). social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice hall. byrd, k.l. & macdonald, g. (2005). defining college readiness from inside out: first‑generation college student perspectives. community college review, 33(1), 22‑37. https://doi.org/10.1177/009 155210503300102 carr, w. & kemmis, s. (1986). becoming critical. education, knowledge and action research. london, uk: the falmer press. https://doi.org/10.1177/009155210503300102 https://doi.org/10.1177/009155210503300102 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 17‑29 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 centre for development and enterprise (cde). (2013). mathematics outcomes in south african schools. what are the facts? what should be done? [online]. https://bit.ly/37dmrrk chetty, r. & pather, s. 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(2015). starting behind and staying behind in south africa: the case of insurmountable learning deficits in mathematics. international journal of educational development, 3(4),13‑24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.01.002 vygotsky, l. (1994). the socialist alteration of man. in: r. van der veer & j. valsiner (eds.), the vygotsky reader (pp. 175‑184).oxford, uk: basil blackwell. . how to cite: mcghie, v., venter, a. & dos reis, k. 2020. business education learners in the further education and training phase: towards the development of a south african readiness model to strengthen learners’ academic performance. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 17‑29. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.01.002 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4444 _hlk51016378 _hlk51016920 _hlk39184007 _hlk39184184 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 23–34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za multicultural competence in student affairs: the case of the university of botswana thenjiwe emily major* and boitumelo mangope** research article * senior lecturer, department of educational foundations, university of botswana. email: majorte@mopipi.ub.bw ** lecturer, department of educational foundations, university of botswana abstract universities and colleges of education all over the world are experiencing student populations who bring diverse values and experiences into the learning environment. student affairs professionals are faced with the challenge of accommodating each student’s unique needs. this paper intends to address the essentiality of multicultural competence in student affairs administration in higher education. it discusses the meaning of multiculturalism; the role of the student affairs in the development of the students; and the importance of multicultural competence in student affairs administration. keywords diversity, higher education, multicultural competence, student affairs, student affairs professionals, university administration, botswana. introduction the university of botswana (ub), like many other institutions of higher education, has noted a drastic increase in enrolment since 2006. students enrolled in this university come from diverse backgrounds, representing various races, ethnicities, disabilities, genders, socioeconomic statuses and so forth. a diverse student population involves diverse needs, values, norms and beliefs. this diversity has an impact on the work of student affairs professionals and educators in general, as they interact and work with this diverse population on a daily basis (lotan, 2006). higher education professionals must therefore become aware of whether and how their institutions are fully supporting the diverse needs of their student population. a study conducted by moswela and mukhopadhyay (2011) has shown that the needs of diverse learners, particularly those with special educational needs at ub, are not being adequately addressed by student affairs professionals. the study findings reveal the following deficiencies: a lack of educational materials, non-accommodating infrastructural facilities, and a curriculum that is inflexible for students with special needs. another study by tabulawa (2003) has also shown the need for a culturally sensitive pedagogy and for 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 23–34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 the proficiency of educators in their students’ first language. this has been recognised as significant for effective teaching of students who are speakers of languages different from the local language used in schools. student affairs professionals are decision-makers and play vital roles in addressing multicultural issues on campuses. their unique positions call for the integration of multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills into practice. however, only limited research has been carried out at the university of botswana regarding the multicultural competence of higher education professionals. for example, molosiwa (2009), in her study monocultural education in a multicultural society: the case of teacher preparation in botswana, reported that teachers have not received adequate training on multicultural issues. another study, carried out by moswela and mukhopadhayay (2011), indicated that the student affairs professionals lacked multicultural competence to address the needs of students with special needs. similarly, pope et al., (2004) reported that many student affairs practitioners receive very little training in multicultural issues. in addition, work performance evaluations very rarely include multicultural criteria. the ethical implication for the lack of training in this area leads to deficiencies in knowledge, skills, and awareness of unfamiliar cultures. as noted by ruggiero (2001), critical analysis of an issue or concern is affected and decision-making is usually based on choices dependent upon personal and subjective moral standards. every culture has a custom that restricts and prescribes the manner in which people behave towards one another; it is based on culture (nyathi-ramahobo, 2006). if a goal of student affairs professionals is to promote a diverse and inclusive environment on campus, how can decisions on programmes, goals, and outreach be equitable if individuals in student affairs lack the knowledge, skills and awareness of a diverse student body? according to papalewis as cited by cierra (2004), “ultimately, one’s ability to lead effectively and efficiently is based on the ability to understand and respect individual differences: to be ethical, one must be respectful” (p. 3). the study by moswela and mukhopadhayay (2011) on the voices of the students with disabilities at ub revealed that student affairs professionals, in the special education support services, lack the necessary skills to assist students from all walks of life, particularly those with special educational needs. according to the study, access to equitable educational opportunities is inadequate for students with diverse needs. nonetheless, studies have shown that such aspects are crucial in the education of diverse learners in order to achieve their potential. furthermore, healey, prestorious and bell (2011) have observed that the provision of services to students with diverse needs – in particular special needs – is crucial as such provision assists students to develop self-determination and self-management skills, which ultimately assist in their success and improve their career outcomes. lastly, the study by nyathi-ramahobo (2006) argues that multicultural education is critical in cultivating and developing attitudes and value systems for building democratic societies and maintaining peace in the community. continuing professional education is therefore needed for student affairs professionals in higher education as they are the ones responsible for making special arrangements to be implemented at the classroom level. student affairs departments provide the necessary thenjiwe emily major and boitumelo mangope: multicultural competence in student affairs 25 programmes and services needed by the students to achieve educational goals. their mission is to enhance learning and personal development. furthermore, the purpose of student affairs department at ub is to create conditions that motivate and inspire students to devote time and energy to educationally purposeful activities, both inside and outside of the classroom. for example, the special education support services professionals are responsible for the assessment of students with special needs, and are expected to provide all the necessary services for the students and make recommendations to the teaching staff and the rest of the university community to make the necessary accommodations for such students. however, lack of multicultural skills hinders their performance. thus, because of this important role of developing the holistic, individual student, it is important for all student affairs professionals to have the multicultural awareness, skills, knowledge, and sensitivity, needed to offer meaningful services to all the students. though research, policies, and practices of multiculturalism in education have been vigorous at the international level for a long time, the concepts of bilingual, multilingual, or multicultural special education are unheard of in botswana. only a few research studies have addressed issues of multiculturalism in botswana (e.g., boikhutso & jotia, 2013) but none included student affairs professionals. earlier studies addressing the education of children with heterogeneous languages either examined government policies (jotia & pansiri, 2013), or they were mainly conceptual papers on teachers and multiculturalism (e.g., molosiwa, 2009). little has been done on examining student affairs professionals and multiculturalism situations in botswana. this study therefore seeks to add value by making the case for multicultural awareness among student affairs professionals and evoking research to pay particular attention to the student affairs professionals as they play a pivotal role in ensuring that there is equal access to educational opportunities in the universities and colleges of education in botswana. what is multiculturalism? multiculturalism is a difficult word to define because scholars have various views on what constitutes multiculturalism. this was noted by komives, woodard and associates (2003) who state that “one of the greatest obstacles to discussing multiculturalism is lack of common definition to clarify the concept” (p.425). this view is further supported by watson (1998): “another problem when addressing diversity and multiculturalism is that there is no consistency across the profession regarding its meaning” (p. 54). the inconsistency regarding the definition of multiculturalism across professions and nations results in difficulty in addressing this issue in more detailed manner. some scholars, like reynolds (2004) suggest that multiculturalism is “about creating a new world where people, because of who they are (as differentiated from regardless of who they are) are welcomed and celebrated” (p. 104, our emphasis). fowers and richardson (1996) defined multiculturalism from a psychological perspective, stating that it “is a socialintellectual movement that promotes the value of diversity as a core principle and insists that all cultural groups be treated with respect as equals” (p.609). similarly, carson (2009) as cited by risner and stinson (2010) stated that: 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 23–34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 [m]ulticulturalism is a social and political movement and position that holds differences between individuals and groups to be a potential source of strength and renewal rather than of strife. it values the diverse perspectives people develop and maintain through varieties of experience and background stemming from racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation and/or class differences in our society. it strives to uphold the ideals of equality, equity and freedom on which the united states is based, and includes respect for individuals and groups as a principle fundamental to the success and growth of our country. (p. 4) in defining the concept of multiculturalism, both authors therefore value the importance of a person as an individual irrespective of race, class, gender, socio-economic status and so forth. culture is the key concept in multiculturalism. culture may be defined as the totality of ways of life of a society: what it believes in and does, all its economic and religious activities, language and so on. banks and banks (2001) defined culture as “a group’s programme for survival in and adaptation to its environment […] the cultural programme consists of knowledge, concepts, and values shared by group members through systems of communication” (p.8). these shared beliefs bind people into a society. professionals in higher education must recognise that it is vital to understand and appreciate every person as a unique individual. multiculturalism values the individual student and recognises that all students – regardless of their gender, social class, ethnic, racial, or cultural characteristics should have equal opportunity to learn at school. accordingly, parekh (1999) noted that “all cultures are equally rich and deserve equal respect, that each of them is good for its members […] no culture is wholly worthless […] no culture is perfect and has a right to impose itself on others” (p 2). student affairs professionals are to value the individual student. multiculturalism in higher education attempts to address issues of racism, sexism and discrimination against people with disabilities and minority groups. according to the canadian heritage (2004), “multiculturalism encourages racial and ethnic harmony and cross-cultural understanding and discourages ghettoisation, hatred, discrimination and violence” (p. 1). the purpose of multiculturalism is to eliminate prejudice and discrimination by educating disadvantaged groups about their culture and history and to learn to accept themselves fully as individuals. multiculturalism helps the disadvantaged groups to develop a positive self-concept. it ensures that all citizens can keep their identities, can take pride of their ancestry and have a sense of belonging. multiculturalism does not only cater for minority groups, it also helps to educate privileged students to develop an understanding and appreciation of minority groups. it informs privileged students that acceptance of minority groups gives a feeling of security and self-confidence. what is multiculturalism striving for (2006) noted, “people of the mainstream culture must understand and accept those on the outside, because lack of understanding and acceptance fosters irrational and unfair prejudices, such as racism, and sexism, and these prejudices do harm those outside the mainstream” (p. 3). therefore, multicultural competency is necessary to educate these groups to be open and accept diverse cultures. thenjiwe emily major and boitumelo mangope: multicultural competence in student affairs 27 the role of student affairs in student learning student affairs plays a major role in developing the holistic individual who is, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual. according to love (2003) “student affairs professionals perform a varied mixture of leading, advising, counseling, educating, supervising, teaching, planning, and so forth” (p. 2). student affairs professionals are responsible for helping every student to achieve educational goals. the professionals advise students on academic and social needs. thus, for instance, they assist students with the development of appropriate educational plans consistent with their individual academic, career and personal goals. student affairs professionals participate in academic advising, which is regarded as a more comprehensive process that includes an assessment of the psychological, interpersonal and academic needs of students (wazlelek & coulter, 1999). professional counsellors, who are more knowledgeable in identifying students’ difficulties, provide appropriate interventions and assistance as well as referrals. student affairs professionals offer co-curricular activities. these are meant to enhance the lives of students outside the classroom. students learn to socialise and develop leadership skills by participating in different organisations. through these experiences, students gain knowledge and skills through practical learning. student affairs professionals also recruit international students for educational, cultural and financial reasons, and the corollary obligation, which is to welcome, serve, retain and involve in mutual intercultural learning with international students (peterson, briggs, dreasher, horner & nelson, 1999). the international student office staff, in cooperation with other student affairs professionals, must work to create a welcoming environment for international students. they promote intercultural learning on campus and encourage international students to appreciate diversity. the student affairs department provides quality programmes and services in order to retain the students. knowledge of multiculturalism is vital for student affairs professionals in order to assist with student learning/development and in creating a campus that supports all students. for instance, according to boikhutso and jotia (2013), the marginalisation of the use of students’ mother tongue for ethnic minorities in botswana, undermines the quality of the education and the curriculum in general. essentiality of multicultural competence many studies have demonstrated that a multicultural environment on campus has a positive impact on various student outcomes (villalpando, 2002). astin as cited in cheng & zhao, 2005 identified a clear pattern that emphasises diversity as an institutional policy and provides curricular and extracurricular opportunities to address multicultural issues that are associated with widespread beneficial effects on students’ cognitive and affective development. according to pope, reynolds and muller (2004), multicultural competence is defined, “as the awareness, knowledge and skills needed to work with others who are culturally different from self in meaning” (p.13). they note that multicultural competence is a 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 23–34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 necessary prerequisite for effective, affirming, and ethical work in student affairs. sims (1994) concurs: we need to create an academic community where people with different backgrounds view each other as having similar needs, similar aspirations, and similar problems but with different ways of manifesting them. in this kind of community, different clothes, different music, different habits, different skin color, and different self-presentation are viewed with interest and curiosity rather than hostility and suspicion…cultural differences are regarded not as dehumanizing stereotype but as an intriguing variation that we seek to understand. (p. 3) the notion of multicultural competence puts forward the belief that all citizens should keep their identities. they are to be respected for who they are. accordingly, parekh (1999) asserts that, “when dominant culture defines the minorities in a demeaning way and systematically reinforces it by all the institutional and other means at its disposal, they consciously or unconsciously internalise the negative self-image, lack self-esteem, and feel alienated from the mainstream” (p. 6). multicultural competence helps student affairs professionals in understanding internalised oppression and its impact on identity and self-esteem. weng (2005) states that [c]ultural self-awareness is the key, because it enables us to recognize that as cultural beings [we] may hold attitudes and beliefs that can detrimentally influence [our] perceptions of and interactions with individuals who are ethnically and racially different from [our] selves. (p. 4) institutions of higher education with clearly defined and enforced cultures committed to diversity empower their members to feel good about themselves in relation to their uniqueness and role in the institution. self-awareness self-awareness is the ability to be aware of those values, attitudes, and assumptions that hold inaccurate views of a particular culture in the form of stereotypes or biases (pope et al., 2004). it is important for student affairs professionals to develop this awareness skill. in doing so, they are able to challenge their misinformation, thus correcting their erroneous assumptions and beliefs. according to pope, reynolds and muller (2004), student affairs professionals should know that differences are valuable and that learning about others who are culturally different is necessary and rewarding. self-awareness helps the individual to learn to respect differences among people, and to acknowledge the complexities within ourselves and others. they assert, therefore that “multiculturalism should start by observing the self as an initial starting point” (p. 55). thus cheng (1990) proposes that student affairs professionals begin by examining and understanding their own unique cultural and ethnic identities. student affairs professionals should be able to examine their own prejudices and reflect upon how pre-judgement affects their interactions with students and other professionals. student affairs professionals should self-explore and self-evaluate. doing so, will help them to improve their ability to learn how to value and respect other cultures. thenjiwe emily major and boitumelo mangope: multicultural competence in student affairs 29 self-reflection as a necessary skill for student affairs practitioners it is important for every student affairs practitioner to conduct self-evaluation. selfevaluation helps the individual to understand his/her weaknesses and strengths, and therefore, instills a willingness to change for the better. nottingham (1998) notes that self-reflection allows one to identify strengths and limitations in specific environments and the individual personality, learning, and behavioral characteristics that influence one’s interactions with others. (p. 71) the author notes that differing attitudes, beliefs, cultures, ethics, values and life experiences are some important aspects of self-reflection. she further states that professionals must have a meaningful understanding of themselves to maximise their individual effectiveness in the department or division. this is further emphasised by ramirez (2000). leaders working in institutions of higher education require more knowledge and skills in working with diverse populations. he asserts that creating institutional capacity for diversity requires authentic leadership with integrity and vision. diversity, like leadership, does not lend itself to neat formulas, weekend workshops, or summer institutes where leadership skills for diversity may be modulized and acquired. diversity calls up the most deeply felt passions about who we are as individuals. (p. 407) nottingham (1998) acknowledges the importance of knowing yourself as an individual in order to understand other people. this is supported by pope et al. (2004) who argues that “without self-evaluation, individuals may not realise that they hold inaccurate or appropriate views of a particular culture in the form of stereotypes, biases or cultural based assumptions” (p.15). accordingly, it is important that professionals who work with diverse population are willing to participate in self-exploration. multicultural knowledge according to pope et al. (2004), “multicultural knowledge consists of the knowledge about various cultural groups that is typically not taught in many preparation programmes” (p. 15). the professionals should be able to recognise that each individual student has a race, sexual orientation, class, and so forth, which contribute to an individual’s personal identity. student affairs professionals should help diverse students to explore their own histories, cultures, and traditions in order to know themselves. parekh (1999) affirmed, that [s]ocial recognition is central to the individual’s identity and self-worth and misrecognition can gravely damage both. (p. 6) this is further supported by fower and richardson (1996), who state that [a]ll people must be allowed to unfold toward their unique destinies, which requires resisting external pressure and other inducements to mimic and thereby become derivatives of another culture. (p. 612) 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 23–34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 it is very important for one to know one’s real self to be able to identify one positively. gay (1994) supports this by stating that “one cannot be human without culture and ethnicity, and one cannot have culture and ethnicity without being human” (p. 7). therefore, to acknowledge and respect one another, to be fully human, requires mutual understanding and appreciation based on cultural understanding. having knowledge about other cultures different from one’s own helps to eliminate some of the misconceptions people have about other cultures. gay (1994) contends: failing to understand the cultural style of some african-americans, for example, may cause teachers erroneously to conclude that these students have limited critical thinking and reasoning abilities […] the reluctance of american indian children to operate on a tightly controlled time schedule and engage in highly individualistic and competitive activities may be misinterpreted as lack of initiative, motivation, and responsibility. (p. 9) knowledge about other cultures is important to all those who work with a diverse population, especially student affairs practitioners. multicultural skills communication skill is one of the key elements in multicultural competency. through verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication, student affairs professionals understand how culture influences the content (pope et al., 2004). this multicultural competency skill helps student affairs professionals openly discuss cultural differences and issues. as previously stated, multicultural competency is vital for the student affairs practitioners; howard-hamilton, richardson and shuford (1998) note that multicultural competencies are also important to students. they argue that a set of competencies for students should be developed to enhance and promote the growth of multicultural sensitivity within universities. they suggest that students should have knowledge of selfawareness. the knowledge of self will help students to relate to their cultural identities. this competency may help them to understand issues of oppression and the effect it has on different cultural groups. like other scholars, howard-hamilton et al. (1998), emphasise the importance of self even in students. understanding the self helps individual human beings to accept themselves and also to accept, value and respect others different from themselves. if the students, staff and faculty, all develop multicultural competencies, we believe the needs of the individual student can be best met. the mission of educating the student holistically may thus be achieved. what needs to be done? education has no age limit. student affairs professionals at the university of botswana need continuing education to learn about the diverse student populations that are enrolling in the institutions of higher learning. there are various ways in which student affairs professionals thenjiwe emily major and boitumelo mangope: multicultural competence in student affairs 31 may learn about diverse student populations. first, they must identify these groups on campus. examples include: international students; women students; students from minority groups such as lesbians and gays; students from national minority tribes such as bakalaka, bayeyi, basarwa; people with disabilities, etc.; as well as the eight major national tribes such as the bangwato, bakgatla, bakwena, etc. while minority and disadvantaged groups need to be educated about their cultures and histories, and be helped to learn to accept themselves as individuals, the members of majority and mainstream culture need to be educated about their privileges, how to deconstruct and recognise them, and to understand and appreciate the minority groups; and to be informed that acceptance of the minority groups gives a feeling of security and self-confidence. potential options for intervention include: planning and implementing lunch-hour sessions designed to educate these different groups about the importance of diversity; conducting seminars for student affairs professionals on diversity/mentoring programmes; allowing student affairs professionals to attend the orientation for international students in order to learn about different groups of students; student affairs professionals conducting presentations about botswana culture to new students; and establishing a multicultural centre at the university of botswana. conclusion diversity in the student body makes higher education unique and presents challenges for student affairs professionals. in addition to racial and ethnic diversity, higher education also serves diverse groups of students who are disabled; international students; students of different sexual orientations; and so forth. these groups have different needs that should be attended to by student affairs staff. student affairs professionals should work hard to assist every student to succeed academically. in this respect, student affairs professionals should collaborate with other departments, such as academic affairs, to ensure that students in their institutions are able to develop holistically. finally, student affairs professionals should create programmes and offer services that assist students in developing personally, intellectually, socially and spiritually, irrespective of gender, class, race, religion, etc. more especially, this article has argued that student affairs staff should incorporate multicultural competence in their daily work and decision-making in order to address and respond to the challenges and needs of diverse student populations. multicultural competency helps student affairs professionals to self-assess in order to understand their strengths and weaknesses. when they recognise their strengths, weaknesses and position of privilege, student affairs professionals are better able to work with and assist people from diverse student populations, especially students who are different from them. knowledge about diverse populations and other cultures will help student affairs professionals to understand the uniqueness of individual students. as a result, they will respond to students’ needs and provide the necessary guidance, advice, counsel and support required to help students achieve success in higher education. 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 23–34 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.58 references banks j. a., & banks, c. a. m. 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(1998). exist-culturalism: a philosophical framework. college student affairs journal, 18, 52–63. wazlelek, b., & coulter, l. (1999). the role of counseling services for student in academic jeopardy: a preliminary study. journal of college counseling, 2(1), 33–41. weng, c. (2005). multicultural lawyering: teaching psychology to develop cultural self-awareness. boston college of law school. retrieved may, 2014, http://www.ocair.org/files/presentations/ paper2004_05/chengandzhao.pdf. call for papers vol 2(1) (2014): “recontextualising the profession” the journal of student affairs in africa is calling for papers for its next issue vol 2(1) 2014. this issue will address student affairs as a profession in the context of africa, therefore paying special attention to the context within which the profession has developed. for this purpose, theoretical, practice-relevant, and reflective contributions are welcome, including: case studies, conceptual discussions, and high level reflective practitioner accounts. in particular, articles should engage with the following questions: • how has the student affairs profession developed in the african context? • what are the key issues – enablers and disablers – that have emerged within respective national and institutional contexts? • how is the field emerging as a profession, both in terms of professional associations, training programmes, etc. as well as the research and theories that frame it and make it relevant in the african context? • any other related issues, cases, research, evaluations and exploration of ideas and reports on topics related to the theory and practice of student affairs. manuscripts should be sent by march 31, 2014 to jsaa_editor@outlook.com and mention in the subject line “recontextualising the profession”. manuscripts on related topics can be submitted at any time to jsaa_editor@outlook.com provided that final articles of between 3 000 and 5 000 words are received by march 31, 2014 for this issue. there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. we welcome submissions on the theory and practice of student affairs that are relevant to the african higher education context from experts and practitioners from across the globe, but especially from emerging countries and practitioners, researchers, academics and students in african universities. the jsaa is supported by african minds and the university of the western cape library e-publishing. detailed author guidelines can be found on the website under “submissions”. 99 vol 3(2) (2015): “special issue: student representation in african higher education governance” guest editors: thierry m. luescher-mamashela (university of the western cape, south africa) manja klemenčič (harvard university, usa) james otieno jowi (moi university, kenya) the overall objective of this issue is to map out and compare across the african continent recent changes in the higher education landscape overall and the different models of how students as a collective body are organised at both institutional and national levels; how their interests are aggregated, articulated and intermediated into institutional and national policy processes; and to examine the role of political parties and other organised social groups is in student representation. in particular, the featured papers will engage with two specific questions: • how has the expansion of higher education, the massification of existing public institutions, the admission of private students (and in some institutions the creation of ‘parallel’ student bodies) and the mushrooming of private higher education institutions affected student representation in different countries at both a systemic and institutional level in africa? • how do campus-based and national student representative organisations relate to political parties and/or social cleavages in society (e.g. regional, religious, ethnic)? how do they uphold their legitimacy to represent the student voice? how do they maintain their organisational autonomy? who are their members? where do they get their financial and other resources from? what resources do they have? how do they fare in managing these resources to the benefit of students? proposals for manuscripts containing an outline of the intended article (max. 400 words) should be sent by february 28, 2014 to jsaa_editor@outlook.com and mention in the subject line “special issue: student representation”. final articles of between 3 000 and 5 000 words are due by july 31, 2014. author guidelines can be found at: www.jsaa.ac.za. it is planned that authors will be invited to a special 3-day author workshop in cape town, south africa, to present their pre-final papers in may/june 2014. other events (e.g. book launches) may be offered if funding permits. final papers may be selected either for the 2014 african minds book on student representation in african higher education or the special issue on student representation of the journal of student affairs in africa. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 197‑204 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1438 197 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice from didactics to datafication: a critical reflection on virtual learning environments and the production of space taryn bernardi i dr taryn bernard is a senior lecturer and is affiliated to the department of general linguistics, faculty of arts and social sciences, stellenbosch university, south africa. orcid: 0000-0001-5503-6260. email: tbernard@sun.ac.za abstract when writing about transformation in higher education (he) in south africa, it is quite popular to mention the fall of apartheid, and perhaps also 1994, as a starting point for significant change. i, myself, have made this mistake (see bernard, 2015). however, the recent #feesmustfall protests highlighted that many approaches to transformation have been superficial at best, and extremely problematic at worst (luckett & naicker, 2019; luckett, 2019). this is because they have done little to acknowledge the legacies that colonial modes of thinking have had, and continue to have, on the everyday lived experiences of students in spaces that still feel alienating to them. in april 2020, when the doors of south african universities closed to all, and during a swift and mass migration away from university campuses to virtual learning environments (vles), i was presented with the opportunity to critically reflect on the impact that increased use of vles can have on the transformation agenda in the he sector. my approach takes up tumubweinee and luescher’s (2019, p. 2) argument that many initiatives aimed at transformation in he have failed, because they do not pay sufficient attention to the where of transformation. thus, like tumubweinee and luescher, i locate my reflection on vles in the postmodern, sociopolitical understandings of ‘space’ evident in the work of lefebvre (1991), but more specifically his notions of conceived and abstract space. in doing so, issues of identity and coloniality are brought to the fore. my approach is critical in that it “implies possibilities, and possibilities as yet unfulfilled” (lefebvre, 2002, pp. 18‑19). keywords datafication; higher education; postcolonialism; space; virtual learning environments introduction: extended degree programmes as peripheral, colonial spaces i am a white, female academic who has worked in an extended curriculum programme (ecp) for a little over a decade. my reflections here relate, in part, to the work i do with students on this programme, students who, in line with government policies, are not only identified according to race and socio‑economic categories, but who are also frequently described in contrast to “the mainstream” (i.e. “the norm”) and through deficit discourses and in deficit terms such as “disadvantaged”, “underprepared”, “needy” or “in need of http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:tbernard%40sun.ac.za?subject= 198 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 197‑204 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1438 support”. since my reflections also relate to vles and elearning, it is also important to mention here that, given the selection criteria for many ecp programmes across the country (which include attention to socio‑economic status factors), it is likely that many students on ecps would typically not be considered digital natives, and would have experienced the data – and digital – divide before and during the pandemic. i return to this point in the following section. ecps, which exist in some form in 24 universities across south africa, are considered to be a type of intervention that aims to increase access and success rates to the category of student outlined above. this is often done by segregating these students in different ways, and extending the time of enrolment, typically by an additional academic year, in order to include additional support modules. these support modules aim to develop numeracy, literacy and other skills in order to make the discourses of the disciplines more explicit – thus to grant ‘epistemological access’ to disciplinary knowledge. however, in a powerful contribution towards understanding ecps and the impact they have on the experiences of students, luckett (2019) offered a postcolonial critique of these programmes. this means that, rather than adopting the normalised developmental and modernist paradigm which portray ecps “as a liberal anti‑apartheid project motivated by a concern for equity and social justice” luckett (2019, p. 41) reframes them “as a modernising project within a developmentalist paradigm”. through this lens, ecps can be likened to the type of education endeavour offered by the colonial powers which sought to civilise “the natives” in order to make them fit for modernity (luckett, 2019, p. 41). in offering this critique, luckett urges us to question whether separate remedial programmes such as ecps are tenable, given that, in their current form, students “speak from subject positions that still feel colonized” (luckett, 2019, p. 38) when it is “particularly urgent that black students feel ‘at home’ in their universities, they must have their sense of agency restored and come to recognise themselves as sources of meaning‑making” (luckett, 2019, p. 54). the motif of ‘home’, the metaphor of ‘the university as home’ and it’s relation to ‘space’, the embodiment of space, and the impact that ‘space’ has on the identities of students at south african universities is an important topic, one that has been taken up by many scholars in various forms (see bangeni & kapp, 2005). tumubweinee and luescher (2019), for example, analysed the ways in which ‘space’ is discursively constructed in south african policy documents, arguing that many initiatives aimed at transformation in he have failed because they do not pay sufficient attention to the where of transformation. during their analysis the authors found that ‘space’ “is almost consistently conceived only as an object in transformation” rather than “a socio‑political actor in transformation” (tumubweinee & luescher, 2019, p. 10). this is an important distinction because: we interact in this space and our interactions are limited or encouraged by this space. the way space is perceived, conceived and eventually experienced has a profound impact on students’ experience of higher education. (tumubweinee & luescher, 2019, p. 10) taryn bernard: from didactics to datafication: a critical reflection on virtual learning environments … 199 such an agentive understanding of space developed within a postmodern paradigm and with thinkers such as lefebvre who wanted to understand the role of representation and power in the production of space. tumubweinee and luescher (2019)’s emphasis on space as perceived, conceived and experienced or lived in the quote above is a triad at the heart of lefebvre’s understanding of space, who was primarily concerned with how space is produced, the way in which space is abstractly conceived and the phenomenological spaces of lived experience (wilson, 2013, p. 367). it is also important to note that lefebvre’s understanding of space developed as a reaction against capitalism and the technological tools of capitalism. in fact, lefebvre argued that capitalism is not just about the production of things in space but, perhaps even more importantly, capitalism is about the production of space (prey, 2015, p. 1). the relevance of this understanding of space to the internet (as cyberspace) is discussed below. e-learning, learning analytics, vles and datafication since the development and increased use of the internet, the realm of cyberspace has not been excluded from the type of postmodern understandings of ‘space’ highlighted above (see, for example, cohen, 2007). most postmodern thinkers view cyberspace as an extension of everyday social practice rather than separate from it, since it is also experienced spatially, mediated by embodied human cognition and mediated through language and metaphors that reflect this embodied experience (i.e. “homepage”, “website”, “back”, “forward”). in this regard the emergence of the internet can be conceptualised as the contemporary, “virtual”, manifestation of the “explosion of spaces” which lefebvre saw as capitalism’s most transformative feature (prey, 2015, p. 2). as with many social institutions across the globe, corporate or otherwise, he institutions have expanded into cyberspace for a variety of reasons – as a natural social progression in a digital society, for one, but also as an effort to participate in the fourth industrial revolution, to create “smart campuses” and facilitate in the formation of “smart students” (prinsloo, 2020). as a result, many social practices located in cyberspace are now part of university life. for example, electronic learning or “elearning”, which refers to the delivery of education and training through digital resources such as vles, as well as the practice of tracking students and/or collecting, measuring and analysing electronic educational data (known as “learning analytics [la]”) for the purposes of understanding and potentially optimising elearning. today, modular object‑oriented dynamic learning environment (moodle) is “the world’s most popular” vle (https://moodle.org/). there are 168 000 moodle sites that are currently active, in 243 countries, with south africa accounting for 1 692 of those sites – many belonging to he institutions (https://stats. moodle.org/sites/index.php?country=za). there is no doubt that vles like moodle are transforming how education is being distributed and consumed. much of the literature on moodle focuses on its value a vle and an la tool. as a vle, moodle has been conceptualised according to a social constructivist view of education, and “facilitates a mix of learning approaches, integrating readings, lecture videos, online reflections, quizzes and group discussion forums, utilising both asynchronous and real‑ https://moodle.org/ https://stats.moodle.org/sites/index.php?country=za https://stats.moodle.org/sites/index.php?country=za 200 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 197‑204 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1438 time interaction” (spiegel et al., 2017, pp. 277‑278). when considering its value as a vle, mpungose (2020, p. 102) claims that moodle facilitates the decolonisation of the university curriculum because of functions that enable facilitators to “encourage the changing of mind‑set and sharing of lived experiences during the teaching and learning process”. as an la tool, moodle is applauded because it gathers a variety of data: personal data, usage data (time spent, number of downloads, login frequency, log reports and number of views), learning data (participation for a particular activity, for example, grades, comments and feedback), allowing facilitators, researchers and other decision‑makers to seek out the variables that contribute most to student learning in order to make predictions and improve performance (mwalumbwe & mtebe, 2017). this literature mostly resonates with the grander utopian, and “mythological” (boyd & crawford, 2012, p. 667) story that digital data, especially mass amounts of divergent digital data produced at an incredible speed (i.e. “big data”) offers the potential of new knowledge, insights and higher forms of intelligence that can be used to address various societal ills. this utopian story is also rooted in the idea that quantitative data is objective and the mathematical and statistical models used to analyse this data are more efficient, reliable, accurate and effective (boyd & crawford, 2012, pp. 663‑664), an ideology which van dijck (2014, p. 198) refers to as “dataism”. it is also proclaimed that digital data, particularly big data, leads to greater transparency by linking disparate sources of information, and that it can democratise decision‑making by rendering “social processes and social relations more knowable and more controllable” (selwyn, 2015, p. 66). one recent example is offered by renick (2020), who reports on a project at georgia state university to address “achievement gaps” (renick, 2020, p. 119) at the university, where “graduation rates were 22% for latinos, 29% for african americans, and 18% for african american males. low‑income students completed degrees at only a 24% rate”. the author presents a utopian narrative of the “high tech” processes used to track, monitor and contact students frequently (“high touch”): “today, thanks [emphasis added] to a campus‑wide commitment to student success and more than a dozen data‑ based programmes implemented over the past several years, georgia state’s achievement gaps are gone” (renick, 2020, p. 119). however, not all scholars are as optimistic as renick (2020) about the impact of technology, digital data and student tracking on the student experience. boyd and crawford (2012, p. 667) emphasise that, far from being objective, “working with big data is still a subjective, interpretative act”. in focusing on technology and data, renick (2020) seems to have overlooked important criticisms that have been directed towards the conceptual metaphor of “achievement gaps” and its links to a deficit discourse of individuals and communities – the same deficit discourse used to describe students on ecps. this discourse is problematic because it masks the social and institutional histories and prejudices that led to and sustains these “gaps”. the research thus perpetuates the idea that “closing an ‘achievement gap’, and equalising or levelling the school system, will lead to greater equality across society (macgilchrist, 2019, p. 80). this means that, while georgia state university could be commended for moving away from highly selective admissions processes to improve retention rates, critical questions need to be asked about their “commitment to the systematic use of data” that has been segmented according to “racial, ethnic, and economic taryn bernard: from didactics to datafication: a critical reflection on virtual learning environments … 201 groups”. questions should be asked about whether universities should “become far more proactive in tracking students daily [emphasis added]” to identify “when they go off path” (renick, 2020, pp. 119‑120). which implies, of course, that there is only one path to follow. vles like moodle have not been analysed in terms of their ability to produce space, and the impact that this process can have on the transformation agenda within he institutions across the globe. this is an important focus area because, to return to tumubweinee and luescher’s (2019, p. 10) quote “the way space is perceived, conceived and eventually experienced has a profound impact on students’ experience of higher education”. to consider vles as producers of space is to consider how stakeholders involved in producing vle platforms abstractly conceive of space, why they do so, and how these conceived spaces have, or could have, an impact on lived experiences (wilson, 2013, p. 367). in keeping in line with the ideological underpinnings of lefebvre’s work, to consider vles as a producer of space is to also consider their role within material or social space, which was in lefebvre’s time – and is increasingly so – dominated by the capitalist logic of accumulation. zuboff (2015, p. 77) defines this logic as: … the taken‑for‑granted context of any business model. it defines objectives, successes, failures and problems. it determines what is measured, what is passed over; how resources and people are allocated and organized; who is valued in what roles; what activities are undertaken – and to what purpose. the logic of accumulation produces its own social relations and with that its conceptions and use of authority and power. in contrast to social space, lefebvre (1991, p. 38) conceptualised conceived space as “the space of scientists, planners, urbanists, technocratic subdividers and social engineers”. in the digital age, conceived space is the space of a select group of new specialists: coders, programmers and engineers, data brokers, and in the context of higher education, “online platform/programme providers, as well as individual, institutional and organizational researchers” (prinsloo, 2020, p. 368). conceived space for lefebvre was also abstract space, since it is “the location and source of abstractions”. abstract space is a result of capitalist social relations, of technocratic rationality, where diversity and richness of social life is reduced to homogeneity, to divisibility and interchangeability through the emphasis on quantification and cartesian notions of time and space as “homogenous, continuous and emptied of all natural and social content” (wilson, 2013, p. 368). lefebvre’s understandings of conceived and abstract space offers interesting insights into vles as tools that are contributing to the datafication of he, to a process “by which objects, behaviors, actions, motions, communications and spaces are converted into machine‑readable data flows” (smith, 2016, p. 114). during this process, individuals are turned into data representations, which have also been termed “dividuals” (deleuze, 1995) or “data doubles”, representations which are quite different from the “fleshy bodies” from which the representations developed (lupton, 2014, p. 82) but are nevertheless analysed, classified, evaluated (“surveilled”) and targeted for different reasons. these mechanisms of extraction, analysis, and ultimately also control, are often illegible to, or hidden from, the sources of the data, thus effectively exiling people from their own behaviour (zuboff, 2015, p. 75). 202 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 197‑204 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1438 thus, conceived and abstract space is also the realm of alienation, it is the realm of “human action stripped of their living substance’ (trebitsch in wilson, 2013, p. 366). in understanding abstract space as the spatial dimension of representation, of quantification and alienation, it is easy to understand why scholars have understood big data and datafication as “data colonialism” (beer 2019, prinsloo 2020), as an “extension of a global process of extraction that started under colonialism and continues through industrial capitalism” (couldry and mejias in prinsloo 2020, p. 367). only now, instead of raw material and labour, what is being appropriated is a new type of raw material produced by technological tools through our day‑to‑day social practices, often in ways that is beyond the control of the person to whom the data relates and in ways that remain unknown to them (couldry and mejias in prinsloo 2020, p. 367). the point is that the underlying algorithms, the ways in which data are produced and used and the role of software companies and educational technology providers, amongst other things, are hardly understood, and very little is understood about the ethical implications of these tools (boyd & crawford, 2012, p. 673, jarke & breiter, 2019, p. 1, selwyn, 2015, pp. 566‑567, jones & mccoy, 2019, pp. 58‑59). conclusion the #feesmustfall protests and associated movements urged us to recognise that many approaches to transformation, including the formation of ecps, have done little to acknowledge the legacies that colonial modes of thinking have had, and continue to have, on the everyday lived experiences of students in spaces that still feel alienating to them. similarly, luckett’s (2019) postcolonial critique of ecps highlights that, despite best efforts aimed at diversity and inclusivity, these programmes not only segregate students into separate, remedial spaces, but result in the discursive construction of ecp students in a way that is in opposition to “the norm” (or “the mainstream”) and through deficit discourses and in deficit terms such as “disadvantaged” or “underprepared”. when viewed through a postcolonial lens, ecps can also be likened to the type of education endeavour offered by the colonial powers who sought to civilise “the natives” in order to make them fit for modernity (luckett, 2019, p. 41). when the covid pandemic prompted a swift and mass migration to vles such a moodle, i was presented with the opportunity to critically reflect on the impact that increased use of vles could have on the decolonisation agenda in he and on ecp students in particular. i located my reflection within postmodern understandings of space (lefebvre, 1991) and did not contemplate the problems that arise when students do not have access to technology or the internet but rather focused on the trail of data that each student leaves behind when using vles, whether they know that this data is being collected, whether they know what data is being collected, how it is being collected and analysed, by whom, and to what ends. outside of he, many critical theorists have urged us to consider similar processes as a form of surveillance by those with agency and power, as “big brother” or “big other” (zuboff, 2015, p. 77), an orwellian nightmare. comparisons have also been made to franz kafka’s the trial in which the protagonist, josef k., wakes up to a world of “bureaucratic indifference, arbitrary errors, and dehumanisation, a world where people feel powerless and vulnerable, without any form of participation in the collection and use of taryn bernard: from didactics to datafication: a critical reflection on virtual learning environments … 203 their information” (solove 2001, p. 1398). one can imagine a similar scenario in he if the nature of the data, the manner in which it is collected, collated, analysed and used remains illegible to, or hidden from students, the sources of the data, at the same time at which the data impacts on their lived experience in significant ways. furthermore, proponents of la in he usually view the collection and analysis of student data in optimistic terms, as a mechanism to enhance learning. however, these discussions usually take place outside of an overt acknowledgement of the “neoliberali‑ sation” of the university, and the way in which this space is increasingly being dominated by the logic of profit and accumulation – a logic with its own power dynamic that determines how people are organised and how much they are valued, a logic not dissimilar to colonialist logic (zuboff, 2015; beer, 2019; bernard, 2020; prinsloo 2020). thus, when considering vles, such considerations should not take place outside of the ideologies that shape the datafication of he, as they could ultimately thwart our efforts to transform he spaces into spaces where a diverse group of students can participate equally, and where all students feel at ease and at home. references bangeni, b. & kapp, r. 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(2020). data frontiers and frontiers of power in (higher) education: a view of/from the global south, teaching in higher education, 25(4), 366‑383. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1723537 renick, t.m. (2020). eliminating achievement gaps using data and personalized outreach. in r. ludeman & b. schreiber (eds.), student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues, and best practices (3rd ed.) (pp. 119‑121). berlin: deutsches studentenwerk. selwyn, n. (2015). data entry: towards the critical study of digital data and education. learning, media and technology, 40(1), 64‑82. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2014.921628 smith, g.j.d. (2016). surveillance, data and embodiment: on the work of being watched. body & society, 22(2), 108‑139. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034x15623622 solove, d. 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(2019). inserting space into the transformation of higher education. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 1‑13. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 van dijck, j. 2014. datafication, dataism and dataveillance: big data between scientific paradigm and ideology. surveillance & society, 12(2), 197‑208. https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v12i2.4776 wilson, j. 2013. “the devastating conquest of the lived by the conceived”: the concept of abstract space in the work of henri lefebvre. space and culture, 16(3), 364‑380. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 1206331213487064 zuboff, s. (2015). big other: surveillance capitalism and the prospects of an information civilization. journal of information technology, 30, 75‑89. https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2015.5 how to cite: bernard, t. (2021). from didactics to datafication: a critical reflection on virtual learning environments and the production of space. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 197‑204. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1438 https://doi.org/10.1145/2686612.2686623 https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2018.1556217 https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2018.1479645 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2017.tb00577.x https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2017.tb00577.x https://doi.org/10.2383/82481 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1723537 https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2014.921628 https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034x15623622 https://doi.org/10.2307/1229546 https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2016.1256767 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i1.3689 https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v12i2.4776 https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331213487064 https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331213487064 https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2015.5 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 1–16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 www.jsaa.ac.za the contours of inequality: the links between socio-economic status of students and other variables at the university of johannesburg andré van zyl* research article * academic development centre, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: andrevz@uj.ac.za abstract the low level of student success in south africa is an intractable problem, with levels of success differing between the various groups that make up south african society. one of the major constraints influencing student success involves the socio-economic status (ses) of newly entering students. in the south african context, with its very high levels of ses inequality and other social stratifications, a better understanding of issues related to ses would allow them to be addressed in targeted ways that lead to improved student success. this study was conducted at the university of johannesburg and used data collected between 2010 and 2015. in this study, the ses of students was determined by measuring their self-reported living standards measure (lsm) level. the relationships between the ses level and various socio-demographic variables were then tested using the chi-square test with standardised residuals. the trends that emerged can assist institutions to gain a more nuanced understanding of ses and its impact in the south african context. three clear clusters emerged each with their own distinguishing attributes and risk profiles. keywords higher education, inequality, social stratification, transformation, university of johannesburg, south africa. introduction students in south african higher education find it difficult to succeed. south africa’s combination of a low participation rate and a high dropout rate has been called a “low participation, high attrition” system (che, 2013, p. 52). not only are south african students and institutions failing to create a situation in which students have a reasonable chance of success, the net effect of the current situation is that only 5% of african and coloured young people are succeeding in higher education (che, 2013). this state of affairs is worrying and has led to a lot of attention being focused on a variety of issues related to student success and equity of outcomes. the terms coloured, white, african and indian in this study refer to selfidentified classifications according to nationally used equity criteria. 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 many students who fail are poor and, as scott, yeld and hendry (2007) point out, the concept of student under-preparedness is often used to discount these poor students. this simplistic view is, however, not tenable. issues such as social capital, schooling and a lack of career guidance are directly related to poverty and are known to play important roles in determining student success. the divided and unequal state of the socio-economic status (ses) distribution in south africa has a crucial impact and, according to walton, bowman and osman (2015), crystallises in the student protests about funding on many south african campuses. this also leads to a questioning of the concept under-preparedness (che, 2013, p. 17) and an acceptance that “a gap can be closed from either side” (from the student/ societal or the institutional sides). schreiber, leuscher-mamashela and moja (2014, p. vii) point out that the most important modern theorist on student academic persistence (hausmann, schofield and woods, 2007), vincent tinto, links pre-entry attributes to student integration. they further identify the whole idea of integration as especially important in a context with “fragmented social structures” and “deepened social cleavages”. tinto (2014) framed his south african discussions as part of the quality enhancement project by pointing out that there is a performance gap between relatively rich and relatively poor students in the usa and that this gap seems to be growing over time. as tinto (2014, p. 6) stated during his south african visit: “providing students access without support is not opportunity. without support, academic, social, and financial, too many students do not complete their programmes of study. it is my view that once an institution admits a student, it becomes obligated to provide, as best it can, the support needed to translate the opportunity access provides to success”. walton, bowman and osman (2015) found that finance plays an enabling role allowing students admitted to university also to succeed. the link between the financial resources available to a student and his or her ability to persist has been made by many researchers, including astin (2005); berkovitz and o’quin (2006); isaak, graves and mayers (2006); kreysa (2006); and veenstra (2009). in the south african context, the link between ses and student persistence has been confirmed by de beer (2006); manik (2014); and van zyl, gravett and de bruin (2012). reason (2009) found that ses was the second most powerful predictor of student success (after previous academic performance) in the united states. poor students often have a combination of factors that puts them at a higher than normal risk of non-completion (van rooyen, 2001; wessel et al., 2006). many authors, including caison (2005) and kuh et al. (2007), have found that poorer students often do not have the necessary skills and support to manage on their own. these students tend to have a variety of complex risk factors present in their background and demographic characteristics (johnston & macleod, 2004; kuh et al., 2007). mcloughlin (2012) and williams, leppel and waldauer (2005), for example, identify ses as an important factor in student career choice; lower levels of academic preparedness; general academic performance; and ability to complete their studies. lower-ses students are often first-generation university entrants; have poorer high school education; and have access to very low levels of financial support and other socio-cultural factors (jones et al., 2008; andré van zyl: the contours of inequality 3 wessel et al., 2006). mcloughlin (2012, pp. 12–13) also suggests that low-ses students experience higher education differently from their richer colleagues. this includes their perceived ability to make friends and “fit in”, their experiencing pressure more acutely, and the fact that they experience pressures to access basic necessities. such students often also lack the ability to make the necessary social links needed for academic success (astin, 2005). breier (2010) points out that “financial constraints” in some contexts refer to temporary financial problems with which institutions are often able to assist students. as a result, internationally, low ses is often identified as a secondary cause for student early departure and/or dropout. the concept “financial constraints” can, however, often have a very different meaning depending on the context within which it is used. breier (2010, p. 669) uses the words “deprivation” and “extreme poverty” to indicate the deeper level of financial constraints faced by students in the south african context. when someone is poor in south africa, it often means they do not have access to many relatively basic life requirements. a lack of finances tends to impede their academic success more acutely and the wide range of serious financial side effects might cause them to drop out at any point during their academic career. breier (2010) found that “financial constraints” have a greater and a more continuous effect on poorer students in south africa than on their richer counterparts. south africa still suffers from deep economic fragmentation linked to the country’s history, clearly illustrated in one of the highest gini coefficients in the world (0.63 in 2011 compared to 0.41 in the usa). this deep level of poverty prevalent in south african society is illustrated in the publication poverty trends in south africa (statistics south africa, 2014). in this document, it was reported that 45% of the south african population (approximately 23 million people) were classified as “poor” with 20.2% (10.2 million people) living in “extreme poverty”. not only is there an exceptionally wide division between rich and poor (as reflected in the gini coefficient), that division is still strongly delineated according to race (manik, 2014). this is illustrated by the fact that 54% of black africans are classified as poor and only 0.8% of whites are so classified (statistics south africa, 2014). according to breier (2010), these patterns of poverty continue to reflect the country’s racially divided past. this has led letseka, breier and visser (2009, p. 25) to apply the concept of “two nations” living simultaneously in south africa to the south african context. when students from the very poor ses groups enter university, they often struggle to meet the basic financial requirements of university studies; any unforeseen expenses exacerbate the problems they face. it is therefore clear that many talented students in south africa find themselves constrained by finances and, as a result, unable to translate their potential into actual performance. yorke and longden (2004) also point out that making progress in the area of student success in a relatively poor country, like south africa, is a far greater challenge than in richer countries with more resources available to them. this makes it very important to unpack the various socio-economic status levels by looking into their constituents. as reason (2009) points out, such an understanding would allow institutions the benefit of being able to target interventions at specific sub-groups. 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 research method and analysis to address the above questions in the context of one university in the south african context, this paper presents research conducted using a sample of 21 037 student responses collected using the student profile questionnaire (spq) between 2010 and 2015 at the university of johannesburg (uj). uj is a merged institution that came into existence in 2005, with four campuses, each with its own history. the demographic characteristics of the participants in this study closely matched the demographic profile of the institution (south african national census 2011 data given in brackets; statistics south africa, 2012), with 82.1% (79.2%) of the sample being black african; 3.5% (2.5%) indian; 3.6% (8.9%) coloured; and 10.8% (8.9%) white. this is broadly representative of the demographic profile of south africa. a total of 9 011 (42.8%) male students and 12 026 (57.2%) female students took part in this study and the four campuses and nine faculties of the university were proportionally represented in the sample. variables to investigate the relationship between ses and other variables, it was decided to use the living standards measure (lsm) instrument that was developed and refined by the south african advertising research foundation (saarf) (martins, 2006). the lsm measure was used as a recognised ses measure to investigate links to other student data obtained from the student profile questionnaire. the original lsm instrument was created in the 1980s; the updated universal living standards measure came into use in, and was refined from, 2001 (martins, 2006). the lsm subdivides the population into 10 lsm categories, which, for the purpose of this study, have been grouped into five groups. the development and testing of the spq is described in van zyl (2010) and van zyl et al. (2012). the relationships between 21 socio-demographic and academic variables with the five ses levels created from the lsm scores were investigated. the lsm levels were typified as low, medium low, medium high, high and very high. classification was done based on the lsm level divisions as per the saarf website (www.saarf.co.za). data analysis both variables in this study were categorical and, as a result, the chi-square test was selected to investigate the statistical association between them (agresti & finlay, 2009). the chi-square test assumes that no relationship between the variables exists and then tests that assumption statistically. the pearson chi-square value was used (pallant, 2005) to test if a statistically significant relationship between the two variables existed. while analysing the cross-tabs, a significance level of p = < 0.05 was used in selecting significant variables and cramer’s v was calculated to determine the effect size of the variables. the results obtained from the analyses for the whole group using lsm and selected socio-demographic variables are shown in table 1. andré van zyl: the contours of inequality 5 table 1: chi-square results for all variables with lsm level variable c2 df p cramer’s v gender 11.674 4 0.020 0.024 population group 2 485.712 12 <0.001 0.199 campus 236.303 12 <0.001 0.063 did you visit a campus before coming to university? 15.876 4 0.003 0.027 why are you studying? 49.010 28 0.008 0.024 which role does your family play in your studies? 54.740 16 <0.001 0.026 how easy will making friends be? 219.359 12 <0.001 0.059 have you considered changing course? 45.976 8 <0.001 0.033 self-rated english level 799.421 12 <0.001 0.113 how many books were there in the house in which you grew up? 1 592.084 20 <0.001 0.215 how many books have you read for fun in the past year? 355.544 12 <0.001 0.117 rate your english teacher’s english level 417.644 12 <0.001 0.130 for how many hours did you study at school? 112.952 16 <0.001 0.037 nbt quantitative lit. level 436.270 8 <0.001 0.175 nbt academic lit. level 486.653 8 <0.001 0.188 distance from campus 359.715 16 <0.001 0.065 where will you stay? 585.630 20 <0.001 0.083 are you worried about money stopping your studies ? 3 868.258 4 <0.001 0.429 how are you financed? 433.151 16 <0.001 0.072 which level of education does the parent with the highest level have? 288.936 20 <0.001 0.060 first-generation status 422.394 20 <0.001 0.071 note: statistically significant pre-entry attributes on the p ≤ 0.001 level shown in bold face standardised residuals chi-square results indicate a statistically significant relationship, but do not indicate where within the variables the relationship resided. by calculating standardised residuals for all instances where a statistically significant chi-square result was found, it was possible to see where in the variables the relationship was located (see table 2). the general rule for standardised residuals is that an absolute value of 2 or greater (or –2 or less) implied that there is a 95% chance that the variation had been caused by the one variable’s influence on the other. any standardised residual of 3 or more (or –3 or less) moved the level of certainty up to the 99% level (hinkle et al., 1988). a positive standardised residual indicated that the 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 observed frequency in that cell was higher than would be expected if no relationship was found. a negative residual indicated that the cell had a lower frequency than would be expected if no relationship existed. table 2: standardised residuals lsm and socio-demographic factors lsm level low medium low medium high high very high factor population group white −8.1 −14.7 −14.0 −10.3 35.1 indian −9.8 −4.8 −4.5 12 coloured 4.6 −3.8 −4.1 2.0 african 2.1 7.5 6.9 5.0 −15.6 campus campus 1 (city, degree focus) −3.3 −3.8 6.9 campus 2 (city, diploma focus) 3.8 campus 3 (inner city, diploma) 3.3 −3.8 campus 4 (city/informal) 2.0 4.5 4.9 −8.0 visit campus no −2.9 why study? because i really want to −2.4 2.2 family role shows some interest, not very involved 3.2 2.0 −3.9 making friends very tough −3.5 3.8 somewhat difficult 3.2 3.9 3.4 −8.5 very easy −5.0 6.7 considered changing course no −2.0 3.1 yes, but i did not change it −3.4 yes, and i changed it to something else 2.3 −2.8 english level first language −9.1 −8.4 −7.3 17.1 second language 6.7 6.0 5.5 −12.4 books in house none −11.3 −4.6 3.2 23.6 1 −4.6 2.6 4.9 andré van zyl: the contours of inequality 7 lsm level low medium low medium high high very high 2 to 10 −8.4 2.9 5.0 6.1 11 to 20 3.4 −6.9 21 to 50 8.9 −3.7 −3.9 −7.7 more than 50 14.2 −2.1 −4.7 −8.2 −7.6 books read none −4.2 −4.0 −2.2 15.2 fewer than 5 −5.0 fewer than 10 −4.9 english teacher first language 9.9 −3.1 −4.5 −7.9 second language (good) −9.4 3.5 4.9 7.0 third language (reasonable) −4.6 4.4 fourth (poor) 2.4 previous study habits fewer than 5 hours per week 2.3 −3.8 3.9 between 15 and 20 hours per week −2.7 more than 20 hours per week 2.0 2.1 −6.0 nbt quantitative lit. basic 4.3 3.8 3.7 −10.8 intermediate −2.7 5.9 proficient −4.0 −5.1 −4.5 12.6 nbt academic lit. basic 5.6 4.3 3.6 −10.8 proficient −4.6 −5.3 −6.6 14.4 distance from campus on campus −2.8 2.6 within easy walking distance 4.8 4.2 4.2 −9.4 less than 20 minutes’ drive away −2.4 3.6 between 20 minutes and one hour’s drive −3.4 −4.8 −2.4 7.7 more than one hour’s drive 2.1 2.7 2.0 2.7 −7.3 place of residence at home −6.4 −6.6 −6.3 12.9 institutional accommodation −2.2 2.2 4.1 3.9 −5.1 private accommodation (students only) 5.8 5.0 3.9 −10.9 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 lsm level low medium low medium high high very high (students and non-students) −2.0 not at home but with family or friends −2.0 other −2.0 3.5 worried about money yes 27.0 −5.3 −19.9 no −41.3 2.7 8.2 30.5 financial options parents will pay −5.0 −4.9 −4.8 10.1 loan 4.6 5.4 4.9 −10.9 bursary −4.2 3.8 3.7 −2.4 combination of answers 2.0 parental qualifications some schooling (not grade 12) 3.1 2.0 −2.5 completed grade 12 −3.0 2.5 2.5 2.2 −2.2 fewer than three years of study after grade 12 −2.4 a three-year qualification 4.0 −3.2 more than tree years of study after grade 12 −5.6 −6.4 −2.1 9.6 first-generation status first in family 2.0 −3.0 both parents to university −2.5 −3.3 3.5 parents not but a brother or sister 5.9 4.1 −8.2 many members of family attended −6.3 −6.4 −2.6 10.8 discussion the results above contain a variety of interesting trends. some confirm findings in other studies and others (especially amongst the low ses [lses] and the very high ses [vhses] groups) seem anomalous and require further investigation. using the standardised residuals to identify the details of the location of statistically significant relationships, three main groups emerged from the results above: the low ses group displayed a number of distinguishing attributes (group 1); the medium low ses (mlses), medium high ses (mhses), and high ses (hses) groups have a lot in common (group 2); and, the vhses group emerges as distinct in some ways (group 3). as was found by manik (2014, p. 159), and confirmed in groups 1 and 2 (as discussed below), the various types of “deprivations” suffered by poor students were not mutually exclusive and, as a matter of fact, tended to overlap. in the case of group 3, the various types andré van zyl: the contours of inequality 9 of advantage were also found to overlap. the findings also support the position of visser and van zyl (2013) with regard to the linking of population groups to relative advantage and/or disadvantage in the south african context. moreover, the findings support kuh et al. (2007), who found a statistically significant link between the finance methods students use and academic performance. the three groups that emerged from the analyses were, then, as follows: group 1: low-ses students the lses group consisted mostly of african students who tended to congregate on specific campuses of the university of johannesburg. this group of students used a combination of funding sources and in many cases they had to try any means they could to access the required funds. as a result, this group tended to be worried that a lack of funding would stop them from completing their studies. such students were also less likely to be able to access relatively costly institutional accommodation; as a result, they often had to travel for more than one hour to get to campus. on a social level, these students tended not to have a lot of parental support, confirming modipane’s (2011) notion that relative socio-economic status was linked with the likelihood that parents would support their children towards academic success. group 1 students also expected it to be difficult to make friends in the new environment. many of these students had to change their intended course of study at a late stage – indicating that they are likely not to be enrolled for their first-choice course. these students were also the most poorly prepared group academically, being more likely to have an academic literacies (al) and quantitative literacy (ql) national benchmark test (nbt) score in the basic band (and less likely to be in the proficient band). it is clear that students in this group have many risk factors and seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their way, but they still manage to gain entrance to university. the seemingly anomalous findings of this paper might give an indication of some of the enabling factors that allow students to make this heroic leap. these factors include that such students come from homes with many books, which is likely to indicate a reading culture and a value placed on education. these students were also likely to have read a number of books during the previous year and their parents seem to have tried to access further education. another enabling factor seemed to be that group 1 students had been taught english by someone who, in their perception, is an english first-language speaker. in summary, a literacy culture and value of education at home and a good english foundation seem to be enablers to get these very poor students into higher education. group 2: medium-low, medium-high and high-ses students the second group consists of students from the mlses, mhses and hses groups. this “middle group” has a lot in common and tended to show very similar patterns. this group consisted mostly of african students who tended to be distributed more evenly (less so for mlses) amongst the four campuses of the university. socially, they expected some difficulty in making friends, but they did not have a propensity to change their course at a 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 4(1) 2016, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.141 late stage. this group tended to come from homes with a moderate number of books and they were likely to have read at least a few books in the previous year. students were likely to report that english was not their first language and that the main person who taught them english was not an english first-language speaker. these students also tend to report that they worked relatively hard at school, but they tended to be more likely to be in the basic band (and less likely to be in the proficient band) for both the nbt al and ql tests. these students tended either to stay in institutional accommodation or in communes relatively close to campus; they were less likely to stay at home. this meant that students in this group tended either to be able to walk to campus or had to travel for more than one hour to get to campus. students tended to be less worried about money and they either used a bursary or a loan to fund their studies. it is likely that many of these students qualified for, and were able to access, national student financial aid scheme (nsfas) loans. the parental education of students in group 2 tended to be up to grade 12 level, with few students having parents with more than a three-year qualification after school – as a result, these students also tended to be first-generation university entrants. group 3: very-high-ses students the last group were from the vhses group and tended to represent the privileged minority. they were less likely to be african and were unevenly distributed amongst the institutional campuses. students in group 3 tended to report that they wanted to study, but contrary to the findings of modipane (2011), their parents were not very involved in their studies. socially, students either expected it to be very easy or very difficult to make friends, and they were not likely to have considered changing course. these students were much more likely to be english first-language speakers, and they tended to be more likely to score in the proficient nbt bands. group 3 students tended to stay at home or on campus and have a moderate (less than one hour) commute to get to class. on the financial front, students tended not to be worried about money, and their main funding source was their parents (they were less likely to use a loan or a bursary). these students also tended to come from homes where higher education was something normal and where many members of their family had gone before them. the analyses of the vhses group also contained some seemingly anomalous findings, which put their seemingly strong position to succeed in higher education (explained above) at risk. more so than expected, vhses students reported having no or one book in the house where they grew up and fewer than expected reported that they had more than 10 books (all categories). more students than expected in this group reported not having read any books for fun in the previous year, and fewer than expected reported having read 10 or fewer books. more students than expected in this group reported having studied for fewer than five hours a week at school and fewer than expected reported studying for 15 or more hours a week. these results seem to suggest that the advantaged background of vhses students allows them easier access to higher education, but at the same time their poor literacy and study habits put them at risk of finding the transition into higher education particularly difficult. andré van zyl: the contours of inequality 11 conclusion although it is difficult for institutions to address the financial problems that students experience directly, detailed early advice may be one possible strategy to lessen the impact of a lack of financial resources on student success. students who anticipate the financial struggles they could encounter before they arrive are a lot more likely to persist when compared with those who are surprised by this challenge (hawley & harris, 2005, p. 133). although it is a well-known fact that ses in south africa is unequally divided and still strongly delineated along racial lines, these conclusions in themselves can often obscure the truth about the challenges that students from different ses groups face. it is clear that both poverty (and its effects) and wealth (and its effects) create very high levels of inequality in an entering cohort, as well as in their experiences of higher education. from these findings, it becomes clear that each of the broad ses groups brings its own strengths and weaknesses to the higher education endeavour. students from the very low ses band come with many obstacles, but they also have unexpected strengths (such as literacy-friendly home and school environments). these students are most likely to drop out because of financial reasons and they seem to have less access to nsfas than groups that are slightly higher on the ses ladder. students in the middle group tend to be less worried about money and able to access external funding, but they seem to be less well prepared from social background, schooling and academic perspectives. students in the vhses group, on the other hand, seem to bring potential strengths, but their academic and literacy habits as well as parental support and commitment seem to be lacking. these different descriptions – drawn from the university of johannesburg – clearly show why a one-size-fits-all approach to student support and development will not work. this also holds important implications for many other south african institutions, as their student populations are increasingly representative of the country’s population. as is the case with regards to many other attributes, students from different ses levels clearly have different needs, and institutions of higher learning should customise their interventions to the identified needs of these groups. references agresti, a., & 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(2004). retention and student success in higher education. maidenhead, uk: the society for research into higher education, open university press. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi:10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.14277 41 www.jsaa.ac.za research article mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project at walter sisulu university in south africa: a proposed framework for emergency remote teaching and learning rushiella n. songca,i clever ndebeleii & munienge mbodilaiii i prof. rushiella nolundi songca is the vice-chancellor and principal at walter sisulu university, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-2738-6615. email: rsongca@wsu.ac.za ii prof. clever ndebele is senior director: learning and teaching at walter sisulu university, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-4258-4812. email: gcndebele@wsu.ac.za iii mr munienge mbodila is acting head of department, information technology systems, faculty of economics & information technology systems at the komani campus of walter sisulu university, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-4158-9037. email: mmbodila@wsu.ac.za abstract walter sisulu university (wsu) in south africa, like other universities worldwide, is faced with the challenges associated with the outbreak of the covid‑19 pandemic. the challenge has changed our day‑to‑day lives, including the way we interact and conduct business. in the midst of this, wsu has had to change the way learning and teaching occurs. traditional face‑to‑face tuition had to be adapted by moving to the online mode of teaching and learning to both minimise the time lost in the academic project and protect staff and students from the devastating effects of the virus. this article reflects the actions taken by the university and describes its pilot‑project approach to online learning and those processes it has put in place to ensure its effective implementation. while it is accepted that switching to an online mode of teaching and learning can facilitate flexibility in space and time, the reality is that the majority of students at wsu – mainly due to their geographical and socio‑economic environments – experience daily challenges ranging from poor network coverage, lack of internet connectivity, lack of electricity and other socio‑economic impediments that make online learning stressful or beyond their reach. in this article, we present a model that could be used by higher education institutions (heis) to respond to covid‑19 in the short term. the proposed model is underpinned by a framework that caters for students who are readily able to access online learning, students with intermittent access to online facilities and finally, students who cannot access online education. first, we provide a brief description of online learning, highlighting the challenges presented to teaching and learning by this approach. we argue that our context and education policies present additional problems that militate against the adoption of online strategies by most heis. in the final instance, we present a framework that is better suited to our context and can be used during and after the lockdown. data were collected using online questionnaires with both structured and open‑ ended questions from both lecturers and students to determine their experiences with the testing project. lastly, we draw conclusions based on the findings of the study. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:rsongca%40wsu.ac.za?subject= mailto:gcndebele%40wsu.ac.za?subject= mailto:mmbodila%40wsu.ac.za?subject= 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.14277 keywords covid‑19; emergency remote teaching; higher education; ict; online learning; pilot project; rural universities; teaching and learning introduction walter sisulu university (wsu), like all other contact universities in south africa and the world, had to change its mode of teaching and learning following the outbreak of covid‑19. in south africa, following the announcement of the nationwide lockdown level 5 by the president of the republic on 26 march 2020, higher education phase  1 response started, accompanied by an emergency planning phase for the sector (council on higher education [che], 2020). at wsu, this planning phase was characterised by university management working to ensure that there were communication devices and access to data for students and staff, and by academic staff creating online material to be delivered to students. as shown in the wsu 2020‑2030 draft strategic plan, before the covid‑19 pandemic, the university had adopted the blended learning approach as the delivery model for teaching and learning through the application of technology‑enhanced pedagogies to address some of the key challenges in teaching and learning (wsu, 2020a). the outbreak of covid‑19 at the beginning of 2020 brought to the fore an urgent need for the university to implement alternative measures to deliver tuition. in the scramble to save the academic year and with insufficient time to plan and implement online learning, many institutions, including wsu, introduced what has now come to be described as emergency remote teaching and learning (murphy, 2020; hodges et al., 2020; che, 2020). some universities were able to adjust relatively smoothly to a multi‑modal distance learning and teaching environment; but some have not been able to do so. as per wsu term 2 quarterly report 2020, wsu fell into the latter category (wsu, 2020b). in response to the national initiatives, wsu adopted a primarily online and technology‑infused tuition delivery model with a clear delivery plan intended to seamlessly replace the contact model. under the contact model, which the institution is accredited to offer by the south african department of higher education and training (dhet), although a blended learning approach was adopted, the integration of technology in teaching and learning was very low before the advent of covid 19. a technical task team was established in early april 2020 to develop online policies and other related guidelines. the team comprised academic and non‑academic staff with experience in teaching online and information communication technology (ict). this team was at the forefront of driving the online learning project at wsu. the team, which was inclusive of deans, campus rectors, and other relevant staff members, met regularly to monitor progress and assess the implementation of agreed‑upon interventions. the team approached the challenge by means of a pilot project, which this article describes and evaluates. this pilot project was intended to ensure the effective use of technology to aid teaching and learning at wsu. the aim of this article is threefold. first, it discusses online teaching as an emergency resource during the pandemic and highlights the dynamics engendered by this model of teaching and learning. secondly, we argue that our context and education policies present r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 43 additional problems that militate against the adoption of online approaches by most universities in south africa, especially historically disadvantaged universities such as wsu. in the final instance, we offer a framework that is best suited to the wsu context and could be used during and after the lockdown. the framework is drawn from our experience of the pilot project implemented to introduce online learning in response to the national lockdown resulting from the covid‑19 pandemic. lastly, we draw conclusions based on the findings of the case study of the pilot project. conceptual framework due to the outbreak of the covid‑19 pandemic, many institutions, including wsu, cancelled face‑to‑face (f2f) classes and moved all their courses online to continue teaching and learning while keeping both staff and students safe during periods of hard lockdown. globally, at the turn of the 21st century, many institutions started to use computers to teach online, and soon thereafter, elearning was adopted to characterise the use of technologies, specifically computers and the internet (sangra et al., 2012; lauran et al., 2012; el‑seoud et al., 2014) to teach. during the pandemic, many schools and universities closed to keep students and teachers safe and adopted online multi‑modal models to teach in order to continue teaching and learning. as a result, distance learning, remote learning and elearning approaches have taken centre stage during the pandemic and have been adopted by many institutions in varying degrees (williamson et al., 2020). online learning online learning characterises 21st‑century educational systems. as it entails the provisioning of programmes to students separated by distance, some researchers argue that it evolved from distance learning (sangra et al., 2012). initially, elearning was understood to refer to education mediated through computers and the internet. initially terms such as ‘computer‑based learning’, ‘computer‑training’, ‘technology‑based learning’ were used before being replaced by elearning. recently, the term ‘online learning’ has gained more traction (sangra et al., 2012). online learning is difficult to define. research reveals that online learning has no single definition, and the original definition has since been expanded to include anything delivered, enabled or mediated by electronic technology for the explicit purpose of learning (li & masters, 2009; el‑seoud et al., 2014). li and masters (2009, p. 246) argue that the ‘e’ in elearning is not only about electronics but should be understood to encapsulate the distinguishing characteristics of elearning namely, “evolving, enhanced, everywhere, every time and everybody”. the change in the conceptualisation and application of elearning has resulted in the adoption of online learning as a substitute for elearning. the latter reflects the multi‑media nature of learning inclusive of the use of social media and communication platforms such as whatsapp, facebook and others (ramakrisnan et al., 2012). for the purposes of this article, online learning and elearning – as defined by li and masters (2009) – are used interchangeably. 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 online instruction is less personal than f2f because of a lack of physical proximity between the learner and the teacher; therefore teachers are expected to employ techniques to make the classroom more interactive to motivate the students (el‑seoud et al., 2014). to be successful, teaching online requires online instructor readiness and their ability to be flexible and adapt to formal and less formal teaching methods (el‑seoud et al., 2014). moreover, successful online teaching requires varied approaches relating to delivery and feedback on assessment and the instructors’ continued presence online (roddy & lodge, 2017; tanis, 2020). according to luaran et al. (2014), online learning is referred to as a learning system that maximises the use of hardware and technologies and occurs online synchronously or offline asynchronously. interactions vary and include interactions between learner‑ instructor, learner‑content and learner‑learner (ramakrisnan et al., 2012; el‑seoud et al., 2014; roddy & lodge, 2017; tanis, 2020). online support is critical to students’ learning and comes in a variety of channels such as chat rooms, e‑mails, e‑tutors. it provides students with answers to specific questions and enhances their understanding of a given task or content (ramakrisnan et al., 2012; luaran et al., 2012). online learning, unlike emergency remote teaching (ert), is a carefully designed process that has distinctive pedagogical dimensions such as modality, the role of online assessment and the role of the instructor (hodges et al., 2020). online learning also requires an effective eco‑system of learner support to ensure that learners are adapting to novel ways of teaching and learning and receive the necessary support to do so. however, in most instances, these types of support initiatives take time to identify and build which is not always possible in the case of an emergency such as the one we currently face. online learning is often designed purposely to be remote and distant; it is accessible and voluntary and unlike ert not urgent and has the full support of the faculty and students (university of the people, 2020). planning, developing and preparing a fully online course can take six to nine months before the course is delivered (hodges et al., 2020). emergency remote teaching the pandemic created a situation where we did not have the luxury of time to develop online learning as described above. in response we turned to ert which by its nature facilitates swift response time and rapid implementation. ert occurs when there is a departure, albeit temporarily, from the traditional mode of learning. when this shift occurs, f2f teaching is flipped or turned into digital education (university of the people, 2020; hodges et al., 2020). ert is precipitated by a crisis that prevents traditional f2f teaching from taking place. consequently, when this occurs alternative learning models such as online lessons, radio lessons, and blended learning may have to be introduced as temporary emergency measures to ensure that learning continues (university of the people 2020; hodges et al., 2020). ert provides temporary access to instruction and provides lecturers with an opportunity to be creative and innovative. however, implementation of ert in various countries, including south africa, presents challenges to both students and lecturers alike. a study of the impact of elearning amongst nursing students and teachers in nepal r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 45 (sudedi et al., 2020) revealed that institutions in many parts of the world, including those in south africa, grapple with similar problems. for example, teachers and students face difficulties when studying or teaching at home. moreover, socio‑economic conditions and technological skills or lack thereof may act as hindrances to the elearning process. the nepalese study and experiences encountered at wsu revealed that some students and lecturers had to be trained in the use of technology before they could work online. many lecturers may find the process of teaching online stressful because they were suddenly expected to traverse unfamiliar territory (morgan, 2020). this was also the case at wsu. the adoption (often in a rapid manner) can result in lecturers and students claiming that they are practising online teaching and learning although this assertion is inaccurate because there are clear differences between ert and online teaching, not least of which relate to the time taken to prepare for and implement full‑scale online learning (university of the people, 2020; hodges et al., 2020). wsu has support staff who train both academics and students to teach and learn online. however, with the move to online and increased demand for support, these support teams may be unable to deal with the increased demand as will be shown in the results’ section of this article. before covid‑19 descended upon us, very few academics at wsu were taking up the training, and those who did often needed re‑training because they never actually taught digitally in practice due to a lack of access to technological tools. the nepal study revealed similar challenges (sudedi et al., 2020). the success of remote teaching and learning also hinges on the ability to use a learning management system (lms) and the reliability of those systems. universities located in rural areas such as wsu have to contend with weak internet service and low bandwidth internet. even those with high bandwidth internet have to deal with service interruptions or services slowing down due to collective consumption as more people use internet at home and work during the lockdown (sudedi et al., 2020; williamson et al., 2020). these challenges are disruptive and have a negative impact on remote teaching. therefore, institutions have to be innovative and flexible. according to williamson, eynon and porter (2020), not all young people are necessarily digitally savvy or ‘digital natives’. the use of technology is multidimensional and in as much as young people can use technologies a critical minority of young people is excluded entirely (see williamson et al., 2020). some students at wsu, for example, expressed their inability to navigate the lms and unfamiliarity working with a laptop and learning online. in addition, although wsu was at the forefront amongst historically disadvantaged universities in providing laptops and data access to students as shown in the case study below, nonetheless socio‑economic factors and other challenges faced by students threatened to undermine these interventions. the case study the setting of this case study is the south african higher education system, where there are great levels of inequality between institutions due to their differing geographic locations, levels of resourcing, cultural, racial and political histories (leibowitz et al., 2015; leibowitz et al., 2017). under apartheid and colonialism, social inequalities were embedded and 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 reflected in all spheres of social life, including the higher education system as a product of the systemic exclusion of blacks and women (badat, 2010). badat further argues that this differentiation and diversification along lines of race and ethnicity, resulted in the advantaging in various ways of the historically white institutions and the disadvantaging of the historically black institutions. even after twenty‑six years of democracy, the remnants of apartheid remain and student experiences in historically black universities (located predominantly in rural areas) are undesirable because of isolation, neglect and poor resource provisioning (hsrc, 2005; ndebele et al., 2017). thus, leibowitz et al. (2017, p. 30) aver: in the south african context, history and geography intersect: whether a university was ‘previously disadvantaged’ and continues to be under‑resourced; and whether its physical location affects the institution’s ability to attract and retain academic staff, and in this way, impacts on teaching quality. given its rural location, this case study shows that where wsu is located presents on the one hand an opportunity for the use of online formats in the delivery of teaching and learning to compensate for geographic isolation; on the other hand, there is often the challenge of technical and professional support for the smooth operation of online platforms (mollenkopf, 2009; ndebele et al., 2016). wsu was established on 1 july 2005 through a merger of two polytechnics and a university, i.e. the former border technikon, eastern cape technikon and university of transkei in terms of the higher education act 101 of 1997, as amended. wsu operates under a divisional governance and management system and has four campuses, each headed by a campus rector. the four campuses are spread across four distant locations in the eastern cape province of south africa, namely in mthatha, butterworth, buffalo city and komani (formerly queenstown). the mthatha campus, which comprises five faculties, is composed of three delivery sites, namely: nelson mandela drive site, zamukulungisa heights site and nkululekweni site. butterworth campus, consisting of three faculties is only one delivery site. the buffalo city campus consists of three faculties and comprises six delivery sites spread across the city of east london, namely: cambridge street site; buffalo city stadium site; heritage building site; college street site; chiselhurst site and potsdam site. komani campus with two faculties has two delivery sites, namely: whittlesea site and grey street site. the university is currently in the process of finalising its next strategic plan 2020‑2030 (wsu, 2020a) and underpinning the new strategic plan. the following draft new vision 2030 has been crafted in which wsu is to be a “value‑driven, technology‑infused african university providing a gateway for local talent to be globally competitive and make a sustainable socio‑economic impact.” to realise the vision, the mission of the university is as follows: “through quality teaching and learning, innovative research and community engagement, wsu inspires future‑ready graduates to become responsible citizens who are able to address complex societal challenges in critical, ethical, scholarly, sustainable and entrepreneurial ways.” r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 47 inspired by the liberation struggle stalwart walter sisulu after whom the university is named, and guided by our country’s foundational norms, the university accepts as its core values: academic freedom; honesty and integrity; quality and excellence; dignified, ubuntu‑ botho‑led behaviour; incorporating respect for oneself, other persons and property; and humility, selflessness and service orientation. the student enrolment at wsu has increased from a total of almost 26 000 student headcounts in 2015 to just above 33 000 in 2019. women account for 56% of the student body, and 99% of the student population are black africans. the university draws most of its students from high schools located in the eastern cape, a province considered to be one of the poorest in the country. the majority of students enrolled at wsu (88%) are from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds (wsu, 2020a). prior to covid‑19, wsu used blackboard as the lms which means that there was a system in place for blended teaching and learning as well as to share information and communicate with students. on 7 august 2018, wsu announced the blackboard mobile app and blackboard collaborate tool as additional tools to the course management system which made blended teaching and learning, interaction and communication with students more all‑in‑one. the potential benefits of blackboard include: (i) increased availability, (ii) quick feedback, (iii) improved communication, (iv) tracking, and (v) skill building (bradford et al., 2007). however, the majority of lecturers at wsu were not fully utilising the tools to enhance teaching and learning. challenges such as technology adoption, skills, connectivity, network coverage, tools of trade and many more were amongst the major obstacles for many academics and students to make full use of the lms. the online presence prior covid‑19 was made of only a few groups of academics, who in our context are called elearning champions. to overcome this, a multi‑modal approach was proposed and piloted phases presented in the following section. case study phases the multi‑modal approach at wsu, under the five lockdown levels, is represented diagrammatically in figure 1 below. • needs assessment for online learning. • senate approval of emergency teaching and learning plan. phase 1 lockdown level 5 • pilot testing for remote learning. • asynchronous learning continues for all students. • university academic calendar amendment. • remote learning continues. phase 2 lockdown level 4 • distribution of laptops and loading of data for students. • decision to delay return of students until beginning of september. • remote learning continues. phase 3 lockdown level 3 • preparations for return of 50% of the students. phase 4 lockdown level 2 • hundred per cent of the students return. • online learning continues with restricted f2f contact only for practical subjects. • collection of laptops continues for those students who could not be reached during levels 2, 3 and 4. • implementation of alternative assessment where necessary. phase 5 lockdown level 1 figure 1: summary of the phases of the online multi-modal teaching approach 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 phase 1: lockdown level 5, march/april 2020 following the lockdown pronouncement at the end of march 2020, an emergency multi‑modal teaching plan was developed and approved by the senate. thereafter, various policies and procedures on remote learning such as ‘quality standards for online learning, guidelines for online assessments’ and ‘wsu new approach to teaching and learning during covid‑19’ were developed. this was followed by a communiqué to all deans requesting them to indicate laptop needs for all staff. four hundred academics out of approximately eight hundred and fifty stated that they did not have laptops. procurement of laptops for all academics, including part‑time academics, commenced. simultaneously, a survey was sent to all students to determine their online learning device needs. 87% indicated that they needed laptops for learning and teaching. a decision was taken to issue all academics with 10 gb of data and all students with 30 gb of data, 10 gb during daytime and 20 gb at night. following dhet communication on funding of laptops for students funded by the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas), the university procured 21 000 laptops and commenced distributing these to students at their homes using various service providers. the distribution of laptops commenced in mid‑june 2020 and continued until august 2020 throughout the country using both courier companies and the university’s own transport department. students who could not be reached for any reason collected their laptops when they arrived on campus when the country moved to lockdown level 1. to prepare for the roll‑out of ert, a decision was taken to pilot online learning, to test the readiness, effectiveness and the usability of the learning model and the related systems to achieve effective and efficient learning and teaching. a sample size of 500 students was selected from four campuses of wsu. a consent form and a pre‑testing and post‑testing questionnaire were designed. specific objectives of the pilot testing were defined as follows: (i) examine the extent to which, in the opinion of both lecturers and the students, the training offered to lecturers has enabled them to deliver lectures online competently. in other words, are lecturers able to, for example, competently record lectures, upload recorded lessons and study materials to lms, and share the link to the lectures with students? (ii) assess lecturers’ ability to competently conduct ‘live’ online lectures. in other words, are lecturers able to log in to the online platform, invite students to join the forum, share documents ‘live’ during lectures, and stimulate interaction with students during online lectures? (iii) determine students’ actual access to study materials loaded on lms or couriered physically (for those on ‘distance learning’ mode of delivery). in other words, are students able to access study materials on time? (iv) evaluate students’ participation efficacy in terms of their ability to log in to join ‘live’ lectures, hear the lecturer clearly, and interact with the lecturer during an online lecture. (v) examine students’ and lecturers’ levels of satisfaction with the quality of ‘help’ received from support staff, such as ict and faculty office. r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 49 the results of the pilot exercise are presented in the next section. it is worth noting that because so many students (and many academics) did not have access to computers and data off‑campus, the previous use of the lms or any other form of online learning was minimal. this is unlike at historically advantaged universities where data and laptops may have been more readily available to staff and students. in these institutions, the shift under covid‑19 was mainly an increase in their online presence and maybe involved consideration of issues of student engagement and online assessment. while this may all be complicated, it is nowhere close to the wsu experience. to prepare for both the testing and the eventual rollout of online learning and teaching, massive training of staff was conducted on the use of the lms on aspects such as uploading of learning materials for students to access and the population of module sites. asynchronous instruction proved to be preferable to synchronous activities, especially for under‑digitised students. given our context and the fact that our self‑hosted blackboard lms was struggling to cope with the demand, lecturers were advised to use microsoft teams and other platforms. this meant that academics also had to be trained in the use of these alternative platforms. therefore, teams of academic ‘experts’ in the different faculties were established to assist other lecturers who were struggling with the use of these alternative teaching platforms. it soon became clear that the support interventions had to be enhanced. these teams also collaborated across faculties and began to share ideas and best practices. phase 2: lockdown level 4, may/june 2020 to ensure a smooth pilot stage, tablets were distributed to the 500 students and data loaded for the pre‑testing pilot on the students’ cell phone numbers. a pre‑testing questionnaire was sent to the students together with the tablets to assess their readiness in terms of devices, network coverage, internet access, location and other challenges that may affect their participation in the online infused teaching and learning. after the testing, a post‑ testing questionnaire was sent to both students and lecturers to determine the levels of satisfaction as well as to measure whether the pilot addressed the objective of the testing. the pilot testing phase was conducted during june 2020 with regular weekly feedback timelines to allow the expeditious initiation of corrective measures as well as a post‑ implementation review. according to welman and kruger (1999), the value of a pilot study is to determine possible flaws in measurement procedure, identify unclear items in a project as well as the behaviour of the participants about any discomfort experienced concerning an item in a questionnaire. in their research, lee, whitehead, jacques and julious (2014) agreed that the primary goal of a pilot is to offer adequate assurance to permit a big definitive test to be undertaken. the testing process was scientifically and academically sound, addressing key points of strategic implications to achieve a clear and coordinated selection process, implementation plan as well as clear definition of testing units. the actual pilot testing process occurred over four weeks, and in figure 2 are the weekly processes involved during the testing. 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 platforms • wiseup (blackboard) • microsoft teams classes • synchronous • asynchronous activities • lectures • assessments • discussions feedback • students • lecturers figure 2: weekly processes involved during the testing • platforms: online access for teaching and learning during the testing, wiseup (blackboard) was used as the primary lms and microsoft teams as an additional elearning platform to leverage online teaching. • classes: during the testing classes were conducted in both synchronised and unsynchronised online delivery mode and a standard timetable was used to avoid clashes. • activities: besides regular lectures, students were given weekly tasks such as assessments, quizzes as well as participation in discussion groups. • feedback: to observe students’ and lecturers’ levels of satisfaction during the testing, a weekly survey was conducted using an online questionnaire. while the testing was taking place, to salvage the academic year, a decision was taken to commence with asynchronous learning for the rest of the student population where students were sent materials by academics through various platforms such as the lms, whatsapp, microsoft teams and google docs to mention a few. a synopsis of the testing pilot results the responses of the testing pilot from the four campuses are presented in this section according to the critical objectives of the testing. table 1 shows the number of participants per campus according to their faculty. the pilot testing was conducted over four weeks, and data were collected using online questionnaires with both structured and open‑ended questions from both lecturers and students to determine their experiences with the testing project. the presented results respond to the primary keys objectives of the testing pilot. one of the objectives of the pilot was to ascertain the extent to which training provided in the university enabled lecturers to deliver online lectures, for example, competently record lectures, upload recorded lessons and study materials to lms, and share the link to the lessons with students. most lecturer participants from all the campuses indicated that training enabled them to deliver online classes as well as uploading of learner guides, study materials and other supporting material in the lms. some of them were even able to upload videos, youtube links, and voice‑over powerpoint. this preliminary result goes along with other studies that show that training is one of the factors that needs to be considered by an institution before the implementation of elearning (mbodila et al., 2019; shamase, 2016; vale, 2016; arden, 2014). according to mbodila et al. (2019), staff training is a fundamental factor that equips them with essential technological and pedagogical skills related to ict use in learning and teaching. r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 51 table 1: number of participants per campus campus faculty number of participants level of study mthatha faculty of commerce and administration (fca) 75 level 1 = 25 level 2 = 25 level 3 = 25 faculty of natural sciences (fns) 35 level 1 = 15 level 2 = 10 level 3 = 10 faculty of educational sciences (feds) 35 level 1 = 15 level 2 = 10 level 3 = 10 butterworth faculty of education science (fed) 45 level 1 = 25 level 2 = 10 level 3 = 10 faculty of engineering and technology 59 level 1 = 29 level 2 = 15 level 3 = 15 buffalo city faculty of science, engineering and technology (fset) 125 level 1 = 45 level 2 = 40 level 3 = 40 komani faculty of education and school improvement (fedsi) 60 level 1 = 20 level 2 = 20 level 3 = 20 faculty of economics and information systems (feits) 20 level 1 = 10 level 2 = 5 level 3 = 5 lecturers 38 online tutors 46 total 538 the study also sought to identify any challenges lecturers and students experienced concerning logging into the online platform, inviting students to join the forum, sharing documents ‘live’ during lectures, and stimulating interaction with students during online lectures. both lecturers and student participants reported that they were able to access the online platform, download, and share study materials effectively. participants also indicated that they used various platforms for sharing and conducting live classes; however, most students were using the lms (wiseup) to download study material that was zero‑rated by various mobile services. lecturers and students also indicated that microsoft team was the platform most frequently used for synchronous, live classes. figure 3 shows the platforms that were mostly used during the testing pilot. 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 figure 3: online platforms for synchronous class (n=492) on a question as to whether or not students were able to access study materials on time, students indicated that they were able to access learning materials. however, with the challenge of the connectivity, not all of them managed to get such materials on time or participate in all the synchronous classes. this challenge is because most wsu students are located in rural areas where the network connectivity is poor which caused problems for live streaming as well as downloading or uploading materials. this shows that wsu in south africa, like universities in other developing countries, grapples with infrastructural inequalities (see subedi et al., 2020, p. 70; williamson et al., 2020, p. 110). although people may have internet access, people in city centres often enjoy faster internet compared to those living in rural areas (see sudedi et al., 2020). similarly, when asked if they were able to log in to join ‘live’ lectures, hear the lecturer clearly, and interact with the lecturer during online lessons, the participants indicated that the internet connection was a challenge most of the time during synchronous classes. hence, they had experienced challenges in joining live lectures, hearing the lecturers clearly while interacting with the rest of the class. the issue of network coverage in certain parts of south africa, particularly in the rural areas in the eastern cape province, is still a significant delaying aspect in rolling out online teaching and learning at wsu. students’ home environments as shown in this case study presented obstacles for students studying from home during the lockdown. some students live in small households with their siblings and extended family members. these experiences further militate against participation in synchronous learning for students living in these circumstances. in addition, young people who do not ordinarily have digital access in their homes are likely to have fewer digital skills and this may undermine their ability to learn effectively (see also williamson et al., 2020). the quality of internet access presents real challenges for students in rural south african universities such as wsu as well as the university of fort hare, university of r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 53 limpopo, university of venda and the university of zululand. to address this, most lecturers used asynchronous approaches for teaching to allow students to access study materials at a convenient time, and they adopted multi‑modal pathways such as video recorded mini‑lessons and made use of social media and communication platforms such as whatsapp (see also morgan, 2020, p. 137). a standard likert scale was used to determine the extent to which both students and lecturers were satisfied with the quality of ‘help’ received from support staff, such as ict and faculty offices. participants selected responses which ranged from 5, indicating strongly agreeing to 0 indicating strongly disagreeing with the statements given. figures 4 and 5 illustrate the responses of students and lecturers, respectively. figure 4: students’ overall satisfaction with the quality of help (n=454) figure 4 shows that 54% of the students found the support they received in connection with connectivity issues either fair, agreed or strongly agreed that support was adequate, while 46% either did not receive any support at all, disagreed or strongly disagreed that there was any support. the fact that almost half the respondents were dissatisfied with ict support was cause for concern. concerning support from the faculty, specifically the head of department or the dean, 46% of the respondents found such support either fair, agreed that they received enough support, or strongly agreed that support was adequate. in comparison, 54% either did not receive any support at all, disagreed or strongly disagreed that there was any support. again, the fact that more than half of the students did not receive any support at all is cause for concern. a further question sought to find out student satisfaction with support from the lecturers. 58% found such support either fair, agreed that they received enough support or strongly agreed that support was adequate while 42% either did not receive any support at all, disagreed or strongly disagreed that there was any support. it would have been expected that at least more support would have been received from the lecturers who interacted with students daily online. to mitigate these challenges, a call centre was established in the university with a dedicated operator from each faculty responsible for receiving all student queries. the call centre also has representative operators from support functions such as the teaching and learning centre, student affairs and the ict department. this is expected 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 to help improve student support as the university moves to level 2 of the lockdown. it should be noted that all of these decisions had to be made against a backdrop of significant institutional financial constraints. a standard likert scale questionnaire with a scale ranging from 1 to 5 and not applicable (n/a) was used to determine lecturers’ satisfaction with the quality of ‘help’ received from support staff, such as ict and faculty offices: 1 = very dissatisfied; 2 = dissatisfied; 3 = neither dissatisfied nor satisifed; 4 = satisfied; 5 = very satisfied; and n/a = not seeking such help. figure 5: lecturers’ overall satisfaction with the quality of help (n=38) concerning lecturer satisfaction with connectivity issues, 90% of the lecturers who responded to the question found the support satisfactory by either agreeing or strongly agreeing that support was adequate (10% indicated not applicable to the question). with regard to support from the faculty, specifically the heads of departments, again the vast majority either agreed or strongly agreed that support was adequate (90%) while 10% indicated that the question was not applicable to them. a further question that sought to find out lecturer satisfaction with support from the dean revealed that 80% of the lecturers either agreed or strongly agreed that support was adequate. the positive feedback from the lecturers could be attributed to the fact that in preparation for ert the university issued laptops and data cards to academics and academic support staff who directly support online learning. in order to mitigate challenges experienced by lecturers in the faculties, academics who are experts in elearning were identified as champions in their respective departments so that they could assist other lecturers experiencing challenges. in addition, lecturers could also use the call centre. this is expected to help improve student support as the university moves to level 2 of the lockdown. phase 3: lockdown level 3, june/july/august 2020 armed with the results from the testing phase, and some of the intervention measures discussed above, the 29 june 2020 was set as the roll‑out date for online learning to all students. a continuous reflective questionnaire was developed for online learning to enable continuous feedback from both lecturers and students during the roll‑out. the university calendar was adjusted to end in february 2021. while laptops had been procured for funded students as this would be recouped from their grants and bursaries, debate on unfunded students in light of the “no student to be left behind” principle continued. the students’ r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 55 representative council argued that if no student was to be left out of the online learning and teaching process as indicated by the minster of higher education and training, then all students needed to be issued with laptops regardless of funding source. a resolution was eventually reached to issue laptops to all students who had requested them regardless of funding. due to the dispersed geographical location of students throughout the country, challenges concerning the distribution of laptops soon emerged. the main challenges in the delivery process were inadequate, incomplete, unverifiable or incorrect contact details, especially physical addresses and phone numbers, supplied by students despite a request made to them through an online survey to update their details on the university system. for example, some students had a postal box address in rural areas without a physical address. another challenge was the issue of students registering their parents’ contact details (e.g. cell phone numbers) on registration forms instead of their own numbers. to mitigate the challenges, ict at wsu developed an app called wsu website mobile verify to verify student and staff details. this application assisted students to update their information by including contact and address details. the issue of network connectivity also continued to affect many students. phase 4: lockdown level 2, august/september 2020 level 2 lockdown triggered preparation for the return of students from 24 august 2020. this date was brought forward from the originally set date of 2 september 2020 for those faculties and campuses that felt ready. during deliberations at senate, some campuses and faculties indicated that they were ready in terms of the covid‑19 health and safety protocols to accept students and were therefore given the green light to so. online learning continued with students only accessing facilities such as residences, library, and laboratories but accessing tuition from their residences. f2f tuition commenced under strict social distancing conditions only for students involved in practical subjects for which it is not possible to learn remotely. phase 5: lockdown level 1, september/october 2020 lockdown level 1 saw preparations for and the return of all students. a cautious approach was adopted where initially online learning continued with restricted f2f contact only for practical subjects. this was gradually relaxed with f2f allowed in venues with numbers as stipulated by the national coronavirus command council. collection of laptops continued for those students who could not be reached during levels 2, 3 and 4. implementation of alternative assessment was adopted where necessary to replace the traditional sit‑down examinations. following the upsurge in covid‑19 cases towards the end of november 2020 in the eastern cape province, all f2f tuition was suspended again in favour of online learning. online learning is set to continue when the 2021 academic year commences. proposed framework for online intervention the covid‑19 emergency has precipitated a much wider uptake of educational technology in the university, which had not been widespread prior to 2020. the benefits of such 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 use are undoubted and is one of the few ‘silver linings’ of the pandemic in our context. resistance to technology or lack of access to hardware, bandwidth and edtech proficiency had been at the heart of the low number of courses with an online presence prior to 2020, but the pandemic forced the institution’s hand in this regard and the achievement of the goal of blended learning will undoubtedly continue if and when wsu returns to contact classes for all in 2021 or beyond. a resolution has already been reached by the institutional management committee that at the resumption of the 2021 academic year online learning will continue. processes are already under way to procure 7 200 laptops for the anticipated 2021 first‑year intake. as part of our recommendations, we present in figure 6 a framework that can inform future long‑term interventions while providing both students and staff an effective online education. assessment of online teaching and learning testing pilot lecturers’ feedback students’ feedback evaluation of feedback lecturers’ support students’ support • training • tools of trade • e‑pal and e‑tutor • technical support • call centre • training • tools of trade • academic expert • refine online pace • refine policies / procedures • design online standards technical task team figure 6: proposed framework for online intervention • training of students, more specifically students registered with wsu for the first time, should be compulsory. training should include sessions on how to use the lms system. at a strategic level, the use of technologies should be integrated in the teaching and learning ecosystem of education. most of the learning activities should be done online, such as the submission of assignments, and technologies should be used as part of the students’ learning experience. regarding the latter, lecturers should provide students with opportunities to do projects, use digital tools to collect information, create presentations and so on. e‑tutor and technical support for students should form part r.n. songca, c. ndebele & m. mbodila. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project … 57 of student success initiatives. as part of the blended learning model, f2f tutors should either double up as e‑tutors, or e‑tutors should be appointed to augment the support provided by f2f tutors. technical support should readily be provided to students who may encounter technical problems in using their laptops or need to install software to be able to learn. • the establishment of a call centre to respond to or redirect student queries may alleviate most of the burden felt by support staff and lecturers in the faculties. the call centre is the first point of entry into the university and directs queries to the relevant departments. the centre deals with faculty‑specific issues, academic support and psychosocial support, thus enriching students’ learning experiences. • many historically disadvantaged universities were confronted with staff and students who lacked the tools of trade to work effectively online. universities, especially disadvantaged institutions, should budget for laptops (and associated maintenance and insurance costs) for staff as part of their recruitment processes. as far as students are concerned, arrangements are underway to ensure that part of the government national financial aid scheme (nfas) bursary allocated for the purchase of books, for example, goes towards the provisioning of laptops. • technical task teams should be established to help develop, refine policies, procedures and standards on online learning. these teams should comprise both academic and support staff. • providing training to staff to teach online is pivotal to the success of online learning. universities should forge partnerships with online universities both nationally and internationally and encourage academics to register for programmes on online teaching as part of their blended learning/online learning strategy and staff development. • the importance of establishing academic experts in the faculties is central to the success of online teaching. the experts provide assistance to lecturers struggling with online teaching and ameliorate the stresses associated with online learning. most universities do not have enough human resources to provide training for both students and staff. academic experts therefore provide this intervention to their own peers. these teams also collaborate across faculties and share best practices which helps with the buy‑in and provides staff with an opportunity to experiment with different platforms. • universities in far‑flung areas have experienced connectivity challenges. in addition, students from these areas also struggle with internet connectivity at home. consequently, asynchronous instruction, including the recording of short videos for students, should be the primary mode of teaching and learning. social media platforms such as whatsapp should be used as additional resources. conclusion although pandemic conditions may present challenges for education, they also afford higher education institutions an opportunity to craft long‑term solutions. moving forward, implementation of well‑thought‑out blended learning approaches will continue to leverage on the use of technologies and student and staff support frameworks as part 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 of the education eco‑system. research and reflexive teaching are central in refining and developing strategies for online learning. data analytics and monitoring and evaluation strategies are important interventions that will guarantee long‑term solutions. while blended learning is the way of the future, we are aware that is poses many other challenges that will become evident in the immediate future. these challenges will likely relate to the issue of pedagogy, staff and student capacitation, the realities of student under‑digitisation etc., which are challenges we hope to address in future submissions resulting from the wsu pilot project. in this article we have discussed ert as an emergency resource during times of disruption such as the covid‑19 pandemic and highlighted the dynamics and challenges engendered by this model of teaching and learning. secondly, we have argued that our context and education policies present additional problems that militate against the adoption of online approaches to teaching and learning. in the final instance, we have offered a framework that is best suited to the wsu context and could be used during and after the lockdown. the framework is drawn from our experience of the pilot project implemented to introduce online learning in response to the national lockdown resulting from the covid‑19 pandemic working with students who are readily able to access online learning, students with intermittent access to online facilities and students who cannot access online education. acknowledgements we would like to acknowledge the comments we received from the journal’s peer reviewers and editors which helped improve consecutive versions of this article. research ethics this research is based on reflections from participant observation in a pilot project and document analysis. while no ethics clearance was sought for the study, informed consent was obtained directly from participants through completion of informed consent forms. conflict of interest the authors have been personally involved in the practice described and analysed in this article and declare no conflict of interest. funding no funding has been received specifically for this study. the authors would like to acknowledge the time and resources and support availed by their university to conduct and write up this study. references badat, s. 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(2016, january 14). helping others is a no‑brainer. mail & guardian. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-onlinehttps://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-onlinehttps://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-14-41 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0029-5 https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel.2009.01.017 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1407 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1407 https://doi.org/10.31920/2050-4284/2019/8n2a3 https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2020.1751480 https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2020.1751480 https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2020.1761749 https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2020.1761749 https://doi.org/10.20853/30-6-728 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.11.356 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.11.356 https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00059 https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00059 https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v13i2.1161 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v9i4.3465 https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v9i4.3465 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 41‑60 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 subedi, s., nayaju, s., subedi, s., shah, s.k. & shah, j.m. (2020). the impact of e‑learning during covid‑19 pandemic among nursing students and teachers of nepal. international journal of science & healthcare research, 5(3), 68‑76. tanis, c.j. (2020). the seven principles of online learning: feedback from faculty and alumni on its importance for teaching and learning. research in teaching technology, 28(2319), 1‑25. https://doi. org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2319 university of the people (2020). emergency remote teaching vs online learning: a comparison. https://www. uopeople.edu/blog/emergency‑remote‑teaching‑vs‑online‑learning vale, p. (2016, january 14). say it in plain african language. mail & guardian. welman, j.c. & kruger, f. (2001). research methodology for the business and administrative sciences. oxford university press. williamson, b., eynon, r. & potter, j. (2020). pandemic politics, pedagogies and practices: digital technologies and distance education during coronavirus emergency. learning. media and technology 45(2), 107‑114. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1761641 wsu (walter sisulu university) (2020a). wsu draft 2020‑30 strategic plan. umtata: wsu. wsu (walter sisulu university) (2020d). wsu term 2 quarterly report 2020. umtata: wsu. how to cite: songca, r.n., ndebele, c. & mbodila, m. (2021). mitigating the implications of covid‑19 on the academic project at walt er sisulu universit y in sout h africa: a proposed framework for emergency remot e teaching and learning. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 41‑60. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1427 https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2319 https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2319 https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1761641 264 publications by african sun media teacher education for transformative agency: critical perspectives on design, content and pedagogy by carina america, nazeem edwards & maureen robinson (eds.) (2020) many teacher education programmes globally are undergoing significant changes in response to government policy, imperatives driven by global competitiveness, as well as local conditions. in the south african context, teacher education seeks to address the develop mental needs of the majority of its citizens. this book records and explores efforts by academic staff members in the faculty of education at stellenbosch university, seeking to present a coherent programme in  the postgraduate certificate in education. it examines how curri­ culum design unfolds across disciplines in the programme, and crucially, the commonalities in the presentation of course material. lecturers examine the purpose, structure and content of their teaching as they engage with putting democratic policy goals into practice in the core as well as subject­specific modules of the programme. isbn 978­1­928480­92­1 r365 190 pages isbn 978­1­928480­93­8 r295 (e­book) doi: 10.18820/9781928480938 the language issue in the teaching of mathematics in south africa: intermediate phase research from one province by lindiwe tshuma (2020) this book is a platform for further dialogue towards better serving learners in under­resourced multilingual settings. material is specifically intended for specialist intermediate phase mathematics lecturers tasked to educate mathematics teachers who must deliver content in english or through translanguaging /code switching /code mixing. it has a clear and straightforward writing style that pre­ and in­service teachers will find extremely useful. it includes practical cases that should be helpful in illustrating applicable learning points as support for academics. the book draws on a broad international perspective and at the same time refers to examples from the eastern cape, one of the south african provinces. the book highlights language and mathematics as pivotal parts of one whole. isbn 978­1­928480­96­9 r450 302 pages isbn 978­1­928480­97­6 r360 (e­book) doi: 10.18820/9781928480976 african sun media is an integrated content manager and specialist supplier of publishing and printing services for the higher education market and the private sector. we publish under the imprints sun press, sun media, sun oa (open access) and sunlit. most of our publications are available in electronic and print formats at: orders@africansunmedia.co.za amazon kindle & paperback africansunmedia.store.it.si (e­books) google books | takealot | facebook http://bit.ly/39vp3y5 http://bit.ly/39svlah https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928480938 https://bit.ly/3smvlip https://bit.ly/3oddnhe https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928480976 mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= https://amzn.to/2ktlpkl https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za/home https://bit.ly/2k1uilm https://www.takealot.com/seller/african-sun-media?sellers=12458 https://www.facebook.com/pg/africansunmedia/shop/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 59‑71 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 59 www.jsaa.ac.za research article effective institutional intervention where it makes the biggest difference to student success: the university of johannesburg (uj) integrated student success initiative (issi) andré van zyl,* graham dampier** & nkosini ngwenya*** * dr andré van zyl is director academic development centre, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: andrevz@uj.ac.za ** dr graham dampier is senior manager, academic literacies, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: gadampier@uj.ac.za *** mr nkosini ngwenya is a senior coordinator, academic literacies, university of johannesburg, south africa. email: nlngwenya@uj.ac.za abstract low levels of student success in south africa have persisted as a seemingly intractable problem. there have been some gains in student success over time, but with a participation rate of approximately 18%, the current success rates still represent massive financial and human losses to the country. internationally there is a trend to move towards interventions that are more strongly data-informed at every step and the available evidence indicates that these interventions are more likely to have the desired effect. this article reports back on the first 24 months of implementation of one such intervention, namely the integrated student success initiative (issi), at the university of johannesburg (uj). the issi uses data to inform every step of the process which includes planning, selection and targeted intervention and evaluating possible impacts. the issi is showing promise as an effective strategy for improving student success and is allowing the institution to focus its limited resources where they have the potential to make the biggest difference. keywords collaboration; data informed interventions; integrated initiatives; student success introduction in south africa (sa), student success in higher education is a matter of national debate and concern. this is mainly due to persistently low success and throughput rates. enrolment figures in higher education institutions (heis) have remained on a steady upward trajectory since 1994, yet success and throughput rates have been relatively low when contrasted with the number of students enrolled for each particular cohort (moodley & singh, 2015; mkonto, 2018; murray, 2014). the south african higher education system has more than doubled in size from the 495 356 students registered at the advent of democracy in 1994 (department of higher education and training [dhet], 2012) to just over 1 million registrations in 2019 (essack, 2012, p. 49; dhet, 2019b). student success has, however, not https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:andrevz%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:gadampier%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:nlngwenya%40uj.ac.za?subject= 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 59‑71 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 shown similar improvements. as the council on higher education (che) puts it: “… the system has not yet come to terms with the learning needs of the majority of the student body” (che, 2013, p. 4). universities have also found it challenging to develop the necessary support and intervention strategies to support student success (unesco, 2017). this misalignment manifests itself in the high drop‑out rates, low success rates and sluggish throughput rates that characterise the sector (dhet, 2019b). although there have been recent improvements in the main metrics used to measure the effectiveness of the south african tertiary system (dhet, 2019a), the fact remains that with a participation rate of between 17% and 18%, of the top‑performing school‑leaving students, approximately 30% to 40% of entrants leave the system without graduating (dhet, 2019a). the south african system has been called a low participation, high attrition system (fisher & scott, 2011), which translates into high levels of human and financial wastage. even though higher education systems generally face similar struggles, this wasteful situation is especially problematic in the south african context. the higher education sector in south africa plays a crucial role in facilitating upward social mobility as well as in raising the economic activity of the nation (maluleke, 2018). these important goals are, however, threatened by inferior success rates of first‑generation, low‑income students who make up a large proportion of students who do not persist for longer than the first semester of their first year (essack, 2012). for this reason, it is understandable that south african universities have come under increasing pressure to address the high failure and drop‑out rates (manik, 2015). as a result of the country’s recent historic developments, many first‑generation, or non‑traditional students, have entered into the higher education system. these first‑generation students often enter the university underprepared for the challenges they will face and as a result struggle to adapt to university life and its demands; and they are more likely to withdraw from higher education without completing their qualifications (escobedo, 2007). in addition to this, higher education institutions across the country have struggled to cope with “the students they have” and in many ways remain under‑prepared for the students they enrol (che, 2013). it is evident that universities need to design intervention strategies that mitigate the high drop‑out and failure rates. tinto (2014, p. 6) argues that without academic, social and financial support “many students do not complete their programmes of study”. “it is my view,” he continues, “that once an institution admits a student, it becomes obligated to provide, as best it can, the support needed to translate the opportunity access provides to success” (tinto 2014, p. 6). this challenges south african universities to implement effective intervention strategies to improve student success rates. in many instances, student‑success initiatives have been based on the background knowledge and preferences of the staff who design and implement them. as crisp et al. (2019) point out, institutions (and the staff teaching in them) often make incorrect assumptions about their students when designing their interactions with them. after interventions were completed, it has often been left up to anecdotal evidence to evaluate whether any particular intervention had worked. this basically ad‑hoc approach to student https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 andré van zyl, graham dampier & nkosini ngwenya: effective institutional intervention … 61 success has shown itself to not be sustainable or systemically effective. this article argues for a much more rigorous process to guide student success work which is data‑informed at every step. data‑informed intervention initiatives have become popular in institutions of higher learning since the early 2000s (van vuuren, 2020, p. 137). for example, predictive modelling initiatives such as the konstanz information miner (knime) used at the cape peninsula university of technology (cput) allows the institution to “recognise students with a high probability of dropping out by the second year of study” (lourens & bleazard, 2016, p. 129). another similar initiative is the state action for education leadership project  ii (saelp  ii) developed by the ohio state university. this initiative has allowed higher education institutions to “analyze the educational needs of students who are not showing adequate progress” by manipulating and analysing data to track these students (cooley, shen & miller, 2006, p. 59). educators are better placed to respond effectively to the needs of students and to improve success and throughput rates than ever before. pathway to success (pway) at the louisiana state university is another data‑informed student success intervention that relies on academic, non‑academic, and personal attribute data to tailor institutional interventions for each student (fowler & boylan, 2010, p. 2). the pway intervention approach goes beyond merely addressing academic challenges to incorporating non‑academic and personal challenges as well. the retention rate (i.e. the percentage of students from the original cohort who persist with their studies from first year to second year) of first‑time entering first‑generation students at the louisana state university increased from 29% to 52% in 2009 following its initial implementation at the institution (fowler & boylan, 2010, p. 8). another academic intervention programme that has reported positive results is the so‑called “affirmation intervention,” which has been credited with improving the success rates of minority students at stanford university (dee, 2015, p. 149). this intervention is centred on self‑affirmation exercises that students undertake, which encourages them to identify and reflect upon their core personal values. the findings of the study showed that at‑risk students, who underwent self‑affirmation exercises, credited these interventions with motivating them to excel academically and with inculcating positive attitudes to learning (dee, 2015, p. 150). thus, data‑informed interventions appear to be achieving promising results. they seem to be relatively effective at identifying student success challenges and addressing these through tailored interventions. the student success problems in the south african system have proven very difficult to address effectively and often well‑intentioned initiatives have proven to be expensive and relatively ineffective. to address the complicated set of factors that contribute to high levels of drop‑out and low success rates, data‑informed intervention programmes are necessary. it is therefore imperative that data is effectively used in at‑risk student identification, intervention design, and evaluation. such a data‑informed approach holds the promise of facilitating the implementation of effective interventions as well as the creation of enabling structures and systems that eliminate learning challenges. the evidence seems clear that underperforming subgroups of students have been shown to stand a better chance of 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 59‑71 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 excelling academically if well‑planned and effective interventions are put in place as recommended by appel and kronberger (2012) and aronson, fried and good (2000). as tinto (2014, p. 21) stated during his visit to south africa: “effective student support does not arise by chance. it is not solely the result of good intentions. rather it requires the development of an intentional, structured, proactive approach that is coherent, systematic and coordinated in nature.” the university of johannesburg (uj) has built up a good reputation for its innovative efforts at improving student success. some uj initiatives have included the uj first‑year experience (fye since 2010) and the uj senior student experience (sse since 2015). the institution has taken substantial steps to improve student success, which have resulted in notable gains. the module credit success rates improved by more than 10% over the past eight years, and currently fluctuate between 85% and 86%. feedback has also indicated that students are continuously reporting positive perceptions of their experience of their tuition and the support they receive at uj. other institutional data have been more worrying. these included the indications that only approximately 37% of uj students from the 2012 entering cohort completed their qualifications in minimum time (m); which increased to roughly 55% of the same group in minimum time plus one year (m+1). these figures illustrate that the high module credit success rate does necessarily translate into high minimum time completion rates. the integrated student success initiative (issi) at uj, which is the subject of this article, represents a new data‑informed intervention strategy, aimed at addressing this problem, that has shown real promise. uj context the data‑informed approach used in the issi starts with investigating the underlying attributes that students arrive on campus with. the uj student population has been studied in some detail since 2007 using the student profile questionnaire (spq). data generated by spq has been collected during the annual orientation (also referred to as the first year seminar) since 2007. in all, the total dataset contains 57  934 student records collected over the 14 years across all uj faculties and campuses. the spq dataset has shown that the majority of uj students are non‑traditional university entrants, who hail from circumstances that tend to make academic success at university less likely than would otherwise be the case (azmitia et al., 2018). uj students have consistently indicated that the majority of them (between 55% and 65% since 2013) are worried that a lack of money will be the cause of them not completing their qualifications. the expansion of the national student finincial aid system (nsfas) since 2019 did result in an improvement in these figures, but only by about 5%. this, in turn, links to droppingout for financial reasons as well as very pressing problems such as a lack of food. these worries and their implications negatively influence student success. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 andré van zyl, graham dampier & nkosini ngwenya: effective institutional intervention … 63 figure 1: first generation vs non-first generation students a second factor that has emerged is that more than 60% of newly enrolled uj students over the past 9 years have indicated that they are part of the first generation in their families to enter higher education (first‑generation students). these students often lack family support and the cultural capital needed to succeed at university. in addition to being worried about money and being part of the first generation of their families to enter higher education, students also reported poor study habits with about 38% of students having spent 10 or fewer hours per week on academic work during grade 12. this is concerning in that if these poor study habits are maintained after arriving at uj they contribute to academic struggles. lastly, many newly entering uj students have an english literacy background that does not adequately prepare them for the rigours of university study. the only language of instruction at uj is english, but the majority of students who enrol at the institution are not first‑language english speakers. the number of students who are non‑first‑language english speakers has increased consistently since 2016. in 2020, 75% of students indicated that english is their second, third or fourth language. it is clear that the “average” student at uj is a non‑traditional university entrant. the majority of new entrants are first‑generation students, non‑first‑language english speakers, who typically did not study very hard at school and are worried that a lack of money will affect their ability to complete their studies negatively. with more than 40  000 undergraduate students, it is often difficult to know where to best intervene to improve and optimise student success in a situation where the institution must teach such a large contingent of non‑traditional students, while making use of its limited resources as effectively as possible. 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 59‑71 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 the decision of where to intervene the second way data are used, is to decide where to intervene. institutionally, it made most sense to intervene at the level of the modules, as reaching every individual undergraduate student was practically impossible. the main question was how the modules to include in a systematic set of interventions could best be selected. in the past, the majority of module‑ level student success work was done with lecturers who volunteered to participate, but this often led to the non‑optimal use of resources and it also meant that modules where assistance was needed most, often did not receive enough attention. another approach that has been tried was to focus on modules with the lowest pass rates. this, however, caused a lot of resistance and negativity which, in turn, hindered interventions and their effectiveness. to counteract these problems in a data‑informed manner, the decision was taken to rather identify modules where the greatest number of students could be assisted. the focused issi efforts and resources would then be used where they had the potential to make the biggest difference. the concern was with optimising the potential efficacy of the intervention for both the students, who were enrolled in the modules, and for the institution that wants to maximise module credit success. this approach resulted in the selection of modules that made both human and financial sense, which meant that it was easier to motivate both faculties and academics to participate in the issi. to enable the selection of the modules where the greatest possible difference could be made, the issi implementation process uses the priority module index (pmi, explained below) to identify the 20% of modules across the university where the greatest number of module credits were lost during the preceding year’s corresponding semester (semester 1 of 2018 results are used to identify the 2019 semester 1 priority modules). the first step of the pmi analysis produced an institutional pmi list. because of the size bias in the pmi formula and the massive variations in faculty sizes at uj, it was decided to not intervene only in the institutional‑level top‑priority modules as this would have facilitated interventions in a small proportion of the 8 uj faculties (the ones with the largest groups). in a second step, the uj list was therefore then disaggregated into faculty lists from which the 45 participating modules in any particular semester (10 for the college of business and economics and 5 per faculty for the remaining 7 faculties) are identified for issi intervention. the formula used to create the priority module index is based on the pareto principle, which is alternatively referred to as the 80‑20 rule or the trivial many and the vital few (boslaugh, 2012). the principle is not a hard‑and‑fast rule, so much as it is a crude generalisation applied to a range of fields from economics to census studies. in economics, this rule is applied to income distribution in an economy and holds that “in many circumstances, 80% of the activity or outcomes stem from 20% of the causes” (boslaugh, 2013, p. 105). for example, it is possible to state that in many countries, 80% of the national wage bill is distributed to 20% of the working population (boslaugh, 2013). to create the pmi lists, the pareto principle was used to develop an algorithm to identify the 20% of modules that account for 80% of funded credits lost to course failures at uj. the formula uses module pass rate, class size and module credit value in its constitution and once these https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 andré van zyl, graham dampier & nkosini ngwenya: effective institutional intervention … 65 variables have been used to calculate the uj priority module index (pmi), it results in a list containing the 20% of modules that contribute 80% of the module failures at uj. the list is in order from the highest pmi score to the lowest, but all modules in the list are in the uj top 20% of module failure contributors. the pmi calculations for a specific semester are done as soon as the final results for the corresponding semester of the previous become available. this provides substantial time for the process below to then unfold. higher education institutions are often good at identifying risk, but it has been found to be much trickier to know what to realistically do to mitigate the risk. issi intervention process once the priority modules for a specific semester have been identified, the academic development centre, in close collaboration with the various faculties, decide on the best way to intervene to support student success in each of the selected modules. this planning process is completed through collaborative discussions between senior adc staff, the various vice‑deans for teaching and learning, and the module lecturers. a faculty‑generated plan forms the basis for the preparations by the support divisions for an initial meeting with the module lecturers. this meeting consists of an intervention leader and representatives of all the appropriate support services to ensure a multi‑disciplinary approach to interventions. at this initial meeting, the problem and plan are discussed further and the intervention is refined before implementation proceeds, which normally lasts for the semester. the interventions are usually limited to between 3 and 5 to ensure realistic expectations and traceability and typically consist of a selected and customised combination of activities. the lead‑time built into the issi process allows a variety of institutional resources to be focused on the selected pmi modules in addition to the interventions aimed at supporting student success mentioned above. these resources are also targeted where they can make the biggest difference and where their availability can be made part of teaching plans and module processes. additional institutional resources that are focused accordingly include a strategic tutor fund to provide additional tutor support to issi modules, the prioritisation of uj funded e‑books in pmi modules and an issi implementation fund that is used to fund small, once‑off implementation expenses. to ensure that the issi is adopted as an institutional approach, uj has also re‑focused and expanded its committee structure to facilitate and support the issi implementation. the whole project is coordinated and supported by an institutional student success committee (ssc) involving high‑level representatives from all stakeholders and functioning as a subcommittee of the uj senate teaching and learning committee (stlc). each faculty also has a teaching and learning committee and a vice‑dean for teaching and learning to enable, support and provide oversight to the issi implementation in each faculty. the issi has been implemented for the past 2 years (4 semesters) and the question of its efficacy arises, as part of its data‑informed approach. the most important measure of potential influence would be to evaluate the results of modules over time as well as to monitor activity in each module. the issi implementation up to this point has shown promising signs of improvement, as is discussed below. 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 59‑71 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 how do we know if the issi is “working”? in this section, the performance of modules that participated in the intervention over its 24‑month existence is evaluated in order to look for indications of improvement. no strong causal claims can be made when the potential influence of an intervention on a variable such as module success rate is investigated. it is, however, also true that improved module success is a necessary condition for any positive influence to be observed. figure 2 is a representation of the admission points score1 (aps) per faculty over the five years from 2015 to 2019. this figure shows that the previous academic performances of students differed from one faculty to the next, but did not differ substantially from one year to the next in any given faculty. therefore, the academic preparedness of the groups of students whose current academic performance will be compared remained relatively stable and was not a significant factor in determining academic performance. figure 2: aps score by faculty academic performance of modules involved in the issi to investigate the influence of the issi, the context of the academic interactions and the student results were considered. to do this, the student academic performance in modules that were exposed to the wide‑ranging activities of the issi in 2018 and 2019 were compared directly to the previous year’s performance, i.e. 2017 and 2018 and 2018 to 2019 in the same modules. before comparing the academic performance of modules involved in the issi per annum, they were compared per semester. the academic performance of the modules being compared is first shown in the semester preceding the issi involvement (pre_ 1 the aps score is used in the south african higher education sector to calculate a prospective student’s level of academic attainment in high school. it is used as a crude measure of readiness for tertiary studies. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 andré van zyl, graham dampier & nkosini ngwenya: effective institutional intervention … 67 issi_successr) and then during the semester of issi involvement (issi_successr). figure 3 shows the success rates of first semester modules using boxplots to represent the distribution of the 25th and 75th percentiles, the median, the mean and any outliers. the academic performance of the first semester modules that were exposed to the issi improved by 3.1% on average and the impact on how these success rates are distributed clearly indicates a general improvement in success rates. the 3.1% increase resulted in modules typically obtaining success rates of between 60% and 100%. only one module recorded a success rate of below 60%, while another recorded a 100% success rate. the cluster of eight pre‑issi modules that recorded success rates of less than 60% have mostly migrated beyond this threshold. figure 3: first semester modules figure 4 illustrates that second semester modules which participated in the issi increased by 3.4% from the pre‑issi to the issi involvement phases. when one considers the blue and red points arranged along the y‑axis of each group, it is notable that a cluster of 2019 second semester modules responded well to the interventions of the issi. five 2019 second semester modules recorded success rates of below 60% before they participated in the issi. subsequently, two modules narrowly missed out on recording success rates of more than 60%. at the opposite end of the scale, it is notable that a larger group of modules moved beyond the 90% mark. before they were exposed to the interventions of the issi, only two modules recorded success rates of 90% or more. after exposure to the issi, nine modules have achieved success rates of more than 90%. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 59‑71 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 figure 4: second semester modules figure 4 hints at an observation that becomes clearer when boxplots are drawn showing the data grouped by year of participation in the issi. figure 5 illustrates that the modules that participated in the first round of issi interventions (2018) improved by 2%. a group of modules underperformed in the second semester of 2018. during this time the processes and procedures of the issi were still being refined and it is likely that this led to significant changes in the way that certain modules function. as a result, this may have influenced success rates negatively as academic staff found themselves adapting to new teaching and learning methods and processes. on the other hand, figure 6 suggests that the interventions of the issi have become more efficient and effective over time. whereas a cluster of modules under‑performed significantly in the second semester of 2018, in 2019 the second semester modules improved significantly. an average increase of 4.5% can be observed for modules that participated in the issi in 2019. even though the module success rates of modules involved in the issi is in many ways a crude measure, and because any claims to direct causality would be ill‑advised, the patterns seen above appear to indicate a link between issi interventions and improved module success rates. when the improved pass rates are translated into individual module passes, it is clear the issi has contributed to thousands of additional module passes. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 andré van zyl, graham dampier & nkosini ngwenya: effective institutional intervention … 69 figure 5: influence of the issi in 2018 figure 6: influence of the issi in 2019 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 59‑71 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 lessons learnt and conclusion the two years of issi implementation at uj have contributed substantially to the way in which student success matters at the institution are conceptualised and implemented. some of the main lessons learnt include the following: an institutionalised approach to student success has the potential to bring the enablers and disablers of student success to the surface and to move towards substantial improvements in student success. an approach that uses data at every appropriate part of the process allows for the student success conversations and practices to be held at higher academic levels and to move away from being merely anecdotal. an institutional student success strategy provides a vehicle that is able to instigate, combine and institutionalise student success contributions from across the institution as a whole, and when it works this creates a synergistic collaboration that is very powerful for enhancing student success. data‑informed but action‑orientated high‑level institutional structures, such as a student success committee, as well as appropriate faculty committee structures that support student success make implementation possible. focusing institutional resources where they can make the biggest difference (and by using data in the process) can have a powerful effect on student success. when academics and support staff work together in teams and in structured ways, it often leads to creative and effective collaborative partnerships that create environments that enable effective student learning and student success. these partnerships also tend to persist long after officially sanctioned interventions have been completed. the conceptualisation and implementation of the uj issi has brought a sea change in the student success efforts at the institution. the structures, policies and systems that have emanated from the ssc, or that have been influenced by it, and the positive effect of the issi may potentially benefit students and the institution for the foreseeable future. references appel, m. & kronberger, n. (2012). stereotypes and the achievement gap: stereotype threat prior to test taking. educational psychology review, 24, 609‑635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648‑012‑9200‑4 aronson, j., fried, c. & good, c. (2000). reducing the effect of stereotype threat on african american college students by shaping theories of intelligence. journal of experimental social psychology, 1(1), 1‑13. azmitia, m., syed, m. & radmacher, k. (2018). dropping out is not an option: how educationally‑ resilient first‑generation students see their future. new directions for child and adolescent development, 160, 89‑100. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20240 boslaugh, s. (2012). statistics in a nutshell. seond edition. london: o’reilly media. che (council on higher education) (2013). a proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in south africa: the case for a flexible curriculum structure. pretoria: che. cooley, v., shen, j. & miller, d. (2006). data‑based decision‑making: three state‑level educational leadership initiatives. educational horizons, 85(1), 57‑64. crisp, g., palmer, e., turnbull, d., nettelbeck, t., ward, l., lecouteur, a., sarris, a., strelan, p. & schneider, l. (2019). first year student expectations: results from a university‑wide student survey. journal of university teaching and learning practice, 6(1), 13‑26. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-012-9200-4 https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20240 andré van zyl, graham dampier & nkosini ngwenya: effective institutional intervention … 71 dee, t. (2015). social identity and achievement gaps: evidence from an affirmation intervention. journal of research on educational effectiveness, 8(2), 149‑168. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2014.906009 dhet (department of higher education and training) (2012). green paper for post-school education and training. pretoria: dhet. dhet (department of higher education and training) (2019a). 2000 to 2016 first time entering undergraduate cohort studies for public higher education institutions. pretoria, dhet. dhet (department of higher education and training) (2019b.) ministerial statement on student enrolment planning 2019/20 for universities. pretoria: dhet. escobedo, g. (2007). a retention/persistence intervention model: improving success across cultures. journal of developmental education, 31(1), 12‑17. essack, s. (2012). translating equitable access into retention and success in african higher education: the role and responsibility of individual institutions. journal of higher education in africa, 10(2), 47‑62. fisher, g. & scott, i. (2011). the role of higher education in closing the skills gap in south africa. background paper 3 for ‘closing the skills and technology gap in south africa’. world bank. fowler, p. & boylan, h. (2010). increasing student success and retention: a multidimensional approach. national centre for developmental education, 34(2), 2‑10. lourens, a. & bleazard, d. (2016). applying predictive analytics in identifying students at risk: a case study. south african journal of higher education, 30(2), 129‑142. https://doi.org/10.20853/30‑2‑583 maluleke, r. (2018). education series volume vi: education and labour market outcomes in south africa, 2018. statistics south africa. http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=13024 [accessed 25 may 2020]. manik, s. (2015). calibrating the barometer: student access and success in south african public higher education institutions. alternation special edition, 17(1), 226‑244. mkonto, n. (2018). monitoring student (dis)engagement: retention officers’ experiences at the cape peninsula university of technology. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 65‑76. https://doi.org/ 10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 moodley, p. & singh, r.j. (2015). addressing student dropout rates at south african universities. alternation, 17, 91‑115. murray, m. (2014). factors affecting graduation and student dropout rates at the university of kwazulu‑ natal. south african journal of science, 110(12), 1‑6. https://doi.org/10.1590/sajs.2014/20140008 tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south african lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5‑26. https://doi. org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 unesco (2017). six ways to ensure higher education leaves no one behind. https://unesdoc. unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247862 [accessed 05 may 2020]. van vuuren, j. (2020). development of a contextualised data analytics framework in south african higher education: evolvement of teacher (teaching) analytics as an indispensable component. south african journal of higher education, 34(1), 137‑157. https://doi.org/10.20853/34‑1‑3661 how to cite: van zyl, a., dampier, g. & ngwenya, n. 2020. effective institutional intervention where it makes the biggest difference to student success: the university of johannesburg (uj) integrated student success initiative (issi). journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 59‑71. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v8i2.4448 https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2014.906009 https://doi.org/10.20853/30-2-583 http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=13024 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3066 https://doi.org/10.1590/sajs.2014/20140008 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247862 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247862 https://doi.org/10.20853/34-1-3661 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4448 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 239‑241 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1443 239 www.jsaa.ac.za book review learning online: the student experience by george veletsianos (2020). baltimore, maryland: johns hopkins university press. reviewed by tadd krusei i dr tadd kruse is an education consultant, membership director for the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) and a member of naspa’s (student affairs administrators in higher education) global division and middle east, north africa and south asia (menasa) advisory boards. orcid: 0000-0001-9916-9444. email: taddkruse@gmail.com technology continues to change the way in which we work, the way we socialise, and the way we learn under the expectation of a greater overall quality of life. given the events of 2020 and especially the effects of the pandemic, our dependency on technology in higher education intensified. many institutions pivoted from traditional learning settings to non‑face‑to‑face instructional delivery methods largely facilitated through online learning mediums. in this book released in may 2020, george veletsianos addresses the perceptions and reality of online learning settings across a myriad of perspectives and issues. the book was written prior to the pandemic offering an in‑depth look into the world of online education during a more normal period. millions of students worldwide had engaged in online learning opportunities, and over the last 12 months those numbers have increased exponentially, making this timely and highly relevant for all tertiary educators. the author explores early on the value of online learning in comparison to face‑to‑face settings: … the larger issue behind this debate is what conditions make for a high‑quality educational experience, one that is effective, efficient, engaging, socially just, and meaningful and isn’t exploitive, unfair or available only to those who can afford it … ultimately, the value of an online course or degree rests upon its design and the strategies it employs rather than its modality. (p.18) online learning is ripe with critics questioning the authenticity, value, and credibility of this medium, and in this book veletsianos argues that we must examine the learning experience through the lens of the student to fully appreciate this space. veletsianos addresses the intricacies of online learning from a student or learner experience vantage point, acknowledging the multiple roles or identities facing the modern student. the author is the canada research chair in innovative learning and technology and a professor in the school of education and technology at the royal roads university, a canadian public university with its main campus in colwood, british columbia. george veletsianos has published numerous journal articles and is also the author of the book social media in academia: networked scholars. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:taddkruse%40gmail.com?subject= 240 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 239‑241 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1443 the text examines across 17 chapters the complicated realm of online learning, discusses the benefits and challenges within higher education settings, and suggests spaces to enhance effectiveness. each in‑depth chapter addresses online learning components ranging from effectiveness of the medium (student performance, attrition, growth of online learning, demographics, cheating, credibility), reasons students select online learning (flexibility, wider access, self‑directed learning, massive open online courses or moocs), and interaction/performance factors (digital literacy, social support, social media, note‑ taking, motivation and socio‑emotional factors). throughout, veletsianos highlights the intricacies of online learning and the need to overcome the disparities between learners, better known as the digital divide, all in a physically distant space. the conciseness and organisation of the book, specifically the structure of the chapters, is one of the books greatest strengths. the chapter structures frame each topic via a concise and structured format first by introducing a story about single‑student “learner” representing different characteristics or applied strategies in online learning, followed by a narrative digging deeper into the contributing factors. each chapter is supported with relevant research and recognises limitations in existing research or data to propel the narrative. the referenced research in the field of online learning grounds the issues presented and provides resources for further research and consideration for educators. finally, a summation of the perspectives are succinctly posed for consideration before closing with bulleted key points and a list of references. this concise and direct format allows educators to examine a single dimension of online learning within an empathetic real world student experience. one area, and likely the only one, that lacks clarity throughout the book is the chapter titles. each chapter is titled as “the learner who …” and presents as a listing of actions or student traits including nontraditional, self‑directed, dropout, cheater, social networking user, and benefits from flexible learning. the chapter titles often allude to the topic, but are often vague so that, when flipping through the pages or looking over the table of contents, some targeted areas are not apparent without reviewing one’s notes or scanning the bulleted items at the end of each chapter. more clear chapter titles would better serve educators as they consider this as a resource for the future, but may have detracted from the storybook approach to each chapter and the initial read – a small concession for a concise read that draws in the reader to the lived online learning student experience, the primary premise of the book. often when one hears of online learning, thoughts are immediately directed to a few characteristics of this educational capacity such as access, flexibility, or credibility issues. these immediate considerations fail to consider the multiple factors which (a) determine a student’s reasons for selecting online learning options, and (b) influence the learning experience during one’s educational journey. learning online: the student experience explores many of the issues confronting twenty‑first century higher education and concisely presents major influences across the broad spectrum of online learning. this book is an excellent resource for faculty and administrators to gain a broad under‑ standing of the challenges and successes of online learning. veletsianos, through his relaying tadd kruse: learning online: the student experience 241 of online learner experiences, presents the need for more intentional and integrated practices to make this medium more effective, mirroring steps often taken on campus to ensure greater student retention towards degree completion. online learning presents in a multitude of forms, meeting a diverse range of needs for people around the world. the medium as a whole makes a significant contribution to society and higher education institutions. this book provides educators, regardless of geographic location, the scope to understand the complexities facing digital learning and at a timely point in history. how to cite: kruse, t. (2021). review on learning online: the student experience by george veletsianos (2020). baltimore, maryland: johns hopkins university press. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 239‑241. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1443 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 29–38 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.67 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za reflections on tinto’s south africa lectures laura w. perna* reflective practice * james s. riepe professor, university of pennsylvania, usa. email: lperna@gse.upenn.edu providing reflections on prof. vincent tinto’s south africa lectures is an incredible honour. like countless other scholars and practitioners in the field of higher education administration, i have long relied on tinto’s work to provide a foundation for my own efforts to understand how to improve students’ college-related outcomes. in his first lecture, tinto reflects on the “flash of recognition” that occurred when he learned about durkheim’s theory of suicide. similarly, i vividly remember reading the second edition of his book, leaving college (university of chicago press), in my apartment in ann arbor when i was a doctoral student at the university of michigan. the way that he used theory to inform his conceptual model of student departure was incredibly helpful to me, as i worked to understand how to conceptualise my dissertation study of the predictors of the choice of college that students attend. i am one of the many thousands who have cited this book – as well as many of tinto’s other incredibly useful publications – over the course of my career. through several decades of relevant and timely scholarship, tinto has certainly defined the way that we, as a community of higher education practitioners, policy-makers and researchers, think about how to promote college student success. the impact of his work on higher education policy, practice and research cannot be understated. drawing on this body of scholarship, tinto’s four lectures offer many useful insights. in this essay, i first reflect on the theoretical and practical importance of tinto’s insights. i then summarise the three lessons that tinto offers and pull from a recent study of the role of state policies in improving student outcomes to offer additional perspective on these lessons. i conclude with a brief statement about the benefits of cross-national examinations of a common question: how do we promote college student success? 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 29–38 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.67 theoretical and practical importance of tinto’s insights tinto’s insights are useful to higher education policy-makers, practitioners and researchers because of their theoretical grounding, explicit connections to practice, and relevance to one of the most pressing issues facing higher education. tinto’s insights are derived from a theoretically-grounded understanding of the processes that produce college student success. as tinto notes, theory provides an underlying explanation for student behaviours and why particular policies, programmes and practices influence college student success. tinto’s scholarship – scholarship that was developed primarily to understand the success of college students in the united states – is relevant to understanding college student success in south africa (and other nations) because it is theoretically grounded. it is this theoretical grounding that permits the transferability of findings across national contexts. second, with his focus on identifying actions that higher education institutions can take to improve college students’ success, tinto’s scholarship has tremendous practical value. he stresses that we – as higher education policy-makers, practitioners and researchers – have an obligation to improve college student success, given the many benefits of higher education for students and our societies. he also urges institutions not to “blame the victim”, but instead to recognise the ways that an institution’s structures and systems “shape the success of its own students”. tinto appropriately recognises that “more effort is required” to improve college student success, as too many students are not succeeding. there are clearly many “decisions and actions” that we can take to change institutional structures and systems and, consequently, improve students’ college-related experiences and outcomes. tinto urges us to make these decisions and take these actions. third, tinto’s scholarship is important because it centres on addressing one of the most pressing questions facing higher education in nations across the globe: how can we improve college student success? a review of the many benefits of higher education underscores the importance of addressing this question. with higher levels of education come countless benefits for both individuals and the societies in which they live. but, in the united states, educational attainment has stagnated and too many students who enter college do not finish. on average, only 58.8% of first-time, full-time students who entered a four-year college or university in the us in 2005 completed a bachelor’s degree within six years (national center for education statistics, 2013a). completion rates vary considerably across different types of higher education institutions in the us, ranging from 31% at fouryear institutions with open admission policies to 88% at selective four-year institutions (defined here as institutions that admit fewer than 25% of all applicants). only 31% of firsttime, full-time students who entered a two-year institution in 2008 seeking a certificate or degree successfully completed a certificate or degree within 150% of the expected time (three years for an associate’s degree). these low completion rates represent substantial inefficiencies in the higher education system and translate into considerable costs in time and money to students. students who enrol in college but do not complete a degree lose the time and money that they invested in trying to obtain a degree and fail to realise the many benefits laura w. perna: ref lections on tinto’s south africa lectures 31 that come with degree completion, including a higher-paying job, lower likelihood of employment and poverty, and better working conditions. many of these students also have loan debt to repay. in 2011–2012, 53% of first-time, full-time undergraduate students attending public four-year colleges and universities in the u.s. received student loans (along with 63% of those attending private not-for-profit institutions and 83% of those attending private for-profit institutions) (national center for education statistics, 2014). in the fourth quarter of 2012, 60% of those with outstanding education debt in the us had balances of us$10 000 or higher; 30% owed at least $25,000 and 4% owed at least us$100 000 (college board, 2013). students who successfully complete their degree programmes are more likely to obtain jobs that pay salaries sufficient to enable loan repayment. tinto’s three lessons for improving student success in the four lectures, tinto draws from his scholarship to identify three lessons that should inform institutional actions for improving college students’ success: 1. colleges and universities must provide students with not only the opportunity to enrol, but also the academic, financial, and social supports that they require to complete their educational programme; 2. to promote student success, colleges and universities must ensure that students have the opportunity to engage in high-quality classroom experiences; and 3. improvements in college student success will “not arise by chance”. tinto’s first lesson appropriately recognises that promoting college student success requires more than enrolling students; higher education institutions must also provide the supports that students need to persist and progress to degree completion. clearly, college student success is the result of a longitudinal process that is influenced by multiple forces and factors. tinto offers poignant examples to illustrate the advising and academic support that students from different backgrounds often require. tinto’s second lesson stresses the centrality of teaching and learning to college student success. although “success” is typically measured by degree completion, tinto argues that what really matters to an individual’s future economic and social well-being is learning. as such, he stresses the responsibility of faculty for promoting student success. he recommends that faculty promote learning by obtaining early assessments of student progress and by using these assessments to identify and provide appropriate learning supports, as well as by adopting pedagogical practices that actively engage students in learning. tinto’s third lesson stresses that creating meaningful improvements in college student success requires an intentional, structured, systematic and coordinated approach. he argues that, at the foundation of any effort to improve college student success, must be clearly defined institutional goals that are shared by key stakeholders, collection and use of data to monitor institutional progress toward achieving those goals, dedication of resources required for goal achievement, careful attention to implementation of programmes designed to advance institutional goals, passage of sufficient time to allow programme outcomes to be realised, and efforts to scale up successful programmes to serve larger segments of the 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 29–38 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.67 population. to promote college student success, higher education institutions must establish student success as a goal and then identify and implement strategies for intentionally and systematically achieving this goal. insights from a study of the role of state policy in promoting college student success tinto’s lessons focus on what higher education institutions can and should do to promote college student success. this focus is appropriate, as higher education institutions have the most direct responsibility for improving college student success. also important but recognised only in passing in these lectures is the public’s responsibility – as manifest by the ways that the national and/or state government limits and promotes the opportunity for students to enrol and succeed in college. what higher education institutions can and should do to promote college student success is often mediated by public policies created and implemented by national, regional, state and/or local governments. while tinto characterises a university as “the system” that influences college student success, the configuration and operation of this system is shaped by public policies established by government agencies and the actions of other stakeholders (e.g., foundations, philanthropic organisations, businesses and employers). in the united states, the federal government influences college student success primarily through its authorisation and funding of several large student financial aid programmes (e.g., the federal pell grant programme). in the united states, state governments also play a noteworthy role in promoting the educational attainment of their populations. each us state has its own configuration of higher education institutions and its own structures for governing and coordinating its institutions. each state has also developed its own policies for promoting higher education attainment. in the attainment agenda: state policy leadership in higher education, joni finney and i draw from case studies of five states (georgia, illinois, maryland, texas and washington) to identify five cross-state conclusions about the ways that state policies influence higher education attainment. these cross-state conclusions have important parallels to tinto’s three lessons and productively enhance understanding of his three lessons. 1. improving student success requires a comprehensive approach and leadership professor tinto emphasises that there is “no magic cure” for improving college student success. with his attention to bridging academic silos and urging coordination between faculty/academic affairs and support affairs, he recognises the importance of a comprehensive and intentional approach to improving student success. reflecting a similar orientation, joni and i argue that there is “no silver bullet” that state policy-makers can adopt to improve higher education attainment or close gaps in degree attainment across groups. the challenges that limit college student success are too many, too complex, and too varied to be simply addressed with just one particular type of public policy (or institutional practice). to create meaningful improvements in college student success, we need a comprehensive approach that recognises the multiple forces that play a role. laura w. perna: ref lections on tinto’s south africa lectures 33 like tinto, our cross-state model also highlights the importance of leadership for improving college success and, consequently, raising overall higher educational attainment. states and institutions have many policies and practices in place that may be related to college student outcomes. making meaningful improvements in college student success, however, requires more than having a collection of policies and practices. instead, these policies and practices must be orientated toward providing a comprehensive approach to addressing a goal that is shared by key stakeholders: improving success of all college students. 2. improving student success requires attention to the context in our study, joni and i found considerable differences among the five study states, not only in terms of current and past higher education attainment, but also in terms of many other dimensions, including a state’s demographic, historical, economic and political characteristics. because of these and other contextual differences, it is difficult to simply apply lessons about the effectiveness of particular policies across states. any effort to improve higher education attainment must recognise the characteristics of the state context in which the policy is being implemented. as institutions seek to respond to tinto’s first lesson (and address the full range of supports needed to promote college student success), they should also consider the role of the relevant context. to identify the types of needed supports, a higher education institution should consider the demographic and academic characteristics of enrolled students, the forces that limit the academic progress and persistence of different groups of students at the institution, and the institutional resources available for providing necessary supports. as tinto notes, today’s college students are increasingly diverse in backgrounds, goals, needs and life circumstances. at many higher education institutions, most students are not “traditional” – that is, transitioning into higher education immediately from high or secondary school and attending higher education full-time and with financial support from their parents. as illustrated elsewhere (see perna, 2010), “non-traditional” students – particularly students who are older, working full-time, and/or supporting a family of their own – will need different types of supports if they are to make satisfactory academic progress and complete their degree programme. higher education institutions should also consider their particular characteristics when considering how best to address tinto’s call for institutions to encourage faculty to use more effective pedagogical practices. in the us, increasing numbers of faculty are employed in adjunct positions rather than in full-time, tenure-stream positions. for instance, just 50% of all faculty in degree-granting institutions were employed full-time in 2011, down from 65% two decades earlier (national center for education statistics, 2013a). even among full-time instructional staff, just 67% held “traditional” academic ranks of full, associate or assistant in 2011. higher education institutions should consider the implications of faculty’s employment status for the nature of teaching and learning on campus and the implementation and delivery of any intervention designed to improve pedagogical practices. 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 29–38 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.67 clearly there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach for providing the supports that students need to succeed, given the diversity of higher education institutions and the students they serve. a higher education institution’s approach must be tailored to reflect its institution-specific characteristics. what works at my current institution, a highly selective, research-intensive university enrolling primarily traditional-age students who receive rigorous academic preparation prior to entering and with a large percentage of faculty who are employed full-time in the tenure-stream, will be unlikely to “work” at other institutions (even institutions in the same state and metropolitan area) that enrol students with lower levels of academic readiness for college, fewer financial resources from their families, and different patterns of attendance, and who have other different institutional characteristics. 3. improving college student success requires public policies that are targeted toward addressing the primary forces that limit higher education attainment prof.tinto stresses the need for higher education institutions to provide the academic, financial and social support services that students need to promote academic progress and persistence. along the same lines, joni and i identify from our cross-state analyses three categories of state policies that promote the educational attainment of their populations. each of these categories of policies has implications for the types of support that institutions can and should provide. one category of state policies that influence higher education attainment, as well as the necessary institutional actions required to promote college student success, pertains to policies that ensure that students can move between educational entities without loss of academic credit. in the us many students who seek to transition from secondary school to post-secondary education are not adequately academically prepared for college-level work. these students are often required to participate in “remedial” or developmental coursework prior to entering college-level coursework. in 2007/2008, 24% of all first-year undergraduates attending public two-year institutions took at least one remedial course, along with 21% of all first-year undergraduates at public four-year institutions and 15% of all first-year undergraduates at private not-for-profit four-year institutions (national center for education statistics, 2013b). many students in the us also experience loss of academic credit as they endeavour to transfer from one higher education institution to another. even in us states that have made some progress toward creating state-wide transfer policies, higher education institutions continue to have discretion about whether to grant academic credit for coursework completed at another higher education. the failure of state policy to ensure the smooth movement of students between educational institutions and sectors has important implications for the types of support that higher education institutions must provide. a second category of policies that influence college student success pertains to policies that determine college affordability. in the us college affordability is determined by three fiscal policies: state appropriations (primarily to public colleges and universities but in some states to private colleges and universities as well); tuition; and student financial aid. in recent years, state appropriations to institutions per student have declined and many institutions laura w. perna: ref lections on tinto’s south africa lectures 35 have responded by raising tuition. institutions often have responsibility for deciding the amount of tuition and fees to charge to students. while financial aid is provided by the federal and state governments in the us, many colleges and universities also allocate institutional funds to providing student financial aid. institutions make decisions about the amounts and forms of financial aid to award to students (e.g., grants, loans, work-study). institutional decisions about tuition and financial aid influence the ability of students to enrol in higher education, stay enrolled until degree completion, and engage in coursework and other academic experiences directly and indirectly. for instance, students who engage in considerable amounts of paid employment while also taking classes in order to pay tuition and other bills necessarily have less time available to devote to their coursework (perna, 2010). a third category of policies influencing college student success pertains to the mechanisms a state uses to ensure the availability of high-quality higher education options. all five of our study states were struggling to meet educational needs within their own borders. few states have enough money to meet educational needs by building new campuses. some states are seeking to expand educational opportunity by allowing community colleges (public two-year institutions) to offer bachelor’s degrees. others are exploring the utility of online and distance education. the strategies that a state uses to expand the availability of higher education may have important implications for the strategies a higher education institution adopts to support the academic progress and persistence of its students. 4. improving college student success requires orienting public policies toward improving equity in outcomes across groups a fourth conclusion in the attainment agenda (perna & finney, 2014) is that state policies must be orientated toward closing the many gaps in educational attainment that persist across groups. attention only to the average level of “college student success” at the institutional or state level masks tremendous variation in educational outcomes based on an individual’s family income, race/ethnicity and parents’ education, as well as the region, state and locality in which an individual lives. higher education is believed to promote upward social and economic mobility, but variations in degree completion rates across demographic groups suggest unequal opportunity to realise these benefits. in the united states, educational attainment continues to be substantially lower for students from the lowestthan the highest-income families, students who are black and hispanic than for students who are white, and students who are the first in their families to attend college than for students whose parents have attended and completed college. if we are to make meaningful progress in closing these gaps, public policies and institutional programmes and practices must be orientated toward leveling the playing field and ensuring equal opportunity to fully participate in and benefit from higher education. when state policies and institutional practices do not address the academic, financial and social issues that limit college student success, students with the most need for these supports are typically disproportionately negatively affected. 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2(2) 2014, 29–38 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.67 5. improving college student success requires systematic collection and use of data and research a final conclusion from the attainment agenda (perna & finney, 2014) is that states need to collect and use data to monitor progress toward achieving targeted goals and identify necessary adjustments. tinto also stresses the role of data in constructing a deliberate institutional approach to promoting student success. many types and forms of data are increasingly collected and available from many sources. the challenge is for states and higher education institutions to ensure that the data that is collected enables state and institutional decision-makers to assess progress toward achieving targeted student success goals and determine the effectiveness of the policies and programmes that have been implemented to achieve the goals. states and institutions must collect data to assess the effectiveness of various strategies and interventions for different groups of students and use the results of these analyses to identify needed modifications in policies, programmes and practices. benefits of cross-national examinations of how to promote college student success over the past few years, i have had the opportunity to expand my scholarship beyond considering higher education in the us to study higher education in several other nations, including ireland, hungary and kazakhstan. needless to say, these nations differ from the us and other nations in many ways. each nation has its own unique system of higher education and structures for governing its system. each also has particular historical, demographic, political and economic characteristics. these and other contextual characteristics influence the nature of the college student success “problem” that must be addressed, as well as the particular public policies and institutional programmes and practices that may be realistically adopted. even with the many different contextual variations, i have been struck by the remarkable similarity across nations in the types of questions being asked about higher education. government officials and higher education leaders across the globe are seeking to answer the question: how can we best promote college student success? leaders in many nations are also seeking answers to other fundamental questions, including: who gets access to what kinds of higher education opportunities? who should pay the costs of higher education? how can new and emerging technologies be used to improve teaching and learning, promote effective delivery of support services, and reduce the costs of higher education? who (faculty, administrators, government officials) makes what types of decisions about higher education institutions and their operations? what is the appropriate balance between institutional autonomy and accountability to the government? how should curricula be structured to promote degree completion and workforce readiness? what types of education and training are required for national economic competitiveness? tinto notes in his first lecture that his insights are informed by his experience working with more than 400 higher education institutions in nations on three continents. considering how other nations answer fundamental questions facing higher education has also greatly improved my knowledge and understanding of how to address these questions laura w. perna: ref lections on tinto’s south africa lectures 37 within particular national and institutional contexts. while south african higher education institutions may learn from tinto’s critical insights and outstanding body of scholarship, policy-makers, practitioners, and scholars in the us and other nations would also benefit from a greater understanding of how institutions in south africa are determining how to improve college student success as we (as a global community) seek to address shared fundamental questions. references college board (2013). trends in student aid 2012. washington, dc: author. national center for education statistics (2013a). digest of education statistics 2012. washington, dc. national center for education statistics (2013b). first-year undergraduate remedial coursetaking. statistics in brief. washington, dc: author. national center for education statistics (2014). condition of education. washington, dc: author. perna, l. w. (2008). understanding high school students’ willingness to borrow to pay college prices. research in higher education, 49, 589-606. perna, l.w. (ed.) (2010). understanding the working college student: new research and its implications for policy and practice. herndon, va: stylus publishing, llc. perna, l.w., & finney, j. (2014). the attainment agenda: state policy leadership in higher education. baltimore, md: johns hopkins university press. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 75–78 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.54 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za the co-curriculum: re-defining boundaries of academic spaces birgit schreiber* co-curriculum seminar 2014 the university of the western cape, south africa, invited two renowned speakers to address issues concerning the co-curriculum in a colloquium on 14 may 2014 entitled “the co-curriculum: an integrated practice or fragments at the fringes of university experience?”. impetus for this colloquium came from the emergent policies at various universities in south africa, such as the university of kwazulu-natal and the university of the western cape, which aim to promote and regulate the co-curricular spaces. debates surrounding the co-curriculum raise issues of boundaries and roles, not only traditional boundaries of what constitutes academic spaces, but also who teaches and what is learnt. notions of the co-curriculum challenge the very raison d’être of traditional higher education. education is re-contextualised and includes the intersection of the curriculum with student life. the notion of the co-curriculum encompasses issues of student engagement, lifelong and life-wide learning (jackson, 2010), student development and support, authentic learning and graduate attributes, the uncommon–traditional and the ubiquitous–non-traditional student and how these issues relate to student success. student affairs is a key role-player in shaping and enabling complex learning within the many explicit and invisible curricula in higher education that are contributors to student success. the understanding of learning, on the one hand, as a segmented and boundaried event, or on the other, as a seamless experience of inand out-of-classroom development, impacts on the conceptualisation of higher education learning and development. the co-curriculum and engagement are such a catch-all and “loose concept that both those who advocate neoliberal reforms in higher education and those who oppose them tend to agree that it is a good thing” (klemenćić, 2013) – so no one is really sure what it is and what it entails. while south africa is asking questions about the co-curriculum, it seems the higher education sector across the globe is also grappling with it. this is evident in some of the definitions, which include terms like customer satisfaction, holistic development, citizenship, skills development and have slogans such as “shape your own future” and * director of the centre for student support services, university of the western cape, south africa. 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 75–78 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.54 “community engagement” and other terms that really are located in almost contradictory frameworks. one position is that the co-curriculum includes those things, which are outside the core curriculum. but, as with other descriptors such as “non-academics”, this tells us very little about what it is – only really what it isn’t. so this is not a very helpful way to go about it. another way of thinking about it is akin to the neo-liberal position of higher education. this position – in simple terms – promotes the idea of education being a commodity. the proponents of this ideology locate the co-curriculum within the marketing and economic framework. some of the questions this model would raise are: how is this co-curriculum promoting the image of the institution (is it a marketing tool?); and: how is this co-curriculum assisting employability? (this is a national economic question.) for instance, the european council on student affairs has promoted the idea of mobility and attractiveness amongst universities in the european higher education area and has recently indicated that the co-curriculum is part of the profile of a university that makes it attractive to mobile students (figel, 2009). in this case, it is an economic model that informs the co-curriculum – where it is designed to improve the attractiveness of the institution. also, the european higher education area has introduced terms like “student satisfaction” as part of the co-curriculum – positioning the co-curriculum in terms of how it contributes to satisfying students and making education “fun” – and other such consumerist notions. the idea that the co-curriculum is designed to serve the employer and increase employability of graduates is part of the national economic question: how do we improve graduate employability? this is a question that is central to a lot of what the co-curriculum encompasses – it speaks to improving employment chances. for us the question is whether the framework for the design of the co-curriculum is simply about employability, which is an individualistic way of thinking about it. employability is, of course, a good thing – so we need to think about what kinds of curricula are in the mainstream and how we mainstream the co-curriculum, if indeed such an artificial separation is useful. there are many voices that will remind us of the universities’ contact with society and with social justice and the common good (kezar, 2004). how do we respond to the questions raised about our agenda in terms of serving the common good, responsible citizenship and social justice? are these issues located within the co-curriculum or ought they to be mainstreamed and explored in the curriculum? another question about the co-curriculum is about its alignment with government policy. we remember too well what happened when the co-curriculum was aligned with public policy in the south african regime prior to liberation – we remember when questions of human rights and democracy were silenced and the co-curriculum was reduced to a complacent extra-curriculum. birgit schreiber: the co-curriculum: re-def ining boundaries of academic spaces 77 these questions concern africa deeply. for instance, issues of human rights and social justice are certainly not part of the co-curriculum framework of the universities in zimbabwe, uganda, nigeria and tanzania where minority rights are not protected. so, there is this fundamental question: what is the co-curriculum? is it something at the fringes of university life, perhaps a little add-on programme all dressed up – or has it the potential to influence the very culture of our institution and higher education in general, redefining what we traditionally consider legitimate learning? there are some universities that take student engagement and the co-curriculum very seriously, where it is weaved into the fabric of the institutional life. such universities refer to the “meta-curriculum”, where these kinds of practices are not extraor co-curricular, but inform the total student learning experience. jackson (2010) asserts that the co-curriculum needs to be conceptualised much more widely to legitimise all learning, especially that of non-traditional students who make up the majority of students in africa. ronelle carolissen, in her exploration of the co-curriculum from a critical feminist perspective, critiques the notion of a confined and finite co-curriculum as a construct emerging from traditional notions of citizenship. she adds that issues of inclusion and access burden the co-curriculum as it potentially excludes the very students it aims to support and develop. teboho moja discusses the idea of relevance and embeddedness of the co-curriculum and its relationship to engagement and student success and persistence, discussing the idea of “seamlessness” in creating a continuous learning and development experience. references figel, j. (2009). commission for education, training, culture and youth. bologna policy forum. opening address. retrieved june 7, 2010 from http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/ hogeronderwijs/bologna/forum/bologna_policy_forum_figel.pdf. jackson, n. (2010). from a curriculum that integrates work to a curriculum that integrates life: changing a university’s conceptions of curriculum. higher education research & development, 29:5, 491-505, doi: 10.1080/07294360.2010.502218 kezar, a. (2004). obtaining integrity? reviewing and examining the charter between higher education and society. the review of higher education, 27(4), 429-459. klemenćić, m. (2013). student engagement – between policy-making and scholarship. world university news, 13 december 2013. 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copies from vol 4(2) vol 9(1) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. 243contents submissions https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajol https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://www.africanbookscollective.com https://www.africanbookscollective.com abstract many universities are hosting and enrolling international students as an important aspect of their internationalisation mission of higher education. however, many international students experienced significant problems adjusting into a host culture and social milieu. informing this qualitative study were 45 international students in a top-tier comprehensive research university in southeast china. the study focuses on the experience of international students towards the role played by international fu da yuans (counsellors) in enhancing the students’ cultural and social experiences at the university. the results indicate that the four most significant adjustment issues for international students are the language challenges, social interaction with chinese students, cultural orientation programmes, and counselling services for international students. building on the u-curve adjustment theory (oberg, 1960), the study revealed the importance of international fu da yuans to provide cultural and social support to international students for easy adjustment into a new culture and social setting. the study bears practical implications to providing international fu da yuans with important insights that can help to create an environment conducive to enhancing the cultural and social experiences of international students. keywords cultural experience, social experiences, fu dao yuan, student affairs, international students research article exploring the role of the student affairs office in enhancing the cultural and social experiences of international students in china robert lucas kanikii & hilda lukas kanikiii i robert lucas kaniki, xiamen university, china, kanikirobert@yahoo.com ii hilda lukas kaniki, beijing normal university, china 139robert lucas kaniki & hilda lukas kaniki introduction: background to international students in china chinese universities have recently experienced an increase in international students’ enrollment from different parts of the world. during the establishment of the people’s republic of china from 1949 to the 1980s, only 50,000 foreign students studied in china, and most of them pursued short-term language studies. however, due to reform and the opening-up policy in 1978, china has experienced a rapid process of transformation of its political, economic, educational, and social systems. the implementation of new policies and reforms in higher education has emphasised the international mobility of students, which opened the doors for many international students to study in china. the aim was to stress the importance of international educational collaboration, and advancing internationalisation to enhance the nation’s global position, to influence competitiveness in the field of education, and to transform from a country categorised as being a source of international students, to a destination for many international students (huang, 2016; ying, kamnuansilpa & hirofumi, 2018; kuroda, 2014). by 2003, the chinese government started various actions to attract foreign students to china. in 2003 alone, the number of international students in china reached 77 715 from 175 countries (huang, 2007). currently, the government of china, through the ministry of education (moe) and other governmental institutions, offers scholarships to international students for both short-term and long-term studies at all levels (csc, 2019). the expansion of governmental support for international student enrollment has influenced many universities in china to introduce an international education curriculum, which offers several bachelor and graduate programmes to foreign students; programmes that have attracted many foreign students to join chinese universities. the latest statistics from china’s ministry of education highlight the strong growth in china’s foreign enrollment. in 2017, a total of 489 200 international students enrolled in chinese institutions, an increase of 10.5% from 2015. another important step toward the country’s long-term goal is to host 500 000 students by 2020 (icef monitor, 2018; moe, 2018; li, 2015). overview of the literature on student affairs in chinese universities in chinese universities there is a unique student affairs position, called “fu dao yuan,” which can be translated as the “counsellor”. the system of having fu dao yuans in chinese universities was introduced in 1952 (li & fang, 2017; lin & peng, 2003). fu dao yuans in china originally had nothing to do with student affairs; instead, they were supposed to provide ideological and political education to the students (zoe, 2017). with the development of higher education in china, the duties of fu dao yuans were reviewed by the revolutionary committee of tsinghua university during the great cultural revolution in 1976, and was believed to be politically incorrect (li & fang, 2017; lin & peng, 2003). in 1978, after several reforms, the new system of iuytuhnbn journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 139-152 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2200140 chinese student affairs was applied in all chinese universities, and the duties of fu dao yuans (counsellors) gradually expanded to include consulting, moral education, cultural exchange, career advising, mental health, financial aid, student integration, recreation, day-to-day living, leadership, and so on (li & fang, 2017; zoe, 2017). in order to ensure professionalisation of student affairs and all matters concerning student’s services within chinese universities are well-considered, the ministry of education published the standards for core competencies of fu dao yuans. according to the document, fu dao yuans should have a bachelor’s degree and above, with no limitation on the major (zoe, 2017). although many fu dao yuans initially study a major called “ideological and political education”, this major emphasises theories instead of practice to the occupation of student affairs administration. to get more practical skills, many fu dao yuans are studying for a certificate of psychological consultants and career development mentors (li & fang, 2017; lin & peng, 2003; zoe, 2017). approaches to international student services despite many transformations to the higher education system in china since the 1990s, many ideas of a centralised planned system, inspired by the russian system in the early 1950s, still exists in contemporary chinese university systems, for example, chinese universities have a centralised model of administration where all international students are admitted into a single faculty of international education. although international students take courses in different faculties of their academic specialisation, all their services are provided by staff at the faculty of international education (liu & lin, 2016). chinese universities have adopted a vertical network system to provide services to students called the “parental or nanny” approach to service provision (liu & lin, 2016). upon admission of international students in every department, there is a fu dao yuan for international students, who are in charge and responsible for a full spectrum of issues concerning international students. the international fu dao yuan is a single stop shop of services for all international students; international students do not need to worry about students’ visa applications, medical insurance purchases, contact with the migration office, moral education in their day-to-day living, and connecting with the hospitals in case of any emergency. international fu da yuans also make sure international students are registered for the right courses, meet all requirements for graduation, and are comfortable living in student residences (liu & lin, 2016). if necessary, student financial aid office should also send the financial-aid policies to the international fu da yuans, and the international fu da yuans will help the needy students to apply. in addition, the cell phones of international fu dao yuans are supposed to be available 24/7 for students under their care (liu & lin, 2016; zoe, 2017). this is the reason why it is called a vertical network system or parental/ nanny approach to student services. 141robert lucas kaniki & hilda lukas kaniki cultural and social problems encountered by international students once international students encounter a problem or have any issue, they will report to the international fu dao yuan of the department. if this issue was beyond the capacity of the international fu dao yuan to resolve, the international fu dao yuan had to report to the faculty administrator in charge of student affairs, and if the faculty administrator could not resolve the problem within the faculty, it was channelled to the dean of students at an institutional level (li & fang, 2017; lin & peng, 2003). the duties of international fu dao yuans include everything about international student life. it is a complicated duty because it is impossible for a single person to solve all the problems alone (zoe, 2017). international fu dao yuans only get assistance from faculty administrators or deans of students at the institutional level when the issue is very serious. so, the system places much pressure on the shoulders of international fu dao yuans, and it is challenging to distinguish serious cases from trivial ones (liu & lin, 2016; zoe, 2017). in spite of using the parental/nanny approach to provide services to international students in chinese universities, research on international students in china reveal that although international students have high educational aspirations and positive attitudes toward their education, they still experienced significant problems in adjusting to the host culture and social milieu (dervin et al, 2018; li, 2015; yang, 2018). the cultural difference, language barriers, lack of social interaction with host students, food incompatibilities, internet restrictions, and lack of counselling services for international students were widely recognised in many works of literature as the major problems for international students in china (chen, 1999; gaw, 2000; wen, 2005; yost & lucas, 2002). wen (2005) and yost and lucas (2002) noted that inadequate cultural experience and lack of social support mechanisms of international students created obstacles in social integration with host people. these obstacles led to international students starting to experience situations of uneasiness that were detrimental to their individual psychology, such as feelings of isolation, loneliness, and frustration (yang, 2018; zhai, 2002). these problems could be seen as culture shock: “a psychological disorientation experienced by people who suddenly enter radically different cultural environments to live or work” (oberg, 1960). the roles and endeavours of international fu dao yuans are inevitable to enhance the culture and social experiences of international students in china. theoretical approach the theoretical background of this paper hinges on the oberg (1960) u-curve adjustment theory (uct). specifically, it portrays the transition and adaptation process from old culture to new culture, as well as the social life. according to the uct model, the transition and adaptation process goes through four stages. the honeymoon stage occurs during the first to third weeks jkhnbh journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 139-152 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2200142 after arrival at the host country; individuals are fascinated by the new environment and different cultures. the initial cultural obsession is followed by the second stage of disillusionment and frustration, which is the culture shock stage. the newcomer starts to encounter frustration and irritation towards the host country and people after experiencing the culture on a daily basis. the third stage is the adjustment stage, in which the individual gradually adapts to the new norms and values of the host country after being exposed to cultural and social support mechanisms. at this stage, individuals can act more appropriately than before. finally, the mastery stage is characterised by an additional increase in the individual’s ability to function effectively in the new culture and social settings (figure 1) (black & mendenha, 1990; lysgaard, 1955; oberg, 1960). as it was suggested in the third stage of u-curve adjustment theory (oberg, 1960), the model was appropriate for exploring how the international fu dao yuans played an important role in enhancing the cultural and social experiences of international students in china. figure 1. the u-curve adjustment pattern (adapted from oberg, 1960) methods the study employed a qualitative design, as it was an empirical study that aimed to reveal the experiences of international students in china beyond those that might already have 143robert lucas kaniki & hilda lukas kaniki been predicted. to achieve the research aim, in-depth focus group interviews were employed as a relevant approach in accessing different categories of information, such as motivations, thoughts, and understandings of participants (coles &swami, 2012). research design the research design selected for the study was an embedded single-case approach (yin, 2018), thus being helpful for showing a multifaceted picture of cultural and social experiences of international students in a chosen university. one top-tier comprehensive research university in southeast china was selected as a site for the study because it promoted internalisation. the institutional site was a public university, ranked in the top twenty of over 2 000 chinese universities. the institution had a total enrolment of approximately 40 000 students, including 3 500 international students from over 130 countries and regions (university prospectus, 2019). participants a convenient sample of 45 male and female international students participated in the study. the participation was voluntary, such that the students were willing and enthusiastic to share their insights about cultural and social experiences. table 1 below describes characteristics of the participants. table1. characteristics of participants country of origin number of participants age range gender length of stay in china indonesia 3 24-28 2: male 1: female 1-2 years russia 3 26-31 3: male 1-3 years bangladesh 3 26-30 2: male 1: female 2-3 years usa 2 24-28 2: male 1-2 years zimbabwe 2 26-30 1: male 1: female 1-3 years pakistan 4 27-32 3: male 1: female 2-4 years tanzania 1 26-30 1: male 1 year journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 139-152 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2200144 country of origin number of participants age range gender length of stay in china uk 3 24-30 1: male 2: female 1-2 years south africa 3 26-31 3: female 2-3 years rwanda 4 26-32 3: male 1: female 1-2 years philippines 3 24-30 1: male 2: female 1-2 years ghana 4 27-32 2: male 2: female 2-4 years france 2 24-28 1: male 1: female 1-2 years nigeria 3 26-30 2: male 1: female 2-3 years liberia 3 27-32 3: male 1-3 years india 2 26-30 2: male 1-2 years data collection and ethical considerations to ensure the data collected attained the research aim, ethical considerations were significant in undertaking this study. the informed consent letter for participation was provided at the beginning of each focus group interview and all students were given enough time to read and understand it before the focus group discussions. participants were allowed to withdraw at any time. the sample was 45 international students from 16 countries that were recruited for 9 focus groups, and each group contained no more than 5 participants. data analysis and trustworthiness in spite of sharing their thoughts in a focus group, during data analysis, each participant was treated as a separate case. the pattern matching method was applied in an attempt to link an existing pattern that derived from theory, with the collected information (alebeek & wilson, 2019; trochim, 1989), and compared to the revealed description of cultural and social experiences of international students with u-curve adjustment theory. cases were analysed from the coded transcriptions of each participant and later categorised into themes by adopting inductive coding (thomas, 2003). this helped to condense wide and varied raw data through constant comparison into a brief format to form a single theme. the whole set of data was 145robert lucas kaniki & hilda lukas kaniki transcribed and coded by the interviewers (both authors). to ensure the trustworthiness of data, member checking (lincoln & guba, 1985) was applied; the transcripts were sent back to the participants to prove that the respondents’ experiences were represented as intended. findings global contact zone and nanny style of service provision in general, participants appreciated the opportunities and experiences of studying in china. the majority of participants described the university as a global educational contact zone. the students from around the world meet, interact, and learn from each other. chris, a student from congo, noted that: “coming to study in china has helped me to meet people from different parts of the world. china is like a mini globe…when you are in touch with people from other places, you learn a lot…. the more you spend time with different people from different countries, the more you discover things and experience different cultures.” other international students commented on how the nanny style of service provisioning was helpful in their daily life. the international fu dao yuan as a single stop shop of services for international students took all responsibility for international student life, while students only need to passively receive services. zak, a student from france, noted that: “the style of service provision used by fu dao yuans is very proactive…i was very happy when i realized fu dao yuans are responsible for such issues assigned up for the right courses, visa application, arranging student’s residences, purchase of medical insurance and so on…this kind of system simplifies my life here in the university.” however, some participants also think critically about the risks involved in the nanny style of service provisioning, which could prevent the students from being proactive in finding out how various services in chinese universities work, and how to access them on their own. kate, a student from canada explained: “the style of service provision used by fu dao yuans is very good, but i think to some extent it limits us to manage our own school and life issues as independent adults…. it makes us have little experience on how things work because things that can be handled by students themselves such as to make sure we sign up for the right courses, meet all requirements for graduations and so on, are done by international fu dao yuans.” echoing the findings of liu and lin (2016) and zoe (2017), most often the duties of international fu dao yuans are complicated because it is impossible for a single person to solve all the problems encountered by students. the system exerts considerable pressure on the shoulders of international fu dao yuans and it is a real challenge to differentiate special issues from trivial ones. this trend was reflected by many participants who believed that thej journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 139-152 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2200146 international fu dao yuans, in charge of different departments, had a limited role in enhancing the cultural and social experience of international students because of its numerous duties. the system weaves all students and makes it difficult for international fu dao yuans to focus on cultural and social programmes for international students. the findings revealed that the language challenges, social interaction with chinese students, cultural orientation programmes, and counselling services for international students were the four most significant adjustment issues for international students. language challenges were the most often mentioned issue by respondents, as it limits the cultural and social experiences of international students. participants revealed inadequate efforts taken by international fu dao yuans to promote different programmes and activities in favour of language learning. leonard from nigeria illustrated: “still there are limited efforts taken by international fu dao yuans to create a conducive and alternative environment for us to master the language. for example, there is no active language exchange program to enable mutual learning with host students, where chinese students could learn foreign languages and we could also learn chinese language easily.” cultural orientation for international students respondents reported that the international fu dao yuans had little focus on providing cultural orientation programmes to address cultural differences within the university. the orientation programmes were mainly focused on academics; for example, how to use the library, course selection, and other academic services. most of the students usually consulted their fellow senior international students regarding their difficulties in adjusting to a new culture, although the senior students also had similar adjustment issues. clara from the uk described how orientation programmes played a minor role in enhancing the culture and social experience of international students in the university: “before i came to china, i had no idea how life could be in university, but i was expecting the orientation programs could easily help me to get familiar with the host culture and social life. but i think the orientation programs are not focused much on enhancing the cultural and social experiences of international students… they emphasize much on academic orientation.” social interaction with chinese students the international students revealed that they felt very isolated from chinese students and their culture. these kinds of experiences led to frustration, confusion, and emotional discomfort among the international students because they lack familiar signs and belonging. responses show that there were few effective programmes to bridge international and chinese students. for example, active extracurricular activities for international and chinese students to help 147robert lucas kaniki & hilda lukas kaniki them easily get to know each other. some students admitted to having been involved in some programmes designed by international fu dao yuans to bring international and chinese students together for the purpose of sharing their culture, but most of those programmes lacked effectiveness and were not efficient shab from india stated: “one time, i got information from fu dao yuan of our department about the social program called the english-chinese corner. in that program international and chinese students could come together to learn the languages and cultures of each other by playing some interesting games while speaking both english and chinese languages, also it could help students to make friends. honestly, it was a nice program but it lacked effectiveness and seriousness which made many students lose interest in attending the program.” counselling services for international students commenting on their experiences in the counselling programmes for international students with cultural differences, the majority of participants identified counselling as one of the most important factors in enhancing cultural and social experiences; therefore, designing counselling programmes to help international students who felt very isolated from chinese students and culture, those who experience frustration, confusion, and emotional discomfort would help them easily adapt to the host culture and social settings. angel from ghana stated: “i really appreciate the services provided by international fu dao yuans; they are really helpful. but they should also consider having counselling programs for international students just as what they have for chinese students. it will easily facilitate adjustment into the new cultural and social life. other participants mentioned the lack of awareness of counselling services available for them. abdul from pakistan argued that: “frankly speaking, i have no idea where i can seek professional counselling services in the university. the office which i frequently use is the office of international fu dao yuan, for issues like course registration, visa application, and so on, but not for counselling services.” discussion this article examined the role played by the student affairs office in supporting international students to have successful cultural and social experiences based on their perceptions and experiences in china. many studies about international students in china integrated the academic and cultural experience of international students. the study has differentiated them, considering how they are important in different ways. the u-curve adjustment theory (oberg, 1960) was employed particularly in its stage of adjustment, to examine the adjustment trajectory of international students in a new culture. the study discovered that journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 139-152 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2200148 the international fu dao yuans in chinese universities are central in the enhancement of cultural and social experiences of international students; because it confirmed that there was a connection between international fu dao yuans and international students. the office of international fu dao yuans was the most used office by international students who sought services such as visa applications, course registration, travelling, legal problems, purchasing of health insurance, comfortable living standards in student residences, and so on. providing cultural and social support to international students to successfully enhance their status is vital and deserves further attention in many chinese universities. the cultural and social support should not only be for the positive well-being of international students, but also for helping them to cope with the host culture and society. by placing great emphasis on language and communication programmes, cultural orientation for international students, social interaction and counselling services for international students, will help the international students from diverse backgrounds to easily adjust to the host culture and society. with a completely enhanced status, the international students will not only accept the host country’s customs but will also begin to enjoy its social life and studies. practical recommendations given the recent increase of international students in chinese higher education coming from diverse backgrounds, the process of cultivating international fu dao yuans in chinese universities should be combined with the increasing level of international students in china, to ensure enough international fu dao yuans with manageable duties. this will help them to put more focus on cultural and social programmes for international students. the practical recommendations developed from international students’ experiences are essential for international fu dao yuans interested in enhancing the culture and social experiences of international students in china. firstly, the international fu dao yuans must ensure that the orientation programmes for international students are not primarily focused on academic programmes, but should also focus on enhancing the cultural and social experiences of the international students. enhancing cultural experiences in universities can be achieved by designing orientation programmes that promote easy adjustment of international students into the host culture. huntley (1993) stated that a well-organised orientation can also help international students become aware of aspects of university life and then adjust better. furthermore, pedersen (1991) stated that: “orientation is a continuous process requiring contact with students before they arrive and during their stay”, therefore, the study suggested that the educational and cultural information about host universities must be made more readily available to prospective international students before they leave their home countries, so that they can be prepared or at least be aware of the differences before leaving. 149robert lucas kaniki & hilda lukas kaniki secondly, improving counselling services for international students; t he study confirmed that many international students were not aware of counselling services that are available to them. under these circumstances, it is important for international fu dao yuans to create better connections with international students in terms of personal emotional issues, so that they can openly share their feelings and indicate if they need any help. pedersen (1991) presented an alternative technique of providing counselling services to international students, which is beyond the formal counselling technique. he recommends a harmonising system of informal methods, for instance, going to where the students live or hanging out, whether at home, on campus benches, hallways, or street corners and taking part in social actions. thirdly, strengthening language support; many international students are still facing several difficulties in using the host language for communication. for instance, the study discovered that participants consider the chinese language as the main challenge in coping with the host environment. international fu dao yuans should go beyond the one-semester host language course and design continuing programmes such as mini communication workshops, which could help to reveal some commonly used words in the social and academic setting to international students. furthermore, robinson (1992) suggested making the implicit cultural knowledge explicit in their instruction. this is providing opportunities to develop essential knowledge of the host culture. therefore, the integration of cultural and academic guidance while teaching is vital in enhancing international students’ cultural competence. lastly, international fu dao yuans should help to create interaction opportunities between host students and international students. zhai (2002) argued that international students who spent more of their leisure time with host students are significantly better adapted than those who spent more leisure time with their fellow country mates. a variety of active and efficient programmes such as english-chinese conversation programmes, culture clubs, and international festivals could be designed by international fu dao yuans to enhance the cultural and social experiences of international students. limitations and further research practically, and within the constraints of research, the study recruited only international students in a single university to share their experiences. it is therefore suggested that future research could further investigate students’ experiences and international fu dao yuan activities in many chinese universities. participants’ experiences might differ from those of students in other well-developed institutions, which are considered world-class universities. the study encourages future research by using various methods such as quantitative or mixed-methods research, which could provide a better understanding and richer data on the cultural and social experiences of international students in china. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 139-152 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2200150 references alebeek, w., & wilson, k. 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(2018). international students in china: a dream come true. in: dervin f, du x and härkönen a (eds) international students in china: education, student life and intercultural encounters. palgrave macmillan imprint, 14(8), 335–369. gaw, f. (2000). reverse culture shock in students returning from overseas. international journal of intercultural relations, 24(1), 83-104. huang, f. (2016). international mobility of students, academics, educational programs, and campuses in asia. education in the asia-pacific region, 104(4), 315-467. huang, f. (2007). internationalization of higher education in the era of globalization: what have been its implications in china and japan? journal of higher education management and policy, 78(3), 47-60. huntley, s. (1993). adult international students: problems of adjustment. eric document reproduction service, 25(6), 338–349. international consultants for education and fairs [icef] monitor. 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(2017). professionalization of student affairs educators i n china: history, challenges, and solutions. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(1): 41–50. lysgaard, s. (1955). adjustment in a foreign society: norwegian fulbright grantees visiting the united states. international social science bulletin, 128(7), 45–51. ministry of education (moe). people’s republic of china (2018). statistics of international students in china. http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/ usiness/htmlfiles/moe s5987/201202/1311 17.html oberg, k. (1960). cultural shock: adjustment to new cultural environments. practical anthropology 67(7), 177–182. pedersen, b. (1991). counselling international students: the counselling psychologist. http:// www.fuberlin.de/gerund/public/world_ data.htm robinson, j. (1992). international students and american university culture: adjustment issues. www.mindoh.com/docs/confidence_ estsbummer.pdf thomas, d. (2003). a general inductive approach for qualitative data analysis. american journal of evaluation, 27(2), 237–246. trochim, k. (1989). outcome pattern-matching and program theory. evaluation and program planning, 12(4), 355–366. university prospectus for international students. (2019). xiamen university. http://admissions. xmu.edu.cn wen, l. (2005). perceptive of expatriation and cross-cultural adjustment. national chiayi university, 25(4), 103–118. ying, l., kamnuansilpa, p., & hirofumi, a. (2018). factors affecting international students’ decisions on destination for studying abroad: a case study in china. journal of higher education, 13(1), 93–118. yost, d., & lucas, s. (2002). adjustment issues affecting employment for immigrants from the former soviet union. journal of employment counselling, 39(4), 456. yin, k. (2018). case study research and application: design and method. sage publication inc, 56(2), 543–562. zhai, l. (2002). studying international students: adjustment issues and social support. research and planning, 4(12), 34–78. zoe, t. (2017). nature & origin of student affairs in china. naspa. https://www.naspa.org/ blog/a-brief-intro-to-student-affairs-in-china journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 139-152 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2200152 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 175-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.4099   175 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds book review creating conditions for student success: social justice perspectives from a south african university by m. fourie-malherbe (ed.) (2016). stellenbosch, south africa: african sun media. reviewed by nico venter* the title immediately draws the attention of anyone working in higher education. i work in a counselling centre at the university of the free state, and often see students struggle with the same challenges that are described in the book. students struggle not only psychologically; they face social and academic challenges as well. this book is necessary reading for those of us working in the field. while the research on which the book is based is context-specific, the challenges described therein are applicable to most universities in south africa. hence, this volume could serve as a great guide for other universities and could also be used as a benchmark for initiatives in other universities that aim to develop conditions that encourage student success. creating conditions for student success: social justice perspectives from a south african university by magda fourie-malherbe is a compilation of original research conducted by various authors at stellenbosch university. the book offers a holistic perspective on student success. through research, various challenges faced by modern-day south african students are addressed. the book focuses not only on academic performance, but also on adjustment to university, and increasing students’ chances of employability through the development of graduate attributes. although this book is based on the experiences of stellenbosch university students, the research findings could be generalized to other south african universities. the book is divided into four parts and each part focuses on a different aspect of student success. the first part attributes student success to the quality of adjustment to university life. the second part discusses in four chapters the different in-class experiences of students. these include the relationship between the student and lecturer, developing a sense of mastery, and the use of technology in class. the third part considers out-ofclass experiences and is comprised of three chapters. the overarching theme in this part is fostering a sense of relatedness amongst students which can contribute to their success. it also addresses students’ emotional and psychological well-being. the last part consists of four chapters and focuses on engagement, graduate attributes, and employability. these chapters emphasise various university experiences that contribute to student success. * nico venter is a counselling psychologist in the department of student counselling and development at the university of the free state. email: ventern3@ufs.ac.za 176   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 175-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.4099 part one, which focuses on access and the first year, discusses students’ experiences and adjustment to university, especially non-traditional students who may have had no prior (even second-hand) exposure to the university community, environment, and its workings. it deals with the experiences of students as they first arrive at university and their sense of belonging. furthermore, it looks at research done at stellenbosch university which indicates that a mentoring programme could assist students in their adjustment to university life. one of the chapters also looks at empowering students through participation in an advanced mathematical programme. the advanced mathematical programme requires students to master various competencies, which include critical thinking, time management, managing large workloads, perseverance, comprehension, and confidence in mathematical abilities. the programme was found to have contributed to assisting students with the adjustment from school to university. however, as the author notes, implementing such a programme can have serious financial implications for the school and students. however, its importance cannot be ignored. part two focuses on in-class experiences and starts with a chapter on using audience response technology to enhance the educator-learner relationship. this chapter explores an alternative to the traditional method of teaching. in the highlighted case studies, audience response technology was developed for students to use on their mobile devices. mixed results were received. on the one side, the learners have to participate with technological advancements and on the other side, the educator’s capability with these technological advancements might influence this two-way relationship. this chapter concludes that both the learner and educator have a responsibility to work on the two-way relationship utilizing technology such as this. part two also addresses the issue of student exclusion from technology-based academic practices and that the academic environment should focus on fostering inclusivity for people lacking access to technology-based academic practices. furthermore, this part also looks at the willingness of academics to use technology to educate learners. as mentioned in the book, there is not a straightforward question and answer, but an interplay of factors can contribute to the eagerness of academia to use technology in academics. furthermore, this part looks at some of the means through which a well-rounded student capable of being employable can be formed. one programme looked at teaching students an extra language to help them communicate more effectively with others. in this instance, by teaching the students the basics of isixhosa, they were better able to relate to others. part 2 provides great insight into new ways of approaching academics, and so could be a benefit to lecturers. part 3 focuses on out-of-class experiences. this immediately drew me in, since i felt the subjects explored therein could assist me in my own work with students in a counselling centre. although universities focus on academics, the social aspect of student well-being cannot be ignored. i personally have a lot of interest in how social environment can affect academics. this part addresses various factors that can play a role in student success nico venter: review on creating conditions for student success: social justice perspectives …   177 outside the classroom. a major focus is creating a sense of belonging, in part achieved by stellenbosch university through encouraging students to question and challenge stereotyping and personal bias and creating shared spaces for students that live on and off campus. both were implemented successfully. this part further looks at the role management can play. in this scenario, it looked at the importance of the roles residence heads can play in the achievement of success by acting as mentors. knowledgeability and good leadership skills are emphasised as significant characteristics residence heads should possess to make a positive impact in these roles. furthermore, the book posits that counselling centres can play an important role in advocating for and promoting social change. this way, counselling centres could also bolster their significance to student well-being by including advocacy for change to their traditional roles of diagnosing and providing therapy. part four addresses student engagement, graduate attributes, and employability. programmes can be launched at universities to promote social change, such as having critical discussions about diversity, the importance of exchange programmes, as well as networking opportunities. by addressing inequalities such as these, graduates might stand a more equitable chance at landing the jobs for which they have studied. student success is not only about academics, but also about opportunities after study completion. graduation does not guarantee a job, therefore, i felt like part 4, chapter 16 especially, can give students a glimpse of what they can do to improve their chances of navigating their way successfully into and adjusting to the work environment. creating conditions for student success: social justice perspectives from a south african university shatters the notion that studying alone is sufficient for student success, highlighting the importance of striking a healthy balance between students’ academic, personal and social lives. although this book is based on the research done at stellenbosch university, it could serve just as well in assisting other universities in their endeavours to create conditions for student success. it offers a good benchmarking tool for other universities. a further important note is that the book is accessible. i personally enjoyed reading the book. it was an easy read; thus its potential beneficiaries are not only those involved in higher education. prospective students and anyone with an interest in the inner workings of a south african university today stand to profit from this reading. i hope its reception encourages stellenbosch university and other institutions to continue to develop and build on programmes that have been found to contribute to student success. how to cite: venter, n. (2022). [review of the book creating conditions for student success: social justice perspectives from a south african university by m. fourie-malherbe (ed.)]. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 175-177. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.4099 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities tamara yakaboski* and matthew birnbaum** research article * associate professor of higher education and student affairs leadership, the university of northern colorado ** associate professor of higher education and student affairs leadership, the university of northern colorado abstract kenya is increasingly turning to the promise of mass higher education to help solve a range of economic and social issues. these efforts have had profound effects on university students, faculty and professionals who provide the vital student support services necessary for academic success. this case study explores the challenges that face kenyan student services professionals within the context of the country’s history and cultures. kenya’s student service professionals face four major challenges: the increasing costs of attendance, the resulting impact on student behaviours and actions, lack of training and senior leadership, and regular campus closures. keywords student affairs, accommodation, student housing, student services, university environment, higher education. the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities kenya is increasingly turning to the promise of mass higher education, meaning a shift from an elite to an open system of access, to help solve a range of economic and social problems (jowi, 2009; kenya vision 2030, 2007). the national government has made its commitment to post-secondary education evident through the addition of over 25 public universities and constituent colleges since 1994 and its adoption of policies encouraging rapid enrolment growth in nearly all post-secondary institutions. between 2010 and 2013, kenya made nearly 20 constituent colleges and branch campuses into stand-alone universities. even with this growing capacity, kenya’s demand for access to affordable higher education far exceeds the system’s ability to deliver quality instruction and student support (ngolovoi, 2010; owuor, 2012). while the kenyan government has implemented numerous reforms intended to increase educational efficiency and degree production, far fewer resources have been provided for services to support enrolled students. this is problematic because 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 admitting students to university without providing appropriate levels of support often results in a failed academic experience and wasted institutional resources. just as nations turn to higher education to solve societal problems, universities often look to the increasingly professionalised field of student affairs or student services to address issues of behaviour, housing, retention, health and career selection. outside the us, many professionals performing student services work come from backgrounds without a formal curriculum in student affairs, such as faculty members, psychological counsellors or clergy. the field of student services or student affairs varies substantially around the world with the us model focusing on recruitment, retention, graduation and student learning outcomes, and with other models focusing more on services, such as financial aid, housing, food services, and counselling (ludeman & gregory, 2013). this case study explores the challenges that face kenyan student services professionals within the context of the country’s history and cultures. kenya’s student service professionals face four major challenges: the increasing costs of attendance, the resulting impact on student behaviours and actions, lack of training and senior leadership, and campus closures. kenyan higher education and student affairs background at the time of political independence in 1963, kenya’s royal technical college, with an enrolment of fewer than 600 students, was its single public institution of higher education. kenya’s economy was largely agricultural and the british colonial government had little interest in educating the indigenous population (chege, 2009). the royal college, which would become the university college of nairobi and later the university of nairobi (u of n) in 1970, was a source of national pride. it was charged with the critical task of educating kenyans to fill the administrative vacuum created when english managers left their posts (oanda, chege & wesonga, 2008; wangenge-ouma, 2008) and ‘africanising’ government institutions (willis & gona, 2013). once established as kenya’s first university, the institution quickly became the epicentre for political activity and government intervention (chege, 2009). kenyatta college (later renamed kenyatta university) was established in 1972 on the outskirts of nairobi as a u of n constituent college charged with educating the nation’s future teachers. kenyatta university (ku) was granted university status in 1985 in a decade when kenya established three additional universities: moi (1984), egerton (1987), and jomo kenyatta university of science and technology (1994). maseno university (2000) and masinde muliro university (2007) were added more recently. table 1 lists all public universities including the ones that have recently been changed from constituency colleges or branch campuses, the date of their original founding, and the year in which they were given university status. tamara yakaboski and matthew birnbaum: the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities 35 table 1: kenyan universities university name area originally a constituent campus of university status university of nairobi nairobi n/a 1970 moi university eldoret n/a 1984 kenyatta university nairobi n/a 1985 egerton university njoro n/a 1988 maseno university maseno n/a 1991 jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology nairobi n/a 1994 masinde muliro university of science and technology kakamega moi university 2009 murang’a university college murang'a town jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2011 machakos university college machakos town kenyatta university 2011 the co-operative university college of kenya nairobi jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2011 embu university college (uon) embu town university of nairobi 2011 kirinyaga university college (ku) kirinyaga county jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2011 rongo university college (mu) rongo town moi university 2011 kibabii university college (mmust) bungoma masinde muliro university of science and technology 2011 garissa university college (eu) garissa moi university 2011 taita taveta university college (jkuat) voi jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2011 dedan kimathi university of technology nyeri jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2012 chuka university chuka egerton university 2012 technical university of kenya nairobi university of nairobi 2013 technical university of mombasa mombasa jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2013 pwani university kilifi kenyatta university 2013 kisii university kisii egerton university 2013 university of eldoret eldoret moi university 2013 maasai mara university narok moi university 2013 jaramogi oginga odinga university of science and technology kisumu maseno university 2013 laikipia university laikipia egerton university 2013 south eastern kenya university kitui kenyatta university 2013 multimedia university of kenya nairobi jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2013 university of kabianga kericho moi university 2013 karatina university karatina moi university 2013 meru university of science and technology meru jomo kenyatta university of agriculture and technology 2013 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 in the first decade following independence, kenya, like many newly independent african nations, fully subsidised higher education, resulting in free tuition and a living stipend for most students (wangenge-ouma, 2008). this proved fiscally unsustainable and a loan programme was developed in the mid-1970s to provide funds for accommodation, books, subsistence, and travel while keeping tuition free. however, funds for this programme quickly were exhausted because no mechanism was established for loan repayment and recipients were simply expected to honour their obligation and regularly send the government an instalment (ngome, 2003). pressure from the world bank to develop post-secondary education cos-sharing models resulted in modest tuition fee policies in 1991 along with a new loan programme available to all students regardless of economic need (johnstone, 2002; marcucci, johnstone & ngolovoi, 2008; wangenge-ouma, 2008). students protested these fees by damaging university property and the government responded by sending all students home for the remainder of the semester. admissions policies admission to kenya’s public universities is granted by the joints admissions board (jab), which determines which institution a government-funded applicant will attend and the degree programme to which they will be admitted. jab’s decisions are based on institutional capacity, the overall quality of the applicant pool, and national needs. this process helps ensure the most qualified and academically prepared students are admitted. the public generally supported this approach, as it appeared egalitarian, objective, and checked bribery (ngolovoi, 2010). however, jab-admitted applicants are required to wait a full year after graduating from secondary school to matriculate. in 1998, kenya adopted a dual track admissions policy that required universities to admit self-paying (module ii) students under a much more flexible set of academic criteria. students admitted under this policy join those already admitted under the existing meritbased system. although some institutions have reduced the number of vacancies for jab students in high-demand programmes to accommodate more fee-paying students, the policy’s net effect has been to dramatically increase the number of students attending public universities without requiring additional government expenditure (kiamba, 2003). at u of n and ku, the number of these self-funded students actually surpasses the regularly admitted students (“more students in module ll courses,” 2010), essentially doubling annual enrolments without providing additional infrastructure (marcucci, johnstone & ngolovoi, 2008) or support for student welfare (kiamba, 2003). ongoing tension exists between the regularly admitted and the self-paying students. students admitted through the traditional process believe that they properly earned a seat while their self-paying counterparts simply bought their way into university, since 89 per cent of module ii students come from high and middle income families (marcucci, johnstone & ngolovoi, 2008; otieno, 2005). adding to the insult, self-paying students can matriculate immediately following secondary school and, because many come from wealthier families (ibid.) may have access to nicer accommodation near the campus. tamara yakaboski and matthew birnbaum: the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities 37 political influence of the government on campuses post-colonial kenyan higher education has been defined by a strong symbiotic relationship with the national government, which frequently points to its universities as a source of national pride. although institutional funding was not guaranteed and the process for determining resource allocation not transparent, the government always provided enough financial support to keep the universities operating. however, for decades universities and colleges were co-opted into regional and national ethnic politics (wanzala, 2013). kenya’s president serves as honorary chancellor of each public university and appoints prominent individuals to serve in his place (munene, 2013). although these positions are honorary with limited statutory responsibilities, their powers can extend to the appointment of other key administrators (sifuna, 2012; wanzala, 2013). one result is that university leadership often has strong ties to the political party in office and has vested interests in local and national elections. these connections bring into question institutional autonomy and academic freedom as some university leaders take active steps to limit faculty and student criticism of the government and institutional policies (sifuna, 2012). another result is that university leaders may be appointed based on political affiliation and nepotism rather than experience and ability (wanzala, 2013). student groups in particular have criticised the government for the mismanagement of public affairs and ongoing economic and social crises. although unconstitutional, the most powerful of these student groups have been de-registered by the government and student newspapers censored. instead of supporting these groups or providing them with alternative outlets for expressing their concerns, university administrators frequently work to find ways to silence and disband them. tribalism and ethnic conflict impact on campuses tribal and ethnic affiliation is a defining aspect of post-colonial kenyan society. while tribes existed before colonisation, identities and affiliations were fluid and based largely on language, geography, and kinships (parsons, 2012). post-independence, “ethnicity replaced social class as the platform by which to negotiate access to state resources and power” (munene, 2013, p. 48) and members of the most populous tribes tended to win national elections because voters feared the consequences if another tribe came to power. although there is not room to fully explore the role of tribal and ethnic politics in this article, it is important to note that tribal affiliation and national electoral politics result in the government’s active recruitment and courting of each university’s undergraduate student union or government. electoral, state, institutional and student fee funds, along with private gifts, are often intermingled for political events supporting a candidate, creating immense tension between students from different tribes. the frustration and tension that can develop between the tribes was demonstrated following the disputed 2008 national election. violence resulted in over 1 300 deaths and the displacement of 600 000 kenyans (kanyinga, 2009). universities were closed and numerous faculty members and administrators resigned their positions fearing for their lives (munene, 2013). reforms 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 implemented in kenya’s 2010 constitution prevent unilateral presidential decisions about resource allocation directly affecting tribal homelands, although it is difficult to believe that the role of ethnicity in resource allocation will be eliminated in the short term. early kenyan student affairs little is written about student services in kenya’s universities that does not focus primarily on student unrest. the earliest and one of the few accounts of kenyan student affairs found it housed predominately in the academic realm of the university although somewhat decentralised (hughes, 1990) and focusing mostly on basic student services such as accommodation, food, and counselling. then, as now, most senior student service positions are staffed by faculty members appointed to administrative positions. a de facto philosophy of in loco parentis was generally accepted but is now less tolerated by students who must overcome numerous real-world obstacles to remain enrolled. the literature that does exist is a combination of peer-reviewed manuscripts and dissertations focusing on guidance and counselling in areas of course selection and personal adjustment. guidance and counselling offices were established at ku in 1984 and had the only staff specifically trained for student affairs (hughes, 1990). twenty years later, counselling offices exist at all public universities and are often the only student services professionals with specific training. the vice-chancellor committee report, “causes of disturbances/riots in public universities” (2000), implicitly suggests that a reason for emphasising guidance and counselling is to appropriately assist students’ adolescent inability to cope with the freedoms of university life, which may lead to drug abuse, withdrawal, anxiety and demonstrations. it recommends that all academic and administrative staff be trained in basic principles of guidance and counselling, and that institutions establish mechanisms for effectively handling student complaints about teaching, accountability, unfairness, bias and sexual harassment. largely absent are suggestions about involving students in campus decision-making, addressing the root causes of the riots, or recognition of students as independent thinkers. the large amount of high quality scholarship addressing numerous topics in kenyan higher education provides a comprehensive overview of issues facing faculty, administrators, government, economy and society. the lack of literature addressing the services that support students and their co-curricular activities is problematic because the acquisition of social and personal competencies is important to a high functioning democratic society. study methodology and methods data for this study was collected over a six-week visit in 2010. we used intrinsic case study methodology to guide data collection for its ability to focus on a bounded system, which can be an “individual, a specific programme, a process, and institution” (jones, torres & arminio, 2006, p. 53). case study is generally ideal for exploring complex naturalistic social systems typically composed of multiple variables, especially when a study’s goal is to expand the reader’s knowledge of the particular case (merriam, 2001). intrinsic case study is used tamara yakaboski and matthew birnbaum: the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities 39 when researchers have a personal interest in the case, are able to pre-identify the boundaries of the case, and are interested in understanding the particulars of a case (stake, 1995; 2000). data collection after spending three weeks in nairobi and a rural village acculturating to kenya, we visited seven university campuses for between one and three days for arranged and impromptu meetings, learning about the various services offered to students and the challenges faced by the staff. the seven institutions, which appear first in table 1, included each of the public universities established prior to 2010 and did not include any branch or constituent colleges. prior to these visits, we spoke at length with several kenyan student affairs professionals who work in the us, numerous kenyans working in education-related ngos, and former university administrators. during the visits we met with over 50 staff, faculty, and students including vice chancellors, deputy vice chancellors, deans of students, assistant deans of students, chaplains, catering managers, accommodation and housing managers, counsellors, student health managers, public relations officers, recreation managers, financial aid officers, deans of academic colleges or units, student leaders and alumni. on the recommendation of individuals we spoke to prior to visiting campuses, the meetings were conducted in a conversational manner and not recorded. we do not identify individuals by name and sometimes reverse gender identifiers in order to maintain their confidentiality and safety. we collected numerous institutional documents from student services and the public relations offices at each institution. these documents generally included student handbooks, brochures, annual reports and strategic plans. we supplemented these documents with a review of institutional and departmental websites for each university if available. data analysis data from the campus visits were analysed using open-coding to categorise themes that emerged (gibbs, 2007; strauss & corbin, 1997). based on african higher education literature, we expected certain themes to emerge, such as revenue pressures and funding decreases. however, the inductive nature of open-coding allowed new themes to emerge regarding how participants believed funding and revenue pressures impacted student affairs and students. we also analysed the documents using an inductive qualitative content analysis procedure to identify themes. to help ensure the trustworthiness of the analysis, we compared the campus visit data, documents, and existing literature (gibbs, 2007; whitt, 2001). we then discussed our findings with a key informant to ensure credibility and accuracy, a kenyan-born student affairs professional who was educated in the us. researchers’ perspectives our perspectives are informed by a western-centric worldview. we are both us-born scholars and former student affairs practitioners, having earned our degrees at us colleges and universities. our initial conversations about this study concerned the appropriateness of two western professors collecting data and writing about higher education in a 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 post-colonial country. we proceeded only with the encouragement of a kenyan-born gatekeeper and an understanding that we would conduct regular check-ins with kenyan nationals and educators to discuss our observations and preliminary findings. we approach our data collection and analysis with an open mind and employ a variety of methods to help ensure the trustworthiness of the findings. however, readers should understand that our views and findings about what constitutes challenges come from a privileged position. our intent with this study is to be critical but not to criticise. it is important to note that throughout our data collection process kenya was actively engaged in a national conversation about a new constitution, which was approved by voters in 2010. the new constitution formally separates branches of government to provide the checks and balances of power necessary in a democracy, and creates several commissions empowered to investigate ethics violations and government compensation. statements we make regarding the government’s role in higher education or ability to make unilateral decisions should be weighed in this context. challenges for kenyan student affairs the data analysis finds that student affairs professionals in kenya are presented with three overarching challenges that manifest uniquely at each institution depending on its history and geographic proximity to nairobi. in general, because u of n and ku are located in the capital and share significant history, they tend to have similar issues compared to the newer institutions located in more rural parts of the county. challenge 1: increasing cost of attendance as the kenyan government pushes for the massification of higher education, it has also adopted policies to shift the cost of attendance to individual students and their families during an era of weak economic performance (fehnel, 2003). the resulting enrolment increases and pressure on students to afford higher education present the greatest challenges to student services staff and institutions. at u of n and ku, the most established and financially stable institutions, most of the student interviewees talked about ongoing frustration with tuition and fee increases that are seemingly never accompanied with an increase in services or the quality of education. some government-funded students at these institutions discussed withdrawing from school because they could not afford basic necessities such as rent, transportation, and school supplies which have increased dramatically over the past few years, after paying their tuition and fees. one assistant dean of students explained, “students are told the increases are necessary for all sorts of reasons, such as [faculty] raises or new buildings, but if you are from here [kenya] you know that the money doesn’t stay here.” students at the newer institutions also expressed concerns about their finances. while nearly every student we spoke to believed that a degree was essential to gainful employment, a disproportionate number of women indicated having thoughts about returning home to assist with domestic income and work. while often citing the financial tamara yakaboski and matthew birnbaum: the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities 41 cost of attendance, we also heard stories about the hardships students’ families experienced due to their not being at home. for example, one female stated, “i know it is tough on my mother. there are two that are younger than me. i used to be responsible for caring for them and now that i am here, she is overwhelmed.” dual-track enrolment policies were supposed to generate additional revenues for institutions and student welfare services but the latter never materialised (kiamba, 2003). a few western graduate students studying at u of n stated that the full-paying students’ use of services, when added to the existing load, stretches the resources available to front-line staff past a point of sustainability. one student stated, “it doesn’t seem like the [student services] staff are able to help too much, because they feel like there is too much to do, too many students.” at each institution, students, faculty and student service staff expressed frustration about the cost increases because they are perceived as antithetical to the foundations of kenyan higher education, which many reminded us was to produce individuals who would serve the nation. one ku faculty member said, “i think we have lost our way. this is a very good institution but we make it difficult for many students to have the education they deserve and we need in the country. unless the economy improves many of these students will have no way to pay back their loans. it was not what was first envisioned for the university.” a faculty member at u of n, who had close ties with the government, saw cost increases in a more practical light, stating, “what we had was unsustainable once we starting opening new universities. we should really only be subsidising the most needy undergraduate degrees and encouraging more private options. there are just too many other things the government needs to do.” challenge 2: impact on student behaviours and actions at kenya’s more rural universities, increasing costs and ongoing economic problems exacerbate existing social conditions in more profound ways. hunger, prostitution, exploitive relationships and hiv/aids were identified as significant problems by student service professional at each institution we visited, although a few senior administrators downplayed the magnitude of each. hunger and catering revenue. administrators and faculty at the non-urban universities reported that hunger, especially late in the semester, is an ongoing problem for students who mismanage their loans. after receiving their loans at the beginning of each semester, students dine at restaurants and order meat and alcohol. by mid-semester, they begin eating at the more affordable campus cantines. near the end of the semester, many students are cooking in their rooms, a dangerous practice banned at universities because resulting fires and electrical blackouts have led to student unrest or rioting. for example, egerton university experienced significant infrastructure damage following student riots over blackouts in 2009 (mkawale, 2009). as final exams approach, deans report students not eating for days and begging for food money. as such, deans have developed budgeting workshops and offer small financial aid scholarships to cover basic food costs but with little success. masinde muliro university 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 proactively built kitchenettes into its new hostel (university apartments), but converted them to student bedrooms at significant cost due to space issues. catering is a significant revenue source at these institutions and, at least in concept, these funds are used to offset operating costs, although students questioned if this actually happens. numerous administrators worry that as institutions move towards full cost recovery models and implement a “no fees, no registration policy” (mwiria, ng’ethe, ngome, ouma-odero, wawire & wesonga, 2007), more students will be prevented from registering for classes. these market-oriented policy trends, it is believed, will result in more students engaging in unhealthy behaviours to afford tuition and basic necessities. prostitution. prostitution among college women, and increasingly men, to pay universities fees has been reported in the popular media and was discussed at each campus (ambuka, 2012; genga, 2010; ngira, 2009; oduor, 2010; “strange double life in a city hostel,” 2009). several counsellors and deans observed that prostitution is increasingly a solution for students facing hunger or homelessness. one counsellor stated, “we have developed educational programmes explaining the dangers and the importance of safe sex but we have almost no power to intervene with the actual behaviour.” of particular concern to administrators are pregnancy and the transmission of hiv/aids. a dean stated, “we don’t have the resources to care for babies or ill students, so we must move them off campus or encourage them to go home until they are able to resume their studies.” another dean lamented, “a few of our students resort to this [prostitution] because they believe so much in the degree, in the promise of education. we try to provide options, but with the pressure to stay in school, they sometimes see no other option.” live-in relationships. an alternative to prostitution, on-campus and off-campus live-in relationships, are based on an understanding that a woman will cohabitat with a man in exchange for cleaning, meal-preparation and sex. also known as ‘trial marriages,’ these arrangements require that the male student pay for the female’s fees and tuition. while this may seem like a pragmatic solution to increasing attendance costs, these arrangements often only last a year. each fall, with the arrival of new female students to campus, the older men “rush” to break up with their current girlfriends and find a younger women for a live-in relationship in what is known as the “gold rush” (lime, 2010). nearly all the staff we spoke with stated they explain this to the women during new student orientation but the trend has increased over the past decade. a dean observed that, “once a man has found a new girlfriend, there are not many options for the women who now need to find money for tuition and a place to live. most of them came from single sex secondary schools and this was their first relationship […] they thought it would last.” while many of the deans we spoke to expressed concerns about the effects of these behaviours on students, few had the resources to develop large-scale, ongoing programming initiatives to educate students about the potential consequences of their behaviours or provide alternative accommodation. instead, the general approach developed from a guidance and counselling model that focuses on dealing with the problems of individuals, or small groups of students, who present a specific problem. tamara yakaboski and matthew birnbaum: the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities 43 challenge 3: lack of training and senior leadership it is clear from our data that kenya’s ruling political party directly appoints individuals to the public university’s most senior administrative positions based on loyalty and a willingness to support its agenda. appointees, who frequently began as faculty members and held advanced degrees from us or british universities, often view their positions as steppingstones to more senior positions and an opportunity to demonstrate their administrative talents. unfortunately, at several institutions, these individuals have little preparation for managing university resources or an understanding of student affairs. as one candid dean of students reflected, “i was approached by the vice-chancellor and told that i was going to serve as the dean of students. this was not the position i expected because i have never worked in the field. the vice-chancellor knows i will support him. i am still learning but i know it is a good way to demonstrate my administrative skills.” another dean explained he was excited by the prospect of providing the types of services he experienced at a us graduate school, although he had little supervisory experience and was still in the process of understanding his job functions. several deans we spoke with approached their work as a series of never-ending administrative tasks that included balancing a constantly fluctuating budget, allocating resources “that only exist on paper”, and ensuring student problems did not escalate. these deans usually had limited interaction with the student services staff they supervised or with students unless it involved some type of crisis. during conversations with various service units it became apparent that lower-level employees understood the limitations associated with these appointments but also accepted that patronage was the way kenyan higher education operated. our interviewees who worked in frontline positions at these institutions discussed several challenges resulting from the appointment of underprepared, and sometimes uninterested, individuals into senior student affairs positions. although few spoke directly about their dean’s, they suggested that ‘some’ of their leaders were unconcerned with the performance of the unit or services it delivered but instead spent much of their time making sure students and staff were not engaged in activities that might publically embarrass the institution and vice-chancellor. this focus on avoiding embarrassment trickles down throughout the organisation. a career counsellor stated, “even in our positions, this becomes part of how we work, thinking about how something we might do could become a problem. it doesn’t matter how good you are at your job if you say anything critical of the government.” an advisor who worked with the student government added, “i spend a lot of my time explaining to students how something might look to the vice-chancellor, but i don’t think they care too much, which is the real challenge of my job.” another issue with having unqualified senior administrators is that they are unable to provide training or professional development. at several universities, the staff discussed the need for training but realised that their dean had less experience than they did. when professional training opportunities have been made available through processional associations, participants explained that their deans forbid them from attending, even at their own expense. one professional staff member explained that, “there is a general concern 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 that attending professional meetings is a threat to the dean, that we will organise ourselves or say something negative about our dean. we are prohibited from attending [professional] meetings because he is worried about his reputation.” in one instance, a dean attempted to have a meeting with other university deans but the vice-chancellors thwarted this because they feared the deans would rally the students to protest or riot against administration and the government. misappropriation of funds. a longtime counsellor raised another issue associated with appointing senior professionals based on political patronage. she said, “it always takes a long time for a dean [of students] to adjust to the position and, well, finding out where the resources are.” it was clear to us, and later confirmed by a key informant, that she was referring to what us administrators would refer to as a misappropriation of university resources. we heard similar references to resource allocation at several campuses. although no one stated that senior administrators were stealing directly from their institutions, it was clear that these individuals often have large extended families dependent on them for jobs. “it might mean someone gets a job driving the dean or working in catering, or a construction contract for a building that will never actually be used.” challenge 4. campus closures kenyan universities are the centre of the country’s political activism and exist in a constant state of tension with the government. student protests and riots, which can turn deadly, are usually addressed by the government closing the university. in fact, for much of the time we were in kenya, u of n was officially closed and undergraduate students sent home following the involvement of senior administrators in the election of a new student union president. ku had also been closed the previous year after student protests over examination dates resulted in one student dead and the destruction of several building. the most significant closures occurred in conjunction with the 2008 post-election violence, which resulted not only in students being sent home but also some staff members being forced to resign their positions out of safety concerns. campus closures are obviously unpredictable and, at some universities, very uncommon. closures may only last a few days while in a few cases they can last a semester. however, the violence and damage that precipitates closures result in additional community distrust, redirected resources and unfulfilled educational goals. at u of n and ku, many of the student service staff we met seemed to have accepted closures as unfortunate but inevitable. one observed, “you always think about what might happen, how students from one tribe or party will react to something and the others will respond to that.” once universities reopen, staff suggested that normal campus routines return relatively quickly for most students and staff. a faculty member stated, “the student instigators have been dealt with and someone from the administration will listen to concerns, but there is little effort to make up for missed coursework. some students graduate having missed almost a year due to closures. but the best we can hope for is that it won’t happen again for a while.” at a few universities we were shown the damage caused by students during the last tamara yakaboski and matthew birnbaum: the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities 45 protests, some of which is left intentionally unrepaired so that students could see the results of their behaviour. discussion and conclusion kenya has spent the last 40 years trying to ‘africanise’ a nation whose formal institutions, language and bureaucratic practices were inherited from colonial times (williams & gona, 2013). its system of higher education was established in the belief that an educated citizenry was essential to a meritocratic, independent and prosperous nation. however, economic problems and market-based reforms have exerted tremendous pressures on its universities to produce the educated workforce needed to lead the country back to prosperity. although western universities are experiencing similar pressures, they tend to have many more resources to draw on and a much larger, trained support staff in student affairs to help manage the increase in students and demand. unlike many of their western counterparts, kenya’s universities largely approach student services as a set of discrete functions for students to use when needed. we did sense from several conversations that some vice-chancellors and dean of students educated in westernised countries were actively working to adopt a more holistic and proactive approach to providing services. this will be challenging because of the resources required and the need to move forward from the guidance and counselling model currently used. one approach to addressing this could be the development of a degree programme at one or more kenyan universities focusing on student affairs theory and best practices. this would help to create a group of skilled professional student services practitioners with intimate knowledge of kenya’s unique history and traditions. at the heart of the existing model of student services is the ever-present and legitimate concern that students will again riot. because university leaders are so closely connected to the government, there is worry that the inability to control student riots reflects poorly on the president. however, this constant concern is anathema to working with students in a collegial, collaborative and holistic fashion. one of the functions of student services in western countries is to actively engage students with their concerns and find constructive methods for expressing themselves and finding viable solutions. for this to occur requires a firm belief that students, although often still transitioning into adulthood, will most often participate in dialogue about an existing problem if they are engaged by institutional leaders. the four challenges we identify facing student services at kenya’s public universities are the result of competing pressures and are manifestations of its unique culture, history and traditions. they are not ‘problems’ solely for student services professionals to solve or overcome but issues for practitioners and policy makers to consider when planning for the future of kenyan higher education. given the existing concerns institutional leaders have about authority and centralised decision-making, the national government would need to renegotiate its relationships with the universities for this to evolve. kenya’s existing student services model developed to meet the needs of a modest enrolment of academically talented government-sponsored students. the addition of 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 33–48 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.34 self-funded students has strained existing student services resources beyond sustainable capacity. although there is great variation in each institution’s infrastructure, affordable and safe housing is a persistent issue at all campuses. the most entrepreneurial institutions are engaging in joint ventures with the private sector to build additional housing at little cost to the institution. it is too early to determine if these new housing efforts will curb the need for prostitution or live-in relationships but it seems likely they will at least provide affordable, safe housing options for some students. from our participants’ perspectives, this is a critical missing piece at most universities. references ambuka, j. 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(2013). tradition, tribe, and state in kenya: the mijikenda union, 1945-1980. comparative studies in society and history, 55 (2), 448-473. editorial developing successful transition support for students in africa: the role of academic advising birgit schreiberi, thierry m. luescherii & teboho mojaiii the demand for professional student support and transition programmes is increasing unabatedly while higher education in africa proceeds on its trajectory of rapid expansion and massification even in the context of the changing circumstances presented by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. at the same time as participation in higher education widens, there is also increased pressure for efficiency, relevance, and success, to ensure that students are equipped with relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies, develop personally and socio-culturally, and succeed academically, by making successful transitions into and through higher education and into the world of work and livelihoods. an evidence-based development of high-impact interventions using multiple methods, including student engagement surveys and action research approaches, is a proven strategy (strydom et al., 2016). the development of context-relevant, high impact cocurricular programmes, support services and interventions by means of a reflective scholarship of student affairs and services (sas), institutional research and reflective practice, is also an imperative in the professionalisation of sas in africa. transition support for students with various identities and the intersectionality of their identities with other factors such as coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, being firsti. dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwig development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, south africa, and associate professor: higher education affiliate to the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-6675-0512. email:tluescher@hsrc.ac.za iii. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education, new york university, u.s.a. she is also a vibirgit schreiber, thierry m. luescher & teboho moja universität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management. orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504. email: birgitdewes@gmail.com visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa, and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. orcid: 0000-0001-6343-3020. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu i.i prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling and work in the inclusive economic generation students, and living with a range of visible and non-visible disabilities, is particularly important. transition programmes and services include orientation programmes, mentoring and related support initiatives (like peer support), tutoring, academic advising, supplemental instruction, and career guidance, to mention but a few (smith, 2021). transition support addresses equity issues and provides students the opportunities needed to succeed. this is the role that student affairs plays to directly impact on student development and success, levelling the playing ground for students from varied backgrounds, and helping to advance towards students’ goals and aspirations. in the process, student affairs contributes to the achievement of targets set at national and institutional levels for expected throughput and success rates. much of the emphasis in student transitions literature and practice tends to be on students’ point of entry into higher education and the first year, however, it is important to see students’ lifecycle as a series of transitions, stages and phases. while many models sequentialize this process, we want to acknowledge the complexity and phases that students move through during a transition: perhaps revisiting certain phases, lingering longer in some while swiftly moving through others, exiting and entering and progressing at individual paces, depending on context and many criteria and their intersection. a way of conceptualizing student life cycles and illustrating transitions is offered by michelle morgan’s “student experience transitions practitioner model”. this model involves six stages and transitions: (1) first contact and admission  (2) pre-arrival  (3) arrival and orientation  (4) introduction to study at university  (5) re-orientation and re-introduction (6) outduction back to (1) first contact and admission (morgan, 2016; luescher, 2017). as luescher (2017, p. 14) argued elsewhere: “[by means of student life-cycle models] it is possible to ask quite deep and refined questions of what students from different backgrounds expect at different stages in the student life cycle, and how the higher education system, institutions, and academic and student affairs can respond to those expectations: to anticipate them and meet students at their point of need; to exceed their expectations; or to manage expectations by either creating them or moderating them in line with the available resources. the student life cycle models alert us that student life starts at the aspirational stage; that is before a student actually is a student. different students move through the first year experience quite differently, encountering different kinds of ‘trauma’ and excitement and having different capabilities for navigating academic, social and personal struggles. complex life cycle models conceptualise different s tages a nd t ransitions i n ways t hat a llow f or t heoretically s ound, evidence-based policy making and intervention, at all levels, with reference to dimensions or themes such as finance, teaching and learning, support, and employment.” (luescher, 2017, p. 14) there is a growing knowledge base in african and international literature on transitions in the first year and the first-year experience to which the jsaa has contributed greatly over the years inter alia with two guest-edited issues on the first-year student experience in 2016 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, vi-xii| doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3751vii (jsaa, volume 4 issue 1) and in 2018 (jsaa, volume 6 issue 1). student transitions have been an important topic in at least ten articles published by jsaa in the past, including most recently the research article by annsilla nyar titled “the ‘double transition’ for first-year students: understanding the impact of covid-19 on south africa’s first-year university students” published in the jsaa covid-19 special issue of 2021 (nyar, 2021). the knowledge base on transitions must also include research into students’ transitions into the correct study programmes; into and through students’ senior years and to graduation; and eventually into employment (getachew & daniel, 2016; maree & molepo, 2004; young, 2016). academic advising and career guidance play important roles in this respect (getachew & daniel, 2016; janeke, 2021; smith, 2021; strydom et al., 2016). academic advising notions and practices of academic advising have proliferated over the past decades in higher education, not only here on the african continent but also abroad. in literature on student transitions, academic advising is seen as an effective strategy to support students in overcoming obstacles towards academic success not only by providing academic support but often also non-academic support (ogude et al., 2012; smith, 2021; strydom et al., 2016; fussy, 2018). academic advising is defined as […] a series of intentional interactions with a curriculum, a pedagogy, and a set of student learning outcomes. academic advising synthesizes and contextualizes students’ educational experiences within the frameworks of their aspirations, abilities and lives to extend learning beyond campus boundaries and timeframes (nacada, 2006, p. 10). with their work as guest-editors of this issue, françois strydom and gugu tiroyabone have opened up the conceptual and praxis field on academic advising for student affairs in africa. this work is supported by and focussed on the south african department of higher education and training’s national project on academic advising. the first seven articles in this issue are specifically focused on academic advising and offer case studies, critical discussions, and reviews, on this high-impact practice in higher education. in addition to the articles on academic advising, there is also a set of articles that deals with a wider variety of themes to keep the jsaa lens as wide and diverse as possible. we start with a case study by disaapele mogashana and moses basitere of psychosocial support provided within an extended curriculum programme. robert kaniki takes the focus to china where he reviews the role of sas in the cultural experience of international students. the next article explores the barriers and enablers experienced by a range of students in utilising viiibirgit schreiber, thierry m. luescher & teboho moja counselling services, see sefotho as well as pitsoane’s article. discussions of student elections by kwaku abrefa busi, alice amegah and francis arthur-holmes is followed by an exploratory study around career choices by chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake o. uleanya, gedala m. naidoo, and yasmin rugbeer. the issue ends with hettie terblanche, henry mason and barend van wyk’s study of first-year students experiences of attending a programme on developing mindsets. an expanded jsaa editorial board and structure the move of the journal from the university of stellenbosch to the university of pretoria as its host institution earlier this year has come with a number of innovations. first and foremost, we are proud to announce a group of new editors that join the journal. the new section editors are: • dr angelina wilson fadiji, senior lecturer: educational psychology, university of pretoria, south africa; • dr henry mason, directorate: student development and support, tshwane university of technology, south africa; • dr annsilla nyar, director: south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc), university of johannesburg, south africa; • dr vicki trowler, post-doctoral research assistant: pedagogic research, department of chemical sciences, school of applied sciences, university of huddersfield, united kingdom; and, • dr angelique wildschut, chief research specialist: post-schooling and work, human sciences research council, cape town, south africa. they are joining the existing team of editors made up of: • prof. teboho moja, professor of higher education, new york university; extraordinary professor of higher education, university of the western cape, south africa; • dr birgit schreiber, africa centre for transregional research, alberts-ludwiguniversität freiburg, germany; usaf higher education leadership and management; vice-president: international association of student affairs and services; • prof. thierry m. luescher, ph.d., research director: post-schooling and work, human sciences research council, cape town; affiliate associate professor of higher education, university of the free state, south africa; • dr bekele workie ayele, senior lecturer and dean: teacher education, college journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, vi-xii| doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3751ix of education and behavioral sciences, kotebe metropolitan university, addis ababa, ethiopia; • dr martin mandew, campus principal, qwaqwa campus, university of the free state, south africa; and, • dr w.p. wahl, director: student affairs, university of the free state, south africa. with the expansion of the group of section editors has also come a change to the structure of the editorial board to reflect better its de facto operations. the editorial board now has a threetier structure with the jsaa editorial executive sharing the day-to-day executive editorial and operational work. the editorial executive is made up of prof. teboho moja as editor-in-chief, dr birgit schreiber, and prof. thierry luescher. it is supported administratively by bronwin sebonka who also manages the day-to-day online manuscript system. we welcome the new members and are grateful for their service. the expanded list of section editors focuses on the editorial aspect of specific manuscripts. they help vet the incoming manuscripts, organise the double-blind peer review processes, and advise on the ways to proceed with a particular manuscript. frequently, reviewers are drawn from our growing list of african and international scholars and expert practitioners. in this respect, we also envisage that our prestigious international editorial advisory board will be renewed in the course of 2022 to ensure that the jsaa continues to have the best support from international experts from across the globe so as to progress on its quest to be the foremost academic journal dealing with the theory and practice of the student affairs domain in universities on the african continent. a new publisher volume 9 issue 2 “academic advising” is the first issue of the jsaa produced with the university of pretoria’s emerging scholars initiative press (esi press). we are grateful to our publishing team led by heather thuynsma and makone maja for their work. over the past decade, the jsaa has been served with distinction first by african minds publishers and then african sun media. the appointment of esi press as new service provider is prompted by our move to the university of pretoria. we are grateful to african minds publishers and african sun media for the sterling job they performed over the years. online submission, editorial and review system finally, with the shift to pretoria university we have moved our entire submission, editorial and publishing processes online. while the jsaa has always used the pkp open access journal management system, it has handled all submission, editorial and peer review processes until xbirgit schreiber, thierry m. luescher & teboho moja june 2021 using email. this was to accommodate colleagues (especially potential authors) who might lack the internet access to be able to successfully navigate the online journal management system. covid-19, however, has leap-frogged many, voluntarily or not, into developing the capabilities to engage more successfully online. we have therefore taken the bold step to request all our authors, editors and reviewers to move into the online space and use the website’s backend system for managing their interactions with each other. bronwin sebonka is ready to provide any support in this regard. many of these developments are prompted by the increasing number of manuscript submissions, which is a fantastic development: african student affairs is writing! we see more research about, from, and for africa, across the entire scope of student affairs, student support and services, and get submissions from a diversity of researchers and practitioners from our continent as well as overseas. we w o u l d like to continue to encourage african student affairs practitioners and researchers to contribute to the emerging knowledge base of african student affairs scholarship in our quest to professionalise student affairs in africa. references fussy, d. (2018). the status of academic advising in tanzanian universities. kedi journal of educational policy, 15(1), 81-98. getachew, a. & daniel, g. (2016). career development among undergraduate students of madda walabu university, south east ethiopia. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(2), 2537. doi: 10.18820/jsaa.v4i2.4 janeke, b. (2021). online work readiness programme: ready, set go! journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 119-133. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 luescher, t.m. (2017). from student enragement to student engagement: what is your theory of change? hsrc review, 5(2), 13-15. maree, j.g. & molepo, j.m. (2004). facilitating post-modern career counselling in the limpopo province of south africa: a rocky ride to hope. australian journal of career development, 13(3), 47-54. morgan, m. (2016). improving the student experience in higher education. http://www.improvingthestudentexperience.com nacada. (2006). concept of academic advising. manhattan, kans., nacada clearinghouse of academic advising resources. http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/resources/clearinghouse/ view-articles/concept-of-academic-advising.aspx nyar, a. (2021). the ‘double transition’ for first-year students: understanding the impact of covid-19 on south africa’s first-year university students. journal of student affairs in africa, 9 (1), 77-92. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, vi-xii| doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3751xi transition programmes. journal for new generation sciences, 14(3), 233-246. https:// hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-6cf4d9ba4 young, d.g. (2016). the case for an integrated approach to transition programmes at south africa’s higher education institutions. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(1), 17-32. doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.142 zozie, p.a. & kayira, p.b. (2012). transition and tertiary education: a case study of mzuzu university, malawi. research in comparative and international education, 7(4), 434–445. xiibirgit schreiber, thierry m. luescher & teboho moja ogude, n.a., kilfoil, w.r. & du plessis, g. (2012). an institutional model for improving student retention and success at the university of pretoria. the international journal of the first year in higher education, 3(1), 21-34. smith, l. (2020). transition, mentoring and career guidance in higher education in the global south. the imprint of education – learning activity 4: literature review. [unpublished]. strydom, j.f., du plessis, m. & henn, m. (2016). using evidence to develop high impact journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 1 www.jsaa.ac.za research article student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa: mitigating the pandemic’s impact on student success birgit schreiber,i thierry m. luescher,ii brett perozziiii & lisa bardill moscaritoloiv i dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwiguniversität freiburg, germany. orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504. email: birgitdewes@gmail.com ii prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, south africa, and associate professor: higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-6675-0512. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za iii dr brett perozzi is vice president of student affairs at weber state university, usa. orcid: 0000-0003-1378-8223. email: brettperozzi@weber.edu iv dr lisa bardill moscaritolo is the vice provost for student life at the american university of sharjah, united arab emirates. orcid: 0000-0003-2809-0012. email: lmoscaritolo@aus.edu abstract the covid‑19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges that present obstacles to equitable learning and development in higher education in various parts of the world. african higher education and student affairs and services (sas) are faced with a set of challenges that are in part related to the resources within the institutions and in part due the sociocultural context into which the institutions are embedded. it is with this background that this study explores the impact of covid‑19 on sas in africa, as part of a wider lens on sas across the globe. the study was conducted with an online survey which generated 781 responses of student affairs practitioners from across the globe, of which 118 were from the african continent. the data show sas’s critical role in mediating the various domains within and beyond the higher education institution that impact on student success. the domains that impact on student success include the students’ personal experiences, the public domain, the sociocultural community and familial milieu, and the institutional/ sas domain. thus, this article discusses sas’s critical role in mediating the impact of these four domains on the student living and learning experience. the purpose of this article is to discuss the data and to use the data to gain insights into the way sas has played a role in mitigating the impacts of covid‑19 in four domains relevant for student success. based on our findings, a systemic‑contextual model is proposed that illustrates the relevance of four domains that need to synergise for students to be successful. our data suggests that while sas and universities do a great deal to support students in their learning, factors in the public domain, factors in the sociocultural community and familial milieu need to be conducive to learning to enable more student success in africa. keywords comparative international higher education; covid‑19; ict in student affairs; personal factors; public infrastructure factors; sociocultural factors; student affairs theory http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitdewes%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:tluescher%40hsrc.ac.za?subject= mailto:brettperozzi%40weber.edu?subject= mailto:lmoscaritolo%40aus.edu?subject= 2 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 introduction during the covid‑19 pandemic, student affairs and services (sas) has proved to be amongst the most responsive and relevant divisions in higher education institutions across the globe, seeking to mitigate the impact, and engage with and provide students with development and support (mccarthy, 2020). in every world region and in different countries and institutions, sas’s ability to respond to covid‑19‑related health scares and government‑imposed precautions and restrictions has been impacted differently depending on a range of factors, including higher education structures and regulatory bodies, culture and resources, sociopolitical factors, size and shape of institution, and the demographics of the student body and student characteristics (aristovnik et al., 2020). some students were left with laptops, mobile devices and phones, data packs and wi‑fi codes and some with even less (schreiber et al., 2020). many african1 universities closed and left students to wait for further instructions (crawford et al., 2020; tesar, 2020; undp, 2020). even though some universities in africa rallied to provide online teaching, what is beyond the remote teaching and learning model are infrastructure and network holes, social‑cultural inequities, and social‑community environments that have “toxic social norms” (undp, 2020, p. 8) which may render a home environment unconducive to learning. it is this combination of challenges that has made remote learning away from the university campus extremely hard for some students, especially those from the most disadvantaged sections of society for whom attending a university offers a unique avenue for upward social‑economic mobility (heckman & mosso,  2014; marope, 2019). when students step off campus into significant social inequalities or only access education via online modalities, the tool of empowerment and emancipation, especially for vulnerable groups, is impaired (altbach et al., 2010, p. 31). accessing higher education was already a challenge for many vulnerable groups (marinoni, 2020; schendel & mccowan, 2016; undp, 2020), but with covid‑19 it has now become an even greater hurdle (humphrey, 2020; marinoni, 2020; undp, 2020, p. 9) whereby the pandemic is likely to widen the gender gap, increase teenage pregnancies, reduce participa‑ tion in self‑determination for many and cause significant setbacks for human develop ment in africa (undp, 2020). sas is instrumental in paving the way for student access, student persistence, retention, and success through its impact within and on institutions and through the support it provides to students in general, and particularly to certain student populations that require special services and required contextual conditions conducive for learning (ludeman & schreiber, 2020; osfield et al., 2016). the overarching function of sas in higher education across the globe is to contribute to equitable opportunity and support a developmental 1 ‘africa’ is used here as a collective continental term and for purposes of this study is used as part of the regional nomenclature suggested and used by unesco, including asia, europe, middle east, oceania, north america and south america (unesco, 2018). the authors note that the terminology and naming of these world regions are somewhat problematic and simplistic, are imprecise, are culturally, geographically and politically biased, susceptible to misrepresentation and tend to be anglo‑centric (see, for instance, somerville’s discussion on the “many histories of the continent” (2017, p. 6). b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 3 model of higher education in pursuit of the global as well as national social justice and human development agenda (ludeman & schreiber, 2020). by promoting student engagement, enabling compatible living and learning contexts, providing health care and counselling, offering housing and residence life programmes, facilitating social, learning and personal safe spaces, implementing co‑curricular programmes for students to learn beyond their discipline and develop into healthy, critically thinking, active citizens, by mapping learning and career pathways and supporting students to overcome their unique challenges, sas ensures equity and fairness on the campuses of institutions in our massified higher education systems (kuh et al., 2005; ludeman & schreiber, 2020; luescher‑mamashela, 2011; pascarella & terenzini, 2005). covid‑19 has issued a massive challenge to sas in africa to be able to still provide its various engagement, social justice, and developmental functions in the face of emergency remote teaching. in this article, we explore a range of different impacts that covid‑19 has had on the role and function of sas in africa, especially focusing on sas service provision, involve‑ ment in institutional and national decision‑making, resources, vision, and mission. for this purpose, we explore and discuss the results of the global covid‑19 student affairs and services survey, paying special attention to responses received from african student affairs practitioners. based on our findings, we propose a systemic‑contextual model that illustrates the importance of four domains that need to be functional for students to be successful. while sas contributes significantly to making universities inclusive and supportive spaces conducive to student development, our data show that factors in the public macro context, factors in the social‑cultural milieu, and factors in the community context need to be favourable to learning to enable sustained student success in africa. theory and practice of student affairs and services the theory and practice of student affairs have developed unevenly across the globe because of different levels of higher education development, differences in the historical origin and context‑specific emphases of national higher education systems, institution‑level variations, and different ways in which sas relates to higher education and how epistemic communities and discourse has evolved, making this a ‘low‑consensus field’ (torres et al., 2019). however, the theory and practice of sas tend to follow a trajectory observed widely by pascarella and terenzini (2005) from essentially an in loco parentis function of sas to service delivery and extra‑curricular programme delivery, and more recently towards embedded co‑curricular programmes for students and the intentional pursuit of integrated systemic‑institutional impact on higher education to shape the living and learning contexts of students. the smith’s 2019 summary of ‘60 years of scholarship’ highlights the breadth and depth of research and knowledge of sas (smith, 2019). learning and development does not occur in isolation but within a context where many factors play together to create adequate conditions for learning and development to take place (tinto, 2014). students are sandwiched at the intersection of these factors, and while impacted by these, students simultaneously and dynamically respond to and impact 4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 them in turn. it is this systemic‑dynamic and contextual understanding of the ecology of learning that provides a framework for understanding this research into the impact of covid‑19 on sas in africa. theories and practices in sas have mainly emerged from the usa and have been developed further in these and other contexts and can be broadly clustered into developmental theories and environmental impact theories of student learning and development (pascarella & terenzini, 2005; tinto, 2014). the developmental theories of sas concentrate on the individual‑social‑ psychological changes of students before, during, and after higher education, focusing on the cognitive, moral, psycho‑social and identity development of late adolescence and early adulthood (pascarella & terenzini, 2005). these developmental theories are made up, for instance, of perry’s stage theories, baxter‑magolda’s identity development theory, and gilligan’s moral development as well as chickering’s vector model of college student development (pascarella & terenzini, 2005). according to these theories, the sas focus on student development in all its facets emphasises the students’ development towards achieving autonomy and independence, theorising the intra‑ and inter‑personal factors that are affected by living and learning influences and their interplay (hamrick et al., 2002). the environmental impact theories of student success broaden the scope of impact on student development from intra‑psychic and inter‑social to include the contextual, thus making student development a shared responsibility between environmental impacts and students. agency for success is in each student where the site of development occurs, but also, and critically so, foregrounds the environmental and contextual factors into which the student is embedded. the environmental impact theorists of student success, comprising tinto, astin, pascarella, weidman, kuh and others, all focus on the interplay of at least three influences that impact on a meaningful educational experience, albeit with different emphasis: (1) personal‑cognitive resources of the students; (2) institutional‑teaching‑ learning inputs; and (3) familial‑social influences and social norms, into which the students’ learning and development experiences are embedded. these three sets of influences need to converge to support the success of higher education and the success of students. astin (1993, 1996) proposed the input‑environment‑outcome (i‑e‑o) model, based on kurt lewin’s famous equation of b=f(pxe) – stating that behaviour is the result of the interaction of the person with her/his environment. astin’s (1977) notion of ‘student involvement’ along with tinto’s ‘student retention’ (1997, 1998) highlight the critical importance of students’ connectedness, integration, and inclusion into communities of learning, all of which are key determinants of persistence and retention (mannan,  2007; hamrick et al., 2002). in astin’s model, the ‘e’ includes all staff, students, practices and policies, institutional cultures, and social contexts that impact on the student. astin famously declared that “students learn by being involved” (astin, 1985, p. 133) in the living and learning experience. tinto’s integrative model has been described as “the most influential model” of environmental impact theories (mccubbin, 2003, p. 1). it highlights the students’ inter‑ action with the university context and coined the now ubiquitously used concept of b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 5 ‘learning communities’, thus firmly shifting the focus towards the complimentary relationship between social integration and academic integration of students as fundamental to student success, including the critical role that student living contexts play (mannan, 2007; tinto, 2014; schreiber, luescher & moja, 2019). tinto (1993, p.12) described his “integrative model” as primarily “sociological” in that students’ intentions are continuously shaped by academic and social structures. in a study by mccubbin (2003), the correlation between integration and student success was less convincing for mature and returning students, but the relevance of integration for first time entering student has been firmly established (pascarella & terenzini, 2005; kuh et al., 2005, 2009, 2010; strydom et al., 2017). weidman (1984, 1989) expanded on astin’s and tinto’s models and included formal and informal influences of family and community as critical contributors to student success and termed these “undergraduate socialisation factors” (weidman, 1989, p. 299). weidman (1989) emphasised the synergy of micro and macro factors including factors beyond the ambit of the higher education institution, including society’s role in student success. kuh (2005, 2009, 2010) seminally theorised and researched student engagement that has become the global measure of integration of students in their learning environment (trowler,  2010; coates, 2007). student engagement, although critiqued for focusing on higher education institution‑centric engagement practices (trowler & schreiber,  2020), has become a strong correlate of student success (trowler, 2010; coates, 2007). it is the interactions with academic staff (i.e. professors, lecturers, and teaching support), peers, and with the out‑of‑class experience that are reliable correlates of student success (kuh et al., 2005, 2010). some of the expansions of student engagement include the notions of oppositional engagement (altbach et al., 2010; trowler & schreiber, 2020; case,  2007; luescher, 2017, 2018) that include discussions of oppositional behaviours, which nonetheless are behaviours and intentions that connect with the wider living and learning context. researchers from south africa have shown that the experiences of alienation play a critical negative role in student persistence (carolissen & kiguwa, 2018; case 2007). scott (2009, p. 27), remarking on the south african higher education context, highlights that a “co‑ordinated approach” is required and lange (in swingler, 2018, n.p.) states that “the interface between students’ psychosocial and academic worlds is mediated by several services and infrastructures that are not in sync, and some of which operate as if the others did not exist”. carollissen and kiguwa (2018) highlight the importance of ‘belonging’ as a critical factor in theorising about student experience and student persistence and the role of alienation is also cited as a critical factor by others (bozalek & boughey, 2012; davids, 2020). more broadly, the united nations human development reports point towards factors in the context of the student’s life, including social norms, home life, safety and security, access to amenities and technology (undp, 2020) as critical in shaping a conducive environment for male and particularly female students’ success. 6 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 methodology the purpose of this study has been to gather and explore responses of sas practitioners and professionals on how covid‑19 impacted their ability to respond to factors that affect student learning and development during the pandemic, and the extent to which they engaged in university decision‑making and supported students. through the lens of systemic‑environmental impact theories, we seek to understand the factors that impact on sas to support student development. for this purpose, our research employed a survey and online questionnaire, designed in qualtrics, with a combination of closed response questions and open text answers. the quantitative data was analysed in spss (statistical package for the social sciences) producing descriptive statistics, and the qualitative responses were explored using content and thematic analysis in nvivo. sampling and sample survey respondents were sourced by virtual snowball sampling, also called chain sampling, chain‑referral, or referral sampling (creswell, 2013), which is a nonprobability sampling technique. the sample generated is a non‑random, non‑representative but stratified convenience sample, and does not represent a statistically representative group. this kind of sampling enabled us to seek information during extraordinary conditions, and to seek information from potentially hard‑to‑reach groups (see how to survey hard‑to‑reach populations at https://inclusivegrowth.be/downloads/output/ms87‑m20‑5‑hard‑to‑ survey‑groups.pdf and surveying non‑random and non‑representative samples at http:// www.sociology.org.uk/notes/socshortcuts_methods16.pdf). this kind of sampling enables theory development and hypothesis development rather than hypothesis testing. we aimed to generate hypothesis and to generate theory, describe and compare data to gain insights, based on the data, rather than making statistically reliable generalisations. in our case, potential respondents were sourced via virtual social and professional networks, via emailing and via acquaintance pathways. email was the primary mode of communication when initially contacting processional associations, who were encouraged to engage their members and share the request to participate with them. other distribution avenues were sas personal and professional national and global networks and acquaintance pathways where colleagues were asked to complete the survey and forward the request to others. social media was used (facebook, linkedin, twitter) to further the potential reach of the survey. this method facilitated rapid responses that reached a level deemed adequate for statistical purposes and for meaningful interpretation (goodman, 2011; salganik & heckathorn, 2004). this allowed us to reach regions that may not have responded well to postal services and assisted where the list and identity of participants was unclear (baltar & brunet, 2012; salganik & heckathorn, 2004). one potential limitation of this method is that although it increases participation, bias might be towards participants who comfortably use online media, neglecting responses from subjects who are either not using online media readily or do not have access to online media as might be the case in some areas where wi‑fi is fragile or only intermittently available, or are otherwise prevented from participating in online data gathering. https://inclusivegrowth.be/downloads/output/ms87-m20-5-hard-to-survey-groups.pdf https://inclusivegrowth.be/downloads/output/ms87-m20-5-hard-to-survey-groups.pdf http://www.sociology.org.uk/notes/socshortcuts_methods16.pdf http://www.sociology.org.uk/notes/socshortcuts_methods16.pdf b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 7 sample the realised sample were 781 sas practitioners who responded, either in full or in parts, to the online questionnaire, completed the consent form, and closed their responses, thus consenting and including themselves in the survey. the respondents hail from the following regions, as identified from their ip address (table 1). the researchers used unesco (2018) and the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) geographical regions as the primary guide to world regions. for the purpose of global comparison, these unesco regions have been used widely and yet pose complex challenges around misrepresentations of cultural or political homogeneity in these regions (see footnote in the introduction of this article). the 118 responses from across the vast african continent discourage reliance on statistical confidences, but nonetheless enable theorising about the data. table 1: respondents by world region region number of respondents africa 118 asia 144 europe 207 middle east 35 oceania 108 north america 149 latin america and caribbean 20 total 781 table 1 shows that inter‑regional comparison is possible because in all regions there are more than 100 responses, except latin america and the caribbean (lac) and the middle east. the respondents were asked about their professional seniority/position in sas. figure 1 illustrates the relative positions and/or seniority of respondents. titles and organisational conceptualisations/structures vary widely globally, and variation is evident in the data. although not everyone completed this question, most respondents (47%) identified as mid‑level to senior sas managers. the next largest grouping of respondents (39%) were officers or in entry‑level positions. the smallest percentage (14%) were the most senior sas position in their institution. 8 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 figure 1: respondents by seniority/position in addition to asking about seniority/position, we asked the respondents about the number of years they have been working in sas. table 2 below shows how the african sample compares to the rest of the regions in terms of years of experience working in sas. overall, the african respondents, as well as respondents from asia, have been working slightly fewer years than those in other world regions. table 2: respondents by number of years working in student affairs africa asia europe middle east oceania north america lac total 1‑5 46% 50% 30% 9% 34% 15% 25% 34% 6‑10 21% 24% 21% 26% 23% 11% 25% 21% 11‑15 13% 12% 19% 35% 11% 26% 17% 17% >15 20% 14% 30% 30% 32% 48% 33% 28% total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100.0% data collection and analysis as noted above, data was collected via an online questionnaire, which contained a total of 53 questions. they were made up of (1) nine questions dealing with sas decision‑making in higher education institutions in the context of covid‑19; (2) four questions on sas engagement with pandemic related issues; (3) three questions on the pandemic’s financial implications; (4) three questions on predictions of how the pandemic will affect sas. the questionnaire included eight questions on residence halls/student accommodation, eight questions on working online and instittuaional preparation, three questions on engagement b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 9 and communication with students, and seven questions on the impact on particular student groups. demographic questions were included at the end. not all questions needed answering and a variety of question types were included such as closed choice options (most using likert scale), open‑ended questions, ranking and graded questions (e.g., full, partial, no/none). the survey was open for one month (may, 2020). the data results were statistically analysed using spss, which offered the use of statistical functions, including frequency tables, cross‑tabulation and a granulated examination of data, with special emphasis on data from african responses. text responses were exported into the qualitative data analysis program nvivo. we then coded the open‑ended responses using this software for thematic analysis. ethics the research methodology and all written materials (i.e. informed consent form, questionnaire, project outline) were submitted to the institutional review board of the american university of sharjah, united arab emirates (which is the home institution of one research team member) which granted full research ethics approval on 29 april 2020. limitations creswell discusses the inherent limitations in online surveys (creswell, 2013). online surveys, by definition, only include those who have access to the survey which may bias the sample. however, given that the situation around covid‑19 presented challenges around paper responses, we opted for this avenue for data collection and are noting the non‑representation of this sample. in terms of using countries and continents as respondents’ identifier it may have been preferable to use countries to capture richer and more textured data. however, low sample size per country compromised this option. results of the global sas-covid-19 research: spotlight on africa the coronavirus pandemic has compelled universities around the continent and the world to send their students home and, in most cases, switch to some form of emergency remote teaching. over a remarkably short period of time, academics and sas professionals devised creative ways to deliver learning and support to students (schreiber et al., 2020). however, what could not be fixed in many cases in the emergency remote teaching and learning model were stubborn social‑public infrastructure and mobile network insufficiencies, substantial social‑cultural inequities and social‑community environments that are not conducive to learning and, in some cases, present barriers to learning. with african responses to this global covid‑19 survey as the focus, we concentrate in on these questions that deal with the systemic context of student learning and development during covid‑19. the data from ‘africa’ is not viewed as statistically sufficient nor significantly representative to allow confident generalisations, but rather, offer an avenue to understand and illuminate the issues around responses to covid‑19. the insights gleaned from the data are discussed below. in addition, a more textured comparison of africa with the other five regions of 10 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 the world is beyond the scope of this article, but will be the focus of other publications emanating from this global research. the impact of covid‑19 on different student groups covid‑19 impacted on a number of student groups more severely than others. figure 2 shows a word cloud of the open responses from sas practitioners across africa of which students were the most affected. at the centre and with the most frequent response were ‘poor students’ (14), followed by ‘rural students’ (8) and ‘students with special needs’  (7), such as students with disabilities and mental health challenges (5). also specially impacted were students with no internet access at home (5), no devices (like tablet or laptops) (5) and those who remained on campus to study because their home situations were not conducive to learning (3). other special student groups mentioned by african sas practitioners were international students (4) and other students who studied far from home (5). figure 2: most affected student groups in africa (n=56) the african responses show interesting variations from the complete global sample. in both samples, ‘poor students’, ‘students with special needs’, and ‘rural students’ feature prominently. however, much more prominent in the global sample than in the african one is the group of ‘international students’ and especially ‘chinese and other asian students’ who have been affected greatly. in addition, in the global sample ‘students who work to pay for their studies’ and have lost their employment due to lockdown featured significantly, whereas this category of students is entirely absent in the african responses. mitigating the financial impact and enhancing online access given the widespread observation that poorer students have been more affected by covid‑19, a great deal of focus went to mitigating the financial impact. whereas many universities in other parts of the world refunded students for costs such as student housing, tuition, and other fees including parking, in africa, universities provided much less frequent financial relief to students by means of refunds (see figure 3). this might well be due to the funding models at african institutions where government bursaries fund university costs and thus a refund would not go directly to the student but would be reimbursed to governments (see, for instance, the south african national student financial aid scheme funding model, [nsfas, 2020]). b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 11 figure 3: providing financial relief by means of refunds (n=663) as figure 3 shows, african universities rather mitigated the impact of covid‑19 financially by providing more directed financial relief to students (such as transport funds, funds for data and online devices, etc.; see figure 4) than seen globally. figure 4: enhancing students’ remote online access (n=663) in the context of covid‑19‑related lockdowns and other restrictions, african universities helped their students with transport money at about the level seen elsewhere in the world. however, african universities provided much more frequently than elsewhere in the world direct and targeted support to enhance remote online access to students who needed such support. this they did primarily by means of (1) increasing their institutional internet bandwidth; and (2) negotiating reduced data costs or a zero‑rating for their websites and learning platforms; (3) procuring laptops and other learning devices for needy students; and (4) by directly providing data to students. in this respect, being mindful of the observation that poor students and students in remote and rural areas were the most affected (see figure 2 above), african universities focused their (financial assistance) on these students to enhance their access to learning. this is in line with the social justice mandate of universities and sas in particular (schreiber, 2014), where access to learning for particularly vulnerable groups is foregrounded. 12 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 an essential partner in decision‑making and service delivery overall, when asked whether student affairs was considered “a key player in institutional decision‑making” during the pandemic, 77% of african practitioners agreed or strongly agreed (which is comparable to similar levels elsewhere). overall, slightly less frequently than the rest of the world, certain sas services were declared essential (67% africa vs. 76% rest of the world). figure 5 shows the variation between different services and world regions. figure 5: student affairs essential services (n=288) figure 5 shows interesting variation. firstly, it is evident that a similar range of sas services were declared as ‘essential services’ during the national lockdowns across the world. of those, globally and in africa, the top three essential services were: counselling, academic support and health‑related services. a thought‑provoking variation in the data is that in africa, student accommodation and related catering and retail services were considerably less frequently declared essential than elsewhere in the world. conversely, academic support was mentioned slightly more frequently as an essential service in african universities than in the rest of the world. innovative responses, mistakes and challenges the respondents also indicated many innovative ways in which they managed covid‑19 that can be grouped into six categories as indicated in figure 6. figure 6 illustrates that sas practitioners in africa found the rapid move towards online provision of teaching and learning, student development, and support services a most innovative way of responding to the threat of covid‑19. existing e‑platforms were used as well as other ways to reach students. respondents also mentioned a number of social media and communication platforms including teams, whatsapp, zoom for interactive life communication as well as email and other social media for communication. b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 13 another frequently noted category of innovative responses relates to the institutional lockdown itself and related initiatives, such as the immediate deep cleaning and fumigation of campuses, organising travel for students, and implementing working from home policies for staff to continue work. african sas staff also considered the responses to enhance equal online access (noted above in figure 4) as innovative responses, such as providing devices and data to students who needed such, and communicating frequently and transparently using multiple platforms and addressing various constituencies, including staff, students, specific student populations, and student organisations. figure 6: innovative ways of responding to the pandemic in african universities (n=99) moreover, african universities offered public health services of various kinds. sas staff particularly noted: the dissemination of health‑related information, using university facilities for quarantine, training health workers, keeping the campus clinics open, and offering medical students as health volunteers. finally, there were management‑related innovations such as reorganising workstreams to suit an online work environment, and establishing coordinated task teams including a central ‘covid‑19 response room’. correspondingly, mistakes were identified by respondents. african sas practitioners’ coded responses particularly mentioned mistakes with respect to consultation and involve‑ ment in decision‑making of students and staff. in the case of students, this caused resistance with respect to the implementation of some decisions and delays in the adoption of online learning in some cases. with respect to staff, an argument was that sas mid‑level staff should have been more involved. institutional ‘mistakes’ were also noted with respect to the it infrastructure of the institution; the elearning platform’s fragility and crashing due to overload; staff not being sufficiently trained; and communication not always being adequate. it is especially these responses of ‘mistakes made’ that contributed to the development of the systemic‑contextual model of sas presented here. for example, one respondent noted that: “only post grads, post docs and the academic research community can success fully work from home. most people can’t, due to numerous socio‑economic and even socio‑ psychological issues.” this quote draws attention to the socio‑economic challenges (of household level poverty) and socio‑psychological issues (of personal, familial and communal factors) involved in determining whether the home is conducive to learning and working from 14 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 home. added to this comes a comment on ‘mistakes made’ from another respondent who points to the macro infrastructure challenges confronting students at home: “what we could call a mistake is actually a societal problem that is related to power supply and connectivity to the internet; these serve as bottlenecks to accessing the elearning by some students.” both these responses from participants point directly to the role of influences beyond the institution that are critical in enabling or presenting barriers to student success. discussion the higher education sector has been shaken by the covid‑19 pandemic and supporting the institutions and students across africa has been an unprecedented challenge. sas has been instrumental in a variety of ways in responding to and mitigating the impact of covid‑19 on the learning and development context, by supporting the change to virtual learning, providing digital access and support for online learning competencies, maintaining safe spaces on campuses conducive to learning and development, reaching out to rural students and supporting poor students, offering personal, academic, and social counselling and health care, and responding swiftly and innovatively to the various needs of students and the institution. the data reveal a compelling relationship between sas and the systemic‑contextual factors and their impact on student success. the factors that impact on student learning and development include the personal domain of students, the sociocultural milieu into which they are embedded, the university at which they are enrolled, and the public macros structures which support basic services and functions. sas is organisationally, conceptually and practically integrated into institutional processes, especially the teaching, living and learning spaces, and this makes the sas mediation of academic‑disciplinary process for student learning particularly relevant. figure 7 summarises the discussion and represents the factors explored in this study. the authors assert that individual student development is the result of the dynamic interplay of four ‘systems’ or ‘domains’ that are interrelated. these include (1) personal: internal intra‑personal factors (such as motivation, intelligence, persistence, optimism, and ‘grit’ (wilson‑strydom, 2017); (2) sociocultural: the family and social‑cultural milieu including social norms, beliefs, and cultural practices; (3) academic‑faculty: living and learning experience, institutional culture and practices, teaching and learning frameworks, epistemological access, sas is closely related to this factor, and (4) public: macro systems, including basic service infrastructure such as electricity, water, shelter, health, safety, internet access, etc. sas is centrally involved, albeit to different degrees and in different ways, in mediating these four systems/domains to enable, facilitate and improve the learning experience of the student. the sas mediates, mitigates, facilitates and improves these domains’ impact on the students’ (and institutional) success. the student, centrally located and sandwiched amongst these systems, navigates these domains and sas is a key supportive role player in this navigations process. b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 15 each factor is mediated differently by sas, overlaps and often is jointly impacted by sas. for instance: the sas and academic‑faculty influence on student learning is, in some institutions, closely related and integrated, is well‑coordinated and aligned to synergise to enable conditions conducive to student learning and development, together shaping a learning and development context. yet in other institutions, sas mediates and facilitates student support ‘outside of academic processes’ to promote access for disability, facilitate learning programmes, and offer orientation and academic support programmes. sas is involved in mediating the social‑cultural domains of students by assisting minority students who may be exposed to social‑cultural challenges, including gender‑based difficulties, and by providing accommodation. sas supports students on a personal basis, by offering health and counselling services. during covid‑19, sas was particularly active around support for public services, including access to wi‑fi and mobile devices, facilitating transport and offering safe spaces for students who lived in precarious contexts. the theoretical dimensions, including the developmental theories and environmental‑ impact theories, as well as insights from the survey, all integrate to give a holistic understanding of the sas impact on different domains of student learning and development. (4) public domain (2) sociocultural domain (1) personal domain (3) academicfaculty domain sas figure 7: sas’ systemic‑contextual model for student success: the four systems/domains which sas mediates and engages, in order to support students’ success four identified domains – the personal, social‑cultural, public, and the academic‑faculty domain – need to converge to support student persistence and success. sas is centrally involved in mediating these four domains for students and mitigating any subverting influences the domains may have on students’ ability to persist and succeed in a meaningful learning and development experience. the four domains are simultaneously contextual, meaning that they shape the situation and environment, and also systemic, meaning that they dynamically and reciprocally impact each other (i.e., are not discreet but mutually influential). what emerges from the data is that sas is critically involved, with varying 16 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 degrees and emphasis, depending on institution, context and sociocultural environment of the students, in mediating the living and learning context for students. the personal domain includes the personal characteristics, abilities, motivations, preparedness and resources that students bring towards their success. examples include engagement (kuh et al., 2005, strydom et al., 2017), academic preparedness (monnapula‑ mapesela, 2017), motivation and grit (wilson‑strydom, 2017) which have been widely researched and are evidently linked to student success. the public domain includes the macro infrastructure, economic and political influences and factors, resources and provisions that are typically provided at public/ municipal/city level, including electricity, water, transport, health care, public order and safety, sanitation, and essential social services (undp, 2020). included here are wi‑fi networks, even if provided by private corporations, as these rely on a myriad of public service functions listed here. these public service provisions are powerful influences on the student’s chance of success. the sociocultural domain refers to the social and cultural practices and attitudes, at community and family level, which include religious prescriptions, gender roles and expectations, and norms ranging from the explicit to the unspoken. these social and cultural values powerfully impact student success, and can either support and accelerate or present barriers. the academic‑faculty domain is focused on the institutional learning and teaching strategies, the resources and institutional culture and practices, the size and shape of the learning environment and the academic engagement practices prevalent. the relational interplay of the various epistemological fields in higher education include the formal administrative, discursive‑academic and informal experiential domains of students in their development and learning experience (bernstein, 2000; schreiber, 2013). here, sas is typically very powerfully influencing student success. these four domains – the personal, the public, the sociocultural and the academic‑ faculty domain – are mediated by sas in a variety of ways. the domains work synergistically, both negatively and positively, and the data reveals that sas in africa, with the onset of covid‑19, is critically relevant in organising responses that mitigate these impacts to shape a more supportive context for student success. the data shows that sas supported personal functioning of students (for instance by providing more and online counselling, etc.), mitigated the public service provision failure (for instance by providing free access and online mobile devices, etc.), compensated for sociocultural practices that were less conducive for studying (for instance by providing safe accommodation where communities and households had toxic influences on students, etc.), and facilitated learning (for instance, by offering tutorials and academic support, etc.). by using data from the survey, the relevance of sas’s role and function vis‑à‑vis the personal, public, sociocultural, and academic‑faculty impacts on students’ learning and development is demonstrated. overall, sas mediates the students’ experience which is nestled into these domains. sas facilitates access, dilutes barriers, compensates for omissions b. schreiber, t.m. luescher et al: student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa … 17 and augments the living and learning experience for students, thus advancing student success. the overarching social justice agenda of sas, i.e. to level the playing field, to enable fairer conditions and to support more equitable access to educational experiences, is grounded in the sas’s mediation of these four domains. the context beyond the university has never been more important than during covid‑19 times, and this includes the macro public infrastructure, societal norms and practices, community‑based structures and familial milieu, and all that makes an environ‑ ment more – or less – conducive to a meaningful learning experience. there is a strong association between higher education attainment levels and higher levels of social equity and human development (peercy & svenson, 2016; undp, 2020). higher education is a tool for human development but ‘it takes a village’ – a community with functional structures and supportive social norms – to enable higher education to deliver on its promise. conclusion the analysis of the data in this research enabled insight into the domains that are mitigated by student affairs and services (sas) in order to support student success. from the role and function of sas, which emerged so cogently during covid‑19, we developed a systemic‑contextual model of sas for student success. sas’s responses are unique, varied and tailored to compensate for the hindrances, explicit and invisible, systemic and situational, that students experience in their quest for a meaningful learning and development higher education experience. particularly in africa, the context is to varying degrees equipped to enable an environment conducive to student success. what emerges powerfully from this research is that it is precisely this context, including and beyond the higher education institutions, the sociocultural community, the familial milieu and the public domain into which the learning experience is embedded, that is particularly implicated in playing a significant role in student success. universities are embedded into wider social and cultural communities and rely on family, community and public systems and it is these domains, together with the institutional and personal, that enable a context conducive to student success. african sas theory development, based on empirical research, as is done in this article is urgently required to expand upon prevailing sas theories and practices so that student success continues to be a significant national and continental development avenue. sas’s influence on these factors that impact on student success is critical to sustained student success in africa. moreover, sas needs to focus on equipping students to become social justice agents so that students themselves can powerfully impact on the personal, institutional, social, cultural and public influences on student success. higher education offers a powerful learning and development experience for students and for this to be more meaningful, the four domains – the personal, the public, the sociocultural community and family milieu, and institutional – need to synergistically align to support student success. sas plays a critical role in mitigating and harmonising these domains. 18 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 1‑21 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 potential conflict of interest the authors declare that they have no competing interest. funding this research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial entity, or non‑profit organisation. references altbach, p., reisberg, l. & rumbley, l. 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(2021). student affairs and services during covid‑19 in africa: mitigating the pandemic’s impact on student success. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 1‑21. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1425 https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587x.2020.1822878 https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587x.2020.1822878 http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/gendercovid_final.xlsx https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000261751/pdf/261751eng.pdf.multi.page=142 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000261751/pdf/261751eng.pdf.multi.page=142 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00974923 https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2016.1270919 _hlk52721040 abstract universities promote social justice by improving student success; a university degree is one of the most powerful tools to change the economic prospects of students, their families, and communities. for students to succeed, it is vital that they are connected to the wide range of support services in a meaningful way. unfortunately, many students (especially first-generation students) find it difficult to connect to university environments that are complex and that are often not optimally coordinated. international and national research shows that academic advising plays a critical role in improving student engagement and success by facilitating better coordination and integration of support. academic advising provides students with relevant information, facilitates their conceptual understanding of the university, and allows students the opportunity to form a meaningful relationship with the institution through an advisor and by means of various advising initiatives. this paper shares international perspectives on the critical importance of academic advising for student success. building on these perspectives, we reflect on the development of academic advising in south africa, and on its potential for enhancing student success in our context. we provide an institutional perspective by sharing the journey of the university of the free state. in doing so, we show the positive impact of advising before and during the pandemic, and we conclude with lessons for the future of academic advising in the south african context. keywords academic advising, student success, higher education research article the development of academic advising to enable student success in south africa gugu wendy tiroyabonei & françois strydomii i gugu wendy tiroyabone (corresponding author), assistant director: centre for teaching and learning, tiroyabonegw@ufs.ac.za, university of the free state, orcid: 0000-0002-9478-2503 ii françois strydom, senior director: centre for teaching and learning, strydomjf@ufs.ac.za, university of the free state, orcid: 0000-0002-4338-8127 1gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom introduction the improvement of student success is acknowledged as a critical social justice imperative. a world bank analysis of the returns of investment (roi) has determined in its findings that a tertiary education qualification in sub-saharan africa has greater returns on investment than in all other economies (dhet, 2015). therefore, a university qualification (especially in subsaharan africa) is one of the most powerful tools to change the economic prospects of students, their families, and communities. by focusing on student success, universities can become generators of greater equality, social justice, as well as economic prosperity (world bank, 2018; world bank, 2021). however, improving all students’ chances of success is a notoriously difficult goal, especially in south africa, which is one of the most unequal countries in the world (dhet, 2016). the task of improving students’ chances of success is further complicated by the complex nature of universities that are known to function in silos, which leads to a lack of integrated student support (craig, 2017; hunt, 2021; van heerden, 2009). international and national research shows that academic advising improves student engagement and success by facilitating better coordination and integration of support, which empowers students with information, enhances their conceptual understanding, and provides an opportunity to form a relationship with the institution through an advisor and/or advising interventions (centre for teaching and learning, 2018; habley, 1994; kuh, 2005; strydom et al., 2017). in this paper, we share our perspective as reflective practitioners (schön, 1983), who are reflecting on more than a decade of institutional academic advising interventions and research projects, as well as more recent national developments in this field. by taking a more reflective stance (patton, 2015) towards both our practice and research, we hope to share our thoughts on the development and potential of academic advising for student success in a new normal. defining student success to better understand the roi of an undergraduate degree in south africa, one needs to reflect on the complex ways in which student success is defined and measured. in their report on student access and success, lewin and mawoyo (2014) indicate that student success should not be merely understood as graduation, but that it should rather be understood to encompass quality, employability, and personal growth, particularly in addressing transformation challenges in access and success. they emphasise how south africa’s low student success rates have been recognised as having systemic causes, including poor school education. from an international perspective, tinto (2012) highlights through his work, the complex nature of student success. he argues that student success does not arise by chance; instead, it is fostered. moreover, student success is a by-product of intentional, structured, and proactive actions and policies. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 1-15 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.36562 linking these international and national perspectives to what student success is and to how it is defined and measured, the council on higher education (che) describes student success as “enhanced student learning with a view to increasing the number of graduates with attributes that are personally, professionally, and socially valuable” (che, 2014, p. 1). considering these different perspectives, our definition of student success is that it includes, in addition to passing grades, the development of cognitive and social-emotional competencies, as well as the acquisition of proficiencies that speak to the demands placed on 21st-century graduates by employers. this includes being able to actively participate in a team; being able to work with and learn from diverse people and environments; and the ability to recognise and live out the social responsibility of a democratic citizen (strydom et al., 2017). why is academic advising critical for south african higher education? reflecting on the development of higher education in south africa, evidence points to various iterations of policy, governance, and funding models that are committed to supporting not only participation (access) in higher education, but also to student success (nche, 1996; dhet, 1997 & 2013). the focus on access and success is directly linked to the objectives of the national development plan to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality (npc, 2011). from 2000 to 2008 undergraduate cohort study for public higher education institutions (dhet, 2016), 19.8% of the students who entered the system in the 2005 cohort in contact mode graduated after three years of study, 57.1% after six years of study, and 63.6% after ten years of study. these statistics paint a concerning picture for the sector. however, they also provide opportunities to confront the challenges through the development of effective interventions that enable reasonable chances of success. national student engagement shows that 70% of entering students are the first in their families to enter university, which means that they need advice on how to navigate higher education successfully (universities south africa (usaf), 2018). as mentioned earlier, student success requires structured, intentional interventions that integrate different student support initiatives to meet students where they are, and to engage them in activities that enable their success (strydom et al., 2017). habley (2007) and tinto (2012) describe academic advising as a safety-net or “hub of the wheel” that meets students (especially first-generation students) where they are and that create coordination points for support services. lowenstein (2013) goes further to describe academic advising as a “locus of learning” that helps students better understand the “logic” in their academic curricula in relation to their career plans or aspirations. considering the challenges of fragmentation and the lack of coordinated student support within higher education institutions, it is clear that academic advising as a potential “hub” could provide a possible solution, which could help facilitate better coordination and integration of student support in higher education. 3gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom international perspectives on academic advising the diverse expectations of academic advising across different institutional types and contexts complicate the definition of academic advising. as a result, no standard or universal definition of academic advising exists. however, larson et al. (2018) propose that academic advising applies knowledge of the higher education landscape to empower students and campus members to successfully navigate academic interactions that are linked to higher education. research has found that the process of academic advising has a powerful effect on student persistence and retention when the advisor provides support (drake, 2011). yarbrough (2002) indicates that research and practice show that the brief exchanges between advisor and advisee have the greatest impact on the student’s sense of self-efficacy towards completing their degree requirements. when advising is viewed as an educational process and done well, it holds great potential in being central to the process of connecting students with learning opportunities that foster and support their engagement, success, and the attainment of key learning outcomes (campbell & nutt, 2008). student engagement researchers affirm that advising can be viewed as a way to connect students to the campus and to help them feel that someone is looking out for them (kuh et al., 2005). the importance of advising is emphasised by light (2001), who proposed that academic advising is potentially the “single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience” (p. 81). cuseo (n.d.) reports that academic advising has a number of other positive benefits (which indirectly may increase student persistence and retention in tertiary education), including increasing students’ overall satisfaction with their tertiary experience, increase utilisation of campus resources, developing educational and career decision-making skills, and facilitating more frequent student-staff contact outside of the classroom. it has also been found that contact with a concerned, caring staff member from one’s tertiary institution plays a significant role in student retention and academic success by increasing students’ engagement, development, and cognitive growth (pascarella & terenzini, 2005). different aspects of advising such as advisor accountability, advisor empowerment, student responsibility, student self-efficacy, student study skills, and perceived support have all significantly linked academic advising to student success (young-jones et al., 2013). finally, academic advising has also been positively associated with students’ sense of development and satisfaction with the university and it can have an impact on all facets of a student’s academic experience—ranging from development to practical application of study skills (pargett, 2011). a brief history of academic advising in south africa in the international arena, particularly in the united states, academic advising has been in journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 1-15 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.36564 existence for over four decades. we would like to share our reflection—as researchers and practitioners—on the development of academic advising in the south african context. in south africa, a direct reference and record of academic advising can only be traced back to 2010, stemming from the work of the south african survey on student engagement (sasse). the sasse findings highlight the importance of academic advising and underline its importance for student success (strydom et al., 2017). in 2010, two universities piloted initiatives based on academic advising principles. the earliest definition of academic advising in south africa is that of the ufs that describes it as a developmental teaching and learning high-impact process, which is aimed at enhancing student success. the ufs was also the first institution to be affiliated to the global academic advising community, the national academic advising association (nacada), which is based in the usa. for the purpose of positioning academic advising within the south african higher education context, it is important to reflect on the important role that national policy changes have played in the development of academic advising. as stated before, higher education policy has always emphasised the importance of student success. in the early 2000s, the teaching develop grant (tdg) offered by dhet encouraged the development of student support. however, it was only when the university capacity development grant (ucdg) (2018) included student advising as one of the “pillars” in enhancing student success that advising rose to prominence. the dhet intentionally supported the development of advising by providing collaborative grant funding for seven institutions, led by the ufs, to develop academic advising in south africa. the collaborative grant initiative was built on the work in the advising work stream, which formed part of the siyaphumelela (2021) initiative. the collaboration in this work stream provided a national definition of academic advising. this definition asserts that academic advising is an ongoing and intentional teaching and learning practice that empowers the student in their learning and development process to explore, align, and succeed in their personal, academic, and career goals. therefore, as a shared responsibility between the academic advisor and advisee, advising aims to maximise the students’ potential by facilitating a conceptual understanding, sharing relevant information, and developing a relationship focused on promoting academic success. the envisaged result is that students have a meaningful academic experience while in higher education, and feel a sense of belonging to the institution while maximising their potential to succeed (eletsa, 2021). the collaborative grant also led to the formation of eletsa (advising in sesotho), the first academic advising association for south africa. across universities, there has been a progressive effort to position academic advising as a practice that improves coordination, effectiveness, and enhances student success (habley, 1994). the development of this profession in south africa is facilitated through the academic advising professional development (aapd)—an accredited short learning programme (slp) which is offered by the ufs. 5gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom the journey of the ufs in this section, we reflect on different stages in the development of academic advising at the ufs over more than a decade. each new stage was the result of an interplay between intentional evidence-based and literature informed planning, interaction with international peers, and also changes in the institutional environment. this includes reflections on how the covid-19 pandemic has enhanced advising. research and conceptual foundation the drivers of academic advising development at the ufs were first, the institution recognising in 2006 that student success, especially the achievement gap between black and white students, needed to be addressed and secondly, the development of the sasse, which introduced academic advising as critical to student success. therefore, student engagement research guided the development of academic advising at the ufs; this research highlighted the potential of academic advising to support an increasing number of firstgeneration students by empowering them to make sense of the support that was available at the institution, thus enabling them to connect with the institution through an advisor. as mentioned, the ufs was the first institution in south africa to join nacada in 2010. our collaboration with this global community helped us learn from the journeys of other countries. we were able to identify similar struggles, but also unique differences that would deeply influence the development of academic advising within the ufs. since its inception and definition as a professional role within higher education, academic advising has globally been viewed as a process within the teaching and learning arena. habley (1993) identifies the three core pillars of academic advising as to the informational, the conceptual, and the relational. using these three pillars, the development of advising at the ufs needed to consider: • what information students needed and when (informational); • how to empower advisors to help facilitate students’ conceptual understanding of their academic journey through the institution (conceptual); and • how to facilitate the development of meaningful advising relationships between advisors and students through various platforms (relational). the three pillars provided the foundation for the development of an advising system at the ufs that assists students proactively in navigating the institutional structure and systems, thus helping them to integrate their academic, personal, social, and emotional development in mapping their careers. by exploring the students’ personal, academic, and career goals, the advising process promoted alignment, better use of student support, and the enablement of student success. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 1-15 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.36566 in structuring and sequencing academic advising for students at the ufs, the central academic advising office, which is based at the centre for te aching and learning (ctl), has developed a generic academic advising cycle (see figure 1) to guide the deployment of advising, while ensuring that support is “just-in-time” and responsive to where the student is. the cycle also instils in students a sense of ownership of their studies as aligned with the activities of the academic year. figure 1 ufs academic advising cycle the development of the academic advising cycle was complemented by an analysis of students’ credit load. the importance of course selection in advising is supported by habley (1993). in addition, volkwein and lorang (1996) indicate that a student’s credit load for the first semester tends to be predictive of the credit load in the second semester. an investigation of the impact of students’ academic credit load had shown that a significant number of ufs students, especially those in extended curriculum programmes, were registering for too many credits (ctl, 2013). from this 2011-2013 longitudinal report, the ufs had identified the causes of credit overload, and the university had worked to drastically reduce the number of students who were taking 7gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom too many credits. by helping students with their course (module) selection, academic advisors were able to engage individually with students in the alignment of their academic and career plans. this intentional focus on managing credit load enabled the university to ensure that it was optimising the subsidy through more accurate enrolment, while enhancing student success. capacity building and innovation the development of academic advising at the ufs, results from a continuous interaction between innovations in support and expanding capacity. in 2010, academic advising constituted 50% of a full-time staff member’s job. however, as the benefits of academic advising to students and the institution became clearer, more staff was appointed in the ctl-based central academic advising offie, as well as at faculty level. today, the institutional academic advising forum includes 38 faculty managers and academic advisors across all faculties and campuses at the ufs. internally, the capacity of these staff members took the form of basic academic advising training, which, since 2018, has morphed into an accredited nqf level 5 short learning programme, academic advising professional development (aapd). additional academic advising innovations at the ufs include: • improved academic advising practices during registration; • online advising (including email and facebook); • residence-based advising workshops; • senior and post graduate student-focused workshops; • an advising unit in the first year seminar module; • a programme to support quintile 1-3 students; and • the development of student advising guidelines. demonstrating the impact of advising kuh (2008, p. 79) noted that “every advising contact is a precious opportunity for a meaningful interaction with the student.” nel (2014) affirms the importance of advising by showing that academic (student) advising can go a long way in aiding students to cope with challenges that they experience. academic advising helps students to “connect the dots” between academic and non-academic development and support, enabling them to turn their challenges into manageable possibilities. in quantifying the impact of academic advising at the ufs (pre-covid), a longitudinal study titled “creating pathways for success: academic advising and student engagement” was conducted and reported on in 2018. this study used mixed modelling (see figure 2) to show how students who participated in academic advising have had a higher probability of journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 1-15 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.36568 passing more than 70% of their modules than a comparable group who had not participated in advising. this was the case regardless of students’ admission point (ap) scores. figure 2 impact of advising interventions pre-covid on probability to pass modules (ufs 2015–2017) n=1456 the ufs was able to show this impact because it had scaled advising to reach over 10 000 undergraduate students per year before the covid-19 pandemic. pivoting advising for emergency remote learning and teaching in response to the pandemic, the ufs developed the keep calm #ufslearnon and #ufsteachon campaigns. the #ufslearnon campaign focused on pivoting student support online, which included academic advising, while the #ufsteachon campaign focused on pivoting staff support online. the central academic advising office extended its advising practices and approaches to include online student support. it was important for the central advisors to approach advising students online with the same process and methodology that they would have followed in a face-to-face setting, while being cognisant of the unique needs and limitations that students were having at the time. while providing one-on-one support through telephonic advising appointments, the advisors also recognised the need for scaled group interventions to address some of the common themes that emerged through various student interactions; these resulted in an e-advising strategy. the activities and initiatives presented by the c 9gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom central academic advising office served students across the bloemfontein, south, and qwaqwa campuses. table 1 is a summary of the activities and pivoted initiatives provided by the central academic advising office during 2020. table 1 scaling of advising services during the pandemic (2020) academic advising initiatives in 2020 student reach online workshops 394 online residence workshops 270 telephonic q & a appointments 113 peer advisor training and development (i.e. tutors, success coaches, mentors, src, gateway buddies, residence committee) 578 ufss (first year seminar module) 8 310 podcasts (6 recorded) 543 no student left behind (nslb) individualised proactive support 413 digital teaching & learning support magazine #ufslearnon (11 editions) 77 400 aggregated hits on a webpage 171 369 facebook reach 357 twitter likes, 221 retweets individual online advising appointments 1245 facebook reach (ufs academic advising) 2691 leveraging data to support the students in addition to advancing and pivoting advising services for a blended future, the scaling of analytics to provide timeous and proactive support to especially vulnerable students during the pandemic became a growing necessity. in response, the ufs had developed the no student left behind (nslb) initiative. the nslb initiative was based on an analysis of blackboard activity (or a lack thereof) throughout 2020, and it also included vulnerable students who were identified through other avenues (e.g. lecturers, facilitators, the student representative council (src), among others). these students were contacted by the central academic advising office to find out why they were not active on blackboard and to identify the challenges that they might have faced in completing their academic activities while they were c journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 1-15 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.365610 in a remote online environment. in an effort to provide holistic and responsive support to students, academic advisors kept students at the core of the initiatives by listening to them, by empowering them, and by referring them to relevant support structures such as online tutorials, mentoring, writing support, mental health support, connectivity support (via the global protect vpn), and/or to laptop and printed material provision. figure 3 provides a graphic illustration of the student who was positioned at the centre and who was referred to the relevant support services to ensure appropriate advising. figure 3 academic advising ensuring that students receive support throughout, data was captured on the learner case management system and analysed to determine trends in the types of support that these students needed. the nslb enabled 99.95% of students to participate in the 2020 academic year. alternative educational plans were put in place for the 0.05% of students who were not able to participate. the nslb initiative highlighted the importance of academic advising as a hub that can help coordinate and improve the efficiency of student support initiatives. the nslb illustrates how data analytics can further assist evidence-based and systematic academic advising approaches to enable student success. 11gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom conclusion in this paper, we have shared our reflections on the development of academic advising in south africa and at the ufs. we have argued that academic advising can play a critical role in serving as a hub to advise students on how to optimally make use of academic and non-academic support and opportunities to enhance their chances of success while promoting cohesion between students and their institution. we have learned valuable lessons during our national and local journey. first, the conceptualisation of academic advising needs to be informed by global literature, then deeply contextualised by using quantitative and qualitative data of experiences, as illustrated in the ufs journey. second, quality advising in a post-covid blended future needs to be an integration of high-tech and high-touch initiatives; that is, technology can enhance efficiency and the early identification of students in need of support. however, it is the advising relationship that creates a connection and that enables a student to succeed. third, the ethical use of data and data analytics can help to create differentiated and individualised support to students at scale. fourth, continuous professional training and development are vital to the development and growth of advising. finally, for academic advising to become the hub of improved effectiveness and of enhanced success, all parties involved need to commit to the journey as expressed in the following african proverb: “if you want to go quickly, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.” references campbell, s. m., & nutt, c. 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(2018). ministerial statement on university funding: 2018/19 and 2019/20. government printer. drake, j. k. (2011). the role of academic advising in student retention and persistence. about campus, 16(3), 8–12. doi:10.1002/abc.20062 eletsa. (2021, september). national academic advising definition http://eletsa.org.za/ about/ habley, w. r. (1993). fulfilling the promise? final report: act fourth national survey of academic advising. the american college testing program. habley, w. r. (1994). key concepts in academic advising. in summer institute on academic advising session guide (p.10). nacada the global community for academic advising. hunt, j. (2021). death to silos. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/call-action-marketingand-communications-higher-education/death-silos kuh, g. d., kinzie, j., schuh, j. h., whitt, e. j., & associates (2005). student success in college: creating conditions that matter. jossey-bass. kuh, g. d. (2008). advising for student success. in v.n. gordon, w.r. habley, & t.j. grites (eds.), academic advising: a comprehensive handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 68–83). jossey-bass. larson, j., johnson, a., aiken-wisniewski, s. a., & barkemeyer, j. (2018). what is academic advising? an application of analytic induction. nacada journal, 38(2), 81– 93. https://doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-38.2.81 lewin, t. & mawoyo, m. (2014). student access and success: issues and interventions in south african universities. inyathelo: the south african institute for advancement. light, r. (2001). making the most of college: students speak their minds. harvard university press. lowenstein, m. (2013). envisioning the future. in j. k. drake, p. jordan, & m. a. miller (eds.), academic advising approaches: strategies that teach students to make the most of college (pp. 243– 258). jossey-bass. national academic advising association (nacada) (2003). paper presented to the task force on defining academic advising. nacada clearinghouse of academic advising resources. http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/clearinghouse/research_related/definitions.htm 13gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom national commission on higher education (nche) (1996). a framework for transformation. government printers. national planning commission (npc). (2011). national development plan: vision for 2030. http://www.npconline.co.za/medialib/downloads/home/npc%20national%20 development%20plan%20vision%202030%20-lo-res.pdf nel, b. p. (2014). student advising as intervention for enhancing the academic success of “atrisk” students at a comprehensive university in south africa. mediterranean journal of social sciences, 5(27), 732–739. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p732 pargett, k. k. (2011). the effects of academic advising on college student development in higher education. educational administration: theses, dissertations, and student research. university of nebraska. http://digitalcommons. unl.edu/cehsedaddiss/81 pascarella, e. t., & terenzini, p. t. (2005). how college affects students. a third decade of research. jossey-bass. patton, m. q. (2015). qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). sage. republic of south africa, (1997). higher education act 101. schön, d. a. (1983). the reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action. basic books. siyaphumelela: a student success initiative. background (2021, september). https:// siyaphumelela.org.za/about.php strydom, f., kuh, g., & loots, s. (2017). engaging students: using evidence to promote student success. african sun media. tinto, v. (2012). completing college: rethinking institutional action. university of chicago press. universities south african (usaf). (2018). understanding students: a key to systemic success. http://www.usaf.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/understanding-students_web.pdf van heerden, s. e. (2009). providing and managing student development and support in higher education in a developing country. university of pretoria. https://repository.up.ac. za/bitstream/handle/2263/26492/complete.pdf?sequence=9 volkwein, j. f., & lorang, w. g. (1996). characteristics of extenders: full-time students who take light credit loads and graduate in more than four years. research in higher education, 37(1), 43–68. world bank education overview. (2018) world bank education overview: higher education (english). world bank group. http://documents.worldbank.org/ curated/en/610121541079963484/world-bank-education-overview-higher-education world bank 2021: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/tertiaryeducation#1. young-jones, a. d., burt, t. d., dixon, s., & hawthorne, m. j. (2013). academic advising: does it really impact student success? quality assurance in education, 21(1), 7–19. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 1-15 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.365614 yarbrough, d. (2002). the engagement model for effective academic advising with undergraduate college students and student organisations. journal of humanistic counselling, education and development, 41(1), 61-68. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2164-490x.2002. tb00130.x 15gugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 123 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article campus politics and intra-party vote buying in ghana: how political mentorship could destruct sebastian angzoorokuu paalo* & ransford edward van gyampo** * mr sebastian angzoorokuu paalo is a phd researcher at the school of political science and international studies, university of queensland, australia. email: sebastianpaalo@gmail.com ** prof. ransford edward van gyampo is an associate professor in the department of political science and the center for european studies, university of ghana. email: revgyampo@ug.edu.gh abstract elections in fledgling democracies are punctuated by perceived and observed cases of vote buying otherwise also called electoral clientelism – regarded as a major threat to democratic consolidation. notions of vote buying are variously captured in the burgeoning literature on democracy, but the ongoing scholarly discussions have failed to engage some growing contemporary trends that also contribute significantly to sustaining the culture of vote buying in intra-party, local and national elections. in our analysis of recent intra-party elections in ghana, we argue that vote buying has become more complex and more pronounced – and the proliferation of the phenomenon is aided by student campus politics (particularly at the various tertiary institutions), which directly feed into national politics. following this stance, the article concludes with a recommendation that further empirical research be conducted by scholars and policymakers to fully examine the reinforcing role of campus politics in electoral clientelism during intra-party elections and, by extension, national elections. keywords campus politics; clientelism; political party; student politics; vote buying introduction for decades, the drive towards democratic maturity in developing and transition countries has been characterised by notions of vote buying (cheeseman, 2015). post‑cold war africa has witnessed enormous political transformation, particularly in terms of democratisation. most polities in the continent have adopted the practice of secret balloting, electorates have continuously received some forms of civic education, electoral laws have criminalised vote buying, elections appear to be free and fair, and thus electoral institutions and processes are getting stronger with time (cheeseman, 2015; adejumobi, 2007). consequently, authoritarian and patrimonial regimes have hitherto slowly paved the way for some democratic processes. like many other african states, vote buying is a common trait of ghana’s electoral democracy. though being hailed as a consolidating democracy, largely by the international https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 mailto:sebastianpaalo%40gmail.com?subject= mailto:revgyampo%40ug.edu.gh?subject= 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 community and other domestic optimists, some pessimists are concerned about the deepening role and the complex dynamics of electoral clientelism in the country. seven successive peaceful elections in ghana since the beginning of the country’s fourth republic in 1992, have largely erased the pain of a chequered and tumultuous political era which preceded ghana’s fourth republic. democracy thus appears to be more rooted in ghana relative to most parts of africa. the political landscape in ghana has been transformed through some innovative constitutional reviews; effective electoral management and reforms; elite consensus building; growing civil society activism; and expanding media participation – culminating in massive citizen participation in political activities across the country (linberg, 2003; frempong, 2008; osei, 2015). political parties now have codes of conduct that seek to, amongst others, instil fair and peaceful elections (frempong, 2008). parties have also contributed to a general improvement in voter turnout. from 29% in 1992, voter turnout in general elections in ghana is on the average 70%, a phenomenon which implies ghanaians are politically active, alive to their civic responsibilities, and committed to the course of democracy (frempong, 2008). despite the relative successes attained in ghana’s push towards democratic consolidation, successive elections in the country appear to have been marred by practices of vote buying (cheeseman, 2015). discussions of vote buying and other electoral malpractices in ghana and across africa are amply captured in most of the literature on politics in africa (bayart, 1993; lindberg, 2003; adejumobi, 2007; cammack, 2007; frempong, 2008; robinson, 2013; cheeseman, 2015). however, these works concentrate on national or interparty elections, with little attention to relatively new but crucial issues such as intra‑party elections and their reinforcing relationship with student campus politics, which has emboldened electoral clientelism in national elections. drawing on qualitative data from existing literature, personal observations, and print and electronic media discourses, we argue that partisan relations and transactions between campus student unions and national political parties promote vote buying mostly in intra‑ party elections, which further manifests in national elections. mugume and luescher (2015,  2017) indicate that resource transactions from parties to student leaders promote clientelistic politics on the campuses of some universities in africa, while ichino and nathan (2013) opine that intra‑party elections in ghana are characterised by perverse vote buying. our qualitative analysis of recent elections of political party representatives, parliamentary and presidential aspirants in ghana, resonates with the findings of mugume and luescher (2015, 2017) and ichino and nathan (2013). the evidence further establishes that material distribution in student politics (campus politics) reinforces and contributes greatly to contemporary vote buying amongst party elites1 in their internal party elections, 1 party elites here refer to holders of various party positions, who are trained in democratic practices and are being charged by their respective parties to, amongst other things, educate the masses on matters including electoral rights of citizens. in ghana, the largely ineffective nature of institutions such as the national commission on civic education (ncce) and the commission on human rights and administrative justice (chraj), with regard to their mandates – to educate citizens on their civil rights – has given room for political parties to carry out such exercises. in this case, parties’ civic education of the masses rather represents political campaigns. https://doi.org./10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 sebastian a. paalo & ransford e.v. gyampo: campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana … 125 which replays in national politics. this level of electoral clientelism is understudied, but is nonetheless an important subject for scholars and policymakers in the discourse and practice of democracy in africa. this is because parties represent the masses at the national level and thus largely contribute to democratic attitudes and practices. they aggregate the policy aspirations of the masses, which means the political behaviour of parties and their supporters regarding the choice of leaders is of critical importance to democratic entrenchment (nathan, 2016; jensen & justesen, 2014). also, most political leaders in ghana today were nurtured (a trend which continues to manifest) through campus politics and partisan relations with political parties (gyampo, 2013). yet, the resource distribution between politicians and students promotes vote‑buying instincts in student leaders (mugume & luescher, 2015, 2017), who carry the same attitude into party and national politics. student leadership manifests in many areas and levels: halls of residence, departmental, faculty, college, national, regional, and even continental. however, we focus on the link between students’ representative council (src) and national union of ghana students’ (nugs) representations on the one hand, and elite clientelism at political party elections on the other hand. due to the large number of students under their leadership compared to other campus positions, src and nugs are the arenas where most political parties, through their campus offshoots, propagate parities’ agendas. the article focuses on the two largest political parties – the ruling new patriotic party (npp) and the main opposition national democratic congress (ndc) – because they have alternated political power at least twice in ghana’s fourth republic, and have each developed campus links for many years. in addition, a survey by africa elections project, aep (2016) discovers that npp and ndc practice electoral clientelism the most, not only in national elections but also at their respective party delegates’ elections, particularly when in power. therefore, narrowing the focus on these parties enables a detailed discussion, while drawing implications on other smaller parties to present a national picture. to be sure, we do not attempt to establish a direct link between material inducement and vote outcome in general, as direct correlations are hard to establish due largely to people’s unwillingness to provide accurate information on whether or not they vote based on material influence (kitschelt & wilkinson, 2007). in recent times, some voters do consider other factors such as past records of politicians, even when attempts are made by the latter to ‘buy’ the former’s choice at elections (weghorst & lindberg, 2011; gadjanova, 2017). also, we do not claim that campus distributive campaigns are the root causes of vote buying in intra‑party and thus national elections, as the campus‑party link is a latter development (especially from the 90s and 2000s competitive political period, up to today), and thus the campus‑party link is younger than the long history of electoral politics in ghana. rather, we suggest that, evidently, student vote buying appears to replay within mainstream politics outside campus, as these same actors usually further perpetuate vote buying within the elite circles, starting at the level of party delegates elections, and invariably extending to national elections. 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 in the subsequent sections, we first discuss the existing theoretical debates on vote buying in the african context, which provides a background to the phenomenon of material inducement in elections in ghana. the second section illustrates some manifestations of active in‑party vote buying in ghana, in particular, in 2018, during which ghanaians witnessed perhaps one of the most materialistic intra‑party delegates’ elections. in the third section, we provide a brief evolutionary trajectory of student politics, while in the final part, we demonstrate that contemporary campus politics, which is being promoted by multipartism, has an informed role in intra‑party voter behaviour, as it transfers the culture of vote buying to party levels and, by extension, to national elections. a theoretical insight on vote buying in africa scholarship on politics in africa suggests that elections in the continent are mired by persistent clientelism and vote buying (bratton & van de walle, 1997; lindberg, 2003; robinson, 2013). some scholars, however, contend that the characterisation of african elections as simply clientelistic, is predominantly a western view, which is born out of uncritical comparison of african contexts with western politics (bratton & mattes, 2001; osei,  2012). nonetheless, the bulk of the literature appears to converge on the notion of african elections as spaces of widespread vote buying (robinson, 2013; jensen & justesen,  2014). we define vote buying as direct or indirect influencing or inducement of (potential) voters (individually or in groups), with material distribution, in favour of a particular candidate or a party, mostly in the lead‑up to and during elections (stokes, dunning, nazareno & brusco, 2013; nichter & hidalgo, 2016). the buyers usually involve candidates themselves, or persons or groups close to them, who are willing to contribute to the victory of particular competitors or their respective political parties. the literature identifies many forms of vote buying; common amongst them direct payments to voters, donations of cash or items (e.g. food, building materials, etc.), promise of employment, social services, payment of cash or fees, award of contracts and provision of certain programmes upon a victory in an election (lindberg, 2003; nathan, 2016). different polities or communities experience different vote‑buying practices based on many variables, for example, the economic condition of the polity or community and the level of education or civic awareness of voters, but the influence of these conditions have equally provoked debates in scholarship (robinson, 2013). generally, electoral clientelism in africa is caused and reinforced by conditions of low productivity, high inequality and starkly hierarchical social relations (wantchekon, 2003); low levels of economic development, cultural practices, small size of the public sector economy, low levels of educated voter population (nathan, 2016; jensen & justesen, 2014); and the legacy of patrimonial colonial regimes – the tactics of resource distribution to cronies to divide and rule (bayart, 1993; mamdani,1996). the economic factor has however gained more prominence in most of the contemporary literature. for example, adejumobi (2007) argues that in poor countries patronage networks and outright bribing of electorates constitute major instruments for electoral victory and the maintenance of power by the political elite. this impedes the establishment and maintenance of complex and robust democratic institutions, thus https://doi.org./10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 sebastian a. paalo & ransford e.v. gyampo: campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana … 127 affecting the quality of political institutions (linberg, 2003; cammack, 2007). the majority leader in ghana’s parliament, osei‑kyei mensah bonsu, laments that “… very soon many institutions of government, especially parliament, would be taken over by people with fat wallets …” (kyei‑mensah‑bonsu, 2018, para. 2). in addition, electoral clientelism inhibits the competition abilities and chances of smaller political parties that are mostly under‑ resourced (gueye, 1996; kumado, 1996). nonetheless, the real problem appears to arise from the spread and sustenance of elite electoral clientelism within political parties. as the poverty levels of most african countries continue to decline, more citizens become educated and the culture of voter inducement increasingly criticised (lindberg, 2010; lawson & greene, 2014), the practice of vote buying is expected to decline, as occurred in some established democracies such as the u.s.a. and the u.k. (stokes et al., 2013). contrarily, this electoral fraud remains an active part of african politics. lindberg and morrison (2008), for instance, suggest that electoral clientelism is common in young african democracies, due in part to the growing intensity of political competition – as clientelistic rewards are used to change the opinions of particularly ‘swing voters’. where elections are competitive and voters expect gifts, candidates engage in a two‑pronged strategy: affirm their own status through public displays of wealth, and undermine opponents’ rewards by matching inducements or encouraging voters to break reciprocity norms. as a result, neither side’s gifts are sufficient for a win (lindberg & morrison, 2008; gadjanova, 2017). therefore, parties are forced to pursue different linkage mechanisms to voters, including defining and targeting broader constituencies through policy proposals (gadjanova, 2017). some scholars also argue that vote buying persists amidst growing democratisation due in part to the perceived and evidential weaknesses and manipulations of the rule of law coupled with underdeveloped political party structures in africa (carothers, 2006, 2007; adejumobi, 2007; lebas, 2011). political parties and vote buying in ghana cheeseman, lynch and willis (2016) argue that democracy seems to be consolidating in ghana relative to other african states. this is largely because ghana has witnessed at least three peaceful power alternations since 1992, and in particular, the 2016 elections which resulted in a historic loss of power by a sitting president (john mahama of the ndc) who had not served his second term as had happened in all the previous cases in the country’s fourth republic. however, cheeseman and his colleagues also observe that an apparent increase in voter education, plus a burgeoning middle class in ghana, does not have a significant effect on the reduction or eradication of vote buying, as the practice remains a main characteristic of ghana’s electoral democracy. this view is shared by other scholars (linberg,  2003; frempong, 2008; cheeseman et al., 2016; gadjanova, 2017). yet, these studies mostly focus on national elections, with little attention to vote‑buying dynamics in intra‑party elections, and why party elites seem to develop a penchant for (re)distributive politics. perhaps the most important and lucid work on vote buying in intra‑party elections in ghana, is by nahomi ichino and noah nathan. ichino and nathan (2013) stress that pervasive clientelism and patronage, rather than policy‑centered competition, characterises in‑party elections in ghana. 128 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 election of political party executives is amongst the topics that create enormous controversies across the country. in the early days of ghana’s fourth republic (from 1992), the choice of party executives and aspirants was characterised by hand‑picking of some contestants ahead of others by political ‘godfathers’, ethnicity and tribalism, ballot snatching, physical violence and vote rigging amongst others (carbone, 2003). while most of these issues remain relevant as they still influence interparty and intra‑party leadership elections to various degrees (osei, 2012), the phenomenon of intra‑party vote buying has rather gained more attention from stakeholders and political commentators who protest through various media outlets. like other multi‑party contexts in africa (lindberg, 2003; robinson, 2013), gyampo (2018, para 11) notes that vote buying is not a new phenomenon in ghana: since 1992, elections in ghana, particularly internal party elections and national ones, have been saddled with vote‑buying in a manner that confers legitimacy on corrupt practices after elections, undermines the sovereign will of the people, and hinders the selection of competent people to lead political parties. one of the several measures to tackle in‑party electoral frauds in ghana was to expand the electoral college to increase the scope of the electorate (from national executives to include constituency and zonal or community‑level executives), who partake in the elections of national, regional and constituency party executives. this decision was made largely to minimise the influence of powerful party individuals who could, as it were, easily ‘buy’ delegates’ votes or dictate the choice of a particular candidate to the few privileged party members who took part in party elections (carbone, 2003). thus, expanding the electoral college was to tackle issues such as in‑party electoral clientelism (apreku‑ danquah, 2017). the expansion of the electoral college, however, appears not to address concerns of voter inducement in party delegates’ elections. as asante (2018) notes, the expansion of the franchise comes with corresponding expansion and innovation in the dimension of vote buying. asante indicates that during rawlings’ time (1993‑2000), vote‑buying materials were mainly t‑shirts and, in some cases, flat‑screen tvs. to asante, even the expansion of the electoral college, which can take up to 6 000 or more delegates at a single party leadership election, has not weakened the ability of contestants to distribute materials to all or target delegates to solicit their votes. as stokes et al. (2013, p. 290) aptly contend, “democratization lies not in the expansion of the franchise but in its increasingly free exercise”. therefore, the expansion of party voters’ register does not correlate with free and fair elections. a survey conducted by africa elections project (aep) shows that all political parties in ghana are guilty of vote buying – the majority of party supporters and, by extension, ghanaians engage in the act either directly or indirectly, which depicts the perverse nature of the phenomenon in society (aep, 2016). however, the study singles out the two largest political parties that have alternated power at least twice in ghana’s fourth republic – the ruling npp and the largest opposition ndc – as being the guiltiest of perpetual electoral clientelism at their respective party delegates elections particularly when in power. this https://doi.org./10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 sebastian a. paalo & ransford e.v. gyampo: campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana … 129 resonates with scholars such as linberg and bayart who have argued that incumbent parties or parties that control state coffers tend to display opulence in distributive politics, especially in africa where state laws and constitutions, as well as party guidelines and structures could be, and in many cases have been, hijacked by some ‘big men’. as the npp and ndc have had access to state resources in turns, politicians’ quest to control power or get their close associates to handle party positions for the continued flow of trusted networks, incentivises active vote buying. the 2018 party executive elections in the npp and the 2018‑2019 executives and flagbearer elections in the ndc, revealed widespread vote buying as defined in the literature. the npp national delegates’ congress at koforidua technical university in the eastern region of ghana was not without copious cases of alleged vote buying. the exercise, which was to elect party national executives to steer the party’s agenda for ‘victory 2020’, witnessed various kinds of voter inducement, including direct distribution of cash to delegate voters. perhaps the biggest instance surrounded the action of an aspirant for the position of the party’s national chairman, who purchased and promised to distribute buses to all 275 constituencies supposedly for party business. around the elections, freddie blay had displayed a queue of buses, promising to hand over one bus to each constituency after the delegates’ voting. though this decision could aid party business, as blay and his close networks had argued, the gesture raised concerns about the timing of the buses – re‑echoing the views of stokes et al. (2013) and nichter and hidalgo (2016). the timing of the buses suggests a clear move to materially induce constituency executives to vote for the then acting national chairman, against a four‑time loser, stephen ntim. according to gyampo (2018, paras. 2‑3) the timing of such a gesture was meant to sway voters: … although freddie blay’s ongoing process to procure 275 buses for the party is ‘not a big deal’, the gesture could well be construed as vote‑buying because the delivery of the buses has started too close to the party’s conference to elect national officers, scheduled for july 7 … if someone means well for their party and decides to procure vehicles to help the party … it shouldn’t be a big deal but the timing is what really would raise qualms and eyebrows. like many other political analysts and commentators, gyampo stresses that if the buses had come in 2014, 2015, 2016 or any time before or after the elections, or even had not been withheld from beneficiaries until after the delegates elections, one would have conceived blay’s gesture as a move in genuine support of the party’s growth. the main opposition ndc also exhibited an open display of vote buying during its constituency, regional and national executives’ elections, as delegate voters were being given cash and other packages (e.g. parcels of food and handkerchiefs) branded with candidates’ images just before or while voting was taking place. for instance, a candidate for the greater accra regional chairmanship, emmanuel ashie moore, started his campaign with the distribution of free computers, scanners and printers to constituencies. according to ashie moore, the move was to equip constituency offices for effective communications (morre, 2018). however, in line with the previous views, the timing of such items could qualify ashie moore’s gesture as a vote‑buying attempt. 130 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 while there exists vote buying in each of the party’s delegates congresses, the practice becomes more pronounced when one is in power (aep, 2016), largely for two reasons. first, incumbent parties in africa mostly use normal government service delivery as conduits to seek voter support. thus, government appointees, in their mandates to perform state‑sanctioned duties, appear to citizens as though it is out of the former’s benevolence, and hence should be rewarded with votes (linberg, 2003). at the party level therefore, networks of party clienteles usually acquire wealth and cash, amongst others, through awards of contracts and committee allowances, with which they attempt to lure party delegates to vote for them or their favourites in party elections to ensure a continuum in their wealth acquisition. second, once a party wins power, it is often believed that a certain crop of party executives did an efficient job in barring any inefficiencies in the opposition’s camp. thus, some party ‘big men’ favour some candidates for party leadership and would usually pump in resources in support of such candidates’ campaign to retain them in office (aep, 2016). this support usually tilts the field of competition in favour of the preferred candidate, which usually generates conflicts and apathy, and sometimes leads to defection of losers and their support base. asare (2018) blames the proliferation of intra‑party and, by extension, national elections, on the non‑regulation of party funding. although section 33 of the representation of the people law of the 1992 constitution of ghana criminalises vote buying and other instances of electoral misconduct,2 political parties do not follow the directive in most cases. part iii of the political parties law (act 574 of 2000) also sought to control party funding but appears rather vague, as it does not put a ceiling on party spending but rather focuses on who has the right to sponsor party activities, in which case only citizens of ghana do (political parties law, act 574, 2000). consequently, asare’s proposition does not apply and cannot be applied under the current dispensation. after all, if the law does not concretely hold one accountable in matters of vote buying in national elections, little change is expected concerning same or similar acts at party levels. asare opines that unchecked party funding is the predominant channel for the pervasiveness of vote buying, as individuals and groups can spend any amount of resources without any restrictions. according to him, the constitution should put a ceiling on funds and the value of materials being donated for party activities, as is being done in some matured democracies. this, in his view, would cripple the upsurge of “political entrepreneurship” in the country. citing the us as an example, asare (2018, para. 7) reveals: i spent years of my life in the united states and i am very active in the politics over there, but there is a ceiling on how much an individual can contribute to party. i supported obama in 2008, but i was only able to contribute 2 400 dollars to his campaign, that is the maximum. even if i wanted to contribute more, i couldn’t. though it is usually difficult to conclude and researchers have failed to provide concrete evidence indicating that material inducements have direct influence on vote outcome, the vastly uneven and opaque grounds created by party electoral frauds have negative 2 the 1992 constitution of the republic of ghana. https://doi.org./10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 sebastian a. paalo & ransford e.v. gyampo: campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana … 131 implications for democratic consolidation. while legal reforms and correspondent strict adherence to electoral laws would sanitise intra‑party democratic processes, as happens elsewhere (stokes et al., 2013), we suggest that elite consensus against ‘electoral entrepreneurship’ is also crucially needed to address electoral clientelism (osei,  2015). according to kyei‑mensah‑bonsu (2018), the success, effectiveness and prestige of any institution rest on its orderly functioning and the extent to which it adheres to standards of discipline, dignity and decorum. he acknowledges that it takes time to build credible and durable political institutions and credible democratic attitude, but believes that after more than 25 years of ghana’s fourth republic, the quality and credibility of institutions should manifest more positively than it presently appears. ‘pre-multi-party’ student politics and activism before the establishment of universities in africa, there existed some sorts of pan‑african student activism. however, the earliest known student political groups and movements did not start in the african continent but in the metropolitan cities in europe. for instance, the following student unions were founded in london: the union of african descent (uad  1917), the gold coast students’ union (gcsu  1924), the nigerian progress union (npu 1924), and the west african students’ union (wasu 1925). such activisms were mostly for student welfare (e.g. accommodation, scholarships, and against racial discrimination), but pan‑african student activism was later tailored towards the political independence of continental africa. the movements started amongst pioneer african students who were privileged to travel abroad for higher education. the most prominent of the groups was wasu, as it was able to canvass massive support from students of west african descent, which later led to their vociferous anti‑colonial campaigns back in africa and especially within the west african region. wasu was able to export the independence struggle back home in africa and successfully linked diaspora activities with agitations in africa. one of its first leaders was kwame nkrumah who later became the first president of post‑colonial ghana. the focus on independence struggle, particularly, became more pronounced after world war  ii when many more students from the colonies gained scholarships to study abroad while several university colleges were established in the colonies amidst the global wave of self‑determination. since then, student representation has been part of the governance structures of universities and higher institutions across africa (oanda, 2016a, p. 63). right from ghana’s independence to the period before its fourth republic (1992 to date), student politics existed with a focus similar to the initial activisms by pioneer african students abroad. the pioneer student activist group in the country, the national union of ghana students (nugs), clashed with, advised and agitated for and against several programmes by successive governments both civilian and military. nugs’ politics started from the university college of ghana (now university of ghana) which was the first tertiary institution to be established in the country and spread to other latter campuses such as kwame nkrumah university of science and technology and university of cape coast. like their predecessors, nugs was more concerned with student welfare (e.g.  security, academic freedom, fees etc.). yet, through several protests and agitations, the union also 132 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 promoted some political tolerance under the then authoritarian governments, thus transforming the political landscape and contributing to multi‑party democracy from the early 1990s (gyampo, 2013). there was scarcely partisanship amongst nugs’ operations and within campus politics, as there were no opportunities under authoritarian regimes for any mobilising of students for political power by barely existing opposition parties (finlay, 1968). student politics and multipartism while oanda, finlay and gyampo reveal the existence of formidable student politics dating back to the pre‑independence era, mugume (2015) and luescher‑mamashela and mugume (2014) suggest that student politics became more institutionalised later, especially in response to multi‑party politics in africa. with the surge of post‑cold war multi‑party democracy across africa, a period samuel huntington describes as “democracy’s third wave” (huntington, 1991), student politics have increasingly been influenced by different political parties, thus the glaring manifestation of partisanship and the acceptance of same in campus politics in most parts of the african continent (gyampo, debrah & aggrey‑darkoh, 2016). although some countries such as tanzania and south africa have enacted legislations that prohibit political party influence in student politics (oanda, 2016b), the practice appears to be gaining more roots largely because parties believe in the organisational capacities of young people who are mostly in higher educational institutions –  and who would always, by varied means, utilise their exuberance to mobilise support for political parties (paalo,  2017). this non‑compliance with legislative prescriptions could be understood within the assertion that the judiciary in most african settings is usually not independent enough, and thus ineffective to prosecute perpetrators (klopp & zuern, 2007). therefore, the hitherto ‘non‑partisan’ task of student leaders to advance welfare agendas of students through negotiations with university and national authorities is eroding (gyampo, 2013). this is because most student agitations are being tagged with the agenda of a certain political colouration depending on the identity of organisers and participants, media partners and the leanings of political leaders who support or criticise such agitations. in ghana, the most popular and top‑ranked tertiary institutions, including university of ghana, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, university of cape coast and university for development studies, have always been fertile grounds for partisan manifestations in student politics (gyampo, 2013). being the leading universities in the country, these institutions attract most of the influential, brilliant and vibrant groups of students who political parties believe can be used to campaign, vigorously broadcast parties’ visions, and to canvass grassroots support for political power (bob‑milliar, 2012; gyampo, 2013; paalo 2017). as such, most political parties found and sustain student unions on campuses to promote the agendas of their respective parties. this is more so with the dominant incumbent npp and the main opposition ndc who pride themselves on campus offshoots in the names of tescon and tein respectively. the two main parties have been able to sustain their student mentees’ unions for many years largely because, as parties that have alternately controlled government conffers and, being composed of wealthy individuals, they provide more resources for student mobilisations. https://doi.org./10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 sebastian a. paalo & ransford e.v. gyampo: campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana … 133 gyampo (2013) argues that ghana’s accolade as a relatively successful democracy in africa cannot be mentioned without acknowledging the contribution of student activism throughout the country’s fourth republic. through campus politics, student groups have transformed the country’s multi‑party democracy – giving a positive new phase to political participation. since the inception of multi‑party democracy, which runs for close to three decades now, student leaders and activists have developed cordial relations with politicians at the national level and especially within party ranks, unlike their predecessors who had strained relations with the then authoritarian regimes that censored and repressed student activities (finlay, 1968). with the surge in a multi‑party system, however, politicians in africa see universities as critical outposts for building vibrant political clients to wrestle political power (oanda, 2016b). mugume and luescher (2017) contend that the recruitment of student cadres seems to be the most important function of party‑political involvement in student politics as parties scramble for numerical strength of membership in fledgling democracies in africa. this change of political atmosphere, which involves unprecedented student participation, was assumed to promote leadership development, as young people through campus politics get mentored politically and can contribute to issues of national governance. both student leaders and their political links, have argued that campus politics feed directly into national politics as the nurturing begins from the campuses. thus, when, for instance, the university of ghana decided to ban partisan politics on its campus in 2012, a conglomerate of student leaders vigorously kicked against the move, calling it an impediment to the development of the country’s democratic practice and the grooming of future political leaders. ludwig hlodze, the president of a group calling itself the inter‑ party youth committee, protested in a statement, that: the decision by the university of ghana to disallow the operation of political parties on campus amounts to the stifling of the country’s human resource and capital, because the university serves as a nursing ground for many political ambitions. (hlodze, 2012, para. 2) this stance re‑echoes mugume’s view that the relationship between political parties and students could have some positive effects in terms of moulding future leaders with democratic instincts, as well as offering general leadership training to students. yet, this leadership training appears rather to be clouded by patron‑client relations, which replays at various levels in state politics. student politics, multipartism and vote buying despite the (potential) positive impacts, student–party relations in most african countries have revealed a common trend in contemporary times. mugume and luescher (2017) aptly point to a reciprocal relationship between political parties and student leaders, using the case of uganda. the latter generally receives items from the former, which are meant to directly influence student voters during campus campaigns and elections, and this distributive link continues after campus campaigns and even after graduation. in this regard, mugume and luescher (2015) posit that student–party relations later enhance clientelistic 134 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 national politics. to corroborate this view from a nuanced angle, evidence from ghana led us to contend that student–party relations promote vote‑buying instincts and practices that are mostly exhibited in intra‑party elections and, by extension, in national elections. student leaders mostly rather project the political party agenda ahead of national politics or policies, ostensibly because party politics automatically leads to national politics. thus, student leaders in such a relation are highly compromised as they usually have future political ambitions linked to their affiliated parties. they may sacrifice the students’ interests in order to maintain their good reputation in the party or to portray a good image of their respective parties to the student body on campus (mugume, 2015). this suggests a shift in the mandates of student leaders from mainstream student affairs to a vertical responsibility to and an association with their political mentors. in a broad relation to the reservations raised earlier by mugume and luescher, university leaderships, policy think tanks and academics in ghana have also raised serious concerns that politicians and political parties tend to promote clientelistic politics amongst students. for instance, five student leaders assembled by joy fm’s “super morning show”, unanimously agreed that political parties influence the elections of student leaders across the country.3 there is a trend of direct funding of student campaigns and other aspects of campus politics by politicians, with no clear lines of accountability. it may sound ideal for student leader aspirants to receive resource support for their campus campaigns, but the act by politicians to provide leader candidates with cash and other materials for direct distribution to student voters in return for the latter’s votes, can be described as sowing seeds of electoral clientelism from below. this is because the leaderships and frontlines of most political parties in the country tend to be dominated by these student leaders, ‘mentored’ from campus. most high‑profile politicians in ghana’s fourth republic, including leaders in parliament, ministers and major party executives, have come from the ranks of campus politics, and it is this same group of people who partake in party delegates’ elections that are characterised by evidential materialism. campaigners for various scr and nugs positions mostly start with, or are forced by prevailing circumstances to start with a vote‑buying mentality. they believe that success in campus elections hinges on some forms of favours that should be handed out to student voters. these could include cash, study materials, food or foodstuffs, busing of students from hostels on the voting day, like what occurs in intra‑party and national elections. although candidates always communicate their policy initiatives to voters, manifestos are usually less important compared to material inducements, especially when elections draw closer and competitions heat up. a renowned anti‑corruption lawyer, ace ankomah, who has on many occasions openly called public attention to the link between student resource misappropriation and national corruption, narrated his research on one of the university campuses. according to him, the events in these elections are just a replay of what happens in our national politics, meaning that both campus and national politics reinforce each other – money changing hands, would‑be student‑leaders distributing branded t‑shirts to 3 joyonline.com, ‘student leaders confess to political influences but …’, 21 april 2016. https://doi.org./10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 http://joyonline.com sebastian a. paalo & ransford e.v. gyampo: campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana … 135 student voters, sponsoring entertainment programmes, giving out cash to students in order to buy their votes, sponsoring birthday parties, sponsoring morning porridge breakfast, etc. these practices, according to ace ankomah, regularly occur during src elections on university campuses. “i witnessed an src presidential aspirant dishing out one thousand, two thousand, three thousand and up to five thousand ghana cedis to people in halls of residences to share among themselves …” (ankomah, 2016, para. 9). in ankomah’s (2016, paras. 10, 13) interaction with some src aspirants, one of them narrates: i have done all that i need to do. they tell me that i am a good material for the src presidential position. they tell me, i have a great vision, a good message and articulate them well but without money, i will make a very little impact in the elections … with this, all that i need to do is to spread the cash and they will vote for me. it works perfectly. this electoral clientelism has persisted over the years in changing dynamics, and is being fuelled by political parties who mostly want their presence felt on campuses through (potential) student leaders, and hence would provide clientelistic goods to their favourite candidates for onward distribution to student voters. in his research as student journalist on the university of ghana campus, amewor (2016, paras. 2‑3) observes the following two issues: some political parties of the nation are unculturally participating in some src elections by providing funds, student‑based political supports and other necessary amenities to the src executive portfolio aspirants. it is loudly whispered that each party constructively selects its aspirant based on criteria known to god‑knows‑who, and supports him/her to victory. if it becomes so, the party will then have an indirect ‘rulership’ of that institution for the said academic year. this is all done out of the light of view of the entire student populace. it is not supposed to be so. src elections are meant for the students, from the students and by the students. all sources of funds, advertisements, strategies et cetera for the campaigns are supposed to come from the minds, pockets and brains of the hopefuls. this cannot but serve as an effective means of testing the competence and effectiveness of the hopefuls for the portfolios being aspired for. it is important to note, however, that not all student leaders or aspirants are politically affiliated, directly receive distributive resources from parties, or readily venture into cleintelistic politics on campus, as indicated by the 2016 nugs president, michael paa kwesi‑adu. kwesi‑adu (2016, para. 6) states: let’s say you are contesting for a position, political parties may not come directly to you so you the leader may not have a direct relationship with that political party; maybe davis, romeo and andrew are supporting you and belong to party k, so they may pass it through davis, … so if we are talking about political influence in the student leadership it may not be a direct influence, it would be a sort of indirect influence that the political parties have on the student leadership when it come to the election of student leaders. 136 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 therefore, scarcely does any round of student elections pass without material transactions and inducements from political party mentors to their student mentees. as this practice goes on unchecked, largely due to the lack of political will to stop political parties’ influence on campuses, and the fear of political victimisation on the part of university authorities to stop partisanship amongst students, campus vote buying and attendant frauds become the norms and are being transported through party to national elections. in this case, it is not the poor uneducated voter in the rural area as argued by most scholars, but elites and informed voters whose votes are very costly but must be bought because such is the game. therefore, though intra‑party elections may previously have had some forms of vote buying, contemporary partisan mentorship of campus politicians has strongly contributed to the pervasiveness of the situation. consequently, the partisan politicisation of student politics hinders probity and accountability amongst students on campuses. this is similar to how the politicisation of certain crucial issues amongst political parties in ghana has not yielded positive results in the fight against corruption. it is a common practice on campuses to find that student leaders sometimes squander funds meant for student affairs and go unprosecuted, and any student or group of students that raises the alarm on such malfeasances is being tagged as politically witch‑hunting the accused. in most of the universities across the country, each year passes with accusations of gargantuan misappropriation of student funds by student leaders, through various means (e.g. contract bloating, non‑existent purchases, etc.). however, supposed investigations into such issues do not only always free the culprits, but in some cases the petitioners may be tagged with political colours and victimised based on whose party is in power. this situation kills the culture of crime reporting amongst citizens in general. interestingly, some university authorities or individuals in charge of tackling student corruption through existing guidelines may also not fully follow up on such petitions for fear of political tagging and victimisation from political leaders towards whom student leaders have leanings. in 2007, the then nugs president, william yamoah, lamented that student leaders were partly to blame for politically supervised corruption in the country. yamoah (2007, paras. 1‑2) indicates: the level of dishonesty demonstrated by aspirants for leadership in student politics had given the impression that politics was all about money … competence, which used to be the criterion for electing student leaders, had now been relegated to the background. the future of this country is bleak unless student leaders change their attitude. with such corruption with impunity, most young aspiring political leaders unleash such practices at their political party levels and subsequently when in government. this sustains elite vote buying in party elections because it is a (near) political crime to speak against electoral frauds by party members. this would be conceived as speaking against the broader party’s agenda and would project the party to the world as being clientelistic, thus exposing it to public and, worst of all, to opposition parties’ criticism. hence well‑meaning party officials would keep mute in order not to be painted as enemies to their own party. the few https://doi.org./10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 sebastian a. paalo & ransford e.v. gyampo: campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana … 137 who may bravely condemn their internal party vote buying usually lose favour from most of the party’s top hierarchy and are always being vilified or sidelined. apart from what happens on campuses between student leaders and their political mentors, two other broad issues also ensure the continued relationship between campus partisan politics and mainstream political landscape ‘out there’. first, the distributive politics by politicians during intra‑party and national elections is usually through vibrant youth leaders from the various campuses, who mostly do not only (attempt to) buy votes by distributing cash and items to voters in local communities, but also use such engagements as means to project their future political agendas in their communities and constituencies. second, these young aids to politicians are usually in charge of defending and/or propagating the activities of their ‘big men’, including in most cases justifying or denying instances of direct vote‑buying attempts by their top political links. amongst many examples, one instance could be drawn from the january 2019 ayawaso west wuogon constituency by‑elections. while government projects were barely visible in the constituency prior to campaigns and elections, the npp government appeared to suddenly and calculatedly sanction road projects, and active road construction was going on across the constituency, just around the elections. this was conceived by many, including constituents, as vote‑buying tactics, as several petitions for projects had fallen on deaf ears until just prior to elections. reacting to this, a student leader, abdullah matin, of the university of ghana npp student branch (tescon‑ug), vehemently denied all allegations, insisting that road constructions were genuine government projects, and that the timing was only coincidental with the by‑elections (abdullah, 2019, para. 4). this suggests a direct relationship between campuses and partisan politics, and before student leaders emerge from campus, they are already being ‘baptised’ into the political culture on how to win elections. discussions and conclusion we have demonstrated that campus politics contributes to, reinforces and is reinforced by intra‑party vote buying in ghana, and thus this subject should be given significant attention in scholarship and in policy circles. the current concentration on electoral clientelism in national elections leaves out some important, related issues such as the link between campus politics and internal party politics that further shapes the character and approach in general elections. intra‑party elite vote buying keeps soaring with each round of party delegates’ elections in ghana, in particular within the npp and ndc, who have monopolised the political landscape in ghana’s fourth republic. what is more critical is the fact that delegate voters are usually graduates of the various tertiary institutions in the country, who become party executives and partake in the choices of party leadership through routine elections. as mugume (2015) notes, significant numbers of students become members of political parties whereby student leaders are most likely not only to be ordinary party members after graduation, but front‑line party leaders as well. political parties use the student guild elections to recruit new members, and in most cases distribute vote‑buying materials to aspiring student leaders during campus elections. 138 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 7(2) 2019, 123‑141 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 thus, this group of students usually identifies with political parties even before leaving campus, which should not be an issue when analysed on its own merit. however, the promotion of material inducement in party elections by these graduate mentees and their political mentors reveals a reinforcing condition between campus and the mainstream political realm, which plays out in national elections, as it is parties that contest in national elections. as most campus leaders receive material and other support from politicians and political parties with the support of student partisan groupings on campuses, these leaders all over the country form networks of young political leaders from campuses straight into the national arena. but partisan support for student leaders breeds some forms of corrupt practices with impunity as entrenched partisan positions prevent corrupt students from being concretely sanctioned for resource misappropriation on campuses. it is generally hard to state emphatically that campus vote buying has a direct link to in‑party vote buying, thus to national elections. however, given the evidence presented in this article, coupled with the fact that most of these graduate mentees seem to exhibit attributes of ‘bad’ politics including ‘conscience‑free’ distributive politics, it is tenable to argue that such attributes are cultivated from campus politics and reflect the generally compromised system in ghana. therefore, much as other 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(2019). campus politics and intra‑party vote buying in ghana: how political mentorship could destruct. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(2), 123‑141. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 https://bit.ly/335eg0z https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003055405051683 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003055405051683 https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781107324909 https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781107324909 https://www.ghanaweb.com/ghanahomepage/republic/constitution.php# https://www.ghanaweb.com/ghanahomepage/republic/constitution.php# https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grp018 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grp018 https://doi.org/10.1353/wp.2003.0018 https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2011.603483 https://bit.ly/2xyyoqn https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3829 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 47 www.jsaa.ac.za s research article financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students at a comprehensive south african university marinda pretorius* & derick blaauw** * dr marinda pretorius is a senior lecturer in the school of economics at the university of johannesburg, south africa. email: marindap@uj.ac.za ** prof. derick blaauw is a professor in the school of economic sciences at the north‑west university, south africa. email: derick.blaauw@nwu.ac.za abstract since 1994, there has been a doubling in the enrolment of students in south africa’s public universities. students, especially first-generation students, face numerous challenges that may impact their subjective perceptions of their well-being. in a milieu of high levels of suicide and depression amongst south africa’s student population, the understanding of the variables determining students’ subjective well-being (swb) should be deepened. this article investigates the levels and changes in the swb of successive groups of first-year students at a comprehensive university in south africa between 2014 and 2017. it makes use of a fit-for-purpose survey instrument. the results show that the swb of students is influenced positively by their living arrangements and variables that have a direct influence on the educational environment in which they operate, such as feeling ‘at home’ and an overall level of satisfaction of the students’ experience at the university. negative variables that influence the swb of students include concerns regarding finances and upcoming tests, and living on campus or within walking distance of campus. keywords determinants; happiness; subjective well-being; university students introduction in south africa, 2015 may be remembered along with 1976 as a year in which students demonstrated their ability to alter the course of education history. the #feesmustfall campaign forced government to reflect on the various challenges facing the higher education sector in south africa. decades of rapidly expanding access, along with decreasing government subsidies, led higher education institutions to face a number of challenges. higher education institutions must attempt to meet enrolment targets, but at the same time ensure quality education (simkins, 2016). many of the students currently enrolled at higher education institutions are first‑ generation students, whose parents and families are making significant sacrifices for them to be amongst the more than 1 million students in south africa. students who were able https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:marindap%40uj.ac.za?subject= mailto:derick.blaauw%40nwu.ac.za?subject= 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 to secure a spot at one of south africa’s higher education institutions face a myriad of challenges that may impact their lives and subjective perceptions of their well‑being. this is especially true for first‑generation students. they have no prior familial experience of higher education and, as a result, no reservoir of knowledge upon which to draw as to how to adapt to their new lives (christie, tett, cree, hounsell & mccune, 2008). as a result, strong emotions of displacement, anxiety and guilt can all be part of the daily lives of first‑generation students, alongside the more accepted emotional responses of hopeful anticipation, pleasure and enhanced self‑esteem (christie et al., 2008). subjective well‑being (swb) encompasses a person’s present assessment of his/ her satisfaction with life and happiness (dave, tripathi, singh & udainiya, 2011). the application of swb in the field of economics has gained momentum during the last few decades. according to mackerron (2012) swb is linked to economics through macroeconomic issues as well as behavioural, environmental and ecological economics. the increasing connection with economics is indicative of a necessary move towards “more realism in the study of economic behaviour and provides an interface with psychological and sociological aspects underlying economic choices” (blaauw & pretorius, 2013, p. 180). although theory suggests that students should have higher levels of subjective well‑being (swb) than, for example, the urban poor (cox, 2012), this may not necessarily be the case within the context of the burden of expectations on students. the daily realities of being a student include struggles to afford food, accommodation, study material and other necessities for their optimal functioning. the issues of general student well‑being, and specifically mental health, have become prominent in higher education in recent years (luescher, schreiber & moja, 2018). data collected from more than 1 300 south african students in 2013 revealed that not only are rates of suicidal ideation higher amongst these students than the general population, but they are also higher than student populations in other parts of the world (bantjes, kagee, mcgowan & steel, 2016). the high levels of depression and even suicide amongst south africa’s student population provide prima facie evidence that our understanding of the variables determining students’ subjective well‑being is in urgent need of re‑evaluation and deepening. bantjes et al. (2016) strongly suggested that more research is needed to investigate the psychosocial variables associated with these phenomena, especially within the cultural and socio‑ economic context of south africa. this article attempts to adhere to this call by investigating the levels and changes in the swb of successive groups of first‑year economics students at a comprehensive university1 in the heart of gauteng between 2014 and 2017. students at comprehensive universities come from diverse schooling backgrounds with unique characteristics and circumstances facing them (pretorius & blaauw, 2014). improving our understanding of the daily lives of students can assist universities in improving their proactive strategies to assist first‑year students in their transition 1 a comprehensive university in the south africa context can be defined as a university that offers a combination of theoretically‑oriented university degrees as well as vocational oriented diplomas and degrees (hesa, 2005). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 marinda pretorius & derick blaauw: financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students … 49 into university life (the first‑year seminar is a good example of one of these strategies), increasing the likelihood of academic success to the benefit of the student and institution alike. furthermore, the study may help to identify a broad range of relevant and topical issues concerning students and their outlook on life in south africa’s higher education sector. it is with good reason that luescher et al. (2018) point out that student affairs in particular are implicated in finding solutions to the issues identified in current research. the remainder of the article will discuss the relevant literature, choice of research population, research design and empirical strategy. this is followed by the results, discussion as well as possible policy implications and avenues for further research in this important field of study for south africa’s higher education landscape. relevant literature: students and subjective well‑being the study of happiness and subjective well‑being is an ever‑growing area of research in economics (kahneman & krueger, 2006; mangeloja & hirvonen, 2007, p. 26). the evolvement of studying subjective well‑being within the realm of economics can be traced back to the seminal work of richard easterlin (1974; 2001). the body of literature that has emerged since then is comprehensive and concludes that the notion of subjective well‑being is linked to a range of socioeconomic and other cultural features of countries around the globe (diener, diener & diener, 2009).2 economists have focused their attention in this field on the relationship of subjective well‑being and aspects such as earnings, economic growth, income inequality, inflation, institutions, human development index, consumption, globalisation and unemployment (mangeloja & hirvonen, 2007, p. 26). the study of subjective well‑being falls within the broader strand of literature on psychological and social well‑being, known as the hedonic approach of studying well‑being (negovan, 2010). the hedonic approach looks at well‑being in terms of happiness and of the experience of pleasure combined with the absence of pain (negovan, 2010). within this approach, numerous prior studies have investigated the determinants of quality of life (qol) or subjective well‑being amongst university and college students; however, this is mostly within a developed country context (botha, snowball, de klerk & radloff, 2013; pretorius & blaauw, 2014). even in developed countries, the fulfilment of basic needs is the cornerstone of explaining students’ subjective well‑being (türkdoğan & duru, 2012). the key assumption here is that emotions such as happiness can only be experienced if human needs are sufficiently met (türkdoğan & duru, 2012). interestingly, the needs for freedom, fun and power tend to be more important in this regard than the other basic needs such as the need for survival, love and belonging (türkdoğan & duru, 2012). chow (2005) found similar results in a study amongst students in canada. as expected, basic needs such as housing conditions were statistically significant in explaining their general quality of life. notably, however, the impact was smaller than other variables, such as self‑esteem, relationship with a significant other, socioeconomic status, academic 2 see, for example, frey’s and stutzer’s (2002) book titled happiness and economics as well as dolan, peasgood and white (2008) for an extensive and well‑documented overview of these factors and determinants. 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 success and financial security (chow, 2005; michalos, 2008; flynn & macleod,  2015). these findings are supplemented by further studies that show similar results, but add explanatory variables related to the quality of teaching and resources available to students (chan, miller & tcha, 2005; nielsen, newman, smyth, hirst & heilemann, 2017). chan et al. (2005) studied the possible determinants of happiness amongst students at the university of western australia in 2003. using an ordered probit model (which accommodates for the ordered nature of the swb dependent variable), they found possible linkages between happiness and a set of variables. these include grades, friendships developed, school facilities, opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities, and lecture quality. school work, time management and relationships formed in university proved to be the most significant of these (chan et al., 2005). mangeloja and hirvonen (2007) compared their results with the chan et al. (2005) study and found similar results. the most significant effects on the students’ levels of satisfaction were social relationships, resources available to them, as well as the broader educational environment and extracurricular activities. the broader education environment and its influence on the subjective well‑being of students do not function in a vacuum. nielsen et al. (2017) recently studied the influence of instructor support, family support and psychological capital on the subjective well‑being of postgraduate business students in australia. they defined the personal psychological capital (psycap) of students as their “personal psychological resources of self‑efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism” (nielsen et al., 2017, p. 2099). they found positive relationships between instructor support and subjective well‑being, as well as between psycap and subjective well‑being (nielsen et al., 2017). furthermore, psycap mediated the association between instructor support and subjective well‑being. family support, on the other hand, moderated this mediated relationship so that the relationship was stronger amongst students with lower levels of family support (nielsen et al., 2017). furthermore, the unique demands and pressure of university life are also an important consideration in studying students’ subjective well‑being. eckersley (2011) states that in australia, 48% of university students were psychologically distressed and many faced the risk of developing mental disorders. according to eckersley (2011), national surveys of american college students revealed similar results. nine in ten american college students reported that they often feel overwhelmed by all they had to do and felt exhausted, anxious, angry and depressed. the fear of non‑completion demands specific attention (negovan, 2010). challenges that may heighten the possibility of not completing one’s degree are, for example, insufficient ex-ante information about the programme and the institution. other concerns are the financing of studies, accommodation and transport (yorke & longden, 2008). this finding is especially important within the context of many higher education institutions in south africa, where a significant portion of the student population comprises first‑ generation students who are often far from their homes, in a new and demanding environment. the significance of being a newcomer to university life features in a number of studies internationally (bewick, koutsopoulou, miles, slaa & barkham, 2010). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 marinda pretorius & derick blaauw: financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students … 51 at a university in the united kingdom, bewick et al. (2010) investigated the psychological well‑being of students from all faculties from pre‑registration to the second semester of the third year of study. results clearly showed that greater stress is experienced by students who start university compared to pre‑university levels (bewick et al., 2010). interestingly, the levels of stress were higher in the first semester (bewick et al., 2010). it is clear that university is a time of heightened levels of stress. understanding these issues better can inform universities to facilitate the support necessary throughout students’ studies to enable them to finish successfully. furthermore, studies have found differences in the levels of happiness and optimism between male and female students (srivastava & agarwal, 2013; dar & wani, 2017). dar and wani (2017) found such a result for india. within the south african context, the subjective well‑being of students is not yet receiving the same levels of research attention as elsewhere in the world. however, important work has been done in this regard. notable is the work of møller (1996), who investigated the dynamics of life satisfaction amongst students at the university of kwazulu‑natal. botha et al. (2013) focused their attention on satisfaction with residence life, in particular at rhodes university in south africa. botha et al. (2013) pointed towards the importance of student attributes, such as demographics, and other variables, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, self‑esteem, drug and alcohol use, learning style, and academic achievement. variables endogenous to the institutions refer to issues such as living conditions, social spaces, leisure activities and the culture on campus (botha et al., 2013). pretorius and blaauw (2014) conducted an exploratory study on the subjective well‑being of first‑year students at a comprehensive higher education institution. apart from the elements highlighted by previous international and local studies, they found additional variables in particular that are of importance for first‑year students’ subjective well‑being. positive aspects forthcoming from their results were the fact that the university was the institution of choice for the student; feeling ‘at home’; knowing exactly how the university functions; and taking part in or watching sport (pretorius & blaauw, 2014). negative influences were identified as worries about tests, studying less than 10 hours per week and living on campus (pretorius & blaauw, 2014). türkdoğan and duru (2012, p. 2444) summarised the issue of subjective well‑being of students, stating that: it can be said that the students who have the ability to make choices and to express themselves freely, … who feel themselves worthy and successful, who have enough safety and shelter conditions, and who have good relationships with special people in their lives, are more close to happiness than the others. this study will use the variables identified in the international and south african literature as variables in econometric models to investigate the contributing factors playing a role in the levels of subjective well‑being of students at one of south africa’s biggest universities. the choices of research population, research design and empirical strategy are discussed next. 52 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 research methodology survey instrument the research design for this study was quantitative. the study followed the example of the literature and utilised a survey‑based research approach to investigate the possible variables contributing to the subjective well‑being of first‑year economics students within the context of related pressures on students in south africa. to this end, a fit‑for‑purpose survey instrument was developed. the survey instrument evolved from the pioneering work of van zyl (2010). the survey was tested by conducting a trial run on a group of students and the survey was subsequently adjusted in multiple iterations. potentially ambiguous questions and other problems in the survey instrument were identified and addressed. after the development phase of the survey, the necessary ethical clearance was obtained from the relevant faculty’s ethics committee. all associated ethical concerns were addressed, such as the need for anonymity and being voluntarily involved in the research project. a trained senior tutor was used to collect the data during tutorial sessions of the target group of students. the students have compulsory economics tutorial sessions every week. before each session, the tutor explained the objectives of the study. the willingness of students to participate in the study was also confirmed before the survey was conducted. the survey was completed every year from 2014 to 2016 by first‑year economics students. the data for 2014 were collected in august 2014, whereas the data for 2015 and 2016 were collected in february 2015 and 2016, respectively. the data were captured and cleaned in the month after collection, in each of the respective years to provide an adequate dataset. the sample sizes for each year were 529 (24% of the research population), 641 (29%) and 647 (29.4%) students who completed the survey. this gave a total pooled sample of 1 817 students (27.5 % of the research population) over the three years. the following sections provide the details of the data and variables as well as the econometric framework of the empirical analysis. data and variables the dependent variable in the study is labelled as ‘happiness’. the variable is a likert scale measure of the self‑reported subjective well‑being (swb) of individuals. the variable is based on question m5 of the first wave of the national income dynamics study (nids), which reflects the subjective well‑being of individuals: ‘using a scale of  1 to  10 where 1 means “very dissatisfied” and 10 means “very satisfied”, how do you feel about your life as a whole right now?’ (nids, 2008:26). figure 1 reveals the percentage of responses to the subjective well‑being question per scale. out of the 1 817 responses in total over the three years, 18% of the students indicated that they were ‘very satisfied’ with their lives as a whole when the survey was conducted. only 2% specified that they were ‘very dissatisfied’ with their lives when the survey was conducted. the majority of the student responses in the sample are clustered around the upper bounds of the research question, indicating the relative happiness of students at the institution. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 marinda pretorius & derick blaauw: financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students … 53 figure 1: summary of happiness amongst first‑year economics students at a comprehensive institution, 2014‑2016 (source: survey data) table 1 displays the basic demographic statistics of the students who participated in the survey over the respective sample years and in total. the ages of the respondents ranged from  17 to  35 years (with an average of 19  years), and there were slightly more female than male respondents. furthermore, the majority of the respondents were south african‑ language and english‑speaking. the respondents were mainly south african born: 100% of respondents were from sa in 2014, 96.3% in 2015 and 94.9% in 2016. the respondents in 2015 and 2016, who were not born in south africa, were mostly from neighbouring countries. it can also be seen that, of the south african born respondents, most were born in gauteng. table 1: respondent demographic statistics 2014 2015 2016 total females (%) 320 (60.5%) 350 (54.6%) 353 (54.6%) 1023 (56.3%) males (%) 209 (39.5%) 291 (45.4%) 294 (45.4%) 794 (43.7%) total 529 (100%) 641 (100%) 647 (100%) 1817 (100%) african (%) 412 (77.9%) 506 (78.9%) 533 (82.4%) 1451 (79.9%) coloured (%) 24 (4.5%) 29 (4.5%) 28 (4.3%) 81 (4.5%) indian/asian (%) 35 (6.6%) 49 (7.6%) 38 (5.9%) 122 (6.7%) white (%) 53 (10.0%) 52 (8.1%) 45 (7.0%) 150 (8.3%) other (%) 5 (1.0%) 5 (0.8%) 3 (0.5%) 13 (0.7%) total 529 (100%) 641 (100%) 647 (100%) 1817 (100%) english 206 (38.9%) 243 (37.9%) 220 (34.0%) 669 (36.8%) sesotho 36 (6.8%) 36 (5.6%) 39 (6.0%) 111 (6.1%) 54 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 2014 2015 2016 total sepedi 48 (9.1%) 45 (7.0%) 67 (10.4%) 160 (8.8%) isizulu 99 (18.7%) 110 (17.2%) 135 (20.9%) 344 (18.9%) isindebele 9 (1.7%) 2 (0.3%) 6 (0.9%) 17 (0.9%) xitsonga 26 (4.9%) 25 (3.9%) 30 (4.6%) 81 (4.5%) afrikaans 21 (4.0%) 23 (3.6%) 8 (1.2%) 52 (2.9%) setswana 35 (6.6%) 70 (10.9%) 53 (8.2%) 158 (8.7%) isixhosa 22 (4.2%) 29 (4.5%) 37 (5.7%) 88 (4.8%) tshivenda 15 (2.8%) 29 (4.5%) 17 (2.6%) 61 (3.4%) siswati 11 (2.1%) 22 (3.4%) 20 (3.1%) 53 (2.9%) shona 0 (0.0%) 4 (0.6%) 9 (1.4%) 13 (0.7%) other 1 (0.2%) 3 (0.5%) 6 (0.9%) 10 (0.6%) total 529 (100%) 641 (100%) 647 (100%) 1817 (100%) gauteng 294 (55.6%) 343 (55.6%) 361 (59.5%) 998 (56.9%) mpumalanga 51 (9.6%) 51 (8.3%) 52 (8.6%) 154 (8.8%) kzn 54 (10.2%) 64 (10.4%) 67 (11.0%) 185 (10.6%) ec 19 (3.6%) 18 (2.9%) 23 (3.8%) 60 (3.4%) limpopo 75 (14.2%) 83 (13.5%) 69 (11.4%) 227 (12.9%) nw 23 (4.3%) 34 (5.5%) 20 (3.3%) 77 (4.4%) free state 11 (2.1%) 14 (2.3%) 6 (1.0%) 31 (1.8%) nc 1 (0.2%) 4 (0.6%) 3 (0.5%) 8 (0.5%) wc 1 (0.2%) 6 (1.0%) 6 (1.0%) 13 (0.7%) total 529 (100%) 617 (100%) 607 (100%) 1753 (100%) source: survey data the survey instrument included various questions in order to identify possible variables that affect student happiness. the questions in the survey included demographic details, variables that normally are of concern for students, social and academic interaction variables, travel and living arrangements and university‑related variables. table 2 encapsulates the explanatory variables considered for the empirical analysis. table 2: explanatory variables considered in the models variable description demographic variables age the age of students during the time of the survey. the mathematical squared value (agesq) was also included in the empirical models as suggested in the swb literature. gender male or female https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 marinda pretorius & derick blaauw: financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students … 55 variable description language predominant language of student – english, sesotho, sepedi, isizulu, isindebele, xitsonga, afrikaans, setswana, isixhosa, tshivenda, siswati, shona and other race african, coloured, white, indian/asian and other province the majority of the respondents were from south africa. categories for each of the nine provinces were included – gauteng, mpumalanga, kwazulu‑natal, eastern cape, limpopo, north west, free state, northern cape and western cape. concerns finances worries about the financing of studies. food problems problems affording or attaining food. test worries worries about upcoming tests. transport problems with transport to and from university. interaction: social or academic contact personal contact was made with a lecturer and/or tutor during the academic year. culture participation in or attendance of cultural activities at the university. sport participation in or attendance of sport activities at the university. friends students who have made friends at the university. first‑year seminar attendance of the first‑year seminar (fys) in january before the commencement of lectures.3. missed the number of tutorials and lectures that were missed during a normal week. travel and living arrangements distance campus distance of residence from campus – on campus or within walking distance, 30 minutes or less from campus or more than 30 minutes from campus. happy live happiness in terms of current residence. live place of residence – on campus, home, commune, family or other. transport used type of transport mostly used to get to campus – taxi, private car, walking or other. 3 during these sessions there are opportunities to meet your fellow students through a team‑building activity and people get the opportunity to listen to various role players at the university in terms of its everyday activities and functions. 56 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 variable description other university related variables choice whether the university was the institution of choice or not. expect students understand what is expected of them from lecturers. study hours hours spent studying outside of class time, per week – less than 10, 10 to 15, 16 to 25, 26 to 35 and more than 35 hours. home feeling ‘at home’ at the university. university function understand how the university functions. satisfaction overall level of satisfaction of the students’ experience at the university – satisfied, neutral and dissatisfied. source: survey instrument the econometric models that were used in the study will be discussed next. econometric framework in empirical studies that estimate subjective well‑being, normally two types of models are used: ordinary least squares (ols) regressions and ordered response models. ordered response models take the qualitative and ordinal nature of the dependent variable into account. this study followed the practice of estimating both the ols and the ordered response models. the coefficients of the ols model are mostly used for interpretation. according to long and freese (2006), the ordered probit model is specified as follows: уі + = βхі + εі (1) where уі + is an unobservable latent variable that represents the happiness of student  і ordered from 1 to 10, and хі represents a vector of context‑specific and basic explanatory variables. furthermore, β represents a vector of coefficients for each variable in the vector хі and εі represents a random and normally distributed error term. the categories of the observed variable уі + are mapped from the probability outputs corresponding to the following cut points (long & freese, 2006): 1 if уі + < τ₁ @ 2 if τ₁ ≤ уі + < τ₂ @ 3 if τ₂ ≤ уі + < τ₃ @ 4 if τ₃ ≤ уі + < τ₄ @ 5 if τ₄ ≤ уі + < τ₅ @ 6 if τ₅ ≤ уі + < τ₆ @ 7 if τ₆ ≤ уі + < τ₇ @ 8 if τ₇ ≤ уі + < τ₈ @ 9 if τ₈ ≤ уі + < τ₉ @ 10 if yi (2) initially, all explanatory variables were included in the pooled ols model and the pooled ordered probit model. thereafter, the individual annual models were considered and compared for the ordered probit models only. the results of the final regression models are discussed in the next section. results and discussion all variables were considered in the initial ols and ordered probit model for the pooled data. thereafter, the insignificant variables were omitted. the results are represented in table 3. the same variables identified in the pooled models were tested for significance for the annual individual ordered probit models and the results are presented in table 4. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 marinda pretorius & derick blaauw: financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students … 57 the  results will be discussed according to the general themes of variables identified in the data and variables section, i.e. demographic variables, concerns, interaction (social or academic), travel and living arrangements and other university related variables. table 3: final pooled model results ols ordered probit coef prob coef prob c 1.3332 0.5923 age 0.4061 0.0721 * 0.2597 0.0705 * agesq ‑0.0094 0.0653 * ‑0.0059 0.0672 * finances ‑0.1801 0.0559 * ‑0.0955 0.1040 test worries ‑0.6446 0.0000 *** ‑0.4300 0.0000 *** friends 0.2633 0.0929 * 0.1497 0.1249 first‑year seminar 0.1770 0.0852 * 0.1178 0.0659 * distance campus ‑0.2835 0.0051 ** ‑0.1777 0.0048 *** happy live 0.4571 0.0000 *** 0.2661 0.0000 *** live commune 0.3520 0.0016 *** 0.2281 0.0010 *** expect 0.3794 0.0182 ** 0.2080 0.0376 ** home 0.4071 0.0003 *** 0.2482 0.0004 *** study 25 to 35 p/w 0.4302 0.0046 *** 0.2651 0.0051 *** satisfied with university 0.9213 0.0000 *** 0.5830 0.0000 *** dissatisfied with university ‑1.7030 0.0000 *** ‑0.9073 0.0000 *** r‑squared 0.2523 adjusted r‑squared 0.2441 pseudo r‑squared 0.0685 sample size 1817 1817 *, **, *** 10%, 5%, 1% level of significance, respectively source: survey instrument table 4: annual ordered probit models results 2014 2015 2016 coef prob coef prob coef prob age 0.9612 0.2482 0.4052 0.0326 ** 0.1103 0.6411 agesq ‑0.0227 0.2745 ‑0.0089 0.0344 ** ‑0.0029 0.6014 finances # ‑0.1606 0.0581 * ‑0.0536 0.5177 test worries ‑0.2960 0.0020 *** ‑0.3263 0.0007 *** ‑0.5248 0.0000 *** friends 0.2191 0.2058 0.1326 0.3726 0.1507 0.2530 first‑year seminar 0.1028 0.3317 0.1324 0.1399 0.1084 0.2397 58 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 2014 2015 2016 coef prob coef prob coef prob distance campus ‑0.0076 0.9418 ‑0.2880 0.0029 *** ‑0.0926 0.2770 happy live 0.4380 0.0000 *** 0.1911 0.0414 ** 0.3196 0.0005 *** live commune 0.0198 0.8626 0.2800 0.0069 *** 0.2087 0.0323 ** expect ‑0.0675 0.6818 0.2601 0.0712 * 0.1857 0.1875 home 0.3166 0.0050 ** 0.2852 0.0044 *** 0.2166 0.0285 ** study 25 to 35 p/w ‑0.0051 0.9688 0.2905 0.0356 *** 0.2804 0.0338 ** satisfied with university 0.4570 0.0000 *** 0.6339 0.0000 *** 0.5686 0.0000 *** dissatisfied with university ‑0.5738 0.0156 ** ‑0.6680 0.0106 ** ‑0.9358 0.0000 *** pseudo r‑squared 0.0517 0.0659 0.0737 sample size 529 641 647 *, **, *** 10%, 5%, 1% level of significance, respectively. # the finances variable was not included in the 2014 survey. source: survey instrument demographic variables the only demographic variables that were significant in the pooled ols and ordered probit models were age and age squared of the respondents. it is customary to include the age variable as well as the mathematical squared value of age as two separate variables in econometric models to accommodate for the potential non‑linearity in the relationship with the dependant variable (therefore a quadratic relationship). if the age variable has a positive relationship with the dependent variable and the squared variable a negative relationship, it means that, as people get older, the effect of age is lessened on the dependent variable. however, if both the age and the age squared variables have a positive effect on the dependent variable, the effect is stronger on the dependent variable as people get older. in  the individual annual models, age and age squared were only significant in 2015. the age and age squared variables respectively show a positive and negative relationship with happiness. the quadratic relationship therefore indicates that, as students get older, the effect of age on happiness is reduced. considering that the sample is for a large part a homogenous group, it is not surprising that there are no other significant demographic variables. concerns finances and test worries are the two concerns variables that were significant in the pooled ols model. the finance variable represents worries that students experience in terms of the financing of their studies. test worries reflect students’ fears about upcoming tests. test  worries are very significant in the pooled ordered probit model, but the finances https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 marinda pretorius & derick blaauw: financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students … 59 variable is only significant at the 11% level of significance. it is noteworthy that the finances variable is only significant in the annual ordered probit model for 2015 (the finances variable was unfortunately not included in the 2014 survey), but it was no longer significant in the 2016 ordered probit model. the significance of the finances variable in 2015 could be a reflection of the start of the #feesmustfall campaign. although the #feesmustfall protests only occurred in the middle of october of 2015, it appears that the worries regarding the increase of fees were already playing a role at the start of the year when the surveys were conducted. furthermore, the non‑significance in 2016 could be ascribed to the announcement of no tuition‑fee increases for 2016 by the south african government. worries regarding upcoming tests are a significant factor influencing the happiness of students negatively, as it is highly significant throughout all the individual sample years, respectively. interaction: social or academic in the pooled ols model, one social interaction variable, friends, is significant with the expected sign. this variable indicates whether a particular student has already made friends at university. when the pooled ordered probit model was estimated, the significance of friends changed to significant only at a 13% level of significance. friends turned out to be insignificant in the annual ordered probit models. other studies (for example, mangeloja & hirvonen, 2007, and chan et al., 2005) emphasised that social relationships were an imperative determinant of happiness and therefore the insignificance of the friends variable from the annual ordered probit models is surprising. it seems that making friends does not have a direct influence on the swb of students at this institution. this is an important avenue for further research. furthermore, one academic interaction variable, first‑year seminar (fys), is significant with the expected sign in the pooled ols as well as the ordered probit model. fys was not significant in the annual ordered probit models. the fys variable is indicative of the annual orientation session that takes place at the beginning of the academic year. this gathering serves as an information session to students in terms of the everyday activities and functions of the university. there is also an opportunity for students who are enrolled for the same programmes to meet each other and take part in team‑building activities. the insignificance of this variable in the annual ordered probit models shows that this engagement does not have a direct effect on the swb of students. travel and living arrangements in terms of variables that are categorised under travel and living arrangements, there are three variables that were significant in the pooled ols and ordered probit models. the first is the distance campus variable, which indicates how far students live from the campus. on campus and within walking distance were collapsed into one category and it shows a negative relationship with happiness; therefore, students’ happiness is decreased when they live on campus or close to campus. this finding could allude to the questionable quality 60 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(1) 2020, 47‑63 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 of student accommodation in and around campuses (as reported in the soudien report in  2008). the within walking distance variable and its significant negative relationship with happiness reflect the issues of overcrowding and increased crime levels experienced on and around the campus. incidents of crime and overcrowded student accommodation were often reported in the local media, government departments and academic literature for the last decade. see, for example, dhet (2011), mbara and celliers (2013) and de villiers (2018). these results accentuate the need for university management to put further emphasis on issues of student safety. the other two travel and living arrangement variables that were significant in both the pooled ols and the ordered probit model were happy life and live commune. the happy live variable indicates the happiness of students in terms of their current residence. this variable was also significant in all three years of the annual models. the live commune variable represents students who live in communes, and this variable was only significant in 2015 and 2016. these two variables emphasise the importance of living arrangements in the happiness of students. other university‑related variables the last category of variables, which are all university‑related, has the most significant variables. expect, home, study 25 to 35 p/w, satisfied with university and unsatisfied with university were all significant in the pooled ols and ordered probit models. the expect variable refers to the situation where students completely understand what is expected of them from their lecturers. this variable was only significant in the 2016 annual model. home, satisfied with university, and unsatisfied with university were all significant in each one of the annual models. the home variable refers to students feeling “at home” at the university. the two satisfaction variables denote the overall level of satisfaction of the students’ experience at the university. lastly, the study 25 to 35 p/w variable was not significant in 2015, but it was significant in 2016 and 2017. this variable specifically refers to the hours spent studying outside of class time, per week. the study by mangeloja and hirvonen (2007) revealed that one of the most important impacts on students’ happiness is the educational environment. the adjustment process to the new environment at university will be much easier on students if they feel at home at the university and know what is expected of them. these results raise important considerations for university management and even academic units and faculties. conclusions, policy considerations and areas for further research one of the main challenges that is facing the higher education sector in south africa is reflected in the results of this study: finances. issues of finances for university students constituted a significant negative contributor to the swb of students in 2015 – as was evident in the #feesmustfall campaign, which was directly linked to this ongoing problem. the swb of students is influenced positively by their living arrangements (those who are happy with their current residence and those that live in a commune) as well https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3824 marinda pretorius & derick blaauw: financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students … 61 as variables that have a direct influence on the educational environment in which they operate. students will adjust to the new university environment more easily if they feel ‘at home’ at the university and know exactly what is expected of them. negative variables that influence the swb of students include concerns regarding finances and upcoming tests. living on the campus itself or if you live within walking distance of campus also influenced swb negatively. the results in terms of the off‑campus variable and the issue of crime and overcrowding are a call to university management to increase its levels of cooperation with law enforcement agencies and the metro in order to improve the experience of those living off campus. in the words of a police officer quoted by de villiers (2018), “they (students) have a lot to worry about. they don’t need to worry about being robbed.” the insignificance of the fys in the annual ordered probit models suggests that the frequency of these first‑year seminars may not be enough for students to gain the intended benefit of engaging with fellow students and getting to know the inner workings of the university. supplementing these with additional seminars in the second semester may enhance the benefit for the students and impact positively on their first‑year experience and its concomitant challenges. overall, the results show that every possible effort is needed to increase students’ chances of achieving the success expected of them by the social norms and structures of our society. this may ultimately be the best way to enhance their experience of student life and their associated swb. added to that, academic success is an important factor in achieving the private and social returns on the investment in south africa’s higher education sector that our limited resources require of us. ultimately, that is the only way to ensure that future generations of students face less of the added pressures that weigh first‑year students down, making it difficult to go through the doors of learning with confidence and a high likelihood of succeeding. references bantjes, 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(2008). the first-year experience of higher education in the uk, final report. the higher education academy, york, united kingdom. how to cite: pretorius, m. & blaauw, d. 2020. financial challenges and the subjective well‑being of first‑year students at a comprehensive south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), 47‑63. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i1.3824 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9144-0 https://doi.org/10.1080/02580144.1996.10430699 https://doi.org/10.1080/02580144.1996.10430699 https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v6i2.186 https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v6i2.186 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1135116 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1135116 https://doi.org/10.4102/jef.v7i2.151 https://doi.org/10.4102/jef.v7i2.151 https://bit.ly/2zhyhvi bodystarts _hlk2346735 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za competency development of southern african housing officers munita dunn* and norbert w. dunkel** reflective practice * deputy director: centre for student communities, stellenbosch university; coordinator: student housing training institute; acuho-i sac general secretariat. email: mdunn@sun.ac.za ** associate vice president for student affairs, university of florida; co-director: student housing training institute; acuho-i past-president. abstract the report on the ministerial committee for the review of the provision of student housing at south african universities (department of higher education and training, 2011) has provided a comprehensive review of residences across several housing functional areas. in one of the residence management and administration recommendations it stated, “the professionalisation of housing staff is an urgent priority” (p. 141). this coupled with the report’s estimated “current residence bed shortage of approximately 195 815 beds […] with a cost of overcoming this shortage over a period of ten years is estimated at r82.4 billion” (pp. xvii–xviii) will mean the hiring and training of hundreds of housing professional staff to meet not only the demand of the additional residence beds but the training of current housing staff. in 2010 the association of college and university housing officers – international southern africa chapter (acuho-i sac) initiated a student housing training institute (shti) first held in 2011 to meet the demands for professionalising housing staff. the shti was organised using a competency development model first used to develop the association of college and university housing officers – international (acuho-i) james c. grimm national housing training institute (nhti) held in the us. keywords competency, development, housing officers, higher education, professionalisation. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 competency development of housing officers in order to develop a self-directed, intentional, professional development programme, one needs to understand the competencies necessary to be successful in one’s functional area (dunkel & schreiber, 1992). various studies have provided insight into housing staff competency development. one of the earliest studies of professional preparation and sources for training chief housing officers was conducted by taguding (1985). taguding found on-the-job training (on-the-job competencies) to be the most common source of training compared to undergraduate and graduate school and workshops and seminars. campus housing competency development was identified over 20 years ago when dunkel and schreiber (1992) completed their 1990 study of housing competencies. they conducted a national study of us chief housing officers to determine the ranked importance of competencies identified as necessary to becoming successful chief housing officers. forty-nine competencies were identified from a literature review. “the 50 competencies were categorised as (a) administrative including personnel management, planning and projection, and research skills; (b) developmental including communications skills, diversity awareness, and leadership and counselling skills; and (c) foundational knowledge of institutional organisation, the student, and current trends” (p. 21). table 1 summarises the top 15 rank ordered competencies using the following likert-type scale: 1 = serious importance, 2 = moderate importance, 3 = slight importance, 4 = no importance. of the competencies rank ordered in the top 15, 7 were in the administrative category, 6 were in the developmental category, and 2 were in the foundational category. dunkel and schreiber used the results from this study to formulate the curriculum for the acuho-i national housing training institute, now in its 23rd year. this “curriculum addressed one of the two goals established early in the development of the institute: (a) to facilitate participants’ competency development through the presentation of material that includes opportunities for interactive learning; and (b) to offer participants an opportunity for in-depth planning facilitated by a mentor relationship with an expert in the field” (dunkel, schreiber & felice, 2005, p. 38). during the past 23 years, 770 housing professionals with three to five years of full-time experience have completed the national housing training institute (nhti). anecdotally, many of these professional staff are now in senior housing or senior student affairs positions. research is progressing to identify career advancement correlated with participation in the nhti. brandel (1995) completed a descriptive study to investigate united states chief housing officers’ perceptions of dunkel and schreiber’s (1990) original competencies in relation to effective job performance. respondents were asked to rate the level of expertise needed to effectively perform the competencies, and then asked to rate their own level of expertise on each competency. brandel’s findings identified 17 competencies that required the highest level of expertise by chief housing officers, as reflected in table 2. munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 69 table 1: top 15 rank ordered competencies as identified by chief housing officers competency mean rating 1. interpersonal communications skills 1.09 2. work cooperatively and effectively with a wide range of individuals 1.11 3. supervise staff 1.12 4. engage in effective decision-making 1.12 5. train staff 1.12 6. crisis management 1.17 7. select staff 1.19 8. short-range goal setting 1.24 9. mediating conflict 1.25 10. formulate and interpret policy 1.26 11. appreciate and internalise a professional set of ethics 1.27 12. fair and effective discipline of student misconduct 1.27 13. recognise legal implications of higher education administration 1.27 14. motivation 1.27 15. staff appraisal 1.30 note: competencies are ranked ordered according to mean ratings. (dunkel & schreiber, 1992, p. 22) table 2: seventeen competencies perceived to require the highest level of expertise competency 1. long-range planning 2. recognise legal implications 3. occupancy management 4. strategic planning 5. interpret and recognise special needs of ethnic, racial, religious and cultural minorities, gays, bisexuals, lesbians, women, and persons with disabilities 6. develop and supervise a budget 7. staff appraisal 8. articulate characteristics of college students 9. train staff 10. formulate and interpret policy 11. supervise staff 12. engage in effective decision-making 13. interpret goals, concerns, and problems of campus to students 14. appreciate and internalise a professional set of ethics 15. crisis management 16. public relations 17. interpersonal communication skills (brandel, 1995, pp. 153–154) 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 porter (2005) continued to extend the research on housing competencies by applying sandwith’s competency domain model to senior college housing officers in the united states. she identified 57 competencies which were then rated on a five-point scale (1 = no importance to 5 = essential). porter identified the top 15 competency items by rank in table 3. porter found “the interpersonal factor was the factor most represented by the top 15 ranked competencies (40%) […] leadership was the second most represented factor in the top 15 accounting for 27% of all leadership competencies. thirty-eight percent of all conceptual factors were represented in the 10 competencies that were ranked least important” (p. 71). in comparison, “only five competencies were in dunkel and schreiber’s top 15: decision-making, interpersonal communication, crisis management, staff supervision, and motivation” (p. 79). porter’s study results were used to revise the curriculum for the acuho-i national housing training institute given the changes in the chief housing officer competencies and roles. in september 2010, the acuho-i southern africa chapter convened a forum of chief housing officers (chos). these chos completed a survey of the 57 competencies developed by diane porter-roberts. the survey (acuho-i sac, 2010) identified which competencies were most important to southern african chos to be successful in campus housing. table 4 identified the top 10 competencies. these competencies were used to develop the curriculum for the acuho-i sac student housing training institute first held in 2011 at stellenbosch university. table 3: competency items sorted by rank competency 1. decision-making 2. interpersonal communication 3. budget development and resource allocation 4. crisis management 5. cooperation and collaboration 6. personal characteristics 7. staff supervision 8. ethics 9. staff selection 10. strategic thinking and planning 11. motivation 12. organisational culture 13. interpretation of institutional goals, issues and concerns 14. networking 15. assessment of student needs and interests munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 71 in 2010, acuho-i initiated the core competency project as part of their annual strategic initiatives. this project led to the publication of the acuho-i core competencies: the body of knowledge for campus housing professionals (cawthon, schreiber & associates, 2012). the acuho-i set of core competencies “is presented using a number of knowledge domains, many of which are further delineated by subdomains. the twelve domains are: (a) ancillary partnerships, (b) conference services, (c) crisis management, (d) dining, (e) evaluation and planning, (f) facilities, (g) fiscal resources and control, (h) human resources, (i) information technology, (j) occupancy, (k) residence education, and (l) student behavior” (p. 2). the primary purpose of the publication “is to assist the association in planning strategically the educational services it offers members” (p. 3). table 4: the 10 competencies of southern african chief housing officers competency 1. application of technology 2. budget development and resource allocation 3. facilities management 4. personnel management 5. strategic thinking and planning 6. policy development and interpretation 7. professional development 8. assessment of student needs and interests 9. knowledge of student affairs functions 10. knowledge of student development theory history of southern africa leading to the student housing training institute in an issue of the talking stick (2009), dunkel and jackson describe the commitment of acuho-i to respond to needs in the global housing arena they said this: “student affairs and housing offices increasingly understand the value of a global perspective for staffs and students. this global perspective brings more knowledge and more viewpoints to the table, which leads to better decisions, programmes and services for all students. it is especially important for student affairs offices to work closely with one another to provide for the needs of students from other countries” (p. 44). additionally, they add, “when a campus president mentions the word ‘international’ or ‘global’, that should be a sign to act quickly, without hesitation” (p. 44). acuho-i endeavours to do just that: positively impact the experiences of students across the globe, acting quickly, without hesitation. during 2005 two south african student housing professionals, marcelle rabie and eric sebokedi, attended the acuho-i annual conference in milwaukee, wisconsin, usa. this was the start of the discussion surrounding collaboration and the establishment of a possible chapter within southern africa. the southern africa chapter of acuho-i (the first ‘chapter’ of acuho-i) was established in 2006. the core purpose of acuho-i sac is: “to 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 collectively transform africa through student housing communities” and its goal statement is: “intentionally creating opportunities with value-driven student and staff development, as well as enhancing institutional synergy, through safe student-centred listening, living and learning spaces and facilities, where diversity is celebrated” (acuho-i sac, 2006). beginning in 2006, acuho-i began sending delegations of acuho-i members to southern africa to work with the acuho-i southern africa chapter to share experiences and educational practices. a delegation in 2008 traveled to south africa to serve as trainers for students and professionals at 17 institutions across southern africa and to attend and present at the annual acuho-i sa conference. additionally, in 2009 acuho-i sponsored the first global housing summit in hong kong, china where chief housing officers from around the world gathered to share ideas, experiences and knowledge to enhance what has become our global profession. at the 2010 african student housing summit held at stellenbosch university, attended by a us delegation as well, one of the outcomes was the establishment of a student housing training institute within south africa. it was later agreed upon that stellenbosch university would host for the first three years after which it would be transferred to another tertiary institute within south africa (pieter kloppers, personal communication, may 31, 2013). student housing training institute structure and purpose the first student housing training institute was held in stellenbosch, south africa from april 3–8, 2011. the institute was hosted by stellenbosch university at the picturesque boland college campus. the hosting of the shti 2011 was a culmination of three years of research and planning between acuho-i southern africa chapter and acuho-i. through the facilitation of the acuho-i executive director, sallie traxler, and the support of the acuho-i executive board and acuho-i foundation, the hosting of the first shti on the african continent became a reality. the shti is a flagship staff development and training programme designed to empower student housing staff with skills and competencies to provide a quality development and service to the student housing community. the institute aims to address the need for the professionalisation of student housing to contribute to student learning and development, and the increased output of graduates in south african colleges and universities. the training at the shti needs to prepare housing staff to develop into deputy directors of housing at south african universities, responsible for the following: financial management; facilities management; student life management; management of services; and contributing to the design of facilities (acuho-i sac, 2010). the shti should therefore be an intense professional developmental opportunity for those who have at least three years’ housing experience and who are looking to enhance and continue a career in housing. in south africa there is no degree preparing professionals for the management of student affairs. a specific course to equip housing professionals is therefore of vital importance within the south african context. the institute is presented in an intensive block-week format requiring participants to attend daily from 9am to 5pm as munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 73 well as extending into the evening for discussion groups, feedback sessions and professional networking. participants are expected to be committed to the shti regime and to attend all sessions without exception (acuho-i sac, 2010). the institute is co-presented by a combination of south african and us-based faculty members under the leadership of one of the founders of the national housing training institute, norbert dunkel from the university of florida in gainesville, florida, usa. the faculty is constituted by selected practitioners and faculty who have held leadership positions within acuho-i; acuho-i sac; naspa; and acpa and/or are senior student housing or student affairs professionals, both in the us and on the african continent. after the first year of having the shti, it was evident that the need for more advanced training within the southern african student housing was needed. the shti was therefore divided into a basic shti, as well as an advanced shti. first time participants may apply for the basic shti. the advanced student housing training institute is a more in-depth workshop for those who have completed the basic shti. both are conducted simultaneously. faculty and participant experiences shti faculty from the us and south africa (sa) were selected from an application process. those selected possessed the appropriate levels of experience and knowledge of campus housing. us and sa faculty team presented topics during the 2011 shti. in 2012 and 2013 sa faculty began to individually present topics which will continue in future years. faculty experiences can best be summed up by their testimonials. faculty lives were changed from the experience with shti. “for me, this experience was life changing […] it was the students and staff who stole my heart…the thirst for knowledge about student affairs and housing they expressed was overwhelming […] their level of commitment to the student and making their institutions better is something we could all learn from and emulate” (tony cawthon, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “one of the expressions that continues to come to mind when individuals ask me about my experience is incredible and life-changing” (alma sealine, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “shti was an incredible opportunity to partner with professionals from across the globe. i am confident the housing professionals in south africa will do exactly that […] as they transformed my life in less than two weeks” (lyn redington, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “after having experienced shti i know that all of us individually and collectively will make positive strides towards civility, kindness and justice for and through the students we serve” (cathy bickle, personal communication, april 12, 2013). 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 “what i never expected was the depth of the experiences i encountered and the profound impact that this has had on my life, both professionally and personally” (laetitia permall, personal communication, may 20, 2012). faculty presented sessions that challenged and advanced participant thoughts and knowledge. “the combination of theory and practice; personal and professional mentoring; social and work related experiences will enable one to flourish holistically” (charmaine january, personal communication, may 20, 2012). “my colleagues […] were dedicated professionals who provided effective teaching, collegial care […] that gave such focus to their presentations, ensuring that the attendees would leave with new knowledge and inspiration” (cathy bickle, personal communication, april 12, 2013). participant experiences were exclusively positive over the past three years. comments from the 2011, 2012 and 2013 shti participant evaluations (acuho-i sac, 2011, 2012, 2013) included: “thanks for taking my professional development to another level […] the realisation that we are transforming housing in sa and that we can make a meaningful difference in our students’ lives makes this a landmark experience.” another participant stated: “all the materials presented were amazing, especially the competency model and the personnel management […].” another stated: “i have learned a lot and managed to identify some of the competencies that matter the most to performing my duties”. participants also voiced their observations and feelings regarding the community development that was integral in the shti. “it was fantastic networking, relaxing, laughing, eating, and brainstorming with colleagues – to be part of the shti family.” another stated, “great to be among professionals, like coming home – a place where i belong”. participants indicated whether the shti met their expectations. “it exceeded my expectations. i pushed myself and learned more than i could have imagined.” one participant stated, “yes, i wish that my boss could have been here.” another stated, “yes, when i came here i was blank, confused in some way of my roles, but now i can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.” finally, one participant stated, “yes, i acquired new knowledge on the things that i had no interest in and have developed an interest, i.e., budgeting, facilities management and technology.” munita dunn and norbert w. dunkel: competency development of southern african housing off icers 75 faculty and participant experiences have been overwhelmingly positive during the past three years of the shti. their comments and feedback are used to continue to make adjustments to the schedule and curriculum for future years. looking to the future the 2011–2013 shtis have provided excellent experiences for faculty and participants through their evaluation ratings, comments and through their testimonials. conducting research on the participants to identify levels of competence gained, retention of housing staff and the like will be necessary in the future to understand the impact of the shti on participants. following the success of the 2011 basic shti with 40 participants, an advanced shti was developed for 2012. as increasing numbers of basic participants complete the shti a long term plan will be necessary to accommodate for the higher numbers of participants wanting to return to the advanced shti. in 2012 there were 10 returners and in 2013 that number was a capped 16. for 2014 there is a cap for 25 advanced participants. the content and delivery method for the advanced shti is different from the basic shti along with growing numbers of basic shti participants wanting to return for the advanced shti. for those reasons, future years may need a stand-alone advanced shti held at a different time from the basic shti. it will be important to continue to invite advanced shti participants to return as faculty for future basic shtis. maintaining a steady stream of participants and faculty will ensure the viability of the overall programme while increasing the faculty availability. with the estimated dramatic increase in residence hall beds over the next 10 years a comprehensive, national plan for training of the new staff will need to be undertaken. housing staff participating in the various institutes will possess the knowledge and experience to advance campus housing in south africa, but will need national assistance in an organised manner to train close to 100 additional campus housing staff each year just to keep up with new staff managing the new residence halls. conclusion the professionalisation of south african housing staff will remain a top priority of the south african department of higher education and training and the acuho-i sac. the student housing training institute has created a south african faculty capacity to provide a professional level of training to housing staff for south africa using a competency-based model. the research is further bolstered by the personal testimonials from faculty and participants on the positive outcomes of such an approach. the shti has become a cornerstone to the professionalisation of south african housing staff. 76 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 1 (1&2) 2013, 67–76 | issn 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v1i1-2.32 references acuho-i sac (2006). strategic plan. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2010). southern africa chief housing officer competencies. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2011). participant evaluations. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2012). participant evaluations. stellenbosch, south africa. acuho-i sac (2013). participant evaluations. stellenbosch, south africa. brandel, r.l. (1995). chief housing officers’ perceptions of selected competencies. doctoral dissertation, northern arizona university, flagstaff, 1995. cawthon, t.w., schreiber, p.j., & associates (2012). acuho-i core competencies: the body of knowledge for campus housing professionals. columbus, ohio: association of college and university housing officers – international. department of higher education and training (2011). report on the ministerial committee for the review of the provision of student housing at south african universities. pretoria, south africa: author. dunkel, n.w., & jackson, t. (may/june, 2009). a global view. talking stick, 26(5). pp. 36 -45. dunkel, n.w., & schreiber, p.j. (1990). competencies of housing professionals. gainesville, florida: division of housing. dunkel, n.w., & schreiber, p.j. (1992). competency development of housing professionals, journal of college and university student housing, 22(2), 19–23. dunkel, n.w., schreiber, p.j., & felice, c. (2005, march). preparing housing professionals: the james c. grimm national housing training institute, acuho-i talking stick, 22(5), p. 38–39. porter, j.d. (2005). application of sandwith’s competency domain model for senior college housing officers in the united states. doctoral dissertation, gainesville: university of florida. taguding, a. (1985). acuho-i chief housing officer training program survey. (sponsored by the acuho-i developmental program coordinating board). columbus, ohio: association of college and university housing officers – international. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, v‑vii | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.4175   v www.jsaa.ac.za african minds editorial lived barriers to african knowledge production: beyond – and before – accessibility birgit schreiber,* thierry m. luescher** & teboho moja*** this issue of the journal of student affairs in africa bears testimony to the advances that research into african student affairs and services has made over the last decade. the 11 research articles published in this issue span the diversity of the research interests and knowledge needs in the field. it includes research into the experiences of african international students, student leadership development in the residence sector, the experiences of students with disabilities, student activism, protest behaviour and university transformation, student psychology and thinking styles, access to online counselling services and student satisfaction with campus facilities and infrastructure. as in every issue, author collaborations are the welcome norm. authors collaborate across countries and institutions, between practitioners and academics, early career and seasoned researchers, and from different disciplinary backgrounds. it is also encouraging to see almost equal numbers of female and male authors contributing to the production of knowledge on student affairs in africa in this issue. the substantive research presented in these articles is accompanied by two that reflect on research into student affairs in africa. reflecting on the same is also our purpose in this editorial. on 10 june 2022, the jsaa editorial executive made a presentation at the conference of the association for african studies in germany hosted by the africa centre for transregional research of the albert ludwig university of freiburg. the presentation entitled “lived barriers to african knowledge production: beyond – and before – accessibility” was essentially our reflection on the challenges of publishing an open access, * dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwig universität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and for stellenbosch university, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0003-2469-0504. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za; birgitdewes@gmail.com ** prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and associate professor of higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung/bloemfontein, south africa. he is a member of the jsaa editorial executive. orcid id: 0000-0002-6675-0512. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za *** prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education, new york university, usa. she is also a visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa, and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. orcid id: 0000-0001-6343-3020. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu vi   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, v‑vii | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.4175 accredited, high quality, peer‑reviewed, scholarly and professional journal in the african knowledge production context. we argued that the development of african knowledge bases by africans, for and about african higher education is an undisputed necessity and of great significance. africa is the continent of the future – and this future is omnipresent in the challenges and opportunities that are present all around us. african knowledge production, as shown in a range of recent scientometric studies, is expanding rapidly and widely. yet, creating equitable and sustainable knowledge‑sharing processes is fraught with barriers to overcome. our paper presented our experience as the editorial executive of an african journal wedged uncomfortably into the intersection of the desire to enable fee‑free publishing of african authors’ work (no article processing fees/apcs) and to enable fee‑free access to the published work of african scholars (no subscription or access fee to the individual) and yet finding ourselves hamstrung by costs that inevitably accrue in the process of journal administration and publishing. as much as our own work and that of all colleagues on the editorial board, the international advisory editorial board and all peer reviewers is pro bono and thus entirely unpaid, the professional copy editing, proofing, and typesetting, as well as the hosting and administration of the journal are not. having quality‑assured, professionally produced articles with dois, indexed and without errors, is time‑consuming and costly. altogether, knowledge production does not pay for itself. or should it? this volume might be the last of jsaa which we are able to keep truly open access for both authors and readers. the struggles to overcome the barriers to african knowledge production are weighing on us heavily and we might need to charge publishing fees to fund the publishing process. over the last ten years, the costs of production have been carried by the editorial executive by means of project funding available from research projects funded by international funders such as the carnegie corporation of new york and the andrew w. mellon foundation; by the african minds trust as part of its journal development commitment; by budget allocations from the journal’s host institutions, the university of the western cape, stellenbosch university and more recently the university of pretoria; and by the contributions of guest editors to the production of their issues. while some scholarly journals receive funding from scholarly societies, others have long gone the route of charging subscription fees, apcs, or both. if we choose to retain independent editorial rights, then we may need to charge apcs in the future to cover the costs of publishing. we are currently in the process of exploring a variety of models that enable sustainability, that include fair access for authors and readers, and that maintain editorial independence. lastly, with the journal’s move to the university of pretoria in 2021 we changed our article submission process to run exclusively via the journal website and away from the former email system. our hope is that the renewal and expansion of the editorial board at the end of 2021 and eventually with a new financial model we will be able to streamline our overall processes to cut the time from submission through to the editorial decision and publication. moreover, the jsaa team hopes to collaborate with professional sas associations in developing a much “thicker” model of research support and authorship development by creating a community of practice on student affairs research. these birgit schreiber, thierry luescher & teboho moja: lived barriers to african knowledge production …   vii considerations are all alive and under debate among the editors and we are happy to receive comments from our readership. and finally a comment on our choice to have the peace flag on our cover. we are deeply concerned about the welfare and safety of students and the success of higher education across the war‑torn parts of the world. we are concerned about the continuing humanitarian crisis in other parts of the world, terrorist threats and the threats of hunger and impact of the environmental crisis. these are some of the factors that derail all efforts to bolster education. disengaging from students, terminating study permits, withdrawing from dual degrees and severing research projects – while gratifying our frustrations with war‑mongers – contribute to deepening the divide between aggressors and victims. our pledge is to commit to continued support and engagement with regions and countries suffering the brutalities of war. it is in the engagement with both sides – the aggressors and victims – that we can contribute to deepening understanding. severing relations should not be an option for higher education and student affairs across the globe. how to cite: schreiber, b., luescher, t.m., & moja, t. (2022). lived barriers to african knowledge production: beyond – and before – accessibility. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), v–vii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.4175    185 publications by african minds www.africanminds.co.za understanding higher education: alternative perspectives by chrissie boughey & sioux mckenna (2021) low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa: opportunities, obstacles and outcomes by melanie walker, monica mclean, mikateko mathebula & patience mukwambo (2022) out of place: an autoethnography of postcolonial citizenship by nuraan davids (2022) democracy and the discourse on relevance within the academic profession at makerere university by andrea kronstad felde, tor halvorsen, anja myrtveit & reidar øygard (2021) http://www.africanminds.co.za http://www.africanminds.co.za https://www.africanminds.co.za/understanding-higher-education/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/understanding-higher-education/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/understanding-higher-education/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/understanding-higher-education/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/understanding-higher-education/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/low-income-students/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/democracy_discourse_relevance/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/out_of_place/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/out_of_place/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/out_of_place/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/out_of_place/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/democracy_discourse_relevance/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/democracy_discourse_relevance/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/democracy_discourse_relevance/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/democracy_discourse_relevance/ https://www.africanminds.co.za/democracy_discourse_relevance/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554   61 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article keeping up with changing times: student leaders, resilience, fragility and professional development liezl dick,* marguerite müller** & pulane malefane*** abstract the fallist movements of 2015/16 brought about rapid change to the south african higher education space, which required student leaders to reconsider their roles as agents of change and transformation. student leaders contribute as stakeholders of and decision-makers in student governance, and some find themselves in a context where their working and living spaces become increasingly entangled. this is a particularly challenging context, which requires them to conflate their personal and “professional” lives. in this article, we focus on the challenges student leaders face as peer educators in both onand off-campus residences of the university of the free state (ufs), bloemfontein, south africa. the resilience and vulnerability of student leaders, and how these play out in their experiences at ufs, will be highlighted. the importance of self-reflection, resilience and fragility in professional development will be explored. guided by the theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy as transformative and humanizing, and a multiple-method-approach that included survey data as well as arts-based methods, we engaged with student leader experiences in order to understand how they negotiated challenges in a space of tranformation and constant change. we found arts-based research to complement and support the more conventional data gathering process. our article thus highlights how methodological inventiveness can address new and different questions that arise in our rapidly changing pedagogical space. through this, we highlight the complex micro-social experiences of student leaders who live in spaces of transformation. student leaders are in a unique position as people who live and work in the student community, and their role as peer educators remains largely unexplored. in this article, we hope to contribute to a body of knowledge that could foreground student leadership in relation to transformed pedagogy. keywords student leadership, resilience, methodological inventiveness, transformation, leadership training * liezl dick is a resed curriculum coordinator at the centre for student communities, stellenbosch university, south africa. email: liezldick@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0001-8261-1910. ** marguerite müller is a  lecturer in education, communication and society at king’s college london, united kingdom. email: m.muller@kcl.ac.uk. orcid: 0000-000107620-470x. *** pulane malefane is assistant director of student affairs at the university of the free state, south africa. email: malefanep@ufs.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-1881-1835. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:liezldick@gmail.com mailto:m.muller@kcl.ac.uk mailto:malefanep@ufs.ac.za 62   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 introduction during a time of crisis, leadership is tested, and leaders can either rise to meet the challenge or fail to live up to the expectations of their role. working at the university of the free state (ufs), south africa, and specifically within the division of student affairs, we have witnessed the toll that crises such as the fallist movements and covid-19 pandemic have taken on student leaders. the 2015 #rhodesmustfall movement, culminating in the #feesmustfall and #patriarchymustfall movements and together known as the #fallist movements, posed new challenges to higher education transformation. the demands of the students centred around “free education” and the “decolonization of knowledge” (hendricks, 2018, p. 17).1 on a global scale and more recently, as the covid-19 pandemic spread from country to country, national lockdowns and work from home became the new norms. education swiftly moved from physical classroom spaces to virtual and digital platforms. unexpectedly, teachers around the world were teaching from their living rooms. a sudden move out of the traditional workplace setting into personal space undoubtedly inf luences the way we think about professional identity. for student leaders, it was no different – overnight, they found themselves having to perform leadership roles in the virtual space. the shift to online learning and interaction during the covid-19 pandemic further exposed some of the fault lines and inequalities in the south african education landscape (schreiber et al., 2020). the fallist movements and covid-19 pandemic have changed the south african higher education landscape dramatically. given this, the role of a student leader has been redefined by intense challenges and sudden changes. in the context of this article, we consider the student leadership role to be a semi-professional. we understand the semiprofessional as being someone who is trained for a role and acts as a mediator between organisational goals and stakeholders. in this case the organisation is the university and students are the clients. according to whitty (2006) the nature of professionalism is traditionally tied to occupations like law and medicine with teaching and educator’s being viewed as semi-professional. however, in contemporary sociology – and specifically those sociologists working from a feminist perspective – has taken a critical view of what professionalism entails. for example, davies (1995, 1996) sees traditional notions of professionalism as “characterised by elitism, paternalism, authoritarianism, highly exclusive knowledge, control and detachment” (whitty 2006, p. 3). taking a more collaborative and democratic view on professional work, and how organisations like universities function, it could be argued that student leadership is semi-professional work as these leaders mediate the university’s organisational goals in relation to the student needs of the cohort they serve. although student leaders do not belong to a professional body or have a formal qualification for this role, they do receive training for 1 decoloniality, in this context, can be read as the recognition of “the incomplete nature of political decolonization and in particular the displacement of local knowledge and hierarchy, and privileging of certain knowledge systems” (hendricks, 2018, p. 10). see nyamnjoh (2016) for more in this regard. liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   63 their role and have significant responsibilities to various stakeholders within the higher education sector which is why we consider them as semi-professionals. in this article, we use private/public and personal/professional entanglements as a backdrop, to highlight the importance of pedagogy as transformative, holistic and humanizing. we furthermore explore some of the challenges student leaders faced as they moved beyond their leadership development to a place where they experienced tension between the professional-personal binary. student leaders in on-campus residences are expected to perform their roles and duties in the same spaces that they live, thus creating this tension between their working and living environments, where the private and the public spheres of their lives merge. we view student leaders as peer educators with responsibilities in semi-professional roles and will consequently explore the importance of self-ref lection, resilience and vulnerability in their student leadership development roles and professional development. the question we explore in this article is: how can we better prepare our student leaders to lead during times of rapid change and crisis? our aim was thus twofold. first, we explored the experiences of student leaders in 2019 in order to acquire an understanding of the context they worked and lived in at the time. we also looked at how these experiences could be used to inform peer-educator role-training that would be suitable to respond to their experiences. student leaders are uniquely positioned as they simultaneously work and live among the student community. their roles as educators deserve more exploration. in this article, we hope to contribute to a body of knowledge that could foreground student leadership in relation to transformed pedagogy. exploring the student leadership experience: 2018-2019 after a number of student protests on the ufs campus, it became clear that students were unhappy and frustrated with university management and the student leaders were caught in the middle of the engagements and communication. we noticed that the challenges of the role took a toll on some student leaders, whereas others were able to meet the demands of their professional, academic and personal obligations. therefore, we decided to initiate a project to explore the student leader experiences in order to improve training and support that could develop more resilient student leaders. we collaborated on this project from different angles. pulane is the head of residence life, which includes residence programmes and the training of student leaders. liezl is a former residence head and researcher in the higher educational space, with a specific focus on transformation. marguerite is a former residence head and also a lecturer in education, with an interest in educator experience and professional development. we came together on this project because of shared experiences and a shared commitment to transformation of the higher education space. it is understood that the transformation of higher education in south africa is complex because it is part of the broader process of political and socio-economic transition to democracy that the country and its people have been undergoing, officially, since the first democratic elections in 1994. therefore, the role of student leadership at 64   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 an institution in the process of transformation may not be as simple as expected (sebola, 2019). student leadership is increasingly becoming a priority of higher education institutions, and programmes that claim to develop leadership capabilities in students are proliferating across university campuses worldwide (skalicky et al., 2020). programmes such as student leadership development provide curricular experiences where learning outcomes help to organise resources and hold students responsible for their learning by helping them make sense of their experiences while they serve on their roles in an intentional way. students must be provided with regular opportunities to succeed and struggle in various contexts because at some point in their lives, they might need to apply the intended behaviour, knowledge or attitude outcomes after the experience (guthrie & jenkins, 2018). to investigate the issues at hand, we were guided by the following research question: how can we better prepare our student leaders to lead during times of rapid change and crisis? from that, we formulated the following four subsidiary questions: 1. what are the complex personal-professional experiences of student leaders? 2. how can we use different methodologies to understand student experiences? 3. how do we support student leaders in the context of transformation? 4. how can our professional development programmes inform and support the resilience of our student leaders? theoretical underpinnings: humanizing and transformative pedagogy this article’s theoretical underpinnings align with the ufs’s integrated transformation plan (itp), in which transformed pedagogies are seen as one of the goals for teaching and learning at the ufs. transformed pedagogy is understood as a humanistic ( jama, 2017) or humanizing (zembylas, 2018) pedagogy which can be described as a form of critical pedagogy (freire, 2003). drawing on freire’s critical pedagogy, salazar (2013) define humanization as a “process of becoming more fully human as social, historical, thinking, communicating, transformative, creative persons who participate in and with the world” (salazar, 2013, p. 126). more than a process, however, humanization is “the practice of freedom” (salazar, 2013, p. 126) through which subjugated people become conscious of oppression, rid themselves of limiting and oppressive worldviews imposed by the oppressor, reimagine their world and work towards self-actualization. hence freire wrote, “[t]o transform the world is to humanize it” (freire, 2003, p. 70). freire’s notion of humanization integrally links with his definition of pedagogy, defined as an educational practice that should actively work towards the transformation of oppressive social conditions. a transformative and humanizing education is therefore more than the teaching and learning of technical skills in the classroom, but rather encompasses the holistic development of a student in every sense of his/her/their existence. such a practice of transformative education should be contextual, whilst using the local liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   65 knowledge of the student to guide pedagogical outcomes (salazar, 2013, pp. 126-127, 129; zembylas, 2007). with this in mind, a humanizing approach to pedagogy means that educators “are responsible for creating the conditions suitable to promoting a more fully human world through their pedagogical practices” (zembylas, 2018, p. 5). during a time of social change, the educator is challenged to develop cognitive and emotional resilience and develop strategies to productively engage with change and transformation. therefore, the educator’s professional development and resilience are central to a transformative practice. we consider a transformed pedagogy as relational encounters that make opportunities for growth possible (zembylas, 2007). as such, pedagogy is extended beyond the classroom space into the support services offered by the university. this implies that “educators” can be understood to encompass all who interact with students in an educational setting, therefore including student leaders. it also means that learning is seen as that which happens both inside and outside the classroom. in other words, the co-curricular project is vital for the holistic development of students and the professional grounding of staff and students. methodological approaches we used different sources to gather qualitative and quantitative data that would inform our interpretation and help us in making suggestions for the preparation of peer educators to lead in times of crisis, social change and transformation. a survey was used to gather general feedback on student leaders’ experiences in leadership. from the survey respondents, a smaller sample participated in a focus group discussion to delve deeper into their experiences. this was followed up with an arts-based workshop, where we engaged in a creative manner with those experiences. both the survey and the arts-based workshop helped us to gauge the student leaders’ experiences to understand how they negotiated challenges in a space of transformation. outgoing chairpersons and members of the residence committees (rcs) at the ufs were invited to participate in this research project. these student leaders were asked to complete a yearly residence student leadership survey. we wanted to determine what skills they had gained and what support they had received during their leadership term. some of the students who had completed the survey were then invited to participate in focus group discussions. following the focus groups, we also invited the participants to further participate in an arts-based workshop. we used arts-based methods of enquiry (drawing and a puppet show) and arts-based forms of interpretation (poetry) to express some of our learnings from engagement with the participating student leaders in the course of a one-day workshop. for this research project, we obtained ethical clearance from the university of the free state (ufs-hsd2018/1280). all the participants signed informed consent letters before participation and could withdraw from participation at any point during the project. 66   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 such a multi-layered research approach affords different methods of data gathering. for this project we used survey and qualitative data generated during focus groups and arts-based workshops. the survey helped us to gather quantitative information that was followed up by a focus group discussion. approximately 100 surveys were distributed electronically amongst outgoing student leaders. all the outgoing student leaders from 30 residences were invited to participate; 23 on-campus and 7 day-residences. of those invited 70 student leaders responded to the survey. a sample of 40 accepted the invitation to participate in a focus group session which was two hours long. the survey used closed-ended questions, which focused on the knowledge required for the role of student leadership, the processes for attaining student leadership positions and knowledge of elections. it highlighted the effectiveness of the training they had received and its impact on their experiences. findings survey and focus group discussion the first part of the survey aimed to understand if the participating student leaders were aware of the procedures to become an rc member. the results showed that during their candidacy the participants were well informed about the election process and their duties before entering into residence leadership (figure 1). 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 election procedure yes      no before the rc elections, were you aware of the election procedure? 60 6 were you aware of the roles and duties of a rc member? did you have an understanding of the election procedure prior to the elections? were there any information sessions presented in your residence which you attended, before the elections commenced? 8 57 24 42 5 61 figure 1: election procedure once students are elected as student leaders, they undergo several training programmes. some programmes are arranged by the student leadership development office as generic leadership training, some are arranged specifically for portfolio purposes by the office liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   67 of residence life along with the residence heads, who serve as staff members within the residence environment. of the 66 respondents who answered the question regarding the election procedure, 60 chose ‘yes’, agreeing that they were aware of the election procedure prior to the voting process and only 6 responded with ‘no’ (figure 1). fifty-seven (57) respondents chose ‘yes’ to indicate that they had understood the election procedure prior to the elections and 8 chose ‘no’. usually, there is an information session with residences before the election. forty-two (42) respondents chose ‘yes’ to indicate that they had attended the said session, whereas 24 indicated ‘no’. lastly, 61 of the respondents chose ‘yes’ to indicate that they were aware of the roles and duties of an rc member and only 5 indicated ‘no’, which means the majority of the respondents were fully aware of the rc processes and roles. it is clear from the responses that the training with residence heads provided value in developing the respondents’ capacities for their leadership roles, with the majority agreeing that the training had prepared them (figure 2a). with regard to this question, 36% of respondents agreed, 29% were neutral and 35% disagreed. however, some respondents indicated that improvements could have been made that would have assisted them to respond better to many of the experiences and to become more resilient. with regards to general training (figure  2b), 40% of respondents indicated that the training had equipped them optimally for their terms, 33% felt neutral about this and 27% disagreed. do you think the training with the residence head prepared you for the rc team? did all the training you received equip you to perform your role as an rc optimally and to the best of your ability? strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree a b 32% 34% 28% 33% 17% 8% 9% 6%15% 18% figure 2: preparedness respondents also indicated whether the overall training had been of value, prepared them and improved their performance (figure 3). 68   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree overall training response valuable      preperation      performance 10 20 19 15 8 4 21 22 22 18 11 12 5 6 3 figure 3: overall training response regarding whether the training had been valuable, 23 respondents indicated that it was valuable, 19 felt neutral about this and 23 felt that the overall training was not valuable. regarding whether the training had prepared them, 31 respondents felt that the training had prepared them for their roles, 18 felt neutral about this, whereas 16 felt the training had not prepared them for their roles. lastly, 26 respondents agreed that the overall training had contributed to their performance as rc members, 22 felt neutral about this and 18 felt that the training had not contributed to their performance. skills acquired during rc term 0 605040302010 interpersonal intrapersonal presentation writing 37 50 42 18 figure 4: skills acquired almost all respondents indicated that they had received support during their leadership term (figure 5). liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   69 support received yes no 5% 95% figure 5: support for student leaders when asked where their support had come from, a few sources were highlighted by respondents as their source/s of support. these include (from highest to lowest) friends, residence head, rc team members, rc from another residence and parents (figure 6). top 5 support sources 50 40 30 20 10 0 friends residence head residence committee rc from another residence parents figure 6: main support sources although the above were the main sources of support that had assisted the respondents in being resilient student leaders, other sources were also mentioned. these included lecturers, administrators, senior students and university management. the results on support highlight the complexity of the experiences of residence student leaders, as these are student leaders that have to work and lead in an environment in which they also live and stay. thus, with the support of the sources mentioned, student leaders can overcome the challenges in their environment. 70   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 the survey was followed up with a focus group discussion. engagements during the focus group elicited introspection by participants on their experiences as student leaders in residences. participants could ref lect on themselves on a personal level, as student leaders, and on their experiences with the university management, sharing both positive and negative experiences. they expressed their appreciation of the monetary stipend they had received and the skills they had gained, amongst other benefits. in addition to what they highlighted on the survey, they added the following skills gained during their time as student leaders: conf lict resolution, time-management and dealing with diversity. they also shared what they did not like, including the lack of support from their fellow students or university authorities. when asked about what could be improved, especially by student affairs and staff responsible for student leadership, participants highlighted mostly support and instruction or practical advice on how they should cope with multiple roles, and issues of communication and transparency. training was also emphasised, more specifically that training should not only occur at the beginning of the term, but that some developmental and support programmes should also be initiated in the middle of term as well. the word cloud below represents the issues in need improvement as highlighted by participants (figure 7). if there was one thing you would improve, what would it be? support training transparency election process communication accountability collaborative based equipping feedback participation motivation sessions incoming events human primes larger vice cash focus strategy my accountability mutual respect within the rc residences university counciling reporting student better support aspect respect frequent discuss recruitment definition of roles training before elections more compassion in leadership rc and senior relationships psychological support management mutual respect more mentoring for others in my res figure 7: areas of improvement word cloud thus, students highlighted that support, training, accountability, transparency, and communication were most valued for the fulfilment of their roles. the critical ref lections that emerged from the focus group discussion support the findings from the survey data. in the next section we proceed to juxtapose the arts-based workshop findings with the findings from the survey and focus group discussion. liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   71 interpretation of the arts-based workshop the workshop was attended by the group of 40 student leaders that also participated in the focus group discussions, and lasted for 2 hours. one of the activities in the artsbased workshop was to create a river of experience (inspired by the river of life exercise). below, some images of what the participants created, as well as our interpretations thereof are provided. most participants depicted their term as a linear progression, with a start and a finish. only one student (figure 8) depicted it as a cycle. figure 8: leadership is a cycle it was interesting to see that participants perceived their growth as linear. a general theme that emerged from almost all the drawings was a type of “blockage” (figure 9), “rock” or dangerous obstacle (figure 9) at the start which participants felt they had to overcome in order to grow. figure 9: conf lict figure 10: danger overall, participants tended to depict their term as “having a happy ending”. some of them illustrated the river as branching out into new possiblities. in other words, the leadership experience could be extended into new opportunities. one of the participants 72   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 wrote the following on their rivier of experience: “i learnt in that role that not everyone thinks like me or has the same capabilities […] [i] learnt to understand others that are not like me with the help of those leading me and leading with me.” furthermore, many participants showed how leadership had exposed them to different others (where “other” can be defined as the racialised, religious, differently abled or gendered other) and how this was perceived as something positive. participants showed how obstacles had helped them learn and grow and also how they had sometimes needed support (from residence heads) to overcome (represented by a bridge) difficult situations (figure 11). it was interesting to see how their river was depicted with fewer obstacles towards the end, and perhaps this is an indication that student leaders had developed the necessary skills to handle conf lict, etc., towards the end of their leadership term. some also showed how becoming a leader was similar to being thrown into a river and how you had to either “sink or swim” (figure 12). figure 11: an overcoming bridge figure 12: the deep end in most cases, the participants depicted some form of resilience in their drawing to show that the leadership experience had shaped them to become stronger. for example, one participant wrote down the words “pressure is privilege”. from the individual river of experience exercise, we then moved to collaborative creation and performance through a puppet show. participants were divided into smaller groups and given the task of making puppets (figure 13) and using their puppets to create a performance or skit of a specific significant incident during their terms as leaders. what emerged during the puppet show was very different from the river of experience exercise. we noticed that the collaborative and performative form of expression allowed the participants to be far more critical of the institution and their own roles as student leaders. where the river of experience exercise allowed the participants to ref lect on their leadership terms, it seemed that they had the desire to show a logical progression of overcoming challenges, growing and changing. during the puppet show, some of the performances got intense and one participant became emotional as she recalled how difficult being a leader had been for her. others liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   73 showed how rc members became isolated from their peers. one group expressed the experience as follows: “leadership makes you more vulnerable. everyone is watching and judging […] she used to be happy go lucky, but not anymore […]”. furthermore, the puppet show performance seemed to be a space for participants to vent their frustration at not having been supported enough: they felt they were “thrown into the deep end”. another group also showed the reality of sexual harassment within the student leadership structures and how female leaders face this added challenge. from the performances, participants expressed their desire to be respected and heard. they also showed a desire for immediate answers, and an impatience with having to wait for things to happen. given their youth, this impatience is to be expected, yet it was interesting to see that, despite their roles, they showed little knowledge of the bureaucratic and operational processes of the university, or the different stakeholders and governance structures within the institution. to them, everyone and anything that is not a student was reducible to the all-encompassing “management”. this response seems almost childlike, yet is also a strong indication that if students are not substantively educated about and invited into the governance structures of the university, they feel disempowered and frustrated on the outside of the formal structures of decision-making. what we saw was an interesting tension between the desire for freedom ( just leave us alone), on the one hand, and guidance (show us what to do), on the other. figure 13: the puppets the river of experience exercise showed participants’ experiences as more harmonious (“happy ending”), whereas the puppet show was more critical and showed how some of the problems they faced had remained unresolved. thus, there was a difference between what they reported on the individual level and what they reported on the collective level. this difference of experience could also suggest that on the individual level, they experienced the changes as positive, even if the problems had remained unresolved (as 74   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 expressed collectively). from the workshop with the participating student leaders, it became clear they had faced a variety of problems they could not solve. the workshop however revealed that the students’ focus shifted from trying to solve problems, to developing the resilience to face problems confidently. in keeping with the arts-based method of enquiry, poetry was utilised as an interpretive response to the data we generated through the river of experience exercise and puppet show. in this project poetry was used as a form of professional learning (pithouse-morgan et al., 2019). “poetry is increasingly recognized as a means of representing the distinctiveness, complexity and plurality of the voices of research participants and researcher in qualitative studies,” according to pillay et al. (2017, p. 262). below, we offer a poetic response to express our interpretation of what emerged from the arts-based workshop with participants. the poem was created from selected phrases from the river of experience exercise that students created during the workshop. by bringing the phrases from individual student leaders together in this poem, a portrayal of the affective experiences of student leadership in transformative times, is created. the voices of the student leaders become one voice, alluding to a “student leader subjectivity” that has to balance a private and public, personal and professional life, emotional and cognitive life. in other words, a holistic life: my life is not a river it is a tree i have roots and rhizomes f low from me like a river i hope for a happy ending i wanted to get my vision across i wanted to benefit others through major changes but there were obstacles in my way i look back and see i was not realistic i had to learn that not everyone thinks like me transform my mindset learn to understand others into the unknown, doubtful, i did not find enough support i felt useless until i asked for help and kept on asking meeting new individuals being able to interact with different cultures, ethnic groups and races i had to be guided to guide others liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   75 when i started this journey – everything made sense and i knew what i was gonna do what kept you going – kept on smiling  through all the bullshit … i had to be fragile to become resilient conclusion and way forward in this article, we aimed to answer four research questions. our first question was: what are the complex personal-professional experiences of student leaders? from our findings, it is evident that for some students, the student leadership position is their first professional experience. although student leaders are almost always initially enthusiastic about their terms as leaders, they often become overwhelmed by the demands of their positions. these demands include time-management, professional conduct, balancing work and studies, leading with integrity, and coping with challenging situations and conf lict. the student leaders living in on-campus residences and serving on rcs also need to situate themselves differently in their living and now working environment. establishing new boundaries and executing their new authority as residence leaders often put an emotional and psychological strain on these leaders. the convergence of the professional and personal has been accentuated by crises, such as the protests during #feesmustfall and the challenges posed by covid-19. as such, in preparing student leaders for their roles and supporting them during their terms, we need to pay attention to professional development and how to help them navigate the personal-professional demands of the roles. the second question we asked was: how can we use different methodologies to understand student experiences? both methods used (arts-based and survey) can be of immense value to understand these complex student experiences. from our research, it became evident that arts-based research methodologies enable students to express a wide array of emotions, frustrations, insecurities and fears. the affective dimension of their experiences was “extracted” through arts-based methods, as non-verbal, demonstrative methods enabled them to explore unresolved emotional experiences. consequently, the holistic experiences of students as fully human could be expressed and captured with the help of arts-based methods. these visual and performative methods provided students with the opportunity to “become conscious of their presence in the world” (salazar, 2013, p. 126), and to be fully present as emotional, cognitive and spiritual beings. in doing this they can participate in self-ref lexive professional development in their peereducator roles. in addition, surveys make it possible to connect the relationships between different items. analysing the responses creates opportunity to identify the significance of their responses. our third question was: how do we support student leaders in the context of transformation? from the student feedback, we have learned how important it is for students to feel included in university structures and decision-making. the support of residence heads and other staff members is crucial to student leader success, but can only 76   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 61-77 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 be constructive if there is a strong relationship of trust and a shared vision. the lived experiences of staff are extremely valuable as a source of support for and guidance to the student leaders working in a transformative space. seeing that the transformative space is always in f lux, the staff members need to be able to cope with extreme instability and insecurity. the resilience of staff members from all the spheres of the university, becomes the biggest source of support for students in a time of rapid social change. the intricate relationship between student leaders and their mentors should hence be considered in the training and support provided. if we approach organisations as multifaceted and professional development as a multi-stakeholder collaboration then experiential learning is a huge part of this process, and creative ref lection could be one way to help engage with learning and development. the last question was: how can our professional development programmes inform and support the resilience of our student leaders? guiding students on how to engage productively with uncertainty might be the best way to develop resilience. open channels of communication and strong relationships of trust are also important between mentors and student leaders. acting as soundboards for students, guiding them towards resilience, is one way of developing resilience. being able to listen, and teaching students the value of true and active listening, is also valuable. as part of student leadership development and professional development, a training pack that includes areas of resilience for student leaders, advice on timeand crisis-management needs to be structured intentionally to respond to and support student leaders in higher education. this article thus highlights how methodological inventiveness can address new and different questions that arise in our rapidly changing space. similarly, by using humanizing and transformative pedagogy as a framework, we highligted the need for all university staff and students to embrace their full humanity and develop as semiprofessionals and peer-educators. such an approach can contribute towards stronger professional relationships, interpersonal support and resilience for staff and students, which are imperative in times of rapid social change and transformation. references davies, c. (1995) gender and the professional predicament in nursing. open university press. davies, c. (1996) the sociology of professions and the profession of gender. sociology, 30(4), 661-678. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038596030004003. freire, p. (2003). pedagogy of the oppressed. continuum. guthrie, k. l., & jenkins, d. m. (2018). the role of leadership educators: transforming learning. information age publishing. hendricks, c. (2018). decolonising universities in south africa: rigged spaces? international journal of african renaissance studies, 13(1), 16-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/18186874.2018.1474990. jama, m. p. (2017). applying a humanistic pedagogy to advance and integrate humane values in a medical school environment. perspectives in education, 35(1), 28-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593x/ pie/v35i1.3. liezl dick, marguerite müller & pulane malefane: keeping up with changing times …   77 nyamnjoh, f. b. (2016). #rhodesmustfall: nibbling at resilient colonialism in south africa. langaa research and publishing cig. pillay, d., pithouse-morgan, k., & naicker, i. (2017). self-knowledge creation through collective poetic inquiry: cultivating productive resistance as university academics. cultural studies ↔ critical methodologies, 17(3), 262-265. doi: 10.1177/1532708617706118. pithouse-morgan, k., madondo, s., & grossi, e. (2019). the promise of poetry belongs to us all: poetic professional learning in teacher-researchers’ memory-work. in k. pithouse-morgan, d. pillay & c. mitchell (eds.), memory mosaics: researching teacher professional learning through artful memorywork (pp. 133-153). springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97106-3_8. salazar, m. (2013). a humanizing pedagogy: reinventing the principles and practice of education as a journey toward liberation. review of research in education, 37(1),121-148. https://doi. org/10.3102/0091732x12464032. schreiber, b., moja, t., & luescher, t. m. (2020). racism and corona: two viruses affecting higher education and the student experience. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(1), v-ix. doi: 10.24085/ jsaa.v8i1.3820. sebola, m. p. (2019). governance and student leadership in south african universities: co-governing with those to be governed. journal of gender, information and development in africa, (jgida), 8(2), 7-18. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-1835c79ba0. skalicky, j., pedersen, k. w., van der meer, j., fuglsang, s., dawson, p., & stewart, s. (2020). a framework for developing and supporting student leadership in higher education. studies in higher education, 45(3), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2018.1522624. whitty, g. (2006). teacher professionalism in a new era.  first general teaching council for northern ireland annual lecture, belfast, 15. https://www.academia.edu/16638608/teacher_professionalism_ in_a_new_era. zembylas, m. (2007). risks and pleasures: a deleuzo-guattarian pedagogy of desire in education. british educational research journal, 33(3), 331-347. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701243602. zembylas, m. (2018). decolonial possibilities in south african higher education: reconfiguring humanising pedagogies as/with decolonising pedagogies. south african journal of education, 38(4), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4a1699. how to cite: dick, l., müller, m., & malefane, p. (2022). keeping up with changing times: student leaders, resilience, fragility and professional development. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 61-77. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.2554 https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708617706118 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97106-3_8 https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.1080%2f03075079.2018.1522624 https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701243602 https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4a1699 abstract the university of pretoria (up) began offering formal academic student support in 2011 when the first faculty student advisor (fsa) was appointed. although many more fsas were subsequently appointed, assistance to all the students in need of support remained insufficient. however, financial assistance through the collaboration grant received from the department of higher education and training in 2018 made it possible to explore new areas of support. the up was able to pilot four innovations due to the availability of additional funds. these included generic workshops across faculties; the creation of a hub in the library, which served as a common contact point for students requiring assistance; the appointment of peer advisors; and a buddy programme for first-year students. this article explains the buddy programme as perceived by the senior students who mentored the first-year students. the mentors are known as “big buddies”. our work on this programme is based on tinto’s (1975) ideas about social integration. the buddy programme was introduced to assist first-year students in their transition from school to university life. this paper highlights the challenges that first-year students faced and it explains how the concepts could become institutionalised once university activities have been normalised in the post-pandemic future. keywords advising, mentoring, buddy system, peer support research article student support and transition through a buddy programme to foster social integration ana naidooi, hestie bylesii & sindi kwenaiteiii i prof. ana naidoo, consultant, university of pretoria, ana.naidoo@up.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0003-2067-6529 ii dr hestie byles (corresponding author), manager: advising, university of pretoria, hestie.byles@up.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0003-0390-6927iii iii sindi kwenaite, researcher consultant university of pretoria, kwenaitesmc@gmail.com 47ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite background and context as part of our support to students, the university of pretoria (up) has a number of practices that address the academic and social aspects of a student’s life (kuh et al., 2005). the up focuses on five spheres of student support that the institution regards as essential for student academic success, namely faculty student advisors (fsas), tutors, mentors, academic orientation, and upo1 workshops. in the context of interventions implemented to support students, this paper looks at a new initiative involving a buddy system introduced in 2019. the data was extracted from naidoo and kwenaite’s (2019) more comprehensive research report on the evaluation of new interventions for student support. these new interventions (summarised later) were conceptualised in the context of those already existing. existing interventions the fsas are responsible for academic development; they are managed by the office of the deputy director: academic development and support, and by the deputy deans of teaching and learning in each faculty. the up concurs with troxel and joslin (2018) that advising is an important touchpoint between the students as primary stakeholders and its learning mission. fsas focus on first-year students, but they also provide academic advice to other undergraduate students who contact them. the various departments provide tutors to all students who need additional support. tutors are trained by both the academic departments and by the department for education innovation. they are supervised in the faculties to ensure that their effectiveness is monitored and evaluated. fsas are responsible for referring students who are struggling academically to tutors in their particular departments. the department of student affairs provides mentors to students who are identified by the student academic readiness survey (stars),2 which measures the non-cognitive, financial and academic needs of first-year students, as well as their potential risk of failing. the senior students who are members of house committees act as mentors in the residences. mentorship programmes are meant to provide psychosocial support. 1 university of pretoria orientation programme (upo) is an online academic orientation module intended to provide information and to assist first-year students to cope with the skills required for success at university level. 2 the student academic readiness survey assesses students’ academic readiness by gauging their needs in fields such as motivation, well-being, integration and support, goal orientation, academic skills, anticipated / current academic involvement, and vocational identity. based on the results, a programme consisting of peer mentoring and academic advising is developed to support students who are identified as being at risk of failure or withdrawal. the purpose of the programme is to facilitate the transition from school to university in order to have students fully integrated into the university environment within the first quarter of the first year. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 47-63 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369848 academic orientation is considered to be a high-impact practice (kuh, 2008), which is applied to ensure student retention and success. it involves complementary co-curricular and curricular processes. a core element of academic orientation involves informing students about what it means to study at a research-intensive university. as an extension of the one-week academic orientation programme, students complete a compulsory eight-week online module (called upo), which is specific to their faculty. the aim of the upo module is to assist students in making a successful transition from high school to university. according to kuh et al. (2007), being academically underprepared for universitylevel work is one of the risk factors that threaten persistence and graduation from university. despite the increase in active fsas from one in 2011 to eighteen in 2016, support to all the students who needed it was still insufficient. a serious concern was that, by 2018, only 45% of the 2016 cohort registered for three-year degrees, and 38% of the 2015 cohort registered for four-year degrees, graduated in the minimum time allocated for the completion of these degrees (university of pretoria, 2020). tinto’s integration theory (1975) requires that institutions channel support for both academic and social integration. looking at the existing interventions until 2018, it is evident that the fsas and tutors, together with academic orientation and upo, have focused on academic aspects, whereas mentoring has provided support at the social level. a study undertaken at the up (eloff, 2020) showed that not enough attention was paid to student wellness. in 2016, a campaign called fly@up (the finish line is yours) was launched to encourage students and to enable them to graduate in the minimum time. this campaign provided a channel through which interventions to improve completion rates in the recommended minimum time could be facilitated. the key messages that were consistently communicated to students emphasised the importance of maintaining a good semester mark, not dropping or changing modules unnecessarily, and registering for the correct number of credits in order to have a balanced credit load for completion in the minimum time. perna and thomas (2008), having scrutinised definitions of student success extensively, list ten indicators – two of which the fly@up campaign aimed to address. by focusing on academic readiness and on university achievement, academic performance and persistence to complete a degree were encompassed. the interventions for student support, which were piloted in 2019, were aligned with the fly@up campaign and were guided by the up institutional plan (2019, p. 15). this plan stated that “the adjustment of students to university life during the first six months following enrolment is a critical determinant of their progress and success.” the formal messages to the students were of an academic nature, but they were also encouraged to enjoy the “fun” side of university life. whereas all students were invited to participate in the campaign to take responsibility for their studies, the buddy programme aimed at making individual students aware that they were valued. 49ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite interventions piloted in 2019 fsas and peer support interventions direct students towards resources to improve their quality of life in terms of their university careers. some of the aims of these interventions are to reduce the confusion and frustration experienced when access to resources is limited and students become disengaged (henning et al., 2015). at a workshop held with the fsas on the findings of a benchmark study, it was established that many faculties were presenting workshops on the same topics to small groups of students. this seemed to be an inefficient use of the fsas’ time and it was decided that generic workshops would be offered to all students across the university. topics covered included but were not limited to study skills, time management, understanding curricula, and motivation, all of which contribute to first-year success. this falls in line with thalluri’s (2016) focus on mass higher education. the hub was established to give the fsas more exposure and to encourage students to use their services. a desk was installed in the library, in full view of students on their way to the computers or when they were leaving the library. the funds that were made available enabled the fsas to employ senior students as peer advisors for the first time. the first criterion in the selection of peer advisors was that they had to have interacted with their fsas in the past; therefore, the best person to select a peer advisor would be an fsa. these students attended to students’ minor queries and also prioritised their challenges before they saw an fsa. although a mentorship programme already existed at the university, there was a need for a more inclusive programme to focus on the social integration of the first-year student. this took the form of a voluntary peer support programme called the “fly@up big buddy programme”. the “buddy system” was introduced to help first-year students adapt to university life. this paper highlights the challenges that had to be overcome, and it offers suggestions about how the concepts could become institutionalised when university activities return to normal in the post-pandemic future. the fly@up big buddy programme findings based on evaluations (mphanda, 2017, 2018) of the existing stars mentorship programme show that the criteria used for the selection of the mentees, namely firstgeneration commuter students, who are aged younger than 21 and who are from a rural/ township home environment, should be reviewed in favour of a voluntary or self-selection model. some of the mentees incorrectly understood mentors to be similar to tutors (mphanda, 2018) and they expected the tutors to assist with academic issues. the main difference between the stars mentorship programme and the fly@up big buddy programme was that participation by first-year students in the latter programme was voluntary. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 47-63 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369850 the intention was to enable the big buddies to create a safe and friendly environment in which to listen to the problems encountered by the first-year students. the aim was therefore to complement university services and to inform students of what was available. being familiar with university life, the senior students could promptly identify those who were not adapting or who were struggling (ford, 2015). in many cases, big buddies are the first to discover student challenges and they can alert professional staff so that problems can be addressed before they cause students to drop out (tinto, 2012). methodology the larger research was undertaken to explore the effectiveness of academic student support interventions implemented in 2019. this paper looks at the buddy programme as a case study of the support offered to first-year students; it evaluates the buddy programme based on the experiences of the participating big buddies. it is limited to examining the perceptions of the big buddies. salkind (2010) refers to case studies as the inquiry into a bounded entity by examining the entity in its social and cultural context. a qualitative research methodology was used for this research, i.e. descriptive data were obtained by collecting “people’s own words” through which researchers “develop concepts, insights, and understandings from patterns in the data” (taylor et al., 2015, p. 18). this differs from gathering data that can be used to evaluate a predetermined model, hypothesis, or theory (taylor et al., 2015). thus, this research uses data collection methods that aim to gather data directly from its subjects to gain insight into the buddy programme. the fly@up big buddy programme, hereafter referred to as the buddy programme, was introduced to give first-year students the opportunity to opt for support through contact with a senior student. the senior students were referred to as the “big buddies”, whereas the first-year students were the “new buddies”. kuh et al. (2005) and tinto (1975) emphasise that both academic and social support are required to enable a student to succeed. universities are increasingly becoming aware of the need to support students holistically as they grapple with the various elements that have a bearing on their motivation to learn (ford, 2015). peer relationships foster a feeling of security and belonging in student groups, which can affect students’ experience of the university, their attachment to the institution, and their academic performance as they adapt to university life (ford, 2015). big buddies were invited to assist the new buddies through their transitioning process. a major criterion was those big buddies needed to have attained an average of 60% in their studies. in 2018, 1 000 students volunteered to become buddies in 2019. these students were contacted in january 2019 and they were invited to participate in a training day before the buddy programme began. three hundred big buddies responded and they were trained to receive the new buddies on 1 february 2019. big buddies were informed of the purpose of the programme and its relation 51ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite to the fly@up campaign. they were also introduced to the growth mind-set (dweck, 2015), and how it could bring about a paradigm shift in a student’s thinking. in addition, the training included a focus on student wellness and on the ability to study effectively. a session on listening was also presented to prepare the big buddies to take on the role of listener. towards the end of february, once the new students had indicated their fields of interest and what they would be studying, an electronic sorting process was used to match three new students with each big buddy. the first-year students completed a survey in upo so that those without a mentor could indicate whether they would like to have a big buddy. this method of self-identification was necessary to start developing agency in the first-year students. the questions put to the students took the form of screening. the students in the residences who were automatically allocated to a mentor, and the stars students to whom a mentor was allocated by the department of student affairs, were filtered out. the first-time day-students received an opportunity to be supported by a senior student should they wish to do so. only upo modules offered on the hatfield campus were included in this pilot programme to ensure that the logistics would be manageable. ultimately, there were 250 big buddies supporting 752 new buddies. in mid-march, each big buddy received a voucher to take the new buddies for coffee. at the time when the vouchers were handed over, the students were taken through some ice-breaker exercises which they could do with the new buddies. relevant ‘dos and don’ts’ were also discussed with them. the purpose of the vouchers and the exercises was to empower the big buddies to take a leadership role. in april, the big buddies submitted their feedback through an online survey, after which second vouchers were made available. at this stage, when groups arrived to collect the vouchers, focus group interviews were held to discuss possible solutions to their challenges. pairs of big buddies were asked to introduce all their new buddies to each other so that the new students could have a larger pool of peers with whom to interact. it was left to the big buddies to choose with whom to pair. in may/june the big buddies received data vouchers to enable them to contact the new buddies through whatsapp to provide support during the examination period, as the big buddies were focusing on their own studies; they might not have had time to meet them in person. limitations since this was a pilot programme, the implementation of the buddy programme focused on the campus housing six of the nine faculties, which favoured easy programme management. a further reason for the limited focus was that the health science faculty already had an established mentorship programme for its students. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 47-63 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369852 this study focuses on the perceptions of the big buddies. without buy-in from the big buddies and their willingness to improve the experiences of the new students, the buddy programme would not have been possible. however, the stakeholders included the new buddies and it is acknowledged that feedback received from them can improve the programme. as a first stage, it was necessary to consider the opinions of the big buddies, but future research will include feedback from the new buddies. data collection primarily, data was collected by way of three online surveys, which will be referred to as surveys a, b, and c. these surveys were administered to big buddies by using google forms. data concerning the big buddies’ perceptions of their interventions were collected using semistructured interviews. these focus group interviews were conducted with the big buddies at the end of each session when they collected the vouchers for the next phase. the interview discussions revolved around the challenges that big buddies had experienced in attempting to meet their new buddies. participants offered solutions to their groups to improve the implementation process. ethical clearance for this study was covered by a larger process of ethical clearance obtained under the stars project. the data collected was analysed by determining common themes that emanated from the students’ responses. results big buddies were requested to complete three online surveys in which they reflected on three aspects of the programme, namely on feedback after their first and second face-to-face meetings, and on feedback concerning their whatsapp communication. table 1 below shows the participation rate for each survey. 53ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite table 1 big buddy participation per survey survey faculty total number of big buddies number of completed surveys % survey a feedback: meeting between big buddies and new buddies ebit 46 42 91% ems 68 64 94% hum 48 46 96% law 22 19 86% nas 61 52 85% theo 7 6 86% total 252 229 91% survey b second-quarter feedback ebit 46 41 89% ems 68 55 81% hum 48 38 79% law 22 18 82% nas 61 51 84% theo 7 5 71% total 252 208 83% survey c final feedback: buddy whatsapp communication ebit 46 17 37% ems 68 15 22% hum 48 17 35% law 22 6 27% nas 61 14 23% theo 7 1 14% total 252 70 28% there was a high participation rate for the first survey, with 91% of the big buddies participating. for the next survey, the participation rate dropped by 8% to 83%. this was followed by a drastic drop of 55% in the participation rate for the final survey, with only 28% of the big buddies participating. however, the overall participation rate was well above average at 67%. the last survey was conducted during the examination period, which could explain the low participation rate. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 47-63 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369854 findings the data analysis identified the big buddies’ descriptions of the positives that they had experienced during the buddy programme as the main category of programme positives. figure 1 illustrates the major themes that emerged from big buddies’ descriptions of these positives. figure 1 major themes emerging from programme positives the most common positive theme that was identified related to the social interaction that the programme provided. big buddies commented on how they enjoyed meeting new people, sharing their experiences with new buddies, getting to know someone, making new friends, learning about different cultures, and developing a sense of belonging. two big buddies’ comments suitably summarise these experiences in figure 2 below. 55ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite figure 2 excerpts from survey b linked to social interaction the second-most common positive was linked to the concept of a support system. several big buddies saw the programme as an opportunity to help and support the new buddies by providing them with guidance and advice on how to face their challenges. this support system was also seen as a means of reassuring the new buddies that they were not alone. it also surfaced that some big buddies felt that it was good to give the new buddies the kind of support that they had not received as first-year students. some big buddies pointed out that peer support was appreciated when students could meet without judgement, as indicated in figure 3. figure 3 excerpts from survey a that deal with the concept of a support system the theme of personal development included elements described by big buddies as relating to mental well-being and development, motivation, positive impact, fulfilment and the development of new skills as a result of being a part of the buddy programme. some big buddies described how they were able to motivate the new buddies not to give up or to work hard, who allowed them and their new buddies to develop and to feel empowered. several big “ meeting new people is good for me as i get to make friends, that is what me and buddies ended up, we are now friends.” “ … the fly buddy programme develops a community of mentees and mentors. it helps both the big buddy and the buddies to have a sense of belonging.” “having peers that support you and each other, you don’t feel alone.” “ the fact that we meet up with students and discuss challenges we are facing in school without judgement. the buddy programme is a safe group for the strong and the vulnerable.” “ … give buddies advice regarding university stuff that they would otherwise not know, for example the impact of deregistering a module, the value of attending tutorials and to consult with lecturers and stuff that will await them in future years, for example vacation work and bursaries.” journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 47-63 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369856 buddies said that helping others gave them a sense of fulfilment. figure 4 excerpts from survey b that express positives linked to personal development some of the big buddies appreciated being given resources such as data and food vouchers, which contributed to creating a conducive social setting in which the buddies could meet and interact. figure 5 excerpts from survey b linked to having resources “motivating first-year students that they should not give up.” “ it’s rewarding to see students open up to you about what’s letting them down and how they feel about certain things and seeing their paradigm shift once you are done talking to them.” “ you learn so much about yourself, benefit from a sense of fulfilment and personal growth … leadership skills and gain a personal sense of satisfaction from knowing that i helped someone.” “ the fact that they give us vouchers to buy food, it really helps with coming together and also to break the silence if some of the members are shy.” “the food was a great way to bond and get to know the buddies.” “ the best part is i get to meet with my buddies while we are having something to eat. it is not something formal, it is easy to meet with buddies in an environment that enables us to talk freely, and share jokes.” 57ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite the theme about which the least was said, but which is nevertheless important, is the adjustment to a new environment. some big buddies understand that first-year students have to make a “leap” from high school to university. these big buddies see their role as having to help the new buddies to adapt to university life, settle into a new environment, and cope with the transition. figure 6 excerpts from survey a and b linked to adjustment to a new environment in general, the big buddies appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the programme; they stated that it was a valuable experience for them and that they believed that it was a good support platform for first-year students. “… helping them settle into a new space.” “… helps them cope with the transition from high school to university.” “ being able to help first-years cope with the jump from high school to university and helping them relax and find their footing ” “ it also helps the students cope with the life in university, my first-year students’ life in university is different from what they thought, so it is helpful to have a support system to help them get used to and manage it properly.” journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 47-63 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369858 figure 7 excerpts from survey c that express appreciation the feedback surveys asked the big buddies to reflect on what challenges they faced and what their greatest frustrations were. the five themes that emerged from the analysis of their responses are presented in figure 8 below. “ thanks for a great awesome experience fly big buddies, this programme helped me to see life in a different perspective, and also it helped me to get out of my comfort zone.” “ i would just like to thank you for this initiative! this helps students to deal with situations in a more effective manner because they know they have someone to advise them, or just to basically know that someone is there if they ever need a shoulder. the vouchers are such a nice initiative!” “i think this is a great programme that helps a lot of first-years.” “ the programme has a good setup. it isn’t burdensome in that we only have to be people who give guidance and we can help the buddies get more help from the appropriate people if it is needed.” “ the programme really helps the first-years feel welcomed and being taken care of. also they have someone to talk to concerning any problems with access to some school facilities.” 59ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite figure 8 major themes emerging from big buddies’ descriptions of programme challenges scheduling was a major source of frustration to some big buddies who found it difficult to arrange meetings for times that would suit everyone, due to timetable clashes and busy schedules. in some cases, new buddies would arrive late for meetings, which put strain on the already limited time. even though this was a common problem mentioned by big buddies, it was fairly insignificant at 23% of all responses in surveys a, b, and c combined. a related problem was the issue of arranging physical meetings with group members. some big buddies reported that new buddies sometimes cancelled meetings and in some cases, the big buddies were unable to keep their appointments with their groups. some big buddies stated that new buddies were unresponsive, indifferent to the programme, and that they did not pay attention. this was attributed to the delayed commencement of this intervention. consequently, some big buddies believed that their new buddies had already made friends (in some cases with senior students), had adjusted to university life, and that they no longer needed their support. very few big buddies experienced problems with the venues that were used for meetings with their new buddies (3%), and with the data vouchers that they received to use for communication with their buddies (4%). complaints about the venues were that they were overcrowded and noisy. the main problem with the vouchers was that they had sometimes expired before they could be used. discussion the overall experiences of the big buddies were positive. several big buddies suggested that the programme should commence earlier than was the case in 2019. the buddies started meeting journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 47-63 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369860 after semester tests had begun, and several big buddies found it difficult to arrange meetings with their new buddies who were preoccupied with preparations for tests. some big buddies suggested helping their new buddies with examination preparation skills. this suggestion can be directly linked to the timing of the commencement of the programme, and to their acute awareness of the stress levels experienced by new buddies at that time of year. however, it should be noted that such assistance would fall outside their ambit of peer support as they are not supposed to offer academic support. several big buddies suggested that quieter, less crowded venues should be made available for their meetings with new buddies. big buddies realised that issues with unsuitable venues could have been diminished by simply collecting lunch from busy establishments and moving to a more conducive environment for interaction with their new buddies. some big buddies suggested that there should be more one-on-one meetings than group meetings to give new buddies the opportunity to discuss private matters that were causing them problems. some of the questions suggested in their interactions were perceived to be impersonal and more like interview questions. they wanted to put their new buddies at ease and create a deeper connection with them but were unable to do so. others suggested that they should have more face-to-face meetings with new buddies to be in a better position to attend to their specific needs. although the programme did not limit the number of times when the big and new buddies could meet, the availability of funds could have given the impression that there should only be three sessions. lastly, several big buddies suggested that the data vouchers should be made available earlier than was done in 2019 so that they would have enough time to use them before the expiry date. some suggested that the vouchers should be valid for both data and airtime to allow for more personal communication. recommendations and conclusions it is essential for an institution to organise its resources in a way that will encourage student engagement through which student experiences can be influenced (kuh et al., 2007). the aim of this research was to examine the value of establishing a buddy programme as support for first-year students. ford (2015) highlights the importance of training and supervision in the execution of a peer support programme, as a person trying to help a peer may feel inadequate. this feeling of not being sufficiently prepared surfaced when a big buddy expressed disappointment about not being able to deal with a new buddy’s emotional breakdown. the buddy programme tried to address this by providing the big buddies with initial training, and by requiring accountability from them through reports at every phase of their interaction with new buddies. however, this training should be more frequent and broader, and the 61ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite supervision needs to be more comprehensive. in this pilot programme, information could only be shared with new buddies once they had registered and completed their academic orientation. a new pre-orientation programme has since been developed and established at the university. potential students who participate in this pre-orientation should be able to request a buddy. the big buddies can then be allocated their new buddies before the academic year begins, and meetings with new buddies can take place during the academic orientation. this will prevent challenges in terms of time clashes and will help them to establish more meaningful connections before the commencement of semester tests. vouchers are a useful resource for big buddies. their ability to invite their buddies for coffee gave them a sense of leadership as they were able to make decisions about where and when they could meet. a suggestion from the students regarding the data vouchers was that they should provide for both data and airtime to enable them to choose how to communicate with their new buddies. the type of vouchers to be provided needs a re-think in light of a post-pandemic learning environment. finally, any future programme needs to consider how to best support the big buddies, as the feedback clearly indicated a need for more support. since the fsas are best placed to support the big buddies in the faculties, a working relationship needs to be established between the big buddies and the fsas. the overall purpose of the interventions at the up is to enable students to complete their studies in the minimum time. although the majority of these interventions have had an academic basis in the past, it has become evident in recent years that there is a need to also consider the social aspects of support. to this end, the further development and impact of the buddy programme has relevance. with future implementation, it will be necessary to also document the perspectives of the new buddies. acknowledgements we acknowledge and are grateful for the funds made available by the department of higher education through a collaborative grant to pursue academic advising. references dweck, c. 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(2018). epilogue. new directions in higher education, 184, 107–108. university of pretoria. (2019). up institutional plan 2019. university of pretoria. unpublished. up cohort statistics. (2021). management overview student qualification type grouping cohort 2020. unpublished. 63ana naidoo, hestie byles, & sindi kwenaite https://provost.tufts.edu/celt/files/high-impact-ed-practices1.pdf https://provost.tufts.edu/celt/files/high-impact-ed-practices1.pdf 148 publications by african sun media developing teaching and learning in africa: decolonising perspectives by vuyisile msila (ed.) (2020) african societies still aspire towards knowledge that is libera­ tory, enhances critical thinking and decentres euro centrism. this collection of essays is a timely and focused contribution to the ongoing conversations about indigenous knowledges and western epistemologies, and decolonisation in higher education. the arguments about the role of language in decolonising curricula and the need for transformed epistemologies are invaluable. in an emotive conversation that is often characterised by popular platitudes, this book offers well­reasoned and critical arguments that need to be considered by all participating in this conversation, regardless of their own perspective. the contributors explore these decolonial debates as they navigate ways of moving towards epistemic freedom and cognitive justice. isbn 978­1­928480­70­9 r350 308 pages isbn 978­1­928480­71­6 r280 (e­book) doi: 10.18820/9781928480716 serving higher purposes: university mergers in post-apartheid south africa by 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content manager and specialist supplier of publishing and printing services for the higher education market and the private sector. we publish under the imprints sun press, sun media and sunlit. most of our publications are available in electronic and print formats at: orders@africansunmedia.co.za amazon kindle & paperback africansunmedia.store.it.si (e­books) google books | takealot | facebook visit africansunmedia.co.za for more information. https://bit.ly/2rezvd1 https://bit.ly/3mmh5um https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928480716 https://bit.ly/3gphtn6 https://bit.ly/3ovqnc4 https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928480877 mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= https://amzn.to/2ktlpkl https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za/home https://bit.ly/2k1uilm https://www.takealot.com/seller/african-sun-media?sellers=12458 https://www.facebook.com/pg/africansunmedia/shop/ https://africansunmedia.co.za journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 145-156 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187   145 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article ceremonial transformation: the significance of renaming memorial hall after sarah baartman at the university of cape town yonela mlambo* & nomkhosi xulu-gama** abstract at the end of 2018, the university of cape town renamed its prominent memorial hall after sarah baartman, which signalled a significant contribution towards transformation endeavours for the institution. this article is a critical literature review of institutional transformation and practice at uct which examines the significance of renaming the memorial hall. relying on already published work, it explores student and staff experiences to argue that renaming buildings without changing the lived experiences of those who occupy such buildings is not enough. therefore, the article concludes that attempts at transformation need to stop being solely ceremonial and recommends that uct improve its transformation efforts. a process that will hinge on the interrogation of the non-traditional experiences of those who now occupy the buildings during and after the renaming processes, especially for buildings as significant as the memorial hall. keywords black students, higher education, renaming of buildings, transformation, universities introduction this article aims to provide a critical evaluation and interpretative analysis of literature on the significance of renaming the famous university of cape town (uct) building, formerly known as the jameson hall, the sarah baartman memorial hall. renaming the hall is an achievement in uct’s transformation efforts and it serves both existential and political needs of the institution. this article uses the higher education transformation framework to contextualise uct’s transformation processes, which, in 2018, culminated in the renaming of one of the university’s landmarks. we acknowledge, however, that the transformation discourse of recent years has been complicated, signifying different things to different people. * yonela mlambo is a mastercard scholar, and ma candidate completing the theories of justice and inequality mphil programme in sociology at the university of cape town, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0003-0083-1579. email: mlmyon001@myuct.ac.za ** nomkhosi xulu-gama is a senior lecturer at the university of cape town in the sociology department and honorary research affiliate at the durban university of technology, both in south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-6944-5783. email: nomkhosi.gama@uct.ac.za mailto:mlmyon001@myuct.ac.za mailto:nomkhosi.gama@uct.ac.za 146   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 145-156 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187 like ismail (2011), this article subscribes to the notion that knowledge and experiences are situated, and therefore the reader has to take into account the context and researchers’ positionalities. researcher positionalities foreground the way in which research is conducted and how the social and political positions of the researcher(s) influence the research. it is essential to note that we, the authors, would previously not have been admitted into uct as either students or scholars, had it not been for transformation efforts in higher education institutions. we are black and hail from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. we also share the experience of having been students at uct. the first author is a postgraduate student and a part time employee in the institution and the second author is a member of faculty. meaning that we are active participants in the environment under study. further, we are also, in one way or the other, involved in and with the university’s transformation endeavours. finally, it is important to acknowledge the recognized and unrecognized power dynamics between us (that is, student-lecturer; supervisor-supervisee; race and class dynamics) as influenced by our individual positionalities. the significance of our positionalities can be related to how we both became interested in the research fields of higher education transformation and student access and success, as influenced by our lived experiences as black students in a historically white university. defining transformation for pattman and carolissen (2018, p.  1), transformation refers to “ways in which unjust and discriminatory institutional structures and practices engineered to privilege dominant cultures during apartheid south africa had to be reshaped for a just and equitable society”. therefore, nominal changes, such as uct’s renaming of jameson hall, exemplify institutional responses to the previously unacknowledged potential psychological impacts of historical aesthetics on those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, as they echo harmful ideologies. however, this type of transformation arises not wholly from a sympathetic impulse. by changing “the names of buildings, […] the iconography, the economy of symbols whose force is to create or induce particular states of humiliation; pictures or images that mentally harass black students on an everyday basis because these students know whom these images represent’’ (mbembe 2016, p.  29), it also attempts to refine the public image of universities. albertus (2019) suggests that transformation in higher education aims to change the social structures of colonial education embodied in our universities. and meaningful transformation should be about changing the curricula and increasing the number of black academic staff. this means that transformation must be all-inclusive, politically and philosophically, with the intention of changing the historically eurocentric intellectual tradition (albertus, 2019). through the work of taylor and taylor (2010), we understand transformation in higher education as endeavours that seek to redress the marginalization of african civilization in the processes of knowledge production and its dissemination. yonela mlambo & nomkhosi xulu-gama: ceremonial transformation: the significance of renaming memorial hall …   147 transformation at uct uct is a significant space in which to evaluate transformation because it is one of the historically whites-only universities which now is “a highly ranked, research-led university in south africa” (morrell et al., 2020, p.  2), and it is also argued to be one of the best universities on the african continent. uct also became one of the critical sites where students initiated the active and symbolic removal of the statue of colonialist cecil john rhodes, which previously stood at the centre of upper campus, in 2015. #rhodesmustfall was followed by #feesmustfall student protests which erupted from the university of witwatersrand (ndelu, 2017) as a way of agitating for transformation and claiming space. the renaming of buildings that had previously been named after people with a dishonourable colonial history was in response to the demands of #rhodesmustfall activists. such demands rest on the argument, forwarded by manatsha (2014), that the inherited colonial names of buildings glorify colonial brutality and racism and this glorification has to end (see ndletyana, 2012). this compelled uct to establish task teams to audit the work of transformation committees that had been established before the student protests, including the naming of buildings committee (nobc). the decision to rename the building now known as the sarah baartman memorial hall lay in its significance to university culture. the building is meaningful to the experiences of uct students because it houses graduation ceremonies, thereby bringing together different families from different walks of life to celebrate success. therefore, renaming this building could be understood as a practice of material and symbolic inclusion of students and staff of previously excluded identities (kessi & cornell, 2015). it is an attempt to centre the feelings of students from previously marginalized backgrounds, which are normally not accorded significance, especially in comparison to the glorification of the institution. furthermore, the institution recognizes that transformation is an ongoing process, and it has committed itself to reinforcing a new, inclusive identity for uct through an appropriate display of artworks, symbols, and building names and through the use of indigenous south african languages for official informational purposes (uct, 2016). this article presents several factors related to transformation in addition to renaming of buildings, which are relevant to histories resisting change and institutional culture, namely curriculum change, student accommodation and demographics. we argue that if such examples are not linked with positive lived experiences of staff and students, they represent what we have termed ceremonial transformation – and ceremonial transformation has to end. the article starts with research methodological insights on how data has been collected. it then provides background on the life of sarah baartman and the significance of her name replacing that of a colonialist. literature on histories resisting change and on institutional cultures will then be reviewed, followed by a discussion. the article contributes to the research on transformation and specifically the debates about the significance of renaming buildings at higher education institutions in south africa. 148   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 145-156 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187 research methodological insights this article was developed within a qualitative research paradigm through a critical literature review. we have used the literature review to critically discuss prior research and strengthen knowledge by giving focus and direction to studies for further improvement (pare & kitsiou, 2016). jesson and lacey (2006) argued that critical literature reviewing is based on a selection of sources; it is perceptive and analytical. our selection is based on the relevance of research done in this area, thereby identifying the gap in what still needs to be researched. critical literature review has enabled us to demonstrate that, although changing building names is significant, it is not enough to alter the lived experiences of students and staff. sebidi and moreira’s (2017) research, conducted to understand black students’ lived experiences concerning transformation in extended degree programmes, is imperative in our evaluation of the significance of renaming the hall after baartman. their work is relevant for its discussion of alienating, exclusionary, and structurally violent experiences of the student body at uct. this takes place despite the positive shifts in student enrolment demographics and the renaming of buildings. moreover, luckett and shay’s (2020) critical evaluation of transforming the curriculum is crucial for understanding the significance of renaming the hall. their conceptualization of transformation, coupled with black african students’ lived experiences, offers a critical appraisal of the transformation process on which the university has embarked. they demonstrate confidence in using curriculum transformation to challenge broader structural injustices. they also argue for going beyond the concept of justice and emphasising ethical responsibility, which needs to be devised politically and practically by all who are affected by transformation processes (luckett & shay, 2020). the significance of sarah baartman according to scully and crais (2008), sarah baartman was a woman of khoisan descent born in the eastern cape in the mid-1770s. she had three children, who all died in their infancy. her husband was hendrik de jongh. she was more than 30 years old when she was brought to london by hendrik cesar. in london she was exhibited as a freak show attraction. on stage, baartman had to erase aspects of her personal history, experience, and identity in order to make her performance of “the hottentot venus”, as she was nicknamed, credible to her audience. from magubane’s (2001) article, we deduce that “hottentot venus” was a derogatory description of the khoikhoi and san people as a way of othering them. sarah baartman experienced harsh racism and exploitation with which our world still grapples (scully & crais, 2008). in 1814 she was sold as a slave to an animal trainer in france, where she died barely a year later of disease and homesickness. her humiliation did not end there: a plaster cast was made of her body, which was then dissected, and her brain and genitalia were preserved. her body was dissected by european scientists of that century despite the griqua people’s request to have her remains returned in the 1950s (scully & crais, 2008). finally, in may 2002, sarah baartman’s remains were repatriated to south africa and a traditional khoisan ceremony was held on 9 august 2002 (pityana & phakeng, 2018). yonela mlambo & nomkhosi xulu-gama: ceremonial transformation: the significance of renaming memorial hall …   149 on 13 december 2018, uct officially renamed the hall after sarah baartman (pityana & phakeng, 2018). the jameson hall was originally named after sir leander starr jameson, the former prime minister of the cape colony who initiated an unlawful raid that brought war to south africa. therefore, the university determined that it was fitting that the name of sarah baartman, a victim of colonial inhumanity, should replace that of a perpetrator of colonial crimes (pityana & phakeng, 2018). this action was rationalised by the university as a proud, important, and symbolic step towards ongoing transformation within the institution. according to kessi (2019), it was also a claim, justification, support for, and legitimisation of the transformative ideas and perspectives officially embraced by the university. furthermore, the renaming of the hall was done in the “hope to honour her memory and to restore to her name the dignity that was so brutally stolen from her in the 19th century” (pityana & phakeng, 2018, para. 1). the renaming of the hall after sarah baartman can be located within the broader context of attempts to eradicate colonial memory and efforts to satisfy black existential identity post-colonialism (ndletyana, 2012). it was also a significant moment for recognition of the past traumas especially of black students and staff and signify the institution’s attempts at fostering healing (kessi, 2019). the idea of renaming the hall was initially communicated to staff, students, and alumni in 2016 (pityana & phakeng, 2018) and it is aligned with the uct 2020 strategic plan framework. after the university had invited students, staff and alumni to suggest possible names for the hall, the nobc proposed sarah baartman as the new name and initiated the appropriate procedures and consultations with members of uct and the khoisan community. the consultation process included university, community, faith, political and cultural organisations, (pityana & phakeng, 2018). uct committed itself to address practices that have been exclusionary for marginalized identities within uct. this commitment intended to further motivate the imagination about alternative practices that advance social justice and, as such, contribute to sustainable development (uct, 2016). findings histories resisting change according to manatsha (2014), people who resist change posit that it is important to “preserve” history by leaving the colonial names unchanged. similarly, others argue that while renaming buildings may tell a new tale, the old names also tell a story. they therefore believe that there is a need to strike a balance (see ndletyana, 2012). striking a balance would be acknowledging that both the formerly oppressed and the oppressors are going through a change, which would see both lose some history and gain some new experiences. ndletyana, (2012), however, highlights that the black population responds differently to colonial memory – some relate to it, while others are ambivalent – whereas most white people feel that they are losing their identity and privilege in this transformation process. the movements of 1976 and 2015/2016 have demonstrated how, whatever changes governments have proven unwilling to institute, south african students have shown that they would agitate for themselves. from 2015 to 2017, predominantly black students 150   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 145-156 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187 under the banners of the #rhodesmustfall, #feesmustfall and #shackville movements expressed the persistent exclusion that black students and staff are subjected to at uct. it is for this reason that black students in their large numbers called for the fall of the rhodes statue at uct, regarding it as a symbol oppression of black people (ndelu, 2017). after nearly 30 years of democracy, the department of higher education and training (dhet) is still planning to tackle the lack of student accommodation, evidenced in the dhet strategic plan 2020-2025 (nzimande, 2020). it is for this reason that luckett and shay (2020) proposed that, in order to transform higher education, it is important to address black students’ material needs. provision of student accommodation, for which previously disadvantaged students are prioritised, is an important part of transformation, and it is also one way of addressing black students’ material needs and hence changing their lived experiences. under the banner #shackville, black students at uct highlighted the difficulties of lack of accommodation (ndelu, 2017), which, as we know from xulu-gama’s (2019) work, has adverse consequences for black students. in a study by sebidi and moreira (2017), black students were able to identify the differences between a curriculum with content which they felt was too western and did not reflect their lived experiences, and the courses and a curriculum that they felt spoke to their identities and experiences. these students are the same as those housed in university student accommodation and lecture halls whose renaming was celebrated at uct, and this shows that transformation needs to be comprehensive. while transformation might be partly addressed by renaming buildings, it may continue to be disregarded in course content or living conditions at residences. luckett and shay (2020) document that south africa’s inherited curriculum does not meet the needs of the majority of the student body. it is for that reason that they argued for the salience of reframing or decolonising the curriculum to recognize the plurality of the student populace, given that the current curriculum is defined by an overwhelming privileging of white culture. they envisioned that a truly transformed curriculum would encompass different cultural backgrounds, dismantling the asymmetrical, hierarchal dynamics of current popular education systems, which see the teacher cascading knowledge down to unquestioningly receptive students (luckett & shay, 2020). however, the mostly white male traditionalists resisting change at higher education institutions argue that transformation would mean lowering the standards of education and knowledge produced by higher education institutions (kessi, 2013; kessi & cornell, 2015; ramphele, 2008). this resistance leads us to explore the significance of institutional culture. institutional culture uct has acknowledged that institutional culture change is their greatest challenge. therefore, they have made it the cornerstone of uct’s vision of transformation (dvc, 2018). for a long time, uct has had transformation policies that sought to change its institutional culture and it continues on this trajectory. for instance, under the leadership yonela mlambo & nomkhosi xulu-gama: ceremonial transformation: the significance of renaming memorial hall …   151 of vice-chancellor ramphele, uct had goals to increase the number of black students and academics, and thus introduced growing our own timber (goot). goot intended to recruit black students to encourage them to consider a career in academia, (ramphele, 2008). sadiq et al. (2019) argue that, notwithstanding increases in the number of black scholars over the years, the majority of uct academic staff is still white. furthermore, the recent, aforementioned example of bringing back a white male professor (hall) to fill a position vacated by a black female professor (feris), who was a deputy vice-chancellor (dvc), is indicative of a faltering in the institution’s efforts to institute a transformed institutional culture (naidu, 2021). uct’s strategy to change its institutional culture is characterized by six key focus areas, namely (1) students and staff; (2) place and space; (3) institutional responses to discrimination, harassment, and violence; (4) community engagement; (5) african identity; and (6) curriculum support. the focus of this article is on place and space, which has to do with artworks, symbols and naming of buildings (dvc, 2018). for us, this key area does not make sense on its own but is intricately interlinked with the experiences of the students and staff, the first key area. from the background provided above, it is evident that uct, through the process of renaming the hall, tried to work through most of these focus areas, bearing in mind the continuous transformational processes that the university continues to engage with. ramphele (2008) described uct’s institutional culture as entrenched practices that favour white males at universities at the expense of others. on the same note, nhlapo et al. (2020) conceptualized institutional culture as white, un-communicated practices that are exclusionary and discriminating to black academics and students at uct. they noted, however, that not all white academics at uct harbour racist sentiments against black academics and students. according to ismail (2011, 2007), institutional culture is often described as chauvinistic, cold and competitive, and is often cited as a barrier to attracting and retaining black staff and students. other factors which add to the complexity of institutional culture are a great divide in rank between junior and senior academic staff, and between administrative and academic staff. unfortunately, this one example of professor hall replacing professor feris aligns with the definitions of institutional culture documented above. a more relational interpretation of institutional culture has been provided by van der westhuizen (2018) who acknowledges that institutional culture is not quantifiable; hence a lot needs to be done in order to eradicate institutional practices of domination, exclusion, stigmatisation, and marginalization. for the uct community, this implies that simply presenting statistics indicating growth in black student admissions to the institution cannot be regarded as an adequate reflection of transformation. this also applies to the number of buildings that have been renamed and the number of sculptures and artworks which have been placed around campus. institutional culture has also been seen as part of the hidden curriculum. van der westhuizen (2018) explains that: 152   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 145-156 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187 [the] hidden curriculum consists of everyday, normative, cultural assumptions that form part of and are productive of the institutional culture, that it encompasses both the informal and formal statements in educational spaces, that it should be broadly contextualised to ascertain the social norms that inform it; that it represents a contact point for acculturation into dominant norms that draw on race, gender and other categories to determine recognition of subjects within an institution. the hidden curriculum is a situated, determinable instance of the institutional culture at micro level. (p. 345) van der westhuizen (2018) approaches these elements as operating in a dynamic co-constitutive interrelatedness: they mutually construct each other and together, interactively constitute the whole of institutional life, formal and informal, individual and collective, micro and macro, at universities. therefore, transformation in one or more of these areas will affect other areas, either in advancing transformation or in invoking resistance to transformation. (van der westhuizen, 2018, p. 340) as part of institutional culture, the chances of seeing black bodies at uct campuses have increased greatly, as evidenced by luckett and shay (2020), kessi and cornell (2015) and ramphele (2008). luckett and shay (2020), however, noted the ambivalence of the transformation embodied in the extended degree programme with black students feeling that such a programme, couched in a modernising development discourse, creates colonial binaries of us and them; the educated and uneducated. taylor and taylor (2010) warn that there is a massive clustering of african women in social sciences and humanities as well as in education, a large number of whom end up not even graduating. while uct has witnessed a few black women in key strategic and management positions (such as former vc, dr ramphele, chancellor, dr precious moloi-motsepe, vc, professor phakeng, chair of council, ms ngonyama and ms mohamed as deputy), if people in such positions – nominally of power – continue to experience bullying, alienation, marginalization and stigmatisation, similarly to the many black staff and students, the transformative processes and achievements would surely be put into question. their positioning would be revealed to be exemplary of ceremonial transformation. leading us to ask: what is the significance of these transformative actions? are they merely for windowdressing uct as a truly inclusive african university? do the experiences of the uct community at large signify the institution’s commitment to changing the institutional culture? discussion the process of renaming buildings is an ongoing initiative, geared towards righting the colonial wrongs and thereby reclaiming african identity in the university space. manatsha (2014) attests that renaming buildings usually follows some kind of a revolutionary change, be it social, political, or economic change. at uct, a kind of revolution was revived by students through the #rhodesmustfall movement. munyuki et al. (2018) argue that while universities frequently have formal policies in place to declare their commitment yonela mlambo & nomkhosi xulu-gama: ceremonial transformation: the significance of renaming memorial hall …   153 to inclusion and non-discrimination, there are a number of ways in which institutional cultures do not support the espoused policies. for example, having a black woman professor who was a dvc for transformation replaced by a retired white male professor signifies historical institutional culture refusing to change. with the renaming of the sarah baartman hall, the university tried to decentralise power and authority, to communicate that any part of the university community stood an equal chance of coming up with the new name. the process of renaming critical landmarks is a power play and such processes are always contested (manatsha, 2014; ndletyana, 2012). it evokes identity politics and unequal power relations and dynamics, as well as deep ideological deliberations (manatsha, 2014). ismail (2007, 2011) recognized the demonstration of an awareness of cultural diversity by identifying suitable names for buildings as an important step towards transformation. we also acknowledge the efforts that uct made in forming the nobc, as well as the nobc choosing sarah baartman’s name. indeed, it is significant that such a structure exists and that the new name is not of a male politician, but that of a poor black south african woman. manatsha, (2014, p. 272) argues that, “colonialism played a major role in ‘erasing’ the identities of the conquered and colonised communities in many ways”. therefore, using her name for an important building at uct is a way of reasserting the history of uct, rewriting her history, and endowing her memory with the significance and dignity she was denied in her later life and that of the many people she represents. however, in a study done by kessi and cornell (2015) at uct, many of the participants, who were black students, described how arriving at uct was marked by “feeling black” (p. 3) for the first time. the feelings of students as they walk up and down these buildings and corridors do not match the status accredited to the institution worldwide. these feelings also cannot be matched with the respect accorded by family, friends and their communities when they learn that students are part of the top-achieving university. one participant from kessi and cornell’s study said it seems the institution is more privileged than the students, as students see themselves as insignificant (kessi & cornell, 2015). the uct environment marginalizes and alienates black people and this is unfortunately an important part of transformation era experiences at uct – a lack of belonging and low self-esteem amongst black students and staff who are left to grapple, often for the first time, with the reality of what it means to be black in south africa today. kessi and cornell’s (2015) findings show that students’ perception of themselves impacts on their academic performance, similarly to how xulu-gama (2019) shows that access to student accommodation positively impacts their academic performance. in this article, various transformative processes have been discussed, with the focus being on the renaming of the sarah baartman memorial hall. we argue that what we have termed ceremonial transformation is that which can be recognized quantitatively and symbolically but not felt qualitatively: it renames buildings (whether it is lecture halls or student accommodation) and hosts huge events to launch the new names without changing the lived experiences of the people occupying those buildings. one example of ceremonial transformation is the appointment of black people to higher positions without 154   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 145-156 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187 providing adequate support to the newly appointed individuals. another example would be increasing the number of registered black students in former white universities without providing the necessary academic support, including providing student accommodation for the back students who are in need. conclusion this article argues first that renaming the hall after sarah baartman inadequately signifies transformation or changing institutional culture if the structures and the practices of those who occupy these buildings remain the same. second, the renaming of the hall as an act of transformation stands in contradiction to other seemingly anti-transformative practices (such as the appointment of a white male professor as dvc of transformation). while a black woman’s name and history is being glorified, many black women’s experiences are undermined and disqualified in the country and in historically racially exclusive spaces, such as uct. the large numbers of black students without accommodation, and who struggle with course content and end up not graduating reflect the soft underbelly of ceremonial transformation. therefore, bringing an end to ceremonial transformation is one way of successfully fighting the histories that resist change as well as changing the stubborn institutional culture plaguing our institution. we recommend that uct must further interrogate if there are any new meanings and experiences that staff and students associate with these renamed buildings. what are the ways in which students and staff can resist the feelings of isolation, alienation, inferiority, inadequateness and incompetency as they occupy these renamed buildings? statement of ethics, funding and interests this article has adhered to social science research ethics. there is no conflict of interest. this article is based on the initial work funded by mastercard scholarship for the first author’s honours research project. references albertus, r. w. (2019). decolonization of institutional structures in south african universities: a critical perspective. cogent social sciences, 5(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2019.1620403. dvc. (2018). towards an inclusive uct: a framework for implementing transformation. university of cape town. https://www.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/explore/transformation/ transformationframework.pdf. ismail, s. (2007). ‘did i say that?’ a follow-up study of the shifts in black and women staff experiences of institutional culture in the health sciences faculty of the university of cape town. social dynamics: a journal of african studies, 33(1), 78-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/02533950708628744. ismail, s. (2011). researching transformation at a south african university – ethical dilemmas in the politics of representation. studies in higher education, 36(3), 275-289. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 03075070903545066. jesson, j., & lacey, f. (2006). how to do (or not to do) a critical literature review. pharmacy education, 6(2), 139-148. https://www.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/explore/transformation/transformationframework.pdf https://www.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/explore/transformation/transformationframework.pdf yonela mlambo & nomkhosi xulu-gama: ceremonial transformation: the significance of renaming memorial hall …   155 kessi, s. (2013). transforming historically white universities: students and the politics of racial representation. new agenda: south african journal of economic and social policy, 50, 53-57. http://hdl.handle. net/11427/24846. kessi, s. (2019). towards a decolonial psychology: defining and confining symbols of the past. museum international, 71(1-2), 80-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2019.1638032. kessi, s., & cornell, j. (2015). coming to uct: black students, transformation and discourses of race. journal of student affairs in africa, 3(2), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132. luckett, k., & shay, s. (2020). reframing the curriculum: a transformative approach. critical studies in education, 31, 50-65. magubane, z. (2001). which bodies matter? feminism, poststructuralism, race, and the curious theoretical odyssey of the “hottentot venus.” gender and society, 15(6), 816-834. manatsha, b. t. (2014). the politics of renaming “colonial” streets in francistown, botswana. historia, 59, 269-288. mbembe, a. j. (2016). decolonizing the university: new directions. arts & humanities in higher education, 15(1), 29-45. morrell, r. k., barnes, f., gumedze, h., sadiq, h., & price, m. (2020). misrepresentation of research on academic promotions at the university of cape town. cogent social sciences, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.10 80/23311886.2020.1728949. munyuki, c., vincent, l., & mayeza, e. (2018). a ‘home for all’? how gay, lesbian and bisexual students experience being ‘at home’ in university residence life. in r. pattman & r. carolissen (eds.), transforming transformation in research and teaching in south african universities (pp. 179-195). sun press. naidu, e. (2021). another race row brewing at uct. sunday independent news https://www.iol.co.za/ sundayindependent/news/another-race-row-brewing-at-uct-d253ee36-e481-403e-90f0-67c2efc1a742 ndelu, s. (2017). “liberation is a falsehood”: fallism at the university of cape town. in m. langa (eds), #hashtag: an analysis of the #feesmustfall at south african universities (pp. 58-82). centre for the study of violence and reconciliation. ndletyana, m. (2012). changing place names in post-apartheid south africa: accounting for the unevenness. social dynamics, 38(1), 87-103. nhlapo, t., fikeni, s., gobodo-madikizela, p., & walaza, n. (2020). enquiry into the circumstances surrounding professor bongani mayosi’s tenure: crucible for senior black staff? https://www.news.uct.ac.za/images/ userfiles/files/publications/enquiry_into_the_circumstances_surrounding_professor_bongani_ mayosi’s_tenure_june2020.pdf nzimande, b. e. (2020). department of higher education and training strategic plan 2020-2025. https://www.dhet. gov.za/siteassets/dhet%20strategic%20plan%202020.pdf pare, g., & kitsiou, s. (2016). methods for literature reviews. in f. lau & c. kuziemsky (eds.), handbook of ehealth evaluation: an evidence-based approach (pp. 157-181). university of victoria. pattman, r., & carolissen, r. (eds.). (2018). transforming transformation in research and teaching in south african universities. sun press. pityana, s., & phakeng, m. (2018). renaming memorial hall sarah baartman hall. https://www.news.uct. ac.za/article/-2018-12-13-renaming-memorial-hall-sarah-baartman-hall. ramphele, m. (2008). laying ghosts to rest: dilemmas of the transformation in south africa. tafelberg. sadiq, h., barnes, k. i., price, m., gumedze, f., & morrell, r. g. (2019). academic promotions at a south african university: questions of bias, politics and transformation. higher education, 78, 423-442. scully, p., & crais, c. (2008). race and erasure: sara baartmaan and hendrik cesars in cape town and london. journal of british studies, 47(2), 301-323. https://doi.org/10.1080/13500775.2019.1638032 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v3i2.132 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2020.1728949 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2020.1728949 https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/another-race-row-brewing-at-uct-d253ee36-e481-403e-90f0-67c2efc1a742 https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/another-race-row-brewing-at-uct-d253ee36-e481-403e-90f0-67c2efc1a742 https://www.news.uct.ac.za/images/userfiles/files/publications/enquiry_into_the_circumstances_surrounding_professor_bongani_mayosi's_tenure_june2020.pdf https://www.news.uct.ac.za/images/userfiles/files/publications/enquiry_into_the_circumstances_surrounding_professor_bongani_mayosi's_tenure_june2020.pdf https://www.news.uct.ac.za/images/userfiles/files/publications/enquiry_into_the_circumstances_surrounding_professor_bongani_mayosi's_tenure_june2020.pdf https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/dhet strategic plan 2020.pdf https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/dhet strategic plan 2020.pdf 156   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 145-156 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187 sebidi, k., & moreira, s. (2017). accessing powerful knowledge: a comparing study of two first year sociology courses in a south african university. critical in teaching and learning, 5(2), 33-50. taylor, y., & taylor, r. (2010). academic freedom and racial injustice: south africa’s former open universities. south african journal of higher education, 24(6), 897-913. uct (university of cape town). (2016). 2016-2020 vision, mission and statement of values. https://www.uct. ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/about/strategic-plan/strategicplan_2020.pdf. van der westhuizen, c. (2018). to do difference differently: intervening at the intersection of institutional culture and the curriculum. in r. pattman & r. carolissen (eds.), transforming transformation in research and teaching in south african universities (pp. 337-361). sun press. xulu-gama, n. (2019). the role of student housing in student success: an ethnographic account. journal of student affairs in africa, 7 (2), 15-25. how to cite: mlambo, y., & xulu-gama, n. (2022). ceremonial transformation: the significance of renaming memorial hall after sarah baartman at the university of cape town. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 145-156. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2187 _hlk50136967 _hlk50144700 _hlk42116322 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365   1 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences of accessing psycho-social and academic support during the covid-19 pandemic faeza khan* abstract the covid-19 pandemic has changed the face of higher education institutions in profound ways. after the restrictions of movement under lockdowns imposed in response to the pandemic from 2020, higher education institutions were forced to think creatively and quickly about how to respond to arising challenges of completing the academic year and ensuring throughput and retention of students. historically disadvantaged institutions in south africa were particularly hard hit in taking on the challenge of online learning given their restricted resources and the under-preparedness of the student cohort who are attracted to these institutions. this article uses data from two surveys conducted among students at the university of the western cape which measured students’ experiences and access to psycho-social and academic support services in 2020. in addition to the findings of these surveys, emails from a student counselling line at the university are also used to reflect on students’ expressed needs for support during the covid-19 pandemic. utilising nancy fraser’s model of social justice and focusing particularly on the economic and cultural dimensions of this model, this article seeks to provide an understanding of the constraints and support that students experienced when seeking to access online academic and psycho-social support. fraser’s affirmative and transformative approaches to producing change are discussed to help identify how the constraints that were experienced could be addressed to achieve participatory parity. keywords social justice, online academic support, psycho-social support, participatory parity, covid-19, higher education introduction the covid-19 pandemic and the imposition of restrictions on movement and gatherings which were imposed by the national government in response severely impacted the higher education sector. many students were expected to adapt to learning in an online environment, while many of those living in residence halls were asked to make the journey home when a national lockdown was announced from march 2020, leaving them without the support services provided to them on campus by universities’ * dr faeza khan is the living learning coordinator for residential services at the the university of the western cape, south africa. email: fakhan@uwc.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-4736-7638. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:fakhan@uwc.ac.za 2   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 student affairs departments. the challenges that students faced at home were significant. the new mode of learning brought about many psycho-social challenges for students who were now back at home with limited to no support. not only were students having to contend with using a new online platform for learning, they also faced increasing levels of anxiety and isolation from their social circles and increasing levels of hunger (sifunda et al., 2020). creating conditions that can support online learning and facilitate access to psychosocial support requires a set of institutional arrangements. fraser’s thinking (2008, 2009), which is used in this paper to examine the data, presents a multi-dimensional, multi-level theory of social justice which provides a lens through which injustices can be scrutinised in the higher education space. fraser’s (2009) social justice framework enables an appraisal of existing social arrangements against the principle of participatory parity which, she explains, provides for all social actors in social life to participate as equal peers. fraser’s (2008, 2009) concept of social justice is therefore useful in examining whether the institutional arrangements that were put in place under covid-19 were sufficient in allowing all students to participate in learning and access support on an equal basis. for this reason, only two dimensions of fraser’s theoretical framework of social justice, namely the economic and cultural dimensions, are utilised in this study as it seeks to foreground issues of maldistribution and misrecognition. fraser’s (2009) theory is also valuable insofar as it presents an understanding of how affirmative and transformative strategies can contribute to the achievement of participatory parity among students to enhance academic learning and access to online psycho-social support. literature review according to the united nations (2020), an estimated 40% of the poorest countries failed to support learners at risk during the covid-19 crisis, and past experiences show that both education and gender inequalities tend to be neglected in responses to disease outbreaks. domestic chores, especially for girls and young women, and the care work required to run households can also prevent female students from being able to access sufficient learning time. insufficient resources at a basic level, many families lack the space for both parents and students to work from home, which leads to competition for the use of limited home space for teaching, learning and work (mukute et al., 2020). meanwhile, teaching and learning within the higher education sector has become increasingly technologically based. within this space, students need access to tools such as computers, wi-fi and printing facilities to complete academic tasks (khan, 2019). in this context, prior to the covid-19 outbreak, many students at the university of the western cape (uwc) were already struggling with access to technology and resources. after the covid-19 outbreak, access to these resources became an even bigger issue for many students who now found themselves faeza khan: thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences …   3 in homes where access to such necessary technology was non-existent. (khan, 2020b). furthermore, a study conducted by the human sciences research council (hsrc) in 2021 found that only half of the students (49.9%) surveyed reported having a suitable place to study during lockdown (sifunda et al. 2021). a total of 20.8% indicated that they had a suitable place to study only some of the time; while 29.3% of the students indicated that they had no suitable place to study. meanwhile, although the majority (78.6%) of the students had regular access to electricity, 5.7% did not have access to electricity during lockdown. according to a study conducted at the university of johannesburg, a conducive learning environment where optimal learning can take place refers to an environment that is safe and provides the appropriate technology (computers, wi-fi and printing equipment and services) to facilitate learning (agherdien, 2015). the study acknowledges that optimal learning takes place when the student is stimulated intellectually; when ideas and opinions are encouraged; and when students are supported by the university to develop themselves intellectually, socially and personally (agherdien, 2015). also, ensuring that students’ basic needs are met, including in relation to safe accommodation, access to basic utilities and food security, is a precondition for students’ holistic development, that is, their intellectual, social and personal development. these findings are supported by other studies (swartz, 1998; khan, 2019) which show that student residences are strategically important as ideal locations for teaching and learning, as well as for social and recreational life, not least because they can create a sense of community. the covid-19 pandemic forced students into isolation in their homes with many of them living in conditions that were not conducive to studying. the lack of resources for many of these students resulted in them experiencing maldistribution, which impeded their capacity to compete with their peers from wealthier families in completing their academic projects. according to fraser (2008, 2009), insufficient resources to support student learning results in distributive injustice, preventing students who lack such resources from achieving academic success on a par with those students with access to the necessary finances to purchase laptops and data. in the digital age, with technology being an integral part of learning, not having access to a computer places a student at a serious disadvantage. food security one of the greatest challenges for southern africa during covid-19 has been food security (goolsbee & syverson, 2020). in the hsrc (2021) study, a total of 41% of the students between the ages of 18 and 35 years who were surveyed reported that they had been unable to buy food at various points during the hard lockdown that was imposed in 2020. a further 10% had relied on food donations and 15% had gone hungry on some days. in 2018, a study conducted at uwc found that 70% of students were food insecure (makwela, 2018). food-insecure students have great difficulty studying and focusing on their academic projects (raskind et al., 2019). in addition, they also report 4   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 feeling stigmatised because, unlike many of their peers, they are reliant on food support programmes (khan, 2019). this, according to fraser’s (2009) theory, results in students losing their sense of self-esteem in society as they feel inadequate in relation to their peers who are not food insecure. mental health in another study conducted at the university of the witwatersrand in 2021, it was found that undergraduate and full-time students were, respectively, about two and four times more likely than postgraduate and part-time students to indicate problems associated with mental health (oje et al., 2021). those aged between 18 and 24 were approximately 1.75 times more likely than students older than 24 to present problems associated with mental health. the findings also revealed a gender dimension to mental health. specifically, female students were 1.83 times more likely than male students to indicate problems associated with mental health. these problems included stress, anxiety and depression. in an earlier study conducted by freeman (2018), it was found that a significant percentage of university students who participated in the study were not equipped with the coping skills or support structures required to handle the kind of problems that they have to deal with every day. with the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, students had to adjust to a new situation of lockdown and confinement. they were unable to enjoy the social engagement which face-to-face contact had allowed; and the increased sense of isolation eventually took its toll, affecting the mental health of students (unesco international institute for higher education in latin america and the caribbean, 2020). research has shown that the families of people living with mental illnesses are often subjected to stigma by virtue of their association with them. this stigma against families may take the form of blame being assigned, and may also be made manifest in the form of social isolation and rejection (nxumalo & mchunu, 2017). such stigma perpetuates a cycle of disability for the patient and family (nxumalo & mchunu, 2017) and affects their social status as they feel inferior to their peers. markers of inequality and gender-based violence students’ experiences of campus life can ref lect exclusionary and unequal practices on the basis of gender, race, class, and other markers of inequality that they encounter in their communities (clowes et al., 2009; gordon & collins, 2013; hames, 2009). the material and ideological contexts of inequality and how they play out in higher education are instrumental in shaping students’ participation in higher education. south african students’ experiences on university campuses continue to be shaped by inequalities and broader social perceptions of being and belonging which find their roots in apartheid history and centuries of colonisation (shefer et al., 2018). lived experiences continue to be significantly shaped by the legacies of apartheid and its divisive and unequal systems of education. the inequality in lived experiences has been bolstered by the strengthening faeza khan: thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences …   5 of individualised and corporatised neoliberal policies in higher education (badat, 2010; mbembe, 2015a, 2015b). a study conducted at the university of stellenbosch among residence students in 2018 revealed significant inequality in students’ experiences of university life on the basis of race, gender and sexuality (robertson & pattman, 2018). race, gender and sexuality were intertwined and framed the marginalisation or exclusion of students from certain programmes and activities at the residences. this marginalisation or exclusion was deemed to be part of the university’s culture which has its roots in the apartheid era (robertson & pattman, 2018). the presumption of men that they have a right to sex is entrenched in the notion of patriarchy and misrecognises female students’ rights to determine when and with whom they wish to engage in sexual encounters. clowes et al. (2009) found that university campuses are highly sexualised spaces and that there is great pressure on students to engage in sexual activity. this peer pressure places students who are experimenting with their sexuality and their identity in difficult positions, with many students claiming that they engage in sex because this is considered normal behaviour (matthyse, 2017). meanwhile, under lockdown many women and children were unable to escape the wrath of abusive men in home spaces (un women, 2021). drawing the parallels between maldistribution and misrecognition it is unjust for some students to be excluded from participating as full partners in social interaction as a result of institutionalised patterns of cultural value which debase them on the basis of immutable and inherited characteristics. fraser (2009) contends that misrecognition is a status injury that finds its locus in social relations rather than in individual psychology. misrecognition occurs when students are devalued because of their identity, cultural background or if the subjugated knowledge that they bring with them to university is debased (bozalek, 2017). this devalued status prevents students from being able to participate on a par with their peers and acts as a constraint to their learning. fraser (2009) contends that maldistribution can result in misrecognition: a student feels that, because of their straitened circumstances, they enjoy less social esteem than those students with greater access to financial resources. a rise in student poverty during covid-19 has been linked to increased depression and suicide among young people (hattangadi et al., 2019). an analysis by public health researchers showed a rise in the number of young people in japan taking their lives in 2020, potentially due to the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic (kakuchi, 2021). nancy fraser’s framework on social justice central to fraser’s (2008, 2009) concept of social justice is the notion of participatory parity, that is, the ability of an individual to participate equally with peers in social interactions. participatory parity is shaped by a number of factors: the distribution of resources (social or economic dimensions); whether the perceived attributes of individuals, groups or institutions are valued or devalued (cultural dimension); and 6   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 whether people are included or excluded from the learning context (political dimension). for social justice to be achieved and for participatory parity to be promoted, all three dimensions need to be addressed. first, the distribution of material resources must be equitable to enable all students to interact equally with others in social interactions (economic dimension). second, the status order must ref lect respect for all students, regardless of their perceived attributes (race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, ethnicity, etc.) and must ensure conditions under which all can achieve social esteem (cultural dimension). third, all social actors must have access to a political voice to inf luence decisions that affect them (political dimension). all three dimensions are interlinked and inf luence each other; no single dimension can be reduced to another and none alone is sufficient to achieve participatory parity. according to fraser (2008), a lack of participatory parity on account of maldistribution (in the economic dimension), misrecognition (in the cultural dimension) and misrepresentation (in the political dimension) can be addressed by either affirmative or transformative types of intervention. affirmative strategies for redressing social injustice aim to correct the inequitable outcomes of social arrangements without disturbing the underlying social structures that generate them (fraser, 2003). transformative strategies, on the other hand, aim to correct unjust outcomes by restructuring the underlying framework which gives rise to social injustice in the first place (fraser, 2003). simply stated, affirmative strategies target the end-outcomes of social arrangements, while transformative strategies address the root causes of injustices. for the purpose of this article, the author has addressed the economic and cultural dimensions as posited by fraser (2008, 2009) because these are the most useful in providing an understanding of the constraints and enabling factors that shaped how students experienced using online platforms to continue learning and accessing psychosocial support under covid-19 lockdown. the economic and cultural dimensions also highlight how a lack of resources (maldistribution) as well as insufficient strategies for addressing issues of misrecognition prevented students from achieving participatory parity. the article will then go on to consider some affirmative and transformative strategies to ensure more equitable access to learning and psycho-social support. methodology the study reported on in this article used a mixed-method methodology in the form of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. the quantitative method includes the use of two annual surveys conducted at the university of the western cape (khan, 2020a; khan, 2020b) comprising statistics assessing students’ usage of services, and a qualitative component to establish student experiences of these services. the table below outlines the details of the data sources that were used in developing this paper. the students who completed the survey were enrolled at uwc and had received a place within uwc’s residential precinct for the 2020 academic year. the survey targeted both undergraduate and postgraduate students. students who participated in the surveys, as well as those whose emails were reviewed for the purposes of this article, hailed from faeza khan: thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences …   7 rural and peri-urban, poor socio-economic south african communities. the gender of the students was not requested as part of the survey, but there were more female students (35 out of 50 emails) who sought assistance through the counselling helpline. table 1: description of data sources data source purpose target population sample uwc’s residential services annual feedback survey (khan, 2020a) which surveyed students from the 2020 academic year to measure how many students use the services of uwc’s department of residential services and to obtain feedback on what their experiences of this service were residence population: 3,602 students 535 students responded to the survey uwc’s students’ experiences of academic support services at residences survey 2020 (khan, 2020b) surveyed students from the 2020 academic year to understand how those students who have accessed academic support experienced it and to understand how the academic support services can be improved those who sought tutoring in the 2020 academic year: 500 students 52 students responded to the survey uwc reslife helpline emails (from march to november 2020) students request academic support or counselling assistance via this helpline. residence population: 3,602 students 50 emails from students were reviewed students were requested to complete the surveys on a voluntary basis. the residential services annual feedback survey (khan, 2020a) collected data about student experiences of various aspects of service delivery, ranging from the conditions of the facilities to the students’ ability to access academic and psycho-social support. the survey asked students to describe their challenges in accessing services and asked for any recommendations about how the services on offer may be improved. the academic support survey asked students to describe their experiences of using the academic support services on offer and sought to elicit how, if at all, they had been helped by these services. the data gathered from these surveys were collated into a google spreadsheet so that they could be analysed. in addition to relying on data from the two surveys referenced in table 1 above, this paper also draws on data received through the reslife helpline, which is an email service that students can access to seek either academic or psycho-social support. the author is responsible for ensuring that all emails that come through this helpline are attended to. this article also draws on the overall experiences of the author who is responsible for coordinating psycho-social and academic services for the department of residential services at uwc. the above data sources provided information about students’ experiences of working online and attempting to obtain academic or psycho-social support from uwc’s 8   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 department of residential services. the email inquiries that were reviewed provided significant background information on students’ actual situations and problems. for this article, the data were analysed with reference to the economic and cultural dimensions of nancy fraser’s participatory parity framework ( jackson & mazzei, 2013). the author made use of the economic and cultural dimensions as a lens through which to examine the data and make sense of it. the data were analysed using a number of themes presented as part of the economic or cultural dimension of fraser’s theory. permission to use the content from the data sources listed above was obtained from uwc’s department of residential services which collects these data as part of its quality assurance process. consent was also obtained from the students who participated in the surveys to use the data for research purposes which included the writing of articles. when the google survey was presented to the students, they were given some information about why the survey was being conducted and how the results would be used. the students were informed that their participation was completely voluntary. their anonymity was assured; and they were told that they could choose to stop participating in the survey at any point. they were then asked to provide consent for using the data for research purposes. all survey responses were anonymously completed, thereby protecting the identity of the respondents. for this article, the author reviewed 50 emails which came through the helpline between march and november 2020. where data were drawn for the purposes of this article, the author requested permission from the student in question via email, asking whether their experience could be used as part of the data for this article. only the stories of those students who consented via email were used in this article. anonymity was assured and the author indicated that no personal markers would be used in the article in order to maintain the anonymity of the student. findings data for this section were drawn from uwc’s residential services annual feedback survey (khan, 2020a) and students’ experiences of academic support services at residences survey 2020 (khan, 2020b). this section also draws on emails that were sent to the reslife counselling helpline. economic non-equivalence maldistribution a lack of resources can be seen as one of the biggest challenges encountered by students during the covid-19 pandemic at uwc. many students recounted narratives that ref lected their impoverished home circumstances and how these severely affected their ability to access psycho-social and academic support. considering the provision of online support during covid-19 from the perspective of the economic dimension, social justice is concerned with economic constraints which impede a student’s ability to participate fully in the academic project and access psychosocial support. referencing fraser’s framework (2008, 2009), economic constraints can faeza khan: thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences …   9 result in students being subjected to distributive injustice. in this context, social justice is concerned with the (mal)distribution of rights, resources and opportunities which impede students’ ability to participate as equals with their peers in university life and, by implication, to achieve academic success. the section below describes some of the rights, resources and opportunities that were unavailable which impeded the students’ abilities to study and access the psycho-social support needed to further their academic pursuits. conditions in the home: creating a conducive learning environment students reported to the counselling helpline that environmental conditions in their homes were not conducive to studying, with many reporting that they had no privacy and no electricity which had prevented them from undertaking their academic activities. during the day, my mum expects me to do household chores and look after my younger siblings. at night i am so tired i cannot focus on my studies and complete my assignments. my family is suffering and i look after the children in the community to bring in extra income to help my family during this time. my mother lost her job as a domestic worker due to covid [sic] and we have no income. at night there is no electricity in our home, so i cannot do my assignments. the workload online is so much and i can’t finish everything during the day. at night there is no place for me to study. i live in a shack and we all sleep everywhere. there is also no electricity and it is impossible for me to work at night. the resources that are required to support student learning and create a conducive learning environment also include adequate study halls; functional computer laboratories; functional and adequate printing facilities; and reliable internet connectivity. all of which many students were unable to access from their home environments under lockdown. i rely on the computer labs in the library and at residence because my own laptop is so old, i worry that one day soon it will no longer switch on. at home now i am so anxious because sometimes my screen blanks out and i think about how i am going to study without this laptop. i asked the university to get me a laptop but it is taking so long i have given up. access to technology: connectivity and data issues many students reported that they had no internet connection or experienced poor connectivity and that this was hampering their ability to study online; reach out for psycho-social support; and keep in touch with their friends. in addition, many students did not have laptops and under normal conditions are reliant on the computers that are generally available in computer laboratories on campus. some students reported that they had tried using their cell phones but that this had limited their online activity and ability to complete assignments in the prescribed formats. one student expressed frustration at the fact that the data given to them by the university was barely sufficient to complete the academic requirements. meanwhile, undertaking an online counselling 10   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 session or attending a co-curricular event in support of their mental health was not in their immediate purview due to their lack of data. i needed to speak with someone because my home situation was becoming unbearable. where we live there is no stable internet connection and when my university data was up there was no money to get more. i suffered alone because my family does not believe in talking about problems. i have to go to a specific spot in our community on the hill to get some kind of connection. the connection is not strong enough to access and download any readings. i am so worried that i am going to fail. the lack of connectivity and insufficient data were huge stumbling blocks not only in relation to learning but also in trying to gain access to psycho-social interventions. accessing psycho-social and academic support the residential services annual feedback survey (khan, 2020a) asked students about the difficulties they had experienced with online support, including in relation to accessing psycho-social support as well as academic support. one student described it thus: it’s been a rollercoaster experience but talking to my development officer in my residence helped me survive. another student noted: very stressful and very time consuming. it’s much more work this semester and the work keeps piling. i could not survive without the support of my residence tutor who broke down concepts for me in the absence of the lecturer. i know i could email my lecturer but this kind of learning feels so impersonal and i am still getting used to these online platforms. many students were not prepared for the drastic switch to online learning platforms. the social isolation produced by lockdown was impacting their ability to reach out and engage in peer learning and approach lecturers for additional support. the lack of data was a major obstacle in getting students to reach out and get support. student experiences of misrecognition misrecognition goes beyond just looking down on someone or thinking ill of them; it entails a denial of their status as a full partner in social interactions and prevents them from participating as peers in social life. the deeply entrenched institutionalisation of cultural devaluing denies people social esteem and respect. when such patterns of disesteem are entrenched in societal life, they impede parity of participation in the same way that economic inequalities can. fraser, (2007, p. 11) argues that “recognition reforms cannot succeed unless they are joined with struggles for redistribution – no recognition without redistribution”. three key themes emerged from the data concerning the faeza khan: thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences …   11 ways in which students felt misrecognised and prevented from participating in social interactions as full partners. these are described below. 1. student hunger a key factor that can compromise participatory parity is student hunger. this was a real concern at uwc under lockdown. students indicated that food insecurity was an economic constraint that was hampering their learning: at home we run out of food and this makes it very difficult to concentrate on my studies. i am far away from campus so i cannot get assistance with food. i always share my nsfas [national student financial assistance scheme] food with my family back at home. this means that sometimes i run short but i feel better knowing that my family is also eating. now things are so difficulty [sic]. 2. mental health stigma in the residential services annual feedback survey, khan (2020a) found that just over 46% of students who were surveyed had sought counselling services. anxiety and depression accounted for two of the major issues for which counselling was sought, followed by relationship issues with family members. a total of 42% of students indicated that they had found counselling to be helpful and that it had alleviated the stress that had been brought on by their personal circumstances. being in lockdown made me feel so alone. i thought of ending it all so many times. i wake up in the morning sad and went to bed at night feeling sad [sic]. nobody in my family understood me. i reached out to the reslife helpline and got some help. stigma in relation to mental illness is a serious social problem that has a multitude of consequences for the individual concerned, as well as for his or her family. in the 2020 residential services annual feedback survey, 54% of students indicated that they had not sought counselling (khan, 2020a). this number is statistically significant as it bears testimony to the stigma that still commonly exists in relation to seeking assistance for mental health issues. stigmatising students suffering from a mental health illness is a form of misrecognition, since such students are seen as being less competent, unreliable and innately disposed to fail. as a result, they are unable to participate in society on a level footing with other students who are not labelled as suffering from a mental health illness. i recently had a breakdown and feel deeply ashamed to let my friends and family know what is happening to me. people don’t understand this kind of illness and i feel like i am different from my friends because of what happens to me. suffering from depression is a lonely place and people treat you differently because of what you go through. you are seen as weak and different. 12   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 as part of the drive to provide improved services to students, uwc in collaboration with the south african depression and anxiety group (sadag) provides a 24-hour toll-free line to students who are experiencing mental health distress. given the fact that mental health is not freely discussed, many students who contacted the residential services counselling line expressed a reluctance to talk to someone with whom they were not familiar. 3. gender-based violence in the residential services annual feedback survey (khan, 2020a), 27 students noted that they had been exposed to gender-based violence during lockdown, while 37 students indicated that they knew of someone who had been affected by gender-based violence. i know a good friend who lives in residence with her boyfriend. during lockdown they were fighting every day. he threatened not to give her food and i know he beat her a few times. there are many students on residence who are in abusive relationships. most of them stay because they are fearful or because they are dependent on the boyfriend. gender-based violence is a violation of the rights of women and is an extreme form of misrecognition. it annihilates the self-esteem of the woman and erodes her sense of selfworth. within weeks of countries being placed on lockdown, violence against women increased sharply across the region (un women, 2021). discussion affirmative strategies to address maldistribution and misrecognition maldistribution arises when a lack of economic resources prevents students from participating as equals with their peers. for example, when students do not have data, or laptops, or smart cell phones, they are unable to access online learning platforms and psycho-social support. in response to this predicament, uwc embarked on a “leave no student behind” campaign which was aimed at ensuring that all students could purchase a laptop (the expense was added to their fees account) and were given data to complete their academic assignments many unfunded students were concerned about the increase in the fees as a result of the additional laptop charge. i applied to the university via the link they sent to get a laptop. i am still waiting and i am really struggling to complete my academic assignments. i am using my phone at the moment and this only allows me limited functionality. an additional strategy adopted by the university was to allow all students who were unable to complete assessments during the first semester of 2020 to participate in a catch-up programme which took place immediately after the close of the second semester. faeza khan: thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences …   13 i was told by my lecturer that i qualify to write one of my modules during the catch-up time as i did not have a laptop and was waiting for the university to deliver to me. i am not so sure how i am going to make it. i missed so much work and am so overwhelmed. the laptop-provision and catch-up initiatives could be viewed as affirmative strategies, as defined by fraser (2003), since they do not change the status quo that produces and perpetuates the economic inequality in question but rather provide shortto mediumterm relief to enable students to participate. a student who is a victim of gender-based violence will experience low selfesteem as a result of the psychological impact of the violence and this will impact on their academic ability. the university’s strategy to address gender-based violence has included the promulgation of a sexual violence policy (uwc, 2018) which is an important measure to give expression to the rights of victims. however, the policy in itself does nothing to dismantle the normative gender relations at the university and in society at large which are steeped in the notion of patriarchy and which promote men’s power over women. i am aware that the university has a sexual violence policy but it doesn’t help me when the person i am telling my story to doesn’t believe me and makes me feel like the sexual assault is my fault because i went out alone. transformative strategies to address maldistribution and misrecognition transformative strategies which seek to change the current status quo promise outcomes that are more sustainable and enduring but which are more difficult to achieve. transformative approaches, while more challenging to implement and sustain, are more likely to bring about social justice, as they aim to change the status quo in society, making participatory parity possible. it is important to note that the provision of transformative strategies to address maldistribution may not be in the purview of the university as this would entail an anti-poverty strategy that addresses the fundamental inequalities that are a legacy of apartheid and which were exacerbated by the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic which included the loss of jobs and livelihoods (sifunda et al., 2020). in this situation, affirmative strategies bring some relief, but do not address the underlying inequities in the provision of higher education. in order to address misrecognition. fraser (2003, p. 30) proposes that a transformative approach requires moving beyond reification; and suggests “a status model” under which recognition is treated as a question of social status. this approach rejects models which simplify individual identities into a single group identity and rather advocates for a deconstruction of identities that broadens knowledge and perspectives and, in relation to student development, challenges students to think critically about themselves and the broader social world. a transformative strategy to address misrecognition would further require interventions that target unequal gender relations and seek to promote recognition that identities are multi-faceted (and that university policies and processes should take cognisance of this). 14   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 conclusion fraser’s (2008, 2009) three-dimensional view of social justice emphasises that, for such justice to occur, institutional arrangements must facilitate the participation of all social actors at the same level as their peers (participatory parity). while the implementation of transformative strategies would bring about substantive change, affirmative strategies can provide temporary solutions which may serve as platforms to raise awareness of the structural changes that are needed. it is clear that the covid-19 pandemic and government and institutional responses to it impacted the student experience in a number of far-reaching ways. despite the efforts of higher education institutions to transition students to online teaching platforms, the impacts of being isolated in communities where resources are scarce had a profound effect on the ability of many students to participate in the academic project. increased pressure on mental health; exposure to gender-based violence; and heightened food insecurity during the pandemic affected the social statuses of many students and revealed a close correlation between those who experience maldistribution due to lack of resources and those who experience misrecognition due to a devalued social status. in this regard, there is a need for both the state and institutional leadership in higher education to prioritise pertinent affirmative and transformative strategies which could bring about participatory parity so that all students can study in an environment that is conducive to learning, including in the real world as well as in relation to online access. references agherdien, n. (2015). cultivating social learning spaces at an urban johannesburg student residence [doctoral thesis, university of johannesburg]. https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/esploro/outputs/doctoral/ cultivating-social-learning-spaces-at-an/9910615107691. badat, s. (2010). the challenges of transformation in higher education and training institutions in south africa. development bank of southern africa. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775113507714. bozalek, v. (2017). participatory parity and emerging technologies. in m. walker & m. w. strydom (eds.), socially just pedagogies, capabilities and quality in higher education (pp.  89-107). palgrave macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55786-5_5. clowes, l., shefer, t., fouten, t., verganani, t., & jacobs. j. (2009). coercive sexual practices and genderbased violence on a university campus. agenda, 23(80), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/10130950.200 9.9676236. fraser, n. 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(2021). how the pandemic is hurting university students’ mental health. wits news. https://its.ac.za/news/latestnews/opinion/2021/2021-05/how-the-pandemic-is-hurting-university-students-mental-health. html. about:blank https://doi.org/10.20853/31-4-890 https://doi.org/10.20853/31-4-890 about:blank 16   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 1-16 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 raskind, i. g., haardorfer, r., & berg, c. j. (2019). food insecurity, psychological health, and academic performance among college and university students in georgia, usa. public health nutrition, 22(3), 476-485. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980018003439. robertson, m., & pattman, r. (2018). feeling at home or not at home: negotiating gender, sexuality and race in resdiences in an historically white university in south africa. in r. pattman & r.  carolissen (eds.), transforming transformation in research and teaching at south african universities (pp. 197-218). sun press. https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928480075. shefer, t., strebel, a., ngabaza, s., & clowes, l. (2018). student accounts of space and safety at a south african university: implications for social identities and diversity. south african journal of psychology, 48(1), 61-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246317701887. sifunda, f,. mokhele, t., manyaapelo, t., dukhi, n., sewpaul, r., parker, s., naidoo, i., gaida, r., mabaso, m., & reddy, p. (2020). social impact of the covid-19 pandemic on youth in the post-school education and training (pset) sector in south africa. human sciences research council. https://repository. hsrc.ac.za/handle/20.500.11910/16069?show=full. swartz, l. (1998). culture and mental health: a southern african view. oxford university press. un (united nations). (2020). the impact of covid-19 on children (policy brief). https://unsdg.un.org/sites/ default/files/2020-04/160420_covid_children_policy_brief.pdf. un women. (2021). covid-19 and violence against women: what the data tells us. https://www.unwomen. org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2021/11/covid-19-and-violence-against-women-what-the-datatells-us. unesco international institute for higher education in latin america and the caribbean. (2020). covid-19 and higher education: today and tomorrow; impact analysis, policy responses and recommendations. https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/covid19-en-090420-2.pdf. uwc (university of the western cape). (2018). sexual violence policy. policy reference number: c2018/4. how to cite: khan, f. (2022). thinking with nancy fraser in understanding students’ experiences of accessing psycho-social and academic support during the covid-19 pandemic. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 1-16. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4365 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 135 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team millicent adjei,i nina n.a. pelsii & vanessa n.d. amoakoiii i dr millicent adjei is director of diversity & international programmes, ashesi university, ghana. orcid: 0000-0002-5061-7709. email: madjei@ashesi.edu.gh ii ms nina nana aba pels is assistant director, student life & engagement, ashesi university, ghana. orcid: 0000-0003-4681-9073. email: npels@ashesi.edu.gh iii ms vanessa nana darkoa amoako is a diversity & inclusion coordinator, ashesi university, ghana. orcid: 0000-0003-1834-6758. email: vanessa.amoako@ashesi.edu.gh abstract the covid‑19 pandemic has revealed the abilities or lack thereof of many higher education institutions to adequately support the academic and co‑curricular needs of students in times of crisis. in this reflective practitioner account, schlossberg’s transition theory is used to analyse the transitional experiences of students amid the covid‑19 pandemic and how the office of student and community affairs (osca) team at ashesi university successfully supported students as they navigated the academic semester. one‑to‑one interviews with department heads of the five osca units were conducted alongside focus group discussions with a cross‑section of 17 students. the findings suggest that (i) advising, (ii) engagement, and (iii) timely online support interventions contributed immensely to students’ success in transitioning from in‑person to remote learning. keywords  ashesi university; covid‑19; crisis management; remote learning; student affairs; student transitions introduction students’ educational success is a shared responsibility of various stakeholders including staff, faculty, parents, and institutional administrators. “student affairs staff members are responsible for establishing the campus conditions that affirm students and providing the programmes and services to meet their academic and social needs outside the classroom” (kuh, kinzie, schuh & whitt, 2011, p. 164). in africa, the significance of student affairs continues to grow as more studies reveal how the practice is making important contributions to higher education on the continent (moja, schreiber & luescher‑mamashela, 2014).  student affairs practice is especially vital in times of crisis in ensuring that students’ basic needs including housing and dining, good health and well‑being, their social worth, self‑esteem, and mental health are adequately supported. crisis is a significant sudden or unexpected event, which disrupts the normal operations and values of an institution for any http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:madjei%40ashesi.edu.gh?subject= mailto:npels%40ashesi.edu.gh?subject= mailto:vanessa.amoako%40ashesi.edu.gh?subject= 136 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 length of time and can threaten the well‑being of personnel, property, financial resources, and/or institutional reputation (zdziarski, 2006; brennan & stern, 2017; shaw, 2017). in the past, crisis events in global higher education institutions (heis) have primarily centred on issues concerning harassment, bullying and discrimination suits, administrative scandals, student unrest, strikes, mass shootings, suicides, severe weather events, and terrorist attacks (wang & hutchins, 2010; studenberg, 2017). crisis management plans in this regard have focused mostly on human and environmental safety as part of the hei goals (rayburn, anderson & sierra, 2020). by caring for and ensuring a safe environment for all members of the campus community during a crisis, students can readily transition to safer conditions that enable the continuity of their academic experience. the current covid‑19 pandemic has revealed the need for institutions to have adequate short‑ and long‑term crisis management plans to ensure that the educational process is uninterrupted and to maintain learning continuity (rayburn et al., 2020). a recent world bank education (2020) report on tertiary institutions’ responses to the covid‑19 crisis reveals widespread institutional disruptions including those related to mass student displacements, weakened vital campus services and support, increased inequity, and inequality in accessing education. the report also mentions the inability of heis in retaining at‑risk student populations and significant socio‑emotional impacts on student well‑being. such disruptions rattle students’ experience, threatening their overall safety and well‑being and eventual educational outcomes. thus, some students are experiencing significant strain and remain uncertain about the future of their education. this article, therefore, calls on heis to be systematic, analytical, and intentional in understanding students’ transition experiences during crises. it challenges them to choose innovative interventions to meet students’ needs amid crises and uncertainties. to ensure the continuity of the various hei functions, programmes, and processes, while responding to covid‑19 protocols, many institutions have been compelled to shift the delivery of their core mandates of teaching, learning and engagement to innovative remote platforms to maintain learning continuity. since its inception, ashesi university has operated as a full‑time in‑person institution with no online course offerings and teaching. the covid‑19 pandemic and the government of ghana’s directive for all heis to cease in‑person instructions until january 2021 propelled ashesi to move all its institutional functions online in march 2020. thus, the objectives of this article are to: (i) highlight the various innovative approaches student affairs professionals (saps) at ashesi university adopted to support students to navigate the covid‑19 pandemic successfully; (ii) emphasise the impact of the responses on students’ experiences; (iii) demonstrate the critical role theoretical frameworks can potentially play in the practice of saps to make more informed and efficient decisions. institutional context  ashesi university is a four‑year private, liberal arts university located in the eastern region of ghana. it seeks “to train a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders for africa” (ashesi university, 2002). ashesi allows students to study across a broad field m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 137 including the humanities, arts and sciences and elect to pursue one of six majors: business administration, computer science, management information systems and three engineering programmes. the university started with a pioneer class of 30 students in 2002 and has grown steadily over the years with a current student population of 1 173 from over 20 african countries. ashesi university’s student affairs structure for most heis, growth in numbers comes with the expansion of services to students including job placements, career development, housing, health, counselling, and co‑curricular activities (appleton et al., 1978 p. 372). for ashesi university, the sa department that handles these functions is referred to as the office of students & community affairs (osca). it is made up of five independent units namely career services, office of diversity & international programmes (odip), coaching, counselling & academic advising (cca), student life & engagement (sle), and the health unit. osca is headed by the dean of students and community affairs, who is also a member of the ashesi executive committee (see figure 1). international programmes diversity & inclusion sexual misconduct prevention mandatory freshman coaching ashesi success peer mentoring students’ events, e.g. orientation, graduation, town hall, student conduct, student government, clubs & organisations community engagement international programmes diversity & inclusion sexual misconduct prevention international programmes diversity & inclusion sexual misconduct prevention office of diversity & international programmes coaching, counselling & academic advising student life & engagement career services health o ffi ce o f s tu de nt & c om m un it y a ff ai rs (o sc a ) figure 1: organisational structure of ashesi university’s student affairs office conceptual framework  heis globally are experiencing many uncertainties and changes due to the covid‑19 pandemic. while heis contend with providing equitable access and support for students to succeed, students are navigating various transitions in their academic and co‑curricular commitments. to fully understand their experiences and the factors that influence the choices during this period, this reflective article is situated in schlossberg’s transition theory. the theory focuses on the various stages of transition and how individuals respond to the changes they are experiencing. this conceptual framework is necessary because the 138 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 understanding then informs the most suitable and appropriate intervention to support students in a practical and informed way. according to schlossberg and goodman (2005), transition involves any life event that requires the individual experiencing the event to feel a change from their normal. they further posit that to understand the resources needed to help the individual cope with and take charge of the transition, certain conditions, also known as the 4ss that influence the transition process must be understood. the 4ss include the situation causing the transition, the individual self, the support structures in place and the strategies adopted to respond to the transition.  • situation refers to how the individual appraises what is being experienced to ascertain their understanding of the situation as good or bad, the control they have over what is happening, and the various triggers that initiate the event (anderson, goodman & schlossberg, 2012; evans et al., 2010; goodman, schlossberg & anderson, 2006; schlossberg, waters & goodman, 1995). covid‑19 has brought about several unprecedented changes to the lifestyles and daily routines of students, forcing them to navigate many uncertainties. a deeper understanding of students’ sense of agency as they navigate their changing situations is, therefore, critical to determine appropriate and relevant support to foster successful outcomes. • self refers to the personal, demographic characteristics and psychological resources of the individual experiencing the change, which affects their ability to cope; thus, recognising the uniqueness of each person experiencing the transition. schlossberg and goodman (2005) explain that factors such as socio‑economic condition, gender, age, health status, ethnicity, outlook, ego, commitment, and values affect the way individuals experience any given event and determine their responses. they explain that these attributes can either provide the assets and resources needed for the transition or pose a threat or deficit, which can impact the change negatively. the onset of the covid‑19 pandemic has highlighted several factors such as socio‑ economic inequities that have challenged the equitable distribution and access to resources including internet connectivity, stable home settings and income (casey, 2020). it is crucial to understand how these factors have affected students’ educational outcomes to inform the needed interventions. • support focuses on the social resources that give multiple options for the individual to experience the transition smoothly. it may come from family, social connections, various institutional agents and structures, friendships, and peers (schlossberg & goodman, 2005). the impact of critical student support on their outcomes is buttressed by several research projects which suggest that when heis develop many conditions and structures to support diverse students they are more likely to be engaged, involved and to ultimately succeed (adjei, 2019; earwaker, 1992; kuh et al., 2011; quaye & harper, 2015). • finally, strategies elaborate on the coping mechanisms put in place by the individual experiencing the transition to make the best out of the options available to them. strategies, thus, focus on the individuals’ coping behaviours to confront the change during the transition process (evans et al., 2010; merriam & caffarella, 1999). four m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 139 different coping strategies can characterise how individuals respond to the transition: their information‑seeking abilities, the direct action they take, different inhibitions of their action, and their intrapsychic behaviour (goodman, schlossberg & anderson, 2006; schlossberg & goodman, 2005). saps are in a unique position to coach, advise and mentor students to combine and select the most effective strategies to cope with the pandemic’s effect on their lives. the 4ss framework in schlossberg’s transition theory (2005), therefore, gives us an excellent framework to situate this reflective practitioner account. it centres the student experience and offers a nuanced understanding of their transitional experiences, and consequently helps heis to situate their interventions. methodology  following the ghanaian government’s directive for all educational institutions to close their campuses to curb the spread of the covid‑19 virus, ashesi university transitioned its functions to various remote platforms. to better understand how saps and students experienced this sudden change, this research was undertaken to inform student affairs (sa) practice further and to offer insights into the lived experiences of the participants. more specifically, the article seeks to answer the following questions: (i) how did each sa unit respond to providing students with their core functions during the covid‑19 pandemic? (ii) how did students perceive the responses of the various sa units? data sources data was collected using a qualitative approach employing one‑to‑one interviews with department heads of the five osca units and focus group discussions (fgd) with a cross‑ section of students. according to creswell (2014), qualitative research is used in “exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human phenomenon” (p. 4). interviews were conducted with each unit lead to respond to the first question. this approach made it possible to ask follow‑up questions to facilitate a deeper understanding of their interventions, as suggested by merriam (2009). the transition experiences of students caused by the covid‑19 pandemic could also best be understood by exploring the participants’ lived experiences, which cannot be described solely from the perspectives of the saps. fgd methodology was used to gather information from the students on how the interventions adopted by the osca team impacted them. kitzinger (1995) explains that fgd allows participants to interact with one another and process their experiences together by asking questions and seeking clarifications from the interviewer and other participants. this approach enhanced the understanding of the various ways students in this study were interpreting their experiences together and individually. to validate their experiences, students were asked: how have you engaged with the various osca units since the pandemic and the move to remote learning, and how are these interventions impacting your academic experience? the answers to these questions provided critical feedback on the effectiveness of the remote services offered by the saps.  140 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 data sample and procedure for each sa unit, the leads were sent an invitation via email to give an account of the interventions their respective department implemented to ensure business continuity. besides the department heads, other osca team members who were directly involved in the various programmes were also engaged to seek clarification and, in some cases, correction of the initial narratives received for the article. a total of 9 saps volunteered their time for the research (see table 1). table 1: profile of student affairs staff # gender department nationality 1. female coaching, counselling and academic advising american 2. male coaching, counselling and academic advising ghanaian 3. female office of diversity and international programmes ghanaian 4. female office of diversity and international programmes ghanaian 5. female career services ghanaian 6. male career services ghanaian 7. female health services ghanaian 8. female student life and engagement ghanaian 9. female student life and engagement ghanaian after the first analysis of their responses, and to further validate them, three fgds were organised with a cross‑section of students. research has revealed that it is important to include students’ voices to ascertain the impact of institutional interventions (british council, 2015). it also suggests that “when institutions listen to students and involve them in decision‑making, they can be part of the answer in fostering empowered learners and responsive institutions” (british council, 2015, p. 2). by including students’ voices, heis are more responsive to students’ aspirations for the future. in recruiting students for the fgds, a general email was sent to the entire student body, requesting them to sign up as participants. a total of 45 students enlisted and were divided into three groups of 15 to enable effective interaction and draw valuable information from their responses and insight. ultimately, only two groups of 6 students were present for the first two sessions and 5 for the final session giving us a total of 17 for the fgd (see table 2). each session lasted two hours and was held via zoom video conferencing. m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 141 table 2: profile of focus group participants # gender year of graduation department nationality 1. male 2021 business administration congolese (drc) 2. male 2023 business administration cameroonian 3. male 2023 management information systems nigerian 4. female 2022 computer science nigerian 5. female 2022 management information systems kenyan 6. female 2022 management information systems ghanaian 7. male 2022 computer science ghanaian 8. female 2022 mechanical engineering ghanaian 9. female 2023 computer engineering ghanaian 10. male 2020 computer engineering ghanaian 11. male 2023 management information systems ghanaian 12. female 2022 electrical/electronic engineering ghanaian 13. female 2022 management information systems ghanaian 14. female 2020 business administration ghanaian 15. male 2020 business administration ghanaian 16. male 2023 mechanical engineering ghanaian 17. female 2022 electrical/electronic engineering ghanaian data collected from both groups of participants were recorded, transcribed, and coded under broad themes, namely advising, engagement, and timely online transitioning support. morris (2015) supports the use of codes for interview data and asserts that “coding allows you to compare the responses of interviewees and convert the interviews into a meaningful, coherent analysis” (p. 128). enhancing trustworthiness to ensure validity of the responses received from the osca unit leads, data was triangulated with that of the fgd to ascertain how the interventions enhanced students’ out‑of‑classroom experience. also, recognising that the authors work in different capacities in osca, bias was checked by being intentionally reflexive and deferring to other team members for their opinions throughout the writing of this article. the authors’ positionality as insiders, however, offered significant access to the members interviewed and deeper expert knowledge and understanding of the concepts being discussed. despite the above measures, the limitations of this article are recognised due to the small sample size, especially for the students and the very focused and unique institutional context, which allowed the osca team to undertake their interventions successfully. the findings in this reflection may, therefore, not be generalisable in other hei contexts. 142 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 findings three main themes emanated from the coding of the responses from the fgds conducted with the students. advising focused on the various ways students sought guidance from the osca team to navigate and make decisions for themselves during the transition to remote teaching and learning. engagement focused on how students, through their involvement with different institutional agents, were able to influence broader institutional decisions and policies, thus, ensuring suitable adjustments to many non‑academic co‑curricular interventions. timely online and remote transitioning support focused on how students sought support from the osca team, with the help of technology. this ensured the provision of the appropriate resources and assistance to enable them to transition smoothly. the ensuing sections present details of the three main thematic findings. advising according to drake (2011), student advising is “about building relationships with students, locating places where they get disconnected and helping them get reconnected” (p. 8). as crookston (1994) explains, though advising is concerned with “a specific personal or vocational decision”, it also involves “facilitating the student’s rational processes, environmental and interpersonal interactions, behavioural awareness and problem‑solving, decision‑making and evaluation skills” (p. 5). throughout the fgds, students mentioned needing more direction on managing multiple personal, home and academic challenges affecting their psychosocial and emotional abilities to focus and do meaningful academic work. this was corroborated by the counselling, coaching and advising (cca) unit, which reported an overwhelming increase in the caseload of students they had to see, resulting in them extending their advising sessions beyond regular working hours, including weekends. students also sought the health team’s support in addressing their healthcare concerns. the health team provided regular healthcare advice to students through scheduled online consultations to ensure that they were constantly equipped with the appropriate knowledge to make safe and healthy decisions during the pandemic. the department also partnered with the university’s health insurance provider to run a weekly programme that enabled members of the community to call and speak to health professionals to provide advice on their various health concerns. interactions with students to identify their specific health needs enabled the health team to lead committee discussions on ensuring the safe return of domestic and international students to their homes following the campus closure. thus, students indicated that (1) timely response and action, and (2) accessibility and sustained interaction, were factors that worked well for them in seeking advising support from the osca team (see table 3). on the other hand, students mentioned that (1) more proactive action from the osca team, and (2) more targeted communication for student year groups were factors missing from the team’s support (see table 3). m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 143 table 3: student perspectives on advising positive factors timely response and action “i think what works for me is how fast the people used to reply. you don’t have to wait for two days, one week, two weeks for someone to reply. immediately someone replies and give you the steps to follow. and if you need a referral, they will do it.” “i am currently doing five virtual internships and it got overwhelming because most of them had some expectations. i got depressed along the way. i contacted [the counsellor] and she helped me to work things out.” “the second one which i can share with you is the support of the health centre. i remember in the beginning when we were told that we were going home, people started asking me if we will get masks and i remember calling the nurse and the dean and asking them about this, and at that moment they released all the masks, sanitisers, and other proptective materials, so that we can go home safely. that was really helpful.” accessibility and sustained interaction “the counselling team was amazing.though i didn’t reach out to [the counsellor], she reached out to me and constantly followed up at every stage (whether it was time for the final exams or final submissions). she was always there to send videos to help me scale through those difficult times, and that was so helpful!” “it was helpful to be able just to ask [the college nurse] any question at any point in time, not only when i was sick.” “the counsellor came up strong. you can book appointments with her. she kept listening and helping you through things, and i felt that was really good. once in a while, i think for those of us who check with her she sends whatsapp messages to check progress. so, i think it was kind of touching.” negative factors more proactive action “some people were finding it difficult to come to class, especially those in different time zones. people were having home problems combining it with school. and most of these people would not go to the counselling department for their own good. some people want to keep it to themselves. if there is something that can be done to reach out to people more than they reach out to the department, i believe that will help them.” “i don’t think students don’t know who to go to. going forward, we can try to identify some of these students and the reasons why they are not seeking help.” “sometimes we get fake news on covid‑related issues. i think the health team could give us more information and precautions that we could follow.” 144 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 negative factors (continued) more targeted communication for student year groups “there was this whole email on how the university was going to run. but i think we need to kind of segregate the year groups and do a ‘new normal’ kind of reorientation because people don’t know where to go for what at this moment.” “i think if you are going to make it more interactive for the students, i think osca should start early. at the beginning of each semester every department should post how they can be reached and what they can offer the students. maybe during the semester, every month, you have a compulsory meet‑up with the year group to check up and get feedback from everyone. if you send forms, i don’t think everyone will fill them [in] to really capture what people are saying and what they are feeling. sometimes questions and responses in forms can be very limiting.” “i am not sure but i feel like people don’t read their emails, so they might miss emails that come from the various units concerning certain things. that’s one challenge.” [said in reference to the osca team exploring new ways to reach students.] “the other thing also being that maybe for things like town hall meetings, we should rethink how we meet in terms of numbers. maybe we can meet in smaller groups because you realise that sometimes people have genuine concerns but their voices get missing within the crowd. so most of them are not able to express how they feel.” despite the positive outcomes these interventions may have had, students alluded to the fact that that the osca team needed to have more efficient strategies in reaching out to them and to tailor these efforts specifically to their needs. the following subsection examines the steps the units took to successfully engage students outside the classroom to enhance their learning experiences. engagement according to pomerantz (2006), student engagement is purposefully involving students in the process of learning through specific and deliberate behaviours that can directly impact student learning outcomes. thus, ensuring student engagement in all activities is key to fostering real learning and growth. the outcomes of student engagement abound in higher education literature: student identity development (baxter magolda, 1992), social capital development (harper, 2008), and student persistence and graduation (astin, 1975; tinto, 1993, 2005; pascarella & terrenzini, 2005). thus, for the osca team, designing strategies to keep students engaged when they could no longer assemble physically was crucial in its responses during the covid‑19 pandemic. through virtual town halls organised by the sle team, students were able to seek redress for their unique challenges including the difficulty of doing schoolwork online (particularly balancing demanding academic and home deliverables), inadequate internet bandwidth, and the difficult financial situations of some families. proactively voicing out m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 145 their concerns and sharing feedback enabled students to directly influence policies and decisions that the university leadership made to meet their unique needs. for example, upon recommendations from students during the town hall, the dean of students held two virtual parents’ town hall meetings to explain the various transition phases the university had experienced and actions taken, and to explore ways their wards could meet their academic obligations. additionally, with the feedback on the inadequate internet bandwidth, the university increased allocations from 10 gb a month to 20 gb for all students to support their online academic work. they also provided housing scholarships for students who needed to find suitable accommodation for their schoolwork. in addition, the sle unit held special remote training sessions for student leaders and club heads to help them continue their activities online. the onset of the pandemic brought many disruptions to plans for student job and internship placements as most opportunities were rescinded. thus, students sought the support of the career services team who worked closely with them to navigate such disruptions by utilising existing career online portal and college central network platforms to connect students with other potential employers. the team also worked closely with employers to understand their unique needs to prepare students to remain relevant amid the volatile and uncertain job market. by engaging with their career peer advisors, students were able to communicate the exact areas in which they needed help from the career services unit. the unit used this information to hold career sessions on interviewing online and conducted online cv clinics to enable students to highlight their most relevant skills as they sought remote opportunities. due to these intentional approaches, the unit was able to maintain its 90+ percentile career placement of the 2020 graduating class despite the volatility of the job market globally. these engagement interventions helped students build their self‑esteem, gain valuable information and the confidence needed to access industries of interest and to find internships and employment. unfortunately, with little time given to send all students home because of the sudden closure of ghana’s borders and campus residences, some international students became stranded in ghana. these students prudently engaged with the odip to share their predicaments and seek solutions. thus, the odip worked closely with the affected students to connect several of them with the university’s rich alumni network, parents, and consular missions in ghana, through its host family programme. the team also placed biweekly calls with these students, monthly calls with their host families, and fostered online engagements through hangout events for both parties to ensure their well‑being. for students, staying connected to their peers and the university environment, and being able to express their concerns were important aspects of engagement during the shift to remote learning. students cited that (1) intentional platforms for dialogue and support, and (2) effective communication and provision of helpful resources, were factors that kept them engaged during the shift to remote work (see table 4). however, (1) a sense of loneliness, social isolation, and (2) a disconnection from the previously lively campus environment made it difficult for them to engage effectively (see table 4). 146 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 table 4: student perspectives on engagement positive factors intentional platforms for dialogue and support “because i am on the [student council], i engaged more with the sle unit. they asked to speak to all the year groups, and we suggested rolling out a survey so students could give their opinions about how they were faring being at home. the survey and opinion polls served as the main agenda items for our town hall meeting where students raised the discussion on fees. the town hall [meeting] we had was very helpful and resulted in the reduction of the summer school fee and housing funds.” “for the sle i think it is the town hall meeting. they did so well in organising the town hall meeting to kind of get every year group’s perspective.” “i think the most important part for me is the town hall and what it can do for us during next semester. the town hall gives opportunities for people to air their views and perspectives.” effective communication and provision of resources “the career services team has been of tremendous help in supporting me to secure a remote internship with a south african conpamy. they sent serveral emails about remote internships and resources on interviewing and personal branding. that interview was one of my most challenging, however, i was prepared because i used some of the resources [the career services] sent.” “just when the campus shut down, cameroon also closed its borders, and we couldn’t go back home. the odip suggested to us the opportunity to live with a host family and connected us to one. they continued to find out how we were doing throughout our stay with host families to make sure we were safe during this pandemic.” “it has been so amazing to receive so much support from the odip team while staying with a host family. i am grateful for the stipends paid into our accounts, the support from my host family, who have become my second family after mine in nigeria, and the regular check‑up from the odip team.” “when we had the online school i think sle did well. we had frequent updates on our timetable and assignments. that was very helpful. each time you had [a] problem with a lecturer you could just reach out to sle and they will help immediately. so when school reopened, i think sle did a good job.” negative factors loneliness and social isolation “the transition was a bit hard on me because it just cut me off from a lot of things, a lot of friends, a lot of things i would have been doing at school. but it was like i got over it. i was able to recover fast.” “for some of my friends we adopt once‑a‑week afternoon zoom lunch or zoom snack conversations. i did one yesterday. we can encourage students to support themselves by giving them suggestions of things they could do to support themselves virtually.” m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 147 loneliness and social isolation (continued) “there is this app which people have been using during this quarantine, that helps you with what you are doing with your friends. it’s like a zoom type of thing. so you can share your thoughts. i was thinking that people could do it year group by year group or depending on those who are interested to help people come together during this time.” disconnection from lively campus environment “other school activities that can relieve our stress could be looked into more especially. i think one thing that osca can also do is to send forms to us students to find out what kind of things we would like to do virtually. probably [students] might be able to voice out their opinions and know what they want to do virtually. i actually wanted a virtual aerobics session.” “i think the most important things was the non‑academic things that can make campus life more lively and engaging because like my colleagues have mentioned the academic burden hadn’t changed much. the workload is still a little stressful for everyone. and so this other aspect of social life should also help to relieve the academic stress.” “now by going virtual, there is a wide range of things that you can introduce to make things interesting and you can target a wider range of students. so basically, we were just thinking that campus clubs could help reduce the tension and the stress among the student body.” this article provides a practical example of how student engagement can be fostered intentionally in times of crisis. providing students with platforms for dialogue and ensuring effective communication enables students to address their grievances and provide meaningful feedback to enhance the provision of services from the university. it also enables students and supporting sa units to find more innovative ways of keeping students connected to their peers and the campus environment, especially in a time when feelings of disconnectedness, loneliness and social isolation are heightened. the final subsection will address the shift to working and schooling online and the specific support systems each unit put in place to make the remote transitioning process smoother. timely remote transitioning support considering that the university’s operations had not been previously designed for online student services delivery, ashesi’s osca team was guided by a strategy that ensured accessibility, inclusivity, and equity for all students. it, therefore, adopted multiple remote access technologies to support student advising and engagement. this was made possible by the university leadership who provided monthly data stipends for all campus teams. for students, the sudden shift to remote learning was a disruption, which required guidance from the student affairs team and the provision of resources to make the transition process smoother. thus, throughout the fgd, students indicated that (1) timely responses and access to resources, and (2) time and flexibility, were factors that aided them in their 148 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 remote transitioning (see table 5). however, (1) inadequate resources, and (2) heightened stress due to increased remote schooling demands, were factors that made the remote transitioning process more challenging (see table 5). table 5: student perspectives on timely remote transitioning support positive factors timely responses and access to resources “the accessibility and timely responses of the osca team and ashesi university in general to students’ needs and questions have been amazing. i have friends in other universities in my home country nigeria who up till now do not know what is going on because the universities are not telling them anything. my friends are amazed when i tell them i can easily email the dean of students and get a response in a few hours or be guided to who can help me. this has been very helpful in this time when we are not physically on campus, and everything seems to be in a flux.” “so i think that one thing that we didn’t mention as well is data. data factor has actually been a huge help to us while working online. at ashesi we used to have wi‑fi and that was also incredible because most of the universities don’t have that. but moving away now ashesi still maintains the wi‑fi policy i will call it by sending us data and we have been able to effectively move online, and i mean nobody complains about it. we can complain maybe about internet connectivity but not about data shortage. that’s a huge factor that ashesi considers and that has really helped us in transitioning online.” “for me it is kind of an honour to be associated with an institution that is student‑centred and taking student feedback into designing what the university experience looks like. so for me, it’s a pleasure to be one of ashesi’s. as we are being intentional in our planning and stuff, let’s not forget to incorporate a lot of human feelings into this, such as active listening and stuff. let’s encourage our faculty to use active listening. if more faculty and supporting staff could do that actively, it will go a long way to help us grow as an institution.” time and flexibility “at home, i am in‑charge. i have control over my timing and other things. and i am able to participate more in some of these events.” “for me i will say we transitioning and doing everything online was very good on our part. we have been sent lecture videos and we revisit everything in the video. but when we were in school, when we go for lectures it is for the day. i mean, if you don’t take notes, you wouldn’t get the opportunity to revisit some of the things that the lecturer was saying, but here, we have the powerpoint at our disposal and everything. if you want to revisit something you could go back and fall on these videos.” time and flexibility (continued) “with regards to academics, what is working is that the online learning is really amazing for me. it is flexible. wherever you can be, you can learn. that was flexible for me and i like it. i really enjoyed it so much.” m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 149 negative factors inadequate resources “so i ended up sometimes not actually doing research and a paper because i discovered that i finished my data. i think that is something relevant we should note and it was a big problem for some people. zoom calls take up a lot of data and more zoom calls means more data spent. i think that bothered me. we should consider other options.” heightened stress due to increased remote schooling demands “some [lecturers] weren’t considerate. like looking at the pandemic, we were all trying to adjust, but some of the lecturers were still making it seem like we were in normal times and gave us more to do. this made it difficult for some of us to adjust.” “we got assignments everyday and had classes to attend. sometimes you don’t even know what is going on until someone says ‘oh we have an assignment and it is due today’. that was what was going on. so i think that was what didn’t work for me.” “saying it was flexible and all of that, honestly, for me, it wasn’t all that flexible. one thing too is that lecturers thought students were being relaxed. so, it was like you have workload coming from all angles. most lecturers are being more strict whilst we are doing this virtually because they feel we are more relaxed at home. your workload, therefore, becomes more.” students shared throughout the fgd that they required more flexible options to connect with the osca team. thus, to adequately help students access the various support interventions timeously, the osca units adopted several forms of technology and creative virtual platforms like calendly, microsoft outlook, zoom, skype, google hangout, phone, and whatsapp calls, depending on what was most convenient for the students. these platforms enabled students to receive timely responses from the team and allowed them to communicate their problems including experiencing fatigue from their demanding workloads and not having enough resources such as data to facilitate their work. thus, students successfully sought remote resources and support from the osca team to navigate the challenges of their transition promptly. discussion while heis are figuring out how to navigate the covid‑19 pandemic to ensure their business continuity, it is important to understand how students experienced the pandemic. the findings in this reflective article indicate that students are (i) needing more advice to navigate the many transitions they are experiencing; (ii) reclaiming spaces and opportunities to engage and negotiate for policy changes and institutional decisions; and (iii) using technology to facilitate access to resources and support they perceive to be critical for their success. the three areas listed above necessitated ashesi university’s saps to consequently restructure their processes and services to respond to students’ needs. this required constant reimagination and flexibility of their daily business delivery to students. 150 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 while students perceived some of these responses to have had a positive effect on their ability to transition smoothly, they also highlighted what they perceived to have affected them negatively. schlossberg’s transition theory (evans et al., 2010) provides an analytical framework to understand the various transitional experiences of the students. the theory offers a nuanced and informed explanation of student behaviours and experiences and allows saps to address students’ needs in a more targeted way. self the findings in this study point to students experiencing significant financial, psychosocial, and mental stress in an exponential way. according to schlossberg’s transition theory, these affect the individual’s sense of self and their perception of being in control of the change they experience. to understand the self‑component of the 4ss, schlossberg and goodman (2005) explain that it is crucial for saps to ask if [students] are optimistic or pessimistic about the changes they were experiencing. do they value completion and commit to seeing whatever they start to a logical end, or do they give up? do they possess positive psychosocial attributes such as resilience and self‑efficacy which can contribute to their ability to endure the change? in responding to students’ needs for advice, the osca team assessed students’ state of being through the lens of these questions. students indicated that amongst other things, the timely response to their psychosocial and emotional needs through the counselling and health units to help them navigate the transition, enhanced their ability to gain the needed sense of control. this is consistent with existing student development theory situated in positive psychology, which emphasises the ability of concepts such as positive emotions (confidence, courage and optimism), traits (e.g. resilience), and institutions like universities and their agents (in this case, the saps) to invoke, inspire and empower students to have a positive outlook on their educational outcomes (strayhorn, 2015). schlossberg and goodman (2005) posit that greater perceptions of control and positive assessments of situations are more likely to result in positive outcomes. saps, for instance, proactively targeted their interventions to at‑risk students with pre‑existing mental health conditions, who had a high propensity not to reach out for support. despite these proactive efforts by the saps, students indicated that more targeted communication and actions to other student groups besides at‑risk students was needed because students generally will not access psychological and counselling services on their own. strategies according to schlossberg and goodman (2005), strategies needed during the transition include identifying the support options available and how to access these resources such as information and other financial and non‑financial resources. furthermore, the individual’s ability and agency to take action to mitigate challenges and develop coping mechanisms to face conditions beyond their control is tested. gilbert and griffin (2015) suggest that the assistance institutions offer can impact beneficiaries significantly. harper and quaye (2009) m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 151 further argue that while student engagement is the responsibility of students, institutions must be very intentional in creating conditions that facilitate students’ ability to access and effectively utilise the engagement opportunities available to them. the findings of this article indicate that students seized the spaces offered them for engagement to proactively advocate for themselves and seek specific support. the town halls became a space for constant (re)negotiation for several academic deliverables such as number of assignments and extension of submission deadlines, giving feedback on what they were struggling with at home (for instance, their financial and living conditions), and putting in requests for support. while students can sometimes appear as vulnerable, passive and incapable of advocating for themselves, this particular finding reveals a tremendous demonstration of students’ agency to voice out their needs and seek redress and support to help them be successful. this finding also confirms the call for saps and heis to view students from more asset‑ based narratives (adjei, 2019; linares & muñoz, 2011; yosso, 2005). students, however, elaborated that the remote nature of the engagement created a lack of human connection and social isolation, which negatively affected their sense of belonging and community. this possibly contributed to the heightened number of students who sought psychosocial, health and other forms of advice. a fair amount of student development literature connects students’ sense of belonging to their sense of mattering (schlossberg, 1985; strayhorn 2015), which is fundamental in driving and facilitating a positive sense of well‑being and helping students to thrive. sense of belonging has been attributed to several student outcomes including good academic performance, well‑being, happiness, and good health (hausmann, schofield & woods, 2007). according to strayhorn (2015), students’ sense of belonging must be satisfied on a continual basis. this has become a challenge for many heis who have had to close their campus communities due to the covid‑19 pandemic. the responses of the various saps to create spaces for students to continue engaging, process and develop strategies to cope with the isolation were, therefore, vital and supported by existing literature. situation and support situation refers to the assessment individuals give to their transition process and their sense of control over the situation (evans et al., 2010). several factors come into play in evaluating an individual’s situation including whether the change is considered permanent or temporary, good, or bad, and whether other stressors heighten transitional challenges (schlossberg & goodman, 2005). covid‑19 brought about a negative outlook for most students who felt disconnected and isolated, and experienced sudden and heightened financial difficulties from parents losing their jobs. additionally, the move to remote learning and engagement exposed some students to significant barriers such as campus accommodation, cafeteria and dining services, internet access, and libraries as they no longer had access to these and other campus resources. the constant engagement and interactions from the students consequently forced 152 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 135‑156 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 the various osca units to find innovative ways to meet the continuous changing needs of students. this finding supports existing literature which advocates the need for heis to also change their structures, systems, and processes to meet and support the changing demographics and situations of students which has further been complicated by the covid‑19 pandemic (kinchloe, 2008; kuh, kinzie, schuh & whitt, 2011). as evidenced by this article, support for students did not come only from institutional agents like the saps but also from their families and peers. this affirms schlossberg’s assertion that support comes from multiple sources including those who work collaboratively on behalf of the students to ensure their success, particularly when experiencing any form of transition (schlossberg & goodman, 2005). the various ways students sought support also validates other student development theories like mahmood’s (2011) theory of collective agency, adjei’s (2019) capacity to hustle, and yosso’s (2005) community cultural capital wealth. all these focus on how students harness resources around them to negotiate challenges and barriers in their academic pursuits. despite these support resources, students recognised that they struggled with heightened stress resulting from spending long hours online, and exposure to negative and conflicting news online about the pandemic, which affected their mental health. the findings of this article highlighted the various ways students exhibited schlossberg’s 4ss during their transition to remote learning and emphasised ways the osca units at ashesi university responded to support the multiple transitions students experienced. the findings also suggest that all 4ss of schlossberg’s transition theory must be carefully addressed by institutions to ensure students do not experience significant disruptions. the final section of this article will focus on recommendations and final reflections for heis, saps, and various youth development organisations. final reflections several literature sources posit that for heis to be inclusive and responsive to the changing needs of their diverse student populations, the unique experiences of students must be incorporated into their in and out of classroom engagements (freire, 1993; kincheloe, 2008; rendon, 1994). additionally, barnett (2004) argues for heis to reimagine their purpose as they face continuous volatilities, uncertainties, complexities and ambiguities in executing their business functions. a global public health crisis like the covid‑19 pandemic has made these calls even more urgent. the pandemic has revealed the changing needs of students and the importance of heis to equally reinvent themselves and continue to remain flexible and agile. this reflective article presents findings that show that when students are experiencing uncertainties and crises they adapt, adjust, and proactively apply multiple strategies to support the transitions they are forced to navigate. the analytical framework used indicates that students examine themselves, their changed situations, available strategies, and access institutional support that goes a long way to enhance their success. while students actively seek ways to respond to changes, this article has equally demonstrated the need for heis to respond with strategies that support and positively impact student success. m. adjei, n. pels & v. amoako: responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team 153 the article also reveals the significant contributions theory can offer and inform praxis by providing a deeper and nuanced understanding of the student experience. this can inform the various relevant, timely and useful strategies and interventions saps can adopt to support students especially during crises. the students in this article demonstrated a proactive and strong agentic ability to participate in the decision‑making process contrary to the sometimes perceived notion and presentation of students as passive entities with no ability to participate in their development. there is, therefore, the need for saps, heis and youth development organisations to broadly tap into the many assets students bring with them to the academic environment to inform the design and implementation of interventions especially during crises. while it was not the focus of this reflection, it would be interesting to know about the relationship between students’ transition experiences, the saps responses, and their academic performance. the findings of this reflective article are clear that for students to achieve educational success on university campuses, they would require not only the help of faculty but also that of saps who commiserate with them and understand their unique needs outside the classroom. according to ciobanu (2013), “student services contribute to the quality of students’ learning experience and their academic success …” (p. 172). thus, heis need to invest resources into having a dedicated and committed team of saps who will complement the efforts of faculty to enhance academic success, especially in times of crisis. this study, thus, provides a rich empirical knowledge in the context of student affairs, development, support, and effort in that regard. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank all the department heads in the office of student and community affairs at ashesi university and the students who participated in the focus group discussions for their contributions to this article. conflict of interest while the authors work in various capacities with the osca department at ashesi university, they declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced the writing of this reflective account. funding this work was financially supported by the academic affairs department at ashesi university.  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(2021). responding to covid‑19: experiences of ashesi university’s student affairs team. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 135‑156. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1433 https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422310394433 https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422310394433 https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192970230207 https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006 https://doi.org/10.35293/jsaa.v9i1.1433 abstract this article reports on a qualitative study that evaluated first-year students’ lived experiences of attending a 12-week student support programme focused on fostering mindsets. participants included 545 first year engineering students enrolled for academic studies at a south african university. all participants completed qualitative narrative sketches depicting their experiences. a random sample of 300 students’ narrative sketches was included as data in the qualitative study. the data were analysed using thematic analysis, and dweck’s theory on mindsets served as the theoretical lens through which the data were interpreted. the results indicate that the majority of students experienced significant personal growth from attending the student support programme. additionally, the findings point to the relevance and importance of offering student support programmes focused on exploring mindsets to first-year students. the results of this exploratory study suggest that mindset theory should be considered as an essential component when advising first-year south african engineering students. furthermore, we make a case for the relevance of positive psychology-based development programmes for first-year students. keywords engineering students, mindset, positive psychology, qualitative research, student support research article developing mindsets: a qualitative study among firstyear south african university students hettie terblanchei, henry masonii & barend van wykiii i ii iii hettie terblanche, lecturer in mechanics and engineering physics, department of engineering and built environment, tshwane university of technology, pretoria, south-africa, terblancheha@tut.ac.za dr henry d. mason, head of department: academic assessment unit, directorate of higher education development and support, tshwane university of technology, pretoria, south africa, masonh@tut.ac.za prof. barend van wyk, deputy vice-chancellor: teaching and learning, tshwane university of technology pretoria, south africa, vanwykb@tut.ac.za 199hettie terblanche, henry mason & barend van wyk introduction what good are positive emotions in an educational context? positive psychologists claim that positive emotions can broaden and build students’ thought and skill repertoires, improve resilience, and enhance academic performance (duckworth & seligman, 2005; fredrickson, 2001; mokgele & rothmann, 2014). it is against this backdrop that positive psychologists further argue that the three traditional “r’s” of education, namely reading, (w)riting and (a) rithmitic, should be augmented with three equally important “r’s”, namely reasoning, resilience, and responsibility (gardner, 1999; seligman & adler, 2018). seligman and others contend that students should be supported in pursuing holistic academic wellbeing (nelson & low, 2011; seligman, ernst, gillham, reivich, & linkins, 2009). in other words, students should be supported to attain academic success to become fully functioning human beings (seligman et al., 2009). accordingly, researchers have called for a more holistic conception of student success that encompasses not only academic achievement but also the cultivation of non-cognitive factors such as social intelligence, flourishing, and positivity (anderson, 2016; sinclair, 2019). dweck (2006) supports this view and contends that the mindset a person adopts is crucial in the pursuit of academic success and wellbeing. dweck’s view is supported by seminal researchers, such as chickering and colleagues who pointed to the importance of students’ psychosocial development in relation to identity formation during the university experience (chickering, 1969; chickering & reisser, 1993; chickering & gamzon, 1991). likewise, astin (1984, 1999) referred to the concept of student involvement and emphasised the importance of physical and psychological energy that students devote to academic practice. however, tinto (1993) explained that student retention results from the student’s longitudinal engagement with the formal and informal components of the university setting. thus, from the perspectives of chickering (1969), astin (1984, 1999) and tinto (1993), students and the university structures share a responsibility to ensure optimal engagement and holistic development. although previous studies have accumulated critical knowledge on the importance of students’ individual attributes and the features of the university setting concerning the academic success and wellbeing of students, some issues remain underexplored (adler, seligman, tetlock, & duckworth, 2016; anderson, 2016; bowers & lopez, 2010). for example, the operationalisation of mindset within the student support context has received little attention, especially within a south african setting (mason, 2019; van den bergh, 2018). assisting students in developing growth mindsets could not only help them in enhancing academic performance, but also aid in improving the capacity to deal effectively with a range of life challenges (anderson, 2019). hence, the promotion and subsequent empirical study of mindset within the context of student support is an area worthy of further investigation (de villiers, 2014; van den bergh, 2018). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206200 in light of these arguments, we report on a study that explored students’ lived experiences of attending a 12-week interactive student support programme focused on operationalising the notion of growth mindsets within the context of higher education. the article has been organised in the following way: first, the study is framed concerning relevant literature, then the qualitative methodology that guided the empirical study is presented, and next the findings from the qualitative study are discussed. the article is concluded by summarising the main findings discussing limitations, and proposing avenues for future research. mindset: theoretical conceptualisation intelligence, specifically general intelligence, refers to an abstract combination of cognitive abilities that conveys strong evaluative associations with a variety of positive life outcomes, such as employment, income status, and overall life success (sternberg, grigorenko, & bundy, 2001). when measured using iq tests, the construct of intelligence has traditionally been viewed as a significant predictor of academic performance (anastasi & urbina, 1997). however, recent research has indicated that certain collateral factors such as motivation and test fitness strongly influence iq test scores (foxcroft & roodt, 2013). furthermore, research by duckworth and seligman (2005, 2006) has indicated that grit, which refers to the passionate and dedicated pursuit of meaningful goals, is a better predictor of positive life outcomes, including academic achievement, than traditional iq measures. in this regard, dweck and leggett (1988) argue that a person’s implicit theory of intelligence – the foundational beliefs about intelligence – is a significant predictor of positive life outcomes. dweck and colleagues built on these ideas and proposed the theory of mindset (diener & dweck, 1978; dweck, 1999; dweck & leggett, 1988). the theory of mindset proposes that people hold certain assumptions or implicit theories about aspects such as intelligence and personality (yeager & walton, 2011). these assumptions point to people’s perceptions of, amongst other things, their capacity to change, their engagement in learning, and their motivation (yeager, trzesniewski, & dweck, 2013). thus, the concept of a mindset refers to a mental model of one’s perspective of the self, the malleability of personal attributes and the relationship with the world (anderson, 2019; yeager et al., 2013). dweck (2006) differentiates between two classifications of mindset, namely fixed mindset and growth mindset. a fixed mindset, also referred to as an entity theory of intelligence, and refers to the personally held belief that a person has a pre-established and set range of skills, talents, and abilities. individuals who hold fixed mindsets may erroneously interpret learning encounters as threatening to their psychological wellbeing because they regard themselves to be limited in terms of skills, talents, and abilities. moreover, those who hold a fixed mindset tend to personalise failure as indicative of personal shortcomings. hence, students who adopt a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenging learning experiences and are likely to be disengaged (dweck, 2006). 201hettie terblanche, henry mason & barend van wyk in contrast, the growth mindset, which is also referred to as the incremental theory of intelligence, suggests that people can develop the skills required for, amongst other things, academic success through purposeful effort (blackwell, trzesniewski, & dweck, 2007). compared to the fixed mindset, a growth mindset can be regarded as a more empowering stance that students can adopt concerning academic-related tasks. students who develop growth mindsets tend not to personalise failure, but consider it as a vital element of the learning journey (dweck, 2006). research by blackwell et al. (2007) and dweck (2012) found that students who adopted growth mindsets were more motivated and less anxious, and performed better academically. dweck (2006) proposes that students’ mindsets can be changed from rigid and inflexible to open and flexible by shifting the focus from a results orientation to a process orientation. thus, a focus on meaningful engagement versus an exaggerated emphasis on the outcome could promote a growth orientation. the transformation from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset can be facilitated via student support programmes that encourage greater self-awareness and optimism, emphasise a process-based focus, and highlight the significance of psychological flexibility in the face of challenges (anderson, 2019; meevissen, peters, & alberts, 2011; van lingen, george, & persence, 2019). additionally, addressing the basic psychological needs of autonomy (experiencing a sense of self-directedness); competence (mastery experiences) and relatedness (social connectedness) could promote positivity and motivate students to engage proactively in the academic process (ryan & deci, 2017). more research is needed to explore the value of mindset-based support programmes offered to students (anderson, 2019; dweck, 2006), especially within a south african context (de villiers, 2014; van den bergh, 2018; van lingen et al., 2019). goal of the study this article reports on a study that explored qualitatively the experiences of first-year students who attended a 12-week support programme (hereafter referred to as ‘the programme’). the programme focused on facilitating the development of growth mindsets among participants. the study was guided by the following research question: what are students’ lived experiences of attending the programme? the programme the programme sought to involve students in reflective and experiential learning focused on facilitating a smooth transition from the school environment to the university context. thus, the programme fell into the ambit of the first-year experience (fye) initiative, which is focused on supporting students in navigating the transition from secondary and tertiary education (nyar, 2018). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206202 furthermore, the programme aimed to assist students in reframing the fye as an opportunity for growth, development, and self-discovery. thus, the programme adopted a process-based focus and emphasised the importance of self-directedness, mastery experiences, and social engagement. the programme was presented over a 12-week timeframe comprising one 90-minute contact session per week that was scheduled in students’ timetables. the main topics addressed during the programme were self-awareness, motivation, and problem-solving. each contact session started with reflective exercises and short videos relevant to the topic that was used with permission from lifexchangetm (https://lifexchangesolutions.com/). the contact sessions consisted of individual self-assessment and interactive small group and class discussions, presentations by the facilitator and self-development homework exercises. the participants completed the narrative sketches, indicating their experiences of the programme, in week 12. since the programme was not part of the students’ curriculum and therefore not credit bearing, the participants were not obligated to attend the sessions. however, because the programme was scheduled in students’ timetables, and the faculty supported the initiative, attendance was strongly encouraged. research method research design a qualitative design, positioned within a phenomenological approach, was adopted to conduct the study (creswell, 2014; giorgi, 2009). the phenomenological approach focuses on understanding, interpreting and reporting on the lived experiences of participants. a phenomenological approach was regarded as appropriate for the research focused on developing an empathetic understanding of the lived experiences of a particular phenomenon (the experience of attending the programme) among a sample of first-year university students (creswell, 2014; giorgi, 2009). research context the study was conducted at a large south african residential university that boasts a total population of approximately 60 000 enrolled students. the student population is diverse in terms of sex, race, and language and accurately resembles the broader south african demographics (statistics south africa, 2016). data for this study were collected from students enrolled for studies in engineering due to the authors’ work-related affiliation within the specific faculty. 203hettie terblanche, henry mason & barend van wyk sample data for this study were collected using narrative sketches from a total of 545 firstyear engineering students who participated in the programme. no biographical data were collected from students as the focus of the study was on the programme and not on assessing age, sex or other variables in relation to students’ experiences. unlike qualitative interviewing, narrative sketches are limited because researchers cannot pose follow-up questions or use probes to explore participants’ responses in-depth (giorgi, 1985). in light of this limitation, and to ensure that an adequate number of participants’ points of view were considered, it was decided to include a random sample of 300 students’ narrative sketches as data in the study. data saturation was achieved after reviewing approximately 220 narrative sketches. however, to ensure that no new themes emerged, it was decided to analyse the full complement of 300 narrative sketches. the random sample was selected using the ‘randbetween’ function in excel. first, numbers were allocated to all narrative sketches and the sampling frame was created in excel. then, the ‘randbetween’ function was used to select a random sample comprising 300 numbers. the final sample was double-checked to ensure that no duplicates were included in the sample. data collection and procedure data were collected using narrative sketches, which are described as documents written by participants to depict their stories and perspectives about a specific qualitative phenomenon being investigated (giorgi, 1985). in the study, participants were requested to write about their experiences of attending the 12-week student support programme. specifically, students were invited to share their experiences of attending the programme in a narrative format. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206204 the 300 narrative sketches varied in length from one to three handwritten pages. an example of an anonymised narrative sketch is provided in figure 1. figure 1. example of a narrative sketch data analysis data were analysed by following five interrelated and iterative steps (giorgi, 2009; henning, van rensburg, & smit, 2011). first, the researchers engaged in the process of familiarisation by reading the narrative sketches multiple times. at this stage of the analysis, a deliberate attempt was made to bracket personal experiences through qualitative memo writing. second, 205hettie terblanche, henry mason & barend van wyk a process of coding commenced at a granular level by attaching labels to words, phrases, and sentences. during the second phase, the researchers engaged in ongoing reflective discussions that allowed them to reach a consensus on the coding framework. third, codes were combined into meaningful units. fourth, the meaning units were transformed into psychologically sensitive descriptive expressions. this step also included classifying meaning units into broad themes and subthemes. fifth, the synthesis of a general structure of the individual psychological elements of participants’ experiences of attending the programme was conducted (giorgi, 2009; henning et al., 2011). lincoln and guba’s (1985) guidelines for qualitative research were adopted to enhance the trustworthiness of the findings. the following measures were implemented to strengthen the trustworthiness of the qualitative interpretation: collecting rich data through narrative sketches; participant verification fully describing the research method and procedure; and ongoing reflective practice through qualitative memo writing. research ethics the university where data were collected granted permission to conduct the study (ref. number: rec/2019/11/003). all identifying information (e.g., surnames, names, and student numbers) was treated confidentially and removed before the data analysis. no course credit or financial benefits were offered for participation. all participants gave individual written informed consent. findings and discussion the qualitative analysis revealed four central themes, namely (1) from resistance to buy-in, (2) awareness, (3) insight, and (4) learning and growing. collectively these themes point to a journey of transformation where students entered the university context in a state of uncertainty characterised primarily by a fixed mindset. the transformation process was facilitated through participation in the programme. the endstate contrasted with students’ initial experiences and was characterised by a sense of realistic optimism, confidence, and trust in their abilities to deal with the challenges entrenched in the university context. in the next section, the four qualitative themes are discussed, followed by a discussion of the underlying principles and inferences that emerged after the analysis. the referencing system in parenthesis denotes participant numbers (e.g., p#1 for participant 1). from resistance to buy-in the qualitative analysis revealed that participants initially presented with low buy-in and journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206206 resistance towards the programme. amongst others, participant 151 explained that the contact sessions appeared “useless at first”. other participants also expressed this sense of resistance; for example, participant 207 indicated that he/she initially “felt offended … when making us reflect on ourselves”. participant 285 agreed: “at first i didn’t want to do these classes.” mason and nel (2011) reported similar findings concerning initial low buy-in and resistance from a sample of first-year students who attended a psychosocial student support programme. from astin’s (1984) student involvement perspective, the data suggested students invested limited psychological energy during the initial stages of the programme. similarly, through the lens of tinto’s (1993) conceptualisation, there was a limited engagement between students’ pre-existing attributes and the features contained within the programme. however, following the initial resistance, students in the particular study reported significant personal growth (mason & nel, 2011). this led the authors to speculate that future programmes could do well to ensure proper buy-in from students and faculty in an attempt to manage resistance and promote psychosocial development (chickering, 1969; mason & nel, 2011). similar to the students in the mason and nel (2011) study, participants’ initial resistance and negative orientations (“at the beginning of the course i had a fixed mindset and was always negative” p#162) were replaced by reports of finding significant value from attending the programme. for example, participant 151, who had initially expressed strong opposition, explained that “as useless as these classes seemed at first, i kept attending … it made me more independent and helped to take charge of the future.” other participants exclaimed that the programme “should be compulsory for all students” (p#208), and “life skills (the programme) is the best … it was perfect” (p#207). the similarities between the study reported here and the mason and nel (2011) study were that the support initiatives were compulsory add-on programmes that did not offer clear initial tangible benefits such as academic credit to students. thus, it seems that students may consider add-on programmes as onerous when the benefits are not directly evident. in this regard, one participant noted that initially, the programme was “boring and timeconsuming…academically it did not help that much” (p#38). however, when the benefits such as holistic development and personal growth, became palpable, participants appeared more motivated to participate. moreover, the fact that the programme addressed students’ basic psychological needs of autonomy (“the classes helped me become more independent” p#286), competence (“i learned so many new things … i grew as a person” p#223) and relatedness (“we had fun in this programme and got to know each other better” p#217), appears to have resulted in favourable experiences and greater awareness. the importance of buy-in and support from faculty could also not be overstated, as participant 293 attested: “thank you so much to our dean for this opportunity.” 207hettie terblanche, henry mason & barend van wyk this theme indicates that the low initial buy-in and resistance to participating in the programme was replaced by higher levels of motivation and indications of significant personal growth. we speculate that a combination of becoming aware of the benefits addressing basic psychological needs, and the support from faculty played vital roles in creating buy-in from students. awareness participants’ qualitative accounts shared a common thread around the stressful reality of the fye. amongst others, one participant explained: “[s]ince this is my first year, i found it overwhelming” (p#145). the sense of being overwhelmed during the fye highlighted the need for the programme, as another participant explained: “before this programme i struggled a lot…my life was not good…the classes [programme] changed everything” (p#158). participants agreed that the programme assisted them in developing the capacity to address numerous stressors associated with the fye. these stressors included academic concerns (“the engineering course, the academic work is not easy…” p#9), intrapersonal challenges (“i never had self-confidence … i never had positive thoughts …” p#12), interpersonal relationships (“before the programme i had insufficient confidence to speak to others” p#147), and personal doubts (“i came to see that i can pass this course…i used to believe that i don’t belong and that i’m not good enough” p#144). the stressful reality of the fye has been well documented in the literature (grøtan, sund & bjerkeset, 2019; mason, 2017) and participants’ perspectives suggest that awareness of the challenges and finding support are critical components of addressing stressors. explicitly, participants explained that they had developed an understanding that stressors can be managed (“the course enhance my self-belief. i now know that i can go for the things that i want. it’s not just about winning” p#44). moreover, participants noted that attending the programme had a significant effect on their awareness that stressors within the university are normative experiences and that they can adopt strategies in dealing with demands in constructive ways. this level of understanding is consistent with the mindset theory, which suggests that persons who adopt a growth mindset are more likely to embrace change and stressors as opportunities for growth (blackwell et al., 2007). insight due to the ubiquitous nature of stress during the fye (grøtan, sund, & bjerkeset, 2019; mason, 2017), students must develop, amongst other things, the mindsets required for success (yeager & dweck, 2012). from participants’ narrative sketches, it became apparent that they had gained insight into the dynamics of mindsets by partaking in the programme. amongst other things, participants shared personal insights into how they reframed negative interpretations and experiences to opportunities for growth. in this regard, participant 10 explained that “it kiohn journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206208 was at first that everything was seen as impossible … since i started attending the lesson [the programme], things started to change … it all started with a mindset and an attitude change …” participant 14 agreed and explained: “i did some introspection and came to understand that there is an underlying philosophy … it’s about how i make decisions.” this thematic idea was crystalised by participant 120, who shared that “in life there will always be hurdles … you have to challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone ….” gaining personal insight into the self in relation to the world is a critical feature in psychological and mindset literature (anderson, 2019). from a psychological perspective, the concept of insight refers to the process of understanding a specific phenomenon, such as the demanding fye, in a new or novel way (hill & kemp, 2016). mindset theory emphasises a person’s intrinsic motivation to learn and draw inferences about the self, the world, and the self in relation to the world (yeager & dweck, 2012). furthermore, a growth mindset encompasses the belief that intelligence, including psychological flexibility and problemsolving skills, can be developed through learning and effort (yeager et al., 2013). what emerged from participants’ feedback was that participation in the programme helped to establish the insight that they could be active agents in deciding how to interpret the challenges associated with the fye. the following quote, by participant 149, illustrates this interpretation: “what inspired me to study engineering was that i loved fixing things…i now know if things don’t go my way that i shouldn’t just change my goals, but i can find different ways of achieving my goals” (p#149). the quote by participant 149 points to a new or novel way of understanding that he/she can reason and decide on a course of action when confronted by life challenges. moreover, it illustrates the understanding that the ability to make choices can influence participants’ essential life goals “i came to understand myself as a power that can influence the story of my life” (p#150). learning and growing the qualitative analysis revealed that participants had gained numerous benefits from attending the programme. amongst other things, participants pointed to significant personal development and growth. according to participant 142, the programme had played a crucial role in “widening my views. i came to understand that we are all unique, so we see things differently … you have to put in the work to make you better.” furthermore, the data indicated that participants had been assisted in developing meaningful visions of the future “… want to achieve a doctorate degree in engineering” (p#143) that boosted motivation “i have set my goals higher and i am more determined than ever” (p#213), promoted goal-directedness “i have set my goals higher and i am more determined than ever” (p#113), and encouraged engagement in their academic studies “the values, principles and knowledge that i gained have a direct on my academic kjuitgdcvghiij 209hettie terblanche, henry mason & barend van wyk studies” (p#229). according to some participants, the programme had direct benefits concerning success during the university experience. participant 149 explained that the programme “encouraged me not to drop out”. others commented on the development of academic skills “i acquired so many skills … learning and study skills that helped me to develop an academic plan that resulted in better grades” (p#154). the qualitative analysis further revealed that certain benefits extended beyond the classroom setting. specifically, participants pointed to developing a sense of humour “the programme helped me develop a sense of humour … can laugh at things now” (p#233) and the relevance of values in guiding life decisions “i learned humility – giving credit where it is due… interdependence – relying on others and working together … vulnerability – asking for help when i don’t know” (p#45). the notion of mindset cuts across various life domains. hence, the cultivation of a growth mindset can benefit students beyond the immediate academic demands and assist in developing responsible citizens who are focused on contributing to the greater good (duckworth, 2016; dweck & leggett, 1988). the benefits associated with attending the programme could be summarised as a journey from predominantly fixed mindsets “i was always afraid of making mistakes” (p#287) to a growth orientation “i learned that i can make choices and work hard to achieve what i want” (p#39). according to dweck (2006), the schooling system often entrenches a fixed mindset in students due to several factors. therefore, the provision of support mechanisms, such as the programme, seems vital in developing the non-intellective skills that could augment academic-related skills. qualitative themes: discussion this study has indicated that the programme had a meaningful qualitative effect on students’ mindsets. additionally, the study supported the arguments from, inter alia, chickering (1969), astin (1984, 1999) and tinto (1993), that students and the university share a responsibility to promote student involvement and holistic development. however, the findings are only valid for students’ data at a single south african university within a specific faculty and year of study. as a result, the generalisability of the findings is limited. however, from the qualitative analysis we drew five specific inferences that may be relevant and transferable to other contexts. first, the findings suggest that academic content ought to be augmented with student support programmes that focus on non-intellective factors, such as mindset. amongst other things, the inclusion of factors that promote reasoning, resilience, and responsibility could not only enhance the core academic curriculum but also holds promise for the holistic development of students (seligman et al., 2009; sinclair, 2019). consequently, the findings reported here support the existing literature that calls for greater emphasis on nonintellective factors as avenues to support students during the fye and other initiatives (duckworth, 2016; dweck, 2006; mason, 2019). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206210 second, student support programmes that focus on mindset expose students to non intellective factors that they may otherwise not have experienced in other contexts. in this regard, participant 151 mused that the programme “taught me what i wouldn’t have learned anywhere else in the world … i started to understand myself … i started to grow up.” although the self-help and science-help literature have become thriving industries (duckworth, 2016; dweck, 2006; kucharski, 2018), very few of these programmes are directed explicitly at the needs of first-year students in a south african context (van heerden, 2015). one of the significant contributions of this paper is that it highlights the importance of operationalising findings from empirical studies, such as mindset, into easily digestible support programmes for first-year students. third, student support initiatives – such as the programme – that focus on enhancing students’ sense of positivity can broaden perspective and build skillsets. in this respect, fredrickson (2004) postulates that positive emotions do not only widen one’s view of the world, but also allow persons to enter states that are conducive to more significant learning, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. when considering the stressful nature of the fye (grøtan et al., 2019; mason, 2017; nyar, 2018), the cultivation of positivity seems non negotiable, as is evidenced in a plethora of international studies (duckworth, 2016; dweck, 2006). fourth, although we argue that student support programmes are critical developmental initiatives, they are often viewed as add-on activities existing on the periphery of the academic project (van den bergh, 2018; van heerden, 2009). consequently, low buy-in from faculty and students alike may serve as barriers towards the implementation and effectiveness of such support initiatives (mason & nel, 2011). hence, high-level support from faculty seems vital in ensuring that support programmes are implemented and prioritised in the context of the curriculum. furthermore, buy-in from students is a critical component in ensuring that support programmes have an effect. fifth, generating evidence for the efficiency of support programmes has become a critical aspect in the higher education context (mason, 2019; van den bergh, 2018). specifically, this study has highlighted the importance of engaging in scholarly practice by empirically studying students’ experiences of support programmes, amongst other things. it is suggested that staff involved in student support should also consider embracing the principles of programme monitoring and evaluation when offering programmes to students. the benefits of adopting a monitoring and evaluation approach in student support, such as obtaining qualitative evidence depicting students’ lived experiences, can assist in ensuring that support initiatives move from the periphery of the academic project to the heart of access and success (mason, 2019; van den bergh, 2018; van lingen et al., 2019). 211hettie terblanche, henry mason & barend van wyk conclusion this article reported on a qualitative study that explored first-year students’ experiences of attending a student support programme (‘the programme’). the findings indicate that participants experienced significant growth and development from attending the programme. furthermore, the data analysis revealed that participants’ initial experiences were transformed from low buy-in, resistance and a fixed mindset to embracing positivity and a growth orientated mindset. the findings also suggested that the cultivation of positivity, which is not necessarily an element of the traditional academic curriculum, can be introduced by developing and offering students support programmes based on mindset theory. the study presented certain limitations. in the first place, the study was conducted at a single south africa university at a specific point in time. therefore, the possibility of gaining a different qualitative picture within a different context or at another point in time cannot be excluded. second, data were collected using narrative sketches. even though the sample size was relatively large, narrative sketches do not provide the mechanisms to explore participants’ perspectives in greater depth. however, if we collected data using interviews, it would have been possible to examine additional aspects of participants’ experiences further. such an approach would have allowed for a more holistic and nuanced understanding of, amongst other things, outlier voices within the sample. third, we did not collect biographical information, which prevented us from reporting on the age, sex and other specifics of the sample. fourth, the study did not account for the influence of various collateral factors that influence the fye. these factors include students’ pre-university and schooling experiences, socio-economic status, motivation to study engineering, and social circumstances while studying, for example, living on campus and maturity. such factors could have influenced some participants’ perspectives concerning the value of the programme. fifth, the study’s theoretical framework did not account for students’ openness towards learning and personal growth. students’ understanding of self is subject to, among other things, openness to learning and personal growth. hence, the assumptions that students were equally open to learning and personal growth, could have introduced subjective bias in the study design. researchers should consider the findings and limitations reported here to advance understanding by investigating the role of mindset and related positive psychology-based support programmes in promoting holistic student success. further data collection is also required to determine precisely how positive psychology-based student support programmes affect the academic success of first-year students. even though there is evidence that positive psychology programmes show encouraging effects on students’ levels of reported wellbeing, the reference to the impact of such programmes on academic performance remains scant. lastly, the wide-scale availability of positive psychology-based support programmes for students via online platforms is an area that seems relatively underexplored. researchers journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206212 are advised to include measures of students’ openness towards learning and self-growth in future studies to develop a more in-depth understanding of different conceptions between students. this article bears testament to the relevance of focusing on the holistic development of students. in this regard, student development and support units, academia and faculty have critical roles to play in developing reasoning, resilient, and responsible students. when we set out conceptualising and presenting the programme to students, the guiding vision was to provide support in managing the transition from secondary school to university and making the fye meaningful. the qualitative findings suggest that this vision was realised, as participant 238 explained: “2019 was the most difficult year of my life … this programme taught me that life is about choices … it has given me hope” (p#238). references adler, a., seligman, m. e., tetlock, p. e., & duckworth, a. l. 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(2011). social-psychological interventions in education: they’re not magic. review of educational research, 81(2), 267–301. https://doi. org/10.3102/0034654311405999 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 199-216 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2206216 https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/p0302/p03022016.pdf journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 107‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1431 107 www.jsaa.ac.za research article disguised blessings amid covid‑19: opportunities and challenges for south african university students with learning disabilities ndakaitei manasei i ms ndakaitei manase is a phd candidate in development studies at the university of the free state, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-8211-1614. email: 2014214742@ufs4life.ac.za abstract the covid‑19 pandemic has led to changes from traditional face‑to‑face teaching and learning to online systems. these changes have resulted in a concerted focus by local and international scholars on how some students are disadvantaged from accessing pedagogy due to a lack of resources and supportive living conditions that enable meaningful off‑campus learning. simultaneously, disabilities in higher education is getting international attention, too, highlighting how students with disabilities are vulnerable to further exclusions and mental health problems. this article focuses on the pedagogical arrangements during the covid‑19 pandemic and the challenges and opportunities associated with online and remote learning for university students with learning disabilities. the article draws on the narratives of fifteen students with learning disabilities from a university in south africa. an analysis of students’ narratives within the capability approach’s concept of conversion factors revealed how circumstances could enable or constrain students’ abilities to achieve what they value in higher education. students’ narratives show that they engage better with online and remote learning despite some notable challenges. in conclusion, the pedagogical arrangements aimed at alleviating the disruptions caused by the covid‑19 pandemic can address the unmet educational needs of students with learning disabilities even though they have to overcome specific barriers. keywords capability approach; conversion factors; covid‑19; learning disabilities; online learning; student affairs; university students with special needs introduction the covid‑19 pandemic brought considerable changes to the higher education system that required unconventional responses (adnan & anwar, 2020), such as online and remote learning. these responses rely on technology, which many universities, students, and lecturers in south africa were not prepared for (mhlanga & moloi, 2020). overall, debates on covid‑19 and education attend more to challenges and inequalities that disadvantage students from accessing digital pedagogy within online learning. this article draws insights from students with learning disabilities’ narratives to highlight both the challenges and opportunities of online learning during the covid‑19 pandemic. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:2014214742%40ufs4life.ac.za?subject= 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 107‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1431 the literature on the covid‑19 experiences of students with disabilities, although scarce, discusses their mental health. zhang et al. (2020) established that students with disabilities are affected by isolation and loneliness during the lockdown. prolonged isolation can cause stress, anxiety, and depression (galea et al., 2020; benke et al., 2020), forcing students to turn to social media (mahlaba, 2020). asuncion et al. (2012) established that students with disabilities spend at least double the time on social media than on academic work, thus exhausting resources on non‑academic activities and increasing the risk of depression and anxiety, as noted by dobson‑lohman and potcovaru (2020). while any student can face these challenges, those with disabilities are more susceptible to periodic acute depression and anxiety because of pre‑existing conditions (zhang et al., 2020). online learning for students with disabilities online learning, which involves students’ virtual participation in academic activities, offers students some degree of control over the time, place, path, or pace of learning (hashey & stahl, 2014). students can self‑manage, plan, deliver and track their learning process (almaiah et al., 2020). various students with learning disabilities find online learning flexible (crespo, 2020), hence suiting their academic needs. flexible learning conditions require self‑directed learners who are autonomous, responsible, show initiative in formulating and assessing their learning goals and requirements, and adopting strategies to attain goals or achieve expected learning outcomes (mahlaba, 2020; knowles, 1975). students with learning disabilities might not have the same kind of control over the learning process because of difficulties with time management, problem‑solving, and planning (lee booksh et al., 2010) – common clinical symptoms of learning disabilities. hence, online and remote learning might not suit some of them. furthermore, roberts, crittenden and crittenden (2011) suggest that students with learning disabilities are less likely to succeed in online learning where their disabilities interfere with accessibility and usability. students who require accessible instructional technology such as screen‑readers, can be disadvantaged if it is not available (hashey & stahl, 2014). cluttered learning content can be inaccessible to students with learning disabilities (burgstahler, 2015), and thus they can be marginalised in online learning platforms. this subject matter becomes pertinent as the online method has become the norm owing to the covid‑19 pandemic. a capability approach to understanding students’ learning experiences the capability approach developed by amartya sen (1999) accounts for individual  real freedoms (capabilities), well‑being (“the wellness of a person’s state of being”) (sen, 1993, p. 36), and the achievement of what people have reason to value (robeyns, 2017). therefore, the capability approach is useful in examining conversion factors that affect how people function towards achieving what they value. conversion factors concern one’s ability to transform resources or opportunities into achievements (robeyns, 2017). these factors can be personal, social, and environmental (robeyns, 2017) and, for students, encompass resilience or external factors such as learning ndakaitei manase: disguised blessings amid covid‑19: opportunities and challenges … 109 conditions and disability policies. the conversion factors associated with online learning determine how circumstances affect what students value to achieve. students in this study reported that they appreciate passing and having a qualification that opens up economic opportunities. students’ experiences are thus analysed to determine how they converted online learning engagements towards attaining a qualification they value as instrumental in getting employment. methodology narratives of fifteen full‑time students who registered a learning disability with the university of the free state, south africa, were gathered through semi‑structured interviews. research participants were recruited using a combination of snowballing and convenience techniques because participants were difficult to get. data was collected in 2019 for a broader ph.d. study on the university experiences of students with learning disabilities. this data is useful in highlighting the challenges students experience in face‑to‑face classes to form the basis for arguments on whether online learning created opportunities for them. four participants who were still studying in 2020 were contacted telephonically to follow up on how they experienced learning while working online and off the university campus during the covid‑19 pandemic. the study adopts a narrative inquiry research design (polkinghorne, 1995), which is a qualitative research method involving first‑hand accounts of experiences (rudrum, 2005) focused on a particular population, in particular, social circumstances at a specific time (riessman, 2008). data were analysed descriptively to give a clear understanding of how online and remote teaching affected students. the emphasis is not on exhaustive personal life stories (ball et al., 2013) but on the themes that focus on learning experiences during the covid‑19 pandemic. therefore, the article seeks to answer the question: “how does online learning instituted during the covid‑19 pandemic affect students with learning disabilities?” learning experiences as narrated by students with learning disabilities narrated accounts of students’ learning experiences reveal difficulties in conventional classes as conditions are often unsupportive. learning disabilities are invisible (schabmann et al., 2020), and the symptoms are not typical of what many are accustomed to concerning disability. students reported that they often devise ways of accessing and understanding learning content. one student with adhd1 complained that: “there is nothing done for people like me in class. you have to find ways to make it work.” adhd can cause poor concentration, inattention, hyperactivity, high distractibility levels, and severe body impulsivity (daley & birchwood, 2010). a student with adhd can have trouble sustaining attention for long periods or experience difficulties following instructions, especially under pressure, even when one understands the instructions (lee booksh et al., 2010). therefore, there is a need for alternative learning settings for such students. 1 classified as a learning disability under the south african higher education disability services association coding framework and the national student financial aid scheme disability policy. 110 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 107‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1431 nonetheless, these students have to attend face‑to‑face lectures and write tests and examinations on a stipulated date and time. learning is expected to continue regardless of episodic flare‑ups of adverse symptoms of adhd as described below: i have one or two days where i get very depressed and go through a mental shutdown that i don’t have control over. during that time, i can’t focus on my studies. i just go to the lecture for the sake of it. (liz)2 the above challenge can be overcome if students have options to access classes. it would help students if online learning accommodations3 form part of the university’s disability support services. unfortunately, students with learning disabilities are often denied online learning accommodations (crespo, 2020; barnard‑brak & sulak, 2010). the flexibility in accessing instruction in remote learning allows students with emotional difficulties to choose a suitable time to study and a convenient date to submit assignments. furthermore, the attention challenges and high levels of distractibility noted in daley and birchwood (2010) which affect students with adhd are represented in participants’ stories. overcrowded classes, a reality at many universities in south africa due to higher education’s massification (allais, 2014), compound students’ difficulties. the description below is telling: my attention is very bad such that if someone just clicks a pen, my attention goes there, then i stop listening to the lecturer. if it happens 3‑4 times, i lose all attention. … my first year was incredibly tough because we were 800 students in some classes. students were sitting on the floor and some on the steps. it was very bad for my attention. it felt like time wasted to attend a lecture because, at the end of the day, you ask yourself, “what did i get out of that lecture?” sadly, you can’t really point at anything. (frank) complexities between external and intrinsic conditions where learning conditions exacerbate learning disabilities are apparent in students’ stories, as noted above. personal and environmental factors intersect to disadvantage students with learning disabilities. a further example involves busy lecture schedules that can cause sensory overload (kong & maha, 2019) and undermine students with learning disabilities’ class engagement. students expressed frustrations with long lectures through statements such as, “i lose interest after some time”, “my mind shuts down after 45 minutes into the lecture,” and “i end up hearing only sounds, not the actual words of a lecturer.” therefore, some lecture schedules can be restrictive for students with learning disabilities whose attention span is short. yet, students still attend classes and contend with these limiting learning conditions. also, students with dyslexia raised complaints about fast‑paced lectures. of concern is lecturers’ lack of skills to adapt teaching methodologies such that they accommodate the information processing needs and learning styles of students with dyslexia. students complained about transmissionist teaching methods, as indicated in this excerpt: 2 participant names are pseudonyms. 3 disability accommodations are adjustments to curricular, instructional and physical settings for students with disabilities to fully‑participate in higher education (barnard‑brak & sulak, 2010). ndakaitei manase: disguised blessings amid covid‑19: opportunities and challenges … 111 it’s tough with dyslexia to understand when the lecturer is teaching fast. there’s too much information given out in class. most of the time, i am lost. i don’t hear [understand] anything. (brenda) the auditory perception and visual processing disorders that cause difficulties in making sense of sounds (kelly, 2018) pose challenges for students with dyslexia in understanding taught content. non‑engaging teaching methods can be problematic for such students. as such, students’ learning abilities can be affected negatively, as described by brenda above. furthermore, this study revealed that sit‑in and hand‑written tests and examinations are not an ideal assessment presentation for them. some students struggle to finish tests on time due to slow reading and writing speeds and difficulties expressing ideas on paper, common symptoms of dyslexia (lewandowski et al., 2013). the degree of complexity varies, but students in this study acknowledged that they hardly pass when they write examinations at traditional venues because the conditions do not support the full display of their intellectual abilities. as such, students sought and received accommodations where they get extra time, separate sound‑proof exam venues, and scribes to read and write for others. even though students reported benefits from these arrangements, the separate provisions pathologise learning disabilities and sustain students as disabled. for example, using a scribe to read and write for a student can create a sense of inadequacy in a student with a learning disability (sainio et al., 2019). it can reinforce the idea that relying on someone else to write written exams is the only successful way of articulating exams. alternative assessment modes (d’intino, 2017), such as online tests (with audible text‑ readers), can improve the accessibility and articulation of exams for students with reading and writing difficulties. the above narrated learning experiences indicate that the set‑up of learning spaces and teaching and assessment methodologies affect how students with learning disabilities engage with learning in face‑to‑face settings. online and remote learning can be viewed positively for students with learning disabilities as it creates opportunities for students to learn without any worries associated with the conventional lecture method. therefore, online‑based assessments, which became mandatory after universities’ closures, confirm this opportunity presented by the covid‑19 pandemic to create favourable assessment settings beneficial to most students with learning disabilities. students also shared their experiences of online learning in the following section. students’ perspectives of online learning during the covid‑19 pandemic this article collected students with learning disabilities’ experiences of learning during the covid‑19 pandemic. follow‑up telephonic calls were made with study participants who were still studying in 2020 as the covid‑19 pandemic unfolded. discussion points included what was available to support online learning, what worked or not for students when working off‑campus, challenges encountered in terms of resources and capacity, and any other ways online learning impacted their lives as university students. 112 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 107‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1431 the narrated students’ experiences indicated that they adapted well to online and remote learning. for example, students who already had proper technology, stable internet connections, technological skills, and family support sustained online learning. these students’ resourcefulness before the covid‑19 pandemic positioned them at an advantage when they secured specialised computer software to aid with comprehension, spelling, and syntax. others used dyslexia fonts and reading and writing enhancing software, which improves the accessibility, articulation, and quality of assignments. dyslexia is associated with difficulties in the sequential naming of letters and words (hall, mcgregor & oleson, 2017), which can cause slow and weak reading fluency and poor comprehension of written text that necessitates assistive computer software. these arrangements support wilde, ryan, and woodin’s (2020) view that those with disabilities can straightforwardly become productive during the lockdown because most systems compel them to overcome obstacles and force them to be autonomous. therefore, the level of the study participants allayed accessibility and competence challenges that mukeredzi, kokutse and dell (2020) viewed as affecting students’ engagement with online learning during the covid‑19 pandemic in south africa. students also reported no difficulties in locating learning resources on web‑based sites, including accessing the university library resources while off the campus. the university continues to provide students with disabilities with extra time and extensions on submitting assignments as part of the disability accommodations. there are, therefore, indications that online learning suited most students with learning disabilities during the covid‑19 pandemic. opportunities for learning online and remotely during the covid‑19 pandemic the less structured approach to learning created opportunities that suited most students with learning disabilities in this study. students reported that learning online enabled them to engage well with their studies during the lockdown because there were few distractions compared to being in overcrowded classes that trigger severe anxiety and panic attacks. for example, one student with adhd who appreciated the online learning arrangement stated that she “failed a test dismally” after writing in a “fully‑packed exam hall” while on‑campus. others who struggle to learn in big‑sized classes said that the online experience is less anxiety‑inducing. besides, students stated that online lecture content was low‑data‑ compatible and thus shorter. some appreciated online learning because there is access to learning material without any pressure to engage with it instantly, and there is unlimited access to recorded lectures. the following extracts capture the opportunities experienced by students with learning disabilities during online and remote learning: i actually benefited a lot from learning online. … lecturers made powerpoint slides with voice‑overs, and then we could listen to them repeatedly while following the slides. what i liked is that lectures that normally take 2 hours in face‑to‑face classes ended up taking just 1 hour. to me, learning online was a better experience than face‑to‑face classes. (sammy) learning online at home suited me very well. i study and work better with tests when there are no people around me. so, there was lots of working in my room and overnight when everyone was not around to call for my attention. so, i managed to do what needed to be done without anyone bothering me. (tess) ndakaitei manase: disguised blessings amid covid‑19: opportunities and challenges … 113 online learning was also beneficial to students because they had to write assignments. blackboard quizzes and self‑marking tests that were less demanding than usual exami‑ nations. students indicated that they prefer writing assignments to exams that usually require memorisation and good information retrieval skills, which many students with learning disabilities struggle with (swanson & siegel, 2011). thus, online assessments allowed students with learning disabilities to better integrate information better, unlike having to cram and retrieve information under pressure during the sit‑in examinations. brian, who has dyslexia, shared that replacing examinations with long assignments enabled him to perform very well and he had a 15% increase on his average marks. with adhd, sammy experiences acute levels of test anxiety. she reported that she was “impressed by her marks” because online assessment methods were “friendly for her disability” as she could write when not feeling anxious, resulting in her achieving “impressive marks”. such accounts indicated some of the opportunities created by online learning for students with learning disabilities. students with learning disabilities often operate within rigid assessment systems (tinklin, riddell & wilson, 2004) that do not allow the full display of students’ skills and capacity for learning. limiting conditions usually cause discrepancies between students’ intellectual potential and actual academic achievements (nild, 2016). therefore, the flexibility in covid‑19‑initiated online learning allows variety and creativity in assessing students, which had positive effects on students’ academic performances. challenges associated with online and remote learning despite the opportunities created for students with learning disabilities through online learning, some faced challenges that affected their learning abilities (see the two narratives below). for example, the asynchronous learning approach, where students complete academic activities without direct contact with lectures (smith & basham, 2014), pose some of these challenges. firstly, the lack of student‑lecturer interaction made it difficult for students to ask questions and get timely and adequate responses on academic issues of concern. these students mostly rely on and benefit from individual consultations with lecturers since some have information processing needs that affect their ability to understand the whole lecture at a given time. as confirmation two disabled students narrated how a lack of in‑person teaching affected them: in most cases, we got slides that we had to go through on our own. so it wasn’t actually teaching. it affected my marks negatively. … sometimes, when i emailed a question, lecturers would answer it in a way they want to, without answering it satisfactorily. it was difficult to make a follow up because sometimes i got my response days after or the given answer confused me further. it is not the same as going to consult the lecturer in person, and i did not like online learning because of that. (liz) the only problem i had was that when you had a question, you couldn’t ask it immediately. i prefer to go physically and sit down with the lecturers and have them answer my questions. i didn’t like emailing lecturers. it was very difficult for me to formulate my questions in an email. (sammy) 114 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 107‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1431 liz’s account exposes some lecturers’ lack of skills in delivering teaching on online platforms or lack of commitment to changes in teaching modes. these challenges include lecturers who need to reach out to students and teach effectively online. the university where these students are based created an online platform with zero data rated where lecturers can present virtual classes with students so that they can chat and ask questions. lecturers can also add audio descriptions on the powerpoint slides to explain written text, upload videos of tutorials, and make learning content more interactive. powerpoint with audio, however, is effective if the text and images are not distracting for students with attention difficulties or too cluttered for students with dyslexia to understand. students also noted that working on their computers all the time was distractive. those with a short attention span reported that they ended up clicking on web pages that were not relevant to academic work and thus lost valuable time. the quotes below illustrate this point: i was distracted working online at home. now i was in front of the computer screen the whole time. i found myself clicking on new stuff and focusing on other things that pop‑up instead of focusing on my assignments. (brian) i couldn’t ignore social media. even whatsapp is on my laptop. i don’t know, i needed that distraction while studying. the temptation of getting lost in social media was always there and it’s funny how it felt like it’s necessary. (tess) online learning increased the students’ risk of losing concentration by following non‑ academic platforms. students with adhd who have low task vigilance (ross & randolph, 2016) can lose total focus if they are distracted. therefore, students risked losing interest in academic work where there was low motivation to learn or no strategies to self‑regulate work habits (ek & isaksson, 2013). these advantages and disadvantages of online learning are analysed next using the capability approach concept of conversion factors. conversion factors associated with online learning for students with learning disabilities in engaging analytically with the data, personal, environmental and social conversion factors were identified from students with learning disabilities’ narrated experiences of learning online during the covid‑19 pandemic. the researcher analysed these intervening factors to determine their effect on students’ conversion abilities that shape educational trajectories towards achieving suitable grades and qualifications they value. personal conversion factors an inherent condition that affects a student’s ability to focus on academic work or deficits that affect students’ level of understanding lectures qualifies a learning disability as a personal conversion factor. a learning disability can thus pose the risk of diminishing the learning abilities of students. students’ pro‑activeness in acquiring assistive software, being autonomous, resilient, and motivated to ensure that academic tasks are completed on time is evidence of their personal conversion factors. the effects of these characteristics were ndakaitei manase: disguised blessings amid covid‑19: opportunities and challenges … 115 enabling, and enhanced students’ ability to perform well and achieve valued educational outcomes. there are, therefore, individual personal conversion factors that affected students in different ways. environmental conversion factors environmental conversion factors are those associated with a university or home set‑up (e.g. physical learning conditions, policies and practices). the study observed university arrangements that either diminish or expand students’ capabilities before and after the covid‑19 pandemic. the over‑crowded classes noted by students as distractive and anxiety‑ inducing are environmental conversion factors that affected learning negatively. this study stated these factors as having a constraining effect on students’ academic engagements. the home‑working arrangement that some students, including brian above, find challenging is also an environmental conversion factor. working online all the time and spending resources on non‑academic material has a potentially diminishing effect on students’ efforts to achieve valued educational outcomes. however, having a home environment where students can learn when people who can distract them are out‑of‑reach, as narrated by tess above, is an environmental conversion factor that contributed to students’ academic success. the flexible assessment methods necessitated by online learning are also a conversion factor that positively affected students’ academic performance. this was also confirmed by sammy and brian’s narratives where students performed better than in usual assessment settings. social conversion factors the research identified social conversion factors from the interaction students had with teaching staff. sammy’s and liz’s narratives reported the lack of student‑lecturer interaction that made it difficult to ask questions and get immediate responses. liz further indicated that she struggled to understand learning content because lecturers did not teach them properly in virtual classes. therefore, the lack of face‑to‑face interaction, which limited students’ access and understanding of content, risked underperformance for students with learning disabilities who rely mostly on individual consultations with lecturers for extra academic assistance. limited direct access to lecturers affected students’ ability to attain good marks, making it a social conversion factor that constrained students’ capabilities. conclusion and recommendations this article explored the learning experiences of university students with learning disabilities, highlighting how the online learning arrangement affected their academic engagements. insights from students suggest that online and remote learning during the covid‑19 university shutdown can support the needs of students with learning disabilities, despite some challenges. this article observes that remote learning offers students with learning disabilities opportunities to engage better with academic tasks, because some conditions under contact teaching limit their learning abilities. the researcher conceptualised students’ learning experiences as opportunities and challenges, and identified conversion factors that interfered with students’ abilities to achieve what they value in higher education. 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 107‑118 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1431 however, individual students are affected differently. conditions that are advantageous to some can disadvantage others. the study supports the need for inclusive education systems that are not too restrictive for students to manage to learn. there is a need to diversify instructional material, teaching, and assessment modes, limiting disadvantages to students, particularly those with learning disabilities. the article recommends institutionalising the universal design for learning (udl) at universities to cater to all diversity forms. udl involves designing learning spaces, the arrangement of physical environments, presentation of instruction, and assessment modes to be accessible and usable (without unique or separate support) by all students regardless of need (dalton, 2020). udl encourages the multiple means of representation of instruction and information, multiple means of learning engagement processes, and multiple means of expression by students in demonstrating their understanding of content (smith & basham, 2014). online learning, made compulsory by the covid‑19 pandemic, can fulfil these udl principles because it allows multi‑modal presentation and engagement with instruction. acknowledgements i thank drs mikateko mathebula and faith mukwananzi for their comments, the research participants for their cooperation, and greatly value my supervisors’ mentoring during the main phd study. research ethics this article is drawn from a phd study with an ethical clearance number ufs‑hsd2019/ 0038/2903 from the university of the free state’s general/human research ethics committee. conflict of interest none. funding the phd study is funded by the sarchi chair in higher education and human deve‑ lopment, nrf grant number 86540. references adnan, m. & anwar, k. 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(2021). disguised blessings amid covid‑19: opportunities and challenges for south african university students with learning disabilities. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 107‑118. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1431 https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839950080103 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.05.004 https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0130 https://doi.org/10.1353/nar.2005.0013 https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219419841567 https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2019.1628339 https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2019.1628339 https://doi.org/10.1093/0198287976.003.0003 https://doi.org/10.1093/0198287976.003.0003 https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059914530102 https://doi.org/10.1080/0307507042000261599 https://es.britsoc.co.uk/covid19-and-the-academy/ https://es.britsoc.co.uk/covid19-and-the-academy/ https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.05438 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195   125 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action at the university of kwazulu-natal siphesihle mbhele* & ephraim kevin sibanyoni** abstract this article focuses on the behaviour of students during protest action at the university of kwazulunatal (ukzn). the objectives of the study on which the article is based were to assess factors that contribute to student hooliganism and to evaluate the effects of violent student protests on the university community. the data were collected using interviews with 25 purposefully sampled participants including 20 students and five risk management personnel. the data were analysed using descriptive writing and identifying actively generated themes from the participants’ responses. the study found that a private security service and the south african police service actively instigated violence on campus as a means to disperse the crowd, and that the crowd retaliated with violence. it was also found that the university management’s ignorance of students’ grievances caused students to be violent and exhibit hooligan behaviour to attract management’s attention. victims of violence experienced physical injury and destruction of their property, which inevitably affected them psychologically, academically and behaviourally. it is recommended that security personnel are trained to control crowds without using violence, and that university management resolve student grievances promptly before they lead to violent protesting. keywords crowd control, hooliganism, protest, riot policing, security services, student activism, students, university leadership, university management, violence introduction this article focuses on violence and hooligan behaviour by ukzn students during protest actions. the study underpinning this article intended to understand what prompted the supposed future leaders to act in such a hooligan manner. the study is important because violence during student protest action has been increasing steadily, with universities, such as the university of the witwatersrand (wits), the university of cape town (uct), and ukzn, seeing exceedingly terrible student protests and hooligan behaviour, especially in * siphesihle mbhele is a phd candidate in criminology and forensic studies at the university of kwazulunatal (ukzn), durban, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0001-7368-7294. email: sipheymbhele@gmail.com ** prof. ephraim kevin sibanyoni is a professor and researcher in the department of corrections management at the university of south africa (unisa), pretoria, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0000-9168-4396. email: sibanek@unisa.ac.za 126   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 the period of 2015 to 2017 (stuurman, 2018). the years 2018 and 2019 continued to be a period of violent student protest actions at ukzn; property and cars were set alight, and students clashed with the police. in 2020 students protested the university’s demand that students with historical debt pay a portion of their debt before they could register for the new academic year. according to the vice-chancellor (vc) and principal of ukzn, professor nana poku: the recourse to violence which has shaped the political landscape and scarred the lived experience of the majority of south africans is a national issue and not just specific to ukzn, though i concede that we suffer from it more than most. (2020, para. 4) poku’s argument was in response to ukzn’s experience of massive destruction to property over the years, particularly at the start of the 2020 academic year. ukzn, just like many other south african universities, has been experiencing student rioting that is violent in nature, often resulting in the destruction of property. this problem provokes a few questions: what prompts these violent behaviours? who instigates violent behaviour? is this hooliganism justified? what are the effects of student violence on the student body, the university community and the academic programme? these are some of the fundamental questions we had in mind in initiating this study. the study was carried out at ukzn as a baseline. ukzn has seen a considerable amount of frequent hooligan behaviour recently which has sometimes resulted in casualties. according to bitso (2015), the calamity of violence during student protests lies in the fact that these incidents occur regularly in previously disadvantaged communities that require the very assets that often are destroyed in the violence to free them from destitution and other social risks. students rioted in every significant city during the #feesmustfall student protests and hit the core of many downtown areas township protests typically do not reach (ndlozi, 2015). ukzn property has been vandalised and set on fire on multiple occasions of protest. kujeke (2016) and mavunga (2019) indicate that students were violent during the #feesmustfall campaign. robins (2014, p. 93) identifies changes in protest strategies in the digital era: “the postapartheid age has witnessed the materialisation of a proliferation of media technologies as well as new forms of media-based political mobilisation”. protesting strategies have changed. today, there is also digital protesting (treré, 2012); and, as previously stated, protests on university campuses appear to have become more (and more frequently) violent than they used to be under apartheid. the current generation was not part of the struggle during the era of apartheid, however; yet it exhibits a modus operandi similar to that of those years. according to oxlund (2010), university students presently encounter numerous difficulties like those encountered during the apartheid era (koen et al., 2006). can we then say the culture of violent protest action is one passed down from generation to generation? and why is it still as violent as it used to be under apartheid? this needs to be investigated further by other scholars. there are many reasons why student protests occur in universities and other institutions of higher learning. nationally, the typical motives are ongoing financial exclusion, racism, siphesihle mbhele & ephraim kevin sibanyoni: a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action …   127 sexism, gender-based violence, and the slow rate of decolonisation (manderson, 2016). nakalanzi (2019) revealed numerous reasons for student protest actions including delays in the disbursement of student funds by the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas), tuition fee increments, lack of student engagement in and by university management, financial and academic exclusions, to mention but a few. luescher et al. (2020) revealed that issues facing students had been recurring grievances throughout the past 25 years. if attending to these grievances is not fast-tracked in the course of the academic year, protesters often resort to violence. can the failure to address these recurring issues be seen as fostering conditions that may lead to the violent behaviour shown by the students? if not, then why do the protests become violent? a tertiary institution is a place to learn and develop academically and be prepared for the job market. if this is the case, why do students risk a potential life of future prosperity through the job market by tainting their image and that of their institution by participating in hooliganism during protest action? puzzled by these questions, we sought to gain insight into the problem so that it could be developed further, and further thinking and engagements on these issues could be stimulated. hooliganism the definition of hooliganism is vague and broad and there are several behaviours that can be categorized as hooliganism. they include public disturbances, stone-throwing, mugging, stabbing, armed assaults, blasphemy, singing ribald songs, selling pornographic material in public, cursing at or otherwise molesting women, shoving and beating innocent pedestrians, tormenting domestic animals, destroying property, and gang-fighting (tanner, 2000). according to merriam-webster, hooliganism is a term to describe any “rowdy, violent, or destructive behaviour” (merriam-webster, 2021). there are many different theories about the origins of the term ‘hooliganism’ (kuru, 2009, as cited in gumusqul & acet, 2016, p.  32). it has been thought that the hooligan concept was derived from the daily news when it gave this name to fans that fought during a sports match in 1898 because of a drunken man named patrick hooligan. today, a hooligan is a person who sees violence as favourable, harms his environment, and displays wild behaviour (sahin, 2003, as cited in gumusqul & acet, 2016, p. 32). it can be argued that hooligan behaviour describes the behaviour typical of some participants when students engage in rioting protest actions. and yet, the violent student protests and demonstrations are usually not classified as hooliganism. violence seems to have become normalised; to the extent that when students participate in violent behaviour during protests, they are regarded by some as revolutionists instead of hooligans, despite exhibiting the very same behaviour described by tanner (2000). they throw stones at the police and security guards, mug non-protesting students, sing revolutionary songs, curse at those students and ordinary people who are not part of their protest actions, and destroy or vandalise university property. the cars of passers-by usually are also targeted. this normalisation may be an indirect consequence of south africa’s history of protesting under the apartheid regime, when violent protest actions were part of the repertoire of liberation movements. 128   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 therefore, for this article, hooliganism refers to disruptive or unlawful behaviour, such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually connected with crowds at sporting events. the term has been derived from sporting events where it describes unlawful spectator behaviour, such as rioting and vandalism. the study adopted this term as an attempt to refer to the disruptive behaviour of students exhibited during violent protest actions, whose behaviour can be likened to that of hooligans at a sporting event; since their disruptive actions often encompass vandalism of university property, rioting accompanied by revolutionary songs, arson, assaulting other students who are not part of the protest, and causing chaos and destruction. all these actions perpetrated by the students are viewed as hooliganism. finally, as kuru (2000) points out, the important thing for the hooligans at a sporting event is fighting and vandalism – irrespective of whether their team wins or loses. likewise, the students’ aim during violent protest actions, irrespective of the negotiations underway with management, is to create chaos, disruption, vandalise, and raise fires, disrupting the university’s normal functioning. stuurman (2018) acknowledged that the instability among students at universities is not expected to fade any time soon in a democratic south africa. this has been evidenced by the violent protests occurring at the beginning of every academic year. theoretical framework for this article, we adopted the social learning theory by albert bandura (1977) to better understand the factors that lead to student violence and hooliganism during protest action. from bandura’s perspective, social behaviour is the result of observational learning and reinforced learning. hesselink-louw (2009) emphasises that violent behaviour is best explained through theories because social actors select and interpret the behaviour. the theory is then applied to explain the behaviour. social learning theory when looking at aggression, bandura (1978) sought to determine how aggressive behaviours are established, why individuals behave antagonistically, and how to determine if an individual will continue to display patterns of aggression (warburton & anderson, 2015). according to walinga (2019), individuals can attain new behaviour through the observational learning process called imitation. this theory is valuable in explaining how people learn by imitating influential figures (e.g. friends, family members, people they look up to with shared beliefs such as student leaders) and modelling their behaviour if it is rewarded (sutton, 2021). through social learning processes such as observational learning, violence becomes used as a habitual response to conflict during some student protest actions by channels of learned behaviour (bandura, 1983; widom, 1989). the theory also maintains that violence is a cycle passed from one generation to another through observational learning. the theory is based on the idea that we learn from others in a social context by observing their behaviours and people then develop similar behaviours. after observing the behaviour siphesihle mbhele & ephraim kevin sibanyoni: a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action …   129 of others, people assimilate and imitate that behaviour, especially if their observational experiences are positive ones or include rewards related to the observed behaviour. in this study we shared the same sentiments as bandura. we believe that during violent protest actions, students learn violent behaviour in a social context of protesting by observing the rewarded violent behaviours of influential students (student leaders), which they may perceive as rewarding as they instigate a quick response from the vice-chancellor and management. according to bandura (1978), imitation involves the actual reproduction of observed motor activities. imitation has also been found to be “ … more important in the initial acquisition and performance of novel behaviour than in its maintenance or cessation of behavioural patterns once established” (akers & jennings, 2019). his major premise was that we can learn by observing others (bandura, 1978). he considered vicarious experience to be the typical way that human beings change. he used the term “modelling” to describe the process of response acquisition by the observation of another’s response and copying it. he claimed that modelling could have as much impact as a direct experience. ahead of our study, we observed that students imitated the behaviour by influential students involved and modelled it during a protest action. they observed the behaviour of others, learned from it and repeated it. this meant that if student leaders acted in a hooligan manner during protest action, observing students would act as hooligans as well by imitating the same behaviour to achieve the desired effect (i.e. a response from the university management). social learning theory predicts that criminal behaviour is a positive function of the degree to which a person possesses favourable attitudes towards hooligan behaviour. consequently, hooliganism during student protests is prevalent among students who possess favourable attitudes towards violence during a protest action in achieving desirable effects. these attitudes may approve, disapprove or be morally neutral towards violence. social learning theory also predicts that individuals associate with people or other sources of information containing social meanings that directly promote hooligan behaviour. according to social learning theory, exposure to other individuals’ behaviours and attitudes can significantly impact one’s own behaviours and attitudes. therefore, non-violent students who associate themselves with violent students during student protests indirectly promote violence. other students may identify with those who used violence during student protest action historically to address their issues, such as the soweto uprising on 16 june 1976. consequently, some students imitate violence from other university student protests because it has historically worked and has been displayed throughout mass media. they adopt violent tactics due to how violence has seemed to work historically and how it has been effective in drawing the attention of the vice-chancellor. finally, social learning theory also argues that a person experiences reinforcement for criminal behaviour. according to social learning theory, an act expected to produce a greater balance of benefits than costs is more likely to be engaged in. consequently, during student protest action, those who engage in hooligan behaviour view its effects as rewarding rather than costly. in contrast, those who do not engage in violence view it as more costly than rewarding. the cost is usually fear of arrest and injury during a violent 130   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 student protest (risager & thorup, 2016). these students experience a behaviour change and avoid the university campus out of fear. bandura (1978) used the term motivation to refer to rewards and punishments. the use of physical force accompanies a student belief. would he go to jail for striking an enemy, or gain status for being an activist? in our review of the literature, we found that the leading factor for the onset of hooligan behaviour has been associated with frustrated protesting students who model violence because it has been rewarded historically. witnessing the actions of others, especially people that are close to us, can affect our participation in both conforming and non-conforming behaviours (national academies of sciences, engineering, & medicine, 2018). students are exposed to behavioural models that indirectly promote violent behaviour. these models are most likely to be people leading the protest action. students observe the violent behaviour of their leaders during protest action. should the leaders with whom they identify resort to hooliganism, they will observe the behaviour of their representatives with access to favourable definitions (e.g. yielding a quick and favourable response from the vc) to the behaviour and imitate the violence. social learning theory provides an insight into the factors that contribute to hooliganism, and, in the present case, the effect violence has on the university environment. method this study employed a case study research design. neale et al. (2006) define a case study as a story about something unique, special, or interesting about individuals, organisations, or events. our aim to ascertain the effects of student hooligan behaviour during student protest actions at ukzn informed the choice of a case study design for this research project. in attempting to understand the instigation and the effects of violence during protest actions at ukzn, a qualitative method seemed appropriate. this approach is deemed best when the researcher wants to explore a subject they do not know much about in advance or when they want to understand the meanings, motives, or reasons of the phenomenon in question (cropley, 2019). we use the social learning theory by bandura (1977) to better understand the factors that lead to student hooliganism and the effects of violence on the university community during protest action. the research aimed to better understand the current research subject by interviewing affected ukzn participants with first-hand experiences. kim et al. (2017) postulate that qualitative research is “… important and appropriate for research questions focused on discovering the who, what, and where of events or experiences and on gaining insights from informants regarding a poorly understood phenomenon”. it is in the vein of the assertion in kim et al. (2017) that this study embraced a qualitative approach. research setting the study was conducted at ukzn, which has a rich history of hooligan behaviour during student protests. ukzn was established on 1 january 2004 when the former siphesihle mbhele & ephraim kevin sibanyoni: a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action …   131 universities of durban-westville and natal and the edgewood college of education were merged. the university comprises five campuses in the province of kwazulu-natal, south africa, namely, edgewood in pinetown, howard college and nelson mandela school of medicine, both in durban, and pietermaritzburg and westville campuses. sampling and procedure in keeping with a qualitative research design, the study used non-probability, purposive sampling to identify research participants. in purposive sampling, research participants are chosen because they illustrate explicit features of a particular study (vos et al., 2011), based on the researcher’s judgement in selecting the sample (neuman, 2013). we recruited members of the university community that meet the primary inclusion criteria, which was that one must have witnessed a violent student protest and been part of the university community for more than three years. the sample of 25 participants included 10 student leaders, 10 bachelor honours students, and five risk management staff (rms). all of whom were part of the university community and were affected by student hooliganism during protest actions. the participation of student leaders was secured through cooperation with the student representative council (src), from which body student leaders were selected based on their experience and willingness to participate in the study. they represent the university student body; moreover, their opinions as members of the community who are directly involved with university management, staff and the students were critical. according to barasa (2002), university student leaders have been seen more as abrasive young politicians critical of the existing establishment and overseeing a renaissance in progress. we also went to a bachelor honours class and selected students after having asked for verbal permission from the lecturer. ukzn-registered bachelor honours students were selected because they had been enrolled at ukzn for more than three years. therefore, they were more likely to have had experiences as witnesses or victims or even perpetrators of violence during student protest actions. they were selected to give clarity on the factors that contribute to student hooliganism behaviour and the effects of violent student protests on the university community. rms staff members were selected based on their availability and experience of the phenomenon of interest to give their opinion on student hooligan behaviour during student protest as they were directly involved with the safety and security of the university community. only permanent ukzn rms staff gave their opinions. they were asked to share the ideal university operations protocol during student protests and to clarify how the university as a whole is affected by the violence emanating from student protest action and the measures in place to ensure the safety and security of the university community. the participants consented to providing detailed accounts and were also able to express their thoughts and feelings regarding the factors that contribute to hooliganism and the effects of violence during student protest action. 132   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 research ethics and research permission the permission to conduct this study was requested and attained from the responsible authority at ukzn, and ethical clearance was granted by means of certificate number hss/1742/017m. we also considered the participants’ indication of willingness to participate in the study. data collection in-depth interviews were conducted because of their significance in allowing participants to provide detailed information. each face-to-face interview lasted for 30-45 minutes, depending on the responses provided by participants. interviews were conducted over a week. the participants were asked to respond to open-ended questions regarding their knowledge of student hooligan behaviour during protest actions within a university environment. the study was guided by an interview schedule to facilitate the discussion, incorporating the topic and themes to be covered. the items on the guide were generally minimal to foster opportunities for in-depth discussion. data analysis and trustworthiness the interviews were transcribed and then analysed using thematic analysis. we familiarised ourselves with the collected data. this was achieved by listening to the recorded audio interviews to have a clear perspective on topical subjects under discussion. with this, we were able to extricate the themes, and also familiarised ourselves with the data by reading through the field notes recorded during data collection (braun & clarke, 2006). qualitative research is reliable when it represents the experiences of the study participants precisely. credibility, conformability, dependability, and transferability are utilized to quantify the trustworthiness of data. this study will adopt guba’s (1981) model for establishing trustworthiness. guba’s model identifies truth, credibility, applicability, transferability, consistency, dependability, neutrality, and confirmability as criteria for establishing trustworthiness (polit & beck 2004, p.  36; streubert speziale & carpenter, 2011, p. 38). results and discussion the two main themes that emerged from the analysis of the interview material were (1) the factors that lead to hooligan behaviour during student protests, and (2) the effects of student protest action on the ukzn community. factors contributing to student hooliganism at ukzn it was found that poor communication between student leaders and university management causes conflict in the university community and results in student hooliganism when student grievances are not addressed. siphesihle mbhele & ephraim kevin sibanyoni: a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action …   133 before students embark on protest action, the student leaders raise student grievances to the university management, namely student academic exclusion, tuition fee increments, and lack of student engagement in running the universities. subsequently, when their grievances are not addressed, they embark on a violent protest, which attracts sanctions from the university management (morwe et al., 2018). the quotations below reveal that student leader efforts to communicate with university management seem ineffective: one thing we do ... before we embark on mass demonstration the case is always that we have tried all possible means to solve the issue without going to a strike or mass demonstration for that matter. so the university is the one that mostly provokes students by taking irrational decisions or reactional decisions to some extent or decisions that do not seek to transform the university community and then the students react on that but before they react on that through a protest they always go to a boardroom and engage and try to come up with the amicable solutions in trying to resolve that. (student leader 1) student leaders don’t see eye to eye with university and then the university says we know that since we don’t see eye to eye you are going to the streets and then when we go to the streets they say we are ready for you and then they deploy external factors such as deploying the police, dogs and the pepper spray. for example, we ask for the roads to be fixed and they would say no, we don’t have funds. (student leader 7) the findings also suggest that the most common factors leading to student hooligan behaviour during protests were the engagement of the services of mi7, a private security company, and the police (saps) by the university management to manage and control protest actions and their use of weapons when managing crowds. the presence of violence in any community affects community members and the various community operations. moreover, the impact of hooligan behaviour on the community is often neglected. figure 1 illustrates the nature of student hooliganism and violence between students and law enforcement officials. the three images that comprise figure 1 depict the severe degree of hooliganism displayed by the students, evident in the forms of destruction of property, rioting, clashes with the police, and disturbing the university’s operations. the ukzn community has suffered violence during almost every student protest action in the last decade (sibeko, 2016; wicks, 2017; singh, 2019; nxumalo, 2020), and it is evident that hooligan behaviour during student protests affects the university community and has significant implications. nyamnjoh et al. (2012) deduced that the interposition of the saps and mi7 into the context of a student protest, breeds a dialectic of violence. student leaders that were interviewed reported that the tactics used by the saps and mi7 to control and manage the protest action instigated hooligan behaviour. their tactics engendered hooliganism as it led to students retaliating violently to those tactics and thus becoming rebels. 134   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 the academic programme on ukzn’s edgewood campus was suspended as students burnt tyres and blocked roads around the campus. (photograph: blue security) (wicks, 2017) students protestors demanded that historical debt be dealt with. students were throwing bricks and rocks at the officers. (photograph: african news agency/doctor ngcobo) (nxumalo, 2020) students at ukzn westville campus burnt a furniture storeroom during a violent protest action. (photograph: twitter.com/ orrin417) (singh, 2019) figure 1: severity of violence during the #feesmustfall student protests similarly, in this study, the participants believed that when the saps and mi7, deployed by university management, used force to dispense the student crowd, the crowd used violence in return. to some extent, the students became much more violent and directed their anger towards the university buildings. sigmund freud referred to this as a displacement defence mechanism. instead of channelling their anger towards university management, they channelled it to what seemed to be owned by the management. student leaders revealed that the university management incites violence by deploying the saps and mi7. evidently, student leaders viewed university management as the core perpetrator of violence when deploying the saps and mi7. the deployment happens when student leaders and university management fail to resolve issues through negotiation. consequently, most participants were of the view that students always react when the saps are deployed. student leaders added that the draconian policies employed by the university during student protest actions frustrated students. it was also revealed that students retaliated to measures the university deployed to curb and prevent student hooligan behaviour during protest actions. they perceived these measures as provocative and retaliated. to students, these measures illustrated the university managements intention to end the protest action without reaching a consensus. student leaders shared: students, we are usually provoked by the deployment of mi7 and saps because it indicates that the management would go out of its way to stop what we are doing. (bachelor honours student 6) it is the university and the police that initiated the violence; these are the two people that are responsible and external forces deployed by the university they are the ones that cause the chaos. (student leader 3) siphesihle mbhele & ephraim kevin sibanyoni: a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action …   135 the university is the one that mostly provokes students by taking irrational decisions or reactional decisions to some extent or decisions that do not seek to transform the university community and then the students react on that. (student leader 5) correspondingly, risk officers admitted that the members of the deployed saps incited student hooliganism because they used weapons in the university environment. one risk officer said: the people with weapons initiate violence because we do not have weapons, and there is usually no violence when we are around because we do not have any weapons. the saps shoot the students, and the students fight back whichever way they can. therefore, it can be the students but not us … (risk officer 5) most risk officers reported that armed law enforcement agencies were the initiators of violence. some risk officers argued that a university community should always be a weapon-free zone. student leaders believed that the university management and mi7 were the core initiators of violence because the management deployed mi7 to manage protest action by any means necessary. fomunyam obtained a similar pattern of results and found that one of the contributory factors towards violence during student protests in university communities were clashes with private security and police, deployed to suppress protest action (fomunyam, 2017). in collaboration with university management, the law enforcement agents use force to manage students during protest actions, and students always react, either towards university management or law enforcement. most student leaders vented that the saps treated students like criminals by using rubber bullets and tear gas, which resulted in more violence. student leaders also indicated that police officers targeted student leaders in their residences after the protest and sometimes during the protest. two student leaders mentioned: usually, the police target people that they will arrest during late hours after the protest. these targets are student leaders, and they are fetched in their rooms by force and arrested. (student leader 4) we are not safe because of what usually follows after the protest and or even immediately during the protest where leaders are collected from their rooms in the night by virtue of just being leaders in the protest. (student leader 8) [p]olice fetch us in our rooms at night and we get arrested for leading at that moment no one can protect my safety even that rms. it goes both ways for me. (student leader 2) the student leaders suggested during the interviews that the university management usually issued a list of names of student leaders to be arrested. student leaders were very concerned with being harassed and arrested by the police in their university rooms after demonstrations ended (usually at night). they believed that the management would instruct the saps to arrest certain student leaders who were part of the protest or leading it. student leaders have been apprehended at night after being victimised and interrogated (oxlund, 2016; thamm, 2015). 136   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 it has been shown in this study and other studies that using force (brutality) by the police creates cycles of violence when protesters react (reynolds-stenson, 2018; maguire et al., 2018; reinders, 2019). in order to break these cycles, the saps needs to apply certain basic principles of public policing, including containment, holding the line, facilitation, and negotiation. these principles are effective in de-escalating and managing protests as well as in maintaining public order. with this understanding, the mi7 security company and the police should approach crowd management situations with extreme care and sensitivity because the use of unnecessary stringent measures against student protesters could be construed as denying them their right to protest. the theory of bandura maintains that violence is a cycle passed from one generation to another through observational learning, which can be attributed to the demonstrations that have been happening throughout south african history and could have been passed from generation to generation. after observing the behaviour of others, students assimilate and imitate that behaviour, especially if their observational experiences are positive ones or include rewards related to the observed behaviour. in this study, we believe that students observe the behaviour of others when demonstrating using violence, assimilate it and imitate it by acting violently to yield positive rewards by management agreeing to meet their grievances. this means that if other students acted in a hooligan manner during protest action, observing students would act as hooligans as well by imitating the same behaviour. thus, the study finds that hooligan behaviour is learned through observing other students acting violently through modelling. moreover, management usually positively reinforces this student hooligan behaviour by acquiescing to the demands of the protesting students. to break the cycle, management should be dealing with the issues at hand before they instigate the violent student protest actions. the effects of student protest action on the ukzn community this study found that the community was susceptible to academic, psychological, and behaviour-related effects. similarly, glewwe and kremer (2006) found that individual academic achievement can be influenced by several factors such as personal, household and school characteristics as well as local and national socio-economic conditions. kallsen et al. (2020) also obtained similar results, showing that no matter how it enters the building, violence simply stands in the way of having an environment conducive to education. this study found that protesters disrupted classes using pepper spray, burning buildings, and clashing with saps and mi7, resulting in slow academic progress. the quotes below capture the student’s sentiments about the effect of violence on academic progress: for students that are just starting, it is their first protest and it is violent it is going to affect even their performance at the end of the day. so personally, i am one person who is not entirely bothered by what happens because i have witnessed many and i know as student you are going to have to bounce back but then i fear for those who are seeing the violent protests for the first times because i remember for me the first one shook me and it took a while for me to get back on track with my academic studies. (student leader 9) siphesihle mbhele & ephraim kevin sibanyoni: a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action …   137 you cannot even study, how will you study when you are in fear? and while you are attending you will most likely be chased out of the lecture venue by protesters, and lecturers are forced to stop lecturing. (bachelor honours student 3) the above reveals that student protest actions affect academic performance because protesters often disrupt classes. it was also revealed that first-year students exposed to a violent protest action for the first time face a greater burden to catch up on their studies. antunes and ahlin (2017) indicated that exposure to community violence, either as a witness or as a victim, has been found to produce negative learning outcomes for students. student protest actions have affected the university operations and its community to the extent that the university management can choose to suspend operations. this has resulted in the university’s closure at times. students have been faced with the burden of having to catch up on lectures and tests when university operations resumed. therefore, the outcome of a protest is also associated with increased academic workloads for students. bacchini and esposito (2020) highlight that any form of violence, such as family violence, community violence, or child maltreatment, could have different effects (i.e. psychological, behavioural effects) on those exposed to it. esposito et al. (2017) indicate that victimisation during a violent student protest action had been found to compromise a person’s ability to regulate their emotions. in contrast, exposure by witnessing community violence might lead to depression and increased anxiety (bach & louw, 2010) due to feelings of insecurity and perceptions of being unworthy of protection. per mitchell et al.: exposure to violence involving highly lethal weapons is associated with higher trauma symptoms, over and above exposure to all other types of violence, making it a strong contributor to depression, anxiety, and aggression. (2015, p. 11) correspondingly students reported being anxious in the presence of saps and mi7 due to the violence that occurs during protest action. it was found that members of the ukzn community, specifically bachelor honours students and student leaders, feared going to campus, thinking they might be the next victim after experiencing violence and hooliganism during previous student protests. kallsen et al. (2020) indicated that regardless of whether a learner’s fear of violence is real or exaggerated, it is often stimulated by previous exposure. it was found that some experienced a change in behaviour by withdrawing from attending classes because of previous exposure to violence. a synopsis of their expressed fear is provided by the quotes below: anything can happen during the student protest such as when police throw tear gas and there is usually a stampede and you find that some students get hurt in the process, therefore you always have to be cautious around me because anything can happen at any moment. sometimes you end up getting hurt when you are not even part of the protest. (bachelor honours student 4) [f]irstly what you think about if you live in off-campus residences … once there is something that says there is a protest on campus and then you get those who will say to each other they will not go to campus because they do not want to get involved because 138   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 the police don’t come to campus to see if people are getting mugged, instead they are on the lookout of those who will be deviant in the protest. then when there is a quarrel between the protesters and law enforcement, even when you are not part of the protest you get affected. even the lecturers, when lectures are being disturbed with pepper spray and everything that is not right, the sticks that students are carrying that you have no clue who they are going to hit. (bachelor honours student 9) the presence of saps is for the purpose of instilling fear on us, we are threatened for being leaders and jailed for fighting for what is right. (student leader 10) the majority of the participants shared the same sentiment of fear of harassment on campus, even as bystanders. as a result, they chose to avoid the university environment. students shared their fears of the chaos on campus because students get injured when they clash with armed police and private security personnel and attending classes because they are sensorily disturbed when pepper spray is used by security officials to disperse protesters. moreover, saps and mi7 had difficulty identifying who was and was not protesting within the university community, resulting in all members of the community becoming potential victims of violence. richmond (2014) revealed that students exposed to violence are vulnerable to psychological effects, especially when there is a lack of support services. similarly, this study found that student leaders and students do not have adequate counselling services to help and/or cope with community members exposed to violence. … no, the one that we have is not effective in assisting those who are traumatised during the violent protest. (student leader 8) our counselling services need to be protested even… that department is very understaffed. we need adequate support structures here at ukzn; what is happening is a joke. (student leader 6) student leaders reported a lack of counselling services to cater for university community members affected by violence during student protests. this indicated that students become psychologically affected by violence and need adequate counselling services to ease traumatic experiences of the university community. students stated that the counselling services are short-staffed to assist 15 students daily. the participants identified the university environment as a community that wreaks fear of victimisation and property damage. the fear manifests through anxiety and concentration problems. it can also affect their daily functions. for example, the traumatised may avoid the spaces where the traumatic incident happened, which will hinder the academic progress of the students and affect the functionality of the university. with saps and mi7 carrying weapons and often using force to manage protestors, the data gathered revealed that the academic, psychological, and behaviour-related effects of violence are prevalent in the university community, and significantly impact the community’s sense of safety on campus and learning outcomes. due to previous exposure to violence (kallsen et al., 2020), students avoid the university campus and have observed siphesihle mbhele & ephraim kevin sibanyoni: a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action …   139 that anyone can be victimised (i.e. injured) during student protest action because law enforcement fails in distinguishing protesting students from non-protesting students. these students learn through observing the cycle of violence (bandura, 1983) during protest actions and decide to avoid the university environment, believing that the act of avoidance will save them from the effects of violence (i.e. being a potential victim). conclusion and recommendations this study found that the different factors that contribute to student hooliganism include poor communication between student leaders and university management regarding student grievances, the presence of saps on campus, saps being armed and shooting rubber bullets at students, and the presence of private security/mi7. some of the students who engage in violent student protest actions do so because they perceive university management as irresponsive to their grievances. the finding revealed that violence during protest actions has become not only the problem-solving mechanism, but it has also become the language of the protesters. students use hooliganism as a language through which to be heard and the language the university management uses to signal attentiveness to the protesting students. the violent acts perpetrated by students during the demonstrations can influence other students to become violent in a process of modelling. students will become hooligans simply because other students act in a hooligan manner. the operating assumption seems to be that to achieve goals, they need to be violent. such violent acts can be assimilated and performed by other students, whether on the same campus or another campus. this study found that the university community has been affected by violent protest actions in several ways, psychologically, emotionally, and behaviourally, resulting from the fear of violence. some community members felt they could not freely access the university environment because they constantly feared what could happen to them. some protesters underwent a behaviour change by withdrawing from the university environment, for example, while others became violent or irrational during students protest actions. the exposure to violence or being a victim was found to be an experience that left most community members vulnerable and feeling unsafe within the ukzn environment. these community members avoid the university environment as a response to fear during a student protest action. students who have been adversely affected by violence or threats of violence need psychological support. however, the ukzn counselling service has a limited number of professionals, being able to assist only about 15 students per day. as a result, when students are faced with such difficulties, they may become fearful and frustrated. and while some students may end up tending towards avoiding the university environment, others may resort to participating in the violent protests. ukzn needs to immediately address student issues, cater to student needs and implement safety and security measures that will help the institution become safer and more secure as an essential beacon in pursuing excellence. no institution can function effectively with minimal support services. to reduce and end hooligan behaviour during student protest action, the university management, protesters, law enforcement and the university community at large need to 140   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 125-143 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 understand that a university is a community where differences of opinion are common, and conflict must be managed. moreover, a university environment should always be a space that accommodates and is conducive to the coexistence of different voices, different ideologies, several ways of being, various ways of seeing and learning, and it should not privilege one over the other when dealing with dissent. a university community is complex, and ideal methods of conflict resolution should reflect an awareness and acceptance of these complexities. negotiations between the university management and the protesters need to be, where possible, continuous and visible, not only “behind closed doors”. the university management and student leaders need to establish clear communication channels to avoid mistrust and conflict. the police and private security need to understand what is expected of them during student protest actions while considering the rights of the public and the protesters. the police need to manage protests without resorting to force and treat the university environment as a weapon-free zone. they need to apply certain basic principles of public policing, including containment, holding the line, facilitation and negotiation. we maintain that peace and reconciliation initiatives need to be explored to repair relations when student protests occur at universities. it appears that some universities have been highly polarised after experiencing protest action. genuine dialogues between university management, staff and students are needed to ensure that existing hostilities are resolved. a continuation of violent protests will be destructive and divisive, preventing the university from moving forward, united, on its path to healing. acknowledgements we thank all the anonymous jsaa peer reviewers for their comments and all the participants in this study for their willingness to cooperate. research ethics this article was extracted from the first author’s master’s study. the master’s 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(2022). a case study of student hooligan behaviour during protest action at the university of kwazulu-natal. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 125-143. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2195 https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4a1704 https://positivepsychology.com/social-learning-theory-bandura/ https://www.dailymaverick.co.za http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.24002-6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.24002-6 https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-08-25-protests-shut-down-ukzn-edgewood-campus/ https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-08-25-protests-shut-down-ukzn-edgewood-campus/ _hlk80204210 _hlk80196560 _hlk80611588 _hlk93091928 _hlk92605265 _hlk93303697 _hlk80104715 _hlk80104742 _hlk72322954 _hlk80104806 _hlk80104912 _hlk80105111 _hlk80105421 _hlk80105545 _hlk93562279 akersjenning2019 antunesahlin2017 bacchiniesposito2020 bachlouw2010 bandura1977 bandura1978 bandura1983 barasa2002 bitso2015 braunclarke2006 cropley2019 espositoetl2017 fomunyam2017 glewwekremer2006 guba1981 gumusgulacet2016 hesselinklouw2009 kallsenetl2020 kimsefcikbradway2017 koencelelibhaber2006 kujeke2016 kuru2000 luescherwebbstockbhengu2020 maguirebarakcrosslugo2018 manderson2016 mavunga2019 merriamwebster2021 mitchellhambyetl2015 morwegarcialuescher2018 nakalanzi2019 nasem2018 ndlozi2015 nealethapaboyce2006 neuman2013 nxumalo2020 nyamnjohnkwikonings2012 oxlund2010 oxlund2016 poku2020 politbeck2004 reinders2019 reynolds2018 richmond2014 robins2014 sibeko2003 singh2019 speziale2011 stuurman2018 sutton2021 tanner2000 thamm2015 trere2012 vosstrydom2011 walinga2019 warburtonanderson2015 wicks2017 widom1989 143 author biographies mr herkulaas m.v.e. combrink is a research coordinator at the university of the free state (ufs) and a senior strategic data science support specialist seconded to the free state department of health during the covid‑19 pandemic. he is a phd candidate in data science at the university of pretoria (up). his interests are in research studies/ projects that integrate machine learning, deep learning, data science, reinforcement learning and analytics to improve the quality of education, and healthcare. this forms part of the data science for social impact movement by encouraging the engagement on local challenges as a catalyst for innovative solutions across all fields in education and healthcare. his current research interests are in student analytics, learning algorithms, complex systems research, self‑learning algorithms and student simulation models. dr graham dampier works in the academic development centre (adc) at the university of johannesburg (uj). he holds a phd in english literature, as well as master’s degrees in philosophy and in english literature. his research areas include marxism, quantitative research, and modern literature. prof. leon de beer is a full professor, research director of workwell research unit and an nrf‑rated researcher (y1). he is registered both as an industrial psychologist and a research psychologist. he has a total of 50 peer‑reviewed academic publications in local and international journals in the field of industrial psychology and human resource management. the majority of these articles are based on employee motivation (burnout and work engagement) in organisations. he has authored and co‑authored various validation studies and holds applicable certificates in the statistical software packages that are needed to effectively conduct such studies. prof. boitumelo (tumi) diale is a registered and practising educational psychologist. she is currently head of the department of educational psychology in the faculty of education at the university of johannesburg (uj). she also chairs the faculty’s transformation committee and is instrumental in the transformation unit activities of the university. as a researcher, prof. diale has published articles, conference proceedings, and has presented papers nationally and internationally. her primary research interest is focused on career development across the lifespan. she is an executive member of the psychology society of south africa (psyssa), chairperson of the south african career development association (sacda) and section editor (educational psychology) for the south african journal of childhood education (sajce). she is an academic board member for the south african college of applied psychology (sacap). she also serves as consulting editor for the journal of educational psychology, a journal housed by the nigerian council of educational psychologists in the faculty of education, university of nigeria nsukka. 144 dr karen dos reis is a senior lecturer and teaching and learning specialist in the faculty of economic and management sciences at the university of the western cape (uwc) in south africa. her role is to create and implement initiatives to enhance student success and retention that align with the institutional operational plan (iop). since 2015, she has been invited by the national quality assurance board (umalusi) as a team leader and research consultant to quality‑assure the national business studies’ grade 12 examination papers and assessment policies. ms liesel engelbrecht is an industrial psychology intern working at labournet as part of the industrial relations team. she completed her master’s degree in 2020 at the potchefstroom campus of north‑west university (nwu) in south africa. her dissertation research on coping strategies of emerging adult millennials at a higher education institution delivery site forms the basis of the co‑authored article in this edition of the journal. dr carlien kahl is an independent research psychologist who completed her doctoral research on resilience, transitions, facilitating, and enabling adjustment across contexts through multi‑level, systemic understandings. she coordinates the studywell project at north‑west university (nwu) in south africa and leads the qualitative analyses of the project. she is a senior accredited atlas.ti trainer, avid reader and methodologist. ms adéle kapp is an intern industrial psychologist at the university of the free state (ufs). she completed her master’s degree in 2019 at the north‑west university (nwu) in south africa. she has conducted research on the topic of student motivation, which is focused on validating an existing scale for use within a south african sample. prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post‑schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and an affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state (ufs), mangaung, south africa. before that, he was assistant director for institutional research at the ufs, a senior lecturer in higher education studies and extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he has a postgraduate diploma in higher education from the ufs and obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. thierry is an nrf‑rated researcher with expertise in higher education studies, policy and governance, the student experience, student politics, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he is a founder and editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the books student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and j.o. jowi, 2016) and reflections of south african student leaders, 1994‑2017 (with d. webbstock and n. bhengu, 2020). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www.thierryluescher.net. http://www.thierryluescher.net 145 dr henry mason (d litt et phil) is a social science researcher at the tshwane university of technology (tut) in pretoria, south africa. he is registered as a research psychologist with the health professions council of south africa, holds a y‑rating from the national research foundation and is a past president of the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe). additionally, henry acts in the role of chairperson of the tut research ethics committee. his research interests include positive psychology, with a specific emphasis on purpose, meaning and eudaimonic well‑being amongst student populations, self‑regulation applied to the learning process, secondary traumatic stress, post‑traumatic growth, and research methodology and ethics. prof. venicia mcghie is an associate professor in the faculty of economic and management sciences at the university of the western cape (uwc) in south africa. she is the coordinator of the academic literacy programme in the aforementioned faculty and manages the faculty’s first‑year orientation programme. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. she is also a visiting research fellow, centre for the advancement of scholarship at the university of pretoria (south africa), and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post‑school studies, university of the western cape (south africa) her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and the university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education trust (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995‑1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post‑1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and the impact of globalisation on higher education, and co‑authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor‑in‑chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. prof. karina mostert is a professor in industrial psychology in the faculty of economic and management sciences at the potchefstroom campus of north‑west university (nwu) in south africa. she conducted research on the topic of occupational health and well‑being, and focused on subjective well‑being, burnout, engagement, work‑home interference, and strengths use. her research focus shifted to the health and well‑being of university students, with a specific focus on their experiences, engagement and psychological resources that can assist in optimal functioning and performance. she is leading the project, studywell: 146 student well‑being and success, at nwu. the project aims to develop a valid, reliable, culturally sensitive online analytical processing tool, informed by an in‑depth qualitative investigation, to assess and proactively monitor the study climate, individual traits, states and behaviour of students to inform targeted and cost‑effective interventions. dr soraya motsabi is a qualified teacher, who completed her ba degree, higher education diploma (hed) and b ed at the university of south africa (unisa). she then enrolled for a master’s degree in educational management, which she completed at the then rand afrikaans university (rau), now the university of johannesburg (uj). she developed a passion for psychology and completed her honours in psychology at vista university, after which she pursued a master of arts (counselling psychology) at rau. she has been in the education sector for 42 years as a teacher, a student counsellor, an academic development practitioner, and later as the first‑year experience (fye) coordinator at uj. she is presently retired and runs a small private practice in alberton, south africa. mr nkosini ngwenya is a sociologist and a data scientist. he works as a senior researcher in the academic development centre (adc) at the university of johannesburg (uj). previously, he worked as a student development practitioner (sdp) in the student affairs division at uj. his research interests are in human settlements, higher education, student success, and ethics. he holds a master’s degree in sociology (cum laude) and is currently completing his doctoral studies. his phd thesis focuses on the integral role of institutional intervention programmes available to first‑generation low‑income university students. dr annsilla nyar is director of the south african national resource centre for the first‑year experience and students in transition (sanrc). prior to this, she held several senior management positions, i.e. that of senior researcher at the gauteng city‑region observatory (gcro), a partnership between gauteng provincial government, the university of johannesburg (uj) and the university of the witwatersrand (wits), and research manager at higher education south africa (hesa), now universities south africa (usaf). annsilla holds a master’s degree in political science from the university of kwazulu‑natal (ukzn), and a phd through the department of political studies at wits. annsilla’s key academic interest is in social justice and the politics of transition and transformation in south africa. mrs lauren l. oosthuizen is part of the management structure of the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state (ufs). she leads the university’s compulsory first year seminar and its graduate attributes project. her experience is related to supporting students in the transition from high school to university, delivering high‑impact practices at scale, teaching large classes with a focus on student engagement and learning‑centred teaching, and curriculum development and design. 147 prof. jacobus pienaar is an associate professor in work and organisational psychology in the department of psychology at stockholm university, sweden. his research interests, supervision and publication list include themes of individual and organisational moderators of work stress, and job insecurity in particular. he is also interested in the relation between work and individual health and well‑being, in which coping plays a prominent role. dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts‑ludwig‑universität freiburg, germany, and the vice‑president of iasas, the executive editorial for the journal of student affairs in africa, a consultant for higher education leadership and management, and for stellenbosch university, where she is leading the secretariat for the international network for town and gown universities. prior to this, she was the senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university and the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals and books on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences, and has given lectures at uc berkley, the university of leuven, and the university of oslo. she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has been a member of the national executive of various professional organisations, including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). dr andré van zyl has a master’s degree in strategic management and a phd in higher education. his main research focus is in the area of student success with specific focus on first‑year students. he has spoken at various national and international conferences. he was responsible for initiating the first‑year experience (fye) initiative at the university of johannesburg (uj). he has spearheaded the setting up of a national resource centre for the fye in south africa. the sanrc is now fully functional and housed on the apb campuses of the uj. he has been working at uj since 2004 and has worked as a learning development facilitator, fye coordinator and since late 2012 as the director of the academic development centre (adc) at uj. dr antoinette venter is the deputy chief education specialist of economic and management sciences of the western cape education department, south africa. she facilitates curriculum and teacher‑development support initiatives and ensures that the curriculum remains dynamic and participates in national processes. she is also the provincial coordinator of the employability entrepreneurship education (e3is) project in schools in the western cape province. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 105 www.jsaa.ac.za research article “my name is matshepo … mother of hope”: examining hope amid the first-year experience henry mason* * dr henry mason is research psychologist and a head of department at the directorate of student development and support, tshwane university of technology, south africa. email: masonh@tut.ac.za abstract student affairs practitioners have essential roles to play in assisting students in concretising a sense of hope. however, more research is needed to explore the role of hope amongst university students during the first-year experience. this article reports on a mixed methods study that explored hope in the context of the first-year experience. the quantitative phase of the study explored the relationships between hope, flourishing, psychological distress, and academic achievement amongst a sample of 296  first-year south african university students (mean age = 20.70, sd = 1.30, female = 63%). statistical analyses revealed significant relationships between the constructs assessed. students who reported high scores on hope also obtained higher academic marks compared to participants who reported lower scores on the same construct. the qualitative phase of the study explored differences in conceptions of hope between participants (n = 28, age-range 18-22) who reported high versus low scores on a quantitative measure of hope. two qualitative themes emerged, namely the trichotomy of hope, and hope-based generalised resistance resources. the findings indicate that students who present with high levels of hope may be more inclined to pursue academic goals and experience a sense of well-being. implications for student support are discussed, and the importance of promoting realistic hope amid the first-year experience is highlighted. keywords first-year experience; hope; mixed methods; positive psychology; well-being introduction hope refers to the conviction that the future will be better than the present, and that people have the power to make it so (anderson, turner & heath, 2016; lopez, 2013). many young people, such as first‑year students, pin their hopes of a better future on completing a university degree (cherrington, 2018). however, the road to achieving a university degree is fraught with challenges and a relatively small proportion of students eventually graduate (habib, 2016; wilson‑strydom, 2015). in this regard, freire (1997, p. 106) argues that it is essential to “maintain hope even when the harshness of reality may suggest the opposite”. persons working in a university context, such as student affairs practitioners, have essential https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:masonh%40tut.ac.za?subject= 106 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 roles to play in motivating students to embrace, inter alia, hope as a strength in the face of challenges (de villiers, 2014; mason, 2019). hope theory emerged as a prominent focus of discourse with the introduction of positive psychology (peterson & seligman, 2004). the discipline of positive psychology studies factors such as positive emotions and virtues that make life worth living despite challenges (seligman & csikszentmihalyi, 2000). hope refers to the expectation of a positive and meaningful future and the associated effort required to achieve such an outcome (snyder et al., 1991). numerous studies have indicated that hope is positively associated with well‑being and engagement and inversely related to experiences of anxiety and distress (guse & vermaak, 2011; martins et al., 2018; snyder, 2002). in the higher education context, research points to positive relationships between hope and academic achievement, problem‑solving and task completion (day et al., 2010; khodarahimi, 2013; morisano et al., 2010). according to cherrington (2018), hope has the potential to humanise the educational context by empowering students and others with the awareness that they can be active agents in scripting and enacting optimistic future‑oriented perspectives. in light of these arguments, hope could have particular relevance for university students, especially during the stressful first‑year university experience (de villiers, 2014; scott, 2018). the transition from school to university is particularly demanding and students often require assistance in establishing the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to navigate the change effectively (mason, 2017; wilson‑strydom, 2015). the demanding nature of the first‑year experience is further exacerbated by, amongst other things, maturational challenges, socioeconomic stressors, and being first‑generation students (arnett, 2015; booysen, 2017; jansen & walters, 2019). it is against this backdrop that a number of scholars have called for the exploration of hope as a psychological strength in assisting students in coping with university‑related stressors (anderson, 2016; cherrington, 2018; n9guse & vermaak, 2011). specifically, researchers argue that hope centred around a compelling vision, problem‑solving capacities and agency could assist students in managing university‑related challenges and strengthening academic resilience (day et al., 2010; guse & vermaak, 2011; snyder, 2002). to date, limited south african research has explored the role of hope as a construct within the domain of the first‑year experience (cherrington, 2018; de villiers, 2014). previous research has focused mostly on international contexts (martins et al., 2018; snyder, 2002), while national studies have considered university students’ conceptions of hope (maree & maree, 2013) and the relationship between hope and psychological well‑being amongst schoolchildren (guse & vermaak, 2011). it is, therefore, necessary to examine empirically the value of factors, such as hope, that could strengthen the resolve and support students in navigating the first‑year experience (cherrington, 2018; de villiers, 2014). quantitative investigations could offer objective results concerning the relationships between hope and significant university‑related outcomes, such as flourishing, psychological distress, and academic achievement of students (anderson, 2016; trochim, 2016). in contrast, qualitative analyses could offer insight into students’ conceptions of hope (brocki https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 henry mason: “my name is matshepo … mother of hope” … 107 & wearden, 2006). the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods can, inter alia, enable researchers to explore qualitatively the differentiation between participants who report high and low scores on a quantitative measure of hope, thereby offering a more nuanced perspective compared to adopting mono‑methods (creswell & poth, 2018). this article reports a mixed methods study that explored hope amongst a sample of first‑year south african university students. the quantitative data will indicate that hope has a significant bearing on flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement. the qualitative perspective will offer insight into students’ lived experiences, with a particular emphasis on differences in the conceptions of hope between students who reported high and low scores on a hope scale. in the next section, the theoretical perspective and variables being investigated are discussed. then, the methodological approach that was adopted is presented. this is followed by reporting on the results of the study. the article is concluded by summarising the main findings. theoretical perspective: hope amongst university students at its core, hope is concerned with a person’s mental perspective or vision of the future (frankl, 2008; marques, gallagher & lopez, 2017). research indicates that an optimistic vision establishes a meaning‑directed tension between where persons perceive themselves to be mentally in the present and where they long to be in the future (bressler, bressler & bressler, 2010; gallagher, marques & lopez, 2017). a fear‑based or pessimistic orientation towards the future could be indicative of psychological distress (frankl, 2008). furthermore, the concept of hope comprises three interlocking processes: goals, pathways and agency (lopez, snyder & pedrotti, 2003). the first process of hope theory, namely goals, refers to an outcome that a person wishes to achieve within a specified time frame (latham & locke, 2002). proponents of the goal‑setting theory argue that conscious goals direct human behaviour in purposeful ways (latham & locke, 2002; vincent, boddana & macleod, 2004). thus, goals establish and serve as the targets of deliberate mental action (locke & latham, 2002). researchers distinguish between avoidance and approach goals (snyder, 2002). avoidance goals suggest that a person moves away from a particular outcome due to fear of perceived adverse outcomes (snyder, 2002). in contrast, approach goals indicate a move towards specific goals due to supposed positive achievements. the literature further differentiates between two types of achievement goals, namely mastery achievement and performance achievement goals (grant halvorson, 2012). mastery achievement goals emphasise the development of knowledge and skills and reframe obstacles as opportunities for improvement; performance achievement goals focus on the expression of particular abilities and setbacks are considered to be the result of low talent or skill. research suggests that hopeful persons may be more inclined to pursue approach and mastery achievement goals while also displaying a higher tolerance for ambiguity (grant halvorson, 2012). in contrast, persons who struggle with anxiety and depression may be more inclined to focus on avoidance and performance mastery goals (grant halvorson, 2012). 108 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 the second process, namely pathways thinking, refers to the perceived capacity to manage setbacks and challenges through generating workable paths to desired goals (lopez, 2013). the broaden‑and‑build theory claims that high‑hope persons tend to report higher levels of positivity, which in turn suggests better problem‑solving capacities and higher levels of optimism (fredrickson & branigan, 2005). consequently, hope could serve as a meta‑skill that assists in facilitating problem‑solving, thereby establishing multiple pathways towards achieving goals (fredrickson & branigan, 2005; lopez, 2013). the third process of hope theory, namely agency, points to a motivational component that promotes goal‑directed determination (lopez, 2013). in this regard, duckworth (2016) refers to the capacity of grit as indicative of a person’s capabilities to engage in agency thinking through the sustained and passionate pursuit of goals. aspects such as agency and grit are critical in the pursuit of goals, especially when encountering obstacles (snyder, 2002). to establish and retain a sense of hope, persons require adequate resources to address the ubiquitous stressors of life (frankl, 2008; lopez, 2013). in this respect, antonovsky (1979) introduced the salutogenic model, which rests on two pillars. the first pillar indicates that humans are confronted daily by a variety of stressors ranging in level of severity from traumatic events to everyday hassles. the second pillar stipulates that generalised resistance resources (grrs) assist humans in dealing with stressors effectively. antonovsky (1987) explains that grrs refer to a variety of factors, such as material (e.g. money), social (e.g. family and friends) and knowledge (e.g. coping resources) that could assist people in coping effectively with the various stressful stimuli that they encounter. moreover, grrs could help people in establishing a sense of coherence, which refers, inter alia, to a sense of optimism and hope in the future (antonovsky, 1979; frankl, 2008). previous studies have pointed to positive associations between hope and well‑being (day et al., 2010; martins et al., 2018). the concept of well‑being is defined as experiencing more positive than negative emotions and a general sense of life satisfaction (wissing et al., 2014). keyes (2016) refers to the concept of flourishing as a holistic state of well‑being. more precisely, flourishing encompasses emotional well‑being (experiencing more positive than negative emotions), social well‑being (positive relationships and contributions to the social world) and psychological well‑being (the pursuit of meaning, purpose and personal growth) (keyes, 2016). even though studies point to positive relationships between hope and flourishing (guse & vermaak, 2011; martins et al., 2018), more research is needed in the south african context (wissing et al., 2014) specifically amongst first‑year students (cherrington, 2018; de villiers, 2014). aim of the study this article reports on a mixed methods study that explored the relevance of hope amongst first‑year university students. the quantitative phase of the study investigated the empirical linkages between hope, flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement amongst a sample of first‑year students at a south african university. the qualitative phase of the study explored differentiation in the conceptions of hope between students who reported high hope statuses versus low hope statuses on a quantitative measure of hope. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 henry mason: “my name is matshepo … mother of hope” … 109 the study was guided by the following two research questions: (1) what is the relationship between hope, flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement? (2) what are the differences in the quantitative measures, and in lived experience, of hope between students who report high scores versus low hope statuses on a quantitative measure? method research design and approach a sequential explanatory mixed methods research approach was adopted as the overarching design for the study being reported on (creswell, 2014). during the first phase of this two‑phase approach, quantitative data were collected and analysed from june to november 2016. based on the quantitative results, qualitative data were collected from participants who reported high and low scores on a measure of hope. the qualitative phase of the study took place from january to august 2017. the research ethics committee of the university where the study was conducted approved the research project (ref.#: scre/2014/07/004). in the sections that follow, the particular methodological aspects of the quantitative and qualitative phases are discussed. quantitative phase research design and sample a descriptive and correlational quantitative research design was adopted to investigate the empirical linkages between hope, well‑being, psychological distress and academic performance (trochim, 2016). purposive sampling was used to collect data from 296 first‑ year university students (mean age = 20.70, sd = 1.30, female = 63%) who were registered for formal academic studies at a south african university. all participants were first‑year university students, 18 years of age or older, and registered for a student development and support programme. data collection and instruments quantitative data were collected using the adult hope scale (ahs) (snyder et al., 1991), the flourishing scale (fs) (diener, 2013), the short depression‑happiness scale (sdhs), (joseph et al., 2004) and a cumulative mark for academic achievement. these instruments are discussed in the sections that follow. the ahs is a 12‑item measure that empirically assesses the concept of hope in terms of two dimensions, namely pathways thinking and agency (snyder et al., 1991). examples of items include: “i energetically pursue the goals that i set for myself ” (agency) and “there are lots of ways around any problem” (pathways). participants respond to items on an 8‑point likert scale ranging from 1 (definitely false) to 8 (definitely true). higher scores represent a more significant presence of hope in a respondent’s life. the ahs presents with good to excellent psychometric properties (daugherty et al., 2018). 110 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 the fs is an 8‑item measure of flourishing (diener, 2013). examples of items include: “people respect me” and “i lead a purposeful and meaningful life”. participants indicate responses on a 7‑point likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, and 7 = strongly agree) and a high score indicates that a person embodies numerous psychological resources and strengths. diener (2013) reports excellent internal consistency in the fs. the sdhs is a 6‑item, statistically bipolar self‑report scale that reports scores on depression and happiness (joseph et al., 2004). three items inquire about positive thoughts, feelings and kinaesthetic experiences (happiness). three items ask about negative thoughts, feelings and kinaesthetic bodily experiences (depression). respondents are asked to think about how they have felt in the past seven days and to rate the frequency of each item on a 4‑point scale ranging from 0 (never) to 3 (often). for this study, only items that assess depression (e.g. “i felt dissatisfied with my life”) were used. the sdhs is a highly reliable and valid measure of depression and happiness (joseph et al., 2004). all participants were registered for five academic subjects within a management science course and their academic achievement reports were obtained from university records. academic grades were calculated by summing the numerical values of each subject’s scores. next, a mean score was calculated based on semester marks, which were all evenly weighted. the specific course and subjects are not named here to protect the anonymity of participants. data analysis the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 25 was used to manage the data analysis procedure. hope was set as the independent variable (iv) and flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement served as the dependent variables (dvs). descriptive statistics were calculated for the constructs and reliability was assessed using cronbach’s alpha. pearson product moment correlations (pearson’s r) were used to calculate the strength and direction of the relationships between the independent and dependent variables, and the statistical significance was set at 0.05. simple linear regression analysis was used to investigate whether hope (iv) predicts flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement (dvs) (cohen, 1992; field, 2013). the independent sample t‑test was used to compare participants’ scores on the ahs, fs, sdhs and academic achievement performance between high (10% of n = 296, thus n = 30) and low (10% of n = 296, thus n = 30) status hope groups. qualitative phase research design and sample interpretative phenomenological analysis (ipa) was adopted as the qualitative research design (brocki & wearden, 2006). ipa focuses on exploring participants’ lived experiences of a phenomenon within a specific context. this study focused on exploring and differentiating between the lived experience of hope as experienced by first‑year students in a university context based on high versus low self‑report ratings on the ahs. therefore, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 henry mason: “my name is matshepo … mother of hope” … 111 ipa was regarded as an appropriate qualitative approach to guide the study (brocki & wearden, 2006). purposeful sampling was used to identify participants for the qualitative phase of the study. participants who reported the highest (n = 30) and lowest (n = 30) scores on the ahs were identified and contacted. a subset of 16 participants who reported high scores (female = 10, male = 6, age‑range = 18‑22) and 12 who indicated low scores (female = 7, male = 5, age‑range 18‑20) responded and provided qualitative data. data collection the participants were requested to express their conceptions on the role of hope within the first‑year experience via narrative sketches. a narrative sketch refers to a qualitative‑ based document written by participants based on a specific topic (giorgi, 1985). the instruction on the narrative sketch was: what does hope mean for you? what role does hope play for you in the context of the university experience? use the space provided and share your perspective of hope concerning your university experiences. there are no wrong answers and no limit on the length of the essay. if you wish, you can use the following prompts to guide your writing: what does hope mean to you? is hope important for first-year students? motivate your response. can you share specific examples where you drew on hope to enhance the first-year experiences? participants’ narrative sketches ranged from one to five pages. the majority of narrative sketches were submitted via a typed format (n = 22), whereas some documents were handwritten (n = 6). participants were also requested to indicate their willingness to participate in qualitative interviews. a total of seven students from the high‑hope status group and six from the low‑hope status group agreed to participate in the qualitative interviews. the interviews were unstructured and guided by the following thematic question: tell me what hope means for you in the context of the first-year experience? follow‑up questions were based on participants’ responses and the focus was on understanding the role that hope plays in participants’ experiences as first‑year students. the interviews, which were 30‑45 minutes in duration, were audio‑recorded and transcribed verbatim. data analysis data were analysed following four broad interwoven and iterative steps (creswell & poth,  2018; henning, van rensburg & smit, 2011). first, as qualitative researcher, i  immersed myself in the data by reading the narrative sketches multiple times. during this initial phase, i made a deliberate attempt to bracket subjective thoughts and personal opinions using qualitative memo writing. second, the coding process started at a granular level by selecting a unit of meaning (e.g. words, phrases, and sentences) and allocating a specific code to it. third, associated codes were grouped as relevant themes and subthemes. fourth, the qualitative interpretation was formulated through constant 112 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 comparison and relating the data to pertinent theory (creswell & poth, 2018; henning et al., 2011). throughout the qualitative analysis, i remained cognisant of the guiding aim of the qualitative phase of the study, namely to identify differences concerning the lived experience of hope between students who reported high versus low scores on the ahs. trustworthiness and credibility of the interpretation were ensured by cross‑checking the findings against a literature control and participant verification. verbatim quotes are included to substantiate the qualitative interpretation and reflexive qualitative memos were kept (creswell & poth, 2018; henning et al., 2011). results and discussion quantitative results the descriptive statistics (mean scores, standard deviations, internal reliability) and relevant correlational values for the dependent and independent variables are presented in table 1. table 1: descriptive statistics variables/ statistical values mean sd alpha 2 3 4 5 6 ahs (total) 35.86 6.62 0.87 0.89** 0.90** 0.62** ‑0.37** 0.22** ahs (agency) 18.25 3.43 0.85 0.61** 0.53** ‑0.32** 0.13* ahs (pathways) 17.61 4.02 0.86 0.58** ‑0.35** 0.25** fs 37.57 8.80 0.82 sdhs (depression) 3.87 1.35 0.74 aa 56.02 9.57 na note: ahs = adult hope scale; fs = flourishing scale; sdhs = short depression happiness scale; aa = academic achievement; *p < 0.05 = statistically significant; **p < 0.01 = statistically significant the mean scores reported on the measures of hope (ahs total, ahs agency and sds pathways), flourishing (fs) and psychological distress (sdhs (depression)) are consistent with internationally reported research (daugherty et al., 2018; dixson et al., 2018; khodarahimi, 2013). all the scales presented with satisfactory to good internal coherence of 0.7 and higher (field, 2013). concerning the correlations, the hope scores (ahs total, ahs agency and ahs pathways) shared significant positive associations with the construct of flourishing and academic achievement. these results echo previous studies and suggest that persons who report higher scores on a measure of hope are also more inclined to report higher scores on assessments of holistic well‑being and tend to perform better academically when compared to persons reporting lower scores (daugherty et al., 2018; day et al., 2010; dixson et al., 2018; khodarahimi, 2013; morisano et al., 2010). correspondingly, hope was inversely related to the measure of psychological distress (sdhs), indicating that hope is associated with enhanced flourishing versus ill‑being (day et al., 2010; lopez, 2013). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 henry mason: “my name is matshepo … mother of hope” … 113 to investigate the premise that hope (iv) is a unique predictor of flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement (dvs), regression analyses were conducted. table 2 presents the respective results from the regression analyses. table 2: summary of standard multiple regression analyses model 1. dv: fs iv: ahs (total) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 9509.60 1.0 9509.60 209.76 0.01** 0.42 0.41 residual 133328.76 294 45.34 total 22838.36 295 ‑ model 2. dv: fs iv: ahs (agency) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 6374.71 1.0 6374.71 113.84 0.01** 0.28 0.28 residual 16463.65 294 56.00 total 22838.36 295 ‑ model 3. dv: fs iv: ahs (pathways) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 8558.32 1.0 8558.32 176.20 0.01** 0.37 0.37 residual 14280.05 294 48.57 total 22838.36 295 ‑ model 4. dv: sdhs iv: ahs (total) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 86.80 1.0 86.80 56.67 0.01** 0.16 0.16 residual 450.33 294 1.53 total 537.12 295 ‑ model 5. dv: sdhs iv: ahs (agency) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 57.61 1.0 57.61 35.32 0.01** 0.11 0.10 residual 479.51 294 1.63 total 537.12 295 ‑ model 6. dv: sdhs iv: ahs (pathways) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 78.68 1.0 78.68 50.46 0.01** 0.15 0.14 residual 458.44 294 1.56 total 537.12 295 ‑ model 7. dv: aa iv: ahs (total) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 1374.68 1.0 1374.68 15.76 0.01** 0.05 0.05 residual 25637.00 294 87.20 total 27011.68 295 ‑ 114 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 model 8. dv: aa iv: ahs (agency) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 479.51 1.0 479.51 5.31 0.02* 0.02 0.01 residual 26532.17 294 90.25 total 27011.68 295 ‑ model 9. dv: aa iv: ahs (pathways) sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 1797.82 1.0 1797.82 20.96 0.01** 0.07 0.06 residual 25213.86 294 85.76 total 27011.68 295 ‑ note: ahs = adult hope scale; fs = flourishing scale; sdhs = short depression happiness scale; aa = academic achievement; *p < 0.05 = statistically significant; **p < 0.01 = statistically significant a simple linear regression was calculated to predict flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement based on participants’ reported hope scores. significant regression equations were found between the quantitative measure of flourishing (fs) and the ahs (total) (f(1,294) = 209.76, p < 0.01), ahs (agency) (f(1,294) = 113.84, p < 0.01), and ahs (pathways) scores (f(1,294) = 176.20, p < 0.01). a noteworthy regression equation was also found between the total (f(1,294) = 56.67, p < 0.01), agency (f(1,294) = 35.32, p < 0.01), and pathways scores (f(1,294) = 50.46, p < 0.01) on the ahs and the sdhs. medium practical effect sizes emerged, suggesting that hope plays a role in students’ experiences of flourishing and depression, but is not the overall determining factor. similar to previous studies, the data for this sample strongly indicated that hope is associated positively with a measure of well‑being, in this case, flourishing (fs) and inversely related to a measure of psychological distress (sdhs) (daugherty et al., 2018; day et al., 2010; dixson et al., 2018; khodarahimi, 2013). thus, the regression analyses indicate that hope could have an essential influence on students’ success at university through promoting flourishing behaviour and possibly protecting against psychological distress (anderson, 2016). the ahs (total) significantly predicted academic achievement amongst the participants (f(1,294) = 15.76, p < 0.01). likewise, the ahs (agency) (f(1,294) = 5.31, p < 0.05) and the ahs (pathways) (f(1,294) = 20.96, p < 0.01). however, small practical effect sizes emerged on the ahs (total) (r2 = 0.05), the ahs (agency) (r2 = 0.02) and the ahs (pathways) (r2 = 0.07) (cohen, 1992; field, 2013). thus, the ahs only accounted for a small percentage of variance regarding participants’ academic achievement (ahs (total) = 5%, ahs (agency) = 2%, ahs (pathways = 7%)). table 3 represents the variance in participants’ reported scores on the quantitative measures between the subsections of the sample that reported high hope (n = 30) and low hope (n = 30) statuses. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 henry mason: “my name is matshepo … mother of hope” … 115 table 3: independent samples t‑test variables n mean sd t‑value df low hope group 30 ahs (total) 30 23.73 3.43 ahs (agency) 30 12.67 2.67 ahs (pathways) 30 11.07 2.42 fs 30 24.67 8.34 sdhs (depression) 30 5.10 1.60 aa 30 49.63 12.82 high hope group 30 ahs (total) 30 45.00 2.39 24.64* 58 ahs (agency) 30 22.83 0.96 19.32* 58 ahs (pathways) 30 22.17 1.13 22.38* 58 fs 30 45.47 4.82 9.81* 58 sdhs (depression) 30 3.67 1.55 ‑3.39* 58 aa 30 57.92 11.76 2.57* 58 note: ahs = adult hope scale; fs = flourishing scale; sdhs = short depression happiness scale; aa = academic achievement; *p < 0.05 = statistically significant; **p < 0.01 = statistically significant the differences between the two groups’ reported ahs (total) (t(58) = 24.64; p < 0.01), ahs (agency) (t(58) = 19.32; p < 0.01) and ahs (pathways) (t(58) = 22.38; p < 0.05) scores were statistically significant. additionally, the differences between the high‑ and low‑hope status groups were significant on the fs (t(58) = 9.81; p < 0.01), the sdhs (t(11) = ‑3.39; p < 0.01)) and in terms of academic achievement (t(58) = 2.57; p < 0.01)). the comparison between high‑ and low‑hope status groups indicates that there are significant differences in terms of students’ flourishing, reported levels of psychological distress, and academic achievement. thus, the data suggest that students who report high‑ hope statuses function better in terms of the presence of positive experiences (flourishing), the absence of negative emotions (psychological distress), and academic achievement during the first‑year experience. however, this study did not control for external variables that could influence students’ experiences of hope, such as socioeconomic status, social support, or coping resources. therefore, the findings should not be considered in a deterministic manner, but ought to be regarded as trends that emerged from a single data set. nonetheless, the quantitative data support the existing literature by indicating that hope may serve as a relevant psychological strength in enhancing students’ experiences (cherrington, 2018; gallagher et al., 2017; lopez, 2013). the beneficial effects of hope as a psychological strength would likely be realised when students are motivated by an optimistic vision of the future, engage in agency thinking and have multiple pathways available to achieve goals (lopez, 2013). however, the conditions 116 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 that could assist in strengthening a sense of hope were not investigated. based on the challenges within the south african higher education context, such as the stressful nature of the first‑year experience, socioeconomic pressure, and epistemic access, the conditions that facilitate the development of hope might not be readily available to the entire first‑year student cohort (anderson et al., 2016; cherrington, 2018; scott, 2018). it was with these thoughts in mind that the qualitative phase of the study was initiated. qualitative findings the qualitative phase of the study explored the different conceptions of hope, as expressed by students who reported high‑hope statuses (n = 16) versus those who reported low‑hope statuses (n = 12). two themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: (1) the trichotomy of hope, and (2) hope‑based grrs. in the sections that follow, the qualitative themes are presented. then, the quantitative results and qualitative findings are summarised and discussed. the referencing system in parenthesis denotes participant number (e.g. p#1 for participant 1), group (h = high reported hope group, l = low reported hope group), data collection method (ns = narrative sketch, i = interview), gender (m = male, f = female), and age. for example, ‘p#1, h, ns, f, 18’ refers to participant number one, who reported a high hope status, provided data via the narrative sketch, is female and 18 years of age. the trichotomy of hope the major set of qualitative differences between students who reported high‑hope statuses versus those who reported low‑hope statuses related to how they described three essential facets of hope, namely their visions for their future, goal‑directedness, and pathways thinking. concerning their vision of the future, the high‑hope group sketched much clearer images of the directions of their lives. for example, one participant from the high‑ hope group explained that she had “big plans for my future … i want to complete my degree … register for postgrad studies and pursue an academic career … i wish to become a university lecturer. i  want to uplift other young female students” (p#3, h, ns, f, 19). another student from the high‑hope group shared that his future perspective: “is optimistic … there are many opportunities in the world … all over the world … it may sound silly, but my dream is to be the md of an international motor company” (p#13, h, i, m,20). in contrast, participants from the low‑hope status group made fewer references to their future visions and were more likely to sketch pessimistic visions. participant 4, an 18‑year‑old female, exclaimed during the interview: “i don’t feel very optimistic about the future. i have little hope in living a life filled with joy … when i think of where i want to be in 10 years’ time, i don’t see much happiness.” this sentiment was echoed by participant nine, a nineteen‑year‑old male from the low‑hope status group who reported the following in the narrative sketch: “there is not much positiveness in the future … circumstances have given me a bad deal, poverty and no role models … there’s no escaping it.” empirical research indicates that persons who establish compelling personal visions are more likely to set specific and personally relevant goals (masuda et al.,  2010). https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 henry mason: “my name is matshepo … mother of hope” … 117 correspondingly, persons who set specific and meaningful goals are more likely to achieve their stated outcomes when compared to persons who set vague goals (locke & latham, 2002; vincent et al., 2004). consequently, a personal vision appears to play an integral role in motivation and the achievement of meaningful life goals (masuda et al., 2010). concerning goals, students in the high hope status group were more likely to make references to meaningful mastery‑orientated goals (“i have learning goals that i want to achieve … for example, i aim to get a 75% average this year to apply for a bursary and get accepted at company x to do an internship after i graduate” p#7, h, i, f, 18) and made greater reference to multiple pathways to achieve their goals (“i had a teacher in school who used to say ‘there’s more than one way to crack an egg’. i thought about it for long and i began to understand it … many ways to get to a solution … get to an answer. you must explore different options to get what you want” p#12, h, i, m, 22). to the contrary, participants in the low‑hope status groups made limited reference to approach‑based objectives, but instead appeared to adopt avoidance‑based orientations (“… often feel that i do not belong here and will fail at university” p#9, l, ns, m, 19). these findings are consistent with the literature (cherrington & de lange, 2016; grant halvorson, 2012) and suggest that students who report higher hope statuses exhibit better goal‑directedness in real‑life settings. the knock‑on effect is that students could experience higher levels of positivity (“i would describe myself as a very happy person … satisfied with my life …” p#5, h, i, f, 19) versus “my life is not very pleasant …” (p#2, l, ns, f, 18) that could broaden and build skill sets, which is tantamount to enhanced pathways thinking (fredrickson & branigan, 2005; lopez, 2013). hope-based generalised resistance resources students who reported high scores on the ahs were more vocal about the presence of grrs in their lives. more specifically, students who reported high‑hope statuses referred to three specific grrs, namely emotional support (“many people care deeply for me … people who love me” p#8, h, i, f, 18), social support (“my grandmother is my rock …” p#5, h, ns, f, 19) and greater financial security (“being poor is hard … nsfas support with studies helps me to relax … financial stability is important when you think about developing a plan for life” p#15, h, i, m, 18). in contrast, students who reported low‑hope statuses were more likely to describe experiences of emotional distress (“there’s so many things that worry me … not coping well …” p#11, l, ns, m, 18) and point to financial challenges (“i hate that everything is about money. if you don’t have money it is like you don’t matter … inequality means that many people will never be a success” p#9, l, i, m, 19). as one of the most unequal countries in the world, south africa is characterised by an imbalanced distribution of resources (booysen, 2017; wilson‑strydom, 2015). it is against this backdrop of inequality that deliberate attempts were made by the government to widen access to university (jansen & walters, 2019; scott, 2018). however, access without the necessary resources required to achieve success at university does little more than expose the existing societal fault lines that plague success in the higher education context (habib, 2016; scott, 2018). as reported elsewhere, access to university ought to be augmented with the required resources to ensure, inter alia, emotional support, social support and financial security to students (habib, 2016; lewin & mawoyo, 2014). 118 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 however, what has not necessarily been reported elsewhere is the importance of grrs in establishing a context where hope could be instilled as a psychological protective factor in the lives of first‑year students. integration this mixed methods study had two overarching aims. first, the study sought to investigate quantitatively the empirical linkages between hope, flourishing, psychological distress and academic achievement amongst a sample comprising first‑year students at a south african university. second, the study explored qualitatively the distinctions in the conceptions of hope between students who reported high‑hope statuses versus low‑hope statuses. the quantitative data indicated positive correlations between hope and measures of flourishing and academic achievement. additionally, an inverse relationship emerged between hope and a measure of psychological distress. furthermore, regression analyses echoed the findings from the extant literature by indicating that persons who report high‑ hope scores are more likely to experience flourishing, perform better academically, and tend to be less prone to depression (daugherty et al., 2018; dixson et al., 2018; khodarahimi, 2013; snyder et al., 1991). comparisons between participants who reported high‑hope statuses and low‑hope statuses suggest that hope may be a significant protective factor that promotes holistic well‑being and academic achievement while serving as a possible buffer against psychological distress. the qualitative findings supported the quantitative data by pointing out that participants who reported high‑hope statuses were more likely to have well‑established and optimistic visions, set and pursue mastery and achievement‑orientated goals and engage in more significant pathways thinking. thus, the qualitative analysis augmented the quantitative argument that hope is a vital psychological attribute that could promote holistic student success by fostering flourishing and academic achievement. however, the qualitative findings also indicated that high‑hope participants had access to three specific grrs, namely emotional support, social sustenance and greater financial security. this qualitative finding demonstrates that the availability of foundational support plays an essential role in promoting a sense of hope amongst students. thus, while the quantitative data pointed to the significance of hope in terms of well‑being and academic achievement during the first‑year experience, the qualitative data highlighted the contextual factors that assist in making hope possible. the findings from this mixed methods study, therefore, confirm that while hope is a vital feature of promoting holistic student success, attention should also be paid to the grrs that support an optimistic vision of the future, goal‑directedness and pathways thinking. hence, student affairs practitioners would do well to focus on strengthening hope by solidifying the grrs and contextual factors that might be hidden below the metaphorical surface of student achievement. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 henry mason: “my name is matshepo … mother of hope” … 119 conclusion this mixed methods study explored the concept of hope within the context of the first‑ year experience. the quantitative results supported the existing literature by indicating that hope was positively associated with flourishing and academic achievement and inversely related to psychological distress. the qualitative findings indicated that high‑hope students were more likely to report positive and optimistic vision statements, be goal‑directed and adopt multiple pathways in pursuing meaningful goals. furthermore, the qualitative data drew much‑needed attention to the relevance of grrs in actualising the potentiality of hope. taken altogether, the study provides convincing evidence for the significance of hope as a psychological strength within the context of the first‑year experience. moreover, this article highlights the importance of three specific grrs, namely emotional support, social support and financial means as critical drivers that promote a sense of hope. this study was limited in the following ways: first, given that the study was conducted in a cross‑sectional manner at a single south african university, the results should not be over‑interpreted. hence, while the findings are consistent for the specific quantitative and qualitative data sets, over‑generalisations should be avoided. second, while the language of regression may appear causal, it should be kept in mind that a correlational research design was adopted during the quantitative phase of the study. therefore, the strong relationships between hope and the dependent variables should not be considered indicators of causality; only true experimental designs would allow for causal inferences. third, limited qualitative data were collected from a subset of the sample based on self‑report scores on the ahs. self‑report measures are fraught with social desirability. thus, an assumption was made that the assessment of hope via the ahs was reflective of real‑world differences. even though the ahs presented with valid and reliable psychometric properties, a different qualitative narrative could have emerged if more diverse voices had been included in the study. despite the limitations of the study, the findings point to promising avenues for further research. amongst other things, researchers should be encouraged to examine the concept of hope from an afrocentric perspective. studies that consider hope and other positive psychology‑based constructs from afrocentric perspectives could offer greater insight and potentially contribute to the advancement of african psychology. moreover, such studies could provide theoretical lenses to explore the local realities that students struggle with from indigenous perspectives. additionally, it appears relevant to develop support programmes and establish contextual frameworks that promote a sense of hope. in this regard, researchers should consider first‑order (vison, goals, pathways and agency) and second‑order (grrs) factors that promote a sense of hope. this study affirms that a vision of a hopeful future could serve as a beacon of light during the stressful first‑year student experience. one participant captured this affirmation as follows: “my name is matshepo … it means ‘mother of hope’. in my life, hope is like a protector, the inspiration for my future … hope helps me to keep believing” (p#7, h, i, f, 18). the roles that student affairs professionals can play in assisting students in concretising hope should not 120 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 105‑122 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 be underestimated. student affairs staff ought to champion the cause of helping students to develop optimistic future perspectives, along with the belief systems and contextual requirements to make hope happen. references anderson, d.s. 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(2014). towards flourishing: contextualising positive psychology. pretoria, south africa: van schaik. how to cite: mason, h. 2020. “my name is matshepo … mother of hope”: examining hope amid the first‑year experience. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 105‑122. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6368-5_21 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6368-5_21 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-017-9212-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9547-x https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9547-x https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2744 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v7i2.3827 https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980903472235 https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980903472235 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018478 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.5 https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01 https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.570 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.570 https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.394 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315780214 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4455 _goback _hlk48022774 _hlk32997702 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, v‑xiii | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1721 v www.jsaa.ac.za editorial the impact of covid‑19 on student affairs and higher education in africa thierry m. luescher,i birgit schreiber,ii teboho moja,iii martin mandew,iv w.p. wahlv & bekele ayelevi i prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, south africa, and associate professor: higher education affiliated to the university of the free state, mangaung, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-6675-0512. email: tluescher@hsrc.ac.za ii dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwiguniversität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and for stellenbosch university, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za; birgitdewes@gmail.com iii prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education, new york university, u.s.a. she is alo a visiting research fellow at the centre for the advancement of scholarship, university of pretoria, south africa, and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. she is jsaa’s editor-in-chief. orcid: 0000-0001-6343-3020. email: teboho.moja@nyu.edu iv dr martin mandew is the principal of the qwaqwa campus of the university of the free state, south africa.. email: mandewmdpa@ufs.ac.za v dr w.p. wahl has been involved in student affairs for almost 19 years and currently serves as director: student life at the university of the free state (ufs), south africa. orcid: 0000-0000-0000-0000. email: wahlwp@ufs.ac.za vi dr bekele ayele is a senior lecturer at kotebe metropolitan university (kmu), addis ababa, ethiopia. email: bekeleworkie@gmail.com a global pandemic with local realities over the course of their history, african universities have had to contend with many crises, and they have learnt to quickly adapt to ensure that conditions for teaching and learning, as well as student development and support, continue. political turmoil, economic downturns, fiscal austerity, social conflicts, staff and student strikes, virus outbreaks and even civil wars have forced universities into circumstances that require difficult decisions in a context of great uncertainty and complexity (fomunyam, 2017). while such disaster periods and events often have deeply disruptive effects on the university community, they tend to last a limited time only. however, the choices made during such periods of crisis frequently outlive the crisis itself and come to define a university’s functioning well after the crisis has passed (adedire, 2018; chetty & luescher, 2021). in the past, crises that impacted african universities were typically limited to a parti‑ cular region, nation or institution in their scope. in 2020, however, the global corona virus disease (covid‑19) came to affect universities comprehensively and worldwide in an unprecedented manner (schreiber & ludeman, 2020). african universities across the vi journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, v‑xiii | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1721 continent needed to respond to the global health threat and state‑instituted lockdown restric tions. university leaders across the continent and globally had to decide on various kinds of emergency measures and reimagine teaching and learning and student engagement and support in order to ‘save the academic year’ (dell, 2020; moja, 2021). the leadership of student affairs and services(sas) were typically part of such decision‑making from the start (schreiber et al., 2020; perozzi et al., under review). the participation of sas leaders and practitioners in the decision‑making was crucial as they often are the first port of call when students are in dire straits and require support, be it social, psychological counselling, academic advising, student governance related, access to resources, etc. and yet, even sas practitioners were not quite prepared for the unprecedented crisis that was about to hit the higher education environment locally, on the african continent, and at a global level. this special issue provided sas practitioners with an opportunity to reflect on their work, its appropriateness, and to implement risk‑mitigating strategies even as the crisis was unfolding. as campus after campus closed, leaving only a remnant of ‘essential services’ to continue on site in some cases, learning in most universities was either suspended or moved online in some form of ‘emergency remote teaching’ (adotey, 2020; commonwealth of learning, 2020; dell & sawael, 2020). similarly, most sas provision either moved online or was suspended if they were considered ‘non‑essential’ services (ayele, 2020). key higher education actors like the association of african universities (aau) swiftly realised that any form of online learning would potentially exclude many students across the continent who would normally benefit from a campus environment that made up for the lack of a conducive home learning environment or provide other forms of essential learning support (aau, 2020; schreiber et al., 2020). thus, on the one hand, the aau called on african universities to implement online learning urgently, while also urging african governments to invest in digital infrastructure in rural areas and promote access for all those unable to access online educational services (aau, 2020; chetty & luescher, 2021). student affairs practitioners have been challenged to respond in innovate ways to meet the diverse needs of different students, enhance student learning and development, and advance the social justice imperative that underpins and drives sas work. as much as most governments issued “one size fits all” instructions  to universities, on the ground the student affairs practitioners had to contend with their diverse local realities. universities with international students and those with students from far‑flung regions faced different challenges in assisting their students’ speedy return home than others with a more local student body. there are instances where international students were sent home without financial help from their institutions or assistance from home. some highly resourced universities were able to issue students who did not have electronic devices like a laptop or tablet with such, along with data vouchers and so forth. some universities who already used advanced online learning platforms were able to expand their use and deliver learning in an advanced online learning environment while others had to improvise (chetty & luescher, 2021). universities who had a student body made up largely of financially needy students who needed to return to their communities, often permeated by t.m. luescher, b. schreiber, t. moja et al.: the impact of covid‑19 on student affairs and higher education … vii crime and violence, needed to mitigate the impact of these factors and support students or bring them back to campus (undp, 2020). some universities, which had faced crisis prior to the covid pandemic, had experienced student affairs staff and programmes that were attuned to crisis and remote contexts (schreiber et al., 2020). considering higher education and sas in africa during the covid‑19 pandemic while moving forward, there are a number of lessons we need to keep in mind. firstly, the experience of past crises on the african continent and beyond teaches that emergency protocols often turn into, or inform, new standard operational policy after a crisis subsides (chetty & luescher, 2021). in light of this, it is clearly imperative to describe and analyse these moments of crisis, the conditions that gave rise to them, the ways the crisis was managed, and the changes in policy and practice that ensued from it, so as to be able to reflect on them, theorise and learn from them. the closure of institutions coupled with remote teaching, added more pressure on the students and sas practitioners. the switch to remote teaching laid bare the enormity of the digital divide on the african continent in its starkest and most iniquitous form as students in far‑flung remote rural areas were unable to get access to academic programme. quintana and quintana (2020) and händel et al. (2020) indicate that during the pandemic there were many factors that led to compounded anxiety amongst students including “grade anxiety”, absence of adequate infrastructure and overall unpreparedness of institutions and students. there were concerns about the mental health of students and staff and in some instances, institutions added more service and resources to address the challenges (moja, 2020). some of the issues that came up for students as a result of being removed from their campuses had to do with them not having appropriate learning spaces and an increased food insecurity as they depended on their financial support that includes expenses related to their living expenses. for a foreseeable future there is a strong likelihood of studies to be conducted to extract more of the lessons learned and the long‑term impact of the pandemic. producing the jsaa covid‑19 special issue the idea for a special covid‑19 issue of the journal of student affair in africa was born with an email of one of the founding editors, prof. thierry luescher, to the editorial executive of jsaa on 14 march 2020 in which he proposed that: (1) a call for contributions to a special issue should be developed and sent out to sas practitioners across the african continent and globally; (2) the special issue should publish practitioner reflections on the impact of covid‑19 on sas in their respective contexts; (3) a task team of editors should be established to oversee the rapid realisation of the special issue. on the same day, jsaa’s editor‑in‑chief, prof. teboho moja and the other founding editor, dr birgit schreiber, responded affirmatively. within a week the task team of editors was established and a call for papers finalised for distribution. before the end of the month, an advert had been placed in the university world news africa edition to call for papers. the jsaa call for papers was short and to the point: “the covid‑19 epidemic has sparked an unprecedented challenge for higher education in general and student affairs and services in particular. the different ways that national ministries, higher education viii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, v‑xiii | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1721 institutions and student affairs departments and units are responding to the challenge and opportunities in different contexts – by means of social distancing, introducing blended and online development, support and learning, closure, etc. – and the way this affects and implicates the provision of co‑curricula and student development and support services, the student affairs practitioners, as well as students in general and specific student groups, urgently needs to be documented and presents an opportunity for sharing experiences and learning. the journal of student affairs in africa is preparing a special issue on ‘the impact of covid‑19 on higher education and student affairs in africa’ in which we publish the research and reflections of student affairs practitioners, university leaders, policy makers, researchers, students, and journalists on the impact of covid‑19 in the context of african higher education and other relevant contexts.” the response from the african and global student affairs community was extraordinary. by 31  may  2020, the editorial task team had received 110 proposals from sas practitioners and scholars hailing from botswana, eswatini, ethiopia, ghana, ivory coast, kenya, lesotho, liberia, malawi, namibia, nigeria, rwanda, south africa, sudan, tanzania, uganda, zambia, zimbabwe, as well as from bangladesh, germany, india, the united arab emirates and the united states of america. the task of assessing the abstracts fell upon the editors. within two weeks, they gave the green light to thirty proposals from twelve countries and many more university contexts. their assessment was guided by the normal assessment criteria of jsaa: scope and interest, originality, significance, and scholarship. many proposals had to be redirected to journals that focus on teaching and learning in higher education or other specialised aspects like ict in education. within only three months, the authors completed full papers from their proposals. of the initial thirty accepted proposals, twenty full papers were received and distributed amongst the editorial task team who vetted each of them individually. it was eminently clear that african student affairs practitioners had a lot to report on from the impact of the pandemic on their work, staff and students; however, in completing the papers some colleagues were also overrun by crisis work and eventually could not submit. in some cases of submitted papers, the editors requested some corrections from the authors before sending the revised manuscripts to two independent experts for a double‑blind review process. the peer review process, which started in december and lasted into late february in some cases, removed a further five papers from the final list. t.m. luescher, b. schreiber, t. moja et al.: the impact of covid‑19 on student affairs and higher education … ix the contents of the special issue the present special issue is the result of this yearlong process. it is being published while the world is still in the throes of the pandemic, with many countries experiencing a “third wave”, while the recently approved vaccines provide the only light at the end of the tunnel. in an analogous sense, this issue presents sas practitioners’ efforts at re‑engineering a super‑aircraft in mid‑flight in an effort to “save the academic year” while “leaving no student behind”. as can be seen, it shines like a light in the darkness: in the midst of the tragic of pandemic, a great deal of knowledge has been created. while virologists were developing vaccines, student affairs professionals and scholars across africa invented new ways of operating and supporting the diverse learning needs of future virologists and their peers across the disciplines. the shape and size of the special issue is therefore as follows: • the issue publishes 15 peer‑reviewed articles comprising of eight research articles and seven reflective practitioner accounts. • there are contributions from seven countries providing in‑depth studies from nine different universities. • articles focus on career services, disability services, first year students, international students, living and learning support, students with learning disabilities, student governance, student affairs staff, the use of student data, and under‑resourced students. in addition there is an article that compares the response of sas to the pandemic in africa with that of sas professionals across the globe. • more than half of the authors are female student affairs practitioners and/or researchers. the first article in this issue is based on a global survey conducted in may 2020 by a group of student affairs professionals and scholars from germany, south africa, the united arab emirates and the united states of america (schreiber et al., 2021). their study explores how sas mediates the impact of personal, socio‑cultural and familiar, macro‑infrastructural and systemic influences on student success in the context of covid‑19. the article compares survey data collected from sas practitioners from across the african continent with that of sas practitioners from other world regions to show the similarities as well as differences in their respective responses to the pandemic. the article proposes a systemic‑ contextual model of student affairs’ role in higher education to illustrate the domains that impact on student success and where sas plays a mitigating role in supporting students. the second research articles comes from zambia. in this article kombe and mtonga, from mulungushi university in kabwe provide empirical evidence in relation to the challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students in a zambian public university during the pandemic. this article provides deeper insight into how higher education practitioners and administrators could provide enhanced elearning support to students, especially students hailing from disadvantaged backgrounds. authors songca, ndebele and mbodiba from walter sisulu university in south africa argue that it is unrealistic for universities to advocate for a fully online approach to teaching and learning during covid‑19. they present a model that could be useful to respond to x journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, v‑xiii | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1721 covid‑19, underpinned by a framework that accommodates students who choose online learning, students with intermittent access to online and finally students who cannot access online learning. de klerk et al. (2021) from the university of the witwatersrand in south africa researched the efficacy of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nation‑wide lockdown and highlight the need for support of adjustment processes to promote online engagement. nyar from the south african national resource centre for the first‑year experience and students in transition (sanrc) at the university of johannesburg, uses the notion of a ‘double transition’ to conceptualise the two transitions that first‑year students face in the context of covid‑19: navigating their entry into the unfamiliar terrain of academia while simultaneously navigating the covid‑19 pandemic. it concludes with four key strategies for supporting first‑year students as the pandemic continues. kanyumba and shabangu from the durban university of technology conducted a qualitative research study to create a deeper understanding of the ways in which the covid‑19 pandemic influenced the living‑learning environment of students in residences. the broad scope of sas is highlighted by manase from the university of the free state who discusses the pedagogical challenges and opportunities that emerged from remote development, teaching and learning for students who live and learn with disabilities. her study reveals how some of the covid‑19 related changes offer positive shifts in terms of overcoming social and academic barriers for students with disabilities. a second study from the university of the free state by janeke looks at career development programme in the context of covid‑19. janeke examines the university’s online work readiness programme and illustrates the innovations involved in migrating a career development programme into an online space as well as the impact this career development programme has even under these circumstances. the set of peer‑reviewed reflective practitioner accounts opens with the article by adjei, pels and amoako from ashesi university in ghana. using schlossberg’s transition theory the authors analyse the transitional experiences of students amidst the covid‑19 pandemic. their findings suggest that i) advising, ii) engagement, and iii) timely online support interventions, contributed immensely to students’ success in transitioning from in‑person to remote learning. the second reflective article by dunn‑coetzee and her colleagues at stellenbosch university in south africa highlights the challenges that faced student affairs professionals when their mode of operation changed quickly to virtual operations. the authors emphasise the importance of making adjustments under those circumstances for the sake of minimising a negative impact on students as well as negative impact on their relationship with students. educational technology is used increasingly in the sas space and immenga from the university of cape town discusses in her article how technological tools can be leveraged to aid in the delivery of co‑curricular programmes. her article particularly deals with the training of class representatives as part of the university’s suit of training opportunities for t.m. luescher, b. schreiber, t. moja et al.: the impact of covid‑19 on student affairs and higher education … xi students having representative mandates in university governance. she reflects on working with a design team to transition the face‑to‑face synchronous training of approximately 420 class representatives to an online mode of delivery. the article by mutambisi, murasi and mazodze from bindura university of science education in zimbabwe focuses on the pandemic’s impacts on the composition, well‑ being and skills requirements of student affairs professionals and how the unexpected disengagement with students impacts on sas. it illuminates some influences which are not immediately visible, but significant. they include having to adjust to new work arrangements, loss of income, mental health problems and resource constrains. training and development, social media, employee support systems and employee incentives were catalysts in the early adoption of change. how has the pandemic further complicated the idea of transformation of higher education? a key feature of higher education’s response to the pandemic has been the mass migration of the delivery of the curriculum from physical space to cyberspace or virtual learning environments. in her article, bernard reflects on the problematic and challenging idea of “space” and its impact on the academic project, and specifically on students traditionally categorised as disadvantaged and requiring “special” interventions. the reflective practitioner account of chasi and quinlan illustrates that our lens needs to include international students when deliberating national considerations for higher education. it highlights the specific challenges and constraints that international students faced in light of covid‑19 related restrictions including travel bans, university closures and the national lockdown. they thus explore different aspects of the international student experience including travel home, communication, accommodation and immi‑ gration issues. finally, lyner‑cleophas et al. argue that the biggest potential threat of covid‑19 was and still remains the exacerbation of structural inequalities and systemic inequities within the higher education system. how do sas practitioners practically ensure that students with disabilities are not further excluded as we switch to emergency remote teaching and learning? the authors reflect on the efforts to make existing policies and practices responsive to the needs of students with disabilities in the new and unprecedented environment. in our ‘on campus’ section, bernie johnson of wits reflects on the higher education leadership and management (helm) summit held by universities south africa (usaf) in december 2020 and calls explicitly for a wider understanding of factors that support student and university success. she argues that a “supportive political economy is needed for transformation across the sector. we cannot anchor the university if municipalities for example are falling apart in the local contexts”. johnson thus emphasises the role of social, cultural, economic and political context is creating a milieu in which universities and students can indeed be successful, be this in face to face learning or in remote conditions. our covid‑19 special issue includes two book reviews. the first is by tadd kruse who reviews learning online: the student experience, authored by george veletsianos, which puts the student experience into the centre of the learning and development debates. xii journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, v‑xiii | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1721 the second book review is by patrick swanzy who reviews fred hayward’s transforming higher education in africa and asia: strategic planning and policy (2020). swanzy highlights that hayward’s discussion on the critical role of strategic planning – be this done intentional or left to unintentional factors – is the critical aspect to building high‑quality higher education. jsaa organisational the editorial executive of jsaa would like to announce an exciting development. since mid‑last year we have been in conversation with colleagues in the education faculty of the university of pretoria about hosting the jsaa at pretoria university. jsaa was founded in 2013 at the university of the western cape with technical support from the uwc library and incubation support from the open access scholarly publisher, african minds. in the course of 2016, the journal moved to stellenbosch university, which sponsored a number of issues, hosted and administered the journal on its e‑journal platform, and provided administrative support. we are now happy to announce the move of jsaa to the university of pretoria’s collection of scientific journals. the jsaa covid‑19 special issue is the first issue hosted at the university of pretoria. in addition to hosting the journal on its e‑journal platform (https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa) and supporting the journal technically, the university of pretoria has also committed to a level of financial and administrative support for the journal that will ensure that jsaa continues to operate as a diamond open access journal. this means that we are able to continue to offer free access to our readers (no subscription cost or article‑purchase cost) and free publishing for authors (no article processing charges or page fee). we are exceptionally proud of being able to continue this diamond open access format for authors and readers as our contribution to the professionalisation of student affairs in africa. finally, the jsaa editorial executive wishes to thank the peer reviewers of articles reviewed in 2020 (and, in some cases, published in volume 8) for their time and expertise. as customary, we list all our distinguished peer reviewers in the first issue of the year. this list serves to certify their commitment to the academic project as trusted peers, and more especially their contribution to the scholarly development and professionalisation of student affairs in africa. references aau (association of african universities) (2020). appeal to african ministers of higher education: opportunities for building resilient educational institutions. accra. https://bit.ly/3syecv0 adedire, a.a. (2018). civil wars and the african universities: the university of ibadan example, 1967‑1970. ufahamu: a journal of african studies, 40(2). https://bit.ly/3ak9bgr adotey, s.k. (2020). what will higher education in africa look like after covid‑19? world economic forum. https://bit.ly/2s4pqwl [accessed 21 august 2020]. ayele, b.w. (2020). life in the time of covid‑19. ethiopia: the response of ethiopian higher education institutions to the covid‑19 crisis: sas is a high focus area. in: r.b. ludeman & b. schreiber (eds.), student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues, and best practices (third edition) (pp. 32‑33). iasas & deutsches studentenwerk (dsw) publishers. https://bit.ly/3gkouof t.m. luescher, b. schreiber, t. moja et al.: the impact of covid‑19 on student affairs and higher education … xiii chetty, k. & luescher, t.m. (in press, 2021). african universities – working towards an inclusive digital future in a post‑covid‑19 world. africa insight. commonwealth of learning (2020). guidelines on distance education during covid‑19. burnaby. https://bit.ly/2s92vv7 dell, s. (2020, may 15). he department unveils plan to “save the academic year”. university world news (africa edition). https://bit.ly/3vnd2wx dell, s. & sawahel, w. (2020, 20 march). african universities urged to put classes online urgently. university world news. https://bit.ly/3xxtilh fomunyam, k.g. (2017). student protest and the culture of violence at african universities: an inherited ideological trait. yesterday and today, (17), 38‑63. https://doi.org/10.17159/2223‑0386/ 2017/n17a3 händel, m., stephan, m., gläser‑zikuda, m., kopp, b., bedenlier, s. & ziegler, a. (2020). digital readiness and its effects on higher education students’ socio‑emotional perceptions in the context of the covid‑19 pandemic. journal of research on technology in education, 1‑13. https://doi.org/ 10.31234/osf.io/b9pg7 hayward, f. (2020). transforming higher education in africa and asia: strategic planning and policy. state university of new york press. moja, t. (2021, january 3). national and institutional responses – reimagined operations – pandemic disruptions and academic continuity for a global university. studies in higher education, 19‑29. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1859688 perozzi, b., bardill moscaritolo, l., schreiber, b. & luescher, t.m. (under review). global student affairs and services in the context of covid‑19: toward a heuristic model for sas impact on student success. manuscript under review. quintana, r. & quintana, c. (2020). when classroom interactions have to go online: the move to specifications grading in a project‑based design course. information and learning sciences, 121(7/8), 525‑532. https://doi.org/10.1108/ils‑04‑2020‑0119 schreiber, b., bardill moscaritolo, l., perozzi, b. & luescher, t.m. (2020, september 5). the impos‑ sibility of separating learning and development. university world news. https://bit.ly/3edeyiy schreiber, b. & ludeman, r.b. (2020). life in the time of covid‑19: overview. in: r.b. ludeman & b. schreiber (eds.), student affairs and services in higher education: global foundations, issues, and best practices (third edition), (pp. 19‑21). iasas & deutsches studentenwerk (dsw) publishers. https://bit.ly/3ecuixr undp (united nations development programme) (2020). rivera, c., hsu, y., esbry, f., dugarova, e. (2020). gender inequality and the covid‑19 crisis. https://bit.ly/2r5i3jv veletsianos, george (2020). learning online: the student experience. johns hopkins university press. how to cite: luescher, t.m., schreiber, b., moja, t., mandew, m., wahl, w.p. & ayele, b. (2021). the impact of covid‑19 on student affairs and higher education in africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), v‑xiii. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1721 _hlk68954616 186    submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa. submissions must be made on the online system at https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index. php/jsaa. for information and help, please contact the journal manager, ms bronwin sebonka at bronwin.sebonka@up.ac.za. submissions in response to special calls for papers must also be made directly to the guest editors concerned (see call for papers). the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. researchbased articles must be original and research-based and must make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. the length must be approximately 5 000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as for research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution, and must significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. typical length should be 2 500–5 000 words. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • book reviews should be between 800 and 1 000 words in length. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • comments and critique, of no more than 2 500 words, are also welcome. • proposal for the journal’s dialogue/interview section and calls and notices should be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences, vacancies, etc.) may incur a nominal fee. authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the ethical requirements of social research have been considered and fully complied with. 2. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 3. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 4. the text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with url addresses); and all illustrations, figures and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. 5. the text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined on the journal’s website. 6. the journal uses the apa author–date referencing system. 7. if submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, i.e. as a research article or reflective practioner account, the instructions in ensuring a blind peer review must have been followed. 8. if submitting a proposal for the dialogue section, a call/notice, or a comment/critique, this should be emailed directly to the journal manager. http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/help/view/editorial/topic/000044    187 9. the final text of the article has been professionally edited and proofread prior to submission. 10. the front page of the manuscript indicates the section under which it is proposed that the article be published, i.e. research article (peer-reviewed); reflective practice (peer-reviewed); or book reviews/dialogues/other contributions. 11. permission to reproduce any copyrighted material has been obtained and can be produced should this be requested by the editorial excecutive. section review policy and process the jsaa publishes research articles (peer-reviewed); high-quality reflective practitioner accounts (peer-reviewed); dialogues/interviews (non-reviewed); and book reviews (non-reviewed). the journal is committed to assisting emerging scholars and professionals in developing promising manuscripts to the point of publication. editorial commentary ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed research articles and professional practitioner accounts ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed campus dialogue/interview section ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed book reviews ¨ open submissions ¨ indexed ¨ peer reviewed the editorial and peer-review policy adheres to the assaf national code of best practice in editorial discretion and peer review for south african scholarly journals (assaf council, 2008). all submitted manuscripts undergo an initial careful examination by the editorial executive to ensure that authors’ submissions fall within the mission, scope and focus of the jsaa and conform to scholarly best practice. qualifying scholarly research-based articles and high-quality, relevant reflective practitioner accounts are blind-reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, who would typically be members of the international editorial advisory board of the jsaa. peer reviewers have proven scholarly and/ or professional expertise in the subject matter of a manuscript. reviewer reports are assessed by a member of the editorial executive and form the basis of any decision by the editorial executive on how to proceed with a manuscript. the suitability of a manuscript is evaluated in terms of originality, significance, scholarship and adherence to the requirements of ethical social research, scope and interest, and accessibility. publishing and dissemination policies cost of publishing there are no processing fees or page fees. no costs accrue to authors of articles accepted for publication. licensing notice authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a creative commons attribution license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal. authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in online research repositories or on their website), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. open access policy this journal provides open access to its e-journal content. free copies can be downloaded from the journal website at http://www.jsaa.ac.za, and from co-hosting sites e.g. http://ajol.info. authors are encouraged to place copies of their final articles in their institution’s research repository. http://www.jsaa.ac.za http://ajol.info 188    print copies/subscription • online subscriptions to the e-journal are free of charge. please register at https://upjournals. up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa. • printed copies of past issues of the journal can be ordered from the following online bookstores: african books collective http://www.africanbookscollective.com or amazon books http://www.amazon.com or directly from african minds http://www.africanminds.co.za. • printed copies from vol 4(2) vol 9(1) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa http://www.africanbookscollective.com/ http://www.amazon.com http://www.africanminds.co.za mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= abstract this is the first in a series of papers that emanate from the author’s doctoral research. this research explores academic advising as a profession and academic advisors as practitioners in the south african higher education sector; it focuses on advising within the faculty of commerce, law and management (fclm) at a research-intensive public university in south africa. during the period of investigation, academic advising engagements between students and the author were logged, thus forming a baseline dataset for the doctoral study. in phase one of the data analysis, baseline data were coded and clustered into overarching and subsidiary categories. the baseline dataset consists of 34 subsidiary categories, which form part of 7 overarching categories; it contains 2240 entries based on 1023 consultations with 614 individual students during the three-year period under investigation. using archer’s (1995, 2000, 2005) notions about social realism as a theoretical framework, the author critically scrutinises the complex nature of the work that academic advisors do in a layered analysis of the baseline data. the author posits that it is through these layers of interpretation that one moves from the layer of the empirical (experiences), through the layer of the actual (events), to what archer calls “the real”, that is, the layer of mechanisms or underlying driving forces that brings about what happens in the layers of the empirical and the actual. this paper focuses specifically on the role of the academic advisor; it postulates inferential observations about academic advising by using the baseline dataset as a way in while keeping the academic advisor central to the discussion. keywords academic advising, higher education, holistic supports, social realism, student advising, student success, student support, structure, culture, agency research article making known the real: an exploration of academic advising practices in a south african higher education context danie de klerki i danie de klerk, assistant dean: teaching and learning and centre, faculty of commerce, law and management university of the witwatersrand, danie.deklerk@wits.ac.za 101danie de klerk introduction it is undisputed that the south african (sa) higher education (he) sector is in crisis. matriculants who enter the system are severely underprepared for tertiary studies (scott et al., 2007) with literacy (mckenna, 2010), transition (schreiber et al., 2018), and social integration (karp, 2011; lotkowski et al., 2004; walsh et al., 2009) posing serious challenges. these are compounded by the country’s political, economic, and social complexities, and more recently the covid-19 pandemic, which results in large groups of severely underprepared students who are trying to make their way through university. for this reason, academic advising is crucial to the success of 21st century university students who have to navigate the complexities of sa he studies, and who will find themselves working in an everchanging and uncertain world (hodges, 2018). however, reliable, peer-reviewed literature about advising practices in sa remains limited. there is often anecdotal evidence and a resounding push for additional support services by those working in the sector, but advising requires a rigorous, evidence-based foundation (surr, 2019) that will lend gravitas to sa advising practices. tinto (2014, p. 6) reiterates this when stating that student-success work “require[s] an intentional, structured and coherent set of policies and actions” that are sustained over time. accordingly, the objective of this paper is to add to the growing body of literature about academic advising as a practice, and about academic advisors as practitioners in sa he, by critically exploring and investigating advising practices within the faculty of commerce, law and management (fclm) at a research-intensive public university in south africa. background and literature why academic advising? academic advisors can play a major part in students’ social integration at an institution. feelings of isolation and/or inadequate social support may cause students to drop out (walsh et al., 2009), which are more likely to occur in instances where students are studying away from home and/or are first-generation students (lotkowski et al., 2004). these are common characteristics of students studying at sa universities. lee (2018, p. 77) speaks about the unique challenges experienced by historically marginalised students studying at he institutions, which characterises many sa he students. the author emphasises that academic advisors should understand the daily experiences of the students with whom they work (lee, 2018, p. 77). accordingly, students have been found to persevere, regardless of academic challenges, once they have managed adequate social integration (karp, 2011; lotkowski et al., 2004), which highlights the social nature of learning (maitland & lemmer, 2011; wilmer, 2008) and its impact on student success. hence, journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702102 there is merit in linking students with an individual (e.g. an academic advisor) who is interested in them, in their well-being, and in their progress (hill, 1995; lotkowski et al., 2004; rendon, 1994). correspondingly, it has been proven that non-academic interactions between students and educators (academic advisors are educators too) beyond the confines of a classroom have a positive impact on the students’ development, social integration, and performance (karp, 2011; lotkowski et al., 2004; rendon, 1994). thus, jacklin and robinson’s (2007) claim about personal support is crucial to the success of university students is substantiated. as surr (2019, p. 6) points out, the evidence in support of academic advising as a practice that helps increase students’ likelihood of succeeding in tertiary studies, especially students from disadvantaged backgrounds, continues to grow. however, advising in the sa context is still in its infancy; academic advising for sa he is still being investigated and defined. international literature on academic advising academic advising as a profession has existed for many years in the global north and in australia (clark, 1989; mann, 2020). the united states of america (usa) has produced a wealth of literature about advising models, practices, challenges and more (aune, 2000; donnelly, 2009; heisserer & parette, 2002; pizzolato, 2008; steingass & sykes, 2008; tuttle, 2000; zhang & dinh, 2017). beatty (1991) for example, provides a brief but comprehensive narrative overview of the usa’s national academic advising association (nacada), which was established in the late 1970s and is the official body concerned with academic advising in north america. this association boasts a rich history, including an established annual conference and a peer-reviewed journal, which is well known within the american he sector and globally. the work done by nacada is ongoing, as larson et al. (2018) have recently been grappling with the development of a reflective non-colloquial definition of academic advising for the us context. the available literature from global north contexts highlights academic advising as a profession that covers numerous matters such as curriculum advising, degree choice guidance, integration into the institution, orientation, liaising with other support services, engagement with academics and administrators, psychosocial support, and components of mentoring. it is about providing a comprehensive institutional contact point for students, where they can form a relationship with someone in the institution and find information on a range of university-related matters to enable them to successfully navigate academic and non-academic spaces within the institution. this stands in sharp contrast to the availability of reliable sa literature on academic advising, which is virtually non-existent. south african literature on academic advising as mentioned earlier, there are a few sa papers published in confirmed predatory journals 103danie de klerk and in non-accredited journals that discuss academic advising in sa he. these are not reliable as per mouton and valentine (2017); they are not identifiable as credible contributions to the field. the limited contributions in accredited, peer-reviewed sources that refer to academic advising in sa contexts mostly do so briefly, in passing, and/or without sufficient depth. bitzer (2009) fleetingly mentions academic advising as something that could be funded through teaching development grants. it was exactly such a grant that formed the foundation for academic advising in fclm (de klerk, spark, jones, & maleswena, 2017), where four permanent academic advisors are currently employed. yet, little is said about academic advising as a profession in south african he. moodley and singh (2015, p. 95) highlight academic advising as a “proven high-impact practice” in their paper about student dropout rates at sa universities, but they make no further mention of this. petersen et al. (2009) mention help-seeking behaviour in their paper about disadvantaged sa students, their adjustment to university, and to academic performance, but they do not connect this behaviour to academic advising as a conduit for addressing these challenges. naidoo and lemmens (2015) and kritzinger et al. (2018) mention the referral of at-risk students to student advisors at their institution, but they provide little further detail about how these posts are conceptualised or about what these advisors do. lastly, mayet (2016, p. 4) cites the referral of first-year students to advisory staff for mentoring and monitoring, but she fails to elaborate on the role or profile of advisory staff. possibly the most influential relevant, and significant contributions to the literature about academic advising as a profession within the south african he context are by francois strydom: senior director of the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state (ufs) (see for example: strydom, 2017; strydom & loots, 2020). strydom and loots (2020) highlight academic advising in the sa context as a high-impact practice, which links faculties and student support services at the ufs and which explicates this link to students through advising. moreover, strydom and loots (2020, p. 30) explain that the ufs has made a connection “between academic advising, student engagement and students’ academic success.” however, strydom’s (2017, p. 104) assertion about academic advising as a means of promoting “student persistence, development, support, and success” having seen “very few literature contribution[s]” in south africa, still holds true today. nevertheless, accredited and reliable literature that addresses academic advising as a sa he profession, academic advising practices within the sa he sector, and equity of access as well as barriers to epistemological access, remain extremely limited. this is the case, despite the wealth of literature that exists about underprepared students entering south african universities (mckenna, 2010; schreiber et al., 2018; scott et al., 2007), work done to mitigate it, and initiatives/interventions to enhance student throughput, persistence, and success (case et al., 2018; de klerk et al., 2017; spark et al., 2017). in conclusion, while the problem to date has been that south africa does not have a formal advising framework for he, such a framework is being developed and funded in a collaborative, multi-institutional journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702104 dhet-ucdg project. this special edition of the jsaa forms part of the project which should, in time, see more evidence-based contributions on academic advising in sa he. theoretical framework during the late 1980s, and throughout the 1990s, and into the early 2000s, margaret archer made significant and original contributions to the theory of social realism. her most prominent texts were realist social theory: the morphogenetic approach (1995)1 and being human: the problem of agency (2000).2 as a sociologist, her focus is on the many layers (or strata) of social reality; on the way in which that stratified social reality is constructed through structures and cultures;3 on humans as (change) agents within the stated social reality, and on the autonomous, yet interconnected, relationships that exist between and among these cultures, structures, and agents. archer builds on the work of roy bhaskar (1975) who first posited the idea of a layered social reality. layer one is called “the empirical”; it is concerned with the experiences and observations made by human agents at this layer. these experiences and observations are relative to individual world views and histories; any given social incident can be experienced and observed differently by numerous individuals. layer two is called “the actual”; it represents events that occur in the real world, some of which we may be acutely or peripherally aware of, and some of which we may not be aware of at all. this layer encompasses layer one; an event that occurs in the actual can be observed and experienced in unique ways by individuals at the layer of the empirical. collectively, these two layers represent our daily social reality. the third and final layer is termed “the real”, which encompasses everything in layers one and two as well as what bhaskar (1975) refers to as “mechanisms”. the mechanisms at the layer of the actual can be described as the underlying interconnected driving forces (whether physical or social) that result in experiences and events at the layer of the empirical and the actual. ultimately, these stratified layers of reality manifest at a micro (individual), meso (institutional), and macro (national) level. accordingly, social realism concerns itself with the ontological; its tenets assert that stratified layers of social reality at micro, meso, and macro level exist independently from the human 1 in subsequent papers the author will begin to explore and incorporate archer’s (1995, 2000, 2005) morphogenetic approach as part of the investigation of academic advising within sa he contexts, and of the analysis of both quantitative baseline data and qualitative interview data. 2 although by no means her only meaningful contributions, if one considers other publications like culture and agency: the place of culture in social theory (1996), structure, agency, and the internal conversation (2003), social origins of educational systems (2013), and the chapter titled structure, culture and agency in the blackwell companion to the sociology of culture (2005), among many others. 3 here mention must be made of archer’s extensive theorising about the nature of the relationship between structure and culture, and her contributions about fallacies of conflation in anthropological and sociological discussions about culture over many decades. 105danie de klerk change agents within this reality. yet, it cannot be separated from these change agents because of the way in which social reality is constructed through the actions of humans. similarly, humans find their doing and being influenced by the societies within which they live and which they often attempt to transmute. ultimately, archer is concerned with making explicit the real, while accounting for the complex dimensions of and interplay within that realism. this theory is relevant for two reasons. first, because academic advising is a social practice that deals with students as holistic social beings who bring with them their own unique social realities—realities that have been constructed over time through numerous experiences, events, cultural stimuli, and structures, which implicitly or explicitly influence their (in)ability to enact agency in their own lives and realities. second, because academic advisors as practitioners do not only engage with these students and their lived social realities, but they also have to do so within the highly complex stratified social reality of their institutions, which form part of the larger sa he sector. therefore, adopting archer’s (1995, 2000) ideas about social realism and, more importantly, about the concepts of structure, culture, and agency (archer, 2005) across stratified layers of social reality, to analyse academic advising within the complex realities of sa he,4 affords one a set of lenses with which to critically interrogate the complex dimensions of the work that sa academic advisors do. archer provides a triangulated framework that informs the exploration of how academic advising is positioned within the sa he sector. winberg (2016, p.174) posits that the interconnected relationship of culture, structure, and agency “is an important concept for understanding university teaching” as both structures (i.e. funding, matters of policy, management and leadership, and human and physical resources) and cultures (i.e. dynamics and values in a division, school or faculty, as well as in an institutional and national climate) affect university teaching and, by association, the (in)ability of university teachers to enact agency. academic advising as a profession, and academic advisors as practitioners, are subject to the same structural, cultural, and agential forces as university teaching and teachers. in fact, academic advising as a he practice is a form of university teaching. moreover, academic advisors tend to be at the coalface of the student experience, which renders them particularly susceptible to structural and cultural enabling factors and constraints (winberg, 2016) and which, by extent, influences their (in)ability to enact agency within advising space. methodology creating the baseline dataset the phenomenological approach (groenewald, 2004; fisher & stenner, 2011; mayoh & onwuegbuzie, 2015) adopted for this study was chosen because of the explorative opportunities 4 in their book understanding higher education: alternative perspective’s, boughey and mckenna (2021) provides a detailed and in-depth example of the application of critical and social realism to analyse the complexities of the south african higher education system. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702106 (groenewald, 2004) it afforded the researcher. the author collected the baseline data between january 2015 and october 2018 while working as an academic advisor at the fclm. during this period, the author captured information about the nature of his engagements with students by briefly noting the reasons why students sought advice and/ or by coding their reasons according to categories. these categories were created organically as new matters arose; their number increased from approximately five in the first half of 2015 to more than thirty by the second half of 2018. the nature of advising engagements meant that during times of high volume, only brief notes could be taken about any given engagement, or else the engagement would be coded immediately (without additional notes) against all applicable categories in the spreadsheet. the author estimates that there could have been up to twice as many engagements and/or advising sessions with students during this period than what has been captured in the baseline dataset. however, time pressures and high volumes of students during certain peak periods meant that information about student engagements could not always be captured.5 moreover, student engagements via email, telephone, and face-toface outside the office were not accounted for. for this reason, the baseline dataset does not provide a complete record of the author’s engagements with students during the period. nevertheless, 2240 entries based on 1023 consultations with 614 individual students during the period january 2015 to october 2018 are deemed sufficient to identify common trends and to extrapolate accurate information about student engagements during this period. in addition, inferential observations were made about the stratified structural and cultural complexities that influence academic advising as a profession, and academic advisors as practitioners within the sa he sector. clustering and categorising overarching and subsidiary categories in the baseline dataset for the purpose of this study, the term “subsidiary category” denotes one of the existing categories against which coding was done in the baseline dataset. the baseline dataset contains 34 subsidiary categories. an overarching category denotes an umbrella categorisation of a set or cluster of subsidiary categories. for example, the subsidiary categories funding, accommodation, and food form part of the overarching category socio-economic matters. the baseline dataset contains seven overarching categories. first, all subsidiary 5 the nacada 2011 national survey of academic advising (carlstrom, 2013) determined that the ratio of academic advisor to advisee ranges between 1:233 and 1:600 (robbins, 2013), depending on the size of the institution. at the time when the baseline data for this study was collected, the ratio of academic advisor to undergraduate (ug) student in fclm was approximately 1:2500. today, the academic advisor capacity in fclm has increased to four full-time academic advisors (as mentioned earlier); their focus now includes ug and postgraduate (pg) student support. as such, the ratio of academic advisor to fclm ug and pg students collectively is approximately 1:2375, although if one factors in the peer advisors (still referred to as ‘success tutors’ in spark et al. (2017)) who only work with ug students, the ratio of academic/peer advisor to ug student is approximately 1:240, while the ratio of academic advisor to pg student is 1:1125. 107danie de klerk categories were clustered by reviewing each category and by assigning it to an overarching category. second, once the subsidiary categories were clustered, the author colour-coded the overarching categories by assigning a unique colour to each one. third, each subsidiary category was highlighted according to the colour assigned to its overarching category. this was done to make it easier to move subsidiary categories around on the spreadsheet and to avoid unnecessary confusion during the clustering process. finally, once each subsidiary category column had been highlighted in the colour of its overarching category, the subsidiary categories could be reorganised with ease by clustering those highlighted in the same colour; the process of analysing baseline data was thus refined. table 1 provides a breakdown of the overarching and subsidiary category data captured in the baseline dataset. table 1 overarching and subsidiary category data gleaned from the baseline dataset overarching category percentage of total number of entries subsidiary category number of entries in subsidiary category percentage of overarching category 1. academic matters (total entries = 561) 25% 1. academic advising and curriculum planning 351 63% 2. course content and results 93 17% 3. career planning and advising 36 6% 4. degree change and degree fit 78 14% 5. deregistration 3 1% 2. followup sessions (total entries = 184) 8% 6. follow-up meeting 120 65% 7. mentoring meeting with success tutor 11 6% 8. readmitted student consultation 53 29% journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702108 overarching category percentage of total number of entries subsidiary category number of entries in subsidiary category percentage of overarching category 3. other matters (total entries = 161) 7% 9. calculator 19 12% 10. miscellaneous 131 81% 11. physical health 11 7% 4. psychosocial matters (total entries = 193) 9% 12. mental health 30 16% 13. personal and emotional matters 122 63% 14. stress and anxiety 41 21% 5. referrals (total entries = 283) 13% 15. referred to academic tutor 9 3% 6. skills (total entries = 378) 17% 23. excellence skills 107 28% 24. general life skills 43 11% 25. time management 147 39% 26. university life/ work-life balance 81 21% 7. socio-economic matters (total entries = 480) 21% 27. accommodation 59 12% 28. clothing 25 5% 29. food 150 31% 30. funding 115 24% 31. stationery 29 6% 32. textbooks 4 1% 33. toiletries 93 19% 34. transport 5 1% the findings below are described according to the categories presented in table 1. 109danie de klerk findings overarching category 1: academic matters the first overarching category constitutes a quarter of all the entries captured; it has five subsidiary categories. subsidiary category 1: academic advising and curriculum planning includes matters such as discipline/subject choice discussions; discussions about degree structure; queries about pre-requisite and progression rules; discussions about credits accrued and credit requirements; academic exclusion processes, appeals and readmission processes; student registration status; queries about results outcome codes; curriculum planning and advising on possible paths to graduation; and an exploration of student interests in line with disciplines offered in the faculty, among other things. subsidiary category 2: course content and results covers matters such as: queries about results and student concerns about results; updates about results of tests/examinations or about previous semesters/years of study, as well as script and performance review processes. entries about course content, in particular, relate to workload issues and problems with course content and understanding. this section also captures general updates about whether students’ studies are progressing or not. subsidiary category 3: career planning and advising denotes engagements where students require advice about possible career paths based on their chosen degree and subjects. subsidiary category 4: degree change and degree fit entries both refer to students who are experiencing challenges in the degrees for which they are registered, including inquiries about the process to change degrees, and to consultations where students ask for information about other degrees and study options. subsidiary category 5: deregistration covers instances where students inquire about deregistration as an option, instances where students are advised about deregistration processes, and instances where a discussion about deregistration is initiated by the academic advisor as an option in light of current circumstances or events. as table 1 shows though, the work of fclm academic advisors involves far more than what overarching category 1 covers. overarching category 2: follow-up sessions overarching category 2 represents 8% of all entries; it has three subsidiary categories, namely subsidiary category 6: follow-up meeting; subsidiary category 7: mentoring meeting with success tutor (i.e. peer advisor), and subsidiary category 8: readmitted student consultation. these categories collectively denote engagements with students that follow from a first or initial consultation; cover discussions about plans put in place during previous consultations; provide updates on matters discussed during previous consultations and/or general check-in conversations to see how the student is doing; discuss new matters arising, and provide progress updates. the meetings can have a positive, negative, or neutral journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702110 atmosphere which depends on what may be happening in a student’s life at the time of the meeting. nevertheless, the fact that the student attends follow-up engagements can be said to show accountability; this may well indicate that the student needs interaction and engagement, as well as support and advice. of particular importance here is the fact that the academic advisor prompts the student for a follow-up engagement at the end of a consultation. in this way, the academic advisor nudges the student to be accountable for whatever may have been discussed during their engagement, while sustaining the advising loop. not all consultations will require follow-up engagements, but to many students it signals an important link to someone within the institution who takes an interest in their well-being. overarching category 3: other matters the third overarching category and it’s subsidiary categories (i.e. subsidiary category 9: calculator, subsidiary category 10: miscellaneous, and subsidiary category 11: physical health) are collectively called “other matters” because they do not fit into any other overarching or subsidiary category and/or they may not have occurred with enough prevalence to be included elsewhere. this particularly applies to subsidiary category 10: miscellaneous. subsidiary category 9: calculator may appear to fit into overarching category 7: socio-economic matters; instead, it relates to a loan calculator initiative coordinated and managed by the academic advisors. entries about physical health in subsidiary category 11 relate to instances where students’ physical health might have had an impact on their study plans and/or on their degree trajectory, which would require the academic advisor to work with the student to develop contingencies and plans for return after the physical health issue has been resolved or is under control. jointly, “other matters” is an important overarching category, as it speaks to both the diverse needs of students and to the importance for academic advisors to be able to assist with matters that they may never have experienced before. overarching category 4: psychosocial matters psychosocial challenges and support needs signify an overarching category that interconnects with most other overarching and subsidiary categories. this classification of matters can both result in the types of challenges presented in other categories and/or be consequences. subsidiary category 12: mental health relates to instances where students report mental health challenges; provide feedback or updates on known mental health challenges, or are referred to the institutional counselling and careers development unit (ccdu) on suspicion of suffering from mental health challenges. subsidiary category 14: stress and anxiety cover entries linked to stress and anxiety about studies, examinations and assessments, relationships, the future and career prospects, family matters, academic progress in relation 111danie de klerk to peers, and post-examination stress, among others. subsidiary category 13: personal and emotional matters links closely to subsidiary categories 12 and 14, but it should not be conflated with either. while students may require professional help for mental health challenges, as well as stress and anxiety management, there are elements of the relationship between the academic advisor and student that falls outside the realm of professional counselling and related services. having someone in the institution who is not a counsellor or psychologist and who has a vested interest in students and their well-being, can play a major role in students’ ability to persist with their studies and, ultimately, to achieve success (see for example hill, 1995; karp, 2011; lotkowski et al., 2004; rendon, 1994; surr, 2019). overarching category 5: referrals subsidiary categories 15 to 22 demonstrate the broad network of relationships that academic advisors must have in the faculty where they work, across the institution, and with student affairs services in particular. although an academic advisor remains the person in the institution with whom the student forges a personal connection, the advisor does not necessarily have the expertise, knowledge, or authority to help address and resolve particular matters. as such, an academic advisor would refer a student to whoever may be most appropriate to address a particular challenge: ccdu for therapy or careers counselling, an assistant dean or faculty registrar to help resolve an administrative matter or appeal, and/or an academic advisor from another faculty to address matters pertaining to that faculty. a strong referral system is essential to effective academic advising and to the success and well-being of the student. referrals also provide academic advisors with an opportunity to close the advising loop by scheduling follow-up sessions with students, where they can provide updates and feedback about the referral matters, and establish the students’ accountability. overarching category 6: skills the sixth overarching category has to do with skills and skills development. subsidiary category 26: university life/ work-life balance includes instances where students are finding life at university challenging and/or where they want to engage more actively in activities related to university life. entries in this category also relate to instances where students find it difficult to manage their work-life balance (e.g. dedicating either too much attention to studies or too much attention to other activities). entries coded in this category may also include reports of anxiety about graduating and about having to start working. subsidiary categories 23: excellence skills and 25: time management cover time management, note-taking strategies, study and exam planning, pre-reading, reflective practice (e.g. free writing), study skills and techniques, assignment and paragraph writing, and exam and test-taking strategies. subsidiary category 24: journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702112 general life skills relates to advice about managing general life challenges and instances where students report issues in managing such challenges. overarching category 7: socio-economic matters overarching category 7 comprises subsidiary categories 27 to 34 and constitutes 21% of all the entries captured. socio-economic matters, including funding, accommodation, food security, transport and more, denote a significant dimension of the work that south african academic advisors do. this will be explored in depth in paper two of the current series. the baseline data from the baseline dataset (see table 1), it is evident that an academic advisor must be familiar with a broad range of interconnected matters when providing advice and support to students. these range from academic matters and students’ skills needs to psychosocial and socioeconomic issues; this supports the notion of students being holistic social beings who come to the academic advising engagement from their own unique social reality. another crucial role of the academic advisor is to be a referrer. to do this accurately and timeously, the academic advisor must refer students to the relevant support services in the institution, while maintaining a relationship with those referral parties to ensure that students are provided with the best support possible. this also links to the notion of follow-up engagements, where academic advisors schedule a follow-up meeting with students, thus creating a sense of accountability. students do not only need to heed the referrals, but they also need to play an active part in addressing and (ideally) resolving whatever issue/challenge about which they sought advice. ultimately, the baseline data is useful to gain insight into the day-to-day needs of students as a means of tracking and monitoring them, to gauge student uptake and engagement with academic advisors, and to draw conclusions about the nature of the support services required by students and within the institution. discussion the empirical, the actual and the real by approaching the data with bhaskar’s (1975) and archer’s (1995, 2000, 2005) ideas about stratified layers of reality in mind, the baseline data afford three layers of interpretation. at the layer of the empirical, one is able to start identifying the numerous support needs presented by students during the timeframe when the author collected data, which links to their unique experiences in fclm. by clustering the data into a subsidiary and over-arching categories, one 113danie de klerk is able to identify thematic areas of support that could require the attention of academic advisors during the course of their duties, while also affording an opportunity to start crystallising the needs of students in fclm. moving to the layer of the actual, one is able to draw inferences about events (whether known or unknown) that result in the experiences of students and, by extent, academic advisors at the level of the empirical. in considering these layers as a collective, one can begin to draw inferences about the skills requirements and training needs of south african academic advisors, the types of support services required (both by students and within the institution), and the importance of ensuring that there are strong ties between academic advising services and institutional student support services. moving to the layer of the real, one can begin to interrogate the unseen structural and cultural mechanisms, whether physical or social, that result in experiences and events at the layers of the empirical and the actual. in other words, the baseline dataset gives the author proverbial access to the real through layers of interpretation and inferencing at the levels of the empirical and the actual. this also means that, although the baseline data is only representative of one academic advisor’s engagements with students over a three-year period, one is able to infer and theorise more broadly about academic advising within the sa he context. making known some of the real grants since 2014, when the author started working in the student success and support space as an academic advisor, there have been a commendable commitment to student success and support nationally, and by association support to the work of academic advisors. most notably are the following support initiatives: i) the department of higher education and training’s (dhet) university capacity development programme (ucdp), which makes funding available to south african universities through the university capacity development grant (ucdg) in three-year cycles;6 ii) the south african institute for distance education’s (saide) siyaphumelela (we succeed) project,7 which has strong ties with the dhet and the us-based achieving the dream network, which is funded by the kresge foundation; 6 the ucdg aims to transform “teaching, learning, and leading” (department of higher education and training (dhet), 2017, p. 2) to enhance “quality, success, and equity in universities” (dhet, 2017, p. 2). 7 the siyaphumelela project focuses on the use of data and data analytics to drive evidence-based initiatives and interventions to enhance student success and support at partnering south african universities (i.e. taking what is proven to work to scale, based on evidence). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702114 and iii) the council on higher education’s (che) quality enhancement project.8 the siyaphumelela network enables networking and collaboration among academic advisors and others working in the student success and support space. it also enables more scholarly work about the realities and unique challenges of the sa he sector, as well as efforts to address the many structural, sectoral, and institutional issues affecting south african students. in turn, the ucdp has enabled the launching of academic advising as a practice at the author’s institution. these enabling structures made it possible for the author to create the baseline dataset and, consequently, more evidence-based contributions about the complex nature of academic advisors’ work. accordingly, this is an example of how national structural support has enabled academic advising as a profession, both by making funding available for its growth and by making academic advisors’ work a strategic priority (e.g. the multi-institution ucdgfunded project that aims to professionalize academic advising in sa). however, not everything happening at the national level has been constructive or enabling. the idea of academic advising as a profession in the sa he sector was only introduced at the national level in a meaningful way in 2017 with the commencement of the aforementioned multi-institutional professionalisation project, despite explicit links between academic advising and sa he student support work made by bitzer (2009) and singh (2015). prior to 2017, work in this space was sporadic and not easily identifiable or defined it lacked the rigorous, evidence-based foundation, which surr (2019) promulgates, or the intentionality, sustainability, and coherence, which tinto (2014) deems vital to work in student success. furthermore, although the availability of grants to enable the work of academic advisors is encouraging, the ucdg has been overshadowed by tremendous yearon-year underspending across multiple grant cycles. of the approximately r510 million allocated to 24 public universities in south africa in 2017 (ministerial statement, 2016, p. 18), just over r103 million went unspent (dhet, 2018, p. 18). this is by no means anomalous or uncommon. the idea of funding being available to address systemic challenges (e.g. equity of access and student transitions, among others) juxtaposed with the immense underspend causes frustration, especially when the baseline data shows that many students consulted about matters directly related to these systemic challenges. this indicates an egregious flow in structures governing the spending of grant monies or, possibly, how grant holders and managers might be illequipped to spend these. by extension, this affects academic advisors at grassroots level, as they are often the ones faced with having to support and advise students without necessarily being able to find long-term, workable, and sustainable solutions to the structural mechanisms at play. furthermore, when these factors lead to student dropout or academic exclusion, academic advisors either have to guide students through the trauma of exclusion or else they are faced jnh 8 the project aims to “improve student success at […] higher education institutions (heis) and in the […] sector as a whole” (council on higher education [che], 2014, p. 1). 115danie de klerk with the reality that students with whom they have worked and built relationships, have to drop out because of factors beyond the students’ and academic advisors’ control. in this way, the disjuncture between grant availability and management constitutes a structural constraint on the academic advisors’ work, and on their ability to enact agency in the advising space. evidence-informed approaches to academic advising academic advisors tend to be primarily focused on students as social beings, concerning themselves with the day-to-day challenges which students face at the layers of the empirical and the actual—and rightly so. yet, in order to truly help students be successful, they must use the available tools to capture information about these students and to feed this information into the stream of institutional data that inform predictive analytics models and early-warning systems. in turn, these can enable academic advisors to better understand mechanisms that drive events that are likely to present challenges to students. the siyaphumelela project promotes and enables the use of data and evidence to take best practices to scale and to share findings nationally (and across the network of partner institutions) through the annual siyaphumelela conference and other platforms. consequently, there has been a structural change overtime at the institution where the author works, in the form of plans and frameworks that aim to address some of the underlying factors that affect the work of academic advisors. this includes efforts to develop and make available early-warning systems, an intervention portal for capturing data about student engagements and interventions, investment in predictive analytics capabilities to enable academic advisors to implement proactive, preventative strategies, and associated interventions. however, structural challenges such as the ongoing national students’ funding crisis (wangenge-ouma & carpentier, 2018; wangenge-ouma, 2021) exponentially increase student traffic for academic advisors, which then occupies a great deal of their time. this often results in student engagements and interventions not being captured in the intervention portal (or at least not timeously). consequently, the data stream into the system is not always constant, which then results in (potentially) skewed or inaccurate early-warning flags or alerts. similarly, the culture among academic advisors is such that not all of them necessarily utilise all these resources consistently and intentionally. academic advisors’ beliefs about at-risk labelling might also affect the culture of regularly capturing intervention data, as might matters of morale in such a high-pressure and emotional environment. the irony is that data fed into the predictive models are meant to generate leading indicators that could help academic advisors in their efforts to prevent future students from being at risk of failing or dropping out. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 101-121 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3702116 conclusions first, in a series of papers emanating from the author’s doctoral research, this article begins to crystallise for the reader the highly complex nature of academic advising as an educational practice within the sa he sector. the author uses a baseline dataset created from engagements as an academic advisor with students over a three-year period (2015 to 2018), and he analyses the data by adopting archer’s notions of social realism as a theoretical framework and critical lens. this allows one insight into the experiences of students and academic advisors and the events resulting from those experiences. accordingly, the baseline data has revealed the diverse and multifaceted range of matters that academic advisors need to be equipped with in order to assist students, and the importance of networking with institutional support services and academic advisors from other faculties. in turn, the third layer, the real, has afforded an opportunity for inferential observations about the underlying mechanisms that drive experiences and events at the layers of the empirical and the actual. by briefly observing some of the ways in which stratified structural and cultural elements within the sa he sector affect academic advisors’ work, one can begin to see how these elements potentially affect academic advisors’ (in)ability to enact agency within the academic advising space. in conclusion though, if we consider social realism to be concerned with the tenets of a stratified and interconnected social reality, and if we acknowledge academic advising as a social practice that views students as holistic social beings coming to the advisor-advisee engagement, then it is safe to deduce that academic advising as a practice concerns itself with the constraints and barriers (far more than enablers) which affect students’ ability to navigate and progress through the complex social reality of the south african he sector. in this case, the social reality, viewed from the students’ perspective, is the institution where they are studying. however, academic advisors are as concerned with epistemology as they are with constraints or barriers to students’ progress and success. for in as much as academic advisors work to address or resolve the challenges affecting the holistic he experience of the students with whom they work, they are ultimately doing so to eliminate barriers to epistemological access for those students. whereas at the layer of the empirical, the baseline data may elucidate the day-to-day experiences (and challenges) about which students seek advice, and whereas the layer of the actual may provide insight into events that bring about student experiences, it is at the layer of the real that one comes to appreciate how the actions of academic advisors are intended to afford students equal and equitable epistemological access to he knowledge bases. this allows one to deduce that, whereas academic advising as an educational practice is concerned with addressing the day-to-day challenges that students experience, academic advisors as practitioners are as concerned with enabling epistemological access to knowledge bases for students, as they are with the daily challenges and barriers sa he students face. 117danie de klerk acknowledgements the author would like to extend his sincere gratitude to dr laura dison for her input, advice, guidance, and contribution to this paper and study. statements research ethics the author subscribes to the highest levels of ethics during his research. ethical clearance for this study was obtained through the author’s institutional human research ethics committee (non-medical). all data is presented in aggregate form and no individual is identifiable from the data shared in this paper. references archer, m.s. 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(2018). affirmation, support, and advocacy: critical race theory and academic advising. the journal of the national academic advising association, 38(1), 77-87. lotkowski, v.a., robbins, s.b., & noeth, r.j. (2004). the role of academic and nonacademic factors in improving college retention. act policy report. american college testing act inc. maitland, i., & lemmer, e. (2011). meeting the social and emotional needs to first-year mathematics students through peer-tutoring. acta academica, 43(4), 127-151. mann, c. (2020). advising by design: co-creating advising services with students for their success. frontiers in education, 9 july. https://internal-journal.frontiersin.org/ articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.00099/full. mayet, r. (2016). supporting at-risk learners at a comprehensive university in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(2), 1-12. mayoh, j., & onwuegbuzie, a.j. 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(monograph no. 25). manhattan, ks: national academic advising association. http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/tabid/3318/articletype/articleview/ articleid/94/article.aspx. schreiber, b., luescher, t.m., & moja, t. (2018). articulation and continuities: first-year experience in higher education. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), v–vii. scott, i., yeld, n., & hendry, j. (2007). a case for improving teaching and learning in south african higher education. higher education monitor, 6(6), 1-83. spark, l., de klerk, d., maleswena, t., & jones, a. (2017). paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 77-90. steingass, s.j., & sykes, s. (2008). centralizing advising to improve student outcomes. peer review, 10(1), 18-20. strydom, f. (ed.). (2017). engaging students: using evidence to promote student success. african sun media. strydom, f., & loots, s. (2020). the student voice as contributor to quality education through institutional design. south african journal of higher education, 34(5), 20-34. surr, w. (2019). student advising: an evidence-based practice. midwest comprehensive center. tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south africa lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5-28. tuttle, k.n. (2000). academic advising. new directions for higher education, 111, 15-24. walsh, c., larsen, c., & parry, d. (2009). academic tutors at the frontline of student support in a cohort of students succeeding in higher education. educational studies, 35(4), 405-424. wangenge-ouma, g., & carpentier, v. (2018). subsidy, tuition fees and the challenge of financing higher education in south africa. higher education pathways, 27. wangenge-ouma, g. (2021). south africa’s higher education funding system can be more realistic without betraying ideals. the conversation, 6 april. https:// theconversation.com/south-africas-higher-education-funding-system-can-be-morerealistic-without-betraying-ideals-157478. wilmer, e. (2008). student support services for the underprepared student. the journal of the virginia community colleges, 13(1), 5-19. winberg, c. (2016). extreme teaching. in b. leibowitz, v. bozalek, & p. khan (eds.), theorising learning to teach in higher education. london: routledge. 172-188. zhang, y.l., & dinh, t.v. (2017). advising international students in engineering programs: academic advisors’ perceptions of intercultural communication competence. nacada journal, 37(2), 33-43. 121danie de klerk journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 233-237 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4184   233 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds book review low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa: opportunities, obstacles and outcomes by m. walker, m. mclean, m. mathebula & p. mukwambo (2022). cape town, south africa: african minds. reviewed by paul othusitse dipitso* issues concerned with access, quality and equity remain topical in south african higher education research. higher education researchers grapple with research that attempts to find solutions for educational deprivation, structural inequalities, and socio-economic issues related to poverty and lack of employment opportunities. these complexities constrain the advancement of human development and social justice. it is pertinent for higher education to advance equity, inclusion and humanistic values. access to higher education is discussed both in national and international contexts as well as linked to learning outcomes ( jappie, 2020). therefore, it becomes increasingly important to understand higher education learning outcomes and the effects of university education on equity as well as how they contribute to the research agenda. walker, mclean, mathebula & mukwambo provide valuable insights into underexplored educational experiences in low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa: opportunities, obstacles and outcomes. the book informs readers about the capability-based approach to understanding higher education learning outcomes for low-income students who encounter multi-modal challenges in pursuit of education. it has its origin in the miratho project which sought to examine the contextual realities of low-income students concerning how they access, succeed at university and transition beyond the university into the world of work. walker et al. investigate the complex biographical, socio-economic, policy and educational factors that enable/inhibit pathways for rural youth to exit university with valuable learning outcomes. the book demonstrates how structural inequalities, the legacies of colonialism and apartheid, affect students’ experiences in higher education. the book consists of nine thematic chapters. in the first chapter, the authors focus on the educational experiences of students from low-income families and how they access university, succeed and transition into the world of work or further study. the chapter argues that structural inequalities limit human development thus inhibiting students’ abilities to expand their choices to overcome the effects of poverty. the students’ life * paul othusitse dipitso is a doctoral candidate at the institute of post school studies, university of the western cape, south africa. email: 3742432@myuwc.ac.za. orcid id: 0000-0002-8351-6971 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:3742432@myuwc.ac.za 234   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 233-237 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4184 histories are in part shaped by legacies of colonialism and apartheid which continue to constrain the redistribution of resources equitably. chapter 2 makes a case for the capability approach as a foundation for reconceptualising learning outcomes to foster equitable inclusive higher education which prioritises students’ well-being. the authors argue that the approach measures learning outcomes beyond economic terms by focusing on the quality students’ attributes rather than attaining a qualification to enhance human capital. the fundamental theme of chapter 3 is understanding how context, history and intersecting factors enable/constrain capabilities for well-being. the authors contend that income inequality restricts agency to expand human capabilities thereby creating barriers to access and success in higher education. the authors emphasise that, despite fee-free higher education, some students still experience financial difficulties in accessing university education. in chapter 4 the authors highlight that the university should be a transformative space which should support a conceptualisation of learning outcomes that moves beyond students’ intellectual development. this calls for an approach to learning outcomes with the potential to improve students’ well-being holistically. central to this chapter is the miratho capabilitarian matrix characterised by eight domains, namely epistemic contribution which emerged as architectonic for transformative higher education, ubuntu, practical reason, navigation, narrative, emotional, inclusion and participation and future work/study. these domains are necessary for enabling students to choose what they value as a basis for evaluating the justice of higher education. chapter 5 focuses on examining the factors enabling and constraining access to higher education and emphasises that the students’ life histories reveal the inequality in democratic south africa’s education system. the authors argue that it is necessary to increase access to funding support to enable wider participation and secure equal opportunities for previously marginalised groups. students from low-income families often negotiate access to higher education due to their social and personal circumstances, therefore universities should consider minimising entry barriers for applicants, for example, revising the high school passes required of low-income students to gain entry to university. chapter 6 illuminates the participant students’ experiences of being at university by considering the extent to which university participation was transformative. the authors argue that transformational learning in higher education should enhance freedoms and what students value as definitive of a good life thus creating better opportunities. freedoms and the good life are terms that emerge from the capability approach which is grounded in human development. chapter 7 sees the authors critically examine the factors enabling/constraining successful completion of degrees and movement into employment. the authors allude that some students utilise their navigation capital to traverse the challenges of transitioning beyond university. the chapter shows that although students enhance their epistemic contribution and obtained university qualification, some nonetheless remain stuck due to a lack of employment opportunities. paul othusitse dipitso: review of low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa …   235 using life-history synopses and detailing participant students’ experiences with access to and participation in university, chapter 8 discusses the experiences of students to reveal the conditions that open opportunities and present obstacles in their everyday educational lives. the authors argue that structural inequalities restrict and limit the development of all the aforementioned eight capability domains. the final chapter investigates the aspects that constitute learning outcomes for low-income students in south africa. the authors call for reimagining inclusive learning outcomes that encompass the multi-dimensional value of university education. the authors argue that achieving higher education goals in a manner that dignifies human life will ensure that talent is not wasted, intergenerational poverty is interrupted and social cohesion is advanced. the authors deliver their key message in a consistent manner which is relatable to higher education researchers and accessible to the general reader. they demonstrate that the issue of access to higher education is of great concern for students from low-income families. the book clearly articulates the challenges of equitable access to higher education and how this constrains the contribution of higher education to human development. despite free public higher education, a large number of students still experience obstacles to access education thus affecting student learning outcomes in universities. cloete (2016) argues that it is necessary to build a stronger higher education system that provides affordable funding for poor and middle-class students. the challenges of inequalities in higher education, effects of poverty on low-income students and educational deprivation remain critical. in reading this book one appreciates that universities need to expand access and participation in higher education, which is valuable for advancing human development. higher education provides a ladder for low-income students to elevate to the middle class. family income is an important determining factor in accessing higher education in south africa. mccowan (2016) argues that the advantage/disadvantage accrued from the chance of one’s birth in a particular social class should not be considered as fair grounds to allow/disallow a person from entering university. the key strength of the book lies in the approach of reconceptualising learning outcomes to ref lect equitable and inclusive higher education. the capability approach emphasises that learning outcomes should move beyond intellectual development. in this regard, learning outcomes should foster freedoms and opportunities that aim to improve equitable higher education for students from low-income backgrounds. the authors do this by demonstrating that the measurement of learning outcomes should focus on quality of learning outcomes and students’ values rather than attaining a qualification to enhance human capital. one cannot dismiss the marketization of student learning outcomes since they fulfil the accountability principles of new managerialism. the authors show that distribution of funding and resources remains a challenge in historically disadvantaged universities that host students from rural areas. peripheral institutions which serve a diverse population of students are often disadvantaged concerning the distribution of funds and resources (schendel & mccowan, 2016). 236   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 233-237 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4184 therefore, inadequate resource allocation inhibits universities’ ability to provide effective and targeted student support, particularly for low-income students. universities furthermore lack the resources to ensure academic support programmes for students at risk ( jappie, 2020). the book demonstrated the value of transitioning to the world of work and beyond using navigation capital. this aligns with the pressing issue of employment opportunities and employability. graduates with a tertiary qualification have the highest unemployment rate (statistics south africa, 2022). the book draws attention to how the structural inequities within the labour market disadvantage students from low-income families even after they obtain a qualification. it is worth noting that limited opportunities within the labour market compel graduates to utilise their navigational capability to secure employment in uneven contexts. the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic have further affected employment prospects in a context characterised by the scarcity of formal employment opportunities. the other strength of this book is that it has generated valuable theoretical insights that connect issues of access and equity for low-income students in higher education through the capability approach. the authors emphasise that social capital plays a key role in aiding these students to access and succeed despite the challenges they previously encountered as well as during university life. this timely book strives to contribute to the current debates on critical conversations concerning inclusive education and human development. this book presents an opportunity for researchers to engage and advance knowledge on access to higher education, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds. the authors present an interesting approach to reconceptualising learning outcomes that promote social justice. researchers in the field of higher education and policymakers will gain critical insights from reading this book. universities would also appreciate the prospect of improving the access and participation of low-income students. this could be achieved through fostering equal student participation and reducing barriers that limit students from low-income backgrounds from accessing university education. future investigation could possibly explore the measurement of the capability domains of the capability-based miratho matrix to determine how they contribute to inclusive higher education. this could possibly identify the necessary indicators to measure the contribution of these domains. references cloete, n. (2016, september 28). free higher education? why it’s not possible in sa. brilliant analysis! fin24. https://www.fin24.com/biznews/free-higher-education-why-its-not-possible-in-sabrilliantanalysis-20160928. hlatshwayo, m. n., & fomunyam, k. g. (2019). views from the margins: theorising the experiences of black working-class students in academic development in a historically white south african university. the journal for transdisciplinary research in southern africa, 15(1), 1-11. https://doi. org/10.4102/td.v15i1.591. https://www.fin24.com/biznews/free-higher-education-why-its-not-possible-in-sa-brilliantanalysis-20160928 https://www.fin24.com/biznews/free-higher-education-why-its-not-possible-in-sa-brilliantanalysis-20160928 paul othusitse dipitso: review of low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa …   237 jappie, n. (2020). access, equity, and admissions in south african higher education. in oliveri, m.e & wendler, c (eds.), higher education admissions practices: an international perspective (pp. 190-202). cambridge university press. mccowan, t. (2016). three dimensions of equity of access to higher education. compare: a journal of comparative and international education, 46(4), 645-665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.201 5.1043237. schendel, r., & mccowan, t. (2016). expanding higher education systems in low-and middle-income countries: the challenges of equity and quality. higher education, 72(4), 407-411. doi: 10.1007/ s10734-016-0028-6. statistics south africa. (2022). quarterly labour force survey: quarter 2: 2022. retrieved 25 august 2022. https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/p0211/p02112ndquarter2022.pdf. how to cite: dipitso, p.o. (2022). review of low-income students, human development and higher education in south africa: opportunities, obstacles and outcomes by m. walker, m. mclean, m. mathebula & p. mukwambo. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 233-237. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v10i2.4184 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2015.1043237 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2015.1043237 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 141‑142 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4452 141 www.jsaa.ac.za book review engaging students: using evidence to promote student success by f. strydom, g. kuh & s. loots (eds.) (2017). bloemfontein, south africa: sun media. reviewed by birgit schreiber* * dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwiguniversität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas and a member of the jsaa editorial executive. she is a senior consultant for higher education leadership and management and for stellenbosch university, south africa. email: birgitschreiber@sun.ac.za; birgitdewes@gmail.com this book has been one of my favourites since it was published in 2017, and i have recently taken it out of the shelf again when i was reminded by prof. george kuh as keynote speaker during the stellenbosch university experiential education conference that indeed we should engage our students at every turn in their academic career at university. george kuh has inspired a generation of student affairs practitioners with what now seems intuitive, common sense and obvious: engaged students do better. the book engaging students: using evidence to promote student success, edited by francois strydom, george kuh and sonia loots, uses evidence powerfully to support the notion that we should rely on evidence to support student success. as a whole, it offers a comprehensive view on student engagement in south africa and elsewhere, and argues cogently that evidence‑based decision‑making yields good results, reliably. each chapter brings a unique argument, context and lens to the engagement discourse. i will highlight some of the gems the book offers, but want to assert that each chapter makes an actionable, valuable and insightful contribution to our knowledge on student engagement in south africa and beyond. strydom and foxcroft argue in chapter 2 that, together with institutional data, student engagement – the focus on what students do – can illuminate some of the questions around social cohesion that the higher education sector has been grappling with. in chapter 5, loots, kinzie and oosthuysen examine the notion of high impact practices (hips) and unpack the conceptualisations underpinning these. they raise some concerns around equitable participation in these, which is also an issue raised by others, including carolissen (2014) who emphasises the importance of access, participation and inclusion of all groups of students in hips if we are to achieve equitable outcome and a context that enables all students an equal opportunity to flourish. coates and radloff, chapter 6, discuss the value of using engagement data to shift institutional practices and to leverage change. their chapter concludes with emphasising that “engagement is an inherently contextualised phenomenon” (p. 145), prophetically heralding the shift to open online education, as we have seen recently due to the corona https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4452 http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:birgitschreiber%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:birgitdewes%40gmail.com?subject= 142 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 8(2) 2020, 141‑142 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4452 crisis, and suggest that engagement discourse needs to be continuously reconceptualised, attuned to local institutional cultures and practices. torres and madiba in chapter 7 place student affairs in the central role in advancing engagement opportunities and propose a model that positions student affairs as active roleplayer in shifting student success by intentional promotion of student engagement spaces. kinzie, strydom and loots in chapter 9 discuss the pedagogical shifts required to consider how students experience the learning process and, like strydom, hen‑boisen, kuh and loots in the following two chapters, call for the re‑examination of classroom pedagogies to put the student learning experience at the centre. each chapter offers actionable, relevant and locally embedded data that underpin the argument that student engagement promotes student success. what is missing, in my view, is a more critical examination of the implicit assumptions that engagement is driven by institutional processes in institution‑centric ways. moreover, i would have liked a discussion of the critiques that are often raised, including arguments that engagement favours those students who have capacity to engage in institutionally designed opportunities (trowler & schreiber, 2020). these critiques aside, the book is a comprehensive status report on what student engagement research can offer universities when re‑imagining themselves as communities of learning that offer opportunities for equitable participation in the learning process. it is a must‑read for student affairs practitioners, not only in africa, but in all contexts that seek to offer teaching and learning opportunities that advance equitable participation in the learning process. references carolissen, r. (2014). a critical feminist approach to social inclusion and citizenship in the context of the co‑curriculum. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(1), 83‑88. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.56 trowler, v. & schreiber, b. (2020). student engagement beyond the us: a critical reconsideration of a popular construct. journal of college and character, 21(4). in press. how to cite: schreiber, b. 2020. review on engaging students: using evidence to promote student success by f. strydom, g. kuh & s. loots (eds.) (2017). bloemfontein, south africa: sun media. journal of student affairs in africa, 8(2), 141‑142. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4452 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4452 https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.56 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v8i2.4452 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 61 www.jsaa.ac.za research article rapid orientation of students for emergency remote learning during the covid‑19 lockdown danie de klerk,i greig krullii & tshepiso maleswenaiii i mr danie de klerk is assistant dean: teaching and learning, teaching and learning centre, faculty of commerce, law, and management at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. orcid: 0000-0001-8051-0833. email: danie.deklerk@wits.ac.za ii dr greig krull is director: online learning, teaching and learning centre, faculty of commerce, law, and management at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-0690-5869. email: greig.krull@wits.ac.za iii ms tshepiso maleswena is coordinator: road to success programme, teaching and learning centre, faculty of commerce, law, and management at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-1182-9837. email: tshepiso.maleswena@wits.ac.za abstract in response to the spread of the covid‑19 pandemic, the president of south africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 march 2020. this posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. this article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. teaching and learning centre staff in the faculty of commerce, law and management at a south african university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional learning management system, using salmon’s five‑stage model as a conceptual framework. the objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic programme from 20 april 2020 via emergency remote learning. the orientation programme covered the priority areas of how to get started in emergency remote learning, broad study skills, how to use the required technologies for learning, and managing personal well‑being during social isolation and emergency remote learning. in this article, the conceptualisation and development of the orientation programme is analysed, before reflecting on its implementation, challenges, mitigating measures, and lessons learned. feedback from students indicates that the majority of students felt more prepared for continuing the academic programme, although they still reported feeling anxious about the many uncertainties. the intervention emerges as a useful strategy for helping students transition during a crisis and contributes to the understanding of how to prepare students for rapid transition to emergency remote learning. keywords covid‑19; emergency remote learning; orientation programme; student orientation; student success; student support http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:danie.deklerk%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:greig.krull%40wits.ac.za?subject= mailto:tsepiso.maleswena%40wits.ac.za?subject= 62 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 introduction the south african covid‑19‑related national lockdown meant that tertiary institutions had to rapidly move to a different mode of teaching and learning. hodges, moore, lockee, trust, and bond (2020) refer to this shift as “emergency remote teaching” (ert), which they define as “a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances” (para. 13). the purpose of the shift to ert is to provide quick access to teaching and support during the emergency. emergency remote teaching and learning (ert&l) is therefore different from the usual design and development of online learning programmes. johnson, veletsianos, and seaman (2020) emphasise the importance of student support in the shift to ert&l classifying it as the “steps taken to support, care for, and enable students to succeed” (p. 16). effective online learning takes place within a learning community where students are not just supported academically, but with other forms of support as well (hodges et al., 2020). thus, the need for the online student orientation to assist students to transition to emergency remote learning (erl) as illustrated by this article. for student success and support entities, the shift to erl meant orientating students from diverse backgrounds (i.e. different socio‑economic contexts and levels of preparedness for tertiary studies) and (in some cases) remote locations for studying remotely during a global pandemic. due to the unique conditions, there were no formal guidelines for how this orientation should be done, or what would be necessary to ensure that students are appropriately and adequately prepared for erl. nevertheless, the academic advisors and teaching and learning staff involved in the development of the online orientation programme, were able to draw on existing literature and a conceptual framework, survey data, and past experience to develop a suite of resources and activities aimed at rapidly preparing students for erl. this was in part possible due to the existing policies and student support practices within the faculty (the faculty of commerce, law, and management or clm) at the university of the witwatersrand (wits). approximately 9 000 registered students in the faculty were automatically enrolled in the orientation programme and 6 131 students accessed at least some of the resources and activities during the orientation period (15 to 20 april 2020). the article highlights the context of the orientation programme within the institution and then reviews the current literature relevant to its approach and implementation. the conceptualisation and development of the orientation programme is then described, before reflecting critically on its implementation, challenges, mitigating measures, and lessons learned. background and context institutional framework to guide student success the wits institutional framework for student success (wifss) (2019) forms the institutional backbone that guides wits’s approach to student success and support and places the student at the centre of the academic project. as such, it is intended to inform and guide the student success and support work done within faculties and elsewhere in d. de klerk, g. krull & t. maleswena: rapid orientation of students for emergency remote learning … 63 the university. the purpose of the wifss (2019) is to strengthen the student success and support services on campus, strengthen the links between and amongst these services, and create a system of student support that students can navigate with greater ease. the wifss (2019) identifies four main areas of student support, namely (pp. 14‑15): academic support, health and wellness, material needs, and personal development, all of which are addressed in annual orientation programmes (and elsewhere). faculty approach to student success and support the clm teaching and learning centre houses, amongst other functions, the faculty’s student success and support programme, known as the road to success programme (rsp) (de klerk, spark, jones & maleswena, 2017; spark, de klerk, maleswena & jones, 2017). the rsp is directly involved in first‑year student orientation and the institutional  first year  experience programme, annually. four academic advisors and 16 peer advisors (known as success tutors) work in the unit to provide advisor support to students in the faculty (spark et al., 2017). since its inception in 2015 (de klerk et al., 2017), the rsp has evolved to cover all four main areas of student support (including student orientation) identified in the wifss (2019), with all advisors either providing the required support to students or else referring them to specialists within the institution who can. theoretical framework for online students to be successful, they need to be supported through a structured development process. salmon (2004) created the five‑stage model as a framework for adopting a structured approach to online learning design in higher education, using constructivist pedagogic theory. the five stages of the model are: (i) access and motivation, (ii) online socialisation, (iii) information exchange, (iv) knowledge construction, and (v) development. the use of this model during the design process offers appropriate support to online students in each stage as they develop expertise in online learning (salmon, 2004). although there has been some critique of the model (moule, 2007), it has been applied to support the design of online courses in different contexts (johnson, 2017; karaman & orhan özen, 2016). given the need described earlier to rapidly design an orientation programme for students transitioning to erl, the authors decided to focus on the first three stages of the five‑stage model. the aim of stage 1 (access and motivation) is to provide a welcoming and encouraging introduction to the new learning environment, thus teaching students how to access the new learning environment and available technical support. the aim of stage 2 (online socialisation) is for students to become familiar with the online learning environment and the tools that are available. students can start to interact with facilitators and other students by sending and receiving messages. the aim of stage 3 (information exchange) is for students to undertake various learning activities and make use of the available learning materials (salmon, 2004). once students had completed the online orientation programme, lecturers in individual courses would continue to provide scaffolded support for their students in this new learning environment. 64 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 literature review transition to emergency remote teaching and learning much of the early literature examining the impact of covid‑19 on higher education has focused on the readiness of institutions, faculty experiences, and the support for staff to transition to a new way of teaching (see bozkurt et al., 2020; ferdig, baumgartner, hartshorne, kaplan‑rakowski & mouza, 2020; johnson et al., 2020). very little of the initial literature has focused on the preparedness of students and how to assist students to transition to a new way of learning. however, several authors have raised concerns around inequities and differences in technological access for students (adam, 2020; bozkurt et al., 2020; johnson et al., 2020). adam (2020) notes that in addition to internet access, students require digital literacy and self‑directed learning skills to benefit optimally from ert. bozkurt et al. (2020) highlight how the disruption has forced students to “regulate their own learning and become digitally savvy” (p. 3). the transition to ert has required institutions to equip students with the necessary skills and resources to learn effectively in a remote setting. the importance of support and care for students during the disruption has been considered by some studies. in a us survey of faculty and administrators, 58% of staff reported needing assistance with information on how to best support students studying remotely (johnson et al., 2020). johnson et al. (2020, p. 17) suggest that institutions should ask the following question: “are resources available to students to help them develop strategies for success in online learning environments?”. furthermore, these authors suggest that institutions undertake a needs assessment of students when transitioning during a crisis to determine whether they have access to the requisite technologies and to maintain awareness of socioemotional needs and inequities. to aid the transition of students during the disruption, some institutions have focused on the development of caring relations (noddings, 2012) or the “pedagogy of care” (bali, 2015) by listening to students and participating in open dialogue and then providing additional support to address their issues and challenges. due to the social isolation resulting from the pandemic, students appear to be suffering a great deal of anxiety, are dealing with issues of health and safety and are facing increasing financial pressures. this means that students would also require more emotional support than ever before and that institutions need to understand the social contexts in which their student live (adam, 2020). early student guidelines or reflections on the transition to erl have highlighted the importance of setting up study routine schedules, to regularly engage with learning activities and to seek help when they have difficulties (academic or socio‑emotional) (bozkurt et al., 2020; col, 2020). a transition to ert&l thus demands students are oriented to the skills and resources, study habits, and awareness of their needs befitting remote studies. unsurprisingly, the commonwealth of learning’s guidelines on distance education during covid‑19 therefore recommends educational institutions “provide orientation to students to effectively use online learning and to develop self‑ directed learning skills by creating an engaging learning enrolment” (col, 2020, p. 9). d. de klerk, g. krull & t. maleswena: rapid orientation of students for emergency remote learning … 65 online student orientation as students transition from a face‑to‑face learning environment to an online environment, many are likely to feel anxious about their ability to succeed (abdous, 2019). an orientation programme is commonly provided as a support mechanism for new university students to address expectations and requirements and to boost their preparedness (abdous, 2019; wozniak, pizzica & mahony, 2012). within online learning programmes, there are additional concerns around student success and student retention. student orientation has been shown to have a positive impact on online student retention and success (jones, 2013; stone & o’shea, 2019). as many face‑to‑face institutions also began to offer online learning, they had to rethink and redesign their learner support services. this necessitated the establishment of orientation programmes that help prepare students and set expectations for their online learning experience (farrell & brunton, 2020; jones, 2013). an orientation programme also starts to build a community of students and provides direction and support for students who are encountering a new learning environment (ludwig‑hardman & dunlap, 2003). without proper induction to online learning, students may be unaware of what resources are available to help them or become challenged by the unfamiliarity of the learning management system (lms) (cho, 2012; levy, 2006). several authors have proposed the objectives and topics to be contained in an online student orientation programme. cho (2012) suggests four objectives for students: (i) to develop understanding about online learning, (ii) to use the lms skilfully for learning, (iii) to solve any possible technical issues when using the lms, and (iv) to develop self‑ awareness about the learning skills required to succeed. bozarth, chapman and lamonica (2004) recommend that the topics in an orientation programme focus on “enhancing technological and self‑management skills, while providing a realistic image of the online learning experience” (p. 89). institutions also need to make decisions about whether to deliver the orientation online or in person, whether it is compulsory for all students to complete the programme (harrell, 2008), and whether the orientation is self‑paced or facilitated (abdous, 2019). another design consideration is the use of facilitators or moderators to encourage participation, assist those students who require help and respond to discussion posts (wozniak et al., 2012). a benefit of an orientation course is that it provides a “risk‑free playground” for students to become familiar with an online learning environment in a space that is not formally assessed (wozniak et al., 2012). as learner needs are diverse, an orientation programme cannot address the needs of all students, but it does provide the means for students to know where to obtain further help. wozniak et al. (2012) caution that an orientation course is not a once‑off event as “students will tend to access resources as they are needed and may return to review them several times” during a semester (p. 908). this is confirmed by douglas, rogers and ahuja (2018), who see an orientation as only the first part of a programme for supporting students during their first‑ year experience. 66 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 clm student orientation to emergency remote learning rationale and conceptualisation the team involved in the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of the erl orientation comprised academic advisors from the rsp, the clm assistant dean for teaching and learning, and colleagues from the clm online learning team, all of whom work in the clm teaching and learning centre. it was acknowledged that students would have to be prepared for erl, in the same way that mechanisms were being put in place to assist academics to transition to ert. this would be achieved by creating a student orientation and support site in the wits lms, to which all clm students would have access. shortly after the lockdown commenced, clm conducted an online survey of its students to gauge their technology and access needs during this period. subsequently, survey results, coupled with information about concerns raised by students shortly after the national lockdown commenced, were used during the orientation programme development phase. this included students’ apprehension about online learning, concerns about how the move to erl might affect their performance, and uncertainty about their competence to participate in an unfamiliar mode of learning. consequently, it was agreed that the orientation programme should introduce and orientate student to online learning (which would include how‑to guides, videos, and other resources), provide low‑stakes opportunities to model online assessment tools, and enable communication between students and advisors. in order to collate their ideas, the team conducted a virtual brainstorming session using an online platform called padlet where participants could populate and share ideas with each other. by drawing on previous interactions with students, the survey results, salmon’s (2004) five‑stage model, and literature about ert&l and student orientation, advisors identified student needs in relation to erl. consequently, the team determined what type of resources needed to be developed (e.g. guidelines, infographics, videos, and activities) to achieve the desired objectives of the orientation programme. it was agreed that the orientation programme would be delivered through a platform that is easily accessible to all students (in alignment with the first stage of access and motivation of the five‑stage model [salmon, 2004]). thus, the institutional lms was selected as the platform for the orientation. the lms had been zero‑rated (i.e. little‑to‑no‑data was being used when students and staff accessed the lms) as a vital erl resource with which many students were familiar (although this familiarity was limited, as not many had used the lms for a full range of learning activities) and could be accessed from a variety of devices, including mobile devices. furthermore, the issue of unpredictability meant that the orientation site had to be adaptable in order for minor changes and updates to be made throughout the period of ert&l. as such, delivering the orientation programme through the lms could be of value to students not only during the orientation period, but for the remainder of the semester (and beyond erl). d. de klerk, g. krull & t. maleswena: rapid orientation of students for emergency remote learning … 67 aims and objectives of the orientation programme the first aim of the orientation programme was to develop resources and activities for equipping students with the requisite skills and abilities to learn remotely during the period of ert&l, thus aligning with the second stage (online socialisation) of salmon’s (2004) five‑stage model. the programme had to provide advice and guidance for creating a home study environment conducive for learning from home, orientating parents/guardians/ family members to the demands of home study, assisting students with the development and implementation of revised time management plans and study techniques to accommodate the realities of erl and covid‑19, and prepare them for online assessments (i.e. extended submission windows, taking quizzes through the lms, and committing to honour pledges). the second aim of the orientation programme was to develop a platform for commu ‑ nicating with students during lockdown and aligns with stage three (information exchange) of the five‑stage model (salmon, 2004). this would include explaining to students how to access student advisors within the faculty and provide information about other student‑ affairs‑related university support services. regarding communication, although student correspondence occurred centrally through the office of the vice‑chancellor or the dean of students in most instances, there was faculty‑specific information that had to be shared with students. additionally, central messages with particularly important information, would be strategically reposted on the faculty student orientation site to ensure maximum exposure to the information. for students to contact faculty student advisors, the details and contact information for the advisors would be made available on the home page of the orientation site. the orientation site would also provide information on how to reach central university support services, such as the wits counselling and careers development unit (ccdu) for booking online therapy sessions, contact details for the toll‑free wits student crisis line (available 24/7 throughout the year to all registered wits students), and information about the services offered by the wits gender equity office (geo) during the ert&l period. the third aim of the programme was to monitor student engagement with orientation activities to identify students who were, possibly, experiencing challenges with erl. academic advisors would then be able to reach out to these students in an attempt to identify reasons for not engaging with the programme. it was anticipated that not all students registered on the orientation site would visit the site or participate in the orientation activities. this would apply particularly to postgraduate students enrolled for research degrees, those with connectivity and internet access challenges, those with inadequate devices or no device at all, and those who simply could not adapt to erl. nevertheless, analysing student engagement data daily during the orientation period would enable the team to identify, in particular, information about undergraduate students who might be struggling to access resources, which (together with reports from the institutional business intelligences services) would enable academic advisors to contact students who were not actively accessing online resources in the lms. 68 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 orientation programme structure, sequencing, and pacing to achieve these aims and objectives, the team developed a four‑day programme within the lms. each day was split into two parts (a morning and an afternoon session) with tasks, activities, and resources linked to each session. once students navigated to the orientation site, they would come to a landing page where they were welcomed and introduced to the site and its objectives. on this landing page, students were able to view a three‑minute orientation video that had been created using a free online resource called biteable. with a focus on “low‑tech” accessibility and to cater for students with connectivity issues as much as possible, all information contained in videos or podcasts was also made available in text format. the introductory message explained that there would be daily sessions for students to complete, with each day’s activities launched on that day. this meant that students would be guided through the daily activities and they would have to come back the next day to access the next set of tasks and activities. the orientation programme was rolled out over a four‑day period using this staggered approach. the team felt this would provide students with adequate time to engage with each component of the orientation programme and allow them to complete the relevant tasks and activities without overloading them with too much information. students were given two additional days after the fourth day of the orientation programme, to submit the final assignment and complete the evaluation form. further details about the activities and components of each day are provided in table 1 below. table 1: breakdown of activities and components of the erl orientation programme focus activities and components day 1: getting started 1. watch orientation video and read welcome message on site home page. 2. take a poll about initial feelings towards erl and perceived preparedness for erl. 3. upload a picture of yourself to your lms profile. 4. complete the data usage management for mobile devices lesson aimed at aiding with data use optimisation. 5. review information about zero‑rating on the wits website and what this means. 6. read guidelines for orientating those at home to what erl means and use the accompanying infographic to set up a suitable study environment. 7. review guidelines for replying to a forum. 8. listen to the town hall address from the deputy dean of clm. 9. raise opinions and concerns in the town hall forum. 10. review infographic about what to expect from course sites in the lms. d. de klerk, g. krull & t. maleswena: rapid orientation of students for emergency remote learning … 69 focus activities and components day 2: excellence skills 1. review frequently asked questions section. 2. visit faculty information portal for additional information about erl and covid‑19. 3. take a poll to gauge the suitability of home study environments for erl. 4. review guidelines about etiquette for engaging in online spaces. 5. review infographic with ten tips for studying online. 6. review infographic with information for taking notes when studying remotely. 7. read guidelines for managing time when studying remotely. 8. draft a time management plan using the time management template provided. 9. review the infographic for taking online assessments. 10. watch the how to access e‑books video to be able to access e‑books from the library. day 3: how‑to guides 1. review updates about zero‑rating on the wits website. 2. watch the how to navigate the lms video. 3. take a poll to gauge level of comfort with using the lms for erl. 4. watch the how to use turnitin video. 5. watch the video for how to access a microsoft teams live meeting. 6. read the guide on how to use the lesson tool in the lms. 7. read the guide on how to use the chat function in the lms. 8. read the guide on how to take an online quiz in the lms. 9. take the online quiz to test your knowledge of online learning and practice using the quiz tool. 10. optional activity: complete the free microsoft digital literacy online course. day 4: personal well‑being 1. review updates about zero‑rating on the wits website. 2. watch the video on mental and emotional wellbeing during social isolation and/or review the accompanying infographic. 3. review the ccdu lockdown wellness chronicles on the wits website and view the poster about cyber bullying from ccdu. 4. take note of the wits student crisis line contact details. 70 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 focus activities and components day 4: personal well‑being (continued) 5. review the south african social sector directory of services contact particulars document with information about national contact centres and services during covid‑19. 6. learn about covid‑19 by reading the infographic about covid‑19. 7. review the infographic about keeping your hands clean to help prevent the spread of covid‑19. 8. complete the online orientation evaluation form. 9. watch the final assignment instruction video and do the assignment. methodology the authors adopted a design‑based research (dbr) methodology, which is commonly used within the learning sciences, and involves the development of a context‑based solution or intervention in response to a particular educational problem (anderson & shattuck, 2012). the approach would typically see researchers analyse interventions iteratively (i.e. design, review, and iterate), but owing to a lack of time and scope during the covid‑19 emergency, an exhaustive iterative approach was not possible. nevertheless, dbr is used to address real‑life issues in education, like rapidly orientating students to erl, and entails the collection of data in multiple ways, which is what the authors did for this study. the intention is to use this orientation programme and the lessons learned from it as a baseline for subsequent online orientation programmes, such as those for incoming first‑year students. data collection occurred in a number of ways over the course of the four‑day orientation programme. student engagement was tracked daily and at the end of the four‑day period via the lms statistics tool. for the purposes of this article, only high‑ level user access and engagement data will be analysed (i.e. the number of individual student visits for the four‑day period and the number of clicks per user), although it would be possible to drill down further on activity and assessment data if required. students’ preparedness, perceptions, and level of comfort was gauged using the lms polls tool and this data will be analysed for this study. additionally, final‑assignment‑submission data from the assignment tool was analysed and will also be shared in the findings and discussion section below. finally, student evaluation data, collected at the end of the orientation programme using an online survey created in limesurvey, was analysed to gauge students’ perceived readiness for erl, their level of comfort with using online tools and resources, and to identify further support needs. an analysis of the aforementioned data is shared and discussed in the findings and discussion section below. d. de klerk, g. krull & t. maleswena: rapid orientation of students for emergency remote learning … 71 findings and discussion figures and statistics prior to the launch of the erl orientation programme, 9 088 registered clm students (of which 4 937 were undergraduate and 4 151 postgraduate) were added to the lms orientation site. an announcement was posted on the site to inform all students about the orientation programme that would launch the following day. the team knew that not all students would participate in the orientation activities (in particular those enrolled for full‑ research degrees and some of the postgraduate programmes), which were not compulsory. nevertheless, they wanted to make sure that the resources on the site were available to all clm students. the orientation programme was launched on 15 april 2020 and concluded on 18  april  2020, although students were able to submit final tasks until 19  april  2020 and could complete evaluations until 20 april 2020. during the four‑day period under review, 6 131 individual students accessed the orientation site and although it is difficult to determine how many completed every component of the orientation programme, the team is satisfied with a 67% engagement rate over just four days. table 2 shows the result of the three daily polls administered on the first three days of the orientation programme. poll  1 was completed by 4 688 individual students and asked about students’ preparedness for erl and the prospects of online studies. poll 2 was completed by 3 899 individual students and aimed to assess the suitability of their home study environment for erl. finally, poll 3 was completed by 3 285 individual students and asked about their level of comfort with using the institutional lms as an online learning platform. table 2: daily poll results poll question results poll 1: how do you feel about taking your studies online? • 2 464 respondents (53%) felt nervous or extremely nervous about erl and taking their studies online. • 1 695 respondents (36%) felt both nervous and excited about the prospects of erl. • 529 respondents (11%) said they were either excited or extremely excited to participate in erl. poll 2: what best describes your home study environment? • 931 respondents (24%) said their home study environment was either not suitable or less than ideal for erl. • 1 513 respondents (39%) said they could make their home study environments work in the current circumstances. • 1 455 respondents (37%) deemed their home study environment either suitable or ideal for erl. 72 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 poll question results poll 3: how comfortable are you to use the lms as an online learning platform? • 490 respondents (15%) said they felt uncomfortable with using the institutional lms as an online learning platform. • 1 676 respondents (51%) indicated they were comfortable using the lms for erl. • 1 119 respondents (34%) indicated they were more than comfortable using the lms as an online learning platform during erl. six hundred and fifty‑eight (658) individual students completed and submitted the rich‑ picture final assignment, while 1 113 individual students completed the online orientation evaluation. assignment submissions were lower than expected, although not surprising considering that tasks were voluntary and that marks were not awarded (both factors anecdotally observed to influence students’ decision to engage with learning activities). evaluation results were resoundingly positive, with more than 80% of respondents finding the shared resources and information useful, indicating the orientation programme was worth their while, and expressing high levels of satisfaction about their ability to use online assessment and communication tools. however, the authors recognise the limitation of the study in that those students who completed the entire programme were likely those who found it most useful (thus reflecting a great deal of satisfaction in the survey). another concern is that about 30% of the respondents indicated that they still felt apprehensive about taking their studies online and that they were uncertain about the unfamiliar learning environment they were entering. discussion the development and rollout of the orientation programme presented more challenges than initially anticipated. the team had limited time in which to implement the various solutions that would achieve the desired outcomes, while having no formal guidelines on which to base the orientation programme for ert&l. to mitigate these challenges, the team drew on information gleaned from the online student survey conducted shortly after the lockdown commenced, salmon’s (2004) five‑stage model, existing knowledge about online learning and orientation programmes (abdous, 2019; bozarth et al., 2004; cho, 2012), the limited literature about ert&l that existed at the time, and established holistic student support principles to develop and implement the erl orientation programme. needless to say, this period was fraught for students as the orientation polls indicated that 53% of students were nervous or extremely nervous about erl and 24% of students were living in home environments that were unconducive for erl studies. therefore, the development of this programme helped to address some student concerns and further highlight issues of accessibility and more general factors affecting learning. furthermore, a “low‑tech” approach (e.g. making available text versions of video or audio files, amongst other things) was adopted to reduce the challenges (where possible) for students with poor connectivity and limited data. d. de klerk, g. krull & t. maleswena: rapid orientation of students for emergency remote learning … 73 a major concern was that some students could not access or did not benefit from this orientation programme during the orientation period. more than 20% of students enrolled on the site did not access the orientation programme during the orientation period, while only about one in six students completed the evaluation. in alignment with douglas et al. (2018) and wozniak et al. (2012), this was mitigated by keeping the site and resources active and accessible to students throughout the academic year. academic advisors and peer advisors continue to use the site to communicate and consult with students, while adding new resources when needed (e.g. guidelines for examination preparation and online examinations). regarding the low survey response rate, although a 12% response rate to the orientation programme evaluation is less than ideal, one should bear in mind that none of the activities were compulsory, and that survey fatigue may have contributed to the low response rate. the lessons learned from the development of this online orientation programme can be applied in the development of similar programmes for online learning in the institution and the development of support mechanisms to assist students during any future periods of disruption. conclusions due to the rapid transition to erl, an online orientation programme was quickly conceptualised and developed to support students in the faculty of commerce, law, and management to make this transition. this conceptualisation was based upon salmon’s (2004) five‑stage model, a review of the literature, a student survey and the previous experiences of the orientation programme developers. the majority of students within clm completed at least some of the activities during the orientation period and the students who responded to the evaluation mainly responded positively. the team is satisfied that the programme achieved its main objectives of introducing and orientating students to online learning, providing resources that helped students acquire knowledge and tools for erl, providing how‑to guidelines and videos for erl, modelling the use of online assessment tools in a low‑stakes environment, providing advice and guidance about personal well‑being during social isolation and while studying remotely, and enabling communication between students and advisors via lms communication tools and email. the approach to the development of this online orientation programme is offered as a contribution to the field to assist in the rapid development of online orientation programmes for any future periods of disruption to higher education. additionally, the programme offered the team an opportunity to gain insight into the challenges students face, their needs during this period, and to identify students who were either ill‑prepared for erl or did not access the online orientation programme at all during the orientation period. acknowledgements the authors would like to extend their sincere gratitude to the following individuals for their input, advice, guidance, and contribution: prof. jason cohen, dr laura dison, ms  siyasamkela jinoyi, ms fiona macalister, ms aneshree nayager, and mr  mbongeni shungube. 74 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 61‑75 | 2307‑6267 | doi 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 research ethics the authors subscribe to the highest levels of ethics during their research. only secondary data was used in this study. all data is presented in aggregate form and no individual is identifiable from the data shared in this article. conflict of interest the authors have no conflict of interest to declare. funding no funding was required to complete this study. references abdous, m.h. 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(2017). paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 77‑90. https://doi. org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 stone, c. & o’shea, s. (2019). older, online and first: recommendations for retention and success. australasian journal of educational technology, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.3913 wiffs (2019). wits institutional framework for student success. university of the witwatersrand: december. wozniak, h., pizzica, j. & mahony, m.j. (2012). design‑based research principles for student orientation to online study: capturing the lessons learnt. australasian journal of educational technology, 28(5), 896‑911. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.823 how to cite: de klerk, d., krull, g. & maleswena, t. (2021). rapid orientation of students for emergency remot e learning during t he covid‑19 loc kdown. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 61‑75. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1428 https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v25.1981 https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v24i2.2285 https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v24i2.2285 https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v17i1.312 https://doi.org/10.1080/09687760600837025 https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v4i1.131 https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v4i1.131 https://doi.org/10.1080/09687760601129588 https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2012.745047 https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2012.745047 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203465424 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203465424 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v5i2.2703 https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.3913 https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.823 _goback journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 205 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students in south africa samia chasii & orla quinlanii i dr samia chasi is the strategic advisor for the international education association of south africa (ieasa) and a research fellow at the university of the free state, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-1896-0248. email: samiachasi@yahoo.com ii ms orla quinlan has been ieasa president 2019-2020 and is director: international office, rhodes university, south africa. orcid: 0000-0001-7464-4026. email: o.quinlan@ru.ac.za abstract the covid‑19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to the teaching, learning and research functions of universities around the globe. it has also impacted their internationalisation efforts in significant ways. from the perspective of south africa’s public higher education sector, this article reflects on how international students at the country’s universities have been affected by national and institutional responses to covid‑19. it highlights the specific challenges and constraints international students faced in light of covid‑19 related restrictions such as travel bans, university closures and the national lockdown. in doing so, several aspects of the international student experience are explored, specifically regarding travelling home, communication, accommodation and immigration. the article also addresses the issue of remote learning and academic continuity, arguing that international students, especially those who were outside the borders of south africa, are at risk of being left behind. it advocates for the inclusion of international students in national and institutional considerations and plans for the successful completion of the 2020 academic year. the article recognises that, in the absence of coordinated national responses, institutional approaches to the treatment of international students have differed from one university to another. such differences can be linked to the differentiated nature of the south african higher education sector, where the capacity of institutions to deal with covid‑19 related challenges and to respond comprehensively to the needs of different groups of international students varies in accordance with the availability of relevant structures, systems, digital platforms and other resources. as a reflective practitioner account, the article draws on the experience of the authors in higher education internationalisation as well as on the collective experience of a community of practice of the international education association of south africa, which represents the majority of public universities in the country. keywords covid‑19; higher education; inclusion; internationalisation practice; international students; south africa http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:samiachasi%40yahoo.com?subject= mailto:o.quinlan%40ru.ac.za?subject= 206 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 introduction the covid‑19 pandemic has impacted higher education (he) around the world in unprecedented ways, causing major disruptions to the teaching, learning and research functions of universities. internationalisation activities, generally aimed at improving the quality of education and research, have also been adversely affected, most notably regarding restrictions on the international mobility of students and staff for study and research purposes as well as participation in meetings and conferences. this article is a reflection on how covid‑19 has impacted he internationalisation in south africa. in particular, it focuses on how international students at the country’s public universities have been affected by national and institutional responses to the pandemic. written at a time where covid‑19 related restrictions are ongoing and the full impact of the pandemic cannot yet be foreseen, this article aims to create a public record of the impact of the global pandemic on international students in south africa over a nine‑month period, from march to december 2020. by addressing the specific challenges and constraints international students have faced and highlighting that some of them are at risk of being left behind in terms of the successful completion of the 2020 academic programme, this article critically discusses the question of inclusion in current covid‑19 related government policy and institutional practices. the authors present a reflective practitioners’ account, in which they draw on their extensive experience in he internationalisation, most notably their current roles in the international education association of south africa (ieasa).1 based on their access to and involvement in the directors forum (df), the authors share their personal reflections on the interactions of the members of this forum, who are an important community of practice for ieasa’s institutional members, thus drawing on a collective voice of south african higher education institutions (heis). this article is informed by engagements of df members, who are the directors of international offices of ieasa’s member institutions. through this platform, ieasa has established a community of practice, which has played a key role at this time of crisis by fostering learning and exchange to address common challenges and find practical solutions. through formal meetings and communication via informal channels such as a whatsapp group, the df members engage regularly to keep each other abreast of the latest developments, identify common challenges, share examples of institutional responses to such challenges and learn from each other’s good practices. as chasi (2020, para. 10) notes, this engagement has “created a deep sense of community, as directors realised that the challenges they face are not unique to individual institutions, although their extent and severity can vary from one university to another”. in the case of the covid‑19 pandemic, such a community of practice has been particularly important because institutional approaches to the implementation of 1 ieasa is a registered, non‑profit organisation (npo) dedicated to advancing the internationalisation of south african he. it currently comprises 23 out of the 26 universities that make up the south african public he sector. the following three institutions are currently not members of ieasa: mangosuthu university of technology, sol plaatje university and university of mpumalanga. samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 207 covid‑19 related government policy and its impact on internationalisation have not been coordinated and aligned at the national level. he internationalisation in south africa general internationalisation trends internationalisation has been a concern of increasing importance for south african universities since the end of apartheid and its resultant international sanctions and academic boycott. after 1994, the country saw a considerable influx of international students. reflecting on ieasa’s history, jooste (2007) notes that south african heis were initially under‑prepared for the handling of international students coming to the country in increasing numbers. the first consultative meetings of the he sector dealt mainly with issues arising from the presence of international students on south african campuses, including the potential for income generation, matters pertaining to immigration, language of instruction, the evaluation of non‑south african qualifications as well as the provision of services to international students (jooste, 2007). to help address these issues at a national level, it was recommended that a voluntary association be established, and ieasa was launched in january 1997 (swemmer, 2018), resulting from the sector’s need to respond to the influx of international students. internationalisation in the south african he sector is no longer considered simply a matter of dealing with the presence of international students on university campuses across the country (chasi, 2019). internationalisation efforts of south african universities included, especially in the early years, setting up international offices and developing institutional internationalisation policies as well as activities regarding the recruitment of international students and staff, the mobilisation of local students and staff and the integration of an international dimension into programmes and curricula (kishun, 2006). over the past few years, there has been a focus on strengthening internationalisation of the curriculum (ioc) and internationalisation at home (iah) dimensions as part of increased efforts to advance he internationalisation in south africa more equitably and inclusively. most recently, the use of virtual exchanges and collaborative online international learning (coil) to internationalise the curriculum and to foster intercultural competence and multicultural learning has been gaining momentum, accelerated by covid‑19 related changes to the way we study, do research and work. policy uncertainty in november 2020, it was formally announced that south africa’s first national policy framework for he internationalisation has been ratified. however, leading up to that point, south african universities dealt with internationalisation mostly in their individual capacities for more than 20 years, with ieasa playing a facilitating and supporting role. as highlighted by jooste and hagenmeier (2018), ieasa identified the need for a national internationalisation policy as early as 2003 and was a major driving factor in its 208 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 development until the department of higher education and training (dhet) published its draft policy framework for the internationalisation of higher education in south africa for public comment in 2017. in may 2020, ieasa called on the south african government to reaffirm its commitment to he internationalisation by adopting the policy and supporting its implementation across the sector (ieasa, 2020). the need for policy clarity on internationalisation was also highlighted in a recent report on the country’s he system in the period 2005‑2017, which notes that policy uncertainty brings about challenges, particularly in light of calls by some parliamentarians to introduce quotas for the recruitment of international students and academic staff, which creates political pressures on universities and funding bodies (essop, 2020). inequality and underfunding apart from a long period of policy uncertainty, he internationalisation in south africa happens in a challenging he environment characterised by inequality and underfunding. in its policy framework for he internationalisation in south africa, the dhet (2019) includes as rationales the positioning of the country’s he sector to be competitive in a globalised world, the advancing of he quality as well as the benefiting of society at large and enhancing opportunities for he to contribute to the public good. however, he internationalisation has not been advanced evenly across the country’s universities. more than 20 years after the end of apartheid, the internationalisation policy recognises that historically disadvantaged institutions (hdis) “still have very low levels of international relations and are not yet, therefore, benefiting from internationalisation to the degree that they could” (dhet, 2019, p. 21). in a university sector that is generally underfunded,2 when compared internationally, he internationalisation competes for limited resources with other institutional priorities and is often put on the back burner of institutional initiatives. ieasa recognises that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to he internationalisation in south africa. the diversity of its member institutions manifests itself in different historical, geographical and operational contexts as well as in different institutional priorities and different levels of financial and human resource capacity allocated to internationalisation. in this context, it is imperative that internationalisation endeavours of universities are increasingly relevant and aligned to other institutional and national goals, contributing to transformation, nation‑building and the public good. 2 while the level of he spending has increased over the years, government subsidies for south africa’s 26 public universities have been declining in real terms, and one of the recommendations made by the commission of enquiry into higher education and training (2017) was that government should work towards funding the university sector with one per cent of gdp. samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 209 internationalisation policy focus as highlighted in the internationalisation policy framework, south african heis must design their internationalisation activities in such a way that priority is, first and foremost, given to south africa’s interests. thereafter: … where possible and relevant, the following order of priority focus should be observed in terms of interests: the sadc [southern african development community] states; the rest of the african continent; brics [brazil, russia, india, china, south africa]; the global south and emerging economies; and the world beyond. (dhet, 2019, p. 22) when it comes to student enrolments, this priority focus is already manifest in so far as the majority of international students in south africa are african and mostly from sadc countries. the sadc focus is in line with the sadc protocol on education and training development (sadc, 1997), which recommends that member states reserve at least five per cent of their university admissions for students from other sadc nations. international students in south africa international student trends since the end of apartheid, south africa has been a popular destination for international students, particularly from the continent. factors contributing to its attractiveness include the presence of several south african heis in major international university rankings, a well‑established he sector offering internationally recognised qualifications, the use of english as the main medium of instruction and relatively low costs of living. international students are generally distinguished into two main categories: degree‑ seeking students and short‑term students, of which the former are the majority of international students in south africa. a total of 68 036 international degree‑seeking students were registered at south african universities in 2017, accounting for approxi‑ mately 6.5 per cent of the total student population of 1 036 984 (che, 2019).3 between 2005 and 2017, international student numbers grew by 32.5 per cent (essop, 2020). almost half of this growth is accounted for by an increase in postgraduate enrolments, particularly from the rest of africa (ibid.). between 2005 and 2017, inter‑ national postgraduate enrolments increased by 106.4 per cent, and at the doctoral level, international students as a proportion of total doctoral enrolments increased from 23.1 per cent to 39.6 per cent (ibid.). this means that international students make a significant contribution towards national development, specifically the goal of having 5 000 doctoral graduates annually by 2030 (npc, 2012). 3 it is worth noting in this regard that if the total numbers are disaggregated further, it becomes apparent that 26 740 international students, which equals almost 40 per cent of all international students, are not pursuing their studies in south africa but are registered for distance education programmes, offered mostly through the university of south africa (unisa), the country’s dedicated distance education institution (ieasa, 2019). 210 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 the vast majority of international degree‑seeking students registered at south african universities are african. in 2017, a total of 60 334 students were from other countries on the continent, making up 88.7 per cent of all international students. what is more, 48 641 students came from the sadc region, accounting for 71.5 per cent of international student enrolments (che, 2019). many of these students come to south africa for a variety of reasons including political instability, economic hardship and negative impacts of climate change in neighbouring countries. apart from degree‑seeking students, south african heis also host international students for short‑term periods and study abroad semesters. the vast majority of these students come from north america and europe on a fee‑paying basis or on the basis of fee‑waiver agreements as part of institutional exchange agreements. however, national data from south african sources is not widely and easily available for this category, as it has not been gathered systematically and consistently across the sector and over time. however, open doors states, for example, that 341 751 students from the unites states (us) studied abroad for academic credit for periods in‑between eight weeks or less to one academic year in 2017/2018. of these students, 6 001 chose south africa as their study destination, making it the 11th most popular destination for us students in that year (open doors, 2019). notwithstanding differences in types of students and numbers, international students are present on the vast majority of university campuses across south africa. all of ieasa’s member institutions have established international offices to serve as first point of contact for international students and to provide them with general guidance and advice on matters related to their studies in south africa. university services for international students student services for international students are organised very differently across the range of south african heis, indicating varying degrees of importance assigned to internationali‑ sation as an institutional priority. in some universities, internationalisation is a key part of the institution’s overall forward‑looking strategy, driven by the vice‑chancellor. in others, internationalisation competes for attention with more pressing local issues such as the impact of water shortages or failing municipality services. while international offices have been established, their positioning within each institution, function, size, capacity, role and funding model vary greatly. most importantly, the extent of the services available to international students in any particular institution is influenced by their funding model. while some international offices are allocated a modest university budget, others generate funding through their activities in order to pay for their costs, including substantial income through bespoke short courses and study abroad programmes. in some international offices, a mixed model is adopted combining core university funding and income generated from office activities. some universities charge international student levies and others do not. the levies themselves are also allocated differently in each institution to either the central university budget or the relevant faculty and other units including the international office, or a combination of both. samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 211 well‑resourced offices tend to deal with internationalisation more broadly and comprehensively, including international visitors and events as well as the entire cycle of an international student’s experience from initial marketing and recruiting to graduation. the services provided for international students include orientation, registration and a range of specific international student services pertaining to immigration and medical aid, as a core visa requirement. in contrast, smaller offices may deal with only some aspects of these student services, with others being provided by general student service units usually housed within the registrar’s and student affairs divisions. as alluded to earlier, there is an unevenness about the prevalence of internationalisation and service provision for international students on south african campuses. against this backdrop, covid‑19 has affected universities and international students in south africa differently. covid‑19 impact on he internationalisation: the case of international students in south africa the impact of covid‑19 related restrictions on international student mobility has affected south african heis to varying degrees. on the one end of the spectrum, universities focused their responses to the pandemic mainly on the presence of a small number of international students. at the other end, a whole variety of international activities were at risk. for institutions that relied on income generated through international activities such as study abroad programmes and winter/summer schools, financial losses suffered due to covid‑19 potentially threatened the sustainability of the very same initiatives and programmes and, in some instances, the sustainability of the funding model of the international office. the impact of covid‑19 on international students in south africa in response to covid‑19, the south african government implemented measures following a risk‑adjusted approach, taking into account several factors including but not limited to the level of infections, the rate of transmissions, the capacity of health facilities as well as the economic and social impact of implemented restrictions. this approach included a five‑ level alert system, which determines the level of restrictions to be applied during different phases of the national state of disaster. the system ranges from lockdown level 5, with a high spread and a low health system readiness, to lockdown level 1, with a low spread and a high health system readiness.4 all students have been affected by measures implemented in response to covid‑19 such as travel bans, campus closures and the move to online teaching and learning. however, aspects of these measures have created specific challenges for international students that are experienced differently by local students or not shared by them at all. in addition, as the 4 more detailed information about the alert levels is published by the south african government and available at https://www.gov.za/covid‑19/about/about‑alert‑system https://www.gov.za/covid-19/about/about-alert-system 212 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 various levels of lockdown were adjusted, there was an increasing differentiation between the impact on students located inside south africa, both local and international, and those outside the country. travelling home before lockdown when universities closed for early recess from 18 march 2020, students were asked to vacate university premises and return home. as ieasa (2020) highlights, such requests created challenges for local and international students alike, particularly when travelling home was linked to fears of health risks as well as logistical and financial difficulties. international students faced some additional challenges in that regard. for example, in contrast to their local counterparts, international students often stay in residences even during recess periods and return home only at the end of their academic programme or academic year or upon completion of their studies. in this instance, however, they were expected to make international travel plans at short notice and at a cost not budgeted for. students from countries identified as high‑risk were particularly concerned about leaving south africa and their prospects of being able to return once campuses reopened. further challenges arose due to flight cancellations and border closures in the wake of international travel bans and, in some instances, international students were unable to travel due to pending visa extensions. in effect, many full‑time international students from beyond the sadc region could not leave the country. study abroad students generally repatriated and resumed courses in their home institutions. with only a few days between the national lockdown being announced and it taking effect on 26 march 2020, some students had to leave the country in such a hurry that they left behind personal belongings and learning materials. jooste and hagenmeier (2020) point out that it was generally expected at the time that they would be able to return to their universities soon. contact and communication international students are generally requested to update their contact details on an annual basis. however, after campus closures, some students could no longer be reached via the contact details provided, especially if they had crossed the border and were no longer accessing south african mobile networks. similarly, receiving electronic communication from their institutions was a challenge for students who had left campus and no longer had access to computers, data, networks and electricity. under such conditions, institutions experienced considerable difficulties in establishing the whereabouts of their international students. some discovered that students they thought had left the country actually stayed within the borders of south africa. accommodation in cases where international students were, for a variety of reasons, unable to travel home or find alternative accommodation, universities had to make arrangements for continued care and support, including accommodation. some international students were therefore samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 213 allowed to stay in university residences on campus, with strict regulations to meet the necessary requirements regarding health standards and social distancing. others were moved to alternative accommodation off campus. even in cases where students stayed on campus, the provision of services for them was severely disrupted due to the closure of campus facilities as well as the shift to staff working from home, with personnel available on site reduced to a bare minimum. students who moved in with relatives or friends also faced specific challenges pertaining to accommodation, as they no longer had their own dedicated space. in one instance, a group of zimbabwean scholarship students used their travel allowance to club together and rent a place, anticipating that it would be easier to continue with their studies in south africa, in spite of inadequate financing. they feared returning home to places where there might be very little connectivity and thought they would access most of the same adaptive measures as south african students if they remained. as the lockdown continued for much longer than initially expected, they eventually ran into financial difficulty and required assistance from their host university to survive. immigration matters in january 2020, the department of home affairs (dha) provided visa exemptions until the end of march, which allowed universities to register international students who had applied for extensions of their study visas inside the country on the basis of visa facilitation services (vfs) receipts, as proof that their applications had been submitted. however, when campuses were closed in line with covid‑19 related restrictions, these same students were initially informed that they could not leave south africa without the risk of being declared undesirable and unable to return. some students crossed the border regardless, and the consequences of this decision remained to be seen until international students were finally permitted to return and re‑enter the country to resume their studies. on 26 march 2020, the minister of home affairs issued a range of concessions for foreigners inside south africa, including international students, and extended their visas until 31 july 2020 (dha, 2020a), which permitted students to retain the same legal status as they held prior to lockdown. subsequently, the concessions were further extended to 31 october 2020 (dha, 2020b). while these concessions assisted students whose visas expired during lockdown in terms of their legal status in the country, there were other material hardships for students due to the closure of vfs offices and the unavailability of services. to mention some examples, there was no facility to change the conditions of visas, which affected students who wanted to change universities and could not register at their new institution. students who had completed their phd studies and were due to commence postdoctoral research could not apply for the correct visa and missed funded research opportunities. pharmacy students, who were to complete their final year and take up internships, were delayed, which will impact on their career opportunities for 2021. the dhet announced on 26 august 2020 that the target for completion of the 2020 academic year will be the end of february 2021 (dhet, 2020c). this means that some international students will need to extend their study visas beyond december 2020. 214 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 even if an extension is granted automatically by the dha, students will incur additional, previously not anticipated expenses, such as for maintaining their medical aid cover, which is a core study visa requirement. as the examples relating to travel, communication, accommodation and immigration show, the specific circumstances of international students are generally complex and varied. this means that universities have to accommodate international students often on a case‑ by‑case basis, requiring ad‑hoc and tailor‑made solutions. in the context of covid‑19, the need for differentiated services was exacerbated even further, as students found themselves in different scenarios, depending on how measures implemented to prevent the spread of the pandemic affected them. whatever services they provided, universities had to be mindful of the different situations international students found themselves in – on campus; off campus but in a host institution location; elsewhere in the country or at home outside south africa. inclusion in times of covid‑19 the question of inclusion arises particularly in the context of national and institutional plans to assist students in successfully completing the 2020 academic year despite severe disruptions. the minister of higher education, science and innovation proclaimed that no student is to be left behind in that regard (sa news, 2020). however, it appears that several groups of students are at a high risk of being left behind, most notably students “living in conditions that are not conducive to online learning, without access to computers and laptops, affordable data, reliable internet connectivity, electricity or a dedicated physical space in which to study” (ieasa, 2020, p. 2). another group of students at risk are international students, especially those who were, in adherence of lockdown regulations, outside the borders of south africa until they were eventually able to return under lockdown level 1, which took effect on 21 september 2020. in early june 2020, the dhet observed that the numbers of international students in university residences on and off campus were small (dhet, 2020b). taking into account reports from universities that considerable numbers of their international students remained elsewhere in the country, the question still arose of how the dhet and other government departments accommodated the needs and interests of international students outside south africa. these students were not at the forefront of considerations and plans for the successful completion of the 2020 academic year, as such plans, at both national and institutional levels, targeted mainly local students and international students who remained in south africa. return to campus returning to campus was particularly important for students who were living and studying in challenging circumstances. however, in planning the phased reopening of campuses and resumption of face‑to face teaching, the dhet confirmed that only under lockdown level 1, “international students who were residing outside of the country during the samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 215 lockdown period may return (provided that international travel is permitted)” at that time (dhet, 2020b, p. 9). these students were thus essentially excluded from opportunities to return to campus in a staggered approach, in the same way as local students. this affected the students’ ability to access study and research facilities on campus, which was, in turn, likely to negatively impact their academic performance and progress. to further illustrate the complexities, on 30 april 2020 the dhet (2020a) announced that the only exception to campus closures under lockdown level 4 would be the controlled return of clinical training students in their final year to assist with ongoing health management efforts of the department of health (doh). however, this directive did not make any explicit provision for the return of international students studying in their final year towards qualifications in the relevant disciplines. it was reported in the news that some final‑year students returned to south africa from namibia at the end of may (kandovazu, 2020). as jooste and hagenmeier (2020) note: there was no clarity about whether this would include international students; the wording was at least wide enough to allow for this. stakeholders interpreted the regulations in different ways, but at least a limited number of international final‑year medical students returned from lesotho. (para. 8‑9) the department of co‑operative governance and traditional affairs (cogta, 2020) issued regulations for lockdown level 3 indicating that “daily commuters from neighbouring countries who attend school in the republic” (p. 13) may be allowed entry. however, no similar provision was explicitly made for international students from such countries, revealing inconsistencies in the treatment of international school learners and international students. on 26 august 2020, the dhet stated that in case international travel be permitted under lockdown level 2, “priority may have to be given to registrars and senior medical students” (dhet, 2020c, p. 11). again, no further details regarding the implementation of such provision were provided. remote learning when the dhet announced that international students would be allowed to return to campuses only under lockdown level 1, it also stated that “these international students will be supported through remote learning support until they return” (dhet, 2020b, p. 8). in practice, the capacity of universities to provide remote learning and support differed significantly. while some institutions, most notably research‑intensive universities, were able to implement remote teaching and learning as an emergency measure from as early as the second term starting in april 2020, others, especially hdis, were still struggling to adequately provide teaching and learning services online when the phased re‑opening of campuses started in june 2020. furthermore, institutional efforts to support students by providing learning devices and data were, for the most part, limited to local and international students in south africa for 216 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 logistical and financial reasons. for example, laptops were more laborious and expensive to transport across borders, and data deals were more difficult to negotiate with companies outside south africa’s borders. at the same time, challenges with internet connectivity and bandwidth are often even more pronounced in students’ home countries on the continent. universities made attempts to support students by negotiating with mobile communications companies in neighbouring countries and also approached alumni networks for assistance. in some instances, students in lesotho, namibia and botswana received laptops. there are also cases where universities were able to support students with free data or rebates or data allowances. data was made available to some students in neighbouring countries, especially in lesotho and eswatini. despite these efforts, universities did not generally have the requisite contacts, mechanisms and budgets in place to support students who were outside of the country, particularly in the initial phase of adapting to the ‘new normal’. there was a distinct time lag in finding ways to assist international students, which is a continuing challenge. for example, the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg (wits, 2020a) announced on 14 april 2020 that it would re‑open on 20 april and institute an emergency remote teaching and learning programme to help minimise the time lost in the academic project. a few days later, wits (2020b) confirmed that students registered on one of the four major mobile networks operating in south africa would receive 30gb of data at no cost for one month. however, it took four months until the university announced that international students based in lesotho, eswatini and zimbabwe would also receive data from wits (belle, 2020). as this example shows, the support for international students was, even where available, delayed and neither uniform nor comprehensive across the board. reasons for lack of inclusive approaches to a large extent, the lack of adequate consideration for international students can be ascribed to the unprecedented nature of the covid‑19 pandemic and the lack of relevant national and institutional resources, structures, systems, digital platforms and experiences in dealing with such a crisis. it quite literally caught everyone by surprise. of greater concern is the lack of clarity and detail in government directives, which, in the absence of coordinated, sector‑wide approaches, left each university to interpret them differently, as in the case of the return of final year medical students. various concerns arose regarding the return of international students from outside south africa, as their reintegration into classes and campus life was expected to involve additional time and resources, particularly regarding requirements for quarantine and self‑isolation. furthermore, it was anticipated that international students who had left the country without awaiting the outcome of their ongoing visa extension applications might experience challenges with their visas upon re‑entry. in effect, students from the sadc region returned to south africa on visitors’ visas, acquired at the border and, with dha concessions, collected their study visa application outcomes inside south africa. a proportion of students decided not to return to south africa in 2020 and continued to samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 217 learn online. their visa outcomes await collection at vfs offices, where they will be kept for a few months before being returned to the dha. some students may be anticipating collecting visa outcomes early in 2021, as they come to register for the new academic year. a possible reason why considerations and plans did not specifically cater for international students is the lack of well‑informed representation at the national level. for example, when the department of higher education, science and innovation (dhesi) established a dedicated covid‑19 team in mid‑march 2020, this did not include representation of bodies that can specifically speak for international students. this might have been an oversight giving expression to the lack of prioritisation of he internationalisation and existing policy uncertainty at the time, as indicated earlier. the lack of adequate and consistent concern for the needs of international students can negatively affect their individual study experiences. the psychological impact of being asked to leave and the delays in being accommodated to participate in online teaching and learning and in being allowed back onto campus may affect international students’ confidence in their home institutions’ ability to treat them equally and equitably in comparison to local students. in the long‑term, this carries the risk of more far‑reaching reputational damage to the entire sector. in that regard, jooste and hagenmeier (2020) point out that the way international students were being treated during the ongoing covid‑19 crisis may determine south africa’s ability “to retain its position as a regional higher education hub and whether it will be able to be a driver for phd capacity development in the sadc region and africa following the pandemic” (para. 2). they note further that any unjustified discrimination of international students “may infringe the country’s internationally celebrated constitution, taint south africa’s standing as a higher education hub and jeopardise its existing reputation as a preferred destination for international students” (para. 23). this is especially true if students are unable to successfully complete their academic programme. way forward for the reasons mentioned above, it is imperative that the government’s aim to not leave any student behind is achieved. in a position paper published in may 2020, ieasa (2020) appealed to universities and other he stakeholders to ensure that international students are not left out of considerations for the successful completion of the 2020 academic programme. learning from experiences so far, this means that internationalisation considerations need to be given more prominence in ongoing and future responses to covid‑19. it also requires a more deliberate engagement with the needs and interests of international students, which must be taken into account when designing initiatives and programmes at both national and institutional levels. such initiatives and programmes should be equitable and afford international students the same opportunities as local students. plans to facilitate the continuity of academic and support services need to cater for international students who are inside the country as well as those who are outside the border of south africa. 218 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 based on the collective experience of ieasa’s members (ieasa, 2020), institutions would benefit from greater alignment and coordination of efforts to combat covid‑19 at national level, including the collaboration of different government departments impacting on international student issues, most notably the dhesi, the dha and the department of international relations and cooperation (dirco). institutions, especially those that are underprivileged and under‑resourced, also stand to gain from more inclusive, sector‑wide approaches, for example, regarding the pooling of institutional resources to create regional or national platforms for online teaching as well as the negotiation of internet and data‑ related deals with mobile communications companies (ibid.). concluding remarks at the global level, the full impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on the future of he internationalisation is as yet unclear. as a member of the network of international education associations (niea), ieasa supports a recently published statement reaffirming the value and importance of international education and research, highlighting that measures implemented to limit international he should be time‑bound (niea, 2020). this includes any restrictions on international students. in south africa, the full impact of restrictions implemented in response to covid‑19 is difficult to predict at a time when it is not yet clear how successfully the 2020 academic year will be completed. similarly, it has not yet been established how many international students were able to make use of online teaching and learning, where offered, and how this has impacted on their academic performance. there is some indication that the ‘new normal’ of teaching and learning will include blended approaches. similarly, it can be expected that some of the new ways of working remotely will find their way into service provision for international students. at the same time, international students are likely to want and need a physical campus experience to enhance their immersion and integration by ensuring conducive study conditions and human interactions. covid‑19 has undoubtedly caused a disruptive shock to the core functions of universities. however, it also provides heis with an opportunity to adapt positively to an ever‑changing internationalisation environment and emerge as institutions that are smarter, more inclusive and more responsive. this includes adopting creative and innovative approaches to the way in which they service and support different categories of students, including international students, who make a very valuable contribution to the intellectual and cultural diversity of south african universities and the development of the south african he sector. research ethics work on this article did not involve any research participants and therefore did not require ethical clearance. samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 219 conflict of interest the authors declare that they do not have financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. funding this work has not received any financial support. references belle, z. 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(2020, april 9). covid‑19 has put he internationalisation under review. university world news. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200408093750683 che (council on higher education) (2019). vitalstats – public higher education 2017. https://firebase‑ storage.googleapis.com/v0/b/che2020‑c5efd.appspot.com/o/website%2f1svgvakokgb1?alt=media &token=d76cb24a‑5931‑4c45‑b652‑590563314c92 cogta (department of co‑operative governance and traditional affairs) (2020, may 28). disaster management act, 2002 (act no. 57 of 2002): determination of alert levels and hotspots. government gazette, 659(43364). republic of south africa. commission of enquiry into higher education and training (2017). report of the commission of enquiry into higher education and training to the president of the republic of south africa. http://www. thepresidency.gov.za/sites/default/files/commission%20of%20inquiry%20into%20higher%20 education%20report.pdf dha (department of home affairs) (2020a, march 26). directions issued in terms of regulation 10(8) of the regulations made under section 27(2) of the disaster management act, 2002 (act no. 57 of 2002): measures to prevent and combat the spread of covid‑19. government gazette, 657(43162). republic of south africa. dha (2020b, july 31). amendment of directions issued in terms of regulation 10(8) of the regulations made under section 27(2) of the disaster management act, 2002 (act no. 57 of 2002): measures to prevent and combat the spread of covid‑19. government gazette, 661(43572). republic of south africa. dha (2020c, august 25). amendment of directions issued in terms of regulation 4(8) of the regulations made under section 27(2) of the disaster management act, 2002 (act no. 57 of 2002): measures to prevent and combat the spread of covid‑19. government gazette, 662(43650). republic of south africa. dhet (department of higher education and training) (2019). policy framework for internationalisation of higher education in south africa. https://www.dhet.gov.za/policy%20and%20development%20 support/policy%20framework%20for%20internationalisation%20of%20higher%20education%20 in%20south%20africa.pdf dhet (2020a, april 30). minister of higher education, science and innovation statement on the measures to phase‑out the lockdown and phasing in of pset strategic functions. https://www.dhet.gov.za/ siteassets/media%20statement%202020/phasing%20out%20the%20lockdown%20 measures%20final.pdf http://witsvuvuzela.com/2020/08/18/wits-international-students-to-receive-data/ http://witsvuvuzela.com/2020/08/18/wits-international-students-to-receive-data/ http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/28064 http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/28064 https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200408093750683 https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/che2020-c5efd.appspot.com/o/website%2f1svgvakokgb1?alt=m https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/che2020-c5efd.appspot.com/o/website%2f1svgvakokgb1?alt=m https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/che2020-c5efd.appspot.com/o/website%2f1svgvakokgb1?alt=m http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/sites/default/files/commission%20of%20inquiry%20into%20higher%20educ http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/sites/default/files/commission%20of%20inquiry%20into%20higher%20educ http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/sites/default/files/commission%20of%20inquiry%20into%20higher%20educ https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/media%20statement%202020/phasing%20out%20the%20lockdown%20measure https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/media%20statement%202020/phasing%20out%20the%20lockdown%20measure https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/media%20statement%202020/phasing%20out%20the%20lockdown%20measure 220 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 205‑221 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 dhet (2020b, june 8). directions for criteria to return to public university and private higher education institution campuses as part of a risk‑adjusted strategy for a phased‑in return from level 3: issued in terms of the disaster management act, 2002 (act no. 57 of 2002). government gazette, 660(43414). republic of south africa. dhet (2020c, august 26). the minister of higher education, science and innovation, dr blade nzimande’s statement on covid‑19 alert level 2 measures in the post school education and training sector. https://www.dhet. gov.za/siteassets/media%20statement%202020/minister%20nzimande%27s%20statement%20 on%20level%202.pdf essop, a. (2020). the changing size and shape of the higher education system in south africa, 2005‑2017. ali mazrui centre for higher education studies, university of johannesburg. https://www.uj.ac.za/ faculties/facultyofeducation/ali‑mazrui‑centre ieasa (international education association of south africa) (2019). study south africa – the guide to south african higher education. engaged universities: comprehensive internationalisation – a dialogue between local and global realities (18th ed.). ieasa. https://studysa.africa/ ieasa (2020, may 29). position paper – higher education internationalisation in south africa in the context of the covid‑19 pandemic: impact on international students. ieasa. http://ieasa.studysa.org/wp‑content/ uploads/2020/05/ieasa‑position‑paper_covid‑19_may2020_final.pdf jooste, n. (2007). 10 years of ieasa history. ieasa. http://studysa.org/wp‑content/uploads/2019/03/ 10‑years‑of‑ieasa‑history.pdf jooste, n. & hagenmeier, c. (2018). draft policy framework for the internationalisation of higher education in south africa: an ieasa perspective. in study south africa – the guide to south african higher education (17th ed., pp. 5‑6). ieasa. jooste, n. & hagenmeier, c. (2020, july 9). south africa’s destination reputation is on the line. university world news. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200707102247518 kandovazu, e. (2020, june 3). namibian students return to sa. informanté. https://informante.web.na/ namibian‑students‑return‑to‑sa/ kishun, r. (2006). introduction: the internationalisation of higher education in south africa – progress and challenges. in r. kishun (ed.), the internationalisation of higher education in south africa (pp. 1‑12). ieasa. niea (network of international education associations) (2020, july 24). statement on the importance of international higher education and research. ieasa. http://ieasa.studysa.org/wp‑content/uploads/2020/ 07/niea‑statement‑on‑the‑importance‑of‑international‑higher‑education‑and‑research.24‑july‑ 2020.pdf npc (national planning commission) (2012). national development plan 2030: our future – make it work. the  presidency. https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/ndp‑2030‑our‑ future‑make‑it‑workr.pdf open doors (2019). 2019 fast facts. https://opendoorsdata.org/fast_facts/fast‑facts‑2019/ sadc (southern african development community) (1997). protocol on education and training development in the southern african development community. https://www.sadc.int/files/3813/ 5292/8362/protocol_on_education__training1997.pdf sa news (2020, may 1). government vows to leave no student behind. ‘the skills portal’. https://www. skillsportal.co.za/content/government‑vows‑leave‑no‑student‑behind swemmer, d. (2018). walk together and look back to move forward! in ieasa, study south africa – the guide to south african higher education (17th ed., pp. 50‑52). ieasa. https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/media%20statement%202020/minister%20nzimande%27s%20statement%20on https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/media%20statement%202020/minister%20nzimande%27s%20statement%20on https://www.dhet.gov.za/siteassets/media%20statement%202020/minister%20nzimande%27s%20statement%20on https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/facultyofeducation/ali-mazrui-centre https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/facultyofeducation/ali-mazrui-centre https://studysa.africa/ http://ieasa.studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ieasa-position-paper_covid-19_may2020_final.pdf http://ieasa.studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ieasa-position-paper_covid-19_may2020_final.pdf http://studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/10-years-of-ieasa-history.pdf http://studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/10-years-of-ieasa-history.pdf https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200707102247518 https://informante.web.na/namibian-students-return-to-sa/ https://informante.web.na/namibian-students-return-to-sa/ http://ieasa.studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/niea-statement-on-the-importance-of-internationa http://ieasa.studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/niea-statement-on-the-importance-of-internationa http://ieasa.studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/niea-statement-on-the-importance-of-internationa https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/ndp-2030-our-future-make-it-workr.pdf https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/ndp-2030-our-future-make-it-workr.pdf https://opendoorsdata.org/fast_facts/fast-facts-2019/ https://www.sadc.int/files/3813/5292/8362/protocol_on_education__training1997.pdf https://www.sadc.int/files/3813/5292/8362/protocol_on_education__training1997.pdf https://www.skillsportal.co.za/content/government-vows-leave-no-student-behind https://www.skillsportal.co.za/content/government-vows-leave-no-student-behind samia chasi & orla quinlan: inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students … 221 wits (university of the witwatersrand) (2020a, april 14). wits switches to remote online teaching and learning from 20 april 2020. https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/covid19‑news/latest/wits‑switches‑to‑remote‑ online‑teaching‑and‑learning‑from‑20‑april‑2020.html wits (2020b, april 19). covid‑19 update 24: data access: all four major mobile service providers on board. https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/covid19‑news/latest/covid‑19‑update‑24‑data‑access‑all‑four‑ major‑mobile‑service‑providers‑on‑board.html how to cite: chasi, s. & quinlan, o. (2021). inclusion in times of covid‑19: the case of international students in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 205‑221. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1439 https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/covid19-news/latest/wits-switches-to-remote-online-teaching-and-learn https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/covid19-news/latest/wits-switches-to-remote-online-teaching-and-learn https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/covid19-news/latest/covid-19-update-24-data-access-all-four-major-mob https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/covid19-news/latest/covid-19-update-24-data-access-all-four-major-mob journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788   157 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers to accessing ghanaian university counselling services sylvia kabumle ocansey* & maximus monaheng sefotho** abstract despite research emphasis on university students’ counselling needs and service benefits, barriers to counselling service participation for students have been less explored in ghanaian higher education. yet literature is replete with reports on high undergraduate student attrition and a low sense of belonging, stressing the severe need for increased counselling service participation among students in higher education. this article explored the barriers to increased counselling service participation faced by ghanaian public university students. our research engaged 13 counselled undergraduate students, purposively selected via snowball and convenience sampling techniques. we engaged study participants in in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion to gather appropriate data and further used the interpretive phenomenological approach to find meaning in the gathered data. students revealed their perceptions on poor counsellors’ sense of initiative, their low service awareness, and their misconceptions which seem to hinder students’ counselling service participation. our results underscore the need for more service advertising and possibly increased counsellor initiative to promote counselling service use among higher education students in ghana. daily service advertising with counsellors’ reliance on text and whatsapp messaging, still pictures and short videos on the various campuses (amos et al., 2020) would considerably increase students’ awareness of counselling services. keywords counselling, academic achievement, higher education, student support service introduction higher education students derive immense benefits when they engage with the institutional counselling services made available to them (colón & stern, 2011). this service notably promotes students’ academic performance and therefore facilitates their timely and successful graduation (stallman, 2012). without undermining the key role played by first‑year orientation programmes in facilitating student institutional adjustment * dr sylvia kabumle ocansey is both a counsellor and a lecturer in the department of guidance and counselling at the university of cape coast, ghana. orcid id: 0000-0002-1164-5985. email: socansey1@ucc.edu.gh ** prof. maximus monaheng sefotho is an associate professor specialising in career guidance and disability in the department of educational psychology at the university of pretoria, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-5270-5243. email: msefotho@uj.ac.za 158   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 and actualisation of a meaningful college experience (owusu et al., 2014; cooper, 2021), compelling evidence confirms the usefulness of engagement with individual and group counselling services for first‑year students especially. in terms of the former, research has shown that those first‑year students who had engaged in the carefully planned orientation programme of the university of cape coast in ghana, for instance, were more likely to easily receive promotion to their second year of study in the 2013/2014 academic year (owusu et al., 2014). many of these new students reported having a stronger sense of belonging, and experiencing less stress, confusion, and anxiety once they had participated in the institution’s lively orientation programme in their initial year of study (owusu et al., 2014; ocansey & gyimah, 2015; cooper, 2021). however, the benefits students draw from experiencing a comprehensive orientation programme are indisputable. for instance, many report an improved sense of academic direction and motivation (aidoo, 2011), and also learned how to practise worthwhile study habits at university when counselling complemented orientation (essuman, 2007). such academic habits include improved library use, prompt lecture attendance, and time‑management skills (quampah, 2010). student experiences with their institutional counselling facilities have also been shown to bring improvements in mental health (andoh‑arthur et al., 2015), relational skills to foster the establishment and maintenance of more reliable personal emotional and romantic relationships (liem & martin, 2011). students additionally gained robust financial management skills, marriage satisfaction, and encountered fewer accommodation problems on their respective campuses, all of which culminated in their improved academic performance (quampah, 2010). the aforementioned equally endorse the utility of counselling services in ensuring overall improvement in students’ lives (choi et al., 2010). thus, the institutionalisation of the counselling facility in ghanaian higher education as early as 1997 was a matter of course (essuman, 1999, 2015). however, the recent past has seen ghanaian university students’ continual overlooking of their institutional counselling services, despite their severe need for support, which has increased to a worrying extent (andoh‑arthur et al., 2015). cultural factors generally underpin students’ disregard for counselling services, promoting their preference for prayer camp services and traditional healing centres instead (asamoah et al., 2014; osafo et al., 2015). fear of social stigma and rejection also deter students from participating in counselling centre activities on various ghanaian university campuses (andoh‑arthur et al., 2015). other service barriers include students’ low problem perception, poor service awareness (exacerbated by low service advertising on university campuses), and excessive workload (vidourek et al., 2014; marsh & wilcoxon, 2015; armstrong & young, 2015). low service awareness often leads to poor service use (stallman, 2012; kituyi, 2014) and it is common for ghanaian university students to experience severe service ignorance which often results in institutional resources going unused (kituyi, 2014). educational stakeholders are severely disturbed by the situation, given their profound insight into the services’ usefulness in promoting students’ academic and general well‑being (ahyia, 2010; aidoo, 2011). following students’ and tutors’ popular confessions about counselling service usefulness to their studies and teaching (ahyia, 2010; aidoo, 2011), stakeholders have sylvia kabumle ocansey & maximus monaheng sefotho: an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers …   159 committed to increasing professional counselling service use among student groups in both ghanaian universities and colleges of education. our research thus adopted a phenomenological approach to explore higher education students’ reservations to greater counselling participation in ghanaian public institutions of higher learning. we settled on in‑depth interviews and a focus group session to gather data, in consonance with our phenomenological research focus to make worthwhile student idiographic findings from which to derive recommendations towards growing counselling service use by students in ghanaian higher learning. accordingly, the study aimed to achieve the following: • gain insight into the unique counselling experiences of academically counselled public university students in ghana; • go in depth and highlight individual interpretations of the unique service barriers expressed by academically counselled public university students in ghana; and • make appropriate recommendations to forestall the identified service barriers to students’ increased service participation in ghanaian universities. theoretical framework according to ryan and deci (2000), the attitudes humans adopt in their diverse circumstances engender varied outcomes. to be active and persistently engaged (autonomy) or to remain passive and alienated (relatedness), depends largely on the conditions in which one operates. given the reality of service barriers, and the need for a resilient attitude on the part of students to confront and overcome their individual service access barriers, we adopted self‑determination theory as a guide for our research. we found the theory apt for this purpose based on its emphasis on motivation in driving satisfactory human behaviour that gratifies diverse human needs (deci & ryan, 2012). determination in this theory simply refers to the desire, urge, or drive to pursue and fruitfully accomplish an act (deci & ryan, 2012). determination may also be naturally stimulated (intrinsically motivated) or externally activated (extrinsic motivation). while intrinsically motivated behaviours tend to flow spontaneously from within and are thus often propelled by an internal drive to achieve a specified desired goal, extrinsically driven acts oftentimes rely on potent external and attractive elements to drive their goal‑achievement process (ryan & deci, 2009). despite their marked differences, both models of motivation thus often integrate meaningfully to facilitate human life advancement. the theory’s key factors, namely autonomy, relatedness, competence, intricately integrate to gratify diverse human psychological needs (deci & ryan, 2008). unmet psychological human needs are known to often create deep‑seated behavioural problems that necessitate professional intervention to overcome them (vescovelli et al., 2017). following the profound insight he gained regarding the key concepts of self‑determination theory from his experience applying them in an educational setting, reeve (2002) encouraged teachers to offer their students greater autonomy in order to promote their students’ intrinsic motivation and creative competencies (ryan & deci, 2009). in agreement with the latter, turner et al. (2009) also identified intrinsic motivation not only as a key predictor of students’ fruitful 160   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 academic achievement but also as a potent strategy in sponsoring autonomy, relatedness, and competence to remarkably propel students’ academic goal‑attainment. the aforementioned elements interestingly endorse the importance of counselling services in augmenting students’ academic attainment that further attract students’ increased counselling service use at university (ryan & deci, 2009; turner et al., 2009). in effect, the self‑determination theory (ryan & deci, 2000) provided a meaningful and logical roadmap that directed our research. method procedure we adopted the phenomenological multiple case study design to accomplish this study. phenomenological studies generate multiple realities from the perceivers’ unique understanding of the specified phenomenon to facilitate rich description of the phenomenon (merriam, 2009). we deemed the design most appropriate to our study, following our goal of exploring participants’ personal experiences with the counselling service in an effort to identify the idiosyncratic barriers relevant to higher learning students in ghana. the counselling cases explored in this study enriched our ability to identify service barriers, while simultaneously endowing us with “heuristic” knowledge that exclusively aligns with the case study research method we adopted (salhi, 2017). research was conducted in three southern‑based ghanaian institutions, namely institutions a, b, and c. we subsequently provide an overview of each research site in the study. overview of the research sites institution a institution a is located in the coastal, fantse‑speaking town in the central regional capital. the establishment is well‑known for providing high quality education, both to the general populace and training of teachers for all three educational levels in ghana. the institution boasts a vast landscape, conveniently couched in the southern and northern campuses, where over 74 720 students pursue their various educational goals. the institution’s major educational facilities, comprising the main library, science laboratories, lecture theatres, and halls of residence, among others, are presently located at the new site, though the counselling centre is currently located at the old site. currently, institution a runs about 210 study programmes across the first‑, second‑ and third‑degree levels, some of which include the arts, science, education, psychology, and computer sciences studies. we completed the research field work at the new site. institution b institution b on the other hand is located in the heart of the business and capital town. founded in 1965, the institution was the first and sole dual‑purpose university established sylvia kabumle ocansey & maximus monaheng sefotho: an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers …   161 in ghana. primarily, institution b provides professional training in the areas of accountancy, management, and related disciplines. students’ socio‑academic welfare is the responsibility of three professionally trained counsellors who operate from the modern‑styled building housing the counselling and gender unit. institution b currently has a student population of 14 000, many of whom reside in various hostel facilities scattered around the vicinity. the institution is located in a city of over 2.27 million people (representing 70% of the entire country’s population), which renders it one of the most populated towns in the country. institution c institution c is also situated in the relatively small central regional efutu‑speaking central region town. established in 1992, the institution remains an affiliate of institute a, both of which are charged with providing major higher education training programmes in ghana. institution c also has the core mandate of training professional teachers for the nursery and primary schools in ghana. the institution was established from a merger of seven diploma‑ awarding colleges from various regional capitals in the country. presently, the institution comprises four campuses, with the north campus being the central site hosting the administrative seat of the vice‑chancellor, as well as the main institutional administration block and four other student halls of residence. the north campus also houses the institution’s counselling facility, charged with providing socio‑personal, academic, and career counselling services to students in the institution. over 18 000 students are registered to various academic programmes at institution c. we held all our study interactions at the institution’s conference room in the main administration block. participant characteristics we engaged 13 participants for this study, comprising eight females and five male students in total. the interpretive phenomenological approach (ipa) stresses the importance of using small homogenous sample sizes for high data richness (holland, 2014; wagstaff et al., 2014). we also purposively targeted counselled students in this study, in view of their rich knowledge regarding our research focus on students’ lesser‑known counselling service barriers, in order to derive appropriate answers to our earlier outlined research questions. one out of the 13 research participants was a 32‑year‑old student, with the remaining 12, aged between 21 and 26, and also being direct university entrants from senior high institutions in ghana. all study participants identified themselves as adherents of the christian faith and were registered to programmes in pursuit of either a bachelor of education or science degree. research instruments we used two pre‑constructed data collection instruments, namely an in‑depth interview and a focus group discussion guide in this study. both methods enhanced researcher‑ participant rapport and further afforded participants the liberty to rationalise and articulate their personal thoughts regarding barriers to counselling in ghanaian institutions (josselson, 162   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 2007). we derived each instrument’s items from the study’s research question, but also used a conversational and flexible interactive method, replete with open‑ended questions, to promote in‑depth participant accounts regarding their counselling service deterrents. the strategy further enabled us to probe deeper where necessary, for further clarification regarding students’ service barriers. additionally, we audio recorded all the field interactions, made notes, and also captured some interesting field events in this study, to enrich the final research report. the audio recordings for instance captured participants’ unique narratives regarding their counselling service hindrances which greatly enriched the final research report. ethical considerations qualitative research essentially seeks to understand individuals’ context‑specific experiences and perspectives for the purpose of new knowledge creation. this critical aim of the research approach underscores the need for ethical considerations in conducting credible qualitative research (kyngäs et al., 2019). though extremely extensive, ethical considerations are fundamental to the credibility of all exploratory research (pietilä et al., 2019). in this regard, tweedlie (2016) asserts that qualitative research informants are often vulnerable due to the probing nature of exploratory studies. we thus took great care to follow due ethical qualitative procedures in this study, by seeking ethical clearance and research permission from appropriate agencies, providing participant briefing regarding the research, and further requesting participant consent prior to their engagement in the study. the detailed participant briefing and informed voluntary consent afforded participants the liberty and confidence to comprehensively articulate their views regarding the research topic in this inquiry process. according to yeong et al. (2018) a reliable interview protocol generates detailed qualitative data in all exploratory studies. such comprehensive data enrich the research, thereby enabling the inquirers “to gain better understanding of the respondents‘ experience and identify crucial elements relevant to the subject matter” (yeong et al., 2018, p. 1). participant selection and data collection procedures at institution a we employed the snowball sampling method to gather data for this study. our first contact, a lecturer and counsellor, linked us to two counselled students, lady and mawutoh, who we engaged in the study after a thorough briefing regarding our research purpose and their expected roles, among other ethical requirements. we assigned them pseudonyms in order to protect their personal identities, in line with confidentiality requirements. similarly, nhyira (female) and nelson (male) heard about our research and joined at the recommendation of a former student at institution a. at institution b we recruited five students, comprising three males (seerious, gordee and kwesi) and two females (pee and esi), for our research purposes. after a long process of searching for counselled students at institution c, the institutional chaplain roped in three female students (bigails, yaa and baby) for our research engagement. we complied with the approved ethical research requirements throughout our field work in this study and further sylvia kabumle ocansey & maximus monaheng sefotho: an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers …   163 offered our volunteers the opportunity to opt out of the research project at any time they so desired, without any consequence to them. we further ensured that all participants were well‑informed about their expected roles, felt safe, and provided their written consent prior to their engagement in the study. we eventually held two in‑depth interviews with 10 of the 12 participants we engaged in the research. each interview session lasted between 30 to 45 minutes. in the case of the focus group discussion held at the main students’ hostel in institution b, a total of eight participants were in attendance. to accomplish this, one researcher facilitated the session while the other assisted with the audio recording, with permission from participants. we subsequently kept the gathered raw data safely in the institution’s archives for confidentiality purposes. establishing trustworthiness in the study the foregoing detailed information provided regarding our research processes and adopted methods serves to paint a clear picture of our study for credibility purposes. credible qualitative research often reflects the three measures of transferability, dependability, and confirmability (sousa, 2014; stratford & bradshaw, 2016). to promote research transferability, we described our physical research settings, the type of participants we engaged in the study, and elaborated on the appropriateness of the methods we applied in accomplishing this study. according to sousa (2014) it is important for the research design to fit the kind of research question to which a study seeks to respond, the selected participants to engage the research question, and the methods applied to reach credible findings. in phenomenological studies like the one in hand, the suitability of the adopted methods should enable the research findings to naturally emerge from gathered data, rather than to reveal the personal predispositions of the researchers. sefotho (2015) thus describes such findings as the personal or internal ideas and belief systems of social actors about the social phenomenon under study. we carefully chose a well‑informed set of participants (counselled university students) to inform our investigation of barriers to accessing counselling services faced by students (sousa, 2014). our further efforts at ensuring data consistency, such as conducting occasional member‑ checking during field work, and also cautiously triangulating our gathered data from both sources to achieve data comprehension, equally aimed at confirming the credibility of our research findings. the faithful reproduction of the above details ensures the dependability of our research, as it may enable other researchers in the field to replicate our study over time to assess the consistency of the study’s results (stratford & bradshaw, 2016). data analysis we combined the interpretive phenomenological approach (ipa) with thematic analysis in this study to unearth participants’ exclusively articulated personal barriers to counselling service access in ghanaian universities (nizza et al., 2021). we chose the abovementioned meaning‑making methods because interpretive phenomenological study participants 164   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 actively interpret their subjective world, rather than remaining passive recipients in the knowledge‑creation process (biggerstaff & thompson, 2008; nizza et al., 2021). by fervently relying on their reported terminologies and texts in our knowledge‑creation process, we stressed participants’ context‑specific and time‑bound realities (sefotho, 2015). this served the purpose of endorsing the ontological underpinnings of participants’ lived experiences with counselling service barriers, many of which largely depended on the physical, social, and cultural circumstances in which they were grounded; and more especially that their reported service barriers emerged solely from their periodic encounter with their institutional counselling service (nizza et al., 2021). our initial transcript re‑readings then saw us noting all thoughts, observations and reflections that occurred to us on the left transcript margin (wagstaff et al., 2014). we subsequently captured recurring phrases and personal questions that engulfed our thoughts during further readings on the right side, and also used bracketing to centralise participants’ actual field presentations, rather than our private researcher presuppositions and judgements in this mission (tufford & newman, 2012). we then engaged theme re‑grouping or clustering to re‑arrange the set of ideas we had earlier gathered into a more hierarchical and coherent picture that reflected participants’ expressed counselling service barriers. we again ensured that the broader themes we derived essentially reflected participants’ ideas to maintain credibility in our research. finally, we derived a master list of themes on a summary table, with corresponding interview quotations, as evidence of participants’ actual accounts regarding their barriers to the institutional counselling service. results major themes related to factors derailing students’ use of counselling service in the studied public ghanaian institutions of higher learning emergent from the study included students’ perceptions of counsellors’ low sense of initiative, low counselling service awareness, poor first‑year orientation service, students’ counselling service misconceptions, poor service location and uninviting counselling setting, and counsellor unavailability. counsellors’ lack of initiative regarding the perceived lack of initiative of counsellors at her institution, a participant called esi reported that “… counsellors stay in their offices and expect students to come to them before they get to know that counselling exists in this institution … i’m not sure it’s the best idea …” (participant from institution b). she went on to say: “i frankly think counsellors should be more up and doing … they should step out of their comfort zones and work …” (participant from institution b). this was later confirmed by another female participant from institution a named nhyira, who went on to make an important suggestion regarding counsellors’ sense of initiative. she noted that “… they should come out and educate us more about counselling … and its benefits … because a lot of people do not know the essence of the service …”. likewise, another female participant from institution b, pee, confidently agreed with esi and nhyira’s observations. pee shared that sylvia kabumle ocansey & maximus monaheng sefotho: an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers …   165 “… some students … are ignorant about counselling”. in addition to the aforementioned reports, participants’ criticisms of counsellors’ limited use of information‑sharing strategies for counselling purposes also emerged as a theme in this study. for example, many participants accused counsellors of adopting outmoded and mundane strategies, like word‑ of‑mouth invitations, and cited a lack of prior advertising for counselling‑related activities on campus, instead of using modernized and student‑friendly data‑dissemination tools like flyers, brochures, banners and positive declarations from popular student leaders and role models. information dissemination regarding counselling‑related issues thus presented a key barrier to participants’ enthusiastic use of the counselling service in the studied institutions. a number of study participants also criticised the first‑year orientation. for instance, pee from institution b remarked that “… organised orientation events were quite limited because there were many students in other departments the counselling staff needed to talk to within their usually restricted time frame …”. she further added that her first‑year orientation event was “… boring and restricted ... because they just come to talk to us about what they do and all that … but it’s … just for few minutes … yes, just few minutes during my orientation in level 100 …”. in a similar manner, esi noted that: “... i realise that it’s only during the orientation that counsellors are made known and that for me is problematic. there are no side programmes … they don’t organise any programme for you to be aware that, yes this is going on … because when other people who are transferred from various institutions join us, how do they get to know about counselling if they missed orientation …?” low counselling service awareness related to the abovementioned service barriers was the reported poor counsellor‑sense‑ of‑initiative and related poor institutional counselling service promotion among students on the various campuses. in this regard, 23‑year‑old esi confessed, for instance, that: “me, initially i didn’t know that counselling existed here, it was someone who even told me about it, i didn’t know there was a counselling unit in my institution …” (participant from institution b). from the same institution b, 21‑year‑old pee explained that “people don’t really know that there is counselling session that you can just walk in and talk about your problems in this institution”. on three different occasions, 25‑year‑old nelson, from institution a, likewise confessed his ignorance about the location of his institution’s counselling centre. he claimed: “i didn’t even know the place”. bigails from institution c, the oldest participant in the group, later contributed to the discussion, saying: “in fact, whenever you tell people to go for counselling, they often say we don’t know the counselling centre”. further, baby, another 21‑year‑old, also confessed her ignorance about the availability of counselling services at institution c when she noted that: “i haven’t been there before, i don’t even know the place”. baby further echoed pee’s views as a reason for her delayed use of institution c’s counselling centre. she explained that: “because i didn’t know we have a counselling 166   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 centre here … yes, i have been in this institution for the past two years but i didn’t know ... in fact i think a lot of people don’t also know the place”. poor first-year orientation service participants’ expressions on the nature and quality of their respective institutions’ organised first‑year orientation event were generally unflattering. participants’ field accounts about the yearly orientation event revealed a rather brief, monotonous and mechanical encounter. with less time spent at the event, coupled with the unending monotony of its presentation, the students had very little to benefit from their orientation experiences. the implications of students’ lack of interest in the first‑year orientation were severe and unfortunate. many of them ended up losing interest and therefore feeling uninvolved in the orientation programme. for example, 21‑year‑old participant, pee (from institution b) perceived the event as “… quite limited”. she explained, “… it’s ... just for few minutes … yes, just few minutes during my orientation in level 100”. likewise, at institution a, 23‑year‑old mawutoh described the same programme “… as too brief and fast … it’s always as if we were being chased out of the place”. at institution c, baby, who is 21 years of age, also described the orientation programme as “… extremely short and hurriedly organised…”. pee subsequently explained her orientation experience thus: “… because there are other departments the organisers have to talk to … it takes only few minutes”. going on to articulate another weakness of the programme, she noted that “…they just come to talk to us about what they do and all that … in fact, a level three hundred friend told me it’s been like that for years now”. students’ counselling service misconceptions the qualitative data gathered from our 12 students revealed that misconceptions regarding the counselling services prevail in ghanaian institutions. aside from not fully trusting their counsellors with their private lives, our participants also misconstrued the roles of their counsellors on their various campuses. these erroneous perceptions of counsellors’ roles and poor service awareness led them to consult their parents and guardians regarding their personal problems, instead of relying on the geographically more accessible counsellors on the various campuses. for instance, nelson (from institution a) reported on the matter this way: “even the close friends i have have never gone for counselling ... they tell me they don’t know the use of the counselling centre. yes, after all they can call their parents for counselling”. mawutoh’s initial misconception of counselling practice was evidenced in her remark that “at first i was thinking if you go for counselling, people will get to know my problem”. her fears of the shameful effect of such a situation increased her reluctance to attend counselling: “that seems like you are exposing yourself and that is very, very bad because it can bring shame to you” (26‑year‑old participant from institution a). similarly, yaa’s service misconception related to fear of breach of confidence and prevented her from seeking early counselling assistance when she really needed it. she reported that: “i feared that my sylvia kabumle ocansey & maximus monaheng sefotho: an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers …   167 problem would go to the social media and then a lot of questions may come after. that can be disastrous. i could even be ridiculed by my friends on campus” (participant from institution c). in the same vein, nelson’s counselling misconception as a strictly freshers activity almost denied him the opportunity to benefit from the facility. he admitted: “i thought counselling was solely meant for level hundreds (first‑year students), so i was shy to attend counselling”. poor service location and uninviting counselling settings the physical appearance of the buildings housing the counselling facilities of the various institutions also presented as a barrier to students’ service use. as noted by some participants, the seemingly poorly located, unlabelled, and unpleasant look of the service buildings prevented students from visiting the place. thirty‑two‑year‑old bigails from institution c shared that “the counselling centre’s appearance doesn’t look attractive. you see sometimes you have a nice building and the way the environment is, attracts you to go inside and see what is happening there. this one doesn’t have it”. on another note, institution a participants, nhyira and nelson, thought the facility was poorly located on their institution’s campus. “i don’t think the counselling centre on campus is easily locatable. because at first i even thought it was an office or a department for the education students, because there is a bold inscription of the department of educational foundations printed in black paint on the wall, adjacent to the entrance of the counselling centre”, said nhyira. confirming the facility’s poor physical location, nelson’s specific words were: “one other thing is that where the counselling centre is currently located is wrong. i think it should be brought to where students can easily access it. or where students can see it. where it is now, if you are not told that this is the counselling centre, you wouldn’t know. most people don’t know that counselling centre”. nelson’s concerns seem to support bigails’ earlier observation regarding institution c’s counselling facilities: “people say we don’t know the counselling centre, because there is no sign to point out the office to visitors. i think the facility should have an indication, something to specify that this is the counselling centre”. in that vein, nelson (institution a) also critiqued the poor condition of the billboard advertising the counselling facility in institution a. he remarked that “the inscriptions on the counselling centre billboard are faded. it’s difficult to see”. counsellor unavailability many participants in the study also perceived the frequent unavailability of counsellors at the institutional facilities as a limitation to service access on their various campuses. in their view, counsellors’ inability to be available on campus and/or accessible to students at all times either due to their excessive workloads or many other responsibilities outside the institutions’ premises does students a disservice when they have to walk long distances to seek counselling, only to find no counsellor on duty. commenting on this subject, yaa, the 22‑year‑old student from institution c, stated: “i will say availability all the 168   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 time. because as we are in our hostels, at times we face certain difficulties and then if a counsellor is available at that time, you can consult him. because at times your roommate may misbehave and then it will turn into a fight so if a counsellor is available the situation will be solved”. likewise from institution c, 21‑year‑old baby asserted that “sometimes you, you will be thinking about your problem so much but when you come to see the counsellor, he will not be available. so i think they should be there always”. discussion guided by the interpretive phenomenological research approach, alongside the theoretical underpinnings of the self‑determination theory that anchored this study, we identified participants’ perceptions of counsellors’ low sense of initiative as the greatest service barrier to students from the three ghanaian public universities featured in our study. apart from the two extrinsic factors, perceived counsellor unavailability and inconvenient physical location of service facilities on the various institutional campuses, all other mentioned barriers reflect study participants’ intrinsic service factors. taking the initiative to perform an act fundamentally relates to internal human thought processes, though the ability to persevere through the act for goal‑achievement requires considerable force to drive the individual into action (oudeyer & kaplan, 2009). in this case, more active drive also implies greater inner determination and a relentless effort to reach the desired goal, which oudeyer and kaplan (2009, p.  1) simply refer to as “spontaneous exploration and curiosity”. the innate source of such internal drives renders them most enduring and ultimately worthwhile (chaudhuri, 2020). for that matter, cholewa et al. (2016) found school counsellors’ use of initiative as a major step towards providing worthwhile support services to their groups of students. in their study, counsellors’ useful sense of initiative to promote their work often demanded more creativity and intelligence, to increase the value of their work (cholewa et al., 2016). taking initiative and intrinsic interest or motivation represent the primary dual factors propelling worthwhile goal‑attainment generally (esposito et al., 2014a; oudeyer & kaplan, 2009). by directly impacting goal‑setting and perceived difficulty of the anticipated task (the key elements to goal‑achievement) (esposito et al., 2014b), taking personal initiative and intrinsic interest can be considered as the most critical promoters of life advancement. equally, self‑efficacy beliefs align meaningfully with intrinsic motivation and a sense of initiative, given their exclusive role in promoting resilience and greater inner determination during the entire goal‑attainment process (chaudhuri, 2020). in effect, every commendable activity outcome often results from an internal will and desire to bring the specified goal to fruition. the counsellors’ low “self‑efficacy beliefs” as perceived by participants in the present research study (esposito et al., 2014b, p.  1) are thus central to the additionally identified students’ subjective service barriers in this study. as major service providers, it is expedient that counsellors make time to strategize and put greater effort into utilizing their available resources for the smooth implementation of their service‑delivery plans (oudeyer & kaplan, 2009; cholewa et al., 2016). participants’ sylvia kabumle ocansey & maximus monaheng sefotho: an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers …   169 perceptions of counsellors’ seemingly low sense of initiative comprise the greatest service barrier in this study, considering its devastating effects on students’ sense of belonging at the institution (cooper, 2021). it is also the general belief that once students get securely attached to their respective institutions, their levels of academic commitment and educational resilience appreciate profoundly, culminating in their improved academic performance, promotion and timely graduation. students’ sense of connection to their institutions thus simply resonates in their greater self‑confidence, academic excellence and institutional retention (cooper, 2021), which remain the key desires of each student at the higher education level. some of the participants’ perceptions of the current situation in the studied institutions reflect a loss of self‑confidence, increased academic stagnation and greater risk of attrition from university. participants’ perceived lack of counsellor initiative in this case likewise has implications for their reported low service awareness, perceptions of counsellor unavailability and seemingly uninviting physical settings of facilities on the various institutional campuses. it is worth noting, however, that a number of participants’ accounts in the study stressed awareness of counsellors’ excessive workloads as a principal hindrance to their perceived unavailability. for this reason, participants expressed their desire for counsellors’ reduced workload to allow them ample time with clients at the service centres. ultimately, the study revealed that counsellors’ perceived low sense of initiative appears to precipitate some key student service barriers, including poor service awareness, the prevalence of service misconceptions among the participant population and a correspondingly poor service advertising effort. evelyn and tyav (2012) stressed the potential fallout of students’ high service ignorance in many institutions. related to the issues raised in the present study, in their study, participants’ service accounts highlighted the subject of students’ lacking familiarity with the uses of flyers, identifying pictures and brochures as their preferred forms of disseminating counselling‑related information. recommendations to offset the students’ counselling hindrances in ghanaian higher education, as highlighted in the present study, we offer the following recommendations. first, to establish a student‑friendly advertising committee that will consistently facilitate service awareness and delivery on the various campuses, thereby fostering counselling service use among students at public universities. second, the organisation of bi‑annual training programmes for the purpose of providing students with better understanding of counsellor roles and functions on the various institutional campuses would be of great benefit to the entire student population regarding counselling services. finally, petitioning the ghana education service for the reduction of teaching loads of counsellors, thus allowing them more time to dedicate to their counselling service. conclusion overall, the subjective narratives of the participants in this research study underscored the personal barriers encountered by participants as they sought counselling services at their 170   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 157‑173 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 respective institutions. the key barriers comprised poor service accessibility, perceived counsellor unavailability, perceived uninviting conditions of counselling service buildings and locations, and low levels of awareness of counselling service availability in the engaged institutions. to reduce students’ service barriers to accessing counselling, counsellors are encouraged to show greater initiative and further establish a regime of daily service advertising. the results of this qualitative study, based on the perceptions of 13 students, contribute to our understanding of students’ perceptions of counselling services at three public universities in ghana. references ahyia, m. 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(2022). an exploratory qualitative study on the perceived barriers to accessing ghanaian university counselling services. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 157-173. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3788 _hlk93580770 _hlk93385199 _hlk93385605 _hlk93898065 _hlk93897186 _hlk93897586 _hlk93577773 _hlk104903613 www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 129 reflective practice peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 angelique mcconney1 1 dr angelique mcconney, nelson mandela university, gqeberha, south africa. email: angelique.mcconney@ mandela.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-8741-7129 article history: received 13 august 2022 | accepted 5 may 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords covid-19, online counselling, peer support, reflective practice, student affairs, student counselling, student mental health, well-being abstract student counselling centres are struggling to meet the demand for mental health services, which has intensified in recent years. this challenge calls for innovative ways to address the mental health needs of students. during the covid-19 pandemic the peer helpers at emthonjeni student wellness at nelson mandela university facilitated innovative psycho-educational workshops, virtually. in reflecting on our journey, we realise our peer helpers were at the forefront of mental health promotion initiatives at a time when many of our students were in dire need of support. the workshops sensitised students to the importance of their mental health. furthermore, the content discussed in the workshops offered valuable insights and tips on how students could manage various challenges. these tips could be applied, by participating students, to improve their coping and overall well-being before their mental health deteriorated. these peer-led initiatives expanded our reach and capacity during a period of great stress brought by the covid-19 pandemic, and they will continue to do so beyond the pandemic. this reflective article shares the details of our virtual workshops and the insights gained from the process. résumé les centres de conseil aux étudiants éprouvent des difficultés à répondre à la demande croissante de services de santé mentale, qui s›est intensifiée ces dernières années. ce défi exige des méthodes innovantes de répondre aux besoins des étudiants en matière de santé mentale. pendant la pandémie de covid-19, les assistants pairs du service emthonjeni student wellness à l’université nelson mandela ont animé des ateliers psycho-éducatifs innovants, virtuellement. en réfléchissant à notre parcours, nous réalisons que nos assistants pairs étaient à l’avant-garde des initiatives de promotion de la santé mentale à un moment où de nombreux étudiants avaient un besoin urgent de soutien. les ateliers ont sensibilisé les étudiants à l’importance de leur santé mentale. en outre, le contenu abordé dans ces ateliers a offert des connaissances précieuses et des conseils sur la façon dont les étudiants pouvaient gérer divers défis. ces conseils pouvaient être appliqués par les étudiants participants afin d’améliorer leur capacité d’adaptation et leur bien-être général avant que leur santé mentale ne se détériore. ces initiatives dirigées par des pairs ont élargi notre portée et notre capacité pendant une période de grande stress due à la pandémie de covid-19, et elles continueront à le faire au-delà de la pandémie. cet article réflexif présente les détails de nos ateliers virtuels et les enseignements tirés de ce processus. http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za130 mots-clés bien-être, conseil aux étudiants, conseil en ligne, covid-19, œuvres estudiantines, santé mentale des étudiants, services étudiants, soutien entre pairs introduction student mental health has been of global concern in recent years (macaskill, 2013). student counselling centres have been battling to cope with the increased demand for mental health services (lattie et al., 2019), and in some instances an increase in the complexity of mental illness (williams et al., 2015). this challenge is observed in countries internationally (brown, 2018; oswalt et al., 2020; lattie et al., 2019), of great concern given the importance of mental health in the overall well-being, quality of life and academic performance of students (oswalt et al., 2020). it is, therefore, imperative that this challenge be addressed, to ensure that students in need of mental health services have access to support, to mitigate the impact mental health problems could have on their overall well-being and academic performance, as this may affect student success. at many student counselling centres, the traditional mode of mental health support takes the form of individual counselling (brown, 2018) offered by registered professionals (psychologists and counsellors). however, the individual counselling model does not seem sustainable, as it is unable to address the increased demand for services. brown (2018) argues that if we are to reduce mental health problems, we need effective, scalable interventions that are attractive to students. in this article i argue that student peer helpers could play a valuable role in offering mental health promotion initiatives. i argue this based on the insights gained from peer-led interventions that the peer helpers at emthonjeni student wellness, at nelson mandela university, implemented during the covid-19 pandemic. this, in turn, could afford professional staff more time to attend to students in need of remedial intervention, and it could potentially reduce the number of students in need of individual counselling from professional staff. increased demand for mental health services at higher education institutions concerns for the mental health of students are on the rise (brown, 2018; macaskill, 2013), as the number of students presenting for mental health support at student counselling centres are increasing (oswalt et al., 2020; brown, 2018; xiao, et al., 2017; williams et al., 2015). there are numerous factors contributing to the increase in students presenting for mental health support. at a systemic level, broadened participation has increased enrolments of previously underrepresented groups, and consequently this may have increased mental health conditions amongst students to be similar to that of the general population (macaskill, 2013). students from previously underrepresented groups are often first-generation students (tinto, 2012). as firstgeneration students, their adjustment difficulties are heightened by social factors such mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 131 as their educational backgrounds, family backgrounds, financial circumstances and even language barriers (jehangir, 2010), which could make them more vulnerable to mental health problems (macaskill, 2013). students’ attitudes toward mental illness have also shifted. a study done by eisenberg et al. (2012) found that stigma was not a barrier to students’ help-seeking behaviour. this was supported by findings from a study done by czyz et al. (2013), who found that only 12% of the students mentioned stigma as a barrier. the reduction in stigma has, therefore, seen a shift in help-seeking behaviours with more students being open to utilising counselling services (oswalt et al., 2020; williams et al., 2015). from a developmental perspective, students are at an age where symptoms of mental health conditions often appear. half of serious adult psychiatric illnesses, including depressive and anxiety disorders, start by age 14, with 75% presenting by age 25 years (kessler et al., 2005). some students, thus, enter the higher education environment with an existing diagnosis (williams et al., 2015), or, as seen in our context at emthonjeni student wellness, while symptoms may have been prevalent prior to enrolment, many students only present for treatment once they are enrolled as students due to the easy access they now have to counselling services compared to their hometowns/rural villages. in spite of the increase in students presenting for mental health support, some students struggling with mental health conditions still do not seek professional support (eisenberg et al., 2012; oswalt et al., 2020) due to various barriers. barriers to seeking treatment include a perception that their problems are not serious enough to warrant treatment (brown, 2018; czyz et al., 2013), a perceived lack of time (czyz et al., 2013), a preference for self-management (brown, 2018; czyz et al., 2013) etc.. this suggests that the demand is probably underestimated as many students do not seek help (brown, 2018). even with some of these barriers prevalent, more students are reaching out for support. resources have not necessarily matched the increase in demand and consequently, student counselling centres are struggling to manage the increased demand for mental health services (oswalt et al., 2020; williams et al., 2015). this challenge is exacerbated by the traditional one-on-one counselling primarily being offered at many student counselling centres. generally, individual counselling is the most common form of support offered, but this format may not be able to reach the large numbers of students presenting for support. alternative approaches and methods of delivery, therefore, need to be explored (brown, 2018). one such alternative, i argue, is peer-led mental health support. peer-led mental health support initiatives peer-led support can expand the capacity for mental health support, and it can offer an alternative to interventions offered by professional staff (byrom, 2018), which might be more attractive to students who are reluctant to speak to a professional. some studies have found that young people prefer to talk to friends and family rather than professionals (rickwood et al., 2005; czyz et al., 2013). friends are a major source of support to students (williams et al., 2015), offering significant informal support to one journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za132 another on a daily basis. given the significant role friends and peers play in the lives of students, many higher education institutions offer formal peer-led support programmes. peer-led programmes, in the higher education context, generally take the form of peer mentoring and peer tutoring. peer mentoring programmes are generally implemented as a means of improving retention (collings et al., 2014; ward et al., 2012), by assisting first-year students with their adjustment. peer tutoring, on the other hand, aims to improve academic performance through support with course content (colvin & ashman, 2010). while these peer-led programmes tend to focus on first-year student adjustment and course content, other focus areas are also emerging. formal peer-led mental health support is on the increase, either jointly developed with students, (campbell et al., 2022; williams et al., 2015), or completely student-led (campbell et al., 2022), for example, being offered by student societies (williams et al., 2015). this reflects the valuable role students themselves can play in mental health initiatives. byrom (2018), for instance, evaluated a 6-part peer-led support group for depression, across multiple universities in england, and found that it improved the mental well-being of students who optimally participated in the group sessions offered. peer-led mental health support initiatives could therefore be an effective alternative offered to students. the nelson mandela university context nelson mandela university (nmu) is a higher education institution in south africa. the institution has seven campuses. six of its campuses, including its main campus, are situated in gqeberha in the eastern cape, with the seventh campus in george in the western cape. the institution, previously known as nelson mandela metropolitan university (nmmu), opened on 1 january 2005, the result of a merger of three separate institutions, namely university of port elizabeth (upe), pe technikon, and the port elizabeth campus of vista university (vista pe) (nmu, 2022b). this merger was part of the transformation agenda of the higher education sector in a democratic south africa (jansen, 2004), which has also been met with significant transformation at the institution itself. the institution was officially renamed nelson mandela university on 20 july 2017 (nmu, 2022b). this name change has been significant to the university’s identity, academic mission, and strategic priorities (nmu, 2022a). social justice is at the core of the institution’s academic mission, as it strives to promote the public good in the service of society (nmu, 2022a). the institution is, therefore, very intentional in the role it needs to play in the development of south africa through access to higher education, as guided by the national agenda. in line with this agenda, the institution has systemically increased access for first-generation students from quantile one to three schools, which was at 53% in 2020 (nmu office for institutional strategy, 2021), most of these students being black african students from low-income backgrounds. in 2022 a total of 32,472 students were enrolled at the university, 83% being black african, 9% coloured, 8% white, and 1% indian (nmu office for institutional strategy, 2022). the institution also appreciates that access needs to be accompanied by success and subsequently extensive support is offered to facilitate mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 133 the academic success of all students gaining access. a range of support strategies is prioritised including holistic psychosocial and mental health support. emthonjeni student wellness (nelson mandela university) emthonjeni student wellness, formerly known as the student counselling, career and development centre, is part of the learning and teaching collaborative for success (lt collab). we offer psychological services aimed at alleviating psychological distress, enhancing student wellness, improving academic performance, and optimising mental health. these services include assessments, individual counselling, group counselling, psycho-educational workshops, and projects in collaboration with our internal and external stakeholders. all registered students, from our seven campuses, have free access to our services. additionally, we offer career counselling to both registered and prospective students (at a cost) (nmu emthonjeni student wellness, 2020). our services focus on a broad range of interventions that include remedial, developmental, and preventative interventions. figure 1 illustrates the spectrum of services we offer: as seen in figure 1, we offer remedial interventions on the one end of the continuum, to developmentally focused interventions at the other extreme, also including preventative interventions along the spectrum (nmu emthonjeni student wellness, 2020). our remedial services aim to alleviate psychological distress/symptoms of mental illness and to improve functioning. our remedial services include individual counselling sessions and therapeutic group counselling sessions, all offered by our professional staff (i.e. registered psychologists and counsellors). it could also include referral for pharmacological intervention and/or hospitalization. for our preventative work we offer a range of psycho-educational initiatives such as psycho-educational workshops, e-pamphlets, radio talks etc. these initiatives aim to promote overall wellness through these psycho-educational platforms, giving it a mental health promotion focus. our developmental initiatives focus on the development of the student to enhance graduate attributes and student success. our peer help programme, for example, has a major developmental focus in terms of the development of graduate attributes of our peer helpers themselves, in preparation for the world of work. while our services include the spectrum of interventions illustrated in figure 1, we are, like many other student counselling centres globally, experiencing a greater demand for mental health support that requires remedial intervention. to meet this remedial preventative developmental figure 1: the continuum of services offered at emthonjeni student wellness journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za134 demand, our primary model of support has been individual counselling offered by one of our registered psychologists/counsellors. like many other student counselling centers we, too, are battling to meet this demand, which requires us to be innovative with our limited resources. to expand our reach and capacity, we also offer peer-led support through our emthonjeni peer help programme, specifically in our preventative and development initiatives. peer-led psycho-educational initiatives at emthonjeni student wellness during covid-19 as mentioned, most of our students are first-generation students from low-income backgrounds. as first-generation students, they experience a range of challenges, which make them vulnerable to higher levels of stress/depression (stebleton et al., 2014). the covid-19 pandemic brought additional stressors to many of our students who were already experiencing a range of challenges. as coordinator of our emthonjeni peer help programme i wanted to expand our reach through our peer helpers during the national lockdown brought on by the covid-19 pandemic, as our peer helpers shared in the student experience and they had greater access to students (via social media platforms), at the time. emthonjeni student wellness has a rich history of peer helping. however, the covid-19 pandemic brought challenges to the role peer helpers played prior to the pandemic as well as our training practices. prior to the lockdown, peer helpers were physically facilitating some of our psycho-educational workshops and they were involved in projects such as our career stall at the university’s open day to prospective students, face-to-face. as activity on campus was suspended, we had to go back to the drawing board to rethink how our peer helpers could offer support to our student community in this new context. we also had to adjust our training material as we moved the training to a virtual platform (i.e. microsoft (ms) teams). the model we used to select our peer helpers guided my decision-making through this process. as the coordinator of the programme, i adopted the model for intentional peer mentoring proposed by mcconney and fourie-malherbe (2022) when i started this role. their proposed model for intentional peer mentoring underscores selection practices aimed at recruiting peers that will be intentional in their role, peers who care about the students they support, who are genuinely interested in helping fellow students and who are open and empathetic (mcconney & fourie-malherbe, 2022). this is what we did during our selection process. the intentionality highlighted by mcconney and fourie-malherbe (2022) also guided me throughout the training and planning phases. we included the primary themes of our existing training, but the content had to be shortened and some group activities had to be replaced with activities suited to the virtual platform (e.g. personal reflective exercises). the following themes were included in our peer help core training: the role of the peer helper within the context of ubuntu; listening and responding with empathy; the decision-making process; ethics and referral practices; and facilitation skills. mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 135 during these trying times, it was imperative for us to offer support to students that would assist them in navigating the complex challenges they were confronting in our efforts to minimise the adverse effects these may have had on their mental health and academic performance. as coordinator, i had to venture into unchartered territory, and i appreciated that i needed support along this journey as i attempted to adjust our programme to be relevant and responsive to the covid-19 context. i partnered with our newly recruited peer helpers as we attempted to support our students. we had to think out of the box to create a programme that would be suited to a context that was new and volatile, marked by great stress and pain, and one that challenged how our peer helpers previously offered support. unfortunately, only half of our 50 newly recruited peer helpers could get on board, due to their own struggles with connectivity, remote learning, and other challenges. responding to the context, the peer helpers and i created a series of psychoeducational workshops that would provide participating students the opportunity to engage in topics that could affect their wellness and mental health; and to offer tips on how they could manage the stressors they were confronting. figure 2 shows the list of workshops we offered: ps yc ho -e du ca tio na l w or ks ho ps mental health and stigma emotions and healing social media and mental health healthy relationships students and substances: the good, bad, and the ugly stress, coping, and rising above defying the odds: nurturing resillience figure 2: psycho-educational workshops offered by the peer helpers we offered a total of seven workshops. each workshop focused on a specific theme. the workshops were offered via ms teams on mondays from 15:00 to 16:30. all the workshops were led by a group of four to five peer helpers, co-facilitated by the programme coordinator. the workshops were well attended: the number of participants ranged from 25 to 35 for each workshop. we offered each workshop twice, once per semester. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za136 workshop 1: mental health and stigma while studies have shown a decline in mental health stigma amongst students, and we have also observed this trend at emthonjeni student wellness, a level of stigma persists. furthermore, while the students may not hold strong biases, stigma amongst their families and in their communities may affect their help-seeking behaviour. in our planning session, one of our peer helpers articulated the following: “we can have all the initiatives in the world, but if we do not address the stigma that is still attached to mental illness we may find that the students who are most in need of these services may not access it”. this peer helper then took the initiative to develop workshop material on this topic. in collaboration with other peer helpers and supervision from me, we finalised material for a workshop on mental health and stigma. the goals of the workshop were to explore: • the prevailing stigma around mental illness, • the impact of stigma on students’ willingness to access support, • myths and facts on mental health and mental illness, and • information and statistics on mental illness to sensitise students to the prevalence thereof. workshop 2: emotions and healing the conversation for our workshop emotions and healing was initiated by one of the peer helpers. she was particularly concerned about how, from her personal observations, males struggle with emotional expression and the impact this has on their relationships. her observation has also been underscored by sociologists who have found gender differences in both the experience and expression of emotions (simon, 2020). in our planning phase, we broadened the focus of the workshop. we expanded the focus to include the complexity associated with emotional regulation and expression, and how this interplays with mental health. however, we still included a section on the role gender plays in emotional expression. the goals of the workshop were to explore: • emotions and mental health, • barriers to expressing emotions, • gender differences in the expression of emotions, • the relationship between emotions and healing from painful experiences, • the importance of emotional expression, and • healthy ways of expressing emotions. workshop 3: social media and mental health social media has become an integral part of modern-day interaction and engagement. as young adults, students are generally very active on social media platforms, and these mediums have become significant influences on how they live their lives, without critically reflecting on the advantages and disadvantages thereof. in one of our planning sessions, one of our peer helpers stated the following: “i think our generation is the most depressed one of all time”. this was a very powerful statement that we then explored. mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 137 in this discussion, it emerged that social media could be a primary factor influencing the perceived levels of depression that the peer helper was referring to. research findings, too, are highlighting the link between social media and mental health. lin et al. (2016) found social media use to be significantly associated with increased depression amongst young adults. similarly, primack et al. (2017) found the use of multiple social media platforms was associated with increased levels of anxiety and depression amongst young adults, while the findings from lattie et al. (2019) underscored the contribution of social media to the mental health challenges of students, in particular. these research findings suggest there may be some accuracy to the peer helper’s observation. through my discussions with the peer helpers and the literature on the topic, i became more appreciative of the impact of social media on student’s mental health and thought it important to start this conversation with our broader student community. we had to tread with caution as we could not deny the value of these platforms. lattie et al. (2019) propose that interventions aim at distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy use. this is what we set out to do. the goals of the workshop were to explore: • social media use amongst students, • the impact of social media on students’ mental health, • social media as platforms for expression, • distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy social media use, and • tips on navigating social media platforms. workshop 4: healthy relationships family-related concerns are a primary problem our students present with. figure 3 on the next page shows a breakdown of the top ten presenting problems recorded from individual counselling sessions offered in 2021: relationships (family, intimate partner, social) symptoms of anxiety symptoms of depression stress-related issues bereavement self-esteem improving academic performance trauma emotional development career choice and information figure 3: emthonjeni student wellness: top 10 presenting problems for 2021 source: nmu emthonjeni student wellness (2022) journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za138 our annual statistics from 2021 showed that relationship challenges were the primary presenting problem, followed by symptoms of anxiety and depression (nmu emthonjeni student wellness, 2022). in many instances, the relationship challenges contribute to the symptoms of depression and anxiety. family distress, more specifically, is a major source of distress for our students. however, this does not seem unique to our context. a study by xiao et al. (2017) found that family distress is also increasing amongst students in the united states. for many of the students being at a residential university, like ours, offers an opportunity to physically separate from stressful home circumstances and some space to better cope with family distress. however, during the covid-19 lockdowns students were “stuck” at home, confronted with their challenging family realities daily. some students struggled to cope with being back in their family environment for a prolonged period. the peer helpers and i thought it important to create a platform to discuss relationship challenges and to offer tips on how students could manage these. we were cognisant that relationship challenges amongst students are not limited to the family context and decided to introduce a broader workshop, namely healthy relationships. the goals of the workshop were to explore: • healthy vs unhealthy relationships, • the interpersonal dynamics of relationships, • challenges in relationships with intimate partners, friends and family, and • tips on improving relationships and managing relationship difficulties. workshop 5: students and substances substance use related problems are high in universities, but many students do not recognise the need for supportive interventions or seek support (caldeira et al., 2009). while students may not recognise the need for support (caldeiera et al., 2009), substance use amongst students is associated with numerous negative outcomes such as poorer academic performance and increased risk of committing and experiencing sexual assault (welsh, shentu & sarvey, 2019). during the covid-19 lockdown, i observed an increase in cannabis use amongst students, which made me concerned about the risks involved in excessive substance use as a coping mechanism under the stressful covid-19 conditions and lockdown restrictions. after raising my concerns with the peer helpers, we agreed to initiate a workshop on students and substances: the good, bad, and ugly. the goals of the workshop were to explore: • students and their use of substances, • substance use as a coping mechanism, • substances and students’ mental health, and • ways of managing substance use/misuse. workshop 6: stress, coping, and rising above the covid-19 pandemic disrupted the student experience in numerous ways. academically, students had to rapidly adapt to the online learning experience. in the south african context, this posed massive challenges to many institutions as mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 139 large proportions of the student population lacked access to mobile devices, data connectivity, electricity, water, and conducive study spaces, which served as barriers to remote learning (nmu office for institutional strategy, 2021). in the nelson mandela university context, this was very significant, given the high number of our students who come from low-income backgrounds. some students had to navigate challenges with online learning amid the threat of infection with the virus, illness, and death of loved ones, and other personal, family, social, and/or financial challenges. students had to cope with these challenges whilst being physically separated from their friends, who often serve as a primary source of support to them. during these challenging times, the peer helpers and i thought it important to impart knowledge that would assist our students in coping with the challenges at hand. we introduced a workshop, stress, coping and rising above, which explored coping with stress in the covid-19 context. the goals of the workshop were to explore: • what stress is, • stressors confronting students amid the covid-19 pandemic, and • ways of managing stress. workshop 7: defying the odds: nurturing resilience given the magnitude of disruption, stress, and losses brought by the covid-19 pandemic, we wanted to include a workshop that brought hope to our students. we wanted to tap into many of our students’ resilience, which has carried them through previous adverse events. we wanted to encourage our students to not become despondent but to rather persevere against the odds. thus, we included a workshop on resilience. the goals of the workshop were to explore: • what resilience is, • what the characteristics of resilient individuals are, • resilience in the covid-19 context, • tips on how students could nurture their resilience, and • the power of resilience. students’ reflections on our workshops in reflecting on the psycho-educational workshops we offered during the covid-19 pandemic, we realised that the challenges brought by the covid-19 pandemic offered an opportunity for innovation and creativity in our efforts to serve our students. the workshops we introduced helped us strengthen our peer help programme and our peer-led mental health promotion initiatives, in particular. anecdotal feedback from students suggests that the content discussed assisted students in two ways: (1) they become more aware of the importance of promoting their own mental health and; (2) they gained insights and tips on how to manage life challenges that could have a negative impact on their mental health. the following quotations are reflections from participating students. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za140 one workshop attendee reflected on the following benefit from attending the mental health and stigma workshop: the workshop was very informative more especially because mental illness is being ignored by many people and cultures. joining the session helped me a lot because now i know that if someone next to me is having problems regarding mental health then we can recommend that she/he can see counsellor. i have learned that mental health is not just a disorder but it can cause harm to an individual if not treated or if judged. if i see any change in my life about my mental health i will have to take initiative to get help. i will be checking my sleeping patterns, eating patterns and my behaviours in general. the above quoted student had become sensitised to the importance of her mental health and that of others, and to address any mental health challenges timeously in the event of symptoms being observed. another attendee also echoed that she gained a greater appreciation for her mental health and how she can nurture it. she stated: i’ve learnt that my mental health is very important and i must prioritise it. i must not allow stigma from people to prevent me from seeking help or talking about what is bothering me. students attending the emotions and healing workshop were sensitised to the role that emotions can play in their mental health. one student reflected the following: i’ve learnt that emotional healing is important even though it is a long process, but its good so that you can be healthy mentally. another student reflected: for me it has been an eye opener on how emotions can affect one’s mental health. i found it very interesting. other students from the emotions and healing workshop reflected that they had gained insight on how to better manage their emotions. one student stated: i was reminded of some really valuable points about emotional healing. forgiveness is key, even though it takes time. emotions are okay to accept, and this process is actually necessary. going forward i will work on forgiveness. another student reflected the following: it was very informative. i’ve learnt a lot on how to deal with my emotions and i believe from now on i will deal with it in a better and more mature way. students attending the healthy relationships workshop also reflected that they had gained insights on how to better manage their relationship challenges, as underscored by the following 2 reflections from students: one student stated: mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 141 i felt i related much to it based on its content and it’s really fitting especially to students because you find that in most cases the root of most problems or challenges come from relationships. the workshop triggered me in a good way because it would allow me to analyse where my weakest points were in relationships and how to tackle them in a good way. another student said: i took away that sometimes our parents/caregivers have no clue of what they are doing either, all they know and have grown accustomed to is how they were raised. so, we should approach family relationships with a little more grace. we should not try to change people in our families but rather accept them for who they are. from the insights quoted, the anecdotal reflections support our reflections as facilitators, that participating students were sensitised to the importance of nurturing their mental health and gained insights/tips on how to manage challenges that may negatively impact their mental health. these workshops underscored the importance of mental health promotion initiatives in our efforts to address the increasing demand for mental health support amongst students; and the role that student peers can play in this regard. if we empower our peer helpers to offer more mental health promotion initiatives, we could afford our professional staff more time to respond to the demand for remedial mental health support. brown (2018) and czyz et al. (2013) underscore the reluctance of some students to seek professional help due to a perception that their problems may not be serious enough to warrant treatment. peer-led workshops, like the ones we offered, could be a more attractive alternative to these students and others who may be reluctant to speak to a professional. furthermore, by including the student voice (that of the peer helpers) we created content that was student-friendly and relevant, and it was implemented by peers who could relate and share experiences. as the programme coordinator, i became more appreciative of the value of the student’s voice, both in terms of content creation and implementation and the power of collaborating with students. the way forward we created the topics covered in the workshops in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. they will remain relevant post-covid-19, as these themes reflect challenges that students generally grapple with. we will adjust the content as we go along (e.g. the stress, coping, and rising above and the defying the odds: nurturing resilience workshops will speak to these topics more generally rather than drawing to the covid-19 context). as we return to our university physically, we will initially take a blended approach to offering our workshops (i.e. offer it virtually and face-to-face). however, our initial experience, since returning to campus, indicates our students prefer to join our workshops virtually. this seems to be influenced by the distance between the various campuses and the busy schedules of students. joining virtually affords students from all campuses to join without having to travel, and the convenience of joining from their journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za142 preferred locations. we are sharing our initiatives in the interest of other institutions who may benefit from similar initiatives. these initiatives should not be hard to replicate, provided the institution has a group of intentional peer leaders and a coordinator driving the programme. conclusion the covid-19 context brought new challenges to student counselling centres which were already struggling to address the mental health needs of students. we had to be innovative in responding to the mental health needs of students remotely, at a time when many students were vulnerable due to the changes, uncertainty, and stress brought on by the covid-19 pandemic. in navigating this challenge, the emthonjeni student wellness peer helpers and i saw the opportunity for innovation to offer mental health promotion initiatives to our students. in partnering with our student peer helpers, we expanded our peer-led mental health promotion initiatives and in doing so we expanded our capacity to meet the demand for psychological services. our journey has helped us strengthen our peer help programme and it underscored the power of collaborating with students. as coordinator of the programme, i hope that by sharing our journey and the insights gained from the process, we highlight the valuable role that student peers can play in supporting fellow students and how they can be at the forefront of mental health promotion initiatives. acknowledgements i wish to acknowledge the emthonjeni student wellness peer helpers 2020/21 for their passion to serve fellow students, and the great contributions they made to the programme. ethics statement in this article the author reflects on her process of creating and implementing mental health promotion workshops, in collaboration with student peer helpers. this is a personal reflection, and ethical clearance was not required. some reflections from participating students have been included as anecdotal feedback on how participating students benefitted from participation. identifying information from the student reflections has been kept confidential. potential conflict of interest the author has no conflict of interest to declare. funding acknowledgement no funding or grants were received. references brown, j. s. (2018). student mental health: some answers and more questions. journal of mental health, 27(3), 193–196. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2018.1470319 https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2018.1470319 mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19 143 byrom, n. (2018). an evaluation of a peer support intervention for student mental health. journal of mental health, 27(3), 240–246. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2018.1437605 caldeira, k. m., kasperski, s. j., sharma, e., vincent, k. b., o’grady, k. e., wish, e. d., & arria, a. m. (2009). college students rarely seek help despite serious substance use problems. journal of substance abuse treatment, 37(4), 368–378. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2009.04.005 campbell, f., blank, l., cantrell, a., baxter, s., blackmore, c., dixon, j., & goyder, e. 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(2015). understanding provision for students with mental health problems and intensive support needs. report to hefce by the institute for employment studies (ies) and researching equity, access and partnership (reap). xiao, h., carney, d. m., youn, s. j., janis, r. a., castonguay, l. g., hayes, j. a., & locke, b. d. (2017). are we in crisis? national mental health and treatment trends in college counseling centers. psychological services, 14(4), 407. doi: 10.1037/ser0000130 how to cite: mcconney, a. (2023). peer helpers at the forefront of mental health promotion at nelson mandela university: insights gained during covid-19. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 129–144. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4220 https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1515748 https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20180037 https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000130 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 african minds www.jsaa.ac.za can we become friends? students’ cross-racial interaction in post-apartheid south african higher education samantha shapses wertheim* research article * director of graduate student life, new york university, usa. email: samantha.shapses@nyu.edu abstract this article investigates and documents how undergraduate students in south africa make meaning of cross-racial interaction on the college campus in the post-apartheid era. additionally, it explores how students perceive that interactions with diverse peers have shifted since apartheid, and how these interactions are indicative of the larger social dynamic of south africa. utilising jansen’s (2009) framework for understanding afrikaner student perspectives and critical race theory (crt), this qualitative exploration collected interviews from 10 students at a higher education institution (hei) in south africa. findings identified three overarching themes found among students including contradiction within and across racial groups, afrikaner white vs. english white and racial segregation on campus. these themes directly correspond with personal and societal aspects that influence meaning making in south africa, including intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics, historical legacy and institutional structures. keywords student affairs, diversity, student housing, application and selection process, social contact theory, higher education. introduction twenty years after the end of apartheid, south africa has embarked upon a new era of higher education, as students who have never experienced apartheid, and who are from different racial origins, interact within the setting of higher education. while these students are certainly familiar with the legacy of oppression, in their lifetime apartheid has never been enforced as law. this changing dynamic gives way to new areas of inquiry regarding how students in south african higher education make meaning of interacting with racially diverse peers in a post-apartheid society. the present qualitative study addresses this societal shift by asking the following questions: how do students make meaning of cross-racial interactions in a post-apartheid society? furthermore, how do students perceive that interactions with 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 racially diverse peers have shifted since apartheid, and how are these interactions indicative of the larger social dynamic of south africa? exploring this line of inquiry, this study identifies salient issues relating to cross-racial interaction in south africa, and documents how selected students make sense of interacting across race in a post-apartheid era. historical framing and literature constructs of language to understand the current nature of cross-racial interaction in south african higher education, it is essential to ground it in the historical and socio-political circumstances that shape these institutions. in particular, the topic of language and racial categorisation must be addressed for those unfamiliar with the historical social hierarchy in south africa, as the co-constructed meaning of race and racial categories is greatly shaped by the socio-political environment in which the topic is being examined (omi & winant, 1994). for the purpose of this study race will be defined as a socially constructed system that classifies people based on physical characteristics; it is this classification system that is then utilised to defend the arrangement of power and privilege in society. (smedley, 2007). south africa has a unique history of race, and therefore distinct racial categorisations. fisk and ladd (2004) identify government-constructed racial groups in south africa as the following: english white; afrikaners (previously the dutch settlers); coloured (those with both african and european descendants, as well as malay, indonesian, and indo-china); indians; and africans. these are the racial terms that will be used to refer to racial groups in south africa in the present study. in addition to these groups, there are two other terms that will be utilised. ‘white’ denotes those who are of afrikaner and english descent. this refers to the group of south africans who benefited from apartheid’s ruling both willingly and unwillingly by the inherent nature of their whiteness. ‘black’ encompasses all people of colour including african, coloured, indian and asian. this term was used in part by the african national congress (anc) to contradict the deficit perspective that the nationalist party used when categorising people of colour as ‘non-white’ (fisk & ladd, 2004). south african higher education transformation as metcalfe (1997) states, “[o]ne of the crucial challenges that our new democracy faces is to reconstruct, against all odds, a society and an education system left in ruins by apartheid” (p. 13). identifying these obstacles as both changing the structure of the education system, as well as the attitudes and beliefs of its participants, metcalfe illustrates that prior to the fall of apartheid it was near impossible to imagine students of different races learning together in the same environment. this sentiment indicates the great challenges south africa would face when considering cross-racial interaction on the college campus. in 1995, mandela established the national commission on higher education (nche) to address the redesign of south africa’s higher education system. the nche’s policy paper, entitled education white paper 3: a programme for the transformation of higher education, served as an outline for the size, structure, governance, funding and overarching samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 37 goals of south africa’s new higher education system, providing an opportunity to evolve with the new post-apartheid era (fiske & ladd, 2004). central to this document was the nche’s focus on the social and cultural development of south africa’s new society, which rested on the transformation of higher education. if south africa were to create a society in which all races were to be considered equal, then it was essential that this occur within the arena of higher education. one of the primary concerns of the nche was increasing access for black students at the university level. in 1992, white students made up 50% of the enrollment at universities, while being only 12% of the school age population (fisk & ladd, 2004). the white paper (1997) sought to address the unequal participation by providing access and opportunities granted to students to different races. an aggressive recruitment of black students began and was supported by means of the national student financial aide scheme (nsfas) that provided funding for black students. these policies and procedures sought to enhance the structural diversity (or racial composition – see chang, 1999) of south african universities. however, while this goal is of the utmost importance, scholarship on the campus racial climate of the united states have found that structural diversity alone is not enough. increasing the numbers of diverse students is indeed the first step, yet desirable outcomes are determined by how students engage with diversity on their college campus (chang, 1999; gurin, dey & hurtado, 2002; chang, denson, saenz & misa, 2006). king (2001) addresses this notion when identifying the difference between numerical inclusion and comprehensive inclusion when discussing the campus climate of south african higher education. numerical inclusion refers to the students who were previously prohibited access to higher education, while comprehensive inclusion considers not only the increasing numbers of racially diverse students, but also developing a welcoming intellectual and social environment in which they can flourish. as king explains, numbers alone will not secure the success of black students in south african higher education. rather, a holistic approach to inclusion that addresses not only access, but also considers the social-emotional adjustment of the student, must be employed as well (king, 2001; austin, 2001). investigating cross-racial interaction although the united states and south africa are different in many ways, both countries have struggled to include people of colour in a higher education system after a history of legalised oppression. while the topic of cross-racial interaction in south african higher education is relatively new, king’s (2001) notion of comprehensive inclusion has been a part of the academic discourse in the states for the past 20 years. the research on crossracial interaction within american higher education provides insight into the numerous benefits that south african students may take away from productive interactions across race. research finds that there are many positive outcomes resulting from diversity in american higher education. these outcomes include, but are not limited to, gains in diversity competence (such as the ability to get along with others, and awareness of different ways of life); civic engagement; cognitive development; intellectual development 38 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 and moral development (hu & kuh, 2003; chang, denson & saenz, 2006; saenz, nagai & hurtado, 2007; mayhew & engberg, 2010). gurin and nagda (2006) suggested that a large portion of these educational benefits attributed to diversity come from interactions with racially diverse peers. furthermore, it is suggested that productive interactions across race will yield experiences that will in turn lead to positive gains and prepare students to live in a multicultural and racially diverse world, thereby “interrupt[ing] long-standing segregation trends in society” (harper & hurtado, 2007, p. 14). while there is a gap in the extant literature that specifically addresses cross-racial interaction in south african higher education, several articles mention its importance. walker (2005) conducted a narrative study on how dialogues and conceptions of race have transformed since the end of apartheid, and questions how institutions of higher education can assist in the creation of a positive post-racial society. walker finds that focusing on the social interactions (casual and intimate) of students allows for insight into their personal identity and that these interactions define how students see themselves in relation to the world they live in. although not solely focused on cross-racial interaction, this study illustrates the substantial role it plays in the transformation of dialogues surrounding race in post-apartheid south africa. scholarship has also been conducted on institutional factors that influence cross-racial interaction. perhaps most salient to this study is the role of university language policies. when apartheid was dismantled, afrikaans-medium universities adopted a dual language policy and classes were taught in both english and afrikaans (jansen, 2009). while the intention of this policy was to allow students to learn in the language with which they were most comfortable this policy segregated students who spoke afrikaans (primarily white afrikaner students) and english (primarily black students), thereby minimising cross-racial interaction in the classroom (jansen, 2009). walker’s (2005) study supports this notion, upon illustrating that language serves as a boundary for student interaction and observing that friendship is limited by both societal structures of socialisation as well as institutional structures. greenfield’s (2010) study focuses on the role of language as well, and demonstrates both the anger that black students feel regarding the afrikaans language and the ambivalence that black students feel towards using english. greenfield reminds the reader that although it is not often recognised, english is still a colonial language. while some students see english as a language that unites, a common ground for all south africans, others are taunted for their lack of proficiency in it. greenfield’s study showcases the complex relationship between language, history and cross-racial interaction in south africa. woods’ (2001) study identifies dorming choices as another institutional aspect affecting cross-racial interaction. woods (2001) assessed the perception of race relations and racial climate at the university of witswatersrand (wits) and references an “everyday racism” (p. 97) that is subtle and systemically entrenched in a university’s culture. woods (2001) found that “there is an obvious social segregation between the races at wits and attributes much of this segregation to the living conditions. woods discovered that while most black students live in the residential dorms, white students generally live at home. both the samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 39 residential environment and language contribute to an unwritten segregation on campus as identified by pattman (2007). pattman emphasises the difference between white afrikaners and white english south africans (wesas). all of the findings above were in one way or another reflected in the present exploratory study. theoretical framework jonathan jansen’s (2009) book knowledge in the blood provides a comprehensive framework of how afrikaner students interact with black students that incorporates how the ideology of apartheid had been passed down between generations. jansen divides afrikaner beliefs about apartheid into three categories. the first, “nothing happened” (p. 38), centres on the notion that apartheid was simply a method of keeping racial order, and that the liberation of blacks was part of natural progression towards civility. the next category, “something happened, now get over it” (p. 39), entails the afrikaners who wish to move forward and forget the past. they acknowledge that apartheid happened, but they do not recognise its legacy. the third category, “terrible things happened” (p. 41), incorporates afrikaners who were an active part of the anti-apartheid movement as activists. lastly, jansen’s framework includes the confessionalists who “had a direct and often traumatic encounter with the past; this knowledge remains deeply disturbing” (p. 43). these categories present a lens with which to view the student respondents in this study and provide researchers like myself from outside the south african higher education system with greater insight into how to contextualise the students’ thoughts regarding cross-racial interaction. however, it is important to note that jansen’s (2009) framework applies only to white afrikaner students. while it proves to be useful for contextualising all of the student data, in order to validate and elucidate the voice of the students of colour, as well as to recognise the role of historical oppression south africa faced, this study is also guided by the overarching paradigm of critical race theory (crt). although created by american scholars, crt has several tenets that apply to investigating how students make meaning in south africa. the first is that it recognises that racism and race are omnipresent within society and interact with multiple identities. secondly, crt focuses on telling the stories of the oppressed, and challenges the dominant paradigm. thirdly, crt focuses on the institutional and structural systems of advantage and disadvantage (tatum, 1992; delgado, 2001). lastly, and perhaps most pertinent to the study of cross-racial interaction in south africa, is crt’s acknowledgement that systems of oppression and inequality have been created and enforced over time through legal practices. originating in legal studies, crt illustrates how the legal enforcement of race and racism currently affects the experience of people of colour. jansen (2001) illustrates the importance of considering the legacy of apartheid when addressing inequities in south african higher education: [h]igher education stands at the apex of a schooling system characterised by gross disparities in provision and hence in the preparation of would-be students […] these include the current absence of a level financial playing field, resulting from the disparities in historically acquired assets across the system in capital, plant and resources. (p.8) 40 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 utilising the crt lens encourages the researcher constantly to consider how apartheid shaped the experiences of south africans today in financial, political and social arenas. in essence, crt provides a framework for identifying, navigating and understanding interactions between diverse peers, as well as how these interactions may or may not differ depending upon the identity of the student and the historical forces upon him or her. methods the complex and changing dynamic of race relations on the college campus in south africa naturally gave way to conducting an exploratory study on how south african students make meaning of cross-racial interaction. the present study utilises a qualitative lens because it seeks to capture the human experience, which is an integral aspect of qualitative research (creswell, 2007, 2009; merriam, 2002; willis, 2007). coined by kegan (1994) meaning making is defined, as how one understands knowledge and how they retrieve it. as king and baxter-magolda (2006) state, in order to […] understand meaning-making structures, researchers must learn how people made sense of an experience and what constructions of the world, self, and others undergird that interpretation. (p. 495) that being said, meaning-making is an attractive concept to utilise in the context of south africa for it consists of both of the things over which one has jurisdiction as well as the societal and institutional forces that influence experience (king & baxter-magolda, 2007). while qualitative studies are not generalisable to the population at large, the qualitative exploration of how students make meaning of cross-racial interaction provides specific insight into students’ experiences in south african higher education. the learning context and study participants previously an afrikaner university, the higher education institution (hei) studied is an ideal location at which to study cross-racial interaction, as its student demographic has undergone a drastic transformation within the past 20 years. similar to numerous former afrikaner universities, the hei was previously an institution that worked to cultivate and enforce the ideology of apartheid through the means of social tradition and academics (jansen, 2009). previously providing instruction offered only in afrikaans, the hei currently offers course in both english and afrikaans. the hei’s student racial demographic has transformed significantly since the end of apartheid. the south african institute of race relations’ (sairr) south african survey showed that degrees granted to black students (which does not include those identified as coloured) had increased from 8 514 to 36 970 in two decades. the majority of degrees awarded was provided by formerly all-white institutions; hei was among the top degree-granting institutions, providing more than 10% of all degrees awarded to all black students in south africa (dell, 2011). to gain insight into the campus climate and cross-racial interaction, ten students were interviewed at the hei as part of this exploratory study. interviews were collected at two sites – first, the student centre, and second, following a classroom observation. two students samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 41 approached me after the classroom observation. the remaining eight students who were interviewed in the student centre readily agreed to participate after being approached. interviews ranged in duration from 20 to 45 minutes. the self-identified racial identities of the students consisted of the following: 1 coloured, 2 indian, 5 african, 1 english and 1 afrikaner. while i was not able to collect an equal number of students from each racial identity, i was fortunate to speak with students from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. all of the interviews were audio-recorded, and pseudonyms were provided at the time of transcription. it is important to mention that not all of the interviews were conducted on a one-on-one basis. in some cases, multiple students were interviewed at the same time. this provided a unique insight into not only how they made meaning of cross-racial interaction, but also how they navigated the subject while in the presence of their peers of differing races. the interviews were semi-structured and asked overarching questions that addressed how the students identified racially; their experiences of coming to college and engaging with students of different races; moments in which they experienced cross-racial interaction; and their thoughts on apartheid’s effect on how students presently interact with each other. it is important to note that the focus of the interviews and this study pertained to the phenomenon of cross-racial interaction, and did not include other factors that may shape the way in which students perceive the college campus (such as their relationships with faculty, coursework and materials or even media outlets). the potential inclusion and importance of these topics in subsequent literature is addressed in the discussion. data analysis following creswell’s (2009) method of qualitative analysis, in the first reading memos were created regarding first impressions of the data. subsequent readings utilised open coding (strauss and corbin, 1990) to identify areas that pertained to the phenomenon of cross-racial interaction. codes were compared across case to identify common trends or experiences with the phenomenon of cross-racial interaction. upon determining the salient codes, they were then revised and categorised into the overarching themes presented in the results. in the last step of qualitative research, creswell (2009) suggests that the researcher considers his or her own personal disposition, theoretical frames, extant literature on the topic, and understanding of the historical and cultural background of the respondents. for this reason, it is important to address the researcher orientation. researcher orientation perhaps the most salient aspects of my identity that shape my interpretation of the data are my identification as white and american. being white means something very different in south africa than in the united states, and there is no doubt that my understanding of the racial dynamic in south africa is shaped by my preconceived notions of race founded in an american context. as an american i am familiar with a different racial paradigm from that of the students in south africa. and while this may provide an outside perspective, i cannot help but compare what i learnt about cross-racial interaction in south africa to my own studies and experiences in the united states. furthermore, while crt is used 42 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 as a theoretical framework for this study, i also consider it as a compass for my scholarly explorations and professional practice. thus, all of my interactions with the respondents are shaped by my desire to promote a socially just and equitable society, and founded on the supposition that a country’s history greatly influences current practice and policy. results several themes emerged that related to how these students make meaning of crossracial interaction in a post-apartheid era. as described below, these themes include 1) contradictions in the meaning-making process both within themselves and others; 2) recognising and assigning differences between white english students and white afrikaner students; and 3) racial segregation on campus. collectively, these three themes provide a foundation for understanding various aspects that contribute to how they study participants made meaning of interacting with diverse peers. contradiction within themselves and across racial identities contradiction was a strong aspect of several of the students’ meaning-making processes regarding their understanding of cross-racial interaction. contradiction was found in two forms. the first, was contradiction within. this entailed students who made statements that they directly opposed at a later point in the interview. the second was contradiction found between various racial groups on campus, namely that different races had conflicting perspectives of the campus climate and their interactions with racially diverse peers. contradiction within marcus, a student who identified himself as white english, provided a clear example of the conflicting point of views held within him: “basically we don’t see colour, yeah we notice there is diversity, but for instance when i met him it wasn’t like oh man, this guy is coloured how am i going to interact. it’s just like just another human being. older generations, they are a bit different, for us, for our generation, i don’t see colour.” this statement exemplifies walker’s (2005) notion of new racism in south africa that includes a colour-blind ideology. elaborated on as part of an american framework of racism, bonilla-silva (2006) defines colour-blind racism, as a method of discrediting the institutional oppression experienced by the group. furthermore, marcus’s statement illustrated that this is an ideology assigned to a generation rather than a single person. by using the term ‘we’ rather than ‘i’, marco expressed that this sentiment extends beyond his personal experience to the experiences of his peers. atif, a student who identified as coloured and was interviewed alongside marcus, supported this sentiment: “it’s almost like an insult when people ask me what race i am because nowadays we don’t pay attention to that at all – especially in south africa.” samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 43 however, when later questioned whether or not they had ever witnessed racism, the contradiction within surfaces, marcus was quickly able to recall an event that was racially based. as marcus shared: “well i witnessed it the other day, one of my friends she had relations with this black guy and they were just chilling, and this other afrikaner guy came by and he saw this happening and he was like what the f--k whatever, whatever, and he started hitting this black guy – and i thought to myself what is going on, i thought we were past this?” this passage illustrates that not only did marcus see race, but he also identified that there are other students who are not ‘past’ the racial discrimination enforced by apartheid. this illustrates the contradiction within; as marcus continued to discuss afrikaners it became clear that he did not believe that a colour-blind ideology has been adopted by his entire generation. it also highlights the deep divide that still exists between afrikaners, whites and blacks as an aspect of the legacy of apartheid. moodley and adam (2000) may describe the situation above as social racism, one of ten racial legacies: namely that a “cultural hierarchy of arrogance has frequently replaced cruder forms of contempt and discrimination” (p. 58). lisel, a white afrikaner student, who at first claimed that she never cared about race but later made statements that are contradictory, also illustrates this phenomenon. lisel reflected on her attitudes towards race as a child: “ever since i was little have not cared about what colour [he/she] was, just as long as [he/she] was a friend.” yet, when later commenting on her interactions with black peers in college, she illustrated some of the concerns and assumptions she has about her black peers. “we had this group work thing, and they gave me a group, well i didn’t have a group and some black girls came to me and said do you want to be in our group. and i was a bit hesitant because well their english proficiency are not so good, and their typing skills are not as good as the white people, and is not that i’m being racist, it’s a fact that they didn’t have the training that we had.” lisel determined, based upon colour, that her classmates were not as proficient as herself. the language in this statement reflects that she was speaking with regard to all black students, not just this particular group of students. when directly questioned if this is applicable to all black students, lisel claimed that it was “few and far between that you find someone who is intellectual.” lisel was cognisant that this underlying assumption may be translated as racist, and therefore insisted that this was not her bias, but rather a function of various institutions’ inability to provide black students with the necessary skills and education prior to college. contrary to crt’s assertion that racism is both structural and institutional (brainard, 2009), lisel did not consider inequitable institutions as an aspect of racism. rather, she falls into jansen’s (2009) frame of “something happened, now get over it” (p. 39). it becomes clear throughout lisel’s interview that these assumptions have deep roots, and have become a part of her narrative for understanding her black peers. as lisel shared: 44 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 “it’s not their fault, it’s not that they were born to not be smart, it is because they did not have the proper training and also cause when they were babies their mothers put the babies on their back with the thing and the baby just stays on the mother’s back all day, with white babies you show them coloured blocks with coloured beads and you stimulate them…” lisel’s assumptions of the intellectual ability of her classmates stemmed from a societal narrative and shaped the way she made meaning of cross-racial interaction while in college; these assumptions also directly contradicted the way in which she framed her narrative as open to people of all races. contradiction between racial identities contradiction, or conflicting points of view, regarding cross-racial interaction were also found across racial groups. at times, the students’ perspectives on cross-racial interaction were so different, that it was almost as if they were not attending the same university. it appeared that these different perspectives were largely based on their racial identity and how their peers of different races treated them. creating friendships across race was one of the areas in which students clearly disagreed and contradicted one another. while marcus and atif agreed that it was easy to make friends across race, kabir, devide and tebogo, three students who identified as african, expressed that their experience was quite different. as tebogo explained, “it was exciting [to come to the hei] i thought i was going to make a few friends that were a different race but ah – it’s not that easy. i thought that we could interact and be friends with white people but i don’t know, maybe we just don’t have common ground.” statements such as this reveal that the students believed that they had not made friends with white students due to a lack of commonalities. these three students agreed that it was much easier to share friendships with those who had the same cultural heritage. contradicting marcus and atif, who believed that all races are now embraced on the college campus, devide shared: “there is still just a little bit of segregation thing within us – this apartheid thing we haven’t broken the boundaries, we haven’t become comfortable with a white guy, or just sitting at a table with white people. there are still boundaries to be broken, but slowly and surely we will get there, we just haven’t gotten there yet.” devide specifically drew attention to the role that the apartheid still plays in interactions with his peers, while marcus and atif believed they were ‘past’ it. these students’ meaningmaking process surrounding cross-racial interaction is often defined by how they perceive the climate of the college campus. this high level of contradiction illustrates the complex and layered nature of cross-racial interaction in a post-apartheid society. samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 45 white english vs. white afrikaner as documented by jansen (2009), distinguishing between those who were white english and white afrikaner was another theme that arose when discussing cross-racial interaction in higher education. in fact, all ten students who were interviewed mentioned this as an aspect of their experience. several of the participants mentioned that they observed that afrikaner students have a different ‘mindset’. below, kabir discussed his impression of the difference between white afrikaners and white english students: “there is a lot, a lot [of difference between afrikaners and english whites] … their mindsets [are different]. afrikaner, they are still arrogant, they don’t accept a black person as an english man would. even in the style they dress you can see it.” when asked how he identifies racially, marcus, (who is white english) was hesitant to identify as white simply because it can be confused with and afrikaner white. when discussing racism, marcus shared: “it’s not all whites and is not all blacks, its afrikaner whites. it’s the truth, it’s the afrikaners that are racist. it’s just that the afrikaners they really can’t stand blacks. [so you find there is a division within whiteness?] oh yeah because i look at me, when i’m sitting with my white friends and this white guy comes by with heavy rock music i’m like ‘ugh white people’. nah, nah i’m not white, i refuse.” marcus’s intention to separate himself from what he sees as the racist antics of afrikaner whites defines how he sees himself in relation to his peers and thereby makes meaning of his interactions with them. pattman (2007) finds that wesas identify as “cultureless” and “downplayed the salience of their race” (p. 483) and brings attention to the white students who do not consider themselves a part of apartheid, but still directly benefited from it. by refusing to identify as white, marcus fails to acknowledge the privileges that have been bestowed upon him due to the colour of his skin. moodley and adam (2001) outline this as another aspect of the social racism mentioned above when stating that few english whites attribute their attitudes to the colonialism that preceded apartheid. a segregated campus as indicated in the themes above, another aspect is the segregation that exists among racial groups at the hei. in setting of higher education, black students and english students often interacted with each other, while afrikaner students were far more segregated (jansen, 2009). while this is referenced in the afrikaner vs. english theme above, several of the students interviewed extended this segregation beyond afrikaner students to all white students. as kabir shared: “i just came here to study, i’m not even friends with any white people, not that i don’t like white people, but i never got the chance to become friends – i just interact with them during school hours or something school-related.” 46 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 devide supported this when he said, “we do projects with them, but we aren’t friends with them.” lisel described the student population as “cliques, the white people are friends with the white people and the black people are friends with the black people and there is cross pollination, but everyone always goes back to their clique.” there are several barriers that prevent students from creating meaningful relationships across race. the first, as referenced in the literature is language. jansen (2009) asserts that by creating a dual language university that utilises both afrikaans and english, they have found a socially acceptable way of segregating students. hamsa, an indian-identified student, enforces this upon stating: “in a lot of cases there are students who go to afrikaans schools and they only spend time with afrikaners and they study in afrikaans […] so they never really get to interact with other people, maybe if they were given the chance they would interact with those who are different, but since they weren’t given that chance they stick with what is familiar.” hamsa makes meaning of the fact that she does not often interact with afrikaans students by justifying their separation as never having had the choice to interact with others outside of their race. however, from lisel’s experience, we know that this is not true. afrikaner students do have the option of taking classes with other races, but choose to study in their first language. structurally, this separation is supported by the dual language policy of the school. the fact that academia is still heavily dependent on the afrikaans language is something that moodley and adam (2001) also consider as a legacy of apartheid; they name it cultural racism, or the inability to address cultural and national identities equitably. dorming choices is one area in which students of colour (black, indian and african) noted that they did interact with students across race in the residential environment. nonetheless, they considered the relationships as superficial. devide stated: “there were some [whites] on my floor that i would chill with, but you find that we don’t know much about each other, after three years i don’t even know where they are from.” khati, a student who identified as indian, shared that she had, in fact, made friends with students of all different races in her residential living environment, but that this had transpired because she was the only one of her race in her hostel: “you have to get along because you get very lonely. i was the only person in my group so it wasn’t like i could just stick to my own race.” however, when questioned further about her experiences, she mentioned that at times she felt discriminated against because of her race: “when we are in res [residential living] together you have socials with different hostels, so there was a time that we had a social with a white hostel, i wasn’t going to go because i had to study, but my friends were going – so i said just for interest’s sake, ask what would have happened if you had taken me along? and they told my friend that i couldn’t have come if i wasn’t white.” samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 47 while there was a noted separation of races on campus, this is not to say that some students did not form meaningful friendships across race, as illustrated by marcus and atif earlier, and as well by akani, an african student, who shared: “i was very surprised because i made some friends with white people and stayed at their house for a few nights, and i thought that was amazing because they could even call me friends.” while, akani was very pleased with his friendships, he admits that their hospitality came as a surprise to him. all in all, a segregated campus, which is supported structurally by language policies, and individually by students’ attitudes and ideology, shapes the way in which students make meaning of their interactions with racially diverse peers. furthermore, it showcases the deeply rooted mentality of apartheid, and the students’ challenge in accepting and overcoming it. discussion while the present study was small and exploratory, it has identified some of the mechanisms and institutional structures that shape how students make meaning of race in a post-apartheid era. each theme represents a different aspect that contributes to the meaning-making process. i have identified these as interpersonal/intrapersonal, historical and institutional factors contributing to how students make meaning of cross-racial interaction. the first theme, ‘contradiction’, speaks to the intrapersonal and interpersonal development of the student being interviewed. as defined by king and baxter-magolda (2005), ‘intrapersonal’ refers to the students’ sense of self, and comprehension of their own identity. marcus, who made conflicting statements regarding his feelings about race, and his own racial identity, represents a student whose meaning-making process is significantly influenced by where he is located in his development and understanding of self. king and baxter-magolda refer to the interpersonal as how the students envision themselves in relation to others. this interpersonal influence is illustrated by the contradicting opinions of the groups with different racial identities. students such as kabir, devide and tebogo, who candidly shared that they experience afrikaner students as racist, utilise this perception as a platform for how they make meaning of interactions with these students. both the intrapersonal and interpersonal influence depends on the particular student. as an example, akani, who also identified as african, recognised the discord between racial groups, but due to his intrapersonal understanding, he has engaged and created meaningful relationships with white students. yet, while the intrapersonal and interpersonal aspects are significant in how these students make meaning of cross-racial interaction, the historical and institutional forces that surround them shape them. the second theme, ‘english vs. afrikaner’, speaks to the role that the historical legacy of oppression has contributed to how students make meaning of crossracial interaction. jansen (2009) refers to this when discussing his theoretical framework of hoffman’s (2002) indirect knowledge, whereby ‘knowledge’ or ‘history’ is transmitted from 48 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 generation to generation as truth. students such as lisel demonstrated this when discussing why her classmates were not as academically prepared as herself. her justification is part of a narrative that has been passed down from generation to generation. at one point, lisel mentioned that her father is racist, but that she does not disagree with his sentiments. jansen (2009) uses indirect knowledge as a method to understand the afrikaner student experience, but i argue that the transmission of a history can be extended to numerous racial groups. from the perspective of crt, this can be considered recognising the historical legacy of racism, or the fact that racism is a normalised aspect of society woven through social, legal and governmental institutions (delgado, 2001). when asking akani and lisel, who were interviewed at the same time, if they believe that apartheid affects people’s interactions currently, lisel shared, “i think it’s in the back of people’s minds.” akani supported this sentiment when he stated, “i think so as well, because we still have that issue that they did this, they did that, we are still pointing at the other.” while these students have never experienced legalised apartheid in their lifetime, they are deeply affected by the society created by it. the third theme, ‘segregation’, speaks to the institutional structures that discourage students from forming meaningful relationships across race. as demonstrated in the present study, two current institutional aspects are the language policies and dorming options (i.e. giving the students the option of which type of hostel they would like to reside in). according to the students in this study, structures such as these have created and enforced a campus divided by race. considering all three of the aspects –intrapersonal and interpersonal, historical and institutional together – we must recognise that they are all intertwined. for the most part, all three of these themes were employed as students were making meaning of their interactions with racially diverse peers. like the socio-political climate of south africa, the students’ meaning-making process is layered and complex. this is evident in the large discrepancy between the perceptions of how interactions with racially diverse peers have shifted since the end of apartheid. while some students claimed that they do not see race, others explicitly recognise the residual effects of apartheid. they extend these sentiments beyond their college campus, to their experiences in life in general. as lisel and akani explained, one of the most difficult aspects of interacting with racially diverse peers was bringing them home to their family: l: the biggest barrier is the homing thing, that is the biggest difference because i know that she is from a more poor family and i feel guilty when she sees what i have, and that is always a barrier. and it just makes you feel bad. [do you feel the same way?] a: i do, seriously, i do, because it would be bad if one day if my friends could visit me at home because you look at their living standards, and there is a big difference between white people and black people. you feel bad, you don’t want make people feel guilty. samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 49 as lisel and akani recognise, interactions become even more difficult when taking them outside the university setting. while this indicates that cross-racial interaction outside of the realm of higher education may be far more difficult than that within, it also presents institutions of higher education as a place where students can begin to work together collaboratively across race, and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their peers. moving forward this investigation has yielded numerous insights, and contributes to the topic of cross-racial interaction in many ways. in addition to contributing to the extant literature on cross-racial interaction in south africa, it validates the need to study this complicated issue further. future studies may consider a more structured approach to interviewing students, so as to retain their undivided attention. namely this would entail interviewing at least five students of each race, in a quiet, private place designated for interviews. although i was quite impressed with the students’ ability to speak about this topic in public, i believe that a more secure space would allow the researcher to delve deeper into the narrative and unearth additional meaningmaking processes. i suggest increasing the number of students in the study, both to retrieve multiple perspectives from the same race as well as to reach saturation on topics and themes. additionally, it is important to note that this study focused solely on how students were shaped by the interactions with their peers. future students may consider asking questions that include how the messages that they receive from faculty, classes, course materials and media outlets (tv, radio, newspapers etc.) shape how they make meaning of cross-racial interaction. this being said, it may be helpful to situate the data gleaned above, within the context of the campus racial climate. hurtado, alvarez, guillermo-wann, cuellar and arellano’s (2012) model of diverse learning environments (dle) considers the sociohistorical context, policy context, institutional context, community context and external commitments to yield a climate for diversity. utilising a tool such as this to gauge the racial climate of the campus would allow for a holistic look at the numerous factors affecting cross-racial interaction prior to focusing on the interactions themselves. in addition to replicating, contextualising and expanding the current study, future research may include quantitative exploration of the campus racial climate and cross-racial interactions. contrary to the studies on cross-racial interaction in the united states, which are almost exclusively quantitative, all the studies regarding this topic in south africa are qualitative in nature. while the narrative approach certainly provides a thick description of how students make cross-racial interaction in a post-apartheid era, quantitative data may help to support the policy and structural initiatives suggested earlier. in addition to complementing the qualitative data gathered on this topic, a quantitative study may assist in determining the positive outcomes that result from cross-racial interaction for south africa, rather than relying on an american framework. in terms of current practice, institutions may consider structural changes they can impart to encourage cross-racial interaction. this could come in the form of mandatory first-year seminars for all students offered in english (the common denominator language), residential living-learning communities that address topics of social justice and equity, 50 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 2 (1) 2014, 35–54 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.14426/jsaa.v2i1.48 creating co-curricular groups that engage students across race, and reconsidering and redesigning dual language policies. many opportunities to engage students in productive cross-racial interaction, but institutions must willingly embrace and support these measures. implications for student affairs practitioners granted, the structural suggestions above will need the support of student affairs practitioners in south africa that seek to bridge the gap between university students of different races. this has the potential to force student affairs practitioners not only to engage in these conversations with their students, but also to take a look at their own personal disposition towards interacting with racially diverse peers, and their level of comfort facilitating conversations regarding the topic of cross-racial interaction. this starts with taking stock of their own personal and social memberships, and being reflective about how these interact with their practice and students. to facilitate these conversations among students, student affairs practitioners may consider utilising the pedagogy of intergroup dialogue, a programme created to engage students of varying racial identities (zuniga, naagda & sevig, 2010). through sustained dialogue, intergroup dialogue “provides a forum that fosters honest, thoughtful and significant conversations about difficult or controversial issues across race.” (zuniga et al., 2010, p.7) as zuniga et al. explain, intergroup dialogue pedagogy relies on understanding systemised oppression, discussing differences and commonalities, building awareness and connecting students of different identities. south african universities would greatly benefit from this approach to cross-racial interaction, but the curriculum is yet to be built. current student affairs practitioners in south africa may help to create a curriculum that speaks to the unique history of south africa, in an effort to build bridges across different racial groups on campus. in order to reflect purposefully and build initiatives that encourage cross-racial interaction, it is essential that student affairs practitioners engage in professional development that assists them in navigating these complicated conversations. this can include conferences, training or coursework that focus on incorporating social justice pedagogies and an equity mindset throughout their daily practice and professional endeavours. conclusion this exploratory study has illustrated that the new generation of students is not done talking about race. on the contrary, it appears as if many of these students haven’t even started. while all of student participants were informative, i was particularly impressed by the conversation held between lisel and akani, as it was incredible to witness these two students from such different backgrounds in conversation with each other. they spoke candidly, agreeing on the difficulties of being friends with diverse peers, and disagreeing on topics such as affirmative action. lisel and akani engaged in this dialogue without anger, and without blame. they served as model for the fact that south african students can find a way to interact across race. akani seemed to have a deep sense of self, and had crossed racial borders in an uncharacteristic manner. at the end of our interview he concluded: samantha shapses wertheim: cross-racial interactions sa 51 “i think it all starts from your mindset. do you want to let go of the past, and say he is white but the colour doesn’t matter, can we become friends? and i found that if you have such a mindset, then you can have more friendships. sometimes i look at my white friends and i think to myself, wow, how did i get used to white people, and i think it all starts with your mindset, what you are thinking about when you see white people, and if we have the right mindset, then your transition can then be smooth.” 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(2011). race in north america: the origin and evolution of a worldview (4th ed.). boulder: westview. strauss, a. l., & corbin, j. (1990). basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. newbury park: sage. tatum, b. d. (1992). talking about race, learning about racism: the application of racial identity development theory in the classroom. harvard educational review, 62, 1–24. walker, m. (2005). rainbow nation or new racism? theorising race and identity formation in south african higher education. race ethnicity and education, 8(2), 129–146. willis, j. w. (2007) foundations of qualitative research. thousand oaks: sage. woods, r. l. (2001). transformation and pedagogy: expressions from vista and the university of zululand. in mabokela r. o., king k. l. (eds.), apartheid no more: case studies of southern african universities in the process of transformation. westport: bergin & garvey. zúñiga, x., biren ratnesh, a. naagda & todd d. sevig (2002) intergroup dialogues: an educational model for cultivating engagement across differences, equity & excellence in education, 35:1, 7–17. doi: 10.1080/713845248 abstract this paper offers a critical review of the adopted academic advising strategies at the durban university of technology. it is worth acknowledging that academic advising as a scholarly practice is in its developmental stage at south african tertiary institutions. the paper draws on the experiences of the authors as academic advisors to reflect on the strengths and challenges of the practice of academic advising. it interrogates and analyses the authors’ experiences vis-à-vis the extant literature on academic advising practices. in this way, the paper engages and advances best practices while simultaneously contributing to the body of literature on academic advising in south africa. keywords academic advising, higher education, first-year students, student support, academic excellence introduction south african higher education institutions (heis) are committed to finding ways of creating and developing a productive relationship with all students. the establishment of affable relationships with all the students (including postgraduate students) is an objective that is considered mutually beneficial in heis. a healthy relationship between individual students and the institution increases the prospect of meeting students’ needs; thus pleasant academic experiences are created. the obvious need for intervention into students’ academic journeys research article a critical review of the adopted academic advising approaches at the durban university of technology: unpacking its strengths and challenges timothy aduojo obajei & rosheena jeawonii i timothy aduojo obaje, academic development practitioner, taobaje@gmail.com, timothyo@dut.ac.za, durban university of technology, orcid: 0000-0001-8568-6889 ii rosheena jeawon, academic development practitioner, jeawond@gmail.com, rosheenaj@dut.ac.za, durban university of technology, orcid: 0000-0003-0704-0593 17timothy aduojo obaje & rosheena jeawon as a pathway to enhanced academic experiences, and ultimately to improve throughput rates, presents challenges in determining the best way to address this need (khauoe, 2020; botha, 2010; & kanakana et al., 2010). one of the many deficits which (subject to one’s school of thought) may equally be considered as a strength, is the lack of a common approach that could be adapted by all institutions in the country. although the unavailability of such a uniform approach is generally perceived as a shortfall, this paper favours the inherent strength of a diversified approach to support students’ academic experiences across south african heis. hence, this paper offers a critical review of strengths and challenges that are pertinent to the academic advising strategies of the durban university of technology (dut). academic advising as a professional and scholarly practice at many south african heis is in a developmental phase. in this paper, the authors interrogate and analyse their experiences vis-à-vis the extant literature on academic advising practices. in this way, the paper’s recognition of some of the best practices in academic advising contributes to the advancement of improved academic advising practices in south african heis. historical background to academic advising at the durban university of technology the white paper for post-school education and training of the department of higher education and training (dhet, 2014) asserts the need to develop graduates with the skills and competencies that establish the fundamentals for lifelong learning. these include critical, analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, as well as the ability to deal with change, diversity, and in particular the tolerance of different views and ideas. this places a high demand and expectation on the south african heis to reposition them with the goal of attaining the abovementioned white paper’s objective. it is common knowledge that the vision and objectives of the white paper for post-school education and training (dhet, 2014), which link with the idea of “free higher education”, present heis with added challenges. this was uniquely affirmed by pinheiro (2019, p. iv) in his assertion of the significant levels of pressure which confront the heis, where there is a responsibility to support large numbers of students with varying needs, backgrounds, priorities, and expectations. he further notes that “it is within this dynamic context that the south african council on higher education implemented the quality enhancement project (qep) and the department of higher education and training (dhet) devised the university capacity development programme (ucdp)” (pinheiro, 2019, p. iv). it is noteworthy that these university-wide interventions (qep and ucdp) were designed to systemically enhance higher education in south africa without surrendering or jeopardising academic excellence in our institutions. the figure below, which is a product of a report by the dhet and the annual report of the dut, underscores poor throughput rates across the heis in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 17-29 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3658 18 figure 1 dut institution and national total percentage of graduates for three-year undergraduate qualifications in contact tuition comparable to the statistics of university students’ national throughput rate, the 2018 annual report of the dut displays similar trends in the throughput rate of its students during the same period. despite the fact that the dut’s graduate throughput rate exceeded the national average, it is worth emphasising that a 50% throughput rate is still below the desired rate. the graph in figure 1 makes an indispensable case for the provision of a deliberate and strategically developed programme that is geared towards students’ academic development and success. beyond throughput rates, students’ under-preparedness is a cause for national concern; the dut is no exception. according to schreiber (2007), the unpreparedness of students is compounded by the fact that some students from rural areas seemingly cannot function effectively in the city-style university environment. the exclusive use of english as the medium of instruction, finding suitable accommodation, and financial challenges compound students’ challenges to have productive academic experiences. in response to the poor throughput rates and in line with global trends, many south african heis are now making a conscious and concerted effort to enhance the performance of their existing students through a variety of student interventions. academic advising is one such student development intervention at the dut. the centre for excellence in learning and teaching (celt) steers the academic advising intervention. celt is a centre that remains pivotal to the enhancement of quality learning, teaching, and assessment across all academic programmes which are offered at the dut. 19timothy aduojo obaje & rosheena jeawon it is positioned to advance and drive the attainment of the dut’s envision20301 through its execution and fulfilment of the four interlinked areas in academic development, which include student development, staff development, curriculum development, and institutional development. within the ambit of student development, the dut offers a variety of student support services in addition to academic advising. these include but are not limited to the first year students’ experience, the residential education programme, and the technology for learning. the next section delves into the discourse of academic advising as evident in the extant literature, with a particular interest in the theoretical underpinnings that guide the provision of academic advising at dut. academic advising defined generally, academic advising is construed as a process where appointed academic advisors provide ongoing guidance, information sharing, and other relevant support (both academic and non-academic) to students to improve their higher education experiences and to promote their success (medernach, 2018). there is a widespread understanding that the concept of academic advising was initiated in the united states of america. considering the benefits associated with it, the trends of academic advising was exported to and implemented in other north american countries. through such exportation and adaptation, the concepts spread to universities across the world. its widespread adoption fostered rapid advancement of academic advising, and this is displayed in the chronological history of academic advising in table 1 below. table 1 chronological history of academic advising era description first era: (1620 – 1870) the first era lasted between 1620 and 1870 and was characterised by a prescriptive approach to academic advising second era: (1870–1970 in the second era (1870–1970), student advising as a concept was yet to be articulated. nevertheless, heis were beginning to provide basic informal forms of educational support (shandro et al., 2020, p. 318) third era: (1970 – 2003) the process associated with student advising had gained predominant importance within universities; these efforts corresponded to the needs and efforts to acknowledge, understand, and address students’ needs at universities 1 envision2030 shows the dna strands of the dut and facilitate dut’s community’s comprehension of the institution’s strategic perspectives. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 17-29 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3658 20 era description fourth era: (2003 – undefined) the fourth era had continued from 2003 onwards and continues up to the immediate past. this era was defined by its effort to establish formal educational councils to monitor students’ needs fifth era: characterised by technological advancement the fifth historical era may be understood as the current phase of academic advising; this is the era with an increased invasion of technology in the academic advising space based on the views of cardona (2019, p. 1830) and jones (2019, p. 450), the history of academic advising can be delineated in four phases, and with increasing arguments for a fifth phase. there is no direct correlation between the eras and the approaches to academic advising. this implies that the first era does not solely translate to the first approach to academic advising. building onto this understanding, the first and second eras in the development of academic advising were dominated by the prescriptive approach to academic advising, given its status as the pioneered approach that generally guided academic advisors. the prescriptive approach is renowned for its use of set protocols that guide actions taken by the advisor, and also for its distinct power dynamic between the advisor and the advisee (crookston, 2009). within the frame of this form of advising, the advisor-advisee relationship is strongly guided by the advisor’s authority in relation to the student. the students are simply instructed on the line of action that they should take to achieve set goals. barbuto et al. (2011) encapsulated this approach as the student’s adherence to the advisor’s input; whereas drake (2011, p. 10) holds that “prescriptive advising involves limiting advising sessions to academic matters such as course selection, the process of registration, and explanations of degree curricula”. elsewhere, prescriptive advising is understood as a “one-directional” approach. it entails a direct transfer of information from the advisor to the student (recipient), which results in somewhat passive participation of students in the advising processes. it was on this basis that lowenstein (2009) claimed that the prescriptive model constitutes little more than book-keeping, in the sense that it does not encourage a sense of growth and/or development within the student and/or the advisoradvisee relationship. in summary, the alleged loopholes of the prescriptive approach underscore its superficial and partial nature. consequently, this approach denies students and the advisor the opportunity to make a positive difference in the life of the student in this unique phase of their journey in life. the third and fourth eras saw a series of evolution and development in the comprehension, process, and objective of academic advising. these account for the rapid progression of academic advising to include developmental, learning-centred, strength-based, and appreciative approaches. the need for active and engaged student participation in their academic development and learning experiences became evident in the 1970s in a comprehensive set of observations about the value of student-faculty relations. hardee (1970), cited in grites (2013, p. 5), advocated for the holistic education of students kkk 21timothy aduojo obaje & rosheena jeawon that embodies intellectual, emotional, physical, social, vocational, moral, economic, and aesthetical development. this insight has greatly inspired thinking about the advancement of the developmental approach to academic advising. it advocated a collaborative mind set in advising students; a collaborative disposition encourages a close student-advisor relationship, ehwhich is intended to aid students in achieving educational, career, and personal goals through the utilisation of the full range of institutional and community resources (winston et al., p. 1982). in light of this understanding, writers such as appleby (2008) view developmental advising as a gradual reallocation of responsibilities for their development from the advisors to the students. in so doing, the students will cultivate the value of accountability, as well as the development of problem-solving and decision-making skills. the learning-centred approach focuses on the academic competence of the students. consequently, academic advising within the framework of this approach strives to meet academic-oriented goals rather than developmental goals (kerr, 2018). a key theoretical difference between learning-centred and developmental approaches is that in learning-centred approaches, the advisor performs a teaching role in the life of the student. the fundamental tenet of the strengths-based theory is a focus on identifying and working with students’ strengths instead of applying deficit remediation when students struggle at university. in strengths-based approaches, students’ talents are used as the foundation for advising and everything the processes entailed, including career planning and addressing non-academic concerns that students might express. appreciative advisors work with students to identify strengths, sources of motivation, and potential by using a process of positive questioning (hudson & bloom, 2007; truschel, 2008). this approach assumes that levels of student motivation and persistence peak when institutional expectations align with student perceptions of ability. hence, the appreciative advisor focuses on attaining this alignment with the student (truschel, 2008) by means of action-oriented, positive questioning, and the use of positive, supportive language. the fifth era is characterised by technological advancement. as evident in tyton partners’ (2015) assertion, technology is becoming increasingly popular as a means of creating and maintaining effective student advising systems at heis. this consultancy holds that between 2015 and 2017, the number of south african heis that reported on the use of technology to enhance student advising has increased from 32% to 53%. the advent of technology in academic advising offers enormous benefits given the inherent advantages of technology in education. technology provides fast and efficient ways for advising systems to contact university students. it is cost-effective and it can be centralised as a feature on the university’s student advising webpage for easy access, thereby reassuring students that their queries are taken seriously and that a response is delivered timeously. globally, one of the key challenges to academic advising is the lack of trained professionals where journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 17-29 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3658 22 in the field mikluscak (2010), in his study of training and development provided to community college academic advisors, re-echoed that advisors with the appropriate knowledge and expertise could help students overcome adversities. he noted that without skilful advisors to guide them, students rarely discovered the persistence necessary to successfully navigate the challenges of higher education, and found themselves dropping out within the first year (mikluscak, 2010). he further asserted that the lack of training and development for advisors contributed to deficiencies in advising services. the study conducted by ayuk and koma (2019) demonstrated that the ratio of permanent academic staff to students in public south african heis has progressively improved from 55 students in 2016 to 51 in 2019. in contrast to this, the ratio of academic advisors to registered students at the south africa heis calls for urgent attention. similar to the dut, many heis in south africa employ the services of one academic advisor for an entire faculty, college, or department. practices of this nature undermine the inherent worth of academic advising services, thus making the realisation of the academic advising vision and objectives unattainable. at the dut, academic advising is a developmental process that assists students with the clarification of their life/career goals and with the development of educational plans for the realisation of these goals. the advisor serves as a facilitator of communication, as a coordinator of learning experiences through the course and career planning and academic progress review, and as an agent of referral to other university agencies. the following section builds on this understanding of academic advising at the dut to unpack the institution’s adopted academic advising approaches. theoretical underpinnings and approaches to academic advising at the durban university of technology as acknowledged above, academic advising is informed by a variety of theories subject to the contextual realities of each institution. the various foundational theories include student development, cognitive development, career development, learning, decision-making, multiculturalism, retention, personality, moral development, and adult development (creamer, 2000). at the dut, academic advising is informed by the cognitive development theory. in the context of this theory, the institution adopts intrusive and proactive approaches for its academic advising practices. the following section discusses a synopsis of the cognitive-developmental theory and how it informs academic advising practices at the dut. synopsis of the cognitive development theories various theorists have, over time, engaged with cognitive developmental theories. scholars such as giligan (1982), kitchener and king (1981), and kohlberg (1984) understood cognitive 23timothy aduojo obaje & rosheena jeawon development as an ongoing advancement through irreversible, ordered stages of cognitive structure that organises how experiences are perceived and how reasoning functions. cognitive theories analyse people’s thinking processes, rationality, and perceptions of reality around them, with the understanding that “development occurs when [an individual’s] cognitive structure is changed, thus enabling new ways of incorporating experience” (creamer, 2000, p. 23). such transformation or change occurs when individuals are confronted with the experiences that demand a rethink of prior experiences, long-held beliefs, reconstructed reactions, and answers to events and circumstances. these theories inform and explain the dut’s institutional practice of academic advising. academic advising within this institutional context is considered to be an interactive process through which the advisor engages with students to set and achieve their academic goals. according to creamer (1994, p. 19), “developmental academic advising is the use of interactive teaching, counselling and administrative strategies to assist students to achieve specific learning developmental and life goals.” in a similar vein, tinto (2014) considers academic advising as to the interaction between student engagement and valuable student-staff interactions that allows students to see themselves as valued members of institutional communities. within the broad spectrum of cognitive-developmental theories, academic advising at the dut adopts intrusive and proactive approaches in the delivery of their services. durban university of technology’s adopted approaches to academic advising this section engages with the approaches to academic advising adopted by the dut. in addition, it offers a rationale for the implementation of the integrative and proactive (intrusive) approaches to academic advising. academic advising at the dut is informed by the embedded strengths and potentials of the integrative and proactive/intrusive approaches. as a result, advising at the dut adopts a hybrid model that employs best practices from the integrative and the proactive approaches to academic advising. the integrative and proactive (intrusive) approaches the integrative approach is the product and reflection of the core values of the national academic advising association (nacada). this approach attempts to delineate the responsibilities of academic advisors in their relationship with students. the approach borrows and combines various aspects from each of the other theoretical models; it largely depends on the needs and/or concerns of each individual student within a given advising session (nacada, 2017). the reductive advising technique is consistently utilised in the advising context. according to church (2006) cited in pinheiro (2019, p. 35), “reductive advising is a strategy that uses deduction to help students decide which courses to choose in assembling a journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 17-29 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3658 24 coherent curriculum for their degree”. this technique is adopted and utilised in the facilitation of students’ comprehension and acquisition of decision-making skills. the intrusive approach is also known as the proactive approach to academic advising; it is more pre-emptive in its dealings with students. central to the proactive approach to academic advising is its anticipatory disposition. this approach inspires the advisors to deliberately search for potential issues, concerns, and/or stumbling blocks that could negatively interfere with students’ academic journey and success. according to pinheiro (2019 p. 36), “in proactiveintrusive approaches, advising processes are not confined to traditional advising spaces. instead, the relevant information is obtained from other locations based on campus, including classroom spaces” from lecturers, the department, and the faculty at large to provide timeous and valuable interventions. at the dut, the intrusive-proactive approach to academic advising emphasises consistent contact with students, lecturers, and students’ departments; awareness of students’ potential; and actual challenges, early interventions, goals, expectations, needs, and practical tasks. the adoption of this mixed approach to academic advising helps to position academic advising at the dut as a safe, effective, and valuable place of support to students in their academic journey. it facilitates the institution’s journey with each student in providing a variety of resources and support towards rewarding learning experiences, personal growth, and development. best practices of academic advising at the durban university of technology: unpacking its strengths and challenges consistent with existing literature, the identified strengths in the best practices of academic advising at the dut include collaboration and promotion of accountability, whereas the recognised challenges include lack of capacity and required resources. academic advising at the dut, as previously mentioned, is underpinned by the broad cognitive-developmental theoretical perspectives, while employing the strengths of the intrusive and proactive approaches in every sphere of academic advising. collaboration with colleagues in the student academic development units and with non-academic support units is an indispensable aspect of our strategy. cross-unit collaboration is a positive element of academic advising at the dut; this has also been confirmed in other studies related to collaboration in the academic environment (e.g. bourbous & bavaro, 2013). the effort and success in working with the writing centre, student counselling office, student residence unit, and even with the faculty staff is critical to the successful delivery of academic advising services. the advent of academic advising at the dut was instrumental in building bridges between the various student support units. as academic advisors, the collaborative approach expedited our ability to reach out, thus increasing the level and quality of engagement with students. the collective 25timothy aduojo obaje & rosheena jeawon approach to decision-making in certain situations and services delivered to students enriches the value of the services offered. student observation of such collaboration helps to better encourage the students’ reception and valuation of our services. in simple terms, some of the services rendered to our students would not have been possible without the students’ counselling office, where counselling was required to realign students to their academic and life goals. from a managerial perspective, the collaborative element in the academic advising delivery process is drawing attention to issues of accountability and responsibility towards one another as colleagues, and towards the students who are the beneficiaries of the services. as noted by mactaggert (2017, p. 1), “twentieth-century leadership approaches will no longer suffice the need of contemporary society is acknowledged.” the challenges and higher performance expectations from institution management, threats of student unrest, and the severe competition for students and resources necessitate the development of a collaborated and less fragmented approach, to increase the likelihood of delivering on student success. academic advisors’ collaborative skills are instrumental in harnessing the strengths of like-minded units in joint efforts towards the realisation of each stakeholder’s objectives. the referral system is of particular significance in academic advisors’ delivery of their services. at a secondary level, the referral process and generic collaboration at various levels produce unintended consequences such as keeping watch over one another’s services, which ultimately leads to improved quality of services offered to the students. the sudden outbreak of the global covid-19 pandemic adds a unique twist to the delivery of accountability in academic advising services. the pandemic has resulted in the shift of services provided in contact mode or within classrooms to digital platforms (demuyakor, 2020). it has been illustrated that adaptation of learning through digital platforms has been difficult for both students and teachers, and many students have been psychologically demotivated. in response to these challenges, the implementation of academic advising programmes was valuable in promoting the accountability of various stakeholders to the students. this was promoted through the academic advisors’ consistent demand of the university community’s synchronous and asynchronous service provision to the students. thus, the dut was effective within the south african context in advancing best practices in its support and services to the students. conclusion this article has reviewed the adopted academic advising approaches at the dut through its enquiry into the experiences of academic advisors in the institutions. the article has offered an opportunity to share and reflect on best practices of academic advising, as evidenced in the collaboration between the advisors, students, and other stakeholders in this institution of higher journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 17-29 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3658 26 learning. a key aspect of this article is its emphasis on the strategic position of collaboration in the delivery of effective and impactful academic advising services. the article demonstrates the interrelated and interdependent nature of student academic and nonacademic support services. an effective academic advising service inherently relies on the well-being and availability of other stakeholders to collaborate with the goal of rendering much-needed support to the students. the article has also highlighted a serious challenge of the dearth of trained academic advisors in higher institutions. the ratio of advisors to students still 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(2020). factors impacting postgraduate throughput rates at a south african university of technology doctoral dissertation, cape peninsula university of technology. kitchener, k. s. & king, p.m. (1981). reflective judgment: concepts in justification and their relationship to age and education. journal of applied developmental psychology. 2(2), 89–116 kohlberg, l. (1984). the psychology of moral development: essays on moral development (vol. 2). harper & row. lowenstein, m. (2009). if advising is teaching, what do advisors teach? nacada journal, 29(1), 123–131. mactaggert, t. (2017). the 21st century presidency: a call to enterprise leadership. association of governing boards of universities and colleges. https://agb.org/trusteeship-article/the-21stcentury-presidency-a-call-to-enterpriseleadership/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 17-29 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3658 28 medernach, r. (2018, april 8). intrusive advising and student success. https://richardmedernach. wordpress.com/2018/04/08/intrusive-advising-andstudent-success/. mikluscak jr, g. s. (2010). a qualitative inquiry into the training and development provided to community college academic advisors. university of phoenix. pinheiro, g. (2019). overview of the history and evolution of student advising. university of the witwatersrand. schreiber, b. m. (2007). students and their presenting concerns at a student counselling service at a south african university. south african journal of higher education, 21(5), 527–535. shandro, j., kessler, r., schrepel, c., & jauregui, j., (2020). advising medical students during covid‐19: the case for a single emergency medicine rotation for all. aem education & training, 4(3), 318–320. tinto, v. (2014). tinto’s south africa lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5–28. truschel, j. (2008). does the use of appreciative advising work? learning assistance review, 13(2), 7–16. tyton partners. (2015). the evolution of student advising in higher education (part 1: state of the student advising field.) https://tytonpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tyton_ planningadvising1.1.pdf winston, r. b., jr., ender, s. c., & miller, t. k. (eds.). (1982). developmental approaches to academic advising. jossey-bass. 29timothy aduojo obaje & rosheena jeawon https://tytonpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tyton_ planningadvising1.1.pdf https://tytonpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tyton_ planningadvising1.1.pdf journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 163-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781   163 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article facilitating first-year student adjustment: towards a model for intentional peer mentoring angelique mcconney* & magda fourie-malherbe** abstract attrition of first-year university students remains a global problem, and this is also of great concern in south african higher education. in an effort to address this challenge, many higher education institutions offer peer mentoring programmes to assist first-year students with their adjustment to university life, in order to improve their retention. however, evidence of the effectiveness of such peer mentoring programmes is still limited. this article intends to contribute in this regard. stellenbosch university introduced its bewell peer mentoring programme in 2013. in addition to providing psycho-social support, mentors offer developmental initiatives on holistic wellness to assist first-year students with their adjustment. after an institution-wide roll-out of the programme, the question arose whether the bewell peer mentoring programme actually assisted first-year students in adjusting to campus life. in order to answer this question a research study with a sequential mixed-method design was employed. our study found that adjustment outcomes were influenced by the intensity of peer mentoring participating students received. mentor attributes, time invested in mentoring, reasons for mentoring and the wellness component of the programme all influenced the peer mentoring received. the findings underscored the importance of selecting intentional mentors, and effective programme implementation and monitoring. a model for intentional peer mentoring is proposed, to optimise the programme outcomes. other institutions with similar programmes could also benefit from the proposed model. keywords mentoring, peer mentoring, first-year adjustment, first-year experience introduction many first-year students embark on their university journey with great excitement, often oblivious to the multiple transitions that await them. adjusting to their new educational environment is a complex and challenging process that entails coping with a range of interpersonal, social, academic and institutional demands (credé & niehorster, 2012). adjustment is a multi-dimensional process of interaction between an individual and his/ * angelique mcconney is a senior clinical psychologist and peer help programme coordinator of emthonjeni student wellness, nelson mandela university, south africa. email: angelique.mcconney@ mandela.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-8741-7129. ** magda fourie-malherbe is professor emerita of curriculum studies in the faculty of education at stellenbosch university, south africa. email: mfourie@sun.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-8351-6111. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:angelique.mcconney@mandela.ac.za mailto:angelique.mcconney@mandela.ac.za mailto:mfourie@sun.ac.za 164   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 163-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781 her environment, whereby the individual develops effective coping strategies in order to adapt to the new environment and the various demands it brings (baker & siryk, 2015). baker and siryk (2015) argue that the university environment requires students to adopt coping responses along four adjustment domains: academic adjustment, social adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment and institutional adjustment (attachment). the inability to adjust in the first year puts first-year students at risk of leaving prematurely (tinto, 2012). while first-year attrition is a global problem (beer & lawson, 2017; tinto, 2012), this is of particular concern in the south african context where attrition rates are highest amongst the previously underserved groups of black african and coloured students who still represent low participation rates in the system (che, 2013). research has found that adjustment challenges can either directly lead to attrition (abdullah et al., 2010; credé & niehorster, 2012), or indirectly as inadequate adjustment could lead to poor academic performance resulting in attrition (credé & niehorster, 2012). peer mentoring programmes have become pivotal in the formal support offered to first-year students as a means of facilitating adjustment ( jacobi, 1991) and improving retention (shotton et al., 2007; ward et al., 2012). in spite of the popularity of peer mentoring programmes, however, there is still limited research available on the outcomes of these programmes (grant-vallone & ensher, 2000; knowles & parsons, 2006) and their effects on first-year adjustment. in its efforts to best support first-year students, stellenbosch university in south africa introduced the bewell peer mentoring programme in 2013. the study on which this article reports, investigated the adjustment outcomes of the bewell peer mentoring programme, in an attempt to gain reliable data on whether the programme was achieving its goal of assisting first-year students in their adjustment to university, and to contribute to filling the gap in knowledge on the outcomes of peer mentoring programmes in higher education. literature review defining peer mentoring mentoring relationships are complex, which makes mentoring difficult to define (gehrke, 1988) and while there are many definitions of mentoring, the mentoring literature still lacks a widely accepted definition of the concept (crisp & cruz, 2009; egege & kutieleh, 2015; jacobi, 1991; lane, 2020). for the purposes of this study the following campbell and campbell (1997, p.  727) definition was considered to be the most appropriate: mentoring is “a situation in which a more experienced member of an organisation maintains a relationship with a less-experienced, often new member to the organisation, and provides information, support, and guidance so as to enhance the less-experienced member’s chances of success in the organisation.” in traditional forms of mentoring, the more experienced member of the organisation is usually a staff member (campell & campbell, 1997), whereas in peer mentoring initiatives, the more experienced member is a peer (terrion & leonard, 2007). while there is no angelique mcconney & magda fourie-malherbe: facilitating first-year student adjustment …   165 widely accepted definition of mentoring, the literature reports common functions that the mentor performs in relation to the mentee. these usually include a psycho-social and role modelling function (crisp & cruz, 2009; jacobi, 1991; kram, 1983; kram & isabella, 1985), and a career and professional development function ( jacobi, 1991; kram, 1983; kram & isabella, 1985), but could also include academic subject knowledge support (crisp & cruz, 2009) and a liaison function (holt & lopez, 2014). peer mentoring and adjustment numerous studies indicate a positive relationship between adjustment and attrition (abdullah et al., 2010; credé & niehorster, 2012; gerdes & mallinckrodt, 1994; krotseng, 1992), hence the primary purpose of peer mentoring programmes is often to assist students with adjustment during the first year (collings et al., 2014; allen et al., 1999; grant-vallone & eshner, 2000; treston, 1999), as a means of improving retention. various studies have reported peer mentoring programmes as being effective in buffering the transition from school to university for first-year students (collings et al., 2014; etzel et al., 2018; swart et al., 2019). in their qualitative study, swart et al. (2019) found that first-year engineering students who participated in a peer mentoring programme, reported that the programme assisted them in adapting to the higher education environment. similarly, yüksela and bahadır-yılmazb (2019) found that a peer mentoring programme had a positive effect on the adjustment of nursing students. collings et al. (2014) also found that peer mentoring moderated the effects of the transition to university in terms of social support, positive affect and self-esteem. etzel et al. (2018), too, found that a peer mentoring programme aided pharmacy students in their adjustment during their first year. in a recent study done in south africa, joorst (2021) found that the guidance and support offered by mentors assisted first-year students in a bridging course to adjust to university. while the benefits of peer mentoring programmes are widely acknowledged, some studies have underscored factors that contribute to differences in peer mentoring outcomes. a study by phinney et al. (2011) found that a good mentor-mentee connection was associated with the mentee’s sense of belonging to the university, highlighting the quality of the mentor-mentee relationships. holt and lopez (2014) emphasised the importance of contact time, as their study found that variations in contact time inf luenced perceptions of support received, with mentees who reported less contact time also reporting lower levels of support received. the level of participation from the mentee, according to smith (2007), is another important aspect of peer mentoring, as high participation from mentees often strengthens the peer mentoring relationship and increases the benefits of the programme. goff (2011) also found that students with greater attendance, benefitted more from participation in the programme. tremblay and rodger (2003), too, highlighted the importance of participation and concluded that the level of participation by mentees inf luences the outcomes of peer mentoring programs. these findings are significant, as they underscore the importance of how peer mentoring programmes are implemented, and the effect this has on programme outcomes. 166   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 163-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781 the bewell peer mentoring programme the programme is offered by the centre for student communities, which is part of the student affairs division of stellenbosch university. broadly, the bewell peer mentoring programme, pairs first-year students (mentees) with senior students (mentors), to support their transition to the university environment. upon arrival on campus during the welcoming period, all first-year students are assigned a mentor. this is done within the residence or private student organisation (pso) environment the first-year student is affiliated to. the primary responsibility for implementation of the programme, therefore, lies within the individual residence or pso environments, while the programme coordinator fulfils an oversight role. the programme has a two-pronged approach to facilitating the adjustment of firstyear students. on the one hand mentors offer psycho-social support to first-year students (a common function of peer mentoring programmes), and on the other, they facilitate formal developmental initiatives that focus on holistic wellness (botha & cilliers, 2012). the aim is to facilitate the adjustment of first-year students through a combination of psycho-social support and the optimization of holistic wellness (botha & cilliers, 2012; du plessis, 2015). to achieve this, mentors are expected to offer individual psycho-social support to their mentees, when required, and to facilitate at least six wellness sessions with their group of mentees. the wellness component of the programme is embedded in the holistic wellness model of hettler (1984), which includes six wellness domains: intellectual, emotional, social, physical, spiritual and occupational wellness (botha & cilliers, 2012). additionally, first-year students are supported by an individualised wellness website with numerous resources such as assessments, e-books, audiobooks, e-workshops and journals (du plessis, 2015). new mentors are recruited annually in every residence and pso. seeing that mentors are not recruited via a centralised system, the recruitment criteria may differ. mentor training takes place twice: the first opportunity is provided shortly after their selection (in the final term of the preceding year), followed by a second training session before the arrival of the first-year students the following year. the first training session focuses on the role and duties of a mentor, as well as on the implementation of the six wellness components of the peer mentoring programme. mentors are trained extensively in the different wellness domains and are provided with “wellness cards” to facilitate wellness discussions with their mentor groups. the cards contain definitions of wellness, as well as suggested activities to guide mentors in engaging their first-year mentees in discussions about the various aspects of wellness, and “to help coach their mentees to adopt a lifestyle that promotes health and wellbeing” (du plessis, 2015, p. 3). the second training session focuses on all the available resources that first-year students can access via their individualised wellness websites. first-year students are assigned a mentor upon their arrival on campus during the university’s official welcoming period. officially, mentors remain in their peer mentoring role throughout the mentee’s first year. both residential and commuter students are targeted. every mentor is responsible for eight to ten mentees and angelique mcconney & magda fourie-malherbe: facilitating first-year student adjustment …   167 collectively they form a mentor group. mentors are required to provide their mentees with individual support and to facilitate six wellness sessions (in group format). the aim of each wellness session is to create an awareness of the wellness domain concerned, to facilitate ref lection on personal wellness, and to foster insight on how to manage personal wellness more effectively. while clear guidelines exist for the facilitation of the wellness sessions, how individual support is provided to mentees is left to the discretion of mentors. both mentors and mentees are required to log the wellness group sessions and any individual sessions on the bewell electronic portal for tracking and monitoring purposes. research methodology our study investigated the effect that the bewell peer mentoring programme had on the adjustment of first-time entering first-year students. the goal of the study was to investigate whether participation in the programme inf luenced the adjustment of participating first-year students. a mixed-methods approach was employed, and an explanatory sequential mixed-method design used. data were collected in two phases: quantitative data were first collected by means of a survey, followed by the collection of qualitative data through focus group discussions. the rationale behind collecting the second strand of data was to gain a deeper understanding of the quantitative data (creswell, 2015) participants and sampling for the purposes of this study, first time entering first-year students at stellenbosch university’s main campus were targeted, more specifically, the first-year students from the 2017 cohort of registered students at the university (a total of 5,024). no sampling was required for the quasi-experiment, as the researcher had access to all registered firstyear students. for the focus group discussions purposive sampling was applied. data collection and analysis two data strands were collected. in the first phase, a quasi-experimental pretestposttest non-equivalent group design was used to compare the adjustment of students who participated in the peer mentoring programme (the experimental group) with the adjustment of students who did not participate in the programme (control group). given that all first-year students are assigned a mentor during the welcoming period, the control group comprised of students who only participated in peer mentoring during the welcoming period or who did not participate at all. the experimental group comprised of students who participated in the programme beyond the welcoming period. the quasi-experiment was followed by focus group discussions, in phase 2, to explain the first data set. 168   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 163-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781 phase 1: quasi-experiment a standardised instrument, the student adaptation to college questionnaire (sacq), constructed by baker and siryk (2015), was employed to measure respondents’ levels of adjustment. this instrument’s multi-faceted approach to measuring adjustment to university was the primary reason for using the sacq in this study. other reasons included, amongst others, the fact that it is a widely used standardised instrument whose reliability and validity has been tested and proven. the sacq is a 67-item selfreport questionnaire that conceptualises adjustment along four adjustment domains: academic adjustment, social adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment and institutional adjustment (attachment). the instrument yields a full-scale score for overall adjustment to university as well as scores in four subscales for the different adjustment domains (baker & siryk, 2015). the sacq was administered at two points in time: in march 2017 (pre-test version) and again in october 2017 (post-test version), to measure the post-intervention adjustment for both groups. a total of 1,064 respondents completed the pre-test version (response rate of 21.18%) and 425 respondents completed the posttest version (response rate of 8.46%). the statistical program for the social sciences (spss) was used for data analysis. only completed questionnaires were analysed. once the data had been checked, the quality of scores from the sacq was examined to assess the reliability of the instrument itself. cronbach alpha calculations were >.80 for all the adjustment subscales as well as for the overall adjustment score, indicating an acceptable reliability score. this was followed by a distribution of the demographic variables for the preand for the post-test samples. inferential statistics were thereafter employed to analyse and compare the responses to the questionnaires from the two groups, preand post-intervention, in order to determine whether the experimental group had in fact benefitted from participation in the peer mentoring programme, as indicated by higher scores on the sacq. the null hypothesis was that there would be no significant change in adjustment between the control group and experimental group in the post-test results. analysis of variance was performed on the pre-test and post-test adjustment scores. for the pre-test, the differences in adjustment between the two groups were analysed. in the post-test the changes in the adjustment of these two groups, over time, were compared. phase 2: focus group discussions for the second data strand, focus group discussions were facilitated. focus group discussions were employed to collect the qualitative data because of the interactive nature of this method. as stated by creswell (1998), focus group discussions are ideal in contexts where the interaction amongst participants is likely to yield the best information. this method enables discussion to develop and responses by one participant might trigger ref lection by another (arksey & knight, 1999; morgan, 1997). five focus group discussions were facilitated with a total of 22 participants. a semi-structured interview schedule was used, informed by the results from the quasi-experiment. the focus group discussions were recorded and transcribed. interview transcripts were angelique mcconney & magda fourie-malherbe: facilitating first-year student adjustment …   169 analysed according to accepted qualitative analysis procedures of coding and re-coding, categorising and interpreting, using the content analysis method. inferences were then made from both data strands. ethical considerations prior to conducting the research, ethical approval was obtained from the research ethics committee of stellenbosch university. due to ethical concerns, the researchers opted for a quasi-experiment as having a randomized control group would have meant that participation in the programme would intentionally have been withheld from some students to form a control group. the licensing fee of the questionnaire used in the study was funded by stellenbosch university. all standard ethical considerations were respected (confidentiality, informed consent, debriefing, right to withdraw participation) and consent was received from all participants. research findings questions on demographic details included in the sacq were gender, race, language, nationality, geographic origin, living environment, parents’ educational background and grade 12 results. factorial analysis of variance was used to determine whether the demographic variables had any inf luence on difference in adjustment between groups and over time. no significant demographic interaction effects were found, meaning that the demographic variables did not inf luence the main results, namely group and time differences. adjustment scores from the sacq the overall adjustment scores from the pre-test data were compared with the adjustment scores from the post-test data. analysis of variance was calculated to determine whether there was any statistically significant difference in the overall adjustment of the two groups. no statistically significant difference in post-test adjustment scores for the two groups (p=0.7916) was found. for the pre-test, cohen d effect sizes showed a small difference between the two groups (0.3 small), and in this instance the control group had higher adjustment scores. for the post-test, however, the difference between the two groups was smaller (0.12 negligible), because the adjustment of the experimental group increased from the pre-test, while the adjustment of the control group showed a decrease. despite the lack of a statistically significant difference in the overall adjustment of the two groups, this trend does suggest that participating students could have derived some benefit from participation in the programme, but that this was not as significant as the programme had intended it to be. no statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found between the two groups over time for any of the subscales either. the following p-values were found for the subscales: attachment p=0.06078, personal-emotional adjustment p=0.07740, academic adjustment p=0.15205, and social adjustment p=0.25824. as mentioned, none of the 170   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 163-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781 demographic variables inf luenced the main results, namely group and time differences, for any of these subscales or the overall adjustment scores. the results from the quasi-experiment raised questions about the extent to which the programme was actually assisting first-year students to adjust to campus. to understand these results, particularly why participating students were not optimally benefitting from participation in the peer mentoring programme, focus group discussions were facilitated in the second phase of this mixed-method study. results of the focus group discussions five focus group discussions were facilitated with four or five students each, giving a total of 22 participants. the focus group discussions were facilitated by one of the researchers, guided by a semi-structured interview schedule. fourteen of the participants (63.64%) were female students, while eight (36.36%) were male students. the vast majority of the participants lived in university residences (86.36%), while only three participants (13.64%) lived in private accommodation. the participants were racially diverse: 36.37% were black african, 31.82% were coloured and 31.82% white. intensity of peer mentoring the intensity of mentoring received emerged as a central theme during the focus group discussions. we use the term “intensity of peer mentoring” to refer to the level of involvement (support and/or guidance) the mentors invested in their first-year mentees. some participants experienced high intensity mentoring, that is their mentors were actively supporting them through their first year (they were committed), and this assisted first-year students in adjusting to campus life. however, not all first-year students experienced the same level of support or involvement from their mentors, resulting in less intense mentoring. these students’ mentors were less involved after the welcoming period, and therefore the first-year students did not benefit much from participation in the programme. the focus group discussions provided in-depth insights into what contributed to the differences in the intensity of mentoring received. factors influencing the intensity of peer mentoring two main factors inf luenced the intensity of the peer mentoring: (1) the nature of the peer mentoring relationship and (2) the nature of mentor-mentee interaction. first-year students who experienced intense peer mentoring described the relationship they shared with their mentors in positive terms. they described their mentors as their advisors, a go-to person or a friend, and in these instances the peer mentoring assisted them in their adjustment. respondent 2, for example, said: you become friends, so it’s like this whole, not hierarchy, but they know more than you, they then teach you until the point where you guys know an equal amount of information. (r2) with less intense peer mentoring, the relationships were not as close and supportive. in some instances, the mentors served as a resource to their mentees (i.e. provided angelique mcconney & magda fourie-malherbe: facilitating first-year student adjustment …   171 information that was useful to their adjustment). this held some benefit, but the mentor did not provide guidance or serve as that “go-to-person” to support mentees during the first year. respondent 17 shared: it wasn’t as close of a relationship … when i need directions, i just go to her. but we didn’t have a close relationship. (r17) in other instances, the mentor-mentee relationship was experienced as quite distant, with minimal or no benefits experienced by first-year students, as articulated by respondent 18: i think she’d be like a distant acquaintance; i think. yes, that’s how i would describe it. (r18) the nature of the mentor-mentee interaction emerged as the second reason for the differences in the intensity of peer mentoring received, as well as the platform used for mentor-mentee interaction. three modes of interaction were identified: whatsapp messages, group sessions and one-on-one interactions with individual mentees. individual contact was experienced as most beneficial. when only group sessions were used to engage with mentees, they became a barrier to the mentoring relationship and resulted in less intense peer mentoring received, as expressed by respondent 8: and because it’s in a group i don’t think you can interact, and be like, i’m not fine, and that stepping forward to someone that you kind of are still a stranger to. cause we never actually got to know the mentor properly. (r8) factors contributing to the nature of the peer mentoring relationship were also identified from the focus group discussions. mentor attributes, time invested in mentoring, reasons for mentoring and the wellness component of the programme all contributed to the nature of the peer mentoring relationship and consequently the intensity of peer mentoring. mentor attributes a genuine interest in their mentees and a sincere desire to be there for them, emerged as important mentor attributes that foster a good peer mentoring relationship, as illustrated by the responses given below: show interest. actually, care about the person, not just do it because it is their job as a mentor. (r13) i think genuine interest. not just doing it to do it, but to actually want to be there and making sure that your mentees feel seen and wanted to be there. (r4) unfortunately, not all mentees experienced their mentors as genuinely caring and invested in them. when this was absent, mentors were perceived as only performing their duties as an obligation, as articulated by respondent 12: he had to help me. that’s what it felt like. i didn’t feel like he wanted to. (r12) 172   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 163-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781 the second mentor attribute that fostered a good peer mentoring relationship was expressed as being “relatable”, as seen from the following responses: i feel like we’re just looking for a person who’s going to be able to relate to us. (r17) he was much more relatable, and we just spoke easily. (r10) what students meant by relatable, was that mentors should have an openness to them and show empathy, especially for their struggles as first-year students. when mentees experienced their mentors as relatable, they were more open and engaging with their mentors, which contributed to a positive peer mentoring relationship. in contrast, a perception of not being relatable led to distance in the peer mentoring relationship. time invested in mentoring the time that the mentors invested in mentoring affected the nature of the peer mentoring relationship. mentors who invested time and availed themselves to their mentees fostered a stronger peer mentoring relationship, as explained by respondent 16: it was really a good experience because my mentor was there at all times. so, whenever i needed help, she was there … (r16) in contrast, when mentors did not invest enough time, there was no real connection between the mentor and mentee, as expressed by respondent 15: she couldn’t connect with us. she never really did make an effort in that sense, trying to be like, so, you know, what are you doing? (r15) reasons for mentoring reasons for mentoring also emerged as a factor contributing to the nature of peer mentoring relationships. intense peer mentoring was facilitated by mentors who were perceived as genuinely motivated to support first-year students. respondent 18 explains what makes a good mentor: i think personally a good mentor is someone who doesn’t particularly have an agenda in the sense that by them becoming a mentor they aim to gain something. (r18) in contrast, other mentors were perceived as being driven by personal gain. respondent 2 explains: i felt like after looking back at it and after we’ve done … everything i felt like the reason she was a mentor was to become or to have a single room, to get enough room points to have a single room. (r2) administration of the wellness component of the programme the logging of wellness sessions became a barrier to intense mentoring at times. some participants expressed their frustration with the administration of the programme, as expressed by respondent 15: angelique mcconney & magda fourie-malherbe: facilitating first-year student adjustment …   173 we had to do formal things instead of it just being about talking. now there were cards and we had to log in and it took away from the intimacy of having that kind of mentor/mentee relationship. (r15) to some participants, the administrative requirements of the programme were too time consuming for mentors and/or mentees and detracted from the primary focus (i.e. time invested in the peer mentoring relationship). discussion the results of the study suggest that the programme assisted some students with their adjustment, but that it did not to a great extent contribute to the adjustment of participating students. this finding differed from other studies that showed more positive results. studies like those of swart et al. (2019) and yüksela and bahadıryılmazb (2019) and etzel et al. (2018) showed more positive results on the contribution of the peer mentoring programme to the adjustment of first-year students. the differences in adjustment outcomes, found in our study, underscore the importance of scientific studies on the outcomes of student support programmes such as the bewell peer mentoring programme. we can no longer rely on anecdotal reports alone, as these are generally positive and may not accurately ref lect what is happening with the programme implementation and/or outcomes. the level of mentee participation inf luenced the programme outcomes, as previously underscored by smith (2007), goff (2011), and tremblay and rodger (2003). however, the study went a step further by providing valuable insights into the factors that inf luenced the level of participation from mentees. the intensity of mentoring received was central to the level of participation from first-year mentees. first-year students who experienced high intensity mentoring reported greater benefits, as their mentors were more involved and offered the needed support to help them adjust in their first year. when intense peer mentoring occurred, students experienced the mentor as an advisor, supporter and a resource, as per the definition of the mentor proposed by campbell and campbell (1997), and this helped them with coping and adjusting in their first year. in the event of low intensity peer mentoring, this role was not fulfilled by the mentors, as the mentors were either absent or, after the welcoming period, mainly provided their mentees with information. consequently, for these mentees, the programme did not assist them with their adjustment, as more intentional mentoring beyond the welcoming period was needed. the role that the mentor played in the intensity of the peer mentoring emerged as a central theme in the focus group discussion. while this raised concerns about the implementation of the programme by some individual mentors, the findings also provided us with insight on the attributes of the ideal mentor that the programme should be more intentional in recruiting. in addition to the mentor attributes, the study further underscored the differences in how the mentors interacted with mentees. group sessions were most commonly used for 174   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 163-177 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781 mentor-mentee contact. this could be due to the requirement that all mentors facilitate the six wellness sessions with their mentor groups. however, group interaction has to be supplemented with one-on-one engagements, as this is more effective in fostering a strong peer mentoring relationship and makes first-year students more comfortable to reach out for guidance when needed. another important finding of the study was the unintended outcome of the wellness component of the programme. the administration thereof became a barrier to some students, as it was experienced as too time consuming, and at times it overshadowed the importance of investing time in building a strong mentor-mentee relationship. in summary, it is important for higher education institutions to select appropriate mentors who will be intentional in their mentoring and to monitor more closely if mentors do so beyond the welcoming period. the following model for intentional mentoring is proposed to assist stellenbosch university and other higher education institutions in strengthening their peer mentoring programmes: table 1: a proposed model for intentional mentoring a model for intentional peer mentoring the aim of the model is to select intentional mentors who will facilitate high intensity peer mentoring. mentor selection focus on selecting intentional mentors. this can be facilitated through selection practices that focus on our proposed mentor attributes. mentor attributes caring: shows a caring attitude to mentees genuine: shows a genuine interest in helping mentees invested in the mentoring relationship relatable: open and empathetic to mentees reasons for mentoring primarily to support mentees. mentors should not be primarily driven by personal gain. however, mentors can pursue personal growth while genuinely supporting others. contact time individual contact group contact (if applicable), but not replacing individual contact. informal contact aimed at building a peer mentoring relationship and showing interest in their mentees. formal contact, as indicated. administration administration for mentors and mentees to be kept simple and minimal. monitoring monitoring systems to track the level and nature of mentor-mentee interaction should be implemented. limitations of the study a major limitation of the study is that it focused only on the perspectives of the mentees. in the focus group discussions, gaps pertaining to how mentors implemented the programme were identified. these gaps were expressed from the perspective of the first-year students and did not account for the perspective of the mentors. future studies angelique mcconney & magda fourie-malherbe: facilitating first-year student adjustment …   175 aimed at understanding the experiences of the programme from the mentor perspective are recommended. furthermore, the study was context-specific and its contribution is practice-based. the results are, therefore, not necessarily generalisable to other contexts, but the proposed model for peer mentoring could assist institutions with similar programmes. conclusion this study found that the bewell peer mentoring programme was not reaching its intended adjustment outcomes, and also surfaced some reasons for why this was not being achieved. in addition, the study has brought about an appreciation for the complexities inherent in the implementation of peer mentoring programmes. we trust that the results, and particularly the proposed model of intentional peer mentoring, will be of use to all higher education institutions offering peer mentoring programmes. references 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(2022). facilitating first-year student adjustment: towards a model for intentional peer mentoring. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 163-177. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3781 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10755-007-9064-6 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260601086311 https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260601086311 http://dx.doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.v33i3.183438 http://dx.doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.v33i3.183438 https://doi.org/10.1080/1355800990360309 https://doi.org/10.1080/1355800990360309 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.06.006 abstract higher education institutions in south africa continue to experience considerable dropout rates of students during the first year, especially those from previously marginalised population groups. the aim of this research was to evaluate how the use of life coaching interventions providing first year students with psychosocial support, influenced their first-year experience. both quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a questionnaire at the end of the academic year, approximately four months after the intervention, to evaluate students’ experiences of the intervention. results indicate that students felt that the intervention helped them avoid dropping out of university prematurely, respond better to failure during the year, and improve their self-awareness and academic performance. in conclusion, the results suggest that the use of life coaching intervention as a proactive means of harnessing student agency, may be beneficial to their academic performance, and in improving their lives in general. the study recommends that further research be conducted to explore the use of small group life coaching for providing students with psychosocial support, and also exoplore this intervention’s cost-effectiveness in different context. keywords life coaching, first-year experience, student agency, student success, psychosocial support, engineering education research article proactive student psychosocial support intervention through life coaching: a case study of a first-year chemical engineering extended curriculum programme disaapele mogashanai & moses basitereii i disaapele mogashana is lecturer, life coach and nlp practitioner, department of chemical engineering, university of cape town. email: disaapele.mogashana@uct.ac.za ii moses basitere is senior lecturer, academic support programme for engineering in cape town (aspect), university of cape town. email: moses.basitere@uct.ac.za 217disaapele mogashana & moses basitere introduction higher education institutions (heis) in south africa continue to be marred with the discrepancies between students’ access and success. progress has been made concerning widening access since 1994; the recent department of higher education and training (dhet) report shows that in 2016 the participation rate of the 18 to 23-year olds stood at 19.1% (dhet, 2019) and black africans made up about 72% of entries to heis. in 2016, the global tertiary participation rate was 41% (euromonitor international, 2018). the participation rate in south africa is lower compared to the global figure. the pressing challenge in south africa is that of improving the success of students that have been granted access. in his recent paper, scott (2018) argues that higher education in south africa has not reimagined itself to serve the students to which it has provided access. scott (2018) argues that while equity of access has been predominant in the last three decades, it is no longer enough that students have access to a university; it is upon universities to prioritise equity of outcomes. for this to happen, scott calls for all stakeholders, including the state and heis, to provide a way forward. the persistently high dropout rate is a concern in south africa, considering that employment opportunities and improved quality of life still favours graduates (case et al., 2018). moreover, as netanda et al. (2017) argue, student success is for the long-term sustainability of the universities. as such, innovative support interventions that harness students’ agency in the first year and subsequent years are crucial in improving throughput rates. factors that affect student success and associated interventions factors that influence student success and attrition in south africa are widely documented; these include issues such as poor choice of programme of study, articulation gaps, financial difficulties challenges of socioeconomic status, and issues of non-aligned cultural capital (lekena & bayaga, 2018; letseka et al., 2009; mason, 2017; mogashana et al., 2012; pather et al., 2017; van zyl, 2016). the approaches and interventions to address some of these factors also vary in nature; they include the offering of academic support interventions such as foundational courses and academic literacies (conana et al., 2016; basitere & ivala, 2015; davidowitz & schreiber, 2008) through counselling intervention programmes to improve students’ sense of belonging to the university (mason, 2019), and through a shift towards institution-wide interventions at different levels to devise ways to improve student success (nyar & meyers, 2018). issues of mental health also appear to be having an adverse effect on students. bantjes et al. (2016) found that students in south africa had a higher rate of suicidal ideation compared to the general population, and that this correlates with poor health outcomes. another study found a high prevalence of common mental disorders among first year students at two kj journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 217-231 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3752 218 prominent south african universities. bantjes et al. (2019) argue that more attention needs to be paid to supporting students’ psychological well-being as they transition into tertiary institutions. however, blockland (2019) cautions against universities ‘pathologising’ student issues, stating that issues such as exam stress, loneliness, and social context from which students come (including poverty and educational disadvantage) may predispose some students to mental illness. she argues that “simply extending conventional healthcare services may not be the most effective way to manage the challenges that universities are facing” (blockland, 2019, p.1). furthermore, blockland (2019) calls for intervention programmes that integrate valuable life skills for students by stating: “much can be achieved through resilience building” and by “helping students to discover, mobilise and develop their inner resources” (blockland, 2019, p.1). the present study focuses on precisely those forms of interventions that blockland refers to; it uses small group life coaching to provide psychosocial support to students through harnessing their agency in an extended curriculum programme (ecp). psychosocial support and life coaching the term ‘psychosocial’, according to the inter-agency standing committee (iasc) reference group for mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings, refers to “the inter-connection between psychological and social processes and the fact that each continually interacts with and influences the other” (isac 2010, p.1). from this definition psychosocial support in this study entails offering students support in areas that are both social and individual during the first year, as many are still dealing with adjustment to university, increased academic demands, and some dealing with academic failure. aspects of this support involve helping students become self-aware and be conscious of how their thoughts about themselves, their emotions, and their behaviour influence how they see themselves and make choices in relation to their social circumstances. to achieve this, this study uses a group life coaching intervention. life coaching is a professional practice, rooted in positive psychology, whose history can be traced back to england in the 19th century (garvey, 2011). distinct from counselling and therapy, life coaching focuses on individual’s non-clinical strengths, harnesses these strengths, assists them to set goals, and empowers them with a process of achieving the goals. it enhances life experiences and personal development of individuals (grant, 2003). the role of the life coach is to encourage, motivate, and help the individual to overcome potential limitations that may inhibit progress. life coaching has been found not only to help individuals achieve their goals, but also to have a positive impact on their quality of life (griffith 2005). some colleges in the united states use life coaching to support students on a range of challenges such as dealing with stress, academic stressors, relationship issues, and financial difficulties (lefdahl-davis et al., 2018). these challenges are found to have an lki 219disaapele mogashana & moses basitere adverse effect on making students susceptible to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety (short et al., 2010). lefdahl-davis et al. (2018) found that life coaching benefited students with overcoming obstacles, improved self-awareness, attainment of goals, improved well-being, and successfully managing transitions into college. considering the reported benefits of life coaching interventions, this study explored the use of a life coaching intervention as a means of providing students with psychosocial support and harnessing their agency, in the context of an ecp with first year engineering students. there are three noteworthy aspects of the intervention. firstly, it is proactive in that it prepares students for challenges that they may encounter during their studies. secondly, the intervention is conducted with a small group of about six to ten students – this allows for the benefits of life coaching to be maximised, while optimising the use of resources. this approach may be more cost-effective in maximising student support resources. lastly, the small group coaching happens over a weekend, a saturday and a sunday, outside the teaching time to not interfere with the academic programme. during the weekend programme, students are empowered with the knowledge, skills, and techniques that may help them address their psychosocial issues, and this hopefully minimises their chances of dropping out, and improving their academic performance. the central question is: how has students’ participation in the life coaching intervention influenced where they find themselves at the end of the first year? in other words, how has having participated in the life coaching intervention influenced students agency? conceptual framework – human agency the understanding of the term ‘agency’ in this study comes from margaret archer’s (1995) realist social theory – the morphogenetic approach. as a theoretical and analytical approach, the morphogenetic approach allows for temporary separation between social structure and the human agency, to examine the result of the interaction on each. the focus of this paper is on how a life coaching intervention has influenced students, and as such, the relevant concepts are briefly outlined. archer (1995) refers to agency as the action taken by social agents. this action, taken individually and collectively, emanates from what she refers to as personal emergent properties (peps) of agents when they interact with the conditioning effects of the structural emergent properties (seps). the ecp, with its positioning within the university and all its associated material resources, is an example of the sep. it conditions the situations into which agents, the students in this case, find themselves when they arrived at university in the first year. according to archer (2003), students as agents have the things they care about the most, for example pursuing a degree while avoiding dropping out. they then formulate plans of action, their personal projects, and it is in pursuing these projects that they exercise their peps to deal with the conditioning effects of seps. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 217-231 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3752 220 one of the students’ peps is reflexivity, which entails their ability to hold internal conversations about themselves in relation to their social circumstances, and to make a choice on how to act (archer, 2003). it is in the moment of choosing that students operationalise their inherent peps and act in particular ways. this study evaluates how students’ agency was shaped by having participated in the life coaching intervention while pursuing their projects in the first year. methodology the study employs a case study methodology, which allows for in-depth investigation into a particular case. yin (2003) indicates that a case study allows the researcher to explore the “how” and “why” questions within a real-life context, and pertinent to this study sought to investigate how having participated in the life coaching programme influenced students. the use of a case study has often been criticised, among other things, for being biased towards verification of the researcher’s preconceived ideas. as such, the researcher needs to provide all the information that increases transferability of a single case. context of the study and participants as part of seeking solutions to support students with psychosocial issues that often result in them dropping out, the department of chemical engineering’s ecp at a university of technology sought and piloted a life coaching intervention for a cohort of first-year students. the pilot study entailed five life coaching weekend sessions that were conducted with different groups, comprising six to ten students over five months during the academic year. the selection criteria for each session were based on responses to a background information questionnaire completed by 25 students at the start of the year, together with their performance in the first mathematics, physics, and chemistry tests. the background information questionnaire requested information on each student’s mathematics and physical science high school marks, current residential status, schooling background, information about how they decided to study at the current university, information on how they decided to study chemical engineering and whether it was their first choice, goals, vision, and self-awareness. sample questions from the background questionnaire are provided as an appendix. participants were selected according to the highest risk of failure. the criteria for highest risk entailed whether: (a) the participant lived at a student residence or off campus; a long commute to campus was considered to increase the risk, (b) the university and the programme of study were the participant’s first choices, a participant who was not in their preferred university and to whom chemical engineering was not their first choice was considered at risk, and (c) there was uncertainly on funding, fees, and living costs; a 221disaapele mogashana & moses basitere participant who was uncertain about sources of funding was considered at risk. marks of the first assessments were the final criterion to identify the risk. participation in these coaching weekends was voluntary for all students; however, those who were at highest risk were strongly encouraged to participate. at each coaching weekend, participants completed a disclosure and agreement form in which they agreed to participate fully for the two days. the programme introduced students to concepts of the mind, body, thoughts, emotions, and how all these relate to actions that they take, in line with achieving their goals. following the self-awareness section, participants were introduced to various life coaching techniques. they were individually seated at privately set up sections of the room, where they used the techniques under the guidance of the coach. other parts of the coaching session entailed improving selfimage, personal finance, and creating life visions. after each coaching weekend, the coach set up whatsapp groups for each group and offered monthly ongoing mentoring for the rest of the academic year. students could contact the coach privately through whatsapp when the need arose. data gathering and analysis at the end of the academic year, approximately four months after the last coaching weekend, students were asked to complete a reflective questionnaire developed for this study that evaluated their first-year experiences in relation to the life coaching intervention; the questionnaire is included as an appendix for reference. the 43-item questionnaire consisted of 31 five-point likert scale items and 12 open-ended items, with 20 out of 35 (57%) students who had been coached, completing the year-end questionnaire anonymously. critical items evaluated for this study: (a) how the programme facilitated students’ adjustment to university, and (b) students’ reflections about how they thought their lives might have been different had they not been coached. data were analysed using content analysis, guided by archer’s (1995) conception of human agency. transferability and credibility the case study intended to provide some in-depth understanding of possible ways of supporting students (yin, 2003). as this was still a pilot programme, the measure of rigour could be looked at in terms of transferability and credibility (lincoln & guba, 1985). to increase transferability of this single case to similar contexts, the sample questions from the questionnaires and the 43-items evaluation questionnaires are also provided as an appendix. to ensure credibility, the researchers ascertained that detailed descriptions of students’ responses were represented as they appeared during data gathering. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 217-231 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3752 222 ethical clearance and researcher positioning the larger study from which this paper resulted was granted ethical clearance by the faculty of engineering at the same institution. all participants in this study consented to participate, and the nature of the questionnaire ensured that they remained anonymous. it is noteworthy that the first author, a chemical engineering graduate, is the life coach who facilitated the coaching groups and developed the questionnaire together with the co-author. results the purpose of the life coaching intervention was to support students; to harness their agency as they made their way through the first year. this paper reports on the year-end evaluation of students’ reflection the results of students’ reflections indicate that the weekend life coaching sessions, and the ongoing support that the coach provided to students through whatsapp social medium, had an overall positive influence on students first-year experience. figure 1 shows a summary of the quantitative results. it indicates that apart from one participant in each category, all students felt positive about their academic performance compared to when the year started. students believed the coaching would influence them beyond the first year, with 18 out of the 20 participants believing that they were better off compared to other first-year students who had not participated in the psychosocial support intervention. more importantly, all participants indicated that having been coached, helped them cope better with failure, and know how to pick themselves up from unsatisfactory performance in their courses. figure 1: students’ reflections on their experience with the life coaching intervention 223disaapele mogashana & moses basitere * coaching helped me know how to pick myself up better after unsatisfactory performance in my assessments. ** coaching helped me learn to cope better with failure and life. *** i believe that i am better off overall compared to another first-year students who have not been coached. **** i believe that coaching will influence me beyond this year, no matter what i decided to do with my life. ***** overall, i feel positive about my performance compared to when the year started, before i was coached. overall, data presented in figure 1 suggest that the life coaching intervention had a positive aggregated effect on the students’ first-year experiences; however, to elucidate nuances of the positive effect qualitative data that focuses on participants’ reflexive deliberations is presented. two critical questions that they were asked to reflect on were: 1) how has participating in the life coaching support programme influenced your transition to university life? and, 2) had you not been coached at all this year, how do you think your experience might have been different? deliberation on the role of life coaching in their adjustment to university life students reflected on how the intervention assisted their transition from high school into university in three categories. the first category included a group of students for whom the intervention assisted in dealing with factors outside of the classroom context, which might have impacted negatively on their academic performance. referring to his wellbeing, one student indicated that being coached showed him that ‘it is possible to achieve everything when external factors are taken into consideration.’ another student indicated that coaching helped him feel ‘emotionally stable’ and thus empowered him to approach his studies effectively, knowing that he can always talk to the coach on whatsapp if he encountered a problem. for another student, having been coached helped him ‘have inner peace and make peace with everything’ that he could not change about his life; this in relation to dealing with some of ‘the negative emotions’ that might have affected his studies. the second category included a group of students to whom the intervention fostered their ability to interact with their peers, and to build a sense of belonging in the group. for one student, having been able to work with her peers in a small group helped her with building confidence and communicating: student 6: i’ve worked in a group when i was told to do so in the coaching programme, i gained a lot of confidence and communication skills which makes me to want to be in working group members even in coming years. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 217-231 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3752 224 first year students often feel alone and do not know how to begin relating to their peers; leaving some feeling alienated. although the life coaching programme does not involve many group interaction activities, the students’ reflections indicate that some of them benefited from the few moments in which they were asked to interact with others, and this helped them break barriers to communicate and encourage them to work with their peers beyond the coaching programme. one student indicated that being coached helped her to allow herself to ‘blend in without feeling pressure to change’ who she was. another student indicated that not only did coaching help him interact with his peers, but it helped him adapt his way of interacting with lecturers. for another student, having interacted with someone who had studied chemical engineering (the life coach) ‘inspired’ her to know that she could overcome her obstacles and make it through the first year and beyond. the third category included students that referred to ‘failure’ and how coaching addressed it. four students indicated that having been coached helped them deal with failure in their courses, especially at the beginning of the year while they are finding their feet in the university: student 14 captured this sentiment: student 14: it has helped me to deal with pressure and able to accept that failing is part of our lives but i must learn to pick up myself and do better next time. in dealing with failure, some students indicated that being coached helped them deal with the fear of failure in general, and to understand that failure is temporary. the experience of feeling like a failure, and feeling alone away from support systems in their home environments, is common among first-year students. one student reflected how life coaching helped in this regard: student 18: it (psychosocial support through life coaching) has made me realise that i am not alone. even though i am (away) from home, i can still create a homely environment for myself here. it made me realise that it is okay to fall but it’s very much important to rise up and dust yourself and move on. i failed my first tests but i was amongst the top 5 students who are top achievers in my class at the end of the year. that is because i didn’t dwell much on what had happened at the beginning of the year, instead i used it as motivation. this knowledge and self-awareness that students gained through life coaching, as suggested by the student 18 above, helped them to reflect positively on themselves in relation to the potential constraints that they encountered during the year. 225disaapele mogashana & moses basitere deliberation on how they think their lives might have been different without the coaching table 1 presents the verbatim students’ deliberations concerning how they believe their lives might have been. table 1: students’ responses to how without coaching their lives might have been how your life might have been different without life coaching student 1* i would have failed or even dropped out. student 3* battle with my emotions and possible failed the year. student 4* i would have gave up in my failures this year. student 5* be a drop out because my emotional well-being. student 6 no improvement in my confidence and communication skills. student 7 i would not have enjoyed university so much. student 8* i would have changed courses or dropped out. student 9 marks would be just average. student 10* i would have drowned. student 11 i would not have learned a lot. student 13* i would’ve given up, probably left school. student 14* i think i would’ve dropped out. student 16 not seen the importance of working with other people. student 17 i would not able to manage some university challenges. student 18* i don’t think i would have finished the year. student 19* i might have given up. student 20* i think i would have given up in everything. * students who would have dropped out data presented in table 1 can be classified into two main themes. the first theme, comprising of 11 of the 17 (65%) respondents (those marked with *), included those who indicated that they would have dropped out. students used different words to mark ‘drop out’. while some students used the words ‘drop out’, ‘dropped out’ (for example students 5, 8, and 14), other students such as students 13, 19, and 20 used the word ‘given up’. another student (10) nh journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 217-231 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3752 226 went as far as using the word ‘drowned’ to suggest that he would not have made it through the academic year, sharing the sentiment of student 18 who stated that ‘i do not think i would have managed the year.’ students’ reflexive deliberations indicate that they were aware that they would have been worse off had they not been coached. an essential aspect of the intervention, as reflected on by student 5, was that to be proactive in supporting students improved their ‘emotional well-being’ so that it did not impact negatively on their academic performance. the second theme included students who indicated that their overall first-year experience would not have been as positive as it turned out to be, had they not been coached. students in this category mentioned things such as ‘battled with my emotions’ (student 3), that there would be ‘no improvement in my confidence and communication skills’ (student 6) and ‘not seen the importance of working with other people’ (student 16). the improved self-awareness and skills such as understanding one’s emotions, improving confidence in communication, and learning to work with others are not only crucial in the first year, but may be useful in students’ experiences in subsequent years. discussion the transition of students from high school into university is often marred with non-academic challenges that impact on students’ academic performance. the aim of the study from which this paper resulted, was to explore the use of a life coaching intervention in harnessing students’ agency. this paper reported on students’ reflections about how, having participated in the intervention, influenced their first-year experience. in general, the results indicate that life coaching intervention harnessed the students’ agency in several ways. the life coaching weekend, together with the ongoing mentoring through whatsapp social medium helped the students adjust better to the university, by empowering them to mitigate the potential constraints of seps that might have hindered their academic progress. it helped some to improve their well-being, and helped others feel emotionally stable. it helped others address some of their existing negative emotions. these findings resonate with the findings by grant (2003) and griffith (2005) that life coaching may be beneficial to assist non-clinical populations to improve their self-awareness, enhance their mental health, and quality of life. the results further indicate that the life coaching intervention helped students build a sense of belonging in the university, by encouraging them to develop communication skills, interact with their peers, and interact with their lecturers. this aligns with the findings by lefdahi-davids et al. (2018) that this kind of support makes it easier for the student to make the transition more manageable during the challenging phases of life. lastly, the results show that having participated in the life coaching intervention empowered students to deal with failure in their courses, or helped them know how to pick themselves up after failing. in some cases, as reported by some students, it prevented them from dropping out. the ability 227disaapele mogashana & moses basitere ability of a student to take on failure, reflect upon it, pick themselves up and move on, signifies the fostering and maturing of students’ agency. as archer (2003) suggests, the ability of students to reflect positively on themselves, and choose particular beneficial actions, are vital for achieving personal projects. significant to the life coaching approach is that it is proactive; it prepares the students upfront so that they are able to deal with challenges that they face during the year and beyond. such non-clinical interventions are, as argued by blockland (2019), needed in the south african context to build resilience in students. conclusion this paper reported on how, having participated in the life coaching intervention, fostered students’ agency as they made their transition from high school through the first year at university. overall, the results indicate that the intervention played a significant role in improving students’ experiences in the first year, and ultimately, in reducing their chances of dropping out, with 65% of the participants indicating that they would have dropped out at the end of the first year, had there been no intervention. this finding signified the extent to which students’ retention and success is influenced by psychosocial factors, and alluded to the need for proactive interventions that address this challenge. there are several limitations to this study. firstly, only 20 of the 35 students (57%) of those who participated in the intervention completed the year-end evaluation questionnaire, and this might be attributed to some of the students not having access to free internet once they leave the university to go home. sending the evaluation questionnaire to students on the day they write their final examination for the year could rectify this. secondly, there may be value in conducting interview-type data collection in the future; this may facilitate more probing in students’ open-ended responses that were not followed up. thirdly, for the wider intervention, 35 students out of a cohort of 48 (73%) participated in the psychosocial support programme. although students are not forced to participate, they can be better encouraged to take such interventions seriously, as this may help them. improved participation in a cohort may result in better overall cohort progression and fewer dropouts. for the broader higher education researchers, the study recommends further research into the use of small group life coaching that may facilitate the transition of students from high school into university. this approach may develop their self-awareness, assist them to deal with some negative emotions, improve their mental health and quality of life, help them deal with failure, and minimises their chances of dropping out. moreover, the provision of this intervention may best be suitable within faculties and departments in which students are registered and as such, their cost-effectiveness needs to be explored through further research. it is noteworthy that exploring the use of life coaching does not replace student wellness services, but it could complement available support structures within the universities that are journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 217-231 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3752 228 that are often resource-constrained. if ‘equity of outcomes’ is to be prioritised in south africa, as scott (2018) suggested it should, then matters of student psychosocial support should be approached proactively. references archer, m. s. (1995). realist social theory: the morphogenetic approach. cambridge university press. archer, m. s. (2003). structure, agency and the internal conversation. cambridge university press. bantjes, j. r, kagee, a., mcgowan, t. & steel, h., (2016). symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety as predictors of suicidal ideation among south african university students. journal of american college health, 64(6), 429-437. bantjes, j., lochner, c., saal, w., roos, j., taljaard, l., page, d., auerbach, r. p., mortier, p., bruffaerts, r., kessler, r. c. & stein, d. j. (2019). prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of common mental disorders among first-year university students in postapartheid south africa: implications for a public mental health approach to student wellness. bmc public health, 19, 922. basitere, m. and ivala, e. (2015). mitigating the mathematical knowledge gap between high school and first year university chemical engineering mathematics course. electronic journal of e-learning, 13(2), 68-83. blockland, l. (2019, october 11). are universities pathologising student issues? mail & guardian. https://mg.co.za/article/2019-10-11-00-are-universities-pathologisingstudent-issues case, j., marshall, d., mckenna, s. & mogashana, d. (2018). going to university: the influence of higher education on the lives of young south africans. african minds. conana, h., marshall, d. & case, j. m. (2016). exploring pedagogical possibilities for transformative approaches to academic literacies in undergraduate physics. critical studies in teaching and learning, 4(2), 28-44. davidowitz, b. & schreiber, b. (2008). facilitating adjustment to higher education: towards enhancing academic functioning in an academic development programme. south african journal of higher education, 22(1), 191-206. department of higher education and training. (2019a). post-school education and training monitor: macro-indicator trends. department of higher education and training. euromonitor international report. (2018). students of tomorrow: global trends driving demand for education. euromonitor international. https://go.euromonitor.com/rs/805kok-719/images/sbtomorrowsstudents18.pdf 229disaapele mogashana & moses basitere garvey, b. (2011). researching coaching: an eclectic mix or common ground? a critical perspective. in coaching entwickeln (pp. 65-76). vs verlag für sozialwissenschaften. grant, a. m. (2003). the impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health. social behavior and personality: an international journal, 31(3), 253-263. griffith k. e. (2005). personal coaching: a model for effective learning. journal of learning design, 1(2), 55-65. inter-agency standing committee isac reference group for mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings. (2010). mental health and psychosocial support for humanitarian emergencies: what should humanitarian health actors know? geneva. inter–agency standing committee. lefdahl-davis, e. m., huffman l., stancil, j. & alayan, a. j. (2018). the impact of life coaching on undergraduate students: a multiyear analysis of coaching outcomes. international journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 16(2), 69-83. lekena, l. l. and bayaga, a. (2018). trend analysis of first-year student experience in university. south african journal of higher education, 32(2), 157-175. letseka, m., breier, m. & visser, m. (2009). poverty, race and student achievement in seven higher education institutions. in: m. letseka, m. cosser, m. breier & m. visser (eds), student retention and graduate destination: higher education and labour market access and success, (pp. 25–40). hsrc press. lincoln, y. s. & guba, e. g. (1985). naturalistic inquiry. sage. mason, h. d. (2019). evaluation of a study skills intervention programme: a mixed-methods study. africa education review, 16(1), 88-105. mason, h. d. (2017). stress-management strategies among first-year students at a south african university: a qualitative study. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 131–149. mogashana, d., case, j. m. & marshall, d. (2012). what do student learning inventories really measure? a critical analysis of students’ responses to the approaches to learning and studying inventory. studies in higher education, 37(7), 783-792. nyar, a. and meyers, c. (2018). interview with andré van zyl: understanding the uj institutional student success initiative. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 99–103. netanda, r. s., mamabolo, j. & themane, m. (2017). do or die: student support interventions for the survival of distance education institutions in a competitive higher education system. studies in higher education, 42, 1–8. pather, s., norodien-fataar, n., cupido, x. & mkonto, n. (2017). first-year students’ experience of access and engagement at a university of technology. journal of education, 69, 161-184. scott, i. (2018). designing the south african higher education system for student success. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 1–17. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 217-231 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3752 230 short, e., kinman, g. and baker, s. (2010). evaluating the impact of a peer coaching intervention on well-being amongst psychology undergraduate students. international coaching psychology review, 5(1), 27-35. van zyl, a. (2016). the contours of inequality: the links between the socio-economic status of students and other variables at the university of johannesburg. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(1), 1-16. yin, r. (2003). case study research: design and methods (third edition). sage publications. 231disaapele mogashana & moses basitere journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 157‑166 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1435 157 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice adaptation of student support services considering covid‑19: adjustments, impact, and future implications munita dunn‑coetzee,i elmien sinclair,ii marcia lyner‑cleophas,iii jaco brink,iv marquard timmeyv & charl davidsvi i dr munita dunn-coetzee is director: centre for student counselling and development (cscd), stellenbosch university (su), south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-6950-0420. email: mdunn@sun.ac.za ii dr elmien sinclair is head: unit for academic counselling and development, cscd, su, south africa. orcid: 0000-0001-8809-2373. email: est@sun.ac.za iii dr marcia lyner-cleophas is head: disability unit, cscd, su, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-1460-6313. email: cleophas@sun.ac.za iv mr jaco brink is head: equality unit, cscd, su, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-1258-8369. email: jgbrink@sun.ac.za v mr marquard timmey is head: unit for graduand career service, cscd, su, south africa. email: timmey@sun.ac.za vi mr charl davids is deputy director and head: unit for psychotherapeutic and support services, cscd, su, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-5585-9491. email: cdavids@sun.ac.za abstract the global pandemic caused by covid‑19 has impacted every facet of our lives and challenged service delivery to students within higher education institutions (heis). the centre for student counselling and development (cscd) at stellenbosch university (su), south africa, is situated within the division of student affairs (dsaf) and the centre’s reflective practitioners had to respond to the challenge of altering services to ensure continuous support to the su community. the cscd aims to provide the su community with psychological, developmental and support services, with the focus on critical engagement, advocacy, personal growth, and optimising graduate potential. the cscd has been functioning virtually since mid‑march 2020. each of the centre’s five units had to respond to both the challenges and opportunities to adhere to social distancing and to accommodate students who did not have access to online devices. all support sessions – whether it be academic, social justice, career, social work, psychotherapy, crisis management, with individuals or with groups – had to be done virtually or via telephone. this depended on a student’s choice and practical reality in terms of space, privacy, and connectivity. this article aims to firstly share the risks and opportunities of rapidly shifting to an online supportive environment, as well as how each unit within the centre had to adjust its functioning to ensure minimum impact on student relationships and interactions. it secondly aims to portray the implications the rapid shift had on the centre’s practitioners and the lessons learned during the process. sharing these lessons might empower other heis in africa too. lastly, considering the imperative shift to online functioning caused by the covid‑19 pandemic, this article concludes with a discussion on the implications for the future functioning of the cscd. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:mdunn%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:est%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:cleophas%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:jgbrink%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:timmey%40sun.ac.za?subject= mailto:cdavids%40sun.ac.za?subject= 158 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 157‑166 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1435 keywords adjustments; covid‑19; disability support practitioners; hybrid space; student support; south africa; virtual service offering introduction stellenbosch university (su), situated in the town of stellenbosch in the western cape province of south africa, was founded in 1918, has ten faculties on five campuses and currently has 31 540 students. the student profile of the university consists of 64.3% undergraduate, 33.2% postgraduate and 2.6% occasional students with 44.5% identifying as male and 55.5% identifying as female. su is known as a residential campus with active residential life. approximately 30% of su students make use of residential housing, while the majority are commuting students (stellenbosch university, 2020). led by the senior director, dr choice makhetha, the division for student affairs (dsaf) at su comprises three centres which together facilitate an ecosystem of support, development, and engagement. dsaf functions to accelerate student and institutional success and contributes to the institutional and national socio‑economic transformation agenda. the centre for student counselling and development (cscd) is one of the three centres within student affairs. the cscd provides dynamic, student‑centred psychological development, and support services for students. specialists such as psychologists, a psychometrist, registered counsellors and social workers have been carefully selected to meet the needs of the university community. the cscd comprises five units that is briefly elaborated upon. the equality unit (equ) promotes collective action towards social justice and discourse regarding social asymmetries at su with focus on hiv/aids, gender, sexualities, and anti‑discrimination. the unit for psychotherapeutic and support services (upss) offers psychotherapy, group interventions and social work services for students with psychological, emotional, personal and welfare needs. the disability unit (du) offers various services to students with disabilities or special learning needs, including the development of accessible texts, advice about and access to support technology and innovative academic support. the unit for graduand career services (ugcs) provides student support in the process of entering the world of work. this includes sessions about careers, compiling a cv, exposure to network opportunities and job‑searching methods. the unit for academic counselling and development (uacd) offers consultations, career counselling and work sessions focused on academic skills, with the aim to equip students with the necessary skills to reach their potential. the five‑level covid‑19 alert system has been introduced by the south african government to manage the gradual easing of the lockdown period and this article refers to the different levels of lockdown experienced in south africa since march 2020. alert level 5 was in effect in south africa from midnight 26 march to 30 april 2020. since the suspension of all on‑campus activity, preparations were made to ensure that a period of online learning could commence on 20 april 2020 for all su registered students. academic and support staff remained acutely aware that the students had to learn in an unfamiliar, munita dunn‑coetzee, elmien sinclair et al.: adaptation of student support services considering covid‑19 … 159 completely virtual mode during this trying time, equipped with whatever software, devices, and internet connectivity they could access in the places where they were residing during the lockdown period. to adapt to a shift from predominantly on‑campus, contact teaching to a fully online delivery mode brought about by the lockdown accompanying covid‑19’s spread, su had rapidly generated pragmatic solutions for the complex challenges that our student body, staff and other stakeholders face. su’s covid‑19 contingency committee, established in february 2020, has been expanded in march 2020 to an overarching institutional committee for business continuity (icbc). it is served by a medical advisory committee, and seven workstreams, covering student services; staff; learning and teaching; communications; community impact and external relations; campus operations; finance and legal matters; as well as research. these formed the official channels of communication, ensuring students and staff remain informed. the cscd has been functioning virtually since 18 march 2020. each of the centre’s five units had to respond to both the challenges and opportunities while adhering to social distancing and accommodating students who do not have access to online devices. all support sessions – whether it be academic, social justice, career, social work, psychotherapy, disability related, crisis management, with individuals or with groups – had to be done virtually or via telephone. this depended on a student’s choice and practical reality in terms of space, privacy, and connectivity. with the number of covid‑19 infections escalating across the country since the implementation of lockdown in march 2020, we assumed that online learning within the higher education learning environment would continue as the primary mode for studies for the remainder of 2020, along with academic assessment through online means. during the past few months, the number of vulnerable students increased – students not accessing the learning platform of su (sunlearn), students on financial aid, students falling into the ‘missing middle’ category in terms of household income, students who were previously academically excluded and students in the extended degree programmes, as well as students in university housing during the lockdown period. this had significant implications for the functioning of the cscd. before the covid‑19 pandemic, 20‑30% of our students had clinically significant symptoms of psychopathology and needed psychological support, yet only about 25% of these students were receiving treatment. we anticipated that the international health crisis precipitated by covid‑19 would create additional psychosocial stress for students through the following risk factors: • high levels of anxiety and uncertainty in society about the spread of the virus; • disruptions in studies and the need to adjust to online learning and assessment; • social isolation and restrictions on normal patterns of socialising and autonomy; • interruptions to normal face‑to‑face student support systems and psychotherapy. the shift to online teaching, learning, engagement and assessment was a blessing in disguise for many students, yet challenging for some, especially those experiencing challenges due to disability (lyner‑cleophas, 2020). su students who are disabled were reporting 160 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 157‑166 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1435 challenges in adapting to the online environment and greater levels of social isolation. they were thus at particular risk for depression and anxiety. the staff of the cscd have had very little time to familiarise themselves with the nuances of providing online support and the constraints associated with it before they had to start functioning primarily on an online platform. however, this provided opportunities for experimenting with different online possibilities and testing a variety of technological support options to be able to holistically support students. su sponsored students with data to allow internet connectivity every month and the cscd staff received a monthly stipend to contribute to their data costs. their office telephone numbers were transferred to skype for business to allow them to phone clients if necessary. the following section describes how each unit had to practically adjust the last few months to ensure minimum impact on student relationships and interactions. a reflection on innovative adjustments unit for academic counselling and development (uacd) the uacd offers academic and career counselling to registered students. the logical decision during covid‑19 was to move all the individual counselling, psychometric assessments, and work sessions to an online platform. like the phenomenon of online learning, online counselling can make the service more accessible for many, but it can also exclude many. the availability of devices and the cost of data were important factors to consider. although su tried to mitigate these challenges by distributing laptops to students in need of them, availing free monthly data packages and negotiating free access to sunlearn, it was soon realised that offering online counselling presented with many potential pitfalls. several clients, especially those who resided in rural areas, found it difficult to identify physically safe spaces where they could attend private online counselling sessions. they often shared small spaces with friends and family. keeping counselling sessions confidential was almost impossible in these cases. the quality of data connections made online real‑time conversations challenging for some clients. it was important to determine upfront with each client which limitations could potentially impact the counselling process. when hosting work sessions online, interactive participation during a presentation could be a challenge. having a co‑facilitator that managed written comments of participants during presentations would be recommended. interactive participation was also encouraged when a work session was pre‑recorded and uploaded on the learning management system for students to watch in their own time. they were invited to send questions afterwards and these were answered during an online panel discussion. despite our best efforts to prevent exclusion of students from online counselling and work sessions we had to admit that it could not always be readily accessible to everyone. self‑help resources on the cscd website were expanded with a specific focus on challenges related to online studies. topics included: “i find it challenging to manage my time”, “the workload seems more than before”, “i miss peer interaction”, “i am feeling demotivated, munita dunn‑coetzee, elmien sinclair et al.: adaptation of student support services considering covid‑19 … 161 anxious and/or depressed” and “the online assessment format leaves me feeling uncertain”. these topics were addressed in short video clips and accompanying text. disability unit (du) prior to covid‑19, from time to time the students requested varied ways of teaching, flexible learning materials and adapted assessments. the du had to negotiate “special” arrangements with faculties, depending on the specific needs. using technology to teach was heavily relied upon during covid‑19. chinyamurindi (2020) and rowe (2020) explore the possibilities of students having access to inclusive technology in remote learning, which is positive, as technology can assist vastly in aiding inclusivity. a big challenge and risk was that some students could not cope with the sudden shift to online teaching and learning. the lack of structure, and the lack of face‑to‑face support systems was difficult for some students with disabilities and conditions marked by rigid structure preferences. initially, bandwidth and adequate devices was a challenge, but most students with disabilities acquired their assistive devices before the first term ended, which coincided with the onset of the south african covid‑19 lockdown. poorer academic results were evident with some of these students. consultations with students continued virtually, including the use of sign language interpreters if needed. communication and contact were maintained through the use of email, microsoft teams, whatsapp calls and telephone calls. staff meetings continued via microsoft teams. equality unit (equ) the equ implements su policies on unfair discrimination and harassment as well as on hiv/aids and is committed to dealing with social injustice. students and staff can report all forms of unfair discrimination, sexual harassment, gender‑based violence, victimisation and abuse to the unit. to assist with dispute resolution, the unit also offers mediation services. the unit renders services to staff and students as well as training and interventions to combat gender violence and hiv/aids (prevention, testing and counselling), and gives support with issues related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and allies (lgbtqia+) community. most of our services were significantly impacted by the alert level regulations imposed by the south african government in 2020. we experienced declines in the number of cases of unfair discrimination and sexual harassment reported, ceased, or very limited hiv testing and limits on the ability to safely distribute internal and external condoms on campuses. the impact on basic hiv testing and prevention services provides an interesting and concerning reality as the dual pandemic of covid‑19 and hiv/aids continues to co‑exist. essential testing services and limited condom supplies were only made available by su campus health services when 33% of the student population could return to campuses in june 2020. 162 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 157‑166 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1435 the challenge of lockdown and alert level regulations created the need to rapidly create safe and user‑friendly virtual reporting tools, support, and services. through the microsoft sharepoint and microsoft teams applications the equ designed and tested online reporting platforms which was only done in person pre‑covid‑19. the ability to continue providing support, training and services through virtual technologies contributed to ensuring minimum impact on student relationships and interactions. unit for graduand career services (ugcs) this unit’s mandate is to connect our students to the world of work and to facilitate their transition from education to employment. we focus on optimising opportunities for students, especially our first‑generation students, by closing the ‘network gap’ through extending their professional networks. it is a well‑known fact that having an effective network is the most powerful tool you can use to market yourself and to find the hidden work opportunities (mcgowan, 2013). two core services that speak directly to our focus required major adjustments. shifting from on‑campus career fairs and on‑campus career work sessions to virtual career fairs and online career webinars was exciting, but also challenging. shifting to virtual career fairs provided graduate employers an alternative approach to market their organisations and to seek new potential employees (ådne et al., 2018). our unit was invited by the south african graduate employers association (sagea) along with 22 other universities to participate in the virtual career fair project. training sessions were organised on how to register and navigate the platform. training material for students was made available. for our online career webinars, microsoft teams was chosen as the preferred platform. we initially only focused on pre‑recorded career webinars to make asynchronous access possible for students. this allowed students more flexibility as their academic schedules and personal responsibilities at home would vary. as students adapted to the online learning environment, we started offering live webinars. the live webinars were also recorded and posted on the microsoft teams platform for students to access afterwards. students informally provided feedback on the live webinars: • a few challenges at the beginning with sharing screens but the content of the session and the enthusiasm of the presenter made up for the lost time. i enjoyed every minute of it. • there were glitches at the beginning. it’s good that there were more facilitators. please let us know when you have this session again. students could log on to the virtual career fair platform on any of the three scheduled dates. they could also access the opportunities posted by the employers afterwards, as the virtual fair platform remained open for two months thereafter. we received some informal positive feedback from students about the virtual career fair: • i liked being able to view information about many employers in one location. • the virtual experience was positive. • i liked being able to apply to multiple employers from one location. • the opportunity to chat with employers online was a good experience. • webcasts offered by employers helped me. munita dunn‑coetzee, elmien sinclair et al.: adaptation of student support services considering covid‑19 … 163 unit for psychotherapeutic and support services (upss) covid‑19 has had a substantial impact on the traditional methods of service delivery at upss. this is because the unit had to ensure physical distancing to comply with covid‑19 regulations. adjustments were made in the delivery of psycho‑social services and food security matters. the shift from face‑to‑face to online service delivery meant that screening, assessment, therapy, referrals, and implementation of intervention plans were conducted online. initially this transition was difficult for staff and students alike due to a lack of equipment or devices and data. due to the lockdown and the need to provide mental health services to our students, we had to embrace innovative ‘tele‑health’ solutions and quickly orientate ourselves to digital platforms. the method of engaging with students therefore changed from face‑to‑ face to online services through the use of digital platforms such as microsoft teams, zoom, skype, whatsapp, and telephone. throughout the pandemic our staff provided services that include basic containment, trauma counselling, individual psychotherapy and counselling, support groups, discussion groups and food security. the first step in the online service delivery was to revise our ethical and consent forms to ensure ethical compliance. the unit, as far as possible, tried to ensure minimum impact of student relationships and interaction. this was done through facilitating online support groups for anxiety and depression, grief, self‑care, and financial management. these group sessions allowed for students to interact and form relationships with one another in an online space. students shared thoughts and ideas amongst one another about a theme that was being discussed in the groups. impact on staff this sudden and unexpected change in service delivery indeed put staff under pressure. they had to demonstrate tenacity and agility to react efficiently to the needs of the clients. although cscd’s staff are well qualified and experienced in rendering support to students, they had to acquire new knowledge in a very short time about learning in an online environment. simultaneously they also had to acquire new skills in online facilitation and mastering new software programmes. a different skillset is needed when one only has an online medium to gain an understanding of your client as less non‑verbal cues are visible. practitioners became more directive in their therapeutic stance and had to think more carefully about containing students when physically removed from them. student clients also used the therapeutic space more effectively as they got to the depth of issues more easily. the time spent in sessions for many students also changed. students would end the sessions after only thirty minutes as they felt they achieved the goals of the session. this might also of course be because of constraints around data costs. however, to ensure that each staff member had adequate digital infrastructure to work from home was quite a challenge. due to an increase in screen time, staff had to be vigilant about digital fatigue. for practitioners, screen fatigue became a real issue as the lockdown period continued. the work‑life balance, especially when working from home, became a 164 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 157‑166 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1435 matter that had to be addressed speedily and practically. the remedy was found within the flexibility of staff working from home. after online case discussions and team meetings, staff soon learned to schedule work and home time differently. this meant working early mornings, late evenings or even weekends. this also benefitted students who could now access sessions after hours and weekends. a typical workday could therefore be structured differently per staff member. some staff members experienced family deaths and this impacted them heavily due to social distancing requirements and the inability to traditionally bury a loved one. one of the greatest challenges is probably to be content amid uncertainty. lessons learned covid‑19 changed the way we work in fundamental ways and some lessons learnt will stay with us. the discourse espoused by universal design for learning (udl), lends itself to flexible teaching, learning and assessment practices (bruner, 2016; burgstahler, 2015). this way of thinking about learning responds well to student diversity, in its broadest sense, and would naturally include students with disabilities. what udl means is that learning materials are presented in various ways, by multiple means of representation. students, by nature of their various ways of processing information, their strengths, and preferences, will have multiple ways of engaging with learning material. in being reflective, it is as important to acknowledge how we have been changed during covid‑19. incorporating udl ways of thinking about student diversity and learning opens us up to being more inclusive in our practices and improving social justice initiatives. one lesson learnt is that disabled students are not a separate entity from the rest of the student population. students with disabilities are a part of the rest of the diverse student population and by thinking inclusively about all students, no one gets left behind in times of pandemics. many students benefitted from the flexibility around assessments, assignments and being able to listen to recorded classes again. staff became more technologically literate. the enhanced technological capability can be explored further in hopes that all lecturers can use podcasts when teaching and can incorporate speech‑to‑text technologies for a more inclusive academic offering. the adjustments demanded lots of flexibility from staff and managers. creating a safe environment for staff to voice their needs and uncertainties was necessary to build trust and resilience. in virtually preparing students for a world of work, the efforts to optimise our existing online recruitment solutions, like our career services management platform, should be increased. more zero‑rated applications and websites would also be a game changer in the online learning and support environment (mhlanga & moloi, 2020). employers and employees must co‑invest in sufficient digital infrastructures for staff to effectively work from home. it is also imperative that the unit for graduand career services collaborates with graduate employers to better prepare students for the virtual and online recruitment space. munita dunn‑coetzee, elmien sinclair et al.: adaptation of student support services considering covid‑19 … 165 practitioners believed in having boundaries with clients but have learnt to be more flexible regarding this to successfully work online. our fears about online or telephone counselling especially related to building therapeutic relationships, trust and support disappeared as we gained experience in online counselling. we learned that access to mental health support could be multi‑faceted and students doing their practical on distributed platforms within south africa could have efficient access to online therapeutic assistance. we did not have the waiting lists that are so common in higher education student counselling circles. this might be due to rendering services on an online platform. this brought about flexibility in service delivery where staff could conduct work after hours and weekends and did not extend their contracted work hours per week. this might be the most important lesson for us and will surely impact the way we offer services in future. implication for future functioning the african continent does not lack creativity and can emerge with their own solutions. our continent still struggles with internet connectivity, accessible devices, and electricity issues, to name a few. however, this period forced us to collaborate as a country: students, staff, public and private companies, and individuals as well as governmental sectors. there were endless possibilities in terms of government departments collaborating with internet service providers for zero‑rated data costs and students on financial aid schemes, like the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas) could acquire laptops. where possible, higher education institutions could make laptops and assistive devices available to all students. the use of no, low‑ and high‑tech solutions remain options in educational settings in the african context (chinyamurindi, 2020; rowe, 2020; uct, 2020). the development of tailored programmes to mitigate identified risks through a range of interventions, located at institutional and faculty levels, need to be prioritised with the assistance of external funding. the building of partnerships with other entities in southern africa should be a priority. these interventions are focused largely around increasing human resources to adapt to the ongoing demands generated through the transition to online learning and the need to ensure that there is a diverse range of support options open to vulnerable students. one of the biggest implications for future functioning as a student counselling centre in higher education, is to fully use this opportunity to re‑examine our functioning and to be able to, in a new normal, work in a flexible manner where the needs of our staff can be met in order to manage their workload and get their work accomplished. this entails investigating models where staff rotate, work from home and with flexi‑hours to accommodate family life and the different schedules of students. covid‑19 accelerated a stronger move to a hybrid learning model and digital transformation in higher education. conclusion the covid‑19 global pandemic has impacted and challenged service delivery to students multifacetedly. the pandemic facilitated an imperative shift to online functioning for the cscd and assisted with the creation of ample new opportunities. a great concern for future functioning is the economic uncertainty as budget cuts and the diversion of resources 166 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 157‑166 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1435 to ameliorate the effects of covid‑19 are set to negatively impact higher education in south africa. there is great apprehension for post‑covid‑19 sustainability of universities and a lot will depend on what the situation is with regards to subsidy levels for 2021. however, learning just like working, is not totally dependent on campus boundaries. with the necessary infrastructure, work and study can happen in a hybrid way. covid‑19 created the liberating opportunity to think what the future of higher education – and specifically rendering virtual student support within higher education – can look like. disclosure of interests and funding these are personal reflections of the authors on their experiences and learnings during covid‑19 as practitioners within student counselling in higher education. the authors have no financial or non‑financial interests in the article. no external funds were provided for the article and no ethical clearance was needed. references ådne, s.v., nørbech, b.c. & jeske, d. (2018). virtual career fairs: perspectives from norwegian recruiters and exhibitors. future internet, 10(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi10020019 bruner, d. (2016). universal design for learning: academic access for diverse learners. journal of inclusive practice in further and higher education, 7, 4‑8. http://nadp‑uk.org/journal/ burgstahler, s.e. (2015). universal design in higher education: from principles to practice. dryden press. chinyamurindi, w. (2020). five ways academics can manage covid‑19 situations. https://theconversation. com/five‑ways‑academics‑can‑manage‑covid‑19‑shutdowns‑133947 lyner‑cleophas, m. (2020). online teaching should also consider students with disabilities. http://www. sun.ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7441 mcgowan, r. (2013). how to find work in the 21st century (6th ed). thames river press. mhlanga, d. & moloi, t. (2020). covid‑19 and the digital transformation of education: what are we learning on 4ir in south africa? education sciences, 10(7), 180. https://doi.org/10.3390/ educsci10070180 rowe, m. (2020). universal principles of learning task design. crisis edition. https://www.mrowe.co.za/ blog/2020/04/universal‑principles‑of‑learning‑task‑design‑crisis‑edition/ stellenbosch university (2020). about‑us. [online]. http://www.sun.ac.za/english/about‑us/why‑su [accessed 29 august 2020]. how to cite: dunn‑coetzee, m., sinclair, e., lyner‑cleophas, m., brink, j., timmey, m. & davids, c. (2021). adaptation of student support services considering covid‑19: adjustments, impact, and future implications. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 157‑166. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1435 https://doi.org/10.3390/fi10020019 http://nadp-uk.org/journal/ https://theconversation.com/five-ways-academics-can-manage-covid-19-shutdowns-133947 https://theconversation.com/five-ways-academics-can-manage-covid-19-shutdowns-133947 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7441 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/lists/news/dispform.aspx?id=7441 https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10070180 https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10070180 https://www.mrowe.co.za/blog/2020/04/universal-principles-of-learning-task-design-crisis-edition/ https://www.mrowe.co.za/blog/2020/04/universal-principles-of-learning-task-design-crisis-edition/ http://www.sun.ac.za/english/about-us/why-su www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 77 research article the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa andile samkele masuku,1 maureen nokuthula sibiya,2 reggiswindis thobile hlengwa3 & naseem haniff 4 1 andile samkele masuku, durban university of technology, durban, south africa. email: andilem3@dut. ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-7850-5469 2 prof. maureen nokuthula sibiya, mangosuthu university of technology, umlazi, south africa. email: sibiya. nokuthula@mut.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-1220-1478 3 reggiswindis thobile hlengwa, durban university of technology, durban, south africa. email: thobileh@dut. ac.za. orcid: 0000-0001-8436-9451 4 dr naseem haniff, durban university of technology, durban, south africa. email: haniffn@dut.ac.za. article history: received 19 october 2022 | accepted 17 march 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords coronavirus disease, mental health problems, pandemic, psychological burden, student affairs abstract the closure of universities as a response to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic affects all students and has a far-reaching economic and psychosocial impact, especially for those students who come from marginalized and impoverished contexts. international research reports that students have struggled to cope with learning under unprecedented conditions, including not attending classes on campus. this study aimed to investigate the psychological burden of covid-19 among students at a university of technology in the kwazulu-natal province in south africa. a mixed-method approach was used to collect data from participants. the results revealed that several students struggled to cope, both mentally and academically, with the burden of covid-19. negative psychological experiences emerged among students as they faced numerous challenges. therefore, it is recommended that students must be provided with resources that would enable them to thrive and recover from these negative experiences. résumé la fermeture des universités en réponse à la pandémie de covid-19 actuelle affecte tous les étudiants et a un impact économique et psychosocial considérable, en particulier pour ceux issus de milieux marginalisés et appauvris. les études internationales montrent que les étudiants ont eu du mal à faire face à l’apprentissage dans des conditions sans précédent, y compris en n’assistant pas aux cours sur le campus. cette étude avait pour but d’examiner le poids psychologique de la covid-19 chez les étudiants d’une université de technologie de la province de kwazulu-natal en afrique du sud. une approche mixte a été utilisée pour collecter des données auprès des participants. les résultats ont révélé que plusieurs étudiants avaient du mal à faire face au fardeau de la covid-19 tant sur le plan mental que sur le plan académique. des expériences psychologiques négatives ont été observées chez les étudiants alors qu’ils faisaient face à de nombreux défis. par conséquent, il est recommandé de fournir aux étudiants les ressources nécessaires qui leur permettraient de s’épanouir et de se remettre de ces expériences négatives. http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za78 mots-clés maladie à coronavirus, œuvres estudiantines, problèmes de santé mentale, pandémie, poids psychologique, services étudiants introduction in late december 2019, a viral outbreak was first reported in wuhan, china (xu et al., 2020). within a matter of weeks, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) had already taken on pandemic proportions globally (remuzzi & remuzzi, 2020). the world health organization (2020) revealed that the virus, sars-cov-2, causes the novel covid-19 disease. the most likely ecological reservoirs for sars-cov-2 are bats, but it is believed that the virus jumped the species barrier to humans from another intermediate animal host. the fact that little is known about this virus, resulted in fear. the covid-19 outbreak has affected many people around the globe, with everincreasing numbers of confirmed deaths (evans, 2020). this infection has become a pandemic even though countries and organizations have taken various preventive measures, such as social distancing (rajapakse, 2020). research has revealed that such measures have caused disruptions to daily routines (lee, 2020) resulting in profound and a broad spectrum of negative impacts on people’s psychological well-being (ho et al., 2020). cullen et al. (2020) report that during the outbreak of infectious disease, peoples’ psychological reactions play an important role in shaping both the spread of the disease and the occurrence of emotional distress and social disorder, during and after the outbreak. furthermore, whilst covid-19 disrupted public health, the impact on higher education institutions was momentous (krishnamurthy, 2020). specific to higher education, the global lockdown of educational institutions has negatively impacted the academic programme for students (burgess & sievertsen, 2020), with over 90% of the world’s student population being affected (unesco, 2020). indeed, du plessis et al. (2022) suggest that after the changes brought about by the covid-19 pandemic in higher education, there is a need for integrated thinking which will forge a way forward. however, kee (2021) argues that the need for higher education leaders to prepare for a crisis is evident more than ever as the response to covid-19 has required drastic changes in the way education is delivered. moreover, the growing trend of high levels of untreated psychological distress among students during the covid-19 pandemic suggests a need for prevention programmes (theurel et al., 2022). thus, this study explored the psychological experiences of students during the covid-19 pandemic and produced recommendations on interventions that would assist them to deal with psychological issues. the objectives of the study were: 1. to examine the psychological impact of covid-19 among students attending a university of technology in kwazulu-natal, south africa. 2. to identify the mechanisms that students use to cope with the psychological impact of covid-19. masuku, a. s., sibiya, m. n., hlengwa, r. t., & haniff, n. (2023). the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa 79 covid-19 and higher education available research reports that several students experienced some form of psychological distress during the peak of the covid-19 pandemic (mudenda, 2022). within this context, as nimnee and halim (2021) argue, covid-19 has not only affected public health but has had a measurable impact on education as it has culminated in unprecedented learning experiences. the pandemic has negatively transformed the daily lives of students in a variety of ways; including being blocked from physically accessing campuses, losing out on financial and internship opportunities, and forcing them to embrace the use of modern technologies for doing their academic work (govindarajan & srivastava, 2020). further, the pandemic has introduced what has been termed the ‘new normal’, which, according to dwivedi et al. (2020), radically transformed the higher education terrain. in this so-called ‘new normal’, universities shifted from face-to-face learning to a more online-oriented type of learning as one of the prevention measures against the spread of the virus (rashid & yadav, 2020). yet, this move presented several challenges. for example, online learning affected student-lecturer and student-student interactions which have historically promoted better in-class engagements (kumar et al., 2021). unesco (2022) has also revealed that the move to online learning affected students’ academic performance. some students dropped out of university because of a lack of consultation between them and their lecturers when they faced difficulties in learning/ understanding content-related material (sintema, 2020). linked to online teaching and learning challenges were issues such as internet availability, speed and cost, as well as the availability of devices such as laptops and cell phones that students needed to access learning resources and materials (mahdy, 2020). the psychological impact of covid-19 kara (2022) confirms that the covid-19 pandemic has affected not only the physical health of students, but their mental health as well, mostly due to lockdown restrictions and the overwhelming numbers of positive cases reported each day (jhunjhunwala & jain, 2022). historically, health-related pandemics have produced negative psychological outcomes including symptoms of depression, anxiety, the fear of death, posttraumatic stress disorder, and other psychotic symptoms (taylor, 2022). university students have not been exempted from mental health challenges amid the covid-19 pandemic (odriozola-gonzález et al., 2020). for example, some students have experienced reduced motivation toward their studies, pressure to learn independently, and an abandonment of their daily routines (grubic, badovinac & johri, 2020). one study, conducted by batra et al. (2021), found that there is a need for the development of appropriate public health interventions to address students’ emotional and psychosocial needs during the covid-19 pandemic. it is for this reason that the study reported in this article was conceptualised. method this study employed a mixed-method approach to gather data from university students at one university of technology in kwazulu-natal, south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za80 participants an invitation to participate in the study was sent through the university’s communication channels to 33,000 students. these students were asked to voluntarily complete an online survey. a self-selected sample of 418 students completed the survey. the table below summarises the participants’ demographic details. table 1: demographic characteristics of the participants gender male 41.1% female 57.3% race black 83.0% white 2.3% coloured 2.3% indians 12.3% age 18-30 85.6% 31-40 11.2% 41-50 2.6% 51-65 0.6% instruments a survey was used to investigate the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at one university of technology. the questionnaire had four sections. the first section requested students to provide their demographic details. whereas the second section was based on the students’ psychological experiences by investigating how the loss of a job by a primary breadwinner at home affected students, the psychological experiences of students, how the closure of university campuses affected the students, and students’ feelings when asked to vacate university residences (qualitative approach). the third section focused on the challenges experienced by students because of the covid-19 pandemic. this section investigated whether or not students were able to do their academic work during covid-19, whether students could socialize, and other challenges which they may have experienced because of covid-19 (quantitative and qualitative approach). the fourth section was based on coping mechanisms that students used to deal with their psychological experiences. this particular section also focused on which programmes students would recommend being implemented to deal with the psychological issues resulting from covid-19 and the kind of support the university may need to offer students in dealing with such issues (quantitative approach). students’ responses were based on a 5-scale model which ranked their responses on a continuum from strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. moreover, since this is a new study and has not been conducted before, the researchers developed the questionnaire; thus, the questionnaire was not adopted from any other previous or known research study. masuku, a. s., sibiya, m. n., hlengwa, r. t., & haniff, n. (2023). the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa 81 procedure the researchers first directly approached a sample of six (6) students to participate in a pilot study. the purpose of the pilot study was to ascertain the feasibility of the proposed study to the larger student population. the findings of the pilot study were analysed; however, they were not included in this study. ethical considerations after receiving ethical clearance from the institutional research and ethics committee (irec), gatekeeper permission was thereafter sought from the university gatekeeper permission committee. all respondents in the study were provided with a letter of information that outlined the purpose of the study and an electronic consent form to sign to participate in the research study. students were informed that their participation was voluntary and that their details would not be used in the study, as confidentiality would be maintained. data analysis in the process of data cleaning, we found that 418 responses were received, 12 of these were excluded as they did not give consent to participate in the study. a further 23 were duplicates (respondents submitted more than once) and were removed. therefore, this left 338 usable responses. data were imported into statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 20 for analysis. descriptive and frequency analysis statistical tests were carried out to analyse the data for quantitative data. data from the openended questions were analysed by way of thematic analysis in which the participants’ responses were scrutinized and themes were identified. results section a: demographics table 2 below shows that about 57.3% of the participants identified as female and 41.1% identified as male. the majority (83.0%) of the participants were black students, with 17% of other races participating in this study. according to the data, a majority (73.6%) of the participants were undergraduate students and the rest (26.4%) were postgraduate students. the majority (85.6%) of the participants were in the age range of 18-30 years, and 58.5% of the students were from urban areas whilst 41.5% were from rural areas. table 2: sociodemographic characteristics of the participants sociodemographic characteristic % gender male female prefer not to say 41.1 57.3 1.6 journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za82 sociodemographic characteristic % race black white coloured indian 83.0 2.3 2.3 12.4 marital status single married divorced widowed other 91.4 6.3 1.3 0.3 0.7 year of study first-year second-year third-year fourth-year postgraduate 24.3 18.8 19.1 11.4 26.4 age 18-30 31-40 41-50 51-65 85.6 11.2 2.6 0.6 dwelling urban rural 58.5 41.5 section b: psychological effects table 3 presents the results of respondents’ opinions on being affected by a primary breadwinner’s loss of employment because of the covid-19 pandemic. respondents were asked to rate their responses on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), that they were affected emotionally and mentally using five different emotions. the results show that a majority of the respondents were affected by a breadwinner’s loss of a job. most respondents strongly agreed that they were feeling stressed and emotionally drained, with a few indicating being mentally affected (2.6%) and feeling hopeless (2.9%), including a sense of disappointment (3.9%). table 3: loss of job by a breadwinner item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. sense of disappointment 3.9 4.2 19.3 27.7 44.9 4.05 (1.078) <.0005* masuku, a. s., sibiya, m. n., hlengwa, r. t., & haniff, n. (2023). the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa 83 item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 2. feeling of hopelessness 2.9 6.5 18.8 26.1 45.7 4.05 (1.079) <.0005* 3. feeling stressed 2.3 4.7 11.2 22.8 59.0 4.31 (1.003) <.0005* 4. emotionally drained 2.9 4.7 15.4 26.9 50.1 4.17 (1.038) <.0005* 5. mentally affected 2.6 8.4 25.3 26.9 36.8 3.87 (15.686) <.0005* *these are all significant and the mean scores are all >3 indicating significant agreement for all. table 4 shows the effect of the covid-19 pandemic among the respondents. they were asked to rate their agreement, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), that they were affected emotionally using five different emotions. the table shows the psychological experiences of the pandemic on respondents. the psychological experiences included feelings of anxiety, fear, depressive symptoms, mood swings and change of sleeping habits. table 4: psychological experiences of the pandemic on respondents item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. feeling of anxiety 1.6 4.4 12.0 31.6 50.4 4.25 (.940) <.0005* 2. feeling of fear 1.6 4.4 12.8 30.8 50.4 4.24 (.946) <.0005* 3. depressive 3.2 9.1 17.2 31.3 39.2 39.4 (1.101) <.0005* 4. extreme mood swing 4.7 11.7 26.4 24.5 32.7 3.69 (1.178) <.0005* 5. change of sleeping habits 4.2 7.3 16.4 21.4 50.7 4.07 (1.157) <.0005* *these are all significant and the mean scores are all >3 indicating significant agreement for all. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za84 table 5 presents the effect of campus closures on respondents. they were asked to rate their agreement on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) that they were affected by the campus closure. table 5 shows that there is a significant difference in the psychological effect of closing campus across different race groups, p=.007. results from paired analysis with a bonferroni adjustment indicate that a majority of the respondents experienced anxiety about the future and some were not able to concentrate. further, others had mental breakdowns, with a minority suggesting that they had no access to online teaching and learning. table 5: campus closure item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. unable to concentrate 4.4 8.9 14.9 26.4 45.4 3.99 (.995) <.0005* 2. no access to online teaching and learning 11.2 23.0 27.9 19.4 18.5 3.11 (.110) <.0005* 3. late submission 8.4 15.4 24.3 24.8 27.21 3.47 (.470) <.0005* 4. feeling anxious about the future 2.6 6.0 7.3 29.5 54.6 4.27 (1.274) <.0005* 5. mental breakdowns 7.6 12.8 20.9 27.9 30.8 3.62 (.616) <.0005* *these are all significant and the mean scores are all >3 indicating significant agreement for all. table 6 presents students’ feelings regarding the time they were asked to vacate university residences. respondents were asked to rate their agreement, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), that they were affected emotionally using five different emotions. there is a significant difference in the psychological effect of having to vacate their residence across different races, p<.0005. results from paired analysis with a bonferroni adjustment indicate that the effect was greater for black students than for indian students, p<.0005. table 6: effect of vacating the residences item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. happy 23.8 19.3 43.1 5.7 8.1 2.55 (1.152) <.0005* masuku, a. s., sibiya, m. n., hlengwa, r. t., & haniff, n. (2023). the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa 85 item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 2. disappointed 7.3 6.6 34.7 21.9 29.5 3.60 (1.185) <.0005* 3. worried 5.5 3.1 30.3 26.6 34.5 3.81 (1.111) <.0005* 4. depressed 8.9 10.2 37.9 19.5 23.5 3.39 (1.203) <.0005* 5. angry 12.3 13.8 42.3 14.6 17.0 3.10 (1.203) <.0005* *these are all significant and the mean scores are all >3 indicating significant agreement for all. section c: challenges experienced table 7 describes the responses of participants regarding their ability to do their academic work during the pandemic. the results indicate that a majority of respondents were able to do their academic work, with a minority suggesting that they were not able to do their academic work during the pandemic. table 7: ability to do academic work during the pandemic groups binary question percentage group one yes 76 group two no 24 when asked if they could do their academic work during the pandemic, the results from a binomial test showed that a significant 76% were able to do their academic work, p<.0005. table 8 presents results about respondents’ ability to socialize with other people during the pandemic. students were asked to rate their agreement, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), that they were able to socialize or create relationships (table 7). results from paired analysis with a bonferroni adjustment indicate that most of the respondents had social withdrawal symptoms. table 8: socializing item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. social withdrawal 4.7 7.8 28.5 33.4 25.6 .674 (1.083) <.0005* journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za86 item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 2. able to socialize 8.9 17.0 33.4 28.7 12.0 .180 (1.124) <.0005* 3. created lots of relationships 22.5 29.5 27.9 11.7 8.4 .460 (1.199) <.0005* *significant agreement that they had social withdrawal; and that they were able to socialize. significant disagreement that they created lots of relationships. other challenges (qualitative) respondents were asked about other challenges that they experienced during the pandemic. the themes that emerged were grouped and analysed to describe the challenges. the themes that emerged from our analysis were as follows: theme 1: connectivity issues some of the students indicated that they had connectivity issues and they struggled to access online teaching and learning activities. theme 2: data students indicated that they had problems obtaining and purchasing data to keep themselves connected to online platforms. thus, they were not able to do their assignments or access to their study materials. theme 3: loss of confidence some students reported a loss in self-confidence and a lack of motivation to do their lessons, resulting in the untimely submission of their work. theme 4: consultation with lecturers other students mentioned that they experienced challenges in reaching out to their lecturers especially when they needed clarity regarding topics or content they did not understand during the teaching and learning sessions. theme 5: access to campus some students faced difficulty accessing laboratories on campus, which hampered the continuation and completion of their projects. theme 6: environment factors students reported challenges with their living arrangements at home because the space was not conducive for them to do their academic work effectively. masuku, a. s., sibiya, m. n., hlengwa, r. t., & haniff, n. (2023). the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa 87 section d: coping mechanisms table 9 shows participants’ coping mechanisms during the pandemic. respondents were asked to rate their agreement, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), that they adopted coping mechanisms (table 9). results from paired analysis with a bonferroni adjustment indicate that the majority were eating well and continued to connect with others. whereas the minority maintained normal routines and read books as coping mechanisms. table 9: coping mechanisms item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. eating well 6.8 13.1 30.7 35.8 13.6 .3.63 (1.084) <.0005* 2. maintain normal routine 9.4 22.7 34.5 23.5 9.9 .0.18 (1.113) <.0005* 3. continue to connect with others 6.3 20.4 32.4 29.2 11.7 .198 (1.086) <.0005* 4. reading books 7.0 14.6 30.0 26.2 22.2 .4.18 (1.186) <.0005* *these are all significant and the mean scores are all>3 indicating significant agreement for all. table 10 shows the programmes that participants recommended for implementation by the university to assist them in dealing with psychological issues caused by the pandemic. they were asked to rate their agreement, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), to recommend the implementation of these programmes by the university (table 9). results from paired analysis with a bonferroni adjustment indicate that the majority of respondents needed programmes on improving social competencies and webinars on mental health. whereas some agreed on having workshops on covid-19 to assist them to deal with resultant psychological issues. table 10: programmes to assist students to deal with psychological issues item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. workshops on covid-19 2.1 6.0 19.8 35.8 36.3 3.98 (.996) <.0005* journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za88 item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 2. webinar on mental health .5 2.9 12.8 38.6 45.2 4.25 (.825) <.0005* 3. programmes on improvements on social competencies .8 2.8 11.5 37.9 47.0 4.27 (.835) <.0005* * these are all significant and the mean scores are all>3 indicating significant agreement for all. table 11 shows the types of support that participants felt should be offered by the university. they were asked to rate their agreement, on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), if they needed psychosocial and academic support (table 10). results from paired analysis with a bonferroni adjustment show that the majority of respondents indicated a need for webinars on mental health and workshops on covid-19. table 11: psychological and academic support item responses as frequency (%) mean (sd) p-value st ro ng ly di sa gr ee d is ag re e n eu tr al a gr ee st ro ng ly ag re e 1. workshops on covid-19 2.6 6.8 14.6 31.6 44.4 4.08 (1.045) <.0005* 2. webinar on mental health 1.8 3.4 11.2 29.2 54.4 4.31 (.929) <.0005* * these are all significant and the mean scores are all>3 indicating significant agreement for all. discussion this study investigated the psychological burden of covid-19 among students at one university of technology in kwazulu-natal, south africa. the first objective of this study was to investigate the psychological impacts of covid-19 on students at the selected university of technology. the covid-19 pandemic has caused a loss of employment opportunities, which impacted on livelihoods (shang et al., 2021). the purpose of this objective was to investigate how household breadwinners’ loss of employment psychologically affected students during the covid-19 pandemic. this study confirms that the majority of breadwinners lost their jobs because of the pandemic, and this had a negative psychological impact on students. masuku, a. s., sibiya, m. n., hlengwa, r. t., & haniff, n. (2023). the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa 89 the results also show that students had challenges with their mental health which included anxiety, feelings of fear, and depression. visser & law-van wyk (2021) confirm that during the pandemic, students experienced emotional and mental health challenges. moreover, this study also found that campus closure contributed to drops in academic performance by the students. this shows that some of the students struggled to cope with online-based methods of teaching and learning away from campus. the closure of campuses negatively impacted students’ learning and well-being (vlachos et al., 2021). the results suggest that vacating residences harmed students since they had insufficient resources to complete their academic work. thus, it is suggested that the home environment affected students’ learning and their well-being during covid-19 (agyekum, 2022). the second objective was to investigate the challenges that students experienced related to the covid-19 pandemic. the results show that most of the students were able to do their academic work, however, other students reported that they could not do their work as they experienced different challenges. whitelaw et al. (2022) found that some students lacked data and learning devices which prevented them from completing their academic work. the study also found that covid-19 had an impact on students’ overall social relations as they experienced social withdrawal. their face-toface interactions were often limited and also lost during the covid-19 pandemic (long et al., 2021). students were also asked about other challenges that they were experiencing. the results revealed that a minority of students had connectivity issues that prevented them from doing their academic work and having access to online classes. further, these challenges contributed to some of the students losing confidence in themselves or their futures as they lost motivation to do their academic work. thus, new techniques must be implemented to support students to do their academic work. the study also found that some of the students experienced challenges related to consulting with their lecturers. the pandemic contributed to reduced contact time and a lack of consultation when students faced challenges in learning or understanding (sintema, 2020). another objective of the study was to identify mechanisms that students used to cope with covid-19. a majority of the students agreed that there should be programmes implemented by the institution to assist them in coping with mental health problems, especially since the covid-19 pandemic is ongoing. these programmes must be implemented to effectively address the psychological and other academic-related issues they faced with covid-19. therefore, based on the above discussion, an overarching finding is that the covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on students’ psychological wellbeing which was embedded in economic, educational, and social factors. limitations this study employed a mixed-method approach with limited close-ended questions which prevented researchers from further exploring the psychological effects of covid-19 among students. a notable limitation was that there were no follow-up questions based on the responses that students provided. this limited the scope of our analysis, and the implications derived therefrom. likewise, this study was conducted at a single university journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za90 of technology. therefore, the results are not generalisable to other universities in south africa. conclusion this study has provided a snapshot of how covid-19 psychologically affected students at a university of technology in south africa. the suspension of in-contact classes by institutions to prevent the spread of the virus resulted in students being concerned about their academic performance and their psychological well-being. further, the closure of campuses and residences had implications on students’ academic progress as some of them had network connectivity issues and others had no data to access online classes which were likely to negatively impact their emotional and mental health wellness. also, based on the results presented above, some of the students were able to cope and managed through these challenges using various coping mechanisms. although students indicated their coping methods, the results point to a need for ameliorative programmes aimed at assisting students to deal with the psychological impact of covid-19. the university should, thus, strengthen its systems and processes by putting appropriate interventions to help students deal with such issues. mental health is one of the important aspects that should be taken seriously in making sure that no student is suffering. further, it is also vital to provide accurate resources that would enable students to perform their academic work without any disruption. academic support is important if we want to assist students in striving for academic excellence. this also calls for the university to create an enabling environment where students are co-creators of programmes that will positively influence their development and growth in all spheres of life. therefore, future research needs to look at universities’ role in providing psychological support to students during public health emergencies. ethics statement all ethics protocols were followed by the researchers. potential conflict of interest the authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. funding no funding was received to conduct the study. references agyekum, b. 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(2023). the psychological burden of the covid-19 pandemic among students at a university of technology in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 77–93. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4121 https://coronaphobia.org/assets/articles/taylor-arcp.pdf https://www.dovepress.com/perceived-stress-and-coping-strategies-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-am-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-prbm https://www.dovepress.com/perceived-stress-and-coping-strategies-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-am-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-prbm https://www.dovepress.com/perceived-stress-and-coping-strategies-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-am-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-prbm https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10442 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10442 https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/en/2022/06/03/the-impact-of-covid-19-in-higher-education/ https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/en/2022/06/03/the-impact-of-covid-19-in-higher-education/ https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2020834118 https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2020834118 https://www.opensaldru.uct.ac.za/bitstream/handle/11090/1021/2022_289_saldruwp.pdf?sequence=1 https://www.opensaldru.uct.ac.za/bitstream/handle/11090/1021/2022_289_saldruwp.pdf?sequence=1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113003 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 23 www.jsaa.ac.za research article challenges and interventions of elearning for underresourced students amid covid-19 lockdown: a case of a zambian public university charity l.m. kombei & dingase e. mtongaii i dr charity lengwe meki kombe is a lecturer and researcher at mulungushi university, kabwe, zambia. orcid: 0000-0003-3207-6598. email: cmekikombe@yahoo.com ii ms dingase e. mtonga is a lecturer and researcher at mulungushi university, kabwe, zambia. orcid: 0000-0002-9456-8830. email: mtongadingase@gmail.com abstract this article reports the challenges of elearning faced by under-resourced students in a zambian public university during the 2020 covid-19 lockdown. the article further examines the interventions made by the university to mitigate the challenges of elearning faced by under-resourced students. the article is based on empirical data derived from an online closedand open‑ended questionnaire completed by 73 under‑resourced students, and an interview with two university staff. the quantitative and qualitative data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis respectively. the article provides evidence that under-resourced students encountered various challenges related to elearning categorised under the following interlinked themes: technical, environmental, psychological, sociocultural, financial, and material. lack of ict facilities/devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets and desktops), internet, electricity, and support systems were the most critical barriers to elearning. findings further showed that the sampled university made efforts to mitigate the challenges faced by students during elearning amid the 2020 covid-19 lockdown. however, there were no focused interventions to specifically address the actual challenges under‑resourced students encountered. regrettably, this suggests that the needs of under‑resourced students were overlooked. thus, the authors suggest strategies universities should put in place to uphold the participation of all students during elearning regardless of the circumstances. keywords covid-19 lockdown; elearning; interventions; under-resourced students; university; zambia introduction on 18 march 2020, zambia declared the covid‑19 outbreak when the first two cases were confirmed (cabinet office circular minute of 2020‑co 7/6/2). the pandemic affected various sectors in the country. the education sector was one of the most affected as learning institutions were compelled to abruptly close down on 20 march 2020 (hapompwe et al., 2020; mulenga & marbán, 2020; naciri et al., 2020; sintema, 2020a). http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:cmekikombe%40yahoo.com?subject= mailto:mtongadingase%40gmail.com?subject= 24 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 to ensure continued learning, some universities opted to remain open by switching to elearning (online learning) (mulenga & marbán, 2020). while this move was forward‑ looking, in zambia elearning is generally not a popular mode of instruction because the education system is largely based on traditional face‑to‑face instruction. the unpopularity of elearning is attributed to various challenges such as power outages, unreliable internet access and lack of elearning devices by instructors and students. internet access is also expensive and largely restricted to urban areas (chola et al., 2020). poor ict (information and communication technology) skills and unfavourable academic conditions at home are also serious challenges to elearning (chola et al., 2020; hapompwe et al., 2020; mulenga & marbán, 2020; sintema, 2020b). studies conducted outside zambia have revealed that students experienced challenges relating to elearning during the covid‑19 lockdown (dube, 2020; hussain, 2020; kapasia et al., 2020; kunju, 2020; upoalkpajor & upoalkpajor, 2020). the aforementioned challenges for effective elearning were more prominent amongst under‑resourced students. this is, amongst others, because they have limited access to essential educational resources which consequently derail their education (krodel et al., 2008; adnan & anwar, 2020; pawloski, 2020). the desperate needs of these students become even more critical in times of emer‑ gen cies such as the outbreak of covid‑19. for instance, upoalkpajor and upoalkpajor (2020) reported that the impact of covid‑19 was “… severe for underprivileged families … causing intermittent learning’ (p. 25). as dube (2020, p. 137) argues, it seems as though elearning “favours … well‑privileged learners, thus, widening the gap between the poor and the rich …” in this article, an ‘under‑resourced student’ is one who has limited or no access to certain resources to address a specific situation or negotiate a particular environment. resources include finances, materials (pertinent instructional resources such as smartphones and computers); support systems (friends, family, and backup resources available to access in times of need); and mentors (any role model and highly proficient person such as a lecturer, ict staff and student counsellor helping students get the most from their educational experience). the term under‑resourced shall also refer to having inadequate resources, being poor and under‑funded (krodel et al., 2008; payne, 2008). in zambia, a number of studies relating to covid‑19 vis‑à‑vis education have been conducted (chola et al., 2020; hapompwe et al., 2020; mulenga & marbán, 2020; naciri et al., 2020; sintema, 2020a). while some of these scholars (hapompwe et al., 2020; sintema, 2020a) observed that under‑resourced students experienced elearning challenges during the 2020 covid‑19 lockdown, strikingly, none of them critically examined the specific challenges such students encountered. therefore, the aim of this article is to report on the specific challenges of elearning faced by under‑resourced students amid the 2020 covid‑19 lockdown in a zambian public university. furthermore, the article examines interventions made by the sampled university to mitigate the challenges of elearning faced by under‑resourced students. the ‘2020 covid‑19 lockdown’ refers to the period between 20 march 2020 when learning institutions in zambia were closed to mid‑july 2020 when data collection for the current study was concluded. c.l.m. kombe & d.e. mtonga: challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students … 25 this discussion is significant as it is expected to inform policy and practice on the actual experiences and challenges under‑resourced students go through when it comes to elearning at universities. the research may also provide insight into universities on how to appropriately respond to challenges faced by under‑resourced students to ensure equity in education. the study may also contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject and stimulate interest for further research. literature review studies on education during the covid‑19 crisis are increasing. although the specific objectives of the various studies differ, they generally focus on examining the impact of covid‑19 on education, assessment and its various stakeholders – students, teachers, school administrators, families, etc (hapompwe et al., 2020; kapasia et al., 2020; sintema, 2020a; upoalkpajor & upoalkpajor, 2020). it is also apparent that the studies generally centre on examining the shift from the traditional face‑to‑face method of instruction to elearning owing to the abrupt closure of learning institutions around the world (naciri et al., 2020). seemingly, however, fewer studies at international level (kapasia et al., 2020; kunju, 2020) bring up the challenges that under‑resourced students have encountered as learning institutions unexpectedly changed instruction from face‑to‑face to elearning. there are examples, like a study conducted in india that assessed the impact of covid‑19 lockdown on undergraduate and postgraduate students at various colleges and universities of west bengal. findings indicated that students faced challenges relating to elearning like poor internet connectivity, unconducive study environments, stress, depression, and anxiety. students from remote areas and marginalised sections of society, in particular, faced unique challenges, like being denied elearning due to lack of electricity and poor internet connectivity. consequently, it was recommended that interventions be created to provide space for studying amongst students from the vulnerable sections of society (kapasia et al., 2020). while the study by kapasia et al. (2020) provides useful insights regarding elearning during the covid‑19 lockdown, amongst whom can be classified as under‑resourced students, it does not go into much depth with regards to the detail of the specific challenges that this group of students faced. the current study therefore provides more insight into the discussion considering that it specifically focuses on under‑resourced students in relation to the actual challenges of elearning they encountered during the covid‑19 lockdown in zambia. still in india, a survey was conducted amongst school students across the country to understand the consequences of the covid‑19 lockdown on their studies and the challenges encountered with regards to exploring alternative modes of learning. findings revealed that the abrupt closure of educational institutions negatively affected students, especially those from the economically weaker section (ews) of the country. most ews students were unable to explore elearning resources due to lack of elearning know‑how and the inaccessibility of needful elearning necessities such as smartphones and internet. further, above 70 per cent of the participants indicated that they found elearning challenging because they had never done it before, while 79 per cent stated that they 26 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 were uncomfortable with it (kunju, 2020). findings by kapasia et al. (2020) and kunju (2020) provide a good basis for understanding the contextual similarities and differences of elearning during the covid‑19 lockdown amongst different countries. in africa, literature on covid‑19 and education is gaining grounds (dube, 2020; hussain, 2020; upoalkpajor & upoalkpajor, 2020). generally, the literature provides evidence on the impact of covid‑19 as well as lessons that have been learnt on the matter under scrutiny. the literature also focuses on the challenges that students and instructors encountered during the pandemic which include lack of appropriate resources for elearning, unreliable internet connectivity, power outages, unfavourable learning environment, anxiety and stress, amongst others. the marginalised in society such as the under‑resourced were the most affected. this is affirmed by scholars such as dube (2020) who documents rural learners having been left out from learning as a result of lack of various means to access online learning in south africa. these findings are echoed by hussain (2020) who argues that the inevitable mode of instruction adopted by the nigerian federal ministry of education excluded the already vulnerable and disadvantaged students. available literature on covid‑19 and education in zambia focuses on different areas with little attention paid to challenges under‑resourced students encountered during the covid‑19 lockdown (chola et al., 2020; mulenga & marbán, 2020; naciri et al., 2020; sintema, 2020a). for example, sintema (2020a) examined the views of teachers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) at a public secondary school on the probable effects of covid‑19 on stem education vis‑a‑vis performance of students in stem subjects. similarly, hapompwe et al. (2020) investigated the impact of covid‑19 on grades 7, 9 and 12 learners’ national examinations academic performance following the premature closure of schools. chola et al. (2020) assessed students’ perceptions towards elearning amid the covid‑19 pandemic through an online survey involving 210 physics students at a medical university in lusaka. notably, what cuts across in the literature is the concern about many learners not accessing elearning. the foregoing documented literature raises critical questions such as: ‘how should governments and universities ensure inclusion and equity for all learners during emergencies?’ ‘in what ways could the zambian government ensure continuity of learning amongst the vulnerable and disadvantaged students in times of crisis?’ ‘what would be the best policies and practices to emancipate the marginalised groups in elearning during emergencies such as covid‑19 and beyond?’ conceptual and theoretical underpinnings this study is framed by the concept of inclusive education (ie) which, in its most ‘traditional’ conceptualisation, entails educational institutions that are made or transformed with the purpose of accommodating children with special needs (disabilities) and how they can adapt easily in the school environment (florian, 2014; schuelka, 2018; schuelka et al.,  2020). from a broader perspective, ie is used to name the process of recognising and giving ‘support to the groups that are in any way marginalized’ (petrović, 2013, p. 31). the broader view of ie looks at the diversity of students and how learning institutions could respond to these differences (armstrong et al., 2010). c.l.m. kombe & d.e. mtonga: challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students … 27 ie can therefore be defined as learning that upholds personal, academic, and professional development of all learners irrespective of their age, gender, language, economic status, disability, and other forms of differences. in this regard, learning institutions are called upon to transform education to meet the needs of the student, i.e. transforming the system to accommodate the student and not vice versa (armstrong et al., 2010; tomlinson, 2014; schuelka, 2018). ie is anchored on the principle of ‘education for all’ with the assumption that every learner has a right to equal and quality educational opportunities and benefits (cobley, 2018; unesco‑ibe, 2016). the provision of quality education is in line with the fourth sustainable development goal which emphasises inclusive and equitable quality education (boeren, 2019). the practice of ie calls for an understanding that requires a continuous process which strives to sustain the participation of all students. it also aims at restructuring the cultures, policies, and practices in learning institutions as a response to the diversity of learners (schuelka, 2018; schuelka et al., 2020). schuelka (2018) brings out success elements to effective implementation of inclusive education which include inclusive polices and legal support that promote high outcomes for all students; adequate and equitable distribution of school resources and facilities; sufficient teacher training in inclusive thinking and techniques; flexible curriculum that offers personalisation; and supportive leadership. grimes (2010) developed a useful list of indicators to evaluate the level of inclusive education in laos (asia) that could be applied in other contexts. these indicators basically focus on vulnerable learners having a sense of belonging in a school; being supported by school staff and treated fairly; their voices valued; access to all lessons; and having a conducive environment to enable them to succeed in their learning. ie also calls for the “presence, participation, and achievement of all learners” (booth & ainscow, 2011; messiou, 2017). this implies that learners must be in attendance and actively engage in learning in order to have a positive educational experience. booth and ainscow (2002, p.3) define participation in terms of collaborative learning in shared learning experiences with learners “being recognised, accepted and valued”. in addition to ie, this study was also framed by ideas advanced under the critical emancipatory research (cer). the cer is associated with the critical theory established at the university of frankfurt in the early 1920s. the cer has its “philosophical roots in several traditions such as marx’s analysis of socio‑economic conditions and class structure, habermas’ notion of emancipatory knowledge and freire’s transformative and emancipatory pedagogy” (nkoane, 2013, p. 99). the aim of cer is not merely to explain or understand society but to transform it. the task of the researchers therefore is to challenge people in authority and uncover any repressive structures that suppress people and facilitate disparities (patton, 2002). the cer also seeks to explain and encourage participation and to shape the world into a better place for all. to do so, cer researchers problematise “historical and social conditions of crisis, oppression, inequality and replace them with emancipatory ones” (sinnerbrink, 2012, p. 370). the cer endeavours to ensure that no one is excluded from experiences that transform their lives while promoting inclusion, social justice, equality, and human rights. 28 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 ie and cer are both relevant to interrogate learning amongst under‑resourced students amid the covid‑19 lockdown due to the following reasons. first, the concept of ie and cer aim at ensuring that all categories of people, regardless of their vulnerability, have access to common provisions and equitably participate in experiences that can emancipate them (grimes, 2010; nkoane, 2013). secondly, ie and cer both promote ‘emancipatory’ values such as equity, social justice, inclusion and human rights amongst disenfranchised groups. both frames therefore provide a valuable lens to ponder on the challenges of elearning faced by under‑resourced students during the covid‑19 lockdown. further ie and cer offer a frame to appreciate the ‘emancipatory’ interventions that could be made by the universities to ensure inclusive and equitable elearning. research methodology this research adopted a cross‑sectional survey design which employed qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, where data was collected and analysed at a specific point in time (creswell, 2014; yin, 2017). a public university from zambia was purposively sampled as it is one of the institutions that conducted elearning during the 2020 covid‑19 lockdown. the sampling of participants in the study was done in collaboration with the student affairs and student counsellor officers. a list of 83 students who presented themselves as ‘under‑resourced’ by virtue of having limited or no access to finances to meet their educational needs was availed to the researchers by the university. the student affairs and student counsellor officers revealed not having a ‘formal’ system in which the university captures under‑resourced students. they pointed out that those that are classified as under‑resourced usually present themselves to the office of the student affairs and student counsellor as such. the fact that the students present themselves to the aforesaid offices implies that the number of under‑ resourced students could have been more than the 83 captured at the time of the study. this research employed two data collection methods namely, an online questionnaire created using ‘google form’ and interviews. the online questionnaire link was sent to the 83 identified students through email, whatsapp and short text messages. ultimately, 73 students successfully participated. an online questionnaire was deemed an appropriate mode of data collection for the students because the study was conducted during the 2020 covid‑19 lockdown. the questionnaire contained closed‑ and open‑ended questions. closed‑ended questions were used to collect biographical and quantifiable data such as the type of devices and online platforms used by the students during elearning. the open‑ended questions were used to collect qualitative data such as personal challenges related to elearning experienced by participants during the lockdown. face‑to‑face interviews were conducted with staff in charge of students’ affairs (sisa) and a university student counsellor (usc). the two participated in the study by virtue of being custodians of information on under‑resourced students. the interview with the sisa and usc focused on obtaining data such as the challenges reported to the university on elearning by the under‑resourced students and how the institution responded to the challenges. the face‑to‑face interviews were a suitable mode of data collection because c.l.m. kombe & d.e. mtonga: challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students … 29 they provided the researchers with an opportunity to gain an in‑depth understanding on the subject under investigation. the quantitative data collected through the online questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics and presented in figures and tables. the qualitative data collected through the questionnaire and the face‑to‑face interview was manually analysed by reading through the data repeatedly; coding and categorising it into themes. the analysed data was presented and interpreted in line with the objectives of the study, the literature review, and conceptual and theoretical underpinnings. to ensure the validity and reliability of the quantitative findings, the questionnaire was reviewed by experts and piloted while the trustworthiness of the qualitative data was achieved through member checking, an extensive discussion of the results, and use of verbatim quotes obtained from the interviews and questionnaires. the findings were also triangulated through the use of two methods of data collection and the involvement of two categories of participants (creswell & creswell, 2017). ethical considerations ethical principles were adhered to by obtaining permission from the sampled university to carry out the research focusing on under‑resourced students. consent was obtained from the participants and they were informed of their voluntary participation and right to withdraw from the study. confidentiality was taken care of by not exposing details of any participant and the sampled institution. furthermore, no financial benefits were offered to participate in the research (creswell & creswell, 2017). findings and discussion this section presents and discusses the findings of the study. it commences with the biographical data of the students followed by the rest of the findings under two headings derived from the study objectives. biographical data of participants table 1: distribution of participants from each school by gender faculty/school number of participants gender m f education 14 07 07 agriculture & natural sciences 05 02 03 social sciences 05 03 02 business studies 05 02 03 science, engineering & technology 41 32 09 medicine & health sciences 03 01 02 totals 73 46 (63%) 27 (37%) source: field data (july 2020) 30 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 as indicated in the table, more males (63%) than females (37%) participated in the study (table 1). this was expected because the list of under‑resourced students obtained from the university from which the participants were drawn contained more males than females. as highlighted in the methodology, under‑resourced students present themselves to the university in order to be identified as such. therefore, two questions arise: could it be that males are more prone to vulnerability than their female counterparts? are females shy to be identified as under‑resourced? these questions still require further interrogation. objective 1: challenges of elearning faced by students to contextualise the major findings of the study, results on participants’ involvement in elearning before and during the lockdown are examined. thereafter, elearning platforms and devices used by participants during the lockdown are presented and discussed. students’ involvement in elearning before and during the lockdown most of participants (79%) compared to a few (21%) reported that they had never been involved in elearning before the lockdown (figure 1). this raises a question as to why elearning is under‑utilised in the sampled university. this is despite the fact that the sampled university has basic on‑campus internet and elearning facilities. this calls for further research. figure 1: students’ involvement in elearning before the lockdown (source: field data, july 2020) almost all the students (95%) were involved in elearning during the lockdown while 5 per cent reported not being involved (see figure 2). students who participated in elearning reported different levels of involvement with 33 per cent indicating that they were ‘very involved’ to ‘involved’ compared to 62 per cent who were ‘rarely’ to ‘very rarely’ involved. for the 5 per cent of students who reported not being involved in elearning, the findings suggested that they were eager to participate but excluded due to various challenges to be discussed in the subsequent section. c.l.m. kombe & d.e. mtonga: challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students … 31 figure 2: students involvement in elearning during the lockdown (source: field data, july 2020) figure 3: elearning platforms used during the lockdown (source: field data, july 2020) findings (figure 3) showed that the most frequently used elearning platform was whatsapp (41%) followed by zoom (21%) with moodle (the official institutional elearning platform) being the least (4%). most students stated that they preferred to use whatsapp because they were familiar with its features and because it was reasonably affordable when it came to data bundle usage. this finding is similar to other study results (cetinkaya, 2017; mulenga & marbán, 2020; suardika et al., 2020; susilo, 2014) that showed whatsapp as an emerging valuable educational tool in other educational set‑ups. this is especially for under‑resourced students, who may only have smartphones and low data availability. moodle was the least preferred platform because students reported not being familiar with it. this reveals gaps in the training the university offered to its students. the students also indicated having some difficulties accessing moodle due to technical challenges such as poor internet connectivity. 32 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 to access elearning, students used various electronic devices which included smart‑ phones (89%), laptops (7%), desktops (3%) and tablets (1%). this finding aligns with chola et.al. (2020) who found smartphones to be the most frequently utilised devices amongst students at a private university in zambia. worth noting is that many students (78%) reported borrowing devices from parents, siblings, friends, and other relatives, confirming the struggles under‑resourced students encounter in their learning (krodel et al., 2008). e‑learning challenges four interlinked themes regarding challenges of elearning experienced by under‑ resourced students during the 2020 covid‑19 lockdown were identified as illustrated in figure 4. elearning challenges faced by under-resourced students technical environmental psychological & structural financial & materials figure 4: themes on challenges of elearning (source: field data, july 2020) theme 1: environmental challenges environmental challenges were reported in the form of crowded homes, noisy locations, lack of internet and electricity provision. overcrowded homes hindered the success of students’ elearning in the sense that they could not secure privacy to effectively participate in the lessons. furthermore, some family members were reported doing different activities such as playing loud music, and children playing around during lessons. some students further lamented that the locality of their homes was near the marketplaces where there were various noisy activities. a student lamented: home is not a convenient place to do e-learning due to so many disturbances … so much activity happening at home … (male participant 20) c.l.m. kombe & d.e. mtonga: challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students … 33 another participant also complained: … my neighbourhood is too noisy to concentrate. (female participant 31) students coming from remote parts of zambia complained that they were not connected to the power grid and internet which completely cut them off from accessing elearning and important information. the affected students stated finding various means to access online lessons and important information pertaining to their studies. for instance, a student said they had to travel to the nearest place in order to access internet and power, as stated below: i stay in a remote area where there is no power, no internet. the nearest place where i can find internet and power is about 10 to 12 kilometres. this made it very difficult for me to participate in online learning … (male participant 18) the finding that students were cut off from elearning due to lack of power and internet connectivity coincides with results established in india where students were reported to have been excluded from accessing elearning due to similar reasons (kunju, 2020; kapasia et al., 2020). theme 2: financial and material challenges findings on financial and material challenges to elearning included inaccessibility to learning materials and lessons due to lack of elearning devices, data bundles and non‑payment of tuition fees. according to the policy of the sampled university, each student was expected to meet at least the 50 per cent payment of tuition fees before accessing the institutional elearning platform (moodle). the finding that students lacked the necessary elearning devices confirms the high number of students who used borrowed devices. findings also affirm the negative financial impact the pandemic had on under‑resourced families where one student reported a parent having no source of income due to the covid‑19 lockdown, as indicated in the subsequent quotation. this finding is in line with upoalkpajor and upoalkpajor’s (2020) study results which indicated that the impact of covid‑19 was severe for underprivileged families. e-learning for me was a big challenge because my father did not manage to pay my fees. he has not been paid his salary because the bar where he was working from closed due to coronavirus. this prevented me from accessing moodle where most materials were uploaded by the lecturers. (male participant 3) it raises serious concerns that such students were further disadvantaged from the most basic mode of instruction due to unpaid fees. the university could have devised considerate means of collecting fees. the foregoing finding was affirmed by the sisa who had the following to say: there are a good number of under-resourced students who could not afford a smartphone … some students deferred their exams due to financial challenges … 34 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 theme 3: technical challenges technical issues consisting of power outages, poor internet connectivity, lack of computer skills and absence of effective institutional support systems were reported as barriers to elearning. in terms of load shedding, one of the students had the following to say: there is serious load shedding in our area because power goes even for three days and sometimes, we only have it in the night … e-learning is conducted during the day, so i missed out a lot. at least our friends from well to do families use generators … (female participant 7) technical challenges in relation to poor internet connectivity was affirmed by the sisa who reported that the university received numerous calls from students on the failure to access moodle due to poor internet connectivity as indicated in the excerpt below: as a university, we received many calls from students reporting challenges to access moodle due to poor internet. students also reported lack of technical skills as a barrier to effective elearning. they also indicated ineffective and inefficient institutional support systems whenever they encountered technical challenges. a participant complained: … i reported my challenges through the contact numbers given but no help was given by the university … they always said if your friends are managing how are you failing, which was a very unfair statement. (female participant 71) owing to the foregoing, it appears that the under‑resourced students received little institutional help to mitigate challenges they encountered during elearning. this is against the principles of inclusive learning which advocate for the provision of equitable access to education by all students (schuelka, 2018). considering the situation, the institution could have put in a place an effective 24/7 call centre to address technical challenges. theme 4: psychological and sociocultural challenges psychological and sociocultural challenges is another theme that emerged from the findings encompassing stress, anxiety, isolation, inadaptability to change and household chores. stress, anxiety, and isolation were linked to the various challenges students encountered. for example, some students were anxious as they could not access materials and important information posted on moodle. other students also reported stress especially towards the final examinations because they had missed some lessons. in some cases, students expressed feelings of isolation because of unreliable and inconsistent mentors and support systems. many students also found it difficult to adapt from face‑to‑face to elearning which confirms previous findings that many students find it challenging to adjust to elearning (xu & jaggars, 2013). this difficulty to adapt could be attributed to the fact that the majority of the students had never been involved in elearning and lacked the necessary technical know‑how. for example, two students stated: “to be honest, i don’t like online learning” (female participant 71) and “we should just open school and learn physically …” (male participant 11). these students’ sentiments were corroborated by the sisa who had c.l.m. kombe & d.e. mtonga: challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students … 35 the following to say: “most students were used to having face‑to‑face classes, and suddenly changing to online learning proved to be very difficult for them to adapt …”’ in some cases, students were distracted from elearning as they were expected to do some house chores during lessons. this was mostly reported by female students who had to engage in various domestic activities such as cooking and taking care of young siblings. for instance, a participant had the following to say: learning from home is challenging especially for a girl-child, we have to work, cook, and run the house in absence of mom, in short, a lot of duties to attend to. (female participant 29) the above finding is echoed by chola et al. (2020) who indicated that females could be disadvantaged when it comes to elearning. however, they did not ascertain the actual factors that made them disadvantaged. kakumbi et al. (2016) add that the girl‑child in zambia is culturally expected to do various household chores which stands as a barrier to her education. in line with the cer, there is a need to liberate the girl child from oppressive cultural beliefs and practices and replace them with emancipatory ones which advocate for inclusion, social justice, equality and human rights (sinnerbrink, 2012, p. 370). objective 2: interventions by university authorities to mitigate challenges in order to have a broader perspective of the interventions that were put in place to miti‑ gate the elearning challenges encountered by under‑resourced students, participants were asked to submit their responses. most students (92%) reported that the university did not put in place any particular intervention to mitigate the challenges they encountered during elearning. however, some of them mentioned the free 100  megabytes (mb) bundles provided to all students to enable them to access moodle, while others talked of the contact numbers they were given to call in case of technical challenges. for example, a student lamented: “… nothing, the only notable thing i noticed was providing a number from the ict department for challenges with moodle and free 100 mb bundles” (male participant 19). it is also important to note that the students lamented that the 100 mb offer was not adequate to access all lessons in all courses, especially when it came to downloading big files. one wonders how the allocated mb were arrived at. the sisa and usc confirmed the submissions by the students on the interventions put in place by the university and added the following: unlimited access to moodle following partnership with a local mobile network provider; offering educational tablets (edu tabs) on credit; video lessons on how to use moodle; giving students three chances to upload quiz responses on moodle in case of failure on first or second attempt; and a 24‑hour duration for writing and uploading examination answer scripts for each course. the researchers observed that the offer of unlimited access to moodle was not mentioned by any student. this implies that the students may not have been aware of the service offered due to communication lapses in the system. unlimited access to moodle was a laudable intervention by the university to ensure inclusion and participation in elearning for all students. however, the intervention appeared not to have value because most of the sampled students were not conversant with it. 36 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 23‑39 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1426 from the findings, the university made efforts to put in place some interventions to ensure students’ participation in elearning. however, further consideration could have been given to under‑resourced students in response to principles of ie and cer. for instance, educational tablets were offered on credit to everyone without considering the already existing financial challenges faced by the under‑resourced students. this is as reported by the sisa: we have quite a number of students who can’t even afford a smartphone and are considered to be really vulnerable … they were encouraged to get edu tabs on credit though it was an extra cost added to them. the sisa further added: … apart from the arrangement with the two mobile network providers …, nothing was done particularly to respond to the needs of the under-resourced … this interview is actually an eye-opener to start considering planning for such category of students … the above findings point to a lack of inclusive thinking and techniques at the sampled university (schuelka, 2020). this is a gap that requires urgent attention. regrettably, the usc (see excerpt below) revealed that there was no defined system to collect data on under‑resourced students, making it difficult to have definite data. this is another identified gap that requires immediate intervention. this is because inclusive education calls for a firm system to data collection and management (grimes, 2010; schuelka, 2018): … the current arrangement is that students come on their own to present their problems to the student counselling centre … it is from this information where we draw the under-resourced students. overall, the findings indicated that the university might be putting less value on practices and policies that promote inclusion, equality and social justice. this stands against the ideals of ie as well as cer (schuelka, 2020; sinnerbrink, 2012). limitations of the study findings of this research cannot be generalised to other universities because the study was confined to one public university. however, the results provide useful insights that could be applicable to similar contexts. conclusion and recommendations the article provides evidence that under‑resourced students encountered various challenges related to elearning during the 2020 covid‑19 lockdown. the challenges are categorised under the following interlinked themes: technical, environmental, psychological, socio‑ cultural, financial, and material. lack of devices, internet, electricity and support systems were the most critical barriers to elearning. findings showed that the university made attempts to mitigate the challenges students faced during elearning. however, there were no distinctive interventions to specifically address the challenges under‑resourced students c.l.m. kombe & d.e. mtonga: challenges and interventions of elearning for under‑resourced students … 37 encountered. sadly, this suggests that the needs of these students were overlooked. the question is, why could this be the case? could it be that the university does not have effective policies to promote inclusive education? this calls for further research. in the light of the study findings, the practices of ie and cer, the study makes the following broad recommendations: first, there is a need at national level to have clearly defined policies tied to an effective implementation strategy to specifically cater for under‑resourced students. this recommendation is to be taken up by the zambian higher education authority (hea) and domesticated at individual higher learning institutions. secondly, hea should ensure that lecturers, university leadership and entire staff are oriented in inclusive thinking and techniques in order to promote inclusive education. it is also important that the voices of marginalised groups in education are heard and valued. this could be effectively done through various channels such as student associations. the following specific recommendations apply to universities: ensure equitable delivery of elearning to under‑resourced students by exploring and implementing low technological modes of elearning; providing for free affordable devices and access to elearning platforms; effective training on ict to students; reducing the threshold on tuition fees and sourcing sponsorship for vulnerable students. in addition, it is imperative that universities devise a firm system of data collection and management of under‑ resourced students to ensure equitable distribution of resources. researchers are also implored to use cer to interrogate the plight of under‑resourced students as this could be an effective means to emancipate them. overall, universities should constantly strive to support the participation of all students regardless of the circumstances, especially in times of emergencies (grimes, 2010; schuelka, 2018). potential conflict of interest the authors declare that they have no competing interest. funding this research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial entity, or non‑profit organisation. references adnan, m. & anwar, k. 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(2021). challenges and interventions of e‑learning for under‑ resourced students amid covid‑19 lockdown: a case of a zambian public university. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 23‑39. doi: 10.35293/jsaa.v9i1.1426 https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325002001003636 https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2020/2020/108 https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2020/2020/108 http://www.ahaprocess.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/under-resourced-learners-excerpt.pdf http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/pas/pas201301/pas201301-03.pdf http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/pas/pas201301/pas201301-03.pdf https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/14230/374_implementing_inclusive_e https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/14230/374_implementing_inclusive_e https://doi.org/10.32865/fire202061198 https://doi.org/10.32865/fire202061198 https://doi.org/10.1111/cons.12003 https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893 https://doi.org/10.29333/aquademia/8253 https://doi.org/10.4018/ijmbl.2020010102 http://repository.ut.ac.id/id/eprint/4930 http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002432/243279e.pdf https://doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2020/v9i130238 https://doi.org/10.7916/d82n59nb _hlk63537119 _hlk63535340 _hlk63417620 _hlk63498376 _hlk63497266 _hlk63525495 _hlk64316643 _hlk64402909 _hlk64402937 _hlk63540953 _hlk64403282 _hlk64403372 _hlk64307376 _hlk64307493 _hlk63523647 _hlk63525023 _hlk63532216 _hlk64302701 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2193   65 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article relational student engagement in co-curricular spaces: evidence from a south african university paul garton,* matthew r. wawrzynski,** jacob lemon*** & sapna naik**** abstract student engagement is a widely researched and utilized concept to enhance student experiences and outcomes. most research on student engagement, however, focuses on curricular engagement with relatively little emphasis placed on the co-curriculum. this study utilizes case’s theory of relational engagement to analyse findings from three focus groups conducted at a university in south africa to better understand how relational engagement is instantiated in the co-curriculum and how the co-curriculum differs from the standard academic curriculum in terms of engagement. in particular, we show relational engagement is just as important in the co-curriculum, highlighting student relations to broader university life, to fellow students, and to communities beyond the campus. keywords student engagement, relational engagement, student affairs, co-curricular, sense of belonging, focus group introduction over the last decade, universities in south africa have focused greater attention on student engagement and co-curricular learning to increase retention rates and encourage learning beyond the classroom. generally, much of this focus remains on academic student engagement using the south africa survey of student engagement (sasse) (schreiber & yu, 2016; strydom et al. 2017; strydom & mentz, 2010), with a growing body of work exploring the experiences and perceptions of students and co-curricular learning in south africa (garton & wawrzynski, 2021; naik & wawrzynski, 2018; wawrzynski et al., 2012; wawrzynski & naik, 2021). the differing social, economic, and educational contexts in which south african students are embedded necessitate new ways of theorizing about engagement and * dr paul garton is a visiting assistant professor of quantitative methods in the department of education leadership, management, and policy at seton hall university, new jersey, usa. orcid id: 0000-0001-6889-0570. email: gartonp1@gmail.com ** dr matthew r. wawrzynski is professor of higher, adult, and lifelong education in the department of educational administration at michigan state university, usa. orcid id: 0000-0003-1092-1367. email: mwawrzyn@msu.edu *** dr jacob lemon is the interim director of assessment & analytics within the division of student affairs at the university of utah, usa. orcid id: 0000-0003-1732-7256. email: jlemon@sa.utah.edu **** dr sapna naik is an assessment analyst in the division of student success at the university of texas at san antonio in san antonio, texas, usa. orcid id: 0000-0001-9668-4643. email: sapnaik@gmail.com mailto:mwawrzyn@msu.edu mailto:jlemon@sa.utah.edu mailto:sapnaik@gmail.com 66   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2193 co-curricular learning, grounded in prior south african research. using a theoretical approach to engagement that explicitly foregrounds relational contexts (case, 2007, 2008), we conducted focus group interviews at a comprehensive south african university (sau, a pseudonym) in the eastern cape province to examine how students perceive and benefit from student engagement in co-curricular experiences. along with validating aspects of case’s (2007) theory of relational engagement, we identified new types of relations students hold pertinent to their sense of belonging from co-curricular experiences. literature review in one of the most widely used definitions of student engagement, kuh (2003) described engagement as both the individual effort students put in toward their education and the organisational structures facilitating student experiences. considered holistically, these educational activities and efforts can involve classroom as well as out-of-classroom experiences. although aspects of student engagement can certainly transcend geographical boundaries, kuh’s student engagement concepts were primarily developed based on traditional-aged students in united states higher education. others, however, have sought to develop more culturally relevant student engagement frameworks. more specifically, case (2007) discussed student engagement in the south african context as a form of relationship students develop with different aspects of their university and broader ecological context. whereas kuh’s (2003) definition focused on inputs from individual students and the university, case (2007) emphasised the connections between students as well as between students and their educational contexts. that said, inputs are still an important factor for case (2007), especially in the form of students’ motivations and efficacies. student engagement is a key component of the social justice mission of student affairs in south africa because it combines academic and relational contexts, reducing the barriers to knowledge. integrating academic and relational contexts broadens epistemological access by creating spaces for co-constructed knowledge and personal capacity building (schreiber, 2014), which influences sense of belonging. moreover, connecting engagement and sense of belonging has great educational value in the south african context, particularly for non-traditional students (wisker & masika, 2017), who can be defined as “mostly black students from disadvantaged family and school backgrounds” (jama et al., 2008, p. 998). a strong sense of belonging to the university community generates opportunities for personal sharing and growth that may be repressed if individuals do not feel welcome or safe (wisker & masika, 2017). furthermore, achieving social and academic integration, which is connected to sense of belonging for many students, tends to be more challenging for non-traditional students than for their traditional counterparts because of limitations in resources, such as finances, commuting, and coming from families without educational backgrounds (jama et al., 2008). engagement is structured by student motivations, university characteristics, and sociopolitical histories and economies (agherdien & petersen, 2016; case, 2007; ivala & kioko, 2013). indeed, cultural, and hegemonic conditions shape organisational practices and paul garton, matthew r. wawrzynski, jacob lemon & sapna naik: relational student engagement …   67 environments, such as poor residence hall conditions or inequitable divisions of labour (agherdien & petersen, 2016). within these structures, specific influential figures, like teachers, can have an impact on the form of engagement (bezuidenhout et al., 2011). authentic engagement also presupposes students’ own self-awareness, so supportive external factors are still dependent to some degree upon the capacity of the individual student (agherdien & petersen, 2016). sense of belonging given the importance of interpersonal relations for student engagement in south africa (case, 2007; wisker & masika, 2017), sense of belonging to the university is a key component of collegiate experiences, which may be framed by historical legacies and artefacts of colleges and universities (sartorius & sartorius, 2013). for example, one study found when racial histories interacted with symbols associated with afrikaans heritage in the built environment, on-campus black students reported a reduced sense of belonging (wawrzynski et al., 2012). yet, once such artefacts were removed from parts of campus, black students reported a higher sense of belonging overall than their white counterparts (naik & wawrzynski, 2018). gaps and convergences between students’ expectations and actual experiences also determine sense of belonging, with large gaps decreasing sense of belonging and convergences increasing sense of belonging (pather & dorasamy, 2018). for example, if new university students expect certain outcomes or experiences from their new student orientation, orientations that meet those expectations will enhance sense of belonging, while orientations that differ from expectations will decrease sense of belonging. the antithesis of sense of belonging is alienation, or “a disconnection in the context of a desired or expected relationship” (case, 2007, p. 120). again, case (2007) focused on relationships as the building blocks of the collegiate experience which was supported and expanded by bezuidenhout et al. (2011) to include distances between expectations and realities as a source of alienation. university support for either meeting student expectations or providing strategies for dealing with new environments is essential for reducing feelings of alienation and increasing sense of belonging (bezuidenhout et al., 2011), but institutionalised power dynamics tend to perpetuate alienation rather than challenge it (agherdien & petersen, 2016). co-curricular involvement student engagement in south africa is therefore relational and dependent upon university support. one of the strategies universities utilize to foster engagement is to create spaces for peer-led experiences, such as co-curricular involvement through student societies (frade & tiroyabone, 2017). these societies serve as social learning spaces that institutionalise opportunities for relational interactions and experiences (agherdien & petersen, 2016). other programmatic elements of the co-curriculum also centre social learning spaces. peer tutoring, community service or outreach, and residential events are examples of particularly 68   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2193 high-impact practices built on social learning spaces (agherdien & petersen, 2016; faroa, 2017; harrop-allin, 2017). co-curricular involvement is related to desirable learning outcomes (frade & tiroyabone, 2017; naik & wawrzynski, 2018; naik et al., 2017). specifically, increases in academic achievement and academic skills like studying and time management are associated with co-curricular involvement (frade & tiroyabone, 2017; makala, 2017; wawrzynski et al., 2012). beyond  academia, career skills and employability (frade & tiroyabone, 2017; koen & ebrahim, 2013) and a commitment to social change (harropallin, 2017) are learning outcomes also related to co-curricular involvement. the relationship between the co-curriculum and learning is possibly due to out-of-classroom experiences disrupting students’ implicit assumptions and changing their mental models of society (koen & ebrahim, 2013) all while providing peer relational support (case, 2007). facilitating student engagement is not as easy as creating opportunities for involvement, however. numerous barriers exist that bar students from participating in out-of-classroom experiences. financial obstacles stratify participation along class lines, providing potentially transformational experiences only to students who can afford to devote the requisite time and energy (naik & wawrzynski, 2018; naik et al., 2017). scheduling conflicts, information asymmetries, and language also pose barriers that prevent students from participating in co-curricular activities (schreiber, 2014; wawrzynski et al., 2012). conceptual framework many studies exploring student engagement, including some in south africa, have relied on kuh’s (2009) functionalist approach (naik & wawrzynski, 2018; pather & dorasamy, 2018; wawrzynski et al., 2012), which suggests a connection between desired outcomes for college and the effort students devote to educational activities employed through an institution’s processes, policies, and practices. however, other scholars (harper & quaye, 2015; jama et al., 2008) note this concept is more applicable to traditional students and less so for underserved populations. because of the non-traditional nature of many students in south africa (garton & wawrzynski, 2021; jama et al., 2008), a more culturally relevant framework warrants exploration. many cultural and organisational institutions in south africa embrace the philosophy of ubuntu, translated as humanity, which values collectivism and mutual dependence rather than individual needs as core components of human existence (ncube, 2010). certainly, in the south african context, student engagement is relational because of the personal connections students develop with different aspects of their university, educational structures and activities, and broader ecology (case, 2007). relational engagement is the opposite of alienation from the norms and mores of higher education organisations, instantiated across the university experience for students (case, 2008). similarly, engagement is connected to sense of belonging, which generates opportunities for sharing and growth (wisker & masika, 2017), but may be repressed if students do not feel welcome or safe – which often is the case for those historically excluded from higher education. paul garton, matthew r. wawrzynski, jacob lemon & sapna naik: relational student engagement …   69 case (2007) identified six forms of relations that can be spaces of either engagement or alienation, contributing to learning and feelings of validation or isolation and exclusion: “to one’s studies; to the broader university life; to home; to the career; to one’s classmates; and to the lecturer” (p. 123). although case’s (2007) empirical work focused largely on engagement in the classroom, our study advances the theory and applies it to co-curricular involvement. much of what case argued for, namely positive and validating relationships to other students and different aspects of the university, are evident in the co-curriculum. indeed, co-curricular involvement is associated with students’ sense of belonging in the south african university context (wawrzynski et al., 2012; naik & wawrzynski, 2018). methods this study took a qualitative approach grounded in focus group interviews with students at sau to better understand their attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of co-curricular engagement. focus groups are a popular means of data collection in higher education because of their ability to bring together students with varying characteristics, relationships, and experiences, ultimately strengthening the reliability of the gathered information (cohen et al., 2011). moreover, given the centrality of relationships and collectivism in much of south african cultural values, focus groups engage participants in discussions about issues relevant to their own experiences (romm et al., 2013). focus group data sourced from personal, group, and relational contexts also aligned with our conceptual framework by seeking to understand all spaces of student engagement. as a result, focus groups provided a more comprehensive and culturally competent approach to understanding students’ perspectives of co-curricular engagement. setting and source of data collection the qualitative data for this study were collected as part of a larger research project focused on student co-curricular engagement at sau. located in the eastern cape of south africa, the six campuses of sau are a product of a merger of two universities and a technikon during the post-apartheid restructuring of south african higher education. sau is a predominantly black, comprehensive university where students pursue study in a range of graduate and undergraduate fields including business, engineering and technology, education, humanities and social sciences, law, and natural sciences. just over half of the sau student body are self-funded, while the rest are recipients of some form of state appropriations or financial aid to assist with university tuition and living expenses. a majority of students live off-campus and commute to and from campus. sau is unique in that the co-curriculum is heavily emphasised as a space for learning, formalized in a co-curricular record. administrators at sau invited students from a co-curricular leadership and diversity course to attend one of three focus groups to share their insights regarding their co-curricular involvement at sau. in may 2017, 18 sau students agreed to participate in the focus groups at convenient locations on three of the six sau campuses. on average, 70   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2193 six students attended each focus group session facilitated in english by two of the study’s authors, who identify as non-black and are from the united states. all participants were black africans from various provinces in south africa or a neighbouring country. a majority of participants identified as female and were undergraduates in their second or third year of university study. participants represented different faculties including business, humanities and social sciences, and natural sciences. the students cited a wide range of involvement on campus including community service organisations, intramural athletics, and residence life. semi-structured focus groups lasting 40-60 minutes prompted students to reflect and engage in dialogue about their overall engagement, co-curricular experiences, motivations for involvement, learning outcomes, and barriers to involvement. the focus groups were digitally recorded with voluntary consent from participants and transcribed verbatim. in an effort to establish trustworthiness, transcripts were sent to participants to review, expand upon, and address any concerns. data analysis the data were analysed using the constant comparative method and categorized into patterns or themes emerging from the interview transcripts (glaser & strauss, 1967). three of the researchers independently open-coded the transcripts looking for patterns, then came together to group preliminary codes and refine them into broader categories. next, three themes were developed from the categories that resonated meaningfully with the relevant literature and the purpose of the study. finally, an inquiry auditor offered feedback on our themes and the coding analysis to verify their consistency with the generated data. pseudonyms are used throughout to maintain confidentiality of participants. findings from the data analysis, we constructed three themes of relational engagement: (a) a strengthened sense of belonging on campus, (b) intercultural competence gained through student involvement, and (c) community engagement and stewardship from involvement. sense of belonging students across all focus groups discussed how co-curricular involvement and engagement writ large enhanced their sense of belonging in sau. specifically, participants described co-curricular structures that facilitated finding new friends and expanding social networks, as well as an overall openness to meeting and learning about others, emphasising the relational aspect of engagement. rethabile used the language of family to describe her connections at sau, referring to the “sisters” she found. karabo echoed the use of family terms in describing how custodial staff cared for students. particular environments within sau, such as residence halls or student societies, fostered a sense of community within the larger campus community. as stated by bokamoso, “being part of a residence when you have to do stuff with people you live with, whether it’s your flatmate or … other res students, you learn sense of care about the person who lives next door.” amogelang spoke paul garton, matthew r. wawrzynski, jacob lemon & sapna naik: relational student engagement …   71 to the value of student societies, saying, “i think the opportunities they offer to students … make you feel welcome because you have places where … obviously you don’t know anyone. people are strangers to you, but the things like societies and events they organise actually make you feel welcome, that’s where you meet friends”. students reported building a sense of belonging through co-curricular activities. previous literature emphasised how sense of belonging or alienation were results of differences between expectations and experiences (bezuidenhout et al., 2011; pather & dorasamy, 2018). rather than discussing expectations, however, students focused solely on their experiences, particularly relational experiences. moreover, co-curricular spaces seemed to structure the relations and facilitate student engagement. inter-cultural competence along with sense of belonging, participants reported learning related to inter-cultural competency. several students reflected on the transition from relatively homogenous provinces outside of the eastern cape to sau where students from across south africa and the world interacted on a daily basis. according to the students, sau created an open and welcoming environment for these types of interactions through events such as diversity week where students showcased their home cultures. dolinde felt the residence halls and orientation also facilitated inter-cultural interactions and created spaces for students to feel welcome: “one of the pulling factors for my coming to sau is how they are accepting of different cultures and people from outside … even in our student res, how they try to integrate and make sure, even during orientation, they try to accommodate everyone, with the games and the interactions.” from these interactions, students learned about their own cultures in addition to others. as stated by kungawo, “when i came to sau, xhosa people are about their culture and they believe about where they come from. they make you realise it’s important to know who you are.” community engagement regarding the final theme, community engagement and stewardship, students expressed a desire to work with communities for positive change as a motivation for involvement in co-curricular societies. amogelang spoke about community engagement as a motivation for her decision to join a student society, saying, “… to me it was helping and giving back to the community because i come from a disadvantaged background, so i know the struggles from the township …” even for students who joined societies to boost their cv, giving back became an added benefit. participants emphasised a passion to continue doing volunteer work and engaging with their various communities beyond graduation. for example, siyabonga said, “involvement in [a non-credit bearing leadership class] taught us to do community work … they actually gave me a passion to continue.” this stewardship extended to environmental care as well as social justice, often articulating the connections between social justice and the environment. as stated by minenhle, “you want to be a good person through helping other people, through caring for the environment.” students’ 72   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2193 experiences and involvement thus extended beyond the campus to the larger environment in which sau is embedded. participants discussed community engagement and stewardship both as a motivation to become involved and as a learning outcome of involvement. moreover, they cited societal problems, such as the racial segregation and poverty in townships and environmental degradation, as motivations for becoming involved in community engagement. furthermore, this finding linked to motivations supports previous literature that explored the value of co-curricular involvement in developing a commitment to social change (harrop-allin, 2017; garton & wawrzynski, 2021). interestingly, despite literature arguing that co-curricular experiences disrupt assumptions and mental models (koen & ebrahim, 2013), the non-traditional students in our study did not generally discuss how their assumptions changed. perhaps due to the nature of our participants (i.e. being from disadvantaged backgrounds), they are already familiar with the historical inequities of the differential development and racist policies of apartheid (sartorius & sartorius, 2013). if this indeed were the case, then many non-traditional students probably have already faced these experiences and do not engage in co-curricular experiences to learn about inequities. instead, involvement is an avenue for students to learn how to navigate these inequitable systems by taking action and learning strategies for effective change. relational student engagement although several different forms of relationships were cited within case’s (2007) relational framework, given our study’s emphasis on co-curricular involvement, we note those generated from our focus groups, the most resonant being participants’ relationship with broader university life. sau structured these relationships through formal and informal co-curricular involvement. for example, kungawo recounted experiences prior to becoming involved, saying “i only went to school and came home and slept. that was my life”. sau-sponsored programmes provided a way for kungawo to form a relationship to sau beyond the classroom. positive relationships formed through unstructured paths as well, as evidenced by the connections between students and custodial staff. referring to “cleaners and gardening staff,” karabo said, “… they treat us as their children and they mother us”, a sentiment echoed in informal conversations by students and staff members outside of the focus groups. these cases support wisker and masika’s (2017) claim that relationships built from community engagement help students feel safe and supported by developing a greater sense of belonging to the university. though case (2007) focused on relationships formed between students specifically within classrooms, we found the framework can also extend to inter-student relations in co-curricular spaces. these spaces open opportunities for forming new relationships that contribute to learning and engagement. amogelang spoke to this, saying “… getting involved helps you have a different mind. i know when i first came i had my own attitudes against some people … but when i decided to get involved … you find something different paul garton, matthew r. wawrzynski, jacob lemon & sapna naik: relational student engagement …   73 about the person than the thing you came with. getting involved helps a lot in changing your perspective about people.” as demonstrated here, interpersonal interactions are valuable for students to combat alienation by learning across differences, thus connecting them to a broader support system (case, 2007). in our analysis, a new theme of relational student engagement extending beyond case’s (2007) framework became evident, namely students’ relationships to communities beyond the sau campus. these relationships took two main forms: volunteerism and living in a larger community. first, participants volunteered to “give back to” their communities. as noted above, amogelang gave back to the community because she came from a “disadvantaged background,” whereas iminathi, who volunteered at a hospice in the city witnessed poverty and “learned to appreciate more of what i have.” bokamoso and karabo also volunteered at different organisations to see more of the city, with karabo adding, “… it becomes part of your university life,” indicating volunteerism was integrated into their studies. second, participants discussed the experience of living in the city where sau is located. some participants noted the diversity in the city. bokamoso particularly noted how the eastern cape as a whole seemed “more open in diversity” than her home province and how this facilitated classroom spaces in which students “learn … about us, our differences as students in the class.” bokamoso further explained, in terms of care for the environment, “it’s about more than being a student and getting through your studies and being an a student. it’s about being part of a community and knowing you are accountable.” these types of experiences reinforced a sense of belonging for non-traditional students who feel more empowered as a result of their engagement in campus-related environments that promote an appreciation for diversity (wisker & masika, 2017). relational engagement was the most salient finding and overarching theme across all the focus groups. whereas case (2007) focused on relational engagement in curricular settings, we show evidence relational engagement is equally as prevalent in co-curricular spaces. akin to case’s (2007) findings in which students had relations to their studies, university life, home, career, classmates, and lecturers, our participants also identified two of these relations in the co-curriculum. the focus groups discussed three forms of relational engagement within co-curricular involvement, two of which are also curricular relations. for the first two forms, students described their relationships with broader university life and other students in co-curricular spaces. these relations are shared with curricular relational engagement as argued by case (2007). for the third form, students also described in detail their relations with the city and communities beyond the campus, extending case’s relational framework to larger settings. relational engagement in the co-curriculum therefore encompasses the university as well as broader communities. implications there are several implications for practice and research as a result of this study. first, student affairs staff should recognize the relational characteristics of engagement in co-curricular involvement, namely the relationship to the university and to their community, such that they are then able to identify the benefits of becoming involved (e.g. sense of belonging for 74   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 65-76 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2193 students), which then is more likely to translate into success for students. second, student affairs staff can assist students in making meaning of their involvement in co-curricular activities by reflecting on the relational nature of engagement and connecting this to aspirational goals. in doing so, students may be better positioned to understand how these outcomes may help shape their future careers. in terms of research, our study provides further support for the importance of using culturally relevant frameworks to understand student engagement in different national contexts. further exploration of other components of case’s (2007) culturally relevant framework should be considered in other aspects of south african university spaces. future research should include a more racially diverse group to better understand relational engagement dynamics, since our study only included black african participants from south africa and neighbouring countries. conclusion studies of student engagement generally emphasise high-impact practices and strategies to engage individual students in these types of activities (harper & quaye, 2015; kerr & luescher, 2018). this paper provides evidence supporting case’s (2007) framework that student engagement in the south african context is also relational, encompassing interactions and strong connections between other students, faculty, and staff. these relationships often cultivate a sense of belonging for students both within and beyond a campus community. analysis relying solely on us-based theories applied to other contexts may miss, overwrite, or erase experiences unique to different social, cultural, and political frameworks. by incorporating theories of engagement developed explicitly for south african students, analysis is more accurate and less ethnocentric. the relational characteristics of engagement as described by the study participants highlights a valuable component of engagement not only in south africa but perhaps in the united states or elsewhere. future studies on co-curricular activities in south africa and perhaps the rest of the world should consider the importance of relational aspects, acknowledging the importance of close relationships and sense of belonging. references agherdien, n., & petersen, n. 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(2022). relational student engagement in co-curricular spaces: evidence from a south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 65-76. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2193 _hlk105058965 research article pathways of electoral clientelism in university student elections in ghana: an exploratory study kwaku abrefa busiai, alice amegahii & francis arthur-holmesiii abstract recent studies on student politics and governance have shown that electoral clientelism (ec) in university student elections is often facilitated by clientelist relations between student leaders and political parties. however, there is a dearth of empirical research investigating the various forms of electoral clientelism, as manifested through vote-buying practices in campus electoral politics in african universities. this article, therefore, investigates the multifaceted and changing dynamics of vote-buying in student electoral processes in ghanaian universities. the study adopted a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with 15 student leaders, 4 university staff working with student leadership, and 4 focus group interviews involving students at the university of ghana and kwame nkrumah university of science and technology. from our finding, we argue that electoral clientelism takes place in five crucial ways in university student elections in ghana. these include the provision of direct cash payments, exchanging electoral support for student government positions and appointments, provision of food and beverage consumables, award of student-related business contracts, and provision of educational materials and souvenirs. keywords electoral clientelism, student politics, vote-buying, campus elections, ghanaian universities i kwaku abrefa busia (corresponding author), orcid: 0000-0003-2667-7338, phd researcher at the department of sociology and social policy at lingnan university, hong kong, busiaabrefa@ymail.com ii alice amegah, orcid: 0000-0002-9025-4041, phd researcher, department of education, university of cambridge, uk, aliceamegah@gmail.com iii francis arthur-holmes, orcid: 0000-0002-5099-4555, mphil graduate, department of international development, university of oxford, uk, frarthur88@gmail.com 153kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes introduction since the 2000s, a growing number of studies have pointed to the clientelist relationships between student leaders and political parties in higher education institutions (heis) in africa (abrefa busia, 2019; luescher-mamashela & mugume, 2014; mugume, 2015). this strand of literature on student politics has highlighted the increasing political influences and votebuying in university student electoral politics that consequently feed into national politics. student elections have gradually been infiltrated by national political parties, especially at the levels of students’ guild and student representative council (src) elections across many african universities (mugume, 2015; oanda, 2016a; oanda & omanga, 2018). similar to national elections, periodic student elections take place each academic year for electing student representatives at various levels, ranging from departmental through to faculties and colleges to halls of residence. thus, student electoral politics provides insight into mainstream national politics, due to the latent function of university campuses as ‘political communities’ beyond academic enterprise. the centrality of elections and democratic politics in student affairs and governance processes has, therefore, become crucial for understanding the linkages between campus and national politics (mugume, 2015; weinberg & walker, 1969). as paalo and van gyampo (2019) emphasise, the literature on electoral clientelism in africa fails to engage with the growing contemporary phenomena regarding the dynamics of campus-based student politics and its relationship with national party politics. at the university student political front, existing empirical studies on electoral clientelism in africa have primarily studied the clientelist linkages between student leaders and political parties (abrefa busia, 2019; luescher-mamashela & mugume, 2014; mugume, 2015; mugume & luescher, 2017a, 2017b). these studies focused exclusively on how political parties influence student leaders through resource exchanges for their external gains, subsequently infiltrating student politics. other studies have also investigated student participation in university governance through campus elections and its association with patronage politics and votebuying practices (oanda, 2016b; sarpong, 2018). however, very little is known in the scholarly literature on how vote-buying takes place in university student electoral processes in africa. for example, oanda’s (2016b) study on the evolving nature of student participation in university governance only discussed manifestations of electoral clientelism as part of the historicity, broader trends, and emerging issues in student politics in africa, notably ghana, uganda, and kenya. as such, most of what is known about the methods of electoral clientelism in university elections primarily comes from media discourses rather than from academia. for instance, in their review of the complex vote-buying linkages between student politics, intra-party politics, and national politics in ghana, paalo and van gyampo (2019) relied on secondary sources such as print and electronic media discourses, existing literature, as well as personal observations. in light of this knowledge gap, this article primarily investigated the multifaceted pathways journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204154 of electoral clientelism in university student elections in ghana. it examines the various forms of vote-buying that occur before and during elections on the campuses of ghanaian public universities. to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any detailed empirical research investigating how electoral clientelism takes place in university student elections in the ghanaian context. while some methods of vote-buying such as direct cash payments by candidates to students seem commonplace, questions of when, where, and how such payments are made are not adequately discussed in the literature. besides, other forms of electoral clientelism outside political party influences such as how some ordinary students fund student candidates’ election campaigns in exchange for some material benefits is grossly understudied. such methods of vote-buying in student elections may not necessarily be associated with political party influences but rather intra-campus dynamics, which offer mutual benefits between candidates and ordinary students. there is, therefore, the need to consider both the intra-campus and external party clientelist influences in student electoral politics. as emphasised by paalo and van gyampo (2019), scholars and policymakers need to conduct further empirical studies to thoroughly investigate the reinforcing role of electoral clientelism in student politics, and how this bears semblance with intra-party and national elections. the rest of this article is structured in six sections. first, we provide a theoretical framework on ec. the second section discusses the phenomena of ec in student elections in africa. this section shows how vote-buying in university student elections has become the new dimension of electoral clientelism in africa. the third section details the methodology of the study, including the research design used and instruments of data collection. the fourth section presents the findings of the study, followed by the fifth section, which focuses on the discussions of the findings presented. the final section provides concluding remarks on the key findings of the study, as well as policy and practical implications for addressing ec in student democratic politics. theoretical framework on electoral clientelism the concept of electoral clientelism (ec) falls under the umbrella of clientelism and refers to the provision of goods or cash around election day or during electoral campaigns (gadjanova, 2017; kramon, 2016). ec, also known as vote-buying, is viewed as a transaction between candidates and voters, such that once citizens receive cash or private goods in exchange for political support, they have to comply and vote for the buyer (gallego & wantchekon, 2017). generally, vote-buying involves a typical scenario where candidates, usually through intermediaries, intend to buy votes during election campaigns, compared to what happens over a longer period (schaffe, 2007). ec has been highlighted as a pervasive feature of distributive politics in most developing countries around the world (gallego & wantchekon, 2017; kramon, 2018; schaffe, 2007). as most studies on ec tend to focus on national-level politics relative to student politics, 155kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes a number of explanations have been put forth by various scholars. according to kramon (2016), vote-buying during elections serves to signal the commitment to future redistribution by candidates, especially where there are uncertainty and lack of trust. as such, kramon’s informational theory of ec argues that by providing handouts to voters, politicians are signalling voters about their capacities to deliver developmental goods after elections. as such, ec in africa occurs as a means of building reputation through the delivery of particularistic goods, primarily given out to enhance performance, reputations, and credibility rather than a clientelist exchange for votes (kramon, 2016, 2018; nathan, 2016). this is especially the case among voters with no clear long-term expectations of better service delivery from one party or the other, which makes short-term spending on particularistic goods appealing to them (nathan, 2016). also, ec is seen as an affirmation of status by political candidates through public displays of wealth. as gadjanova (2017) argues, where elections are competitive, and voters expect gifts; one of the strategies used by candidates is the public distribution of cash and other inducements to affirm their own status. furthermore, other scholars also argue that ec, even if ineffective, is the result of political equilibrium, in which candidates cannot deviate because other parties are following similar strategies, thereby making the costs of defecting higher than the benefits (chauchard, 2016; gadjanova, 2017). as gadjanova (2017) further argues, the provision of material rewards by politicians during competitive elections is made to undermine an opponent’s rewards by matching inducements or encouraging voters to break reciprocity norms. under such circumstances, ec ensures that neither parties nor politicians’ gifts are sufficient for a win, consequently forcing them to pursue different linkage mechanisms to voters (gadjanova, 2017; gallego & wantchekon, 2017). over time, providing material inducements in what gadjanova (2017) calls ‘patronage democracies’ has become a normalised strategy for securing votes and mobilising the masses, especially in africa. as bratton (2008) emphasises, (african) electoral campaigns provide moments for politicians to engage in mass mobilisation and electoral manipulations through vote-buying rather than providing an opportunity for public deliberation. concerning the explanations for ec, a wide range of electoral handouts has been identified in the literature. ec has been noted to occur in various forms such as cash payments, food, and the award of contracts, employment offers, alcohol, medicine, clothing, and other gifts to voters (gallego & wantchekon, 2017; lindberg, 2003; wantchekon, 2003). these pathways of electoral clientelism have been given considerable attention to ascertain how vote-buying manifests before and during elections. for instance, direct cash payments to voters have been highlighted as a pervasive method of vote-buying across various developing countries, often distributed through party intermediaries and brokers (gadjanova, 2017; kramon, 2018; schaffe, 2007). the provision of cash payments during election campaigns is usually attributed to the widespread poverty in most of the developing world, which makes it easier to manipulate most jh journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204156 voters with handouts in return for votes (kitschelt & wilkinson, 2007). notwithstanding what is known concerning ec in national politics, not much has been researched concerning the strategies of vote-buying in university student politics. the next section provides an overview of ec in african student elections and its association with national politics. campus electoral clientelism in africa and its linkages with national politics the broader discourse of ec in mainstream politics in africa emphasises the prevalent and persistent vote-buying practices during elections (bratton, 2008; lindberg, 2003; wantchekon, 2003). considerable studies have investigated the reasons for ec as a form of clientelism in african elections, mainly from the perspective of comparative politics between democratisation in both the developed and developing democracies (medina & stokes, 2002). clientelism broadly refers to transactions between politicians and citizens, whereby material favours are given in exchange for political support (wantchekon, 2003). what distinguishes ec as a type of clientelism is that it occurs before and during elections with the main motive of buying votes and ensuring higher voter turnout (nichter, 2008; schaffe, 2007) compared to other forms like patronage and prebendalism, which tend to consolidate as political systems, for instance through deeper distortions in public service delivery (gallego & wantchekon, 2017). as kitschelt and wilkinson (2007) assert, patronage involves the allocation of public resources like jobs in return for political support which may create distortions in the economy. thus, patronage differs from ec in that it takes a longer period, is not limited to the election campaigns, and offers more attractive resources for clients beyond the short-run (gallego & wantchekon, 2017). prebendalism exists as an extreme form of patronage, where clients only extract public resources for their own benefit without any control of the patron (gallego & wantchekon, 2017; kitschelt & wilkinson, 2007). at present, the literature on ec in africa shows various ways through which candidates engage in vote-buying before and during elections. across various african countries, the persistence of vote-buying has been attributed to weak political economy (kitschelt & wilkinson, 2007), clientelist political culture revealing the patrimonialism (chabal & daloz, 1999), weak political institutions and party structures (van de walle, 2007), strategy for mass mobilisation (chauchard, 2016), low educational levels and civic awareness (nathan, 2016), as well as building reputation and affirming status (gadjanova, 2017; kramon, 2018). consequently, various methods of ec in africa, and ghana in particular, include monetary payments to voters, (public) donations of items (such as food, household electronic appliances), employment offers, and awarding of contracts (lindberg, 2003; nathan, 2016; van de walle, 2007). despite the contributions of the existing literature, it tends to focus on national-level electoral politics, including intra-political party elections. as such, newer forms of ec in 157kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes student politics which is becoming a growing practice across various university campuses in africa have received far less attention. as argued by paalo and van gyampo (2019), current scholarly discussions on ec fail to engage some growing contemporary trends that contribute significantly to sustaining the culture of vote-buying. research on ec in university student elections exists in a few universities in africa. for instance, since 2015, a growing literature has studied the associations between campus-based student politics and national political parties through the influence of student leadership by parties (abrefa busia, 2019; lueschermamashela & mugume, 2014; mugume, 2015). for example, existing empirical studies have investigated the clientelist association between student leaders and political parties, notably in uganda (mugume, 2015; mugume & luescher, 2017b) and kenya (oanda, 2016b). thus, there is a need for more empirical research on campus-based vote-buying practices in other african countries to facilitate broader discussions of the phenomena on ec. ec at the student politics level is therefore an emerging strand in the clientelism literature in africa. as argued by luescher-mamashela and mugume (2014), electoral clientelism in student elections is associated with multiparty democracy in africa. a few scholars have highlighted the clientelist relationships between student leaders and political parties in student electoral politics in various african heis (abrefa busia, 2019; mugume, 2015; mugume & luescher, 2017b). for instance, oanda (2016b) argues that the partisan influences by politicians have contributed to the competitive nature of student political activities and the ‘massive monetisation’ of student elections across various hei campuses in africa. as oanda and omanga (2018) emphasise, university student elections have been associated with patron-client politics and political influences thus, national politics has been implicated in campus politics as politicians seek to build political clients in african universities using students (oanda, 2016b; oanda & omanga, 2018; paalo & van gyampo, 2019) who have historically been the ‘mouthpiece’ of the youth and society in general (van gyampo, 2013). these dynamics capture the new forms of politicisation and campus-partisan linkages in student politics in africa, notably uganda, kenya, and ghana (mugume & luescher; oanda, 2016a; paalo & van gyampo, 2019). in the literature, the most crucial factor for the involvement of political parties in student politics is the recruitment of student cadres, while student leaders in turn gain goods and services such as providing funds for their campaigns (abrefa busia, 2019; mugume, 2015; mugume & luescher, 2017b; weinberg & walker, 1969). building on the existing works on student politics, abrefa busia (2019) explains that the cause of electoral clientelism in student elections is a result of the failures of elected student leaders to fulfil their campaign policies over time. precedents of past student leaders who fail to address the academic and socioeconomic concerns of students, and the desire to amass wealth using their positions in student government, had culminated in a campus culture of clientelism and patronage. thus, most student voters demand direct material benefits and in some cases, post-electoral appointments before giving candidates their votes and other electoral support (abrefa busia, 2019). again, journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204158 the student-voter apathy resulting from unfulfilled promises and corrupt practices by student leaders also makes electoral clientelism a means of popular mobilising in campus elections (abrefa busia, 2019; nyarko, 2016). concerning the forms of ec in student electoral politics, the literature on vote-buying shows that student political candidates provide direct cash payments to voters in the build-up to and during elections (nyarko, 2016; oanda, 2016b). these monetary payments have often occurred as a result of partisan interests in campus politics in many african universities. for instance, in kenyan universities, student election campaigns are usually funded by national political parties with interests that sometimes have negative ethnic and tribal agendas (oanda, 2016b). this ultimately affects student leadership and representation. similarly, student campaigns for guild elections in ugandan universities, notably makerere university, have political party undertones which tend to control campus politics (natamba, 2012 cited in oanda, 2016b: 78). as sarpong (2018) asserts, some student politicians have often been endorsed and funded by ghana’s two main political parties, national democratic congress (ndc) and new patriotic party (npp), through their active campus networks. thus, across many african universities, partisan influences have heavily monetised student elections with student political candidates distributing direct cash to students and influential student groups to ensure electoral success (mugume, 2015; oanda, 2016b). in ghana, for instance, nyarko (2016) reports how an src presidential candidate gave money up to gh¢ 5000 to students in various halls of residence to share before an election. apart from direct monetary payments, student leaders have also been noted for distributing consumables such as food, beverages, and branded souvenirs. based on nyarko’s (2016) journalistic report, student politicians in ghanaian universities distribute branded t-shirts, sponsor birthday parties and entertainment programmes and also provide porridge breakfast to student voters in the build-up to elections. such forms of vote-buying have continued in contemporary student politics and are often fuelled by political parties that provide clientelist goods to their favourite candidates for onward distribution to student voters (paalo & van gyampo, 2019). in uganda, for example, student guild candidates at makerere university are expected to provide music at campus events and also beverages and alcohol to their supporters, usually through the financial support of some politicians (mugume, 2015; oanda, 2016b). as some scholars emphasise, the primary ‘non-partisan’ responsibility of student leaders to promote the welfare of students has become heavily ‘politicised’ by partisan politics across various universities in africa (abrefa busia, 2019; van gyampo, 2013). this situation however, affects student governance as students with good leadership potential but lacking party affiliation refrain from student electoral politics because of the increasing monetisation of university student elections in africa (oanda, 2016b). 159kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes methodology this research forms part of a broader study on “student politics and clientelism in west african universities: a case study of ghana” conducted in april 2019. a qualitative research methodology with an interpretive approach was employed for this study. the interpretive approach recognises the complexity of social life and seeks to provide a better understanding of people’s experiences within a complex social context (krauss, 2005). moreover, the interpretive paradigm optimises focus group discussions (fgds) and personal interviews (yin, 2003) to explore phenomena as a means of understanding the multiple realities of social life and the deeper meanings of the phenomena. the qualitative approach was therefore more applicable as interviews, and fgds allowed students and student leaders to ‘voice out’ their experiences and perspectives on clientelism in a university setting. the research design for this study was an exploratory multiple case study that helped to explore the socio-political context of electoral clientelism in ghanaian universities. as bleijenberg (2010) points out, explorative case studies focus on explaining social phenomena within a particular social context. case studies are also useful for including different approaches and methods to the phenomena being studied (yin, 2003, p.8). as such, the university of ghana (ug) and the kwame nkrumah university of science and technology (knust) were selected, given their historical association with active student politics in ghana and its relation to national politics (van gyampo, 2013). the two universities stand out as ghana’s flagship and oldest universities with the largest student populations that have a growing feature of electoral clientelism in ghana. this informed the selection of the two universities as cases for the study out of ten public universities, six technical universities, and five chartered private universities based on the ghana national accreditation board data as of june 2018. the study adopted purposive, snowballing, and convenience sampling techniques to elicit in-depth data from students and student leaders. the first author hired two research assistants who helped him to recruit undergraduate and postgraduate students to participate in the study. both the undergraduate and postgraduate students were conveniently selected based on their availability and rich experiences and knowledge of vote-buying in student elections. subsequently, 27 students at both ug and knust were sampled and clustered into four groups for the fgds. thus, 3 of the groups had seven members and the other one had six members. also, past and current student leadership candidates were purposively selected and made referrals of other student leaders who were subsequently contacted and recruited for the study. student leaders were drawn from the faculty and students representative council (src) levels where electoral clientelism is pervasive. altogether, 15 past and current student leaders of ug and knust, comprising nine males and six females, agreed to participate in the study. furthermore, 4 university staff members (2 each from ug and knust) who work with student leaders were also recruited for their views on vote-buying in student elections on campus. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204160 the study employed semi-structured interviews and fgds with student leaders and students to collect empirical data on the pathways of electoral clientelism in university student elections in ghana. the data collection lasted for three weeks, from 4 to 19 april 2019. interviews with student leaders took place at centrally agreed locations in accra, kumasi, and tarkwa. interview guides were used to obtain relevant data from student leaders. permission was obtained from interviewees before taking field notes and tape-recording the interviews. moreover, fgds were also conducted on the campuses of ug in accra and knust in kumasi. as denscombe (2007) argues, fgds have the advantage of capturing the dimensions and nuances of a topic which may be limited by personal interviews. at knust, fgds were done in the discussion area of the main library. at the ug, the tv room space at the mensah sarbah hall hosted the discussions. on average, fgds took 30-50 minutes. members of each fgd comprised males and females with an age cohort of 20-27 years. this research was approved in march 2019 by the graduate education committee of the department of politics and international studies at the university of cambridge, uk. as part of this research, ethical considerations including oral consent and written informed consent forms were sought from participants before interviews and fgds. the purpose of the study was also explained to participants, and they were assured of confidentiality and their ano ymity for the information provided. finally, data analysis for the study was concurrently done throughout the data collection process through an inductive data analysis strategy. qualitative data were coded with the aid of the qualitative data analysis software atlas.ti. to generate descriptive codes and later analytical codes. the data were then analysed thematically and cross-checked with responses from participants to bring out emerging themes and patterns (braun & clarke, 2006). findings at the student politics level, very little is known about how clientelism occurs and the forms it takes. based on field interviews and fgds, participants indicated fi e main ways through which electoral clientelism is evident in campus electoral politics. these pathways include the provision of direct cash payments, provision of food and beverage consumables, provision of educational materials and souvenirs, exchanging electoral support for student government positions and appointments, and award of student-related business contracts. provision of direct cash payments to students the provision of direct monetary payments is the most common form of electoral clientelism in university student elections. during electioneering campaigns, findings showed that some students usually demanded money from student candidates in exchange for giving their electoral support. this situation occurred as a result of the disappointment of student leaders in 161kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes fulfilling students’ interests over time. thus, some students felt better off getting ‘direct benefits from candidates before voting in elections, due to past precedents of candidates neglecting their needs and failing to negotiate with university management and national educational agencies on issues affecting university students. similarly, student leaders provided cash payments to electorates to persuade student voters and to convince them to vote massively for them due to general apathy in campus elections. as explained by a past src candidate of knust: on elections days, in particular, you need people to pull students to vote due to voter apathy. some people will genuinely do that for you, but others put a price tag on it. give me this amount of money, and i will ‘sweep’ [mobilise] people for you. in some instances, students will come and tell you, give me this amount of money as lunch or transportation fare to campus before i vote for you. afterwards, i will take a picture for you to see. that is direct vote-buying right there. candidates also offered monetary payments to influential student groups as a precondition for canvassing votes from students on their behalf, and sometimes as an appreciation for campaigning for them during elections. as emphasised by a current student leader at ug: there are student groups that act as political entrepreneurs. they only look at the financial opportunities provided by the politics of the day. they are all about, how can i benefit from what is happening? they come with the idea that if you need me to convince people to massively vote for you, they tie it to an economic benefit they can charge, say gh¢ 500 and then go with candidates for campaigns. direct cash payments through campus representatives during national students’ union elections were also mentioned by study participants. at the national union of ghana students’ (nugs) congress, student government representatives from various universities usually received financial inducements from nugs candidates in the form of transportation and payment of capitation fees. for instance, the capitation fee, which catered for student delegate accommodation, food, transport, and other expenses at the congress to elect national student leaders, was reported to be sometimes funded by some candidates. as such, financing congress-related expenses and the annual nugs dues, which were to be settled by local university representatives, was paid by some nugs candidates. such payments were noted by participants as a common practice by candidates with partisan associations, in exchange for votes. according to a local campus representative: sometimes, candidates could pay the capitation fee of about ¢300 per delegate at nugs congress. most tertiary institutions have about 20-30 delegates. for some schools, they only vote for [national] candidates because they have paid for their delegates’ capitation fee. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204162 provision of food and beverage consumables from the interviews and fgds, the provision of food and beverage consumables by candidates to students for electoral support was another form of clientelism at ug and knust. this form of vote-buying comprised the distribution of soft drinks, and the provision of lunch for voters in the form of food packs with snacks. candidates sometimes did this with the hope of capturing swing voters, undecided in the election week to pull last-minute votes. as these discussants mentioned: on election days at legon [ug], some candidates have cars parked at vantage points on campus distributing food packs and soft drinks to influence people to vote. i don’t know how it works, but that is what it is. in typical male halls like unity hall, you will have candidates who before or during the election day, provide breakfast like porridge and snacks for students. some students based on that to vote and decide not to vote for others because they did not provide such food items. from these statements by some students in fgds, the provision of food items before and during elections was a primary strategy used by candidates in exchange for electoral support. these were provided to ‘ordinary’ students and also to various influential student groups as a mobilisation strategy. candidates relied on food and beverage distribution because they felt students are not interested in policies, thereby using material inducements to beat competition from other candidates. provision of educational materials and souvenirs the study found that candidates also provided educational material and branded election products to students for electoral support. such educational material included academic handouts, branded exercise books, pens and past examination questions, while election souvenirs provided to students included stickers, wristbands, and calendars. these items were usually provided by candidates to advertise their campaigns and make their political intentions known to electorates. however, this approach enhanced a candidate’s popularity and electoral visibility on campus, which could translate to getting more votes over their opponents. a past faculty president at knust admitted that: vote-buying takes the form of souvenirs like branded wristbands and giving out branded exercise books. i did that during my campaigns. for exercise books, are useful for advertising a candidate and also for students’ academic work. so, that is more like a dual exchange that benefits both parties. 163kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes concerning the provision of candidate branded products to students during elections; a university staff member involved in student leadership at knust explained that: during campaign periods on campus, it is not very hard to see some candidates giving out various items such as stationery to students. our universities seem to have left the student politics space unregulated, hence lacking any stringent framework guiding elections. the idea is that it is students’ matters; let us leave it for them. moving forward, there should be explicit rules on the conduct of campus elections. exchanging electoral support for student government positions and appointments another form of clientelism the study found was the exchange of electoral support for post-electoral student government positions and appointments. the study identified patronage politics implicit with the giving of positions and appointments by candidates to their political supporters and cronies from their high schools, religious groups, halls of residences, and faculties. besides, some students, as a result of previous cases of candidates neglecting their needs after elections and financial embezzlement of student funds by successful candidates, ‘out rightly’ demand positions before giving their electoral support. as indicated by a postgraduate student at ug: in 2014/15, i was on the same floor with a candidate popularly called palenxy. during his campaign for jcr president, most of his high school friends supported him. eventually, he won massively and put most of his colleagues on hall committees. besides, he appointed some of them as floor representatives and then gave them ‘inner rooms’ with extra privacy, which are a ‘hot cake’ on campus. in other instances, successful candidates returned electoral support with appointments such as senator (speaker of student parliament), judicial chair, and electoral commissioner. award of student-related business contracts the award of student-related business contracts was also found to be another pathway of electoral clientelism. from our findings there is a prevalent exchange where some students negotiated with candidates to fund their campaigns, and also to help mobilise students to win campus elections. in return, successful candidates who won student elections were expected to provide assurances of business contracts related to student events and souvenirs to such ‘student political financiers’. while some student leaders mentioned that they did not succumb to such proposals, they emphasised that such clientelist practices were common in student elections. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204164 according to a former student-faculty president at knust: there are instances where students who have business exchange their support and sometimes monetary support for a candidate in exchange for business contracts. when i was vying for faculty president, a student approached me for a brief meeting. at the meeting, he proposed helping my campaign finance and in return wanted all student-related printing used for the faculty week celebration to be given to him, since he owned a printing press. similarly, a past student leader at ug noted that: the deal in ug now is that it is either you give me a position or a contract, providing souvenirs are fading in recent times. some students will tell you that when you win, every single exercise book produced for freshers, approximately 38000 copies, should be awarded to them. hence, when the standard price is gh¢1.50, such student financiers awarded such contracts negotiate with printing presses and get them subsidised at 70 pesewas because of bulk printing. that is how those who sponsor candidates get their money back after elections. discussion our study has shown that the pathways of ec in campus elections in ghana are multifaceted and interconnected. candidates often used different strategies to directly influence votes before and during elections. these involve direct cash payments by candidates and sometimes through influential intermediaries to student-voters, distribution of stationery and branded souvenirs, and provision of food items. these methods of vote-buying were usually found to be important for pulling voters to campus on election days at both ug and knust, and to also rival opponents’ provision of material incentives in the build-up to elections. concerning using ec to enhance voter turnout, the strategy to use material inducements like food items and cash payments was a result of student-voter apathy following years of unfulfilled promises by candidates. as such, unlike the dominant narrative of candidates providing handouts to influence votes, most student-voters (especially those in their later years) instead demanded ‘direct benefits from candidates before voting. records of successful student leaders failing to address students’ welfare have created a political culture of votebuying in university student elections (abrefa busia, 2019). consequently, the competitive nature of campus elections to engage influential student groups to ‘sweep’ voters, especially on election days, has made most candidates (notably at the src and faculty levels) resort to vote-buying. this practice resonates with vote-buying at the national level, where politicians undermine opponents’ material rewards by matching such inducements or breaking reciprocity norms to ensure political equilibrium (chauchard, 2016; 165kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes gadjanova, 2017). though some candidates did not engage in vote-buying, they admitted that ec was a common practice on campus at both knust and ug. for such candidates and former student leaders, their reasons included not wanting to be controlled by political parties who usually funded src candidates, financial constraints, and also based on their past service which endeared them to fellow students, in previous leadership roles such as hall presidents, class representatives, and departmental executives. furthermore, it also became clear that vote-buying strategies such as the provision of student government positions and appointments, as well as business contracts are mainly reserved for influential agents who canvassed votes for candidates, primarily through door-to door campaigns in student hostels and halls of residences. more importantly, while these two methods relate more to patronage in the mainstream literature, we argue that under student electoral politics, the award of contracts and provision of positions by successful candidates are backed into ec due to the relatively short period (typically 7-11 months) of student leadership office per academic year. thus, even though patronage politics at the national level takes a longer time compared to vote-buying, which tend to be around elections (gallego & wantchekon, 2017), the award of student positions takes a shorter time, sometimes taking effect the moment candidates win elections. these appointments are usually decided among candidates and influential student groups or ‘brokers’ as a guarantee before even offering their electoral support. in ug, for instance, this was made evident, as the award of business contracts and appointments was preferred by most students involved in campus elections compared to cash payments, electoral souvenirs, and food items. moreover, our findings point to some remarkable differences between ug and knust regarding ec. at ug, the scale of vote-buying was more pronounced due to the intense political party influences in student elections, especially at the src level. hence, most src candidates were usually endorsed and funded by campus party branches, often with the direct backing of party official who by the proximity of the campus, came around during elections. this situation stems from the fact that the ug campus is strategically located in the ayawaso west wuogon constituency where university students of ug constitute an overwhelming voter population, which of itself can secure a member of parliament (mps) outright victory in national elections. besides, as ghana’s premier university based in the national capital, ug is close to important government office and political party official who turn to campuses to recruit and mentor their next crop of party leadership and mobilise grassroots support during national elections. as highlighted by oanda and omanga (2018), african politicians still see universities as critical bases for building political clients; rendering more student activities along political party lines. consequently, this has made student elections in ug more politicised and highly monetised compared to knust. at knust, though politicisation of student elections exists, it was uncommon to witness party youth organisers or other official coming to campus during elections as was the case with ug. instead, the campus branches of ghana’s two main journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204166 parties, new patriotic party (npp) and national democratic congress (ndc), were much more involved than party officials themselves. out of the five pathways emphasised through our findings the most effective were cash payments to ordinary students and influential student groups to influence votes together with the award of contracts after winning elections. due to the situation of student-voter apathy resulting from unfulfilled campaign promises and policies of candidates over time, monetary incentives has become an effective strategy to get students to vote on election days or paying influential agents to campaign massively for candidates in the build-up to elections. this is especially so for off-campus students who, if not for lectures on election day, see no reason to come to campus for the sake of voting, given the common shared experiences that candidates fail to address their needs when voted into power (abrefa busia, 2019). for such students, offering cash payments during elections provides an intrinsic motivation to vote for a candidate. while cash payment is well emphasised in the dominant ec literature, its practice during student elections is not well articulated, especially given the fact that unlike national elections, student elections are not ‘primarily’ organised along with political party representation, despite instances of partisanship. thus, though cash payments are involved in ec at both levels, the reasons and motivations may be different, as our finding suggests. also, the award of contracts provides an effective method of ec in student elections. this is because for students with businesses or links with some enterprises, voting for a candidate, campaigning, and sponsoring them, came with a surety that upon winning the election, they were awarded contracts to supply studentrelated products such as stationery and t-shirts. this way, these students were also able to recoup their sponsorship monies through such contracts and where possible, make profits due to the discounted prices from bulk purchases. in such instances, such ‘student political entrepreneurs’ do not necessarily have any political party ties, but only decide to sponsor candidates because of the personal benefits thus, ec in student elections does not only speak to political party associations, but also intra-campus dynamics outside partisan influences. besides, because some candidates have been noted to disappoint students concerning positions and appointments after winning elections, most students preferred getting contracts or direct cash payments, especially at ug. as earlier indicated, despite the promise of student government positions being an effective method of ec, previous instances of successful candidates not granting student such appointments made it less effective for candidates compared to cash payments and award of contracts. student positions were, however, more effective among some students compared to the distribution of food items, as such positions could be used on their curriculum vitae to demonstrate their leadership and extra-curricular abilities. again, we argue that the distribution of branded products like exercise books during elections are basic educational needs of students, which candidates capitalise on to influence votes just as most students require them for their studies. however, since this was one of the most used strategies by candidates during 167kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes during elections on campus, it is least effective as a principal means of vote-buying in ghanaian public universities. the distribution of food and beverage consumables is the least effective of the pathways of ec, as it was the most typical method used by candidates. these were usually provided on election days and also during the week of elections at both ug and knust. this tie in with existing media reports and studies, which show that the practice of student leaders sponsoring morning porridge breakfast and other food items during elections is pervasive in ghanaian universities (nyarko, 2016; sarpong, 2018). also, our study finds similar observations in other african universities, particularly in uganda and kenya, where student guild candidates engage in vote-buying practices such as providing beverages and alcohol to students during campaigns, often sponsored by leading political parties (mugume, 2015; oanda, 2016b). the pathways of ec in university student elections identified in this study are consistent with the general political culture in ghana, where national elections have been associated with widespread vote-buying (paalo & van gyampo, 2019). though different reasons account for the practice at both the student politics and national politics levels as earlier discussed, the strategies appeared similar, particularly due to the infiltration of political party influences in student elections. consequently, the competitive nature of ghana’s two-party (npp and ndc) dominated political landscape is becoming implicated in the ‘non-partisan’ responsibility of student leadership primarily responsible for addressing the welfare needs of students. under such circumstances, as noted in our findings student leadership and governance is compromised, as the loyalty of successful candidates lies with their ‘political godfathers’ who fund their elections at the expense of student welfare. for instance, at the national students union elections, cash payments, which were heavily monetised by political parties, have resulted in the polarisation of the nugs with ruling governments preferring a nugs president in their political camp. this has led to the division of the nugs into two factions with political loyalties to both the npp and ndc. ultimately, the pathways of ec in student elections, partly fuelled by political party influences and intra-campus dynamics, point to the enduring practice of vote-buying in ghana’s electoral democracy which is ‘nurtured from below’. this is worth mentioning, given that most politicians in ghana have been through the ranks of university student leadership. conclusion our research explored an understudied phenomenon in student electoral politics in africa, by investigating how electoral clientelism takes place in student elections in ghana. we have shown that vote-buying in ghanaian university student elections occur in five crucial ways. these included providing cash payments, giving student government positions to supporters, distributing food and beverages, awarding student-related business contracts to student electoral financiers by elected leaders, and providing educational materials and souvenirs to studentvoters. the significant contribution of the study is that it provides rich empirical data on the complex journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 153-171 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2204168 complex forms of electoral clientelism in student elections in relation to national elections in ghana. this is mainly due to the infiltration of political party influences in university student politics. we, therefore, recommend that universities must develop a coherent, participatory framework and stringent regulations to guide campus electoral politics, particularly concerning student political financing partisan 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(3rd ed.). sage. 171kwaku abrefa busia, alice amegah & francis arthur-holmes https://www.jstor.org/stable/2775614 149 submissions please register as an author and read the author guidelines at https://www.journals.ac.za/index. php/jsaa/about. submissions must be made by email to the journal manager, ms maretha joyce, at mjoyce@sun.ac.za. submissions in response to special calls for papers must also be made directly to the guest editors concerned (see call for papers). the jsaa typically has themed issues. however, submissions that fall within the general scope and focus of the journal can be made at any time and may be published irrespective of the overall theme of the journal. particularly encouraged are open-theme manuscripts that address the following: • case studies of innovative practices in student affairs in the context of african higher education (e.g. student lifecycle, orientation, residence management, student governance, student counselling). • high-level reflective practitioner accounts. • explorations of the nexus of student affairs theory, policy and practice in the african context and beyond. • conceptual discussions of student development, and key enablers and inhibitors of student development in africa. • explorations of authoritative literature, theory and professional trends related to student affairs in africa. please note that there are different requirements for different types of manuscripts: • research articles: contributors are encouraged to submit research-based manuscripts. research articles must include an extensive consideration of recent literature and relevant theory. researchbased articles must be original and research-based and must make a significant conceptual (or empirical or normative) contribution relevant to the scope and focus of the jsaa. the length must be approximately 5 000 words, including all references, notes, tables and figures. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • reflective practitioner accounts: high-quality reports on professional campus practice are screened and reviewed according to the same criteria as for research articles, albeit with a different emphasis. unlike a research article, they do not need to include an extensive consideration of recent literature and theory, but they must nonetheless comply with standard academic convention and scholarly practice. reflective practitioner articles must be original, must make a significant empirical contribution, and must significantly enhance our understanding of student affairs practice within their respective scope and focus. typical length should be 2 500–5 000 words. manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150–300 words. • book reviews should be between 800 and 1 000 words in length. competent reviews of key student affairs books are published at the discretion of the editorial executive. • comments and critique, of no more than 2 500 words, are also welcome. • proposal for the journal’s dialogue/interview section and calls and notices should be emailed directly to the journal manager. the publication of calls and notices (for conferences, vacancies, etc.) may incur a nominal fee. authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors. 1. the ethical requirements of social research have been considered and fully complied with. 2. the submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in comments to the editor). 3. the submission file is in ms word, openoffice, or rtf document file format. 4. the text is double-spaced; 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amazon books http://www.amazon.com or directly from african minds http://www.africanminds.co.za. • printed copies from vol. 4(2) and following can be ordered directly from african sun media at orders@africansunmedia.co.za. https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/index https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/index http://www.africanbookscollective.com/ http://www.amazon.com http://www.africanminds.co.za mailto:orders%40africansunmedia.co.za?subject= abstract traditional advising responsibilities are shifting to include a holistic, learning-based, and developmental approach that favours advising of the entire university experience. a dearth of systematic empirical evidence exists on advisors’ perceptions of the value of advising students during the covid-19 pandemic in the south african context. the purpose of this study is to elucidate advisors’ perceptions of the complexity and challenges inherent in their responsibilities during the pandemic. this case study draws on a qualitative research design; it is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews undertaken with nine advisors in 2020. the central research question posed in this study is: how do advisors describe their perceptions of their responsibilities within the covid-19 pandemic, and how might these contribute to future practices? the findings indicate that advising during the pandemic has transcended the typical transactional dissemination of information to include addressing contextual, environmental, and resource challenges, social justice imperatives, emergency remote learning, asynchronous advising challenges, and data-informed advising. these responsibilities have encompassed a holistic approach to advising and to getting to know students as ‘whole people’. adjustments and transitions to emergency remote learning have highlighted social inequalities in access to data, to the internet, and electricity connectivity, which have served as impediments to students’ learning and educational experiences. some home environments were not conducive to studying but necessitated doing household chores and herding cattle. the findings also indicate that an institution’s advising delivery model should enhance advisors’ abilities to perform their responsibilities. a network of cascaded responsibilities that incorporates greater involvement of lecturers in advising could contribute to a shared responsibility between lecturers and central, faculty, and peer advisors. insights gained may lead to a more nuanced understanding of advisors’ responsibilities as they relate to student learning and to the overall educational experience to promote retention and student success in a post-pandemic era. research article advisors’ perceptions of the value of advising students during the covid-19 pandemic: a case study at a south african university raazia moosai i raazia moosa, head of academic support at the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg. raaziamoosa@gmail.com, orcid: 0000-0003-1936-769x 65raazia moosa keywords advising structures and systems, responsibilities, social justice, retention, student success, advisors’ perceptions, covid-19 introduction traditional advising responsibilities are shifting to include a holistic, learning-based, and developmental approach that favours advising of the entire university experience. mueller and meyer (2017) argue that providing holistic support to students by connecting them to academic and non-academic resources and career goals are considered advisors’ responsibilities. these responsibilities include assisting students in meeting graduation requirements, career exploration and graduate school options, assisting with navigating university systems, and empowering students (hart-baldridge, 2020). providing accurate information, referring students, and “being an honest resource to students” (hart-baldridge, 2020, p. 14) is also regarded as advisors’ responsibilities. financial and personal issues are dealt with in the advising context because they impinge on a student’s ability to achieve academically (larson et al., 2018). advising is posited as a crucial component of student success (thomas et al., 2018). extant literature internationally suggests that advising can contribute to retention, and ultimately to student success (thomas et al., 2018; 2017). in this study, student success is operationalised in terms of its ability to integrate students into an institution by allowing them to navigate and understand the institutional culture, policies, and information (hart-baldridge, 2020). advising efforts geared towards retention are viewed as strategies aimed at allowing students to graduate. advising in the united states of america (usa) has its roots in addressing students’ personal and academic needs. today, it is entrenched in higher education (he) as a means of addressing retention concerns (drake, 2011). kuh (2008) proposes advising as a high-impact practice that affects student success. he defines advising as “situations in which an institutional representative gives insight or direction to a college student about academic, social, or personal matters” (kuh, 2008, p. 3). advising occurs along a continuum from developmental advising to more proactive, intrusive forms of advising, where a developmental approach allows for collaboration between advisors and advisees (hatch & garcia, 2017). institutions have thus developed advising structures, for example, hybrid advising structures are common in the usa (miller, 2012). very little is known about perceptions of advising by those in leadership positions who make decisions that affect how advising is structured and undertaken within an institution (menke, duslak & mcgill, 2020). a misperception exists that “anyone can simply step into the role and perform the work of an advisor” (menke et al., 2020, p. 87). mcgill (2021), who holds that the role of academic advising in higher education (he) is misunderstood, has journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369966 identified the need for academic advisors to communicate the value and complexity of their work. menke et al. (2020) thus argue that it is important for advisors to elucidate their daily roles and responsibilities in order for advising to be understood by everyone in an institution. it is envisaged that an understanding of advising practices is able to provide advisors with a language to explain what they do (mcgill, 2021). menke et al. (2020) maintain that the benefit of advising as it relates to student success is ongoing and that it needs to be understood. we cannot assume that the literature emanating from the usa is transferable to south africa without further investigation. as such, more research is needed on how advising is perceived in a variety of institutional contexts (menke et al., 2020). accordingly, menke et al. (2020) advocate for further research to advance the field and to examine the place that academic advising occupies. a dearth of systematic empirical evidence exists on advisors’ perceptions of the value of advising during the covid-19 pandemic in the south african context. the purpose of this study is to elucidate advisors’ perceptions of the value of advising during the covid-19 pandemic. the central research question posed in this study is: how do advisors describe their perceptions of their responsibilities within the covid-19 pandemic, and how might these contribute to future practices? insights gained may lead to a more nuanced understanding of advising responsibilities in relation to student learning, and to the overall educational experience to promote retention and student success in a post-pandemic era. a review of advising responsibilities is followed by a description of the case study context. the methodology and findings are outlined with limitations and suggestions for future research before concluding with implications for policy and practice. advising responsibilities initially, advisors in the usa focused on assisting students with course selection to enable them to complete their degrees (menke et al., 2020). this is a widely acceptable advising responsibility that is regarded by advisors as to the ‘nuts and bolts’ of advising (hart-baldridge, 2020, p. 14). advisors are directly in touch with challenges experienced by students (steele & white, 2019), and they are thus ideally placed to implement interventions to support students in achieving their goals (menke et al., 2020). extant literature indicates the importance of faculty-student advising interactions to promote student success (hart-baldridge, 2020). institutional communication is also enhanced through advising interactions (hart-baldridge, 2020). by means of these interactions, connections are formed between students and advisors, which provide students with an in-depth understanding of the institution and of its context and resources (mcgill, 2021). advising thus has an impact on student learning and on broader educational experiences (hart-baldridge, 2020). mcgill (2021) argues that the possibilities related to student learning are limited by the perception that advising in he involves 67raazia moosa transmitting information to students to allow them to graduate. in agreement, menke et al. (2020) contend that advising encompasses more than this. menke et al. (2020) argue that the institutional status of advising has shifted from a prescriptive approach to a learning-based developmental approach that favours holistic advising of students’ entire university experience. advising responsibilities are typically undertaken as individual functions in silos. the need to break down silos has led hart-baldridge (2020, p. 16) to argue that “if we did it together, we could do it better”. shared advising responsibilities could thus contribute to retention and student success (hart-baldridge, 2020). students are involved in decision-making when they decide to act in a manner that allows them to accomplish their goals (mcgill, 2021). in this way, advising transcends transactional information dissemination (mcgill, 2021). the ultimate responsibility is thus to help students connect their academic experiences and goals (hartbaldridge, 2020). asynchronous advising asynchronous advising in online space has predated the pandemic even though it was limited. to facilitate emergency remote learning, advisors were forced to move to asynchronous advising. miller et al. (2019) argue that multiple methods are required when advising students online. electronic online resources may be used by advisors to provide just-in-time asynchronous advising (ohrablo, 2016). emails are as important as in-person advising sessions; ohrablo (2016) recommends effective written and oral communication skills to mitigate the challenges of online advising. video conferencing software such as zoom and skype comes close to the face-to-face advising experiences in terms of visual cues (ohrablo, 2016). students who make use of online advising often feel lost because they lack a contextual framework that characterises face-to-face advising (ohrablo, 2016). a visual frame of reference is absent in an online advising setting, whether it be on email or telephone; its absence increases feelings of disconnection and frustration (ohrablo, 2016). technical problems are inevitable and these need to be mitigated by alternative forms of communication such as a telephone call. according to ohrablo’s (2016) study, students prefer telephonic and email communication. a study by hart-baldridge (2020) also indicates that advisors experience challenges in navigating software. the digital divide has existed before the pandemic and it is a reality which advisors and students continue to confront (rendón, 2021). advising case study context similar to most he institutions in south africa, the university of the witwatersrand (johannesburg) experienced a decline in the percentage of undergraduate student graduations between 2005 and 2010, which raised concerns. evidence of a data journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369968 informed approach in 2013 was available from national studies (che, 2013; che, 2006). institutional data also suggested that student retention and success should be prioritised with the initial input directed to students who were at risk in their first year of study. to provide structural support and to systemically address the retention of at-risk students, resources were allocated to faculties for the employment of faculty coordinators to provide academic, psychosocial, and economic advice to first-year students who were identified as being at risk. the term advising was not used; instead, owing to the focus on at-risk students, faculty coordinators were termed ‘at-risk co-ordinators’. consequently, advising was instituted in 2014 and was resourced largely from the teaching development grant: 2014–2016 of the department of higher education and training. it was envisaged that the appointment of advisors in the faculties would improve retention and the longterm student success goals of the university. organisational structures and delivery systems an institution’s organisational structures for advising are able to hinder or facilitate advising. king (2008) argues that institutions are able to organise their advising services using centralised, decentralised, and shared organisational structures. in 2013, a shared organisational structure was selected with central coordination for the establishment, staffing training, sharing of practices, and with decentralised delivery programmes at the faculty level. the chosen model also depended on the resources available and existing support in the faculties. faculty operational and human resource budgets were allocated and these enabled the employment of eight advisors. as advising delivery systems, faculties were able to design their advising programmes, which were termed ‘passport to success’, ‘road to success programme’ and ‘academic success programme’, to name but a few. technology is an integral part of advising (gordon et al., 2008). institutionalising advising thus relied on developing technology in tandem with support advising and student success. a data warehouse and dashboards to identify students who are at risk, a case management system to log advising interventions, and a biographical questionnaire were developed to inform advising. frameworks on student success and data governance were developed in 2019. consequently, governance structures for advising are built on student success; advising activities are reported to the student success committee, which feeds into the senate teaching and learning committee and the senate. the current context has retained the original advising structures and delivery systems. faculties have taken the initiative to convert the initial eight contract grant funded posts to permanent posts. the number of faculty advisors has also increased to fifteen with some advising posts still being funded by the university capacity development programme of the department of higher education. donaldson et al. (2020) thus acknowledge that advising is characterised by a high student-advisor ratio. over an eight-year period, capacity has increased 69raazia moosa but a high student-advisor ratio remains. the limited number of advisors could become a major disadvantage in the shared structures model (kapinos, 2020). the findings provide further insights into current advising practices. methodology this case study draws on a qualitative research design; it is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews undertaken with nine advisors in 2020. a case study approach (stake, 2005) is appropriate for a reflective paper that seeks to reflect upon the benefit of advising students from advisors’ perspectives. this descriptive case study is part of a broader analysis of advising practices at wits. a convenient sample (bryman, 2016) of nine advisors was selected. ethical clearance for this study was obtained, and participants were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their participation. owing to the small number of participants, faculty and departmental affiliation were not revealed as these would violate anonymity. to mitigate this, demographic information on gender, nature of position, and years of experience is provided in table 1. table 1 advisor demographics interview gender nature of position years of experience 1 female academic 1 2 female academic 6 3 female academic 4 4 male professional and support 3 5 female professional and support 3 6 female professional and support 8 7 male academic 3 8 female academic 3 9 female professional and support 2 semi-structured interviews were conducted during the pandemic, and some interview questions included: • describe your function in terms of what your job entails? journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369970 • how do you get to know what your students’ needs are? • how does your background make it easy or difficult for you to advise students? • what challenges have you experienced during the pandemic? interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. the analysis involved the descriptive coding of the data, which were then categorised into code groups and themes (saldaña, 2021) in atlas.ti version 9. first-person accounts were used as evidence to support the findings. findings the findings are derived from a thematic analysis of interview data, and they provide structure and depth to an understanding of advisors’ perspectives of their responsibilities. five major themes have emerged: advising context, transactional information dissemination, social justice imperatives, learning experiences, and data-informed advising during the pandemic. subthemes are also presented to augment these themes. advising context the context that shapes advising responsibilities has revealed the importance of the mode of communication, as well as an understanding of students’ and advisors’ backgrounds and context. modes of communication multiple modes of communication were used to communicate with students during the pandemic. the preferred mode of communication was emails, followed by advising students on microsoft teams. whatsapp, zoom, skype, and telephone calls were also used in addition to various learning management support sites (see figure 1). an advisor reported the dominance of email communication: “on a day-to-day basis i get a lot of students just sending me an email to request an advising session” (interview 1). an advisor illustrated the use of the different modes: my cell phone became something that i used quite often uhm outside of teams because teams sometimes was not that friendly. i used a lot of zoom. uhm, even when i do my workshops, teams doesn’t work. so, i schedule meetings with myself to record on zoom and i upload that to the e-learning site that i have created. uhm, i use skype uhm then i also do a lot of phone call (interview 3). 71raazia moosa figure 1 advising modes of communication the majority of advisors reported that various modes of advising had assisted them in individual sessions; group sessions, and in providing online resources on the learning management support sites. an advisor summed this up by stating that “it’s either we are responding to those requests over the email or presenting group sessions or we’re having one-on-one sessions with the students” (interview 5). conducting group sessions online was challenging due to “ethical issues” and “not wanting students to feel uncomfortable during covid” (interview 3). a distinction between pre-covid and covid advising sessions in terms of “how we do advising” was highlighted by one advisor (interview 1). this advisor maintained that advising sessions were based on “an open-door policy, so group sessions and the one-on-one sessions are normally done” (interview 1). online communication was reported to have a wider reach: “i’m sort of happy with the online because i feel like we reached more students than we could have when we were in our office(interview 6). online resources were made available on the learning management system (lms), and due to the overall value of communicating with students online, one advisor khhhll journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369972 advocated for a blended mode in future that would combine face-to-face and online advising. this was articulated as follows: “i’m not saying we take away the face-to-face contacts but i would advocate that we continue doing it in conjunction with face-to-face because we reach more students” (interview 6). students’ backgrounds and contexts most advisors valued a holistic approach to advising and to getting to know students “as whole people” (interview 2). students’ backgrounds were viewed as important when trying to understand their contexts. an advisor reported focusing on “students who are from underprivileged backgrounds” and always looking “at the background of whomever you want to assist” (interview 4). advisors considered it important to be aware of the work that was published by the national academic advising association: the global community of advising (nacada). however, getting the best results from the international experience was only recommended if these were relevant to the south african context. most advisors reported that the backgrounds of the south african students differed from students internationally and that they considered students’ context before assisting them: our students are not necessarily from the same backgrounds as the ones that they usually post on nacada. so … you always have to try and contextualise whatever that you want to do uhm to the students that you’re dealing with . . . because the context if it’s not the same you’re not gonna [sic] get the best results if you just trying to implement it to the students that you’re dealing with (interview 4). while students’ backgrounds informed advising, advisors also drew on their own backgrounds and found their experiences to be a helpful “frame of reference” (interview 7) to understand student dynamics and challenges. an advisor reported the benefit of understanding students’ challenges and background by stating that “i would be able to sit with them and then explore the question; …and some of them were just appreciating the fact that they’ve got someone who can understand their background” (interview 4). seeking to understand students’ context involves introspection and a contextual understanding of the advisor’s background and experience. acknowledging that it is possible to transcend their rural background and to obtain their degrees, allowed some advisors to identify with students’ context and to motivate them to do the same: i know where i’m from… and a lot of them share similar backgrounds ...i grew up in a very rural area...i managed to make something out of that so when you speak to students you get to know where they’re from, you’re able to understand exactly what they are going through (interview 4). 73raazia moosa an advisor felt that “black south african” advisors were better placed to allow students to speak freely and express themselves in their “mother tongue” without any language barriers (interview 8). this was exemplified in the following explanation: “i’m in the position to say you can speak with me in pedi for example or in zulu uh and look into the problem that you are having and i’m able to explain from that perspective” (interview 4). some advisors also viewed the understanding of students’ backgrounds as a means of breaking down silos between departments: “we’re an office that likes to work in a very integrated way with stakeholders knowing where different types of resources sit” (interview 9). serving students were at the heart of advisors’ perceptions of the advising that they provided. breaking down silos between advising undergraduate and postgraduate students was also common. while the focus on advising had initially been on “at-risk students”, advisors indicated that the focus was extended and that “postgraduate students were advised on a demand basis” (interview 5). an advisor was of the opinion that “i have to serve students, mainly undergraduate students, though we do not really chase the postgraduate students when they need help” (interview 5). transactional information dissemination transactional information dissemination was undertaken in advising responsibilities related to academic, curriculum, career, goal setting, and time management and in connecting students to network points. advising was reported to encompass a wide spectrum of responsibilities and “was open-ended enough to include any issue from answering student queries based on anything basically” (interview 7). an advisor captured this as follows: yeah uhm, so, we, don’t actually use the term academic advising because i, i think that people are advising on socio-economic issues for example, so if a student doesn’t have finance, we help them with that, if a student is struggling with connectivity, we help them with that uhm so it’s those psychosocial type of support that we give, which is not really like academic as such. so, we just talk about advising, so anything to do with advising (interview 7). the proportion of issues with which students requested assistance is illustrated in figure 2. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369974 figure 2 advising practices advisors reported that the majority of students requested assistance with academic issues. advisors assisted students with their “applications for remarks and with late assessments, without compromising the standards of the university” (interview 5). advisors were of the opinion that “students are extremely stressed, extremely anxious” (interview 1). triggers for stress were viewed as “the family situation or relationship, anything that might have an impact on them being able to pass their degree” (interview 2). acting as a “referral point” (interview 5), guiding students to the correct resources and trying to “get them to use the resources that are available for them” (interview 1), were regarded by advisors as a central aspect of their services to students. assisting students with their “curriculum and career” were common advising practices (interview 2). advisors felt that they had a positive role to play with regard to “students obtaining a degree” (interview 8). most advisors reported dealing with time management “on a day-to-day basis” in their advising sessions (interview 8). this was articulated by some advisors: “part of my work is to teach students time management” 75raazia moosa (interview 6). most advisors reported that they used “developmental advising” (interview 7) in sessions because it was a collaborative activity that relied “on the student following through on what was discussed” (interview 8). addressing social justice imperatives special attention was devoted to the social justice cohort of students. advising these students included a focus on “economic, socio-economic issues, social problems at home and study skills, for example” (interview 8). owing to the relaxation of the covid-19 lockdown levels, some students were able to “return to campus” after having been identified by advisors as eligible to return (interview 8). a true understanding of students’ context and environments and where they lived was absolutely essential in making decisions regarding who was allowed to return to campus. one advisor, who was from a “rural area”, used an understanding of the rural context to “contextualise the situation, struggles and challenges” that rural students found themselves in during the lockdown period (interview 8). actively addressing social justice issues were regarded as integral to advising. an advisor was of the opinion that “a lot of our students have social justice issues” so “i can’t run away from factors like social problems at home, economic, socio-economic issues” (interview 6). more particularly, social justice issues included access to electricity, food, and running water. an advisor conveyed this as follows: there’d been quite a few students who mentioned that uh they perhaps don’t have a reliable electricity supply, where they’re saying they have no signal uhm perhaps they are from uh poorer backgrounds where they don’t have the necessary resources at home like food or even running water and uhm those are the types of social justice issues (interview 1). recommendations regarding who should return to campus led some advisors to report that they had found themselves in situations where they needed to “understand that the student is not lying” (interview 8). as such, advising was understood to take place in an environment that was conducive to “listening to students” (interview 6). a distinction was made between advising and counselling. although some advisors had a psychology background, they highlighted the difference between the two fields by stating that “i don’t just listen to them, i have to get involved, not direct counselling, it’s to motivate them, give them that hope” (interview 6). an advisor conveyed a situation that had occurred during an advising session where a student explained to the advisor that “when he sends emails to the lecturers asking them to recommend him to return to residence they don’t even respond” (interview 8). this advisor subsequently recommended the student to return to campus due to an understanding of the inequality between students from rural and urban areas by illustrating the following situations: journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369976 the major ones were, with regards to the kind of house chores that he had to do. it wasn’t normal house chores, just cleaning around the house, you know. as a male child, he had to uhm go and take care of the cows. the herds, he had to take care of the cattle, he had to also clean around the yard. he also had to go and fetch water from a far uhm area. so, you know, those kinds of things i understood. these are the types of situations that actually do occur uhm in such areas (interview 8). learning experiences during the initial lockdown period, advisors made every effort to allow learning to continue by facilitating the shift to emergency remote teaching and learning and to online advising. emergency remote teaching and learning the dominance of requests for academic support as a result of the move to remote online teaching and learning. this move was challenging for most advisors. an advisor captured the initial “move to remote online teaching and learning” (interview 4) as “[t]he main thing that we did when covid started was providing support with adjusting to online learning for the students”, which involved “doing the orientation in that regard and then we received a lot of queries regarding the challenges they experienced” (interview 7). the reality initially described was that “emails will just be flying through from the staff as well as the students” and subsequently “[w]e stabilised a bit now and once everyone was comfortable with online learning, it became a bit easier, much, much easier” (interview 4). the drastic nature of the situation was emphasised: “[g]eez! covid obviously, we had to move onto online and be at the forefront of everything” (interview 4). the support provided included “assistance for lecturers to record videos and induction programmes for students on how to transition into online” (interview 4). a few advisors strongly felt that “the one big challenge students were facing was the fact that they thought they were not going to be able to learn online” (interview 3). however, students used their agency to identify their own needs. most advisors felt that “students are able to be very specific about what it is that they need assistance with” (interview 9). advisors recognised that students had multiple needs and that “it’s not only one subject; it’s multiple subjects that they struggle with and multiple like social issues as well” (interview 1). issues related to “adjustment” (interview 7) and “transitioning” (interview 3) to remote online learning during the pandemic presented challenges to all students. an advisor made a comment that “adapting to learning from home and being by yourself is very different to receiving that in face-to-face interaction” (interview 1). however, the pandemic presented contextual recourse issues related to “data, connectivity, electricity, house chores, and the need to return to campus” (interview 8). most advisors reported that they felt helpless because they had “no 77raazia moosa control over external issues such as electricity and internet connectivity” that students were highlighting “things that you cannot really solve” (interview 8) and that “sometimes we didn’t even really have anything to help with when it comes to those challenges” (interview 7). once advisors understood what students’ challenges were, they then “relayed that information to schools to inform lecturers why students were not engaging with their courses” (interview 3). lecturers were also able to assist advisors by proposing interventions to assist students. an advisor captured this as follows: “lecturers approached us to assist them to better support and connect with students” as well as “to come up with ideas for interventions” (interview 3). in this manner, advisors worked with “the schools and the departments” to find ways to assist students (interview 3). important connections were thus formed between advisors and lecturers. advisors reported that some lecturers extended the deadlines for assessments and tests to allow students to navigate around their “network issues and electricity issues” (interview 8). the lecturers’ reports indicated that they were sensitive to these contextual challenges. advisors reported that in advising sessions, a student would mention: “i could not complete my test due to network issues” (interview 8). connectivity issues meant that advisors could not “even have a meeting on zoom” (interview 7). advisors mentioned that students had informed them that they needed data, which the university subsequently made available. these challenges affected advisors’ ability to facilitate learning. some advisors experienced challenges when working on technology, such as microsoft teams: “initially i had problems working online because i had never done it before, ever” (interview 5). a personal challenge to connect with students and to arrange meetings was conveyed by an advisor who stated: “i had a bit of a challenge but once i got the hang of it, i’m now comfortable with it” (interview 5). this learning curve was overcome and communicated: “it has been improving ever since because of continued use” (interview 5). an advisor also empathetically communicated students’ technological challenges with regard to meetings on teams and suggested “multiple avenues to connect with students” by stating that “as much as i as an adult was having difficulties you can imagine how an 18, 22-year-old would have struggled” (interview 5). however, advisors reported that “students seem to be quite adjusted after june” (interview 7). some advisors mentioned that students informed them about the learning experiences that they had acquired and that they intended to learn from their challenges: “there were those that were not really happy about their marks” and who stated that “had they been like in normal learning, they think they would have done better” (interview 7). the learning opportunity was further expressed in the following way: “they have learnt what were the main challenges and how they think they will address them in the future” (interview 7). the potential for advisors and students to build on past learning opportunities was thus articulated by an advisor: “in as much as at the beginning there was a bit of challenge but as we are moving all forward, it is opening up opportunities that we will most definitely use post-covid” (interview 5). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369978 online advising advisors reported that they needed to “move away from face-to-face advising” and “adapt to online advising” (interview 1). an advisor mentioned that the challenge was that “90% of our programmes were face-to-face” and “in the wake of covid we really had to adjust very quickly along with the rest of the university” in order to “formulate a plan about how we were going to continue to roll out our programmes online” (interview 9). nevertheless, an advisor stipulated: “we were able to just rise to the occasion and adapt our programmes to really link in with online learning” (interview 9). a few advisors mentioned that they found it “easier to communicate with students live with face-to-face contact” (interview 8). online advising without video functionality prevented advisors from “reading a student’s body language and reactions” (interview 1). advisors gauged students’ emotions with ease during synchronous advising, which was not possible when communicating with students on whatsapp. this was articulated as “i found contact advising easy, because i could tell the kind of emotions that students would have at that particular time” (interview 8). the benefit of synchronous advising was described as follows: “when students show those emotions, i would know how to direct my advising”, whereas “unfortunately this time around it was a bit difficult because it was via whatsapp calls” (interview 8). however, advising on whatsapp incurred financial costs for both advisors and students due to data costs. an advisor stated that “having to search in my own pocket to have these sessions and then also from the students’ side as well” was a disadvantage “because then they had to use their data as well for whatsapp calls” (interview 8). the advantage was that whatsapp allowed advisors to reach out to international students: “sometimes whatsapp just works because we had international students as well that i had to give uhm direct calls” (interview 8). a contrast between advising in a pre-covid-19 and covid-19 context was highlighted by an advisor in terms of the challenges students experienced and the simplicity of advising responsibilities before covid-19: in general, uhm advising was really difficult during this time and because you are trying to assist students with normal challenges that you know, they’d bring to you, time management, note-taking, all those excellent skills but now the challenges that they’re bringing to you, it’s just with regards to things that you cannot really solve; i’m having network issues, i could not complete my test, you know. uhm so even in the advising session, it’s you know, students really just focus on the challenges or the struggles that they were going through rather than trying to develop themselves. whereas in other years, the advising was much simpler, you know, it was focussed on excellent skills, trying to assist students with regards to that, rather than trying to help them find ways to overcome network issues or trying to work around the house. so, i think advising this year was very, very difficult it was definitely a difficult year (interview 8). 79raazia moosa overall, advisors were of the opinion that online advising had “stabilised a bit now” and that they were “comfortable with online because it became a bit easier” over time (interview 4). data-informed advising systems were developed by the university to assist advisors to monitor students’ progress. advisors reported using technology such as the “students persistence dashboard and the biographical questionnaire” to support their advising (interview 2). it was collectively reported that the systems were useful for providing information on the “contextual realities” to monitor student performance (interview 1). some advisors based their advice on background information obtained from data. within the context of covid-19, advisors needed to be innovative and to respond with new approaches that would allow them to support students. advisors reported that they elicited feedback from students by administering online surveys on the advising services which they rendered. feedback was requested on psychosocial and resource issues as well as on students’ general well-being. some advisors used “feedback from emails” (interview 6), “surveys” (interview 8), “virtual check-in sessions” (interview 5) and “evaluation forms” (interview 2) to obtain data to support their advising and interventions in a manner that responded to students’ challenges. using data allowed advisors to assess which students were “logging into the lms” and engaging with their courses (interview 3). contacting those who were not logging in proved to be an effective means of indicating who needed advising and of elucidating contextual realities such as the need for “laptops” (interview 3). most advisors linked feedback to “course performance” (interview 4) and to whether students’ “marks were improving” (interview 2). advisors acknowledged that improvements in students’ marks could not be attributed directly to advising but that advisors “added value” (interview 5). feedback from students was seen as an essential form of data upon which to base advising, as well as interventions in the form of “webinars to address students’ challenges” (interview 8). limitations and future research the findings are derived from a small group of advisors’ perceptions and cannot be generalised or transferred to other institutions because this study was undertaken at one institution. the interviews were conducted in 2020 during the lockdown period. owing to the focus on the pandemic, perceptions of advisors’ responsibilities may not capture the full range of responsibilities. triangulating advisors’ perceptions with students’ marks and obtaining the viewpoints of students is a limitation of this study. however, it is also an area for future research, which could thus explore from students’ perspectives whether advisors’ responsibilities and roles are viewed as beneficial. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369980 implications for policy and practice perceptions of advising responsibilities influence both policy and practice. advisors’ perceptions of their responsibilities and the value of their contribution to student success, as indicated in this study, enable policy shifts in an institution. this study indicates that advising involves facilitating social justice imperatives to fulfil advising responsibilities related to facilitating student learning and to participation in educational experiences. the different levels of privilege between students from urban and from rural areas, and the varying opportunities to succeed due to social inequalities such as access to electricity and internet connectivity were recognised, and addressed by advisors. advising responsibilities beyond the pandemic could encompass blended forms of advising, including synchronous and asynchronous advising, which takes into consideration the limitations of online advising. the advising delivery model and systems should not impede advisors’ ability to perform their responsibilities; instead, it should enhance this ability. cascaded responsibilities that incorporate greater involvement of lecturers in advising could contribute to a shared responsibility between lecturers, central advisors, faculty advisors, and peer advisors. this network of advisors has the potential to break down silos and empower advisors at different levels of an institution. an awareness of advisors’ responsibilities and challenges provides a basis to inform changes about how advising could be supported and how resources could be allocated. this study indicates that advising is able to shape students’ learning and educational experiences. an institutional accountability system should ensure continuous monitoring of advising and constant evaluation of the relevance of its advising system and delivery model, resources, budgets, and advisor-student ratios to facilitate effective and efficient advising practices. conveying the complexity of responsibilities and challenges to those in leadership positions who make resource allocation decisions related to staffing and budgets could thus enhance the profession, and ensure that sufficient resources are allocated in a post-pandemic era. conclusion this study has revealed the value of advising practices through the perceptions of advisors. it has added to the literature by providing a contextual description of how advisors perceive the complexities and challenges inherent in advisors’ responsibilities during the covid-19 pandemic. advising during the pandemic transcended the typical transactional dissemination of information and included addressing contextual, environmental, and resource challenges, social justice imperatives, online learning and advising experiences, and data-informed advising. these responsibilities encompass a holistic approach to advising and to getting to know students as ‘whole people’. adjustments and transitions to emergency remote learning highlighted students’ contextual resource needs for data, connectivity to the internet, and electricity, which 81raazia moosa served as impediments to learning. some home environments were not conducive to studying and necessitated doing household chores and herding cattle. during the ‘new normal’, advisors became cognisant of students’ agency to identify their own needs to facilitate retention and long-term success. advising responsibilities during the pandemic have allowed students to make informed decisions and to continue to benefit from learning experiences in order to achieve their goals. these insights may lead to a more nuanced understanding of advising responsibilities as they relate to student learning, and to the overall educational experience to promote retention and student success in a post-pandemic era. acknowledgements my sincere gratitude is extended to advisors for availing themselves to participate in this study during the pandemic. references bryman, a. (2016). social research methods. oxford university press. council on higher education (che). (2006). higher education monitor: the impact of changing funding sources on higher education institutions in south africa. no. 4. march 2006. council on higher education: higher education quality committee. council on higher education (che). (2013). a proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in south africa: the case for a flexible curriculum structure. report of the task team on undergraduate curriculum structure. council on higher education. donaldson, p., mckinney, l., miyoung lee, m., & horn, c l., (2020). insider information: advisors’ perspectives on the effectiveness of enhanced advising programs for community college students. nacada journal, 40(2), 35–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.12930/ nacada-18-26 drake, j. k. (2011). the role of academic advising in student retention and persistence. about campus, july-august 2011. doi: 10.1002/abc.20062 gordon, v. n., habley, w. r., & grites, t.j. (eds.). (2011). academic advising: a comprehensive handbook. john wiley & sons. hart-baldridge, e. (2020). faculty advisor perspectives of academic advising. nacada journal, 40(1), 10–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.12930/nacada-18-25 hatch, d. k., & garcia, c. e. (2017). academic advising and the persistence intentions of community college students in their first weeks in college. the review of higher education, 40(3), 353–390. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2017.0012 kapinos, b. (2021). the perceptions community college advising coordinators have of their institutional advising models: an exploratory study. nacada journal, 41(1), 80–93. http:// journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 65-83 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.369982 dx.doi.org/10.12930/nacada-20-22 king, m. c. (2008). organisation of academic advising services. in v. n. gordon, w. r. habley, t. j. grits and associates, academic advising: a comprehensive handbook, (pp. 242–252). josseybass. kuh, g. d. (2008). advising for student success. in v. n. gordon, w. r. habley, t. j. grits and associates, academic advising: a comprehensive handbook, (pp. 68–84). jossey-bass. larson, j., johnson, a., aiken-wisniewski, s. a., & barkemeyer, j. (2018). what is academic advising? an application of analytic induction. nacada journal, 38(2), 81–93. http:// dx.doi.org/10.12930.nacada-16-032 mcgill, c. m. (2021). toward a substantive theory of the academic advising process: a grounded theory. nacada journal 41(1), 94–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.12930/nacada-18-36 menke, d. j., duslak, m., & mcgill, c. m. (2020). administrator perceptions of academic advisor tasks. nacada journal, 40(2), 85–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.12930/nacada-20-12 miller, m. a. (2012). structuring our conversations: shifting to four dimensional advising models. in a., carlstrom & m.a., miller, 2011, national survey of academic advising. (monograph no. 25). manhattan, ks: national academic advising association. http://www.nacada.ksu. edu/resources/clearinghouse/view-articles/structuring-our-conversations-shiftingto-four-dimensional-advising-models.aspx miller, n., greer, k., cozier, l., whitener, s., patton, j., & koffarnus, j. (2019). an advising initiative for online students on academic probation. nacada journal, 39(1), 5–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.12930/nacada-16-019 ohrablo, s. (2016). advising online students: replicating best practices of face-to-face advising. nacada clearinghouse of academic advising resources web site: http:// www.nacada.ksu.edu/resources/clearinghouse/view-articles/advising-onlinestudents-replicating-best-practices-of-face-to-face-advising.aspx rendón, l.i. (2021). a higher calling: toward a more spacious role for academic advisors. the journal of the national academic advising association, 41(1), 5–12. saldaña, j. (2021). the coding manual for qualitative researchers 4e. sage publications. stake, r. e. (2005). qualitative case studies. in n. k., denzin & y.s., lincoln (3rd ed.), the sage handbook of qualitative research, (pp. 443-466). sage publications. steele, g., & white, e. r. (2019). leadership in higher education: insights from academic advisers. the mentor: innovative scholarship on academic advising, 21, 1–10. https://doi. org/10.18113/p8mj2161110 thomas, d. t., walsh, e. t., torr, b. m., alvarez, a. s., & malagon, m. c. (2018). incorporating high-impact practices for retention: a learning community model for transfer students. journal of college student retention: research, theory & practice, 0(0), 1–21. https://doi. org/10.1177/1521025118813618 83raazia moosa journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 231-232 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4221   231 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds book review wealth, values, culture & education: reviving the essentials for equality and sustainability by j. e. torabian (2022). switzerland: springer nature publications. reviewed by bryan cunningham* this new book is an important addition to springer’s diversity and inclusion research series. as professor robert cowen observes in his foreword, it is not a book that is susceptible to easy categorisation on the basis of any one academic discipline or specialist focus: “its cultural and historical range is extraordinary”. it is also one that i can readily attest “will invite thought, dispute and disagreement”. the author herself captures the essence and scope of her book by invoking such of its aspirations as “work[ing] for the betterment of the world”. she also writes that its aim “is to provoke ref lections – but not to propose definite responses”. in these regards, and by its overarching concern to evidence the enduring inequalities and illusions of late capitalism, her work is extremely successful. comprehensively referenced, structurally wealth, values, culture and education is divided into five major sections, each with arresting titles such as ‘the capitalist trojan horse and its tenets’ and ‘a retour to essentials: reconstructing wealth and values’. as an educationalist, the chapter on ‘education and culture’ held special interest for me. a number of key questions, and of apparently contradictory perspectives, are being addressed in this chapter. is the present function of education fundamentally about producing “human outputs” with relevant, employment-ready skills? is there scope for education to encompass an emancipatory dimension, “equip[ping] learners with philosophies of being and doing”? ranging across incredibly diverse geographical, political and cultural contexts (this range in fact being a feature of each of the book’s chapters) the author reviews a selection of theoretical and philosophical constructs that may serve to aid our understanding of how and why immense differences in educational principles and practices exist across the globe. prevailing inequalities and authoritarianism loom large in torabian’s analysis. i was caused to ponder, not for the first time, how, in highly developed countries such as the uk and france, one particularly striking phenomenon is the very large proportion of successive school leaver cohorts progressing to higher level study (despite what many would acknowledge to be the significant opportunity costs of doing so). while much space could be devoted to an interrogation of this trend, there are two drivers that * bryan cunningham is emeritus associate professor of education at the university college london institute of education. email: bryancunningham1951@gmail.com. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:bryancunningham1951@gmail.com 232   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 231-232 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4221 almost certainly ought to be cited. one is qualifications inf lation (or “credentialism”), whereby employers require in applicants an ever more impressive batch of certificates for any given occupational role. the other appears to derive from changing social norms – “going to uni” simply having become what so many of your friends are planning on. universities themselves have also played a part in so dramatically raising participation levels; given that their funding base improves with every increase in student numbers, the pronounced monetisation of the higher education sector, with its growing numbers of marketing staff, is hardly surprising. while the above – now long established – trend might be celebrated as an unalloyed good, there are however certain emergent negatives. for example, individual students seeking the so-called ‘graduate premium’ (higher predicted lifetime earnings for degree holders than for those who lack one) could well be disappointed: it is observable that that not all degrees are held in particularly high esteem by employers, and that over and above this reality they will often tend to prefer those from more prestigious universities. the impact of this, both practically and emotionally may be felt in particular by individuals who have left university not having found their time there either life enhancing or horizon broadening – or simply much fun. the outcome such graduates may well come to experience could be a case of the “20 years of schoolin’ and they put you on the day shift” that bob dylan sang of back in 1965. witnessing first-hand the kind of realities i am brief ly alluding to here certainly underlines the imperative for those of us in education to purposefully engage with torabian’s “essentials for equality and sustainability”. in saying so, i am in an important sense really only echoing some of the sentiments expressed in the sixth, and much shorter, section of her work. titled ‘the road (not) taken’ this comprises what we can perhaps encounter as her cri de coeur. she acknowledges that moving away from our present materialistic, instrumentalist, preoccupations and practices may entail what she terms “baby steps” on the road to “otherwise thinking”. in conceiving of a “revitalised role of education and culture”, her highly ambitious, never less than deeply ref lective, narrative offers the reader an astonishingly timely and stimulating basis for both individual and collective action. how to cite: cunningham, b. (2022). review of wealth, values, culture & education: reviving the essentials for equality and sustainability by j. e. torabian. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 231-232. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4221 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 1-14 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524   1 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude (2008-2019) through bronfenbrenner’s lens sophia maria holtzhausen* & w.p. wahl** abstract the research question we pursued was: what are the variations in the themes of research in the african higher education context that will enable researchers to promote student development? this contribution addresses three aspects of student affairs research in the african higher education context. first, it commences with tracing the african position with a document analysis of 121 student affairs research articles published in 34 peer-reviewed journals over the 2008-2019 interval. second, it uses the thematic categorization of the council for the advancement of standards in higher education (cas, 2019) to determine international publication trends as derived from this document analysis. third, it applies bronfenbrenner’s person-process-context-time (ppct) model as an appropriate umbrella research design and guiding framework to review the mapping of african student affairs research. a comparison of the international cas categorization and the african categorization led to the conclusion that the cas mapping was largely confirmed by the african analysis, with nine main themes as the foci. additionally, it found that four first-hand african themes are not represented in the cas categorization, and that significantly limited research has been conducted into postgraduate programmes and services (hereafter referred to as pgp&s), despite the demands for increased enrolments. the findings suggest that more accurate and continuous mapping of the field can assist policymakers, managers and student affairs practitioners in making more informed choices in their efforts to support growth and development in african higher education, with special emphasis on postgraduate students. keywords african student affairs, bronfenbrenner’s person-process-context-time (ppct) model, council for the advancement of standards in higher education (cas), postgraduate research and studies, african higher education research * dr sophia maria holtzhausen is a senior lecturer and researcher, and a coordinator and supervisor of interdisciplinary master’s and doctoral students in the department of curriculum studies and higher education in the faculty of education, university of the free state, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-8241-0024. email: holtzhsm@ufs.ac.za ** dr w.p. wahl currently serves as the director: student life at the university of the free state, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-1771-7863. email: wahlwp@ufs.ac.za mailto:holtzhsm@ufs.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1771-7863 2   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 1-14 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524 introduction global trends have demonstrated an increase in and emphasis on african student affairs research (pansiri & sinkamba, 2017; macmaster, 2014; moja et al., 2014) within a transforming higher education (he) context (tumubweinee & luescher, 2019). although there exists a holistic approach to produce well-rounded students, limited research has been conducted on african student affairs regardless of demands for increased postgraduate enrolments (mccarthy, 2019; le roux et al., 2019; cloete et al., 2015). thus, the current body of knowledge on african student affairs research remains relatively inadequate. in view of that, this article elucidates the process of locating and interrogating studies on student affairs within an african he context, reported between 2008 and 2019 (referred to as bronfenbrenner’s chrono system). we proceed by discussing the method of the stipulated student affairs research in africa that was applied in this qualitative case study. this is followed by a brief explanation of the conceptual framework, bronfenbrenner’s person-process-context-time (ppct) model, and how the council for the advancement of standards in higher education’s (cas, 2019) mapping of student affairs research in africa was applied for the analysis. thereafter, the findings of this cas thematic research are presented and discussed, and we conclude that the 47 foundational functional areas were largely confirmed by the african student affairs research. additionally, in the article nine major african student affairs research focus areas, identified during the analysis, are elucidated, and four new, local themes are highlighted. we also recommend postgraduate programmes and services as areas for further research. methods: a case study on student affairs research in african higher education this qualitative, multi-focus case study used the 47 functional areas of the cas’s (2019) professional standards as premise for the document analysis to determine international publication trends. these international trends were established in student affairs research in the african he context through searches in the following operating databases: academic search ultimate, africa-wide information, education source, eric, and humanities source ultimate. we then analysed the 121 articles in 34 selected academic journals for the chrono system period 2008-2019. we chose cas (2019) as the grounding for our analysis as it represents a 40-year history of research, which served as a sound professional basis (41 us members and canadian associations, and 115 000 practitioners), culminating in the research findings of the decade under study. in addition, bronfenbrenner’s ppct model was applied as an appropriate research design and guiding framework to map african student affairs research. theorising cas mapping of student affairs research in africa through the lens of bronfenbrenner’s ppct model bronfenbrenner is a prominent psychologist whose work hinges on the premise that a person’s development is holistically influenced by his or her immediate environment (bronfenbrenner & morris, 2006). he conceives of the environment as comprising five sophia maria holtzhausen & w.p. wahl: mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude …   3 different levels: the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem. the process of interaction between the person (with unique characteristics) and these different layers of the context over a time period collectively combine to form the bioecological systems theory. the bioecological systems theory (i.e. theory of human development) articulates the process of human socialization – which is key to understanding education. in the context of this article, bronfenbrenner’s work was imperative in understanding a systematic approach to human and social development within the higher education context. therefore, this theory offers an appropriate, practical theory for higher education and student affairs practitioners to gain clearer understanding of students’ learning environments, to build fundamental relationships and to establish quality learning environments. this bioecological theory inspired bronfenbrenner as a developmental psychologist to introduce a theory of development with four components, namely the ppct model (bronfenbrenner & morris, 2006). this model was a relevant guiding framework for this study, as we wished to establish “how and why” cas’s student affairs foundational functional areas “occur as they do” in an african context (evans et al., 2010, p. 161; bronfenbrenner & morris, 2006). this implies a particular interest in the processes underpinning these foundational functional areas of cas within a given context, and not necessarily in the outcomes they produced. as already stipulated, bronfenbrenner’s original research themes continue to provide a sound basis for such an analysis. bronfenbrenner’s original research themes continue to provide a sound basis for such an analysis therefore the social and historical context, the active student affairs practitioner/student, and the impossibility of considering individual developmental processes in isolation are themes that provide helpful theoretical lenses to analyse the body of literature focusing on student affairs in africa. the student affairs practitioner is nested within and among these principal components of the ppct model (evans et al., 2010; bronfenbrenner & morris, 2006), which are primarily responsible for development. in the nucleus of the model, multiple personal and interpersonal interactions and engagement processes (fundamental to bronfenbrenner’s bioecology theory and constantly changing) between the student affairs practitioner and other stakeholders are transforming the african he context. in light of these interpersonal student affairs engagements in african he, the cas foundational functional area categorization (mostly identified in the american context), proved to be most appropriate to establishing these research mappings, as cas concurs with unesco’s student affairs/service functions in he (unesco, 2002), and with the association of american colleges and universities’ (aac&u) inquiry and analysis value rubrics (rhodes, 2009). moreover, this historic time was best represented by cas’s (2019) 40-year research and professional base (associations and practitioners) as a sound basis, as was largely confirmed by this study. findings of this cas thematic study on the chronosystem time 2008-2019 indicated that the 47 functional areas were largely confirmed by the african student affairs research. however, the following nine main african student affairs research focus areas were 4   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 1-14 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524 identified: learning-assistance programmes; master’s level and student affairs professional preparation programmes; academic advising programmes; leadership education and development; postgraduate and professional student programmes and services; housing and residential life programmes; college unions/governance; international student programmes and services, and internship programmes and assessment services. this finding is meaningful because it not only confirmed that these functional areas, that had been established internationally, are relevant in african student affairs, but stressed their prominence in african he. an elaboration on the importance of these nine themes in african he follows. principal themes in african student affairs research learning-assistance programmes most of the 121 articles from cas confirmed that african student affairs practitioners are primarily involved in learning-assistance programmes. this task is indispensable to student success (de klerk et al., 2017; scott, 2018; strydom et al., 2017) and retention (mkonto, 2018), especially in terms of first-year student engagement (faroa, 2017; mkonto, 2018; schreiber & yu, 2016). in addition, learning-assistance programmes also place emphasis on mathematics (jacobs & pretorius, 2016), generic skills in the medical curriculum (jama, 2016), and at-risk students (mayet, 2016). learning-assistance programmes also provide rewarding interactions and individualized instruction within a digital, multilingual mentoring and tutoring space (arend et al., 2017; du buisson, 2017; faroa, 2017; mckay et al., 2018; seeto, 2016; spark et al., 2017). student learning requires co-curricular involvement (naik et al., 2017), inclusive education (moswela, 2011), high impact practices, and peer leadership (keup, 2016). peer-assisted learning is applicable in high-risk subjects such as mechanical engineering (makola, 2017), but also is an appropriate teaching and learning method in higher education in general (bugaj et al., 2019; makola, 2017). adult learning (see hutchings, 2014) should be included to create comprehensive learning-assistance programmes that support students from their first academic year up to postgraduate/professional studies. this aspect is not widely addressed in the african he context, but needs urgent attention with the current demand for increased postgraduate outputs. research verified supplemental instruction, mobile technology, and a humanising philosophy (respecting individual identity) as crucial for diverse student populations and large classes to make learning accessible to students, when they are implemented more effectively in learning-assistance programmes (boughey, 2015; erasmus, 2017; madambi & mangena, 2016; robbins et al., 2019; schreiber & aartun, 2011; sedibe & sedibe, 2009). additionally, academic partnerships with key campus and community partners resulted in steering resources and policies (berger et al., 2019). master’s level and student affairs professional preparation programmes in fourteen articles student affairs preparation programmes were addressed (although the master’s level was indicated in the title of this functional area, no recognized articles were found, despite the current demands for postgraduate outputs). this is supported by dunn sophia maria holtzhausen & w.p. wahl: mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude …   5 and dunkel’s (2013) viewpoint that in african he professional competency development is executed via associations rather than institutions offering formal qualifications. selznick (2013) asserts that continued professionalization of african student affairs is essential for conceptualization and expansion of the knowledge base (for promotion and selfadvancement purposes), including the integration of library referencing and instruction (love, 2009). this profession, with evolving focus on innovation (boaykye-yiadom, 2015), research and scholarship (carpenter & haber-curran, 2013), social justice (schreiber, 2013), democratic engagement (johnson, 2019), social identity and professional role transitions (robbins et al., 2019), and collaboration between student and academic affairs (o’halloran, 2019), requires theory-driven practices with high-quality assessment outcomes (pope et al., 2019). additionally, the growth in diverse student bodies prompted areas such as student learning and development theory, programme development and cultural competency. these professional programmes (accommodating online and social media, but also newer delivery modes) are necessary to render well-prepared student affairs educators for the world of work. dialogues on advocating for standards in student affairs departments in african institutions (pansiri & sinkamba, 2017) and inter-association, which are crucial to stipulate “anchors guiding with a strong foundation”, whilst adjusting to developing areas in the field (cas, 2019, p.1354) are required. finally, student affairs leadership appears to be multidimensional and complex. new student affairs professional programmes should include areas such as transactional peer leadership (keup, 2016), new university leadership models (walters, 2018) and an ecological framework (taylor, 2019). academic advising programmes academic advice and guidance are not only fundamental to the success of first-year students (jama, 2016; de klerk et al., 2017), but also in large classes (boughey, 2015). equally important is tracking the impact of student affairs professionals on student performance (masehela & mabika, 2017) through student engagement (strydom & mentz, 2010; strydom, et al., 2017). academic advisors work with students to enable them to construct knowledge (schreiber, 2013), be innovative (boakye-yiadam, 2015), and to enhance their academic development (shange, 2015). academic advisors must be ready to meet challenges (yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013), and to pursue a collaborative partnership with academic affairs (berger et al., 2019; o’halloran, 2019) to support the complexity and diversity of current students. leadership education and development leadership learning is pivotal in african student affairs and he fields, not only in offering comprehensive development programmes, but also to enrich and integrate student learning opportunities. lately, student affairs leadership educators critically reflect on existing leadership models, theories and practices to reconstruct more inclusive, equitable and just approaches. examples, such as peer leadership (frade & tiroyabone, 2017) and high-impact practice (keup, 2016), as well as women leadership (person et al., 2014) are present in the 6   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 1-14 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524 african he context. the ecological framework (taylor, 2019) helps student affairs leaders understand their roles, as well as challenges they may face in their roles (murage et al., 2019; nel, 2016; yakaboski & birnbaum, 2013). this is essential for student affairs practitioners to steer the multiple ways in which students learn effectively in a transforming he context (lumadi & mampuru, 2010). it is also imperative for student affairs divisions to prepare students for citizenship (kgosithebe & luescher, 2015), democratic engagement (johnson, 2019; robiadek et al., 2019), and mentorship (paterson & hutchinson, 2019). postgraduate and professional student programmes and services the rising cognisance of the distinctive needs of postgraduate and professional student affairs students led to advocacy for support services, tailored to the more diverse and complex african student profile (mccarthy, 2019). mentorship outcomes (paterson & hutchinson, 2019) and peer mentoring assessment, evaluation and research competencies (baumgartner et al., 2019) are important in the professional preparation of student affairs practitioners (ardoin et al., 2019). knowledge communities drive student performance (masehela & mabika, 2017) and mentorship programmes. however, specific challenges impact the development of outcomes assessment standards (finney & horst, 2019), and guidelines for graduate and professional programmes and services, namely • variety of types of degrees and reporting structures, • diverse student populations served, • establishing sound collaboration with other institutional units providing student and academic support services, • demands for online programmes and virtual support (cain, 2015), and • lack/shortage of professional administrators and/or services for graduate and professional students (cas, 2019, pp.1039-1040). addressing these challenges is essential for student affairs to foster theory-based practices and outcomes-based assessments (pope et al., 2019). housing and residential life programmes operational involvement in housing and residential life has been transformed; not only the in loco parentis role of student affairs, but also the legal and education practice, which led to the historical progression of residence-life training programmes (mccluskey-titus et al., 2019) and competency development of housing staff (dunn & dunkel, 2013). with the recognition of diversity (smorenburg & dunn, 2014), equity, disability (vaccaro & kimball, 2019), and politics (mugume & luescher, 2015), the inclusion of the residential environment became a tool not only to complement the formal classroom context, but also to assist learning outside the classroom for personal and social well-being, civic participation, cross-cultural responsiveness and academic identity (alcock, 2017). this is in line with the student-centred approach found in african he. additionally, dunn-coetzee and fourie-malherbe (2017) provided an example where social changes within a senior sophia maria holtzhausen & w.p. wahl: mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude …   7 housing programme were addressed by incorporating increased levels of interaction among students that led to reduced stereotyping and diminished bias. college unions/governance in the african he context, the term “governance” is used to refer to a university’s operations. in african higher education research, democratic engagement in student affairs is emphasised (johnson, 2019). this occurs through the representation of student organisations on committees at higher education institutions (macharia, 2015; robiadek et al., 2019), where students are involved in voting, decision-making, and leadership (hester, 2019; oni & adetoro, 2015) to address challenges (murage et al., 2019), past and present (moja et al., 2014). international student programmes and services and internship programmes international students enjoy benefits such as service learning and social change (gaineshanks & grayman, 2009), student engagement (mcfarlane, 2015) and co-curricular involvement (naik et al., 2017), and share in high-quality and diverse academic opportunities, while the host university gains the benefit of cultural modification and diverse perspectives. within a diverse socio-demographic context, studying is stressful in terms of structural, linguistic, and internal and external dimensions, and sometimes, political and social instability in the home country. therefore, mastering coping styles is important for international students, but the student affairs practitioners should also adapt their roles to provide culturally relevant postgraduate and peer-led services for student success (akhtar & kröner-hewig, 2015; frade & tiroyabone, 2017; martinez & colaner, 2017; mcfarlane, 2015; onyenekwe et al., 2017; rasmussen, 2015). although the cas categorization makes provision for internships, this was not evident in the african he context. assessment services student assessment is the foundation for student learning, development, and success. assessment services are driven internally for evidence to improve service, and externally for accountability purposes, despite the constant changes in technology and student demographics. for example, supplemental instruction for large-class first-year students (erasmus, 2017) has been found to improve student understanding. the professionalization of student affairs through assessment (gansemer-topf, 2013) is essential, but also requires mapping standards for outcomes assessment practice (finney & horst, 2019), and fostering theory-driven practice (pope et al., 2019), as well as the utilization of institutional administrative and student affairs assessment resources (groover et al., 2019). in brief, these nine cas functional areas appear to be prominent in the african he student affairs context. the similarities in the cas framework and the body of literature about student affairs in africa are important, because they underline those functional areas perceived to be essential for the contextualisation of student affairs praxis in an african context. in general, scholars study different student affairs functional areas in africa, making 8   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 1-14 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524 it surprising that these research outputs emerged within definite clusters during the past decade. furthermore, four new themes, not presently listed among the cas functional areas, emerged unexpectedly from this study. newly identified student affairs research themes four new themes, not listed in the cas categorization, emerged through this research based on african higher education journals, namely: (i) professionalization associations result from voluntary student affairs leadership. in the african he context, professionalization organisations, such as the international association of student affairs and services (iasas) (ludeman, 2014), support the professional development (li & fang, 2017) and identity (clarke, 2016) of student affairs practitioners to address challenges towards a more effective administrative pathway. the dedication, collaborative efforts, and collective expertise support student affairs staff as reflective practitioners to keep up with current african he trends and the needs of students in preparation (ardoin et al., 2019; mccarthy, 2019) for the world of work. (ii) legal responsibilities and ethical considerations remain essential when interpersonal and process engagements are present. holistically, this limits risks and liabilities for the institution. in the african he environment, the legal aspects include human rights or norms, with emphasis on improving accountability and the quality of the provision of nutrition and health relief (ali & kabau, 2014). student affairs staff can only perform duties within the scope of their position, training, expertise and competence (e.g. refer to proper administration if a matter is beyond one’s own scope). student affairs staff members comply with governmental laws, institutional policies and procedures, as well as standards for good professional practice. finally, the main focus remains the well-being of students dealing with demands of political, social and economic development (oecd, 2019). (iii) students and government refer to nurturing cooperative relationships with local and regional governance structures, civic engagement, and the inclusion of multiple sources of expertise. although strong leadership and government involvement or laws are not new to he (cas, 2019), it is extraordinary that they are not incorporated in the cas functional areas. the history of student governance (may, 2010) in african higher education, as well as the love-hate relationship with governments (makunike, 2015) has been stressed as relevant in african student affairs research. (iv) parallel with the ongoing demand for publications, citation styles are more noticeable in african student affairs research. although a number of diverse citation styles exist and each journal has its own requirements, nwadike (2018) proposed a scientific model, the nsukka multidisciplinary citation style (p.147). the value of this african scientific citation style lies in it being decolonised, as most other international citation styles are western. these four innovative student affairs research themes, and the proposed trends towards these themes serve well as potential, distinctly functional areas within a transforming african he context. however, the inadequacies of the current body of literature on these promising functional areas need to be researched in-depth, and the consistency of these practices across multiple he institutions needs to be assessed. in addition, it must be sophia maria holtzhausen & w.p. wahl: mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude …   9 determined whether professionals supporting these four new functional areas and related professional associations still need to be identified. this accentuates the complex role of student affairs professionals and practitioners in student development within african higher education. their strategic positions assist with student engagement towards seamless in-class and out-of-class learning experiences, but also in the development of comprehensive graduates (macmaster, 2014). this is crucial to develop a diverse and shared foundation for the student affairs profession from which multiple perspectives and theories may expand and evolve. conclusion this study entailed a research journey through two fields, student affairs and he on the african continent. through bronfenbrenner’s ppct model, the learning curve towards holistic student development is found to not be linear, but rather a spiralling circle. during this chrono system interval (2008-2019), the majority of the 47 functional areas of cas were apposite to african student affairs. among them, learning-assistance programmes; master’s level and student affairs professional preparation programmes; academic advising programmes; leadership, education and development; graduate and professional student programmes and services; housing and residential life programmes; college unions/ governance; international student programmes and services, and internship programmes and assessment services were the nine functional areas that were found to be prominent trends in african student affairs research. from the analysis we deducted that mentoring, research and assessment competencies and demands drive the knowledge community to professional preparation of student affairs practitioners. for student success, both academic and student affairs complexities should be seamlessly integrated through democratic engagement, professional development, and leader-mentorship. four local themes, not found in cas’s functional areas, but present in african student affairs research, are professionalization associations, legal responsibilities and ethical considerations, students and government, and citation styles, which reflect african he’s diverse and complex demands for professional development, legal and government solutions, and publication. in the analysis of african student affairs research, cas overlooked these four themes that are based on diverse cultural contexts, and their discovery also indicates limitations in the current body of literature about how the different functional areas in student affairs have been conceptualized to date. bronfenbrenner’s ppct model provided critical insights into how and why student affairs manifest in african higher education – with special reference to the person and process within the african student affairs context in the period of 2008-2019. finally, postgraduate programmes and services are a noteworthy issue requiring future exploration to extend and promote student affairs as a field of research and studies in the african context. ethics statement this research has obtained ethical clearance from the ethics committee of the university of the free state’s faculty of education. 10   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 1-14 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524 conflict of interest since this research consists of document analysis, there is no conflict of interest involved in terms of content nor authorship. references akhtar, m., & kröner-hewig, b. 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(2015). perceptions of engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners about academic development classes at a university of technology. journal of student affairs in africa, 3(2), 33-44. smorenburg, m., & dunn, m. (2014). listen, live and learn: a review of the application process, aiming to enhance the diversity within the listen, live and learn senior student housing initiative at stellenbosch. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(1), 55-65. spark, l., de klerk, d., maleswena, t., & jones, a. (2017). paving the road to success: a framework for implementing the success tutoring approach. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 75-88. strydom, f., kuh, g., & loots, s. (eds.). (2017). engaging students: using evidence to promote student success. annual report 2016: engaging the #studentvoice. university of the free state. strydom, j. f., & mentz, m. (2010). south african survey on student engagement (sasse): focusing the student experience on success through student engagement. council on higher education (che). taylor, d. (2019). student affairs leadership: defining the role through an ecological framework. journal of college & university student housing, 45(2), 90-95. tumubweinee, p., & luescher, t. m. (2019). inserting space into the transformation of higher education. journal of student affairs in africa, 7(1), 1-13. unesco (united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization) (2002). the role of student affairs and services in higher education: a practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing student affairs programmes and services. follow-up to the world conference on higher education (paris 5-9 october 1998). unesco. vaccaro, a., & kimball, e. (2019). navigating disability in campus housing: an ecological analysis of student affairs work. journal of student affairs research and practice, 56(2), 168-180. walters, c. (2018). design and validation of a leadership model for south african higher education [doctoral dissertation, university of cape town]. open uct. yakaboski, t., & birnbaum, m. (2013). the challenges of student affairs at kenyan public universities. journal of student affairs in africa, 1(1-2), 33-48. how to cite: holtzhausen, s. m., & wahl, w. p. (2022). mapping african student affairs research during the past interlude (2008-2019) through bronfenbrenner’s lens. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 1-14. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2524 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider42/sasse-documents/publiations-documents/engaging-students_using-evidence-to-promote-student-success.pdf?sfvrsn=f748b121_2 https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider42/sasse-documents/publications-documents/sasse-report-2016.pdf?sfvrsn=6bcfc321_4 _hlk74000714 _hlk74032272 _hlk36203320 _hlk74063156 _hlk74063269 _hlk36126719 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574   31 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout in africa’s largest distance higher education institution tshegofatso mogaladi* & motlatso mlambo** abstract public higher education institutions in south africa conduct student representative council (src) elections yearly. however, there is a paucity of studies to determine factors that affect voter turnout in these elections. this descriptive quantitative study conducted an empirical analysis of factors influencing students’ voter participation at africa’s largest open distance elearning institution. an electronic survey instrument was distributed among the sampled students and yielded a final response count of 6,851. a joint descriptive statistical analysis and binary logistic regression model were applied to analyse the data. regression analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between students having encountered one or more of a number of marketing initiatives employed in relation to the elections and voter participation. this positions marketing as a significant predictor of student voting given that respondents who encountered src election marketing initiatives were seven times more likely to vote, as shown by the odds ratio (or=7.9 [95% ci:6.6-9.3], p=0.001). the second-highest predictor of voting in this study was the impact of the closing date for voting. student respondents who indicated that the voting period was long enough were two times more likely to vote compared with those who did not believe it was long enough (or=2.2 [95% ci: 1.9-2.7], p-value <0.001). other significant predictors of src voting included gender, employment status and level of qualification. whereas the study revealed a fair balance between the influence of demographic and systemic factors on src electoral process, institutions need to pay close attention to systemic factors, which have great potential to constrain voter participation. keywords elections, voting, voter participation, student governance, higher education institutions * tshegofatso mogaladi is currently deputy dean of student affairs at the university of the witwatersrand. the research reported on in the present article was based on an initiative he undertook as deputy director of student development at the university of south africa. email: tshegofatso.mogaladi@wits. ac.za; gtmogaladi@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0002-8643-1981. ** motlatso mlambo (phd) is the director for institutional research, department of institutional intelligence at the university of south africa. email: mlambmg@unisa.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-30614770. http://www.jsaa.ac.za 32   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 introduction according to lewis and rice (2005), there is high quality research being conducted on national elections in the united states (us), although numerous other elections held in that country are less researched and reported on. similarly, in south africa, there is a paucity of research on elections beyond those conducted for positions in government, for example, in relation to positions in business associations; boards; the labour movement; student governance structures; and many other societal organs. studies on elections in south africa predominately focus on national and provincial (general) elections, as well as local government (municipal) elections. other forms of election remain relatively unexplored. this could be attributed to the societal perception of general elections as the main conduit for conveying demands and aspirations related to service delivery (paret, 2016). however, elections of representatives to bodies such as student representative councils (srcs) and other organisational elections need to receive greater research attention, in part because such studies may reveal some of the reasons for participation and non-participation in elections in general, including in local government elections which have suffered from declining voter participation, especially among the youth, in south africa. hahn (1998) provided an insightful analysis on the importance of srcs and the purpose they serve in fostering engagement in society and communities. for example, srcs can provide a platform for nurturing leadership capabilities, as well as exposing students to the nature and role of elections as mechanisms for decision-making in society. in this way, srcs and src elections play an important role in developing future active citizens. the societal benefits accruing from src elections and involvement in student governance activities have been elucidated and corroborated by other researchers (print et al., 2002; print, 2007; saha & print, 2010). these researchers note that voting and participating in student governance activities raises consciousness among students and is a predictor of their involvement in political activities in the future by imparting indelible lessons in democracy. voting and participating in student governance activities is also indicative of students’ preparedness to vote later in life as well as their propensity to advocate for peaceful social activism. mattes and richmond (2015) suggest that south africa is contending with youth voter apathy which manifests in the form of low participation rates in local, provincial and national parliamentary elections among young people. south africa’s youth were relatively unlikely to identify with any political party and a relatively high number indicated that they had not voted in recent elections although they reported following the election campaigns of political parties quite closely (mattes & richmond, 2015). meanwhile, statistics south africa (2021) reports that a significant percentage (23%) of youth within the 18–35 age group is enrolled in public higher education institutions. in this context, an investigation into voting behaviour in respect of src elections might help to explain this cohort’s inclination, or lack thereof, to participate in general elections. the current study offers an empirical assessment of how factors such as field of study; access to information communication technologies (icts); employment status; tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   33 and student age and gender, inf luenced voter turnout in the recent src elections at the university of south africa (unisa) – an open distance e-learning institution of higher learning which states on its website that it boasts 350,000 enrolled students and therefore accounts for one-third of students enrolled in formal public higher education in the country.1 theoretical framework and relevant literature this study is underpinned by three theories: social systems theory; structural conduct performance theory; and participative leadership theory. social systems theory, which was coined by a biologist named ludwig von bertalanffy in the 1940s, contends that organisations and societies comprise multiple systems which, while performing distinct roles, work iteratively to advance organisational and social missions (wambui, 2015). accordingly, universities are systems consisting of numerous units or sub-systems that work collaboratively for the attainment of their broader goals. srcs are one of the important units within universities. the higher education act 101 of 1995 mandated that srcs be established at higher education institutions on an electoral basis to represent students and as an essential aspect of institutional co-operative governance. although the management of universities in terms of institutional policies and statutes is firmly a responsibility of appointed senior executive managers, the voice of students, as championed by the src, is taken into account in decision-making. in his seminal work, bain (1951) argued that the conduct of an industry is informed by its structure. in this context, the higher education landscape in south africa encompasses private and public institutions with different operational models. the focus of the current study is on the largest higher education institution in the country, which adopts a distance and electronic model for the delivery of its educational programme. given its character, unisa would be expected to elect and constitute its src in a manner distinctly different from that adopted at contact institutions. similarly, the election of srcs at unisa is necessarily shaped by a diverse range of operational and systemic factors that ref lect the distinct structure of unisa as an institution. the theory of participative leadership assumes that participation improves institutional effectiveness; affirms democratic principles; and makes leadership available for legitimate stakeholders (leithwood et al., 1999). in the context of this study, it is argued that participation in the src elections by students has a long-term benefit for society as it increases students’ consciousness and gears them to become responsible citizens who can contribute to the country’s political and socio-economic system. in this regard, a determination of the factors that impact on the participation of students in src elections may support efforts to improve individual perceptions of elections in general, particularly among the youth. 1 see https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default#:~:text=unisa%20at%20a%20glance&text= we%20enrol%20nearly%20one%2dthird%20of %20south%20african%20students. 34   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 previous research (wolfinger & wolfinger, 2008; milligan et al., 2003; berinsky et al., 2001) demonstrated how various factors inf luence voter turnout. in their study, wolfinger and wolfinger (2008) considered how registered voters’ decision to vote or not to vote related to social attributes which numerous other researchers had considered to be predictors of voter turnout, namely, age; education; and residential mobility. wolfinger and wolfinger (2008) added four more variables to this list: family income; race; sex; and employment status. married people with and without children recorded the highest turnout rates in comparison with those whose marriages had been ended by death, separation or divorce, who were found to have a lower inclination to participate in elections. those who were never married yielded the lowest turnout. among married couples, a more politically perceptive spouse was more likely to inspire a less politically informed partner to vote (harder & krosnick, 2008). meanwhile, in relation to divorced or separated couples, earlier research (sandell & plutzer, 2005) found increased voter participation among whites compared with other races. people with little or no education and living in low-income households tend to record a low voter turnout (wolfinger & wolfinger, 2008). milligan et al. (2003) found a robust relationship between education and voter participation in the us but not in the united kingdom (uk). people with higher educational attainment possess skills and enhanced ability to navigate often-cumbersome election-registration processes (harder & krosnick, 2008). in addition, the more education one attains the greater the inclination to take interest in civic activities in comparison with people with less education (harder & krosnick, 2008). studies have shown that higher-education graduates in the social sciences tend to be more involved in civic activities and tend to vote more than graduates in other fields of study (nie & hillygus, 2001; hillygus, 2005). in this regard, it was anticipated that the present research would establish whether there was variation across discipline of study in relation to turnout for src elections at a south african university. a human sciences research council (hsrc) survey on south african voter participation in elections conducted in 2005 revealed that interest in participating in the elections was lowest among those who had matriculated and higher among those with no schooling. this finding contradicts wolfinger and wolfinger (2008), who found that the more highly educated took voting more seriously than their less-educated peers. leighley and nagler (1984) found that income significantly impacts voter turnout. in this context, harder and krosnick (2008) investigated whether the greater propensity to vote among wealthier people and earners was a question of motivation or of ability, or of both. in the context of the present study, this leads to the question: did income levels significantly inf luence turnout for the src elections? the result may provide clarification on the economic status of participants in src elections. berinsky et al. (2001) found that voter turnout hinges on, among other factors, the amount of time that eligible people are willing to spare to cast their vote. people are generally preoccupied with many personal and private obligations which they are expected to forego on a voluntary basis and opt instead to queue to vote. in other words, tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   35 there is an opportunity cost entailing a choice between participating in the election, on one hand, and optimizing one’s available time to meet private personal obligations and commitments, on the other. ryabchuk (2017) concluded that widespread abstinence from participating in south africa’s 2014 elections was partly caused by logistical obstacles which included an inability to travel from home to the voting stations. casting a vote is a culmination of numerous electoral activities such as following candidate’s campaigns; attending rallies and debates in some instance; and registering as a voter. although the financial costs to the voter of participating in these activities may not be that evident, they cannot be ruled out as a factor in determining levels of participation. mcmurray (2010) argues that high-income earners who are older and educated have the luxury of participating in political activities, although the opportunity cost of such an engagement is higher for this group than it is for older people living in a lower income base. efforts to eliminate the opportunity cost of participating in elections may lead to increased voter turnout. accordingly, ict mechanisms to enable online voting have been introduced for many elections. the introduction of such mechanisms may be viewed as a necessity in the context of the fourth industrial revolution, and also as an answer to widespread voter dissatisfaction about the opportunity cost of participating in elections. for example, hsrc (2005) found that 49% of respondents in mpumalanga province were quite dissatisfied with the amount of time they had to spend in the queues to cast their votes. berinsky et al. (2001) posit that whereas voting by email is not necessarily effective in attracting the participation of non-traditional voters, it is effective in retaining active existing voters and therefore contributes to voter turnout. against the backdrop of this finding, there would be value in exploring whether the benefits of an enhanced online ict electoral system that went beyond voting by email would extend to more than merely ensuring the retention of existing voters, as berinsky et al. (2001) found, and could include encouraging non-traditional voters to take an active interest in the elections. in this context, institutions of higher learning may be seen as places where new forms of voting could be deployed to test their potential effectiveness if they were to be rolled out more widely across society. accordingly, there is clear value in assessing the nature of student uptake of the ict-enhanced online voting system adopted for the src elections at unisa, as well as the factors which shaped student access to this system. age has been found to be a significant demographic factor shaping voter turnout across the united states during presidential elections (leighley & nagler, 1984). in south africa, turnout at general elections among 25–34-year-olds rose by a mere 11% from 1999 to 2004 and declined by 1% among people between 55 and 64 years of age (hsrc, 2005). meanwhile, those between 18 and 44 years of age expressed a lack of interest in voting at forthcoming elections (hsrc, 2005). the inf luence of age on voter turnout in the context of src elections in south africa is unexplored. in this regard, a key question is whether participation is higher among the first-time registered voters who are typically young (between 18 and 20 years of age) and then diminishes as the 36   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 student becomes older and more socialised into the university’s system, and thus sees less value in the role of the src. harder and krosnick (2008) argue that people with greater political efficacy are generally expected by society to cast a vote; although this argument is, to an extent, countered by mattes and richmond (2015) who found that south african youth, despite following the campaigns of various political parties, did not translate their political awareness into participation in recent elections. saha and print (2010) posit that, given the significant role played by student governance structures in contributing to an individual’s comprehension of democracy and the nature of their future political engagement, involvement in these structures should not be viewed in isolation from other kinds of academic engagement, as if it were a form of extracurricular activity. accordingly, there is a need to debunk what has become a dominant narrative: that, in some way, src activities should be considered “non-curricular”. in this context, the compulsion to draw a disconnect between student activism and the purported core business of institutions of higher learning – that is, teaching, research and community engagement by academics and those in authority – may be countered by studying factors associated with student elections. data and methodology this study explored factors that inf luenced voter turnout during src elections at the university of south africa. a survey was administered among selected south african students who were eligible to participate in the 2018 src elections in accordance with a university policy limiting participation to students who are registered for formal qualifications. such qualifications include higher certificates, diplomas, and undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. data set qualtrics software was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. in administering the survey, a qualtrics-generated link was sent to 10,000 randomly selected south african students who were eligible to participate in the 2018 src elections at the university of south africa. each province’s representation in the sample was determined on the basis of its number of students proportionate to the university’s total student headcount at the time of the elections. for example, given that students residing in gauteng province constituted 42.2% of the total unisa student headcount in 2018, according to the university’s higher education data analyser (heda), 42% of the 10,000 sample comprised students who resided in gauteng. the same principle was followed for the other provinces, that is north west (nw), limpopo (l), mpumalanga (mp), northern cape (nc), kwazulu-natal (kzn), eastern cape (ec), western cape (wc) and free state (fs). the composition of the complete sample by province is presented in table 1 below. tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   37 table 1: sample construction by province gp nw l mp nc head count 157,166 19,447 28,929 22,443 4,129 head count % 42.2 5.2 7.8 6.0 1.1 sample selection 4,300 500 700 600 100 kzn ec wc fs grand total head count 85,075 17,334 29,497 8,195 372,215* head count % 22.9 4.7 7.9 2.2 100 sample selection 2400 400 700 300 10,000 * excluded from the total number of eligible students were all the students residing outside south africa (9,153), who could not be attached to any province. method and variables whether or not the particular surveyed student voted during the 2018 src election was used as the determinant of turnout and constituted a dependent variable. students who did not vote were assigned a zero (0) and those who voted were coded one (1), making this a dichotomous variable. as in previous research (leighley & nagler, 1992; lewis & rice, 2005; saha & print, 2010), the inf luence of a number of demographic and systemic factors on voter turnout were considered. regarding demographic factors, the inf luence of age; education by broad discipline; household income; and gender were considered in relation to turnout. the impact of the individual student’s adaptability to electronic voting and access to ict infrastructure, as well as the closing date of voting, and access to election marketing and campaign debates were included in the model for the present study as control variables. student age was categorised under two codes, with zero “0” representing the youth, that is those aged 35 and under, and one “1” for students who were over 35 years of age but under the pensionable or retirement age of 60. unisa has nine faculties referred to as colleges. for the purposes of this study, the college of graduate studies and the business school were excluded. so, only students at the seven colleges offering both graduate and undergraduate programmes were surveyed, so that the comprehensive diversity of unisa’s programme qualification mix could be represented. the chosen colleges were grouped into two broad categories for the purposes of this study: technical and non-technical. accordingly, the colleges offering the most technical qualifications (college of science and engineering; college of agriculture; college of accounting; and college of economics and management sciences) were clustered together and assigned a code of zero “0”. the other colleges (college of human sciences; college of education and college of law) were regarded as human and social science disciplines and non-technical, and were coded one “1”. a student who was unemployed was coded zero “0” and a student who was employed was assigned a code of one “1”. in relation to income, a code of zero “0” was assigned to students who earned an income, or lived in a household with an income equivalent to less than the zar 350,000 threshold set by the national student financial 38   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 aid scheme (nsfas) to determine eligibility for receiving a state study grant. a code of one “1” was assigned to students who earned an income or lived in a household with an income above the nsfas threshold and the band qualifying for a gap grant – in other words, above zar 600,000. a code of two “2” was allocated to those students whose household income was more than the threshold but fell within the band that qualifies for a gap grant – that is, from zar 350,000 to zar 600,000. regarding gender, female students were coded zero “0” and male students one “1”. in relation to access to ict, students who had no access were coded zero “0”; students who used their own data or cell phone to cast a vote were coded one “1”; the students who used their employer’s or unisa’s wi-fi or network facilities were coded two “2”. voting during the src elections was opened for two weeks. students who found the period too short were coded zero “0”. those students who found it sufficient were coded one “1”. the src elections were marketed through various media. a code of zero “0” was assigned to students who did not see any of the marketing and promotional materials. students who saw an actual src elections poster were assigned a code of one “1”; those who read an online publication about elections were assigned a code of two “2”; and students who encountered printed t-shirts, branded caps, and other promotional paraphernalia were coded three “3”. students who attended one of the student debates that were arranged by the election commission across many regions before the elections were coded one “1”. those who did not attend the debates were coded zero “0”. the model to model the demographic and systematic factors inf luencing the student voter turnout in src elections a logistic regression by field (2009) was employed: yi = β0 + β1 ×1i+εi (1) where yi represents an observed turnout outcome, for example, whether or not the respondent voted in the last src elections; β1 is a vector of estimable parameters (coefficients) of ×1i, which is a vector of explanatory variables (independent variables); and εi is the error term. turnout in src elections is inf luenced by a number of factors which are quantified to serve as the explanatory variables. therefore, the model in equation 1 is reconstructed to set dependent variables as well as all identified independent variables within a multiple regression: voti = β0 + β1 age +β2 edu + β3 inc + β4 gen + β5 ict + β6 cdat + β7 adv + β8 deb + β9 emp + εi (2) where vot i is whether or not student i'th voted during the recent src elections, age is a predetermined age group to which the student belongs; edu is the field of study in which tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   39 the student is enrolled; inc is the student level of income; gen is the student’s gender; ict the manner in which a student accesses ict infrastructure; cdat the extent to which a student perceives the impact of the closing date on their decision about whether or not to vote; adv is the depth of the advertisement mechanisms employed during the elections; deb is the student’s awareness of election debates; and emp is the student’s employment status. all in all, there were nine independent variables that may be considered linearly related to voter turnout. survey respondents in adherence to the ethical requirements of this study, respondents gave consent to participate in the survey before responding. the electronic survey had an opening phrase requiring consent for participation. only participants who read and accepted the terms of the opening phrase, thus granting consent, were eligible to participate. table 2: consent participation consent to participate n percentage (%) yes 6,851 97.4 no 181 2.6 total 7,032 100 as can be seen from table 2 above, a total of 7,032 students opened the survey link. only 181 (2.6%) declined to participate. accordingly, the analysis of the survey results is based on the total 6,851 (97.4%) respondents who agreed to participate. results characteristics of voters and non-voters in the src elections table 3 shows that among those aged 31 to 35 years a relatively high proportion (52%) voted. while almost half (49.7%) of those aged 22 to 25-year-olds voted, which was the second highest proportion. at the other end of the scale, 53.3% of those aged 40 and above did not vote. all of which indicates that the younger students under the age of 35 years were more likely to participate than those older than 35 years, particularly if they were aged 40 years or above. 40   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 table 3: characteristics of src election voters and non-voters variables not voted voted p-value n % n % age 18–21 years 90 51.1 86 48.9 .460 22–25 years 417 50.3 412 49.7 26–30 years 555 51.3 527 48.7 31–35 years 375 48.0 407 52.0 36–40 years 276 51.9 256 48.1 40 and above 367 53.3 322 46.7 gender male 739 42.9 983 57.1 <0.001 female 1,337 56.8 1,018 43.2 other 4 30.8 9 69.2 employment status unemployed 1,032 47.1% 1,159 52.9% <0.001 employed part time 136 49.1% 141 50.9% employed full time 789 55.8% 626 44.2% self-employed 86 67.2% 42 32.8% retired 3 33.3% 6 66.7% other (specify) 34 48.6% 36 51.4% annual income zar 10,000 – 350,000 1,521 51.4% 1,437 48.6% 0.203 zar 351,000 – 600,000 190 55.4% 153 44.6% zar 601,000 and more 104 47.9% 113 52.1% qualification certificate 179 53.1% 158 46.9% 0.187 undergraduate degree 1,538 51.1% 1,472 48.9% honours degree 115 45.6% 137 54.4% master’s degree 45 42.1% 62 57.9% doctorate 32 56.1% 25 43.9% other (specify) 107 54.6% 89 45.4% postgraduate below master’s 64 48.9% 67 51.1% election debate awareness yes 50 10.8% 412 89.2% <0.001 no 1,883 56.8% 1,431 43.2% did not know 147 47.4% 163 52.6% tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   41 variables not voted voted p-value n % n % timing voting period was short 1,006 62.6 600 37.4 <0.001 voting period was long enough 900 39.4 1,384 60.6 marketing of src elections i did not see any of the src election advertising and marketing 1,529 76.6% 466 23.4% <0.001 i did encounter a poster promoting the src elections 121 21.5% 442 78.5% i did read an online publication on the src elections 341 28.3% 864 71.7% i did encounter a printed t-shirt, branded cap or other src election material 23 11.3% 181 88.7% other (specify) 34 68.0% 16 32.0% email 3 37.5% 5 62.5% myunisa 2 33.3% 4 66.7% sms 3 60.0% 2 40.0% word of mouth 2 28.6% 5 71.4% whatsapp 1 100.0% 0 0.0% facebook 0 0.0% 2 100.0% p<0.05*, p<0.01** and p<0.001*** binary logistic regression model on predictors of src voter turnout table 4 below shows the binary logistic regression model on the predictors of src voting. the assessment was conducted at a confidence level of 95%. a positive coefficient implies that the explanatory variable positively impacted the dependent variable, whereas a negative coefficient would imply that the explanatory or independent variable impacted the dependent variable negatively. although there was a positive coefficient among the 31–35-year-olds (b=0.06, se=0.243) and the 36–40-year-olds (b=0.091, se=0.257), age was not a significant predictor of src voting. whereas gender ref lected a negative coefficient (b= -0.713, se=0.091), it was a highly significant predictor of voting, with females showing less chances of voting (or=0.4 [95% ci: 0.4-.0.6], p=0.001) compared with males. additionally, although being employed full-time and/ or self-employed was a highly significant predictor of src voting, the chances of these groups voting were below the odds of 1, (or=0.6 [95% ci:0.5-0.7], p=0.001) and (or=0.3 [95% ci: 0.2-0.5], p=0.001) respectively. retired respondents had a positive coefficient (b=0.904, se=0.922) and the odds of them voting in the src elections were higher (or=2.5 [95% ci: 0.4-15.0], p=0.327). however, this was a non-significant 42   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 predictor of src voting. a positive coefficient was noted among the respondents with a relatively high salary of zar 601,000 and more (b=0.258, se=0.193). however, this was not a significant predictor for src voting. therefore, income was found to be an insignificant predictor of src voting. table 4: binary logistic regression model on predictors of src voting b se p value exp (b) 95% ci for exp (b) lower upper age (years) 18–21 1 22–25 -0.105 0.24 0.661 0.9 0.563 1.44 26–30 -0.088 0.236 0.71 0.916 0.577 1.454 31–35 0.06 0.243 0.806 1.062 0.659 1.711 36–40 0.091 0.257 0.724 1.095 0.662 1.81 40 and above -0.221 0.255 0.385 0.802 0.487 1.321 gender male 1 female -0.713 0.091 <0.001 0.49 0.41 0.585 other (specify) 0.583 0.879 0.507 1.792 0.32 10.042 employment unemployed 1 employed – part-time -0.264 0.171 0.122 0.768 0.55 1.073 employed – full-time -0.495 0.113 <0.001 0.609 0.488 0.76 self-employed -1.187 0.259 <0.001 0.305 0.184 0.506 retired 0.904 0.922 0.327 2.471 0.406 15.049 other (specify) -0.451 0.346 0.192 0.637 0.324 1.254 annual income zar 10,000 – 350,000 1 zar 351,000 – 600,000 -0.105 0.158 0.509 0.901 0.66 1.229 zar 601,000 and more 0.258 0.193 0.182 1.295 0.886 1.892 qualification certificate 1 undergraduate degree 0.219 0.17 0.197 1.245 0.892 1.738 honours degree 0.518 0.237 0.029 1.679 1.054 2.674 master’s degree 0.689 0.312 0.027 1.991 1.081 3.668 doctorate 0.178 0.397 0.653 1.195 0.549 2.603 other (specify) -0.184 0.257 0.476 0.832 0.503 1.378 postgraduate below master’s 0.22 0.281 0.432 1.246 0.719 2.16 tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   43 b se p value exp (b) 95% ci for exp (b) election debate awareness yes 1 no -2.052 0.2 <0.001 0.128 0.087 0.19 did not know -1.551 0.246 <0.001 0.212 0.131 0.343 closing date impact on voting voting period long enough 0.803 0.09 <0.001 2.232 1.872 2.662 marketing seen marketing 2.065 0.088 <0.001 7.889 6.644 9.367 qualification has a positive coefficient and is a significant predictor of voting among the respondents with honours degrees (b=0.518, se=0.237) and master’s degrees (b=0.689, se=0.312) with odds of more than 1, (or= 1.7 [95% ci: 1.0-2.7], p=0.029) and (or=1.10 [95% ci:1.1-3.7], p=0.027) respectively. in relation to awareness of election debates, respondents who were not aware of the debates recorded a significantly higher negative coefficient (b=-2.052, se=0.2), suggesting that students who were not aware of election debates were less likely to participate in voting in the src elections (or=0.1 [95% ci:0.10.3], p=0.001). the coefficient of -2.052 suggests that for a unit increase in students who were not aware of election debates, voter turnout would decline by an average of 2.052. in relation to the impact of the closing date on voting, there was a positive coefficient (b= 0.803, se=0.09) and it was found to be a significant predictor of voting for those who indicated that the voting period was long enough (or=2.2 [95% ci: 1.9-2.7], p-value e <0.001). in relation to exposure to src election marketing, there was a strong positive coefficient, and this was found to be a highly significant predictor of voting (b=2.065, se=0.088), especially among the respondents who had seen src election marketing information and materials. respondents who had seen such marketing were seven times more likely to vote (or=7.9 [95% ci:6.6-9.3], p=0.001) than those who had not. model summary the omnibus test of model coefficients shows a significant chi-square indicating that the model fits well in describing predictors of src election voting. however, the cox and snell r and nagelkerke r squares were non-significant. on the other hand, the hosmer and lemeshow test revealed significant results suggesting that the model was a good fit for the predictors of src election voting. the study r-squares is 0.42, which implies that the variability in voting could be explained by independent variables at a scale of 42%. 44   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 discussion the survey had a high response count/rate of 6,851 or 97.4%. this could be an indication of the importance students attached to participation in the src elections as a means of ensuring student representation in university decision-making structures and processes. this study aimed to determine the profile of students who voted in the 2018 src elections and assess predictors of voter turnout for src elections using binary logistic regression analysis. additionally, the research sought to ascertain whether and how students’ access to ict infrastructure had inf luenced turnout during these src elections. the profile of the students, including in relation to gender; age; employment; income level; and level and field of study, was analysed to assess whether and how these factors had inf luenced voter turnout. taking a closer look at the profile of students who participated in the src elections, descriptive analysis revealed less involvement among the young group of students between 18–21 years in the first years of study, which could be explained by the relatively small size of this cohort as part of unisa’s student body. at the same time, participation in elections of the src was generally greater among those aged 35 and under. this could be ascribed to the electoral model followed at unisa, which is student-organisation based and may thus limit interest and engagement among older students. interestingly, there was no significant difference between those who voted and did not vote by age (p <0.460). it was found that more female students of indian descent seemed to be participating in the src elections. the reasons for this may relate to access to technology; socioeconomic status; and the kind of marketing that was deployed during the elections. this was unexpected in the context of the electoral model and the racial profile of successive srcs over time. there was a highly significant difference between those who voted and did not vote by gender, confirming the findings of wolfinger and wolfinger (2008) who noted a disparity in voter turnout in relation to gender. additionally, the results revealed that unemployed females were relatively quite likely (70.6%) to vote, although this could be a ref lection of the nature of the high national unemployment rate. this finding may corroborate berinsky et al.’s (2001) assertion that voting depends on people making time to cast their vote. in this context, unemployed female students might have more time enabling them to vote. interestingly, the current study also found that males pursuing the highest qualification level were also more likely to participate in src-related processes, which may be viewed as testament to milligan (2003) who found that educated people were more likely to vote. in the context of this study, this finding could also be indicative of the greater interest in politics in general among male students. the income category for both male (76.4%) and female (88.5%) respondents was generally in the zar 10,000–350,000 annual income range, regardless of race. this is inconsistent with harder and krosnick (2008) who demonstrated income disparity among voters. binary logistic regression revealed numerous predictors of src voting. the study found that exposure to src election marketing was a highly significant predictor of voting. respondents who had been exposed were seven times more likely to vote tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   45 (or=7.9 [95% ci:6.6-9.3], p<0,001) than those who had not. this variable was the most significant in the study, indicating that greater efforts should be made to address challenges relating to access to, and visibility of, election marketing, including information on the why and how of voting. the second-highest predictor of voting in this study was the impact of the closing date. those who indicated that the voting period was long enough were two times more likely to vote than those who did not believe it was long enough. at the same time, this study found that adequate time was given to the voter. that there is no justification for the duration allocated for voting to be associated with low voter turnout affirms berinsky et al.’s (2001) finding regarding the intricate balance that voters must create between their personal engagements and the time that they need to set aside to cast their vote. the current study also revealed that being unaware of src election debates was associated with not voting. manifesto presentations by candidates are an important factor in moving people who would not otherwise participate in an election closer to casting a vote. this finding is consistent with ryabchuk (2017) who places the emphasis on the logistical arrangements that electoral agencies should put in place to make voting simple. noting that this study attributes abstention to a lack of awareness about src election debates, organisers of future elections should ensure broad awareness about the debates and ascertain that they are accessible to potential voters. other significant predictors of src voting were gender, employment status and level of qualification. females were less likely to vote than males. accordingly, the way in which the src elections are held should challenge the gender imbalances that characterise the country’s political landscape at present. those who were employed on a full-time basis or who were self-employed were less likely to vote. so, future voting campaigns should target these two groups of students in an effort to improve turnout. contrary to previous studies (leighley & nagler, 1984; harder & krosnick, 2008; wolfinger & wolfinger, 2008), no significant relationship could be established between age and voter participation in the src elections. similarly, household income disparities were found to be a non-predictive factor in src elections, which runs contrary to leighley and nagler’s (1984) findings and is of interest given the interconnectedness between employment and voter participation that the study found. conclusion this study explored demographic and systemic factors that impacted voter turnout during the 2018 src elections at south africa’s largest institution of higher learning, unisa. the study revealed the importance of numerous factors, including marketing; election debates; gender; employment status; and level of qualification, as significant predictors of voter turnout. in accordance with structural conduct performance theory, the marketing of the elections using various media including technological infrastructure resonated with the structure of unisa as an open distance e-learning (odel) institution. in this context, the performance of the election system may be seen as ref lecting the investment made in 46   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 marketing the elections online to reach students who are not on campus but are scattered across the world. against this background, a key finding was that awareness of election debates could improve voter participation (the coefficient of -2.052 related to electoral debates suggests that for a unit increase in students who were unaware of election debates voter turnout would decline by an average of 2.052). this indicates that proper logistical planning by the organisers and implementers of election projects is required to promote greater awareness of, and engagement in, election debates. meanwhile, the disparity in turnout according to level of education among male students, with those at the postgraduate level significantly more likely to vote, could be a ref lection of the level of consciousness among this part of the student cohort of students; and may possibly be an indicator of broader societal politics in the country which are male-dominated and in which the level of education among political leaders and public representatives has become an increasingly contentious issue. in essence, the study results indicate that male students who were enrolled for postgraduate studies were more likely to vote than male undergraduates, which could be attributed to a more sophisticated political understanding on the part of the postgraduate students. the study also revealed an urgent need for the university to revise its policies in an effort to accommodate older students more meaningfully in its electoral dispensation. the relatively low levels of turnout among members of this group seem to indicate that they perceive little or no relevance in the present student party-based system for electing students into src office, which also fails to ref lect the demographics of the university’s student cohort that accurately. most of unisa’s student body is composed of students who come from low income-based households. accordingly, the study ref lects no significant impact on voter turnout by student household income. the limitations of this study include the fact that the survey was conducted months after the elections. so, the circumstances of some of the survey participants might have changed between the elections and the time of survey. another limitation is that the results of this study cannot be generalised given the uniqueness of unisa and its student profile. in this regard, future such studies may be undertaken at contact universities. furthermore, in order to improve the performance of the model, future studies should consider dropping non-significant variables following the first test and run second and third tests in order to reduce multicollinearity which could distort the results. references bain, j. s. (1951). relation of profit to industry concentration: american manufacturing 1936–1940. the quarterly journal of economics, 65(3), 293-24. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882217. berinsky, a. j., burns, n., & traugott m. w. (2001). who votes mail? a dynamic model of the individuallevel consequences of voting-by-email system. public opinion quarterly 65(2),178-197. https://doi. org/10.1086/322196. centre for information and research on civic learning and engagement. (2004). the youth. https:// www.loc.gov/search/?in=&q=the+youth&new=true&st=. https://doi.org/10.1086/322196 tshegofatso mogaladi & motlatso mlambo: demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout …   47 field, a. (2009). discovering statistics using spss (3rd ed.). sage. hahn, c. l. (1998). becoming political: comparative perspectives on citizenship education. state university of new york press. harder, j., & krosnick, j. a. (2008). why do people vote? a psychological analysis of the causes of voter turnout. journal of social issues, 64(3),525-549. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.00576.x. hillygus, s. d. (2005). the missing link: exploring the relationship between higher education and political engagement. political behavior, 27(1), 25-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-005-3075-8 hsrc (human sciences research council). (2005). survey on south african voter participation in elections. https://doi.org/10.14749/1529922538. leighley, j. e., & nagler, j. (1992). individual and systemic influences on turnout: who votes? 1984. the journal of politics, 54(3). https://doi.org/10.2307/2132308. leithwood, k., jantzi, d., & steinbach, r. (1999). changing leadership for changing times. open university press. lewis, k. m., & rice, t. w. (2005). voter turnout in undergraduate student government elections. ps: political science & politics, 38(4), 723-729. mattes, r., & richmond, s. (2015). are south africa’s youth really a ticking time bomb? afro barometer working paper no. 152. https://www.africaportal.org/publications/are-south-africas-youth-reallya-ticking-time-bomb/. mcmurray, j. c. (2010). empirical evidence of strategic voter abstention. wallis institute of political economy, working paper no. 59. https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/3e/2d/e3cf0f5b49bca0405df5decde624/ mcmurray-relative-info.pdf. milligan, k., moretti, e., & oreopoulos, p. (2004). does education improve citizenship? evidence from the united states and the united kingdom. journal of public economics, 88(9-10), 1667-1695. https:// doi.org/10.3386/w9584. nie, n. h., & hillygus, s. d. (2001). education and democratic citizenship. in d. ravitch & j. viteritti (eds.), making good citizens: education and civil society (pp. 30-57). yale university press. paret, m. (2016). local government elections 2016: some preliminary findings from an exit poll of voters. south african research chair in social change, centre for social change, university of johannesburg. print, m., ornstrom, s., & nielsen, h. (2002). education for democratic processes in schools and classrooms. european journal of education, 37(2), 193-210. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-3435.00102. print, m. (2007). citizenship education and youth participation in democracy. british journal of educational studies, 55(3), 325-346. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8527.2007.00382.x. putnam, r. (2000). bowling alone: the collapse and revival of american community. simon & schuster. ryabchuk, a. (2017). voter abstention in south african 2014 elections: beyond the apathy argument. transformation: critical perspectives on southern africa, 92(1),37-59. https://doi.org/10.1353/ trn.2016.0026. saha, l. j., & print, m. (2010). student school elections and political engagement: a cradle of democracy? international journal of educational studies, 49(1), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2010.05.004. sandell, j., & plutzer, e. (2005). families, divorce and voter turnout in the us. political behavior, 27(2), 133-162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-005-3341-9. statistics south africa. (2021). general household survey 2021. statistical release p0318. https://www. statssa.gov.za/publications/p0318/p03182021.pdf. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.00576.x http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-005-3075-8 http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.14749/1529922538 https://www.africaportal.org/publications/are-south-africas-youth-really-a-ticking-time-bomb/ https://www.africaportal.org/publications/are-south-africas-youth-really-a-ticking-time-bomb/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-3435.00102 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8527.2007.00382.x http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/trn.2016.0026 http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/trn.2016.0026 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2010.05.004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-005-3341-9 48   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 31-48 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 wambui, e. (2015). contemporary roles of elected student council on management of public secondary schools in kenya: a survey of selected secondary schools in nakuru east sub-county. international journal of innovative research & development, 4(4), 227-234. http://www.internationaljournalcorner. com/index.php/ijird_ojs/article/view/135674. wolfinger, n. h., & wolfinger, r. e. (2008). family structure and voter turnout. social forces, 86(4), 15131528. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0031. how to cite: mogaladi, t., & mlambo, m. (2022). demographic and systemic factors affecting student voter turnout in africa’s largest distance higher education institution. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 31-48. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3574 http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0031 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 119 www.jsaa.ac.za research article online work readiness programme: ready, set, go! belinda janekei i ms belinda janeke is the head of career services, student affairs at the university of the free state, south africa. email: janekeb@ufs.ac.za abstract there has always been pressure on higher education institutions to enhance the employability of graduates and to instil knowledge, skills, and attributes that will be beneficial to future employers. the impact of covid‑19 on a global, national, and local level is placing even more pressure on the topic of employability. graduates are uncertain about job availability and there is a need for career guidance. after a national and local shutdown of university campuses in 2015 and 2016 due to #feesmustfall, career services staff at the university of the free state designed and created online work readiness programmes in order for students to continue with work preparations, no matter what the circumstances. in 2018, the first topics on cv‑writing and job interview skills were rolled out online and made available to all registered students; each semester, two additional topics were added. by the time covid‑19 led to a national lockdown in south africa in march 2020, the transition to online work readiness programmes was fairly easy. the purpose of this study is to determine the impact of the online work readiness programmes offered on the blackboard platform from april to june 2020 during the covid‑19 pandemic and national lockdown. this article will provide an analysis of a questionnaire conducted with willing participants who have engaged and worked through the online work readiness programmes from april to june 2020, to investigate the impact on graduates’ readiness for the world of work. through the survey, students shared their learning experiences and the influence it has had on their career planning. it is believed that the findings of this research study will create a deeper understanding of how career services, as a particular functional area in student affairs, can reposition itself during uncertain times to remain responsive to the needs of students. keywords career services; co‑curriculum; covid‑19; employability; higher education institution; work readiness introduction south african higher education institutions are under constant pressure to address a range of challenges, including unemployment, financial pressures for students and the sector, slow sectoral transformation, and the struggling economy of south africa in general, which is exacerbated by the recent covid‑19 pandemic (adotey, 2020; heleta, 2016; mutekwe, 2018; roodt, 2020; viljoen, 2018). http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:janekeb%40ufs.ac.za?subject= 120 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 south africa’s economy has grown slowly in the past decade due to, amongst others, declining public finances, mass unemployment, and issues with power and electricity. during the covid‑19 pandemic, matters are worsening, with an expected negative growth of the economy that will most likely be contracting by 1‑3% before the end of 2020 (roodt, 2020). south african higher education institutions have been impacted by noticeable changes since the country became a democratic state in 1994. these include increased diversity in student and staff populations, advances in technology, learning strategies, and increased reflection on colonialism and how its many disguises as cultural, economic, political, and knowledge‑based oppression still haunt the system (heleta, 2016; viljoen, 2018). furthermore, student numbers have increased significantly, the need for formal qualifications has intensified – coupled with a decrease in funding, and changes occurred in curriculums and programmes (chipunza & malo, 2017; viljoen, 2018). in addition, the unemployment problem in south africa is structural, in the sense that the majority of the labour supply (poorly educated workers) cannot find employment as there is little demand for low‑skilled workers. however, the focus and mission of most higher education institutions are to address unemployment by providing high‑skilled graduates for the workforce (oluwajodu, greyling, blaauw & kleynhans, 2015). intensifying the pressure on higher education institutions, mzileni (2020) highlights three additional problems that covid‑19 is bringing to the south african higher education context, namely: the lack of infrastructure for functional learning experiences; the movement towards online teaching and the struggle for students and staff to make the mind shift from the traditional teaching and learning contact to online learning; and thirdly, the dependence of undergraduates on face‑to‑face traditional teaching and learning practices to address their basic educational needs. the south african government provided resources to the department of higher education and training (dhet) to develop the national policy for an integrated career development system for south africa (dhet, 2017) in order to address three key priorities of the government, namely unemployment, poverty, and inequality. the vision of the policy is to assist south african citizens in accessing relevant post‑school education and training, in order to fulfil the economic and social goals of participation in an inclusive economy and society (career development services, 2017). career services (cs – a division of student affairs) at the university of the free state (ufs) supports the national policy by empowering and preparing students with the necessary transferable skills for the world of work. in 2017, employed ufs graduates indicated that they were very satisfied (31%) and satisfied (42%) with how the ufs had prepared them for employment (ufs graduate exit survey, 2020). in a recent study conducted by universum (2020) with more than 20 000 experienced hires globally, only 27% of participants indicated that they felt their qualification offered them excellent preparation for their current position. winani ndlovu, research manager at universum, denotes that these statistics exemplify the gap between academic learning and the world of work: belinda janeke: online work readiness programme: ready, set go! 121 with organisations now focusing on diversity and inclusion beyond the expected gender, age and ethnic background conversation, we are seeing their recruitment interests widen to cover talent with different knowledge and skillset backgrounds. ultimately this might start shifting employer interests to those universities that offer blended learning that includes work‑related work in an effort to push their students’ preparedness for the world of work. (ndlovu, 2020) these statistics exhibit a low satisfaction rate in terms of preparation to enter the world of work, corresponding with employers’ experiences. employers believe that new employees – recent graduates in particular – lack basic skills, intellectual capacity, workplace skills, applied knowledge, and the ability to work effectively in the workplace (oluwajodu et al., 2015). globally, employers are struggling to find capable, adaptable, and skilled employees to keep up with this age of technology and the demands of the fourth industrial revolution (laubscher, 2018). a skilled workforce is needed to increase business productivity and competitiveness, which in turn will benefit the economy and reduce poverty (laubscher, 2018). another factor contributing to unemployment is job search activities, where job searchers are not investing time and effort to find the correct fit (oluwajodu et al., 2015). therefore, cs at the ufs embarked on this mission to not only develop workshops and training to address basic skills, workplace skills, and applied knowledge, but to also upscale the offering to serve approximately 40 000 registered students by designing and implementing an online work readiness programme that students can engage with at any time. employability and work readiness entrenching employability, as suggested by the higher education academy (hea), concerns the provision of “opportunities to develop knowledge, skills, experiences, behaviours, attributes, achievements and attitudes to enable graduates to make successful transitions and contributions, benefiting them, the economy and their communities” (hea, 2016, p. 1). the dhet (2017) emphasises their key priorities as addressing inequality, poverty, and unemployment. therefore, south african universities are considered key players in addressing these three priorities in terms of quality of teaching and learning, attitude and values, actively encouraging and promoting co‑curriculum participation, and the use of career services to enrich the employability of students (walker & fongwa, 2017). work readiness refers to the level on which graduates are perceived to have the necessary attitudes, attributes, worker traits, and coping mechanisms to be successful in the workplace (brady, 2010; caballero & walker, 2010; doe, 2015). the more work‑ready a graduate is, having one or more workplace skills, the more employable and successful the individual will be in the workplace (doe, 2015). therefore, employability does not only mean being able to get a job, but to be able to implement work readiness skills in any given job. cs at the ufs created, and continuously updates and improves, the work‑readiness programmes delivered and offered to students, staying up to date with trends and demands 122 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 from the world of work. the programme is practice‑based and in the format of online work‑readiness tutorials, content, and resources. the content is structured to suit the learning preferences of any student – from reading material to engaging activities, to easily accessible information in the form of infographics or checklists, and video recordings of the workshop content (ufs career services, 2020). challenges and opportunities presented themselves in october 2015 when the first campuses were shut down due to the #feesmustfall movement. it was during the 2015 and 2016 campus shutdown periods that cs at the ufs re‑evaluated their offering to students, the delivery methods of crucial work‑readiness programmes and information, as well as the access of students to internet‑based platforms. in july 2018, cs rolled out a pilot study with the two most sought‑after topics for work preparedness, namely cv‑writing and job interview skills. the reasons and motivation for having online work‑readiness programmes were three‑fold: to embrace the multi‑campus model of reaching all registered students of the ufs on all three campuses (approximately 40 000 students); secondly, to deliver work‑readiness programmes on a scale with a staff component of one full‑time staff member; and lastly, in case of another campus shutdown, that work readiness programmes could be delivered hassle‑free. the national lockdown in south africa due to covid‑19 once again created new challenges for both academic and support staff to continue academic and service delivery by means of online platforms. fortunately, the cs at the ufs was ready to continue to work effortlessly, positioned with six topics to prepare students for the world of work. indeed, from 27 march 2020, all face‑to‑face workshops were replaced with online programmes on different online platforms generated by the ufs. each topic was delivered online, with various options for students – from a step‑by‑ step tutorial process, claiming badges and completing activities, to accessing cheat sheets or infographics, watching a short video recording on the topic, or viewing various resources and examples of profiles and cvs. students’ participation in the online workshops during covid‑19 provided an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of using different platforms. conceptual framework the canadian research working group on evidence‑based practice in career development (crwg) has developed a framework for evaluating the delivery of career‑ related services and the effectiveness of career development interventions (baudouin et al., 2007). most formal research focuses on career development or counselling, and not specifically on the evaluation of career services or programmes and the impact these have on clients or students (benzinger et al., 2011). this framework was developed after various evaluation models in literature were researched, considering the strengths and weaknesses of each model, and ultimately deciding to develop a framework that could be easily incorporated into practice, easily understood, and still included all relevant information to evaluate career interventions comprehensively (baudouin et al., 2017). the framework consists of three elements, namely inputs, processes, and outcomes. belinda janeke: online work readiness programme: ready, set go! 123 the first element, inputs, refers to the resources available to assist clients to change and to reach the outcomes. processes signify all mechanisms involved in achieving the outcomes. outcomes relate to the changes experienced by clients and the results of the inputs delivered through the processes. the crwg refers to the three elements as a linear process, but states that the relationship between the elements is not strictly linear due to the outputs being influenced by the available inputs, and the nature of the inputs that can impact the process used. inputs include the resources available to the institution to deliver quality services, namely staff, funding, service guidelines, facilities, infrastructure, and community resources. table 1 below indicates the inputs of cs at the ufs, namely: staff, funding, service guidelines, and facilities. table 1: cs inputs staff 1 full‑time staff member, 1 contract appointment, and 5‑10 volunteers per semester. funding a budget of r100 000 for student relations activities per annum. service guidelines cs’s mandate is to offer a range of services and resources designed to assist students to develop the employability skills they need in today’s world of work. the student relations portfolio provides career development and guidance to students and delivers work readiness programmes. the company relations portfolio offers services to employers to advertise, interview, and recruit talented students. facilities blackboard is used as the learning management system. six topics were planned and designed for online learning. thirteen activities must be completed in order to receive a badge (as part of gamification), of which eight activities are automatically marked, and five activities must be marked manually. cs inputs do not include any additional infrastructure such as consultants or support staff, and do not have community resources such as a specific section in the library dedicated to career development, or computer rooms dedicated to career services. the second element, processes, refers to the interventions and quality service factors. first of all, interventions consist of specific interventions (singularly focused on clients’ goals and outcomes with the purpose of fostering change) and generic interventions (interactions of service providers or third parties). the other factor, namely quality service, refers to the tools for measurement. although it may provide the outcomes for this process, it is still considered as part of the process indicating the effectiveness of the process. table 2 below indicates the cs processes at the ufs, namely: specific interventions and quality of service. 124 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 table 2: cs processes specific interventions a work readiness programme addressing all six categories within this framework, namely: career decision‑making, work‑specific skills enhancement, work search, job maintenance, career‑related personal development, and other resources (referrals). the cs work readiness programme consists of six topics, with activities to test the knowledge gained, and practical submissions to be marked manually by staff. the six topics are cv‑writing, interview skills, linkedin, digital world: personal branding for success, networking and job‑hunting skills, and future of work. quality of service cs will determine the usefulness and impact of the online work readiness programmes through evaluation by means of a questionnaire sent to students. cs processes do not include generic interventions provided by third parties or service providers. the third element, outcomes, is concerned with the result of an intervention, including change in the client’s competence, attributes, and broader changes for the client or community. the outcomes and results are organised into three categories, namely client learning outcomes, client personal attribute outcomes, and client impact outcomes. table 3 below indicates the cs outcomes at the ufs, namely: student learning outcomes, student personal attribute outcomes, and student impact outcomes. table 3: cs outcomes student learning outcomes the learning outcomes include the knowledge and skills that can be directly linked to the programme or intervention used, including personal management, learning and work exploration, or building a life or career. student personal attribute outcomes personal attribute outcomes include changes in attitude, intrapersonal skills (self‑esteem, motivation, and confidence), and independence. student impact outcomes impact outcomes refer to the learning outcomes of interventions and can contribute to changes in a client’s life, such as employment status, pursuing training, social and relational impact, and economic impact. it is important to note that all student relations projects and programmes in cs are planned and created in alignment with the ufs graduate attributes, which include critical thinking, problem solving, entrepreneurship, oral and written communication, ethical reasoning, and civic engagement (strydom & oosthuizen, 2019). in addition, all six student outcome domains – according to the council for the advancement of standards in higher education (cas) – were addressed in the work readiness programme: knowledge acquisition, construction, integration and application; cognitive complexity; intrapersonal development; interpersonal competence; humanitarianism and civic engagement; and practical competence (cas, 2015). belinda janeke: online work readiness programme: ready, set go! 125 methodology in order to evaluate the effectiveness of career development interventions in online form, a convergent mixed‑method design was used for the study. this implied gathering both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously, analysing the data sets separately, and then comparing the findings (creswell & creswell, 2018). this approach was used to draw on the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research, and to facilitate an in‑depth understanding of the qualitative data to explain the quantitative database of the collected questionnaires (creswell, 2014). the questionnaire was guided by the crwg framework and consisted of 74 questions, including closed‑ended, likert type, and open‑ended questions. it should be noted that participants weren’t expected to answer all 74 questions; the questionnaire started with 10 questions about the online format, followed by questions regarding the six topics. for each topic selected in question 1, the participant would’ve been asked eleven additional questions per topic. each workshop had its own unique questions for evaluating the intended outcomes, followed by generic open‑ and closed‑ended questions for all respondents, particularly focusing on their experiences with the online platform, the value of the workshops for their development, and recommendations they might have. the purpose of the evaluation questions was to determine students’ experiences about the online process (user‑friendliness), the teaching and learning component of each topic (whether they implemented the knowledge gained), as well as the content and resources (what they found useful and informative). the questionnaire was done electronically by sending an email with the link to the selected participants. about 2 869 students completed the online workshops between april and june 2020. most of the students were between the ages of 18 and 23 (n=2221), 60,3% were female, 86,3% were african, and the majority were undergraduates (n=2533) from seven faculties, of which the faculty of the humanities (n=830) was the best represented, followed by the faculty of natural and agricultural sciences (n=588), and the faculty of economic and management sciences (n=567). these students were purposefully sampled to provide feedback on their experiences with the workshops. of the 2  869 workshop participants, 116 completed the survey (response rate of 4%). although this response rate is not representative of the larger population, it would suffice to provide the cs with feedback on how the 116 students experienced the workshops in an online format, which would in turn contribute to future planning. data was analysed separately (quantitative and qualitative) and then merged to allow for a side‑by‑side comparison to determine similarities and elaboration on experiences, as well as how data related to one another (creswell, 2014). completed questionnaires delivered empirical data and were analysed using spss software that delivered descriptive statistics. the qualitative data were analysed through inductive and deductive content analysis by first identifying the extent to which the intended outcomes were mentioned by students in their provided text, followed by a more open reading of additional outcomes (krippendorff, 2018). through qualitative data, the following themes were identified that are aligned with the three outcomes of the conceptual framework used: student learning 126 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 outcomes, students’ personal attributes, and impact outcomes. additionally, the online platform was evaluated, leading to the fourth theme. each topic of the work readiness programme had specific student learning outcomes that were measured in this research. qualitative feedback provided insight into students’ personal attributes developed through engagement with the content, as well as feedback regarding impact outcomes indicating whether participants were encouraged to move into action by implementing what they have learned. both quantitative and qualitative data provided insight into how the online format was experienced, used, and could be improved. findings and discussion the conceptual framework discussed above consists of three elements: inputs, processes, and outcomes. there is little to no control over the inputs (staff, funding, service guidelines, and facilities); the processes consist of the specific intervention implemented (online work readiness workshops consisting of six topics), and determining the quality of service by evaluating the questionnaire sent to active participants. during the data analysis process, the conceptual framework was used to identify whether participants have developed or reached the outcomes intended with the work readiness workshops, namely: student learning outcomes, student personal attribute outcomes, and student impact outcomes. the first part of the questionnaire asked participants to identify the topics they had completed, followed by general feedback regarding the course. participants then had to answer evaluation questions per topic they have chosen. table 4 below shows that cv‑writing was the topic most students participated in (67%), followed by interview skills (37%), networking and job hunting (35%), linkedin (32%), digital world: personal branding for success (31%), and future of work (29%). table 4: workshops/topics completed topic percentage* number of participants cv‑writing 67% 61 interview skills 37% 34 networking and job‑hunting skills 35% 32 linkedin 32% 29 digital world: personal branding for success 31% 28 future of work 29% 26 *note: the majority of students participated in more than one workshop. participants indicated that the intended student learning outcomes were reached in every topic they engaged with online. the workshops created an understanding of each topic and the variety of resources contributed to participants’ implementation of knowledge through the use of practical examples. in general, participants found the content easy to understand and experienced the content as adequate to assist them in preparing for a job interview, belinda janeke: online work readiness programme: ready, set go! 127 writing a cv, and developing a personal brand, amongst others. they further agreed that they were confident to go for a job interview and answer questions to the best of their ability. some examples of respondents’ comments include: it improved my knowledge of cv writing, cover letter design, my linkedin account, as well as the online presence. these are the factors potential employers are looking for. i was not able to achieve such a high standard without the help of this course. (participant 16; overall feedback regarding programme) i now know the steps to have a good professional cv and cover letter, how to dress for work by keeping a personal brand, and how to prepare for a job interview. (participant 44; overall feedback regarding programme) participants found the activities in each topic very useful in terms of thinking critically about the implication of the specific topic on their career. for example, 78% of participants in the cv‑writing workshop found the cv‑writing submission activity useful, and 77% of participants found the cover letter activity beneficial. furthermore, in the interview skills workshop, 91% of the participants agreed that the self‑reflection activity assisted them to critically contemplate potential questions in a job interview as well as appropriate and professional answers, while an average of 84% of the participants experienced the networking and job‑hunting activities as beneficial to making informed decisions, to critically think about the network they are building, and what kind of questions to ask during networking engagements. evidence shows that students’ personal attributes were developed throughout the programme, linking to most of the ufs graduate attributes, as well as the six student outcome domains according to cas standards (mentioned in the conceptual framework section). evaluation data were categorised according to the six student outcome domains of the cas standards, namely: knowledge acquisition, construction, integration and application; cognitive complexity; intrapersonal development; interpersonal competence; humanitarianism and civic engagement; and practical competence (council for the advancement of standards in higher education [cashe], 2015). it is important to note that evidence did not clearly reflect whether participants gained an understanding and appreciation of the humanitarianism and civic engagement, although these aspects were included in the step‑by‑step tutorials and activities. participants referred in various ways to their knowledge acquisition, construction, integration, and application that were supported and made possible by the format and layout of each workshop topic, and that led to self‑reflection (cashe, 2015). example 1: the cheat sheets are just to check quickly, the step‑by‑step is more in‑depth, and the video is also more helpful as additional resource. (participant 11; cv‑writing workshop) the participant reflects on the use of one tool (cheat sheets) complemented by another (step‑by‑step tutorials) to provide depth to the understanding of the content and knowledge gained and refers to the video as an additional resource. this demonstrates the 128 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 acquisition of knowledge through various resources, followed by the construction and integration of the knowledge to make sense of the topic at hand. example 2: it helped me to think of the image i am trying to put out there for my future employers. (participant 25; overall feedback regarding programme) the participant’s words “helped me to think” confirm the self‑reflection that took place when engaging with the content, by thinking about a personal image and how this could influence a recruiter or potential employer. the knowledge acquisition, construction, integration, and application process address the need of employers to have employees who are capable of applying knowledge and skills (oluwajodu et al., 2015). participants also referred to the workshops and platforms as supportive in navigating the cognitive complexity of content and better understanding the specific topic: if i don’t understand, i can replay the video again and again until i understand. (participant 104; networking and job‑hunting workshop) the videos gave me an idea of how i can submit relevant documentation to different employers. furthermore, the tutorials are clear, address the current trends, and have the ability to make students adapt quickly in the complex world. (participant 60; cv‑writing workshop) both comments refer to the video recordings and resources as the tools these two participants used to critically and reflectively think about the content and then form an opinion and creative approach to a particular problem or challenge (cashe, 2015). this correlates with the global perspective of employers struggling to find adaptable, skilled employees (laubscher, 2018). the second comment addressed both the student learning outcomes and the impact outcomes that participant 60 achieved. participants referred to the intrapersonal development and interpersonal competence they gained in order to communicate or participate in a job interview, how to be professional, and how to adapt to the changing world of work, for example: i learnt that professionalism and how to carry yourself, speaks volumes for future employers. (participant 35; overall feedback regarding programme) this remark corroborates ndlovu’s (2020) appeal to universities to offer blended learning that includes work‑related work to prepare students for the world of work. arguably, the attribute most developed by students through the workshops is the confidence to implement learned objectives (practical competence). for example, 92% of participants in the cv‑writing workshop acknowledged their confidence to write a cv and 89% to write a cover letter. in the interview skills workshop, 88% of participants indicated their confidence to go for a job interview, and 94% were confident to answer questions during an interview. furthermore, in the networking and job‑hunting skills workshop, 87% of participants were confident to communicate and network with other people, 90% were confident to make informed decisions between two job offers, and 90% were confident to apply for jobs and to keep track of email communication, requirements per job, and progress with applications. all participants (100%) in the future of work belinda janeke: online work readiness programme: ready, set go! 129 workshop indicated that they were confident to enter the world of work, recognising the importance of being flexible, and 96% were confident to expand their core skills, competencies, and mindset skills. in the digital world: personal branding for success workshop, all participants (100%) were confident to use social media and online platforms to market their personal brand, and to build a good reputation in person and online. lastly, 83% of participants in the linkedin workshop were confident about the appearance of their linkedin profile, 90% knew how to use the job application tool, and 96% were confident to use linkedin as a networking tool. the high percentages in all workshops mentioned above are representative of workshop outcomes reached, and the purpose of the work readiness programme met. some participants addressed the practical competence they gained throughout the programme, which is referred to as the impact outcomes. participants reflected on how they updated their personal brands, cvs, linkedin profiles, and knowledge regarding workplace changes and technology. some examples include: i improved my cv, i am able to go for a job interview without being nervous. my linkedin account is up to date and i am not stressing to start working. (participant 11; overall feedback regarding programme) i find it hard to talk to people. the workshop gave me courage to be the first one to start talking to people, asking relevant questions to know more about the industry i want to be in. (participant 44; networking and job‑hunting workshop) the video provided me with nice pictures that are accompanied with proper information explaining the slide to me. i preferred this method because 25 minutes later i knew what personal branding was as well as what not to do on my internet platforms. (participant 25; digital world: personal branding for success workshop) these impact outcomes address the concern of unemployment raised by oluwajodu et al. (2015) in linking unemployment with job seekers who do not invest time and effort to find the correct fit. it seems that participants grasped the content of each workshop topic, followed by critical thinking and reflection on the outcomes, such as the portrayal of their image online, networking abilities, or creating a linkedin profile, and then implementing it by making adjustments and decisions, or by creating that cv needed to apply for a job. regarding the online format, participants experienced the design as effective for self‑ study (89%), they liked the ‘look and feel’ of the workshops (86%), and most participants attempted to implement the knowledge they had acquired (87%) to prepare for entering the world of work. participants ‘strongly agreed’ with the notion that each topic addressed their needs for preparation to enter the world of work (91%); they also liked having options (92%) to learn about a certain topic (options between using a step‑by‑step tutorial, infographics and checklists, additional resources, or a video recording of the workshop). because most students experienced the online format of the workshops as easy to navigate (81%), the variety of electronic content helpful to learn about a specific topic (93%), and the selections sufficient to learn about a topic through tutorials, videos, infographics, and/ or activities (91%), it is evident that students received all the necessary information, even 130 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 though not through face‑to‑face engagements. however, most students  (74%) still prefer face‑to‑face workshops, which could relate to the fact that the format of this online programme is new, and ufs students having voiced their struggles to adapt to online teaching and learning methods in general due to possible access or network issues. these findings are corroborated by mzileni (2020), who highlights the three problems brought forward in higher education during covid‑19, namely: the lack of infrastructure for functional learning experiences; the movement to online teaching and the struggle for students and staff to make the mind shift from traditional teaching and learning contact to online learning; and the dependence of undergraduates on face‑to‑face traditional teaching and learning practices to address their basic education needs. this is also reflected by the mere 7% of the ufs student population who engaged with the cs work readiness programme between april and june 2020. each workshop was designed with a variety of digital tools to help students self‑ navigate, including (but not limited to) step‑by‑step tutorials, cheat sheets, video recordings of the workshops, and examples of cvs, profiles, and interview questions. when asked which of these platforms were the most useful, students’ responses varied within as well as between workshops. for example, while 71% of cv‑writing workshop participants found practical examples most useful, 52% in the interview skills workshop found cheat sheets and the video recordings of the workshop most useful. in the network and job hunting, as well as the digital world workshops, most students (54% and 72% respectively) favoured the step‑by‑step tutorials. the qualitative data indicated that the workshops contributed to the management of participants’ expectations of the workplace. suggestions for all topics included the possibility to download videos for future use; to market this programme more; to include a variety of resources, such as more interview questions and possible answers; demonstrations of certain skills, such as a real job interview or a success story of students who used their personal branding to get a job. for the linkedin topic, participants suggested the inclusion of videos and information on how to navigate the platform, and how to establish and use connections. conclusion cs’s plan to move online after the 2015 and 2016 protests allowed time to plan, develop, organise, and implement topics. every year, evaluation data is used to improve the topics over time, and when covid‑19 and the national lockdown happened, cs repositioned itself to use the opportunity to move completely online – with positive results, as confirmed by the data. first, it is important to note the difficulties that students experienced with online teaching and learning due to a lack of resources such as computers, internet connectivity, and anxiety about the unknown. however, the 2  869 students who did engage with cs’s work readiness programme, appreciated the online format of the work readiness programmes, which included a variety of tools to self‑navigate through the learning belinda janeke: online work readiness programme: ready, set go! 131 outcomes. this, together with the feedback on activities that allowed students to develop more skills and knowledge, ultimately led to the ability to implement what they have learnt. the three overarching outcomes (student learning outcomes, personal attributes, and impact outcomes) have been achieved, with various suggestions addressing the need for more resources or demonstrations, which will be integrated into the programme going forward. for example, the one cas standard domain of humanitarianism and civic engagement that has not been mentioned or consciously learned, should be addressed by, amongst others, incorporating information and examples of unfairness and inequality in the workplace, as well as how to address or resolve this. the results of this study will be used to improve the online offering with more demonstrations and videos, additional content, and perhaps some peer learning activities to make the workshops more engaging. a more interactive approach might compensate for feelings of isolation when working through workshops alone. the gamification part of the work readiness programmes (offering badges for completion of each step‑by‑step tutorial) should also be highlighted and culminated into a co‑curricular transcript explaining the skills gained. furthermore, this offering should be explained to all faculties in order to obtain their support to implement this programme in the final‑year and postgraduate curriculums. cs further considers having the work‑readiness programme as an online offering only (which can be delivered on scale to the approximately 40 000 ufs students), and rather using face‑to‑face time to address individual needs through appointments or classroom engagement, especially because of the lack of human resources (one permanent staff member responsible for student relations projects, workshops, and programmes). whereas some participants mentioned broader marketing of the programme, more attention should rather be given to campaigns for students about the link between employers’ wants and needs, which are addressed in the online work readiness programme. furthermore, cs will benefit by sharing some success stories to create awareness and peer approval. using focus groups with willing participants can also provide in‑depth feedback to improve the programme. in light of the findings of the study, it is therefore crucial for cs to not only assist graduates to get a job, but also to equip them for the world of work by broadening graduates’ knowledge and skillsets to enable them to make successful transitions to the workplace and contribute to the economy and their communities (hea, 2016; ndlovu, 2020). recommendations for further research are the inclusion of focus groups to elaborate on the skills that graduates believe they need. secondly, cs should host think tanks with students and employers to determine future topics and foci in order to expand the online work readiness programme. and finally, consider implementing all suggestions from participants in this study to improve the current offering, and then to re‑evaluate it towards the end of 2020. it is believed that the findings of this research study will create a deeper understanding of how career services, as a particular functional area in student affairs,  can reposition itself during uncertain times to remain responsive to the needs of students. 132 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 119‑133 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1432 research ethics ethical clearance was applied for and granted by the ethics committee of the university of the free state, prior to the research. student respondents indicated their willingness to partake in the study by means of informed consent on the questionnaire. conflict of interest the authors declare that they do not have financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. funding this work has not received any financial support. references adotey, s.k. 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https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/382489/coronavirus-could-sink-south-africas-economy-by-6-da https://www.fin24.com/finweek/featured/higher-education-a-vast-and-changing-future-landscape-2018022 https://www.fin24.com/finweek/featured/higher-education-a-vast-and-changing-future-landscape-2018022 https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58452-6 https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58452-6 _hlk49487357 _hlk49488883 _hlk49489794 _hlk49492341 _hlk49492265 _hlk49492500 _hlk49492723 _hlk49502265 _hlk49502144 _hlk49514473 _hlk49632902 _hlk49632960 _hlk49515676 _hlk49526334 _hlk49526223 _hlk49526583 _hlk49527074 _hlk49527157 _hlk49528274 _hlk49528684 _hlk49529221 _hlk49530368 _hlk49535989 _hlk49536318 _hlk49542482 _hlk49633205 _hlk49573664 _hlk49573828 _hlk49574065 _hlk49573722 _hlk49576046 _hlk49576722 _hlk49576767 _hlk49576478 _hlk49577039 _hlk49578535 _hlk49578145 _hlk49579924 _hlk49581362 _hlk49581443 _hlk49581613 _hlk49582031 _hlk49582002 _hlk49582306 _hlk49583122 _hlk49582990 _hlk49583675 _hlk49583815 _hlk49601759 _hlk49633524 _hlk49603142 _hlk49607143 _hlk49607894 _hlk49608658 _hlk49608701 _hlk49609260 _hlk49610168 _hlk49611244 _hlk49487803 _hlk49630115 _hlk49630462 _hlk49630569 _hlk49630643 _hlk49631136 _hlk49631858 _hlk49631767 _hlk49631899 _hlk49631956 _hlk49632070 _hlk49632217 _hlk49632311 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526   77 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency in their undergraduate residences at stellenbosch university delecia davids* & aslam fataar** abstract this article offers an account of the development of student leaders’ agency within the institutional culture of their residences at stellenbosch university (su). residences at formerly white universities such as su are struggling to align their welcoming practices and cultures to the requirements for immersion of the diverse students who now live in them. this article focuses on student experiences of alienation in su residences with a particular interest in how they develop adaptative responses to establish a place for themselves in them. it is based on focus group discussions with student leaders which provided insights into their perceptions of their residence cultures and how they established their agency in this environment. the analysis presented in the article is based on archer’s theoretical approach to morphogenesis. the first data section of the article discusses the interaction between the students’ immersion in the institutional culture of their residences, on the one hand, and the acquisition of their initial identifications in response to the environmental cues of their residences, on the other. the second data section discusses the students’ active acquisition of their social identities, which allowed them to establish their aspirant pathways at the residence and the university. overall, the article offers an account of morphogenesis at work at the institutional level of su’s residences with a specific focus on the adaptive behaviour of student leadership in this university context. keywords student leadership, residences, morphogenetic approach, university transformation, institutional culture, student identity, student agency introduction this article presents a discussion of the development of the agency of student leaders in the context of their living experiences in stellenbosch university’s (su) undergraduate residences. it examines how these students develop and employ their agency in pursuit of their educational goals. the focus is on a demographically diverse group of student leaders. these students come to the university with their particular histories and identities, which * delecia davids is a part-time lecturer in the department of curriculum studies at stellenbosch university, south africa, and an assistant residence head at the academia residence on campus. orcid id: 0000-0002-6008-7238. email: deleciad@sun.ac.za. ** aslam fataar is a professor in the department of education policy studies at stellenbosch university, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-6880-9223. email: afataar@sun.ac.za. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6008-7238 mailto:deleciad@sun.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6880-9223 mailto:afataar@sun.ac.za 78   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 position them in a particular way. over time they establish their agency and identity with respect to their institutional behaviour. archer’s morphogenesis theory (1982) is used in this article to describe the interactions between structure, culture and agency in informing and shaping the student leaders’ behaviour. the contention is that the student leaders develop their agency by “counterpositioning” themselves in their interactions with the institutional culture of residences. they speak back to the institutional culture by establishing their agency within the structural and cultural context of the residences. they do this by constantly evaluating the environmental cues in the residences; they reflect on their default positioning in relation to these cues and then adjust their behavioural responses in pursuit of their academic, social and leadership goals. this article is based on a larger qualitative study investigating the student leaders’ immersion and behavioural adaptation in their residences at su. the analysis presented in this article is based on research done with 15 student leaders in seven selected residences at su. the study employed qualitative methods to understand the experiences of these student leaders in the residences. based on inductive analysis, the two key themes that emerged from the data to form the basis of this article were: (1) environmental cues at work in the residences, and (2) the emergence of the student leaders’ social identity. these themes are utilized to provide a narrative account of the students’ agency-based development practices within their residences. theoretical framework we proceed from the view that universities and their residences are social systems constituted at the intersection between structure and agency (archer, 1982). drawing on archer (1982), this article uses morphogenesis as a theoretical approach to analyse how structural and cultural dimensions interact and shape social practices. morphogenesis is a process that describes the changes in social systems due to the interaction between structure and agent (archer, 1982). this approach is cyclical and consists of three overlapping phases: (i) structural conditioning, (ii) social interaction, and (iii) structural elaboration (archer, 1982). structural conditioning refers to the initial distribution of material goods and cultural qualities and provides the context in which action is conditioned. a particular space can thus constrain or enable the exercise of human agency. social interaction refers to the actions taken by agents within a context not of their own making. if these actions are effective and transformative, structural elaboration occurs, yielding new social possibilities and signalling a new cycle, introducing new conditional influences for future action (and future agency) (archer, 1982). this approach emphasises the bi-directional force that agents and structures exert on one another in producing change. research on student learning in higher education is generally concerned with the morphogenesis of student agency (case, 2015). universities hope, for example, that students “leave higher education with different knowledge and capacity for action than that with which they entered” (case, 2015, p. 843). we consider the possibility of transformation and institutional change at the residence level. delecia davids & aslam fataar: a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency …   79 agential morphogenesis is dependent on the agent’s experience of, and responses to, an institution’s structural and cultural qualities, which are encountered as students experience the university’s lived institutional culture. institutional culture has a subjective dimension, which comprises of shared assumptions, meanings, understandings and values, as well as an objective dimension, including physical artefacts, organisational stories, and rituals and ceremonies. the prevailing institutional culture of a university cannot be seen as isolated from the outside world nor detached from its past (agbedahin & agbedahin, 2019). even though south africa is a democratic nation, the legacy of apartheid still lingers within educational institutions (see hunter, 2019). similarly, south africa’s colonial heritage continues to influence the discourses and behaviour in these tertiary establishments (fomunyam, 2015). although these historical roots cannot account for the entirety of the present institutional culture of any university and residence, they do play a significant role due to their structural and emergent properties. research done on institutional culture in south african universities refers to people’s experiences, especially those of black south africans, as marked by racial undercurrents (higgins, 2007; matthews, 2015; vice, 2015). according to vice (2015) and higgins (2007), this has led to the cultural contexts of higher education institutions being characterized by “whiteness” as normative. however, what these practices of “whiteness” entail has been vague. in addition to critiquing this vagueness, vice also rejects such race-only accounts and calls for exploring the influence of race by also taking into account the impact of the “gender, class, religion and ablebodiedness (and their intersections)” on institutional culture (2015, p. 47). it is in this light that the present article examines how students from various social positionings experience the institutional culture at su residences. the theoretical framework presented above helps us analyse the dynamic relations and formative interactions between the cultural and structural elements of the university’s residences and the students’ developing agency. the institutional culture of su, which is not of the students’ own making, provides the background and basis for the development of differently positioned students’ agency. as they encounter the institution, their social interactions take place in specific settings and relationships. the nature of these social interactions determines the degree to which they can fulfil their educational aspirations. based on this conceptual framework, this article sets out to analyse student leaders’ agential development at their su residences. methodology this article is part of a larger study that focuses on student leaders’ behavioural identities and agency in university residences at su. su accommodates students from diverse backgrounds, with 43% of students being from black, coloured and indian racial backgrounds in 2020, which represents an increase from 36.6% in 2014 (stellenbosch university, 2021). even though access to students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds has increased, the institution still struggles with institutional cultural transformation, characterized by students’ negative experiences at the university (fataar, 2018). 80   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 to understand some of these students’ subjective experiences within their university residences, we employed a qualitative methodology that aligns with the interpretivist paradigm (scotland, 2012). in the context of this study, it was important to select participants who had had the opportunity to develop their agency in a concerted manner over a period of time in the residence. to this end, purposive sampling was employed, as this allowed for the intentional selection of the individuals and sites, in this case, student leaders in residences (creswell, 2012). the participants selected were in the fourth or fifth year of their university studies and had previously served on their residence house committees (hc), which positioned them uniquely at su because of the nature of this elected leadership position. hc members fulfil essential duties within their residences, such as serving on disciplinary structures, involvement in safety measures, and educational and social programming. their primary role focuses on building relations and a sense of community among the residence students, cultivating feelings of belonging and growth. the 15 participants who met the sampling criteria were identified and selected. we chose a diverse group of participants from a range of undergraduate residences. table 1 presents the demographic distribution of the participants: table 1: demographic distribution of participants gender n class n female 6 lower-middle class 4 male 5 middle class 7 queer 4 upper class 1 working class 3 race/ethnicity n home language* n black 5 afrikaans 7 coloured 6 english 7 white 4 isixhosa 1 nationality n university residence type n namibian 1 single-sex female 7 nigerian 1 single-sex male 4 south african 12 mixed 4 zimbabwean 1 the social positioning of students as reflected in the demographic data presented above and their intersectional identities serve as a microcosm of the demographic diversity present at su. this article is based on focus group (fg) discussions with the participants, which allowed us to ascertain individual and shared thoughts, feelings and meanings related to the research questions. each of the four fgs consisted of 4-5 participants. the fgs featured discussions of semi-structured, open-ended questions related to their understandings and delecia davids & aslam fataar: a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency …   81 experiences of belonging, attachment and agency, along with issues of power, privilege and prestige in their residences. music-elicitation techniques were utilized to access participants’ thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions regarding their ways of being in their residences and the university (allett, 2010). the intention was to understand these participants’ actions, intentions and beliefs. before the fgs, students were asked to select a piece of music that illustrated their sense of their journey in residence. they provided a written narrative before the discussion which they shared verbally with the group. the group listened to each song and shared points of resonance with their fellow participants’ experience. these discussions provided rich and nuanced data on various environmental affordances and constraints experienced by the students in their respective residences. the participants’ written narratives and the transcription of the discussions are the article’s primary data sources. when addressing issues of trustworthiness and authenticity as they relate to challenges that may arise because of the researcher’s positionality, it is suggested that researchers need to clarify their biases (buzzanell, 2017). we acknowledge that the selection of questions, choosing whose voices to amplify, and deciding which data to report on would be informed by our (the authors’) own history and culture, as well as experience. this is the case for davids, lead author of the article and master’s student, who previously held the position of hc member, and fataar, who was the supervisor of the study and an academic at the university. to manage and account for potential bias, we adopted a reflexive orientation which involved joint reflection during the data collection and analysis phases, respectively. member checking was also done to ensure that participants had an opportunity to express any concerns about the results. ethical clearance for the study was obtained from stellenbosch university. we used an inductive approach to guide the data analysis. we first read through the data to obtain a general sense of the material. after that, each text segment was coded with reference to the research question and the emerging themes. during coding, we identified topics related to setting and context, perspectives held by participants, their way of thinking about people and objects, processes, activities, strategies and relationships (creswell, 2012). this process was iterative, as each additional set of collected data produced new themes that were useful for understanding the phenomenon. these codes were used to build up themes and descriptions (creswell, 2012). the themes that emerged from this process and the data presented below are based on the environmental cues that act upon students and the emergence of their social identities in the process of exercising their agency in response to these cues. environmental cues at work in the residences this section describes the institutional culture at su’s residences which manifests as environmental cues in two domains: (i) structural and (ii) cultural. institutional culture refers to values, attitudes, practices and shared meanings which become embedded in an institution, even though they may not be explicitly articulated in policy or procedures (matthews, 2015). the deeply entrenched nature of the institutional culture often makes it 82   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 difficult to pinpoint, yet it conveys strong signals to which those who interact within the institution are attuned. from the data, we describe environmental cues that stem from the way that the participants engaged with questions around institutional culture, power and privilege. environmental cues are cues that are in place in the spaces around an individual and notify them of what is happening and how to respond to that occurrence. these cues send signals which are interpreted differently and result in different behavioural responses. (i) structural cues structural cues refer to physical characteristics that can be perceived through the senses. for participants, the names of specific rooms, pictures and words adorning walls in the residences generated specific meanings. the participating student leaders noted that the names of rooms, areas and sections in the residences were predominantly written and verbally referred to in afrikaans. these names were often on plaques on the doors or at the entrances to these spaces. similarly, some students reported that posters and notices put on walls by fellow residents were also mainly in afrikaans. for participants who do not speak afrikaans, these sets of cues convey meanings of not belonging in the space. such an experience was captured by khumalo,1 who said: “as soon as you walk into the space, you’re like, [...], as a person of colour (poc), as a non-afrikaans person you go in there and you’re like, ah, the space is actually not for me”. when it came to photos, participants often described the meanings which they attached to these visual artefacts in terms of the absences that they noticed. for example, when referring to portraits of earlier head students, known at su as a primarius or primaria as well as house photos, which include all the residents of a specific year and are often hung up in the archive rooms of residences, participants commented on the lack of racial representation in these photos. referring to these photos, andrea, for instance, said that “[when] you don’t see people of colour, you’re like, oh, we only came later”. for the participants, the images of head students do not accurately depict the residents’ current demographic diversity. these images communicated a particular perspective on what leadership looked like in the residences. similarly, andrea noted with disappointment that photos of earlier social gatherings included white males but no residents of colour, which sent a signal to her about “who has fun here”. the structural cues discussed above interact directly with the students’ primary agency upon their entry into the residences. such interaction resulted in students questioning their belonging. this did not happen for all students. the students who questioned their belonging did not speak afrikaans as a first language, and they fell into the racial categories of black and coloured. of those who did, both male and female students experienced this questioning of their sense of belonging. the structural cues of the residences thus acted upon these students. the meanings they developed depended on their individual dispositions. these structural cues produced perceived meanings more or less immediately upon participants’ entry into the residences. this contrasts with the cultural cues discussed 1 pseudonyms have been used for all participants to preserve their anonymity. delecia davids & aslam fataar: a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency …   83 below, which had a more protracted impact on students’ cumulative meanings attached to their stay in the residences. (ii) cultural cues cultural cues refer to the “atmosphere” of the residences and include embodied values, implicit understandings and expected behaviours. for the participants, these cues were more difficult to pinpoint and discussions about them were accompanied by a degree of uncertainty, as they sometimes struggled to articulate what they were feeling or how these cues presented themselves. the cultural cues also affected student behaviour more directly. when asking participants to describe the dominant culture of su, sharine responded with “white and afrikaans”. sharine further stated: “i felt inferior in the space in the beginning, especially, you know, because of the way i speak afrikaans, like [...] is it like proper or not”. this statement refers to more than the language. on further probing, sharine explained that she was referring to her perceptions about how her dialect, accent and even vocabulary positioned her in the residence. mbali, a black female student, explained that: if you are a person of colour, or you do not speak afrikaans, or you’re not comfortable speaking afrikaans, [...] you automatically feel like you’re on the back foot within the community. the experiences depicted above demonstrate that students experience discomfort based on the prevailing language usage at the residences. mbali’s phrasing “being on the back foot” illustrates how language positions students within the university community. mbali notes that her residence’s hc attempts to conscientize students in their residence and uses english during activities to ensure that no one feels excluded. but when they had a skakel (the colloquial term for a social interaction with another residence) with a male residence, the language would revert to an “afrikaans narrative” (mbali). this leaves people feeling excluded as “dominant cliques” would form, which creates clear divisions among students based on language, which is often coterminous with race. mbali’s vignette highlights an essential aspect of structural conditioning: the tension between the specificity of residential environments as they induce integrative and differentiating processes within the broader environment of the university. the interaction between the parts and the whole is an important feature of the morphogenetic cycle, as the nature of the tension that exists within the parts themselves, “produces the state of the whole” (archer, 1982, p.  476). the structural conditioning of language (and any other property) can thus have different effects on the positioning of students, depending on how such conditioning manifests in the different residences. these tensions were also evident as students experienced gendered cultural cues which stem from what both male and female participants labelled as a “patriarchal culture” that exists at su. in their experience, this manifested in the form of toxic masculinity, which refers to non-productive and even destructive behaviour of especially cis-gendered, 84   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 heterosexual men. commenting on the interactions during the anti-gender-based violence (gbv) protests in 2019 and around gender issues on campus, lance, a male student at a single-sex men’s residence, noted that men in his residence showed a general “annoyance” when conversations of gender (and race) came up. similarly, carl, a black male student from a single-sex men’s residence, remarked that: the issue that people had [referring to the residents, especially white male residents] with the protest was how it [...], i don’t want to, like call anyone out. but like, it wasn’t valid, we sort of focused on how respectful the people who came to protest were to us, rather than focusing on the issue that was at hand. and i think that’s been a problem in male communities and male spaces. carl’s comment highlights a reluctance to “call people out,” which could be due to his racial positioning in the residence. even though he enjoys male privilege, being black positions him at a disadvantage compared to his white male counterparts. while mbali’s earlier vignette highlights group tensions between different residences because of language and race, carl’s perspective helps us foreground intergroup tensions within one residence, which seem to be due to racial differences. however, the tensions play out concerning the subject of different beliefs around gender. participants who lived in mixed residences seemed to have greater fluidity in their attitudes to the way that gender is understood, expressed and accepted. lionel, a white, queer, male student, reflects on an unexpected encounter with a fellow student who made him feel welcome in the residence even though lionel, on occasion, wore heels and makeup. the acceptance of lionel’s expression of his gender identity by students in his residence came as a surprise to him, because even though many other students expressed their queer identity openly in the residence, there were also “very stereotypical white afrikaans males who were judgmental and apprehensive towards the idea [of expressing a different gender identity than cis-gendered males]” (lionel). lionel’s intersectional identity and privilege associated with being a “white man” are contested due to his expression of his gender identity. similarly, anthony, who also identifies as queer, shared that he could authentically express his gender identity in the residence and felt accepted despite being different. as a black male himself, he also had experiences with other black males who expressed disdain for the way he portrayed himself. the male participants’ engagement with gender cues was determined by their race and gender identification. for the queer participants, gendered cues signalled something about how they go about expressing their personal identity, whether through the choice of clothing or sharing of beliefs. the cis-gendered, heterosexual men encountered resistance in conversation with similarly positioned men due to clashing beliefs about the treatment of women. for the female participants, the gendered cues manifested in a lack of representation of women in positions of power and decision-making more generally at the institution. rufaro commented, for instance, on the lack of female lecturers in the engineering department, while andrea mentioned the lack of female “role models” at the institution. for them, the anti-gbv movement was a collective “calling out” of men’s delecia davids & aslam fataar: a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency …   85 toxic masculinity at su in response to these gendered cues. mbali went as far as to say that participating in the anti-gbv protests “was the first time that i felt it [belonging]” in the larger su community. even though these cues were more prominent for the female participants in the university, exploring them is still significant as such cues influence the potentiality of students’ agency within the micro contexts of the residences. the institution’s history informed the gendered cultural cues along with the behaviours of others. participants responded to these cues by adopting specific behaviours. examples of these behavioural responses were most evident in the cultural cues which participants derived from their class positioning. class differences manifested in the way in which access to money positioned the students and impacted on their behaviour. participants stated that the cost of entertainment or recreational events would be a deciding factor in whether they or other residents would attend or not. rufaro said that “i’m very aware that the price of an event affects the type of people that can attend, obviously, because there are some people that have more dispensable income”. for example, one activity that came up frequently when discussing class differences was the annual house dances of residences. this formal event usually takes place on a wine farm or at the city hall in the town of stellenbosch (su’s location). the dress code for students is formal attire and a three-course meal is one of the night’s highlights. these events cost upwards of zar 600 per person. participants noted that these dances were not generally attended by students who could not afford to pay for the event, mainly students from previously disadvantaged groups. participants also said that students were expected to spend money during informal interactions. examples of such informal interactions included hosting social bonding gatherings that involve those who live on specific floors of their residences and contributing to floor funds that pay for decorations to render spaces more “homey”. even when residences offered some money to attend house dances or offered free tickets for activities in the residences, many students who could not afford to contribute out-ofpocket for these activities opted not to take up the opportunities. depending on how students interpreted these class-based cues, they would decide whether or not to attend these activities. the cultural cues discussed in this section derive from language, race, gender and class and the intersections between them. unlike the structural cues discussed in the previous section, which generated immediately perceived meanings, the meanings associated with the cultural cues developed more slowly over a longer period. the environmental cues do not have a homogenising effect on all residence students. consequently, the cues and resultant behavioural responses signify intragroup and intergroup tensions in the micro contexts of the university. these cues condition but do not determine the potential for agency for the differently positioned students, which means that students are able to mediate between the cues, their behaviour and the outcomes of their specific responses. participants generally selected a course of action aligned with their aspirations and the perceived outcomes of these actions. as archer (2003) explains, these perceptions need not 86   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 be accurate; however, students’ perceptions of these outcomes have a conditioning effect on their behaviours and agency. understanding how environmental cues may condition student behaviour is essential. this allows us to familiarise ourselves with the challenges students face as well as their opportunities as they develop their agency. the section below will outline how students move through critical moments as they develop their emerging social identities in the residence. the emergence of the social identities of the residence student leaders this section describes the adaptation process students undergo as they engage with the environmental cues. it discusses how the participating students’ social identities emerged during their time living in residence. according to archer (2004), an individual gradually acquires a social identity through three developmental processes: primary agency, corporate agency, and becoming social actors. we will discuss each of these processes, starting with their entry into su and ending with their experiences as hc members. students’ social demographics, life histories and motivations for study and pursuing leadership positions in the residences are central to this account. (i) the move from primary agency to corporate agency per archer, all of the participants entered su as primary agents. she uses this concept to refer to a person’s identity or agency as a result, for example, of being born into certain conditions, such as being female or middle-class and having inherited certain forms of cultural capital from parents, that allow these agents to occupy a place of privilege or disadvantage involuntarily (archer, 2004). the participants in this study occupied a variety of positions that have been imposed upon them by society. understanding how students reflect on the positions they were born into is important in accounting for morphogenesis (archer, 2004). to illustrate how the students reflected on their primary agency in the residences, we turn to shaun, a coloured, queer student who lived in a mixed-sex residence. reflecting on his initial sense of belonging, he said: “you know, for someone like me as a poc. i obviously didn’t feel that [belonging] once i got there [into the residence] immediately”. similarly to shaun, students used socio-demographic descriptors of race, language, gender and class as validation of their experiences. participants thus showed consciousness of their primary identity and hyper-awareness that their experience may be different from those who are positioned in another way. even though the environmental cues could constrain the development of their agency, all of the participants in this study moved from primary agency to corporate agency. the latter term refers to how students were able to formulate goals and actively organise to achieve these goals. archer explains aptly: only those who are aware of what they want can articulate it to themselves and others, and have organised in order to obtain it, can engage in concerted action to reshape or retain the structural and/or cultural features in question. these are termed corporate agents. (2004, p. 265) delecia davids & aslam fataar: a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency …   87 shaun and anthony’s accounts of their educational pursuits demonstrates such concerted action. they were born into families who could not afford to pay for tertiary education, yet they defied the odds and overcame great struggles to pursue tertiary studies. shaun “always had this dream of coming to stellenbosch university”. he grew up in kuilsriver and attended a no-fee high school in the area. in his final year of high school a teacher helped shaun to apply to a different university in the province. after realising that this teacher had not, in fact, completed the application, shaun and his mother went to this university, where an administrator shattered his dreams by telling him that he would “never be accepted to any university with those marks”. shaun opted to take an unplanned gap year, during which he applied to su and got accepted. his father’s boss gifted him his registration fee of zar 10 000 and he later secured a scholarship for his undergraduate studies. shaun realised his dream through perseverance and support from family and his community. perseverance and resilience became key to his university journey. anthony is of the view that “i honestly think that stellenbosch university chose me”. anthony grew up in a township in strand and lived with his mother, a domestic worker. he comes from a large family of 12 siblings. anthony attended a muslim high school college in the area, which exposed him to cultural diversity. after matriculating, he worked at a supermarket to assist his mother with household expenses and support his sister’s schooling. he decided to attend su in pursuit of studies that would give him economic independence later in life. he managed to interact with his peers and lecturers, and the university’s support infrastructure gave him confidence and a single-minded focus during his university studies. these two short biographies illustrate how students transformed their primary agency into corporate agency in the course of seeing through their decision to pursue tertiary education. through the interaction with family, friends and mentors, they have become transformed. however, participants’ corporate agency was not limited to their achieving academic goals but also towards their becoming in other spheres of university life. helen, who grew up in paarl and identifies as queer, shared that her primaria inspired her approach to university. during orientation, the primaria shared that “university is about getting more than a degree”. helen thus aspired to grow in many aspects of her life during her time at su, while always wanting to remain true to herself. mbali entered su with many fears, especially related to being away from home for long periods. after entering su, she felt those fears diminish as a result of her residence community. her welcoming experience translated into her motivation for pursuing student leadership, as she wanted other students of colour to also experience the same kind of acceptance and inclusion. helen and mbali’s experiences are examples of how the interaction with others helps with transforming primary agents into corporate agents. each participant had at least one story where they reflected on the influence of senior residence students, staff members, mentors or hc members who inspired them to become involved in residence activities or supported them in doing so. these parties are corporate agents who, in serving the house through their various positional and non-positional roles, became catalysts in the participants’ moving from primary agency towards corporate agency. thus, group elaboration was achieved, yielding increased corporate agency (archer, 2004). 88   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 the result was that participants opted to participate in residence sports teams, cultural activities such as su choral acapella group, and joined organising committees. immersion in these activities was in direct contrast to the messaging that these cues conveyed. all the poc students became involved in managerial and leadership activities, even though they saw little racial representation in leadership. by merely representing people of colour, or queer bodies on student leadership structures, these participants redefined who could aspire to such positions. similarly, they went against the residence cues’ representations of “who has fun here” (andrea). they opted to attend events and participate in activities where they could contribute to the residence and have fun with others. their ability to actively pursue their aspirations with assistance from others may be why they were able to resist and “speak back” to these environmental cues. this then demonstrates “double morphogenesis”, which refers to how these residence-based students become corporate agents who pursued selfdirected goals, which in turn impacted on and transformed their residence culture. the article now looks at these hc roles in order to describe how participants moved from corporate agency to become social actors. (ii) becoming social actors a social actor is someone who can personify a social role in which one’s personal identity can be fully expressed (case, 2015). the social role in question here is that of an hc member in a residence, who holds a position of responsibility and influence, with the power to constrain or enable. becoming a social actor requires mediation between the personal and social identities of the individual (archer, 2004). the first move towards becoming a social actor takes place when the personal identity continues to hold sway over the social identity (archer, 2004). here students use their previous experiences from their life histories and experience as spectators in the residence to make their initial role choices. all of the students in this study chose to avail themselves of the social role of hc member, an elected leadership position in the residence, which shows that they made the first move towards becoming a social actor. when they were elected, they had the choice to experiment in order to make the role their own, which is referred to as “personification” (archer, 2004). during this experimentation, the emerging social identity impacts on the emerging personal identity (archer, 2004); students experiment and then reflexively evaluate this experience. for the participants in this study, this seemed to be the most challenging stage of becoming a social actor. this experimentation was met with resistance from peers in the residences. anthony explains that: i regard myself as a futurist, as an agent for change, as a voice to those who don’t have a voice. i don’t want anyone to experience what i had in my first year. so, my role is to sort of be the torch there at the end of the tunnel. but that is sort of met with a lot of resistance. anthony’s initially hesitant persona in his hc role translated into developing an emerging social identity as an “agent of change”. his description of his role as a torch bearer shows a level of personification that comes up against resistance from those who want to maintain delecia davids & aslam fataar: a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency …   89 the status quo in the residences. similarly, andrea recalls a painful incident during her leadership term as primaria: there was a lot of negative things [said] about me as a prim. how i’m not representing moonlight2 residence, how dare i make this decision on behalf of moonlight residence? the house wanted this, why did you decide this for the house? and just that animosity, as like i should have jumped in with this tradition. i shouldn’t speak on behalf of moonlight because i can’t represent the voices when some of us don’t agree. yeah, i felt very alone in that moment. but i knew i did the right thing. andrea’s experience highlights the nature of the resistance that students faced while occupying and experimenting with the hc roles, and the tension between her wanting to make the role her own and her house members’ expectations about what she is allowed to do in the role. for andrea, knowing that “i did the right thing” was important. this shows that she reflected on her actions, how others perceived them, and what she ultimately took from this experience. such a perspective aligns with archer’s view that experimentation in the making of the hc role impacts on participants’ identities as they learn more about themselves and their capabilities, and adapt in response to this learning (archer, 2004). all of the students in this study embarked on transforming at least one practice, tradition or view in their residences as they occupied their hc role and were met with resistance. this made the move onto the third stage of becoming a social actor more difficult for students, but they persevered regardless. when students overcome the challenges that emerge during experimentation, they move to the third moment which entails synthesis of the personal and social identities (archer, 2004); students have to decide how much they will put into the role. lionel describes his student leadership journey as a “bittersweet duality”. he explains that: student leadership, although it gave me a very good time in my life, it gave me a purpose. it gave me the kind of satisfaction and fulfilment and it gave me drive to work with people, to resonate with people to be a representation for, you know, the first year coming in not knowing anyone, and being scared of being queer, being openly queer […] at the same time also having this situation be extremely taxing on myself, on my mental health. lionel’s honesty and vulnerability prompted other students in his focus group also to share their struggles of finding a healthy balance of mind and body in meeting the demands of student leadership. in students’ pursuit of realising the potential of the hc role and achieving a synthesis between personal and social identities, their experiences demonstrated sacrifice. anthony explains that: well, i haven’t graduated yet because of the many sacrifices but i don’t regret any of that. i did doubt myself as to why i made certain decisions. but in hindsight, when i look back at where the community is, at what we managed to achieve for people of colour in this space […], i am proud that i was part of a narrative, of a vision, of a group that that was steering for, for actual and tangible transformation. 2 pseudonyms have been used in reference to residence names to further preserve participant anonymity. 90   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 77-91 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 for these students, the sacrifices made in the name of student leadership paid off, yet at some cost to other aspects of their lives. this is archetypal of social actors who have been able to make decisions about their concerns and how they prioritise sometimes competing concerns, such as academic achievement versus leadership success. these students thus have emerged as social actors over the time spent in their residences. they achieved this by mediating between their aspirations, dispositions and goals, and the expectations of their hc role. through experimentation and reflection, they succeeded in making the hc roles their own. they did this despite experiencing some environmental cues as constraining and in the face of resistance from peers. conclusion this article offers a situated account of morphogenesis at work at the institutional level of su’s residences. it offers a perspective that residences are important contexts in which student’s adaptive behaviour and leadership response sets are displayed. this article contributes to elaborations on how structure, culture and agency influence the students’ being and becoming within university residences (barnett, 2009). the study employed the theoretical lenses of morphogenesis to offer an account of student leaders’ experiences. the institutional culture of the residences condition students’ perceptions of, and behavioural responses towards, environmental cues, which are structural and cultural. the environmental cues at higher education institutions in south africa have been characterized by “whiteness” (vice, 2015; higgins, 2007). the accounts from the participants showed that these cues were constraining, as they intersected with race, language, class and gender. regardless, participants developed defiant behavioural responses and spoke back to the institution in the ways in which they developed their agency-orientated practices. in terms of students’ agency, they could transform from their primary agency at the start of their university journey into social actors. by the end of their leadership term, they had enacted practices that brought about change with respect to greater inclusiveness at their residences. the student leaders thus became change agents in their residences and the broader university. becoming change agents within the residences was not an easy task, as students faced both personal and environmental challenges along this journey. the environmental challenges came in the form of cues that signalled the conditioning of students’ behaviours and senses of belonging. these cues interacted with students’ identity and positioning, and students developed behavioural responses to these cues by counter-positioning themselves, that is, intentionally going against the messaging of the environmental cues. they did this by becoming involved in residence activities. through this initial involvement, they began becoming effective social actors through experimenting with various roles that aligned with their goals. the success of these endeavours propelled them into pursuing positional student leadership, which gave them the space for further exploration that in turn allowed them to integrate their emerging personal and social identities. delecia davids & aslam fataar: a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency …   91 references agbedahin, k., & agbedahin, a. (2019). south african university history: challenges and the danger of a masquerade of transformation. in k. fomunyam (ed.), decolonising higher education in the era of globalisation and internationalisation (pp. 207-230). sun press. allett, n. (2010). sounding out: using music elicitation in qualitative research. ncrm working paper series 14/01. university of michigan. retrieved from http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2871/1/0410_music_ elicitation.pdf archer, m. (1982). morphogenesis versus structuration: on combining structure and action. the british journal of sociology, 33(4), 455-483. archer, m. (2003). structure, agency and the internal conversation. cambridge university press. archer, m. (2004). being human: the problem of agency. cambridge university press. barnett, r. (2009). knowing and becoming in the higher education curriculum. studies in higher education, 34(4), 429-440. buzzanell, p. (2017). interpretive research. in a. mike (ed.), the sage encyclopedia of communication research methods (pp. 795-797). sage publications, inc. case, j. (2015). a social realist perspective on student learning in higher education: the morphogenesis of agency. higher education research & development, 34(5), 841-852. creswell, j. (2012). educational research: planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. pearson education. fataar, a. (2018). placing students at the centre of the decolonizing education imperative: engaging the (mis)recognition struggles of students at the postapartheid university. educational studies: a journal of the american education studies association, 54(3), 1-14. fomunyam, k. (2015). theorising decolonisation, globalisation and internationalisation in higher education. in p. tabensky & s. matthews (eds.), being at home: race, institutional culture and transformation at south african higher education institutions (pp. 12-29). university of kwazulu-natal press. higgins, j. (2007). institutional culture as a keyword. review of higher education in south africa. council on higher education. retrieved from http://www.che.ac.za/documents/d000081/index.php. hunter, m. (2019). race for education: gender, white tone, and schooling in south africa. international african institute & cambridge university press (the international african library). matthews, s. (2015). white privilege and institutional culture at south african higher education institutions. in p. tabensky & s. matthews (eds.), being at home: race, institutional culture and transformation at south african higher education institutions (pp. 72-95). university of kwazulu-natal press. scotland, j. (2012). exploring the philosophical underpinnings of research: relating ontology and epistemology to the methodology and methods of the scientific, interpretive, and critical research paradigms. english language teaching, 5(9), 9-16. su (stellenbosch university). (2021). statistical profile. http://www.sun.ac.za/english/statistical-profile-2014test#:~:text=in%202018%2c%2058.1%25%20of%20enrolled,%25%20other%20(international)%20 languages. vice, s. (2015). ‘feeling at home’. institutional culture and the idea of a university. in p. tabensky & s. matthews (eds.), being at home: race, institutional culture and transformation at south african higher education institutions (pp. 45-71). university of kwazulu-natal press. how to cite: davids, d., & fataar, a. (2022). a morphogenesis account of student leaders’ development of their agency in their undergraduate residences at stellenbosch university. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 77-91. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3526 http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2871/1/0410_music_elicitation.pdf http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2871/1/0410_music_elicitation.pdf http://www.che.ac.za/documents/d000081/index.php _hlk76546380 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196   47 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences of international students at two universities in nigeria olaide agbaje* & chika sehoole** abstract attracting, recruiting and retaining international students should be balanced with the need to provide support for the smooth transition of these students into their host countries and institutions. one way to achieve this transition is by bridging the gap between international students’ expectations and actual realities. hence, this article examines the impact that the expectations and the realities of studying abroad have on the overall transition experiences of international students in nigeria. the study adopted a mixed method and employed schlossberg’s theory of transition to further understand the phenomenon of transition with regard to international students. paper questionnaires were collected from 64 international students at two universities in nigeria, while a subset of 20 (10 from each university) was further interviewed. the findings indicate that unmet expectations contributed largely to difficult transition experiences for the international students in nigeria. keywords international students’ experiences, higher education, university, transition, expectations, realities introduction the increasing demand for international education has brought about intensified efforts by higher education institutions to attract students from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds around the world. however, attracting, recruiting and retaining international students should be balanced with the need to provide support for their smooth transition into their host countries and institutions. one way to achieve this is by bridging the gap between international students’ expectations and their actual realities. it is natural for international students to check and cross-check their higher education experience by appraising the ways in which their institutions meet their expectations. as adediran and coetzee (2019, p. 3) argue, if they cannot be surpassed, international students’ expectations should at least be met. * dr olaide agbaje is a postdoctoral research fellow at the ali mazrui centre for higher education studies at the university of johannesburg and a part-time lecturer in the department of education management and policy studies at the university of pretoria, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-4263-6555. email: laidestar@yahoo.com ** professor chika sehoole is a professor of higher education and the dean of the faculty of education at the university of pretoria, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0001-8087-4258. email: chika.sehoole@up.ac.za mailto:laidestar@yahoo.com mailto:chika.sehoole@up.ac.za 48   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 several studies (agbeniga, 2016; kritz, 2015; sehoole & lee, 2015; woldegiorgis & doevenspeck, 2015) have examined students’ reasons for choosing certain international study destinations. these include funding/scholarship opportunities, quality of education, living conditions and job prospects in the host country. from the viewpoint of developed countries, researchers have reported on the challenges faced by international students in their new study environments (ashton-hay, 2016; bamford, 2008; calikoglu, 2018, p. 440; leong, 2015; lillyman & bennett, 2014; yin, 2013; zhang, 2016). however, studies that report on the experiences of international students in africa are limited (agbeniga, 2017). the university education system of nigeria is one of the largest and oldest in africa. from one university in 1948 to five universities in 1962 and 171 universities (44 federal, 48 state and 79 private universities) in 2020 (varrella, 2020), the nigerian university sector has witnessed a rapid expansion in response to the growing population. the rapid expansion began in the 1990s when the nigerian government approved the establishment of private universities; before then, the university sector was dominated by public universities. private universities (two thirds of which have religious affiliations) grew from three in 1999 to 68 in 2017, and account for 45% of the total number of universities in the country (world education news & reviews, 2017). the nigerian university system is often confronted by long-standing problems such as underfunding, corruption, poor planning and implementation, diminishing research culture, industrial actions, poor teaching and learning outcomes (iruonagbe et al. 2015). in spite of the growing number of universities in nigeria, the number of international students in the country is meagre, compared to some african countries such as south africa and egypt (agbeniga, 2017). there is a paucity of data on inbound international students and their experiences, even though some studies have explored the outbound movement of nigerians undertaking studies in other countries (madichie & madichie, 2013; robert-okah, 2015). to the best of our knowledge no studies have investigated the transition experiences of inbound international students in nigeria. this lack of literature posed a major limitation to this study. a gap which this study hopes to fill. the two nigerian universities chosen for this study were the university of ibadan (ui) (public) and covenant university (cu) (private), both located in south-west nigeria. these two institutions were carefully chosen based on their institutional ranking. the university of ibadan (ui) is the premiere university in nigeria, fondly referred to as the “first and the best”. it is currently the best public university in nigeria and the 18th best university in africa, according to webometrics ranking of 2020. covenant university (cu), a faith-based university, is the best private university in nigeria and the 22nd best university in africa according to webometrics 2020 (world university rankings, 2020). this article investigates the impact that prior expectations have on the transition experiences of international students studying at two nigerian universities. the following sections discuss evidence from the literature on international students in africa, as well as schlossberg’s theory of transition, which was adopted as a lens to examine the transition experiences of international students in nigeria. https://www.webometrics.info/en/africa https://www.webometrics.info/en/africa olaide agbaje & chika sehoole: expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences …   49 international students in africa recruiting international students has been at the forefront of educational discourse in some african countries and institutions. south africa and egypt attract the highest number of inbound international students in africa (sehoole & lee, in press). south africa remains the most popular african destination for internationally mobile students across the globe (lee & sehoole, 2015; majee & ress, 2020). in north africa, egypt accounts for the highest number of international students, particularly from the north african region and the middle east (marei, 2018). in west africa, countries like ghana, nigeria and senegal account for a considerable number of international students from the region. in east africa, international students find uganda and kenya to be viable study destinations (kiiza, 2019). in spite of the significant efforts of some african countries in recruiting international students, very few studies have explored the experiences of inbound international students. a study conducted by adediran and coetzee (2019, p. 1) investigated the service expectations and the real service experienced by 325 international students at a university of technology in south africa. findings revealed that the overall quality of service delivery offered to international students at the university was poor; students’ expectations were not met in the areas of academic support, accommodation, quality of education and infrastructure for leisure activities. consequently, institutions must ensure that the gap between expectation and reality is largely bridged, as the effect of a mismatch between expectations and reality could be devastating. similarly, positive experiences will emanate from met or surpassed expectations. transition theory schlossberg’s theory of transition was adopted as the theoretical framework for this study. first propounded by nancy schlossberg in 1981 to analyse how humans adapt to transition, particularly in the context of psychology, the theory has since undergone some developments to analyse transition to other contexts, such as higher education. transition refers to any event or non-event that results in changed roles, relationships, routines and assumptions (goodman et al., 2006, p. 33). according to schlossberg (2011), the first step in dealing with change is to understand the different types of transition, namely anticipated, unanticipated and non-event transitions. anticipated transitions are expected life events, such as getting married, unanticipated transitions are disruptive events that happen unexpectedly, such as a life-threatening illness, while non-event transitions are the life events that are expected but fail to occur, such as not getting married. transition theory (schlossberg, 1989) can be used to understand the experiences of higher education students and to accommodate these through a variety of responses in their transition processes. international students experience various changes when studying in an unfamiliar context. in the context of this study, these transition experiences hinge largely on whether the transition was anticipated, unanticipated or a non-event. nonetheless, schlossberg (2011) argues that it is not the transition itself or the type of transition experienced that matters most, rather it is the way one responds to it. how 50   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 international students cope with transition is influenced by four aspects of transition otherwise known as the four s’s – situation, self, support and strategies (schlossberg, 2011). the first ‘s’, situation, has to the do with the variables that trigger transition, such as undertaking international study and the duration of the transition, which can be temporary, permanent, or uncertain. the second ‘s’, self, refers to a person’s personal, psychological and demographic characteristics, including gender, age, country of origin and socio-economic status, while psychological characteristics include spirituality, ego and selfesteem. the third ‘s’, support, refers to the level of help an individual receives from family, friends, the community, or even relationships in the transition process, which influences an individual’s ability to respond to transition appropriately. the fourth ‘s’, strategy, is the specific method adopted by an individual to cope with transition; while some individuals modify the situation, some control the meaning of the problem, and others devise ways to manage stress (evans et al., 2010). chickering and schlossberg (1995) argue that students’ perceptions largely determine the negativity or positivity of their transition experiences. similarly, we argue that international students’ transition experiences are a function of their met or unmet expectations. schlossberg’s theory of transition is useful in understanding how prior expectations and actual realities influence the transition of the international students in nigeria. moreover, the four aspects of transition shed light on the complexities involved in the way transition experiences differ from one individual to another. methodology this study adopted a mixed method research approach to address the following research question: to what extent do the expectations and the realities of studying in nigeria impact on the transition experiences of international students? both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in order to obtain comprehensive responses or data. four criteria guided the selection of the participants/respondents: (1) they had to be registered as international students, (2) enrolled in a full undergraduate or postgraduate course, (3) able to communicate in english, and (4) have completed at least one semester. the total number of international students at ui at the time of this research was estimated by the office of international programmes as around 400, with reportedly 30 international students at cu. quantitatively, a total population sample was used so that all international students at both universities would potentially complete the questionnaire, given that the total population of international students in both universities is fairly small. a structured and tested paper questionnaire was administered to 110 international students at the two universities (80 questionnaires at ui and 30 at cu). of these, a total of 64 questionnaires were completed and retrieved from both universities (42 from ui and 22 from cu). qualitatively, a subset of 20 international students (10 from each university) was interviewed for qualitative analysis through semi-structured, one-on-one interaction. each interview lasted an average of 45 minutes and was recorded with the consent of the participants, who were purposefully selected using snowball sampling. in addition, relevant institutional documents were consulted to substantiate the data. the questionnaire was olaide agbaje & chika sehoole: expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences …   51 useful in gathering biographical data from the respondents, as well as basic responses on their prior expectations and the reality of studying in nigeria, while the interview provided more detailed responses on how prior expectations and actual realities influenced the participants’ transition experiences. qualitative data were manually transcribed and emailed to all the participants for member checking, after which they were analysed using thematic analysis. the quantitative data were analysed using ibm spss statistics version 24. background data on the questionnaire respondents this subsection gives an overview of the background characteristics of the 64 international students who completed the questionnaire at the two universities. these characteristics include region of origin, gender and the first languages of the respondents. table 1: frequency showing the gender, type of degree, first language, region of origin and residence of the respondents at the private and the public university university total private university public university gender female count 7 14 21 expected count 7.2 13.8 21.0 % within university 31.8% 33.3% 32.8% standardised residual -.1 .1 male count 15 28 43 expected count 14.8 28.2 43.0 % within university 68.2% 66.7% 67.2% standardised residual .1 .0 total count 22 42 64 expected count 22.0 42.0 64.0 % within university 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 52   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 university total private university public university first language english count 16 8 24 expected count 8.3 15.8 24.0 % within university 72.7% 19.0% 37.5% standardised residual 2.7 -2.0 french count 2 23 25 expected count 8.6 16.4 25.0 % within university 9.1% 54.8% 39.1% standardised residual -2.2 1.6 other count 4 11 15 expected count 5.1 9.8 14.9 % within university 18.2% 26.2% 23.4% standardised residual -.6 .4 total count 22 42 64 expected count 22.0 42.0 64.0 % within university 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% region west africa count 10 32 42 expected count 14.4 27.6 42.0 % within university 45.5% 76.2% 65.6% standardised residual -1.2 .8 east africa count 2 9 11 expected count 3.8 7.2 11.0 % within university 9.1% 21.4% 17.2% standardised residual -.9 .7 southern africa count 5 1 6 expected count 2.1 3.9 6.0 % within university 22.7% 2.4% 9.4% standardised residual 2.0 -1.5 other count 5 0 5 expected count 1.7 3.3 5.0 % within university 22.7% 0.0% 7.8% standardised residual 3.5 -2.5 total count 22 42 64 expected count 22.0 42.0 64.0 % within university 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% olaide agbaje & chika sehoole: expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences …   53 of the international student population that completed the questionnaire, 67.2% were male (n = 43) which was twice the percentage of female students, at 32.8% (n = 21). a further breakdown of the total population reveals seven females and 15 males at the private university compared to 14 females and 28 males at the public university. the gender composition of the international students at both universities was not reported to have had any impact on their transition experiences. at both universities, 39.1% (n = 25) of the respondents spoke french, closely followed by 37.5% (n = 24) who spoke english, while the remaining 23.4% (n = 15) reportedly spoke eleven other first languages. at the private university, more respondents than were expected had english as a first language (observed 16, expected 8.3), while fewer were french speaking (observed 2, expected 8.6). at the public university, fewer respondents than expected had english as a first language (observed eight, expected 15.8), while more had french (observed 23, expected 16.4). due to the heterogenic nature of the respondents’ countries of origin (23 countries were reported), the countries were grouped into regions (see table 1). table 1 indicates 42 international students from west africa (suggesting a phenomenon of regionalisation), 11 from east africa and six from southern africa, while the remaining five were from outside africa (two from europe and three from the usa). table 2 below shows how international students’ expectations matched their actual realities across the two universities. table 2: a cross tabulation showing if international students’ expectations matched their realities of studying in nigeria university total private university public university did your expectation of nigeria prior to studying here match the actual reality? yes count 11 15 26 expected count 8.9 17.1 26.0 % within university 50.0% 35.7% 40.6% standardised residual .7 -.5 no count 11 27 38 expected count 13.1 24.9 38.0 % within university 50.0% 64.3% 59.4% standardised residual -.6 .4 total count 22 42 64 expected count 22.0 42.0 64.0 % within university 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% of the 64 respondents who completed the questionnaire at both universities, 40.6% (n = 26) reported that their expectations were met by the reality, as opposed to 59.4% (n = 38) who reported a mismatch. concerning the findings per university, 50% of the international students at the private university had their expectations met while the expectations of the remaining 50% were not. at the public university, only 35.7% of the international students 54   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 had their expectations met, while 64.3% did not. accordingly, the number of those who experienced a mismatch between their expectations and reality exceeded those whose expectations were matched by reality. however, fisher’s exact test showed no significant difference between the two universities (p-value = 0.296). interview results the interview participants originated from 12 anglophone and francophone african countries namely, mali, zambia, kenya, benin republic, cameroon, ghana, western sahara, niger republic, south africa, cote d’ivoire, togo, and zimbabwe (see table 3 below). the participants comprised 15 males and five females and had spent between one and four years in nigeria. while all the interview participants from ui were postgraduate students studying on scholarships, all those from cu were undergraduate students on either a scholarship or self-funded. regarding the gender make up of questionnaire respondents, having more male participants than females was purely random: the first 20 participants who showed willingness and availability were interviewed. table 3: total number of interviewees and their countries of origin country of origin number of interviewees mali 3 zambia 3 kenya 2 benin republic 2 cameroon (anglophone) 2 ghana 2 western sahara 1 niger republic 1 south africa 1 cote d’ivoire 1 togo 1 zimbabwe 1 total 20 the participants will be referred to as s1 to s20 to maintain the ethical protocol of anonymity. five of the participants alluded to their expectations meeting the actual realities of studying in nigeria while 15 reported a mismatch between their expectations and realities. hence, three themes – met expectations, unmet expectations and recommendations from the international students – emanated from this study, as subsequently discussed. olaide agbaje & chika sehoole: expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences …   55 met expectations twenty-five per cent of the participants at the two universities indicated that their expectations prior to studying in nigeria matched the actual realities. these students appraised their decision to study in nigeria as satisfactory. one of the most prevalent expectations was an improvement in their english language skills. however, this expectation was peculiar to the french-speaking international students at ui, who in addition to obtaining a degree in nigeria hoped to acquire english language proficiency. for example, participant s3 from cote d’ivoire, a french-speaking country, relayed his expectation as follows: “i was expecting that on getting to nigeria, i should get my phd and also be able to speak fluently in english.” at the time of conducting this interview, he was happy that his expectation had generally been met, indicating that, “… even though my english is not perfect but i can at least communicate”. this expectation regarding language was corroborated by participant s4 from benin republic, another french-speaking country, who said, “i am in nigeria because i want to improve my english. before coming, i could not speak english at all, i learnt it here in nigeria”. when asked if her expectation was met she responded, “i am experiencing what i expected”. in addition, the students in this study were happy with the higher standard of education in nigeria than in their home countries. for example, participant s10 from western sahara stated: in terms of academics, research and ranking, the university of ibadan is better than all the universities in my country. so, i was happy before even coming here and i saw what i was expecting in terms of the level of education, lecturers and the environment. similarly, participant s7 from mali mentioned that he did not have adequate knowledge of the academics at ui prior to studying in nigeria, but that he expected a good standard of education at least. he was subsequently impressed by the quality of education and research offered at ui: when i came, one of the things i discovered was that nigeria was far ahead of mali and other west african countries in terms of academics, research, scientific research and other things. the participants at cu also attested to the quality of education offered by the university. for instance, participant s20, prior to arriving in nigeria, knew that he would be attending a university that places a premium on spirituality, and so he was expecting to benefit spiritually from his affiliation to cu and at the same time excel academically. comparing the standard of education in his home country to that at cu, he admitted that cu was of a higher standard than universities in togo. we don’t have this kind of standard university in togo, even the private universities there cannot match up with covenant university. 56   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 unmet expectations seventy-five per cent of the interview participants at the two universities indicated that their expectations prior to studying in nigeria did not match the actual reality. one area of unmet expectations that stands out from the responses of participants at both universities was the lack of teaching and learning resources, infrastructure and technology. according to the participants at ui, they had expected the university, with its claim to be “the first and the best”, to be better equipped with the resources and technology needed for their respective courses. similarly, the international students at cu were disappointed that the university was not aware of advances in certain resources and technology, in spite of its ‘vision 10:2022’ to become one of the top ten universities in the world by the year 2022. this unmet expectation is articulated thus by participant s3: one thing i do not like about ui is the lack of resources for my course. as a geographer, i need to use some software like gis and laboratory equipment but there is nothing in the lab even though i paid for it. participant s4 from zambia expressed the same sentiment: i expected high standards of learning in terms of good infrastructure, learning, technology and a conducive environment for me to learn in. another aspect of unmet expectations was the academic demands in nigeria. the participants at cu in particular complained of a heavy academic workload which hampered other aspects of their student life. a review of the cu student handbook (pp. 6-8) indicates that the university places a premium on the “the total man concept” which takes students through various rigorous programmes (academically, spiritually, entrepreneurially etc.). this disappointment was exemplified by participant s12 from cameroon, who was not expecting the heavy academic workload she had to deal with: i got to meet a system that is purely academic, something i will refer to as a high school in my home country. i felt like i was taking a step back in time, going back to what i did in high school … the academic pressure is really much. to get a clear sense of the academic workload in nigeria, participant s16 from south africa explained that university students in her country usually do eight modules or courses per semester, attending only four in each semester. participant s14 reiterated how stressful the academic workload in nigeria could be by explaining that his friend from his home country, zambia, who was studying the same programme in china, only had to do five courses in a semester while he (participant s14) did 14. these students also mentioned that they had too many classes to attend in a day, which prevented them from having free time to spend on other activities. apart from being disappointed with the large amount of academic work they had to deal with, the international students were also not happy with the universities’ integration efforts. when asked whether her expectations matched reality, participant s16 from south olaide agbaje & chika sehoole: expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences …   57 africa stated: “i had thought that i would feel more welcomed and i didn’t. i still don’t”. she explained that she had had a difficult transition which made her very unhappy, and she was longing to go home. her feelings were echoed by participant s13, who said: once the university knows that an international student is coming in, an orientation should be organised for that student. i never had such orientation. the international students at ui, on the other hand, felt more welcomed than their cu counterparts. however, a few of them also mentioned they did not receive proper orientation to aid their integration and found it difficult settling into their host institution. for example, when asked whether his expectations were met with regard to feeling welcomed and well-integrated, participant s1 replied: no, i am a man, and i won’t lie to you. the integration will be easy if someone can help you. they [university staff and local students] are not helpful. the responses elicited from the international students at ui indicated that those from francophone countries had a more difficult transition. they were disappointed with the absence of well-structured english classes to help french-speaking students adjust. the admission policy of the two universities states that “a credit pass in english language is compulsory for all courses” (the university of ibadan calendar, 2018, p.  2; covenant university student handbook, 2019-2022, p. 54), but it is not clear whether international students are exempt from this requirement. recommendations from the international students the international students made salient recommendations on how their universities could bridge the gap between their expectations before studying in nigeria and the realities they encountered. they believe that these recommendations could assist international students to transition smoothly into the host country and the host institution. several recommendations were made but we elaborate only on the two most commonly mentioned. first, the participants at the two universities longed for an appreciable level of assistance from the universities, which they believed would go a long way in assisting their transition. participant s10 from western sahara succinctly stated: an international student expects some level of assistance to be well integrated into the university system and might be frustrated if there is no assistance. such student will be eager to return to their country. if international students lack the right support from the university it can lead to a difficult transition. as participant s19 said: the university should be more interested in international students, which is something that is really lacking when we were transitioning … they did not really show interest in us. if the university showed us care, our transition would be quite easier. 58   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 when asked about the specifics of assistance the international students expected from the university, accommodation topped the list for participants at both universities. the students expected their accommodation to be a priority for university authorities, in view of the amount they paid in fees compared to local students. another area of assistance was with the registration process; the participants relayed how daunting the largely manual registration process was. they also believed that orientation and follow-up from the university would add to their experience. the international students at cu also expected to receive some level of assistance from the university with regard to visa processes. second, the participants recommended that the universities provide adequate online information to provide prospective international students with a better sense of what to expect in the host country and at the institution. having an idea of the rules and regulations in the host institution and the challenges they might face would have enabled them to come prepared and alleviated their shock upon arrival. for example, one of the rules in the cu student handbook (p. 67) states: “no student is allowed to possess or use mobile phones or any other gadgets or devices that are capable of placing and receiving calls on campus within or outside the halls of residence. mda/pda devices with sims are not allowed for use in the university”. the handbook also stipulates that students could make use of the university telephone services located within and outside the halls of residence. however, the students claimed that such vital information was missing from the university’s website and was not communicated to them by the office of international linkages (oip) prior to leaving their home countries, thus leading to international students being caught unawares upon arrival. expressing her disappointment while also making recommendations, participant s12 from cameroon explicitly stated: i would like that administrators see to it that the online information about the university is authentic and detailed. before students leave their countries to come here, they should have a good idea of what they will need and what they will see, so that we are able to adjust well. the international office and linkages should be available to communicate with international students while they are still home, so that they can come here ready … particularly in covenant university, it should be clearly stated on the online platform, for example, that students are not allowed to communicate with a phone when they get here. similarly, the international students at ui pointed out the importance of information for their transition experience. for example, they would not have been so shocked by the erratic power supply in nigeria if they had been informed about the issue before arriving. participant s8 from mali mentioned: the first thing [recommendation] is light, we don’t have light. if someone had told me before coming that there is no constant power supply in nigeria, i would have doubted it. the international students at ui did not take the issue of electricity lightly, especially because they were postgraduate students engaged in research that was time-sensitive and they needed to work on their computers. moreover, considering that the ui participants olaide agbaje & chika sehoole: expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences …   59 were on scholarships, they viewed the intermittent power supply as an impediment to completing their studies within the time stipulated by their scholarship conditions. participant s7 therefore recommended that “they [the university] can provide generator in a special hostel for international students and include it in the bill”. other recommendations made by the international students included an avenue for international students to be recognized at the university such as the establishment of an “international students’ day”. they also recommended a well-structured english language programme for students whose first language is not english. discussion and conclusion the findings of this study highlight that international students have a number of expectations of their study experience prior to leaving their home countries. positive or negative transition experiences of international students depend on their met or unmet expectations, which schlossberg (2011) refers to as an anticipated transition. schulmann and choudaha (2014) argue that a relationship exists between students’ expectations of their host institutions and the realities they experience, which consequently determine their transition process. in line with o’neil and palmer (2004), international students regard studying abroad as an investment and thus compare their expectations with actual reality to determine the success of this venture. based on the findings of this study, academic experience is one of the most important factors in the overall experiences of international students. marei (2018) and wadhwa (2016) note that acquiring quality higher education and exposure to high standards of teaching and learning infrastructure are some expectations that serve as motivations for international study. as the participants mentioned, the quality of education in nigeria is of a high standard. indeed, ui and cu have taken the lead among nigerian universities in the global rankings. international students at these two universities therefore expected a high academic standard, which they largely experienced in reality. that notwithstanding, the findings reveal that both universities are underequipped in terms of teaching and learning resources and infrastructure. funding in the nigerian higher education sector has been a major problem over the years and is felt not only felt by students in the lack of teaching and learning resources and deteriorating facilities, but also by academic and non-academic staff who often embark on strike action to protest poor renumeration and poor working conditions. private universities like cu generate their own funds but international students still expected better quality resources and infrastructure. many of the students at cu also decried the hectic academic workload with which they were saddled. although it is explicitly stated in the students’ handbook that cu is rigorous academically and otherwise, international students were not aware of this until they began their studies. common responses gathered from the interview participants at both universities clearly indicate the lack of integration and assistance offered to international students by the universities. these issues were prevalent in participants’ experiences and in their recommendations. many of them did not get the kind of support they had expected to allow them to transition seamlessly. loneliness and isolation ranked as the two most 60   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 47-64 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 common integration issues, like the experiences of african undergraduate students at an american university reported in constantine et al. (2004). similarly, international students in popular destination countries such as the uk (taylor & ali, 2017), the us (zhang, 2016), australia (ashton-hay, 2016), canada (guo & guo, 2017) and south africa (ratshilaya, 2017) reportedly experience some level of integration difficulty. the importance of support for international students has been substantially indicated in several studies on international students’ experiences. for example, lee et al. (2018) recommended visa assistance for the international students in their south african study. adediran (2017) argues that accommodation assistance and various socio-cultural integration programmes should be included in the support system a host institution renders to its international students. it is important that universities the world over pay attention to the integration of international students and offer them the necessary support to alleviate their stress (sengupta, 2015). moreover, universities must guard against international students feeling short-changed by receiving far less assistance than is commensurate with the high tuition fees they pay. the importance of a reliable information system cannot be overemphasised in bridging the gap between international students’ expectations and their actual realities. according to yee (2014), providing international students with adequate information is one of the ways of managing the transition challenges. as martinez and colaner (2017) argue, the availability of information prepares students and guards against negative experiences. much of the frustration experienced by international students could be avoided if they received adequate information prior to departure from their home countries. this is the responsibility of universities’ international offices which should ensure that every international student is well informed about the host country and the host institution. international students also rely on information on universities’ websites; hence these websites should provide specific information for international students in addition to general information for all students. for example, to combat the socio-cultural issues faced by students, the university of queensland in australia includes certain practical information in their orientation sessions, such as how to open a bank account (barron et al., 2009). universities should not only provide information pre-departure (guo & guo, 2017) but should also provide orientation for all international students on arrival to ensure their smooth transition and then continue to provide follow-up support as they progress through their studies (barron et al., 2009). at the time of writing this article, the covid-19 pandemic has ushered in a “new-normal” of virtual learning in higher education, following the closure of most campuses around the world. since the outbreak of the global pandemic, concerns over the sustainability of inbound and outbound academic student mobility have been widely expressed (rumbley, 2020; unesco, 2020; wang, 2020). nevertheless, international academic mobility and studies like our own will remain relevant as students who seek international education will prefer to physically cross borders than engage in online education. such students will continue to have expectations and host institutions need to ensure that they prepare adequately to meet their needs. it is clear that the internationalization of higher education entails more than merely recruiting international https://en.unesco.org/news/290-million-students-out-school-due-covid-19-unesco-releases-first-global-numbers-and-mobilizes olaide agbaje & chika sehoole: expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences …   61 students to a higher institution of learning; it encompasses meeting their expectations, as much as possible, and ensuring their overall positive experience. statement about research ethics and potential conflict of interest we, the authors, confirm the originality of this article as it has not been published elsewhere, nor is it being considered for publication in another journal. we also disclose that there is no conflict of interest of any sort. where the work of others has been used, sources have been identified and duly acknowledged by means of in-text citations and complete references. acknowledgement the authors wish to thank ms joyce joordan at the internal statistical consultation service at the university of pretoria for providing some statistical consultation for this study. references adediran, o. j. 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(2016). new phase of internationalization of higher education and institutional change. higher education for the future, 3(2), 227-246. wang, t. (2020). the covid-19 crisis and cross-cultural experience of china’s international students: a possible generation of glocalized citizens? ecnu review of education, 1-6. doi: 10.1177/2096531120931519 woldegiorgis, e. t., & doevenspeck, m. (2015). current trends, challenges and prospects of student mobility in the african higher education landscape. international journal of higher education, 4(2), 105-115. world education news & reviews [wenr]. (2017, march 7). education in nigeria. https://wenr.wes. org/2017/03/education-in-nigeria world university rankings. (2020). https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/ 2020/worldranking#!/page/0/length/25/locations/ng/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats yee, c. (2014). internationalization of higher education: a literature review on competency approach. international journal of asian social science, 4(2), 258-273. yin, l. (2013). coming to america for spiritual or academic growth? experiences of international students at one christian school. journal of research on christian education, 22(2), 139-152. zhang, y. l. (2016). international students in transition: voices of chinese doctoral students in a us research university. journal of international students, 6(1), 175-194. how to cite: agbaje, o., & sehoole, c. (2022). expectations versus realities: insights into the transition experiences of international students at two universities in nigeria. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 47-64. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2196 https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/worldranking#!/page/0/length/25/locations/ng/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/worldranking#!/page/0/length/25/locations/ng/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats _hlk20242312 _hlk36588186 _hlk36588220 www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 65–76 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4271 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 65 research article social learning and integration factors affecting first-year medical students: views of remedial programme students who failed their first year nokuthula tlalajoe-mokhatla,1 lynette j. van der merwe2 & mpho p. jama3 1 dr nokuthula tlalajoe-mokhatla, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. email: tlalajoen@ ufs.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-0907-026x 2 prof. lynette j. van der merwe, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa. email: merwelj@ufs. ac.za. orcid: 0000-0003-4402-5050 3 prof. mpho p. jama, university of the free state, bloemfontein, south africa; fulbright research fellow and exchange alumna in the us. email: jamamp@ufs.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-3263-4775 article history: received 17 october 2022 | accepted 21 february 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords first-year medical students, medical education, remedial programmes, social integration, social learning, student affairs, transition abstract medical students’ transition from high school to university can lead to academic and social challenges, disconnection from university life, and possible drop out. hence, some medical education institutions use remediation programmes to address these transition challenges. this study used a social learning and integration theory to identify factors that affect the social learning and integration of first-year medical students who had completed a six-month remediation programme. a nominal group technique involving 15 participants was used to collect data. results revealed under-preparedness, self-management, alienation, confidence, and academic advice as the social learning and integration factors that can affect transition. self-awareness and self-management were identified as complementary skills to address these factors and promote successful transition. in conclusion, students can make valuable contributions to address social learning and integration factors and enhance successful transition. moreover, universities must also consider designing programmes that will promote successful transition of especially undergraduate medical students. résumé la transition des étudiants en médecine du lycée à l’université peut entraîner des défis académiques et sociaux, une certaine déconnexion par rapport à la vie universitaire et éventuellement un abandon. c›est pourquoi certains établissements d›enseignement médical utilisent des programmes de remédiation pour aborder ces défis de transition. cette étude a utilisé une théorie d›apprentissage social et d›intégration pour identifier les facteurs qui affectent l›apprentissage social et l›intégration des étudiants de première année en médecine ayant suivi un programme de remédiation de six mois. une technique de groupe nominal impliquant 15 participants a été utilisée pour recueillir des données. les résultats ont révélé que la préparation insuffisante, l’autogestion, l’aliénation, la confiance et les conseils académiques sont des facteurs http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 65–76 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4271 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za66 mots-clés apprentissage social, éducation médicale, étudiants de première année en médecine, intégration sociale, œuvres estudiantines, programmes de remédiation, services étudiants, transition introduction students who enter the university environment for the first time often experience anxiety, confusion, fear and helplessness (bojuwoye, 2002; pandey et al., 2021; yardley et al., 2018). transition from high school to university is difficult and many first-year students feel isolated and uncertain (heirdsfield et al., 2008). a number of factors in the new educational environment may be responsible for these feelings, including leaving home for the first time, managing one’s own finances, making new friends and assuming greater responsibility for oneself (bojuwoye, 2002). universities should provide students with nurturing educational and social environments that focus on developing principles of caring, professional attitudes and healthy interpersonal relationships (mclean & gibbs, 2009). social integration, as theorised by tinto (1975), requires the establishment of new social networks and friendships, and contact with academic staff members to ensure successful transition. when students are connected to the academic and social life of the institution, they are more likely to remain enrolled at an institution (mclean & gibbs, 2009). major transitions during university study were reported to occur in specific areas such as knowledge, understanding and skills application, development of autonomy, changes in approaches to learning, social integration and students’ self-concept (whittle, 2018). experiences resulting from multiple transitions, such as transitioning into medical education directly after high school, then into the remedial programme and later back to the main programme to repeat the year, may affect student’s social integration into the university, academic success and ultimately may influence the decision to remain at university (bojuwoye, 2002; kebaetse et al., 2018; tinto, 1975; whittle, 2018). moreover, social learning may also be affected by these experiences in the new educational environment, consequently limiting students’ learning from each other through observation, imitating and modelling, because of academic struggles (bandura, 1969). for the purpose of the study reported in this article, the social integration theory (tinto, 1975) and social learning theory (bandura, 1969) were combined in a novel social learning and integration theory to identify factors that affect the social learning and integration of first-year medical students who participate in a remediation programme. this novel social learning and integration theory is defined as interaction, through d’apprentissage social et d’intégration pouvant affecter la transition. la prise de conscience de soi et l’autogestion ont été identifiées comme des compétences complémentaires pour aborder ces facteurs et favoriser une transition réussie. en conclusion, les étudiants peuvent apporter des contributions précieuses pour aborder les facteurs d’apprentissage social et d’intégration et favoriser une transition réussie. en outre, les universités doivent également envisager de concevoir des programmes visant à promouvoir une transition réussie, en particulier pour les étudiants de premier cycle en médecine. tlalajoe-mokhatla, n., van der merwe, l. j., & jama, m. p. (2023). social learning and integration factors affecting first-year medical students: views of remedial programme students who failed their first year 67 institutional experiences, that can influence how individuals learn from each other through observation, imitation, modelling and persistence. this study aimed to identify factors that affected the social learning and integration of undergraduate medical students who had failed the first year of study. context the acceptance of first-year students into the medical programme at the university of the free state (ufs) is based on academic (national senior certificate and national benchmark test results) and non-academic (including leadership, sport and cultural activities) achievements (university of the free state, 2022). upon admission into the medical programme, the division student learning and development (dsld) provides students with academic, social and psychological support in order to enhance academic success. in addition, students do a credit-bearing module that facilitates the acquisition of generic skills and graduate attributes, such as problem solving, critical thinking, time management, study methods, test and examination techniques, professional and ethical behaviour, and writing and oral communications skills (ufs, 2022). medical programme management monitors students’ academic progress, and students identified as at-risk academically (those who achieve below 50% in assessments during their first semester of study) are advised to seek support from the dsld. despite these attempts, not all first-year students accepted into the ufs undergraduate medical programme successfully complete the first academic year (jama, 2016; kridiotis & swart, 2017). students who qualify by only failing two of the six modules are then admitted into a six-month learning development programme (ldp), a remediation programme offered in the second semester of the first year. the ldp offers learning and teaching activities in a smaller group setting focusing on reinforcing students’ generic skills and graduate attributes and promotes self-regulation and selfreflection. modules in the ldp include medical terminology, language skills, biophysics, basic human anatomy and physiology, integrated anatomy and physiology and lifelong learning skills (ufs, 2022). students who successfully complete the ldp may repeat the first year of the medical programme. methods the nominal group technique (ngt) was used in this study to obtain relevant and reliable qualitative information from a group of participants in a focus group setting (harvey & holmes, 2012; vander laenen, 2015). the main feature of the ngt is structured faceto-face group discussions. ideas emerging from the discussion are prioritised, thereby enabling a clear outcome to be reached, which provides a sense of achievement for participants (mcmillan et al., 2016; vander laenen, 2015). by using this formal consensus development method, equal participation is facilitated and all opinions are allowed and considered respectfully. the influence of dominant personalities and one particular viewpoint is minimised and a variety of ideas are prioritised to highlight the most pressing issues (mcmillan et al., 2014). the technique used in this study capitalised on the experiences of medical students who had not completed the first semester of journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 65–76 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4271 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za68 study successfully, and had subsequently completed the ldp, with a view to identifying areas of consensus and establishing priorities for change (harvey & holmes, 2012). nominal groups can involve between two and 14 participants. however, a maximum of seven is recommended per group (mcmillan et al., 2016). for this study, all registered undergraduate medical students who had entered the medical programme directly from high school and had failed their first semester, successfully completed the ldp in the second semester and were allowed to repeat the first year, were recruited to participate in the ngt. fifteen registered medical students (seven black males, six black females, one male of mixed ancestry and one white male, with a mean age of 20 years) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria participated in the ngt. no limitations were set on gender, ethnicity, home language, living conditions, year of birth and relationship status (engelbrecht et al., 2020). two questions were put to participants prior to the meeting (mcmillan et al., 2016). the technique comprised four key stages. stage 1 commenced with the participants being introduced to the topic and invited to engage in a silent generation of ideas for approximately 5–10 minutes. stage 2 required each participant to share one of their ideas with the rest of the group in a round-robin format. ideas might be elucidated at this stage to enable their listing, although no discussion was to take place at this point. each of the ideas were recorded and displayed by a facilitator on a flip chart, until all ideas had been listed. in stage 3, ideas were discussed for the purpose of clarification, categorisation and removal of duplicates. finally, stage 4 involved the participants voting on and ranking the ideas listed by the group (cunningham, 2017; mullen et al., 2017; rankin et al., 2016). two nominal group meetings were carried out simultaneously. participants were split into two groups of seven and eight participants, respectively. the division into two groups required further comparative analysis, as each group generated a different list of items. a third nominal group meeting including all fifteen participants was scheduled to develop a set of prioritised items derived from each of the two separate group meetings. all participants could vote on both sets of the top five ranked statements derived from the initial group meetings (vander laenen, 2015). the nominal group meetings were facilitated using a guide containing the following open-ended questions: 1. what affected your social learning and social integration during your first year of medical studies in the faculty of health science at the university of the free state? 2. kindly determine what set of social learning and social integration skills you used or did not use to help you adapt during the transition process from high school to medical education. the ngt yields data that can be analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. in this study, analysis was performed as described by van breda (2005) and mcmillan (2014). the quantitative data were analysed first. immediately after the nominal group meetings, an overview of the ideas of each group was compiled, including the ideas with the highest scores and the number of participants who scored a specific idea. tlalajoe-mokhatla, n., van der merwe, l. j., & jama, m. p. (2023). social learning and integration factors affecting first-year medical students: views of remedial programme students who failed their first year 69 the researcher collected qualitative data from the discussions of statements through text data transcription captured on the flip charts and whiteboards used to record the participants’ feedback. approval for the study was obtained from the health sciences research ethics committee (hsrec; ethics approval reference number hsrec-ufs-hsd2018/1300/2711) of the ufs. results the scores for each statement were obtained according to how participants voted for a statement by assigning points from 5 to 1 (from most to least important) to a selection of five of the listed ideas. the statement with the highest score was regarded as the most important one, with the others ranked according to the number of points allocated. table 1 summarises the top five ranked statements indicating factors that affected students’ social learning and integration. five themes were identified during the analysis of the data in response to question 1. table 1: top five ranked and themed statements pertaining to question 1: what affected your social learning and social integration during your first year of medical studies in the faculty of health science at the university of the free state? ranking theme statement score 1 under-preparedness learning skills – the time is important and limited, navigating the textbooks and workloads. high school spoon-fed, now suddenly you must take initiative. 39 2 self-management studying long hours (‘imitating’) using stimulants like other students but not grasping the work. 25 3 alienation feeling like being the only one having problems. 22 4 confidence first exposure/poor adaptation – self-sustaining lifestyle. overwhelmed by all new things on campus, in the course, people, etc. 18 5 academic advice not knowing whose advice to use/too many different resources (books/slides/notes) 16 table 2 represents the top five ranked statements indicating social learning and integration skills that the students used or did not use to adapt as they transitioned from high school to university education. two common themes (self-awareness and selfmanagement) emerged from the analysis of the data in response to question 2 of the study. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 65–76 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4271 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za70 table 2: top five themed and ranked statements pertaining to question 2: kindly determine what set of social learning and social integration skills you used or did not use to help you adapt during the transition process from high school to medical education. ranking theme statement score 1 self-awareness ability to identify own study skills. 37 2 self-management inability to self-manage/not able to say ‘no’. 34 3 self-awareness coping mechanisms (unhealthy)/support system that understands your struggle/spiritual. 25 4 self-awareness not recognising the need for help/ too independent. 21 5 self-awareness preparing for class. 20 discussion hayes et al. (2015) assert that successful transition into higher education comprises two pillars: first, changes of the personal context, and second, transitions related to institutional settings. personal context factors include language barriers, goal aspirations and self-efficacy. meanwhile, the institutional setting entails students’ expectations, social issues and separation from past life experiences. the social learning and integration theory allowed the researcher to address both these pillars concurrently. hence, of the top five ranked statements derived from the participants, 80% of the challenges experienced during transition referred to personal context changes, rather than institutional context changes. students’ goals, aspirations and self-efficacy appeared to have been the prominent personal context factors highlighted among the participants, which also contribute to determining the success of the transition from high school to university (bolt & graber, 2010). moreover, 80% of the ranked and themed statements highlighted factors related to social and not academic integration. this finding confirms tinto’s (1975) statement regarding students dropping out due to insufficient integration into the social life of the institution. note that dropping out in the context of this study refers to dropping out of the main programme to enrol into the remedial ldp, and not necessarily dropping out of the medical programme. pritchard and wilson (2003) point out that the major causes of attrition of first-year students involve emotional rather than academic factors, and that emotionally and socially healthy students have a greater chance of succeeding in an education environment. in this study, all five themes identified, as summarised in table 1, underlined negative social learning and integration factors that were experienced by medical students during the first year of medical studies. according to social learning and integration theory (as described by tlalajoe, 2021) that refers to the interaction through institutional experiences, influencing how medical students learn from each other through observation, imitation, modelling and persistence. students who could not interact with each other due to alienation did not experience the institution positively tlalajoe-mokhatla, n., van der merwe, l. j., & jama, m. p. (2023). social learning and integration factors affecting first-year medical students: views of remedial programme students who failed their first year 71 because they lacked the confidence to engage in campus activities. they could not learn from each other through observation, imitation or modelling and could not persist because of poor self-management, alienation and lack of confidence to interact with peers, and did not know where to get academic advice (tlalajoe, 2021). under-preparedness was ranked the highest among factors influencing medical students’ success in the first year of study. this finding highlights that first-year medical students who entered medical school directly from high school could lack the skill set and emotional tools required to adapt in their new education environment, as asserted by swaminathan et al. (2015) and kridiotis and swart (2017). the participants in this study confirmed being underprepared for university life and academia, which was also observed by hamid and singaram (2016). the participants emphasized rapid adjustments required of them and indicated that at school they had been spoon-fed. on the contrary, in the new educational environment, they had to take initiative and master learning skills. when students transition from school to university, they expect teaching methods to be comparable to those applied in high school and are not prepared for a different mode of teaching (bolt & graber 2010; hennis, 2014). furthermore, bolt and graber (2010) confirm that students who were successful at high school but lack the skill of learning independently, do not flourish in the university setting, or do not perform as well as they did in the high school environment (bolt & graber, 2010). the theme ranked second in importance was self-management. the participants found themselves imitating others by using stimulants to study for long hours. regardless, they could not grasp the content. although imitating others is encouraged according to the social learning and integrated theory (tlalajoe, 2021), when students imitated misguided behaviour, it did not yield positive outcomes. better understanding of oneself leads to improved self-management. imitating from a distance does not necessarily give a true representation of the actual situation. hennis (2014) asserted that student’s success would depend on their autonomy to acquire new study habits, or to adjust their study skills to suit the demanding semester model in a less intimidating setting. alienation was ranked third of five themes. poor self-management may lead to selfpity, alienation and students believing they are the only ones with general and academic problems. such alienation may be typical of students who experience problems that they are incapable of solving and do not receive help from other students, leading to both homesickness and loneliness (othman et al., 2012). confidence was ranked fourth, described as students experiencing feelings of lacking confidence on first exposure to the new educational environment and surroundings, including the city, campus, faculty and the medical programme. they experienced the new education environment as overwhelming and reported struggling to develop an independent lifestyle. participants reported on their institutional experiences as everyday activities with extreme academic demands, leaving them with little or no time for social activities (mclean & gibbs, 2010). similarly, al-sowygh (2013) reports students feeling overwhelmed and experiencing stress because of the demands of the medical education environment, and perfectionism, fuelled by past academic achievements journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 65–76 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4271 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za72 and current high academic demands. this stress leads to students failing to find the information needed for decision-making and early adjustment to the new educational environment of the university, which later poses threats to students which could lead to poor academic progress (bojuwoye, 2002). consequently, it is understandable how an individual who struggles with a lack of confidence can battle with self-doubt or timorousness. hence, the development of behaviours such as not being aware of the requirements of the new educational environment, along with the imitation of study approaches from other learners, or even the paralysing fear of speaking up when facing challenges and wallowing in self-pity. the final (fifth ranked) theme was academic advice. students shared their frustrations and confusion about receiving advice from a large variety of academic resources. for example, they reported not knowing who to listen to regarding navigating their academic material, as too many different resources were available. the acquisition of knowledge, skills and professional behaviours and attitudes required of healthcare professionals entails participating in a curriculum of lectures, simulations, supervised practice, mentoring, hands-on experience, and the ability to employ academic resources successfully (eva et al., 2015). some aspects of the training process have unintended negative consequences for medical students’ physical and emotional health (asani et al. 2016; dagistani et al., 2016; kaufman et al., 2009; shankar et al., 2014). the negative emotions expressed by the participants serve as an example of some aspects with unintended negative consequences. holland (2016) reports that despite support systems and professional help being available, students who are struggling and are most in need of assistance, often fail to seek it. in addition to identifying factors that affected students’ social learning and integration, participants reflected on the social learning and integration skills they used or did not use to adapt as they transitioned from high school to a medical education environment. self-awareness and self-management were identified as themes maturing into a shift in mindset among the participants. these are positive accomplishments and realistic skills needed to successfully transition into a new educational environment. with reference to table 2, themes 1 and 3–5 represented self-awareness, indicating that students realised the importance of acting with self-awareness. the statement in theme 1 showed that students became aware of their own study skills. according to the statement in theme 3, they realised the importance of having healthy coping mechanisms such as support systems they could rely on, even on a spiritual level. regarding the statement in theme 4, they grasped the importance of obtaining help from peers. in the statement in theme 5, they realised the need to initiate their learning by preparing for class. these findings allude to the importance of being aware of the requirements needed to adjust to a new educational environment, such as new study skills, coping mechanisms, recognition of assistance and the importance of initiating one’s learning by preparing for class. moreover, the students realised that they need to act timeously to attend to the requirements, which would possibly lead to positive outcomes in their transition from high school to medical education (ibañez et al., 2022). tlalajoe-mokhatla, n., van der merwe, l. j., & jama, m. p. (2023). social learning and integration factors affecting first-year medical students: views of remedial programme students who failed their first year 73 theme 2 reflected the lack of self-management in this context. the statement in this theme showed that the participants lacked the ability to say ‘no’ to participating in certain activities, which might stem from wanting to fit in in the new environment. the first year of study for most students is challenging and accomplishing even simple tasks, such as making friends, can prove difficult. not only is the university perceived as challenging with most students focusing on their academic rather than their social life. however, when some students have trouble with their academic responsibilities, they tend to find comfort in their social setting, thus losing the balance between the academic and social life aspects (bowles et al., 2014). conclusion the findings of this study emphasize that challenges resulting in unsuccessful transition may emerge way before students are subjected to academic integration. indicators such as assessments evaluating the performance of students should point out the necessity of intervention measures if there is a need. in fact, the top five ranked themes in table 1 clearly accentuated a golden thread of various factors that interlinked and eventually reflected their negative effects through assessment outcomes. consensus among the participants emphasized under-preparedness, self-management, alienation, confidence levels and academic advice as social learning and integration factors that affect transition among first-year medical students. moreover, upon reflecting on the skills required to counteract the social learning and integration factors, the participants leaned strongly towards self-awareness. this could mean that universities should consider deeper investigation of the impact of personal context when setting up support strategies to enhance successful transition. there is a need for quantifiable indicators from a social learning and integration aspect that will allow early intervention in providing support in a new educational environment. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank the students who participated in this study and dr daleen struwig, faculty of health sciences, and mrs annamarie du preez, library manager at the university of the free state. ethics statement the authors ascribe to the highest standards of ethical conduct in all their research. the study was approved by the university of free state health sciences research ethics committee (hsrec-ufs-hsd2018/1300/2711). potential conflict of interest the authors report no conflict of interest. the authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article. funding acknowledgement nokuthula tlalajoe-mokhatla would like to thank the national research foundation for black academics advancement programme for funding. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 65–76 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4271 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za74 references al-sowygh, z. h. 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(2017). rule book 2022, faculty of health sciences [ebook edition]. school of clinical medicine undergraduate qualifications. https://apps.ufs.ac.za/dl/ yearbooks/391_yearbook_eng.pdf van breda, a. d. (2005). steps to analysing multiple-group ngt data. social work practitioner-researcher, 17(1), 1–14. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292746636_steps_to_analysing_ multiple-group_ngt_data vander laenen, f. (2015). not just another focus group: making the case for the nominal group technique in criminology. crime science, 4(1), 5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40163-014-0016-z whittle, s. r. (2018). the second-year slump – now you see it, now you don’t: using dreem-s to monitor changes in student perception of their educational environment. journal of further and higher education, 42(1), 92–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2016.1206854` yardley, s., westerman, m., barlett, m., walton, j. m., smith, j., & peile e. (2018). the do’s, don’t and don’t knows of supporting transition to more independent practice. perspectives on medical education, 7(1), 8–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40037-018-0403-3 how to cite: tlalajoe-mokhatla, n., van der merwe, l. j., & jama, m. p. (2023). social learning and integration factors affecting first-year medical students: views of remedial programme students who failed their first year. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 65–76. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v11i1.4271 http://dx.doi.org/10.5959/eimj.v6i4.287 http://dx.doi.org/10.5959/eimj.v6i4.287 http://www.njppp.com/?mno=202109 http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00346543045001089 https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/handle/11660/11449 https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/handle/11660/11449 https://apps.ufs.ac.za/dl/yearbooks/391_yearbook_eng.pdf https://apps.ufs.ac.za/dl/yearbooks/391_yearbook_eng.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292746636_steps_to_analysing_multiple-group_ngt_data https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292746636_steps_to_analysing_multiple-group_ngt_data http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40163-014-0016-z http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2016.1206854 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40037-018-0403-3 249 author biographies dr millicent adjei is a seasoned higher education scholar practitioner with over 19  years of academic, research and varied professional experiences in higher education administration. she has expertise in campus internationalisation, diversity, equity and inclusion management, high impact access, and support interventions for first-generation students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. as director of diversity and international programs at ashesi university, ghana, she spearheads the university’s internationalisation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. in addition to her administrative role, millicent holds an adjunct lecturer position with the humanities and social sciences department at ashesi where she teaches a course in leadership as service. she is a qualitative researcher, and a student services practitioner. she uses indigenous theories and youth-centred methodologies to understand the post-secondary educational experiences of international, first-generation, underrepresented, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students and designs interventions to support and enhance their success. she holds a bsc degree in business administration from the university of ghana business school, an ma in educational policy and administration from the university of minnesota, and a phd in comparative and international development in education from the university of minnesota. she is a ford foundation ifp fellow and a board member of the melton foundation, a global citizen organisation working with youths across the world and passionate about innovation across cultures to solve today’s multi-faceted global challenges. orcid: 0000-0002-5061-7709. ms vanessa amoako is the diversity and inclusion coordinator in the office of diversity and international programs at ashesi university, ghana. she holds an ma in international relations and diplomacy from the ghana institute of management and public administration, and a bsc in business administration from ashesi university. through her work in diversity, equity and inclusion, vanessa drives the university agenda of promoting the awareness of and respect for diversity through various intentional programmes and initiatives. vanessa remains active in the pursuit of knowledge to address the challenge of educational inequality in africa. her research interests are specifically in providing educational access, securing equitable educational opportunities for all students, and retaining and graduating students from underrepresented groups. she also has research interests in gender equality and human rights, and refugee and forced migration. orcid: 0000-0003-1834-6758. ms lizelle apollis is passionate about leadership development and empowering individuals to achieve their full potential. she is currently employed as the inclusivity and access support officer at the disability unit at stellenbosch university, south africa. she is an occupational therapist by profession and has work experience in both the government and private sector. in 2020, she completed her master’s degree in occupational therapy with her research focus on occupational balance. she holds other qualifications in npo 250 management and is affiliated to npos in the western cape as she is passionate about community development. lizelle is also registered with the health professions council of south africa (hpcsa), occupational therapy association of south africa (otasa), she is  workwell trained, and affiliated with the higher education disability services association (hedsa) and the mobility forum in stellenbosch. dr bekele ayele is a senior lecturer at kotebe metropolitan university (kmu), addis ababa, ethiopia. he obtained a phd in higher education curriculum design and development, specialising in internationalisation of higher education curriculum. currently, he is dean of the school of teacher education at the college of education and behavioral studies, kmu. he has been a lead researcher in internationalisation of academic policies and programmes: process and impact on public universities in sub-saharan africa. moreover, he  has developed the ethiopian higher education roadmap for 15  years, 2018-2032. he has been mentoring at a myanmar university and to ministry officials on ‘connecting with the world: international relations for higher education institutions’ under the auspices of the institute of international education (iie). he travels frequently for research workshops and as an external examiner of phd students. he has a number of articles to his name in internationally reputable journals and is an editorial executive member of the journal of students affairs in africa. his research interests include teaching and learning in higher education, internationalisation of higher education curriculum, students affairs and services. dr lisa bardill moscaritolo is the vice-provost for student life at the american university of sharjah. before moving to the united arab emirates, lisa served as associate vice-president for student affairs and as dean for students at pace university in new york for twelve years. lisa has a doctorate in leadership from barry university in miami. she was awarded with a distinguished alumni award from barry university in 2018 and was selected as the national winner of a jefferson award for outstanding public service in 2014. lisa is an advocate for increasing the knowledge, research, and practices of student affairs and services globally and is a founding member and secretarygeneral for the international student affairs and student services (iasas) organisation, chartered in brussels, belgium. she is a professor for purdue global university and teaches graduate courses in management and leadership. she has served as a consultant for the american university of beirut in february 2020 and was a keynote for the philippines association practitioners in student affairs and services in 2017 and 2020. lisa serves as an international advisory board member of the journal for student affairs in africa (jssa) and has a three-year appointment from the university college of cork in ireland governing body on the student experience committee. lisa has served on several writing teams on the internationalisation of student affairs/service practice and research and created the global summit for professionals and associations in student affairs and services and the student leader global summit. orcid: 0000-0003-2809-0012. 251 dr taryn bernard is a senior lecturer and is affiliated to the department of general linguistics, faculty of arts and social sciences, stellenbosch university, south africa. she has taught in the department of general linguistics and on the faculty’s extended degree programme for ten years and, during this time, she has developed an interest in methods of critical applied linguistics. her research largely aims to uncover the intricate links between social ideologies and language use, particularly within the south african context. orcid: 0000-0001-5503-6260. mr jaco greeff brink is head of the equality unit, centre for student counselling and development at stellenbosch university, south africa. he has a master’s degree in psychology, and advanced training in leadership and strategic health communication from johns hopkins university. he is responsible for the management of the hiv and sexualities portfolio, an institutional gender non-violence programme, health and social justice teaching, mediation services and the unfair discrimination and harassment portfolio at the equality unit. jaco has a special interest in understanding how we better engage our shared humanity to bridge equity gaps in society, and his research focus is on sexual health, sexualities, and gender-based violence in the south african context. orcid: 0000-0003-1258-8369. dr samia chasi serves as strategic advisor to the international education association of south africa (ieasa) and is a research fellow at the university of the free state, south africa. she is passionate about facilitating deeper understanding and connections between diverse people and institutions by creating spaces for critical engagement and constructive dialogue. samia is a practitioner-scholar in higher education internationalisation with more than 20 years’ experience in this field through positions in international offices of german and south african universities, an agency of the european commission as well as representations of the german academic exchange service (daad), nuffic and the british council in south africa. her main research interest lies in global south perspectives on higher education internationalisation, with a particular focus on south-north collaboration and partnerships. samia holds a doctor of philosophy in education from the university of the witwatersrand, south africa, a master of philosophy in engineering management from the university of johannesburg, south africa, and a master of arts in english, russian and sociology from the university of rostock, germany. orcid: org/0000-0003-1896-0248. mr charl davids is a registered psychologist with the health professions council of south africa. he is deputy director: centre for student counselling and development at stellenbosch university, south africa. he is a former youth programme manager at selfhelp manenberg; training department manager (trauma centre for the survivors of violence and torture, cape town) and principal psychologist (south african police services, cape town). he started his private practice in 2003. he has had the position of deputy and then head of the psychology department at the university of the western cape, south africa. since 2018, he also serves as the sadc regional coordinator of the 252 international consortium of universities for drug demand reduction (icuddr). orcid: 0000-0002-5585-9491. mr danie de klerk is the assistant dean: teaching and learning in the faculty of commerce, law, and management (clm) at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa, and head of the clm teaching and learning centre. he holds a master’s degree in english literature from the university of the free state, south africa, a postgraduate diploma in higher education studies from the university of the witwatersrand (wits), and is currently pursuing a doctorate in the field of higher education studies at wits, south africa. danie’s research interests span learning and teaching in higher education, student success and support in south african higher education, academic advising and advising practices for south african contexts, academic literacies, and the use of data and data analytics to explore these areas and enhance practice and experience. orcid: 0000-0001-8051-0833. dr munita dunn-coetzee is the director: centre for student counselling and development (cscd), stellenbosch university (su), south africa. she is a registered counselling psychologist and obtained her master’s degree in counselling psychology at su in 2001. she completed her doctoral degree, ddiac in play therapy, in 2004 at the university of south africa. she was employed at huguenot college, a tvet college, until 2010 where she was involved in academic support, lecturing and student affairs. munita has acquired managerial experience in higher education during the past thirteen years of which ten years was within senior management within the division of student affairs, providing her with extensive knowledge of student affairs matters. being fond of research and studying, she obtained an mphil in higher education in 2013, the focus being on social change within higher education. she has published nationally and internationally and has presented at several national and international conferences. orcid: 0000-0002-6950-0420. ms ilse erasmus is a disability resource officer at the disability unit of stellenbosch university, south africa. she holds a ba honours in english literature and a higher diploma in education. ilse ensures that the reading material of stellenbosch university students and staff with print disabilities, e.g., blindness, low vision and dyslexia, is available in accessible formats. she is interested in developing novel approaches to text accessibility challenges, such as creating english-biblical hebrew, afrikaans-biblical greek and other multilingual texts in braille, as well as interpreting visual texts like diagrams, graphs and charts for blind users. ilse’s involvement in creating accessible texts and finding the appropriate assistive technology for print disabled individuals developed in the course of her work as a teacher at prinshof school for the visually impaired in pretoria, south africa. ms christine immenga is the senior coordinator of student governance within the department of student affairs at the university of cape town, south africa. she has been working in student affairs for the last ten years and holds a bachelor of social science (law, politics & classics) as well as an honours in classical studies from the university of 253 cape town. her current pursuits include a master’s degree in higher education studies with a research focus on participatory curriculum development as a social constructivist pedagogy for student leadership development. orcid: 0000-0003-3735-6601. ms belinda janeke is a career advisor with 21 years’ work experience, of which three years are in academic advising and eight years in career development and advising. she specialises in career services with a focus on career development and work readiness programmes. janeke laid the foundation for her extensive knowledge and experience in career advising with studies in corporate communication. in addition to a master’s degree in corporate communication, janeke is also a qualified academic advisor and is currently completing an honours degree in industrial psychology. she began her career in 2009 as an orientation officer at the university of the free state (ufs), south africa, and was soon promoted to advising and lecturing before being appointed as head: career services (student affairs) in 2013. one of the many ufs projects that leans on janeke’s knowledge and skills is the online migration of their work readiness programme that includes cv writing and job interview skills. in addition to career advising, janeke also has extensive experience in event hosting, public speaking, problem solving and negotiation, and social media management. as part of her position at the ufs, she is required to perform needs analyses from which she must create, design, and present workshops for staff and students. orcid: 0000-0001-8506-0640. dr bernadette judith johnson is director: transformation and employment equity at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. she has 20 years of experience in higher education, and the governmental and non-governmental sectors. previously, she worked on the national committee for the next generations of black scholars programme known as the ngap programme. she has also worked at the public administration leadership and management academy (palama), facilitating strategic planning, strategic leadership and change management to senior government officials in south africa, lesotho, burundi, south sudan and rwanda. at the southern research and innovation managers association (sarima) she was research manager. she supervises postgraduate students. her research interests are transformation, community engagement and restructuring. ms blessing kanyumba is a residence advisor in the department of student housing and residence life at the durban university of technology (dut), south africa. she holds a master’s degree in management sciences specialising in human resources. in addition, blessing is a phd candidate and lecturer in the department of human resource manage ment at dut. her research interests include leadership development, succession planning, talent management, higher education, and gender studies. previously, she was a lecturer in the department of general education facilitating the cornerstone module, and a writing centre tutor. she is currently co-supervising master’s students in the faculty of management sciences at dut. orcid: 0000-0001-8111-4234. 254 dr greig krull is a senior lecturer and academic director for online learning in the faculty of commerce, law and management (clm) at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. the faculty’s online learning and teaching unit provides direction and support to academics in relation to blended and online learning. he holds a phd in technology-enhanced learning from the open university of catalonia, spain, and an mcom from rhodes university, south africa. his research interests lie in open and flexible learning in higher education, particularly in the areas of mobile learning and learning design. his recent areas of focus have been around using technologies effectively to promote quality teaching and learning, and providing professional learning opportunities for academics in this area. he is a member of the international advisory board for the international journal of educational technology in higher education (ethe). orcid: 0000-0002-0690-5869. dr tadd kruse is an education consultant, membership director for the international association of student affairs and services (iasas), and a member of naspa’s (student affairs administrators in higher education) global division and middle east, north africa and south asia (menasa) advisory boards. orcid: 0000-0001-9916-9444. ms pippa louw is a disability resource officer at the disability unit at stellenbosch university, south africa. during her 14 years at the disability unit, she has developed work protocols and facilitated strong relationships between the unit and academic departments and services, including the examinations office. she was introduced to the world of accessible texts through her master’s research in african languages and the development of an isixhosa text-to-speech system. she has also published in peer-reviewed journals on language and speech technologies. applying these technologies to smooth the way for students with disabilities was therefore the ideal way to bring passion and purpose to her work. prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and an affiliated associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state (ufs), mangaung, south africa. before that, he was assistant director for institutional research at the ufs, a senior lecturer in higher education studies and extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he has a postgraduate diploma in higher education from the ufs and obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. thierry is an nrf-rated researcher with expertise in higher education studies, policy and governance, the student experience, student politics, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he is a founder and editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the books student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and 255 j.o. jowi, 2016) and reflections of south african student leaders, 1994‑2017 (with d. webbstock and n. bhengu, 2020). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www.thierryluescher.net. orcid: 0000-0002-6675-0512. dr marcia lyner-cleophas is head: disability unit, centre for student counselling and development, at stellenbosch university, south africa, as well as a practising educational psychologist since 2001. she holds a phd in psychology, where the focus was on inclusive and exclusionary disability practices from staff, and students with disabilities’ perspectives at stellenbosch university. she has a strong drive for individual and social justice, as well as for personal wellness. her work has a strong focus on disability inclusion in the post-school sector. she is affiliated to the higher education disability services association (hedsa), changeability, afrinead and the stellenbosch disability network, as well as to the south african depression and anxiety group (sadag). orcid: 0000-0003-1460-6313. ms tshepiso maleswena is a lecturer and student success and support programme coordinator in the faculty of commerce, law, and management (clm) at the university of the witwatersrand (wits), south africa. her work within the faculty is based on the various aspects of the university’s teaching and learning objectives. she holds a master’s degree in political studies from wits, a degree in corporate communication from the university of johannesburg (uj), and a postgraduate diploma in higher education studies from wits. she is currently reading for a phd in history with a focus on memory and memorialisation within the context of south african history. her research interests extend to students’ social experiences at tertiary institutions, decolonisation of the university curriculum, and nuanced approaches to course design and assessment practices. orcid: 0000-0003-1182-9837. dr ndakaitei manase is a phd graduate from the university of the free state (ufs), south africa. she completed her phd in development studies under the sarchi chair in higher education and human development. her research interests include social justice in higher education, learning disabilities, narrative research, and the capability approach. she obtained a master’s degree in sociology from ufs, where she researched the lived experiences of women who are growing old with hiv and aids in zimbabwe. she also holds a master’s degree in hiv/aids management at the workplace from stellenbosch university, south africa, where she gained expertise in institutional policies and support for those who face different forms of exclusion and discrimination. orcid: 0000-0002-8211-1614. dr martin mandew is the principal of the qwaqwa campus of the university of the free state, south africa. prior to that, he was the campus director of the midlands campus of the durban university of technology, pietermaritzburg. he holds a bachelor of sacred theology, master of theology, university diploma in management development, and a phd. he started his academic career as an academic development tutor at the university of natal where he later lectured in the school of theology until 1997. he http://www.thierryluescher.net 256 served at the durban university of technology, south africa, as assistant vice-chancellor: student services at the ml sultan technikon from 1998 until 2002, and in 2003 as executive director: academic development, training and skills provision. he was a board member of the south african association for academic development, and sesrved on the editorial board of the academic development journal. he is a founding member of the south african association for senior student affairs professionals. he is principal author of a guide to student services in south africa (2003), and co-editor of perspectives on student affairs in south africa  2014). he currently serves as a non-executive director on the board of the cancer association of south africa, on the international editorial executive of the journal of student affairs in africa, and on the institutional audits committee of the council of higher education. mr crispen mazodze is the current dean of students at bindura university of science education, zimbabwe. he is a student affairs professional with wide experience in zimbabwean higher education, having been the director: off-campus life and student development programmes at chinhoyi university of technology in zimbabwe for nine years, as well as school head in the ministry of primary and secondary education in zimbabwe. he has also served as the secretary of the deans of student affairs forum in zimbabwe for seven years. crispen is a phd candidate in higher education studies with chinhoyi university of technology, zimbabwe. he holds a master of education in curriculum studies, a ba history, and a diploma in education from the university of zimbabwe. his research interests include student governance, student leadership, quality enhancement in student affairs practice and decolonising student development. orcid: 0000-0002-2423-0420. mr munienge mbodila is acting head: department of information technology systems in the faculty of economics & information technology system at the komani campus of walter sisulu university (wsu), south africa. he is a phd candidate and holds a master’s degree in computer science (north west university) and a post-graduate diploma in teaching & learning in higher education (stellenbosch university). before joining wsu, he was a lecturer in the department of computer science at the university of venda. he won two vc excellence awards for teaching and learning while working at the university of venda. he recently won another vc excellence award for teaching and learning at wsu. mr mbodila is interested in the use of icts and web technology in teaching and learning to improve teaching practice inside and outside the classroom. his research interests are in the areas of computer networks, wireless sensor networks, software defined networking (sdn), elearning and the use of emerging technologies (ets) in education. he is currently a member of the e-learning task team at wsu and a member of the editorial board of armonia journal. orcid: 0000-0003-4158-9037. dr charity lengwe meki kombe is a lecturer and researcher at mulungushi university, kabwe, zambia. she took up the position after completing a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship with the university of pretoria (up), south africa. prior to that, she worked for the examinations council of zambia as senior research officer 257 and coordinated the grade 2 national assessment survey. she served as community education officer under the zambia anti-corruption commission. she holds a phd in educational management law and policy from up. charity’s interests mainly lie in policy/ programme implementation and evaluation, mainly focusing on education and assessment. over the years, she has also developed an interest in the area of inclusive education in higher education and doctoral education matters. she has consulted and undertaken research projects with local (zambian) and international organisations (united kingdom, south africa, rwanda, mozambique and nigeria). in 2018, she was nominated tuks young research leader (tyrl), a up initiative aimed at growing early career researchers in thought leadership, team development, engagement and collaboration, with the intention of enabling them to solve the complex issues that face society. in addition, she is a salzburg global fellow. orcid: 0000-0003-3207-6598. ms meagan minnaar is a disability resource officer at the disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa. her work is to make scientific and law reading material accessible to students with print disabilities and to assist students in reaching their academic goals. she holds an msc in insect physiology and her thesis centred on establishing how insect activity and thermal tolerance are affected by oxygen concentration. she previously worked in the field of insect physiology where her work involved fieldwork, lab work and data capturing. her background in biological sciences has equipped her with the necessary fearlessness when approaching the adaptation of scientific material for print disabled students. ms dingase e. mtonga is a lecturer in civic education, a researcher, and a coordinator of the bachelor of education in primary teaching programme in the faculty of education at mulungushi university, zambia. she is also an examiner in civic education grade twelve national examinations. prior to that, she was a teacher and taught all grades at primary and secondary levels in zambia. she also was an examiner in social studies grade nine national examinations, and gave career guidance as a student counsellor at munali boys secondary school in lusaka, zambia. she holds a master’s degree in civic education, a bachelor’s degree in civic education and religious studies from the university of zambia, a diploma in secondary teaching in civics and religious education from kwame nkrumah university, and a diploma in primary teaching from chalimbana university, zambia. dingase has a keen interest in higher education student engagement in politics, civic and governance issues. she has a passion for students’ social welfare and is an advocate for inclusivity in higher education. she is a researcher with a fascination about the nexus between theory and empirical evidence in research and policy frameworks. she has presented papers at graduate women in zambia, and mulungushi university conferences. orcid: 0000-0002-9456-8830. mrs dora dorothy murasi is director: campus life and student development programmes, bindura university of science education, zimbabwe. she is a former teacher educator, primary school teacher and counsellor. dora is the holder of a bachelor’s degree in education with specialisation in primary education, and a master of arts in leadership and management. while her main focus is student development, she is very interested in 258 the afrocentric world view and its influence on student development, in particular in the area of academic advising. she holds a certificate in systemic counselling and a diploma in counselling from the african world view. orcid: 0000-0002-5445-6770. mr sebastian mutambisi is the director: student off-campus life and financial aid, bindura university of science education, zimbabwe, since 2015. he has over ten years’ experience as teachers’ college lecturer training primary school educators and is highly involved in student life skills and leadership development. previously, he served as a human resources officer, an assistant registrar human resources, and a primary school teacher. he holds a master’s degree in curriculum studies (2014); a bachelor of education in primary education (2003) and a diploma in education (1998) from the university of zimbabwe; a bachelor of technology education management, technikon pretoria, south africa (2001); and a bcom human resources management, university of south africa (2018). his research interests are quality assurance in higher education; education policy; curriculum implementation; education and gender; language policy; teacher education; and higher education. orcid: 0000-0001-8417-8452. prof. clever ndebele is the senior director: learning and teaching at walter sisulu university (wsu), south africa. he has extensive teaching experience in higher education with more than 10 years’ experience at senior management level at several universities in south africa. he has partaken in several national advisory initiatives: as a member of the national advisory committee on postgraduate supervision (nuffic funded), advisory board member of the university of cape town: centre for improving teaching and learning, as a member of the heltasa executive committee and of the first joint heltasa/che national excellence in teaching and learning awards adjudication panel. he has participated in several (nrf) research projects on academic staff development in collaboration with other universities. he has also been involved in several teaching development grant national collaborative projects, namely the development of a postgraduate diploma in higher education (pgdhe) for educational development practitioners, and of a pgdhe for academics. he is currently a member of the national standards and reviews committee of the council on higher education, a member of the minister of higher education and training’s reference group on extended curriculum programmes, and of the executive management subcommittee of national coordinating committee (national framework to enhance university teaching). prof. ndebele currently oversees academic staff development and student academic support, and coordinates the university capacity development programme, the new generation of academics programme, and future professors programme at walter sisulu university. orcid: 0000-0002-4258-4812. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. she is also a visiting research fellow, centre for the advancement of scholarship at the university of pretoria (south africa), and an extraordinary professor at the institute of post-school studies, university of the western cape (south africa) her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions 259 at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and the university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education trust (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995-1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post-1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and the impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor-in-chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. orcid: 0000-0001-6343-3020. dr annsilla nyar is director of the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc). prior to this, she held several senior management positions, i.e. that of senior researcher at the gauteng city-region observatory (gcro), a partnership between gauteng provincial government, the university of johannesburg (uj) and the university of the witwatersrand (wits), and research manager at higher education south africa (hesa), now universities south africa (usaf). annsilla holds a master’s degree in political science from the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), and a phd through the department of political studies at wits. annsilla’s key academic interest is in social justice and the politics of transition and transformation in south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-0535-505x. ms nina n.a. pels is the assistant director of student life & engagement at ashesi university, ghana, where she supports students by helping them expand their opportunities and develop their interests outside the classroom. prior to this, nina joined ashesi university in 2014 as the executive assistant to the provost, helping to streamline academic affairs as the institution was seeking accreditation for its new engineering programmes scheduled to start in 2015. she later played a key role in growing diversity at the university as senior admissions officer in charge of international recruitment. in 2017/18, she received the prestigious commonwealth shared scholarship award which allowed her to pursue her ma in international education at bath spa university in the u.k. she concluded her master’s, focusing her research on the liberal arts in the african context but, more importantly, from the perspective of students. her work examined students’ understanding of the liberal arts and its contributions to the african higher education ecosystem. she is a passionate advocate of student representation and participation in decision-making at all levels of education, because she believes it empowers learners to be active citizens for themselves and for their communities. orcid: 0000-0003-4681-9073. 260 dr brett perozzi is vice-president for student affairs at weber state university, u.s.a. he holds a phd in higher education administration from indiana university and served as a faculty member in the higher education graduate programmes at indiana, colorado state and arizona state, and founded the higher education leadership programme at weber state university. brett has authored dozens of publications in journals, textbooks, monographs, and book chapters. he has published three books, two on the topic of international student affairs and services, and one on student employment during college. he is an active leader with the most comprehensive student affairs professional association in the world, naspa – student affairs administrators in higher education helping to coordinate and shape their global agenda by establishing a global advisory board, culturally relevant educational programmes abroad, and advancing intercultural understanding amongst those doing student affairs and services work globally. he has been invited to speak and present on higher education topics worldwide and is a founding member of the international association of student affairs and services. orcid: 0000-0003-1378-8223. ms latashe poole is an administrative officer at the centre for student counselling and development at stellenbosch university, south africa. she is a joint appointment between the disability unit and the unit for psychotherapeutic support services. latashe has extensive experience in the higher education and training institution, as well as in the banking and insurance industry. she holds a national diploma in management assistance obtained through the college of cape town and is currently a second-year student at mancosa doing her bachelor’s in business administration. her strong administration, financial and stakeholder relationship skills is a real asset to the cscd. she is an advocate of seen and unseen disabilities which inspire her role at the centre. ms orla quinlan has been ieasa president 2019-2020 and is director: international office, rhodes university, south africa. she holds an msc in social policy and planning in developing countries from london school of economics and political science, a b ed awarded by the national university of ireland, and a diploma in religious education. holding a variety of leadership positions in her multi-faceted career, she has directed education and humani tarian programmes with concern (1988-1995) in bangladesh, cambodia, burundi and haiti. orla was a senior researcher for the gender equity task team (gett) responsible for the first systematic study on gender and education for the department of education in 1996/7. holding different positions in oxfam gb between 1998-2010, she supported programmes in latin america, africa, and global humanitarian programmes before leading oxfam gb’s global funding programme in 70 countries. her interests include leadership, social justice, internationalisation, education, gender, diversity and inclusion. orla regularly contributes to publications, presents papers and participates in international education platforms. she edited the 17th and 18th editions of study sa [https://www.ieasa.studysa.org/study-sa/]. orcid: 0000-0001-7464-4026. https://www.ieasa.studysa.org/study-sa/ 261 dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at alberts-ludwig-universität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas, the executive editorial for the journal of student affairs in africa, a consultant for higher education leadership and management, and for stellenbosch university, where she is leading the secretariat for the international network for town and gown universities. prior to this, she was the senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university and the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals and books on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences, and has given lectures at uc berkley, the university of leuven, and the university of oslo. she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has been a member of the national executive of various professional organisations, including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). orcid: 0000-0003-2469-0504. dr nondumiso shabangu is a homoeopathic practioner and a residence advisor, department of housing at the durban university of technology (dut), south africa. she holds a master’s degree in homoeopathic medicine and is currently doing her phd in health sciences with dut. her interests lie mainly with health care and teaching and learning, but currently her main focus is around student leadership and empowerment. orcid: 0000-0002-1097-0049. dr elmien sinclair is an educational psychologist and head of the unit for academic counselling and development, centre for student counselling and development (cscd), stellenbosch university, south africa. she worked in different high schools across south africa for ten years before she furthered her studies at stellenbosch university and obtained a master’s degree in educational psychology in 2008, and a phd in 2019. she has been employed at the cscd, stellenbosch university, for the past thirteen years. she has a keen interest in positive psychology and student well-being. her research focuses on promoting student success, student development and the transformation of student counselling services. orcid: 0000-0001-8809-2373. prof. rushiella nolundi songca is the vice-chancellor and principal at walter sisulu university, south africa. her area of research focuses on children’s rights from multidisciplinary perspectives. she has extensive experience in teaching and research in the area of children’s rights. orcid: 0000-0002-2738-6615. dr patrick swanzy is a lecturer at the department of teacher education, faculty of educational studies, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, kumasi, ghana. patrick obtained his phd in education from the university of adelaide, australia, 262 specialising in quality assurance in higher education. in 2017, he won a carnegie corporation of new york’s scholarship for a postdoctoral research fellowship in higher education studies at the institute for post school studies, university of the western cape in south africa. patrick’s research interest includes quality assurance in higher education, higher education policy studies, disability studies in higher education, and school safety and surveillance. orcid: 0000-0001-6201-7703. mr marquard timmey is a registered counselling psychologist with the health professions council of south africa. he is currently head of the unit for graduand career services at the centre for student counselling and development (cscd), stellenbosch university, south africa. he was initially appointed at the cscd as a student counsellor where he did career counselling for prospective and registered students, and academic and personal counselling for registered students. when he joined the unit for graduand career services, his focus shifted to career development with senior students and interventions to prepare senior students for their transition from education to employment. his current interest lies in career development of first-generation students. dr w.p. wahl has been involved in student affairs for almost 19 years and currently serves as director: student life at the university of the free state (ufs), south africa, a position he has occupied since october 2016. he obtained a ba honours (with distinction) in 2004, the degree ma (with distinction) in 2007 and an interdisciplinary phd in higher education studies and theology in 2011. his current scholarly work in the field of higher education studies focuses on how an environment can be created for higher education students which is conducive to their learning, development and success. in this regard, he has published and presented both nationally and internationally. dr wahl forms part of the higher education syndicate research team of the faculty of education at the ufs. he  also supervises master’s and phd students in the field of higher education studies within this faculty. he is married to siobhone and is the father of three children: judah, joshua and milcah. orcid: 0000-0002-1771-7863. ms melanie willems is a disability support officer at the disability unit, stellenbosch university, south africa, and a registered social worker since 2000. she holds a master’s degree in philosophy (hiv/aids management in the workplace, with the focus on hiv/aids and persons with disabilities). she is passionate about working in the field of disability and has 20 years’ experience in the disability field. she is affiliated to the higher education disability services association (hedsa) and the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe). she has life membership of the cape town association for the physically disabled that renders services to persons with disabilities in cape town and surrounding areas. she is in the final stages of obtaining a master’s degree in social work at stellenbosch university, focusing on visually impaired students’ challenges and experiences in a higher education institution in south africa, which was inspired by her work in the disability unit. author biographies alice amegah is an emerging expert in technical and vocational education and training (tvet) for human development. she has authored a seminal paper on employer engagement in education and training in ghana. she is the founder of education and aspirations hub; a notfor-profit organisation connecting education and industry to raise aspirations and encourage skills development. she is reading a phd in education at the university of cambridge. francis arthur-holmes is currently a hong kong doctoral fellowship researcher at lingnan university’s department of sociology and social policy, hong kong. he holds an mphil degree in development studies at the university of oxford, united kingdom. his research covers a wide range of areas including gender studies, artisanal and small-scale mining (asm), ageing studies, health services research, family-work dynamics, and student politics. megan bam is a programme manager in the academic development programme (adp) in the center for higher education development (ched) at the university of cape town. she has research interests in higher education management and institutional theory. dr moses basitere is currently a senior lecturer in the aspect programme at the university of cape town. he has a keen interest in engineering education research with a particular focus on the integration of emerging technologies to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and physics. dr basitere has displayed commendable potential as a researcher; he has published several articles in accredited journals, book chapters and conference proceedings. dr basitere is one of the 2020 recipients of the nrf research excellence award for early career/emerging researchers. kwaku abrefa busia holds an mphil in african studies from the university of cambridge where this research was undertaken. he also has an mphil in development studies from oxford university, and is currently a phd candidate at the department of sociology and social policy, lingnan university, hong kong. his research interests include gender studies, higher education and student politics, local governance and development, as well as workfamily intersections in africa. 232 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021 | issue doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1 dr hestie byles obtained her doctorate, focusing on finding ways of enrolling students based on resilience, agency, and structure in higher education. she started working at the university of pretoria on a part-time basis in 2008 and developed a special interest in academic development. she started her academic career as a junior lecturer and later a lecturer in the centre for academic development until she took over the management of the centre in 2010 and took responsibility for the extended programme in the university of pretoria’s faculty of humanities. dr deepti charitar is a project manager in the academic development programme (adp) in the center for higher education development (ched) at the university of cape town. her responsibilities include coordinating projects, namely the siyaphumelela project and the data analytics for student success (dass) project, and developing and maintaining data dashboards for the uct call center and referral system (uct cares). her research interests include academic advising, data analytics and sustainable energy technologies. dr danie de klerk is the assistant dean for teaching and learning in the faculty of commerce, law, and management (clm) at the university of the witwatersrand, and head of the clm teaching and learning centre. his research revolves around learning and teaching in higher education, viewed through a social/critical realist lens. danie’s areas of focus/ interest include academic advising and advising practices for south african contexts, student success and support, critical self-reflection as a tool for enabling professional learning, academic literacies, and the use of data analytics to inform and enhance student success. danie was part of the team that won the wits vice chancellor’s team teaching award in 2021. he has been working in the south african higher education sector since 2007. simphiwe dlulani is a project officer for the uct call center and referral system (uctcares). he has research interests in south african foreign policy, peace and security in africa, and african trade. dr danny fontaine-rainen is director of the first year experience (fye) at the university of cape town. she is based in the center for higher education development (ched). she has particular disciplinary research interests in urban development particularly how cities facilitate and/or constrain children’s access to daily physical activity and fye research interests in first-generation students and their success at university, academic advising, and indicators of students’ success. 233author’s biographies dr rosheena jeawon is currently an academic development practitioner at the center for excellence in learning and teaching at the durban university of technology. she also coordinated academic advising in the student support unit as well as academic staff continuous professional development activities. her field of specialization is in student academic development and success with research areas in assessment, and effective support systems for first year students in higher education. robert lucas kaniki, lived, studied, and worked in tanzania, has research interests in he management, internationalization, financial aid, and globalization across the african continent and in the intersection with china. he has a ph.d. in higher education, institute of education, xiamen university, china. sindi kwenaite was a researcher for the university of pretoria at the time of the research. she has a master’s degree in textile design and technology from the tshwane university of technology. she started her career in education by working with children with challenges, focusing on universal access to education through active learner support. as a university lecturer, she worked predominantly with postgraduate supervision and taught courses in research methodology and writing at the tshwane university of technology and lisof. she has worked on a major pilot project for the development of education professionals for south africa’s national department of basic education and managed a skills development programme for disadvantaged youths who do not have access to tertiary education. she is currently managing the education portfolio for the south african council for the construction and project management professions. prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling and work in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and an affiliate associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state (ufs), mangaung, south africa. before that, he was assistant director for institutional research at the ufs, a senior lecturer in higher education studies and extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he has a postgraduate diploma in higher education from the ufs and obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. thierry is an nrf-rated researcher with expertise in higher education studies, policy and governance, the student experience, student politics, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he is 234 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021 | issue doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1 a founder and editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the books student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenč ič and j.o. jowi, 2016) and reflections of south african student leaders, 1994-2017 (with d. webbstock and n. bhengu, 2020). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www.thierryluescher.net. dr henry mason is a social science researcher at the tshwane university of technology. he is registered as a research psychologist with the health professions council of south africa, holds a y-rating from the national research foundation, and is a past president of the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education. henry’s research interests include positive psychology, specifically emphasising purpose, meaning, and well-being among student populations. dr disaapele mogashana  is a lecturer in the department of chemical engineering at uct. she was a researcher at the institute for science and technology education (iste) at unisa and a lecturer in the academic support programme for engineering in cape town (aspect) at uct. she holds a phd in engineering education, mphil, and bsc (chemical engineering) from uct. her research interests are in engineering education, student success and first-year-experience. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. she is also a visiting research fellow, centre for the advancement of scholarship at the university of pretoria (south africa), and an extraordinary professor at the institute of postschool studies, university of the western cape (south africa) her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and the university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education trust (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to 235author’s biographies commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995-1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post-1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and the impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor-in-chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. raazia moosa is the head of academic support at the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg (wits) and the vice president of eletsa, the professional association for advisors in south africa. she played a leading role in institutionalising advising at wits and convenes a community of practice for advisors. her research interests are in student success, academic advising, evidence-based practice and programme evaluation. tonny nelson matjila is a research training and development office at the university of south africa. he is responsible for coordinating research training workshops for postgraduate students. he is a phd student focusing on student support in odl after having worked in several student support departments at unisa. prof. ana naidoo was the deputy director: academic support in the department for education innovation at the university of pretoria at the time of the research. her phd in mathematics education is from aalborg university in denmark. her involvement in higher education spans being a head of department and then dean of education at the merged nelson mandela university, deputy dean of education at the university of pretoria and finally before retiring as deputy director. gedala mulliah naidoo is a senior lecturer in the department of communication science, faculty of arts, university of zululand, kwadlangezwa campus, kwazulu-natal, south africa. dr timothy aduojo obaje is an academic development practitioner (adp) at the durban university of technology. he has over nine years of lecturing experience. his fields of specialization include student academic development and success; academic staff professional development; reconciliation and peacebuilding; public administration and public policy; and research methods. he is a passionate scholar and researcher. his ideas are widely shared at international conferences, conference proceedings, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed journals. 236 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021 | issue doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1 dr sylvia kabumle ocansey specialises in adolescent and youth development, although she is a counsellor by profession. a current lecturer at the university of cape coast in ghana, west africa, dr ocansey has more than fifteen years of counselling and teaching experience. she is also credited with several academic publications in counselling and other key social areas. juanitill pettus was a project officer for the university capacity development grant (ucdg) project on academic advising. she is a facilitator, coach, mentor, and strategist, who is dedicated to promoting equal opportunity through reflective practice and supporting research for impact. she has nearly 10 years of experience working in the development sector with a strong focus on access to education, access to employment and leadership development. dr enid bunki pitsoane works as head of counselling at the university of south africa, where she offers career and personal counselling to students. she has been involved in this profession for the past 16 years where she gives guidance to students on relevant career paths, adjustment skills to tertiary life as well as other personal challenges that affect students during their course. she also works as an educational psychologist in a private practice where she specialises with learners with learning problems an interest she developed when working with communities in assisting the disadvantaged learners to reach their potential and have hope for the future. yasmin rugbeer was the former acting director of the teaching and learning centre and the director of the office of the vice-chancellor, university of zululand, kwadlangezwa campus, kwazulu-natal, south africa. monique schoeman is an academic and career advisor at the university of the free state with more than ten years work experience in the higher education sector. she has bachelor of honours degrees in psychology and english, and her masters dissertation focuses on academic and career advising within a south african university. she finds fulfilment in helping people explore and actualise their full potential at university and beyond. dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at albertsludwig-universität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas, the executive editorial for the journal of student affairs in africa, a consultant for higher education leadership and management, and for stellenbosch university, where she is leading the secretariat for the international network for town and gown universities. prior to this, she was the senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university and the director of 237author’s biographies the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals and books on student support and development, has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences, and has given lectures at uc berkley, the university of leuven, and the university of oslo. she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has been a member of the national executive of various professional organisations, including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). dimakatso sebothoma is a project administrator for the academic development programme (adp) in the center for higher education development (ched) at the university of cape town. she is an engineering graduate and recently completed her masters degree in sustainable energy engineering. her broader research interests include engineering education, student success, and the advancement of academic advising and technology. prof. maximus monaheng sefotho is an associate professor in the department of educational psychology (with a specialisation/focus on career guidance and disability) at the university of johannesburg. he contributed to the development of the competency framework for career development practitioners. he is now working in career transitioning of differently-abled persons from home through to the world of work. carmelita lee shong is a programme manager for the ikusasa student financial aid programme (isfap) located in the center for higher education development (ched). she has a masters degree in higher education with particular research interests in student success at university. dr riashna sithaldeen is deputy director of the academic development programme (adp) in the centre for higher education development (ched) at the university of cape town. she has research interests in identifying systemic obstacles to student success and academic advising as a tool to advance student success. prof. françois strydom is currently the senior director of the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state. he has been the project leader of the south african surveys of student engagement (sasse) since 2007. the sasse project, sponsored by the kresge foundation, has been used by 20 public higher education institutions across southern africa. prof strydom led the workstream on academic advising in siyaphumelela and co238 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021 | issue doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1 academic advising in siyaphumelela and co-leads the dhet national collaborative grant on academic advising which is facilitating the development of academic advising in south african higher education.  he is the recipient of various research grants and has published several national and international articles focused on higher education issues. hettie terblanche, a lecturer in engineering science, completed her med (science education). after completing short courses in neuroscience and a mentoring course she enrolled for her phd studies. hettie’s phd study focused on applying neuroscience and mentoring in offering support to undergraduate engineering students. she has developed a keen interest in applying neuroscience and mentoring as tools to advance student success among engineering students. gugu wendy tiroyabone (nee khanye) is the assistant director: advising, access and success in the centre for teaching and learning at the university of the free state. ms tiroyabone is responsible for providing leadership and management in the research, implementation and evaluation of academic advising and recognition of prior learning (rpl). her work includes the management of strategic relationships with national and international stakeholders involved in the advising network. dr chinaza uleanya is a postdoctoral research fellow in the business management department, university of south africa, pretoria, south africa. mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya is a doctoral student in the department of communication science, faculty of arts, university of zululand, kwadlangezwa campus, kwazulu-natal, south africa. prof. barend van wyk has a passion for technology and the demystification and communication of complex technological, scientific, educational, and management concepts in a novel and fun way. he is an nrf-rated researcher who has published more than 173 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers and has successfully supervised/co-supervised more than 44 doctoral and masters students. his research interests include artificial and computational intelligence, machine learning, and engineering education. ermien van pletzen (associate professor) is director of the academic development programme (adp) in the centre for higher education development (ched) at the university of cape town. she has degrees in languages, literature and public health. her research interests are in academic literacies, evidence-based educational development and community-based health and rehabilitation. 239author’s biographies journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31| 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706   15 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool to create context-sensitive and data-informed student success initiatives ilse karsten* & andré van zyl** abstract sub-saharan africa has the lowest higher education (he) participation rate of any region in the world at under 10%. large numbers of students are entering the various systems, often from non-traditional backgrounds, which contributes to making an already difficult transition even more difficult. in many instances, well-intended interventions and initiatives are imported from elsewhere or based on “common sense”, but they are often not very effective. this raises a crucial question: how can institutions best devise context-sensitive and effective student assistance programmes? design-based research (dbr) uses an iterative and longitudinal process that involves theory, participant inputs, peer inputs and stakeholder inputs to cyclically develop theoretically informed, contextually sensitive and appropriate interventions. most practitioners could benefit from a better understanding of this process when designing interventions. this article elucidates dbr as a phased intervention-development process aimed at assisting students to integrate into he and focuses primarily on the methodological approach on which it elaborates using examples from a phd study. keywords contextual intervention, design-based research, student integration, first-year students introduction there is an interrelated web of issues relating to student academic success and social mobility. in the south african context, maluleke (2018) has, for example, pointed out that a strong relationship exists between a person’s level of education, and their social mobility and prosperity. lower levels of socio-economic status are often linked in “contours” with other negative implications such as poor access to the health services availability, and quality (van zyl, 2016, p.1). universities are key to addressing these issues and have been called the “engine rooms” for developing the human resources required to support and grow the south african economy (usaf, 2018a, p. 12). * ilse karsten is a lecturer in the department of accountancy at the university of johannesburg, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0001-5704-9719. email: ikarsten@uj.ac.za ** andré van zyl is the director of the academic development centre at the university of johannesburg, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-9568-1667. email: andrevz@uj.ac.za mailto:ikarsten@uj.ac.za 16   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 not only does maluleke (2018) point out that students emanating from poorer households have much lower levels of he participation than those from the higher socioeconomic strata, they also often leave school under-prepared for he (statssa, 2019). in sub-saharan africa, the participation rate of 17-to-24-year-olds is still below 10% (ilie & rose, 2016) and in south africa it varies between 17 and 18 % (dhet, 2013). student success and graduation rates across south african he have shown some meaningful improvements over time. however, massive human and financial losses are still being incurred because of poor levels of student success (dhet, 2020). the challenge of developing effective and data-informed interventions the south african he sector has spent huge amounts of money and massive effort aimed at improving student success. these efforts have borne some fruit but have not always been effective. crisp et al. (2009) identify some of the reasons for lower-than-expected impact, linking it to unrealistic student expectations, unfriendly institutional cultures, and unwarranted assumptions made by institutions when planning interventions. coates and radloff (2017) exhort institutions of higher learning to transcend their preconceptions, as these tend to limit their thinking in ways that are detrimental to student success. when institutions and their representatives make invalid assumptions about their students and their needs, they often provide well-intended, but largely ineffectual interventions. waage et al. (2015, p.  252) emphasise that developmental decisions should not be taken by the “unaccountable few”; but suggest that decisions related to interventions should be characterized by “deliberation, participation, and transparency of decision making”. interventions aimed at improving student success should therefore be designed using a collaborative and data-informed process. fennie et al. (2020) emphasise the need for “evidence-informed” programs, especially for entry-level students. usaf (2018b) argues that understanding the attributes and experiences of south african students is key to improving their success. improved student success must be the result of design and cannot be left to chance. therefore, interventions should equally and strongly be based on a rigorous methodology and sound evidence. design-based research (dbr) provides a productive framework that allows a move towards more data-informed and holistic interventions. dbr as data-informed intervention creation methodology dbr is often called an interventionist approach, since it aims to implement a strategy or bring about some change to address an identified problem (ford et al., 2017). dbr is also known for its collaborative nature (scott et al., 2020), which is why, when interventions are planned, a complex web of stakeholders are involved in the content creation and roll out of interventions. it therefore provides a comprehensive, collaborative, respectful and longitudinal developmental method which can be productively used to develop appropriate interventions that are data informed and contextually sensitive (ford et al., 2017). ilse karsten & andré van zyl: design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool …   17 dbr is often used in educational contexts due to its focus on solving practical, realworld problems in everyday life (ford et al., 2017). in the case study used to illustrate the methodology in this article, the dbr process was used to develop and implement an intervention to facilitate first-year student integration at a south african university for a selected group of students. these students were carefully selected to receive student bursaries by adhering to the criteria of coming from a previously disadvantaged background, belonging to a low socio-economic status, showing interest in accounting as career choice, and exhibiting the potential to succeed in the academic qualification. the intervention was implemented to three cohorts of 50 students each, in 2015, 2016 and 2017. the rest of this article comprises a detailed explanation of the dbr methodology and the authors reflect on its use and effectiveness. design-based research dbr is a relatively new methodology (anderson & shattuck, 2012; plomp, 2013) and has been identified as a good option to use in educational contexts due to its focus on solving practical everyday problems through a comprehensively designed intervention (fransman, 2014; mckenney & reeves, 2012; plomp, 2007; van den akker et al., 2006). dbr typically follows an iterative process (armstrong et al., 2020), where an initial, well-researched solution to the identified problem (called a prototype) is implemented. feedback from the participants is then used to improve the solution (next prototype) and it is implemented again. this process is repeated until new feedback from participants is minimal, and the final prototype is then presented as the proposed intervention (nieveen & folmer, 2013). recent examples of where dbr has been used include developing a framework for designing mobile virtual reality learning environments (cochrane et al., 2017); developing clinical reasoning when working with virtual patients (hege et al., 2017); improving infection control and prevention processes (meyers et al., 2018); and making the connection between theory and practice explicit (wolcott et al., 2019). the comprehensive nature of dbr and the time it takes to implement the process have been found to discourage some researchers and practitioners from using it. we argue, however, that alternative short-term research often results in an overly pragmatic approach that is not sufficiently context-sensitive or comprehensively designed. methodology – design-based research dbr is typically characterized by recurrent versions of proposed designs in real-world situations where the researcher often fulfils multiple roles, whilst being mindful not to influence variables and outcomes. according to barab and squire (2004, p. 2), the design in design-based research refers to “a series of approaches, with the intent of producing new theories, artefacts, and practices that account for and potentially impact learning and teaching in naturalistic settings”. 18   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 characteristics of design-based research the five most prominent characteristics of the dbr methodology are described below. they foster and enable the context-sensitive and comprehensive nature of dbr-developed interventions. a. dbr pursues practical solutions to complex problems dbr aims, within a given context, to produce knowledge with practical relevance (flick, 2007, p. 6; plomp, 2007, p. 9; plomp, 2013, p. 20; van den akker et al., 2006, p. 4). outcomes are intended to be user-friendly for similar future situations, where minor adjustments can be made to satisfy relevant contextual needs. therefore, dbr is not only data-informed, but it also creates theory and/or artefact. it has a potential multiplying effect in that it allows others to build on what has already been done instead of starting from scratch. in this study a solution was sought to support the he integration process of students from a low socio-economic status. b. dbr makes use of a research team most authors and experienced dbr researchers recommend the employment of a research team instead of an individual researcher (cobb et al., 2003; plomp, 2013; reeves et al., 2005). as the african proverb goes: “if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together”. student success and the pursuit of equity in the south african context is to “go far”. the research team often consists of a variety of participants from the different stakeholder groups and levels, giving everyone a voice in finding a solution as well as critiquing the proposed solutions. in the instance of this study, the phd student was the lead researcher and met with the assistant researcher on a weekly basis. meetings with the tutors and mentors, as part of the support team, took place after all 12 intervention activities with each cohort. these and all contact sessions with and feedback provided by the students were documented. c. dbr is implemented in phases to provide the research team with structure, the processes and procedures of dbr typically consist of three phases (bakker & van eerde, 2015; mor, 2010; plomp, 2013), which are applied sequentially. however, mor (2010, p.  48) warns that: “in reality, the boundaries between the three phases are often blurred”, informing a character of overlap and mutual complement. the research reported on here happened over three consecutive years and involved three phases per cohort. each year’s phase evolved as new suggestions for improvements were collected from the participants and research team, often overlapping with feedback from students who were both participants in the previous cohort and then mentors in the next. overlapping also occurred due to the many activities per intervention where feedback on specific sections (like lecturing style) was repeated. preliminary research phase. the preliminary phase is sometimes called the analysis and exploration phase (mckenney & reeves, 2012), or the framing phase (fransman, 2014; mor, 2010). it includes a comprehensive investigation into the identified problem ilse karsten & andré van zyl: design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool …   19 (mckenney & reeves, 2012; van den akker, 2010), which nieveen and folmer (2013, p. 154) call “the gap between the current and desired situation”. it starts with a thorough literature review (herrington et al., 2007; mckenney & reeves, 2012; nieveen & folmer, 2013; plomp, 2013; reeves et al., 2005) using previous research outcomes, observations, interviews, discussions, etc., to inform the problem statement. in fact, almost any methodology can be incorporated into this design process, as the researchers need a rich understanding of the problem from various perspectives. this multi-method approach is encouraged during all the phases since solutions are often made up of a combination of ideas and interventions. therefore, dbr is often associated with mixed methods research and pragmatism as research paradigm. the preliminary phase concludes with the design of a tentative solution (intervention), as a first attempt to solve the research problem. it is mainly based on the researchers’ knowledge and the literature review. the first prototype provides the framework for further data collection and discussions that will follow in the next phases. in the study reported on here, the researcher had a developed intervention in place for over eight years. the developed intervention was based on educational psychology and extended programme involvement. the first prototype version was tightened through a literature review and peer-review process involving facilitators from other universities and other support programmes. the initial prototype consisted of 14 themes with accompanying activities. prototyping phase. the prototyping phase consists of several iterations or cycles of implementation and thus are phases within a phase. as the first cycle within the prototyping phase, prototype 1 is implemented. nieveen and folmer (2013, pp.  156-157) define the term prototype as “a tentative version of the whole (or part of an) intervention before full commitment is made to implement it”. as part of the refining process, the prototyping phase continues with consecutive, improved versions of the intervention until the final version with its activities is arrived at. van den akker, (2010) calls this the design experiment phase with its repeated process of consecutive estimates. to refine the content and enhance the quality of the prototype, continuous participant and researcher feedback, and reflections by the research team are fundamental ingredients of the prototyping phase. the feedback is gathered via a variety of possible means and is provided as formative evaluations. any productive method can be utilized to get feedback, with surveys, questionnaires, interviews and observations being the most common. van den akker (2013) emphasises that the function of formative evaluation feedback is “more” than simply detecting limitations of the evaluated prototype, in that it accentuates the importance of detailed recommendations for improvement. the development described here for example, went through two prototyping cycles with feedback and input from the participants and the research team. in the third cycle, significantly fewer changes were recommended for implementation, indicating that the final prototype was crystalising. the prototyping phase proceeds through an iterative progression with continuous cycles of design, evaluation and revision, as seen in figure 1. 20   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 prototype 1 prototype 3 prototype 2 formative formative formative figure 1: prototypes informed by formative evaluations (karsten, 2018, p. 88) nieveen and folmer (2013, p.  157) call this process evolutionary prototyping. the final version is presented as a single, comprehensive intervention (proposed prototype) and is recommended for full implementation. another function of formative evaluations is to inform the development of the design principles, as a secondary outcome of all dbr endeavours. karsten (2018), however, showed that the iterative process, informed by the process of continuous evaluation, reflection and feedback, actually consisted of adjusting not only the whole design from one prototype to the next, but also adjusting individual activities within and across prototypes. for example, feedback on lecturing style in prototype 1, activity 1, could already be adapted for activity 2 in prototype 1 and was not only relevant for the same activity in prototype 2. an illustration of this design process is given in figure 2. activity 1 activity 3 activity 2 prototype one activity 1 activity 3 activity 2 prototype two activity 1 activity 3 activity 2 prototype three figure 2: design adaptation process (karsten, 2018, p. 92) ilse karsten & andré van zyl: design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool …   21 evaluation and reflection phase. as a final assessment of the complete dbr process, the evaluation and reflection phase is implemented. according to dbr guidelines (nieveen & folmer, 2013; plomp, 2013), this phase is used to summatively evaluate the recommended solution (the proposed final prototype) in appropriate ways. crucially, this includes the participants’ ability and willingness to implement learnings from the experienced prototype, within and to their contexts. figure 3 shows a framework as guideline for the possible implementation of the dbr phases with accompanying processes and procedures (adapted from the framework applied in the phd study reported on in this article). preliminary phase prototyping phase evaluation and reflection phase d e si g n -b a se d r e se a r c h year 1/2/3… year 3/4 year 2/3 year 4/5 year 5/6 background and literature review development of theoretical perspective underpinned by: relevant theory (1) relevant theory (2) • proposed integration intervention (prototype 3) • proposed design principles • reflection on process • recommendations • contribution of the study practical perspective e.g. interview cycle 1/2 e.g. questionnaires other methods implementation of prototype 1 implementation of prototype 2 practical perspective informing the design of prototype 1 informing the design of prototype 3 feedback and reflections from participants and research team to inform prototype 2 feedback and reflections from participants and research team to inform prototype 3 figure 3: a proposed framework for the implementation of the dbr phases (adapted from karsten, 2018, p. 170) 22   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 nieveen and folmer (2013) indicate that the evaluation of the final prototype should investigate both its practicality and its effectiveness. they recommend that these two attributes should be evaluated by comparing the expected and actual outcomes. the expected practicality and effectiveness of an intervention are evaluated against what is recorded in existing literature, as well as through the data and their analyses as part of the dbr process. in measuring effectiveness, mckenney and reeves (2012, pp.  142, 170) recommend that researchers ask the question: “how effectively does the intervention solve the problem?” they suggest two types of evidence when assessing practicality, namely (1) perceived evidence of practicality, which assesses the design of the intervention, and (2) objective evidence of practicality, which assesses the constructed prototypes (mckenney & reeves, 2012, p. 178). mckenney and reeves (2012) warn that a practical feel and ease of implementation do not automatically imply increased effectiveness or sustainability. during the dbr process it should be recognized that such an evaluation is open to subjective interpretation. if both the expected effectiveness and practicality of the proposed intervention are found to be viable, a decision should be made regarding possible further implementation of the prototype. the concluding prototype is also called the final deliverable (nieveen & folmer, 2013) and is put forward as the proposed solution to the research problem evident in the evaluation of the final version of the intervention developed, were a saturation of suggestions from the participants and research team, approval from the support staff from other universities, and an indication that student academic results improved. d. dbr follows an iterative process one of the main strengths of dbr is that it allows the researchers to practically and patiently “test drive” the possible solution (prototype 1), making adjustments according to valid feedback, and “test drive” it again (prototype 2), and again (prototype 3), until a level of saturation and satisfaction is reached. these repetitive design cycles (cobb et al., 2003; mckenney & reeves, 2012; nieveen, 1999; plomp, 2013; van den akker, 1999) ensure that the final iteration is context-sensitive and comprehensive, with all stakeholders having provided their inputs. the final iteration in this study points to an intervention tailored to students in a south african university, entering he from a low socio-economic background, displaying high academic potential towards a career in accounting. e. dbr has a set of dual outcomes the phases as proposed by plomp (2013) formed the basis of the methodology, with the dual outcome of a contextualised “final” or proposed prototype, as well as a list of design principles representing guidelines for the implementation of support interventions in similar contexts. a summary of the final proposed version follows. ilse karsten & andré van zyl: design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool …   23 table 1: a summary of the final intervention step 1: selection of and communication to participants (time frame: october to january) institutional action key factors and focus points selection admission communication adhere to the criteria of: – institution – bursary funders – he policies suggested measures: – students to motivate for their choice of career integration of psychological needs: autonomy – observe students’ abilities to provide motivation(s) for their career choices. – observe and assess students’ knowledge of the compatibility of their career choice with their own abilities and interests. competence – demonstrate competence in personal organisational and communication skills. – observe students’ academic competence (evident in nsc and nbt results). relatedness – observe students’ communication during the selection process (including their written communication on the application forms, emails, and telephone conversations). – foster a professional relationship by sharing accurate information timeously. – foster a trusting relationship with students. institutional action key factors and focus points institutional communication to share information about institutional requirements, accommodation, bursaries, orientation, and other administrative matters intervention manager to: – be warm and inviting, – be reasonably available to address student queries, – communicate timeously, – share accurate information, – refer to various service providers where needed, and – encourage two-way communication. integration of psychological needs: autonomy – assess and guide students’ decision-making skills regarding careers, finances, accommodation, contracts, and other related matters. competence – assess students’ responses to intervention manager’s questions and communication. – emphasise competent communication skills (like professional greetings, clear language use, including their contact and reference numbers in their communications). relatedness – interacting with prospective participants (via phone calls, emails, messages). – foster a professional relationship by sharing accurate information timeously. – foster a trusting relationship with students. 24   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 step 2: orientation of participants through the facilitation of selected intervention activities (time frame: january when students arrive at the institution; 2-week orientation) institutional action intervention content, including key factors and focus points welcome students intervention manger to: – meet the students and their families, – cooperate with residence management and student leaders to welcome the students, – answer questions of students and family members. and – refer students to institutional services where needed (e.g. health services and financial aid departments). keep in mind: – general orientation of the residence will commence. – students arrive with different expectations. – the involvement of other role-players like bursary funders, sport societies, religious organisations, and more. integration of psychological needs: autonomy – observe and guide students’ steps towards their independence (by encouraging autonomous decision-making, identifying strengths, and challenging their thinking about their career decisions and goals). competence – encourage students’ confidence in their academic and other abilities. – refer to senior students who have “made it” so far. – communicate in such a way as to stimulate curiosity in the students. – encourage students’ drive to discover their new environment and its’ elements, with the cognisance of making autonomous and responsible decisions. relatedness – observe students saying goodbye to their families. – provide some structure to meeting peers, senior students, mentors/tutors, residence leaders, bursary staff, and the intervention manager. – creating an atmosphere of acceptance, involvement, belonging, and social connection. institutional action facilitation of activities towards integration: orientation fye programme, academic orientation, residence orientation, environmental orientation, initiation of intervention activities process of integrating into new cultural habitus intervention manager to clarify her role as support-provider / psychologist / facilitator ia* 1: self-knowledge to include: – personality profile – conflict management style – assertiveness style – multiple intelligence – stress management – personal values facilitation guidelines: – intervention manager to share about self to build trust, – allow for small-group discussions to encourage interaction, – and discourage unhealthy comparisons between and among students. ia 2: personal well-being to include: – personal health – hiv/aids – diet/rest/exercise ilse karsten & andré van zyl: design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool …   25 facilitation guidelines: – ensure confidentiality and encourage trust within the group; – provide practical suggestions to students; – allow sufficient time for discussions and questions; – consider a guest speaker who is an expert, or living with hiv/aids; – and make students aware of available health and counselling services within the institution. ia 3: entrepreneurial activity to include: – relation building / social activity – problem solving skills – organizational skills – communication skills facilitation guidelines: – conduct activity close to the beginning of the academic year to allow for senior student participation; – provide structure to the activity to encourage cooperation and optimal interaction opportunities; – and incorporate content on stress-management. *ia: intervention activity integration of psychological needs: autonomy – assisting participants in making decisions regarding their personal management. – create awareness of the self and the role of their perceptions and values in autonomous decision-making. – guiding students in becoming increasingly aware of their uniqueness to develop a healthy selfimage and self-esteem. – encouraging students to provide motivation(s) for their decisions. – encouraging students to ask for help when needed. competence – guiding students to develop a realistic perspective of their competencies in relation to their strengths and experienced challenges. – encouraging academic progress (passing). – providing knowledge and opportunities to students to develop competencies in the various skills related to the facilitated activities. – assisting students to develop confidence in themselves. – guiding students to set realistic goals (holistically, thus academic goals, health-related goals, relationship goals, and more). – allowing students to take responsibility for choices and to face the consequences thereof. – stimulating the feeling of efficacy and mastery. – creating a safe space where students can strive towards achievement. – encouraging internal motivation. relatedness – creating a warm atmosphere of belonging, acceptance, care, trust and connectedness. – creating opportunities and providing structure for social activities where students can connect with peers, senior students, mentors/tutors, academic staff, bursary and other support staff. – encouraging students to build meaningful relationships with others. – providing opportunities where students can be actively involved in and experience contributing to others. – making students aware of the available support structures. 26   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 dbr’s practical contribution is to provide a well-researched solution to an identified problem. in addition, its scientific contributions are (1) making a theoretical input (relevant to validation studies) and (2) offering design principles (relevant to development studies) (plomp, 2013, pp. 19-23). like findings in case studies, the outcomes of dbr cannot be generalized directly to other contexts (plomp, 2013). however, design principles as secondary outcomes of dbr offer a situation that provides informed advice that approaches a level of generalizability. within the context of dbr, mckenney and reeves (2012, p. 20) define generalizability as “being able to transfer theoretical insights and/or practical interventions to other settings”. although the implementation of design principles in a different context “cannot guarantee success”, the principles are pointers towards contextualising problems via heuristic statements that “are meant to support designers in their tasks” (plomp, 2013, p.  24). plomp (2013, p.  24) differentiates between two types of design principles. first, substantive design principles, where the focus is on the features of the design itself. table 2 provides an example of a substantive design principle from the study on which this article is based. table 2: example of a substantive design principle (karsten, 2018, p. 292) substantive design principle 4 appoint and train senior students as mentors as part of the intervention team suggestions relevant to substantive principle 4 select mentors with specific competencies and characteristics: – willing to invest time to support peers – good interpersonal skills – good time management skills to cope with additional responsibilities – trustworthy and reliable (treating participants’ information confidentially) second, plomp (2013, p. 24) describes procedural design principles as the features of the design approach. these principles therefore include knowledge about the suggested process to be followed with accompanying design activities that are most likely to impact the intervention successfully. table 3: example of a procedural design principle (karsten, 2018, p. 304) procedural principle 1 the process of dbr is time and labour intensive and requires the careful selection of a research team relevant to the intervention trustworthiness and codes of ethics dbr, like all other research, necessitates ethical conduct to ensure the trustworthiness of findings and results. these include measures to ensure validity and reliability (creswell, 2012, p. 627; mckenney & reeves, 2012, p. 101). mckenney and reeves (2012, p. 205) advocate that credibility “has parallels with internal validity, relating to the “truth” of the findings”. ilse karsten & andré van zyl: design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool …   27 in dbr it is often possible to report on the process as it unfolds, ensuring rich descriptions from observations and reflections. credibility, in dbr with its “prolonged and persistent engagement” (mertens, 2010, p. 260) requires commitment from and consistency within the research team, due to the scaffolding nature of the data. because researchers engage in extended and communication dense researchrelationships with participants, high ethical standards in the process of dbr are essential. participants need to know that their time and input is valued and respected. this timeconsuming nature of dbr also requires patience and flexibility from the researchers and can at times be highly frustrating. nevertheless, all efforts need to be made to adhere to the principles related to ethical conduct (lichtman, 2010), including the principles to do no harm (marshall & rossman, 2011, p.  47), respecting participants’ rights to privacy and anonymity (creswell, 2012, p.  23; grove et al., 2012), adhering to confidentiality (creswell, 2014, p.  100; grove et al., 2012), assuring informed consent (creswell, 2012, p.  398; flick, 2014, p.  50), managing any possible intrusiveness (creswell, 2014, p.  94), and inappropriate behaviour (lichtman, 2010, p. 54-58; marshall & rossman, 2011, p. 112). the way that data are interpreted and presented should also be done honestly and with all intent to avoid deception (creswell, 2014, p.  94; flick, 2014, p.  50). the study in this paper adhered to the ethical guidelines of the institution’s research policy by keeping all data confidential. student feedback was coded before it was discussed among members of the research team and all personal identifying information was securely stored. contribution of dbr dbr processes and procedures are typically known for their contributions on practical, methodological, theoretical and personal levels. the practical contribution is that of the “solution”, also called the intervention, relevant to the context of the study. in this instance it resulted in a final version of the integration intervention that is now being profitably implemented at the university under investigation. methodologically, dbr offers a sound and comprehensive vehicle for research reporting of the problem and its background (in the prototyping phase), as well as a well-tested solution to that problem (in the prototyping phase) that has been evaluated as viable and implementable (in the evaluation and reflection phase). this intentional methodology contributes to a process that is context-sensitive, and one where every relevant stakeholder within that context has a voice (karsten et al., 2020). the iterative nature of dbr allows for repeated verification of data and leaves an open-ended conclusion to all research, since continued and continuous development, growth and change are actual ingredients of the dbr process. the design principles, as secondary outcomes of dbr, can contribute on theoretical levels within a study’s context and field, and enhance the conceptual theoretical frameworks thereof, potentially affecting practices and policies. in this instance, the dbr process resulted in an amalgamation of two theoretical frameworks, namely the theory of self-determination (ryan & deci, 2002, 2008, 2017) and tinto’s theory on integration (tinto, 28   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 15-31 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 2003, 2014). lastly, a researcher is unlikely to walk away from a dbr project without experiencing personal development and learning. in fact, in our experience, most members of the research team reported personal value and growth from the research process. after the reported phd study, one member of the research team registered for her own phd and several others assumed student leadership and tutorial roles to further increase their impact. possible limitations of dbr there is no doubt that dbr is a lengthy process, but this is both a limitation and a strength. it is a limitation due to its time-consuming nature, and progress often feels slow. also, with time, participants can either “drop out” of the research or decline further involvement. however, this lengthy process allows for systematic and thorough data, ensuring high levels of trustworthiness. researcher bias can be another limitation, where the researcher is often deeply involved in the lives of the participants. the use of a research team can bring balance to this limitation, where individual interpretations and observations can be tested against the members of the team. conclusion the importance of strong methodological approaches that are data-informed and comprehensive is continually increasing. equity and other developmental initiatives are needed to close the gap between what he support providers think students need, and what students actually need. dbr provides a robust and comprehensive framework for researchers and practitioners to create interventions and programmes that feature high levels of “deliberation, participation, and transparency of decision making” as proposed by waage et al. (2015, p. e252). in so doing, they create a “safe and just space for humanity” (hajer et al., 2015, p. 1654). dbr clearly provides one of the few effective vehicles that enable pursuit of effective, context-sensitive and data-informed equity-enabling initiatives. the researchers confidently recommend dbr as a development methodology to those who are seriously pursuing a rigorous and academically sound approach to developing practically implementable interventions. future research could include aspects such as the intersection between institutional culture and dbr as a viable methodology and the intersection of dbr and the appreciative inquiry model. references anderson, t., & shattuck, j. (2012). design-based research: a decade of progress in education research? educational researcher, 41, 16-25. armstrong, m., dopp, c., & welsh, j. 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(2022). design-based research (dbr) as an effective tool to create contextsensitive and data-informed student success initiatives. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 15-31. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3706 http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/report03-10-19/report-03-10-192017.pdf http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/report03-10-19/report-03-10-192017.pdf http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=12948 _hlk63417085 www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 49 research article harnessing student agency for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching disaapele mogashana,1 moses basitere2 & eunice ndeto ivala3 1 dr disaapele mogashana, university of pretoria, south africa. email: disaapele.mogashana@up.ac.za.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-6300-0206 2 dr moses basitere, university of cape town, south africa. email: moses.basitere@uct.ac.za. orcid: 00000002-1258-5443 3 prof. eunice ndeto ivala, cape peninsula university of technology, south africa. email: ivalae@cput.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-5178-7099 article history: received 24 august 2022 | accepted 20 january 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords life coaching, student agency, student success, student support, engineering education abstract research on student support in the global north indicates possible benefits of life coaching interventions in improving students’ persistence and well-being. there is emerging research on life coaching interventions and their potential benefits in the south african higher education context, but empirical evidence is scarce. we report results from a longitudinal study that investigated a life coaching intervention to support students. the objective of the intervention was to harness students’ agency proactively by equipping them with skills to improve their academic and non-academic lives. data were gathered through one-on-one semi-structured interviews with ten students who had participated in the intervention. we used archer’s social realist concepts of structure and agency as our theoretical framework. the results indicate that the life coaching intervention enabled students to mediate academic and non-academic constraints. concerning academic constraints, it helped students manage the transition from high school, including adjusting to a new workload, time management, learning to collaborate with their peers, and dealing with experiences of failure. concerning non-academic constraints, the life coaching intervention helped students clarify their goals, increase their self-awareness, cope with negative emotions, and boosted their self-confidence and resilience. résumé les recherches sur le soutien aux étudiants dans les pays du nord montrent les avantages potentiels des interventions de coaching de vie en termes d’amélioration de la persévérance et du bien-être des étudiants. des recherches émergentes portent sur les interventions de coaching de vie et leurs avantages potentiels dans le contexte de l’enseignement supérieur en afrique du sud, mais les preuves empiriques sont encore rares. nous présentons les résultats d’une étude longitudinale portant sur une intervention de coaching de vie visant à soutenir les étudiants. l’objectif de l’intervention était de mobiliser de manière proactive l’agentivité des étudiants en les dotant de compétences leur permettant d’améliorer leur vie académique et non académique. les données ont été recueillies lors d’entretiens individuels semi-structurés avec dix étudiants ayant participé à l’intervention. nous avons utilisé les concepts réalistes http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za50 mots-clés coaching de vie, agentivité des étudiants, œuvres estudiantines, réussite étudiante, services étudiants, soutien aux étudiants, éducation en ingénierie. introduction the expansion of higher education in south africa has continued steadily for close to three decades since the dawn of democracy. according to the higher education management information system (hemis) ’s 2000 to 2016 cohort studies, enrolments for first time entrants rose from 98,095 in the year 2000 to 141,850 in 2016 (department of higher education and training, 2019). with widening student access, higher education institutions (heis) struggle to complement student access with student success (schreiber et al., 2021; van zyl et al., 2020). according to the department of higher education and training report, although there have been some improvements in student success, the overall throughput rates of students remain low, with just over 50% of students entering higher education dropping out, contributing not only to financial wastage, but to unrealised aspirations (department of higher education and training, 2019). the high dropout rates remain problematic in the south african context, where the academic success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds continues to play a significant role both in achieving the redress and developmental agenda of the country, as well as fostering upward social mobility of graduates (case et al., 2018; statistics south africa, 2017). the biggest challenge remains in the first year, and this is the level at which most student transition interventions have been explored and implemented (mcconney, 2021). many of these interventions have focused on students’ transition from high school into higher education. they have contributed significantly to the maturity of the firstyear experience literature in south africa (nyar, 2020). some of the interventions that are currently being explored and implemented include, for example, those that focus on peer mentoring programmes (mcconney, 2021). some are exploring different academic advising models in their institutional contexts (schoeman et al., 2021; tiroyabone & strydom, 2021; van pletzen et al., 2021). other studies are exploring different ways of enhancing students’ well-being and harnessing student agency (mogashana & basitere, 2021; terblanche et al., 2021). and finally, others have adopted a more comprehensive institutional approach using data-informed strategies to effectively provide students with academic and non-academic support in a collaborative way that enables student success (van zyl et al., 2020). while much of the current research predominantly covers sociaux de structure et d’agentivité d’archer comme cadre théorique. les résultats indiquent que l’intervention de coaching de vie a permis aux étudiants de mieux gérer les contraintes académiques et non académiques. en ce qui concerne les contraintes académiques, elle a aidé les étudiants à mieux gérer la transition du lycée vers l’université, notamment en s’adaptant à une nouvelle charge de travail, en gérant mieux leur temps, en apprenant à collaborer avec leurs pairs et en faisant face à des expériences d’échec. en ce qui concerne les contraintes non académiques, elle a aidé les étudiants à clarifier leurs objectifs, à accroître leur conscience de soi, à faire face aux émotions négatives et à renforcer leur confiance en soi et leur résilience. mogashana, d., basitere, m., & ivala, e. n. (2023). harnessing student ageny for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching 51 student transitions at the entry level, schreiber et al. (2021) call for increased “contextrelevant” and “high impact” support interventions research that expands the knowledge base on student transitions into and through to the senior years in their studies. we aim to contribute to answering this call. in this article, we report findings drawn from a qualitative study conducted four years after a group of extended curriculum programme (ecp) in chemical engineering students participated in a small group life coaching intervention at a university of technology. we investigated how the life coaching intervention had influenced students’ agency as they navigated their way through university from the first to the final year of their studies for the diploma in chemical engineering. we provide a brief literature review on life coaching as an intervention in higher education institutions. we then briefly outline the conceptual framework of structure and agency (archer, 1995, 2003) that we use to frame our findings. next, we present the methodology that guided the study, followed by the results. we discuss key findings and limitations and conclude by providing avenues for future research. literature review life coaching broadly, life coaching may be defined as “a collaborative, solution-focused, resultorientated and systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of life experience and goal attainment in the personal and professional life of normal, nonclinical clients” (grant, 2003, p. 254). life coaching is a solution-focused practice rooted in positive psychology, and it explores and harnesses a client’s strengths. according to grant (2003), key parts of life coaching are the attainment of goals, personal development, increased self-reflection, and enhanced mental health in nonclinical populations. extending this definition to a nonclinical student population, academic coaching entails collaboration between a student life coach, often referred to as an academic coach, and a student, and it focuses on the clarification of the student’s academic, personal and professional goals and a guided process of attaining them (capstick et al., 2019). for students, the primary outcome of this collaboration, as capstick et al. (2019) indicate, is the completion of an academic qualification. apart from helping students clarify their goals, the coach’s role includes guiding students to overcome internal and external barriers to their success, advising, keeping a student accountable and helping them learn how to self-reflect and self-regulate their behaviour. for example, obstacles that often hinder students’ academic success include poor time management, fear of failure, poor stress management and burnout, and procrastination (mogashana & basitere, 2021). the student life coach employs various techniques to assist students in overcoming these challenges. despite the possible benefits that life coaching interventions may bring to the context of higher education, there is a general lack of empirical research on student life coaching interventions (capstick et al., 2019; howlett et al., 2021; lefdahl-davis et al., 2018). most interestingly, much of the written literature on student life coaching in higher education is based journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za52 on studies from the united states and is mainly based on quantitative studies. we will provide a brief review of some of these studies next. recent studies of student life coaching in higher education in their recent study that explored the effects of academic coaching on fostering college students’ development of self-regulated learning skills, howlett et al. (2021) used a randomised controlled trial design on three groups of students who had not been exposed to academic coaching. they found that the life coaching intervention increased metacognition in the treatment groups, and this was found to be the case for both the students coached face-to-face and those coached online. the study by capstick et al. (2019), which investigated the use of life coaching to support “at-risk” undergraduate students, found that students who had been coached were more likely to be retained and to proceed to other semesters than students who had not been coached. in another study that focused on the use of weekly life coaching to support students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem) programmes at three institutions, bellman et al. (2015) found that life coaching had improved students’ motivation to succeed and improved their self-confidence. furthermore, it had increased skills such as time management, stress management, prioritisation, and note-taking. to contribute to the already noted benefits of life coaching, the study by lefdahl-davis et al. (2018) found that life coaching contributes to student’s satisfaction with the choice of an area of study, helps them become aware of and be in alignment with their values and their connection to their life purposes. a study by mcgill et al. (2018) argued for the use of life coaching as a way of supporting marginalized (in this case, students of colour) students’ academic journeys because it “improves the student’s sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and ultimately, their success.” (p. 23). lastly, and in the context of higher education in south africa, a study by mogashana and basitere (2021) found that life coaching helped students not to drop out of their studies, deal better with experiences of failure and improved their academic performance. the reviewed studies suggest that the use of life coaching in student populations may improve metacognition, well-being, motivation to succeed, self-confidence and other skills that students need to succeed academically and in life and reduce the chances of dropping out. although the literature reviewed is limited due to a lack of empirical studies in the field, what was evident, at least at the time of the review, was that apart from one study, no other recorded empirical studies investigated students’ experiences of the use of life coaching interventions in higher education in south africa. it is this gap in local literature and the gap in the qualitative studies literature globally that this study aims to contribute. next, we present the conceptual framework that guided our research. structure and agency: the interplay between potential structural and cultural constraints and enablements and students’ personal projects an investigation into how the life coaching intervention within a programme at a university may have influenced students necessitates an examination of the interaction mogashana, d., basitere, m., & ivala, e. n. (2023). harnessing student ageny for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching 53 between the properties of social structure and human agency. we employ some concepts from the social realist theory, structure, culture and agency, the morphogenetic approach (archer, 1995, 2003). key to archer (1995)’s morphogenetic approach is the understanding that structure and agency are distinct strata of reality with distinct properties that are irreducible to one another. these properties emerge from previous interactions in which structure and agency shape future outcomes. the morphogenetic approach allows a temporary separation between the respective emergent properties of structure, culture and agency to examine the interplay between them. according to archer (2003), examining structure (social relations that include positions, roles, and material resources), culture (ideas and propositions) and agency (including reflexivity, intentionality, and deliberations) entails examining the interplay between their respective emergent properties and determining how each has changed over time. the study from which data presented in this article were derived traced how students’ sense of agency was influenced by a life coaching intervention, a part of the social structure and culture they encountered upon commencing their undergraduate studies in chemical engineering. the process of tracing how agency was influenced may be described as follows: structural and cultural emergent properties of the context in which students encountered predate them and remain dormant until they are activated by the agents, both individual and as a collective, in search of their own ends (archer, 1995). according to (archer, 2003), human beings have things they care about the most; archer refers to these as their “ultimate concerns”. human beings then devise certain courses of action to achieve their ultimate concerns, which are what archer (2003) calls “projects”. while human beings are in the process of pursuing their projects, they encounter and activate the emergent properties of structure and culture that then act as either “constraints” (or challenges, obstacles, impingements) or “enablements” (or empowerment, assistance). these potential constraints and enablements remain dormant and may remain unexercised until agents’ pursuit of personal projects activate them. archer (2003) posits “reflexivity” as the most important personal emergent property that allows human beings to mediate the structural and cultural emergent properties they encounter while pursuing their projects. as human beings, our ability to hold internal conversations, consider ourselves in relation to external circumstances, and choose to act in particular ways makes us active agents. our power to hold internal conversations individually (through our reflexive deliberations) or to devise collective action through corporate agency, is how agency is transformed and reshaped in relation to the conditioning influences of structure and culture. considering the concepts outlined above, we asked the following theoretical research question: “how has having participated in the life coaching programme influenced students’ agency?” therefore, this article aims to report the findings of our qualitative investigation into the role of a small group life coaching intervention in harnessing students’ agency over time. the following section outlines our methodology in answering the stated research question. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za54 methodology we followed a case study methodology as it enabled us to explore “how” life coaching influenced the participants within the context of an ecp in chemical engineering, our unit of analysis, over four years (yin, 2009). the strength of a case study is that it allows us to do an in-depth investigation within a particular context; however, it has often been criticised for poor transferability to other contexts. we intend to provide all the necessary detail to facilitate the application of the insights drawn from this case study in other contexts. research context the study was conducted with students who had been part of the ecp in chemical engineering at a university of technology. during their first year in 2018, the ecp implemented a pilot life coaching intervention to support its students with psychosocial issues that often affected their academic performance. the life coaching intervention occurred on weekends. each participant was invited, together with five to seven others, to one entire saturday and sunday face-to-face group life coaching programme. the selection criteria included their academic performance in their first class tests and information that students provided in the background information questionnaire that they had completed at the start of the year. the weekend programme was followed by ongoing support from the coach via whatsapp messaging social media. this article’s findings reveal how the life coaching intervention influenced the lives and academic journeys of students whose participation began four years ago. at the time of collecting data for this article, only 10 of the 36 students who had participated in the life coaching programme and were still registered at the university (regardless of whether they were in their final year or not) agreed to participate in our follow-up investigation. all ten are in the final year of their studies. table 1 below provides important information about each of the 10 participants. participant data were anonymised using pseudonyms. table 1: participants’ demographic information name gender first time at a university? was studying chemical engineering in the ecp their first choice? boniswa female no yes. she had dropped out of pharmacy at another university. ayabonga male no yes. he had dropped out of mechanical engineering at another university. tebello male yes no. mechanical engineering was his first choice. he had not met the minimum admission requirements. thabisa female yes yes. benny male yes yes. nkele female yes yes. the decision to study at this university was financial. mogashana, d., basitere, m., & ivala, e. n. (2023). harnessing student ageny for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching 55 name gender first time at a university? was studying chemical engineering in the ecp their first choice? bulelwa female yes yes. influenced by chemical engineers she worked with at a pharmaceutical company after completing grade 12. siya female yes yes. mpumi female no yes. she had dropped out of a science degree at a nearby university. nosipho female yes yes. she was not aware of other universities offering chemical engineering. data gathering and analysis data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with each of the 10 participants. these interviews were conducted by the third author, who had not been directly involved with either the teaching or the coaching of the participants. participant students completed an informed consent form. the interviews were conducted through audio-recorded microsoft teams sessions and were later transcribed and saved using students’ pseudonyms. important to the interview schedule was the breakdown of the overall question “how has having participated in the life coaching influenced your undergraduate journey?” into sub-questions that covered a range of academic and non-academic “challenges” and “the solutions”. the breaking down of interview questions in this way was so that data could be analysed using content analysis guided by archer’s (1995) “constraints” and “enablements” in the development and harnessing of human agency. transferability and credibility a case study design was employed. a case study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of a case (yin, 2009), and establishing trustworthiness has its limitations, such as the non-generalisation of the findings. although this study’s findings are not transferable to ecps in other engineering departments across institutions with similar contexts, we hope that insights from this study can inform practice in these institutions. on the aspect of credibility, the interview transcripts were read in detail by each author, and the understanding and interpretation of each participant’s narrative were discussed in detail. we hope more programmes will explore our efforts in their own contexts. ethical clearance and researcher positioning this article forms part of a more extensive pilot study of which the faculty of engineering at the university where this study took place provided ethical clearance. it is worth noting that the first and second authors were involved as the students’ life coach and mathematics lecturer, respectively, during the year in which the intervention was implemented. however, the potential negative impact of their involvement was mitigated by interviews conducted by the third author, who had not interacted with the participants in the capacities of either lecturer or life coach. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za56 results the life coaching intervention aimed to equip students with skills that might harness their agency and improve their ability to overcome academic and non-academic constraints as they navigated their way through their studies. to establish how having participated in the life coaching intervention had influenced students, the results are presented using the two categories that emerged from data analysis. we start by presenting the academic constraints students experienced in the first and subsequent years and how what they learned during life coaching enabled them to mediate these. we then present the non-academic constraints and how students mediated them over the years of undergraduate studies. academic constraints and how life coaching enabled students to mediate them all ten participants reported having experienced academic constraints at the start of their chemical engineering studies. the most notable constraint that affected them academically was managing the transition from high school or another university. for example, boniswa, having been at another nearby university, and with her nature as “not being social”, found it difficult to adjust and seek help from other students when she struggled to use the digital systems at the university. but she indicated that having participated in the life coaching programme helped her to be more social: i want to believe that now i am a social person. i can be able to communicate with other people without being afraid of what other people are going to think. i am now able to express myself better. (boniswa’s interview) the second constraint that students experienced in transitioning entailed managing increased workload, pacing in courses, difficulty in understanding some lecturers and time management. thabisa shared her experience of struggling with time management and how coaching helped her resolve it: it[the challenge] was more of not studying on time and not doing time management, not having a good timetable to keep up on my schoolwork … when we were being coached, i think i had to come up with a nice plan to keep up with my academics. (thabisa’s interview) knowing how to manage time was not only important for students in their first year but became an enablement for some in managing the transition to remote learning during the covid-19 pandemic. mpumi shared her challenges during with remote learning, which started during her third year, and how the skills to manage her time and communicate with classmates she had learned during coaching helped her: i was able to manage time, whenever i didn’t have data to attend class, i had to manage my time and make a timetable to say ok this time is for catch up and i had to ask people to help me with what was done in class … it[coaching] really helped me with time management and communication. (mpumi’s interview) mogashana, d., basitere, m., & ivala, e. n. (2023). harnessing student ageny for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching 57 some students admitted that they found it challenging to collaborate with other students at first, making it difficult to find help with the modules. at first they tried to resolve their academic challenges on their own, but life coaching taught them the value of getting support from their peers. benny related how he overcame this constraint: i used to be a selfish person and a person who was always on my own, a person who believes that he can do everything by himself but through life coaching i developed a lot of things: how to share, how to assist other people, how to even ask some help from other people because i’d say i used to have pride and this pride had so much negative impact on my life – even academically. (benny’s interview) furthermore, some students indicated that the most challenging part of managing their transition to university was learning how to deal with failure and build resilience. tebello shared his experience: academically it was dealing with failure … what i’ve learned is that most of the circumstances or situations i found myself in i can take myself out of them and the influence that i had on my academics is that whatever challenges that i came across, maybe let’s say for example a failure, i knew that i could always bounce back from a failure because it is part of that process i was in. so it [coaching] gave me that skill of resilience i’d say. (tebello’s interview) apart from constraints that students experienced that directly impacted their academics, there were other psychosocial constraints that life coaching seems to have helped them navigate. they are presented next. non-academic constraints and how life coaching enabled students to mediate them as human beings making their way through life, some students are often unclear about their goals. the results indicated that for some, life coaching helped them clarify the direction their lives were taking and set goals for their lives. thabisa, for example, having learned about goal-setting during life coaching indicated that she wanted to start an ngo in her community after her studies. she found that being clear about her goal helped her find strength during a challenging time in her second year of study when she was struggling with one of her modules: that time [in second year] i did talk with my coach on whatsapp that i was having difficulty with the module and i think it did help me overcome the challenge that i was having and i pulled myself and still continued because i knew that at the end of the day i have a goal that i need to achieve … so i think my next goals and achievements, or the foundation of it, really came from the coaching because at first i didn’t know what it is that i want to do when i get to my third year but now i have a picture of what i would want to do. (thabisa’s interview) in another example, boniswa indicated that coaching enabled her to focus and prioritise things that matter to her: journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za58 i was able to prioritise the things that are important to me. i was able to do research about my academics to make sure that i pass. i was able to plan ahead when studying and i was able to do that through coaching. (boniswa’s interview) the results also indicate that life coaching may have enabled some students to improve their self-awareness and resilience. ayabonga, for example, described his experience as follows: we were given the skill of self-awareness. the coach always reminded us that we can always achieve everything that we put our minds to … another skill would be problemsolving and decision-making. she [the coach] had a positive impact in the way i think and the way i present myself and also the way that i judge situations. (ayabonga’s interview) the self-awareness and the ability to reflect upon their circumstances and make decisions about possible actions helped ayabonga during a very challenging time in when he was confronted by his brother’s untimely death. you don’t know when death is going to hit your loved one. i was so numb about it but i managed to come back to my senses. i told the coach about it and from that moment she was there for me ... had she not been there, i mean i was considering taking a gap year or to just stop and deregister or finish the semester and come back the other year. (ayabonga’s interview) siya also lost a sibling, her younger brother, at the end of her first year. she indicated that the experience of grief threatened to affect her second year, but that she had learned a lot about herself and her emotions and how to express them during coaching and this helped her begin to process her grief. she said that although she did not perform as well in her second year as she did in her first year, she was grateful that her support helped her complete her courses that year. as with ayabonga and siya, other students also learned how to understand and deal with negative experiences and emotions. for example, nkele indicated that she had undergone parental separation back home during her first year. she had been robbed on campus while walking from the library, an experience she found traumatic that year. nkele reported that, immediately after the robbery, she did not have anyone to talk to but that having access to and contacting the life coach on whatsapp helped her to “calm down”. apart from overcoming this unfortunate incident, nkele indicated that life coaching contributed to her understanding of her emotions: dealing with my negative emotions and taking care of my mental health. i think that’s what i got to learn the most about through life coaching. i believe that if i am ok emotionally and psychologically, then i can be able to focus on my academics … so having been made aware of how i can face my emotions and fulfil myself as a whole made it easier for me to balance my studies because you definitely cannot focus on your studies if you as a person as a whole are not doing ok. (nkele’s interview) mogashana, d., basitere, m., & ivala, e. n. (2023). harnessing student ageny for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching 59 additionally, the life coaching intervention enabled students to develop self-confidence as all of them mentioned some aspects of their confidence had improved. bulelwa, for instance, said that when she arrived at university, after having worked at a pharmaceutical company immediately after matriculation, she was not confident that she would succeed primarily because she had struggled with mathematics in high school. bulelwa had struggled to make friends as she did not have the confidence to do so, but coaching had helped her with it: i am one person who doesn’t know how to ask for help. i don’t know how to reach out to people. so it[coaching] helped me because i am able now to ask for help if i am struggling with something. i believe in myself more than anything because i had zero confidence in myself, especially in my academics, but now these past few years because of that session and because of the things we were taught there, the things that [the coach] taught us, i am in a place where i am confident. that i can do anything if i put my mind in whatever i want to do – i can do anything. as long as i am willing to put in the work and the effort and know when to ask for help. (bulelwa’s interview) importantly, life coaching seemed to have enabled all the participants to cope better during the remote learning period and persistent lockdowns resulting from the covid-19 pandemic. whether it was nkele, who had no space dedicated to study at home, as she shared a room with her siblings, and public libraries were then closed, or benny, whose fears about the possible death of his family members led to a temporary loss of motivation to study, or bulelwa, who had to deal with the challenging times of extreme isolation and loneliness and having to live with and face herself daily. coaching had enabled them with the tools and skills that they used to navigate this potentially constraining period. it was under these unprecedented and unpredictable conditions that they drew on the skills that they gained during life coaching, demonstrating their ability to persist despite the odds. discussion higher education institutions in south africa continue to explore academic and non-academic interventions that support students’ transitions and promote student success. our aim in this study was to investigate the use of one such intervention. the positioning of students within the ecp when they arrived at the university exposed them to the influences of both structure and culture, and their associated emergent properties. the emergent properties of structure and culture, when activated by students seeking to pursue their personal projects of attaining a qualification, provided students with potential constraints (challenges) and enablements throughout their undergraduate studies. to mediate the potential constraints of structure and culture, students exercised their agency by holding reflexive deliberations and acting collectively to provide each other support. our aim, therefore, was to investigate how having participated in the life coaching intervention during their first years had influenced students’ agency during the transition from school and other universities and through to the final year of their studies in chemical engineering. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za60 the results indicate that students encountered various academic and non-academic constraints during their four-year educational journeys, and that having participated in the life coaching intervention had acted as an enablement or had harnessed their agency successfully by providing them with the skills to mediate the constraints. concerning academic constraints, the findings indicate that, first, in managing the transition from high school to university, students had to adjust to the new environment and increased workload. we found that having participated in the life coaching enabled them to learn how to manage their time effectively, process their experiences of failure, and collaborate better with their peers. these findings align with the findings by mogashana and basitere (2021), who found that life coaching had empowered students’ agency with skills such as time management, dealing with failure, collaborating with peers and these skills helped them to mediate the potentially constraining influences of structure at the university during their first year. however, where the present study differs is in that the students drew on these skills to overcome constraints not just in their first year, but that the life coaching intervention had a long-term influence throughout their undergraduate studies. considering that these were students who had entered the university through the ecp and had therefore not met the minimum requirements for enrolment in the mainstream programme, the fact that they were now in their final semester of the final year in minimum time indicates their strong agency to persist and succeed. the strong commitment to persistence resonates with the findings of the studies by capstick et al. (2019), who found that life coaching enhances the chances of retaining “at-risk” students and reduces the chances of dropping out. we also found, as with bellman et al. (2015)’s study which showed that students who had been coached had better time management and stress management skills to succeed in stem programmes, that the life coaching intervention had equipped the participants with the skills to manage their time and stress successfully and independently. this finding indicates that participants’ agency may be harnessed to navigate potential structure and culture constraints better. concerning non-academic constraints, we found that the intervention influenced students’ agency by enabling them to be clearer about their future goals and aspirations. life coaching improved the students’ self-confidence in their abilities to achieve their goals. lefdahl-davis et al. (2018) report similar findings about students’ satisfaction with their choices of study and their connection to students’ life purposes; students were motivated to succeed and were looking forward, with confidence, to the next chapters of their lives once they had completed their studies. moreover, results showed students’ increased agency in that they had a greater sense of self-awareness and the ability to handle negative emotions effectively, which is paramount to students’ well-being, and, ultimately, their success (mcgill et al., 2018). the current study made two more significant findings. first, the results indicate the life coaching intervention has prolonged benefits that continue beyond the year of intervention. although the participants were coached in the first year, the intervention results suggest that this “enablement” continued to be invaluable to them throughout their studies. second, the findings showed that life coaching had harnessed students’ agency to cope with their studies and lives during one of the most stressful periods of this generation – the mogashana, d., basitere, m., & ivala, e. n. (2023). harnessing student ageny for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching 61 covid-19 pandemic. the results have shown that students had to overcome various constraints, including learning online and dealing with isolation during hard lockdowns. they had the agency to reach out to one another, collaborate through social media platforms such as whatsapp and encourage each other to persist. these students were able to exercise their agency, both individually and collectively, to show resilience and dedication to their personal projects, something that they reported had been influenced by, among other things, their participation in the life coaching intervention in their first year. as the results indicated, all the positive influences on students’ agency were experienced during and beyond the year of the life coaching intervention. we argue, therefore, that the use of a life coaching intervention in supporting students may be invaluable and, based on the findings of this study, it could be one of the “high impact” interventions that schreiber et al. (2021) call for. conclusion this article reports findings derived from a qualitative study that investigated how having participated in a life coaching intervention in the first year at a university had influenced students’ agency. overall, the results indicated that the life coaching intervention harnessed students’ agency, which enabled them to overcome potentially constraining academic challenges such as transitioning from high school, adjusting to increased workload, time management, dealing with failure and learning to collaborate with their peers. concerning non-academic challenges, the results revealed life coaching harnessed students’ agency by empowering them to clarify their goals, increased their selfawareness, helped them deal with their negative emotions effectively, improved their self-confidence, and enabled them to be more resilient in dealing with the challenges they faced during the covid-19 pandemic. the findings highlighted the importance of the life coaching intervention for students, not only as a potentially effective support intervention at the first-year level but as an intervention with the potential of supporting them throughout their undergraduate studies and on life issues beyond their studies. this article contributes to the literature exploring student transitions in the south african higher education context and to the scant empirical literature globally concerning the use of life coaching for supporting students in higher education. the limitation of data presented herein is that, although there was a significant number of students from the original cohort, some a year or two behind, only those who had reached the final year chose to participate in the study. this limits our findings, as we do not have views of students who repeated some levels of study. we recommend a study including both students who repeated and those who had not repeated classes for richer data on the impact of the life coaching intervention. we further recommend research into the use of life coaching as a holistic student transition support intervention in different university contexts. inter-institutional collaborative study within similar contexts and intra-institution case studies within different faculties and departments may provide far-reaching understandings of the possible impact that life coaching interventions may have in reducing dropout rates and improving student experiences and success in higher education. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za62 ethics statement all ethics protocols were observed by the authors. ethical clearance was provided by the cape peninsula university of technology’s faculty of engineering and the built environment. potential conflict of interest the authors declare no conflict of interest. funding acknowledgement no funding was received for this study. references archer, m. s. 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(2023). harnessing student agency for easier transition and success: the role of life coaching. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 49–63. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4206    179 author biographies dr olaide agbaje is a postdoctoral research fellow at the ali mazrui centre for higher education studies at the university of johannesburg and a part-time lecturer in the department of education management and policy studies at the university of pretoria, south africa. her research interests span across various aspects of higher education such as the internationalization of higher education, pedagogy in higher education and international student mobility in africa. dr ravichandran ammigan, phd, is the associate provost for international programs and an assistant professor of education at the university of delaware, usa. with over 20 years of experience in the field of international education, he currently directs the university of delaware’s center for global programs and services and leads the university’s internationalization strategy and global engagement efforts. his main area of research is in international higher education, with a focus on student experiences and institutional support services. ané craven is a psychometrist at the directorate of student development and support and the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. ané is actively involved in the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe) in the portfolio of regional chair for the gaunolanga region. her research interests include boredom and creativity in higher education, the contribution of non-cognitive factors to student success, and aligning career guidance and counselling with the demands of the 21st-century world of work. delecia davids is a part-time lecturer in the department of curriculum studies at stellenbosch university, south africa, and an assistant residence head at the academia residence on campus. she has presented work on teacher education as well as student affairs at national and international conferences. delecia is a mandela rhodes scholar, ubuntu dialogues fellow, and a recipient of an honorary award from the international golden key society for excellent achievement in leadership, service, and academics. she is also a member of the saera early career researchers committee. prof. aslam fataar is a professor in the department of education policy studies at stellenbosch university, south africa, and currently a research and development professor in the university’s transformation office. he is a member of stellenbosch university’s council and of the academy of science of south africa (assaf). aslam is the editor-in-chief of the renowned journal, southern african review of education. he is hod of the department of education policy studies at su. megan fredericks is a psychometrist at the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. megan is a registered psychometrist with the health professions council of 180    south africa. she is currently the administrator for the southern african association for counselling and development in higher education (saacdhe), gaunolanga region. megan’s research interests include self-regulation in online learning, 21st-century skills, students’ thinking and learning styles, career counselling, student risk and employability/ graduate skills and attributes. dr paul garton is a visiting assistant professor of quantitative methods in the department of education leadership, management, and policy at seton hall university, new jersey, usa. thobile hlengwa began practising child youth care in various residential settings from 1991-1998. during this period, she obtained her first qualification in child care through unisa. since then, she has been actively involved as a practitioner and continually modernized her qualifications in child youth care at institutions across south africa, such as the durban institute of technology, the university of cape town and the university of kwazulu-natal. thobile has worked as a lecturer in child youth care (cyc) at the durban university of technology in kwazulu-natal since 2007. dr sophia maria holtzhausen is a senior lecturer and researcher with 26 years of experience in higher education studies, quality assurance, and policies. she obtained her second phd (article option) in 2021. she manages and facilitates the postgraduate diploma in higher education and life skills teaching for teacher education students. dr holtzhausen is a coordinator and supervisor of inter-disciplinary master’s and doctoral students at the department of curriculum studies and higher education in the faculty of education, university of the free state, south africa. ilse karsten is a lecturer in the department of accountancy at the university of johannesburg, south africa, with 20 years’ experience in higher education student support. this also was the focus of her phd, awarded in 2018. most of her academic career has been dedicated to coordinating the thuthuka education upliftment fund at the university of johannesburg. this initiative is run by saica (south african institute of chartered accountants) and prioritises the promotion of transformation within the profession of charted accountancy. dr jacob lemon is the interim director of assessment & analytics within the division of student affairs at the university of utah, usa. he also serves as an adjunct professor in the department of educational leadership and policy at the university of utah. prof. thierry m. luescher is the research director for post-schooling in the inclusive economic development division of the human sciences research council (hsrc), cape town, and an affiliate associate professor in higher education studies at the university of the free state (ufs), mangaung, south africa. before that, he was assistant    181 director for institutional research at the ufs, a senior lecturer in higher education studies and extraordinary senior lecturer in political studies at the university of the western cape, and a senior researcher in the centre for higher education transformation (chet), cape town. he has a postgraduate diploma in higher education from the ufs and obtained his phd in political studies from the university of cape town. thierry is an nrf-rated researcher with expertise in higher education studies, policy and governance, the student experience, student politics, student affairs, and higher education development in africa. he is a founder and editor of the journal of student affairs in africa, and member of the editorial boards of the journal of college student development, makerere journal of higher education and african higher education dynamics. thierry recently edited the books student politics in africa: representation and activism (with m. klemenčič and j.o. jowi, 2016) and reflections of south african student leaders, 1994-2017 (with d. webbstock and n. bhengu, 2020). his publication list and links to open access downloads can be viewed at www. thierryluescher.net. dr henry mason is a social science researcher at the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. he is registered as a research psychologist and psychometrist with the health professions council of south africa and holds a y-rating from the national research foundation (nrf). his research interests include positive psychology, specifically emphasising purpose, meaning, and eudaimonic well-being in relation to student development theory, self-regulation applied to the learning process, and research methodology and ethics. andile s. masuku is currently employed as a student development officer in the department of student governance and development of the durban university of technology in kwazulu-natal, south africa. he is also part of a hlomisa scholarship programme for postgraduate studies and leadership development coordinated under the office of the vice-chancellor thandwa mthembu. he is a coordinator of a saturday tutorial education programme in the department of student governance. in 2021, the programme was recognized as a top 10 community engagement project by the office of the deputy vice-chancellor: research, innovation and engagement. siphesihle mbhele is a phd candidate in criminology and forensic studies at the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn), durban, south africa. his research interests include student movements, violence during student protest action, community safety and security, violence against members of the lgbtqia community, and digital forensics. he is a member of the criminological society of africa (crimsa) and the community engagement committee of the school of built environment and development studies (sobeds) at ukzn. yonela mlambo is a mastercard scholar, and ma candidate completing the theories of justice and inequality mphil programme in sociology at the university of cape town, 182    south africa. he also works as an academic tutor in the field of sociology and his research interests lie in pedagogy studies. prof. teboho moja is clinical professor of higher education at new york university. she is also a visiting research fellow, centre for the advancement of scholarship at the university of pretoria (south africa), and an extraordinary professor at the institute of postschool studies, university of the western cape (south africa) her teaching experience includes high school and university levels. teboho has held key positions at several south african universities, including being appointed chair of the council of the university of south africa. she has held positions as professor extraordinaire at the university of pretoria, the university of johannesburg and the university of the western cape, and has been visiting professor at the university of oslo (norway) and the university of tampere (finland). she was instrumental in setting up the centre for higher education trust (chet) in south africa and is currently serving as chair of its board. in addition, she has served on the boards of international bodies such as the unesco institute for international education planning and the world education market. she has also served as executive director and commissioner to the national commission on higher education (1995-1996) appointed by president mandela. before joining new york university, teboho served as a special advisor to two ministers of education in post-1994 south africa. she has authored several articles on higher education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and the impact of globalisation on higher education, and co-authored a book on educational change in south africa. she is a founding member and editor-in-chief of the journal of student affairs in africa. dr sapna naik is an assessment analyst in the division of student success at the university of texas at san antonio in san antonio, texas, usa. dr sylvia kabumle ocansey has over 15 years of counselling and teaching experience, specialising in adolescent and youth development. she is both a counsellor and a lecturer in the department of guidance and counselling at the university of cape coast in ghana. she also has several academic publications in counselling and other key social areas to her name. dr birgit schreiber is a member of the africa centre for transregional research at albertsludwig-universität freiburg, germany, and the vice-president of iasas, the executive editorial for the journal of student affairs in africa, a consultant for higher education leadership and management, and for stellenbosch university, where she is leading the secretariat for the international network for town and gown universities. prior to this, she was the senior director of student affairs at stellenbosch university and the director of the centre for student support services at the university of the western cape (uwc) in cape town. she holds a phd from uwc. birgit has published in national and international academic journals and books on student support and development,    183 has presented research papers and keynotes in national and international conferences, and has given lectures at uc berkley, the university of leuven, and the university of oslo. she was a visiting scholar at the uc berkeley, where she was involved in their student affairs department. she has been a member of the national executive of various professional organisations, including the south african association of senior student affairs professionals (saassap), and the southern african federation of student affairs and services (safsas). prof. maximus monaheng sefotho has contributed to the development of the competency framework for career development practitioners. he works in career transitioning from home and into the world of work of differently abled persons. prof. sefotho is an associate professor specialising in career guidance and disability in the department of educational psychology at the university of pretoria, south africa. prof. chika sehoole is a professor of higher education and dean of the faculty of education at the university of pretoria, south africa. his research interests can be found in the areas of higher education policy, internationalization of higher education, higher education in africa and globalization of higher education. he has served in several international research projects focusing on higher education in africa and providing expertise from the south african and african perspectives. prof. ephraim kevin sibanyoni is a professor and researcher in the department of corrections management at the university of south africa (unisa), pretoria, south africa. he is a member of the criminological society of africa (crimsa); the all africa criminal justice society, and the international criminology society. his research interests include human trafficking and muthi murder (mainly of people with albinism for the use of their body parts in creating traditional medicine), gender-based violence, sexual offences committed by children against other children, male-on-male sexual violence in correctional services, victim profiling, and offender profiling. andré van zyl is the director of the academic development centre (adc) at the university of johannesburg (uj), south africa. his career in higher education at uj began in 2004 and has since been defined by roles related to first-year student integration. his research interests include first-year student transition and success in the south african higher education environment and the interface between the students and their institutional environments. nico venter is a counselling psychologist in the department of student counselling and development at the university of the free state. 184    dr w.p. wahl has more than 20 years’ experience in student affairs, with a scholarly focus on higher education student development, especially in developing countries. he currently serves as the director: student life at the university of the free state, south africa. dr matthew r. wawrzynski is professor of higher, adult, and lifelong education in the department of educational administration at michigan state university, usa. wawrzynski co-leads an international professional collaborative experience to nelson mandela university, south africa. also, he is principal investigator for the usaid higher education career development initiative in mozambique. dr nomkhosi xulu-gama is a senior lecturer at the university of cape town in the sociology department and honorary research affiliate at the durban university of technology, both in south africa. her recent publications include a co-edited book titled migration in southern africa: imiscoe regional reader. _hlk102632137 www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 39–47 doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4156 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za 39 research article exploring the benefits of joining peer groups for first-year students: a case study of a south african university vuyokazi mntuyedwa1 1 dr vuyokazi mntuyedwa, cape peninsula university of technology, cape town, south africa. email: vuyo. mntuyedwa@gmail.com. orcid: 0000-0003-4573-5302 article history: received 7 july 2022 | accepted 19 june 2023 | published 14 august 2023 keywords first-year students, peer group support, qualitative research, residences, sense of belonging, student affairs mots-clés étudiants de première année, œuvres estudiantines, recherche qualitative, résidences, sentiment d’appartenance, services étudiants, soutien par les pairs background and introduction the desire for social acceptance is a primary human need and is particularly prevalent when students enter the higher education context (santor et al., 2002). according to shepherd et al. (2011), students will engage in various activities to satisfy the need abstract this qualitative study explored the benefits of peer group support for first-year south african students who live in university residences. a case study design was adopted and data were collected from first-year students via focus group interviews at a selected south african university. thematic analysis revealed the benefits for first-year students joining peer groups in the residences, such as a sense of belonging, receiving academic support, developing student leadership roles, and involvement in co-curricular activities. in addition, the study highlights the need for implementing student programmes to assist first-year students in transitioning from school to university. résumé cette étude qualitative explore les avantages du soutien par les pairs pour les étudiants sud-africains de première année qui vivent dans les résidences universitaires. une méthodologie d’étude de cas a été adoptée et les données ont été collectées auprès d’étudiants de première année d’une université sud-africaine. les données ont été recueillies par le biais d’entretiens collectifs avec des groupes ciblés. l’analyse thématique a révélé les avantages dont bénéficient les étudiants de première année qui rejoignent des groupes de pairs dans les résidences, notamment le sentiment d’appartenance, le soutien académique, le développement de rôles de leadership étudiant et la participation à des activités parascolaires. en outre, l’étude met en évidence la nécessité de mettre en place des programmes étudiants pour aider les étudiants de première année dans leur transition de l’école à l’université. http://www.jsaa.ac.za journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 39–47 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4156 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za40 for belonging. lawrence (2005) and krause (2001) add that the need for belonging is particularly prevalent during the stressful transition from school to university. seminal work by tinto (1988) indicates that the transition from school to university is a significant challenge that is influenced by students’ diverse backgrounds, experiences and expectations. bojuwoye (2002) agrees and argues that when students leave their homes and families to become part of the university environment, they are confronted with several challenges and adjustments to virtually all aspects of life, including social, academic, psychological, physical and spiritual aspects. the transition to university comprises three distinct stages (tinto, 2009, 2012). first, during the separation stage, students have to disassociate from their familial and communal backgrounds as they enter university. second, as students begin engaging in the university setting, they must establish new relationships with peers and other stakeholders. third, during the incorporation stage, students may struggle to adapt to the university setting and experience social and academic challenges (tinto, 2009, 2012). many universities offer support and other services to assist students in adequately managing the transition period (mason, 2019). a growing body of literature also indicates that students can benefit from support-related services and programmes, such as orientation programmes (chigeza et al., 2018; keup & barefoot, 2005). most orientation programmes aim to facilitate students’ successful integration into a new and unfamiliar academic and social setting. the first-year programmes also increase students’ understanding of their institutions and higher education culture in general (chigeza et al., 2018; krause, 2001; strayhorn, 2019). peer groups can also enhance the value of student support programmes by emphasizing active involvement and offering a sense of community (astin, 1985). involvement of first-year students in peer groups research suggests that students strongly desire peer group affiliation (henrich et al. 2001; johnson, 2017; olalekan, 2016). aziz et al. (2011, p. 36) describe a peer group as “a source of affection, sympathy, and understanding; a place for experimentation where an attempt to discover the self can be made because persons are separated and independent from their parents”. thus, peer group support can promote a smooth transition from school to university (castrogiovanni, 2002; kulaksızoğlu, 2001). peer groups can be classified into formal and informal groups. formal groups are often more structured and focus on academic goals, whereas informal groups provide opportunities for social interaction in, amongst others, university residence contexts. examples of informal groups are entertainment and dance groups, while formal groups can be study groups and student organisations. undergraduate peer groups may be described as formal or informal groups based on personal identity; affiliation and a sense of belonging are formed over time (kuh, 2008). more research is needed to explore the benefits that peer groups offer first-year university students staying in university residences. furthermore, qualitative exploration is needed to understand students’ lived experiences of participating in peer groups. moreover, research exploring the benefits of participating in peer groups is needed. mntuyedwa, v. (2023). exploring the benefits of joining peer groups for first-year students: a case study of a south african university 41 subsequently, this study aims to draw on qualitative data to better understand the benefits of participating in peer groups during the first-year experience. research aim and question the study explored the benefits of peer support offered to first-year students who live in residences at a south african university. the study was guided by the following overarching research question: ‘what are the benefits of peer support groups for firstyear south african university students who live in residences?’ the study also explored the following four sub-questions: (1) how have students benefited from joining the peer group? (2) were students’ experiences similar in different peer support groups? (3) how did peer groups benefit students in terms of beliefs, values, behaviours and lifestyle choices? (4) did students perceive academic benefits from peer group support? methodology research approach and design this study adopted a qualitative approach to explore students’ unique perspectives regarding the benefits of peer group support (tong et al., 2012; zohrabi, 2013). furthermore, a case study design was adopted to explore students’ qualitative experiences within a particular university setting (creswell, 2014). study participants this study included 27 first-year students living in two residences at a selected south african university. participants were purposively sampled from two residences housed in separate blocks on the university campus. the focus groups were diverse, comprising students younger than 21 years of age, presented as females only (eight members), males only (seven members), and mixed gender (ten members). procedure and ethics approval ethical clearance for this study was obtained from the researcher ethics committee at the university of the western cape (reference number 13/05/30). the uwc’s department of student development and residential and catering services manager granted permission to the researcher to access the residences and meet with the participants. the researcher presented the study’s objectives to the participants who provided informed consent. ethical requirements such as confidentiality, respect for participants, and voluntary participation were strictly adhered to. data collection as a qualitative researcher, i coordinated the focus group sessions. each of the three focus groups comprised seven to ten participants. i directed the participants to arrange their chairs in a circle and then sit close to one another so that their voices could be audio recorded. the focus group discussions were 30 to 50 minutes in duration, and participants were given the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. the meeting was journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 39–47 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4156 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za42 scheduled three days in advance. the transcripts were sorted in order to answer the research questions posed by the study. data analysis the data were analysed using thematic analysis (creswell & creswell, 2018). first, i familiarised myself with the data by studying the interview transcripts. next, initial coding was conducted. the coding was done manually by writing notes on the texts, analysing these notes, and using highlighters and coloured pens to indicate potential patterns to identify data segments. thereafter, i organised the codes into themes. finally, a qualitative account of the data was presented (creswell & creswell, 2018). findings and discussion four themes emerged following the qualitative analysis: (1) gaining a sense of belonging, (2) receiving academic support, (3) developing student leadership roles, and (4) involvement in co-curricular activities. the qualitative themes are discussed in the section below. verbatim quotes are used to substantiate the qualitative interpretation. thereafter the article is concluded by summarising the main ideas that emerged from the study. gaining a sense of belonging this study found that gaining a sense of belonging could benefit first-year students when they join peer groups at a south african university residence. peer group support promoted social integration and promoted a sense of belonging among these students. furthermore, participants reported joining peer groups to feel a sense of belonging and uplifting their self-esteem. they claimed that belonging is essential to joining a peer group because it influences decisions to engage in academic and social activities. the latter is supported in the literature by scholars who described that sense of belonging is crucial to educational success for all students in higher education (lemley, 2014; strayhorn, 2019). against such a backdrop, mntuyedwa (2020) calls for universities to establish activities and programmes to address their students’ needs. it is further argued that greater support to students could enhance student success (castrogiovanni, 2002; letseka, 2009; mason, 2019). similarly, scholars highlight that a sense of belonging could be essential to establish whether students felt respected, valued, accepted, cared for, and included (kuh, 2008; tinto, 2012; strayhorn, 2018). nonetheless, participation in peer-group activities has advantages and potentialities which are often under-reported in popular scholarly discourse. louw and louw (2014) found that peer group interaction promotes interpersonal skills, which are vital in adolescent psychosocial development. hence, a sense of belonging is crucial to the participants because they feel accepted and valued by their peers in university residences. the following verbatim quotes below support the qualitative interpretation: mntuyedwa, v. (2023). exploring the benefits of joining peer groups for first-year students: a case study of a south african university 43 i have developed a sense of belonging through daily interactions with my peers in the university student centre where i made many friends … by interacting with diverse students, this took away my anxiety and fear of being rejected. (focus group 1) i think i got a sense of belonging. since i am away from home and luckily for my peer group, we are in the same programme. we support each other no matter what. (focus group 2) it is important to interact with our peers in residences. since we come from different backgrounds and diverse communities, we need to know the values of different cultures and properly communicate with each other. this results in mutual respect, and it helps everybody to feel to belong to the university space. (focus group 3) receiving academic support the data indicated that joining peer groups could further benefit first-year residence students in receiving academic support. according to the participants, this academic support consisted of assisting each other during their study meetings through advice, which helped them complete assignments and prepare for assessments. a participant in focus group 1 provided the following explanation: “i joined the study group to attain excellent marks… the assistance you get when you do not understand, and there is someone next to you whom you can ask to assist. it becomes easier to study and know your work”. in most cases, participants acknowledged that they joined academic study groups because their peers led the study groups. these participants explained that the different study groups helped them adapt more quickly to the academic demands of the university. specifically, a participant in focus group 2 reported the following: “for me, my study group or my peer group that i study with. when i am studying with them my marks get up high[er] than studying alone because i can study and ask for help if i do not understand”. the qualitative interpretation is supported by literature that suggests students perform better academically when they experience support (astin, 1985; york et al., 2015). consequently, peer group support is an important mechanism universities can draw on to enhance academic performance. developing student leadership roles participants indicated that peer support groups contribute to developing student leadership roles. specifically, participants indicated that the interactions with other leadership group members helped them develop their leadership roles, make new friends, and build their confidence in public speaking. a participant from focus group 3 reported the following: i learn more about teamwork, how to work with other people, how to handle stressful situations. there were tasks we were allocated to do at some point. it was challenging because we all wanted to do the task, and we could give each other a chance. i have learned more about team building and communication. (focus group 3) journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 39–47 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4156 | issn 2307-6267 | www.jsaa.ac.za44 the findings further indicate that participants were interested in serving on the house committee to host meetings and assist their fellow students in residence during the transition period. they attended management meetings to debate residence policy planning. hence, peer support groups assisted students in developing … leadership skills which … can play a role in a working environment in future you have to know how to deal with a certain group of people because i think it is a beneficial skill that one can have, to know how to work with a different type of people and problem-solving skills. (focus group 3) these findings align with astin (1985) and tinto’s (1999) theoretical perspectives, which posit that students learn better when they are socially involved and engaged. thus, student involvement and engagement are critical focus areas that should be emphasized in university settings (gilbert et al., 2007). involvement in co-curricular activities the final thematic idea that emerged following the data analysis was that involvement in co-curricular activities could be enhanced via peer group support. in this regard, participants mentioned that they joined peer groups to participate in co-curricular activities to socially integrate during orientation and throughout the year. this interpretation is supported by the following three quotes: interacting with peers from a variety of groups extends your social circle by increasing the network of students with whom you can associate and develop relationships. having friends in one racial group can be very boring, and diversity makes the conversation interesting. (focus group 3) the good part is there are always things that are happening here at the university, like functions especially for first-years. you got people to talk to and stuff so like, i do not think they should have any reason to be like an introvert and not talk and be shy and i like talking you know, i got along well. (focus group 1) i have a religious roommate; he is a kind of influence on me to go to church on sundays. my family is also religious, and my friends on the first floor are also religious people. i get that influence of going to church, yhaaa… (focus group 2) the qualitative interpretation presented above is consistent with kuh (2008), who states that co-curricular programmes are widely recognised and promoted as an integral part of the student life experience. the results suggested that co-curricular activities affect joining peer groups. these findings align with tinto’s (1975) student involvement theory, which holds that students should be more involved in campus life activities to adapt quickly to the environment and become more personally developed. limitations the qualitative findings should be read with specific limitations in mind. first, the study was conducted at a specific south african university. thus, the qualitative findings reflect mntuyedwa, v. (2023). exploring the benefits of joining peer groups for first-year students: a case study of a south african university 45 the perceptions of a limited cohort of participants. similar studies at different south african or african universities may elicit diverse qualitative narratives. second, from the qualitative focus group interviews, it became apparent that some participants were hesitant and shy to express their perspectives. with respect to these limitations, future research should focus on collecting data from more diverse samples from various university settings. additionally, researchers could consider utilising in-depth individual interviews to establish a context where participants may be comfortable expressing their opinions freely. this article recommends that a great deal of information and critical skills are needed to ensure that the student affairs office makes appropriate decisions for the effective management of student behaviours. first-year students could benefit from orientation programmes that emphasize peer group interaction. conclusion this study explored positive aspects experienced by first-year students at a south african university when they joined and became part of peer groups. the findings reported in this article suggest that peer groups can offer numerous benefits to first-year students. consistent with the extant literature, this study affirmed that first-year students join various groups to fulfil unique needs related to social acceptance. additionally, the study reported that peer groups helped first-year students adjust to university residences. furthermore, first-year students are more likely to build a support network of peers who may help them in future through cultivating a sense of belonging. i suggest that first-year students should be informed about the university environment, and participation in extramural activities, which could bring them in contact with social peer support groups, should be encouraged. finally, i recommend that universities draw on peer support groups as a strategy to enhance a sense of cohesion among first-year university students. ethics statement the researcher followed all ethics protocols in conducting the study. potential conflict of interest the author has no conflict of interest to declare as the study is based on research done for her phd. funding acknowledgement this work was supported by the 2013 nrf innovation doctoral scholarship. references astin, a. w. 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(2023). exploring the benefits of joining peer groups for first-year students: a case study of a south african university. journal of student affairs in africa, 11(1), 39–47. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v11i1.4156 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077   179 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article profiling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa ratoeba piet ntema* abstract student dropout is a significant concern for university administrators, students and other stakeholders. dropout is recognised as highly complex due to its multi-causality, which is expressed in the existing relationship in its explanatory variables associated with students, their socio-economic and academic conditions, and the characteristics of educational institutions. this article reports on a study that drew on university administrative data to build a profile of students at risk of dropout from 2008–2018. the study employed a data mining technique in which predictors were chosen based on their weight of evidence (woe) and information value (iv). the selected predictors were then used to build a profile of students at risk of drop-out. the findings indicate that at-risk students fail more than four modules in a year with a participation average mark of 43% or less and have joined the university in the second academic year. it is suggested that universities put measures in place to control and prevent students who carry over four or more modules from adding modules to their registration until the failed modules are passed. keywords data mining, student dropout, weight of evidence, information value, risk profile introduction dropout rates in higher education are a significant concern in international and national contexts (marquez-vera et al., 2013; orellana et al., 2020). the concept of dropout refers to the condition where students leave an academic programme either temporarily or permanently before the end of the academic year or before complying with the requisite requirements for graduation (bonaldo & pereira, 2016; daniels, 2006; letseka, 2007). according to the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd) the dropout rate increased in australia, austria, belgium, canada, chile, costa rica, colombia, denmark, estonia, finland, france, germany, greece, iceland, ireland, israel, italy, japan, korea, latvia, lithuania, mexico, netherlands, new zealand, norway, poland, portugal, slovenia, spain, switzerland, turkiye, the united kingdom and united states from 35% in 2005 to 64.5% in 2018 (guzmán et al., 2021). the dropout rates also increased substantially in countries such as luxembourg, hungary, sweden, the czech republic, and slovakia (guzmán et al., 2021). another * ratoeba piet ntema is a lecturer at north-west university, south africa. email: piet.ntema@nwu.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-3379-3532. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:piet.ntema@nwu.ac.za 180   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 example is the situation in latin america, where dropout rates in higher education have historically been high, hovering around 54%, and are predicted to rise in coming years (becerra et al., 2020). due to its multiple causes, and the subsequent effects on various stakeholders, such as students, their families, higher education institutions (heis) and the broader society, dropout rates are also considered a major concern in south africa (mthalane et al., 2021). according to moeketsi and maile (2008) in a report for the human sciences research council, the department of education predicted in 2005 that 36,000 (30%) of the 120,000 students who started higher education in 2000 would dropout during their first year. in their second and third years, another 24,000 (20%) left. during the threeyear span, just 22% of the remaining 60,000 obtained their bachelor’s degrees. according to the study, dropout rates at some universities may surpass 80%. between 2000 and 2004, one out of every three university students and one out of every two technikon students were predicted as likely to dropout. nearly 20 years later, in 2020 hei students’ academic stressors were compounded (crawford et al., 2020), partly as a result of the rapid and drastic transitions in higher education teaching and learning compelled by the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. the majority of south african he students, notably those from historically black universities and heis, were affected, resulting in a high dropout rate (camilleri, 2021). previous research has attempted to identify the factors that explain current dropout rates and the reasons for high dropout rates (camilleri, 2021; mthalane et al., 2021; moodley & singh, 2015). amongst others, researchers speculate that incorrect career choice, inadequate academic support, insufficient funding, relations with other students, stress factors such as accommodation issues, background of students (including families and finances), individual traits, pre-university (academic potential), challenges associated with the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, and proficiency in the medium of instruction which some students struggle to cope with, as it affects their reading and processing skills, contribute to student dropout. this work has led to the development of tools and various perspectives that give decision-makers a comprehensive understanding of dropout prevention and mitigation (kehm et al., 2019). notwithstanding previous international and national research, few studies have considered student administrative data in relation to dropout rates. moreover, limited, if any, studies have reported on the use of statistical methods such as data mining to explore factors associated with dropout among south african universities. instead, the majority of research into dropout has utilised primary response methods. whereas primary response methods can provide relevant data, i hope to show here that other statistical methods, such as data mining, could offer unique insights into factors related to dropout within a south african context. amongst others, a data mining approach could be used to build a profile of students at risk of dropout. consequently, this article reports on a study that applied data mining techniques to administrative data to build a profile for students at risk of dropout from a university in south africa. ratoeba piet ntema: prof iling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa   181 the article begins with an overview of the literature related to the concept of dropout. then, the methodology that guided the study is presented. this is followed by a presentation and discussion of the results. the article concludes with a summary of the main findings and their implications. review of the literature higher education is an enabler of life chances and research indicates that graduates are less likely to be unemployed compared to persons who did not obtain a post-school education (scott et al., 2007). higher education also has a direct bearing on women’s employment opportunities, productivity growth, and entrepreneurship. it is a crucial element of socio-economic development (latif et al., 2015; pouris & inglesi-lotz, 2014). thus, student dropout is not only a major concern for hei administrators but can also result in various negative consequences for students, their families and the broader society (cloete, 2014; van der merwe, 2020). in terms of economic costs, magnum et al. (2005) assert that student dropout has a negative effect on the financial management of higher education institutions. amongst others, universities invest financial resources in student recruitment, teaching and learning, and accompanying student development and support initiatives (paura et al., 2017; ameri et al., 2016). dropout is costly to students as well. they lose earning potential and find themselves with immediate out-of-pocket expenses (paura & arhipova, 2014). according to rincón et al. (2022), the student’s dropout represents a sunk cost for the family because the costs incurred to pay for the studies were never recouped. it also represents the destruction or impossibility of creating long-term social capital that would have allowed the family to improve its socio-economic and educational conditions in the future (ghignoni, 2017). the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas) review noted that the 2010 data indicated that 48% of nsfas-funded students had dropped out or not completed their studies (breetzke & hedding, 2016). this implies that students’ dropout also has negative results on public funds. various researchers have attempted to identify risk factors related to student dropout (aldowah et al., 2020; hegde & prageeth, 2018; st. john et al., 2000). inter alia, the following have been identified as risk factors: behavioural problems, poor attendance, low socio-economic status, choice of institution, poor grades, and attendance with large numbers of poor students (aldowah et al., 2020; hegde & prageeth, 2018; st. john et al., 2000). in addition to the aforementioned risk factors, tinto’s (1975) student integration model theories postulate that the interaction between students and the institution ultimately affects a student’s decision to persist or not. although substantial studies have been conducted on student dropout, most have relied on primary response data methods. there are disadvantages associated with primary response data methods, such as the cost and time to develop resources involved in preparing the data, collecting a relevant data set, and managing the information; 182   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 feasibility and accessibility of enough participants and lastly, the risk of inaccurate feedback from participants (wilcox et al., 2012). therefore, this study proposes using data mining techniques to look at the issues that may contribute towards student dropout. data mining techniques can identify and predict future trends, track the behaviours and habits of participants and, lastly, assist with decision-making (hsu & yeh, 2019). in particular, the focus of the study was on profiling students at risk of dropout using administrative data obtained from a university in south africa. research methodology and approach data mining methods for student profiling this section describes the data mining methods used to profile students at risk of drop-out. in particular, the study used weight of evidence (woe) and information value (iv) to profile students at risk of dropout. these strategies help to explore data and screen variables. the underlying theory of woe was provided by good (1950), and the expression describes whether the evidence in favour or against some hypothesis is more or less strong. although frequently employed in scientific and social science research, woe analysis is rarely used in education research (weed, 2005). it calculates the percentage of events vs nonevents for a given attribute (good, 1950). an event stands for something that has already happened, such as a student’s dropout from university, and a nonevent represents the opposite, non-dropout. weight of evidence and information value two data mining strategies for variable transformation and selection are the weight of evidence (woe) and information value (iv). because of the logarithm transformation used in woe, they have a strong connection to logistic regression modelling, and iv is one of the most used feature selection methods when employing a logistic regression classifier (zdravevski et al., 2011). the use of woe involves a transformation of data that requires binning, which is a process that transforms a continuous or a categorical variable into set groups or bins. to initiate analysis, there is a need to assess the strength of each characteristic using the following criteria: • the predictive power of each attribute is measured by the weight of evidence (woe). • the range and trend of woes across attributes within a characteristic. • the predictive power of characteristic is measured by the information value (iv). the calculation process is carried out as follows. let y be a binary dependent variable and a set of predictive variables χ1, …, χn. woe can be used to measure the predictive strength of χ j and help to separate cases when y = 1 (dropout) from cases when y = 0 (non-dropout). the weight of evidence (woe) method assists in converting a continuous independent variable into a set of groups or bins. ratoeba piet ntema: prof iling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa   183 if β1, …, βk denote the bins for χ j, the woe for χ j for bin i can be written as woe = log p( χ jɛβi|y=1) (2.1) p( χ jɛβi|y=0) to determine the iv for variable χ j , woe is used as follows: iv = σ ki=1[p( χ jɛβi|y=1) – p( χ jɛβi|y=0)] × woe (2.2) generally, if iv < 0.05 the variable has very little predictive power and will not add any meaningful predictive power to a model. table 1 summarises the criteria that can be used to interpret iv (zdravevski et al., 2011). table 1: information value interpretations information value (iv) variable’s predictive power <0.02 not useful for prediction 0.02 – 0.1 weak predictive power 0.1 – 0.3 medium predictive power >0.3 strong predictive power when employing the woe, the following eight empirical guidelines should be followed: 1. each category should have at least 5% of the data. 2. each category should be non-zero for both “dropout” and “non-dropout” observations. 3. the woe for each category should be different. 4. similar groups should be grouped together. 5. the woe for non-missing values should be monotonic, going from negative to positive (or positive to negative) with no reversals. 6. missing values should be binned separately. 7. the relevant weight indicates where the lost data categories/bins originate. 8. experimenting with different categories will usually result in good student profiling. using woe and iv has several advantages. first, nonlinear data transformation via woe grouping greatly boosts a model’s f lexibility in dealing with complex data patterns. second, iv variable selection eliminates variables with low predictive power from the model, leaving only informative variables. third, there are no restrictions on the input variable type (numerical or categorical), therefore, a variable’s scale (or unit) has no bearing on the modelling outcomes. however, there are two distinct disadvantages to using woe and iv. first, the binning method may result in information loss (variation). second, no consideration is 184   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 given to correlations between the independent variables. for example, some independent variables may have a strong link, highlighting the significance of data exploration prior to implementing the approach. population and data sampling the population for the study consisted of all north-west university (nwu) contact (full-time) undergraduate students. the sample used includes student information spanning a 10-year period, from 2008 to 2018, made available for the study through request via ethical processes. data collection two sets of data were used to identify factors that contribute to student dropout accurately. the first data set on student dropout rates was obtained from nwu’s higher education management information system (hemis). the hemis tracks the student dropout rate through cohort studies using the students’ unique student numbers. the second data set was the programme qualification mix (pqm) at nwu. the pqm contains all the information about the institution’s current qualifications. to obtain the data, the study first went through the ethics clearance process of the university (ethics reference number: nwu-01271-19-s9). student data were handled with care and no student was identified in the study. names and university numbers were excluded, and new and unique id numbers were assigned to data entries relevant to the selected period for the purpose of valid analysis. to protect the integrity and digital security of the data, the researcher created password-protected data files. research procedure this section discusses the pre-processing steps that were implemented in building the profile of the students at risk of dropout. obtaining reliable and statistically valid data is crucial for the development of the profile of at-risk students. therefore, the quantity and quality of data should comply with the requirements of statistical significance and randomness. below, are the steps followed to ensure that the data were relevant for developing the profile (siddiqi, 2012). step 1: definition of event (dropout) dropout is defined as the interruption of studies by higher education students regularly enrolled for any length of time, regardless of university changes, before the conclusion of their study programmes (bonaldo & pereira, 2016). step 2: dealing with missing values the mode of the variable usually fills in the missing value of the data. the mode filling concept, which is based on the maximum probability filling approach and can improve the efficiency of data set integration, is aimed at the value with the highest number of ratoeba piet ntema: prof iling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa   185 occurrences in the data. the missing values in the data were replaced by the means of the variables. if the missing value in the variable exceeds 95%, the variable is discarded. step 3: checking correlation in the case of correlated variables, one variable from the correlated group of variables will be selected. the ideal variable will be the one that will theoretically represent all the information contained in the other variables of the group. step 4: bucketing of the variables woe was used to transform continuous independent variables into bins based on their similarities, whereby each bin contained more than 5% of observations. furthermore, those bins did not have zero dropout nor non-dropout. after binning, woe was calculated for every category as shown in equation 2.1. the calculated woe was then used to calculate iv. the two concepts were then used to benchmark, screen, select and rank more suitable variables to predict the target variable by using their predictive powers. the criteria in table 1 were used to select the variable with suitable predictive powers. step 5: selection of variables variables were pre-selected for the process to be efficient. the chosen variables were selected based on their predictive ability using woe and iv. weak variables were discarded in building a profile. step 6: risk profile finally, the process’s main objective was to build a comprehensive risk profile for students at risk of dropout. the results of the process are presented in the next section. data description and analysis this section presents the description of the data used and the inclusion and exclusion of specific variables as part of data analysis. data description the total number of entries for this study was 495,771, with 28 columns as potential predictors of dropout. the data contained student information such as matric admission point scores (aps), personal demographics, university academic record, bursary information, residence status, duration of the qualification. for each of the 495,771 entries over the period 2008 to 2018, the study defined the binary dependent variable (dropout) as taking the value of 1 if the student dropped out and 0 otherwise. data analysis all analyses were conducted using microsoft excel and python. the data set was then divided into two parts: training (0.8) and testing (0.2). correlations between variables 186   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 were checked as mentioned in step 3 of the research procedure. out of the 28 variables, 9 were correlated: module marks sum; module passed; module marks average; credits sum; passed count; qualification commencement year; exam average; matric average; and presentation method. for analysis, all correlated variables were removed. table 2 shows the remaining 19 columns (variables) used for feature selection and profiling. table 2: variables used for feature selection and profiling variables (features) descriptions first_student_year year of first registration to degree year_of_birth year student was born gender_eng gender of student entry_level_eng level at which the student joined the university undergraduate_postgraduate_eng undergrad or postgraduate identifier for the student ip_qualification_type_2_eng type of qualification student enrolled for qualification_commencemnet_ lag_year number of years in a qualification qual_minimum_duration_in_ years minimum duration of the qualification graduated describes whether the student graduated or not enrolment_count number of times student enrolled for the course metric_no_of_subjects number of subjects student had at grade 12 aps_score; matric_avg admission point score (aps) and average marks in matric bursary indicator for bursary holder or not residence indicator for staying in university residence or not no_of_modules number of modules student enrolled for in a particular year modules_failed number of modules student failed in a particular year modules_otherreasons other reason other than pass or fail terminated_studies indicator for drop-out or not participations participation marks average weight of evidence and information value technique was used on the remaining 19 variables to select more suitable predictors according to their weights and information value. results and discussion this section presents the results of the process of profiling students at risk of dropout using weight of evidence and information value. data analysis was implemented using python scripts ( jupyter notebook). ratoeba piet ntema: prof iling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa   187 target variable distribution of the 495,771 entries in the data, 478,477 were recorded as retained (non-dropout) and 17,294 as dropout (i.e. terminated studies) (see figure 1). distribution of terminated studies n u m b e r o f o cc u rr e n ce s is terminated_studies? 500 000 400 000 0 100 000 300 000 200 000 0 1 figure 1: distribution of the target variable a further insight into student dropout in relation to the number of modules failed (figure 2) highlighted that the percentage of student dropout increased sharply when students failed more than four modules. % terminated_studies & acct distribution: modules_failed # students      % terminated_studies # s tu d e n ts 200 000 150 000 0 100 000 50 000 % t e rm in a te d _ st u d ie s 12.5% 0.0% 2.5% 5.0% 7.5% 10.0% modules_failed 0 1 2 3 5 9 0.61% 3.61% 3.61% 4.42% 6.71% 12.1% figure 2: distribution of students dropout in relation to number of modules failed 188   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 figure 3 presents the distribution of dropout in relation to entry level at the university. figure 3 shows a high dropout rate of students who entered the university at second-year entry level. % terminated_studies & acct distribution: entry_level_eng # students      % terminated_studies # s tu d e n ts 400 000 300 000 0 200 000 100 000 % t e rm in a te d _ st u d ie s 6% 0% 2% 1% 3% 4% 5% entry_level_eng 1 2 3 4 3.28% 5.31% 3.29% 0.68% figure 3: distribution of student dropout in relation to entry level this section presents the results of the predictors that were used to build the profile of the students at risk of dropout. tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 present the weight of evidence and information value of each predictor. table 3: weight of evidence and information value for entry level cut off n events %events non-events %non-events woe iv 1 35,061 1,151 0.07 33,910 0.07 -0.06 0.00 2 95,685 5,085 0.29 90,600 0.19 0.44 0.05 3 328,450 10,809 0.63 317,641 0.66 -0.06 0.00 4 36,575 249 0.01 36,326 .08 -1.66 0.10 495,771 17,294 1 478,477 1 -1.346 0.15 the results in table 3 show that a high proportion (29%) of event (dropouts) occur at entry level 2 as compared to (19%) of non-events (non-dropouts). at level 3, the (63%) proportion of events (dropout) is less compared to (66%) proportion of non-events (non-dropouts). however, the woe for level 3 entry (-0.060) is less than level 2 entry, which implies there are more non-events (non-dropouts) at level 3 compared to level 2. analysing the results in table 3, the study can conclude that the woe has more weight for entry level 2, and this suggests that students entering university in their second ratoeba piet ntema: prof iling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa   189 academic year are likely to dropout as compared to other entry levels. according to the rule of thumb described in table 1, the predictor’s iv (0.15) indicates that it has a medium predictive value. which implies that entry level 2 has medium predictive power to predict dropout of students. table 4: weight of evidence and information value for number of modules failed cut off n events %events non-events %non-events woe iv (-0.01, 1.0] 293,925 3,723 0.23 290,202 0.61 -1.04 0.41 (1.0, 2.0] 42,769 1,541 0.09 41,228 0.09 0.03 0.00 (2.0, 3.0] 40,340 1,558 0.09 38,782 0.08 0.12 0.00 (3.0, 4.0] 26,091 1,319 0.08 24,772 0.05 0.39 0.01 (4.0, 7.0] 52,021 3,701 0.21 48,320 0.10 0.75 0.09 (7.0, 35.0] 40,625 5,452 0.32 35,173 0.07 1.46 0.35 495,771 17294 1 478,477 1 1.71 0.86 the results in table 4 show that a high proportion (32%) of events (dropouts) occur at the interval (7, 35] of modules failed followed by interval (4, 7] of modules failed with a proportion of (22%). from the results in table 4, the study can conclude that the woe has more weight for intervals (7, 35] and (4, 7] of modules failed than other intervals. this suggests that students failing more than four modules in an academic year are likely to dropout as compared to other students. according to the rule of thumb in table 1, the predictor’s iv (0.86) indicates a high predictive power. which implies that number of modules failed has high predictive powers to predict students dropout. table 5: weight of evidence and information value for participation average mark variable cut off n events %events non-events %non-events woe iv [0, 30] 49,679 6,930 0.40 42,749 0.09 1.50 0.47 (30, 43] 49,482 2,698 0.16 46,784 0.10 0.47 0.03 (43, 51] 57,542 1,927 0.11 55,615 0.12 -0.04 0.00 (51, 55] 44,306 1,093 0.06 43,213 0.09 -0.36 0.01 (55, 58] 49,903 1,176 0.07 48,727 0.10 -0.40 0.01 (58, 62] 60,725 1,194 0.07 59,531 0.12 -0.59 0.03 (62, 65] 44,691 676 0.04 44,015 0.09 -0.86 0.05 (65, 68] 41,984 580 0.03 41,404 0.09 -0.95 0.05 (68, 73] 50,926 570 0.03 50,356 0.11 -1.16 0.08 (73, 100] 46,533 450 0.03 46,083 0.10 -1.31 0.09 495,771 17,294 1 478,477 1 -3.7 0.82 the results in table 5 show that a high proportion (40%) of events (dropouts) occur in the interval [0, 30] of participation average marks which have (9%) of non-events 190   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 (non-dropouts). another high proportion (16%) of events (dropout) occur in the interval (30, 43], which has (10%) of non-events (non-dropouts). analysing the results in table 5, the study can conclude that the woe has more weight for intervals [0, 30] and (30, 43] of participation average marks than other intervals. this suggests that students obtaining a participation average mark (43%) or less in their modules for an academic year are more likely to dropout as compared to other students. according to the rule of thumb presented in table 1, the predictor’s iv (0.82) indicates that it has a high predictive power. which implies that participation average marks have high predictive power to predict dropout of students. profile of at-risk student table 7 presents a summary of the most suitable predictors of student dropout and their information value scores. according to the criteria in table 1, entry level has medium predictive power, while the number of modules failed, and participation average marks have strong predictive power. table 7: summary of most suitable predictors of dropout variables iv iv rank modules failed 0.86 1 participation average 0.82 2 entry level 0.15 3 according to the results presented in the previous section, the study can now profile students at risk of dropout as follows. 1. the student fails more than four modules per academic year. 2. the student obtains a participation average mark of 43 per cent or less. 3. the student has entered at second-year entry level. study limitations and further research this results from this study should be read in light of certain limitations. first, the study only provides evidence that the variables described above may be relevant for at-risk student profiling for the administrative data utilised in this study but may not necessarily be exhaustive variables for profiling at-risk students in general. for example, there could be other relevant variables from qualitative data that are linked to, inter alia, student behaviour and attitude, university resources, and university leadership that were not considered in the analysis. second, data were only collected from a single south african university. hence, the external validity of the findings is limited. future research could focus on incorporating data from various university databases to develop a more holistic understanding of dropout rates among south african students. furthermore, this study suggests that variables related to student behaviour and attitudes, university resources, university leadership, abilities, and skills of personnel (lecturers), teaching and learning environment, parental role, social aspects, health and psychological ratoeba piet ntema: prof iling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa   191 issues, encouragement and motivation of students, study skills, time management, and other factors be included in profiling at-risk students for future research. conclusion and recommendations this research aimed to use data mining techniques on university administrative data from a university in south africa to create a profile of students at risk of dropout. not all students will achieve their academic goals, and some will be labelled as at-risk. the risk profile may assist the university in identifying such students. after successfully identifying at-risk students, university officials and other university representatives may be able to establish appropriate intervention tactics and support programmes to help students at risk of dropout. the study used woe and iv to select suitable predictors with predictive power. to create a profile of at-risk students, the selected predictors were analysed. the study reached the following conclusions based on the examination of chosen predictors. first, based on the criteria in table 1, this study concluded that a student who has failed more than four modules in an academic year with a participation average mark of 43% or less has a high likelihood of dropping out without finishing their studies. second, based on the findings that a student who enters the university at the second-year entry level is more likely to dropout, this study concludes that students who have previously dropped out (from another institution) will most likely dropout again. as indicated in the data analysis section, the number of modules for which a student is registered has a strong correlation with the number of modules failed. the researcher recommends that universities put in place measures to control and prevent students who carry over four or more modules from adding more modules to their registration until failed modules are completed. this will assist students in managing the number of modules registered and focusing on failed modules. furthermore, the control mechanisms could boost the chances of students receiving high participation marks, resulting in a high chance of passing the modules. a further recommendation is for universities to note that students who may have not been identified as at-risk in the current academic year, may be at-risk the following academic year. therefore, a continuous monitoring system is needed. for future research this study suggests inclusion of variables linked to student behaviour and attitude, university resources, university leadership, abilities, and skills of personnel (lecturers), teaching and learning environment, parental figure(s), social aspects, health and psychological issues, encouragement and motivation of students, study skills, time management, etc., to be included in profiling at-risk students. conflict of interest the author declares no conf lict of interest. 192   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 179-194 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 references aldowah, h., al-samarraie, h., alzahrani, a. i., & alalwan, n. 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(2022). profiling students at risk of dropout at a university in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 179-194. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4077 abstract academic advising is a high-impact practice that supports better outcomes for all students, particularly those encountering structural barriers to success. this paper presents a case study of processes followed in a three-year project (2018–20) at the university of cape town (uct) to conceptualise, design, and start implementing an academic advising system. three goals were formulated: 1. to develop conceptual capacity and a theory of academic advising; 2. to develop an academic advising model responsive to institutional context and student need; and 3. to develop structures, relationships, tools, and resources to implement a coherent system. an informed grounded theory approach was used to analyse baseline data of existing support and advising at the institution. data was collected through document and desktop research, interviews with stakeholders, research article conceptualisation and early implementation of an academic advising system at the university of cape town ermien van pletzeni, riashna sithaldeenii, danny fontaine-raineniii, megan bamiv, carmelita lee shongv, deepti charitarvi, simphiwe dlulanivii, juanitill pettusviii & dimakatso sebothomaix i ermien van pletzen, (corresponding author), director of the academic development program (adp), university of cape town, ermien.vanpletzen@uct.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0003-0350-6739 ii riashna sithaldeen, deputy director of adp, university of cape town, riashna.sithaldeen@uct.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0003-3921-7373 iii danny fontaine-rainen, director of the first year experience (fye), university of cape town, danny.fontaine-rainen@uct.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0001-5513-2367 iv megan bam, programme manager, adp, university of cape town, megan.bam@uct.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0001-8161-5020 v carmelita lee shong, programme manager, ikusasa student financial aid programme (isfap), university of cape town, carmelita.leeshong@uct.ac.za, orcid: 000-0003-2344-8791 vi deepti charitar, project manager, adp, university of cape town, deepti.charitar@uct.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0002-0404-3409 vii simphiwe dlulani, project officer, university of cape town cares, robert.dlulani@uct.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0002-6327-9868 viii juanitill pettus, (former) project officer, academic advising project, adp, university of cape town, pettusjuanitill38@gmail.com, orcid: 0000-0001-9505-5343 ix dimakatso sebothoma, project administrator, adp, university of cape town, dimakatso.sebothoma@uct.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0002-3247-1400 31ermien van pletzen et al. and student focus groups. a monitoring and evaluation framework was developed to track and reflect on progress against the goals. iterative cycles of data collection, analysis, and reflection took place as implementation started. a key finding was that uct’s advising structures incline towards a decentralised faculty-based model, complemented by centralised support services that encompass advising functions. low levels of integration were found, as well as inefficient duplication of services. to address these challenges, the conceptual and operational capacity of the academic advising team needed to be advanced. this was done by assembling a multidisciplinary team, undergoing professional training, and by running a journal club. a promising theoretical approach that emerged was a capability approach to academic advising. a shared model of academic advising was found to be best suited to the institutional context and a three-tiered model operationalised by faculty, professional, and peer advisers, as well as by automated advising tools, was designed. implementation started through pilot projects. during covid-19, innovative concept and centralised systems development that connected students to institutional resources, enabling them to practise agency and supporting their ability to achieve despite unprecedented structural barriers, demonstrated the viability of the capability approach adopted for steering further development of the system. keywords academic advising, student success, capability approach, covid-19, automated advising introduction levels of student retention and graduation in south africa remain unacceptably low (scott, 2018). only 30% of the 2013 cohort registered for three-year degrees at contact universities graduated in regulation time, and only 59% in six years, while significant racial inequalities persist (che, 2020). likewise, despite having a competitive admissions policy, the university of cape town (uct) experiences high attrition rates, with 22% of the 2013 cohort enrolled in three-year degrees dropping out over a five-year period (university of cape town, 2018). institutional data reveals a racialised achievement gap: 58% of south african black students enrolled in three-year degrees in 2013 graduated within five years, compared to 81% of white students. a total of 32% of black south african students left the institution without qualifying, compared to 15% of white students (university of cape town, 2018). performance figures such as these do not only capture loss of potential; they also suggest high levels of cultural alienation and discontent associated with educational attrition (strydom et al., 2016; tinto, 2014). this could explain the intensity with which students at uct participated in #mustfall activism (2015–17), foregrounding the urgent need for institutional transformation (godsell & chikane, 2016). tinto (2014) argues that there is a strong link between students’ experience of engaging in the academic and social communities of the university, and their chances of persisting and completing their studies. engagement that makes journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 31-45 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.368832 students see themselves as valued members of an academic and social community (tinto, 2014) is particularly important in diverse student bodies. kuh’s (2008) seminal work on highimpact practices (hips) and student engagement has proven invaluable to universities trying to maximise student retention and engagement. the study of student engagement and success started in south african higher education in 2007, and by 2015, based on national survey evidence, a total of 11 developmental hips supporting student engagement and success had been identified (loots et al., 2017). similar to universities in the united states (us) (armstrong-mensah et al., 2019; huber, 2010), universities in south africa that designed curricula to include hips found a significant and positive relationship between student engagement and academic performance, and by extension, retention (schreiber & yu, 2016). among hips, academic advising has emerged as a promising set of practices to promote student engagement and success. while research on the impact of academic advising remains scant (alvarado & olson, 2020), and particularly so in south africa (strydom et al., 2017), the literature indicates that academic advising contributes to student success in terms of improving students’ university experience and supporting their developmental trajectory, improving retention, and increasing their chances of graduating (chiteng kot, 2014; swecker et al., 2013; young-jones et al., 2013). in south africa, a report published by the university of the free state’s (ufs) center for teaching and learning showed that regardless of entrance scores, students at ufs who participated in academic advising had a higher probability of passing more than 70% of their modules, compared with nonparticipants1 (ufs centre for teaching and learning, 2018). key to effective and meaningful academic advising is developing a context-specific system that meets the diverse needs of a particular institution’s students (white, 2015). given the scarcity of research on academic advising in south africa, this case study aims to give an evidence-based account of the processes followed in a three-year project (2018–20) at uct to conceptualise, design, and start implementing academic advising system. we formulated three goals: 1. to develop conceptual capacity and a theory of academic advising; 2. to develop an academic advising model responsive to institutional context and student need; and 3. to develop structures, relationships, tools, and resources to implement a coherent system. while the goals are presented in a linear way, the different processes and activities of the project overlapped and fed into one another in an iterative and cumulative manner. 1 this data is based on an n of 1,456 students at the ufs who responded to the south african student engagement survey (sasse) in 2015 and 2017. sasse is administered at participating institutions every two years. 33ermien van pletzen et al. methodology we followed a case study approach (yin, 2009), with the three-year academic advising project at uct as the unit of analysis. ethical clearance was obtained from the research ethics committee of the university’s centre for higher education development (ched) (ched rec, 2018_25_van pletzen ). to obtain an understanding of academic advising at the institution, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 staff members involved in academic advising across six faculties, and four institutional stakeholders coordinating centralised services. three student focus groups, each with five to six participants, were conducted. all participants received information about the project, including assurance of confidentiality, and gave informed consent. confidentiality was maintained in all data representation by omitting information that could link participants’ identities to specific viewpoints. the interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed. three of the researchers used an informed grounded theory approach (thornberg, 2012) to independently code and analyse the data thematically. they then worked together to complement one another’s analyses until a point of saturation was reached. additionally, two other researchers reviewed a variety of existing resources (such as institutional handbooks and websites) to draw up a stakeholder map of available student support and advising services. a monitoring and evaluation framework was developed to track and reflect on progress against the three goals of the project. once implementation started through pilot projects, and the development of centralised tools in response to the covid-19 context, we continued to collect and analyse data to feedback into further cycles of analysis, reflection conceptualisation, and implementation. results we report the results of our case study under headings that relate to the three stated goals. developing conceptual capacity and a theory of academic advising the academic advising project was started at uct under the auspices of the academic development programme (adp), which adopts a strong social justice approach to educational development (scott, 2009; van pletzen et al., 2020). academic and non-academic support structures offered by academic development units have been identified as early vehicles for academic advising in south africa (pinheiro, 2019). collaboration with the first-year experience (fye) was established early on, and later with the ikusasa student financial aid programme (isfap). during early theorisation, the academic advising project journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 31-45 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.368834 benefited from this collaborative team’s commonly held theoretical approach, particularly their social justice approach, their adoption of a holistic vision of student support, and their rejection of the “deficit approach”, which locates challenges that students experience in students themselves instead of in social conditions or in institutional structures and policies that could exclude individuals (hamshire et al., 2021; tinto, 2014; van pletzen et al., 2020). a first step towards building conceptual and theoretical capacity was to develop a monitoring and evaluation framework that steered regular planning and reflection sessions throughout. the team grew from two to nine participants during the three years, with eight staff members completing the academic advising professional development short learning programme offered by the ufs. a weekly journal club was formed in 2020 to engage more deeply with the theoretical dimensions of academic advising. initially, the team adopted an informed grounded theory approach, which posits that researchers’ engagement with relevant literature could stimulate research questions, provide a conceptual repertoire, and enrich data analysis (thornberg, 2012). using this approach, analysis of interviews with staff in faculties and other professional stakeholders on campus revealed that faculty-based academic advising predominated at uct. however, an extensive range of centralised support services that encompassed some advising functions was also available to students. the institution’s advising structures are inclined towards a decentralised model (pardee, 2012) with most structured academic advising opportunities offered in the faculties. there were, however, some elements of a shared model, where students also received advising in central units (habley, 2004; pardee, 2012). the decentralised advising based in the faculties was highly variable, most likely because of the devolved nature of the institution and the autonomy with which each faculty designed student advice and support. faculty-based advising covered areas such as academic registration, the structure of the curriculum and progression rules. this aligned to what is called “prescriptive advising” in the literature (lowenstein, 2005). to a lesser extent, faculties offered forms of developmental advising (lowenstein, 2005)—an approach that focuses on students’ personal development, aspirations, or problems. opportunities to receive developmental advising ranged from ad hoc advising by deputy deans, course convenors, lecturers or administrative staff, peermentorship, and ad hoc workshops on topics like study skills and time management. at the more structured end of the spectrum, two of the faculties offered credit-bearing courses to first-year students that explored personal and professional values, goal setting, and career development. these offerings aligned to what is called “learning-centred advising” (lowenstein, 2005); they made use of aspects of strengths-based advising (schreiner & anderson, 2005) that identified and developed the knowledge, talents, and strengths that students brought with them into the institution. the largely decentralised nature of advising structures resulted in different kinds of support that students could access in each faculty, in inconsistencies in advice received by students transitioning between faculties, and in differences in the amount and type of training 35ermien van pletzen et al. and recognition that advisers received. the baseline results also revealed extensive centralised support services that mainly provided information, but also included some developmental advising, for instance, offered by the department of student affairs (dsa) (which coordinated housing, financial aid, student governance, and student wellness), and the libraries. two centralised units that offered structured developmental advising, delivered by professional advisers, were the careers service and isfap. both the careers service and isfap drew on learning-centred and on strength-based advising approaches (lowenstein, 2005; schreiner & anderson, 2005). overall, results from staff interviews showed low levels of integration of faculty-based and centralised advising and support structures, as well as inefficient duplication of services. this made it challenging, from both staff and student perspective, to navigate the advising and support services on offer. results from student focus groups reinforced this finding despite the considerable range of support and advising structures on offer, students often did not know where to go for information or assistance and many found themselves isolated and alienated from institutional support. most students said that they found the first months of studying at university overwhelming. many achieved good results at school, and the experience of doing less well or even failing at university deeply unsettled them. frequently, they engaged in dispiriting and time-consuming attempts at solving their own problems. as one student commented: when one thing goes wrong . . . it’s more like my foundation is cracked. the whole building’s just going to come down. so, now i have to start afresh and make a whole new plan. so, for me, it takes like a whole week trying to figure out things . . or worse: “i feel like most of your first year is made up of lying in bed, thinking about your failures, and trying to revise your plan.” some students argued that academic staff (including faculty advisors, at times), were often not well placed to give advice since there could be a conflict of roles, for instance, course convenors “can’t be objective” as advisers, since they were also responsible for assessing students, and “it’s very difficult also to approach someone that’s giving you all this hard work and expecting you to make it.” one student explained a preference for getting advice from a peer adviser: “you look at them [academic staff] . . . and you’re like, “you don’t even know what i’m going through! i feel like with a group of students, you know, because they went through this . . . i can trust them.” students who had been in the role of peer advisers; however, raised their own concerns with one commenting: journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 31-45 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.368836 it seems as though now we have to take on the roles of being a psychologist and we have to talk to our friends and support each other and it can get tough on us as well because we’re not really experienced and it’s hard to be objective and not take in all those emotions that are experienced by someone else. so, it’s like, i wish they [the university] could just improve their system. . . another area that students commented on is the institution’s mode of communicating information about advising and support services. several said that they felt overwhelmed by high volumes of e-mail. their recommendation was that fewer announcements should be made, and that important information should be communicated via whatsapp groups or social media sites. students also made other constructive recommendations. they advocated for the inclusion of pre-enrolment information in the first communication they received from the university, such as letters of acceptance. they further recommended the inclusion of a glossary of terms (such as “curriculum” and “credits”) and information on curriculum structures and pathways. they argued that such information would have facilitated their first academic encounters. in summary, analyses of staff and student data surfaced challenges in the structural organisation and praxis of academic advising at uct (both at the centre and in the faculties), and the impact of these challenges on students’ experience and success. engagement with the data took the team through a process of theory-building that recognised the importance of prescriptive advising, but also the need to harness existing pockets of developmental, learning-centred, and strength-based advising at the institution. most of all, the team realised the importance of formulating a composite theoretical framework that would connect and organise the many components and approaches encountered into a coherent social justice approach to academic advising. a theoretical approach that holds promise is the capability approach (sen, 1999), as applied to education (nussbaum, 2006; unterhalter & walker, 2007). this approach has been widely applied to questions of social justice, access and the conditions for student success in south africa (calitz et al., 2016; wilson-strydom, 2011, 2015). the capabilities approach’s anti-deficit understanding of the impact of social structure on individual well-being and achievement (calitz et al., 2016), and its recognition of personal agency and freedom of choice within these powerful structural conditions (wilson-strydom, 2011, 2015), clearly brings to attention the generative potential of this approach for theorising academic advising. the approach further provides a way of capturing the multiple contact points between a diverse student body, and the institution that a well-functioning academic advising system would create, as well as the channelling of student agency into the institution that could contribute to the much-needed transformation of institutional structures and culture in south africa. 37ermien van pletzen et al. developing a model responsive to institutional context and student need increased conceptual and theoretical capacity enabled us to develop a three-tiered model operationalised by faculty, professional, and peer advisers, as well as by automated advising tools (figure 1). it is a shared model of academic advising (habley, 2004; pardee, 2012) that accommodates the spread of decentralised and centralised student advice and support structures at uct, as well as needs expressed by students. shared models are flexible and rely on the strengths and differentiated knowledge base of different types of advisers; they do, however, require high levels of collaboration and coordination (pinheiro, 2019). figure 1 an integrated, three-tiered academic advising model the model accommodates four basic advising functions: information sharing, referral, prescriptive advising, and developmental advising. it includes mechanisms that allow for referral to other parts of the system, as well as data sharing for a more seamless student experience. faculty-based curriculum advisers are located at the top tier and provide mainly prescriptive advising. other professional services, for example, student housing and financial aid, also provide advice that is rules-based; these services are therefore placed adjacent to the prescriptive space. peer advisers are located at the lowest tier of the model. they are envisaged as performing mainly referral services and providing information, while also playing a mentoring and support role (within defined boundaries). referral advising requires some interrogation of student concerns and an ability to match this with an appropriate existing service. purely informational journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 31-45 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.368838 advising is the least complex form of advising and can be supported by automated and webbased services such as a simple chatbot or a static webpage, which we place at the base of this tier. between these tiers, the model envisages a tier of professional advisers working from a centralised unit (though their work may be associated with a specific faculty) and playing a key role in coordinating all types of advising. they would relate closely to faculty and peer advisers, as well as to other institutional stakeholders in student support. an important task would be to develop (and update) a stakeholder map and a referral network to be used by all advisers and stakeholders. they would also create advising guidelines, resources, and materials for use by advisers and students. other roles would be to assist faculties in tracking students’ progress, based on a range of personal and performance indicators. they would further train, supervise, and support peer advisers, and manage advising tools like a helpline and chatbot. a key student-facing task of professional advisers would be to provide developmental advising (incorporating aspects of strength-based and learning-centred advising) that engages students in exploratory activities related to their personal growth, academic studies, and career goals. developing structures, tools and resources to implement a coherent system to begin operationalising the model we initiated several activities and pilot interventions. two centralised activities undertaken were to develop a data framework for academic advising and to embed academic advising more securely in institutional strategy. progress on the data framework was limited due to siloed data systems and insufficien data analytics capacity in the institution. the project achieved some structural integration by regularly reporting to the senate teaching and learning committee and by reporting on the project in the annual teaching and learning report, which has had the effect of creating awareness and embedding academic advising in uct’s teaching and learning strategy. in 2020, we supported a faculty-based peer-advising hub in health sciences. its purpose was to provide rapid response to needs such as exam preparation, study skills, and technological assistance. while the peer advisers were committed to supporting students, they sometimes became overwhelmed by their psychosocial needs. we analysed the data from student queries sent to the faculty of health sciences to their peer-advising hub—224 queries were received between april and december 2020 (~25/month). from a funding perspective, the hub model proved not financially sustainable. another faculty-based pilot was run in the science faculty to improve connectivity with the careers service. this initiative, which linked four career development modules to a firstyear course, is modelled on a strength-based and learner-centred advising approach developed by the commerce faculty’s educational development unit (edu). student evaluation of the pilot was good, and it was targeted for upscaling. 39ermien van pletzen et al. the covid-19 pandemic reinforced the need for an integrated advising approach that spans centralised and faculty-specific student advising and support. even before the crisis, data showed that students often did not know where to go for information or help, resulting in duplicated queries to different departments, high levels of frustration and anxiety, and loss of motivation. these challenges became more severe during covid-19, on and off campus, necessitating new modes of structural integration and communication. in april 2020, we launched an emergency central helpdesk called uct cares (uct central advising and referral service) that connected students to information or support via e-mail. the service handled a total of 437 queries (~49/month), 25% of which were resolved at the first point of contact. the success of this system depends on cost-effectiveness, training, service standards, consistent mapping and updating of available services, and information to make better referrals, data collection, analysis, and feedback. to alleviate high volumes of e-mail, an external service provider assisted in developing a simple chatbot providing information directly to the user. the bot, destination uct, is a static whatsapp-based list of frequently asked questions (faqs). launched in january 2021, it covered a range of categories including admissions and student housing, student funding and fees, orientation, student life, updates and essential information on covid-19 for firstyear students. in three months, the tool answered 44,632 queries from 17,865 unique use cases. data collected from this pilot are being used to develop an advanced chatbot. discussion the three-year academic advising project at uct provided a typically siloed university with a unique opportunity to be innovatively collaborative across faculties and other professional stakeholders on campus to focus on ways of enhancing the student experience through intentional and appropriate academic advising. the first important lesson from the case study is that staff capacity is key, both in the project team and in the broader institution. while initial conceptualisation could be undertaken by a small original project team, proper conceptualisation and implementation could only start once the team had been expanded and capacitated to take on the development of a theoretical framework, advising structures, resources and tools, as well as specific responsibilities such as training peer advisers. if academic advising is to become an integral part of the student support system at uct, then there is a pressing need for differentiated training and training resources for all types of advisers to strengthen all advising functions envisaged in our model (gordon, 2019). an enabling factor related to capacitybuilding is the project’s location in a national collaborative project led by ufs, which has contributed significantly to capacity-building, not only by developing conceptual capacity and by professionalising advising through the ufs training programme, but also by providing a collaborative learning space in a network of seven participating south african institutions. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 31-45 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.368840 a second lesson is that academic advising should be conceptualised as a system of practice and not as discrete offerings. tinto (2014) argues that a positive and empowering student experience demands a set of policies, practices, and people working together to guide students on a successful journey through higher education. this case study shows that a coherent academic advising system could perform such a guiding function, but that it requires a strong theoretical framework to prevent fragmentation. the capability approach (sen, 1999) and its applications to education (nussbaum, 2006; unterhalter & walker, 2007; wilson-strydom, 2015) has been identified as a promising theoretical framework promoting social justice, student agency, and transformation within unequal social and institutional contexts and cultures. in terms of implementing a system of academic advising at uct, the case study points to some achievements. a responsive and evidence-based shared model of academic advising emerged (alvarado & olson, 2020), with functions of advising that are split among three adviser types (arnold et al., 2015). we also developed a definition mission, and vision aligned to the institutional vision; a practice identified in the literature as beneficial to building a strong academic advising system and better student outcomes (troxel, 2019). good progress has been made in establishing a more coherent picture of central academic advising structures and practices, especially under the crisis conditions of covid-19, which called for accelerated design and implementation. during covid-19, innovative concept and centralised systems development that connected students to institutional resources, which enabled them to practise agency, and which supported their ability to achieve despite unprecedented structural barriers, demonstrated the viability of both the model and the capability theory adopted for steering further development of the system. however, the case study also presents challenges. central advice and support structures and services still overlap or do not link up, which makes a systemic approach difficult. the autonomy and devolved authority of the institution’s faculties continue to hamper attempts at shaping academic advising across the institution. in such a context, each new advising initiative needs to be negotiated repeatedly, with multiple partners and stakeholders, involving different sets of variables and resources. a further challenge is that while qualitative institutional data is reasonably accessible, access to reliable quantitative data essential for designing an evidence-based academic advising system (center for teaching and learning, 2018; kurzweil & wu, 2015) remains problematic. systematically gathering data from students at regular points can also prove challenging. a third lesson is that academic advising should ideally be designed and implemented by a network of stakeholders and partners with common objectives. this should involve joint exploration of making academic advising more coherent across the institution, for instance through engaging in a collaborative institutional project that explicitly designs and implements an overarching academic advising curriculum for the institution (kraft-terry & kau, 2019; lowenstein, 2005), and that could provide consistency in the academic 41ermien van pletzen et al. advising outcomes experienced by students across the university. at uct, existing prototypes of such curricula could be expanded. conclusion and recommendations a first recommendation is that staff capacity must be considered in setting up timelines for project development and implementation. a strong collaborative team drawn from across the institution and representative of all stakeholders and partners should be assembled. second, the coherence of an academic advising system should be increased by embedding it firmly in the institution’s vision and teaching strategies. this makes it more likely that leadership will endorse the work and help embed it in existing structures. participation by institutional data providers would help with bridging departmental siloes and with designing an appropriate data framework for an advising system. finally, the design of an academic advising system must be guided throughout by students’ experiences. focus groups provide rich data but are difficult to organise. existing student councils could provide more accessible and regular feedback on the performance of the advising system. creative use of technology could also be harnessed as further sources of feedback. references alvarado, r., & olson, a. (2020). examining the relationship between college advising and student outputs: a content analysis of the nacada journal. nacada journal, 20(2), 49–58. https://files.e ic.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1278243.pdf armstrong-mensah, e., ramsey-white, k., & alema-mensah, e. (2019). integrative learning in us undergraduate public health education: a review of student perceptions of effective high-impact practices at georgia state university. frontiers in public health, 7, 101. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00101 arnold, l. d., embry, e. s., & fox, c. (2015). advising undergraduate public health students: a phased approach. public health reports, 130(4), 415–420. https://journals.sagepub.com/ doi/pdf/10.1177/003335491513000422 calitz, t. m. l., walker, m., & wilson-strydom, m. (2016). theorising a capability approach to equal participation for undergraduate students at a south african university. perspectives in education 34(2), 57–69. http://doi.org/10.18820/2519593x/pie.v34i2.5 center for teaching and learning. (2018). creating pathways for student success: academic advising and student engagement. university of the free state. chiteng kot, f. c. (2014). the impact of centralized advising on first-year academic performance and second-year enrollment behavior. research in higher education, 55(6), 527–563. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9325-4 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 31-45 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.368842 council on higher education. (2020). vitalstats public higher education 2018. council on higher education. godsell, g., & chikane, r. (2016). the roots of the revolution. in s. booysen (ed.), fees must fall: student revolt, decolonisation and governance in south africa (pp. 54–73). wits university press. gordon, v. (2019). training future academic advisors: one model of a pre-service approach. nacada journal, 2(2), 35–40. https://doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-2.2.35 habley, w. r. (ed.). (2004). the status of academic advising: findings from the act sixth national survey (monograph series no. 10). national academic advising association. hamshire, c., forsyth, r., khatoon, b., soldaat, l., & fontaine-rainen, d. (2021). challenging the deficit discourse: insight from university staff about first-generation students in south africa and the united kingdom. in m. ralarala, l. hassan & r. naidoo (eds.), knowledge beyond the colour lines: towards repurposing knowledge generation in south african higher education (pp. 151–168). university of the western cape press. huber, b. j. (2010). does participation in multiple high-impact practices affect student success at cal state northridge?: some preliminary insights. officeof institutional research. california state university. kraft-terry, s., & kau, c. (2019). direct measure assessment of learning outcome–driven proactive advising for academically at-risk students. nacada journal, 39(1), 60–76. https:// files.e ic.ed.gov/fulltext/ej1223438.pdf. https://doi.org/10.12930/nacada-18-005 kuh, g. (2008). high-impact educational practices: what are they, who has access to them, and why they matter. association of american colleges and universities. kurzweil, m., & wu, d. (2015). case study: building a path to student success at georgia university. https://sr.ithaka.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/sr_case_study_ building_pathway_student_success_042315_0.pdf loots, s., kinzie, j., & oosthuizen, a. (2017). developing south african high-impact practices. in f. strydom, g. kuh & s. loots (eds.), engaging students: using evidence to promote student success (pp. 96–120). sun media. lowenstein, m. (2005). if advising is teaching, what do advisors teach? nacada journal, 25(2), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-25.2.65 nussbaum, m. c. (2006). education and democratic citizenship: capabilities and quality education. journal of human development, 7(3), 385–395. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649 880600815974 pardee, c. f. (2012). organizational models for advising. https://nacada.ksu.edu/resources/ clearinghouse/view-articles/organizational-models-for-advising.aspx pinheiro, g. (2019). overview of the history and evolution of student advising. university of the witwatersrand. 43ermien van pletzen et al. schreiber, b., & yu, d. (2016). exploring student engagement practices at a south african university: student engagement as a reliable predictor of academic performance. south african journal of higher education, 30(5), 150–175. schreiner, l. a., & “chip” anderson, e. (2005). strength-based advising: a new lens for higher education. nacada journal, 25(2), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-25.2.20 scott, i. (2008). academic development in south african higher education. in e. bitzer (ed.), higher education in south africa: a scholarly look behind the scenes (pp. 21–49). sun media. scott, i. (2018). designing the south african higher education system for student success. journal of student affairs in africa, 6(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3062 sen, a. (1999). development as freedom. oxford university press. strydom, f., kuh, g., & loots, s. (eds.). (2017). engaging students: using evidence to promote student success. sun media. strydom, f., loots, s., oosthuizen, a., hen-boisen, l., henn, m., & posthumus, h. (2016). engaging the #studentvoice: sasse annual report. https://www.siyaphumelela.org.za/ documents/sasse%20report%202016.pdf swecker, h. k., fifolt, m., & searby, l. (2013). academic advising and first-generation college students: a quantitative study on student retention. nacada journal, 33(1), 46–53. https:// doi.org/10.12930/nacada-13-192 thornberg, r. (2012). informed grounded theory. scandinavian journal of educational research, 56(3), 243–259. http://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2011.581686 tinto, v. (2014). reflective practice: tinto’s south african lectures. journal of student affairs in africa, 2(2), 5–28. https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v2i2.66 troxel, w. g. (2019). scholarly advising and the scholarship of advising. nacada journal, 39(2), 52–59. https://doi.org/10.12930/nacada-19-203 university of cape town (uct). (2018). senate teaching and learning report. https:// www.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/teaching/uct_teaching% 26learningreport_2018.pdf unterhalter, e., & walker, m. (eds.). (2007). amartya sen’s capability approach and social justice in education. palgrave macmillan ltd. van pletzen, e., sithaldeen, r., & nduru, p. (2020). looking forward, looking back: informing new extended curriculum policy by examining current models. in m. rollnick & f. lubben (eds.), proceedings of the colloquium on extended curriculum programmes, 2019 (pp. 6–12). university of pretoria. https://www.up.ac.za/colloquium2019 white, e. r. (2015). academic advising in higher education: a place at the core. journal of general education, 64(4), 263–277. http://doi.org/10.1353/jge.2015.0024 wilson-strydom, m. (2011). university access for social justice: a capabilities perspective. south african journal of education, 31(3), 407–418. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v31n3a544 wilson-strydom, m. (2015). university access and theories of social justice: contributions journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 31-45 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.368844 of the capabilities approach. higher education, 69(1), 143–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10734-014-9766-5 yin, r. k. (2009). case study research: design and methods. sage. young-jones, a. d., burt, t. d., dixon, s., & hawthorne, m. j. (2013). academic advising: does it really impact student success? quality assurance in education, 21(1), 7–19. https://doi.org /10.1108/09684881311293034 45ermien van pletzen et al. guest editorial the academic advising issue gugu wendy tiroyabonei & françois strydomii free state, orcid: 0000-0002-4338-8127 academic advising is critical to improve student success and to advance social justice. international research indicates that academic advising is the “single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience” (light, 2001) and that “every advising contact is a precious opportunity for a meaningful interaction with the student” (kuh, 2008). therefore, the section in this special edition of the journal for student affairs in africa (jsaa) on academic advising represents an important milestone for the development of academic advising as an emerging field in south africa. the seven articles help to address the lack of south african research on academic advising and its impact. these articles share the reflections and research of deeply committed advisors that have been creating “precious opportunities” for thousands of students during their academic journey. the aim of this selection of papers is to advance scholarship in this emerging field in the south african context. the seven articles include five institutional case studies that provide insights into the impact of different institutional contexts on the development of advising. the last two articles pose broader conceptual questions on advising. in the first article, tiroyabone and strydom introduce the development of academic advising in south africa over the last decade and, more specifically, at the university of the free state (ufs) which continues to play a leading role in the development of the field. obaje and jeawon offer a critical review of the development of an academic advising approach in the context of the durban university of technology. in their contribution on the conceptualisation and early implementation of an academic advising system at the university of cape town, colleagues provide fascinating insights into the development of academic advising in highly decentralised institutions. naidoo, byles and kwenaite at the university of pretoria, emphasise the importance of social integration for first year students as part of a range of academic advising initiatives offered at this institution. the university of the witwatersrand case study provides important insights into how emerggm i gugu wendy tiroyabone (corresponding author), assistant director: centre for teaching and learning, tiroyabonegw@ufs.ac.za, university of the free state, orcid: 0000-0002-9478-2503 ii françois strydom, senior director: centre for teaching and learning, strydomjf@ufs.ac.za, university of the xiiigugu wendy tiroyabone & françois strydom emergency remote teaching during the covid pandemic has affected advisor perception. the two conceptual articles start with the article on merging academic and career advising to offer holistic student support: a university perspective. in this paper schoeman, loots and bezuidenhoud emphasise the intertwined nature of academic and career advising and how international frameworks can be adapted to the south african context. the final article by de klerk uses archer’s social realism theoretical framework to scrutinise the complex nature of academic advisors. all the articles illustrate how these scholars are grappling with the definition of academic advising and where and how it should be optimally positioned in institutions. although the national academic advising association preamble (nacada, 2006), defines academic advising as a multidimensional and intentional process grounded in teaching and learning, international literature often positions academic advising as part of student affairs. therefore, it is fitting that this selection of articles is published in the journal for student affairs in africa (jsaa) to stimulate conversations on how academic advising can develop in south africa. it is important to recognise that the development of academic advising would not have been possible without catalytic environments and sustainable support. an important catalytic environment has been siyaphumelela (2021) which was generously funded by the kresge foundation. vital sustainable support has been provided by the department of higher education and training (dhet) which prioritised student (academic) advising as one of the pillars in the university capacity development grant (ucdg) and also approved collaborative grant funding to grow academic advising in south africa. we would like to thank the jsaa editorial team for enabling the creation of this platform to share these seven articles. these are the first of many reflective practitioners and scholars who will share the impact and potential of academic advising in creating more equitable institutional environments that enable student success. references kuh, g. d. (2008). advising for student success. in v.n. gordon, w.r. habley, & t.j. grites (eds.), academic advising: a comprehensive handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 68–83). jossey-bass. light, r. (2001). making the most of college: students speak their minds. harvard university press. siyaphumelela: a student success initiative. https://siyaphumelela.org.za/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, xiii-xiv | doi:10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3707xiv journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 77 www.jsaa.ac.za research article the ‘double transition’ for first-year students: understanding the impact of covid-19 on south africa’s first-year university students annsilla nyari i dr annsilla nyar is director of the south african national resource centre for the first-year experience and students in transition (sanrc) hosted at the university of johannesburg, south africa. orcid: 0000-0002-0535-505x. email: anyar@uj.ac.za abstract while all students are affected by the advent of the covid‑19 pandemic, the first‑year student population remains a special category of vulnerability for higher education. this is on account of the way the covid‑19 pandemic has disrupted their transition into university and complicated the nature of their entry into and through the formal academic cycle. this article uses the notion of a ‘double transition’ as a framework for positioning and locating the first‑year student transition within the context of the prevailing covid‑19 pandemic. ‘double transition’ refers to an additional transition coupled with that of the first‑year transition, with regard to the extraordinary situation of students navigating their entry into the unfamiliar terrain of academia while simultaneously navigating the covid‑19 pandemic. the article provides a circumscribed summary of the effects of covid‑19 on university students and looks to describe and explain the nature and shape of first‑year transitions in relation to the transition necessitated by the covid‑19 pandemic. it concludes with four key strategies for supporting first‑year students as the pandemic continues. keywords covid‑19; first‑year students; online teaching and learning; student transitions; transition support systems introduction this article is written at a very dire time in global and south african history, as the covid‑19 pandemic continues to reconfigure society in devastating and possibly permanent ways. the article herein focuses on one particular aspect of the covid‑19 crisis as it affects higher education: the impact of the covid‑19 pandemic on first‑year university students. in recent months, the advent of the covid‑19 pandemic has seen a fundamental and dramatic restructuring of the global and national higher education agenda, including the cessation of normal campus operations and the swift move to online teaching and learning systems. the covid‑19 pandemic caught south africa’s higher education sector mostly off‑guard. this sector has had to hastily engage in relatively new and largely untested online teaching and learning systems, showing up and adversely impacting the number of students http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:anyar%40uj.ac.za?subject= 78 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 and staff who do not have access to the requisite technologies and connectivity, or even electricity in the case of those staff and students from poor or low‑income backgrounds. never before has the issue of access to, and affordability of, internet services been so crucial. it is within this prevailing context of disruption and uncertainty, that the fate of one of the sector’s most vulnerable sub‑populations, i.e. students in their first year of university study, has unfortunately become subsumed amongst multiple competing issues on the higher education agenda. it is anticipated and, indeed feared, that universities, preoccupied with online teaching and learning and making up for lost academic time in the academic calendar, may lose the focus on matters of student transition and support. over the past two decades a great deal of effort has been invested by south africa’s universities in matters of first‑year experience, much of which has drawn from an immense body of global scholarship about student transitions and support (nyar, 2019). such scholarship makes a persuasive case for seeing the first year of university study as qualitatively different from the rest of the higher education journey and, further, for affording specialised attention to the first year (gardner, 1986; upcraft et al., 2005; astin, 1993; tinto, 1993; pascarella & terenzini, 2005; johnston, 2010; greenfield et al., 2013). the first‑year transition is based on the idea that first‑year students have specialised needs on account of the critical importance of the year. the first year of university study is seen as the foundation of the higher journey, one which sets the emotional and academic tone for the rest of the higher education journey of students and often determines the ways in which students respond to the rest of their studies and their time in the higher education system. throughput data in many countries and contexts across the world has consistently shown that the initial weeks of the first year are also the time at which students are most likely to drop out from their course in the first year of study. as such, the first year may well function as the basis of students’ decision to stay or exit the higher education system (spady,  1970; tinto, 1996; kantanis, 2000; thomas, 2002; thomas & quinn, 2006). it is, therefore, recognised as a critical transition period which may well affect the educational outcomes of students in a more profound way than other types of transitions (upcraft & gardner, 1989; tinto, 1993; terenzini & pascarella, 2005). given the importance of the first year of study and the corresponding disruption posed to the first year of study by the covid‑19 pandemic, a number of questions arise: how will first‑year students navigate the ‘new’ face of the higher education journey? how is transition understood and experienced in the context of the first year of study? what can universities realistically do to support first‑year students through the covid‑19 pandemic? this article seeks to respond to the aforementioned questions, by way of critical reflection and analysis. how does theory assist in our understanding of student transition? research and theories on life transitions are abundant in fields such as psychology and sociology, and have helped inform thinking about the subject in higher education. one of the most popular starting points for a theoretical understanding of transition in higher education is that of nancy schlossberg, a clinical psychologist (1981). schlossberg’s work ansilla nyar: the ‘double transition’ for first‑year students: understanding the impact of covid‑19 … 79 on life transitions is widely used by many student affairs professionals, particularly so in the areas of academic advising and career services. schlossberg proposed a transition model which describes transition as “any event or non‑event which results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions and roles” (goodman et al., 2006, p. 33) and identifies four major factors which allow individuals to deal with transition: situation, self, support and strategies (schlossberg, 1981). later, schlossberg collaborated with student development theorist, arthur chickering, in order to adapt her transition theory to apply to college students. they describe the ways in which college students move through the transition process as a series of phases, termed “moving in”, “moving out” and “moving through” (chickering & schlossberg, 1995, p.1). in the field of higher education, student transition is most helpfully framed through the sprawling field of student development theory, which looks to explain and understand the developmental growth of university students (chickering, 1969; perry, 1970; loevinger, 1976; vygotsky, 1978). the student development literature looks to understand the individual experience and interpretation of transition, but also explores how transition happens in the interface between the characteristics of individual students (socio‑economic background, prior experiences of learning, etc.) and the broader social and political context in which the student is located. towards this end, o’donnell, kean and stevens (2016) explain the role of institutions and larger social contexts in relation to student transition. they understand transition as the intersection between the student and the social context in which the student is embedded. further, the meaning attributed to the transition by the student experiencing it, and the ease with which the student navigates the transition, depends upon the social contexts in which the transition occurs and the amount of support available to the student. accordingly, higher education scholars, such as vincent tinto, alexander astin, ernest pascarella and patrick terenzini have argued persuasively that universities must support student transitions, and indeed have a responsibility to do so (astin, 1984; tinto, 1993; pascarella & terenzini, 2005; hussey & smith, 2010). towards this end, for example, hussey and smith (2010) propose that part of the purpose of higher education is to support the transitions experienced by students, and further, that the design and delivery of higher education should be predicated on the concept of student transition. hussey and smith state: ‘transition’ is not a precise term. transitions are large, complex and significant changes that occur in a student’s life: a nested pattern of lesser changes. they may concern their learning, circumstances, self‑concept, autonomy, maturity and so forth. they are changes that the student, parents, friends, prospective employers and educators judge to be of real significance. some may be intended and brought about by design, others may emerge by happenstance; some will be evaluated as positive, others negative. examples include such things as the transition from home to university; from dependent youngster to independent adult; from novice to knowledgeable, skilled practitioner or from engaged student to disaffected dropout. those involved in education have the task of deciding which transitions are desirable and which are undesirable, and amongst the 80 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 former, the priority and order in which they need to be made. teachers and other staff have to decide how to go about helping students through these transitions and how to detect and measure progress. all this is just describing what higher education has always been about, but describing it in this way changes it from an institution‑based system through which students are processed, to a student‑centred system, which, at least to some extent, attends to the needs of the individual and their capacity to progress. (hussey & smith, 2010, p.120) while centring the role of higher education institutions, it is also recognised that students hold agency. students play an equally important role in facilitating their own transitions through higher education. it is argued that students have a joint responsibility to manage their transitions and facilitate their own educational outcomes, and further, that universities must be demanding of their expectations for students and work to develop agency and active self‑government in their students (tinto, 1993; mcinnis, 2001). this is in line with sanford’s theory of student development (sanford, 1968), which suggests a ‘challenge‑ support balance’. the ‘challenge‑support balance’ theory is based on the idea that too much challenge may alienate and frustrate students while too much support may never push students into achieving their full developmental potential. sanford advocated that optimum student growth and development is best facilitated by an appropriate blend of challenge and support. of particular interest to this article for the purposes of understanding student transition, is the work of gale and parker (2014). they argue that higher education tends to see transition in terms of three broad conceptualisations of transition, i.e. induction, development and becoming, which may not do justice to the real lived experiences of student transition. they make a case for seeing transition for the dynamic, negotiated and non‑linear phenomenon that it is. similarly, quinn (2010, p. 127) argues for seeing transition in terms of complexity. she advocates for using the pluralised form of transition, i.e. as in “multiple transitions into, out of, through, across and re‑entering higher education”. gale and parker’s (2014, p. 737) definition of transition as “the capability to navigate change” is particularly instructive in its acknowledgement that transitions affect students differentially, particularly those from low‑income or historically disadvantaged backgrounds (gale & parker, 2014; briggs et al., 2012; thomas, 2002). as expostulated by thomas (2002, p. 413): “if a student feels that they do not fit in, that their social and cultural practices are inappropriate and that their tacit knowledge is under‑valued, they may be more inclined to withdraw early.” reference is made here to pierre bourdieu’s seminal theoretical work on habitus and cultural capital, which helps to explain differences and disparities in educational outcomes (bourdieu, 1973). bourdieu theorised that less advantaged students who have not had the benefit of exposure to the discourses and practices of the higher education system, will not adapt as easily as those who have already had the benefit of cultural capital acquired from their backgrounds and networks. students from privileged class backgrounds are less likely to encounter constraints or barriers than those who are less advantaged. ansilla nyar: the ‘double transition’ for first‑year students: understanding the impact of covid‑19 … 81 together, these various theoretical arguments provide a framework for understanding student transition. one may, therefore, draw the following conclusions about transition: (a) transition is about more than the student’s individual experience of it. transition cannot be understood without reference to the context in which the transition takes place, and the social and cultural factors involved in that transition; (b) universities have an obligation to support students throughout transition; and that support must involve agency from students to help facilitate their own success in their studies; (c) transition affects students differentially. some students will fare better than others. this is due to the amount of cultural capital to which they have access. this more general conceptualisation of transition helps better understand the nature of educational transitions, more specifically, the first‑year transition, and further, how this particular educational transition has been complicated and, indeed, disrupted by the advent of covid‑19. the first‑year student population can be said to be facing a ‘double’ transition of sorts: first, a first‑year transition involving the challenges typical of the first year of university study; and, second, an overlapping, equally unsettling, transition, involving the adaptation to a covid‑19‑mediated way of life at university. understanding the first-year transition in the context of covid-19 transitions are a permanent and indeed inescapable part of the human condition, and often have far‑reaching consequences for those experiencing them. the process of transition can require individuals to alter their perceptions of self, relinquish familiar reference points, objects or persons, de‑link from previous or existing support structures, and sometimes make uncomfortable adjustments to accommodate their altered or new realities. as such, transitions can involve a wide array of emotions, some of which can leave individuals feeling disoriented, or even traumatised. feelings of anxiety, depression or trauma can accompany transitions. in line with the arguments of scholars advocating support for the transition that takes place in higher education, there is an urgent need to develop support frameworks for students. such support frameworks can mitigate some of the effects of the two transitions taking place simultaneously at the point of vulnerability in the higher education journey, which is the first year of study. challenges of the first-year student transition the first‑year student transition serves as an example of a life transition involving fundamental change in which individuals struggle to adapt and require support and coping resources. the first year of university study can be aptly described as a ‘culture shock’. students in their first year of study must familiarise themselves with the complex ecosystem of processes, procedures and specific requirements of the university system. for example, logistical competencies are required to navigate such basic university processes and procedures as timetables, maps, schedules, lecture notes, finances, etc. there is an 82 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 acute emotional and psychological component to the first‑year transition for students, as students navigate the complex bureaucracy of the universities, establish new relationships and adjust to the discourse and demands of academia. they face a wide range of challenges and stressors in their new environment, which predisposes them to high levels of anxiety and stress (clark, 2005; christie, 2009). while some students may possibly navigate this transition with relative ease, other students experience difficulties in adjustment and require support (briggs et al., 2012; gale & parker, 2014). the new and changing nature of academic learning, involving departure from the predictable frameworks of school to the relative anonymity and autonomy of university, represents one of the most significant challenges for the first‑year student. students often struggle in order to develop the requirements for academic learning, i.e. flexibility, autonomy and self‑directed learning involving reading and critical thinking in ways that are profoundly different from high school learning strategies (ramsden, 1992; cook & leckey, 1999; krause, 2006; lowe & cook, 2010). first‑year students also struggle to adapt to teaching which takes place most often in large and unfamiliar classroom settings, generally under conditions of relative anonymity. large class learning is typically associated with limited student engagement and insufficient depth of learning, and may, as cuseo (2007, p. 2) notes, “initiate maladaptive learning habits or predispositions to learning that linger beyond the first year”. challenges of the covid-19 transition covid‑19 is a novel disease and hence unanticipated and unexplored. the rapid transmission rate and high mortality rate of covid‑19 renders the disease especially frightening. for first‑ year students undergoing their introduction to university while coping with the covid‑19 pandemic, their transition can be described as especially traumatic. as schlossberg et al. have noted, the impact of a transition increases exponentially when the transition is unanticipated (schlossberg, 1981). while the challenges of the first‑year transition are anticipated for the most part, they are often not fully understood or the extent of those changes are unappreciated. students are often not fully aware of the nature and extent of the first‑year transition, until they are able to fully experience the transition for themselves. the covid‑19 pandemic heightens the complexity of the first‑year transition on account of the wholly unanticipated nature of covid‑19. the unanticipated nature of the covid‑19 pandemic echoes the theoretical understanding of the fundamental nature of transition as unpredictable and irregular (briggs et al., 2012; gale & parker, 2014). under normal circumstances, the first‑year transition is a destabilising process. when coupled with the exigencies of the covid‑19 pandemic, the first‑year transition may well become impossible for students to navigate. for first‑year students, the covid‑19 pandemic has come to represent an additional layer of complexity in the context of their introduction to higher education. the impact of transition is also measured in terms of the degree to which it alters familiar routines and daily lifestyle. first‑year students have had to negotiate their transition ansilla nyar: the ‘double transition’ for first‑year students: understanding the impact of covid‑19 … 83 to online learning, while living under conditions of enforced social distancing – all in the context of the new and unfamiliar setting of academia and the world of the university. due to problems with registration processes, they were only able to experience approximately six weeks of traditional contact learning before the commencement of the national lockdown on 26 march 2020 and the subsequent implementation of a raft of covid‑19 restrictions on daily life. mathiba’s article (2020) describes the challenges facing students as a result of covid‑19 as a “raft of problems”. campus closures took place in a haphazard and confusing way, with many students having to incur costs for unplanned travel, housing and last‑minute relocation. moreover, the hasty nature of south africa’s national lockdown has ensnared many students in bureaucratic predicaments regarding accommodation, transport and food, for example, in terms of refunds for meals and accommodation, or problems of lease agreements for those students who are renting accommodation off‑campus and are locked into contracts with landlords. many students are experiencing financial hardships on account of sustained job and income losses as a result of covid‑19. the closure of universities has also cut certain students off from employment opportunities, such as those students who may have had part‑time work in libraries or cafeterias; or resources, such as those students who may have been receiving food as part of a meals programme offered by their university. accordingly, first‑year students are most likely to be suffering psychological impacts on account of the profound disruptions to their daily lives. such disruption is compounded by the covid‑19 imposed restrictions on their social lives and the sudden removal of their daily routines of socialisation. it is possible to surmise that prolonged social distancing may well predispose students towards modifying or changing their socialising habits, including their willingness to be in crowds or any or all highly populated spaces. as an unanticipated transition, the move to online teaching and learning has been sudden and unprecedented for all of south africa’s students. while south africa’s universities have had some limited experience with online teaching and learning, including blended learning, universities are generally not well‑positioned to support large‑scale online learning. the move to online teaching and learning has been hasty, with little preparation and limited educator training. students have struggled to transition to online teaching and learning, despite the availability of learning materials and zero‑rated applications. moreover, the overload of information through different software platforms, mobile applications and emails may be an additional source of anxiety and stress for students (dell, 2020; macupe, 2020). given the sudden onslaught of the covid‑19 pandemic, there are limited studies on the effects of covid‑19 on the mental health of university students. it can, nonetheless, be surmised that the covid‑19 pandemic holds serious mental health and trauma implications for students (brookes et al., 2020; salari et al., 2020; rajkumar, 2020). students may experience the disruption to the normal routines of daily life as destabilising, requiring an adaptation of their normal coping strategies towards adversity and putting them at risk of adverse adaptive strategies. for those students who may also be preoccupied with illness or 84 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 caring responsibilities on account of covid‑19, this may represent time taken away from their studies and further anxiety about the effect on their studies. constant exposure to news and information about the pandemic, including misinformation and sensationalist news, may also continue to compromise the mental health and well‑being of students. given the well‑established intersection between poverty and mental health, the demographic likely to be most severely affected by covid‑19 are those from low‑income or disadvantaged communities. students from such backgrounds may experience pronounced isolation and frustration in the course of their learning, in addition to the customary stressors of their daily existence, such as financial hardship, food insecurity and precarious home environments. certain categories of vulnerable students in the first‑year student population may face an increased risk of anxiety and depression during the pandemic, such as those students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (questioning), intersex, asexual and other non‑heterosexual people (lgbtqia+), disabled or with some form of illness or impairment. the double transition is summarised below in a tabular synthesised form as table  1. this table helps to succinctly illustrate the nature of this ‘double transition’ and all the disruption that is involved in the double transition with regard to the dynamics of the first‑year transition which is being simultaneously experienced. by closely positioning the two transitions under the organising framework of common transition categories, viz. academic, social/psychological and logistical, it is possible to appreciate the depth and extent of the disruption of the covid‑19 pandemic and how the pandemic has deepened and intensified all the existing challenges of transition. predicted long-term impacts of the double transition prolonged financial hardship depending on the trajectory of the covid‑19 pandemic in south africa, financial hardships for students could possibly continue and extend for several years to come. first‑year students may well be disillusioned by their untimely introduction to the higher education system. they may even question the value for money of an education under the restrictions of covid‑19 and possibly make the decision to leave the system altogether in light of the longer‑term outlook for employment. some may leave the system altogether simply on account of covid‑19 induced impoverishment. it is possible to surmise that south africa’s ‘missing middle’ (i.e. those students from poor or middle‑income backgrounds who do not qualify for national government funding support on account of their combined family incomes being higher than the minimum family income amount stipulated for assistance) may expand on account of covid‑19 job losses and impoverishment of families and communities. ansilla nyar: the ‘double transition’ for first‑year students: understanding the impact of covid‑19 … 85 t ab le 1 : t h e d o u b le t ra n si ti o n o f fi rs tye ar s tu d en ts t ra n si ti o n c at eg o ri es f ir st -y ea r t ra n si ti o n c ov id -1 9 t ra n si ti o n a ca de m ic • c h an ge i n e xp ec ta ti o n s an d as su m pt io n s ab o u t th e n at u re o f ac ad em ic l ea rn in g as w el l as t h e st yl e an d pa ce o f in st ru ct io n . • n ee d fo r se lf‑ di re ct ed l ea rn in g, i n w ay s th at a re p ro fo u n dl y di ff er en t fr o m h ig h sc h o o l le ar n in g st ra te gi es . • im m er si o n i n t h e la rg e cl as sr o o m s et ti n g, u n de r co n di ti o n s o f re la ti ve a n o ny m it y. • a br u pt e n tr y in to a c o m pl ex l ea rn in g m o da lit y, w h ic h p u ts p re ss u re o n s tu de n ts t o ac ce ss t h e re qu ir ed c o m pu te r h ar dw ar e an d in te rn et c o n n ec ti vi ty . • p o ss ib ili ty o f bo re do m a n d ac ad em ic d is en ga ge m en t in a n o n lin e te ac h in g an d le ar n in g en vi ro n m en t. • in t h e ca se o f in fe ct io n , t im e lo st t ow ar ds s tu di es . so ci al / p sy ch o lo gi ca l • w id e ra n ge o f ch al le n ge s an d st re ss o rs in t h e n ew e nv ir o n m en t, in cl u di n g th e es ta bl is h m en t an d n eg o ti at io n o f a ra n ge o f di ff er en t pe rs o n al r el at io n sh ip s w it h bo th p ee rs a n d fa cu lt y. • p re di sp o si ti o n t o l o n el in es s, se lf‑ do u bt a n d h o m es ic kn es s. • h ei gh te n ed l ev el s o f ps yc h o lo gi ca l di st re ss o n a cc o u n t o f di sr u pt io n t o d ai ly r o u ti n e, an xi et y ab o u t in cr ea si n g in fe ct io n r at es a n d fe ar s ab o u t fi n an ci al h ar ds h ip s an d ac ad em ic d el ay s. • h ea lt h ‑r el at ed f ea rs a bo u t c ov id ‑1 9, i n cl u di n g fe ar o f ill n es s o r de at h , p ar ti cu la rl y w it h r eg ar d to t h o se s tu de n ts w h o h av e ex pe ri en ce d th e ill n es se s o f fa m ily m em be rs w it h c ov id ‑1 9, e sp ec ia lly o ld er f am ily m em be rs . o ld er a du lt s ar e at t h e h ig h es t ri sk fo r c ov id ‑1 9. • p o ss ib le a ss u m pt io n o f ca ri n g re sp o n si bi lit ie s fo r ill f am ily m em be rs o r ac qu ai n ta n ce s. • is o la ti o n o n a cc o u n t o f re st ri ct io n s o n s o ci al l if e. • a n xi et y o n a cc o u n t o f co n st an t ex po su re t o c ov id ‑1 9 n ew s an d po ss ib le m is in fo rm at io n . • im pa ct o f si ck n es s o r ev en d ea th o f a cl as sm at e, r o o m m at e, a n d/ o r u n iv er si ty s ta ff m em be r kn ow n t o t h e st u de n t. l og is ti ca l • n ew o r gr ea te r re qu ir em en ts f o r lo gi st ic al c o m pe te n ci es i n t er m s o f al l m at te rs o f th ei r ow n f o o d, t ra n sp o rt a n d ac co m m o da ti o n , a s w el l as u n iv er si ty pr o ce ss es a n d pr o ce du re s (e .g . t im et ab le s, m ap s, sc h ed u le s, le ct u re n o te s, fin an ce s, et c. ). • n ee d fo r pr o fi ci en cy i n n ew o n lin e le ar n in g to o ls a n d m et h o ds , w h ile l ea rn in g to co m pl y w it h c ov id ‑1 9 sa fe ty a n d hy gi en e pr o to co ls i n d ai ly l if e. • in se cu re a cc es s to p er so n al p ro te ct iv e eq u ip m en t (p p e ), su ch a s m as ks a n d sa n it is er s. 86 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 mental health crisis for students a long‑term mental health crisis is predicted for students. the implications of a sustained immersion in the covid‑19 pandemic, with all the attendant fear, anxiety and depression in parallel with pre‑existing high levels of stress, have not yet been explored for students. the timeframe of the double transition must be taken into account. short spells of the double transition can obviously be considered less detrimental than prolonged exposure to the stresses and uncertainties of the pandemic. the potential long‑term consequences for students may only be understood in the future, as the pandemic continues and depressive symptoms fully present themselves. it would be prudent for universities to invest in the mental health of students, before mental health problems become entrenched. therefore, it can be said that monitoring and oversight of the mental health of students should be seen as an immediate strategic priority for universities. it is necessary to follow the trajectory of the mental health and well‑being of students, as the pandemic continues. an uncertain future for online teaching and learning the extent to which online teaching and learning is able to find purchase with students, will only be seen in the coming months and years. there are few learning strategies which explicitly speak to the special needs of first‑year students. the subject of specific pedagogies for first‑year students remains one which is largely unexplored (nathan, 2005; erickson et al., 2006; tuckman & kennedy, 2011). while the move to online teaching and learning has happened on account of necessity, it has also been propelled by far‑reaching and naïve assumptions about south africa’s digital readiness and the idea that the 21st‑century student population will be more adept at online teaching and learning than previous generations of learners. it can be argued that while students are, on average, more acclimated to technology than previous generations of students, this should not automatically assume the high levels of technological proficiency that would, for example, be needed for successful online teaching and learning. the latter is particularly true in light of the fact that modern forms of technology are continually updating and changing. long‑term academic disengagement is a risk of the double transition. students may quickly become bored with learning materials, particularly so in a home‑centric learning environment which can be isolating and prone to distractions. the double transition may inculcate poor learning styles and habits during the pandemic which may linger throughout their time in the higher education system. it is also possible to predict that some students may embrace online teaching and learning, and appreciate the flexibility and convenience of online teaching and learning as a more appealing option than traditional classroom forms of instruction, which has long been criticised for its redundancy in terms of 21st‑century learning. of course, much depends on educator expertise, and the ability of institutions of higher education to provide the training and education which can strengthen teaching strategies. ansilla nyar: the ‘double transition’ for first‑year students: understanding the impact of covid‑19 … 87 loss or dilution of ‘the university experience’ universities offer a sense of social engagement and connection for students. the covid‑19 pandemic has deprived first‑year students of all the experiences involved in an active and engaged student life, as well as the multiple opportunities for personal growth and social development that university life has to offer. the experiential aspect of university goes beyond teaching and learning and extends to a wider universe of campus‑based experiences, such as accommodation, employment, career advice, mentoring, psychological support services, all of which encompass the student lifestyle (morgan, 2012). under the restrictions of the covid‑19 pandemic, first‑year students miss out on the vibrancy and immediacy of the engagement with the totality of student experiences at university. moreover, all the tools traditionally employed by universities to aid students transition (e.g., orientation, mentoring and various support services) are now significantly diluted or weakened by the recourse to all online modes of interaction. it goes without saying that theories of transition in higher education must now take into account the ‘double transition’ and find ways to mitigate its insidious impact on the educational outcomes of first‑year students. the covid‑19 pandemic may be seen as a critical watershed issue that could influence the life trajectories of students in both short term and long‑term scenarios. as the first year is understood to be the crucial determining year for how students respond to the rest of their studies, this experience of the covid‑19 pandemic and their ‘double transition’ may well prove to be a formative one for students and exert a lasting impact. as this moment is evolving, it will remain incumbent on educators to study the effects of the ‘double transition’ on future generations of learners. strategies to mitigate the ‘double transition’ it is difficult to make definitive pronouncements in the prevailing contexts of uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding the covid‑19 pandemic. it is, in fact, impossible to predict the effects of covid‑19, and there is also much about the covid‑19 virus that yet remains clinically unclear or unknown. there are, however, a number of ways in which the double transition can be addressed in the hopes of ameliorating the challenging circumstances of first‑year students and providing some (short‑ and long‑term) relief for their circumstances. several recommendations are advanced here, some of which relate to the broader macro‑environment, and some of which can be reasonably effected within the higher education system. first, financial relief for cash‑strapped students is a matter of critical urgency. higher education should be included in the national financial stimulus plans for economic and social recovery. universities are also urged to explore and possibly tap into various social and economic funding measures put in place by national government in order to alleviate the financial hardships caused by the covid‑19 pandemic. the matter of fee reductions for students has not been explicitly addressed by the department of higher education and training (dhet) as well as the university sector (deklerk, 2020). given the costs borne by students of the shift to online platforms, the variability in quality of online teaching and the lack of access to critical elements of learning such as labs and clinical experience, 88 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 the current fee structure bears the need for review. moreover, innovative ways to design a safety support for students should also be considered and explored with the private sector and donors, both local and international. this recommendation for a financial safety net for students is made in light of the financial hardships suffered by universities on account of covid‑19 and the likelihood of subsidy reductions, and the curtailment in student admissions. the future of online teaching and learning is uncertain as universities are re‑examining their customary approaches to teaching and learning on account of covid‑19. a great deal of institutional introspection is currently taking place about the renewal of the current teaching and learning model, and with regard to lessons learned during the covid‑19 pandemic. it is, however, clear that universities must now disengage from the emergency mode in which the transition to online teaching and learning first took place. universities must now improve their pedagogical practice in terms of the delivery of online teaching and learning. it is also imperative that educators receive training and support, as they continue the work of online teaching and learning under the covid‑19 pandemic. knowledge transfer from unisa (university of south africa), south africa’s largest open distance higher education institution, is critical and, indeed, expected during this time. mental health is considered a priority under normal circumstances of the first‑year student transition. in the context of the first‑year double transition, provisions for the mental health of students and access to high‑quality mental health services, assumes ever greater importance. it is therefore imperative that student support be scaled up as the covid‑19 pandemic runs its course. while this may mean large‑scale interventions such as ensuring sufficient numbers of well‑trained counsellors, it can also mean smaller thoughtful strategies such as exploring the use of electronic devices for counselling, and possibly relaxing bureaucratic restrictions on such things as loaning of devices or access to lending resources. during this time of anxiety and uncertainty, it is urged that universities actively work towards inculcating a wider institutional culture of treating students with greater care and kindness than they have previously done. all departments who actively interface with students, i.e. admissions, fees, and security, should be trained in the dynamics and nuances of the double transition for first‑year students, with the goal of developing more thoughtful and considered interactions with students during the covid‑19 pandemic. however, it is important to recognise that provisions for mental health support should not only be the province of universities. it should be considered holistically as a critical element of south africa’s broader response to the covid‑19 pandemic and expanded into the country’s primary health care services, so that all those who need it have immediate access to skilled psycho‑social support while the covid‑19 pandemic has inevitably endowed universities with a new singularity of purpose in their operations (i.e. focusing on the curriculum and recovering lost academic time), matters of student support should not be overlooked or compromised in any way. it is incumbent upon the first‑year community, and indeed all university staff, at all institutions of higher education, to ensure that matters of first‑year experience and student support remain central to institutional agendas. ansilla nyar: the ‘double transition’ for first‑year students: understanding the impact of covid‑19 … 89 conclusion this article has shown the complexity of the various challenges involved in the double transition of first‑year students to higher education. while the large body of theoretical work as detailed in the first part of this article, has provided a roadmap of sorts to guide student transitions, it nonetheless offers no clear roadmap to dictate how this particular transition – the double transition – can best be managed. there is a need to develop a framework, as has been advanced herein and encapsulated in table 1, that will best understand the complex trajectory of the double transition. only time can predict how first‑year students may move into different phases in this particular transition. this may involve moving beyond the current experience of turmoil and distress towards a period of acceptance in which the double transition is incorporated into the lives of first‑year students. the implications of this double transition will vary widely in terms of the personalities of students and their individual repertoire of coping strategies. as bourdieu and his various proponents remind, the extent of social capital and networks at the disposal of students will play a significant, if not defining, role in the way the double transition is managed. it is possible to reframe the double transition as an empowering experience, despite the stress and trauma involved in this type of ordeal. indeed, all transitions can be seen to hold a silver lining of sorts in the ways that they propel psychological growth and bring to the fore many positive qualities and characteristics in the personalities of individuals that will increase their ability to negotiate difficult and complex situations in their future. this article has advocated some strategies to mitigate the worst of the double transition, all of which can be reasonably effected by those in the higher education sector. it can be said, in closing, that for those working in the higher education sector, it is critically important to be aware of the impact of transitional experiences on the student population, and to continue to practise the kind of intentional care, trust and respect needed to guide and encourage first‑year students through the challenges of the double transition. acknowledgements this article was prepared by the author in line with her work as director of the south african national resource centre for the first‑year experience and students in transition (sanrc). the sanrc is a national initiative funded by the department of higher education and training (dhet). the views and opinions expressed in this research are that of the author’s alone. the author received no financial support for the research and authorship of this article. conflict of interest the author certifies that she has no affiliations or involvement in any organisation or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment), or non‑financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. 90 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 77‑92 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 references astin, a.w. 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(2011). teaching and learning strategies to increase success of first‑term college students. the journal of experimental education,79(4), 478‑504. https://doi.org/10.1080/002 20973.2010.512318 upcraft, m.l. & gardner, j.n. (1989). the freshman experience: helping students survive and succeed in college. jossey‑bass. upcraft, m.l., gardner, j.n. & barefoot, b.o. (eds.) (2005). challenging and supporting the first‑year student: a handbook for improving the first year of college. jossey‑bass. vygotsky, l.s. (1978). mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674576292 how to cite: nyar, a. (2021). the ‘double transition’ for first‑year students: understanding the impact of covid‑19 on south africa’s first‑year university students. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 77‑92. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1429 https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2010.512318 https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2010.512318 https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674576292 perrybook journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 167 www.jsaa.ac.za reflective practice leveraging ed-tech in the co-curricular space: reflections on design and development aspects of the class representative induction programme at the university of cape town christine immengai i ms christine immenga is the senior co-ordinator: student governance in the student development cluster of the department of student affairs at the university of cape town, south africa. orcid: 0000-0003-3735-6601. email: christine.immenga@uct.ac.za abstract every year, class representatives are elected at the university of cape town to represent students on academic matters in relation to a specific academic course. a vital element of this representative role is to advocate for an enabling learning environment that promotes learning excellence. in preparing class representatives for their leadership roles, the department of student affairs, in partnership with the students’ representative council (src) and the faculty councils, host and facilitate a class representative induction programme. the induction typically utilised face-to-face synchronous teaching methods. however, since the advent of covid-19, adaptions to the induction programme had to be made in order to reflect the new normal imposed by the pandemic. against this backdrop, this article addresses various design-related choices encountered from an online education technology perspective. key areas of reflection include working with the src undergraduate academic co-ordinator and faculty councils as a design team in transitioning a, hitherto, synchronous programme catering for approximately 420 class representatives, from a face-to-face mode of delivery to an online mode of delivery. particular attention is paid to the social constructivist design elements of the programme development process and how these elements were managed with regards to the enablements and constraints encountered in the virtual space by exploring the technological affordances of various ed-tech options available to student affairs practitioners. this article contributes to the practitioner literature by demonstrating how ed-tech can be leveraged to aid in the preservation of existing practices as blended learning approaches continue to shape and augment the future of co-curricular programme delivery in higher education. keywords blended learning; leadership development; online co-curricular programmes; online learning design; participatory curriculum development introduction annually class representatives are elected at the university of cape town (uct) to represent students on academic matters in relation to a specific academic course. class representatives are formally recognised in the students’ representative council (src) http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:christine.immenga%40uct.ac.za?subject= 168 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 constitution which forms part of the uct institutional statute. the src constitution further recognises six undergraduate faculty councils, that represent students in each of the six academic faculties of uct and tasks these faculty councils with ensuring “that there is a functioning system of class representatives” (uct council, 2016, p. 14). the role of a class representative is to advocate for an enabling learning environment that promotes learning excellence. a class representative typically achieves this through regular engagement with the course convenor or lecturer on academic matters or challenges that may be faced by their class. should the class representative not be able to resolve the matter at the localised class level, the class representative can escalate the matter to the faculty council to liaise with the head of department or dean and if the matter remains unresolved can escalate the matter to the src to take up with the university executive (figure 1). src faculty council class representative class dean head of department lecturer / course convenor dvc teaching & learning figure 1: class representatives’ communication and complaint escalation channels further to this, a second responsibility of the role of the class representative is to facilitate the communication of important information to their class as well as refer their fellow class participants to the appropriate student support service should the need arise. in an effort to prepare the class representatives for their critical role, the department of student affairs (dsa) is tasked with inducting the class representatives. this is achieved through the development and implementation of the annual class representative induction (cri) programme. to facilitate the creation of a relevant and inclusive programme, the dsa utilises a participatory curriculum development (pcd) approach by partnering with both the faculty councils and the src undergraduate academics co‑ordinator to form the cri design team (henceforth referred to as the design team). this multiple stakeholder approach is what distinguishes a pcd approach from a traditional curriculum development approach where subject matter experts and educators develop the curriculum. in drawing on the insights and experiences of stakeholders, a pcd approach essentially assumes that christine immenga: leveraging ed‑tech in the co‑curricular space … 169 each stakeholder is an expert with regards to their own reality in relation to the curriculum being developed. the appeal of a pcd process is that it increases stakeholder “motivation, commitment and ownership of the learning process” (taylor, 2000, p. 95) thereby supporting the de facto social constructivist paradigm associated with student development in this co‑curricular space (schreiber & valle, 2013). furthermore, pcd’s ability to facilitate the inclusion of usually marginalised voices results in the production of “relevant, flexible, diverse and integrated curricula, improving the chance of a successful, sustainable outcome [that is] manifested through effective learning” (taylor, 2000, p. 95). the 2020 cri programme was scheduled for 14 march. however, the confirmed arrival of the covid‑19 pandemic in south africa in early march resulted in the postponement of the synchronous and face‑to‑face programme. the manner in which the pandemic evolved worldwide soon made it clear that a face‑to‑face induction would no longer be possible. it was, however, crucial that the class representatives receive training, especially since their representative role gained in significance once the institution announced that the academic year would continue via emergency remote teaching. this required that the design team re‑design and re‑develop the cri programme in order for it to be facilitated fully online. this article serves as a practitioner’s reflection in addressing various design‑related choices encountered in the process of developing the fully online cri programme from an online learning and education technology perspective. methodology according to schön (1992, p. 53) “real‑world problems do not come well‑formed”, and this was indeed the case with the advent of covid‑19 in south africa. covid‑19 resulted in most higher education institutions being forced to move both curricular and co‑curricular programmes fully online. consequently, the use of reflective practice, as originally advocated by schön (1982), provides a method of making explicit the practitioner knowledge gained by those practitioners who were suddenly tasked with enabling this transition (candy, 2020; schön, 1982). luescher (2018) develops the concept of reflective practice further within the context of student affairs by providing a foundation for the use of reflective practice articles as a methodology for reflective scholarship within the student development practitioner community. more specifically, luescher proposes a set of guidelines for practitioners to draw on when engaging in reflective scholarship, namely: contextual information about the higher education system, the institution and its student body, and the student affairs department where a practice is housed; title and description of the practice, i.e. an intervention, project, initiative, programme or service; reasons for the practice: why was this practice developed and adopted? what was its purpose and objectives? who was the target group? what outcomes were envisaged? 170 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 conceptualisation and implementation of the practice: how was the practice conceived and developed? what was included/excluded? how was the practice implemented? what were its costs (including non‑costed issues like time)? how was it managed, monitored and evaluated? reflections on the practice: what were the outcomes in terms of achieving its purposes? what worked, what did not work, and why? what recommendations for improvement can be made? reflections on ethics and transferability: what ethical considerations must be noted in relation to the practice? what is the potential of transferring the practice to other target groups or implementing it in different institutional and campus settings? reflections on the account: what is the trustworthiness of this reflective practice account? what biases may be implicit? how does it contribute to a scholarship of practice in student affairs? what further research may be required? (luescher, 2018, p. 68) this article therefore proceeds by employing the use of reflective scholarship as a methodo‑ logical approach given its well‑suited relevance and hence also draws on both the structure and key components of luescher’s guidance outlined above. this article draws on the following publicly available data sources: • framework for remote teaching at uct under covid-19 (also referred to as the emergency remote teaching [ert] framework). • universal design for learning (udl) guide provided by the centre for innovation in learning and teaching (cilt). the “new normal” having noted that the 2020 cri programme would need to take place in a fully online environment, a re‑development of the programme was required in order to accommodate and adapt to this new normal in accordance with the provisions of uct’s emergency remote teaching (ert) framework. in april 2020, the uct senate executive committee approved the framework for remote teaching at uct under covid-19. the purpose of the framework is to ensure “an equitable experience of learning for all students” (uct sec, 2020, p. 1) in an effort to prevent “remote teaching [from] reinforc[ing] or increas[ing] existing inequalities” (uct sec, 2020, p. 1). this framework requires that “[e]mergency remote teaching […] be asynchronous and designed for low bandwidth and restricted access to the internet in order to include as many students as possible” (uct sec, 2020, p. 2). emergency remote teaching was further enabled by the provision of laptops by  the institu tion to students who required a device, by the monthly provision of data to students, and finally by an agreement made between the south african department of  higher christine immenga: leveraging ed‑tech in the co‑curricular space … 171 education and training and south african mobile service providers to zero rate a selection of educational websites. the result of the latter was that vula, uct’s learning management system, was zero‑rated and could be utilised without a data charge (icts, 2020). the ert framework made a point of distinguishing between emergency remote teaching and online teaching in that online teaching would allow for synchronous teaching activities to take place via platforms such as zoom or microsoft teams (uct sec, 2020). in practice this meant that the face‑to‑face programme could not merely be moved online and be presented synchronously via an online platform. instead, the framework challenged the cri design team to design and develop a low‑bandwidth asynchronous online induction programme. designing for the “new normal” in keeping with carpenter and haber‑curran’s (2013) recommendation of theory‑based intentionality of practice, a deliberate attempt was made to draw on both education technology and online learning theory in the re‑development of the cri programme. in particular, use was made of the addie framework, affordance theory, the universal design for learning (udl) principles, the multimedia principle, and the community of inquiry (coi) theoretical framework to inform the many design choices made for the programme. each of these will now in turn be introduced and briefly discussed so as to provide the reader with the necessary background to make sense of the design choices upon which the ensuing reflections are based. the analyse, design, develop, implement and evaluate model (addie) addie is a five‑stage instructional design model that systematically guides practitioners in the development of educational interventions (allen, 2006). the five stages, from which it derives its acronymic name, are: analyse, design, develop, implement and evaluate. branch & dousay, (2015, p. 17) characterise each of the addie stages in terms of the activities associated with each stage as follows: • [a]nalysis of the contexts and the needs of the learner; • [d]esign of a set of specifications for an effective, efficient, and relevant learning environment; • [d]evelopment of all student and course management materials; • [i]mplementation of the planned instruction; and • [e]valuation of the results of the design processes, both formative and summative. according to reiser and dempsey (2007, p. 11) it should also be noted that when using the addie framework “it is often necessary to move back and forth among the activities of analysis, design, and formative evaluation and revision” and by doing so the addie framework reveals its greatest strength as being an “iterative and self‑correcting” process (reiser & dempsey, 2007). 172 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 affordance theory in the education technology context affordance theory is interpreted as a maxim that states that when making choices about technologies, consideration must be given to both the manner in which the technologies support the learning task and how the technologies are experienced by the student (beetham, 2007). the term ‘affordance’ is used to describe how a tool or technology might be used to enable online learning (hammond, 2010; aagaard, 2018). it then follows that by assessing what the various technologies, resources and tools may afford the student as they embark on the learning activity, learning designers are aided in determining which tool, technology or resource is best suited for the pedagogic strategy of the specific learning task. universal design for learning (udl) the udl provides a framework for instructional design and curriculum development based on research from the learning sciences, the learning differences, and the creation of supportive learning environment domains. this framework consists of three principles, namely engagement, representation, and action and expression. these principles endeavour to optimise learning for all students (hall et al., 2012; cilt, 2020). the engagement principle emphasises “the ‘why’ of learning” (cilt, 2020, p. 1) and requires that students connect with the content in a manner that motivates and stimulates them to learn. this can be achieved by contextualising content using local examples and the use of activities that encourage and welcome the student voice. the second principle of representation refers to “the ’what’ of learning” (cilt, 2020, p. 2). this principle requires that students be enabled to make connections with the content in relation to their existing knowledge and understanding. the importance of this principle is that it acknowledges that students may interpret information differently based on their pre‑existing knowledge and therefore requires that the same content be presented in multiple different formats as well as in smaller sections so as to allow for effective processing of the material. the third principle of action and expression refers to “the ‘how’ of learning” (cilt, 2020, p. 4) and entails “creating multiple opportunities so that a wide range of diverse students can have equal access to and a means to confidently express their learnings […] and participate in educational activities” (cilt, 2020, p. 4). multimedia principle the multimedia principle states that human beings “learn better from words and pictures than from words alone” (mayer, 2017, p. 404). mayer (2017) however cautions that while multimedia can greatly aid the learning process, utilising too many elements within multimedia simultaneously can overload the cognitive processing of the learning and therefore impede learning. community of inquiry (coi) theoretical framework a community of inquiry is defined as “a group of individuals who collaboratively engage in purposeful critical discourse and reflection to construct personal meaning and confirm christine immenga: leveraging ed‑tech in the co‑curricular space … 173 mutual understanding” (garrison, 2017, p. 2). the coi framework presents “a process of creating a deep and meaningful (collaborative‑constructivist) learning experience through the development of three interdependent elements – social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence” (cleveland‑innes et al., 2019, p. 170). a presence, also referred to as a sense of being, is fashioned through interpersonal communication. moreover, in order for a coi process to result in an engaging and interactive learning community all three types of presence, that is the social‑, cognitive‑ and teaching presence must exist in a balanced confluence (cleveland‑innes et al., 2019). these respective presences are defined as follows: • social presence is defined as “the ability of participants to identify with the group or course of study, communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop personal and affective friendships progressively by way of projecting their individual personalities.” (cleveland‑innes et al., 2019, p. 172). • cognitive presence is defined as “the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse” (cleveland‑innes et al., 2019, p. 174). • teaching presence is defined as “the design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realising personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes” (cleveland‑innes et al., 2019, p. 177). design and re‑development practice reflections in approaching the re‑development and design of the cri programme, the decision to follow a theory‑based intentionality of practice was to help ensure the adoption of best practices given the more general trend towards blended learning in the higher education space. this approach was also inspired by pre‑covid events such as the 2019 nasdev best practice summit where strides towards harnessing the benefits and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution (4ir) were already being encouraged. collectively, these driving forces continued to highlight the need for more urgency amongst student affairs practitioners in general to take steps towards ensuring that the co‑curricular space does not get left behind. the arrival of the covid‑19 pandemic necessitated the acceleration of this hitherto emerging agenda. addie having pivoted into the online learning design space, the first important decision was to adopt an instructional design model. given the novelty of this practice as a student affairs practitioner, and the unfamiliar new normal, a flexible and simple design process model capable of supporting and maintaining the participatory curriculum development approach was sought and found in addie. as clinton and hokanson describe addie as being one of the most widely used design frameworks, it was also considered as a step towards the adoption of a best practice (clinton & hokanson, 2012). in following the addie model, the design team’s first task was to analyse the needs of the class representatives as well as the context in which they were going to perform 174 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 their role. this needs analysis resulted in the identification of a key theme sub‑divided into four sub‑themes, along which the design team could focus their efforts. the key theme adopted took account of the demands and voluntary nature of the class representative role. this overarching theme distilled the need and realisation that we were designing for approximately 420 class representatives from across the entire academic spectrum as previously trained class representatives needed to be re‑inducted given the amended institutional protocols as a result of covid‑19. this meant that the programme had to cater for students ranging from first‑year students to finalists representing all six faculties. the four sub‑themes addressed the programme’s content requirements and included: (i) the need for class representatives to gain an appreciation of what it means to be a class representative and how this position relates to the broader student governance structures, (ii) the need for class representatives to be well versed in the academic policies and rules of the institution so that they are well equipped to answer questions or to raise concerns when policy is not being followed, (iii) the need for class representatives to be aware of the student support services offered by the institution so that they are able to refer a student to the appropriate support service, and (iv) the skills training the class representatives will need. affordance theory once the content needs for the new induction programme were established, attention needed to be focused on how best to deliver it within an online environment. as branch & dousay (2015, p.17) suggest, “effective, efficient, and relevant [online] learning environment[s]” heavily depend on utilising the best resources and/or tools for enabling students on their learning journey, the design team turned to affordance theory. given that the design team had first‑hand knowledge, be it only anecdotal and implicit in nature, of actual student experiences in using the university’s learning management system (vula), the decision to house the cri within uct’s learning management system was greatly simplified (aagaard, 2018, p. 1). vula had been declared zero‑rated which meant class representatives could access the site without incurring any data charges. this would ensure equitable access to the resources and content of the induction. class representatives were also already well versed with vula. furthermore, the affordances offered by vula included the fact that this learning management system has multiple tools for effective content delivery and is enabled with various communication tools that allow for collaboration and engagement. noting that the design was underpinned by a social constructivist paradigm, the use of collaborative communication tools offered by vula were an important consideration for the design. a further affordance offered by vula is that site analytics can be utilised to determine how class representatives have engaged with the site. this would allow the design team to identify class representatives who have been inactive on the induction site so that a follow‑up could be made with the class representative in question as well as allow the design team to determine if class representatives were experiencing any challenges with areas or aspects of the site. christine immenga: leveraging ed‑tech in the co‑curricular space … 175 universal design for learning (udl) after having examined the affordances of vula, the challenge now became for the design team to optimally exploit the affordances of vula. this entailed collating the content of the induction for the purposes of instructional delivery. the principles of universal design for learning (udl) served to guide the design choices pertaining to the content delivery. this enabled the design team to address unseen learning barriers in an inclusive manner. to actualise udl’s engagement principle, the design team opted for short videos to be presented by the student leaders within the design team. for this task, the design team drew on further research that informed them of the specifics required for the making of effective instructional videos. for example, the work of day, foley and catrambone (2006; as cited in fanguy et al., 2019) which found that “videos where the instructor was shown led to higher retention of information and greater understanding and ability to apply the principles featured in the lecture compared to the same content presented using either audio and a slide deck” (fanguy et al., 2019, p. 46) formed part of the considerations in creating videos. this led to the content creation and production of videos by the student leaders that covered sub‑theme (i) on the institutional role of class representatives, and sub‑theme (iv) that addressed the skills requirements. the actualisation of the engagement principle was ultimately achieved through the creation of relevant and interesting videos that were presented within the student discourse and from a fellow students’ perspective through the use of local and relatable examples. this was done in an attempt to motivate and stimulate class representatives to engage with the content. further attempts at keeping the instructional videos interesting included the use of different formats. for example, the videos for sub‑theme (ii) took the form of an interview. over a period of one hour, the src undergraduate academics co‑ordinator interviewed a faculty manager on the various academic policies and rules that class representatives should be aware of and how these had been amended in the covid‑19 context. this lengthy interview was then cut into shorter videos whereby one video would cover a particular question or topic. this interview method provided for an interactive and engaging discussion. for sub‑theme (iii), the presenter format was reused, however this time the videos were presented by staff members representing various student support services. this provided an opportunity for each of the respective student support services to showcase their offerings in a video as well as advise how their services remained accessible and available in the covid‑19 context. in further applying the engagement principle, the design team opted for learner‑led pacing. this meant that class representatives could work through the content in their own time and at their own pace. the main reason for opting for a learner‑led pace was the fact that this induction was a voluntary programme and therefore would remain secondary to the class representative’s academic commitments. this flexibility allowed for class representatives to engage with the material as they felt motivated to do so. the benefits associated with this design choice, however, did not come without its own risk. the main concern being that class representatives would simply not engage with the content and 176 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 would hence require dedicated monitoring of usage analytics and follow‑up by the design team (lowenthal et al., 2009; hall et al., 2012). the first step taken in incorporating the second principle of representation into the induction design was to provide an overview page within vula that introduced the programme, stated the purpose of the induction, outlined the learning outcomes and explained the programme’s methodology. a further principle of representation strategy employed by the design team was to release content in manageable portions. to this end, the content was released in accordance with the sub‑themes and each sub‑theme was presented within one vula page. a further stipulation of the representation principle is that content be presented through multiple different file formats. having noted afore that video had been chosen as the foremost tool for content delivery, the design team ensured that each video was accompanied by presentation slides, explanatory notes, a transcript of the video, relevant diagrams and images and, if applicable, additional resources and website links. the induction therefore provided for a multimedia approach that meant that the class representatives could view the video and take in visual and audio content or listen to the video and take in only the audio content or the class representative could engage with the content by reading the presentation slides accompanied by the explanatory notes and the video transcript. the third principle of action and expression was incorporated into the design of the vula site through the utilisation of the many tools vula offers for asynchronous communication, collaboration and engagement. at the end of each sub‑theme a comment tool was integrated into the page so as to allow for comments or questions to be posed in relation to the sub‑theme. the site also featured a chat room, the question & answer tool as well as the forum tool. the forum tool was set up to permit faculty‑specific discussions which allowed for discussions to ensue between faculty‑specific class representatives and their respective faculty councils. the forum tool could be utilised by class representatives to pose questions and suggestions, seek and provide advice and debate policy. returning class representatives or more senior student leaders could also utilise the forums to provide tips and guidance to their representative peers. the chat room tool was intended for class representative to connect and engage with each other. finally, the question & answer tool, having the affordance and functionality to be used anonymously, meant that all class representatives could feel comfortable posing questions to the faculty councils, src or the dsa. in a further strategy to incorporate the expression and action principle, the design team developed relevant and locally contextualised scenario‑based questions that could be posed to a group of class representatives to solve. these questions were specifically designed to encourage collaboration as well as engagement with the content in answering the scenarios. the multiple and varied opportunities for communication and engagement integrated into the induction permitted the class representative’s voice to be elicited within this asynchronous online space and resulted in class representatives being able to action and express their learning. christine immenga: leveraging ed‑tech in the co‑curricular space … 177 multimedia principle in further unpacking the opportunities that multimedia provides in online education, the design team noted the multimedia principle which asserts that students retain more knowledge from words and images than from words alone. by incorporating relevant content pictures in the static form such as graphics, diagrams and images as well as pictures in the dynamic form such as videos and narrated powerpoint presentations into the induction, the design team ensured a more effective learning environment for class representatives (mayer, 2017). as per the udl guide provided by cilt (2020), all videos were kept below 15 minutes. lengthier videos were edited and cut to cover a particular question or topic. instructional text was incorporated within the vula pages to illuminate the content of the video as well as additional materials. all videos were embedded into the vula site which meant videos could be watched without data being used. further to this, for students who had intermittent or limited wi‑fi access, videos and resources could be downloaded, stored and watched or read offline at a later stage. for students with low bandwidth or who preferred not to watch videos, a transcription of each video was provided along with presentation slides and explanatory notes. creating a learning community a key benefit of the participatory curriculum development process was that the design team could draw on their own realities in assessing the needs of the target audience of this induction given their high degree of shared experience. the uncertainty presented by the covid‑19 pandemic and the sudden shift from face‑to‑face teaching to remote emergency teaching left students feeling distressed and overwhelmed (morgan, 2020). moreover, the design team was cognisant that research on the experience of online learning had revealed that students “often feel isolated and alone in online learning environments” (lowenthal et al., 2009, p. 162). in further noting that learning communities “act as academic and social support structures that allow students to learn in more authentic and challenging ways” (dabbagh, 2005, p. 30) the design team set about ensuring the creation of a supportive and interactive online learning community within the induction programme. class representatives needed to be enabled to perform their representative role as well as have a safe space where they could ask questions, seek guidance and engage with peers on the experiences of emergency remote learning as well as on being a class representative during these challenging times. the creation of a supportive learning community therefore was paramount to the success of the induction as well as the functioning of the class representative system as a whole (ludwig‑hardman & dunlap, 2003; robinson, 2000; morgan, 2020). most noteworthy was the manner in which the design choices hitherto described culminated in an environment that would be supportive of a community of inquiry. the social presence would be enabled through the various collaborative and communication tools integrated into the induction site. these tools would allow class representatives to 178 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 meaningfully and purposefully engage with one other. furthermore, the ability of the faculty councils and src to be present in these virtual spaces would allow for ongoing motivation and support as well as serve as a continual reminder of the common purpose to advocate for the interest of students. the cognitive presence would be enabled through group activities and the release of scenario‑based explanatory videos. the intention behind these activities is that they would encourage the “construct[ing] and confirm[ing] [of] meaning through sustained reflection and discourse” (cleveland‑innes et al., 2019, p. 174). the third and final presence, that of the teaching presence, would be enabled through the sustained and ongoing facilitation and guidance of the design team throughout the induction programme. ultimately then, these design choices also served to maintain the confluence of the three presences required for the existence and maintaining of a community of inquiry. reflections to aid student affairs practice in drawing on the experience of transitioning a hitherto face‑to‑face synchronous programme to an asynchronous online programme, the practitioner has noted five benefits that leveraging online learning and education technology could have for student development practitioners. these benefits are worthy of consideration as we shape and augment the future of co‑curricular programmes in the new era of online and blended learning in a post covid‑19 world. the practitioner by no means claims that this list is exhaustive. the five benefits identified by the practitioner during the design of the cri are: 1. scalability – a co‑curricular programme that is offered online can be presented to an unlimited number of students at no additional cost per student. in 2020, approximately 420 class representatives were elected. there are a limited number of physical venues that could accommodate that many students on campus and the cost of materials and catering for a group that size would be significant. 2. decreased risk of disruption – the benefit of creating an asynchronous online programme has meant that we do not encounter the risks associated with running a synchronous programme. these risks would include presenters or participants being unable to attend the synchronous programme, load shedding rendering a venue unusable or a number of other possibilities resulting in a disruption to the synchronous programme. with students being able to access the content as is suitable for them, the risk of the content not being able to be presented or delivered is decreased significantly. 3. universally accessible programmes – designing the online programme according to the principles of universal design for learning means that unseen barriers to student learning are automatically catered for and the content of the programme is accessible to all student participants. 4. student convenience – the programme can also cater for student preferences in engaging with the content which would result in greater motivation to participate in the programme. these preferences could be in terms of when the student chooses to engage with the content, i.e. late at night or how the student christine immenga: leveraging ed‑tech in the co‑curricular space … 179 wishes to engage, i.e. via video, audio or readings. the student can also choose the communication channel they wish to utilise when interacting with other student participants or the programme design team, presenters or facilitators. 5. temporal affordance – a further benefit is that the content can be revisited by a student at any time and as needed. should a student wish to refresh their memory or knowledge of a certain topic, the possibility is available at the click of a button. further to this, the induction of new class representatives as a result of resignations or vacancies or as new courses are initiated in the second semester can easily be added to the site and the induction material is immediately available for their use. conclusion while the transition to a completely online programme was daunting at first, the exposure to the benefits of online education technology theories, practice and techniques has allowed for an enriched student development practitioner experience. this article has sought to compile a reflective account of how a design team managed to preserve the strengths of their pre‑covid‑19 practice and make strides towards advancing an emerging agenda within student affairs practice by leveraging blended learning. these advances would not have been possible were it not for the adoption of a theory‑based intentionality of practice. consequently, this account also demonstrates how the use of conceptual frameworks and instructional theories can guide the development and improvement of practice when encountering conditions of uncertainty. acknowledgements i would like to thank the undergraduate academic sub‑council for their hard work and dedication in making the cri a reality. i am also very grateful to my uct colleagues who supported the induction programme by creating videos and providing additional resources for the class representatives. i am extremely grateful to the centre for innovation in learning and teaching for facilitating webinars as well as providing guides and resources that greatly assisted in moving the cri online. finally, a special thank you to edwina brooks, the director of student development, for supporting this endeavour and to the critical readers, shanali govender and david redelinghuys as well as the editors and peer reviewers of this article for their extremely valuable feedback. notwithstanding, any errors and omissions remain that of the author. research ethics the following ethical principles, as advocated by saunders, lewis & thornhill (2016), were observed during the writing and research of and associated with this article: • avoidance of harm, • maintenance of the anonymity of those taking part, • responsibility in the analysis of data and reporting of findings, and • respect for others. 180 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(1) 2021, 167‑181 | 2307‑6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 disclosure of conflict of interests and funding no funding was provided for this reflective practice case study. the author has no conflict of interest to declare. the article serves as a personal reflection on the design process of moving the cri online and my own involvement in this process has been explained in the article. references aagaard, j. 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(2021). leveraging ed‑tech in the co‑curricular space: reflections on design and development aspects of the class representative induction programme at the university of cape town. journal of student affairs in africa, 9(1), 167‑181. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i1.1436 https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v4i1.131 https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v4i1.131 https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3310 https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12197 https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2020.1751480 https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2020.1751480 https://doi.org/10.3109/13561829209049595 https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496413488422 https://doi.org/10.1080/13892240008438810 https://doi.org/10.1080/13892240008438810 http://www.dsa.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/412/student_development/student_gover http://www.dsa.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/412/student_development/student_gover http://www.dsa.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/412/student_development/student_gover https://www.news.uct.ac.za/downloads/media/framework-for-remote-teaching-at-uct-under-covid-19.pdf https://www.news.uct.ac.za/downloads/media/framework-for-remote-teaching-at-uct-under-covid-19.pdf _hlk49005699 _hlk49003221 _hlk49797778 _hlk49721482 _hlk50928889 _hlk50929541 abstract higher education in south africa has focused extensively on widening access to further inclusivity and economic development. however, as students need to persist and succeed in their studies, access alone is not enough. furthermore, the responsibility of higher education to help students succeed does not end with graduation; institutions need to produce graduates who are ready to enter the labour market. therefore, it is important to integrate career information and concepts into these practices when conceptualising holistic academic advising. since academic advising is still developing as a professional practice in the south african context, no clear, practical framework has been used uniformly at universities. career advice is also not necessarily integrated into academic advising in a conscious manner. this may result in students who are struggling to integrate all academic and career information provided to make informed decisions regarding their studies and career paths. this paper argues that the 3-i process is an appropriate framework for the integration of career and academic advising in the south african context. in this case study, we draw from the experiences of nine advisors from the central advising office, faculties, and the career office at the university of the free state to understand the extent to which they have been incorporating the elements of the 3-i process into their existing academic advising practices, and how they view the possibilities of following a more integrated approach. research article merging academic and career advising to offer holistic student support: a university perspective monique schoemani, sonja lootsii & leon bezuidenhoudiii i monique schoeman (corresponding author), university of the free state, centre for teaching and learning, dutoitm2@ufs.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0003-0487-156x ii dr sonja loots, university of the free state, centre for teaching and learning, lootss@ufs.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0002-8268-8851 iii dr leon bezuidenhoud, university of the free state, faculty: economic and management sciences: industrial psychology department, bezuidenhoudl@ufs.ac.za, orcid: 0000-0002-4799-1775 85monique schoeman, sonja loots & leon bezuidenhoud we also map how the framework can be adapted to the broader south african context to inform and develop more holistic and professionalised advising practices, as well as to contribute towards students’ success beyond university. keywords academic advising, career advising, higher education introduction over the past few years, the focus on widening access to higher education (he) in south africa has extended to include a strong emphasis on student success. significant progress has been made to retain and successfully graduate students (department of higher education and training [dhet], 2019). this can be attributed to increased efforts in advising, mentoring, orientation programmes, and early warning efforts to intervene with students at risk of failing, counselling, and supplemental instruction that has been shown to impact student success (e.g. cassells, 2018; erasmus, 2017; manik, 2014; masehela & mabika, 2017; mayet, 2016). among these interventions, academic advising stands out in international contexts as having the greatest impact in assisting with timely degree completion (anguloruiz & pergelova, 2013; miller, 2013; page et al., 2019), especially when it is comprehensive, effective, and combined with other support efforts. despite some progress in improving student success rates, there are many challenges to still overcome. for example, approximately a third of students graduate within the minimum time frame of three years (dhet, 2019), of whom 11% are unemployed (centre for risk analysis, 2021). the vast majority (at least 70%) of students who enter he in south africa are also the first in their generation to do so (universities south africa, 2018). this implies that most students might not be familiar with the options that they have when they access he, nor are they familiar with how things work at university. these and similar challenges imply that he institutions’ responsibility to help students succeed should not end in assisting students to graduate. instead, students also need to be guided in postgraduate career-related matters (gordon, 2006; mccalla-wriggins, 2009). research shows that quality career advice (guidance and coaching), which will enhance clarity about students’ career ambitions and interests, personal development plans, and employability, should be considered in all institutions (okolie et al., 2020). it is thus crucial that in addition to academic advising, institutions should also look at career advising efforts. internationally, academic advising has developed from an undefined and unexamined activity to the present era, where academic advising is a defined activity that is rigorously examined in practice (crookston, 1994; daly & sidell, 2013; kuhn, 2008; o’banion, 2009). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 85-100 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.370086 as such, the practice has long been professionalised and the curriculum well conceptualised. however, it has only recently been professionalised in south africa, as evidenced by the recent launch of south africa’s first academic advising association, eletsa, in 2021. the only academic advising training programme in the country, which is accredited by the south african qualifications authority, is offered by the university of the free state (ufs). this he institution has also been playing a central part in developing academic advising. since 2018, the academic advising professional development (aapd) programme at the ufs has trained more than 174 advisors from seven south african institutions. this programme has contributed significantly to professionalising academic advising in the country. given the importance of career advising in he, and considering that academic advising is still a relatively new concept in south africa, the article suggests that this is a good time to consider how we can integrate academic and career advising to provide more holistic support to students. currently, no specific framework for the provisioning of holistic support to students exists in south african he. the objective of this paper is to argue for the integration of academic and career advising and to propose a contextualised framework to achieve this integration. literature review academic and career advising academic and career advising has various definitions. a brief discussion of these definitions follows, and an argument for merging the two concepts, academic advising and career advising, is presented. academic advising is defined in different ways. for example, kuhn (2008, p. 3) defines it as an action when “an institutional representative gives insight or direction to a college student about an academic, social, or personal matter. the nature of this direction might be to inform, suggest, counsel, discipline, coach, mentor, or even teach.” other definitions which include career advising, are more holistic. for example: academic advising is a process where students and their academic advisers meet periodically to discuss progress, plans, ideas, and needs, as the student pursues academic and career goals. these meetings provide a time when students may talk with advisers who are knowledgeable about available resources to aid student progress. students are encouraged to meet with their advisers during the year to discuss academic progress, problems, or educational and career goals (wartburg college, 2021, para. 1). at the ufs, the definition of academic advising also includes career advising; it states that academic advising is “an ongoing and intentional teaching and learning process to support and encourage advisees in aligning and fulfilling their personal, academic, and career goals. it is a 87monique schoeman, sonja loots & leon bezuidenhoud high-impact practice directed at connecting, empowering, and supporting students to achieve academic success” (university of the free state [ufs], 2021, p. 6). career advising has roots in academic advising, but it also forms part of career development practices. however, career advising differs from the psychologically intense career counselling performed by registered counsellors and psychologists, as well as from career services where the focus is more on connecting to the world of work and on showcasing employability skills (gordon, 2006; herr et al., 2004; hughey & hughey, 2009; niles & harris-bowlsbey, 2005). career advising could be described as assisting students to “understand how their academic and personal interests, abilities, and values might relate to the career fields they are considering and how to form their academic and career goals accordingly” (gordon, 2005, para. 2). there are some overlaps between career advising and similar practices in he, such as career counselling and career services. some of these overlapping aspects include professional competencies used by advisors who provide career advice, counsellors who provide career counselling, and other professionals who collaborate with career services. these professional competencies include relationship-building and communication competencies, career decision-making, planning, setting goals, and using similar career theories and resources (hartung & niles, 2001; hughey & hughey, 2009). an argument for merging academic and career advising students’ decisions regarding the selection of their academic programmes and future planning are seldom made without considering how these relate to potential careers (gordon, 1984; nkomo, 2018). studies have also found that students identified career-related information and concepts that are integrated into advice, as a continuous need throughout their studies (chetty & vigar-ellis, 2012; manik, 2015). yet, degrees are often suggested for students without acknowledging their individual needs, motivation, or personality (gordon & steele, 2003). undergraduate students are also known to start engaging with career services later in their education (lynch & lungrin, 2018). the lack of earlier engagement with career services might contribute to some students having unrealistic ideas about what certain careers entail, or about the amount of coursework required to enter into certain careers, which in turn could result in mid-study course changes (tudor, 2018). gordon (2006) asserts that should advisors not assist with this integration between academic programmes or majors and careers, and should they not help students with this planning, students will tap into other sources that might not be accurate, timely, or reliable. thus, academic advisors should take advantage of their position to facilitate a more integrated and career-oriented approach to academic advising. they should assist students in developing academic goals and career plans that are congruent with their interests and values in order to be successful (hughey & hughey, 2009). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 85-100 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.370088 a framework for merging academic and career advising although a few frameworks for the practical application of academic advice exist and are useful, they do not intentionally include career advice (bloom et al., 2013; cate & miller, 2015; egan, 2010; hutson & he, 2011). virginia gordon (2006) presented a framework for such integration between academic and career advising named the 3-i process. this framework for the integration of academic and career advising is highly recommended by the largest global community of academic advising, national academic advising association (nacada; e.g.) (gordon, 2006; hughey et al., 2009). the 3-i process is widely used by academia in the united states of america (usa); however, it has not been adapted to different contexts beyond the usa. therefore, this paper describes and discusses how the 3-i process could be contextualised to propose a more integrated approach at a south african university that is based on academic advisors’ current practices. the 3-i process the 3-i process consists of three main phases: inquire, inform, and integrate (gordon, 2006) that derive from the following basic principles of career advising. these are: 1. choosing and maintaining a career as a lifelong process; 2. having effective career decision-making skills which are learned and used over a lifetime; 3. having career decision-making centres on knowledge of oneself, information about education opportunities, and facts about the world of work; and 4. making career decisions that are based on values. to have a satisfying career, one needs to clarify a set of beliefs and act upon them. the 3-i process was originally conceptualised as having three phases (see figure 1). however, over the years, others have built on this framework. for example, damminger (2009) further elaborated on these phases by breaking them down into seven steps in the career advising process. although these steps seem to occur in a sequence, it is important to note that regression is possible. figure 1 provides a brief overview of these steps. 89monique schoeman, sonja loots & leon bezuidenhoud figure 1 three phases and seven steps of the career advising process (damminger, 2009) during the inquire phase of the 3-i process, the advisor identifies and clarifies the students’ academic and career concerns (gordon, 2006). damminger (2009) suggests distinguishing between two steps during the inquire phase: building rapport and determining what the student’s knowledge and other needs are. thus, the advisor takes time to establish a relationship with the student and to find out where their needs lie. damminger (2009) found that students’ educational experiences and subject interests are important factors during an integration of career advising into advising sessions. such discussions allow the advisor to understand the motivations underpinning students’ decision-making processes, which in turn helps the advisor to support the student. after the initial steps, advisors guide students towards the next phase of the 3-i process, which is known as the inform phase. the success of the inform phase relies on the extent to which students acquire and effectively use educational and career information (gordon, 2006). in this phase, advisors need to help students to gather relevant information that will guide their career choices. such information includes: (a) personal information about their attributes such as likes and dislikes, or about their strongest abilities and values; (b) educational information such as how their academic decisions relate to possible career decisions; and (c) occupational information which is related to the student’s career goals. building onto the inform phase of the 3-i process, damminger (2009) suggests three steps to follow when students reflect on the information that could help them connect their educational and career choices. these are: (a) help students understand the journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 85-100 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.370090 connections among their self-awareness, educational choices, occupational information, and academic and career planning; (b) help students select interventions to assist in self-, major-, and career exploration and career planning; and (c) set career advising goals with the student. the first step of the inform phase helps the student understand the academic career connection. after this, the advisor and student select the appropriate intervention, which may take the form of a referral, should the student’s needs fall beyond an advisor’s scope of practice. after the selection of appropriate intervention, the 3-i process concludes the inform phase through collaborative goal-setting. this might include the identification of a certain career or career cluster and an exploration of the ways in which the student could move closer to such careers. student success strategies such as time management and study skills can also be selected as interventions or stepping stones towards goals. during the integrate phase of the 3-i process, the advisors assist students in integrating information, planning, and developing implementation plans, after which they support students to evaluate their accomplishments and they determine how a follow-up procedure would work (damminger, 2009). as part of the first step of this phase, advisors assist students in reviewing and integrating the information they have gathered or have reflected on. during the first step, advisors further offer support to students in mapping the goals which they have set in relation to an overarching implementation plan. this helps students align their interventions and goals, and ultimately reach their desired career track. the second step in the integrate phase consequently assists the advisor in teaching success strategies to students when they need additional help. the 3-i process is valuable to advisors; however, it might need to be adapted for effective implementation at a south african university as it was developed in the usa. learning from other contexts requires reflection or assessing whether practices could be adopted without any changes, or whether practices could be contextualised by adjusting content or processes to better align with local ways of being and doing. to position the 3-i process as a framework that could guide south african institutions in merging academic and career advising, we mapped the advising experiences of academic and career advisors at one institution against this framework. methodology the study was situated within the constructivist paradigm; participants’ experiences were interpreted to understand their views on advising. we implemented an instrumental case study research design. stake (2000) describes this design as using a single case example to gain insight into an issue or to revise a generalisation. the study thus used the ufs as a case study to gain insight into academic advising practices, and how advisors could adapt their practice to include career advice and provide more holistic support to students. 91monique schoeman, sonja loots & leon bezuidenhoud within the ufs, the research population comprised sixteen advisors who were involved in academic and career advising at the institution. they were located at the career services office in the faculties and the central advising office of the centre for teaching and learning (ctl). owing to the small population, the study used non-probability purposive sampling, where the research participants were deliberately selected for their suitability (rule & john, 2011). of the 16 faculty advisors who were invited to participate, six agreed. these six advisors included at least one advisor per faculty, except for the faculties of theology and religion and health sciences, which were the smallest faculties of the institution. both advisors appointed in ctl, as well as the advisor from career services, agreed to participate. of the six advisors, all but one had two or more years’ experience, specifically in academic or career advising. the study collected data using semi-structured interviews. however, because the two central advisors fulfilled similar functions, we conducted a semi-structured group interview. this allowed the participants to build on each other’s ideas when answering the questions. participants were asked about: their views on academic advising and how these related to career advising; conceptual frameworks that guided their work; the challenges that they faced; and how they would describe an ideal advising framework. these questions were included in the information that was emailed to the participants in advance to help them prepare for the interviews, should they wish to do so. the data was analysed deductively and inductively in a two-cycle coding process. the first cycle in the coding process was done by deductively applying the themes of the 3-i process to see whether and how the framework fits (saldaña, 2009). a second cycle was then implemented in the coding process to inductively code themes beyond those suggested by the 3-i process framework (saldaña, 2009). findings and discussion the interviews focused on an exploration of advisors’ experiences in integrating academic and career advising, and on an exploration of their perceptions about conceptual frameworks to guide their practice. the findings are firstly presented in terms of how participants view the relationship between academic and career advice and secondly how their advising practice is conceptually guided. lastly, we incorporate relevant practices into the 3-i process for a more contextual representation of the framework. the perceived relationship between academic advice and career advice the advisors were asked how they viewed the role of career advising in relation to academic advising, what the components of academic advice were, and what they perceived as career advice. figure 2 illustrates how the advisors viewed academic advice, career advice and the possible links between the two. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 85-100 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.370092 figure 2 the relation of career advising to academic advising whereas the advisors had a comprehensive understanding of what academic advice entailed, they were much more uncertain about career advising (figure 2). however, some of the advisors recognised the link between academic advising and career advising. for example, one noted: “…you can’t even give academic advice without knowing what careers this person wants to go into, so you can’t separate the two.” another advisor recognised the link, despite feeling that it should not be as prominent: “…career advising is a part of academic advising, but it does not always go hand in hand with academic advising, so it’s not necessarily that when a student comes… for… advising that you do career advising.” various advisors indicated that they do not provide career advice, despite acknowledging its importance. one such advisor stated: “i don’t really see it as separate; i know there are links, but it’s just that we solely concentrate on academic advice because it’s important for us that students know what they have to register for, what they have to pass and those kinds of things.” another advisor agreed: “so, i think our jobs are purely academic advising, but yes, there’s definitely a link to career advice as well”. another advisor added: “i think the two are related, but i never saw my role as an academic advisor as also per se a career advisor.” when probed, some of these advisors alluded to not feeling equipped enough to provide career advice: “i don’t think we really have at this moment all of the skills to do it…” and “… i’m not doing [it] at all because i’m not an expert in that and i see myself as an expert in academic life and in what students need to do to obtain specifically a degree within our faculty.” 93monique schoeman, sonja loots & leon bezuidenhoud next, we explored what aspects of the 3-i process were already being used by the advisors in their academic advising practices. the various advisors were asked: “what steps do you follow when you provide academic or career advice, and which conceptual framework is this based on?” the researcher deductively ascribed the answers of the advisors to the various steps in the 3-i process. the findings indicated that each advisor follows different steps to provide advice, even within the same type of advisory category. advisors’ current steps and answers about the ideal framework provided ideas on how the 3-i process could be adapted to the institutional context. figure 3 provides a visual summary of this adapted framework. figure 3 phases and steps of the adapted 3-i process as an integrated academic and career advising framework the adapted 3-i process as an integrated academic and career advising framework still consists of the 3-i phases (inquire, inform, integrate), but additional steps have been incorporated into the inquire and integrate phases. as part of the inquire phase, advisors establish rapport with students. only the central advisors explicitly mentioned establishing rapport with their students. despite this, we still include this step because establishing rapport is crucial to the advisor for building a working relationship that is based on mutual trust and respect. when a working relationship is established, the student is more open to listen to the advisor’s advice and to value the information provided. the advisors also consult additional resources, which would help them understand the student’s background better. this is reflected by an advisor, who stated: “[i] journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 85-100 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.370094 usually print their verification registration document and then [i] print the curriculum of the year.” another advisor stated: “[i] would firstly draw the student’s study record to see what the student’s study history looks like, where the student is in their study period… [to] get a whole…” this step has thus been added to consult additional sources in the adapted framework. after the advisors have consulted additional resources, they determine the student’s knowledge and need for seeking advice. during the second phase (inform), the advisors help the student understand connections between information and sources. the participants recommended no additional steps. although all the advisors’ practices loosely relate to the inform phase, only two advisors explicitly stated using occupational information. this confirms one part of the research problem: advisors do not deliberately integrate career information and concepts when advising students. in addition, although the advisors did not explicitly state the inclusion of goal-setting due to its importance to know what the student is working towards, this step is still included. although the advisors did not indicate creating a career plan with their students that could fit into the first step of the integrate phase, most indicated some form of integrating information and developing a plan. this was evident in an advisor’s answer: “…then they’ve got like a big colourful picture to see exactly, this is done, this is what i (the student) need to do… if i (the student) meet these requirements, i know i will graduate.” however, as mentioned earlier, career information and concepts need to be integrated into advising. therefore, the decision was to keep this step, with a focus on career concepts in addition to academic information. in the integrate phase, the second step is supported by the advisors’ responses to the steps they take: “…then implementation where the student goes and implements by themselves...”; “…let them then go and read about it or visit the different departments where those courses are situated.”; and “…they can make a responsible decision on where to go.” another advisor stated that she allows the student to make the final decision: “i can give you some options that you can consider before you make that final decision.” this step, therefore, empowers students to implement the plans made. subsequently, students learn to become independent and a follow-up appointment is made for the last step of this phase. during the last step of the 3-i process, the advisor and student evaluate the plans made and the accomplishments achieved by means of the implementation step. practical application of 3-i process the previous section illustrated what this framework could look like in a context that differs from that of the ufs. this section will demonstrate how the adapted framework can be integrated into practice. this can be explained through an understanding of the challenges that the advisors raised together with their recommendations. 95monique schoeman, sonja loots & leon bezuidenhoud the advisors mentioned various academic and career advising challenges that could influence the integration of the adapted 3-i process into practices at the ufs. these challenges include the following perceptions: the system (both nationally and institutionally) does not allow career advice to take place; advising is not yet professionalised; collaboration is challenging; and feeling that they are ill-equipped to provide career advice. one advisor noted: “the system doesn’t allow it. for academic and career advising to take place coherently. system meaning nationally and institutionally. some institutions go deeper than others, but the system doesn’t allow it. for instance, career advice should start in school… and you know, the system has never allowed it, so by the time a student comes to the institution; we first give them a word of career advice that they’ve never heard of… they never focused on where their progression is leading them to what careers. by the time they get to an institution of higher learning, it’s a whole new foreign concept.” in addition, participants mentioned that they found it challenging when they needed to help students find alternative directions, particularly when those directions were across faculty/ year borders. one advisor stated: “… [it is challenging when] students who want to do a certain degree, mostly out of our faculty, and then do not meet the requirements, and now they are forced to come to one of our degrees with lower admission requirements and then to help them find a way to make this work for them as well. the career [seems closed now] they’re devastated; they feel their dreams are shattered… to help the student find an alternative that will still feel that they are doing something worthwhile [is a challenge].” the advisors also provided recommendations that could assist in addressing some persistent challenges that the sector faces. for example, one recommendation is that academic and career advising should be integrated to assist students holistically. an advisor highlighted this by stating that: “… both of them (academic and career advising) will have to run together.” this implies that the advisors can see the value of a practical framework such as the adapted 3-i process. however, more needs to be done to integrate academic and career advising institutionally to implement the adapted 3-i process. this may include developing and reviewing a rationale and vision, and getting institutional buy-in by sharing the benefits of integrating academic and career advising when assisting students. the establishment of advising networks can also assist with institutional buy-in. in addition, these can assist in planning the integration process carefully, and in identifying tasks that need to be completed. in doing so, the challenge raised that collaboration is challenging can be addressed. deliberate training and networking can also assist advisors to gain specific competencies to integrate academic and career advising. deliberate training introduces advisors to the relevant career advising theories and to aspects on how they could assist students more holistically. in addition to training the advisors, student learning outcomes can also be developed for the application of integrated academic and career advising. once this integration has taken place, it can be evaluated to improve the practice. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 85-100 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.370096 conclusion this paper has provided an argument for merging academic and career advice to provide holistic support to students, and to help them succeed beyond graduation. furthermore, this case study has provided a useful, practical framework for the integration of academic and career advising at a south african university. the contextual inputs provided by participants in this study might reflect responsiveness to the fact that the majority of students in south africa are first-generation students. they might need a bit more guidance in the inquire phase to find information. and an extension of the framework in the integrate phase to allow them to implement their plans and to provide them with feedback. the adapted 3-i process could function as an exemplary practical framework to serve south african students. in addition, the adapted 3-i process can theoretically be valuable in assisting students to succeed by improving the effectiveness of existing academic advising practices. thus, contextualising such frameworks to meet the needs of the institutional student population is an important lesson to learn from this work. acknowledgements the authors have declared that no competing interests exist. the research received no specific grant from any funding agency. the research ethics committee of the ufs granted approval for the study to be conducted (ethical clearance number: ufs-hsd2016/1163). references angulo-ruiz, l. f., & pergelova, a. 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(2015). ‘as a person you need help every now and then’: accessing students’ support needs in a higher education environment. south african journal of higher education, 29(3), 101–117. https://doi.org/10.20853/29-3-491 masehela, l. m. & mabika, m. (2017). an assessment of the impact of the mentoring programme on student performance. journal of student affairs in africa, 5(2), 163–182. mayet, r. (2016). supporting at-risk learners at a comprehensive university in south africa. journal of student affairs in africa, 4(2), 1–12. mccalla-wriggins, b. (2009). integrating career and academic advising: mastering the challenge. nacada clearinghouse of academic advising resources. http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/ resources/clearinghouse/view-articles/integrating-career-and-academic-advising.aspx miller, a. (2013). institutional practices that facilitate bachelor’s degree completion for transfer students. new directions for higher education, 162, 39–50. niles, s. g., & harris-bowlsbey, j. (2005). career development interventions for the 21st (2nd ed.). pearson merrill prentice hall. nkomo, s. (2018). determining the possibility of extending the academic advising centre’s function to augment students’ professional preparedness for employment. educor multidisciplinary journal, 1(1), 45–68. https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/ejc13d2e773d8 o’banion, t. (2009). an academic advising model. nacada journal, 29(1), 83–89. https:// doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-29.1.83 okolie, u. c., nwajiuba, c. a., binuomote, m. o., ehiobuche, c., igu, n. c., & ajoke, o. s. (2020). career training with mentoring programs in higher education: facilitating career development and employability of graduates. education and training, 62(3), 214– 234. https://doi-org.ufs.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/et-04-2019-0071 page, l. c., kehoe, s. s., castleman, b. j., & aryo sahadewo, g. (2019). more than dollars for scholars: the impact of the dell scholars program on college access, persistence, and degree attainment. journal of human resources, 54(3), 683–725. rule, p., & john, v. (2011). your guide to case study research (1st ed.). van schaik publishers. https://www.vanschaiknet.com/book/view/338 saldaña, j. (2009). the coding manual for qualitative researchers. sage publications ltd. stake, r. e. (2000). case studies. in n. denzin, & y. lincoln (eds.), handbook of qualitative research (pp. 435–454). sage. 99monique schoeman, sonja loots & leon bezuidenhoud https://www.vanschaiknet.com/book/view/338 tudor, t. r. (2018). fully integrating academic advising with career coaching to increase student retention, graduation rates, and future job satisfaction: an industry approach. industry and higher education, 32(2), 73–79. doi:10.1177/0950422218759928 universities south africa. (2018). understanding students: a key to systemic success. http://www. usaf.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/understanding-students_web.pdf university of the free state. (2021). general rules for undergraduate qualification, postgraduate diplomas, bachelor honours degrees, master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, higher doctorates, honorary degrees and the convocation. https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/default-source/2019-general-rules/2021general-rules-approved-by-registrar-for-publication-on-the-web---10-dec-2020. pdf?sfvrsn=24f76a20_4 wartburg college. (2021). academic advising and success. wartburg college. https://www. wartburg.edu/academic-advising/ journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 85-100 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.3700100 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 109-123 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626   109 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article psychological stamina and thinking style preferences among first-year university students henry mason,* ané craven** & megan fredericks*** abstract this study investigated the association between psychological stamina (grit, mindset and hardiness) and thinking style preferences among south african university students. data were collected from 369 first-year university students using measures of grit, mindset, hardiness and thinking style preferences. the results indicated that different thinking style preferences were related to grit, mindset and hardiness. we argue that thinking styles should be considered as an important variable when supporting first-year students. additionally, the role of grit and hardiness in student success should be considered in conjunction with the thinking style preferences of students. avenues for further research are considered. keywords grit, hardiness, mindset, neethling brain profile instrument (nbi), thinking style preferences introduction student development and support (sds) services promote holistic well-being among students in academic and personal areas (mason, 2019; sinclair, 2019). well-being refers to two broad and interrelated aspects: satisfaction with life, and experiencing more positive than negative affect (diener, 2013). holistic well-being, or flourishing, points to a state of optimal functioning and encompasses emotional well-being (experiencing more positive than negative emotions), social well-being (positive relationships) and psychological wellbeing (purpose, meaning and personal growth) (keyes, 2016). research has indicated that higher levels of well-being can help students approach their learning in more focused states that could culminate in upward cycles of engagement, and ultimately promote greater academic commitment, learning and student success (fredrickson & branigan, 2005; mason, 2019; van zyl & rothmann, 2012). student success is a multidimensional concept that encompasses positive adjustment to the university context, academic performance and a sense of well-being (cilliers, 2014; sinclair, 2019). * henry mason is a social science researcher at the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-3966-9970. email: masonh@tut.ac.za ** ané craven is a psychometrist at the directorate of student development and support and the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-0856-9301. email: cravena@tut.ac.za *** megan fredericks is a psychometrist at the tshwane university of technology in pretoria, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0001-8661-7076. email: fredericksm@tut.ac.za 110   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 109-123 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626 well-being is conceptualized in one of two traditions: hedonic well-being (hwb) or eudaimonic well-being (ewb) (diener, 2013). hwb refers to the pursuit of pleasure and the minimisation of pain, whereas ewb is more closely aligned to flourishing (diener, 2013; waterman et al., 2010). a central feature of well-being also entails the capacity to remain psychologically resilient in the face of stressors (southwick et al., 2014). resilience points to the capacity to deal with stressors in ways that promote positive adaptation and growth (southwick et al., 2014). numerous psychological variables, such as grit, mindset and hardiness, are closely related to resilience. grit, mindset and hardiness grit, which entails the capacity to pursue goals with passion and vigour, has been linked to enhanced academic performance and perseverance (duckworth et al., 2007). researchers have noted that mindset is closely related to grit (dweck, 2016). according to yeager and walton (2011), mindset refers to the assumptions or implicit theories that people use as decision filters to attribute meaning to intelligence, personality and performance in various domains, one of which is university studies. these implicit theories shape people’s perceptions of their capacities to change and engage in learning (yeager & walton, 2011). dweck (2006) points to two sets of mindset: fixed mindset and growth mindset. a fixed mindset describes the implicit theory that people have a predetermined range of skills, talents and abilities. in contrast, the growth mindset suggests that people can incrementally develop the skills required for academic success through purposeful effort (blackwell et al., 2007). students who hold fixed mindsets would interpret learning opportunities as stressful encounters that threaten their sense of psychological well-being. conversely, growth mindset-orientated students would likely regard the learning process as a challenge that promotes flourishing (yeager et al., 2013). accordingly, students who exhibit a growth mindset are more likely to present higher grit levels (duckworth, 2016; dweck, 2016). similarly, gritty students with growth mindsets are prone to present with hardiness (maddi et al., 2012). hardiness, which describes a pattern of skills associated with the capacity to remain resilient in response to stressors (maddi et al., 2009), comprises three interdependent factors, namely challenge (interpreting challenges as opportunities for growth), control (internal locus of control), and commitment (engagement in pursuing important life goals) (maddi et al., 2012). research has indicated that hardiness can be developed through hardiness training (jameson, 2014; maddi et al., 2009). hardiness training adopts a cognitivebehavioural approach and focuses on assisting students in examining appraisals of stressors, thereby promoting adaptive coping and enhanced stress-management skills (maddi et al., 2009; sahranavard et al., 2019). as a result, autonomous functioning and adaptive coping strategies can be developed through hardiness training, thus positively affecting student success (maddi et al., 2009). collectively, grit, mindset and hardiness refer to the optimistic interpretation of challenges as avenues towards flourishing and the accompanying tenacity required for goal henry mason, ané craven & megan fredericks: psychological stamina and thinking style preferences …   111 achievement despite functioning in a stressful environment (dweck, 2012; duckworth, 2016; maddi et al., 2009). thus, students who rate highly on measures of grit, mindset and hardiness are likely to present with the psychological stamina required to persist diligently during stressful periods (achor, 2011; anderson, 2016). in this paper, the umbrella term “psychological stamina” is used in reference to grit, mindset, and hardiness. theory on the constructs included in psychological stamina presupposes a linear and self-disciplined approach from students to pursuing and achieving academic success (broghammer, 2017). in other words, research suggests that gritty students who adopt a growth mindset and present with higher levels of hardiness tend to be more academically successful (duckworth, 2016; dweck, 2012; maddi et al., 2009). consequently, it could be assumed that specific non-cognitive factors should be promoted and developed to promote student success (anderson, 2016). non-cognitive factors refer to the behaviours, skills, attitudes, and strategies that contribute, inter alia, to student success but are not traditionally assessed in the academic context (nagaoka et al., 2013). theorists on thinking style preferences argue that students can approach challenges from various perspectives (de boer et al., 2013; neethling, 2005). therefore, a student’s unique thinking preference may predispose them to report different levels of psychological stamina (hermann & hermann-nehdi, 2015; nagaoka et al., 2013). accordingly, thinking style preference may fall within the ambit of non-cognitive factors and be related to psychological stamina. to date, limited research has investigated the relationship between psychological stamina and thinking style preferences. thinking style preferences it would be simplistic to expect that, given the complexity of human nature, mediating factors might not play a role in either negating or supporting the practices associated with psychological stamina (de boer et al., 2013). thinking styles, which refer to preferred ways or patterns in which a person makes sense of the world, may offer a window into understanding individual differences related to psychological stamina (hermann & hermann-nehdi, 2015). neethling (2005) identified four thinking styles, described as quadrants metaphorically linked to localised areas in the brain. the four metaphorical thinking style quadrants are graphically represented in figure 1. as illustrated in figure 1, quadrant 1 is also referred to as l1 and represents a logical, quantitatively orientated, critical, objective, analytical and fact-based thinking style (de boer et al., 2013). quadrant 2 (l2) represents a planning-based orientation and encompasses specific thinking processes that are sequential, controlled, structured, detailed, and procedural. quadrant 3 (r1) is associated with long-term, strategic, explorative, and conceptual thinking preferences. the person who shows a strong inclination for r1 thinking would also be less risk-averse and may be likely to challenge the status quo. finally, the r2 thinking style, indicated in quadrant 4, is associated with a strong relational focus, and encompasses a preference for interpersonal cooperation and empathy (de boer et al., 2013). 112   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 109-123 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626 l1 (quadrant 1) factual objective quantitative analytical performance-driven l2 (quadrant 2) structured procedural traditional sequential detail-orientated r1 (quadrant 3) long-term/strategic explorative conceptual risk-taking unconventional r2 (quadrant 4) social/relational intuitive cooperative empathic mediating thinking style quadrants figure 1: thinking style quadrants (adapted from neethling, 2005) according to neethling (2005), thinking style preferences influence decision-making, thus affecting how students understand academic challenges and engage with the world. hence, students would be likely to approach their educational goals in ways commensurate with their thinking style preferences (de boer et al., 2013; herbst & maree, 2008; neethling, 2005). additionally, we hypothesise that students’ well-being profiles, including the elements described as psychological stamina, would be expressed uniquely based on students’ preferred thinking styles. although some studies have explored thinking style preferences among students (de  boer et al., 2013; herbst & maree, 2008), limited research has investigated the relationship between thinking style preferences and well-being constructs such as psychological stamina. this is an important area to explore, especially among persons working in sds roles. in addition, developing a better understanding of how psychological stamina manifests as a result of different thinking styles could offer the empirical grounding needed to deliver student-centred services (de boer et al., 2013). student development and support the massification of higher education in south africa led to an influx of students into the university system (scott, 2018). however, the widening of access to university did not result in the anticipated increase in student success (cilliers, 2014; lewin & mawoyo, 2014). on the contrary, south african higher education is described as a high attrition and low success system (wilson-strydom, 2015). the need to augment physical access with student success has been well documented since (scott, 2018; wilson-strydom, 2015). henry mason, ané craven & megan fredericks: psychological stamina and thinking style preferences …   113 sds services have essential roles to play in promoting student success (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; mason, 2019). one approach to delivering sds services is using psychological assessments to pinpoint potential risk factors that could negatively affect student success (dockrat, 2016; foxcroft & roodt, 2013). the purpose of psychological risk assessments is to identify areas where students that have gained access to higher education may require support (seidman, 2005). hence, based on the psychological assessment results, students could be referred to relevant sds service areas such as career counselling, study skills intervention programmes, mentorship, or language support services (dockrat, 2016; lewin & mawoyo, 2014). previous studies pointed to the importance of considering students’ well-being and thinking style preferences in promoting student success (de boer et al., 2013; van zyl & rothmann, 2012). however, it is vital for staff responsible for conducting psychological assessments within sds contexts to understand the relationship between well-being and thinking style preferences. such an understanding could enhance the quality of data interpretation and promote accurate referrals to intervention services, which may ultimately augment physical access to university with student success (dockrat, 2016; scott, 2018). the goal of the study this study was aimed at investigating the relationship between thinking style preference and psychological stamina among a sample of first-year university students. the following research question guided the study: what is the empirical relationship between first-year students’ thinking style preferences and psychological stamina? method research approach and strategy a cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational research design was used to investigate the relationship between thinking style preference and psychological stamina. the three constructs (grit, mindset, and hardiness) included under the umbrella term “psychological stamina” served as the dependent variables, and thinking styles served as the independent variable. participants and setting a purposive sample of 369 first-year university students participated in the study. all the participants completed a psychological risk assessment when they enrolled for their academic studies. the risk assessment focused on assessing the students’ well-being and thinking style profiles. following the risk assessment, the students attended a developmental feedback workshop. subsequently, based on the students’ results, they were referred to specialist sds services, for example, study skills intervention or language support programmes. only limited biographical data, such as student numbers (identification number at the university), were collected from the students. thus, no information is available on students’ sex, age, or other biographical details. 114   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 109-123 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626 data collection and procedure data were collected pre-covid-19 from february to march during the 2020 academic year. all participants were enrolled for academic studies at a south african university. the students completed measures of psychological stamina and thinking styles in a faceto-face format and received feedback on their results. all data were stored in an online archive and duly anonymised and de-identified. the research ethics committee of the university where the sample was drawn granted permission to conduct the study (ref#: rec2020/08/002), and all participants provided informed consent. the data collection instruments are described next. instruments psychological stamina was assessed using three instruments: the dweck mindset instrument (dmi), the grit scale, and the hardiness scale. thinking styles preferences were assessed using the neethling brain profile instrument (nbi). the dmi is a 16-item measure that assesses how students view their intelligence (dweck, 2016). students rank their levels of agreement on a scale ranging from 1-6 (1 = strongly agree; 6 = strongly disagree). examples of items include: “you have a certain amount of intelligence, and you can’t really do much about it” and “no matter who you are, you can significantly change your level of talent.” scores are summed and averaged. the dmi serves as a valid and reliable measure of mindset (dweck, 2008), and the internal reliability in this study was assessed as 0.71. consisting of 8 items, the grit scale features a 5-point scale (1 = not like me at all; 5 = very much like me) (duckworth et al., 2007). two examples of items are: “setbacks don’t discourage me” and “i finish whatever i begin.” the literature reports excellent internal consistencies ranging from 0.77 to 0.90 (duckworth & quinn, 2009). the cronbach’s alpha of this study was calculated as 0.79. the hardiness scale comprises 15 items and reports four scores: total hardiness, commitment, challenge, and control (bartone, 2007). students are instructed to respond to a series of statements using a 4-point likert scale (0 = not at all like me; 3 = completely agree). examples of items include: “by working hard you can nearly achieve all your goals” and “life in general is boring for me.” the hardiness scale presents with good internal consistency levels (bartone, 2007) and the cronbach’s alpha of this study was calculated as 0.77. the nbi is a self-report questionnaire that identifies an individual’s thinking style preferences (neethling, 2005). the nbi can be described as a conceptual model that offers a description of thinking styles. however, an implicit assumption of the nbi is that the richness of brain functioning cannot be assessed accurately nor depicted using a one-dimensional survey questionnaire. consequently, the thinking style preferences are described using metaphorical vernacular referring to the four quadrants of the brain, namely two in the left hemisphere and two in the right hemisphere. the nbi brain profile indicates how an individual communicates, acts towards other people, and makes henry mason, ané craven & megan fredericks: psychological stamina and thinking style preferences …   115 decisions. higher scores indicate a preference to engage in a particular thinking style (neethling, 2005). data analysis data analysis was conducted using spss version 25. descriptive statistics were calculated for the variables (field, 2013). the strength and direction of the relationships were assessed using the pearson product-moment correlations (pearson’s r), and linear regression analyses were used to investigate whether thinking styles predicted psychological stamina (cohen, 1992; field, 2013). results and discussion descriptive statistics table 1 presents the descriptive and correlational statistics of the variables investigated in this study. table 1: descriptive statistics, alpha coefficients and correlations variables/statistical values mean sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 grit 3.42 0.62 mindset 2.88 0.42 0.03 hardiness (total) 30.67 4.52 0.35** -0.05 hardiness (challenge) 7.04 2.70 0.05 0.06 0.60** hardiness (control) 12.91 1.95 0.21** -0.08 0.52** -0.04 hardiness (commitment) 10.72 2.71 0.39** -0.08 0.70** 0.03 -0.04 nbi-l1 82.12 7.40 0.24** 0.07 0.08 -0.04 0.10 0.10 nbi-l2 80.75 8.14 0.17** -0.19** 0.03 -0.15** 0.06 0.15** .13** nbi-r1 63.90 7.82 -0.15** 0.08 0.00 0.15** 0.04 -0.17** -0.32** -0.55** nbi-r2 72.32 9.51 -0.21** 0.05 -0.09 0.04 -0.16** -0.07 -0.62** -50** 0.10 note: nbi-l1 = neethling brain instrument left 1/quadrant 1; nbi-l2 = neethling brain instrument left 2/ quadrant 2; nbi-r1 = neethling brain instrument right 1/quadrant 3; nbi-r2 = neethling brain instrument right 2/quadrant 4; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 the mean scores indicated in table 1 for the grit scale (mean = 3.42, sd = 0.62), hardiness total (mean = 30.67, sd = 4.52), and the respective hardiness subscales are consistent with data reported elsewhere (bartone, 2007; duckworth, 2016). the mean score on the dmi of 2.88 (sd = 0.42) indicates that most students’ reported scores are characteristic of a fixed mindset (dweck, 2008). in other words, most of the participants may have held the belief that learning opportunities are stressful and psychologically threatening. such an interpretation is consistent with earlier research that indicates first-year students experience disproportionate levels of stress compared to the general population (bewick et al., 2010; grøtan et al., 2019) and that this can negatively affect their academic performance (mason, 116   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 109-123 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626 2019; pillay & ngcobo, 2010). the belief that one’s skills, talents, and abilities cannot be developed could also enhance a sense of alienation, negatively affect epistemic access, and ultimately perpetuate low student success (habib, 2016; long, 2021). grit presented with significant (p < 0.01) positive correlations with the total score on the hardiness scale (r = 0.35), hardiness (control) (r = 0.21), and hardiness (commitment) (r = 0.39). similarly, students’ reported grit scores were significantly associated (p < 0.01) with the l1 (r = 0.24) and l2 (r = 0.17) thinking style preferences. however, the grit scale presented significant (p < 0.01) inverse associations with the r1 (r = -0.15) and r2 (r = -0.21) thinking style quadrants on the nbi. these results indicate that students who reported greater linear (l1) and planning-orientated (l2) thinking preferences were more likely to report higher scores on the self-reported grit scale. thus, it could be deduced that students who adopt linear and planning-orientated thinking styles may report higher grit levels and are likely to approach their academic studies from a disciplined perspective comprising consistent engagement. in contrast, students who noted a preference for long-term and strategic thinking (r1) and a stronger relational focus (r2) were more likely to report scores associated with lower grit levels. hence, students who adopt r1 and r2 thinking styles may appear less disciplined in their academic studies but could benefit from greater relational support. however, there is limited to no evidence suggesting significant differences in academic success levels between students based on their unique thinking style preferences (ghanbari et al., 2020). instead, it has been hypothesised that students who report r1-related thinking may be more prone to boredom and this lack of interest could present as lower levels of discipline (de boer et al., 2013; neethling, 2005). accordingly, sds staff should be wary of over-promoting a dichotomous approach concerning academic success. instead, students’ thinking style preferences could offer valuable information on an appropriate way to articulate how they approach their academic studies. the data indicated that the l2 thinking style preference was positively correlated with hardiness (commitment) (r = 0.15, p < 0.01) and negatively related with mindset (r = -0.19) and hardiness (challenge) (r = -0.15, p < 0.01). in other words, students who presented with a thinking style preference associated with sequential processing, control, and logical arrangement appeared to report a greater commitment to important life goals (hardiness (commitment)) while also being more likely to endorse a fixed mindset and a lower preference for change and challenging activities (hardiness (challenge)). the inverse relationship with mindset is interesting and could suggest that the planning and cautious nature of the l2 thinking style may predispose students to avoiding the uncertainties associated with challenges, thereby preferring familiar and tried-and-tested methods linked to a fixed mindset (anderson, 2016; dweck, 2012; neethling, 2005). students who reported an r1 thinking preference scored higher on the hardiness (challenge) subscale (r = 0.15, p < 0.01). thus, it appears that students who exhibit a thinking style preference associated with strategic, exploratory and conceptual thinking are more likely to endorse stressors within the educational context as opportunities for growth and development (de boer et al., 2013; neethling, 2005). in contrast, participants with an henry mason, ané craven & megan fredericks: psychological stamina and thinking style preferences …   117 r2 preference were less likely to endorse a high score on the hardiness (control) scale (r = -0.16, p < 0.01). predicting psychological stamina from thinking styles table 2 presents the results from the regression analyses. only the regression analyses presented with significant relationships are included below. table 2: summary of standard multiple regression analyses model 1. dv: grit iv: l1 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 8.43 1.0 8.43 23.03 0.01** 0.06 0.06 residual 134.29 367.00 0.37 total 142.71 368.00 model 2. dv: grit iv: l2 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 4.09 1.0 4.09 10.83 0.01** 0.03 0.03 residual 138.62 367.00 0.38 total 142.71 368.00 model 3. dv: mindset iv: l2 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 2.49 1.0 2.49 14.31 0.01** 0.04 0.03 residual 63.90 367.00 0.17 total 66.39 368.00 model 4. dv: grit iv: r1 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 3.06 1.0 3.06 8.05 0.01** 0.02 0.02 residual 139.65 367 0.38 total 142.71 368 model 5. dv: hardiness (challenge) iv: l2 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 57.55 1.0 57.55 8.03 0.01** 0.02 0.02 residual 2630.42 367 7.17 total 2687.97 368 model 6. dv: hardiness (commitment) iv: l2 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 62.24 1.0 62.24 8.67 0.01** 0.02 0.02 residual 2635.45 367 7.18 total 2697.69 368 118   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 109-123 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626 model 7. dv: hardiness (challenge) iv: r1 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 59.31 1.0 59.31 8.28 0.01** 0.02 0.02 residual 2628.66 367 7.16 total 2687.97 368 model 8. dv: hardiness (commitment) iv: r1 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 82.71 1.0 82.17 11.53 0.01** 0.03 0.03 residual 2615.52 367 7.13 total 2697.69 368 model 9. dv: hardiness (control) iv: r2 sum of squares df mean square f p r2 adjusted r2 regression 35.03 1.0 35.03 9.43 0.01** 0.03 0.02 residual 1363.02 367 3.71 total 1398.05 368 note: ahs – adult hope scale; fs – flourishing scale; sdhs – short depression happiness scale; aa – academic achievement; *p < 0.05 – statistically significant; **p < 0.01 – statistically significant consistent with the correlations reported in table 1, the data in table 2 indicate that the l1 thinking style preference is predictive of higher grit scores (f(1,367) = 23.03, p < 0.01). however, the l1 thinking preference accounted for only 6% of the variance (r2 = 0.06) in students’ reported grit scores. hence, with specific reference to the l1 thinking style, thinking style preference is one of various factors that account for students’ reported scores on the grit scale. noteworthy regression equations were also found in predicting grit (f(1,367) = 10.83, p < 0.01) and mindset (f(1,367 = 14.31, p < 0.01) from the l2 thinking style. furthermore, the l2 thinking preferences predicted 2% (r2 = 0.02 of the variance in grit, and 2% (r2 = 0.02) of the variance in mindset. regarding the predictions in hardiness, the l2 thinking style served as a significant predictor of hardiness (commitment) (r2 = 0.02, f(1,367) = 8.67, p < 0.01), and hardiness (challenge) (r2 = 0.02, f(1,367) = 8.03, p < 0.01). however, it should be noted that the l2 and hardiness (challenge) constructs are inversely related (r = -0.15) that suggests higher reported l2 thinking style preferences would indicate lower hardiness (challenge) scores. the r1 thinking style preference served as a significant predictor variable for lower grit scores (r2 = 0.02, f(1,367) = 8.05, p < 0.01) and higher hardiness (challenge) scores (r2 = 0.02, f(1,67) = 8.28, p < 0.01). theoretical and practical implications the results from this study have theoretical and practical implications. regarding theoretical implications, the results indicate that grit and commitment are strongly associated with linear thinking preferences. students who exhibited linear thinking styles (l1 and l2) appeared to be more likely to report higher scores on the grit scale and henry mason, ané craven & megan fredericks: psychological stamina and thinking style preferences …   119 the hardiness (commitment) scale. in contrast, students who were more inclined to exploratory and relational thinking styles (r1 and r2) tended to report lower grit and commitment scores but scored higher on the hardiness (challenge) scale. in light of these results, we hypothesise that students who prefer linear thinking styles may report greater perseverance concerning their academic studies while avoiding challenges and being more inclined to a fixed mindset orientation. conversely, students who are inclined towards r1 and r2 thinking styles may be more willing to endorse lower grit and commitment scores, and they may tend to be more prone to embracing challenges. the modern-day educational and work environments require greater agility concerning thinking style preferences (schwab, 2016). in other words, people are challenged to pursue meaningful goals with passion, purpose and commitment while also remaining flexible regarding the challenges posed by change (schwab, 2016). thus, a dynamic balance in terms of thinking style preferences appears to be essential to assist students in developing the requisite psychological stamina to address educational and other challenges. in theory, students ought to become comfortable with straddling the tension between l1 and l2 and r1 and r2 thinking style preferences as they encounter ever greater levels of complexity in the world (dweck, 2012; neethling, 2005; schwab, 2016). regarding practical implications, the results offer food for thought for persons working in sds environments. whereas a substantial body of literature points to the importance of grittiness and mindset as enablers of student success (duckworth, 2016; dweck, 2008), this study suggests that sds practitioners should consider students’ thinking style preferences as critical to interpreting the relevance and importance of specific non-cognitive factors regarding student success. furthermore, the results indicate that a one-size-fits-all approach would not be adequate regarding grit, mindset and hardiness as these constructs are related to students’ thinking style preferences that may not necessarily be malleable and changeable. however, the results could serve as valuable feedback to sds practitioners in developing the necessary psychological stamina associated with student success. for example, sds practitioners could focus on helping students with l1 and l2 thinking style preferences develop their capacity to embrace challenges and remain mindful that the learning process can promote flourishing and personal growth (maddi et al., 2012; yeager et al., 2013). similarly, students who show a propensity for r1 and r2 thinking style preferences could be assisted in developing the commitment, passion and perseverance for goal pursuit (dweck, 2012; maddi et al., 2009). finally, it is strongly suggested that sds practitioners should augment the assessment of these and other psychological constructs with personalised feedback and attempt to provide individualized self-development opportunities for students based on their unique psychological stamina and thinking styles preferences (foxcroft & roodt, 2013; mason, 2019). for example, students could be assisted in developing greater self-awareness of their respective psychological stamina and thinking style profiles through psychosocial support programmes, such as hardiness training and individual or group-based coaching (cilliers, 2014; mason, 2019). such approaches can assist students in identifying their unique 120   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 109-123 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626 strengths and enhancing development areas, and ultimately enhance student success (lewin & mawoyo, 2014; maddi et al., 2009). conclusion this study investigated the empirical linkages between thinking style preference and psychological stamina. the results showed significant positive relationships between linear and planning-orientated thinking preferences (l1 and l2) and grittiness and hardiness (commitment). in contrast, the r1 and r2 quadrants were negatively associated with grit and hardiness (commitment) but positively related to hardiness (challenge). the findings suggest that thinking styles may influence how students express the constructs associated with psychological stamina within the higher education context. in light of these findings, we suggest that sds practitioners should consider thinking style preferences when exploring the expression and value of psychological stamina regarding student well-being. that said, this study was limited in the following ways: first, the study adopted a cross-sectional research design that does not account for dynamic changes across time. hence, the data provided a snapshot of students’ experiences at a particular point in time. students’ experiences could have changed over time due to external experiences, such as a changing landscape amidst the covid-19 pandemic. second, the data were collected from students at a single south african university. therefore, the findings may not necessarily be generalizable to other contexts. third, data were only collected on three constructs associated with psychological stamina: grit, mindset and hardiness. the inclusion of additional constructs could have provided greater insight into the dynamic interaction between thinking style preferences and psychological stamina. we propose that future research should focus on collecting data from students using longitudinal designs. adopting longitudinal strategies would enable researchers to gain a better understanding of students’ experiences as they progress through an academic year and throughout their academic studies. additionally, researchers should consider exploring the importance of psychological stamina using qualitative approaches, which could shed light on students’ lived experiences and the relevance of psychological stamina in terms of student success. finally, the development and evaluation of support programmes that integrate a focus on well-being and thinking style preferences should be pursued. the study contributes to the existing body of literature by drawing attention to the influence of thinking styles on the expression of psychological stamina among first-year students. furthermore, the study foregrounds the necessity of considering constructs related to well-being alongside thinking style preferences if the goal is to promote student success holistically. finally, the data reported here could assist sds practitioners in promoting holistic student success by helping students embrace and develop psychological stamina capacity that may not necessarily be associated with their respective thinking styles. references achor, s. 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(2022). psychological stamina and thinking style preferences among first-year university students. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 109-123. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3626 https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v5.25338 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2012.10820541 https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2012.10820541 http://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1080/17439760903435208 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/cdev.12003 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.3102/0034654311405999 idm770355392 b1 idm770354672 b2 idm770349840 b5 idm770335616 b6 idm770329808 b8 idm770294608 b10 idm770275536 b16 idm770230608 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786   129 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration of students’ structural and material constraints danie de klerk* & laura dison** abstract the structural and material factors affecting the lived realities and prospects of tertiary success for south african students are complex and manifold. inexorably, these lived realities impact the work of academic advisors who guide and support students throughout their higher education journeys. the purpose of this article is to contribute to the growing body of literature about academic advising in and for south african higher education contexts, and in particular the daily work of academic advisors in the country. this is achieved by first drawing on literature to elucidate the various structural and material constraints affecting the lives of many south african students, before reconciling what emerges from the literature with quantitative data collected by an academic advisor working at a south african university about his engagements with students over a three-year period. this phenomenological study is underpinned by social realist principles as proposed by margaret archer and draws in particular on the notion of structure to advance its argument. additionally, the work of boughey and mckenna on the decontextualized learner is incorporated to demonstrate why students in this country cannot be decontextualized from their lived realities. the article concludes by highlighting how the complex structural and material constraints that influence students’ higher education experiences manifest in the day-to-day work of academic advisors. the authors propose that these insights be used to enhance responsiveness to student needs, while informing how the sector makes meaning of advising for the south african higher education context. keywords academic advising, academic advisors, decontextualized learner, higher education, south africa, social realism, socio-economic challenges, structure, student success introduction academic advising is an emerging profession and practice in south africa (de klerk, 2021; obaje & jeawon, 2021, p. 18). while decades of literature underpin advising * danie de klerk is assistant dean: teaching and learning in the faculty of commerce, law, and management at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: danie.deklerk@wits.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0001-8051-0833. ** prof. laura dison is assistant dean: teaching and learning in the faculty of humanities at the university of the witwatersrand, south africa. email: laura.dison@wits.ac.za. orcid: 0000-00021626-4954. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:danie.deklerk@wits.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8051-0833 mailto:laura.dison@wits.ac.za https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1626-4954 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1626-4954 130   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 work done in the global north and australia (bishop, 1987; tuttle, 2000; cuseo, 2003; mann, 2020), evidence-informed contributions about advising within and for south african higher education has only recently begun to emerge. the country’s past and its current-day socio-economic realities1 mean that unique intricacies and complexities characterise its higher education landscape (boughey & mckenna, 2021). these complex realities have tangible and far-reaching consequences for many students pursuing tertiary studies, significantly affecting the work of academic advisors working at south african higher education institutions (heis) (de klerk, 2021; de klerk, 2022). in this article we draw extensively on literature to contextualize these complex realities by focusing specifically on structural and material constraints, before comparing the findings in the literature with data collected by a practising academic advisor over a three-year period. this juxtaposition of literature and data highlights how the material and structural constraints experienced by students inf luence the day-to-day work of an advisor working at a south african hei. these insights are crucial for making meaning of the work of south african advisors, as well as for creating a socially just tertiary study environment which addresses student alienation and marginalisation. background the #feesmustfall (fmf) movement of 2015 and 2016 placed a spotlight on the national funding crisis affecting the south african higher education sector (boughey & mckenna, 2016; cloete, 2016; dominguez-whitehead, 2017; tjønneland, 2017). ironically, while protests were happening across campuses nationally, students most in need of funding for essentials like food and shelter (dominguez-whitehead, 2017) were still going hungry and/or sleeping in libraries and toilets on south african hei campuses. with the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, these realities were further exacerbated for many south african higher education students (dhet, 2020a; sifunda et al., 2021), immediate responses to which brought about emergency remote teaching and learning (ertl) (hodges et al., 2020) in 2020 and 2021. the funding crisis itself continues to pose severe challenges to students’ ability to succeed at tertiary studies (essop, 2021). the consequences and fallout of the crisis is experienced first-hand by academic advisors engaging with students on the ground, despite any transformative educational gains that may have resulted from the disruptions (dison et al., 2022). academic advisors are often faced with requests for food, toiletries, stationery and clothing, enquiries about accommodation, information about funding opportunities, support with funding applications, and are asked for advice about working while studying. funding within the south african higher education sector is usually channelled towards first-generation, first-year students from the lower income brackets in the 1 south africa has an unemployment rate of more than 30% (mulaudzi & ajoodha, 2021, p. 420) and has one of the highest rates of inequality with regard to wealth distribution, globally (chatterjee et al., 2022). danie de klerk & laura dison: demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration …   131 country2, which leaves undergraduates from the so-called missing middle3 (cloete, 2016, p. 121; garrod & wildschut, 2021) and postgraduate students (machika & johnson, 2015) with limited to no funding opportunities. the problem is further compounded by the “hidden” costs of studying at a university, the pressures associated with black tax for many black african students, and warped perceptions by many individuals from the south african middleand upper-income classes about the socio-economic realities of a large portion of students studying at heis in the country. the pressure on young people who must contend with these challenges, while having to fulfil academic requirements and perform satisfactorily is immense (machika & johnson, 2015; case et al., 2018). many of these challenges emanate from external factors beyond these students’ control, which exacerbate the difficulties they face while navigating unfamiliar social and educational expectations and spaces within their heis (case et al., 2018; boughey & mckenna, 2021). ultimately, these obstacles often bring about major barriers to equal and equitable (czerniewicz, et al., 2020) epistemological access to he knowledge bases. as such, the role played by advisors in helping students navigate these challenges is vital, both in terms of breaking down barriers that hinder students from gaining different forms of access and succeeding academically, as well as enabling meaningful epistemological access for students through their academic engagement (de klerk, 2021, p. 117). literature and context academic advising academic advising is a high-impact practice (moodley & singh, 2015, p. 95; strydom & loots, 2020) that can enhance student success and the overall student learning experience (surr, 2019, p. 9). much has been written about academic advising for global north and non-south african contexts over many decades (e.g. bishop, 1987; clark, 1989; grites, 1979; beatty, 1991; tuttle, 2000; cuseo, 2003; drake, 2011; zhang & dinh, 2017; mann, 2020). conversely, the literature about advising in south africa remains quite limited (strydom, 2017, p. 104). encouragingly though, meaningful and necessary shifts have begun to occur in the sector since 2017, with the launch of a multi-institutional project focused on formalising academic advising for south african higher education contexts (tiroyabone & strydom, 2021a, pp. 4-5). tied to this project is a special issue of the journal of student affairs in africa (vol. 9 no. 2, published in 2021), which focuses on academic advising in south africa (tiroyabone & strydom, 2021b). these shifts signal a significant step towards the laying of a rigorous and evidence-informed foundation (surr, 2019) for advising in this country. however, a critical investigation of the available 2 to be eligible to apply for financial support from the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas) in 2021, applicants may not have a combined gross family income of more than zar 350,000 per annum (dhet, 2021, p. 7). 3 this term is used to describe students from households where the annual income is too high for the student to qualify for funding support from nsfas and many other sources of funding, but too low for the household to be able to cover the cost of tertiary studies. 132   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 literature has revealed a paucity of studies that document the factors that inf luence the day-to-day work of academic advisors in south africa. studies like those by naidoo and lemmens (2015) and kritzinger et al. (2018) discuss academic advising in relation to at-risk work and early-alert systems for identifying high-risk students. others, like emekako and van der westhuizen (2021), explore academic advising in a south african context in relation to students’ academic performance, or investigate advising during the covid-19 pandemic (e.g. de klerk, 2022; moosa, 2021). additionally, much of the literature focuses on the adoption of global-north advising models in south african contexts (obaje & jeawon, 2021, pp. 24-25; van pletzen et al., 2021), which in itself warrants further investigation, although it goes beyond the scope of the current article. there is an absence, though, of literature about the daily practices of advisors in the country. consequently, this article aims to contribute to the knowledge base about academic advising in south africa by foregrounding the complex realities that affect their work. to achieve this goal, the authors first provide an overview of the structural and material constraints experienced by many south african higher education students, which is shown to have consequences for the day-to-day work of south african advisors. structural and material constraints funding limitations within the south african higher education sector the demand for adequate funding by students within the south african higher education sector far outweighs its availability (scott, 2016, p. 20) and is projected to remain problematic for many years to come4 (simkins & task team, 2016, p. 75). in a 2010 report of the ministerial committee on the review of the national student financial aid scheme (nsfas), the committee observed that within the south african higher education sector: funding falls far short of demand. current estimates are that nsfas has less than half of the funds it needs to meet the demand for financial aid from qualifying applicants, even at current participation rates. the committee concluded that the main impediment to nsfas achieving its objectives is chronic underfunding. (dhet, 2010, p. xiii) more than a decade later, and despite the fmf protests of 2015 and 2016, ahmed bhawa (chief executive officer of universities south africa (usaf )) reported that south africa universities were facing a zar 14 billion shortfall for 2019 alone, owing to unpaid student debt (paterson, 2021). although there was no prospect of recovering this debt, bhawa explained that universities could not afford to nullify it either (paterson, 2021). most south african higher education bursaries and funding opportunities are directed toward first-year and undergraduate students, with those from previously 4 simkins and task team (2016, p. 75) project a nsfas shortfall of approximately zar 16,685 million in 2023, which is now likely to be even higher owing to the constraints and realities brought about by the covid-19 pandemic. danie de klerk & laura dison: demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration …   133 disadvantaged backgrounds and those with the lowest annual household income more likely to be recipients5 (cloete, 2016; garrod & wildschut, 2021). as such, funding opportunities for undergraduate students from the missing middle (cloete, 2016; garrod & wildschut, 2021), undergraduates who have been academically excluded and then readmitted (de klerk et al., 2017, p. 6), and postgraduate students (machika & johnson, 2015) are extremely limited. students in all these categories often approach academic advisors for guidance on how to source funding, which is seldom easily resolved. ultimately, the crisis remains (garrod & wildschut, 2021; paterson, 2021), as does the strain it places on students, on the advisors that work to guide and support them, and on these students’ prospects of success. the “hidden” costs of university study the cost of university studies goes far beyond tuition and accommodation, which are the two funding areas most bursaries and funders are willing to cover. so-called “hidden” costs (i.e. expenditure not covered by bursaries or funders and that is seldom stipulated or outlined in cost breakdown documents) include: transport, stationery, textbooks and other learning materials, food and toiletries, clothing, other living expenses, medical expenses, and discipline-specific items. van der berg (2016, p. 182) points out that the cost of studying in south african higher education is a problem for most students, emphasising that for “the typical student, support of almost half a million rand over the course of a degree may be required” (p. 182). considering that this calculation was made in 2016, it is safe to deduce that the amount is now even higher. the maximum nsfas funding cap was set at (i) zar 88,600 in 2019 (dhet, 2019a, p. 7); (ii) zar 93,400 in 2020 (dhet, 2020b); and (iii) zar 98,700 in 2021 (dhet, 2021, p. 9). this means that students who qualify for full funding through nsfas annually during their studies (not all students are allocated the maximum amount), would receive in total zar 280,700 to cover a three-year degree programme. however, considering van der berg’s (2016, p. 182) estimate that a typical student would require approximately zar 500,000 over the course of their degree (including “hidden” costs), and that many students require more than three years to complete a three-year bachelor’s degree6 (dhet, 2019b7), the endless challenges students face with regard to food security, accommodation, transport, stationery, textbooks/learning materials, and a myriad other expenses should come as no surprise. these are all matters that are prone to arising during academic advising engagements between advisors 5 although, as masehela (2018, p. 166) points out, high matric marks do not guarantee any form of financial support owing to competitive demand, while the awarding of bursaries or other forms of financial aid often do not take “account of any disadvantage an applicant may have faced” (p. 166). 6 students funded through nsfas and the dhet bursary scheme are only eligible for funding for the minimum period of study of a qualification (n) plus one additional year (n+1) (dhet, 2021, p.14). 7 the dhet (2019b, p. xvi) found that the completion rate of the 2012 cohort of south african higher education students enrolled for three-year bachelor’s degrees was just over 29% after three years (n) and only about 63% after five years (n+2). 134   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 and students, therefore requiring advisors to be responsive to the lived realities of the students they work with. food (in)security on south african campuses food insecurity on university campuses is a global challenge. a national study of basic needs insecurity conducted in the united states found that 56% of the more than 33,000 participants from 70 community colleges were food insecure (goldrick-rab et al., 2017). another study conducted at the university of hawai’i at mānoa more than a decade ago found that 21% of participants were food insecure and a further 24% were at risk of becoming food insecure (chaparro et al., 2009). many other us-based studies conducted in the last 10 years share similar findings. correspondingly, a south african study conducted at the university of kwazulunatal between 2007 and 2010 found that more than 40% of participants experienced some degree of food insecurity (munro et al., 2013), while a subsequent study at the same university conducted in 2015 found that more than 53% of participants reported some degree of vulnerability to food insecurity, despite the implementation of a food security programme at the institution in 2012 (sabi et al., 2020). another study conducted at the university of the free state in 2013 found that 60% of participants experienced food insecurity and reports emerged that this may be contributing to high attrition rates (van den berg & raubenheimer, 2015). this aligns with the findings of a study by payne-sturges et al. (2018) that food insecurity might affect retention rates. worth highlighting is that food insecurity at south african heis is tied to the national funding crisis (dominguez-whitehead, 2017), and has been shown to have a negative impact on students’ academic performance (sabi et al., 2020; wagner et al., 2021). academic advisors are often the first port of call for students who are food insecure and looking for advice on who to approach for support. the south african student accommodation crisis access to student accommodation/housing has been directly linked to student success (dhet, 2011, pp. xvii, xx; xulu-gama, 2019, p. 15) and to students’ integration at heis (sikhwari et al., 2020, p. 9; simpeh & adisa, 2021, p. 471). the necessity for safe and secure shelter is a common and basic human need, yet a national study of basic needs insecurity conducted in the united states of america found that 51% of the more than 33,000 participants from 70 community colleges were housing insecure (goldrick-rab et al., 2017). in south africa, the higher education accommodation crisis (mzileni & mkhize, 2019; tshazi, 2021)) is not only tied to the massification of the sector (mugume & luescher, 2015, p. 3; ackermann & visser, 2016, p. 8; tjønneland, 2017, p. 2), which has resulted in a shortage of student accommodation, but also to the country’s apartheid past (mzileni & mkhize, 2019), the legacies of which have contributed significantly to the broader historical student funding crisis. mzileni and mkhize (2019) explain how, during apartheid, “south african universities came to be fixed as physical and cultural elements of towns and cities based danie de klerk & laura dison: demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration …   135 on the broader trajectory of settler-colonialism and apartheid urban development, segregation and the group areas logic of the apartheid state” (p. 104). the reality is that the physical/spatial location and layout of many south african heis remain inextricably tied to the country’s apartheid past nearly three decades post democracy, which serves to perpetuate the student housing crisis experienced first-hand by many hei students (mzileni & mkhize, 2019), when they have to leave rural homesteads to access heis located in urban areas. therefore, it should come as no surprise that accommodationrelated challenges may arise during engagements between students and advisors. apart from the spatial and associated cost implications for these students, there is a lack of adequate student housing, and living conditions can be substandard. more than a decade ago, a review of the provision of student housing at south african universities (dhet, 2011) found that “the conditions under which students are being housed in some university-leased buildings can only be described as squalid” (p. xviii), that insufficient and inadequate “on-campus housing is resulting in overcrowding, jeopardising students’ academic endeavours and creating significant health and safety risks” (p. xviii), and that “[p]rivate student housing in the country appears to be completely unregulated” (p. xviii). the same report estimated the shortage of residence beds in the country at the time to be in excess of 195,000, while the projected cost of addressing the shortage was said to amount to more than zar 82 billion over 10 years or in excess of zar 109 billion over 15 years (dhet, 2019, p. xviii). regardless, the shortage of affordable student housing for south african higher education students (mugume & luescher, 2015; paterson, 2021; tshazi, 2021) remains a key element that impacts directly on students’ ability to succeed at university (dhet, 2011, p. xvii, xx; xulu-gama, 2019, p. 15; sikhwari et al., 2020, p.8). black tax black tax8 is a sensitive and complex (mhlongo, 2019, p. 1) cultural and economic phenomenon within the south african context. mangoma and wilson-prangley (2019) define it as “the ways in which the emerging black middle class make financial contributions to their direct and indirect families in south africa” (p. 443), while carpenter and phaswana (2021) describe it as the “financial burden [placed on black south africans] of having to support direct and extended family” (p. 1). in turn, fongwa (2019) explains that it is “the process through which a black individual (usually an employed recent graduate) uses a significant portion of their income and savings to support their immediate and extended family” (p. 2). the literature often associates 8 here the authors acknowledge their positionality as white south africans and accept that they are unlikely to ever fully comprehend the cultural complexities and realities of black south africans or how they perceive black tax. mhlongo (2019) in his book black tax: burden or ubuntu? aims to highlight some of the complexities of experience and perception about black tax through a series of essays by “young and old, urban and rural, and male and female contributors” (p.1), in an attempt to determine whether it is “a burden or a blessing” (p.1). 136   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 black tax with young people and professionals9, but seemingly not with students (except when speaking of young working professionals paying tuition fees for siblings who are studying (fongwa, 2019, pp. 7, 8, 10)). in reality though, the pressures of black tax are felt by black african students studying at south african heis, who often feel obliged to send a portion (or all) of their monthly nsfas or bursary stipend (or annual textbook allowance) home to assist family members on pension, single-parent households, and/or siblings in primary or secondary school. consequently, students may go hungry or choose not to buy essential learning resources, which can have a devastating effect on their academic performance and chances of successful degree completion. this is an important dimension to highlight, as the inf luence of black tax on the lives of many south african students has a direct bearing on the work of academic advisors who must support and guide them. while in the past the far-reaching impact of the aforementioned structural and material constraints could be silenced and (arguably) avoided, the momentous events of recent times mean that they can no longer be ignored (czerniewicz et al., 2020). in the section that follows, archer’s (1995, 2005) work on social realism and boughey and mckenna’s (2016) critique of the decontextualized learner are introduced as mechanisms with which to understand the inter-relationship of the aforementioned structural and material constraints with the work of a south african academic advisor. theoretical underpinnings this article is underpinned by the work of social realist, margaret archer. archer (1995, 2005) builds on the work of bhaskar (1975), and theorises about the interplay of structure, culture, and agency (autonomously and interconnectedly) across a stratified social reality to make meaning of complex social systems. the focus in this article is on the non-academic contextual social realities and structural constraints that affect the lives of south african higher education students and by association, the work of academic advisors that guide and support them. case (2015) provides a useful definition of structure in a social realist context. she explains that structure “has to do with material goods (unequally distributed across society)” (p. 843), tying back to the previous “structural and material constraints” section of this article. structure, therefore, has the potential both to enable and constrain. in this instance, the focus is on the effect structural (and material) constraints experienced by students have on the work of academic advisors. correspondingly, boughey and mckenna’s (2016) work on the decontextualized learner aligns with archer’s (1995, 2005) social realist view of social reality and the discussion about structural and material constraints. boughey and mckenna (2016) introduce the notion of the decontextualized learner in relation to academic literacy. the authors describe one of the presumptions in higher education discourse as being that those students who make their way through the system 9 see, for example: fongwa (2019, pp. 6, 8, 9 & 10); mangoma and wilson-prangley (2019, pp. 443, 449, 452 & 457). danie de klerk & laura dison: demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration …   137 are detached from their “history, culture, and language” (boughey & mckenna, 2016, p. 6). they further explain that through the decontextualization lens, success in higher education is attributed to qualities or abilities that lie within the individual (boughey & mckenna, 2016, p. 1). this way of thinking feeds into deficit conceptions of students (boughey & mckenna, 2021, pp. 59, 60, 80 and 115) who are disregarded as “holistic social beings who bring with them their own unique social realities – realities that have been constructed over time through numerous experiences, events, cultural stimuli, and structures” (de klerk, 2021, p. 106). this article serves to underscore the premise that students cannot be decontextualized from the structural and material constraints that inf luence their social and educational realities, and highlights how these constraining factors impact on the work of the academic advisors. ultimately, structural and material factors have an incontrovertible and infinitely complex (boughey & mckenna, 2021) effect on many south african higher education students’ prospects of success at tertiary studies, despite these being beyond their personal control. moreover, academic advisors work with students as holistic social beings, not decontextualized ones, because their engagement with students spans the breadth of those students’ lived realities, whether academic in nature or not. in this article, a social realist lens is used to guide the analysis of the findings. methodology and data this quantitative study draws on phenomenological research design principles (groenewald, 2004; fisher & stenner, 2011; mayoh & onwuegbuzie, 2015). the quantitative baseline data set that forms the basis of this article ref lects the advising engagements of one academic advisor’s encounters with students (from the university of the witwatersrand) during a 46-month period between january 2015 and october 2018. the complete baseline data set contains 2,240 entries emanating from 1,023 consultations with 614 students. these data were categorised into seven overarching categories, consisting of 34 subsidiary categories. to analyse the data, we took advantage of the descriptive and explorative opportunities (groenewald, 2004) afforded by adopting a phenomenological research design (groenewald, 2004; fisher & stenner, 2011; mayoh & onwuegbuzie, 2015). this allowed for the data to be interpreted and disaggregated in several ways (see tables 1 to 3), which enabled the authors to thoroughly interrogate the practice of academic advising and the work of advisors as practitioners. in this article, we focus on overarching category seven, which deals with socio-economic matters, thus providing a window into understanding students’ structural and material constraints. to enhance holistic insights into the data, it is cross-referenced with students’ race and gender information. findings the present study has thus far used relevant literature to explicate the intricacies that inf luence the lives of students and the work of academic advisors in south africa. next, the authors introduce another layer of evidence to support and guide their argument. 138   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 the data are used to further elucidate the direct inf luence of students’ structural and material constraints on advisors’ daily work. moreover, the data help to elucidate why students cannot be separated from these constraining factors and may begin to offer possibilities for addressing some of these factors through academic advising. overarching category “socio-economic matters” table 1 shows overarching category seven of the baseline data set. titled “socioeconomic matters”, the overarching category consists of eight subsidiary categories that collectively account for 480 instances where students engaged with the advisor about socio-economic matters (i.e. structural and material constraints). most frequently discussed were issues related to food security (31.2%), toiletries (19.3%), funding/funding applications (24.0%), and accommodation (12.3%). entries about funding refer to both funding issues and concerns, and enquiries about bursaries and funding applications or opportunities. other matters covered include clothing, stationery, textbooks, and transport. students would not necessarily consult about each subsidiary category separately but would, for example, raise matters of food security, funding concerns, and accommodation challenges during a single advising engagement. this demonstrates vividly how the structural and material constraints affecting students are intrinsically part of the work of the academic advisors who support and guide them. table 1: overarching category socio-economic matters and associated subsidiary categories overarching category total baseline data set entries (%) subsidiary category no. of entries in subsidiary category overarching category (%) socio-economic matters (total entries = 480) 21% accommodation 59 12.3% clothing 25 5.2% food 150 31.2% funding 115 24.0% stationery 29 6.0% textbooks 4 1.0% toiletries 93 19.3% transport 5 1.0% student gender and race information table 2 below provides a basic breakdown of the race and gender information of students who sought advice from the advisor during the period under investigation (i.e. the complete baseline data set). in terms of race, more than 75% of students were black african with the remainder being indian and chinese (11.4%), white (9.1%), and coloured (3.1%), which roughly aligns with the university’s demographics (wits, 2021). danie de klerk & laura dison: demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration …   139 table 2: student race and gender information gleaned from the complete baseline data set race and gender information number of students percentage female 326 53.1% male 288 46.9% black african 467 76.1% coloured 19 3.1% indian & chinese 70 11.4% unknown (race information unavailable) 2 0.3% white 56 9.1% table 3 provides a cross-referenced disaggregated view of overarching category seven (table 1) and the race and gender information of students as gleaned from the complete baseline data set (table 2). two particularly notable observations are: (i) the fact that 478 of the 480 (99.6%) entries about specifically socio-economic matters were from black african students, which ties back to earlier assertions about how current day student realities are linked to the country’s apartheid past (mzileni & mkhize, 2019); and (ii) that the number of male students who consulted about socio-economic matters is double that of female students, which warrants further investigation in subsequent studies, seeing as the complete baseline data set contains more entries about female than male students. table 3: overarching category “socio-economic matters” cross-referenced with gender and race information overarching category subsidiary category e n tr ie s f em al e m al e b la ck a fr ic an c o lo u re d in d ia n & c h in es e u n k n o w n w h it e socioeconomic matters accommodation 59 21 38 59 0 0 0 0 clothing 25 5 20 25 0 0 0 0 food 150 44 106 150 0 0 0 0 funding 115 50 65 113 1 0 0 1 stationery 29 11 18 29 0 0 0 0 textbooks 4 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 toiletries 93 27 66 93 0 0 0 0 transport 5 2 3 5 0 0 0 0 totals 480 160 320 478 1 0 0 1 discussion the constraining factors outlined in the “structural and material constraints” section of this article can evidently not be divorced from the lived experiences of many south 140   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 african students, or from the work of academic advisors. the structural and material constraints captured in the overarching category “socio-economic matters” (table 1) account for 21% of the baseline data informing this study. accordingly, providing advice on navigating the effects these constraining factors have on students’ tertiary study experiences denotes a significant dimension of the academic advisor’s work. matters of funding, accommodation, and food security, among others, remain interconnected; with one another, with the country’s past, with the lived experiences of many students, and with the work of academic advisors working in this country. a racial disaggregation of this overarching category shows that 99.6% of students who sought advice about socio-economic matters are black african. this compelling figure makes it nearly impossible to refute the systemically entrenched legacy of apartheid and its inf luence on the south african higher education sector to this day (mzileni & mkhize, 2019). important to remember, is how apartheid was used to differentiate among racial groups based on the colour of their skin (in addition to culture), with black africans affected most severely. bearing this in mind, the data suggests that nearly 30 years after apartheid was abolished, many black african students are still experiencing tangible socio-economic and related consequences of that era. by extension then, and as shown in the data, these lived realities of black african students also affect the work of south african academic advisors. this is another reason why students cannot be decontextualized (boughey & mckenna, 2016) from their lived social realities upon entry into the south african higher education system, nor can one divorce these realities from the work of advisors. although the data are representative of an individual advisor’s work, based on existing views about the socio-economic factors affecting south african students (scott, 2016), it can be inferred that these realities would be applicable to most academic advisors working in south african heis. for academic advisors these structural and material realities can bring about perplexing complexities that often cannot be solved, adding an additional layer of intricacy to their work. although not directly linked in the baseline data, the advisor whose engagements are captured here recalls numerous interactions with students who had forgone purchasing food (or other necessities like textbooks and stationery) for the month, to comply with the pressure to send money home. the consequences of forgoing nsfas or other financial aid monies in this way can be catastrophic and must not be discounted when considering the complex social realities students bring to the advising engagement or the institution more broadly. importantly, these data must be utilised to develop and implement responsive strategies for enabling student success and for improving the integration of academic advising with all other components of south african heis (moosa, 2021), to ensure that students (especially those most affected by the complex realities of the south african higher education sector) reap the benefits. conclusion the impact of structural and material constraints on the lives of south african students, and the academic advisors who support them, is evident. the covid-19 pandemic has danie de klerk & laura dison: demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration …   141 once again shone the spotlight on the inequities that permeate the sector (czerniewicz et al., 2020), and the social impact it has had on many south african students (sifunda et al., 2021). these structural and material factors can directly impact students’ prospects of success, which is why they cannot be decontextualized (boughey & mckenna, 2016) from their lived realities when they enter the south african higher education system. although not necessarily in a position to resolve these matters for students, advisors have the potential to help students navigate these complexities, both for themselves and within their institutions or the sector. moreover, academic advisors may be positioned to enact agency (archer, 1995, 2005) in the professional spaces they occupy at their institutions, by raising greater awareness about the interconnected realities of the students with whom they work. this emphasises the necessity for coordinated structural efforts to address these challenges and, working collaboratively with academics and other institutional stakeholders, developing mitigation strategies. yet the onus cannot rest solely on advisors. there is an urgent need for coordinated efforts to bring about structural transformation in the form of policies, funding and the like (at institutional and sectoral level), as well as to facilitate shifts towards holistic, integrated student support and student-focused pedagogies and approaches to learning and teaching. although academic advisors cannot resolve these infinitely complex challenges, an intrinsic part of their practice is awareness of their impact and an understanding of their interconnectedness (archer, 1995, 2005). this is essential, as advisors are often tasked with helping students navigate these structural and material constraints by enabling agency on multiple fronts. for this to occur effectively, advisors must know to whom to refer students, must be able to devise workable solutions while managing student expectations, and must maintain close bonds with students. ultimately, the aim is to support students in the best way possible without disempowering them, with the objective of helping students persist and complete their studies successfully. as the south african higher education sector shifts beyond emergency modes of instruction towards a post-pandemic reality, the conditions for change may be in place: the inequities entrenched in the sector are known and cannot easily be ignored (czerniewicz et al., 2020); academic advising has emerged as a previously undervalued practice that can bridge gaps between the student, the institution, and the lecturer (de klerk, 2022; moosa, 2021); and calls for intentional shifts towards student-focused pedagogies and holistic student support within the south african higher education sector are on the rise. now is the time for the south african higher education sector and its institutions to draw on the wisdom of these insights beyond paying lip-service to student challenges. the essence of our argument is that it remains the responsibility of heis to extract implications and opportunities offered by academic advising for realizing meaningful and long-lasting changes, especially as new modes of teaching and learning continue to evolve and adapt to changing circumstances. 142   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 129-147 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 research ethics the authors subscribe to the highest levels of ethics during their research. ethical clearance for this study was obtained through the authors’ institutional human research ethics committee (non-medical) (protocol number: h20/04/06). all data are presented in aggregate form and no individual is identifiable from the data shared in this article. conflicts of interest the authors have no conf licts of interest to declare. funding no funding was required to complete this portion of the study. references ackermann, a. & visser, g. 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(2017). advising international students in engineering programs: academic advisors’ perceptions of intercultural communication competence. nacada journal, 37(2), 33-43. https://doi.org/10.12930/nacada-15-028. how to cite: de klerk, d., & dison, l. (2022). demystifying the work of south african academic advisors: an exploration of students’ structural and material constraints. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 129-147. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.3786 https://doi.org/10.12930/nacada-15-028 abstract career choice involves the selection of one occupation over another. it is very important as it gives people focus on what career to follow. however, a lack of adequate information on career choice is capable of negatively influencing career choices. hence, this study examines the significance of the adequate information on career choice among first year students using a selected rural south african university. a quantitative research method was employed for data collection. purposive and random sampling was used to select the institution and sample respectively. questionnaires were administered to 375 randomly selected first year students studying in the selected rural south african university. the findings of the study show that career choice is important and can contribute to the success of students. attempts are made to communicate about career pathways with students while in high schools through the provision in the curriculum. various factors ranging from parental influence, teachers, presence or absence of career counsellors, amongst others affect the career choice of students. the study recommends that education stakeholders, inclusive of parents, should be informed on the need to guide students in making informed career choices. career information centres should be made available to students in various locations in the country. keywords career choice, career guidance, first year students, proficient communication, rural south africa research article significance of proficient communication on career choice among first years in rural south africa chinaza uleanyai, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanyaii, gedala mulliah naidooiii & yasmin rugbeeriv i dr chinaza uleanya, department of educational management and leadership university of johannesburg gauteng, south africa, chinazauleanya@yahoo.com ii-iv mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo, yasmin rugbeer, communication science department, university of zululand, south africa 173chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer introduction adequate information is an important part of educating students on making meaningful career choices. keyton (2011) defines communication as the means of transmitting or conveying information from one person to another. communication is being used in every facet of life including career choice. the term career choice involves the selection of one occupation over another. greenhaus (2003) explains that career choice involves making career decisions to pursue a particular job or career, which is expected and desired to bring changes to occupational fields özbilgin, küskü and erdoğmuş (2005) argue that for career choice to take place, two conditions are required which include: availability of alternative career options, and an individual’s/personal preference between the available career options. sauermann (2005) and krieshok, black and mckay (2009) are of the view that there are various factors that contribute to the difficulties involved in making career decisions which are: work environment, length of training, and using or avoiding using numerical ability, amongst others. whiston and keller (2004) indicate that the family, most especially parents, seem to have a pronounced impact on the career choice of people, and in this regard, the students. the study of illouz (2008) reveals that students often find themselves overwhelmed in this kind of situation, and as a result, they struggle to plan their professional future, therefore need to seek help from career counsellors in deciding on career paths most suitable for them. conversely, boo and kim (2020) opine that career indecision might pose difficulties for students and might eventually affect them negatively. thus, the role of career counsellors is needed to help students make this important decisions with the assistance of professional help. gati, osipow, krausz and zaka (2000) are of the opinion that career counsellors may do well to first discover the cause of students’ difficulties in making career choices, thereafter look for ways to empower them to deal with this. exploring the difficulties faced by students in making career choices, greenhaus, callanan and godschalk (2000) state that sourcing information regarding a career is the first and one of the most crucial stages in students’ career decision making. meanwhile, a review of the work of boo and kim (2020) indicates that poor or lack of career information is a major cause of poor career decision making and can have adverse effects on students. this implies that students tend to encounter conflicts and might make mistakes due to a low career information. conversely, rural based students are considered as experiencing more challenges compared to their counterparts in urban centres (uleanya et al., 2020). inclusive of the challenges is the lack of adequate information. uleanya and rugbeer (2020) suggest that rural based students lack help and adequate information. this seems to have put rural-based students at a disadvantage. information is crucial, and how it is communicated is more important. hence, in view of the foregoing, the study investigates the significance of proficient information on career choice using a selected rural university in south africa as a case study. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205174 conceptualisation of terms and adopted model proficient: this implies competence or skilful in the use of a thing (vijayakumar, 2014). in this study, proficient means skilfulness or competence in transmitting necessary and useful information, especially as it concerns students and their career choices. communication: according to pearson and nelson (2000), communication is defined as the process of transferring information and understanding its meaning or what it entails from one place to another. they state further that before communication can take place, seven elements are involved which are: sender, message, receiver, feedback, channel, context or setting, and noise or interference. dwyer (2005) emphasises that these seven elements are equally important in the process of communication and if one is missing, there will be a gap or break in the communication process, and the process will be incomplete. keyton (2011) asserts that the elements involved in the communication process are important, because it determines the quality and effectiveness of communication. in this study, communication is used to mean transfer of career related information from one person to another. communiqué: a review of the work of vijayakumar (2014) shows communiqué as a device used in the transmission of information or a message from one point to another. according to dhami and sharma (2017), communiqué is a mode of transmitting information from one person to another. dhami and sharma (2017) further state that communiqué can be done using social media or face-to-face. however, they opine that communiqué is most proficient when it is done using a face-to-face mode. this implies that communiqué can be carried out through devices or a face-to-face mode. the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk's model of career management in this study, the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk's (2000) model of career management was adopted. this model offers insights into the processes involved and undertaken by students when attempting to make career choices. figure 1 below, which is the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk's (2000) model of career management, indicates the flow chart of different stages involved for students when reaching a career decision and strategizing to succeed in the chosen field. 175chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer figure 1: the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk’s model of career management (2000) source: greenhaus, callanan and godshalk (2000) the greenhaus et al. (2000) model concentrates on people, and in the context of this study, students who can be described as the decision makers. following this model, students preparing to make career choices are expected to firstly realise that they have a need to make career decisions. this leads the students exploring various career options via critical thinking, asking relevant questions from different sources, and reading, amongst others. hewitt (2010) opines that as students explore various career options, different groups of people, such as parents are consulted. davies, telhaj, hutton, adnett and coe (2004) state that peers also have influence in the exploration stage. levon (2007) states that lack or low level of exploration is associated journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205176 level of exploration is associated with career indecision. this implies that lack of adequate career information causes indecision in students, which might be affecting them negatively (boo & kim, 2020). the next stage to be considered by students wanting to make career choices is to understand them. this is described as self-awareness. in considering themselves, students need to evaluate their abilities, strengths, and weaknesses (bell, 2013; sham, 2012). they also need to understand their environment before reaching a decision. after the decision has been reached, students are expected to set realistic goals. in order to achieve the set goals, students are expected to develop possible strategies. the next stage is the implementation of the developed strategy. this enables students to make progress by working towards the achievement of their set goals. at the point of implementing the developed strategies, students are expected to evaluate themselves to get feedback on what has been, or should still be done. such evaluations are envisaged to enable the students to make progress towards achieving their set goals as adjustments can be made in all necessary areas. the final stage is career appraisal. at this point, the students evaluate their career choices to ensure that the decisions made are worthwhile, otherwise, there may be a need to begin the process all over again by considering the most suitable career choice. having considered the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk's (2000) model of career management with regards to the present study, the need arises to explore the research site where the research was conducted. the study was conducted in a rural university in south africa. thus, the next section gives a brief about rural south africa and its institution of learning. rural south africa and institution of learning rurality varies from one country to another, especially with the discrepancies existing among developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations. flora and flora (2013), as well as uleanya, gamede and kutame (2020) opine that rural nations in developed countries are characterised by the lack of rail transport systems, and airports, amongst others. conversely, review of the works of uleanya and yu (2019) together with uleanya, gamede and kutame (2020) indicate that rural environments in underdeveloped and developing countries are usually characterised by high levels of illiteracy, high rate of unemployment, poor infrastructures, and poor road network systems, amongst others. these suggest some of the reasons for rural-urban migration. the rural environment in south africa is characterised by a high rate of illiteracy, poor road networks, and high rates of unemployment, amongst others (uleanya et al., 2020). they further suggest that to enhance development in rural south africa, institutions of learning are established. this concurs with the view of dani and shah (2016), who opine that institutions of learning are strategically situated in selected rural environments to aid development of such areas. however, according to uleanya, gamede and kutame (2020), the quality of education provided in such institutions of learning is worth reviewing if the reason for their 177chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer for their establishment is to be achieved. meanwhile, one of the reasons for the establishment of such institutions of learning is to help young people in succeeding in their career choice and path like their counterparts in urban based institutions of learning. however, the way career related information is passed across to young people appears questionable. thus, the need for this study is aimed to investigate proficient communication on career choice, using first year students in a selected rural south african university. meanwhile, there is a need to understand first year students in rural south africa. first year students in rural south africa rural south african students, like their counterparts in urban areas, are given the opportunity to apply to various universities of their choice, during and after completing their matric, which is done in grade 12. this takes place after they have spent twelve years to complete primary and secondary school grades. however, some students who choose to acquire a university education. first year students, regardless of their location being rural or urban, encounter challenges trying to acclimatise with their new environment due to varying factors (uleanya & rugbeer, 2020). amongst the challenges faced by first year students are: time management (mukwevho, 2018), access to higher education, coping with coursework, work overload, lack of effective and efficient selfand work-load and time-management, poor learning environments not conducive to academic engagement, challenges associated with reading and writing ability, class unpreparedness, poor study skills, poor or no academic support, and shortage of skills (jordaan, 2016). other challenges faced by first year students in south african universities include problems of writing, plagiarism, referencing, poor socio-economic backgrounds, and the low level of pre-univeristy education (tanga & maphosa, 2019). however, in addition to the challenges experienced by first year students in general in south africa, some challenges are peculiar to first year students in rural south africa. these challenges include: absence of mentors and supervisors such as parents, family, and teachers (mukwevho, 2018), distance from home to campus, lack of transportation (uleanya et al., 2019), language barriers (uleanya et al., 2019), little or no knowledge and access to information and communication technology (ict) (czerniewicz & brown, 2014), teaching and learning in english as a medium of instruction, lack of computer knowledge and skills, poor social relationships, and poor access to support services are other challenges experienced by first year students in rural south african universities (ajani & gamede, 2020). the foregoing suggests that there is a difference between first year students’ experiences in rural south african universities and urban. however, the students are expected to have been guided by the same curriculum while in high school. the curriculum is envisaged to possibly affect their experiences in their first year at university. hence, the need to briefly examine the curriculum guiding south african high schools. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205178 south african high school curriculum education in south africa is one of the sectors that have been restructured since the democratic dispensation in 1994. chisholm (2005) explains that after south africa became a democratic nation in 1994, a new constitution was adopted to promote social justice and this initiated the beginning of development and curriculum change in the country. according to maher (2009), with the goal of promoting educational equality in south africa, the former 19 different departments during the apartheid era were replaced by one national department of education. de villiers (2011) and van deventer (2009) observe that the main aim of the curriculum change was to cleanse the syllabi from out-dated content and racist language to the implementation of the outcomes based education (obe) curriculum. horn (2005) points out that obe encompasses purposeful goals which were envisaged to bring commendable ideas to the development of educational systems. chisholm (2005) states that obe was followed by the introduction of curriculum 2005 in 1998, which later became a policy in 2002 and was revised to national curriculum statement (ncs). the national curriculum statement contains the following areas of human endeavour: mathematics, natural sciences, technology, social sciences, arts and culture, life orientation, economics, and management sciences (department of education, 2003). life orientation is one of the four fundamental subjects required for the national senior certificate, which means that it is compulsory for all learners in grades 10, 11, and 12, which incorporate subjects such as health education, life skills, career guidance, physical education, human rights education, and religious education (department of education, 2003). maree and ebersohn (2002) describe the word life as the combination of spiritual, physical, psychological, vocational, and health beliefs of a living being, while orientation refers to an ability to adjust to any situation people find themselves in. maree and ebersohn (2002) further state that life orientation (lo) refers to a subject area that involves both learners’ insight about an understanding of life, and skills needed to prepare and guide them to encourage a successful life. the motive of this subject is to engage learners in personal, psychological, neuro-cognitive, motor, physical, moral, spiritual, cultural, and socio-economic areas to help them develop and achieve in the new democracy of south africa (department of education, 2003). prinsloo (2007) affirms that life orientation is meant to help learners understand and accept themselves as being unique and special; by using the skills and ideas they have obtained through the programme to showcase their values, understanding, and an attitudinal disposition to improve their families, community, and the country at large. however, in the subject of career decision making, various factors in addition to the curriculum of high schools affect the career choices of students. some of the identified factors are presented and discussed in the next section. 179chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer factors influencing career choices career choice has been defined as the total pattern of one’s activities held during a person’s life-time (natalie, 2006). issa and nwalo (2008) reveal that in many cases, the choice of careers, course of study, and the subsequent career paths to follow are challenges for prospective undergraduate students. ackermann, alberts and mbalo (2003) attest to the fact that career choice is one of the major areas of concern for young people nearing the end of their high school education. this implies that for young people who are about to complete their high school education or begin their tertiary education, career choice is crucial. additionally, kerka (2000) suggests that career choice is influenced by multiple factors which include personality, interests, self-concept, identity, globalisation, socialisation, role model, social support, and available resources such as information and finance among others. however, this study focuses on the issue revolving around information and how it is communicated. in the case of bandura, barbaranelli, vittorio and pastorelli (2001), each individual who undertakes the process is influenced by several factors including the context in which they live, their personal aptitudes, social contacts, and educational attainment. according to mcquaid and bond (2003) students’ perception of being suitable for a particular course of study has been found to be influenced by a number of factors which include ethnic background, year in school, and level of achievement, choice of science subjects, attitudes, and differences in job characteristics. ferry (2006) suggests that a variety of influences such as family, school, community, and social and economic factors are likely to manipulate one’s ultimate career decision. however, for the purpose of this study, only selected factors, especially those related to communication that influence career choice, shall be identified and discussed. meanwhile, factors around communication are emphasised in this study following the aim of the study, which is to explore the significance of proficient communication on career choice. the identified factors are as presented and explained below. parental influence gostein (2000) explains that the influence parents have on the career choices of their children can be in diverse forms such as direct inheritance, the provision of apprenticeship, and role models. he further stressed that parents cultivate certain career interests in their children from an early age, which is done through encouragement or discouragement of hobbies and interests, and by the activities they encourage their children to participate in. hewitt (2010) notes that one reason many young people select careers that are favoured by their parents might be to avoid conflict in the home. taylor, harris and taylor (2004) emphasise that due to parental support and encouragement, children’s career choices are influenced because some might tend to choose what their parents desire in order to please them. beyer (2008) states that parental journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205180 aspirations and expectations tend to affect the self-efficacy of their children, because they serve as important role models in their lives. ahmad, benjamin and ang (2004) undertook a study in asia and assert, following their findings that expectations and advice from parents are deemed important in influencing children’s career decision-making. however, this is sometimes identified as a complex factor in that children might choose careers that mismatch their personality. also, the study carried out on college students and adults by mau and bikos (2000) reveals that parents have a greater influence on an individual’s choice of career. this implies that parents tend to have influence over the career choice of their children. hence, parents who influence their children to choose careers which might not suit them may lead to certain challenges for them. for instance, such children may be less enthusiastic about their chosen career paths. according to oyamo and amoth (2008), studies in kenya show that rural students tend to seek help from parents, more so than urban students. also, it was discovered that parents more than teachers play a major role in the career choice of students (oyamo et al., 2008). meanwhile, rathunde, carroll and huang (2000) explain that parents help to create challenging and supportive environments where they allow their children to explore their own interests and listen to their ideas in a non-judgmental manner. academic ability many students choose their careers based on their academic ability (beggs at el., 2008). bell (2013) and sham (2012) points out that for success to be achieved in the educational institution, it has to be measured by the academic performance of students, which generally refers to how well they succeed in their studies or meet the standard set by the institutions of learning. abiola (2012) states that academic performance reflects students’ ability through consistency, determination, and focus; this serves as the best indicator for success in life. this means that the students’ academic performances contribute to determining their career choice in life. peer pressure ryan and deci (2000) define peer pressure as a situation where people are encouraged by those of their age range to do something which they intend to do, or otherwise. according to blank (2002), peer pressure provides a forum where teens construct and reconstruct their identities. burns and darling (2002) concur that selfconsciousness of whether others will react or ridicule one’s future action is one of the ways that adolescents are influenced by peers. davies, telhaj, hutton, adnett and coe (2004) explain that students’ choice of subjects can also be influenced by the aspirations or expectations of the peer groups. this implies that students sometimes make certain career choices following pressures or influence from their peers. peers may be proficient in communicating career choices to one another using various means. 181chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer indecision while various factors affect the career choice of students, indecision also has an effect in this regard. it is an integral area that needs the attention of professionals such as career counsellors (xu & bhang, 2019). indecision is usually caused by a lack or low level of exploration (levon, 2007). however, according to fabio, palazzeschi, asulin-peretz and gati (2013), career indecision is mainly associated with emotional intelligence. marcionetti (2014) states that it is caused by students’ level of self-esteem and neuroticism. this might have negative effects on students. the finding of the study of bullock-yowell, mcconnell and schedin (2014) suggest that academic advising is one of the remedies to helping students struggling with career indecision. boo and kim (2020) state that indecision in the choice of career of students is often caused by lack of adequate career information, and it might hampers the academic success of students. lack of proper career information mbetse (2002) indicates that there is evidence that shows a misconception about the lack of career information amongst learners, parents, and teachers. sequel to the findings of research conducted in south africa, stead and watson (2006) state that high school leavers often have limited career knowledge and this has a negative impact on effective career decision making. following the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk model of career management and according to stead and watson (2006), access to career information and the usage is often an integral part of the decision-making process. webber and zhu (2007) declare that research has shown that before decisions are taken, most students do not endeavour to seek information about job and career choices. to corroborate this assertion, zhou and santos (2007) suggest that one of the major factors that affect or influence career decision-making deals with lack of proper career information about steps involved in the career decision making, lack of proper information about the various occupations, and ways of obtaining additional information about those occupations or professions. additionally, bojuwoye and mbanjwa (2006) state that lack of finance, lack of proper career information, poor academic performance, and unsatisfactory career counselling services negatively influence the career choice of tertiary students from disadvantaged institutions of learning, in the context of this study: rural south african universities. according to koricich (2014) and uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019), lack of career counsellor and counselling for young people such as first year university students constitute challenges in career choice decision making. on the other hand, ngesi (2003) states that poor financial abilities of students coming from disadvantaged communities, might affect their choice of educational programmes and careers. for instance, as a result of financial constraints, many students tend to avoid careers that require a longer period of training which their finance cannot support (ngesi, 2003). journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205182 however, the lack of information about career choices tends to have an effect on students, and the mode of transmitting such information matters. hence, this study examines the significance of proficient communication on career choice. in order to achieve the objectives of this study, an attempt is made to seek answers to the following research questions guiding the study: are career guidance programmes included in the south african high school curriculum? what are the factors influencing the career choice of first-year students in the selected rural south african university? research methodology a quantitative method was adopted for this study to allow the collection of large data which aids generalisation of results. kumar (2019) suggests that the use of a quantitative method in a study aids the collection of large amounts of data, which can consequently allow the generalisation of the results. a survey method, which adopted the use of a structured questionnaire for data collection was employed in this study to identify the significance of proficient communication on career choice of first year students in a selected rural south african university. purposive and random sampling techniques were respectively used to select the university and first year students who formed the respondents in the study. first year students were selected for this study because they are considered to be more prone to facing challenges with regards to career choices, compared to other levels, following the works of koricich (2014), uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019), and especially ackermann, alberts and mbalo (2003) who hold the view that career choice is one of the major areas of concern for young people nearing the end of their high school education and in search for tertiary qualifications to build their careers. the target population for this study comprised first year students of a selected rural south african university. according to the information communication and technology unit (ict) of the selected university, the number of first year students of all the faculties namely arts, commerce, law, education, and science was 4,283 at the time of this study. using simple random sampling, 375 students were selected as respondents for the study. additionally, a self-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. the questionnaire contained two sections. section a contained questions which sought information on the demographic profile of respondents and included gender and year of study. section b examined the significance of proficient communication on career choices. the questions were developed following the objective of the study. the questions sought to establish whether career choice was well communicated to learners, and the factors that influence their choice of study. each questionnaire was attached with the information sheet and consent form. this was done to ensure that respondents voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. both the researchers and the respondents signed the consent form. the information sheet contained guidelines on how the questionnaire was to be completed. this was done to clarify to the respondents the rationale jhyutvv 183chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer behind the questionnaire. meanwhile, a pilot study was conducted using 10 first-year students in the selected university to provide dependable and valuable information when gathering data from the questionnaire. the researchers ensured that the students who participated in the pilot study were not selected for the actual research. the collected data from the questionnaire were analysed using frequencies and percentages by means of moonstats software. results the demographics of respondents are presented below followed by the results of the analysed data. demography of respondents the demography of respondents is as presented in tables 1 and 2 below: table 1: gender distribution of participants value n % cum. % male 157 43.98 43. 98 female 200 56.02 100.00 total 357 100.00 table 1 shows that 157 (43.98%) of the respondents were male, while 200 (56.02%) were females. the results of the collected data are presented, following the identified research questions guiding the study. research question 1: are career guidance programmes included in the south african high school curriculum? journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205184 table 2: there are guidance counsellors in high schools value value n % cum. % yes 240 67.23 67. 23 no 95 26.61 93. 84 not sure 22 6.16 100. 00 total 357 100.00 table 2 shows that 240 (67.23%) of the respondents agreed that there was a special subject on guidance and counselling where they were given advice on career choice in the school. however, 95 (26.61%) of the respondents disagreed, and 22 (6.16%) were unsure. this finding shows that career choice is part of the high school curriculum. this corroborates the works of ackermann, alberts and mbalo (2003), koricich (2014), as well as uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019) who advocate for this need for young people especially those completing high schools and first year university students. table 3: there are special subjects in high school on career choice value n % cum. % yes 226 63.31 63.31 no 86 24.09 87.39 not sure 45 12.61 100.00 total 357 100.00 table 3 shows that 226, representing 63.31% of the respondents, agree that there were special subjects on career choice in the high school. conversely, 86 (24.09%) of the respondents disagreed that there were no special subjects on career choice in the high school, while 45 (12.61%) were unsure. the finding implies that there are likely to be special subjects on career choice in the high schools but that this might not be delivered consistently across the schools that the participants attended. following the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk model of career management, the inclusion of a special subject on guidance and counselling will assist students in the exploration stage of exploring career options in order to make fitting decisions. 185chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer table 4: career choice is a problem in high school value n % cum. % yes 219 61.34 61. 34 no 86 24.09 85. 43 not sure 52 14.57 100. 00 total 357 100.00 table 4 shows that 219 (61.34%) of the respondents agreed that career choice was a problem for high school learners, 86 (24.09%) disagreed, while, 52 (14.57%) were unsure. following this result, it can be implied that career choice is a problem for high school learners. this finding agrees with the work of issa and nwalo (2008) who state that in most cases, the choice of career, course of study, and the subsequent career paths to follow are a nightmare for prospective students. the work of uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019) also corroborates the finding that career choice is problematic for students and guidance is needed. sequel to the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk model of career management, career choice is problematic, hence, the various stages involved in the model suitable for guiding students towards making career choices. this finding implies that students can possibly experience challenges in making the most appropriate career choices, however, if guided to follow due process, such challenges can be overcome. table 5: the department of education sends counsellors to schools for career talks 2 or 3 times a year value n % cum. % yes 115 32.21 32. 21 no 146 40.90 73. 11 not sure 96 26.89 100. 00 total 357 100.00 table 5 shows that 115 (32.21%) of the respondents agreed that the department of education sends career guidance counsellors to schools twice or thrice a year. on the contrary, 146 (40.90%) of the respondents disagreed, while 96 (26.89%) were unsure. the result shows that the majority of the respondents disagreed; however, because the number is not significant the findings may not be accepted. meanwhile, uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019) hold the journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205186 view that career counsellors should be recruited permanently to provide counselling assistance and guidance to students. research question 2: what are the factors influencing the career choice of first-year students in the selected rural south african university? the results of the analysed data from the second research question are presented below. figure 1: effective communication on career choice at school figure 1 shows that 189 (52.94%) of the respondents agreed that there was effective communication on career choice in school. however, while 153 (42.86%) of the respondents disagreed, 15 (4.20%) were unsure. the above analysed result indicates that just more than half of the respondents subjectively reflect that they received what they describe as effective communication on career choice in school. the findings contrasts the work of stead and watson (2006), who suggest that high school leavers often have limited career knowledge and this brings a negative effect on effective career decision making. conversely, the finding corroborates the works of mbetse (2002) and christiaans (2006) that high school teachers have roles to play in the career choice of their learners. meanwhile, the work of uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019) supports this finding stating that the success of students, among many other factors, also dependents on the curriculum of high school teachers. this implies jhg 187chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer that if the curriculum of high school teachers is designed to assist and caters for issues around career choice, then students can be helped on these issues. on the other hand, sequel to the greenhaus, callanan and godschalk model of career management, as well as boo and kim (2020), effective communication on career choice contributes toward guiding students in making good career choices. this means that students will make good career decisions if career related information is effectively communicated. figure 2: effective communication on career choice from parents figure 2 shows that 150 (42.02%) of the respondents agreed that they received effective communication from their parents on career choice, while 187 (52.38%) disagreed, and 20 (5.60%) were unsure. this finding contrast the work of mau and bikos (2000) who opine that parents have a greater influence on students’ career choices. meanwhile, beyer (2008) argues that parental aspirations and expectations tend to affect the self-efficacy of their children because they serve as important role models in their lives. taylor, harris and taylor (2004) and oyamo and amoth (2008) agree that due to parental support and encouragement, children’s career choices are influenced as they choose what their parents desire to please them. this finding contrasts the finding of the works of bell (2013) and sham (2012) who argues that it is issues like the academic performances of students that influence their career choice, not parental influence. this implies that proficient communication from parents with regard to career choices can have a significant impact on students. thus, parents play significant roles in communicating proficiently on career choices to their children. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205188 figure 3: no communication on career choice was received from anyone figure 3 shows that 110 (30.81%) respondents agreed that nobody communicated career choice to them, 229 (64.15%) disagreed, while 18 (5.04%) were unsure. this result shows that the majority of the respondents disagreed that they received communication on career choice. the result indicates that the majority of the students received information on career choice from one person or the other. this finding agrees with the works of the department of education, mbetse (2002), christiaans (2006) as well as uleanya, uleanya and oluyemi (2019) who opine that various people has an influence on the career choice of students and play different roles, such as communicating information to the students to enable them in their choice of career. the finding also corroborates the greenhaus et al. model (2000) which suggests the need for students to explore when attempting to make career decisions, which is done by gathering adequate information. the findings of the works of bullock-yowell, mcconnell and schedin (2014) and boo and kim (2020) agree with the finding of this study and the greenhaus et al. model that information is vital in career decision making, hence, the lack of such causes indecisions for students. this finding further implies that proficient communication on career choices for students can be performed by people other than their parents or guardians, as long as they are well equipped and versed in the subject matter. 189chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer figure 4: available career choice figure 4 shows that 169 (47.34%) of the respondents agreed that they made a career choice based on what was available when they came to the university, 180 (50.42%) disagreed, while 8 (2.24%) was unsure. this result shows that those who did not make a career choice based on what was available when they came to the university were in the majority. this implies that some students met the requirement of the university and chose according to their career choice. however, some only chose what was available to them, possibly due to the result they had from their matric exams. this finding agrees with the work of stephen (2003) who opines that poor academic performance influences the career choice of students. the finding further suggests that career choices are made on the basis of what is made available to students, not necessarily what they would have preferred. in other words, students tend to change their career choices following what the university has to offer. hence, universities are obliged to ensure that a wide range of courses are made available to students, rather than restricting them in following a certain course of study or programme. meanwhile, greenhaus et al. model, bullock, yowell, mcconnell and schedin (2014) as well as boo and kim (2020) suggest that adequate information of what is made available needs to be provided, otherwise, this might be limiting to students. this finding implies that while universities make various career options available for students in order not to limit them, there is a need to also make adequate information available about the offerings to the students. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205190 figure 5: satisfied with one's career choice figure 5 shows that while 248 participants (69.47%) were satisfied with their career choice, 77 (21.57%) were unsatisfied and 32 (8.96%) indifferent. as illustrated in the figure, those who are satisfied with their career choice are more than those who are unsatisfied this result suggests that the respondents know what they want in the university. this could be as a result of the previous information on career choices that they have received from someone. this finding corroborates the works of koricich (2014), bullock, yowell, mcconnell and schedin (2014) as well as boo and kim (2020) who opine that the information received by students on career choice puts them in advantageous positions for success. the finding also concurs with the greenhaus et al. model, which suggests the need for exploration in the form of seeking adequate information from various sources. suffice to state that proficient communication on career choices aids success and satisfaction for students. 191chinaza uleanya, mofoluwake oluwadamilola uleanya, gedala mulliah naidoo & yasmin rugbeer figure 6: satisfied with the way career choice was communicated to them figure 6 shows that 199 (55.74%) of the respondents agreed that they were very satisfied following the way career choice was communicated to them. however, 124 (34.73%) disagreed, while 34 (9.52%) were indifferent. this result indicates that the majority were very satisfied with the way career choice was communicated to them. this implies that adequately and appropriately communicating issues of career choice to students is important, and determines their level of success in some instances. hence, uleanya and rugbeer (2020) explain the need for orientation and other activities, channelled towards helping students in their life decisions and goals. conclusion and recommendations the study examined the significance of the proficient communication on career choice among first year students using a selected rural south african university. the findings show that issues of career choice are catered for to an extent in the curriculum guiding high school teaching and learning activities. provisions of issues on career choice are provided in the curriculum through compulsory subjects for students. also, programmes where career counsellors are made available to speak to learners are included in the curriculum. additionally, the findings of the study indicate that career choice is an important decision that must be made by students; however, it is influenced by various factors. these factors include parental influence, guidance of teachers, academic performance, and exposure to information on career choice. subsequent to the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made: journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205192 • career guidance should be given to high school learners at an early stage from grade 8 to grade 12, because this will help them in choosing correctly. this can be done by ensuring that career counsellors are recruited permanently in schools. also, a subject specifically for career choice can be designed and made compulsory for all students. • parents and other education stakeholders should be informed on the need to guide students properly in making the right career choice. this can be done by organising seminars, conferences, and workshops periodically where students, parents, and other education stakeholders will be exposed to issues on career choice and taught how to guide students in making the most suitable career choice. • most youths appeared to have limited knowledge of occupations, so their choices might be limited, especially for those in rural areas. hence, career information centres should offer information to assist youths in rural areas in avoiding mistakes in career choices. these information centres can be structures where career 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(2007). career decision-making difficulties of british and chinese international university students. journal of guidance and counselling, 35, 219-235. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 173-198 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2205198 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 33-46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3548   33 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article understanding the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education overseas ravichandran ammigan* abstract each year, a significant number of students from the indian ocean island of mauritius seek higher education opportunities abroad. yet, limited research exists on these students’ expectations, preferences, and experiences in their academic and non-academic university settings overseas. this quantitative study investigates the experiences of mauritian degree-seeking students at universities in australia and the united kingdom, which have been two of the most preferred destination countries for these students over the years. precisely, this research examines associations between overall university satisfaction and various aspects of the student experience in the arrival, learning, living, and support services environment. analyses reveal that a number of satisfaction variables were important to students, namely the opportunity to make friends on campus, the availability of social activities and facilities, internet access and it support, and chaplaincy or multi-faith provision. implications for international educators, university administrators, and guidance counsellors are discussed. keywords international students, mauritius, student experience, student satisfaction introduction mauritius, a small island state located off the southeast coast of africa, is home to about 1.3 million inhabitants (world bank, n.d.). as one of the continent’s success stories in terms of political stability, cultural diversity, and economic development, mauritius has over the years remained closely associated and engaged with the global community, partly due to its remoteness, limited natural resources, and the size of its economy (auty, 2017; ramtohul, 2016). having invested heavily in the education and well-being of its population, the island is considered to be africa’s most developed country and is now positioned at the top of the human development index for the region (united nations development programme, 2020). mauritius is classified as an upper middle-income economy, holds one of the highest gdp per capita incomes on the continent, and has a literacy rate of 91.3% (unesco institute for statistics, 2020). most mauritians are multilingual and are fluent in english, french, and creole, which is the majority language and lingua franca of the country (t. ammigan, 1989; jugnauth, 2021). * ravichandran ammigan, phd, is the associate provost for international programs and an assistant professor of education at the university of delaware, usa. orcid id: 0000-0002-6265-219x. email: rammigan@udel.edu 34   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 33-46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3548 in the late 1990s, the mauritian government identified internationalization of higher education as a key strategic initiative in order to keep its nation aligned with global educational trends and increase access to tertiary education (motala-timol & kinser, 2017). as such, there has been an intentional increase in cross-border education and international collaborations with institutions overseas, as well as a surge in international programme and provider mobility as the education sector opened up and invited foreign institutions to set up academic hubs and satellite campuses on the island (knight & motala-timol, 2020). from an outbound mobility standpoint, thousands of mauritian students choose to study abroad each year. while enrolment reports show a declining trend in mauritian international students over the past four years, 34% of all mauritian nationals still opted to start their university education overseas in 2019 (higher education commission, 2019). in that context, it is important for institutions to gain better insights into the educational expectations, preferences, and experiences of these internationally mobile students, from both a recruitment and support services standpoint. this study sheds some light on this topic by investigating the satisfaction levels of mauritian undergraduate students with their institutions of higher education in australia and the uk, which have been two of the most preferred destination countries for mauritian students over the years. it specifically examines associations between overall university satisfaction and various aspects of the student experience in their arrival, learning, living, and support services environment, before discussing implications for host university educators and administrators, as well as for those who actively prepare students to engage in studies abroad. literature review international students the number of international students enrolled at institutions of higher education around the world has increased dramatically over the past two decades. in 2017, 5.3 million internationally mobile students were engaged in tertiary education worldwide, representing a growth of 165% in enrolment since 1998 (oecd, 2019). international students, defined as students who have crossed a national or territorial border for the purpose of education and are enrolled outside their country of origin (unesco, n.d.), make invaluable intellectual, cultural, and economic contributions to their host institution and country, and so serve key roles in advancing internationalization, inclusivity, and diversity efforts on campus (smith, 2020; urban & palmer, 2014). according to the higher education commission (2019), a total of 8 079 mauritian students studied overseas in 2019, compared to 15 677 students who decided to remain on the island and enrol in public or private post-secondary educational institutions locally. this is a significant statistic, considering that over a third of all mauritian students decided to pursue their tertiary education abroad. while france emerged as the most preferred destination for mauritian international students, australia and the united kingdom have consistently featured among top host countries for higher education since 2008. the ravichandran ammigan: understanding the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education …   35 most popular fields of study for mauritians studying abroad were medicine, engineering, administration and management, business, commerce, and marketing, and law. the international student experience the student experience, which is usually measured by satisfaction ratings, is comprised of three key elements, namely academic and intellectual (teaching and learning), social and emotional activities and networking (extra-curricular opportunities and facilities), and welfare and support services (access to campus resources and services) (tribal group, n.d.). there is an extensive body of literature that explores the experiences of international students across the world, and many of these studies have stressed the need for a strong support system, in both the curricular and co-curricular settings, to ensure the success of these students (akanwa, 2015; choudaha, 2016). the transition to university life can be an intimidating process for all students as they seek to familiarise themselves with their new campus. in response, host institutions must organise orientation and transition programs to help them feel welcome and secure a sense of belonging, which can lead to long-term academic and personal success (nadler et al., 1998). a number of factors can affect the experiences of international students with various aspects of their university environment. intercultural perspectives and local friendships can be highly rewarding experiences in and outside of the classroom (arkoudis et al., 2013; walsworth et al., 2021). the expertise of faculty and personal support from academic staff are considered key determinants of international student satisfaction (hellsten & prescott, 2004; yu et al., 2016). classroom size and facilities, and library services can be crucial in the learning dimension of one’s learning experience (asare-nuamah, 2017; butt & rehman, 2010). and a recent study by ammigan and jones (2018) found that campus eating options, visa services provided by the international office, and assistance from the finance department all influenced students’ experiences with their university. few studies exist on the experiences of mauritian students overseas. in a qualitative study by khawaja and stallman (2011), mauritian students at an australian institution were found to experience culture shock and difficulty interacting with local students due to different types of beliefs, styles, and value systems. a different study from the uk by schweisfurth and gu (2009) indicated that one of their respondents from mauritius had a particularly bad experience sharing accommodation with local roommates, which seriously disturbed her study habits. the same student, however, spoke very positively about the support services provided by her university, such as welcome activities, orientation programs, opening bank accounts, and opportunities to make friends with students from different backgrounds. conceptual framework the conceptual framework for this study was drawn from arambewela and hall’s (2009) model of international student satisfaction, in which they indicate the importance of service quality factors that are related to both the educational and non-educational aspects 36   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 33-46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3548 of the student experience. the model identifies seven constructs as significant predictors of student satisfaction, namely education, social, technology, economic, accommodation, safety, and prestige and image. the authors found that the expectations and perceptions of international students in relation to key service quality variables, such as teaching quality, access to lecturers, social activities, friends/relationships, job opportunities, transportation, and accommodation, varied among nationality groups and had a differential impact on student satisfaction (arambewela & hall, 2009). therefore, because of the diversity of cultures, language and values, and expectations among international students, it is important that host institutions develop a diversified and adaptable service model that addresses the differential needs of students across nationalities and cultural contexts. this conceptual framework is in line with the arrival, learning, living, and support services constructs of the international student barometer, which is the instrument used in the present study. it also supports the main goal of this paper, which examines the experiences of international students from a specific sending country and discusses implications for university administrators and support staff on how to effectively serve foreign nationals from mauritius. method this quantitative study investigates associations between overall university satisfaction and various aspects of the student experience across four institutional settings (arrival, learning, living, and support services) for mauritian international students at institutions in australia and the uk. it uses anonymized, pre-existing data from the international student barometer (isb) and was declared exempt from the requirements of human subject protection by the institutional review board. participants the participants of this study were 207 degree-seeking, undergraduate students from mauritius, enrolled at 43 different institutions in australia and the uk. at the time the survey was taken, there were 2 016 mauritian students studying in australia, and 1 458 studying in the uk (tertiary education commission, 2016). the sample in this study is representative of 5.6% of all mauritians studying in australia that year, and 6.5% of all mauritian students at uk institutions. the average age of respondents, across both destination countries, was 21.7 years, and 39.6% were female compared to 45.4% who were male. business and administrative studies (21.3%), and engineering (14%) were the top two study areas. a majority of students (43.5%) were enrolled in a year other than their first or last (in terms of study stage). all student participants completed the online isb questionnaire through a hyperlink sent via email from september to december 2016. table 1 details the demographic characteristics of respondents in this study. ravichandran ammigan: understanding the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education …   37 table 1: mauritian student demographics (n = 207) variable description n % age 18-22 137 66.2% 23-27 32 15.5% 28 and older 11 5.3% gender male 94 45.4% female 82 39.6% did not respond 31 15.0% top study area business/admin. studies 44 21.3% engineering 29 14.0% biological sciences 22 10.6% law 22 10.6% medicine (and related fields) 19 9.2% study stage first year 80 38.6% last year 37 17.9% other 90 43.5% student totals in australia 112 54.1% in uk 95 45.9% host institutions in australia 21 54.1% in uk 22 45.9% instrument the international student barometer (isb) was the instrument used in this study to measure the satisfaction ratings of international students. the isb tracks and compares the decision-making, expectations, and satisfaction of international students from application to graduation, and has gathered feedback from more than 3 million students in over 1 400 institutions across 33 countries since its inception in 2005 (i-graduate, 2021). satisfaction items are organised in four main dimensions of experience: (1) arrival – students’ first impressions and experiences upon arrival to campus (18 variables); (2) learning – students’ academic environment and the aspects of teaching, studies, and facilities (33 variables); (3) living – student accommodation, social, and day-to-day life experiences (39 variables); and (4) support services – resources and services provided by the university’s academic and non-academic units (22 variables). the online questionnaire, which has been periodically tested for validity and reliability through 18 cycles (brett, 2013), uses a 4-point likert scale to measure satisfaction, where 1=very dissatisfied, 2=dissatisfied, 3=satisfied, and 4=very satisfied. 38   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 33-46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3548 data analysis all analyses were conducted on the unidentified responses using ibm’s spss software. descriptive statistics, in the form of percentages, means, and standard deviations, were employed to summarize and display demographics and students’ level of satisfaction within each university environment. paired-sample t-tests were used to compare overall satisfaction means between australia and uk and determine whether the mean difference between the paired observations was statistically significant. bivariate correlation analyses were performed to determine whether overall university satisfaction was associated with any of the satisfaction variables in the arrival, learning, living, and support service dimensions of the university experience. results associations between overall satisfaction and the dimensions of experience to determine whether mauritian students’ overall university satisfaction was associated with their experiences in the arrival, learning, living, and support services dimensions of the institution setting, pearson’s correlation coefficients were computed. results in table 2 show significant positive correlations between overall satisfaction and each of the dimensions of experience, indicating the importance of the relationship among these five variables of the student experience. overall university satisfaction had the strongest positive association with learning (r = .401, p < .01), followed by living (r = .315, p < .01), support services (r = .245, p < .01), and arrival (r = .237, p < .05). table 2: correlations between overall satisfaction and dimensions of experience (n = 207) variables 1 2 3 4 5 1. overall university experience – 2. arrival experience .237* – 3. learning experience .401** .433** – 4. living experience .315** .334** .342** – 5. support services .245** .252* .265** .312** – m 3.12 3.24 3.13 3.14 3.01 sd .615 .544 .586 .668 .555 range 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-4 note: ** p < .01, * p < .05 ravichandran ammigan: understanding the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education …   39 student satisfaction in australia versus uk mauritian students were generally satisfied with their university experience at institutions in australia and the uk. as indicated in table 3, students reported a slightly higher satisfaction level with their overall university experience in the uk than in australia [t(206) = -1.71, p < .005]. although the paired-sample t-tests revealed a statistically significant difference in arrival, learning, and living satisfaction mean scores between australia and uk institutions, the differences were minimal. in other words, the experiences of mauritian international students did not vary much by host or destination country. table 3: international student satisfaction in australia versus uk (n = 207) satisfaction variables australia mean (n = 112) uk mean (n = 95) mean difference sig. overall university experience 3.05 3.20 -0.15 .021** arrival experience 3.23 3.26 -0.04 .063* learning experience 3.13 3.13 -0.01 .073* living experience 3.10 3.17 -0.07 .056* support services 3.00 3.01 -0.01 .737 note: ** p < .05, * p.< .10 correlates of overall satisfaction a separate correlational analysis was performed to assess the relationship between overall university experience and the satisfaction variables within each of the four dimensions of institutional experience, in both australia and the uk combined. table 4 summarizes the results of the analysis, indicating that several aspects of the institutional experience were positively associated with students’ overall university satisfaction. in the arrival category, opportunities to make friends with others upon arrival to campus (r = .311, p < .05) was a key factor for mauritian students. a number of variables in the learning environment were also important, including the expertise of lecturers (r = .330, p < .01), personal support from academic staff (r = .325, p < .01), and the academic staff ’s command of the english language (r = .323, p < .05). making friends locally (r = .415, p < .01), social facilities (r = .373, p < .01), and internet access (r = .359, p < .01) were essential determinants of the overall university experience in the living setting. of the four dimensions of experience, variables within support services were found to be the highest correlates of overall satisfaction. chaplaincy or multi-faith provision (r = .736, p < .01), disability support services (r = .667, p < .01), and accounts/finance department (r = .532, p < .01) were variables with the most significant associations with mauritian students’ overall university satisfaction coefficient. 40   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 33-46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3548 table 4: correlates of overall satisfaction (australia and uk combined) variables m sd r arrival making friends upon arrival 2.97 .803 .311* learning expertise of lecturers 3.34 .579 .330** personal support from academic staff 3.14 .648 .325** academic staff grasp of english 3.19 .709 .323** courses that lead to a good job 3.05 .683 .304** online library facilities 3.30 .615 .303** living making friends from this country 2.98 .796 .415** social facilities 3.01 .723 .373** internet access at my residence 3.04 .702 .359** social activities (organised events) 3.00 .722 .353** feeling safe and secure 3.28 .606 .341** cost of living 2.68 .657 .324** transportation on campus 3.17 .657 .324** eco-friendly attitude of institution 3.28 .598 .315** support services chaplaincy or multi-faith provision 3.15 .745 .736** disability support services 3.20 .422 .667* accounts/finance department 3.05 .539 .532** it and systems support 3.20 .717 .508** personal tutors 3.38 .672 .448** career services 3.23 .633 .438** students’ union/governance 3.18 .718 .416** immigration/visa advising 2.97 .718 .410** student advisory services 3.23 .538 .409** note: ** p < .01, * p < .05. table shows .3 correlation coefficients and above. discussion the findings in this study show that mauritian students at australian and uk institutions were generally satisfied with various aspects of their university experience. there were no major differences is respondents’ overall satisfaction between the two host countries, although students in the uk reported slightly higher satisfaction ratings that those in australia. the arrival experience had the highest satisfaction mean score in both destination ravichandran ammigan: understanding the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education …   41 countries, which is an indication that adequate resources and support were being provided to students upon arrival at their respective campuses. satisfaction with each of the four dimensions of institutional experience was found to be positively associated with mauritian students’ overall university experience. this aligns well with previous research by ammigan and jones (2018) and supports the understanding that a conducive arrival, learning, living, and support services environment is critical in ensuring students’ overall satisfaction with the university. another significant factor for consideration is that the learning environment exhibited the strongest correlation coefficient with overall university satisfaction, which highlights the importance for host institutions to prioritise a quality and well-supported academic environment for their international students. additionally, the relationship between support services and the other dimensions of satisfaction draws key implications for administrators in the sense that universities must allocate sufficient resources and establish a robust support infrastructure in both the curricular and co-curricular setting to enhance the experience and success of their international students. this study also found several satisfaction variables (within each of the four dimensions of experience) to be positively correlated with students’ overall university experience. in other words, overall satisfaction with the institution was dependent on students’ satisfaction with a number of variables within the arrival, learning, living, and support services settings. results from this study, which echo some of the findings and recommendations from our conceptual framework, are discussed below along with implications for university staff and administration, as well as student advisors and guidance counsellors who advise and assist students on their study abroad plans. arrival upon arrival to campus, it was important for mauritian students to find opportunities for making friends and developing personal networks within the local community. this is not surprising as several studies, noted in the literature review, have pointed to the positive impact that initial friendships and a local support system can have on international students’ well-being and academic success at their university (arkoudis et al., 2013; walsworth et al., 2021). host institutions must therefore be intentional and strategic at establishing initiatives that can assist new international students with acculturation, integration, and engagement in their new campus environment. offering networking opportunities and organising social and cultural events during their first few days on campus and at orientation can make students feel welcome and forge a sense of belonging. buddy and mentorship programmes that engage current student leaders with incoming students prior to their arrival to the university can initiate conversations early on and facilitate their transition to their new campus. arrangements for airport pick up, transportation to campus, dormitories, and shopping centres, and welcome events in the initial days can spark opportunities for new students to connect with local members of the campus community. it is also key that international students are prepared for what to expect and how to access resources before they reach their institution so they can settle in quickly. 42   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 33-46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3548 learning a number of satisfaction variables in the learning environment were positively associated with mauritian students’ overall university experience. significant factors, such as the expertise of lecturers and personal support from academic staff, indicate that the teaching aspects of the classroom environment must remain central to students’ university experience as they are key determinants of international student satisfaction. this corresponds with the research of butt and rehman (2010) and arthur (2017). the relationship between student employability and university satisfaction was somewhat predictable as many international students seek internship and post-graduation work opportunities to complement their academic credentials (gribble et al., 2017). this stresses the importance of resources and guidance on career readiness and development offered by the university’s career services center and academic programme. online library facilities was also found to be a vital aspect of the university experience as supported by the research of asare-nuamah (2017). in addition to the existing facilities, institutions must make sure that their international students know how to access and utilize their online academic resources through available tutorials and training materials. these findings also lead to important practical implications for international student recruitment professionals. as ammigan (2019) found, the overall learning experience does not only influence university satisfaction but is the most significant predictor of international students’ willingness to recommend their institution to prospective applicants. living students in this study conveyed the importance of being able to make friends locally within their living environment, as they did when they first arrived at their university. to address this need for socialization on campus, institutions must continue to provide opportunities for meaningful engagement and involvement among students – and between international and domestic students. social and cultural initiatives, such as residential and campus life events, coffee hours, student leadership groups, and language and conversation programmes, can help students make new acquaintances, engage in cross-cultural dialogues, increase their awareness and understanding of different worldviews, and develop global competence. these co-curricular initiatives must be carefully designed and intentionally linked to the formal global learning curriculum in order to produce high quality experiences and enhance cultural diversity, inclusion, and engagement for all students (leask & carroll, 2011). dedicated physical space and facilities must also be assigned for these inclusive programmes and events to foster a sense of belonging and build tradition and community. the other correlates of overall university satisfaction for the respondents in this study was internet access in their housing, safety and security on campus, the cost of living, transportation services, and the eco-friendly attitude of their institution. ravichandran ammigan: understanding the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education …   43 support services a total of nine variables in the support services category were associated with overall university satisfaction, including six that held the strongest correlation coefficients of all variables across the four dimensions of institutional experience. this is indicative of the importance of these factors to mauritian students overseas, as well as the significance of support services to international students from a holistic standpoint. in this context, it behoves host institutions to continue assessing the needs of their international student community and strengthen campus support services through a strategic and collaborative approach across student affairs, academic departments, and local community resources (briggs & ammigan, 2017). for instance, the provision of chaplaincy or multi-faith services is dependent on a strong partnership with a wide variety of religious, cultural, and spiritual entities and support groups both on and off campus. access to and effective usage of campus resources such as disability support services, the finance department, it and systems support, student governance, and immigration and visa services requires a strong partnership between the international student office and various university support units to promote and customize services to the international community. personal tutors, career services, and student advisory services hinge on close collaborations between academic departments and student affairs. the international student office in particular has direct access to the international community and can play a vital role in developing services for international students and getting the word out about key resources on campus (ammigan & laws, 2018). foremost, the delivery of support services must remain student-centred and must be adaptable across nationalities and cultural contexts to maximize their impact, effectiveness, and satisfaction ratings, and address the differential needs of students (arambewela & hall, 2009; roberts et al., 2015). conclusion to the author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to investigate the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education in australia and the uk using data from the international student barometer. in exploring the associations between students’ overall university satisfaction and their experiences with various aspects of the university environment, this research demonstrated that a number of satisfaction variables were significant in the arrival, learning, living, and support services contexts. making friends upon arrival, organised social activities and facilities, internet access and it support, and chaplaincy or multi-faith provision were some of the distinct correlates of mauritian students’ overall university experience. although the results from this study are not meant to be generalizable, they merit consideration and serve as a point of reference for university educators and administrators, and for those preparing mauritian students to engage in study abroad. one of the limitations of this research is that the isb is a self-reporting instrument, and it is subject to social desirability and response bias. future research should consider a larger sample of mauritian international students, explore the experiences of 44   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 33-46 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.3548 graduate students from a comparative perspective, and expand the scope to include more participating institutions and destination countries. acknowledgement the author is grateful to i-graduate for making data available for this study. research ethics this research was declared exempt from the requirements of human subject protection by the institutional review board. funding the author received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article. declaration of conflicting interests no potential conflict of interest was reported by the author. references akanwa, e. e. 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(2022). understanding the experiences of mauritian students at institutions of higher education overseas. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 33-46. doi: 10.24085/jsaa. v10i1.3548 abstract the purpose of the qualitative study on which this article is based was to explore the experiences of students with visual impairments, registered at an open distance and e-learning university in south africa, through a phenomenological research design. literature was reviewed on student support in distance education and concepts from the critical disability theory, biopsychosocial model of disability, connectivism, and affect theories formed the conceptual framework for the study. telephonic semi-structured interviews were used as a technique to collect data from seven participants. data were transcribed and then coded employing atlas.ti. the emerged themes centred on students’ counselling experiences, the synergy between the departments, and accessibility of services. it was also determined that students lose academic time due to the lack of resources and study materials in alternative and accessible formats. while policies and implementation plans were claimed to be in place, they do not address the reality on the ground, due to a lack of coordination of disability issues, and late referral of students to counselling services. the study recommends the prioritisation of disability issues, and it needs to be incorporated in the wider university strategic plan to accelerate its implementation. this will translate in (i) training ict staff on various computer software programs needed to support students with visual impairments, (ii) developing alternative, formative, and summative assessments, (iii) developing a job readiness intervention programme for graduates to empower the students financially and to add value to the university’s employment equity agenda, and lastly (iv) putting the disability unit at the centre of all disability matters for coordinating purposes. keywords counselling, access, open distance and e-learning, visual impairment research article experiences of students with visual impairments at an open distance and e-learning university in south africa: counselling perspective enid manyaku pitsoanei & tonny nelson matjilaii i dr enid manyaku pitsoane, head of counselling, university of south africa (unisa), tlhabem@unisa.ac.za ii tonny nelson matjila, research training and development officer university of south africa (unisa), tmatjit@unisa.ac.za 123enid manyaku pitsoane & tonny nelson matjila introduction the post-school education and training (pset) system in south africa has made significant strides in ensuring that students with visual impairments have the right to decent, appropriate, reasonable accommodation, and services (dhet, 2018). however, despite the transformed social reforms and aligned policies to move from inclusion and equality to promote equity, students with visual impairments in the mainstream education system continue to experience ineffective support (singh & mahapatra, 2019). the white paper for pset (dhet, 2013), emanating from the south african national development plan vision 2030, states that counselling should be an integral part of the postschool system for both open distance e-learning (odel) and contact universities (the presidency south african government, 2012; department of higher education and training, 2013). furthermore, it strives to complement the career guidance engagements for institutions of higher learning and high schools, which could ensure that institutions of higher learning positively contribute to sustainable development goals (sdgs). the sdgs are the blueprint for each governing state to create a stable, prosperous future at institutions of higher learning through its policies. the white paper aims to promote inclusivity by highlighting factors that should not be overlooked regarding first-time students’ academic readiness for institutions of higher learning when they register at such an institution. there is an increasing lack of access for students with disabilities in the higher education landscape, yet little is known about their academic attainment, and how counselling services contribute to their learning experiences (richardson, 2015). it is based on this rationale that the study sought to investigate the experiences of students with visual impairments from a counselling perspective. role of counselling counselling services at institutions of higher learning represent a scientific domain that primarily assists prospective students who have to decide which qualification to pursue. the process consists of guidance, which entails the analysis of an individual’s abilities, interests, and personality, to assist students in choosing the most relevant course of study to suit their capabilities. it is important to enable the visually impaired student to choose a career that is most suitable to their interests and talents, instead of having this choice mainly determined by the availability of support. for this reason, institutions of higher learning should accommodate and support students with disabilities. however, issues of disability, power, race, and class are traditionally seen as being outside the curriculum, which leads to the danger of separating knowledge from social issues (mutanga, 2017). also, while much emphasis is placed on the curriculum itself, the provision of counselling services is often left out of this debate. leyser (2008) asserts that the success of most students with disabilities in institutions of higher journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 123-138 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2197124 learning depends not only on their actions and physical accessibility or service quality, but also on the expertise of the staff, their attitudes towards students with physical disabilities, and the willingness of the university to provide appropriate accommodation. this is corroborated by ngubane-mokiwa (2013) who highlights that the perceptions of blindness from the students’ perspective illustrate that the academic community does not clearly understand the condition, or how students with visual impairments in particular, cope with being at an odel institution. there seems to be a gap between academic and counselling departments in working together to help the students with visual impairments to adjust in an odel context. student support in odel counselling is viewed as a point of entry for students to adjust to institutions of higher learning. student counselling aims to bridge the gap between high school and university, by giving guidance and support to students; linking students with their lecturers; and introducing them to services that will assist them in coping with their studies. students with visual impairments are often excluded from this service, as they make up a small percentage of the student community and may not be visible in regional service centres. in the odel context, students need to understand the challenges of studying on their own and from a distance before they register (ngubane-mokiwa, 2017). to encounter a new environment in institutions of higher learning, where their autonomy and advocacy are paramount to their success, is daunting. thus, the student with a visual impairment requires support services to facilitate their full integration into campus life, which consequently influences their transition into the employment setting. although student counsellors may have limited experience in dealing with students with visual impairments, through collaboration with lecturers and rehabilitation counsellors, the student counsellors can help students with disabilities to plan for careers that match their skills and abilities (milsom & hartley, 2005). moreover, an individual’s knowledge about their disability, as well as the strengths and limitations associated with it, increases their likelihood of achieving career success. to answer this study’s research question, the critical disability theory (cdt) was employed to understand the concept of disability and visual impairment through the biopsychosocial model of disability. furthermore, concepts from connectivism and affect ve theories were employed to analyse the provision of counselling and career-related services at an odel institution, while attending to the participants’ affected domain. conceptual framework the connectivism theory asserts that learning occurs when knowledge is actuated through the 125enid manyaku pitsoane & tonny nelson matjila process of a learner connecting to, and feeding information into, a learning community (kop & hill, 2008). it further examines learning within technology, where counselling services can accommodate students with visual impairments through the use of technology to bridge the distance gap. alves, monteiro, rabello, gasparetto and monteiro de carvalho (2009) emphasise that information technology allows individuals with a visual impairment to overcome a significant part of the difficulties they experience in daily life and offers them independence and autonomy on information management and access to communication, just like their peers with normal vision. the connectivism theory also offers a platform for students with visual impairments to navigate their studies wherever they are with assistance from the university, without physically being present. learning in an open distance context is centred on the theory of connectivism, which asserts that knowledge is distributive; that is, it is not located in any given place (and therefore not ‘transferred’ or ‘transacted’ per se), but rather consists of a network of connections formed from experience and interactions within a knowing community (downes, 2010). the starting point of connectivism is an individual who is receptive to knowledge and has the ability to navigate sites to acquire information. connecting to nodes or technology allows students to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed. the intensity of learning, gaining knowledge, and understanding, through the extension of a personal network, is the personification of connectivism (siemens, 2004). students visit counselling services to address issues relating to academic, career, and personal challenges, hence the incorporation of the affect theory is relevant, as it is focused on emotions. according to massumi (1995), affect is a matter of autonomic responses that occur below the threshold of consciousness and cognition, rooted in the body. affect increases with the capacity to act, and the start of being capable resonates with empathies of the body and the world being more open to life (massumi, 2002). affect can be described as feelings that produce a change or action in our body. there is also no single, generalised theory of affect (gregg & seigworth, 2010); however, there are many ways in which affect can be viewed. gregg and seigworth (2010) define ‘affect’ as the persistent, repetitive practice of power that oppresses the body and provides it with the potential to realise there is a world outside of these practices of power. this relates to the oppression of certain groups in institutions where students with disabilities are expected to study and progress in the same way as their counterparts. the affective nature of common behaviour belonging to certain fields of study, and focusing on a specific mode of study, affect students with disabilities. hence, hughes, corcoran and slee (2016) assert that an emotional or psychological illness, rather than a physical, intellectual, or sensory one, is a possible precursor to difficulties in engaging with the university. this relates to the bodily experiences of students who are visually impaired, how they navigate their learning, and how studying from a distance affects them in their studies. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 123-138 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2197126 the united nations (un) convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (uncrpd, 2016) deemed disability as a growing phenomenon that needs to be addressed at all levels of society, including universities. according to the un, disability results when there are barriers limiting full participation in society, rendering others unequal. this is a move from the clinical-pathological model, where those students with visual impairments were viewed as the minority, unable to perform a task, and needing assistance. it is from this stance that disability was then viewed as a socially constructed phenomenon due to limitations and barriers created by society (possi, 2018). the socio-cultural model, unlike the clinical-pathological model, emphasises social justice, decent living standards, fair access, equitable opportunities for services and benefits and a determination to meet the needs of all, with a focus on the needs of the most vulnerable people, including students with visual impairments. this approach is inspired by the principles of universality, inalienability, equality, and non-discrimination, and emphasises human rights in the design and implementation of policies and programmes. the pset system in south africa has adopted the human rights-based model (dhet, 2018), and unisa has consequently incorporated this legal framework in the policy for students with disabilities (2012). scotland (2012) considers philosophical assumptions to be important as it shapes the formulation of the problem statement and establish knowledge of the research questions of the study. therefore, this study followed a socially formed stance that is subjective and multiple in nature. since reality is not fixed, it gave participants the freedom to share their worldview in terms of how they see it, based on their subjective learning experiences. while ontology is linked to truth, epistemology is the perspective of knowledge and its acceptability (creswell & creswell, 2019; ishtiaq, 2019). the subjectivist epistemological grounding of this study suggested that the participants constructed their knowledge based on their different experiences, despite having a similar categorised impairment; that is, visual. moreover, as the cdt provides a conceptual framework to understand the relationship between impairment, disability, and society, it injects disability interests into all policy arenas (hosking, 2008). as an emerging theoretical framework, the cdt was used to approach literature and inform the methodological process for this study, while providing answers to the research question: • what are students’ counselling experiences of studying at an odel university while having a visual impairment? research methodology the study employed a qualitative approach in soliciting the experiences of students with visual impairments studying at an odel university. the qualitative approach, unlike the quantitative, provides a means of gaining a deeper understanding of the participants’ experiences (ivankova 127enid manyaku pitsoane & tonny nelson matjila & wingo, 2018). consequently, the qualitative research approach was suitable for this study since it assumes the philosophical assumptions are a multi-layered, interactive, and shared social experience interpreted by the participants, based on the philosophy of qualitative research as a constructivist meaning (creswell, 2015). population and sample frame the population of the study consisted of students with visual impairments who were registered at the university of south africa (unisa). the sample frame, as guided by au, li and wong (2018) and creswell and creswell (2019), consisted of all students who indicated that they are visually impaired. a purposive sampling technique was selected to recruit students with visual impairments registered in the college of education, which has the highest enrolment of students at 116 234, which constitutes 31% of the overall registered student population at unisa (2018). data collection techniques leedy and ormond (2010) and de vos, strydom, fouché and delport (2011) state that semi-structured interviews are a technique researchers use to obtain a detailed view that the participants hold about a phenomenon. semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted telephonically to reach out to all participants since they were in different provinces in the country due to the nature of the odel environment. semi-structured interviews were conducted with all 18 participants who responded with signed consent forms. five participants were removed from the list after it was determined that they dropped out and were thus not appropriate for the study based on the inclusion criteria. four participants experienced network connectivity challenges, and after several attempts were made to reconnect over a period of three weeks, their data were not integrated with those who remained in the study. each interview lasted a minimum of 20 minutes. ultimately, the data informing the findings of this study were from seven participants: three females and four males of different races, who satisfied the inclusion criterion of either being blind or having limited vision. data analysis the raw data were transcribed verbatim and the thematic data analysis method was applied, as well as the guidelines provided by the interpretative phenomenological analysis (ipa). the full scope of personal interactions with participants was guided by the researchers creating a list of significant statements, scrutinising significant statements for repetition and similarity, journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 123-138 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2197128 grouping significant statements into codes and themes, and explaining ‘what’ the participants encountered in terms of the phenomenon. the process included a textural description, presenting a conceptual explanation (smith, 2004; smith, 2011). atlas.ti qualitative data analysis software was used to analyse data by segmenting transcribed data into codes, categories, themes, and sub-themes in conjunction with the research question. although atlas.ti was employed to minimise data, the researchers further manually revised the coding to ensure consistency and to avoid repetition. data were not forced to fit with the coding (cohen, manion & morrison, 2011; cunningham, weathington & pittenger, 2013). ethical considerations the study underwent a thorough ethical clearance process, and permission to conduct the research was granted by the college of education. furthermore, the research principles of beneficence and non-maleficence ensured that participants’ risk of harm was minimised. moreover, the researchers protected participants’ anonymity, confidentiality, and rights, including that of withdrawing from the study without penalty (two participants withdrew while participating in the study). the recruitment criteria involved sending emails to the sample that included information about the nature of the study and its objectives. this ethical consideration was in line with the protection of personal information (popi) act (2013), as the sample is considered and classified as a vulnerable group. findings the transcendental (descriptive) approach of ipa guided the data analysis process. it required the researchers to reflect on the aims and objectives of the study, which were to explore the experiences of students with visual impairments registered at an odel institution in south africa. the transcribed data were coded, and the emerged themes were classified as counselling experiences, synergy between the departments, and accessibility of services. counselling experiences the findings confirmed the ontological assumption that students with visual impairments do visit the counselling department for career counselling services and personal support. while a few did not use the career counselling services, the majority were aware of the range of services offered by the counselling department and used the services to choose their career path before they registered: 129enid manyaku pitsoane & tonny nelson matjila p1: i first used counselling services because i did not know what to do and was not sure if i should do teaching or another degree because of my disability. i am blind, totally blind. after the sessions, i then decided that i will do the teaching. some participants accessed the services after being referred by other departments when they needed personal support: p5: i have used counselling. i was stressed and frustrated after i received a lack of support from the student finance regarding the nsfas bursary. though students did not necessarily receive counselling when they first registered, most were later referred by other departments. the counselling services then provided a safe space where students with visual impairments were able to share their frustrations. as reflected, participant 5 knew that her bursary was declined, yet she needed someone to share her disappointment and frustration with, and find out what options were available to ensure that she continued with her studies. at times, the participants experienced the counselling department as their primary contact with the university. this department assisted them in connecting with other departments and followed up for them due to the transactional distance between the participants and the university: p2: the counselling staff helped me to contact nsfas for my devices and also arcswid sometimes because i use the electronic version, the voice material, mp3 so they have to convert for me at pretoria while i am in kzn. one participant indicated that he had no counselling experience and had not accessed the services as he was unaware of it. he was under the impression that one had to access the services by being physically present at the campus. he specified that his visual impairment made it difficult for him to travel to the campus as and when he needed to: p7: i haven’t needed to utilise the counselling services. i have managed thus far. also, transport to unisa has been a problem for me to arrange. accessing and experiencing other student support units were emphasised, and this was one of the reasons participants ended up being referred to the counselling department. p4: i am disappointed with unisa. despite several communications, i never received a response. hence i do not qualify to write my exams. this notion was confirmed by another participant: p3: i did not write all my first semester modules and i am frustrated. although unisa has policies in place with regard to reasonable accommodation, students who enrolled in the college of education are expected to complete practical sessions according to the requirements of the streams they chose. for instance, in the foundation phase, they perform teaching practicals at primary schools, or in the intermediate phase, they perform them at a high school, and so forth. it was determined that while teaching and learning seem to be accessible at unisa, it is a journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 123-138 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2197130 challenge at places where participants are expected to do practicals, negatively impacting their learning experience: p6: teaching is accessible, and i like it, but it is difficult i don’t want to lie. when i was doing my practical, they did not allow me to do them. i had to find a special school to do practical, can you imagine that? the participant further experienced additional financial costs due to hiring an assistant so that she could realise the learning outcomes. the synergy between the departments while sharing their experiences, it became evident that the student support departments at unisa are not as interconnected as students were made to believe. upon registration, participants indicated that they require counselling services and would like to be referred for further services support in their studies, as they are first-time students in an odel university. this was important to participants because it would assist them in adjusting after transitioning from high school to university, specifically with the distance mode, which they were unfamiliar with. they now had to study on their own, in their own space and time, without attending classes, as they used to in high school: p3: i was referred to one department after the other and could not be helped. i have a plan that, in future, i should familiarise myself with all the departments. this response shows that there is a disjuncture in this interconnection, which impacts negatively on the response time for students to acclimatise to the system. this participant, however, took it upon herself to acclimatise to the system and attend orientation services and events where possible. while unisa delivers services in a distance mode, it does have counselling services at all regional centres across the country, with convenient online services to those who cannot access the campuses and regional centres, including international students. some participants raised concerns that when they needed counselling-related services, they were always referred to pretoria, where the counselling head office is. this raises the question of whether unisa’s regional centres have sufficient resources to assist visually impaired students: p4: the counselling staff did not help me, but i was referred to other departments which also did not help me. i contacted the lecturers about the assignments, but they said they could not help me with that. as a result, i did not sit for this time’s exams because i did not submit my assignments. accessibility of services accessible study material in braille and electronic formats was a challenge for most participants. after they registered, they had to apply for their study material to be converted at the pretoria 131enid manyaku pitsoane & tonny nelson matjila campus, and this took time. p6: the braille and mp3 come from pretoria, so i could not do anything at all. the late arrival of study material has an impact on students submitting summative and formative assessments in time. the registration department receives the information that study material needs to be converted, and it is assumed that this request will reach the advocacy and resource centre for students with disabilities (arcswid), but in most instances, students must follow up to ensure this is the case. moreover, though the unisa regional service centres across the country have computer labs that students use to complete assignments and study-related activities, students with visual impairments found them to be inaccessible in terms of programs that convert written information to voice: p3: there are computer labs with nvda but there are only two computers and there are many of us so that is a challenge. i use nsfas and they were unable to buy me assistive devices. the findings also suggest that a lack of technical abilities among staff in regional service centres to fix the specialised devices for visually impaired students, posed a challenge. students must wait for assistance from pretoria for such devices to be fixed, which delays students submitting their assignments timeously. p7: i approached the staff about the accessibility of the computer lab for students with disabilities but was told that people from pretoria will come to help us and i have been waiting ever since. the students with visual impairments felt disgruntled and not supported in their study journey, due to the unavailability of resources, lack of support, and delayed responses from the university. discussion the study was aimed at exploring the experiences of students with visual impairments studying at an odel institution in south africa. even though the university has a dedicated unit (arcswid) and policy for students with disabilities in place, challenges continue to arise in accommodating students with visual impairments in one of its largest faculties, the college of education. this occurs despite a policy implementation plan being clear on how the services for students with disabilities will be managed and coordinated through arcswid. the findings reveal that the responsibility is delegated to all relevant stakeholders at unisa, who collectively need to ensure that equal access for students with disabilities is realised. the students with visual impairments are referred to the counselling department to intervene late in their year of study, when the students have already lost a significant amount of time in the current academic year. in addition, the intervention by counselling staff was deemed ineffective, and some participants indicated that they had to drop out, while considering registering in the following journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 123-138 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2197132 semester. the evidence of a disjuncture between the departments confirms the absence of synergy between the departments, leaving no one to take accountability for services not being rendered, as indicated by the participants. moreover, students registered in this college not only experience institutional barriers, but also face challenges when doing practicals at assigned schools. the institutional policy does not take this into account in ensuring that its students are protected and continue to receive support services accordingly. although the findings of this study cannot be generalised due to the nature of the small sample size, the study has demonstrated research rigour and trustworthiness, and congruence between the findings and the reality at unisa’s counselling department. the researchers and participants engaged in an interactive process where research data were collected and analysed, and multiple realities were explored and realised meaningfully through interaction and engagement (punch, 2005). it was determined that unisa’s counselling department at pretoria (head office seems to be well resourced and inpire confidence among students with visual impairments from the college of education, which might not be the case at some regional service centres across the country. from the findings it was also noted that the strategies that were applied to ensure that the participants received information sheets and were requested to sign the consent form, binding themselves to share honest experiences, increased the credibility of the collected data. this suggests that the findings may be applied to other settings, and with a different sample frame of a similar population, to ensure transferability. the findings further reiterated the view by teferra and altbach (2004) regarding this century being a knowledge era, because it has created an unstoppable demand for access to higher education in africa, since higher education is recognised as a key force for modernisation and development. nonetheless, this access seems to be lacking for students with visual impairments, as they struggle to access information at unisa’s regional centres near their homes. students with visual impairments are accessing information and communications technology (ict) services at the regional centres, only to find that the computer labs do not have enough computers installed with compatible software to reasonably accommodate the visually impaired, or there is a low turnout of skilled staff members to orientate the students. recommendations the following recommendations flow from the findings of the study. the first recommendation responds to the actions to be undertaken by the institution of higher learning to address the synergy between departments. this should be approached by ensuring that the disability unit is linked to broader strategic priorities to enhance the access and participation of students with visual impairments in odel. 133enid manyaku pitsoane & tonny nelson matjila secondly, the odel university should look into alternative methods for the conversion of material to braille and electronic formats. the impression was that this is a lengthy process, and by the time students receive study materials and prescribed textbooks in the requested formats, the semester is halfway through, thus creating pressure and causing some students to drop out in the current semester. this affects unisa s overall progress and student success rate. as a result, there should be alternative formative and summative assessments, since the conversion of study material takes time, thereby, disadvantaging the said population. the odel university should also consider designing and implementing graduate and job readiness workshops specifically for students with visual impairments, to improve their chances of finding employment. the university may also empower this population of students by employing them as student workers or on fixed terms to gain work experience. this will address matters raised by the participants regarding transport costs and the challenges they experience when coming to campus, the financial costs associated with teaching practices when they are placed at schools, including payment for assistants should the need arise. this move will also enable the university to accelerate its employment equity plan should the assumption that they are lacking in that area be found to be true, as this is a national imperative. lastly, all staff employed at the computer labs should be trained in using and providing support for students with visual impairments on specialised computer programs like jaws and nvda, since abner and lahm (2002) believe that university training and professional development should address competence in teaching. it was established in the findings that where there are computer labs, either computers do not have the necessary software, or staff members are unable to assist. it is envisaged that the presented findings will inform unisa’s strategies regarding students with disabilities, as well as other related student support services to accommodate students with visual impairments. by making counselling services central to student support. future research future research should be conducted on retention strategies for students with visual impairments in odel institutions. the strategies may inform the attrition and retention rates for this population of students. secondly, the college of education should develop inclusive strategies to accommodate students with visual impairments in their teaching practice modules, and ensure reasonable accommodation where they are placed when conducting their teaching practicals. references abner, g., & lahm, e. 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(2008). connectivism: learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? international review of research in open and distance learning, 9(3), https://doi. org/10.19173/irrodl.v9i3.523 leedy, p., & ormrod, j. e. (2005). practical research: planning and design. pearson merrill prentice hall. leyser, y. (2008). college students with disabilities in teacher education: faculty attitudes and practices. european journal of special needs education, 23(3), 237–251. massumi, b. (2002). parable for the virtual, movement, affect sensation. duke university press. milsom, a., & hartley, m. t. (2005). assisting students with learning disabilities transitioning to college: what school counsellors should know. professional school counselling, 8(5), 436–441. mokiwa, s. a., & phasha, t. n. (2012). using ict at an open distance learning (odl) institution in south africa: the learning experiences of students with visual impairments. africa education review, 9(sup1), s136–s151. https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2012.75 5286 mutanga, o. (2017). students with disabilities’ experience in south african higher education – a synthesis of literature. south african journal of higher education, 31(1): 135–154. https:// doi.org/10.20853/31-1-1596 ngubane-mokiwa, s. a. (2017). implications of the university of south africa’s (unisa) shift to open distance e-learning on teacher education. australian journal of teacher education, 42(9), 42. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n9.7 ngubane-mokiwa, s.a. (2013). information and communication technology as a learning tool: experiences of students with blindness (university of south africa). http://uir.unisa.ac.za/ handle/10500/13246%0ahttp://files/401/ngubane-moki a 2013 information and communication technology as a learning tool experiences of students with blindness.pdf possi, m. k. (2018). gender and education of people with disabilities in tanzania. ldafltj (new series), 3(25), 155–168. presidency. (2012). national development plan 2030: our future make it work. punch, k. (2005). introduction to social research: quantitative and qualitative approaches. sage. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 123-138 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2197136 rembis, m. (2019). challenging the impairment/disability divide. in n. watson & s. vehmas (eds.), routledge handbook of disability studies. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429430817-27 richardson, j. t. e. (2015). academic attainment in deaf and hard-of-hearing students in distance education. open learning, 30(2), 164–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2 015.1071245 rose, j., & johnson, c. w. (2020). contextualizing reliability and validity in qualitative research: toward more rigorous and trustworthy qualitative social science in leisure research. journal of leisure research, 51(4), 432–451. scotland, j. (2012). exploring the philosophical underpinnings of research: relating ontology and epistemology to the methodology and methods of the scientific, interpretive, and critical research paradigms. english language teaching, 5(9), 9–16. https:// doi.org/10.5539/elt.v5n9p9 shakespeare, w. & a. (2017). blaming the victim, all over again: waddell and aulwards’s biopsychosocial (bps) model of disability. critical policy, 37(1), 22– 41. https://scholar.google.co.za/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2c5&as_ vis=1&q=shakespeare%2c+watson+%26+alghaib%2c+2017&btng= siemens, g. (2017). connectivism. in foundations of learning and instructional design technology. https://lidtfoundations.pressbooks.com/chapter/connectivism-alearning-theory-for-thedigital-age/ singh, r. k., & mahapatra, s. k. (2019). education of deaf learners through open schooling system in india. asian journal of distance education, 14(2), 26–31. smith, j. a. (2011). evaluating the contribution of interpretative phenomenological analysis. health psychology review, 1(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199 .2010.510659 stanley, k. (2017). affect and emotion. in s. ames, dewey, tomkins, damasio, massumi (ed.), the palgrave handbook of affect studies and textual criticism (pp. 97–112). palgrave macmillan. swart, e., & greyling, e. (2011). participation in higher education: experiences of students with disabilities. acta academica, 43(4), 80–110. teferra, d., & altbach, p. g. (2004). african higher education: challenges for the 21st century. higher education, 47(1), 21–50. unesco. (2019). discussion on sdg 4 – quality education. high-level political forum on sustainable development, (pp. 1-8). https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/ documents/23669bn_sdg4.pdf unisa. (2012). policy on students with disabilities. pretoria. unisa. (2016). policy on research ethics. unisa. (2017). policy on academic integrity. unisa. (2018). student enrolments. https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/ about/facts-&-figu es/studentenrolments 137enid manyaku pitsoane & tonny nelson matjila united nations. (2016). convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and optional protocol. journal of student affairs in africa | volume 9(2) 2021, 123-138 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v9i2.2197138 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 93-108 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525   93 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds research article experiences of students living with physical disabilities at a university of technology in kwazulu-natal thobile hlengwa* & andile s. masuku** abstract society’s inadequate response to disability impacts people’s physical health, social relationships and lives in general which can be perceived in the realms of family, friends, neighbours, psychological state and level of independence. the consequences of a disability can have an impact on multiple levels, the personal, interpersonal, family and social (catherin & shanbhang, 2015). these impacts are mirrored – and in some ways exaggerated – in the lives of students living with disabilities. students living with physical disabilities at universities of technology may experience challenges that negatively affect their studies. the purpose of the study reported in this article was to explore the experiences of students who are living with physical disabilities at a selected university of technology in kwazulu-natal. the study adopted a qualitative design. semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were employed to collect data from the 10 participants. and participation of students living with physical disabilities was secured through the snowball sampling technique. the findings of the research revealed a variety of challenges that students with physical disabilities encounter at the selected university of technology. keywords higher education, challenges, students, physical disabilities, university of technology introduction physical disability is the long-term loss or impairment of part of or a person’s entire body function, resulting in a limitation of physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina (smeltzer et al., 2017). similarly, for narayanan (2018), disability is part of a human condition that renders a person temporarily or permanently physically impaired. monroe county community college (n.d.) defines physical disability as a condition that highly limits a person from physical activities, for example, walking, climbing stairs, reaching, carrying and lifting. therefore, such limitations can hinder the person from accomplishing tasks of daily living. higher education has proven itself critical to (potentially improving) quality of life for especially the systemically marginalized today. however, it is evident that people living * thobile hlengwa is a lecturer in child youth care (cyc) at the durban university of technology in kwazulu-natal, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0001-8436-9451. email: thobileh@dut.ac.za ** andile masuku is currently employed as a student development officer in the department of student governance and development of the durban university of technology in kwazulu-natal, south africa. orcid id: 0000-0002-7850-5469. email: andilem3@dut.ac.za mailto:thobileh@dut.ac.za mailto:andilem3@dut.ac.za 94   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 93-108 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525 with disabilities have generally limited access to education in many parts of the world, especially in africa and asia (opoku et al., 2015). growth in the wider acknowledgement of this deficit and movements for social justice have influenced widespread developments in institutional recognition of social responsibility, leading institutions of higher learning in many countries to increase enrolment numbers of students living with disabilities. but trying to ensure full inclusion for the historically disadvantaged members of our communities, such as people living with physical disabilities, has different implications rooted in the needs of different groups. thus, dalton et al. (2019) suggest that universities must consider matters of physical and programmatic access in order to achieve the goal of inclusive education for people living with disabilities. this is in line with article 9 of the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (schulze, 2010, p. 75). engelbrecht and de beer (2014) emphasise that higher education institutions still need to do more research on improving accessibility and living conditions for students living with disabilities. murray et al. (2013) suggest that future studies analyse and amplify the importance of specific sources of support needed for students with disabilities. people with acquired physical disabilities experience many stressful situations in life because of various personal and environmental barriers (byra & cwirynkalo, 2018). according to opoku et al. (2015), the physical accessibility of school buildings is an important requirement to make education accessible to students with disabilities. nonetheless, this is often ignored as most educational facilities are constructed without considering the concerns and needs of persons with disabilities. barriers in academic institutions that obstruct access to education for people who are physically impaired include narrow doors, inappropriate seating arrangements, rugged terrains, inaccessible toilet facilities and lack of ramps. according to the data produced by the south african board for people practice (2017, p.  2), the national disability prevalence rate in south africa is 7.5%. disability is more prevalent among females compared to males (8.3% and 6.5% respectively). more than half (53.2%) of persons aged 85 and older reported having a disability. the prevalence of a specific type of disability shows that 11% of persons aged five years and older have visual difficulties, 4.2% have cognitive difficulties (remembering/concentrating), 3.6% have hearing difficulties, and about 2% have communication, self-care and walking difficulties. moreover, persons with severe disabilities have trouble in accessing education and employment opportunities. theoretical framework the ecological systems theory by bronfenbrenner (1992) guided this study. according to this theory, human development is influenced by various forms of environmental systems, namely the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. the topic under study necessitated focus on microsystems and exosystems. according to ettekal and mahoney (2017), microsystems are the settings in which individuals directly interact with the immediate environment. friends, classmates, family, neighbours and other people who have direct interaction with one in one’s microsystem form part of this environment which thobile hlengwa & andile s. masuku: experiences of students living with physical disabilities …   95 can positively or negatively shape the development a person. attitudes projected towards a person by the environment may predict how the world is perceived by a person living with physical disabilities. in microsystems, students who are living with physical disabilities should feel connected and thus should be able to forge healthy relationships with others. students living with physical disabilities should not in any way feel left out of the system because of their conditions. the university plays a critical role in ensuring that the needs of the students living with physical disabilities are met accordingly. sincero (2012) defines the exosystem as the setting in which there is a link between the context where the person does not have an active role and the context in which the person is actively participating. assistance must be offered to families so that they are motivated in their exosystem relations. some students who are living with physical disabilities have no active roles within the university. they do not participate in any decision-making or student leadership. literature review challenges experienced by students living with physical disabilities soltani et al. (2011) state that it has been accepted that people living with disabilities have fewer opportunities and have a lower quality of life than the non-disabled. however, not giving people with disabilities opportunities to achieve and having low to no expectations of them is a form of discrimination (university of canberra, 2014). thus, the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities article 8 (a) explicitly states that awareness should be raised throughout society including at the family level, regarding persons with disabilities, and to foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. people with physical disabilities encounter numerous other problems with their families and society. they often are unable to utilize their talents due to structural barriers in our wider society and the families of some tend to fail in caring for them in the absence of special rehabilitation and care centres, thus being deprived access to basic human rights such as the rights to health and education. people living with disabilities should be encouraged to live independently and participate in all aspects of life. their capacity to realise this independence is often further hindered by the difficulties physically disabled face when it comes to accessing various facilities, despite the constitution of the republic of south africa (1996) containing the bill of rights which seek to ensure that no person is discriminated against. chapter 2, section 9(3) prohibits discrimination of all sorts including discrimination based on disability. this also includes access to the physical environment, transportation and information and communications technology systems (united nations, n.d.). lack of access to the aforementioned resources may therefore be regarded as an infringement of peoples’ right to have their dignity respected and protected. yet the free movement of people living with disabilities continues to be restricted due to most buildings usually not being built in a manner that is accommodative of their bodies. furthermore, even where some of the buildings have provisions for wheelchairs, depending on ability, some wheelchair users may need additional assistance to manoeuvre 96   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 93-108 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525 in these spaces (masarira, 2017). yarfi et al. (2017) stress that public places and spaces should be accessible to everyone, whatever bodily ability. this calls for the integration of the wheelchair user into society, thereby granting them the capacity of participating in activities of daily living and ensuring equality in daily life. bascom (2017) reminds us, moreover, that transportation accessibility is very important for finding employment, education, healthcare and social interaction. people who face challenges in obtaining access to transportation are considered “transportation disadvantaged”, which include those of lower socio-economic status, aging individuals and persons with disabilities. accessing public transportation is a key drawback for people with disabilities, both young and old (asia-pacific, 2013). additionally, they are likely to face more challenges and difficulties while they are traveling in and using public transport, as the needs of the disabled are rarely catered for. such deficiencies in access to buildings, public space and transportation in south africa are arguably reflective of lacking regulation, and thus inadequate governmental enforcement. therefore, the government must take all necessary measures in ensuring that rights of people with disabilities are protected, and thus allowing them access, on an equal basis with others, to facilities and services open or provided to the public, in both urban and rural areas. this includes institutions of higher learning. as a means of addressing some of these systemic inadequacies in the context of higher education, a framework for disability inclusion was recognized and established in 2018 (dalton et al., 2019, p. 2). currently, there are gaps in universities’ meeting the needs of students living with physical disabilities. this might be ascribed to the lack of awareness of how some of the experiences affect these students. students living with physical disabilities face many challenges that can often, and quickly, progress beyond the physical if not addressed. the physical environments of universities, including the availability of sensor doors, ramps, fully functional elevators, to name a few, impact on the experiences of students with physical disabilities (healey et al., 2011). healey et al. (2011) contend that the lack of appropriate and adequate provisions of spaces and resources for students living with disabilities at the institutions of higher learning in south africa adversely affect their education. challenges faced by students with disabilities are further compounded by the fact that they often isolate themselves from others because of rejection, fear of rejection and misunderstanding of their conditions and abilities. their experiences of simultaneous hypervisibility and invisibility leave them feeling misunderstood by their non-disabled peers and lecturers (nel et al., 2015). according to maotoana (2014), students living with disabilities are often discriminated against in their personal and social lives, experiences which tend to be mirrored in their academic involvements. non-disabled students are found to be stigmatising and discriminating towards the students with disabilities. negative attitudes of peers have a tremendous impact on the life of an individual with a handicap. the person’s self-concept, cognitive and social development, academic performance and general psychological health may be largely affected (idrees & ilyas, 2012). this calls for universities to play a vital role in making sure that students who are living with physical disabilities are treated equitably and are by no means discriminated against. thobile hlengwa & andile s. masuku: experiences of students living with physical disabilities …   97 discrimination can be limited if the non-disabled recognize how they respond to students who are living with disabilities. not allowing a student to go to campus because of a disability is considered as discriminatory and restricts the student’s learning opportunities. this can be as limiting as the disability itself. in the context of education, it is unlawful for an education provider to discriminate directly or even indirectly against students because of their disability. moreover, an education provider is expected to take positive steps in ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to education and the provision of services (child law advice, 2018). tough et al. (2017) indicate that people with disabilities or body impairments often are disadvantaged due to limited opportunities to participate in social life. hence, there is evidence that favourable exchanges with ones’ proximate social environment, for example, family, friends and work life, exert beneficial effects on health and well-being. furthermore, the ability to share one’s life and connect emotionally through friendship is habitually reported as a critical factor in the development and maintenance of life satisfaction. the role of environmental barriers and discrimination in contributing to poverty and exclusion of people with physical disabilities is now well understood. the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (article 3) outlines the measures needed to remove barriers and promote participation. moreover, there is a need to develop appropriate opportunities for people with disabilities throughout their life course (business & disability organization, 2018). the work of scholars like tough et al. (2017) reflect the observations of the world health organization (2011), that response to disabilities has undergone a radical change in recent decades. in line with these changes and scholarship reflective thereof, the study on which this article is based sought to explore the experiences of students living with physical disabilities at a university of technology in kwazulu-natal. this included exploring the challenges that the students experience relating to the infrastructural setting and the effects that the structural hindrances have on students’ academic development. by centralising the experiences of students living with physical disabilities, the research study hopes to contribute to the discovery and improved understanding of the factors that impact this student community and offer recommendations on how these factors may be addressed. the authors also hope to have helped the participant students feel empowered by the process of voicing their main concerns regarding their lived experiences. research methodology an exploratory, qualitative design was employed to conduct the study. according to elkatawneh (2016), qualitative research aims to explore the meanings people attribute to their experiences, their culture and how they view a particular issue or case. swedberg (2018) indicates that exploratory research is used to investigate a problem that is not clearly defined. exploration can produce results that are valid and insightful if conducted in a manner that is transparent and self-reflexive (reiter, 2017). this approach was appropriate for this study as it was used to better understand the experiences of students living with physical disabilities. 98   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 93-108 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525 park et al. (2020) identify a paradigm as a guide to scientific discoveries through their assumptions and principles, which helps illuminate the quality of findings that support scientific studies and identify gaps in generating sound evidence. polit and beck (2012) suggest that the constructivist paradigm is mostly aligned to qualitative research and assumes that reality is not a fixed entity but rather a construction of the individual participating in the research, and that many constructions are possible. for this study, a constructivist paradigm was adopted as participants shared their experiences and their realities were interpreted to discover the underlying meaning of events and activities. the study was conducted at a university of technology (uot). kumar (2014) suggests that a study population can be a group of individuals from whom the information is required or can be obtained to find answers to the research questions. the researcher must decide who constitutes the study population to select the appropriate participants. the study was open to all students from first-year level to the fourth-year level of study, registered in all faculties. the total number of registered students living with physical disability was 17. for this study, the targeted number of prospective participants was 15 students (male and female). only 10 gave consent to participate in the study. kumar (2014) states that a sample can be selected based on being easily accessible or based on the researcher’s judgement that the person has extensive knowledge about an occurrence. this helps the researcher to obtain knowledge about their situation and experiences. the sampling strategy is the plan that the researcher sets forth to ensure that the sample used in a research study represents the population from which the sample is drawn (landreneau, n.d.). the first participant was approached through the university’s disability unit. thereafter, the study employed a snowball sampling technique. according to naderifar et al. (2017), snowball sample is defined as a non-probability sampling technique in which the samples have traits that are rare to find. moreover, naderifar et al. (2017) suggest that snowball sampling is used when the samples relevant to characteristics of the research are not easily accessible. furthermore, de vos et al. (2011) highlight that the chain can easily be broken, therefore the researcher should preferably ask each participant to identify other members instead of only one. the researchers collected data to the point where no new information was coming forth, thus sample size was determined by data saturation. from the 15 possible participants, only 10 participants consented to participate in the research study. participants were informed through the letter of information that their participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw their participation should they feel the need to do so. demographic data nesterova and jackson (2018) state that the gender gap in universities has tilted in favour of women because of increased access and inclusion of women in higher education, contrary to this study. invitations to participate in the study were open to all students living with disabilities at the university of technology. however, overwhelmningly more male students took up the opportunity. students who participated in this research study were aged thobile hlengwa & andile s. masuku: experiences of students living with physical disabilities …   99 between 19 and 39 years. while this represents a good age spread, the aim of the study was not to gauge the maturity of participants and the effect it has on how they deal with challenging experiences. furthermore, of the participants, two were registered for information accounting, three for financial accounting one was registered for interior design, one was registered for taxation, one was registered for human resources, one was registered for business administration and one was registered for civil engineering. three participants were in their first year, while five participants were in their third year and two participants were in their second year. the availability and willingness of the students to participate in the study is commendable as participation was purely voluntary. it is noted, however, that the programmes above are not a true representation of all the programmes offered at the uot. the table below outlines the demographic information of participants. table 1: demographic information of participants participant no. gender age course registered for year of study participant 1 male 19 information technology 1st participant 2 male 29 financial accounting 3rd participant 3 male 23 interior design 3rd participant 4 male 20 taxation 2nd participant 5 male 19 accounting 1st participant 6 male 22 human resources 3rd participant 7 female 22 information technology 3rd participant 8 male 23 financial accounting 3rd participant 9 male 39 business admin 1st participant 10 male 26 civil engineering 2nd participation was voluntary and participants were given the option to withdraw at any time. confidentiality and anonymity were ensured. ethical clearance from the uot was obtained. a limitation is that the study was conducted among students with physical disabilities at one uot and therefore the results cannot be generalized to the entire population of students with disabilities in kzn. a semi-structured interview schedule was designed. the areas of focus within the interview schedule were (a) challenges facing students living with physical disability; (b) how conducive the infrastructure is to the students’ conditions; (c) the effects of the infrastructural hindrances on students’ academic development; (d) determining if they can build social relations with other people and whether they feel a sense of belonging within the university environment; and (e) assess what positive interventions may be offered by the university to students with physical disabilities. data were collected using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. the interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim before data analysis. thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. the themes that emerged from the data are presented next. 100   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 93-108 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525 findings challenges faced by students living with physical disabilities the interview data looked into challenges experienced by students in terms of the formation and maintenance of relationships in four spheres. these spheres were relationships with fellow students; relationships with lecturers; relationships with other stakeholders and the infrastructural setting for students living with physical disabilities. relationships with fellow students in response to the question about their relationships with fellow students, participant 5 pointed out “some students think that they are better than us and also think that we are a burden to them”. these sentiments were echoed by participant 7 who added, “other female students look down at me because of my condition. i think it is because they think i will depend on them and use my disability as an excuse”. participant 1 felt that it was not easy for him to fit in as he said “it was hard uh ... it was not easy to fit in because i am disabled, the environment, it was difficult because i am used to being surrounded by people who are disabled”. however, most participants felt that they coped because they are assertive and can freely express themselves when feeling left out or excluded and that they naturally connect with other people. relationships with lecturers participants felt that their relationships with the lecturers could be improved. participant 6 felt that sometimes lecturers are not accommodative and added “let’s say i have a problem with my wheelchair on my way to lectures, i must fix it, and when i get into the class it becomes a big issue, the lecturer thinks that i am undermining him/her. this causes a poor relationship between me and the lecturer”. participant 1 felt that he always has to make lecturers aware of the hindrances that he encounters concerning the “accessibility of lecture venues”. he confirmed that it can be frustrating when he “negotiates for the change of venues “as it makes him the “centre of attention”. relationship with other stakeholders many students felt the relationship with other stakeholders needed improvement. participant 3 felt strongly about the dean of students not being considerate of students with disabilities as he contended, “at some point, we went to see the dean of students to table some of our concerns. the dean of students didn’t even want to listen to us and just said – out you go! out you go! you don’t have to come here; i only deal with your representatives”. the same goes for the student representative council – “when running for elections they canvas and only remembers that there is the disabled community at the end of their canvassing” (participant 1). thobile hlengwa & andile s. masuku: experiences of students living with physical disabilities …   101 the infrastructural setting for students living with physical disabilities wheelchair-bound students found that getting to campus and their lecture venues take a long time. participant 1 confirms by stating “i attend lectures at campus a other students can easily cross the road but for me, i have to go around the entire campus because i can’t use the gate across the street because of the staircases. i have to go around and use the main gate (where there are no cars), that is used by the cars every day, which is time-consuming … and also dangerous since the road is busy with inconsiderate taxi drivers every day.” participant 5 concurs, saying “it takes a long way to have access to lecture rooms. yah, it is a long way, like if i am attending at campus c, i step outside of campus and ‘walk’ down the street”. participant 7 echoed the same sentiments: “there is no other route therefore i find myself on the road avoiding cars”. all participants felt that getting to the lecture venue itself is a big challenge for students living with disabilities. that operational lifts and a better system to ensure that they are serviced well and promptly are needed is clear from the experience recounted by participant 1: uh – lecture venues – were a problem to me to the point where i ended up not attending and i missed out, like in the first semester there was a class that i did not go to – that was for the first-year experience and again, this semester also there was a class which is supposed to be in campus c, d block. the problem is that sometimes elevators are non-functional so i couldn’t go. participant 6 was even more explicit in this regard: “we have a problem with lifts, they are always out of order. especially at campus c, the student lift always has a problem. if it wasn’t for the staff lift, i would not attend some of the classes”. participant 8 gave voice to the problem of access: “i also wish that the school can have transport for students with the disability because the students on wheelchair – when it rains it becomes a problem for them to move from the residences to attend lectures. i am saying this on behalf of those who are using motorized wheelchairs who operate on batteries. if those batteries get exposed to water can be damaged”. participant 9 added “the lifts are the major problem, we once asked [university maintenance staff] to fix tiles as it is dangerous – tiles are slippery but we have not seen any difference”. improvement of living conditions for students living with physical disabilities according to participant 8, “[university management] told us that they care about people who are living with disabilities, but they are doing things that do not match their words. i would need the university to take our needs/challenges seriously. it shouldn’t get to the point where students throw in the towel and give up because her needs are not attended to. as we exhaust all the avenues where we are supposed to [get] help but to no avail – that becomes a problem”. participants suggested that lifts to the lecture venues are needed, as using stairs is very difficult. participant 2 shared the view that “the uot should have ramps for wheelchair102   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 93-108 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525 bound students and have sensor doors for the students that are on wheelchairs to move freely as they enter the doors”. participant 3 felt that leadership should engage and listen to their concerns, urging that “the uot management must put themselves in the shoes of the disabled in order for them to know exactly what the disabled are going through.” participant 10 added “how i wish there could be a disabled person in a leadership position to influence decision-making.” in light of the apparent lack of accommodation shown to students living with disabilities, awareness campaigns to educate people about disabilities were viewed as important by all participants. participant 5 took the view that “awareness campaigns should be facilitated to sensitize people and educate them about disabilities that can help to reduce the stigma that is attached to disability”. participant 6 concurred by stating “most importantly, may the university work more on doing campaigns and awareness programmes around campus for us students who are living with disability so that students will know about us.” discussion the framework of the following discussion is based on the two lenses provided by the ecological systems theory of urie bronfenbrenner, namely the microsystem and exosystem. microsystem while some of the participants expressed having no challenges building and maintaining relationships with peers, perhaps due to the advantageous effects of high self-esteem and a good sense of humour; others feel rejected, discriminated against, and at times treated as if they do not exist. this is noted in the literature which confirms that non-disabled members of the faculty and student body often lack knowledge about and experience with students with disabilities, an ignorance that can directly impact the success and campus engagement of students (evans et al., 2017). one may expect lecturers to be understanding and accommodative and when that is proven otherwise, students suffer a double blow. this statement resonates with the idea that there is a lack of either awareness on the side of educators or inadequate support available within the university (melero et al., 2018; mol et al., 2019). the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities article 4(i) emphasises the training of professionals and staff working with persons with disabilities to better provide the assistance and services required. exosystem there are numerous challenges associated with the way buildings are designed which affect the accessibility of lecture venues and other service buildings. further, due to the lack of structural accommodations, moving from the place of residence to campus poses a threat to wheelchair-using students, as they have to contend with taxis and their ofteninconsiderate drivers. thus, there should be a way to assist students to move safely from residences to campus. thobile hlengwa & andile s. masuku: experiences of students living with physical disabilities …   103 the scarcity of lifts and preponderance of non-operational lifts pose further hurdles for students living with physical disabilities, forcing them to forego lectures when the challenge of getting to class on time proves insurmountable. when the lifts are not working, stairs are not an option for a wheelchair-bound person. while ramps can make for better alternatives to lifts, as noted, there are none. and although sensor doors may appear luxurious accessories to the ignorant eye, their function is a critical need to wheelchair-user and people reliant on crutches, as opening doors requires them to assume positions impossible or uncomfortable for them, which may otherwise be effortless for non-disabled persons. these findings align with the view of evans et al. (2017). the uot should monitor and service lifts regularly to ensure that they are in working order. another option can be that lectures take place only on ground floor venues. in lecture venues, desks and chairs are bolted to the floor, making movement a challenge for a student with artificial legs, as flexible movement is limited. this then forces the student to sit rigidly and uncomfortably throughout the lecture period. there should be designated spaces reserved for students with special needs. the challenges mentioned above are apparent even at the residences where resources allocated do not meet the needs of students living with physical disabilities. the kitchen is situated on the first floor and this creates an access challenge for students living with physical disabilities. students using crutches find it a great strain, as they have to carry pots and other necessities up and down the stairs, which they do nonetheless because they have to eat. the university has provided platforms for students to table their grievances. while the existence of this forum is a net positive, the expectations of students are not always met. ntombela (2013, p. 493) contends “even getting to those platforms such as student counselling, disability unit or the clinic is met with challenges as they are inappropriately located thus are not accessible using a wheelchair”. limitations of the study while the study realised its goal of exploring the experiences of students living with physical disabilities at a university of technology in kwazulu-natal, it came up short in terms of generalizability of its findings due to issues of representation. there were more male than female students who participated in the research study. the courses to which participants of this study are registered do not provide an accurate representation of all the courses offered by the university of technology. in terms of racial demographics, the study consisted of only black students, as students from other racial groups did not consent to participate. thus, the findings of this study cannot be extended to any other institution of higher learning and cannot be generalized as the main focus of this study was only on this university of technology in kwazulu-natal. recommendations for practitioners according to ferguson et al. (2019), institutions of higher education across the world have recognized that they have a role to play in achieving full societal inclusion for people with differing needs and/or disabilities. critical to the realization of this effort is the preparedness of institutions in ensuring that students with special needs and disabilities are 104   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(1) 2022, 93-108 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525 not made to feel overlooked or have their conditions unaccommodated. the following are recommendations to practitioners that can be used to address challenges facing students living with physical disabilities. primarily, meaningful acceptance of this role entails that such institutions accept accountability for their successes and failures at providing a welcoming environment and appropriate services for students with physical disabilities. key to this is knowledge, thus, non-disabled practitioners need to develop their skills through education on issues related to disability. having to deal with professionals underdeveloped in dealing with students living with physical disabilities creates unnecessary problems and hinders expected care and service for students. professional development has a positive impact and could have far-reaching long-term benefits for students with disabilities (park et al., 2012). students living with physical disabilities are a vulnerable group and therefore may need extra support to voice their concerns and ensure they are heard. wessel et al. (2015) recommended that practitioners dealing with servicing students living with disabilities should teach students how to advocate for themselves, yet without abdicating practitioner responsibility in advocating for such students. moreover, practitioners should work with other officials responsible for maintenance-related issues, for example, monitoring and servicing lifts regularly to ensure that they are in working order; and/or proposing that lectures take place only in ground floor venues. lastly, there is a need for the development and implementation of disability-awareness programmes. educating members of the wider student body and staff about disability could foster a more welcoming environment and sense of belonging for students with disabilities. further research this research study focused on the experiences of majority male students living with physical disabilities at a university of technology in kwazulu-natal. the researchers learned that there are many challenges affecting students with physical disabilities, including the attitudes of their peers towards them. thus, further research is needed to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of non-disabled students about issues related to disability. this will give an indication to practitioners working with students living with physical disabilities on what role to play and what policies should be implemented to close the knowledge and experiential gap between students living with disabilities and the non-disabled. moreover, researcher focus on the experiences of students living with physical disabilities in other institutions of higher learning may reveal general issues experienced across this sector. furthermore, studies exploring female experiences may reveal issues and experiences unique to female students. conclusion the aim of this study was to explore experiences of students living with physical disabilities at a university of technology. the study revealed that these students are faced with many challenges. they are also concerned about the stigma attached to their conditions, which sometimes leads to their marginalization. moreover, the attitude of both students and staff thobile hlengwa & andile s. masuku: experiences of students living with physical disabilities …   105 members towards students living with physical disabilities is a major problem due to lack of understanding and thus failure to empathize. this leaves participant students alienated, as the experiences of lack of understanding and constant fear of rejection due to their physical condition disables them from creating effective and healthy relationships with others. students living with disabilities feel excluded during group work because fellow group members see them as incapable. furthermore, not having access to operational elevators, ramps, installed handrails, sensor doors (or adjustment of the force needed to open the doors), accessible lecture venues and auditoriums, non-slippery bathroom-floor tiles, easily accessible kitchens in-residence and transport are major problems with which students living with physical disabilities have to contend. it must be noted, however, that there were participants who indicated that they had not experienced any challenges as they have been able to build effective relationships with their peers, and this they attribute to their high self-esteem and good sense of humour. that said, there remains a need for creating a safe space for students living with physical disabilities which will enable them to develop effective relationships and their needs be identified and addressed appropriately while during their time in higher learning. the study revealed that even though systems and platforms may be put in place to afford students living with disabilities opportunities to table their grievances, it is not enough as training and monitoring of stakeholders should consistently take place. this would ensure that stakeholder attitudes and behaviours towards students living with disabilities align with the policy of the university and the universal design which entails environmental design conducive to access for all, including students living with disabilities. discrimination of any sort towards people living with disability should be dealt with seriously. this is the major contribution of this paper. references arhin, v., & wang’eri, t. 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(2022). experiences of students living with physical disabilities at a university of technology in kwazulu-natal. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(1), 93-108. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i1.2525 http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf https://resource.dse.theeducationinstitute.edu.au/ https://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/chapter1.pdf https://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/chapter1.pdf https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v37i2.5417 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29062761 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29062761 _hlk45893517 _hlk535274246 _hlk2894281 _hlk535275012 _hlk111835 _hlk47380930 journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084   111 www.jsaa.ac.za african minds r esearch article student perceptions on their transition experiences at a south african university offering a first-year experience programme annah vimbai bengesai,* vino paideya,** prim naidoo*** & sthabiso mkhonza**** abstract the transition from high school to university is often a challenge for many students, as they face numerous academic and social adjustments during this time. for the 2020 cohort, these challenges were compounded by the covid-19 pandemic which further exacerbated the existing concerns and uncertainties. this study reports on the perceptions of a cohort of first-year students enrolled in 2020 at the onset of the covid-19 pandemic regarding their transition experiences. the analysis was carried out against the backdrop of a pilot first-year experience programme at one south african university. data were collected using a survey method from a sample of 299 students who had participated in the pilot programme. a multi-construct approach was used to assess student perceptions on the success of the first-year experience programme in providing (i) a supportive learning environment, (ii) assisting students to understand academic demands, and (iii) creating stimulating learning experiences with acceptable levels of reliability (0.66-0.74). despite facing many transitional challenges at the beginning of the academic year, student responses to questions on the above three factors were affirmative. this suggested that students perceived their experiences of support and interactions within the university as instrumental in assisting them to cope with transitional challenges. these findings provided the necessary guidance for the continuation and improvement of the support given to first-year students. keywords first-year experience, student integration, transition * dr annah vimbai bengesai is head of the teaching and learning unit, college of law and management studies, university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: bengesai@ukzn.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-2711-8530. ** dr vino paideya is a senior lecturer and first-year coordinator in the school of chemistry and physics, university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: paideya@ukzn.ac.za. orcid: 0000-0002-52312458. *** prim naidoo is the academic monitoring and support coordinator of the teaching and learning unit, college of law and management studies, university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. email: naidoopri@ukzn.ac.za. **** sthabiso mkhonza is a first-year experience coordinator in the teaching and learning unit, college of law and management studies, university of kwazulu-natal, south africa. http://www.jsaa.ac.za mailto:jbengesai@ukzn.ac.za mailto:paideya@ukzn.ac.za mailto:naidoopri@ukzn.ac.za 112   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084 introduction globally, universities have become increasingly concerned with student retention and dropout rates. this is no different at the university of kwazulu-natal (ukzn). several cohort studies nationally and globally, have shown that many students who enter higher education leave without obtaining a qualification (council on higher education [che], 2013; vossensteyn et al., 2015), with the highest attrition occurring in the first year of study. for instance, the average first-year dropout rate for the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd) countries is approximately 30%, with the statistics being higher in italy, the united states of america and new zealand, where the rate is almost twice the regional average (vossensteyn et al., 2015). in south africa, where nearly 50% of students leave before graduation (che, 2013), approximately 20% of those who do not complete their degrees leave in the first year of study (department of higher education and training [dhet], 2019). although there are many dimensions of student success, the first year has been identified as the most crucial, given that it poses a density of emotional, epistemological and practical transitional challenges for students (krause et al., 2005; mcmillan, 2013; tinto, 2017). it is a well-documented fact that first-year students are often underprepared for university learning and struggle to adjust to academic expectations (tinto, 2017). apart from adjusting to the new academic environment, first-year students may relocate to new cities, necessitating finding suitable accommodation and deciding on degree majors (bowles et al., 2011). these decisions can leave students feeling anxious and overwhelmed. for the students enrolled in 2020, the covid-19 pandemic compounded their challenges (visser & law-van wyk, 2021). the prevailing circumstances under which they experienced higher education were unlike any other, with universities nationally and internationally undergoing dramatic shifts, from faceto-face instruction to digital strategies (rasheed et al., 2020; aboagye et al., 2021). several studies have suggested that these transitional experiences can potentially inf luence students’ attitudes, motivation and decisions to withdraw from their studies (krause et al., 2005; lowe & cook, 2003). consequently, universities across the globe are under pressure to develop strategies that will improve student retention rates, especially during the first and second years of a degree programme. these strategies, commonly referred to as first-year experience (fye) programmes, aim to promote successful student transition into the university culture, which is key to the student’s resolve to persevere despite the odds, by addressing the educational and psycho-social needs of these newly matriculated students entering the academic world (schreiber et al., 2016). although fye programmes have existed for more than four decades globally (gore & metz, 2017), some south african universities, particularly the university of kwazulunatal (ukzn), have been slow to catch up. to illustrate: the focus at ukzn since the inception of the academic and monitoring policy in 2009 had been overwhelmingly on at-risk students whose academic performance was below the progression requirements for a degree programme (ukzn, 2009). hence, academic support initiatives have consistently remained reactive. for an institution with a large undergraduate cohort, annah vimbai bengesai, vino paideya, prim naidoo & sthabiso mkhonza: student perceptions on their …   113 mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds, there is a need for intentional and proactive interventions that support students before they encounter performance problems. the fye programme was piloted at the college of law and management studies (clms) in 2019 and was in its second year of implementation when the data for this study were collected. as a new programme, some of the core questions that have been at the forefront of our practice have included understanding the activities that work for the students and the challenges they face, and their perceptions of their overall transitional experiences. given the complexity of the first-year student’s experiences, and the diversity of topics covered in the programme, a multi-construct approach was used in the study to assess the students’ perceptions on whether the fye programme had succeeded in (i) providing a supportive learning environment, (ii) promoting an understanding of academic demands, and (iii) creating stimulating learning experiences. this analysis assisted in determining the needs of first-year students at ukzn, identified priority areas and assisted in creating a comprehensive fye programme that would best meet these needs. we also contend that universities have distinctive characteristics which may inf luence the corresponding fye programmes. hence, the success or failure of each programme should be assessed in line with the particular needs of the particular institution. the next section describes the clms fye programme, followed by a review of the literature guiding our conceptual and practical understanding of the fye programme. this is followed by a discussion on the survey methodology used in this study and the emerging results. finally, the findings, focusing on key trends and lessons emerging from the data, are discussed, and how these findings were used to develop a comprehensive, university-wide fye programme. the clms fye programme the college of law and management studies’ first year experience programme was piloted in 2019, in line with the ukzn academic monitoring and support (ams) policy and the university capacity development plan, objectives 1 and 8. the key features of the fye programme are academic orientation, mentorship support and skills development workshops. the academic orientation component orientates students around undergraduate degree programme requirements, progression rules and curriculum specialisations. fye peer mentors provide mentorship support and are selected from second, third or fourth-year students with good academic standing. they work with first-year students from orientation onwards and serve as a peer resource that new students can approach with any questions related to their studies throughout the year. each mentor leads a group of approximately 25 first-year students and holds regular meetings with their mentees through a blended online and face-to-face approach, providing ongoing academic and social support. skills development workshops are held weekly, with facilitators selected from both academic and student support staff. topics facilitated during skills workshops include, inter alia, how to be a successful online student, reading and writing strategies, time-management, note-taking, disciplinespecific study skills, exam preparation and self-motivation. 114   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084 conceptual framework tinto (1993) in his most cited theory of student departure, likened the process of persistence to that of becoming incorporated into a community’s life which is demarcated into three stages. the first, the separation stage, involves students dissociating themselves from their past communities (e.g. high school), including parting from past habits and affiliations. the second stage is the transition stage, where the student is learning to become part of the new community, while the third and final stage is integration – where the individual becomes incorporated into the life of the university. although different propositions can be tested at each of these stages, they are nonetheless too diverse to be examined in a single study. hence, this study focused on the transition stage. during this phase, students learn new rules, expectations, policies and roles in order to develop the ability to cope with the academic demands. the transition stage requires students to develop relationships as they engage with others, such as lecturers, tutors and mentors (tinto, 2017). tinto also drew attention to what he termed “attributes of effective classrooms”, which include “clear expectations, timely support, feedback on assessment and engaging pedagogies” (tinto, 2012, p. 4). he further argued that this transition was an “intentional, structured and coherent set of policies and actions that coordinate the work of many programmes and people across campus” (tinto, 2014, p. 6). with this in mind, the first-year students’ transition experiences were explored within the context of an intentional fye programme at the university of kwazulu-natal. methods the study adopted a descriptive survey approach, which saw first-year students completing a questionnaire, comprising background information, the challenges they faced and their perceptions of the fye strategies in helping them to cope. the focus was on the students’ perceptions of their academic difficulties and the support initiatives that might have assisted them in coping with or better understanding the academic demands. in addition, the study was also concerned with the extent to which the teaching environment was supportive of learning and whether the learning experiences were adequately stimulating, given the additional concerns and uncertainties brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. given that our goal was to gain a holistic understanding of the above three constructs, an exploratory factor analysis (efa) model was selected, which, according to (child, 2006), allows for illumination of the underlying structure of observed variables. permission to conduct this study was granted by the ukzn research ethics committee (hssrec/00000912/2019). sample a total of 1,252 first-year students were enrolled in the clms degree programmes in 2020. although all first-year students were invited to participate, only 1,055 signed up for the fye programme. out of these, 309 (24%) responded to the web-based questionnaire, of which 10 were excluded from the analysis due to incomplete information. annah vimbai bengesai, vino paideya, prim naidoo & sthabiso mkhonza: student perceptions on their …   115 analytical method our analytical method was primarily descriptive and exploratory in nature. we began with a preliminary analysis of the background factors of the sample as well as their motivation for choosing a particular degree programme. to visualise the challenges that first-year students face during the transition stage, we also used a venn diagram. we opted for this approach because it allowed visualising any overlaps in some of these challenges. to identify the underlying structure of factors which measured students’ perceptions of their transition experiences in the context of the fye programme, we ran an exploratory factor analysis on the survey items. factor analysis is a data reduction method which condenses many variables (in this case, questions on a questionnaire) into a few factors based on their commonalities (watkins, 2018). given that factor analysis is concerned with relationships between factors, we first tested the suitability of the data (i.e. whether these relationships existed) using the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure of sampling adequacy and bartlett’s test of sphericity (child, 2006). we then used the principal axis factoring (paf ) method with a varimax rotation to extract the factors that best explain how first-year students perceived their experiences in the context of the fye programme. we used the paf method (table 3) to focus on shared variances between factors to develop (i) a scale for each domain, (ii) determine the number of factors to be retained, and (iii) their relative importance to the scale (watkins, 2018; child, 2006). we then named these factors according to their common theme and subjected them to further analysis (figure 4). to provide a holistic understanding of the first-year students’ experiences, we also included a descriptive analysis of their overall transition experiences and some of the challenges they experienced. results background characteristics the sample (table 1) comprised 36.8% (n=110) male students and 63.2% (n=189) female students. approximately 83% (n=249) identified themselves as black south african, 14% (n=43) indian and 3% (n=7) coloured. approximately 25% (n=76) of the students were registered in the bachelor of commerce foundation programme (bcof), 24% (n=73) bachelor of commerce in accounting (bcom-a), 19% (n=56) bachelor of law, 17% (n=52) bachelor of commerce general (bcom-g), and 11% (n=34) bachelor of administration (badmin). bachelor of business science (bbussci) and bachelor of business administration (bba) constituted 2% (n=5) and 1% (n=3) of the sample. in his theory, tinto (1993) contended that student intent was a critical aspect of student persistence across the three stages, from separation and transition to integration. while different factors can be used to measure intent, one factor that has a bearing on the transition phase is the student’s choice of majors or intended career. 116   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084 table 1: sample characteristics characteristic sample frequency sample % population frequency population % 299 1252 gender male 110 36.8 546 43.6 female 189 63.2 706 56.4 race african 249 83.3 929 74.2 other 40 16.7 323 25.8 programme bcof 76 25.4 243 19.4 bcom-g 73 24.4 239 19.1 bcom-a 56 18.7 270 21.6 bbussci 5 1.67 17 1.4 bba 3 1.00 78 6.2 badmin 34 11.4 93 7.4 llb 52 17.4 312 24.9 first generation yes 116 38.8 – – no 173 57.9 – – not sure 10 3.3 – – figure 1 below indicates the factors that inf luenced the choice of degree programme among first-year students. it was found that 53% (158) indicated that the choice of the degree was their own, while 30% (n=90) indicated that their admission point scores (ap scores) inf luenced the choice of the degree. for 9% (n=28) of the students, the programme they enrolled in was the only choice they were offered, while for 8% (n=23), the choice was inf luenced by either their parents or teachers. these results suggested that nearly 50% of the students in the sample were enrolled in programmes that were not their first choice, a status quo that can affect a student’s motivation to persist. what influenced your degree choice? p e rc e n t 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 ap scores 30 own choice 53 only choice available 9 parents_teachers 8 figure 1: factors inf luencing degree programme choice annah vimbai bengesai, vino paideya, prim naidoo & sthabiso mkhonza: student perceptions on their …   117 after establishing student intention, the study focused on some of the challenges faced by the students enrolled in these degree programmes. challenges faced by first-year students a considerable number of student responses indicated that their main challenges were related to the teaching and learning environment (table 2). approximately 65% (n=194) experienced significant challenges with adjusting to online learning, 60% (n=178) of students felt challenged by the teaching style, 37% (n=110) struggled with understanding the course content, while 33% (n=98) experienced challenges with self-motivation. in addition, 29% (n=88) were concerned about finances, 20% (n=6) struggled to balance family commitments with their studies, and 16% (n=49) indicated they had mental health-related problems. in most cases, these challenges overlapped, with some students reporting having experienced more than five of these during their first year of study (figure 2). regarding the top four most-experienced challenges, the greatest overlap was between online learning and adjusting to teaching and motivation (14%, n=41), and adjusting to online learning, teaching and understanding the course content (13%, n=39). in addition, 8% (n=23) also experienced all the mentioned challenges. only 6% (n=19) of the students in the sample did not experience any of these top four challenges. (33%) motivation onilne_learning (65%) 19 (6%) 41 14% 23 8% 5 2% 14 5% 11 4% 6 2% 39 13% 13 4% 41 14% 12 4% 9 3% 8 3% 20 7% 6 2% 32 11% understand_course (37%) adjust_teaching (60%) n = 299 figure 2: venn diagram showing the overlap of the challenges faced by first-year students 118   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084 possible withdrawal from studies undoubtedly, first-year students experience many challenges as they transition from secondary school into a learning environment defined by the demands of academia (tinto, 1999). while these challenges might be temporary for some students, they can have deleterious consequences, such as early withdrawal from the university, if not timeously addressed. hence, the first-year students in this study were asked whether they had considered withdrawing at any point. table 2: proportion of students who considered withdrawing by risk factor challenge freq. % experienced challenges % considered withdrawing (n=90) online learning 194 64.9 75.5 adjusting to teaching style 178 59.5 60.0 understanding the course content 110 36.8 42.2 motivation 98 32.8 51.1 financial concerns 88 29.4 36.6 family commitments 60 20.0 21.1 mental health 49 16.4 21.1 student responses to the question regarding withdrawal were then cross tabulated with their responses to the question on challenges faced (table 2). approximately 30% (n=90) of the students in the sample indicated that they had considered discontinuing their studies before the end of the first year. the key reason for considering deregistration was mainly due to challenges with online learning (75.5%, n=68), adjusting to the teaching style (60.0%, n=54), lack of motivation (51.1%, n=46) and understanding the course content (42.2%, n=38). in addition, 36.6% (n=33) of students who considered deregistering had financial concerns, and 21.1% (n=19) experienced family commitments and mental health challenges, respectively. the role of first-year experience strategies in coping with transitional challenges the following analysis focused on student responses to the strategies to support them through their transition experiences. students were asked to indicate how the fye interventions inf luenced their decisions to remain on the programme. figure 3 below indicates that almost half of the students (49%) attributed their decision to persist with their studies to the fye programme. approximately 35% felt that, although the fye programme inf luenced their decision to continue, it was not the only determining factor, while 16% of the students indicated that their decision to stay on had nothing to do with the fye programme. the next level of analysis presented data from the three efa scales (supportive teaching environment, understanding academic demands, and stimulating learning experiences) developed from tinto’s theory of student integration in the context of the fye. factor loadings for annah vimbai bengesai, vino paideya, prim naidoo & sthabiso mkhonza: student perceptions on their …   119 the three scales and the relevant statistics are presented below (table 3). this is followed by graphical representations of students’ overall responses to each scale (figure 4). to what extent did the fye programme influence your decision to stay on? p e rc e n t 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 to a great extent 49 somewhat 35 not at all 16 figure 3: the role of the fye programme in students’ decisions to remain in the academic programme factor analysis was conducted on 13 items from the questionnaire (table 3). bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant for all three factors, and the kmo measure of sampling adequacy showed that the strength of the relationships among variables was 0.74 for the first factor, 0.66 for the second factor and 0.73 for the third factor; hence, the data were appropriate for factor analysis. almost all items loaded with sufficient magnitude on both constructs (i.e. above 0.1), which suggests that the items had sufficient interpretive value for the specified models. the reliability estimate for the supportive teaching environment was 0.79, understanding academic demands, 0.65, and stimulating learning experiences, 0.78. table 3: factor loadings for supportive teaching environment, understanding academic demands and stimulating learning experiences scales scale items factor 1 2 3 supporting teaching and learning my lecturers were helpful 0.165 my programme was well organised 0.233 my mentor was helpful 0.546 the fye programme helped me adjust to online learning 0.766 the fye programme helped me adjust to academic teaching 0.837 understanding academic demands my lecturers’ expectations were clear 0.520 the programme was what i expected 0.514 my mentor helped me understand the university requirements 0.364 120   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084 scale items factor 1 2 3 stimulating learning experience i am happy with my academic programme 0.245 my chosen programme is aligned with my career goals 0.191 i am happy with the mentorship i received 0.594 the fye programme helped me adjust to university life 0.782 the fye programme helped me make new friends 0.728 percentage of variance 54.2 58.7 53.2 eigen values 2.712 1.761 2.662 cronbach’s alpha 0.788 0.645 0.777 the student responses were analysed using bar graphs of grouped item means. the 5-point likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) in table 4 below, was subdivided into five equal intervals for analysis as follows: table 4: classification of the mean for the 5-point likert scale 1.00-1.79 disagree 1.80-2.59 2.60-3.39 neutral 3.40-4.19 agree 4.20-5.00 students’ responses to all three items, namely: a supportive teaching environment, understanding academic demands, and stimulating learning experiences, were generally positive (figure 4 below). approximately 86% of the students felt that the teaching was supportive. lecturers were rated as helpful in engaging with the content and the facilitation aspects of online learning. peer mentors and the fye programme were deemed pivotal in assisting students to adjust to online learning and the academic teaching styles. similarly, 82% of the students in the sample indicated that they understood the academic demands of their different courses. this was attributed to lecturers’ clear expectations and the fye programme, which helped first-year students understand academic requirements. these students also felt that their academic programme met their content, workload and assessment expectations. in terms of stimulating learning experiences, 81% of the students responded in the affirmative. these students indicated overall satisfaction with their entire programme (i.e. the academic curriculum and the available support). they also felt that the academic programme was aligned with their career goals. the overall scale mean for the supportive teaching environment scale item was 4.05 (ci=3.97-4.14); whereas understanding academic demands was 4.10 (ci= 4.004.16) and stimulating learning experiences was 3.95 (ci=3.86-4.04). annah vimbai bengesai, vino paideya, prim naidoo & sthabiso mkhonza: student perceptions on their …   121 distribution of students’ responses to items on supportive teaching environment p e rc e n t 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2.60–3.391.80–2.59 4 10 36 50 3.40–4.19 4.20–5.00 distribution of students’ responses to items on understanding academic demands p e rc e n t 50 40 30 20 10 0 1.00–1.79 1 1.80–2.59 1 2.60–3.39 15 3.40–4.19 36 4.20–5.00 46 distribution of students’ responses to questions on stimulating learning environment p e rc e n t 50 40 30 20 10 0 1.00–1.79 1 1.80–2.59 5 2.60–3.39 14 3.40–4.19 34 4.20–5.00 47 figure 4: students’ responses to questions on supportive teaching environment, understanding academic demands and stimulating learning experiences 1% 10% 20%37%32% 1–2 3–4 9–107–85–6 please rate how well you feel you have made the transition to university: figure 5: overall rating of transition experiences 122   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084 students’ self-rated perceptions of the level of their transition by the end of the first year was measured on a scale of 1–10 (figure 5) where 1 represents poor experience and 10, a great experience. using this scale, only 20% (n=58) rated their transition 9–10, and 37% (n=109) rated theirs 7–8. in other words, only 57% of the respondents in the survey rated their transition experiences to be above average. approximately 32% (n=97) rated their transition 5–6, while 11% (n=35) gave a below-average rating of 1–4. discussion this study presented the findings from an fye survey conducted in 2020. the survey aimed to investigate student experiences of their transition into first-year university studies and the extent to which the intentional transitional opportunities (tinto, 2014) offered by the fye programme assisted students in coping with their academic demands. overall, the findings suggested that first-year students who enrolled in 2020, were enrolled in degrees that were not their first choice and experienced challenges related to preparedness for online learning and the transition to university teaching. choosing a degree major is one of the most important decisions students have to make, inf luencing their entire career trajectory (stock & stock, 2016). however, when students are enrolled in degree majors they did not choose for themselves, they are likely to be less motivated, which could negatively affect their academic achievements. some research suggests that a lack of motivation may also lead to course switching (astorne-figari & speer, 2019), which, although common, comes at a high cost for both the student and the institution. therefore, there is a need for the university to develop marketing strategies that will reach out to prospective students early on in their high school studies (bonnema & van der waldt, 2008). a well-planned strategy that fosters the student’s identification with the university and its degree programmes will also increase the number of enrolments, and forge strong institutional commitment (tinto, 2017). in the case of ukzn, which identifies itself as a transformative university catering to disadvantaged students, there is a need to identify the information needs and source preferences of different sub-groups within this target population and tailor marketing strategies that reach out to them timeously. although the challenges faced by first-year students at the ukzn were varied, for most, these were related to the teaching and learning environment, with significant co-occurrence among the top four challenges. the student’s adjustment to online learning was the most concerning issue during the period under study. while the covid-19 pandemic has made online learning inevitable, students worldwide have struggled with the drastic shift from traditional classroom face-to-face learning to emergency online remote learning (adnan & anwar, 2020). the swift move to digital platforms has presented a steep learning curve for both students and academic staff, which was exacerbated by the low-level preparedness amongst students regarding the use of learning management systems such as moodle (adnan & anwar, 2020; combrink & oosthuizen, 2020). at ukzn, this was notably worse for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who comprised approximately 65% of the student population (ukzn, 2017). annah vimbai bengesai, vino paideya, prim naidoo & sthabiso mkhonza: student perceptions on their …   123 furthermore, the lockdowns imposed by the south african government (combrink & oosthuizen, 2020) also aggravated the challenges students faced (barrot et al., 2021). the temporary physical closure of universities implied that students’ homes had to become online classrooms; hence it was not surprising that the notable challenges experienced by students in the sample related to limited access to the internet and devices such as laptops, poor internet connectivity and electricity outages in some communities. in addition, students ref lected on the high data costs, balancing household chores whilst committing to a study schedule, lack of adequate spaces conducive to learning, and no quiet study time due to overcrowded family households. in contrast to our findings, a systematic review of online learning challenges faced by students in 27 countries found that technological literacy and competency was the main challenge faced by students (rasheed et al., 2020). in one canadian study, the authors found that overall, students rated online learning positively, with some indicating that the shift had given them more time with family, while some reported increased anxiety due to the shift (lemay et al., 2021). regardless, findings concerning the challenges faced by students in our sample mirror those found at other south african universities (combrink & oosthuizen, 2020) and in other developing countries (aboagye et al., 2021; adnan & anwar, 2020). thus, it can be concluded that the students’ online learning experiences might differ in a developing country like south africa (rasheed et al., 2020), where they are mediated by resource availability and family conditions. moreover, these challenges are not only technological or instructional but also social and affective (lemay et al., 2021). students also reported experiencing challenges with adjusting to the academic teaching styles at universities. due to a lack of exposure to a university setting, students expected the teaching style to be similar to that of a secondary schooling environment. this, however, is not the case in a university setting, and first-year students need to adjust over time and become accustomed to the style of teaching unique to this setting (krause et al., 2005; lowe & cook, 2003) and the heutagogical approach encouraged by lecturers, which qualitatively differs from the pedagogical approach used by teachers in secondary schooling environments (canning, 2010). thus, it is to be expected that first-year students, as newcomers in a university setting, would be unaccustomed to the teaching approach and independent learning expectations (lowe & cook, 2003; boughey, 2005). understanding the course content, particularly for most second language students at ukzn, is fraught with challenges, as they often lack the language proficiency required at the university level (mgqwashu & bengesai, 2016). these proficiency challenges continue to thwart first-year students’ attempts to understand course content and disciplinary vocabulary (mgqwashu & bengesai, 2016; boughey, 2005). in addition to language, understanding the course content also depends on the mastery of disciplinary practices and the conceptual and socio-cultural knowledge of particular disciplines (lin, 2002). to support students’ understanding of disciplinary practices and ways of thinking, epistemological access is essential (schreiber et al., 2016), and this requires that lecturers make explicit rules and conventions that determine what counts as 124   journal of student affairs in africa | volume 10(2) 2022, 111-127 | 2307-6267 | doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084 “appropriate” in constructing academic knowledge. as tinto (1999, p. 2), points out, “if the most academically gifted and socially mature students experience some difficulties making the transition from secondary school to the demands of college” (emphasis added), then it can be assumed that the transition experience must be all the more challenging for the average first-year student from a disadvantaged schooling background. certainly, some of the challenges faced by the students, such as family commitments or financial issues, are beyond the university’s control. however, as the findings emanating from this study revealed, most of the challenges related to the teaching and learning environment were addressed in one way or another via the fye programme, especially through the assistance of the peer mentors, the first-year lecturers and student academic support services. although there is room for improvement, the results from this survey suggested that students were generally satisfied with most aspects of the fye programme (i.e. academic orientation, mentorship support and skills development workshops). students also reported satisfaction with the supportive teaching environment provided by their lecturers. they reported that the fye programme assisted them in adjusting to university requirements, teaching approach, online learning, and coping with academic demands, while their lecturers were generally perceived as empathetic and helpful. the high degree of satisfaction with the mentorship support component is likely due to the social proximity of the peer mentors and/or cognitive congruence with their mentees (loda et al., 2019). this is because peer mentors and mentees share knowledge, familiar language and similar roles as students (garcia-melgar et al., 2021). thus, peer mentors can explain concepts and requirements at a level that first-year students can access more readily. tinto (2017, 1993) also argued that supportive staff, positive staff–student interaction and mutual understanding are essential for students’ successful transition into the university milieu. hence, it is gratifying to note that, despite the many constraints experienced by lecturers at ukzn under remote teaching conditions during the covid-19 pandemic, there was a concerted attempt to support students as best they could. there are, however, some limitations to this study. the first limitation relates to the sample size. only 24% of the 2020 clms first-year cohort responded to the survey. although this sample was sufficient for statistical measurement, it is not representative of the student population in clms. hence, the findings should be considered exploratory at best. the second limitation relates to the survey questionnaire. although reliability tests were conducted, and the items included had sufficient interpretive potential, some omitted questions would have assisted in providing a clearer understanding of the fye for students enrolled in the clms. it is important to note that student satisfaction is complex, multidimensional, and inf luenced by many factors beyond the variables measured in this study. apart from the teaching and learning environment and the students’ interactions with the fye programme, there are other dimensions, such as administrative services, student support services, institutional image, student housing, and student funding, which have been shown to inf luence the overall experiences of students. annah vimbai bengesai, vino paideya, prim naidoo & sthabiso mkhonza: student perceptions on their …   125 despite these limitations, the findings from this study, based largely on student perceptions, offer some support for the continued implementation of the fye programme. although these findings are preliminary, they suggest a positive link between the fye programme and the students’ perceptions of their transitional experiences, and in particular, the value of the mentorship programme. although more studies are required to rigorously evaluate the programme in future, for now, it suffices that first-year students at ukzn, much like at many other institutions, both locally and globally, stand to benefit from this kind of programme and the improvements that may follow this research. conflict of interest the authors declare no conf lict of interest. funding this research received no funding from any funding agency references aboagye, e., yawson, j. a., & appiah, k. n. 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(2018). exploratory factor analysis: a guide to best practice. journal of black psychology, 44(3), 219-246. how to cite: bengesai, a. v., paideya, v., naidoo, p., & mkhonza, s. (2022). student perceptions on their transition experiences at a south african university offering a first-year experience programme. journal of student affairs in africa, 10(2), 111-127. doi: 10.24085/jsaa.v10i2.4084